Current status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 December 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how much it plans to spend on winter resilience for the 2016-17 season.
Scotland is well known for its changeable weather conditions the cost of dealing with these conditions can vary depending on the severity of the weather experienced. The Scottish Government keeps in close contact with the emergency services, Transport Scotland and utility providers to ensure preparations for winter weather are in place well in advance.
As with previous years, we are again running the annual winter preparedness campaign – Ready Scotland, which launched on 7 November at a cost of £110,000. The campaign has a wider, all-year-round message and raises awareness of the risks from all kinds of severe weather, and the simple steps people can take to prepare themselves and their communities. By encouraging people to prepare for the consequences of severe weather, they will be prepared for a whole range of emergency situations.
Transport Scotland expect spend on their winter maintenance service across the four Trunk Road Operating Contracts and the Forth Bridge Operating Contract during the winter of 2016-17 to be broadly similar to the £12.9 million spent during the 2015-16 season.