A postcard from Darlington

Chancellor John Healey visits the Darlington Economic Campus in Darlington.

As No10 North gathers momentum, I wanted to offer a perspective from the other side of the Pennines – the Darlington Economic Campus, or No11 North as the Chancellor recently put it.

HMT has traditionally been one of the most London-centric of government departments so the move over the last five years to have a fifth of our staff based in Darlington has been a big change. But when we began creating the Darlington Economic Campus (DEC) in 2021, we wanted to do more than just establish a new government office outside London. Instead we had a vision to work differently with the other departments based here and with our external partners in the region.

Since we launched, we have been co-located with eight other government departments and ALBs. We have deliberately organised ourselves as one campus rather than as a collection of separate organisations. We sit alongside one another, share events and communications, and bring together colleagues with different expertise to solve the country’s thorniest policy issues.

We have also forged new partnerships with local and regional government, local businesses and the third sector. Through initiatives like the Community Mission Challenge we have undertaken joint projects with Darlington Council; and every week we hold different events and workshops on key policy questions with external stakeholders.

Partnership is how we get better results

The way we work isn’t an accident. We work in partnership with other departments because the challenges we face do not fit neatly within departmental boundaries. Growth, skills, transport, housing… everything is connected. Bringing departments together helps us move beyond institutional silos and focus on the outcomes that matter.

Just as importantly, our strong external relationships with mayors, local authorities, universities and public service providers give our policy makers direct access to experience on the ground: what is working, where barriers remain, and how national decisions are felt in different communities.

We showed the difference this makes in the recent announcement that mayors would receive a share of income tax revenues. Thanks to our work in partnership with local stakeholders, we understand what will turn the dial for them in shifting power, funding and decision-making closer to their areas. As we work alongside No10 North and colleagues across the government on this agenda, these relationships will bear even more fruit.

Hearing different voices

For us at HM Treasury, one of the campus’s greatest strengths is the range of voices it has brought into the organisation. The vast majority of my colleagues in DEC have been recruited from the surrounding region, and most joined the civil service from other sectors having not worked in government before.

DEC provides an opportunity for people who previously wouldn’t have been able to work in policy roles in the civil service to do so. It brings in a much wider range of people, with different experiences and perspectives, to improve our advice to ministers and the services we provide the public and to make sure we better reflect the country we serve.

I often hear from colleagues who grew up in the North East that previously they thought they would have to move to London to work on the complex and cross-cutting issues that they do currently. And now that the campus has been established for a few years, we’re seeing that people can not only get a job where they are from thanks to DEC, they can build a career.

On the launch day of No 10 North, the Prime Minister addressed critics by saying, “it’s not just a new office”, and I agree. DEC - and No 10 North – may seem to the sceptical like surface level changes, but if we put the energy and commitment into building partnerships, empowering local colleagues, and getting everyone round the table, then we can change the way our country is wired.

So whether you call us the Darlington Economic Campus or No 11 North, what we do is the same: delivering the best advice and action for ministers and the country we serve.

https://civilservice.blog.gov.uk/2026/09/23/a-postcard-from-darlington/

seen at 14:43, 23 September in Civil Service.