Department for Transport

The Department for Transport (DfT) is the UK Government department responsible for transport policy across roads, rail, aviation, maritime, and emerging mobility sectors. It sets the regulatory framework for all public and private transport operators, administers infrastructure investment programmes, and oversees sponsored agencies including the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and Highways England. The DfT also acts as a major funder of applied research and innovation through competitions managed via Innovate UK, targeting de-carbonisation, connectivity, and automation in transport.

In May 2026 the DfT provided funding for the Innovate UK FOAK26 transport-innovation competition, a £4.3m programme open to UK businesses developing first-of-a-kind transport technologies, with a closing deadline of 24 June 2026. The competition sits within a broader £9.3m Innovate UK funding tranche that also covers rail and agritech. The DfT's use of Innovate UK competitions as a commercial pipeline mechanism reflects the government's strategy of de-risking early-stage transport innovation before procuring at scale.