Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government loses devolution role to No 10 North

The announcement came in a written statement in the House of Lords on Tuesday (22 July), which detailed plans to make No 10 North the "engine room of devolution and good growth in every postcode, across government and the wider economy".

Baroness Smith of Basildon told the Lords that moving the portfolio to No 10 North – which is set to be headquartered in Manchester – would “help ensure places are at the very heart of government strategy”.

She added: "This will include targeted transfers of overarching strategic functions: moving local economic growth and devolution strategy from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and local economic growth policy from HM Treasury directly into No 10 North.

"These departments will continue to exercise some remaining functions in these areas. This ensures that local economic growth policy and regional empowerment are no longer isolated from one another, establishing No 10 North as the dominant driver of the UK’s economy."

No 10 and No 10 North will come under the newly created Office for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet (OPMC).

Baroness Smith also announced plans to establish an Artificial Intelligence (AI) taskforce within the OPMC, aimed at driving the Government’s overall strategy on AI, including efforts to bring about public sector transformation.

She said: "The Cabinet Office will also take the lead on AI adoption across the Civil Service, reflecting the urgency of delivering that transformation for the benefit of people across the country. To deliver this step change, responsibility for AI strategy, public sector AI adoption and the AI Security Institute will move to the Cabinet Office."

The changes will take practical effect from today, "where possible", according to the statement.

Burnham has previously suggested that devolution would be at the centre of his agenda, pledging in late June to oversee "the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen".

Adam Carey