United Kingdom
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Incumbent
Bim Afolami
since 13 November 2023
His Majesty's Treasury
Reports toFirst Lord of the Treasury
Chancellor of the Exchequer & Second Lord of the Treasury
NominatorPrime Minister
AppointerThe King
(on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
Inaugural holderDouglas Jay
Formation13 November 1947
WebsiteOfficial Website

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury.

It is nominally the sixth most senior ministerial role within the Treasury after the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General, and the Financial Secretary to the Treasury. However, the role of first lord of the treasury is always held by the prime minister who is not a Treasury minister, and the position of Paymaster General is a sinecure often held by the Minister for the Cabinet Office to allow the holder of that office to draw a government salary. In practice it is, therefore, the fourth most senior Treasury minister.

The office is not a cabinet-level post but is currently of Minister of State rank. It is shadowed by the Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

History

The office was created in November 1947. In 1961, the Economic Secretary became junior to the new office of Chief Secretary to the Treasury, which held a seat in cabinet.

Following the establishment of the Department of Economic Affairs in 1964, the Economic Secretary, Anthony Crosland, 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 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'.[1]

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 banking and finance, including banks, insurance, personal savings, financial regulation, and foreign exchange reserves. He or she was also involved in taxation 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 and finance bills.[2]

Economic Secretaries to the Treasury, 1947–present

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour

Economic Secretary Term of office Political party Prime Minister Chancellor
Douglas Jay 13 November 1947 2 March 1950 Labour Attlee Cripps
John Edwards 19 October 1950 26 October 1951 Labour Gaitskell
Office not in use 26 October 1951 24 November 1952 Churchill Butler
Reginald Maudling 24 November 1952 7 April 1955 Conservative
Sir Edward Boyle 7 April 1955 11 November 1956 Conservative Eden Macmillan
Derek Walker-Smith 11 November 1956 16 January 1957 Conservative
Nigel Birch 16 January 1957 6 January 1958 Conservative Macmillan Thorneycroft
Office not in use 6 January 1958 23 October 1958 H-Amory
Frederick Erroll 23 October 1958 22 October 1959 Conservative
Anthony Barber 22 October 1959 16 July 1962 Conservative
Lloyd
Edward du Cann 16 July 1962 21 October 1963 Conservative Maudling
Maurice Macmillan 21 October 1963 16 October 1964 Conservative D-Home
Anthony Crosland 19 October 1964 22 December 1964 Labour Wilson Callaghan
Office not in use 22 December 1964 11 November 1981
Jenkins
Heath Macleod
Barber
Wilson Healey
Callaghan
Thatcher Howe
Jock Bruce-Gardyne 11 November 1981 13 June 1983 Conservative
John Moore 13 June 1983 19 October 1983 Conservative Lawson
Ian Stewart 19 October 1983 11 June 1987 Conservative
Peter Lilley 11 June 1987 24 July 1989 Conservative
Richard Ryder 24 July 1989 14 July 1990 Conservative
Major
John Maples 23 July 1990 14 April 1992 Conservative
Major Lamont
Anthony Nelson 14 April 1992 6 July 1995 Conservative
Clarke
Angela Knight 6 July 1995 2 May 1997 Conservative
Helen Liddell 3 May 1997 27 July 1998 Labour Blair Brown
Patricia Hewitt 27 July 1998 17 May 1999 Labour
Melanie Johnson 17 May 1999 8 June 2001 Labour
Ruth Kelly 8 June 2001 15 May 2002 Labour
Office not in use 15 May 2002 30 May 2002
John Healey 30 May 2002 6 May 2005 Labour
Ivan Lewis May 2005 May 2006 Labour
Ed Balls 6 May 2006 28 June 2007 Labour
Kitty Ussher 29 June 2007 5 October 2008 Labour Brown Darling
Ian Pearson 5 October 2008 11 May 2010 Labour
Justine Greening 13 May 2010 14 October 2011 Conservative Cameron
(Coalition)		 Osborne
Chloe Smith 14 October 2011 4 September 2012 Conservative
Sajid Javid 4 September 2012 7 October 2013 Conservative
Nicky Morgan 7 October 2013 9 April 2014 Conservative
Andrea Leadsom 9 April 2014 11 May 2015 Conservative
Harriett Baldwin 11 May 2015 16 July 2016 Conservative Cameron
(II)
Simon Kirby 17 July 2016 9 June 2017 Conservative May
(I)		 Hammond
Steve Barclay 14 June 2017 9 January 2018 Conservative May
(II)
 John Glen 9 January 2018 6 July 2022 Conservative
Johnson Javid
Sunak
Richard Fuller 8 July 2022 27 October 2022 Conservative Zahawi
Truss Kwarteng
Hunt
Andrew Griffith 27 October 2022 13 November 2023 Conservative Sunak
Bim Afolami 13 November 2023 Incumbent Conservative

See also

References

  1. ↑ Andrea Leadsom MP appointed new City Minister for HMT, Tech UK, 10 April 2014, retrieved 4 August 2016
  2. ↑ Ministerial responsibilities Archived 2007-07-02 at the Wayback Machine HM Treasury
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