Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury

United Kingdom Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury
Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Incumbent Office not in use since 13 July 2016
HM Treasury
Appointer	Elizabeth II on the advice of the Prime Minister
Inaugural holder	Phillip Oppenheim
Formation	23 July 1996
Website	HM Treasury

The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in the British Treasury, ranked below the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General and the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and alongside the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. It ranks at Parliamentary Secretary level and is not a Cabinet office. Unlike the other posts of Secretary in to the Treasury, it is only used occasionally, normally when the post of Paymaster General is allocated to a Minister outside the Treasury. It is currently not used.

The office was reinstated in June 2007, when Angela Eagle was appointed Exchequer Secretary after Tessa Jowell had been appointed Paymaster General and Olympic Minister within the Cabinet Office. The previous Exchequer Secretary was Phillip Oppenheim, who held the post from 23 July 1996 to 2 May 1997, when he lost his seat in the general election that brought Tony Blair to power. Angela Eagle was replaced by Kitty Ussher in the June 2009 reshuffle, with Jowell continuing in the Paymaster General role. Ussher resigned on 17 June 2009 and was immediately replaced by Sarah McCarthy-Fry. Following the 2010 general election, the post was taken by Conservative MP David Gauke.^[1] In May 2015, Conservative MP Damian Hinds assumed the office.^[2] Following Theresa May's first ministerial appointments in July 2016, the post is again not currently in use.

Responsibilities

HM Treasury

• Enterprise and productivity including small business taxation and support to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on economic reform
• Competition and better regulation
• Science, innovation and skills policy, including implementation of the 10-year science and innovation strategy and the R&D tax credit
• Regional economic policy
• Urban regeneration and social exclusion including housing, planning and planning gain supplement;
• Environmental issues including taxation of transport, international Climate Change issues including global carbon trading and EU ETS, and Energy Issues
• Taxation of oil
• Excise duties and gambling, including excise fraud and law enforcement
• Public-private partnerships including Private Finance Initiative, and Partnerships UK
• Ministerial responsibility for the Office for National Statistics, the Royal Mint and Departmental Minister for HM Treasury Group
• Support to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on public spending issues including long-term challenges in the run up to the Comprehensive Spending Review and selected Cabinet Committees
• Assist where necessary on European issues
• Working with the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on the Finance Bill

Responsibility for procurement policy and the former Office of Government Commerce was transferred to the Cabinet Office in 2011.

Exchequer Secretaries to the Treasury

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister		Chancellor
	Phillip Oppenheim		23 July 1996	2 May 1997	Conservative		Major	Clarke
Office not in use			1997–2007				Blair	Brown
	Angela Eagle		29 June 2007	9 June 2009	Labour		Brown	Darling
	Kitty Ussher		9 June 2009	17 June 2009	Labour
	Sarah McCarthy-Fry		17 June 2009	11 May 2010	Labour
	David Gauke		13 May 2010	15 July 2014	Conservative		Cameron (Coalition)	Osborne
	Priti Patel		15 July 2014	11 May 2015	Conservative
	Damian Hinds		12 May 2015	13 July 2016	Conservative		Cameron (II)
Office not in use			2016–present				May	Hammond

References

1. "Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury: David Gauke MP". HM Treasury. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
2. "Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury - GOV.UK". UK Government website. Retrieved 13 May 2015.

See also

• Secretary to the Treasury