7th January 2010: Severe Weather

Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): I press the cabinet secretary on a point that I put to him when he telephoned me earlier this week. The unusual longevity of the current emergency has meant that hard-working road workers have had to continue to concentrate their efforts on main roads. In previous, shorter spells of bad weather—

The Presiding Officer: Question, please.
Charlie Gordon: In a shorter spell of bad weather, we would have turned our attention by now to side roads and minor roads, and—this is crucial—to pavements. Given the social consequences for vulnerable people of these exceptional circumstances, and given the cost impact on the health service, it would be cost effective as well as beneficial—

The Presiding Officer: Question, please, Mr Gordon.
Charlie Gordon: It would be cost effective and beneficial to the hard-pressed public to give emergency funds to councils to mobilise additional labour to clear pavements. Will the cabinet secretary do that now?

John Swinney: We must be clear that there are statutory responsibilities that local authorities take forward, which extend to winter maintenance in localities—Mr Gordon will be familiar with that from his long experience in local government. It is therefore for individual authorities to take the matter forward. Of course, I have on-going dialogue with local authorities about financial arrangements, and I am sure that there will be discussion on that question, but local authorities have the statutory duty to make plans in respect of winter maintenance and I know that they are concentrating on doing that.