New aviation minister also handed maritime brief at DfT
James ChappleThe shake-up at the Department for Transport (DfT) continued this week after new aviation minister, Baroness Charlotte Vere, was assigned responsibility for maritime in addition to her aviation brief.
Vere, parliamentary under secretary of state at the DfT, will assume the joint transport portfolio held by Robert Courts during the pandemic, in addition to responsibility for "space, international and active travel" matters.
Her "local transport" brief, meanwhile, will pass to fellow under secretary of state at the DfT, Richard Holden, who joined the department late last month. His full portfolio is yet to be defined.
"Delighted to be continuing as aviation minister at DfT, and to take on the role of maritime minister too," tweeted Vere on Wednesday (2 November). "I am sad to lose local transport, but it will be in excellent hands @RicHolden [Richard Holden]."
Vere and Holden will work under new transport secretary Mark Harper, who replaced Anne Marie Trevelyan after a brief stint in office under Liz Truss, and alongside new transport minister Huw Merriman, who will stand down as chair of parliament’s transport select committee.
A search for Merriman’s successor is already under way. Like Holden, his full ministerial portfolio at transport is yet to be confirmed. He has came in for widespread travel industry praise following his appointment, most notably from Aito.
"He simply ‘gets’ travel, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the huge challenges we’ve faced over the past several years," said Aito chair Chris Rowles.
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