Civil servants will be seconded into mayoral authorities
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a plan to second high-performing civil servants into mayoral authorities to accelerate the devolution of power from Whitehall to local leaders. The initiative includes a pilot program and an expansion of the Future Leaders Scheme to local officials.
Why it matters
This policy marks a significant shift in UK governance, aiming to decentralize administrative expertise and strengthen regional political capacity.
"High-performing" civil servants will be seconded into mayoral authorities from this autumn, the prime minister has announced.
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 the PM Andy Burnham's plan to "shift power, funding and accountability from Whitehall to local leaders ".
The initial pilot will see every mayoral authority receive between five and ten civil servants on a six - to-nine-month secondment.
"The teams will provide the skills and expertise needed to support a once-in-a-generation devolution settlement," No.10 said.
Mayors will be given the freedom to request the type of skills they need.
Eighteen mayoral strategic authorities are expected to be included in the initial secondment programme, with two further strategic authorities currently forming that could benefit in future.
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