THE TREASURY AS THE CENTRAL DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT, 1919–1939 |
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Authors: | G C PEDEN |
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Institution: | Dr. Peden is Lecturer in Economic and Social History at the University of Bristol. |
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Abstract: | Sir Warren Fisher, Permanent Secretary of the Treasury from 1919 to 1939, tried to make the Treasury a 'general staff', for all of Whitehall. He was official head of the civil service, and his Department co-ordinated policy by persuading ministers to decide priorities within a balanced budget. Treasury advice on what policy should be was influential, partly because of the absence of a fully developed Cabinet Office or Prime Minister's Office. Treasury control of expenditure was also necessary to ensure that spending departments conformed to Cabinet decisions on priorities. The Treasury exercised a powerful influence, however, only so long as the Cabinet accepted the financial orthodoxy of balanced budgets. |
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