Paymaster General
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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Template:Infobox Political post <templatestyles src="Hlist/styles.css" />Script error: No such module "Sidebar". His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The position is currently held by Nick Thomas-Symonds of the Labour Party.
History
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The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the positions of the offices of the Paymaster of the Forces (1661–1836), the Treasurer of the Navy (1546–1835), the Paymaster and Treasurer of Chelsea Hospital (responsible for Army pensions) (1681–1835) and the Treasurer of the Ordnance (1670–1835).
Initially, the Paymaster General only had responsibilities in relation to the armed services 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 Office'.[2]
From 1848 to 1868, the post was held concurrently with that of Vice-President of the Board of Trade.
The longest-serving holder of the post was Dawn Primarolo, whose portfolio covered HM Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue (which during her tenure became merged as HM Revenue and Customs) and who served from 1999 to 2007.
Role
Today, the Paymaster General is usually a minister without portfolio 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 who (though acting in the name of the Paymaster General) was answerable to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.[2]
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[3] (OPG), which held accounts at the Bank of England on behalf of government departments and selected other public bodies. Funds which were made available from the Consolidated Fund 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 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 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,[4] which also provides banking operations for HM Revenue & Customs and National Savings and Investments. Following the Bank of England's decision to withdraw from providing retail banking services,[5] retail banking and payment services for the GBS are provided by a range of financial institutions including Barclays, Citibank, NatWest, and Worldpay,[6] although the Bank of England still plays a role in managing the government's higher level accounts.[7]
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 1846–1848
- Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville 1848–1852
- Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley 1852
- Charles Abbot, 2nd Baron Colchester 1852
- Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley 1853–1855
- Edward Pleydell-Bouverie 1855
- Robert Lowe 1855–1858
- Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 4th Earl of Donoughmore 1858–1859
- Algernon Percy, Lord Lovaine 1859
- James Wilson 1859
- William Cowper 1859–1860
- William Hutt 1860–1865
- George Goschen 1865–1866
- William Monsell 1866
- Stephen Cave 1866–1868
- Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Earl of Dufferin 1868–1872
- Hugh Childers 1872–1873
- William Adam 1873–1874
- Stephen Cave 1874–1880
- David Plunket 1880
- George Glyn, 2nd Baron Wolverton 1880–1885
- Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp 1885–1886
- Thomas Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce, 5th Baron Thurlow 1886
- Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp 1886–1887
- Adelbert Brownlow-Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow 1887–1889
- Victor Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey 1889–1890
- Robert Windsor-Clive, 14th Baron Windsor 1890–1892
- Charles Seale-Hayne 1892–1895
- John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun 1895–1899
- Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough 1899–1902
20th century
- Savile Crossley 1902–1905
- Richard Causton (1st Baron Southwark after 13 July 1910) 1905–1910
- Ivor Guest, 1st Baron Ashby St Ledgers 1910–1912
- Edward Strachey, 1st Baron Strachie 1912–1915
- Thomas Legh, 2nd Baron Newton 1915–1916
- Arthur Henderson 1916
- Joseph Compton-Rickett 1916–1919
- Tudor Walters 1919–1922
- Office vacant 1922–1923
- Neville Chamberlain 1923
- William Joynson-Hicks 1923
- Archibald Boyd-Carpenter 1923–1924
- Harry Gosling 1924
- Office vacant 1924–1925
- George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland 1925–1928
- Richard Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow 1928–1929
- Sydney Arnold 1929–1931
- Office vacant 1931
- Tudor Walters 1931
- Ernest Lamb, 1st Baron Rochester 1931–1935
- Robert Hutchison, 1st Baron Hutchison of Montrose 1935–1938
- Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster 1938–1939
- Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton 1939
- Office vacant 1939–1940
- Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne 1940
- Office vacant 1940–1941
- Maurice Hankey 1941–1942
- William Jowitt 1942
- Frederick Lindemann, 1st Baron Cherwell 1942–1945
- Office vacant 1945–1946
- Arthur Greenwood 9 July 1946 Lab
- Hilary Marquand 5 March 1947 Lab
- The Viscount Addison 2 July 1948 also Leader of the House of Lords Lab
- The Lord Macdonald of Gwaenysgor 1 April 1949 Lab
| Paymaster General | Term of office | Concurrent office(s) | Political party | Prime Minister | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Frederick Lindemann (cropped).jpg | Frederick Lindemann Viscount CherwellScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
30 October 1951 | 11 November 1953 | Conservative | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Winston Churchill (III)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:10thEarl of Selkirk.jpg | George Douglas-Hamilton Earl of SelkirkScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
11 November 1953 | 20 October 1955 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | |||
| Office vacant | 20 October 1955 | 18 October 1956 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Anthony Eden (Eden)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Walter Monckton cropped.png | Walter Monckton MP for Bristol WestScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
