Prime Minister Andy Burnham asked the Scottish Government to help design a plan for moving economic decisions toward Scotland’s regions, putting employment support among the powers under consideration.
In a speech in Motherwell on Oct. 16, Burnham called it an offer of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) devolution, including a local employment-support model to be shaped with Holyrood. No transfer has been agreed. He also said the UK Government was considering devolving funding for innovation, enterprise and employability, without naming amounts or which authorities would receive it.
Burnham asked First Minister John Swinney’s team and Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander to work with him on a proposal over the coming months. He said economic choices should move beyond Westminster and Holyrood toward regions and local communities. “Let’s agree a new process,” he said.
Burnham argued that centralized decisions and deindustrialization had left some places with too little influence over their economic prospects. He presented Scottish regions, local communities and people seeking skills and jobs as potential beneficiaries. His speech did not identify who would bear the financial cost or which authorities might lose specific powers.
As a precedent, Burnham said a visit to Glasgow’s Easterhouse area in August 2023 influenced Greater Manchester’s Live Well model. He described the approach as successful but gave no outcome measures.
The UK Government outlined a broader regional devolution proposal on Oct. 15. The speech added employment support and possible funding transfers to that discussion; EconoTimes previously reported on the initial regional decision-making offer.
Before the speech, ITV News reported that Swinney said he would work with Burnham and wanted as many powers as possible exercised in Scotland. His reported remarks did not establish agreement to any specific transfer.
Burnham said the National Economic Council would meet with devolved leaders “in a couple of weeks” to put the offer forward and see whether a plan could be developed. He gave no exact meeting date or deadline for a final agreement, and did not identify which regional bodies would take on responsibilities.
