It appeared to me that, though some snow had been cleared from the pavements, they were going to become ice rinks if they were not treated.

On the radio previously I had heard Council Leader David Parker say that they would be continuing to plough and grit the main roads, and while they would continue to plough and clear snow from some side roads, they could no longer grit any more in that direction until they received further supplies which were obtainable from only two companies for the whole country.

This is a complete contradiction to what I heard Scottish Office Minister John Swinney say on the radio earlier on. He stated there were "completely adequate supplies of grit in Scotland", it was simply a case of council areas sharing their supplies in the few cases where that might be required, as obviously some councils required to use grit more than others.

Mr Swinney was also quoted in the Daily Mail of Tuesday saying that the towns he had visited "were coping well with their pavement clearance" and he had discovered "few problems".

It's a pity he did not take the opportunity of visiting Hawick.
Why has the Scottish Border Council not had adequate stocks of grit and had to cease gritting all roads, pavements, and public areas other than main roads?

It must be bad organisation if Mr Swinney is to be believed.
Mr Swinney also emphasised that finance did not come into the matter, and that the Scottish Executive had ensured that sufficient supplies were in Scotland.

Personally, I have no complaint in respect of the workers employed in clearance, they are doing what they can with what they are given.
There are, however, officials at Scottish Borders Council who retain titles such as Council Leader, Emergency Planning Officer, Director of Roads etc.

May I strongly suggest they have an immediate meeting with Mr Swinney who will show them where they went wrong.