The new transport minister for Scotland, Keith Brown, said he will not be caught asleep on the job as Scotland faces further arctic weather conditions. Last night he said he was determined to be on hand at Transport Scotland’s headquarters in Glasgow as weather forecasters announced the approach of freezing rain and snow.

Last Sunday, Mr Brown took up his new position following the resignation of predecessor Stewart Stevenson. Mr Stevenson stepped down from the post after he was roundly criticised for being unprepared for the severe weather conditions which paralysed transport networks across the country at the beginning of last week.

Mr Brown confirmed that the forecast for the end of this week was for wintry weather and that he wanted to be sure that every avenue for keeping Scotland’s travel networks open had been explored. He has come up with a six-point plan for doing this which includes being able to remove road barriers so that easy access is available to vehicles which block the roads.

Stores of grit will also be deployed to key areas so that they are on hand in the worst hit areas. A group has been established which includes road operators, the police, ScotRail and Transport Scotland for immediate response to bad weather as soon as it is forecast.

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for Thursday. Motorists are being warned that the roads will be icy as rain turns to snow. On Friday, many parts of the country can expect up to 20cm of snow.