The Use of Farmers for Winter Service - A Code of Practice

1 Introduction

There are over twenty seven thousand working occupier farms and holdings[1] located throughout Scotland, and in some of the remotest of its rural areas. The farming sector provides an opportunity for councils to utilise farmer's resources and their position within the local communities to enhance the provision of winter services, improving the resilience of the road network and the quality of life for the people they serve.

Scotland is well used to the extremes of winter weather conditions however, the winters of 2009-10 and 2010-11 presented significant challenges to Scottish road authorities and to the businesses and communities they serve.

The winter of 2009-10 has been acknowledged as the most severe for thirty one years with the winter of 2010-11 repeating extremes of conditions, which included prolonged periods of sub-zero temperatures, and snow falls greater than 20cm in some areas of Scotland.

A number of lessons learned exercises and reviews have taken place since 2010 which have done much to strengthen winter service in Scotland in particular, the work undertaken in 2011 by the Winter Weather Review Group (WWRG). The group was set up by the Scottish Government to share best practice, to highlight and share lessons learned, and to inform planning and policy development for winter service and resilience of the transport network.

The WWRG made a series of recommendations[2] including:

"Service providers should be prepared to think innovatively and consider alternatives to traditional approaches for the delivery of services in challenging situations: exploring different methods of operation and opportunities to work with new partners"; and

"In addition to formal mutual aid arrangements, SSG partners should explore and utilise local sources of assistance, such as:

  • partner agencies and other operators/service providers
  • local farmers and contractors
  • community groups and volunteers
  • military assistance (but only as a last resource where all other avenues have been explored; capacity is overwhelmed; and where such aid is required for the purposes of the alleviation of distress and preservation and safeguarding of lives and property)"

On the 17th January 2012 Transport Scotland hosted a workshop with the National Farmers Union Scotland, representatives of SCOTS, and other key stakeholders to investigate the increased use of farmers as a resource in the delivery of winter service. Development of this code of practice and model agreement is an outcome of the workshop.

1.1 Overview and Purpose

The purpose of this code of practice is to support authorities in the utilisation of farmers to provide additional resources in order to enhance their current winter service operations. Although this code of practice relates specifically to the use of farmers, it can equally be applied to other contractors who are also looking to undertake winter services on behalf of authorities. It is recognised that some authorities use farmers to undertake limited salting/gritting operations however, the primary focus of this code of practice is on the use of farmers for snow clearing operations. In the provision of this guidance a model agreement has been included in order to assist councils develop their own forms of agreement consistent with the recommendations made within the code of practice.

A number of authorities already have established arrangements in place with farmers within their areas, utilising a range of informal and formal agreement mechanisms. A proportion of these arrangements have been in place for many years. It is acknowledged that significant value is placed on the existing wish of farmers to support their local communities, and it is recognised that risk exists that farmers are dissuaded from providing, or continuing to provide, services if procurement and management processes are imposed that are perceived to be unduly onerous. This code of practice seeks to take a proportionate approach balancing this risk against statutory requirements and best practice.

1.2 Scope of the "Code of Practice"

This code does not seek to impose requirements upon authorities and compliance with this code is not mandatory. It is recognised that authorities require flexibility in the development of services that meet the needs of their communities within budgetary limits.

The use of farmers for salt spreading/gritting and for the storage of salt stockpiles is not considered within this code

The objectives of this code of practice are:

  • encourage and facilitate the better use of farmers through their engagement and improved service delivery in support of the authority's existing winter service resources
  • provide straightforward guidance for authorities engaging the services of farmers to undertake winter service operations, drawing upon best practice
  • endeavour for a consistency in approach when planning and engaging farmers for winter service
  • detail the minimum standards that should be applied in the management of the services procured
  • highlight areas of regulatory compliance and risk