The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the

English transport England has a dense and modern transportation infrastructure. The Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network. Transport in England is facilitated with road, air, rail, and water networks ...

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 for Transport are scrutinised by the

Transport Committee The Transport Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the Committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Transport and its assoc ...

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

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

light railway A light railway is a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more steep gradients and tight curves to reduce civil engineering costs. These lighter standards all ...

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

ways,

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...

s and inland waterways,

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

s and ferries, and

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...

s and traffic thereon,

harbours A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with '' port'', which is ...

, 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 The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

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 An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

*1976–1997: Department of Transport *1997–2001:

Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions was a United Kingdom Cabinet position created in 1997, with responsibility for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). The position and department ...

*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 Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

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 Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

Role

The Department for Transport has six strategic objectives: * 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.

Ministers

The DfT Ministers are as follows: The

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil ...

Bernadette Kelly Dame Bernadette Mary Kelly (born 10 March 1964) is a British senior civil servant who has served as permanent secretary for the Department for Transport since 18 April 2017. Early life Kelly was born on 10 March 1964 to Edward and Teresa Kelly ...

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 Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...

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. 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.

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 The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) is an executive agency of the United Kingdom Department for Transport, and is the UK's type approval authority. VCA has been supporting the automotive industry since the early 1970s, with offices in the UK ...

(VCA)

Non-departmental public bodies

The DfT sponsors the following public bodies: *

British Transport Police Authority The British Transport Police Authority is the police authority that oversees the British Transport Police. A police authority is a governmental body in the United Kingdom that defines strategic plans for a police force and provides accountability s ...

* Northern Lighthouse Board
Transport Focus
* Trinity House Lighthouse Service *

Civil Aviation Authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise The Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise (ICCAN) was an advisory non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibility for civil aviation noise, and how it affects communities. The stated object ...

Transport publications and data

DfT publications include the

Design Manual for Roads and Bridges The Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) is a series of 15 volumes that provide standards, advice notes and other documents relating to the design, assessment and operation of trunk roads, including motorways in the United Kingdom, and ...

and Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG, formerly WebTAG). The DfT maintains datasets including the

National Trip End Model The National Trip End Model is a database maintained by the United Kingdom's Department for Transport. The database forecasts future year data for population, employment, housing, car ownership and trip rates, and can thus be used to estimate the f ...

and traffic counts on major roads.

Devolution

The

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

of transport policy varies around the UK; most aspects in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

are decided at Westminster. Key reserved transport matters (i.e., not devolved) are as follows: Scotland Reserved matters: *

Air transport Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

Marine transport Maritime transport (or ocean transport) and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people ( passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throu ...

Navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation ...

(including merchant shipping) * Driving and vehicle certification *

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

(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. Northern Ireland Reserved matters: * Civil aviation *

(including merchant shipping) The department's devolved counterparts in Northern Ireland are: * Department for Infrastructure (general transport policy,

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

s, roads, and rail) *

(road safety and the regulation of drivers and vehicles) Northern Ireland's comparability factor (the proportion of spending in this area devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive) was 95.4% for 2021/22. Wales Reserved matters: *Railway Services *

including

Trust ports In the United Kingdom, a trust port is a port that is administered as a trust by an independent statutory body set up by an Act of Parliament and governed by its own set of rules and statutes. This is in contrast to a private port, which is priva ...

and Hovercrafts *Transport security *

(including merchant shipping) * Driving and vehicle certification * Road Numbering The department's devolved counterpart in Wales is the Minister for Climate Change. Wales' comparability factor (the proportion of spending in this area devolved to the Welsh Government) was 36.6% for 2021/22. 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.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 51.4946, -0.1293, type:landmark_region:GB-WSM, display=title Transport in the United Kingdom 2002 establishments in the United Kingdom