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Meet the new ministers dealing with transport access

Transport for All

Following their election victory, the composition of the new Conservative administration has been announced.

The Government...

Following their election victory, the composition of the new Conservative administration has been announced.

The Government has also made statements saying that further cuts will be made. Transport for All (TfA), like many disabled people’s organisations, is fearful that additional cuts, along with restrictions on eligibility criteria to benefits and services, will further restrict the lives and independence of disabled people.

TfA will continue to lobby the Government, alongside the shadow cabinet, on London-wide and national accessible transport issue (click here to read the demands we put forward during the General election).

 

Who’s who at the Department of Transport?

The top job of Sectary of State for Transport still remains in the hands of Patrick Mcloughlin.

However it is all change when it comes to the ministerial team within the Department of Transport:

  • Claire Perry MP : Under Secretary of State responsible for the railways including accessibility.
  • Andrew Jones MP: Under Secretary of State is responsible for bus policy, technology and innovation and road safety amongst others
  • Robert Goodwill MP: Under Secretary of State for Transport with responsibility for areas including high speed rail (HS2), aviation and cycling and walking.
  • Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Under Secretary of State for Transport with responsibility for London.

Transport for All has written to these MPs inviting them to meet TfA as well as go on a trip with a disabled transport user.

 

Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin

Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin was elected the Conservative MP for Derbyshire Dales in 2010, according to the government website. He has held a number of positions in government, including Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry and Government Whip. In opposition, he served as Chief Whip from 2005 to 2010. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 2005. He was appointed Chief Whip in the Coalition government in 2010.

 

Claire Perry

Claire Perry was elected Conservative MP for Devizes in 2010. According to the government website, she has been member of the Justice Select Committee from 2010 to 2011, Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence, from 2011 to 2013 and Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on preventing the sexualisation and commercialisation of children. She has been Government Whip in 2013 and in 2014. On Twitter, Claire Perry said that she is “delighted to keep Rail Minister job, especially as this government is making the biggest investment in our railways in generations.”

 

 

 

Andrew Jones

Andrew Jones was elected the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough in May 2010 according to the government website: “Since being elected in 2010, Andrew has been a Parliamentary Private Secretary on the health, business and transport teams. He has also chaired the Northern Electrification Taskforce which provided the Secretary of State for Transport with advice on the next steps for electrification of railways in the North of England.”

 

 

 

Robert Goodwill MP

Robert Goodwill MP was elected Conservative MP for Scarborough and Whitby in 2005. He “was elected as a Member of the European Parliament at the 1999, serving in Brussels and Strasbourg until the 2004 European election. He was Deputy Leader of the Conservative MEPs during his term. He was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election for Scarborough and Whitby. After spending 18 months as a member of the transport select committee, he was appointed a Whip in 2006 and promoted to the post of Shadow Roads Minister in the transport team in 2007. He was re-elected at the 2010 general election and appointed to the government as a Whip with responsibility for Treasury and DEFRA business.”

 

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon was appointed as a Lord’s Whip in September 2012 for Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Universities, Science. “Lord Ahmad was raised to the peerage in 2011 and served as a party whip before being appointed to government. He was vice-chairman of the Conservative Party between 2008 and 2010 with responsibility for cities. He also served as a Councillor (Wimbledon Park) and Cabinet Member in the London Borough of Merton between 2002 to 2012.”

 

Who’s the Minister for Disabled People?

Justin Tomlinson MP

Justin Tomlinson MP is the new Minister for Disabled People. You will note that the post is no longer at Minister of State level, but has reverted to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State one – which has a lower status.

 

According to the government’s website Mr Tomlinson will have responsibility for child poverty and cross-government disability issues including disability strategy and independent living.

 

 

As mentioned on the Government’s (gov.co.uk) website, “he was first elected as Member of Parliament for Swindon North in May 2010. Justin was previously the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ed Vaizey MP. Before being elected to Parliament, Justin served as a councillor in North Swindon for 10 years. He served 4 years in the council’s cabinet as the lead member for culture, leisure and recreation.”

 

Shadow Cabinet

Michael Dugher

Labour MP Michael Dugher is the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport. According to his website, he “was elected to serve as the Member of Parliament for the Barnsley East constituency in 2010 and was re-elected in the 2015 General Election. He was appointed as the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport on 5 November 2014. Before that, he was the Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, having previously attended Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister without Portfolio and Vice-Chair of the Labour Party.”

 

Kate Green

Labour MP Kate Green is the Shadow Spokesperson for disabled people. According to her website, she “was elected MP for Stretford and Urmston in May 2010. She is currently Shadow Spokesperson for Disabled People. Prior to her election Kate was Chief Executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, and before that Director of the National Council for One Parent Families (now Gingerbread). She is a long standing campaigner against poverty and inequality, chairs the all-party parliamentary group on poverty, and serves as a member of the Greater Manchester Poverty Commission. In 2013 Kate was appointed an ambassador for the Albert Kennedy Trust, a charity which supports LGBT homeless young people in crisis. Kate was previously a member of the National Employment Panel which advised Ministers on labour market policies, and Chair of the London Child Poverty Commission, reporting to the Mayor of London and local councillors. Kate also served as a magistrate for 16 years, and takes a particular interest in the experience of women in the penal system, and how best to rehabilitate them to prevent reoffending.”

A man standing in front of a painted brick wall smiling at the camera. He is holding a cane and is wearing glasses, a black jacket and a grey t-shirt. A man standing in front of a painted brick wall smiling at the camera. He is holding a cane and is wearing glasses, a black jacket and a grey t-shirt.

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