Committee welcomes responses to March 2013's severe weather

14 May 2014 01:02 PM

Lessons have been learnt, infrastructure improved and Highlands & Islands customers given same entitlement to compensation as the rest of the country.  

• Report: Power outages and extreme weather conditions in the west of Scotland
• Report: Power outages and extreme weather conditions in the west of Scotland (PDF)
• Inquiry: Power outages in the West of Scotland
• Scottish Affairs Committee

In a report published on Wednesday 14 May 2014 Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee says the local authority and power company response to the severe weather of 2013 in Kintyre, Arran and Wigtownshire shows that important lessons have been learned and improvements put in place since the Committee last reported on this issue, in August 2012.

The Committee is satisfied that all three councils affected by the severe weather have in place robust contingency planning for emergencies, which proved effective in the face of unusually extreme weather conditions.

Conclusions and recommendations

The Committee says:

• further instances of extreme weather are very likely in these parts of Scotland:  clear and effective contingency plans are essential in responding to them
• emergency plans should  prioritise accessing mobile phone base stations to restore lost signals
• clearing vital transport routes after heavy snowfall is a statutory responsibility on local authorities: those in areas which have been badly affected by severe weather in the past should examine the case for acquiring snow-blowing equipment as well as conventional snowploughs to prepare for a wide range of contingencies
• the A83 is a vital artery for the Kintyre peninsula and the decision to it upgrade it to a trunk road is an important one, as this will allow the resources of Transport Scotland to be deployed to keep it open during extreme weather conditions.
• the new Hunterston-Kintyre transmission line will mean there will be two transmission lines serving the Kintyre peninsula, so the failure of one of the lines will not see Kintyre & Arran cut off from the power network.
• caring for vulnerable members of the community is another  statutory responsibility of local authorities:  the Committee is encouraged that local authorities have done a great deal of work to expand their databases and identify those who are in need but says councils should also do more to support  the community groups that are engaging local people in the process of caring for the vulnerable

Member's comments

Alan Reid MP, member of the Scottish Affairs Committee, said:

“We last reported on this issue in August 2012, and we are very pleased at the obvious progress that has been made since that report. The response to the severe weather of March 2013 was more prompt and better organised. Local authorities responded quickly and effectively, and the power companies moved swiftly to restore power. Crucially, the compensation for those left without power  - with all the damage that can cause – has been brought into line with the rest of the country, as we recommended in our last report. While we praise SSE and Argyll and Bute council for their improved responses, we  must pay special tribute to the staff on the ground who worked so hard to clear roads in difficult and treacherous conditions.

Every such event should be reviewed to see if procedures can be refined and improved, and it is important that the councils and SSE do not rest on their laurels. There will almost certainly be many more of these extreme weather events: now is the time, before next winter, to make sure even more robust plans, and the necessary equipment, are in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the people of the Highlands and Islands.”