'OVER the past week Fife, like all other areas of the UK, has been battered by extreme weather and I for one can’t remember the last time we had snow like this in March. Heavy snowfall and gale force winds brought our transport infrastructure to a grinding halt, closed hundreds of schools and seriously impacted vital services like hospitals and care providers.

In times of crisis, the best of human nature rises to the top and this was clearly shown in Fife during the “Beast from the East”. Last Thursday, officials at NHS Fife put out a distress call asking for Fifers with 4x4 vehicles to help transport clinical staff to hospitals. The response was overwhelming and hundreds of people offered to help out. Without their support, hospitals across Fife would have been stretched to breaking point and I know that the public and patients are eternally grateful for their support. In times like this, the dedication of NHS staff and emergency service workers is humbling. In Glasgow, a surgeon walked for nearly three hours in snow and blizzards to perform a bowel cancer operation. Without the dedication of people like this, our public services would not function anywhere near as well.

Nonetheless, many will question how it got to this point and whether more can be done to plan for extreme weather events. Unfortunately, climate change means that other worldly weather will become more commonplace and relying on the “blitz spirit” to combat this is not a long-term solution. Whilst it wouldn’t be financially prudent to invest in snow clearing equipment like Nordic countries, there are legitimate questions over how we plan for extreme weather and I would call on the Scottish Government to reflect on their policies and how these can be improved.

Following a call to arms from the Scottish Government many local people spent their weekends digging out schools and health centres. Once again this was community spirit at its very best, and I am sure that teachers and parents across Fife would like to thank them for their efforts.

The work of local authorities in providing services during inclement weather is vital but many will now face additional costs as a result of this. The Scottish Government has repeatedly cut local authority funding, and dealing with the aftermath jkjnister picked the pockets of Local Authorities and I hope the response to the “Beast from the East” has convinced the SNP of the value of Local Authorities and why they should properly fund them'.

As ever Liz appreciates the feedback of constituents and can be contacted at 31 Canmore Street Dunfermline, or via telephone at 01383 720 530 or via email at Elizabeth.Smith.msp@parliament.scot