Q22 Chair: Good morning, everybody. Thank you very much for returning, Graham Dalton, Martin Capstick and Ginny Clarke, and our apologies that we had to abandon the last hearing on this issue. I just want to ask a question. One of the continuing themes in this Committee is the failure to get the senior responsible officer to come and explain his or her actions. In this instance, it is Ian Scholey. Can you just explain to me why he can't come?
Graham Dalton: Chair, Ian Scholey was employed at the Highways Agency until the time we closed this deal. He is not actually in the employment of the agency now.
Q23 Chair: He was still the responsible officer. We called people-
Graham Dalton: And when you called the last meeting, he was actually overseas on business.
Q24 Chair: And why has he been unable to come today?
Graham Dalton: I am not sure if we followed up today.
Q25 Chair: And is it true that he now works for one of the advisers?
Graham Dalton: He works for Parsons Brinckerhoff, which was an independent company working for us as an adviser at the time. He is now working on rail activities and rail schemes, not on highways.
Q26 Chair: So he has left this awful project and gone to work for one of the advisers advising the Department for Transport?
Graham Dalton: He left the Highways Agency when the project was completed, for career reasons. He is a professional-
Q27 Chair: For what reasons?
Graham Dalton: Career reasons. And he works for Parsons Brinckerhoff on rail schemes-
Chair: I don't know if I would have given him a job after this one, but never mind. [Laughter.] Go on.
Graham Dalton: He had the opportunity to work on large projects and at the Highways Agency had the opportunity to do this transaction. He came from railways into highways and he has gone back to work on rail schemes.
Q28 Joseph Johnson: Was he a manager there?
Graham Dalton: No.
Q29 Stephen Barclay: Do most people leave jobs for career reasons?
Graham Dalton: He's a major projects professional and wanted to go back into rail on major project schemes.
Q30 Stephen Barclay: Can I just clarify something that relates to the Chair's question? Regarding the firm that he has gone to, during his time as senior responsible officer how much was paid in professional fees or other fees to that firm?
Graham Dalton: The implication is a conflict of interest. We have the numbers in the additional information that we provided you with.
Stephen Barclay: I wasn't implying anything.
Ginny Clarke: Parsons Brinckerhoff was an adviser up to a certain period, which was to 2008.