To ask the Minister for Regional Development for his assessment of the potential for a Gritting Bill that would clarify the laws in relation to the liability faced by the public in the cleaning or gritting of footpaths or roads.

I can advise the Member that I have no plans to introduce legislation such as you have described. However, I would state that there is no law stopping the public from clearing snow and ice on the pavement outside their homes or from public places. In 2010, the Attorney General of Northern Ireland advised “if you clear snow/ice carefully you are unlikely to be held liable”.