As reported earlier this week, Andrew Jones has been re-appointed as a parliamentary under secretary of state for transport by Theresa May in the re-shuffle following her appointment as prime minister – with a wider portfolio that still includes road safety.
Mr Jones’ responsibilities now include sustainable travel, cycling, walking, the motoring agencies, road and vehicle safety and standards, buses and taxis, traffic management, smart ticketing and High Speed Rail 2 (HS2).
Mr Jones, who has been MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough since 2010, was first appointed to the DfT following the general election in May 2015.
He has taken a keen interest in road safety since then, and delivered a presentation by video at the 2015 National Road Safety Conference. He then addressed delegates in person at the Young Driver Focus 2016 event, including a question and answer session at the end of his presentation.
Mr Jones’ reappointment as road safety minister has been welcomed by Road Safety GB.
Honor Byford, chair of Road Safety GB, said: “Mr Jones has been very approachable and engaged with road safety professionals during his time at the DfT and we welcome his reappointment.
“Continuity is also a positive thing. All too often ministers get reassigned to different departments or given different responsibilities, just as they are building an understanding of their current portfolio.
"We support the bringing together of walking, cycling, sustainable travel and road safety under one minster’s portfolio as they are so closely connected and should be considered together.
“Having said all that, we feel that road safety could and should be further up the Government agenda, and will be seeking Mr Jones’ support to achieve this.”
Talking to his local paper, the Harrogate Informer, Mr Jones said: “I am really pleased to be staying at the DfT and taking on new and exciting responsibilities.
“It is a significant step taking on responsibility for HS2; probably the biggest capital project in Government. This is an exciting project which will see a huge injection of investment in our rail network.
“There are many other exciting opportunities in the portfolio. I am particularly interested in the sustainable transport section of the job and am looking forward to working closely with local authorities to deliver a real step change in sustainable transport like cycling and walking.”
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