Interim chief to replace Montagu
Speculation continues to heighten over the successor to current Inland Revenue chairman, Sir Nick Montagu, after a spokesman confirmed he would be stepping down in 'mid to late-March'.
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The department is believed to be waiting upon the outcome of permanent secretary to the Treasury, Gus O’Donnell’s, report into the efficiencies of the Revenue and Customs & Excise, which is expected imminently.
In the meantime a temporary replacement may be appointed. The ‘steer’ within the Revenue is that the department will appoint its longest-serving member to take over from Montagu on an interim basis.
This would point to Ann Chant, deputy chairman of strategic service delivery, ahead of Dave Hartnett, who has been taking a more public and active role at the Revenue since his promotion to deputy chairman, policy and technical last year.
A department such as the Inland Revenue would not usually appoint a permanent successor to Montagu from within its own ranks. And with a merger with Customs widely believed to be a certainty, Gordon Brown may appoint a high-profile and highly experienced senior civil servant from another government department.