The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is the sixth-most senior ministerial post in

His Majesty's Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and eco ...

, after the

First Lord of the Treasury The first lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is by convention also the prime minister. This office is not equivalent to the ...

, the

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Ch ...

, the

Chief Secretary to the Treasury The chief secretary to the Treasury is a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom. The office is the second most senior in the Treasury, after the chancellor of the Exchequer. The office was created in 1961, to share the burde ...

, the

Paymaster-General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP. History The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...

and the

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The financial secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Excheq ...

. It is not a

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

-level post. The office is currently of

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. I ...

rank, and is shadowed by the

Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury The Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury is a position in the Official Opposition frontbench. The shadow minister is the opposite number to the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, holding them and the Treasury to account. Led by the Shadow ...

History

The office was created in November 1947. In 1961, the Economic Secretary became junior to the new office of

, which held a seat in cabinet. Following the establishment of the Department of Economic Affairs in 1964, the Economic Secretary,

Anthony Crosland Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 191819 February 1977) was a British Labour Party politician and author. A social democrat on the right wing of the Labour Party, he was a prominent socialist intellectual. His influential book '' The ...

, transferred to become Minister of State in that department. The post of Economic Secretary to the Treasury was abolished on 22 December 1964. Although the Department of Economic Affairs closed in 1969, the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

post was not re-established until 11 November 1981. From April 2014 to September 2022 the office of Economic Secretary to the Treasury was held concurrently with the portfolio of '

City Minister The position of City Minister is a United Kingdom Government mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. The minister is responsible for the British financial services sector which is commonly known as ' the City'. The post is normally held in co ...

Responsibilities

The Economic Secretary is responsible, though more senior ministers share in decision-making, for the answering of written and verbal parliamentary questions and for the devising of regulations, orders and legislation in various matters. Until September 2022, these matters included

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

ing and finance, including banks, insurance, personal savings,

financial regulation Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system. This may be handle ...

, and

foreign exchange reserves Foreign exchange reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) are cash and other reserve assets such as gold held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, influence ...

. He or she was also involved in

taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, o ...

as it impacted on these areas, such as tax on savings and pensions, and Insurance Premium Tax. In addition, the Economic Secretary, until September 2002, advised on economic policy and continues to work with other Treasury ministers on the

Comprehensive Spending Review A spending review, or occasionally a comprehensive spending review, is a governmental process in the United Kingdom carried out by HM Treasury to set firm expenditure limits and, through public service agreements, define the key improvements that t ...

and finance bills.Ministerial responsibilities
HM Treasury

Economic Secretaries to the Treasury, 1947–present

Colour key (for political parties):

References

{{HM Treasury Lists of government ministers of the United Kingdom 1947 establishments in the United Kingdom

History

Responsibilities

Economic Secretaries to the Treasury, 1947–present

See also

References