Government departments will second officials into mayoral authorities to work with local mayors.
On Friday, the prime minister convened mayors from across England for the first No10 North “virtual situation room”, where he announced new measures to put more Whitehall capacity behind local leaders and help unlock good growth in every postcode.
This follows direct requests from mayors at the first meeting of the National Economic Council in July, where local leaders called for stronger local capability, faster decision-making and a closer partnership with government.
Starting in the Autumn, high-performing civil servants will be seconded into mayoral authorities to build capability and capacity and accelerate the transfer of power to local areas.
As part of an initial pilot, every mayoral authority will receive between five and ten civil servants on a 6–9-month secondment.
There will also be a new Civil Service Fast Stream pilot in Yorkshire and Humber, providing more opportunities to build successful careers in regions outside London and an expansion of the Future Leaders Scheme, a civil service programme to develop high potential individuals, to mayoral and local authority officials.
A Digital Devolution programme will be launched to unlock government data and build AI, digital and data capability in mayoral authorities.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: "No10 North is putting more power into every postcode across the country so communities can unleash and unlock their own potential.
"I’m bringing together Mayors from different political parties to work on these challenges, because people deserve problem-solving rather than point-scoring."
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner said: "We want to see more power and resource shifted away from Westminster and back into the hands of our communities where it belongs.
"We’re also giving our mayors the tools they need to push on and deliver on what matters for their community, whether that’s new transport links, more safe and secure homes, regeneration projects, or everything in between.
"No10 North is at the heart of our devolution revolution, and we will continue to listen closely on how we can help support our mayors to drive good growth in every postcode – and back our regions."
