Now they’ve run out of grit!
PANICKING ministers launched a desperate “smash-and-grab" raid last night to seize councils’ grit supplies amid fears that stocks are about to run out.
Local authorities across Britain face having their grit requisitioned by the Highways Agency as central stockpiles dwindle following three days of heavy snow and ice.
Chaos was looming last night as councils prepared to close local roads, schools and services for safety reasons once stocks are used up.
And with up to 10 inches of more heavy snow forecast today the Government’s emergency planning committee Cobra is expected to meet to discuss the deepening crisis.
Suppliers admit they have been forced to order 40,000 tons of salt – which is used to make the grit – from Spain.
Hounslow Council in London last night confirmed it had been ordered to relinquish 300 tons of salt to the Highways Agency and Transport for London.
Council leader Peter Thompson told the Daily Express: “All the Government had to do was phone and ask for our help.
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“Instead, this smash-and-grab on local supplies has shown how little they think about the needs and concerns of ordinary people.”
Sources at several other councils in London claimed Government officials were “acting as if there was a national emergency” in seizing salt stocks.
But the Highways Agency denied it was targeting grit supplies. A spokesman said: “We categorically deny seeking any preferential treatment from salt supplies.”
The Tories last night accused the Government of failing to plan for the crisis.
Shadow Communities Secretary Caroline Spelman said: “Labour ministers need to be open about the true extent of the grit crisis and explain why there are insufficient supplies for both local authorities and the Highways Agency.”
Mark Wallace, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “It defies belief that the Government was so badly prepared for the snowy conditions.
“How come town halls ordered enough but the national authorities failed to do so despite being in charge of the nation’s motorway system? It is disgraceful.”
Local Government Minister John Healey said the Government was acting to address the shortfalls.
He said: “The Local Government Association is brokering an arrangement that can ensure that the stocks of salt and grit that exist in different areas can be best used and moved when required to the areas where the priorities are most pressing.”
Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Wiltshire county councils are among those rationing grit runs and giving priority to motorways.
Worcestershire council said two grit deliveries had been cancelled so far this week.
A spokesperson said: “At the moment, priority stock is being given to the Highways Agency to keep the motorways moving, and so the suppliers will focus on meeting those demands.”
From tomorrow, Gloucestershire will only be gritting its A roads to maintain emergency access.
The Highways Agency gets its grit from Salt Union, which mines in Cheshire and Cleveland.
The company said its staff were working round the clock but high demand for salt was outstripping its ability to supply it.
A Highways Agency spokesman said: “We have sufficient salt stock levels to meet our requirements during the current conditions.”
