Prior to March 2020 Bowler worked at
Her Majesty's Treasury for eight years, serving the positions of Director General for Public Spending between May 2017 and March 2020, Director General for Tax and Welfare between April 2015 and May 2017 and Director for Strategy, Planning and Budget between January 2012 to April 2015. Bowler was promoted to
Director General in April 2015. Bowler has also served under
Gordon Brown when he was
Chancellor of the Exchequer having been appointed as his Principal Private Secretary between 2005 and 2007. He was appointed
Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the
2012 New Year Honours. In May 2021, it was announced that Bowler would become the new Permanent Secretary to the
Department for International Trade. In October 2022, Bowler was appointed as the new
Permanent Secretary to the
Treasury. Following
Rishi Sunak's claim during the
2024 general election that Labour's plans would mean £2,000 of tax rises per household. Bowler said the Conservatives' assessment of Labour's tax plans "should not be presented as having been produced by the civil service". Bowler said the calculation of £38bn of uncosted spending used by the Tories "includes costs beyond those provided by the civil service". In January 2025, the creation of the
National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) in April 2025 was confirmed, with Bowler named as the body's principal accounting officer. ==See also==