Prime Minister Andy Burnham will dispatch more than 100 Whitehall officials to bolster the teams of England's regional mayors and grant them new powers to approve large-scale developments, under plans unveiled following a virtual meeting with local leaders.
The pilot programme will send five to 10 high-performing civil servants to each of 18 mayoral authorities for secondments of six to nine months. A new fast-stream scheme in Yorkshire and Humber will open applications in October, and the Future Leaders Scheme will expand to local authority staff. A digital devolution programme will also create a data-sharing model between central government and mayors.
Separately, mayors will gain authority to greenlight developments of more than 150 homes, commercial spaces exceeding 15,000 square metres, or buildings 30 metres or taller, with a consultation due next week. Ten of 14 devolved mayors back the move, as the government remains just over a quarter of the way to its 1.5 million-home target. The Liberal Democrats called the plan a "direct attack" that would silence residents.