22-07-2025
Treasury boss gets £20k bonus as growth slumps and taxes soar
The Treasury's top civil servant has been handed a bonus of up to £20,000, despite Britain's stalling growth and soaring taxes.
James Bowler, the most senior official managing the UK's economy, received the uplift last year on top of a £10,000 pay rise and £5,000 pension boost, taking his total remuneration to roughly £350,000.
Jessica Glover, the Treasury's director of growth and productivity, was also handed a bonus of up to £15,000 on top of a salary rise of roughly £10,000, taking her total pay including pensions to around £280,000.
It comes as Britain braces for a growth slump and unemployment hits its highest rate since the pandemic in the wake of Rachel Reeves ' tax raid on businesses.
Critics said the Treasury should not be rewarding 'bureaucrats' presiding over an economy that was 'performing atrociously' and warned taxpayers would be 'gobsmacked' by the revelations.
The pay rises for Mr Bowler, who took on the top Treasury job in 2022, and Ms Glover, who was appointed to her role in 2023, were revealed in the department's annual accounts for 2024-25.
They showed that Mr Bowler received a total salary of between £195,000 and £200,000 last year, up from £185,000-£190,000 in 2023-24.
He was also handed a bonus of between £15,000 and £20,000, which he did not receive last year, and pension benefits totalling £133,000, taking his total remuneration to between £345,000 and £350,000.
Ms Glover received a salary of £145,000-£150,000 last year, up from a full-time equivalent of £135,000-£140,000 the year before, as well as a bonus of £10,000-£15,000 and pension benefits of £117,000.
It comes just weeks after the Governor of the Bank of England poured cold water on the Chancellor's claim that Britain's economy has turned a corner, warning that growth is slowing as high taxes bite.
Official figures show GDP grew faster than expected in the three months of the year, but things are expected to slow down in the second quarter.
The number of people in jobs has also slumped at the fastest rate since the pandemic in the wake of Ms Reeves' tax raid on businesses at last year's Budget.
Meanwhile, experts have warned that Britain has suffered an 'almost unprecedented' plunge in productivity over the past five years in another setback for the Chancellor's growth ambitions.
Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, told The Telegraph: 'The Treasury seem confused. Performance-related bonuses are for when things get better not worse.
'Perhaps their failure to grasp this simple concept is why the country is going bust if they are in charge of our finances?'
Darwin Friend, the head of research at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'It should be a source of some embarrassment for the Treasury that they're handing out pay rises and bonuses to senior staff.
'The UK's economy has been performing atrociously over the past year, and while the Chancellor is the primary person to blame taxpayers will still be gobsmacked that her bureaucrats are seeing their pay packets boosted.
'The Treasury should be strictly linking the pay of all staff to economic performance from now on.'
Mr Bowler was unveiled as the Treasury's permanent secretary during Liz Truss' short premiership in 2022, taking over from Sir Tom Scholar.
He has spent much of his career in the department, with past briefs including director general for public spending and director general for tax and welfare.
He also served as principal private secretary to both Lord Darling and Gordon Brown when they were chancellor, as well as more recently playing a senior role in the Covid taskforce.
He was tipped to become the Cabinet secretary, the most senior civil servant in the country, when Ms Truss took over, but Lord Case, who has since stepped down, was kept in post instead.
A Government spokesman said: 'This pay increase is in line with those of permanent secretaries across Whitehall.
'Like all others, it was set for 2024-25 in line with the recommendations of the independent Senior Salaries Review Body - with a robust framework in place to assess pay and performance.
'Decisions this Government has taken to restore economic stability have seen interest rates cut four times, a pay rise for three million workers, 380,000 jobs created and a record £120 billion in private investment coming into the UK in the past year, while the UK was also the fastest growing economy in the G7 in Q1 2025.'
