Department for Transport

The Department for Transport (DfT) is the government department 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 24 July 2019) Grant Shapps.

Department for Transport

Department overview
Formed	29 May 2002; 19 years ago (2002-05-29)
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Headquarters	Great Minster House, Horseferry Road, London, UK
Annual budget	£2.9 billion; 2019–20[1]
Minister responsible	The Rt Hon. Grant Shapps MP, Secretary of State for Transport
Department executive	Bernadette Kelly, Permanent Secretary
Child agencies	Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency; Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency; Maritime and Coastguard Agency; Vehicle Certification Agency
Website	www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport

This article is part of a series on
Politics of the United Kingdom
Constitution Parliamentary sovereignty Rule of law Other constitutional principles
The Crown The Monarch (List) Elizabeth II Heir Apparent Charles, Prince of Wales Royal family Succession Prerogative Counsellors of State
Executive Privy Council Elizabeth II (Queen-in-Council) HM Government Prime Minister (List) Boris Johnson (C) First Secretary of State Dominic Raab (C) Cabinet (List) Departments Ministers Agencies
Legislature UK Parliament Elizabeth II (Queen-in-Parliament) House of Lords Lord Speaker The Lord McFall of Alcluith House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer (L) Act of Parliament 58th Parliament Opposition List of MPs
Judiciary Elizabeth II (Queen-on-the-Bench) Supreme Court President The Lord Reed Deputy President The Lord Hodge Justices of the Supreme Court UK England and Wales Scotland NI
Elections & Referendums UK Parliament Constituencies (2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies) Political parties Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 Scottish Parliament Constituencies and Electoral Regions Senedd Constituencies and Electoral Regions UK General Elections 1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832–33 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan–Feb) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 Next European Parliament Elections (1979–2019) 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 Scottish Parliament Elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 1998 2003 2007 2011 2016 2017 Next Senedd Elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 UK Referendums 1975 2011 2016
Devolution Joint Ministerial Committee Legislative consent motions  England Governance of England English votes for English laws Greater London Authority 1998 Referendum Greater London Authority Act 1999 (2007 Act) Mayor of London Sadiq Khan Mayoral cabinet London Assembly London Plan Combined authorities Metro mayors Cornwall Council Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Act 1998 (2006 Act) First Minister Arlene Foster deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill Executive Assembly Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly Law of Northern Ireland  Scotland 1997 Referendum Scotland Act 1998 (2012 Act, 2016 Act) First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Government Scottish Parliament Act of the Scottish Parliament Scottish statutory instrument Scots law  Wales 1997 Referendum (2011 Referendum on law-making powers) Government of Wales Act 1998 (2006 Act, Wales Act 2014, Wales Act 2017) First Minister Mark Drakeford Government Senedd Measure of the National Assembly for Wales (1999–2011) Act of Senedd Cymru Welsh law
Administration England History Subdivisions: Regions Ceremonial counties (list) Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties Metropolitan county Non-metropolitan county Greater London Unitary authorities (list) Districts (list) Metropolitan Borough Non-metropolitan District London Borough Civil parishes (list) Historic counties Northern Ireland History Subdivisions: Counties Districts Scotland History Subdivisions: Sheriffdoms Council areas Community council areas Civil parishes Shires of Scotland Wales History Preserved counties Principal areas Communities (list) Historic counties
Crown Dependencies Bailiwick of Guernsey ( Guernsey  Alderney  Sark)  Bailiwick of Jersey  Isle of Man British Islands Common Travel Area
Overseas Territories  Akrotiri and Dhekelia  Anguilla  Bermuda  British Antarctic Territory  British Indian Ocean Territory  British Virgin Islands  Cayman Islands  Falkland Islands  Gibraltar  Montserrat  Pitcairn Islands  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ( Saint Helena  Ascension Island  Tristan da Cunha)  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands  Turks and Caicos Islands British Overseas Territories citizen Visa requirements Visa policies British Overseas Territories Act 2002 Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute Gibraltar sovereignty dispute Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute
Foreign relations Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Foreign policy (History) Diplomatic missions of / in the United Kingdom UK Passport British National (Overseas) Passport Visa requirements Visa policy Australia Canada China Hong Kong France Germany India New Zealand Russia Singapore United States Ireland Politics of Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement UK–Ireland border Brexit and the Irish border British–Irish Council European Union (History) Brexit Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union UK–EU withdrawal agreement The Commonwealth Member states of the Commonwealth United Kingdom and the United Nations United Nations Security Council P5 NATO G20 G7
United Kingdom portal Other countries
v t e

History

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:

• 1919–1941: Ministry of Transport
• 1941–1946: Ministry of War Transport, after absorption of 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 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).

Role

The Department for Transport has six strategic objectives:[2]

• 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.[3]

Ministers

The DfT Ministers are as follows:[4]

The Permanent Secretary is Bernadette Kelly.

2017 judicial review

Following a series of strikes, poor performance, removal of 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.[5][6]

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.[7][8]

Executive agencies

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

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 data

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

Devolution

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:[9]

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

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010)

Northern Ireland Reserved matters:[10]

• Civil aviation
• Navigation (including merchant shipping)

The department's devolved counterparts in Northern Ireland are:

• Department for Infrastructure (general transport policy, ports, roads, and rail)[11]
• Department of the Environment (road safety and the regulation of drivers and vehicles)[12]

Wales Under the Welsh devolution settlement, specific policy areas are transferred to the National Assembly for Wales rather than reserved to Westminster.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010)

See also

• Julie, a public information film of the department's "THINK!" campaign
• Transport Direct
• Transport Research Laboratory (formerly known as the Road Research Laboratory, then the Transport and Road Research Laboratory); now a privatised company
• United Kingdom budget
• Urban Traffic Management and Control
• Operator Compliance Support
• 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.CS1 maint: date format (link)