Snow on the headlines, why no update on Council websites?

When the weather gets very cold for many days on end, it becomes very difficult for a Local Authority to keep roads clear of ice and snow.

But why haven't Councils found the wit to come clean with their residents about how things are going? Here in Derbyshire, the temperature has been well below zero for about a week. Progress on roads is in some cases very difficult.

And the Derbyshire County Council website? It has the same content as it would have had last August. Some sensible content about what they reckon to do, and how difficult it can be to keep the roads clear.

But what I need is to know how things are going. "We are having to conserve salt supplies, so we are dosing minor roads less heavily than we would like" would be a useful comment (for example) when those who need to use them are making their plans. Should I deliver a child to a sleepover on the assumption that I will be able to get out and collect them tomorrow? Real lives involve difficult decisions, and Councils can help by providing candid information.

But no - the instinct is to keep the electors from worrying by keeping the truth from them. In our village, road conditions on Sunday suggested that there had not been effective gritting overnight. But enquiries to the County Council receive the assurance that everything was fine.

Why should I need to call and ask? In 2010, technology makes it easy to update websites promptly. Tell us where your vehicles went and when, and how much salt you applied - and then we can make some sense of what we are seeing. If I see that you came out frequently and applied maximum amounts of salt, then I will realise that the problem is a fundamental one. Keep quiet, and I will suspect that you aren't doing what you claim.