UK Government Offers Relocation Packages as No 10 North Opens in Manchester

Civil servants working for government departments based in London have been offered relocation packages to encourage them to move to the North of England, the BBC understands.

It comes as the first details are emerging about the new No 10 North, which Downing Street says is already up and running.

The BBC has been told that the Northern branch of Downing Street will be overseen by cabinet minister and ally of Burnham, Louise Haigh.

Haigh, who is the first secretary of state, is thought to have been asked to lead a new Office for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet (OPMC), which will give her control of key decision-making bodies across government.

The OPMC will include No 10, No 10 North and teams within the Cabinet Office.

Addressing his cabinet for the first time, Burnham said No 10 North was "not a gimmick" and that the "time for resisting devolution was over".

A No 10 spokesman said the prime minister was expecting to work from No 10 North "at least one day a week" subject to government business.

Announcing the changes, which will also establish a new AI taskforce, Leader of the House of Lords, Baroness Angela Smith said No 10 North would be a "dominant driver of the UK's economy".

It is understood that the initial location of No 10 North will be Heron House in central Manchester, in the same building which houses offices for the intelligence service GCHQ. Specialist police officers have been seen guarding the building.

It is likely that the longer term base for No 10 North will be at a new government "Digital Campus" which is under construction in the Ancoats area of Manchester. It is not due for completion until 2032.

However, a good indication of what it could look like comes from a new report, released on Tuesday.

The blueprint has been authored by the Re:State think tank which Burnham was involved with until he stepped down as mayor of Greater Manchester.

It sets out a possible recruitment plan that would bring in new hires from across Greater Manchester and the wider North of England.

In total, the report suggests around 300 staff should be employed within 18 months.

It proposes transferring teams from Whitehall departments, including the Treasury, Cabinet Office, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – all of which are now being led by ministers who represent constituencies in the North of England.

Successive governments have sought to move more civil servants out of London and last year a target was set to cut the number of roles in the capital by 12,000.

According to the most recent figures, 19.6% of civil servants are based in London and the number has been gradually decreasing for the past four years.

The percentage of senior civil servants based outside of London stands at 13.5% compared to 34.7% in London.

Whitehall officials willing to move to Manchester have been told they will be offered relocation packages, the BBC understands.

It's also likely there will be a significant movement of staff from Burnham's former mayoral team at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).

The BBC has been told that at least three senior figures are understood to have agreed to work at No 10 North. Some GMCA staff expressed surprise at only finding out their colleagues would be moving after seeing them on TV greeting the new prime minister in Downing Street.

No 10 North will lead on a key plank of Burnham's agenda; handing power from Whitehall and Westminster to regions across the country.

It means strategic decisions about devolution and local economic growth will shift out of the Treasury, now led by Chancellor John Healey, and Angela Rayner's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government - though both departments will have some "remaining functions" in these areas.