Council came up short says MP Neil

Shotts MP Neil Gray has hit out at the council’s handling of the recent winter weather.

Mr Gray also claimed council staff unable to get to work as a result of the bad weather were told they were to either lose a day’s pay or take holidays to cover it.

Mr Gray said: ”North Lanarkshire Council is responsible for keeping non-motorway road clear and safe for people to travel.

“My constituents are disappointed with the council’s efforts to keep roads clear with the recent snow and ice. However, I am sure we can all understand if during periods of really heavy snow they cannot keep up.

“If the council leadership hopes we can understand that, I am sure they can understand their own staff being unable to get to work because of the snow as it is unsafe to travel.

“I am shocked that this council has apparently told its staff to take holidays or lose pay if they can’t make it in because the council has been unable to keep the roads clear. “I could almost understand the approach if the snow was not clearly causing traffic chaos locally, and many accidents. “This needs to be looked at and these people should not have to pay the price for a poorly managed council budget. “I know that some pavements were cleared with the small snowploughs but that is only the tip of the iceberg. The roads, yet again, were a disgrace. “The council needs to not only take a good look at how it copes in winter and adjust its processes accordingly but also how it treats its staff who are impacted by the council’s own failings.” All of North Lanarkshire’s primary and secondary schools closed early on Friday after a Met Office warning.

Council leader Jim Logue hit back at the MPs comments and defended the local authority’s response to the wintry weather.

Councillor Logue said:“Across Scotland we have experienced significant snow and ice over a number of days, which has caused disruption on our roads.

“In North Lanarkshire, our gritters were treating the road network around the clock which has kept our main roads across the area open, allowing residents to access public transport and get to and from work and home.

“We also had staff out clearing pavements around sheltered housing complexes and schools.

“This was our priority during severe winter weather and, while we appreciate people’s concerns about conditions in residential streets, we simply do not have the resources to grit every street and pavement.

“We have over 2,400 grit bins to allow people to help each other to treat the area around their home.

“I would like to thank all staff who have worked throughout this bad weather to provide local services and help vulnerable residents.”

A council spokeswoman added: “This is not a reasonable characterisation of our policy.

“We understand that employees may at times face difficulties in attending their place of work and returning home during periods of severe weather and we do not force anyone to take annual leave in these circumstances.

“However, as a provider of vital public service, the council must also ensure that disruption to its services remains minimal.

“Employees who are unable to attend work due to severe weather have a number of options which they can discuss with their line manager to cover those circumstances where it is impossible to travel.

“These include working from home, using accrued flexi time or making up the time over a period of weeks.“