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Ministerial role

Financial Secretary to the Treasury

Organisations: HM Treasury and HM Revenue & Customs
Current role holder: The Rt Hon James Murray MP

Responsibilities

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (FST) is responsible for: 

  • The UK tax system including: 

  • Direct, indirect, business, property, and personal taxation (except for taxes covered by EST).  

  • European and other international tax issues 

  • Customs and VAT at the border 

  • Fiscal Devolution 

  • The Finance Bill and the National Insurance Bill 

  • Indirect taxes, including stakeholder engagement on excise duties and excise fraud and law enforcement. 

  • Tax administration policy 

  • Input to Investment Zones and Freeports focussing on tax and customs elements 

  • Taxation of charities, the voluntary sector and gift aid 

  • Energy, environment and climate taxes (including transport taxes) 

  • Energy profits Levy 

The FST is the departmental Minister for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Government’s Actuary’s Department.

Current role holder

The Rt Hon James Murray MP

James Murray was appointed Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General on 21 July 2026.

He was previously Secretary of State for Health and Social Care between 14 May 2026 and 20 July 2026, and Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 1 September 2025 to 14 May 2026. He previously held the office of Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, having been shadow Financial Secretary for three and a half years before that.

He has served as the Member of Parliament for Ealing North since 2019.

He is a member of the Labour and Co-operative parties and served as the Deputy Mayor of London for Housing and Residential Development from 2016 to 2019.

Prior to being appointed Deputy Mayor, he served as a councillor for a decade, including six years as executive member for housing and development from 2010 to 2016.

Earlier in his career, he worked in a management consultancy.

More about this person

Previous holders of this role

  1. Lord Livermore

    2024 to 2026

  2. Nigel Huddleston MP

    2023 to 2024

  3. The Rt Hon Victoria Atkins MP

    2022 to 2023

  4. Andrew Griffith MP

    2022 to 2022

  5. The Rt Hon Lucy Frazer KC

    2021 to 2022

  6. The Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP

    2019 to 2021

  7. The Rt Hon Mel Stride MP

    2017 to 2019

  8. Jane Ellison

    2016 to 2017

  9. The Rt Hon David Gauke

    2014 to 2016

  10. The Rt Hon Baroness Nicky Morgan

    2014 to 2014

  11. The Rt Hon Sajid Javid

    2013 to 2014

  12. The Rt Hon Greg Clark

    2012 to 2013

  13. Mark Hoban

    2010 to 2012