Institutional arrangements - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 154

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT

Devolved
administrations

London
Mayor

Welsh
Assembly

Scottish
Parliament

[Government
Regional
Offices]

Highways
Agency

Transport
Wales

Executive
agencies

Transport
for
London
(TfL)

Transport
Scotland

Network
Rail*

Regional
bodies

Regional Consortia or
Partnerships

English Regional
Assemblies

County and district
or unitary councils

London
Boroughs

Local
authorities

Unitary councils

* Network Rail is not an executive agency of central government but operates on the basis of its financial support on terms
set out in a High Level Output Statement [see 23.5] Solid lines represent direct policy control.
.

Figure 10.1 The pattern of devolved administration

In the following sections we look first at the divisions within central government
itself (10.2) and at the arrangements made for devolved government and regional
administration (10.3). We then look at the division of ownership amongst the
transport industries as between the public and private sectors (10.4). (The sections are
presented in this order because the public/private split is a product of national policy
and may be amended at any time.) In sections 10.5 and 10.6 we examine the two main
ways in which the bulk of more detailed policy-making and service delivery is managed
within the public sector. This is either:

a to executive agencies or non-governmental bodies which have responsibility for a

particular function across the country, or

b to elected local councils which have responsibility for a range of functions within

particular geographical areas.

Figure 10.1 illustrates the pattern of devolved administration.
As an overall guide for this chapter Table 10.1 (p. 160)summarises the division of
responsibilities between national, regional and local bodies and the powers each has to
influence the main sectors of transport and land use planning.

10.2 The structuring of Central Government
The main areas of Government activity can be thought of as building blocks which
are brought together to form Departments of State each headed by a Cabinet Minister
who normally has the title of Secretary of State (SoS). The way in which the blocks
are combined is altered from time to time - sometimes to reflect changes in workload,
sometimes to give expression to new policy priorities.
Smaller, sometimes more transient areas of work associated with particular
initiatives have units which are 'tacked on' to the main building blocks and tend to
be moved or reformed more frequently. This applies particularly to issues which have