WEST Yorkshire should not look enviously at Manchester’s dramatic devolution deal because it will add to a “funding crisis”, Labour says.

Andy Burnham, the party’s health spokesman, said the handover – including the conurbation’s entire £6bn NHS budget – was “patched together”, with major questions unanswered.

The deal could be extended to West Yorkshire, but only if its leaders drop their opposition to a single directly-elected mayor for the entire district.

That opposition means only a far-weaker devolution deal has been offered, with Chancellor George Osborne expected to make an announcement in the March 18 budget.

Mr Burnham warned: “On Osborne’s plans, we are going to see some pretty brutal cuts to social care in the next parliament, because of his funding plans for local government

“And he isn’t promising to put the extra money in to recruit extra nurses as we are – so the NHS won’t have as much money

“I think he is basically devolving the funding crisis to Greater Manchester. And, if it’s a case of ‘Here’s the money, you’re on your own’, it’s not a particularly attractive deal.”

The West Yorkshire agreement is likely to concentrate on cutting Whitehall red tape, allowing it to shift funds around more quickly to fund infrastructure schemes and skills programmes.

Such a deal has already been signed by Sheffield and neighbouring South Yorkshire authorities, but has been widely criticised as a second best.

Meanwhile, Mr Burnham pledged to recruit 2,100 extra nurses for “dangerously understaffed” Yorkshire hospitals if it wins the general election.

And he will offer local young care workers – struggling with “zero hour contracts, poor training and non-payment of minimum wage” – the chance to make the career switch.

The plan is the first breakdown of a £2.5bn ‘Time to Care’ package, promised last autumn, to be funded from a ‘mansion tax’ and a clampdown on tax avoidance by hedge funds.

Mr Burnham said more than half of nurses described their ward as dangerously understaffed, after steep cuts to training places early in this parliament.

And he said: “I want to send a very clear message to young people in every region that there are opportunities for them to come and rebuild the NHS.

“They may be working in the care system, with zero-hour contracts, poor training, non-payment of the minimum wage – this is an invitation to be the NHS workforce of the future.”

The extra nurses would save money, by reducing the worrying trend of hospitals relying on expensive agency staff – running up an annual £2bn-plus bill.