The first Exchequer Secretary was Phillip Oppenheim,[1] who held the post from 23 July 1996 to 2 May 1997, when he lost his seat in the general election that brought Tony Blair to power.
After a period of abeyance, the office was reinstated upon Gordon Brown's accession as Prime Minister in June 2007, when Angela Eagle was appointed Exchequer Secretary. The office again fell out of use in July 2016 when Theresa May became Prime Minister, before she reinstated it following the 2017 general election.
Science, innovation and skills policy, including implementation of the 10-year science and innovation strategy and the R&Dtax credit
Regional economic policy
Urban regeneration and social exclusion including housing, planning and planning gain supplement;
Environmental issues including taxation of transport, international Climate Change issues including global carbon trading and EU ETS, and Energy Issues