James Bowler | |
---|---|
Permanent Secretary to the Treasury | |
Assumed office 10 October 2022 | |
Chancellor | Kwasi Kwarteng Jeremy Hunt Rachel Reeves |
Preceded by | Sir Tom Scholar |
Department for International Trade Second Permanent Secretary | |
In office August 2021 –October 2022 | |
Prime Minister | Boris Johnson Liz Truss |
Cabinet Office Second Permanent Secretary | |
In office 9 October 2020 –24 May 2021 | |
Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Sue Gray |
Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister | |
In office 11 May 2010 –5 December 2011 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Jeremy Heywood |
Succeeded by | Chris Martin |
Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
In office 2005–2007 | |
Chancellor | Gordon Brown |
Preceded by | Mark Bowman |
Succeeded by | Dan Rosenfield |
Personal details | |
Born | July 1973 (age 51) [1] |
Alma mater | Cardiff University |
James Edward Bowler CB (born July 1973) is a senior British civil servant currently serving as the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury since October 2022 having previously served as permanent secretary at the Department for International Trade since 2021. [2] [3] Before assuming this role,Bowler was the second permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office from 2020 to 2021 where he led the COVID Taskforce for the British Government. He was the Director General for Policy,Communication and Analysis at the Ministry of Justice from March to October 2020. [4] [5] Bowler is currently Trustee of the charity Police Now.
From 1986 until 1991,Bowler was educated at Abingdon School,an all-boys independent school in Abingdon-on-Thames,Oxfordshire. He then attended Cardiff University where he studied Economics. [6]
Prior to March 2020 Bowler worked at Her Majesty's Treasury for eight years,serving the positions of Director General for Public Spending between May 2017 and March 2020, [7] Director General for Tax and Welfare between April 2015 and May 2017 [8] and Director for Strategy,Planning and Budget between January 2012 to April 2015. [9] Bowler was promoted to Director General in April 2015. [2] [5]
In May 2010 when David Cameron became Prime Minister,Bowler was appointed to the post of Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister serving until December 2011. [10] [11]
Bowler has also served under Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer having been appointed as his Principal Private Secretary between 2005 and 2007. [12] [5] Bowler continued to work closely with Brown during his premiership as Prime Minister. [13]
He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2012 New Year Honours. [14]
In May 2021,it was announced that Bowler would become the new Permanent Secretary to the Department for International Trade. [15]
In October 2022,Bowler was appointed as the new Permanent Secretary to the Treasury. [16]
Following Rishi Sunak's claim during the 2024 general election that Labour's plans would mean £2,000 of tax rises per household. Bowler said the Conservatives' assessment of Labour's tax plans "should not be presented as having been produced by the civil service". Bowler said the calculation of £38bn of uncosted spending used by the Tories "includes costs beyond those provided by the civil service". [17] [18]
In January 2025,the creation of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) in April 2025 was confirmed,with Bowler named as the body's principal accounting officer. [19]
Christopher Ian Brian Mynott Philp is a British politician who has served as Shadow Home Secretary since November 2024. He held the post of Minister of State for Crime,Policing and Fire from October 2022 to July 2024. He was previously appointed to Liz Truss's cabinet from September to October 2022 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and then as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General. A member of the Conservative Party,he is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Croydon South following his election in 2015.
The Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a senior official in the United Kingdom Civil Service who acts as principal private secretary to the prime minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of this office is traditionally the head of the Prime Minister's Office in 10 Downing Street. In the Civil Service,the role is currently graded as director general.
Nicholas Ian Macpherson,Baron Macpherson of Earl's Court,is a former senior British civil servant. He served as the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury from 2005 to 2016.
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury,ranked below 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,and alongside the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. It ranks at Parliamentary Secretary level and the holder does not attend Cabinet.
Sir Thomas Whinfield Scholar is a British civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to the Treasury from 2016 to 2022. He was previously the prime minister's adviser on European and global issues in the Cabinet Office from 2013 to 2016. He has been a director of the nationalised bank Northern Rock,and served as chief of staff for Gordon Brown.
The government of the United Kingdom,officially His Majesty's Government,abbreviated to HM Government,is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The government is led by the prime minister who selects all the other ministers. The country has had a Labour government since 2024. The prime minister and his most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee,known as the Cabinet.
Mark Philip Sedwill,Baron Sedwill,is a British diplomat and senior civil servant who served as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service to Prime Ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson from 2018 to 2020. He also served as the United Kingdom National Security Adviser from 2017 to 2020. He was previously the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010 and the NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan in 2010. He was the Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office from February 2013 to April 2017.
Melvyn John Stride is a British politician who has served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in Kemi Badenoch's Shadow Cabinet since November 2024. A member of the Conservative Party,he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Devon since 2010.
Sir Oliver Robbins is a senior British civil servant who served as the Prime Minister's Europe Adviser and the chief Brexit negotiator from 2017 to 2019 and currently serves as the Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office since 2025. He was a controversial figure among Brexit supporters for his perceived pro-European stance. He previously served as the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union from July 2016 to September 2017,and as the Prime Minister's Advisor on Europe and Global Issues from June 2016 to July 2016. Between 2019 and 2025,he has been an investment advisor at Goldman Sachs.
Sir James Alan Harra,is a British civil servant who has been First Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive of HM Revenue and Customs since October 2019,in succession to Sir Jonathan Thompson.
Dame Melanie Henrietta Dawes is a British economist and administrator. Since February 2020 she has been Chief Executive of Ofcom. She was previously the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing,Communities and Local Government,and before that worked at HM Treasury,HM Revenue and Customs,and in the Cabinet Office. She is a Trustee of the Patchwork Foundation,founded by Harris Bokhari.
Christopher Jon Martin,was a British civil servant. He was Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from 2012 to 2015.
The National Infrastructure Commission is the executive agency responsible for providing expert advice to the UK Government on infrastructure challenges facing the UK.
Michael James Ellam is a British banker and former civil servant.
Darren Paul Jones is a British politician who has served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury since July 2024,having previously been Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from September 2023 to July 2024. A member of the Labour Party,he has been Member of Parliament for Bristol North West since 2017. He previously chaired the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee from 2020 to 2023.
Sarah Elizabeth Healey is a British civil servant,appointed as Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Housing,Communities and Local Government in February 2023. Previously,she was Permanent Secretary at the Department for Digital,Culture,Media and Sport (DCMS).
Susanna Justine McGibbon is a barrister and senior British civil servant who currently serves as HM Procurator General,Treasury Solicitor and Head of the Government Legal Service,and so Permanent Secretary of the Government Legal Department. She previously served as Director General of the Government Legal Department and Director General of the Department for Work and Pensions' Legal Group.
Jeremy Mark Pocklington CB is a British civil servant who has served as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero since February 2023. He served as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Levelling Up,Housing and Communities (DLUHC) from March 2020 to February 2023. He was formerly Director General for Housing and Planning at the MHCLG,having served in that role from August 2018 until his appointment as Permanent Secretary at the MHCLG.
A permanent under-secretary of state,known informally as a permanent secretary,is the most senior civil servant of a ministry in the United Kingdom,charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis. Permanent secretaries are appointed under a scheme in which the prime minister has the final say in the recruitment process;since 2015,the PM chooses directly from a list created by the Civil Service Commissioners rather than only having a veto over the Commissioners' preferred candidate.
The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) will,from April 2025,be an executive agency advising the UK Government on infrastructure delivery and improvement. It will combine the functions of the National Infrastructure Commission and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.