No10 North open for business as the Government’s new situation room for making Britain better

Andy Burnham will today become the first Prime Minister to work from No10 North as he declares the days of power being hoarded in SW1 are over.

Operating from Heron House in Manchester’s city centre, No10 North will be the government’s new situation room for growth. It brings the levers of local economic growth and devolution together under one roof for the first time.

The Prime Minister is expected to work from No10 North each week so that decisions about the country’s economic future will no longer exclusively be made in Westminster. Other ministers will also work from No10 North on a regular basis, underlining this Government’s determination to do things differently.

The Prime Minister will chair the first meeting of the revived National Economic Council at No10 North on Friday, bringing together senior ministers and regional mayors to put devolution at the centre of the Government’s mission to make Britian better.

The National Economic Council was first established in 2008 to provide a national response to an economic emergency. Its revival reflects the Prime Minister’s belief that delivering economic growth now requires the same level of urgency, focus and collective action, bringing together other government departments and local leaders.

Regional mayors will be invited to sit around the table, cementing devolution at the centre of economic decision-making and backing the Prime Minister’s pledge to rewire Britain so that decisions are taken with local leaders, not just for them.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said:

“For 40 years, power and resources have been sucked into the centre, and too many communities have felt forgotten, without the attention and investment they deserve.

“No 10 North will change that by putting more power into every postcode across the entire country.

“It will be the situation room for making Britain better – the place we use to get power out of Westminster, into the hands of people at a local level, so that they can turn things around.

“The days of Whitehall resisting devolution are over, for good.”

Ahead of the first meeting of the National Economic Council, the Prime Minister will speak to leading Business Representative Organisations including the Federation of Small Business, CBI and the BCC to discuss how Government and business can work together to unlock growth, investment and create jobs across the country.

The NEC’s attendees will flex according to the issues under consideration, bringing together business leaders, trade unions and other partners where their expertise can help drive delivery.

Local economic growth, devolution strategy and local growth policy are being brought together so that government departments, mayors, combined authorities and business can work from a single plan rather than competing ones.

First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said:

“Today marks a fundamental re-balancing of where power sits in our country. No10 North has been set up to drive economic growth in every postcode and put power in the hands of every community.

“Through this department, this Government will ensure that the places overlooked by Westminster for decades are given a real voice. No.10 North is open for business.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey MP:

”This is a new era for devolution. Never before has a government been so serious about passing on its own power from Westminster in favour of local areas.

No10 North sits at the heart of that plan. This is the way we signal real change – and the way we get it done.”

The meeting comes off the back of a series of interventions made to ease the cost of living and back local high streets, setting the tone for the PM’s cost-of-living government.

This week the government has announced:

• The removal of VAT from domestic electricity bills from 1 October, saving a typical household around £45 a year.
• The £2 cap on bus fares in England will kick in from January 2027.
• A 20% cut in business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues in England from April 2027, benefiting nearly 32,000 venues and worth around £1,100 a year to a typical pub, on top of the 15% relief already in place

source: GOV