News - 8 March 2010
Commons committee calls for stability at DfT and more Multimodal support
The Transport Select Committee today called on governments, present and future, to provide greater stability at the Department for Transport. The Committee was critical of the number of changes of Secretary of State for Transport, with five in the past five years. It acknowledges the achievements of the Department but criticises its over-optimistic reporting.
Transport Committee Chairman, Mrs Louise Ellman MP, said "Good transport is vital to the economy and to people's daily lives. Frequent changes of minister make it harder to develop a consistent approach to managing and developing our transport systems. Any company that changed its chief executive as frequently as happens with the Department for Transport would be viewed with great suspicion by shareholders." The Committee also commented on Multimodal shift: The DfT needs to maintain and build on the increase in tonne-km carried by rail (which has risen from 18bn tonne-km in 2000 to 21bn in 2008) - but it has fallen short of the 80% target set for this period.
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