Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster January 2018. The previous holder of the post was Patrick McLoughlin who was given the post following Theresa May's appointment as Prime Minister. Before this the holder of the post was Oliver Letwin, who was appointed in July 2014 when he was also Minister for Government Policy (2010–2015); following the 2015 general election, he was also given overall responsibility for the Cabinet Office and made a full member of the Cabinet. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of
Civil Service (United Kingdom) Crown working in a civil capacity who is not the holder of a political (or judicial) office; the holder of certain other offices in respect of whose tenure of office special provision has been made; [or] a servant of the Crown in a personal capacity paid from the Civil List". As such, the civil service does not include government ministers (who are politically appointed), members of the British Armed Forces, the police, officers of local government authorities or quangos of the Houses of Parliament, employees of the National Health Service (NHS), or staff of the Royal Household. As at the