DRF Lunchtime Clinic - Rupert Furness

We look forward to welcoming Rupert Furness, Head of the Local Highways and Active Travel Division in the Roads Transport Group of the UK Department for Transport to the DRF Lunchtime Clinic. Rupert will be speaking on, The dark arts of policy-making in the civil service. 

During the talk Rupert will explain what it is like to be a civil servant in a policy role at the heart of government, and how the work of academics can influence policy-making in Whitehall and Westminster. He will briefly summarise his own career journey, and explain what Ministers need (and don’t need) to reach well-informed policy decisions. He will offer a few anecdotes on a typical day in the life of a civil service policy team, and some insights into the busy lives of Ministers

As head of the Local Highways and Active Travel Division in the Roads Transport Group of the UK Department for Transport Rupert's teams are responsible for:

• allocating £1 billion a year or so of highway maintenance funding to local highway authorities across England;
• advising Ministers on policies to promote walking and cycling;
• the statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy; and
• sponsoring the Department’s executive agency Active Travel England.

He has been in the Department for Transport for over 20 years, and his previous posts in the Department for Transport have included heading the London Transport team; heading the Environment Strategy team; and managing the implementation of the UK’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation. Before joining the DfT in 2003, he worked for a number of other Government Departments including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Cabinet Office.

Outside work, he is also a keen cyclist and walker, and at weekends can generally be found on long bike rides or walks across the Kent countryside.