Argyll and Bute Council in Scotland has revealed that it is facing a shortage of drivers needed to carry out the full winter maintenance programme across the region.

Details have been published of the council’s plans to keep roads useable during the winter, with the programme set to start later this month and run through to April, reports the BBC.

However, driver availability could prove a problem, as the local authority is currently 13 drivers short of the required number of 72 it needs.

It faces having to prioritise available resources in the event of low staffing numbers or severe weather.

The details feature in a report to go before the authority’s environment, development and infrastructure committee on Friday.

Executive director Kirsty Flanagan said “contract driver assistance” would be required to supplement driver rotas and provide the minimum “one on – one off” weekly commitment.

“In extended periods of extreme winter conditions consideration will be given, at an operational level, to prioritising services to ensure that winter treatments can be delivered,” she said.

“This may result, for example, in refuse collections and other services being temporarily suspended in order to prioritise the clearing of ice and snow.”

The report said a combination of simultaneous service needs such as road traffic collisions, collapsed culverts, or fallen trees, would see resources allocated through a “risk-based approach” – with the council deciding which situation was the greatest priority.

These measures would only be likely if there was a lengthy period of extreme weather.

Flanagan warned that, despite steps taken to improve a “standby pool” of drivers, the age profile of the workforce and “local recruitment challenges” meant active management of the situation is needed for the future.

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