Institutional arrangements - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 159

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly Trade
and Industry) also has a number of specific responsibilities related to transport. These
include safeguarding the interests of the vehicle manufacturing and related industries
and promoting technological applications to transport through its 'Foresight'
programme. It also sponsors the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair
Trading - non-departmental bodies which have a significant role in the regulation
of transport operations (13.3). In October 2008, reflecting the increasing volume of
work associated with the Climate Change Programme (24.3), the Energy Group within
BERR was transferred together with most of the Climate Change Group within Defra
to form a new Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) with Ed Miliband
as its first Secretary of State.
The Home Office has responsibility for law enforcement. It is therefore concerned
about the practicability of any proposed changes in transport legislation, particularly
as far as road traffic is concerned, in terms of public acceptability (hence relations
with the police) and in the potential claims on resources for policing. However the
observance of traffic and parking regulations - though often important to local
communities - is peripheral to the department's main concerns. This has led to some
transfers of responsibility from police authorities to local councils (14.6).
Thus far we have considered the structure of Central Government at a broad,
ministerial level. More detailed changes take place at administrative level (i.e. within
the Civil Service) both at the time of ministerial reshuffles and independently of them.
The policy directorates are subject to continual reorganisation, partly in response
to changing political priorities … These changes also reflect a continual
search for the ideal structure … The benefits claimed for such reorganisations
are debatable. Fortunately their main impact is on senior managers who are
accustomed to adjusting quickly to changing circumstances and priorities. Much
of the department's more routine work continues more or less undisturbed, but
the constant upheaval in response to the latest pressure could well contribute to
the culture of the short-term political fix, which some commentators find to be
characteristic of British policy-making, and not only in regard to transport.
(Glaister et al. 1998 p. 53)
Currently the Department's structure is centred on a Board responsible for
'Strategy, Planning and Performance Capability' whose membership consists of the
Permanent Secretary (the head official of the Department), five Directors General
(DGs), the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency and two non-executive
members. The presence of the HA's Chief Executive and a DG overseeing the work
of four executive agencies concerned with aspects of vehicle and driver regulation is
intended to ensure that they contribute to the shaping as well as delivery of policy.
One of the directorates is almost wholly concerned with the rail industry. This
reflects the transfer 'in-house' of functions previously carried out by the Strategic
Rail Authority and is a notable exception from the general trend of devolving such
functions to executive agencies.
Each of the DfT's directorates has a number of divisions. Two (out of about 30!)
which are especially important to people working in local transport planning lie
within the City and Regional Networks Directorate. One (concerned with delivery)
is organised by groups of English regions; the other (concerned with policy) includes
groups dealing with the Local Transport Bill and Concessionary Travel which at the