18 October 1956 | 16 January 1957 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | |||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Blank.png | Reginald Maudling MP for BarnetScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
16 January 1957 | 14 October 1959 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Harold Macmillan (I)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Blank.png | Percy Mills Viscount MillsScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
14 October 1959 | 9 October 1961 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Harold Macmillan (II)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Henry Brooke 1950.jpg | Henry Brooke MP for HampsteadScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
9 October 1961 | 13 July 1962 | Chief Secretary to the Treasury | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Blank.png | John Boyd-Carpenter MP for Kingston-upon-ThamesScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
13 July 1962 | 19 October 1964 | Chief Secretary to the Treasury | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Alec Douglas-Home (Douglas-Home)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Blank.png | George Wigg MP for DudleyScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
19 October 1964 | 12 November 1967 | Labour | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Harold Wilson (I & II)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |
| Office vacant | 12 November 1967 | 6 April 1968 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Harold Wilson (II)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Blank.png | Edward Shackleton Baron ShackletonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
6 April 1968 | 1 November 1968 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | |||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Blank.png | Judith Hart MP for ClydesdaleScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
1 November 1968 | 6 October 1969 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | |||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Blank.png | Harold Lever MP for Manchester CheethamScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
6 October 1969 | 23 June 1970 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | |||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Blank.png | David Eccles Viscount EcclesScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
23 June 1970 | 2 December 1973 | Minister for the Arts | Conservative | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Edward Heath (Heath)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Blank.png | Maurice Macmillan MP for FarnhamScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2 December 1973 | 4 March 1974 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | |||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Dell, Edmund cropped, Bestanddeelnr 930-1791.jpg | Edmund Dell MP for BirkenheadScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
4 March 1974 | 10 September 1976 | Labour | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Harold Wilson (III & IV)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Shirley Williams, 1984.jpg | Shirley Williams MP for HitchinScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
10 September 1976 | 4 May 1979 | Secretary of State for Education and Science | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | James Callaghan (Callaghan)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Blank.png | Angus Maude MP for Stratford-on-AvonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
4 May 1979 | 5 January 1981 | Conservative | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Margaret Thatcher (I)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Francis Leslie Pym.jpg | Francis Pym MP for CambridgeshireScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
5 January 1981 | 14 September 1981 | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (5 January 1981 – 14 September 1981)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Leader of the House of Commons |
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Blank.png | Cecil Parkinson MP for South HertfordshireScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
14 September 1981 | 11 June 1983 | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (6 April 1982 – 11 June 1983)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | ||
| Office vacant | 11 June 1983 | 11 September 1984 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Margaret Thatcher (II)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Lord Deben crop 2.jpg | John Gummer MP for Suffolk CoastalScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
11 September 1984 | 1 September 1985 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | |||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Mr Kenneth Clarke crop 2.jpg | Kenneth Clarke MP for RushcliffeScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2 September 1985 | 13 July 1987 | Minister of State for Employment | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Blank.png | Peter Brooke MP for City of London and Westminster SouthScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
13 July 1987 | 24 July 1989 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Margaret Thatcher (III)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of The Earl of Caithness crop 2.jpg | Malcolm Sinclair Earl of CaithnessScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
25 July 1989 | 14 July 1990 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | |||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Lord Ryder of Wensum crop 2.1.jpg | Richard Ryder MP for Mid NorfolkScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
14 July 1990 | 28 November 1990 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | John Major (I)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Blank.png | John Ganzoni Baron BelsteadScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
28 November 1990 | 11 April 1992 | Minister of State for Northern Ireland | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Lord Cope of Berkeley crop 3, 2019.jpg | John Cope MP for NorthavonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
