To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail the steps being taken to ensure that rural roads, particularly those leading to schools, are prioritised for gritting to ensure the safety of school communities during adverse weather.

The current winter service policy and procedures operated by the Department utilises the widely accepted practice of targeting limited resources for this service on the higher trafficked main through routes and can be viewed on the Department’s website below.

https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/publications/winter-service-rsppg-e022

The application of this policy means that 28% of the total road network, which carries around 80% of traffic, is salted. It must, however, be emphasised that the service provided cannot eliminate the risks – even on roads that are gritted, ice free conditions cannot be guaranteed.

The Department also has priority “secondary” salting to rural schools to ensure they receive a level of special attention throughout the winter period. Currently there are 80 rural schools not on the salted network, on the list for secondary gritting.