ABSTRACT
There can be no doubt, from what has been said in Chapters 2 and 3 of this book, that the Treasury is the most political of departments. This is evident at the ministerial level because of its key role in the government’s programme. Whatever the party in power, the government needs finance to achieve its objectives; taxation is one of the most important interests of citizens in relation to government; and the country’s economy is a crucial factor in almost all spheres of international relations. It is therefore not surprising that the work of the Treasury is so important from partisan and ideological perspectives, and it is consequently the focus of much political activity at those levels. However, the Treasury may also be seen as the most political of departments from the perspective of ‘closed’ politics; that is, the internal politics within the political and administrative system, involving both ministers and officials in aspects of government that rarely get much coverage in the media and where details are rarely the subject of comment, even by the cognoscenti. To illustrate how this works in practice, and how important the role of the Treasury is ‘behind the scenes’, this chapter concentrates on the role of the Treasury in the creation and monitoring of Next Steps agencies.
