First Minister has thanked staff and
communities for their efforts as part of the wider ongoing
response to the severe weather in northern Scotland.
Visiting the AWPR/B-T Depot in Aberdeen, the First Minister met
gritter operators, depot staff and police involved in keeping
Scotland's Trunk Road network safe and open for the travelling
public.
The First Minister urged the public to be vigilant ahead of more
weather warnings for snow and ice over the weekend. He said:
“Over the last few days, we have had a period of intense winter
weather in the northeast of Scotland, the north of Scotland, and
the islands. It's important that I come to see firsthand the
impacts of the winter weather, and to express my thanks to those
who've worked so hard to keep the transport networks operating
and to make sure that support for individuals is available within
the community.
“It has been a really challenging period for everybody and I
thank members of the public for their patience and support. Those
who have been working very hard to clear the transport network,
whether that's on the roads or the rail network, have done an
incredible job to deal with intense periods of winter weather.
And as a consequence, have done a tremendous service to people in
the northeast of Scotland and in the Highlands and Islands. I am
very grateful to them for that work, and I recognise the scale
and the intensity that has been put into making sure that the
public could be safe, and that impacts could be minimised.
“In the days ahead I would ask members of the public to remain
vigilant about the weather conditions to pay attention to all of
the warnings and to adjust their plans accordingly. When winter
weather comes, it is likely to cause some disruption - but I give
the public the reassurance that we'll do everything that we can
to prepare for and to manage the various incidents that we have
to face.
“The Scottish Government's Resilience Room (SGORR) remains
active and we will continue to work with local authorities and
local resilience partnerships to make sure that we have a
cooperative and collaborative approach to minimising the impact
on members of the public. All of that cooperation is essential in
making sure that we use the resources at our disposal to support
the areas of the country that are most intensely affected by the
winter weather.”
