Agenda item

-        Strategic Director of Resources to report.

Councillor Gosling, Chairman of the Scrutiny Review Group, accompanied by Group Member, Councillors Ellis, introduced the Scrutiny Review of Winter Weather, which referred to the winter of 2010/11 which was one of the harshest experienced across the United Kingdom in over thirty years. The freezing temperatures and significant snowfalls from 30th November, 2010 to 15th December, 2010 impacted on the entire country.  In Rotherham, the road network came to a standstill under the sheer volume of snowfall, the majority of schools were closed and Council and local health services were impacted by the severe weather.

The review was commissioned by the former Performance and Scrutiny Over view Committee and undertaken jointly by two of its former Scrutiny Panels - Sustainable Communities and Regeneration and commenced in February, 2011.

The review was completed in November, 2011 and a first draft signed off by the review group in early December. The Overview and Scrutiny Management Board received a briefing on the main issues arising on 16th December, 2011, with the full report being presented at its meeting on 10th February, 2012.

An overview of the challenges faced by all service sectors was set out in the report and in particular, the Group wanted to look at the robustness of the Council’s Emergency Planning process and other business continuity plans in place to tackle the impact of severe weather conditions on essential services. The review also looked at how plans and arrangements linked to partners and local communities. Members set out to establish areas of good practice and lessons that could be learnt from the experience, what worked well, what did not work so well and what the obstacles were.

Members have taken into account the useful evaluation and recommendations arising from the post incident report for the A57 incident, whilst focus of this review was on the broader impact of the extreme snow conditions across the Borough.

The review group wish to ensure that all Members were informed of the full range of issues arising in relation to severe winter weather and what lessons could be learnt for future with regard to business continuity in similar circumstances.

This report acknowledges how public service providers, businesses and communities worked together to keep Rotherham Borough moving, despite the challenging weather conditions.

The production of the report was financed from the Scrutiny budget, although the recommendations of the review would have financial implications subject to the consideration of the Cabinet.

Severe weather sat fifth on the National Risk Register as one of the nations most feared risks. In line with the recommendations of this review, the Council should seek to reduce local risks from adverse weather by strengthening the links between the emergency planning arrangements and business/service continuity.

After the severe snow in December, 2010, the Secretary of State for Transport sought advice from HM Government's Chief Scientific Advisor on the probability of severe winter weather over the next twenty to thirty years.

The advice indicated "consistent with historical records, climate model projections typically show large fluctuations between consecutive winters. The occurrence of one or two cold winters is therefore not necessarily a good indicator of a further cold winter."

It also advised that gradual warming was predicted by climate models as greenhouse gases increased. However, natural annual variability was expected to dominate the warming signal for at least the next decade or two. The outlook, therefore, remained variable and difficult to predict over the forthcoming twenty to thirty years.

The risks for road users in heavy snowfalls included low temperatures leading to an increased risk of ice and road blockage in severe snowfalls. The risk to the Council was twofold; firstly, the ability of gritters to keep the network clear and passable given that even after treating with salt, road conditions may still be challenging and secondly, the potential for vehicles to become stranded presenting a wider risk for all emergency, road clearance and care services.

Other risks associated with this type of severe weather related to the increase in demand for GP, Hospital and Ambulance Services due to a spike in respiratory conditions and fracture injuries caused by falling. These services review plans on an annual basis to continually improve the management of high demand for service relating to severe weather.

Finally, there were risks associated with levels of community resilience being too low to cope effectively with adverse weather. The recommendations of this review highlighted the need to further develop emergency planning and community resilience arrangements with Parish Councils, Area Assemblies and voluntary community groups.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the Scrutiny Review into Winter Weather and its recommendations be noted and a response be submitted within two months as outlined within the Council’s Constitution.

(2)  That the decision of Cabinet on the report, recommendations and proposed action be reported back to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board in due course.

(3)  That everyone involved in this review be thanked for their input.