Andy Burnham is set to unveil a significant proposal to devolve powers and funding to mayors and local authorities as part of a broader effort to tackle youth unemployment and reduce welfare dependency across England. The announcement, expected during a speech in Manchester, outlines plans for what Burnham describes as the "biggest transfer of power out of Whitehall in modern times," aiming to restructure governance and stimulate economic growth locally.

Central to Burnham's agenda is addressing the challenges faced by nearly one million young people aged 16 to 24 who are currently not in education, employment, or training. His plan responds to concerns raised in an upcoming report by former Labour cabinet minister Alan Milburn, who has been conducting a review into youth unemployment and inactivity. The report, due in September, highlights the fragmented nature of support services spread across schools, colleges, job centres, councils, health services, and employers, and argues that no single entity is fully accountable for guiding young people into work or education.

Both Burnham and Milburn advocate for a stronger role for mayors and local authorities in coordinating efforts to help young people transition off benefits and into employment or training. According to sources familiar with the discussions, the government will maintain oversight through funding, data sharing, and accountability measures, ensuring it does not "walk away" from these responsibilities but instead supports a more locally driven approach.

Burnham’s blueprint includes handing mayors control over post-16 education and social housing, alongside responsibility for reducing welfare dependency. Drawing on his experience as mayor of Greater Manchester, where initiatives like the Working Well scheme helped tens of thousands return to work, he plans to replicate similar models across other regions. The proposals also emphasize partnerships between government, businesses, universities, and communities as part of a long-term strategy to revitalize local economies and improve living standards.

Acknowledging the scale of the challenge, Burnham has indicated that his vision for raising living standards and promoting economic renewal could span a decade, suggesting a timeline that would extend beyond the next general election. His economic agenda includes reindustrialisation, investment in housing and infrastructure, and reforms of essential utilities, with a focus on fostering "good growth in every postcode."

In addition to economic and welfare reforms, Burnham has called for a new political culture prioritizing "place before party," and has hinted at reforms to party discipline. His speech is also expected to propose relocating parts of the prime minister’s operation to the North of England to symbolically and practically support regional devolution.

The Conservative Party, through leader Kemi Badenoch, has pressed Burnham to present his plans before Parliament prior to the summer recess, emphasizing the need for public scrutiny and debate on the details of his proposals. Badenoch has criticized the timing and setting of his speech, arguing that a private event lacks the requisite accountability that Parliamentary questioning provides.

As welfare spending continues to rise, with forecasts indicating increases to £407 billion over the next five years, the issue of devolving welfare responsibility and reducing long-term benefits costs is central to the ongoing political debate. Burnham’s proposals build upon earlier calls for regional empowerment, including those from the Commission on the UK’s Future under former prime minister Gordon Brown, endorsing significant shifts in power away from Westminster to local levels.

The coming months will reveal the full scope of Milburn’s report and how Burnham’s government might implement these policy shifts, both intended to address structural economic challenges and social welfare concerns facing the nation’s youth and wider labour market.