Department overview | |
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Formed | 29 May 2002 |
Jurisdiction | Government of the United Kingdom |
Headquarters | Great Minster House, Horseferry Road, London |
Annual budget | £2.9 billion; 2019–20 [1] |
Secretary of State responsible |
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Department executives |
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Child agencies | |
Website | gov |
This article is part of a series on |
Politics of the United Kingdom |
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United Kingdomportal |
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The department is run by the Secretary of State for Transport, currently (since 25 October 2022), Mark Harper.
The expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department of Transport are scrutinised by the Transport Committee. [2]
The Department for Transport has six strategic objectives: [3]
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]
The DfT sponsors the following public bodies:
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.
The devolution of transport policy varies around the UK; most aspects in Great Britain are decided at Westminster. Key reserved transport matters (i.e., not devolved) are as follows:
Scotland Reserved matters: [6]
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]
The department's devolved counterparts in Northern Ireland are:
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]
The department's devolved counterpart in Wales is the Minister for Climate Change. [12]
Wales' comparability factor (the proportion of spending in this area devolved to the Welsh Government) was 36.6% for 2021/22. [7] This represents a significant reduction (e.g. it was 80.9% in 2015) due to the controversial classification of HS2 as an 'England and Wales' project. [13]
Act of Parliament | |
Long title | An Act to establish a Ministry of Transport and for purposes connected therewith. |
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Citation | 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 railways, light railways, tramways, canals and inland waterways, roads, bridges and ferries, and vehicles and traffic thereon, harbours, docks and piers.
In September 1919, all the powers of the Road Board, the Ministry of Health, and the Board of Trade in respect of transport, were transferred to the new ministry. Initially, the department was organised to carry out supervisory, development and executive functions, but the end of railway and canal control by 1921, and the settlement of financial agreements relating to the wartime operations of the railways reduced its role. In 1923, the department was reorganised into three major sections: Secretarial, Finance and Roads.
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:
The name "Ministry of Transport" lives on in the annual MOT test, a test of vehicle safety, roadworthiness, and exhaust emissions, which most vehicles used on public roads in the UK are required to pass annually once they reach three years old (four years for vehicles in Northern Ireland).
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]
The DfT Ministers are as follows, with cabinet ministers in bold: [18]
Minister | Portrait | Position | Portfolio |
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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). |
Transport in the United Kingdom is highly facilitated by road, rail, air and water networks. Transport is a devolved matter with each of the countries of the United Kingdom having separate systems under separate governments.
Southern is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) train operating company on the Southern routes of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise in England. It is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead and Keolis, and has operated the South Central franchise since August 2001 and the Gatwick Express service since June 2008. When the passenger rail franchise was subsumed into GTR, Southern was split from Gatwick Express and the two became separate brands, alongside the Thameslink and Great Northern brands.
The Home Office (HO), also known as the Home Department, is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for immigration, security, and law and order. As such, it is responsible for policing in England and Wales, fire and rescue services in England, Border Force, visas and immigration, and the Security Service (MI5). It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs, counterterrorism, and immigration. It was formerly responsible for His Majesty's Prison Service and the National Probation Service, but these have been transferred to the Ministry of Justice.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, also referred to as the Health Secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
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A train operating company (TOC) is the term used on the railway system of Great Britain for a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993.
National Highways (NH), formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. It also sets highways standards used by all four UK administrations, through the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges. Within England, it operates information services through the provision of on-road signage and its Traffic England website, provides traffic officers to deal with incidents on its network, and manages the delivery of improvement schemes to the network.
England has a dense, multimodal transportation infrastructure. The Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the transport network in England. The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible to Parliament for the Department for Transport.
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In the United Kingdom, devolved matters are the areas of public policy where the Parliament of the United Kingdom has devolved its legislative power to the national legislatures of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, while reserved matters and excepted matters are the areas where the UK Parliament retains exclusive power to legislate.
The Department for the Economy is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister for the Economy.
The Department for Infrastructure is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive.
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The Association of British Commuters (ABC) is a UK passenger lobby group for people who commute. It was formed in September 2016 by a group of passengers, disaffected by Govia Thameslink Railway's service on the Southern routes of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise, after months of delays, cancellations, overcrowded conditions, and strikes.
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The Transport Committee is charged by the House of Commons with scrutiny of the Department for Transport. Its formal remit is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Transport and its associated public bodies.