14 April 1992 | 20 July 1994 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | John Major (lI)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:David Heathcoat-Amery.JPG | David Heathcoat-Amory MP for WellsScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
20 July 1994 | 20 July 1996 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | |||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Lord Willetts crop 2.jpg | David Willetts MP for HavantScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
20 July 1996 | 21 November 1996 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | |||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Lord Bates crop 2, 2019.jpg | Michael Bates MP for LangbaurghScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
21 November 1996 | 2 May 1997 | Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (17 October 1995 – 11 December 1996)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Mr Geoffrey Robinson crop 2.jpg | Geoffrey Robinson MP for Coventry North WestScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2 May 1997 | 23 December 1998 | Labour | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Tony Blair (I)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |
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21st century
| Paymaster General | Term of office | Concurrent office(s) | Political party | Prime Minister | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Dawn Primarolo.jpg | Dawn Primarolo MP for Bristol SouthScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
4 January 1999 | 28 June 2007 | Labour | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Tony Blair (I, II, III)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Tessa Jowell Cropped.jpg | Tessa Jowell MP for Dulwich and West NorwoodScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
28 June 2007 | 11 May 2010 | Minister for the Olympics Minister for the Cabinet Office (from 5 June 2009)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Minister for London (until 3 October 2008; from 5 June 2009)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Gordon Brown (Brown)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Lord Maude of Horsham crop 2, 2024.jpg | Francis Maude MP for HorshamScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
12 May 2010 | 11 May 2015 | Minister for the Cabinet Office | Conservative | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | David Cameron (I)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Matt Hancock crop 2.jpg | Matt Hancock MP for West SuffolkScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
11 May 2015 | 14 July 2016 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | David Cameron (II)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Ben Gummer 2016.jpg | Ben Gummer MP for IpswichScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
14 July 2016 | 13 June 2017 | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Theresa May (I)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Mel Stride crop 2.jpg | Mel Stride MP for Central DevonScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
13 June 2017 | 23 May 2019 | Financial Secretary to the Treasury | rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Theresa May (II)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Jesse Norman crop 2.jpg | Jesse Norman MP for Hereford and South HerefordshireScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
23 May 2019 | 24 July 2019 | ||||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Oliver Dowden crop 2.jpg | Oliver Dowden MP for HertsmereScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
24 July 2019 | 13 February 2020 | Minister for the Cabinet Office | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Boris Johnson (I & II)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt.jpg | Penny Mordaunt MP for Portsmouth NorthScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
13 February 2020 | 16 September 2021 | rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Boris Johnson (II)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Rt Hon Michael Ellis MP crop 2.jpg | Michael Ellis MP for Northampton NorthScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
16 September 2021 | 6 September 2022 | Minister for the Cabinet Office (from 8 February 2022)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Edward Argar MP crop 2.jpg | Edward Argar MP for CharnwoodScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
6 September 2022 | 14 October 2022 | Minister for the Cabinet Office | rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Liz Truss (Truss)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Chris Philp MP crop 2.jpg | Chris Philp MP for Croydon SouthScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
14 October 2022 | 25 October 2022 | ||||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Jeremy Quin MP crop 2.jpg | Jeremy Quin MP for HorshamScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
25 October 2022 | 13 November 2023 | rowspan="2" style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Rishi Sunak (Sunak)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of John Glen MP crop 2.jpg | John Glen MP for SalisburyScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
13 November 2023 | 5 July 2024 | ||||
| style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | File:Official portrait of Nick Thomas-Symonds MP (cropped).jpg | Nick Thomas-Symonds MP for TorfaenScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
8 July 2024 | Labour | style="background-color:Template:Party color" | | Keir Starmer (Starmer)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||
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List of shadow paymasters general
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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:
- Government Banking Service
Template:HM Treasury Template:Paymaster General Template:Cabinet Office
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