Director General, Tax and Welfare
Will Macfarlane
Biography
Will Macfarlane was appointed as Director of Strategy, Planning and Budget at HM Treasury in August 2023.
Will was the UK’s Deputy Ambassador the EU from 2022 to 2023 having been posted to Brussels in June 2019 as Director, Economics and Trade. Before this, Will worked in 10 Downing Street as the Deputy Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.
Earlier in his career Will held a variety of economic policy roles in HM Treasury, including on taxation, and macroeconomic and fiscal policy. Between 2012 and 2014 Will led the UK government’s analytical work ahead of the independence referendum in Scotland.
Director General, Tax and Welfare
Responsibilities include:
- advising the Chancellor of the Exchequer on business, international and personal tax, labour markets, welfare and customs.
- oversight of the department’s central strategy function, flexible policy pool and Budget process.
- the Treasury’s relationships with HMRC and DWP and representing the Treasury externally to support effective communication of the government’s tax and welfare plans