My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Geoff Hoon) has made the following ministerial Statement.

I would like to update the House on the process carried out to deal with the coldest winter the UK has faced for almost 20 years and in particular the heavy snowfalls experienced in early February across large parts of the UK, and how the Government propose to work with partners to identify and address the lessons.

First, I want to thank all of those who worked very hard in the transport sector and beyond over the past few weeks to minimise the disruption caused by the recent severe weather. Many people worked long hours throughout the period to maintain vital road and rail links, to keep airports open, to provide a whole range of essential services and to mine and deliver new supplies of salt for treating our roads. I am pleased that this hard work kept the country functioning during that recent period of severe weather and its aftermath.

The heavy snowfall had an impact on all parts of our transport systems. The robust efforts of the Highways Agency allowed the strategic road network in England to remain operational over the whole period. Although there were some closures due to road traffic accidents, they were cleared as quickly as was possible given the conditions. In cities, very heavy snowfalls created conditions which made driving very hazardous and at their worst led to the suspension of public transport.

On the main rail network, again, most train operating companies were able to continue running services albeit that on occasion services were disrupted. In particular, services from the south of London into London were disrupted from 2 February by the snow because of the use of the third rail to power the trains. Further snow later that week caused more problems for routes into London from the north and services across the south-west. In the following week, snowfall across the Midlands, the east and the north caused further disruption.

Across the country, the weather had a significant impact on the national road network. Some parts of the national infrastructure, such as the Severn crossing and sections of road such as the A38 near Exeter, were particularly affected. I am grateful for the efforts of the authorities, which were able to restore these to running efficiently, through hard work and prudent management of the risks involved.

The weather also posed operational challenges to UK airports. Operations were on occasions suspended, with problems on public transport and local roads making it more difficult for travellers to get to and from the airports. Regional airports and those in the south-east of England responded admirably. The impact of the snow was particularly significant at Heathrow, where the fact that the airport is currently running at 99 per cent capacity has shown both the creativity and resilience of the airport operator and the need for further runway capacity.

The cold spell presented challenges to both the Highways Agency and transport authorities around the country which needed reliable supplies of salt to keep roads flowing smoothly. Stocks of salt were heavily called upon. Salt stocks around the country varied significantly as local highway authorities had made different decisions about the levels of reserve required. Some local authorities chose to keep very high level of stocks, running as high as 25 days in some cases, whereas others chose to operate with leaner reserves. While the latter approach is of course appropriate in a normal year, it does leave the relevant authorities exposed to abnormal weather events. As a result, in some cases stocks of salt became very low.

The Government and, in particular, the Highway Agency took a lead role in helping those local highway authorities which experienced difficulties with shortfalls in their salt levels. Mutual aid between authorities and with the Highways Agency helped to make sure that traffic kept flowing smoothly; for example, the Highways Agency stepped in to ensure salt deliveries over the weekend of 7 and 8 February at a time when salt suppliers would not normally have made deliveries. The Highways Agency was also flexible in running down its stocks to help prioritise supplies to local authorities with very low reserves.

The UK has, of course, not seen snow falls like those of early February for at least 18 years. The good news is that no highway authorities ran out of salt. The fallback measures on the whole worked, and worked well. But we need to make sure we address those aspects that did not go well.

The House of Commons Transport Select Committee is undertaking a short review of the effects of the recent adverse weather. The Greater London Assembly is looking at how London’s transport system responded. Individual local authorities will be undertaking their own lesson identified exercises.

But I am keen that all the agencies involved in winter servicing take the opportunity to identify and address the lessons. I have therefore invited the UK Roads Liaison Group (UKRLG)—a partnership of central government, devolved Administrations, trunk road authorities and local authorities—to review the lessons that can be learnt from recent events and to recommend what steps could be adopted by local highway authorities, trunk road authorities, producers of salt and other stakeholders to ensure the effective treatment of England’s road networks in order that we are even better prepared should similar events occur in future years. I would expect that this advice of UKRLG will also be of benefit to the devolved Administrations.

I am placing a copy of this letter and the suggested terms of reference for the review in the Library of the House.

By working together we will ensure that we are even better prepared in future for responding to the challenges of the winter months.