Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Storm Arwen response slammed as ‘monumental failure’ of government

Storm Arwen has wreaked havoc across the north-east.

The Scottish Government has been accused of “taking its eye off the ball again”, after thousands across the north-east endured a fifth day without power in the aftermath of Storm Arwen.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership was criticised after those in hard-hit areas were left with no electricity for days while communities stepped in to assist.

It comes as Deputy First Minister John Swinney delivered a statement to the Scottish Parliament in which he said Storm Arwen was “more significant than the Beast from the East”.

The SNP politician said “most” customers without power will see their service restored on Tuesday but “regrets for some of the more complex cases, supply is unlikely to be restored until later in the week”.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney.

Mr Swinney confirmed there will be a review of the “preparations and response to Storm Arwen to ensure we take all the learning from this exceptional storm”.

‘Monumental failure’

North-east MSP Liam Kerr accused the Scottish Government of a “monumental failure of contingency planning” after days of weather warnings.

He highlighted the efforts of businesses such as the Fife Arms in Braemar, which was set up as a community hub, serving hot drinks and food as well as providing a place to help locals stay warm.

The Conservative MSP said the cost of the clear-up operation and implementing lessons learned will be “astronomical”.

The Fife Arms was set up as a command station for Storm Arwen.

He asked whether financial help will be made available to “underfunded local authorities” and if the prime minister will be taken up on his “offer to assist”.

Boris Johnson had commented on social media on Monday.

Mr Johnson added: “The situation in the north-east of Scotland is among the most concerning and while forecasts are improving, we are on standby to provide further assistance to the Scottish Government.”

‘Bellwin Scheme’ offers emergency help

In response to Mr Kerr, the deputy first minister said “the government does not run the power companies” and praised the work of teams onsite.

He added that the Bellwin Scheme had been activated in Scotland which offers emergency financial assistance to local authorities with the aftermath of emergency incidents.

Mr Swinney said he would “look with care” at what the UK Government would provide but admitted he had “some scepticism” over what would actually be put on the table.

 

North-east MSP Douglas Lumsden said communities had faced a “wall of silence” from Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government, as he accused them of “taking their eye of the ball again”.

Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett said some care homes in his constituency were “left scrambling for generators” over the weekend with “major concerns about the most vulnerable residents”.

Asked what resilience planning had been done to protect care homes, Mr Swinney said there were “strategic faults in the electricity network” affecting “a number of cases” in Mr Burnett’s constituency.

Where are houses without power?

Around 8,500 homes across Aberdeenshire and Moray still have no power and 3,500 have no water, after Storm Arwen battered the region on Friday.

And just under 3,000 homes across Tayside also have no electricity following the weather devastation.

Operator Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN) has warned it could be Wednesday until some rural homes have electricity restored.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have called on the Scottish Government to provide more assistance for communities in the north-east and South of Scotland who have been left without power for days.

The party is among those calling on the army to be brought in to provide emergency electricity generators to communities until power is restored.

A hot food stop just off the A96 when entering Keith from Aberdeen.

Beatrice Wishart, Liberal Democrat communities spokeswoman, said it is “simply unacceptable” that thousands have been left for days without electricity.

She added: “Both the UK Government and Scottish Government should be doing all they can to support those left without power.”

Aberdeenshire councillor Leigh Wilson, who represents Mearns, described the situation as “totally unacceptable in a modern society”.

‘Contempt and neglect for rural Scotland’

The Alba councillor added: “No-one doubts the severity of storm Arwen or the efforts of the power engineers to re-connect but the official response at national and company level lacks the required urgency.

“Cut-offs for this time or this scale are a national emergency and should be treated as such.

“The response from the Scottish Government, who have even failed to convene their Resilience Committee, is totally inadequate.

“It shows contempt and neglect for rural Scotland.”