Chancellor of the Exchequer of its interest rates. The chancellor also has oversight of public spending across Government departments. The holder of the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer is "ex officio" Second Lord of the Treasury as a member of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer. As the Second Lord, his official residence is 11 Downing Street in London, next door to the residence of the First Lord of the Treasury (a title that has for many years been held by the prime minister), who resides in 10 Downing Street. While in the past both houses were private residences,
Lords Commissioners of the Treasury Robert Walpole as the inaugural holder), it has been typical for the incumbent to assume also the position of First Lord of the Treasury. None of the other Lords of the Treasury work for the Treasury in a substantive sense. Rather they are government whips, given nominal positions in the Treasury to enable them to be suitably remunerated as members of Her Majesty's Government. The flexibility of the Commission of the Lord High Treasurer is suitably flexible for the government's whip operation because there are no fixed number of spaces on the Commission. Ironically however the Chief Whip himself is