Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the DfT, with responsibility for road safety.
Mr Jones replaces Robert Goodwill* as road safety minister, though Mr Goodwill remains at the DfT with specific responsibility for HS2 Phase 1.
Andrew Jones is from Ilkley, and attended Bradford Grammar School and Leeds University, and worked in sales and marketing for Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate.
He was elected the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough in May 2010, and since then 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.
Mr Jones’ portfolio also includes responsibility for local and national roads and Highways England.
In other appointments at the DfT, Patrick McLoughlin has retained his role as Secretary of State for Transport and will oversee transport strategy, including economic growth and climate change, the spending review, transport security and high speed rail.
In addition, Claire Perry has been re-appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, retaining responsibility for rail franchising, commercial, fares, major projects (including Crossrail), freight and logistics, transport agencies, corporate and better regulation.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon has also joined the DfT, again as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State. He will also work for the Home Office.
John Hayes, who previously had a national roads, Infrastructure Bill and maritime portfolio, has moved to the Home Office as Minister of State with responsibility for security.
*Apology from editor: in an earlier news piece we wrongly announced that Robert Goodwill was to continue as road safety minister – we jumped the gun and apologise for this error!
Any steps to reduce injury are welcome. My suggestion is as follows:
All motor cyclist have to wear helmets, so why not cyclists?
All motor cyclists and pedal cyclists should wear high vis vests
All seat belts should have a fluorescent stripe in the middle so that traffic police could easily see especially at night whether the driver and passengers are wearing their belts.
Very simple, very cheap, very effective.
Graham, Eastbourne
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I hope Andrew Jones will take steps to stop the daily massacre of road users by motorists that occurs daily in our streets. Almost a thousand people per year are killed and thousands more sustain serious, life long, life changing injuries after being in collision with a motor vehicle. These deaths and injuries are entirely avoidable and need to stop. Death by motor vehicle is the largest single cause of death for children aged 10 – 18 in the UK.
SH
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We welcome Andrew Jones’ appointment and his taking over the Road Safety brief from Robert Goodwill. We look forward to meeting with Mr Jones and to continued constructive working with his department. And, parochially, he’s a North Yorkshire MP too!
Honor Byford, Chair, Road Safety GB
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Is there a “war on the motorist”? Well the government certainly thought so before they were elected and I suppose this may have come about due to the prosecution of many millions of citizens from automated enforcement technology.
Whether there is a war on the motorist or not, the perception it exists is surely not healthy. The perception issue may well have arisen in part due to the lack of accurate evidence and this problem could be addressed by using an evidence-led approach. If scientific trials were used for all road safety interventions, then we would have proof of effectiveness beyond reasonable doubt and spurious claims (from either side) could easily then be countered.
Dave Finney, Slough
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I think that Dave Finney got it exactly right when he said: “..put an end to the perception that there might be a “war on the motorist”
It is simply a “perception” and bears little resemblance to reality. Hence whilst it never existed for many of us taking an objective view of motoring and life in general, for those who’s pint is always half empty it will remain a self deluding grudge against a progressive society.
I certainly welcome Mr Jones to his new position and trust that he can build on the work of his predecessor in enabling communities to be able to make their streets a better and safer asset for all.
Rod King, 20’s Plenty for Us
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I would like to congratulate Andrew Jones on his appointment. A friend noted that the Conservatives in the previous coalition said they would “end the war on the motorist” but he said that, far from implementing it, the coalition seemed to intensify it. Is the new majority Conservative government still pledging to “end the war on the motorist”?
I hope that Andrew Jones will take an evidence-led approach by encouraging scientific trials to be used when road safety interventions are deployed. That way we could start to see real advances in our understanding of road safety and put an end to the perception that there might be a “war on the motorist”.
Dave Finney, Slough
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