Your Ref: Please reply to: Mr D Redford My Ref: DR/WINT/SG 4th Floor, City Hall, Lincoln, LN1 1DN Date: 23 November 2010 Tel No: 01522 782070 Fax No: 01522 553149 Email: [email protected]

To: The Clerk to the Parish Council

Dear Sir/Madam

GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE FOR SELF HELP ON WINTER SNOW CLEARANCE

Recently, you may have seen in the press, HM Government reference to guidance on self help during periods of severe winter weather.

This guidance has been published following an independent review into the response of England’s transport system to severe winter weather. This review was carried out earlier this year, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport, and followed two consecutive severe winters across the whole country. The Quarmby Review, as it is called, can be accessed via the internet: http://transportwinterresilience.independent.gov.uk/index.

Section 11 of Quarmby’s Interim Report comprehensively covers the findings, which were developed into Recommendation 15 in the report, stating:

The Department for Transport should develop, in collaboration with local government representatives and appropriate experts, a code setting out good practice for members of the public, including business owners, in clearing snow and ice from footways. This should:

 be produced by the end of October 2010 in time for the coming winter;  be short, along the lines of Westminster’s advice to its residents;  set a standard which, if observed, should guard the public against negligence claims;  be made available to households by local authorities.

It is due to this report and its recommendations that the Department for Transport has developed this national guidance. As David Quarmby said in the report “There were many unhelpful media pieces relating to potential liability of individuals clearing show and ice from the footways outside their homes”. Further information can be found at the Direct Gov Website: /cont…….. - 2 -

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/NI1/Newsroom/DG191868

It is from this work that the attached guidance note has been produced. This should allay any fears that you and your community may have had concerning self help and the use of grit bins that have been provided across the county.

By the Autumn of 2009, Lincolnshire County Council had already started a review of its winter maintenance operations, which was completely in early 2010. Copies of this review were presented to the Quarmby Review as evidence of good practice. Lincolnshire County Council’s review also highlighted self help guidance and an aspiration to engage more collaboratively with both District and Town/Parish Councils. Two of the actions from the review were:

 In relation to the treatment of footways in severe weather, we recommend that officers explore with District and Town/Parish Councils, the possibility of redeploying operatives from other activities, to assist the clearance of snow and ice from footways. As part of this process, consideration should be given to holding a local conference to engage with Members and other local partners.  In relation to salt/grit bins, we recommend a leaflet or guidance note should be prepared for Town and Parish Councils, outlining the insurance arrangements.

As can be seen, there is a local and national dimension to utilising the limited resources available, both locally in Lincolnshire and in the UK. The challenge for us all in times of severe financial restraint, is to co-ordinate our actions better and engage where appropriate. To this end, the County Council is placing an additional 200 grit bins across the county, where they meet our necessary criteria, and are for use on the public highway and footways. All grit bins put out on the highway network by Lincolnshire County Council will be re-filled by Lincolnshire’s Highways Alliance.

I trust you find this guidance helpful and that it assist you with any further consideration your Council may give to possible ways of encouraging self help within the local community during times of severe weather.

Please contact your local Highways Divisional Officer should you wish to discuss this letter.

Yours faithfully

RICHARD WILLS Executive Director (Development Services)