The Treasury is perhaps the most powerful department in Whitehall Its ownership of public spending means it has direct control over the money available to the rest of government, while the Treasury’s responsibility for economic growth gives it enormous influence over the finances of households and businesses.

But criticism of the department’s influence on government policy is almost as old as the institution itself, with frequent complaints about the “dead hand of the Treasury” or attacks on the department’s “orthodoxy”.

While a recent IfG report found many of the fiercest criticisms to be overblown, there are clearly problems with how the department functions. The Treasury often takes a short-term approach, is frequently accused of micromanaging other departments, and wields excessive influence over government policy relative to the rest of the centre.  So how can these problems be addressed? How much are they due to the relative weakness of other departments or the incentives facing Treasury ministers? And just what impact does the Treasury have on government policymaking? 

Our expert panel exploring these issues and more will feature:

• Anita Charlesworth, Director of Research at the Health Foundation and former Director of Public Spending, HM Treasury
• James Bowler CB, Permanent Secretary of HM Treasury 
• Giles Wilkes, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and co-author of Treasury Orthodoxy

The event will be chaired by Gemma Tetlow, the Institute for Government’s Chief Economist. 

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