Unions welcome in-house TRL sale
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• The sale of the Government's road safety research body to an in-house bid has been welcomed by unions, which say the move will safeguard the Transport Research Laboratory's independence.
The sell-off to the Transport Research Foundation will allow the Crowthorne, Berkshire-based operation to retain its "independence, impartiality and quality of research", says the institute of Professionals, Managers and Specialists' TRL spokesman Mike Winnett.
Transport minister Steven Norris says the privatisation will allow the TRL "to compete more effectively and win business across a wider market". The sale is expected to be completed by the end of February.
The TRL advises ministers on a wide ranging brief, including civil engineering and traffic management, driver behaviour and environmental issues.
Alongside the unions, the former transport minister and Conservative MP Peter Bottomley had campaigned for the 400-employee organisation to be sold to the in-house bid, saying the sale to the other bidders—a consortium of civil engineers and the RAC and AA—could threaten its impartiality.