Burnham to send 100 Whitehall officials to regional mayors' offices
Andy Burnham will dispatch more than 100 Whitehall civil servants to support regional mayors across England, following a 'situation room' meeting at No 10 North aimed at spreading economic growth beyond Westminster.
Andy Burnham is to send more than 100 Whitehall officials to bolster the teams of regional mayors across England, in a move designed to shift power and expertise away from Westminster. The announcement follows a meeting of local and regional leaders convened by the Prime Minister at No 10 North, the government's base in the north of England, which was described as a «situation room» for bringing local voices into national decision-making.
The scheme marks a significant expansion of the civil service's presence outside London and signals a deliberate attempt to rebalance the relationship between central government and the country's elected metro leaders. Under the plan, experienced officials from Whitehall departments will be embedded within the offices of regional mayors, providing administrative capacity, policy expertise, and direct access to the machinery of national government. The initiative is intended to help mayors deliver on local growth priorities, infrastructure projects, and public service improvements without having to navigate the traditional bottlenecks of Whitehall bureaucracy.
Cabinet minister Louise Haigh, a close ally of Burnham, framed the move in stark terms, saying that «the days of Westminster hoarding power are over». Her comments reflect a broader political push within the government to demonstrate that devolution is not merely a slogan but a practical reorganisation of how the state operates. The transfer of civil servants is being presented as the beginning of a wider cull of Whitehall posts, with more officials expected to be relocated to regional hubs and mayoral offices in the coming months.
The decision comes at a time when regional inequality remains a central political issue in the UK. Successive governments have promised to «level up» the country, yet critics have long argued that power and resources remain concentrated in London and the south-east. By moving civil servants out of the capital and into the offices of directly elected mayors, the government hopes to demonstrate a tangible commitment to decentralisation. The mayors themselves have welcomed the additional support, noting that their teams are often stretched thin when trying to coordinate with multiple government departments on major projects such as transport links, housing developments, and skills training programmes.
The «situation room» meeting at No 10 North brought together leaders from across England to discuss how to spread growth more evenly. Attendees were briefed on the new civil service deployment and invited to identify priority areas where additional Whitehall expertise could make the most difference. The meeting is part of a wider effort by the government to institutionalise collaboration between central and local government, rather than relying on ad hoc arrangements or personal relationships between ministers and mayors.
Details of which departments will contribute officials and how the selection process will work have yet to be fully published, but the scale of the deployment — more than 100 staff — suggests a serious commitment rather than a symbolic gesture. The officials are expected to work alongside existing mayoral teams, bringing with them knowledge of national policy frameworks, funding streams, and legislative processes. For many mayors, this access is seen as crucial to unlocking investment and accelerating projects that have previously stalled due to bureaucratic delays.
The move has also reignited debate about the future of the civil service itself. Some commentators have questioned whether removing large numbers of experienced officials from Whitehall could weaken central government's capacity to coordinate national policy. Others have argued that the civil service must adapt to a more dispersed model of governance, where expertise is located closer to the communities it serves. The government has insisted that the redeployment will not compromise the effectiveness of Whitehall, pointing to modern digital tools and flexible working arrangements that allow officials to remain connected to their home departments while working remotely.
For Burnham, who has long been an advocate of English devolution, the announcement represents a concrete step towards the kind of structural change he has campaigned for over many years. His role in convening the meeting and driving the initiative forward underscores his influence within the government and his determination to ensure that the north of England and other regions benefit from a genuine transfer of power. The coming months will reveal whether the deployment of officials translates into measurable improvements in regional growth and public services, but the direction of travel is now clear: Westminster is no longer the sole centre of administrative gravity in the UK.
