His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The position is currently held by

Nick Thomas-Symonds Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (born 26 May 1980) is a British academic, barrister and politician who has been Paymaster General, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations since July 2024. A mem ...

of the Labour Party.

History

The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the positions of the offices of the

Paymaster of the Forces The Paymaster of the Forces was a position in the British government. The office was established in 1661, one year after the Restoration (1660), Restoration of the Monarchy to Charles II of England, and was responsible for part of the financin ...

(1661–1836), the

Treasurer of the Navy The Treasurer of the Navy, originally called Treasurer of Marine Causes or Paymaster of the Navy, was a civilian officer of the Royal Navy, one of the principal commissioners of the Navy Board responsible for naval finance from 1524 to 1832. T ...

(1546–1835), the Paymaster and Treasurer of

Chelsea Hospital The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II in 1682, it is a site ...

(responsible for Army pensions) (1681–1835) and the

Treasurer of the Ordnance The Treasurer of the Ordnance was a subordinate of the Master-General of the Ordnance in the United Kingdom, the office being created in 1670. The office was abolished in 1836 and its duties merged with that of several others to form the office ...

(1670–1835). Initially, the Paymaster General only had responsibilities in relation to the

armed services A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

but in 1848 two more offices were merged into that of Paymaster General: the Paymaster of Exchequer Bills (1723–1848) and the Paymaster of the Civil Service (1834–1848), the latter followed by its Irish counterpart in 1861. They thus became 'the principal paying agent of the government and the banker for all government departments except the revenue departments and the

National Debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occ ...

Office'. From 1848 to 1868, the post was held concurrently with that of

Vice-President of the Board of Trade The office of Vice-president of the Board of Trade was a junior ministerial position in the government of the United Kingdom at the Board of Trade, within the Department for Business and Trade. The office of Vice-president was created in 1786 b ...

. The longest-serving holder of the post was

Dawn Primarolo Dawn Primarolo, Baroness Primarolo, (born 2 May 1954) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Bristol South from 1987 until 2015, when she stood down. She was Minister of State for Children, Young People a ...

, whose portfolio covered

HM Customs and Excise HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was the ...

and the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

(which during her tenure became merged as

HM Revenue and Customs His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a department of the UK government responsible for the collection of taxes, the payment of some forms of stat ...

) and who served from 1999 to 2007.

Role

Today, the Paymaster General is usually a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

available for any duties which the government of the day may designate. The post may be combined with another office, or may be left unfilled. Though the Paymaster General was titular head of the Paymaster General's Office, their executive functions were delegated to the Assistant Paymaster General, a permanent

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

who (though acting in the name of the Paymaster General) was answerable to 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 the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

Office of HM Paymaster General

The Paymaster General was formerly in nominal charge (and at one time in actual charge) of the Office of HM Paymaster General (OPG), which held accounts at the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

on behalf of government departments and selected other public bodies. Funds which were made available from the

Consolidated Fund In many states with political systems derived from the Westminster system, a consolidated fund or consolidated revenue fund is the main bank account of the government. General taxation is taxation paid into the consolidated fund (as opposed ...

were then channelled into OPG accounts, from where they were used by the relevant body. OPG operated a full range of accounts and banking transaction services, including cheque and credit, BACS and

CHAPS Chaparreras or chaps () are a type of sturdy over-pants (overalls) or leggings of Mexican origin, made of leather, without a seat, made up of two separate legs that are fastened to the waist with straps or belt. They are worn over trousers and ...

services for its customers via an electronic banking system. Integration of OPG accounts held with commercial banks was provided by the private company Xafinity Paymaster which is now part of the

Equiniti Equiniti Group is a British-based outsourcing business focused on financial and administration services. History The business has its origins in the share registration business of Lloyds TSB which was bought out from Lloyds by Advent Interna ...

group. However, in 2008, the government announced that the Office of the Paymaster General would be incorporated into a new body, the Government Banking Service, which also provides banking operations for

HM Revenue & Customs His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the UK government responsible for the tax collectio ...

and

National Savings and Investments National Savings and Investments (NS&I), formerly called the Post Office Savings Bank and National Savings, is a state-owned savings bank in the United Kingdom. It is both a non-ministerial government department and an executive agency of HM T ...

