Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Local Transport)
Responsibilities
The Local Transport Minister is responsible 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
Current role holder
Simon Lightwood MP
Simon Lightwood was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Transport in the Department for Transport 9 July 2024.
Previously Simon was Shadow Transport Minister, appointed first in October 2022 and re-appointed in September 2023 with an expanded portfolio.
Simon was first elected as MP for Wakefield in a by-election in June 2022 and was re-elected as MP for Wakefield and Rothwell in July 2024.
Prior to being elected, Simon was a proud NHS worker, a Labour councillor and cabinet member for public health. He studied theatre acting at Bretton Hall College in Wakefield after moving to the city in the late nineties.
His wider interests involve spending time with his husband and two young children and supporting his local Rugby League team, Wakefield Trinity.