HA still awaiting decision on new boss

The Highways Agency (HA) is still waiting for an announcement on who will be its permanent chief executive following the departure of Archie Robertson on Friday.

The Department for Transport (DfT), which is heading the recruitment process for the new chief, has still to announce a replacement although the HA's network operations director Derek Turner has been made acting chief executive.

CJ understands that both Turner and network services director Ginny Clarke have been interviewed for the role when interviews started on 20 May.

The HA referred all questions on the appointment to the DfT. However the DfT was unable to give an answer on when a decision on a permanent chief executive would be made.

The chief executive role will come with its pressures from government, especially as the HA recently came under some criticism from the Nichols Review into keeping its costs down on major road projects.