Trust port

{{Short description|UK port operated by an independent statutory authority}}

{{use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}

In the United Kingdom, a trust port is a port that is administrated as a trust by an independent statutory body set up by an Act of Parliament and governed by its own set of rules and statutes.{{cite web |url=https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN00010 |title=Ports: privatisation of trust ports |first=Louise |last=Butcher |publisher=House of Commons Library |date=2 January 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://www.aberdeen-harbour.co.uk/article/what-makes-a-trust-port/ |title=What makes a trust port?|publisher=Aberdeen Harbour Board |access-date=2019-12-16}} This is in contrast to a private port, which is privately owned, and a municipal port, which is owned by the local authority.

Although there are 52 trust ports in England and Wales{{cite web |title=Trust ports study: key findings and recommendations |date=2016-05-26 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525076/trust-port-study-key-findings-and-recommendations.pdf}} the UK government's web page for trust ports has closed.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/trust-ports|title = Trust ports}} An example of a Scottish trust port is Aberdeen Harbour Board.{{cite web |url=http://www.britishports.org.uk/our-members/aberdeen-harbour-board |title=Aberdeen Harbour Board}}

Modernising Trust Ports: A Guide to Good Governance notes that:{{cite book |title=Modernising Trust Ports: A Guide to Good Governance' |date=1998 |id=section 9, page 7 |url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/shippingports/ports/trust/moderntrustportsaguidet5005.pdf |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100304123451/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/shippingports/ports/trust/moderntrustportsaguidet5005.pdf |archive-date=2010-03-04 |publisher=Department for Transport}}

{{blockquote|Many of the local Acts governing the conduct of trusts and appointment of board members have remained basically unchanged since their inception and, in many cases, fall far short of what might, today, be considered open and accountable. Many boards adhere to the basic principles of the trust, discharging their duties in a conscientious open and accountable manner. However, much depends on the integrity of individual board members for, unlike a private company where the board is accountable to its shareholders, in the final analysis trust boards only need to be accountable to themselves."}}

A number of trust ports have been privatized under the provisions of the Ports Act 1991. The British government is considering further privatizations of trust ports in the future.