VILLIERS CONDEMNS GOVERNMENT'S FAILURE TO PREPARE EFFECTIVELY FOR COLD WEATHER CRISIS

MP for Chipping Barnet, Theresa Villiers, has launched an attack on the Government's handling of the cold weather crisis. Conservatives have uncovered the fact that the Government failed to act on the advice contained in a report submitted to the Department for Transport last year, which made a number of key recommendations on how to cope with severe weather conditions.

The report, entitled “Weathering the Storm” was drafted for the Local Government Association. It focused on the lessons to be learned from the cold snap in February 2009, which saw serious problems with the distribution of salt and supplies almost exhausted. The report was completed in July and submitted to the Department for Transport in August, but it was not until 15th December that the Government issued a response – just two days before the first major snowfalls.

Theresa said, “It is wholly unacceptable that the Government sat on this important report for months, instead of taking action on its recommendations and making vitally important plans to help the country’s transport system cope with bad weather. Labour’s flat-footed approach means they were ill-prepared for the cold weather when it hit. They have failed to give local authorities the advice and back-up they need and failed to pass on vital information which could have made the last couple of weeks safer and easier for people trying to get around.”

“The Government is now rapidly losing control of the situation. Their Salt Cell has been given the responsibility for coordinating the country’s dwindling salt supplies but stocks are running dangerously low. The news that the Government has had to ask councils to cut back on their use of gritting salt by 25% is an admission of failure and will make it more or less impossible for side roads or pavements in Barnet to be gritted.”

“However, I welcome the efforts Barnet Council are making to keep the roads clear and to use sand to try to make pavements less slippery. I have urged the Council to pull out all the stops to try to keep the roads and pavements as safe as possible and to do all it can to keep schools open and hospitals accessible. I know that they will have hundreds of people working on this throughout the weekend.”

“I pay tribute both to my constituents who are putting up with the snow and the disruption to their daily lives with such resilience and fortitude, and to council staff and others who have put in days and days of long hours and hard work to try to keep Barnet moving.”