The government’s objectives for transport in England
Some transport planning work involves understanding or reporting on the government’s overall objectives for the transport system, and perhaps assesssing how a proposal or a range of options align with them – for example, in developing a business case for a major scheme seeking DfT funding. However, it’s not always easy to find a concise summary.
To make it easier, this ready-reference chart (310kB PDF or 984kB PNG) summarises the DfT’s current (at the time of writing) ‘Priority Outcomes’, and puts them in the context of the Government’s overall goals as set out in its Plan for Change. It highlights some of the key linkages between the two levels; other linkages also exist and may be relevant to particular interventions.
Some technical notes:
- I’m using the term ‘objectives’ as a shorthand for stated high-level policy goals; these may (in technical terms or simply in choice of language) be expressed in different ways or using other terminology such as ‘outcomes’.
- The UK government, including the DfT, have some UK-wide responsibilities and others that apply only to England. This chart covers only England and therefore, for simplicity, does not draw a distinction between UK-level and England–level objectives.
- There are sometimes wording differences between the Plan for Change PDF and the corresponding HTML webpages. The graphics associated with the missions appear only in the PDF and have been reproduced here in abbreviated form.
- For clarity, wording has sometimes been simplified here; if exact wording is critical the original documents should be checked.
Sources:
- Plan for Change: web pags: https://www.gov.uk/missions (accessed 23 August 2025)
- Plan for Change: PDF version: Plan for Change: Milestones for Mission-led Government. HM Government, 5 December 2024, CP1210
- DfT Priority Outcomes and Strategic Enablers: DfT Annual Report and Accounts 2024-2025, July 2025, HC1157