Roads: Snow and Ice
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of winter grit salt bins that were provided by local authorities for each year from 2015 to date.
Answered by Simon Lightwood
Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 places a duty on highway authorities to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice.
It is for local highway authorities to determine what the most appropriate measures are to achieve this, based on local circumstances.
Most local highway authorities publish information about their winter service online. For example, Oldham Council’s website states that it currently maintains over 600 grit bins. Local people can access a map of where these are located and request new grit bins.
The Government also conducts a survey of local highway authorities every year to gather information about their preparations for winter and planning for extreme weather. This survey is mandatory, and includes information about how many continuous days their salt stocks will last for in severe winter conditions. It does not include detailed information about how many grit bins each authority maintains or where these are located.
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