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Agencies responsible for the supply and distribution of grit are due to hold another salt summit as forecasters warned of more snow on the way.
Drivers continued to face hazardous conditions on the roads as authorities cut back on gritting as supplies ran critically low.
Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said the Highways Agency and local authorities agreed to reduce salt use on roads by "at least 25%" with further measures to conserve salt were likely to be introduced later this week.
But shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said the Government had failed to learn the lessons of the last spell of heavy snow in February 2009. And she insisted the call for councils to reduce their daily use of salt was an "admission of guilt" by the Government.
Ms Villiers's charge came after Transport Minister Sadiq Khan acknowledged fresh measures were likely to be needed "to keep Britain moving".
Shadow energy secretary Greg Clark added: "This winter has exposed how fragile Britain's energy security is following a decade of Government indifference. Britain must do what our competitors do - have enough storage to see us through the winter."
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Whitehall officials met in the Civil Contingencies Committee to discuss the ongoing response to the extreme weather. Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman said: "Central Government, key agencies and staff across the transport industries are closely co-ordinating and providing a comprehensive response to minimise the disruption caused. The Highways Agency continues to have its fleet of 500 salt-spreaders and snow-ploughs out in force and has been successful in keeping the vast majority of the major road network open."
But Tom Foulkes, director general of the Institution of Civil Engineers, said: "National salt supplies are now running dangerously low. In future, we must have much better contingency plans in place to ensure our roads are not rendered unusable when snow hits." The AA warned of "hazardous conditions" and said many roads were still "treacherous". And the wintry weather looks set to continue for the next few days before a slight thaw sets in as the mercury begins to rise later in the week.
Billy Payne, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said milder air pushing into the UK from the Atlantic would cause more heavy snow on Tuesday and Wednesday as it bumps into the colder air over the country. He said: "Over the next 48 hours we could see between 5cm and 15cm in Wales and the South West. As this spreads in a north-easterly direction it could bring a light covering of snow anywhere over England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Highlands could see accumulations of up to 20cm. In eastern areas it will be more patchy with rain or sleet on the coast."
Freezing nights and bitter days, with temperatures within a couple of degrees of freezing, will continue until after Wednesday when the cold snap is expected to ease slightly.
