Burnham devolution plan puts focus on Darlington Treasury campus role

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Burnham devolution and Darlington campus

Highlights

Rachel Reeves will work from the Darlington Treasury campus for only two days in 2025, intensifying debate about ministers’ commitment to regional outposts.
Darlington Economic Campus employs 2,140 full-time civil servants and houses about 350 HMT staff in 2025, with regional leadership roles being emphasized.
The share of senior civil servants based outside London has risen to 33 per cent from 26 per cent since 2020, still short of the 50 per cent 2030 target.

Regional working model under review

As reported by Financial Times, citing the Northern Echo, Rachel Reeves works from the Darlington campus for only two days in 2025, a point that is now feeding into wider debate over how seriously ministers use government bases outside London. Burnham’s allies say he wants ministers to spend more time in regional outposts, while he is expected to divide his own time between Downing Street and a planned Number 10 North in Manchester.

The Darlington campus, created under former prime minister Rishi Sunak, is seen by Burnham’s team as a workable model for moving jobs and decision-making beyond London, but one that needs a higher political profile. People close to Burnham’s thinking argue that regular ministerial presence would help turn the site from a Treasury satellite into a more visible centre of government.

Sunak says senior leadership from ministers and officials is needed to show such projects are substantive rather than symbolic. Former Darlington Conservative MP Peter Gibson says Labour has "woefully underutilised" the facilities, while Reeves’ team notes that she represents a Leeds constituency and spends significant time outside London on official visits.

Darlington’s role in civil service decentralisation

The scrutiny of Reeves’ presence in Darlington also highlights a broader challenge for the civil service, which is still trying to convince senior staff that career progression outside London is viable. One senior government official says the long-standing difficulty is moving more senior personnel out of the capital, even as the share of senior civil servants based outside London rises to 33 per cent from 26 per cent since 2020, still below the 50 per cent target for 2030.

The Darlington Economic Campus, announced in Sunak’s 2021 Budget, has 2,140 full-time civil servants based there in 2025 across several departments. The Treasury uses it as a second headquarters, with second permanent secretary Beth Russell playing a senior role and building ties with regional mayors, including Burnham during his time in Manchester.

Supporters of the campus say its multi-department structure helps break down policy silos and strengthens work on regional growth. The Treasury says about 350 HMT staff are now based in Darlington, including some senior officials, and adds that ministers regularly work from the campus, with Reeves due to visit later this month before her Mansion House speech.

In our earlier article on Andy Burnham’s fiscal stance ahead of a possible move into No. 10, we noted that he was seeking to reassure markets by committing to Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise major personal taxes or the main rate of corporation tax. We also reported that he intended to pair that message of budget discipline with a regional agenda, including spending part of his time at a planned “Number 10 North” in Manchester.

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