Financial Secretary to the Treasury
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | |
|---|---|
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Royal Arms as used by Her Majesty's Government
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| HM Treasury | |
| Appointer | Elizabeth II |
| Inaugural holder | Thomas Harley |
| Formation | 11 June 1711 |
| Website | HM Treasury |
Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the British Treasury. It is the 4th most significant Ministerial role within the Treasury after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Paymaster General. It is almost never a Cabinet office.
The incumbent as of July 2016 is Jane Ellison, MP, previously a parliamentary under secretary in the Department of Health. The previous office holder was David Gauke, who was promoted to the position of Chief Secretary to the Treasury in July 2016.
The role of Financial Secretary to the Treasury was created in 1711 and was known as the Junior Secretary to the Treasury to help deal with the increasing workload of the Senior Secretary to the Treasury. The first Junior Secretary to the Treasury is recorded as Thomas Harley who was appointed on 11 June 1711. The position has continued without any major interruption to the present day. Initially when the position of Senior Secretary to the Treasury became vacant not as the result of an election of change of government the Junior Secretary was usually automatically promoted to the senior role. Over time however, the roles of the Senior and Junior Secretaries began to diverge with the Senior Secretary post being used as a sinecure post for the Chief Whip, with no formal responsibilities to the Treasury. The Junior Secretary however remained a substantive position working in the Treasury. As such the Senior Secretary became known as the 'Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury' while the Junior Secretary became known as the 'Financial Secretary to the Treasury' and the 'automatic' promotion from Junior to Senior ceased. While the exact date this change occurred is disputed it is agreed that by 1830 the distinction was complete.
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