Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport

This article is about the office in use since 2002. For the office in use from 1924 to 1970, see Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport. For the office in use from 1976 to 1997, see Under-Secretary of State for Transport.

United Kingdom Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State for Transport
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Incumbent Left to Right: Lilian Greenwood Simon Lightwood Keir Mather since July 2024, July 2024, September 2025, respectively
Department for Transport
Style	Minister
Reports to	Secretary of State for Transport
Nominator	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Appointer	The King (on advice of the Prime Minister)
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
First holder	Tom Harris

Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State for Transport are junior ministers in the Department for Transport of His Majesty's Government. They report to the Secretary of State for Transport and are responsible for various aspects of British transport policy.

Current Responsibilities

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Future of Roads

In their role as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood has responsibility for: ^[1]

• strategic roads, including:
  • National Highways
  • Road Investment Strategy (RIS)
  • infrastructure planning and delivery
• road safety
• local roads and roads maintenance
• motoring agencies (DVLA, DVSA, VCA)
• haulage and future of freight  
• Kent traffic  
• EES and borders
• road vehicle decarbonisation
• environment strategy
• automated vehicles
• international vehicle standards
• traffic and technology  
• roads accessibility

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Transport

In their role as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Transport, Simon Lightwood has responsibility for:

• local transport (buses, taxis, private hire vehicles, light rail)
• local transport decarbonisation
• local transport accessibility, and cross-cutting transport accessibility
• tackling violence against women and girls on the transport network
• active travel
• e-scooters
• modal shift
• regions and devolution
• the department’s relationship with London, including Transport for London
• transport connectivity across the union
• integrated transport strategy

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport

In their role as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Keir Mather has responsibility for:

• rail (including commercial, operational performance and community rail)
• buses (including concessionary fares)
• taxis
• light rail and trams
• smart ticketing (including rail fares and ticketing)
• traffic management
• regional and local transport (including local roads, maintenance, major projects, winter resilience)
• natural environment and climate change
• cleaner fuel and vehicles
• sustainable travel (including walking and cycling)
• accessibility and equalities
• alternatives to travel
• SMEs and growth

Responsibilities under Sunak Ministry

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Decarbonisation and Technology

In his role as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Decarbonisation and Technology, Anthony Browne had responsibility for: ^[2]

• aviation
• transport decarbonisation
• air quality
• technology, (including autonomous vehicles, drones, e-scooters)
• space
• skills, science and research
• corporate (including public appointments)
• aviation accessibility

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Roads and Local Transport

In his role as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Roads and Local Transport, Guy Opperman had responsibility for: ^[3]

• roads maintenance and infrastructure delivery (including National Highways)
• road safety
• motoring agencies (DVLA, DVSA, VCA)
• local transport including buses, taxis, light rail
• active travel (cycling and walking)
• Kent including BROCK, TAP
• EES and borders
• haulage
• Future of Freight
• women’s safety
• accessibility (cross-cutting lead as Ministerial Disability Champion)

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Maritime and Security

In his role as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Maritime and Security, The Lord Davies of Gower had responsibility for: ^[4]

• primary legislation in the Lords
• maritime
• security (including Ukraine)
• civil contingencies
• international
• union connectivity
• secondary legislation (including retained EU law)
• maritime accessibility

List of Ministers

• 2006–2008: Tom Harris
• 2008–2009: Paul Clark
• 2007–2009: Jim Fitzpatrick
• 2009–2010: Chris Mole
• 2010–2013: Norman Baker
• 2013–2015: Robert Goodwill
• 2010–2012: Mike Penning
• 2012–2014: Stephen Hammond
• 2014–2016: Claire Perry
• 2016–2018: Paul Maynard
• 2015–2017: Andrew Jones
• 2015–2017: Tariq Ahmad, Baron Ahmad of Wimbledon
• 2016–2018: Paul Maynard
• 2017–2017: Martin Callanan, Baron Callanan
• 2017–2018: Jesse Norman
• 2017–2019: Liz Sugg, Baroness Sugg
• 2018–2019: Andrew Jones
• 2018–2020: Nus Ghani
• 2019–2020: Paul Maynard
• 2020: Kelly Tolhurst
• 2019–2023: Charlotte Vere, Baroness Vere of Norbiton
• 2020–2021: Rachel Maclean
• 2020–2022: Robert Courts
• 2021–2022: Trudy Harrison
• 2021–2022: Wendy Morton
• 2022: Karl McCartney
• 2022: Katherine Fletcher
• 2022–2023: Richard Holden
• 2023–2024: Anthony Browne
• 2023–2024: Guy Opperman
• 2023–2024: Byron Davies, Baron Davies of Gower
• 2024: Simon Lightwood
• 2024: Lilian Greenwood
• 2024–2025: Mike Kane
• 2025: Keir Mather

References

1. "Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Future of Roads Minister) - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
2. "Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Decarbonisation and Technology - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
3. "Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Roads and Local Transport - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
4. "Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.