Department for Transport

Department for Transport

Permanent Secretary Vacant, Second Permanent Secretary
Child agencies	Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency; Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency; Maritime and Coastguard Agency; Vehicle Certification Agency
Website	gov.uk/dft

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v t e

The Department for Transport (DfT) is a

The Department for Transport has six strategic objectives:[3]

• Support the creation of a stronger, cleaner, more productive economy
• Help to connect people and places, balancing investment across the country
• Make journeys easier, modern and reliable
• Make sure transport is safe, secure and sustainable
• Prepare the transport system for technological progress and a prosperous future outside the EU
• Promote a culture of efficiency and productivity in everything it does

The department "creates the strategic framework" for transport services, which are delivered through a wide range of public and private sector bodies including its own executive agencies.^[4]

Executive agencies

• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
• Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)
• National Highways (formerly Highways England and the Highways Agency)
• Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)
• Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA)
• Active Travel England (ATE)

Non-departmental public bodies

The DfT sponsors the following public bodies:

• British Transport Police Authority
• Northern Lighthouse Board
• Transport Focus
• Trinity House Lighthouse Service
• Civil Aviation Authority
• Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise

Transport publications and data

DfT publications include the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges and Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG, formerly WebTAG).^[5]

The DfT maintains datasets including the National Trip End Model and traffic counts on major roads.

Devolution

The

Scotland Reserved matters:^[6]

• Air transport
• Marine transport
• merchant shipping
  )
• Driving and vehicle certification
• Railways
  (cross-border)
• Road Numbering

Scotland's comparability factor (the proportion of spending in this area devolved to the Scottish Government) was 91.7% for 2021/22.^[7]

Northern Ireland Reserved matters:^[8]

• Civil aviation
• merchant shipping
  )

The department's devolved counterparts in Northern Ireland are:

• Department for Infrastructure (general transport policy, ports, roads, and rail)^[9]
• Department of the Environment (road safety and the regulation of drivers and vehicles)^[10]

Northern Ireland's comparability factor (the proportion of spending in this area devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive) was 95.4% for 2021/22.^[7]

Wales Reserved matters:^[11]

• Railway Services
• Air transport
• Trust ports and Hovercraft
• Transport security
• merchant shipping
  )
• Driving and vehicle certification
• Road Numbering

The department's devolved counterpart in Wales is the Minister for Climate Change.^[12]

Wales'

History

United Kingdom legislation

Ministry of Transport Act 1919

Act of Parliament
9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 50
Dates
Royal assent	15 August 1919
Status: Partially repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Ministry of Transport Act 1919 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Ministry of Transport was established by the Ministry of Transport Act 1919 which provided for the transfer to the new ministry of powers and duties of any government department in respect of

The ministry's functions were exercised initially throughout the United Kingdom. An Irish Branch was established in 1920, but then was taken over by the government of the Irish Free State on the transfer of functions in 1922.

The department took over transport functions of Scottish departments in the same year, though certain functions relating to local government, loan sanction, byelaws and housing were excepted. In May 1937, power to make provisional orders for harbour, pier and ferry works was transferred to the Secretary of State for Scotland.

The growth of road transport increased the responsibilities of the ministry, and in the 1930s, and especially with defence preparations preceding the outbreak of war, government responsibilities for all means of transport increased significantly.

Government control of transport and diverse associated matters has been reorganised a number of times in modern history, being the responsibility of:

• 1919–1941: Ministry of Transport
• 1941–1946:
  Ministry of Shipping
• 1946–1953: Ministry of Transport
• 1953–1959: Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation
• 1959–1970: Ministry of Transport
• 1970–1976: Department of the Environment
• 1976–1997: Department of Transport
• 1997–2001:
  Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
• 2001–2002: Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions
• 2002–present: Department for Transport

The name "Ministry of Transport" lives on in the annual

2017 judicial review

Following a series of strikes, poor performance, concerns over access for the disabled and commuter protests relating to Govia Thameslink Railway a group of commuters crowdfunded £26,000 to initiate a judicial review into the Department for Transport's management and failure to penalise Govia or remove the management contract. The oral hearing to determine if commuters have standing to bring a judicial review was listed for 29 June 2017 at the Royal Courts of Justice.^[14][15]

The attempted judicial review was not allowed to proceed, and the commuters who brought it had to pay £17,000 in costs to the Department for Transport.^[16][17]

Ministers

The DfT Ministers are as follows, with cabinet ministers in bold:^[18]

Minister	Portrait	Position	Portfolio
The Rt Hon. Mark Harper MP		Secretary of State for Transport	Overall responsibility for the department; oversight of all areas
Huw Merriman MP		Minister of State for Rail and HS2	Rail transformation and reform; rail infrastructure; High Speed 2 (HS2); Integrated Rail Plan; Northern Powerhouse Rail; international rail; rail passenger services and freight; accessibility
The Rt Hon. Anthony Browne MP		Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Decarbonisation and Technology	Aviation; transport decarbonisation; air quality; technology, (including autonomous vehicles, drones, e-scooters); space; skills, science and research; corporate (including public appointments); aviation accessibility.
The Rt Hon. Lord Davies of Gower		Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Maritime and Security	Primary legislation in the Lords; maritime; security (including Ukraine); civil contingencies; international; union connectivity; secondary legislation (including retained EU law); maritime accessibility.
Guy Opperman MP		Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Roads and Local Transport	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).

The

• Julie
  , a public information film of the department's "THINK!" campaign
• DfT OLR Holdings, a DfT subsidiary acting as operator of last resort for nationalised railway franchises
• Transport Research Laboratory (formerly known as the Road Research Laboratory, then the Transport and Road Research Laboratory); now a privatised company
• Urban Traffic Management and Control
• Rail transport in Great Britain

References

•  This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence: National Archives (1613–2010). "Records created or inherited by the Transport Ministries, and by related bodies, and by the London Passenger Transport Board". Retrieved 16 February 2021.

External links

• Official website

51°29′41″N 0°07′45″W / 51.4946°N 0.1293°W / 51.4946; -0.1293