. Following the Bank of England's decision to withdraw from providing retail banking services, retail banking and payment services for the GBS are provided by a range of financial institutions including

Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...

NatWest National Westminster Bank, trading as NatWest, is a major Retail banking, retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the Corporate merger, merger of National Provincial Bank and We ...

, and Worldpay, although the Bank of England still plays a role in managing the government's higher level accounts.

List of paymasters general

19th century

* Sir Henry Parnell, Bt. 1836–1841 * Edward Stanley 1841 * Sir Edward Knatchbull, Bt. 1841–1845 * Bingham Baring 1845–1846 *

Thomas Babington Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was an English historian, poet, and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster General between 184 ...

1846–1848 *

Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (11 May 1815 – 31 March 1891), styled Lord Leveson until 1846, was a British Liberal statesman and diplomat from the Leveson-Gower family. He is best remembered for his service as Secret ...

1848–1852 *

Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley Edward John Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley, (13 November 180216 June 1869), known as The Lord Eddisbury between 1848 and 1850, was a British politician. He served as Postmaster General between 1860 and 1866. Early life and education ...

1852 *

Charles Abbot, 2nd Baron Colchester Admiral Charles Abbot, 2nd Baron Colchester PC (12 March 1798 – 18 October 1867), known as Charles Abbot before 1829, was a British naval commander and Conservative politician. Background and education Colchester was the son of Charles Abbo ...

1852 *Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley 1853–1855 *

Edward Pleydell-Bouverie Edward Pleydell-Bouverie PC, FRS (26 April 1818 – 16 December 1889), styled The Honourable from 1828 to 1855, was a British Liberal politician. He was a member of Lord Palmerston's first administration as Paymaster General and Vice-Presiden ...

1855 *

Robert Lowe Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke, GCB, PC (4 December 1811 – 27 July 1892), British statesman, was a Liberal politician who helped shape British politics in the latter half of the 19th century. He held office under William Ewart Glad ...

1855–1858 *

Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 4th Earl of Donoughmore Richard John Hely-Hutchinson, 4th Earl of Donoughmore PC FRS (4 April 1823 – 22 February 1866), styled Viscount Suirdale between 1832 and 1851, was a British Conservative politician. Background Donoughmore was the son of John Hely-Hutchins ...

1858–1859 * Algernon Percy, Lord Lovaine 1859 *

James Wilson James Wilson may refer to: Politicians and government officials Canada * James Wilson (Upper Canada politician) (1770–1847), English-born farmer and political figure in Upper Canada * James Crocket Wilson (1841–1899), Canadian MP from Queb ...

1859 *

William Cowper William Cowper ( ; – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the Engli ...

1859–1860 * William Hutt 1860–1865 * George Goschen 1865–1866 *

William Monsell William Monsell, 1st Baron Emly, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (21 September 1812 – 20 April 1894) was an Anglo-Irish landowner and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. He held a number of ministerial positions between 18 ...

1866 * Stephen Cave 1866–1868 * Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Earl of Dufferin 1868–1872 *

Hugh Childers Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (25 June 1827 – 29 January 1896) was a British Liberal statesman of the nineteenth century. He is perhaps best known for his reform efforts at the Admiralty and the War Office. Later in his career, as Chancel ...

1872–1873 * William Adam 1873–1874 *Stephen Cave 1874–1880 *

David Plunket David Robert Plunket, 1st Baron Rathmore PC, QC (3 December 1838 – 22 August 1919) was an Irish lawyer and Conservative politician. Background and education Plunket was the third son of John Plunket, 3rd Baron Plunket, second son of Wil ...

