HM Treasury has reappointed David Sturrock as Economic Adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The department said on 20 October 2026 that the renewed term runs from 20 October 2026 to 20 October 2027. (gov.uk) The published notice is brief, but the post is not a routine departmental staff role. It sits within the Treasury’s ministerial appointments framework, and the current holder of the office of Chancellor is John Healey, who took up the role on 20 July 2026. (gov.uk)
According to the terms of reference published by HM Treasury, Sturrock’s task is to provide expert advice on economic policy. The document says he will work closely with civil servants and special advisers, and may also join officials in engagement with external experts and other stakeholders. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The same terms say the postholder works with officials on a confidential basis, has access to relevant official and ministerial papers, and updates the Chancellor as required. In practical terms, that places the role close to the material that informs tax, spending and growth decisions, even though the appointment does not itself carry executive authority. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
Cabinet Office guidance defines a direct ministerial appointment as a short-term advisory role made directly by ministers to a non-statutory office, separate from a regulated public appointment. The guidance says such roles are typically used where a minister wants specialist expertise beyond, and alongside, advice provided by civil servants. (gov.uk) That distinction matters for Treasury governance. Direct ministerial appointees are public office holders rather than civil servants, and executive authority may not be delegated to them, although their advice may still inform ministerial and official decision-making. (gov.uk)
Within Whitehall, HM Treasury is the department responsible for controlling public spending and setting the direction of UK economic policy. The Chancellor is the government’s chief financial minister, with responsibility for taxation, borrowing, public spending and the Budget. (gov.uk) Formal economic advice inside the department is led by Professor Brian Bell, the Chief Economic Adviser and Director General Economics and Fiscal, whose published responsibilities include advising the Chancellor and Prime Minister on the macroeconomy, fiscal policy and growth. Sturrock’s post therefore adds an external advisory route alongside the Treasury’s civil service economics function rather than replacing it. (gov.uk)
HM Treasury first announced Sturrock’s appointment in October 2025, saying he brought experience from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, where he had been a Senior Researcher and Associate Director with a focus on intergenerational inequality, retirement saving and pensions. A current Institute for Fiscal Studies profile now lists him as former staff, which is consistent with that move into government advisory work. (gov.uk) A written parliamentary answer in January 2026 said the Chancellor’s Council of Economic Advisers then consisted of three paid special advisers and one paid direct ministerial appointee, David Sturrock. Set against the new one-year renewal, that points to continuity in the Treasury’s use of outside economic advice through October 2027. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)
For policy readers, the main significance is continuity rather than a new fiscal announcement. The reappointment does not set tax or spending policy, but it keeps a specialist economic adviser close to the Chancellor while formal authority remains with ministers and officials. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) HM Treasury also says established interests procedures were followed for the reappointment. The terms of reference add that mitigations have been agreed to manage any potential, actual or perceived conflicts, with oversight from the Permanent Secretary and support from the Propriety and Ethics Team if required. For a role with access to confidential ministerial papers, that governance wording is at least as important as the appointment notice itself. (gov.uk)