Burnham's Number 10 North goes on multi-million pound hiring spree

Andy Burnham's Number 10 North has gone on a multi-million pound hiring spree with dozens of new jobs being advertised.

The office in Manchester, set up by the prime minister in July, has launched 50 external job adverts, including a "rewiring the state deputy director".

It is the latest sign of how pivotal the government outpost - designed as a sister office to London's Downing Street - may prove to Burnham's aim to devolve power across the country.

Government sources say the roles will be paid for out of existing budgets.

The new recruits "will work with mayors and councils to identify barriers holding places back", but the Conservatives have described the office as a "gimmick".

There will be no redundancies elsewehere in the civil service as a result of the hiring spree, the BBC has been told, with some jobs expected to be relocated and other vacant roles closed.

The new roles, all based in Manchester, cover areas including strategy, communications, engagement, private office and policy.

BBC News has calculated they total up to £2.8m for basic salaries alone, excluding employer pension contributions in the civil service of 28.97%.

No10 North now has 120 members of staff, nearly half of the 280 staff who work in No10 London.

Among the highest paid of the roles are a "rewiring the state deputy director", with a salary band of £86,000 to £117,000, who will "lead the Rewiring the State Unit... shaping the government's approach to devolution across departments".

The government said it was launching a recruitment campaign for staff who would "bring fresh perspectives and knowledge of the places they serve, moving decisions closer to the people they affect".

No10 North "is driving the most significant transfer of power out of Westminster in a generation," the government added in a statement.

Some apprenticeships and secondments are also being advertised.

It comes as the government confirmed on Friday that No10 North would move from its current temporary home in Heron House, on Manchester's Albert Square, to a new government office on First Street in spring 2027.

No10 North will share the city centre building with other government departments spanning business, education, local government and the Cabinet Office.

Burnham made opening No10 North one of his first acts as prime minister, describing it as "the nerve-centre of a rewired Britain" that would help bring growth to more areas of Britain.

No10 North's deputy director Duncan Parish said in a speech last week that officials faced "institutional challenges" with delivering on these aims and called for a "mindset shift" across the UK's central government.

Conservative Party deputy leader Alex Burghart said: "He [Burnham] promised to streamline the civil service, but now he is hiring extra staff and, once again, won't say where the money is coming from.

"Manchesterism is just more bureaucracy at taxpayers' expense."

Meanwhile, Tory shadow cabinet minister Mike Wood has said there is "so little transparency" around No10 North after ministers told him they could not reveal figures on headcounts and office attendance.

According to the new job adverts, the Office for the Prime Minister - with exceptions for certain roles - expects No10 staff to be in the office a minimum of 60% of the time.

Since opening, No10 North has hosted summits of regional mayors, at least two of which have been partly held as video calls on Microsoft Teams. At one of these meetings, ministers unveiled controversial powers for mayors in England to charge new fees on visitors' overnight stays.

It has also hosted an education summit of school leaders and Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin met Burnham for the first time as PM at No10 North in September.

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