1880 *

George Glyn, 2nd Baron Wolverton George Grenfell Glyn, 2nd Baron Wolverton PC (10 February 1824 – 6 November 1887), was a British Liberal politician. He held office in three of the Liberal administrations of William Gladstone. Background Wolverton was the eldest of ...

1880–1885 *

Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp (10 November 1830 – 19 February 1891), styled The Honourable Frederick Lygon between 1853 and 1866, was a British Conservative politician. Background and education Beauchamp was the third son of Henry Ly ...

1885–1886 *

Thomas Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce, 5th Baron Thurlow Thomas John Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce, 5th Baron Thurlow, PC, FRS (5 December 1838 – 12 March 1916), was a British Liberal politician who served as Paymaster General in 1886. In 1864, he married Lady Elma Bruce, and later assumed the n ...

1886 *Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp 1886–1887 *

Adelbert Brownlow-Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow Adelbert Wellington Brownlow-Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow (19 August 1844 – 17 March 1921), was a British soldier, courtier and Conservative politician. Background and education Brownlow was the second son of John Egerton, Viscount Alford, elde ...

1887–1889 *

Victor Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey Victor Albert George Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey, (20 March 1845 – 31 May 1915) was a British banker, Conservative politician and colonial administrator from the Villiers family. He served as Governor of New South Wales between 1891 an ...

1889–1890 * Robert Windsor-Clive, 14th Baron Windsor 1890–1892 * Charles Seale-Hayne 1892–1895 *

John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, (25 September 1860 – 29 February 1908) was a British aristocrat and statesman who served as the first governor-general of Australia, in office from 1900 to 1902. He wa ...

1895–1899 *

Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough (13 November 1871 – 30 June 1934), styled Earl of Sunderland until 1883 and Marquess of Blandford between 1883 and 1892, was a British soldier and Conservative ...

1899–1902

20th century

* Savile Crossley 1902–1905 *

Richard Causton Richard Causton may refer to: * Richard Causton, 1st Baron Southwark Richard Knight Causton, 1st Baron Southwark PC, DL (25 September 1843 – 23 February 1929) was an English stationer and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons ...

(1st Baron Southwark after 13 July 1910) 1905–1910 * Ivor Guest, 1st Baron Ashby St Ledgers 1910–1912 *

Edward Strachey, 1st Baron Strachie Edward Strachey, 1st Baron Strachie, PC (30 October 1858 – 25 July 1936), known as Sir Edward Strachey, Bt, between 1901 and 1911, was a British Liberal politician. He was a member of the Liberal administrations of Sir Henry Campbell-Banne ...

1912–1915 *

Thomas Legh, 2nd Baron Newton Thomas Wodehouse Legh, 2nd Baron Newton PC, DL (18 March 1857 – 21 March 1942) was a British diplomat and Conservative politician who served as Paymaster General during the First World War. Background and education Newton was the son of Wi ...

1915–1916 *

Arthur Henderson Arthur Henderson (13 September 1863 – 20 October 1935) was a British iron moulder and Labour Party (UK), Labour politician. He was the first Labour Cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934 and, uniqu ...

1916 * Joseph Compton-Rickett 1916–1919 *

Tudor Walters Sir John Tudor Walters PC (25 February 1866 – 16 July 1933) was a Welsh architect, surveyor and Liberal Party politician. He served as Paymaster General under David Lloyd George from 1919 to 1922 and once again briefly in 1931 under Ramsay ...

1919–1922 *''Office vacant'' 1922–1923 *

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from ...

1923 * William Joynson-Hicks 1923 *

Archibald Boyd-Carpenter Major Sir Archibald Boyd Boyd-Carpenter (26 March 1873 – 27 May 1937) was a British Conservative Party politician. Career The fourth son of William Boyd-Carpenter, Bishop of Ripon and Canon of Westminster, Archibald Boyd-Carpenter was edu ...

