Mr Hammond was promoted to the position of Shadow Minister for Transport in December 2005 and held the position for the whole of the Parliament. He took up the position of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport at the Department for Transport in the Government reshuffle of September 2012, with responsibility for road safety, roads and maritime issues and in October 2013 he became the Minister responsible for Rail major projects, Rail franchising, operational issues and London transport.

Ms Perry, elected in 2010 as MP for Devizes, was the lead on the Government's campaign for filters on online pornography. Her appointment comes as the Government increases the number of women in the Cabinet in the run-up to the General Election.