Four key objectives form focus of DfT’s five-year plan

The Department for Transport (DfT) has released its single departmental plan 2015 to 2020, with a focus on four key objectives.

The four objectives are as follows:

• Boosting economic growth and opportunity



• Building a One Nation Britain



• Improving journeys



• Safe, secure and sustainable transport.

Under the heading ‘What DfT is doing’, there is a list of existing commitments which include increasing the level of investment in transport by 50% by 2020; planning for the second ‘Road investment strategy’ (2020 to 2025) including strategic studies; creating a national roads fund by financial year 2020 to 2021; and contributing £6 billion to the Local Growth Fund this Parliament for investment in local transport, including £475 million for major schemes.

When it comes to the objective of ‘Building a One Nation Britain’, the department wants to “rebalance the economy by building the Northern Powerhouse”.

As part of its plan DfT will:

• Work with Transport for the North to develop the ‘Northern transport strategy’



• Invest £13 billion in northern transport



• Invest over £6 billion in the northern road network, with the dualling and widening of the A1 north of Newcastle, the first new trans-Pennine road capacity in over 40 years and upgrading of the A1, M62, M1 and A555 link road

All 17 central departments have published single departmental plans that set out how government will deliver its priorities by 2020

You can read the DfT’s five-year plan here.