Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, (a) who are the members of the new Transport Acceleration Unit and (b) how were those members selected.

The DfT Acceleration Unit is a new team within the Department. The team is being established and is anticipated to comprise five members of staff. Darren Shirley (current Campaign for Better Transport, Chief Executive) will be the Director of the Unit, the remainder of the team are not members of the Senior Civil Service and therefore are not named. All five appointments are being made on a temporary basis whilst the Unit is established.

Applications from transport organisations and others were sought. Role profiles setting out the required skills and experience were developed. Potential candidates were assessed against these criteria. Where fair and open competition has not been used, all appointments have been in line with the agreed Exceptions to the Civil Service Recruitment Principles.