New Transport Secretary Grant Shapps imposes two page limit on rail documents he has to read

The new Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has imposed a two page limit on information sent to him about the management of Britain’s railways.

By Elizabeth Bates Friday, 26th July 2019, 5:52 pm

Conservative MP Grant Shapps posted this picture on social media following the publication of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. Credit: Twitter

In an internal email, seen by The Yorkshire Post, contributors to the Department’s Rail Group are also warned that Mr Shapps will “pay attention to the font sizes and margins” of any documents he receives.

The move is one of Mr Shapp’s first acts in the post since he took over from Chris Grayling this week, as the new Prime Minister Boris Johnson overhauled his top team.

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The email, which was sent out by senior civil servants to the Rail Group, stated: “The new Secretary of State Grant Shapps has requested that submissions should be no longer than 2 pages with no exceptions and no annexes.

“The submissions should set out the issue and the recommendation.

“The SoS will come back for more information as needed. He will pay attention to the font sizes and margins of the document.”

Mr Shapps once boasted on social media that he had read the 599-page Brexit Withdrawal Agreement in one night, posting a picture on Twitter in which he was surrounded by 10 empty coffee mugs.