Paymaster General Explained

Post:
His Majesty's Paymaster General
Insignia:Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government) (2022).svg
Insigniasize:140px
Insigniacaption:Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Department:Cabinet Office
Incumbent:Nick Thomas-Symonds
Incumbentsince:8 July 2024
Style:Paymaster General
The Right Honourable (within the UK and Commonwealth)
Appointer:The King
Inaugural:Henry Parnell
Formation:27 April 1836

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

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'.

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.

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[1] (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,[2] 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,[3] retail banking and payment services for the GBS are provided by a range of financial institutions including Barclays, Citibank, NatWest, and Worldpay,[4] although the Bank of England still plays a role in managing the government's higher level accounts.[5]

List of paymasters general

19th century

20th century

Paymaster GeneralTerm of officeConcurrent office(s)Political partyPrime Minister
Frederick Lindemann
30 October 195111 November 1953ConservativeWinston Churchill
George Douglas-Hamilton
11 November 195320 October 1955
Office vacant20 October 195518 October 1956Anthony Eden
Walter Monckton
18 October 195616 January 1957
Reginald Maudling
16 January 195714 October 1959Harold Macmillan
Percy Mills
14 October 19599 October 1961Harold Macmillan
Henry Brooke
9 October 196113 July 1962Chief Secretary to the Treasury
John Boyd-Carpenter
13 July 196219 October 1964Chief Secretary to the TreasuryAlec Douglas-Home
George Wigg
19 October 196412 November 1967LabourHarold Wilson
Office vacant12 November 19676 April 1968Harold Wilson
Edward Shackleton
6 April 19681 November 1968
Judith Hart
1 November 19686 October 1969
Harold Lever
6 October 196923 June 1970
David Eccles
23 June 19702 December 1973Minister for the ArtsConservativeEdward Heath
Maurice Macmillan
2 December 19734 March 1974
Edmund Dell
4 March 197410 September 1976LabourHarold Wilson
Shirley Williams
10 September 19764 May 1979Secretary of State for Education and ScienceJames Callaghan
Angus Maude
4 May 19795 January 1981ConservativeMargaret Thatcher
Francis Pym
5 January 198114 September 1981Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Leader of the House of Commons

Cecil Parkinson
14 September 198111 June 1983Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Office vacant11 June 198311 September 1984Margaret Thatcher
John Gummer
11 September 19841 September 1985
Kenneth Clarke
2 September 198513 July 1987Minister of State for Employment
Peter Brooke
13 July 198724 July 1989Margaret Thatcher
Malcolm Sinclair
25 July 198914 July 1990
Richard Ryder
14 July 199028 November 1990John Major
John Ganzoni
28 November 199011 April 1992Minister of State for Northern Ireland
John Cope
14 April 199220 July 1994John Major
David Heathcoat-Amory
20 July 199420 July 1996
David Willetts
20 July 199621 November 1996
Michael Bates
21 November 19962 May 1997Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
Geoffrey Robinson
2 May 199723 December 1998LabourTony Blair

21st century

Paymaster GeneralTerm of officeConcurrent office(s)Political partyPrime Minister
Dawn Primarolo
4 January 199928 June 2007LabourTony Blair
Tessa Jowell
28 June 200711 May 2010Minister for the Olympics
Minister for the Cabinet Office

Minister for London
Gordon Brown
Francis Maude
12 May 201011 May 2015Minister for the Cabinet OfficeConservativeDavid Cameron
Matt Hancock
11 May 201514 July 2016David Cameron
Ben Gummer
14 July 201613 June 2017Theresa May
Mel Stride
13 June 201723 May 2019Financial Secretary to the TreasuryTheresa May
Jesse Norman
23 May 201924 July 2019
Oliver Dowden
24 July 201913 February 2020Minister for the Cabinet OfficeBoris Johnson
Penny Mordaunt
13 February 202016 September 2021Boris Johnson
Michael Ellis
16 September 20216 September 2022Minister for the Cabinet Office

Edward Argar
6 September 202214 October 2022Minister for the Cabinet OfficeLiz Truss
Chris Philp
14 October 202225 October 2022
Jeremy Quin
25 October 202213 November 2023Rishi Sunak
John Glen
13 November 20235 July 2024
Nick Thomas-Symonds
8 July 2024LabourKeir Starmer

List of shadow paymasters general

Shadow Paymaster generalTerm of officePartyOpposition Leader
Richard Ottaway1 June 20001 June 2001ConservativeHague
Stephen O'Brien1 June 20021 June 2003ConservativeDuncan Smith
Andrew Tyrie1 June 2004 1 June 2005ConservativeHoward
Mark Francois10 May 20053 July 2007Conservative
Cameron
Jack Dromey14 May 20214 December 2021LabourStarmer
Fleur Anderson4 December 20214 September 2023Labour
Jonathan Ashworth4 September 20235 July 2024Labour
John Glen8 July 2024IncumbentConservativeSunak

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gater . G.H. . Wheeler . E.P. . Office of the Paymaster-General . British History Online . London County Council . London . 1935 . 17–27 . 28 February 2017.
  2. Web site: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100407190524/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_48_08.htm . 7 April 2010 . dmy-all . Press Release: Angela Eagle launches the Government Banking Service . dead . HM Treasury . 22 May 2008.
  3. Web site: Important changes to banking arrangements for the Insolvency Services Account . insolvency.gov.uk . . https://web.archive.org/web/20101030173317/http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/insolvencyprofessionandlegislation/ipb/Important%20changes%20to%20banking%20arrangements%20for%20the%20ISA.doc . 30 October 2010 . dmy-all.
  4. Web site: Government Banking . gov.uk.
  5. Web site: Government Banking Service . Department for Work and Pensions.

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