Reshuffle
Prime Minister, David Cameron’s recent Government reshuffle has brought about some changes to the DfT. It saw the departure to the back benches of Stephen Hammond and a slight change in policy responsibilities. Baroness Kramer has retained policy responsibility for the bus and coach sector. Patrick McLoughlin remains as Secretary of State, with Robert Goodwill also remaining in place.
John Hayes has joined the team as Minister of State. John was elected to the Lincolnshire constituency of South Holland and The Deepings in 1997. He was an Opposition transport spokesman in 2005. His responsibilities include national roads, Highways Agency reform, the Infrastructure Bill, maritime and most relevantly, he will be Commons spokesman on bus policy. The newest recruit to the DfT team is Claire Perry, who has joined as an additional Parliamentary Under Secretary of State. She has represented the South West constituency of Devizes since 2010. She is responsible for rail franchising, rail commercial, rail fares, rail major projects (including Crossrail), freight and logistics, transport agencies and corporate and better regulation.