James Bowler (civil servant)

James Bowler
CB
Permanent Secretary to the Treasury
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 October 2022
ChancellorKwasi Kwarteng
Jeremy Hunt
Rachel Reeves
Preceded bySir Tom Scholar
Department for International Trade Second Permanent Secretary
In office
August 2021 – October 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Liz Truss
Cabinet Office Second Permanent Secretary
In office
9 October 2020 – 24 May 2021
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded bySue Gray
Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
In office
11 May 2010 – 5 December 2011
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byJeremy Heywood
Succeeded byChris Martin
Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office
2005–2007
ChancellorGordon Brown
Preceded byMark Bowman
Succeeded byDan Rosenfield
Personal details
BornJuly 1973 (age 51)[1]
Alma materCardiff 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.

Education

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]

Career

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]

See also

References

  1. ^ "James Edward BOWLER". Companies House. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b "James Bowler Government Profile". Gov.uk. UK Government. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  3. ^ Casalicchio, Emilio (9 October 2020). "POLITICO London Playbook: COVID war room — Face of the government — Hagues and pains". Politico. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  4. ^ "James Bowler CSaP Profile". Centre for Science and Policy. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Smith, Beckie (9 October 2020). "Former Treasury spending DG appointed Cabinet Office second perm sec". Civil Service World. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Entrants to Higher Education" (PDF). Abingdon School. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  7. ^ "A Short Guide to HM Treasury" (PDF). Major programmes and developments – Page 13. National Audit Office. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Appointment of new Director General, Tax and Welfare, HM Treasury". HM Treasury. WiredGov. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  9. ^ "HM Treasury Organisation Chart – October 2012" (PDF). HM Treasury. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Cabinet Office Structure Charts" (PDF). Prime Minister's Office Chart – Page 7. Cabinet Office. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Senior Staff Salaries in CSV Format". Cabinet Office Transparency Data. UK Government. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  12. ^ Webster, Philip (26 December 2005). "Top Blairites set for a place at Brown's table". The Times. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  13. ^ Brown, Gordon (1 September 2011). Beyond the Crash: Overcoming the First Crisis of Globalisation. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0857202888.
  14. ^ "No. 60009". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2011. p. 2.
  15. ^ "New Permanent Secretary to the Department for International Trade". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  16. ^ "New Permanent Secretary Treasury Team Announced". GOV.UK. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  17. ^ Top official's letter casts doubt on Tory tax claim
  18. ^ Treasury letter on Tory tax claim in full

Positions held

Government offices
New title Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
2005–2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
2010–2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Mark Bowman
 HM Treasury Director for Strategy, Planning and Budget
2012–2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by HM Treasury Director General for Tax and Welfare
2015–2017 		Succeeded by
Beth Russell
Preceded by
Mark Bowman
 HM Treasury Director General for Public Spending
2017–2020 		Succeeded by
Cat Little
Preceded by
Julian Kelly
 Ministry of Justice Director General for Policy, Communication and Analysis
2020 		Succeeded by
TBC
Preceded by
Mark Sweeney
 Cabinet Office Second Permanent Secretary
2020–2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Sir Tom Scholar
 Permanent Secretary to the Treasury
2022– 		Succeeded by
Incumbent


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