1923–1924 *

Harry Gosling Harry Gosling CH (9 June 1861 – 24 October 1930) was a British Labour Party politician and trade union leader. Early life Gosling was born in 1861 at 57 York Street, Lambeth, London, on the southern bank of the River Thames. He was the sec ...

1924 *''Office vacant'' 1924–1925 * George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland 1925–1928 *

Richard Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow Richard William Alan Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow (23 August 1876 – 9 June 1945), styled Viscount Cranley until 1911, was a British peer, diplomat, parliamentary secretary and government minister. Background and education Viscount Cranley ...

1928–1929 *

Sydney Arnold Sydney Arnold, 1st Baron Arnold (13 January 1878 – 3 August 1945) was a radical British Liberal Party politician who later joined the Labour Party and served as a government minister. A son of W. A. Arnold of Manchester, he was educated at Ma ...

1929–1931 *''Office vacant'' 1931 *Tudor Walters 1931 *

Ernest Lamb, 1st Baron Rochester Ernest Henry Lamb, 1st Baron Rochester, CMG (4 September 1876 – 13 January 1955) was a British Liberal and National Labour politician who served as Paymaster General from 1931 to 1935 in the National Government of Ramsay MacDonald. The el ...

1931–1935 *

Robert Hutchison, 1st Baron Hutchison of Montrose Major-General Robert Hutchison, 1st Baron Hutchison of Montrose, (5 September 1873 – 13 June 1950), was a Scottish soldier and Liberal politician. Background Hutchison was the son of Alexander Hutchison, of Braehead, Kirkcaldy, Fife. His yo ...

1935–1938 *

Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster Geoffrey William Richard Hugh FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster, KBE, PC (17 February 1906 – 26 August 1975) was a British peer and Conservative politician. Background Munster was the son of Major the Honourable Harold Edward FitzClarence ( ...

1938–1939 *

Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton, PC (4 April 1883 – 26 August 1962), styled Viscount Turnour until 1907, was an Irish peer and British politician who served as a Member of Parliament for 47 years, attaining the rare distinction of servin ...

1939 *''Office vacant'' 1939–1940 * Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne 1940 *''Office vacant'' 1940–1941 *

Maurice Hankey Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey, (1 April 1877 – 26 January 1963) was a British civil servant who gained prominence as the first Cabinet Secretary and later made the rare transition from the civil service to ministerial office. ...

1941–1942 *

William Jowitt William Allen Jowitt, 1st Earl Jowitt, (15 April 1885 – 16 August 1957) was a British Liberal Party, National Labour and then Labour Party politician and lawyer who served as Lord Chancellor under Clement Attlee from 1945 to 1951. Backgr ...

1942 * Frederick Lindemann, 1st Baron Cherwell 1942–1945 *''Office vacant'' 1945–1946 *

Arthur Greenwood Arthur Greenwood (8 February 1880 – 9 June 1954) was a British politician. A prominent member of the Labour Party from the 1920s until the late 1940s, Greenwood rose to prominence within the party as secretary of its research department fr ...

9 July 1946 Lab *

Hilary Marquand Hilary Adair Marquand, (24 December 1901 – 6 November 1972) was a British economist and Labour Party politician. Life and career He was born in Cardiff, the son of Alfred Marquand of Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, a clerk in a coal exporting ...

5 March 1947 Lab * The Viscount Addison 2 July 1948 also

Leader of the House of Lords The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the governing party in the House of Lords who acts ...

Lab * The Lord Macdonald of Gwaenysgor 1 April 1949 Lab

21st century

List of shadow paymasters general

References

External links

Office of the Paymaster General
– archived version, as of June 2008. Since then the OPG website redirects to the new GBS site:

{{Cabinet Office United Kingdom Paymasters General Ministerial offices in the United Kingdom 1836 establishments in the United Kingdom