Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the wage restrictions and policies which apply to the Civil Service will apply to the Highways Agency following its transfer to a Government owned company.

The new Strategic Highways company will still need to conform to the requirements set out in Managing Public Money. The staff will no longer be civil servants, although terms and conditions will be protected for existing staff. We are considering the wider governance and controls framework and how central controls, including those on pay, should be applied to the new company.