My first month at Transport
Posted by Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, at 14:29, Thu 9 February 2012:
At the beginning of the year I was promoted from being a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to a Minister of State to being the PPS to a Cabinet Minister – Justine Greening, Secretary of State for Transport.
A PPS is not a paid role within Government but I do believe it is an important one. It keeps Ministers in touch with backbench MPs' views and through backbench MPs with the views of people up and down the country.
My very first week was dominated by the announcement that the High Speed Rail network will proceed. This is a significant step and, with the exception of the Channel Tunnel link, the first new national rail line since Victorian times. For us in Harrogate & Knaresborough there will be advantages in the so-called ‘Y-shaped’ configuration which brings the line up to Leeds. This move will dramatically increase capacity on our rail network and improve access to markets for our companies.
There was controversy again a few days later over ‘Boris island’ – an idea for a new airport in the Thames estuary, so called for being strongly backed by the London Mayor, Boris Johnson.
Some very positive news crept out quietly in the wake of these larger issues. Following changes made by the Government the cost of the Government’s car service – those used by Ministers and officials – has reduced by nearly a half when compared to the last year of the previous Government.
We’ve given a shot in the arm to the UK haulage industry by introducing a levy on foreign lorries driven in the UK. In Europe a similar fee has been charged for some time on UK lorries, so we have levelled the playing field.
An announcement that could help ease frustration up and down the country has also been made. The Government is allowing three local authorities to trial charging utility companies for digging up roads. The idea is to encourage co-ordination and better planning between different utilities when they need to do maintenance and ensure they do the work quickly and get it right first time. My constituency postbag regularly features letters on this problem.
It is already very clear that the transport brief within Government is very varied and fast moving.
It is an exciting time to join the transport team. Since becoming MP I have been very active promoting the case for better rail services for us locally and across the north. Despite the challenging times for our economy and amidst the cuts, I am pleased to see the Government has prioritised spending on infrastructure projects. These are projects – like the electrification of the trans-Pennine rail route – which will help generate economic growth.
Infrastructure improvements are not just a key ingredient for future prosperity, they can tackle some of the frustrations and cost we all experience.
Andrew Jones MP 01423 529614 andrew.jones.mp@parliament.uk www.andrewjonesmp.co.uk www.facebook.com/andrew.jones.mp
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