Responsibilities at the Department for Transport (as at 5th August 2019)

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Extracted from links under https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport

Who is your minister?

Grant Shapps has responsibility for:
oversight of all areas
corporate

Chris Heaton-Harris has responsibility for:
EU^» (European Union - about) Exit Planning
rail
cycling and walking

George Freeman has responsibility for:
transport technology and innovation
Future of Mobility Grand Challenge
decarbonisation and environment
Office for Low Emission Vehicles
Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles
spaceports and freeports
devolution and housing
East-West connectivity

Nusrat Ghani has responsibility for:
maritime
skills & apprenticeships
Year of Engineering (legacy)
accessibility (all modes)
Lead Minister for Secondary Legislation
Shadow roads Minister in the Commons

Paul Maynard has responsibility for:
Northern Powerhouse Rail
HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s))
Crossrail
East West Rail
TransPennine route upgrade
aviation (including Heathrow expansion)

Baroness Vere has responsibility for:
roads
security
freight (excluding EU Exit and rail)
drones
taxis and buses
light rail
community transport
all Lords business

With thanks to my RailFuture contacts for flagging up the array of changes!

[stuving]

And now Chris Heaton-Harris has moved on, to be Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, in the wake of Lord Frost's departure. He will be replaced by Wendy Morton, moving from the FCDO. The web site does not show her as taking on CHH's rail subjects, but there is probably some further tweaking due in this area.

[grahame]

And now Chris Heaton-Harris has moved on, to be Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, in the wake of Lord Frost's departure. He will be replaced by Wendy Morton, moving from the FCDO. The web site does not show her as taking on CHH's rail subjects, but there is probably some further tweaking due in this area.

WikiPedia - that oracle of accurate information -  - says "straight job swap" which would suggest she takes over CHH's portfolio.   Looking at transport (rail and bus) background ...

http://wendymorton.co.uk/aldridge-station-an-update/ from September, good to see her supporting a rail re-opening:

At the end of last week Mayor Andy Street and the West Midlands Combined Authority approved bids to the Government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement fund which could secure investment of up to £2 billion across the region over the next 5-years.

Importantly for Aldridge-Brownhills residents is the inclusion in the bid of the plan to build and re-open Aldridge Station.
This is another important step along the road to bringing a railway station back to Aldridge. We have now secured the site from the NHS for car parking and if this bid is successful then we will be a major step forward to delivering this innovative project that will have a major impact on our local economy.

And further back at http://wendymorton.co.uk/lets-look-at-re-opening-aldridge-station/

[grahame]

From Rail News - https://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2021/12/20-rail-minister-chris-heatonharris-leaves.html

A new rail minister has been appointed to replace Chris Heaton-Harris, who has become minister for Europe. His replacement is Wendy Morton, 54, who is the MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) for Aldridge-Brownhills. The Railway Industry Association's chief executive Darren Caplan has welcomed her. He continued: 'We look forward to working with Ms Morton at this pivotal time for UK^▸ (United Kingdom) rail. 2022 will be a particularly important year, with the railway industry continuing to support the UK during the Coronavirus pandemic, the sector undergoing a major restructure to the new Great British Railways model, and as we deliver major improvements to the network. I would also like to say thank you to Chris Heaton-Harris. There are few rail ministers who have had to deal with such a crisis as Covid, but during the past 18 months Mr Heaton-Harris really has worked tirelessly with the rail supply sector, to both ensure services kept running and to enable work to continue on renewing and enhancing railway infrastructure and rolling stock at a time when many other sectors could not function, through no fault of their own. We wish him the very best of luck in his new role.'

[stuving]

What we missed here was the previous change in February 2019. I can't find a DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) announcement of this, but from other sources (e.g. Building.co.uk) these were:

Andrew Stephenson replaced Paul Maynard in reshuffle at transport ministry

Former construction minister Andrew Stephenson has been made the minister responsible for HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) as well as Northern Powerhouse Rail and the TransPennine route upgrade.

Maynard’s responsibilities also included Crossrail, Crossrail 2 and East West rail, which have now been transferred to another transport minister, Chris Heaton-Harris.

Andrew Stephenson's responsibilities are listed now as above, plus skills, and Wendy Morton's are "to be confirmed".