'Spare a thought for the Transport Minister'

In a public service career spanning almost 40 years the speaker, Professor Eric Sampson CBE, has tried to support the policies and plans of a large number of Transport Ministers representing a range of political affiliations. During that time he has become increasingly concerned by the near-impossibility of requiring Ministers to take evidence-based transport decisions against a background of seven “management” pressures which frequently pull or push in different directions: • Safety • Environmental Impact • Throughput • Accessibility and Inclusion • Integration • Privacy • Security while at the same time they will be expected to follow their party’s political and financial agendas. In this lecture he reflects on the role of Ministers’ full-time official advisers – the Civil Service – and discusses with some real examples how difficult it can be to find a path between the different pressures when a real issue emerges.