Burnham and Swinney agree to devolution ‘policy sprint’ – Daily Business

Andy Burnham and John Swinney have agreed to a “policy sprint” to devolve powers to local level though the Prime Minister has once again ruled out a second independence referendum.

Following the meeting of the National Economic Council at UK government offices in Glsgow, the two leaders thrashed out a numher of plans that would be taken forward by the Prime Minister’s No10 North office.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister and First Minister agreed the meeting at the NEC had been extremely positive.

“They said it had been a valuable exercise in starting the process of exploring how each government could contribute to regional empowerment, reindustrialisation and achieving good growth in every postcode.

“They agreed that now there would be a policy sprint led by No10 North, involving officials from both governments, to take this agenda forward.

“Outside that process, the Prime Minister said the UK Government would review and respond to a range of issues raised by the First Minister.

“This would not include a second independence referendum in Scotland, which the Prime Minister has repeatedly made clear, is off the table.”

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