Whitehall officials to be moved into mayor's offices across Yorkshire as part of 'devolution revolution'

The package also includes a new civil service fast stream pilot in Yorkshire and the Humber, allowing talented youngsters to start their government careers in the region.

Whitehall officials are to be posted into mayors’ offices across the region, as Andy Burnham continues to transfer power and resources out of Westminster.

The new Prime Minister made the announcement to mark a month since his Manchester base, No10 North, opened at GCHQ’s Heron House yesterday.

He held online meetings with mayors from a “virtual situation room” to discuss how to drive growth across the country.

Mr 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.”

From 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”, according to Downing Street.

In the initial pilot, each combined authority - including all four Yorkshire mayors - will receive up to 10 civil servants for a six to nine-month period.

The mandarins are set to add expertise around the devolution settlement mayors are receiving, with retention of business rates and a portion of income tax set to come over the next 18 months.

These employees are likely to be just the start of civil servants moving from Whitehall to the regions, as Mr Burnham’s deputy chief of staff Caroline Simpson told Politico that “significant resources” are set to be moved out of SW1.

The former Greater Manchester Combined Authority chief executive would not put a figure on it, however South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard previously said he was hoping to double his staff to 1,000.

This would give the combined authority the same number of staff relative to GMCA and West Yorkshire, with Mr Coppard set to match Manchester and bring buses back under public control next year.

“If we are going to take on additional responsibilities, and income tax will provide additional constraints and challenges that we don’t yet know, we’re going to need more people and different skills,” he said.

“There’s a way of doing that with the civil service … and I think that’s a really sensible way of thinking about that challenge, particularly in a place like South Yorkshire where we have got a huge number of policy civil servants.”

The package announced by Mr Burnham also includes a new civil service fast stream pilot in Yorkshire and the Humber, allowing talented youngsters to start their government careers in the region.

The future leaders scheme is set to be expanded to develop “high potential individuals” for mayoral and council offices.

First Secretary of State and Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh, Mr Burnham’s de-facto deputy, has been based from No10 North alongside Angela Rayner.

She said: “The days of Westminster hoarding power are over.

“This government has kickstarted the biggest transition of power and resources in a generation, taking it from Whitehall and putting it back in the hands of local communities.”

Mr Rayner added: “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.”

The Northern Powerhouse Partnership’s chief executive Henri Murison commented: “The kind of devolution the Prime Minister has spoken about can only succeed if we also change where government expertise, experience and leadership are built.

“We have already seen significant progress in spreading the Civil Service across the country, including the Treasury in Darlington, which is now effectively No11 North.

“A Yorkshire and Humber Fast Stream, alongside opening the Future Leaders Scheme to mayoral and local government officials, is a natural continuation of that shift.

“We need much greater movement of people and ideas between Whitehall and devolved government, so that central government understands places better and our mayors have access to the skills and experience needed to take on more responsibility.

“The test now is whether these pilots become part of a lasting shift that draws on talent wherever it is found, with the most ambitious careers in government including experience in devolved bodies.”