HL Deb 08 March 1999 vol 598 cc3-4

2.40 p.m.

Lord Campbell of Croy asked Her Majesty's Government:

What action they are taking to improve arrangements for applying salt and grit to public roads in the United Kingdom, including those for which local authorities have responsibilities, in order to reduce accidents in winter conditions.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty)

My Lords, arrangements for applying salt on trunk and national roads in the United Kingdom are reviewed on a regular basis in the light of changed circumstances, usage and technological developments. We encourage local highway or roads authorities to do the same.

Lord Campbell of Croy

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for his reply. Are the Government concerned about reports that some local authorities have been reducing the resources needed to keep roads safe? Does he agree that our climate produces sudden changes in temperature to below freezing in different parts of the country and that that often happens, most unfortunately, at holiday periods and at weekends?

Lord Ampthill

My Lords, it is all the last government's fault!

Lord Whitty

My Lords, the situation under the last government, as under this Government, is dealt with through their operation of the Highways Agency in England and the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales in relation to their roads. There is a fairly firm code of practice as to what is required in terms of salt application in that it should be undertaken before the ice forms or snow settles on the roads. We give similar advice to local authorities. However, it is not part of our interpretation of the law or that advice that it is the responsibility of the highways authorities to keep open all roads at all times.

Lord Campbell of Croy

My Lords, if the Government were to ignore the back-slidings of such local authorities, would they not find themselves on a slippery slope? Moreover, in trying to defend them, would not the noble Lord find himself on very thin ice?

Lord Dixon-Smith

My Lords, the House will sympathise with anyone who must try to predict the vagaries of the wonderful climate which we enjoy in the United Kingdom. Is the Minister satisfied that the arrangements for distributing funds to local authorities in the United Kingdom are satisfactory to meet the needs of that particular variable in their responsibilities?

Lord Whitty

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for intervening before I had to conjure up a meterological riposte to the noble Lord, Lord Campbell of Croy. In normal circumstances, the allocations which we give to local authorities to cover maintenance of the highway and the removal of obstructions to the highway, which include snow and ice, are adequate. Clearly, there are other means whereby the national government may assist in emergency situations.