This week (since Saturday 22 June 2024), the council has held the following meetings:

• County Council - Tuesday 25 June 2024
• Highways and Transport Cabinet Panel - Tuesday 25 June 2024
• The Environment Cabinet Panel - Friday 28 June 2024
• County Council - Tuesday 25 June 2024
• Public Health & Community Safety Cabinet Panel - Wednesday 26 June 2024
• Overview & Scrutiny Committee - Thursday 27 June 2024

Hertfordshire County Council's Highways and Transport Cabinet Panel met this week to discuss a range of issues relating to transport in the county, including the next phase of the council's programme to introduce 20 mph speed limits in several villages, and the council's performance in maintaining Hertfordshire's roads.

The Panel recommended progressing plans to consult on new 20 mph speed limits and other traffic calming measures in Markyate, Nash Mills, and Northchurch. The plans are intended to improve road safety, but several councillors expressed concerns about the proposals. Councillor Steve Jarvis argued that:

20mph zones should be introduced in residential areas where there is a clear risk to pedestrians from vehicles exceeding the speed limit, not on main roads

The proposals were developed following the publication of the government's 2020 guidance on setting local speed limits, which stated that:

20 mph should be the norm in built-up areas...where there are high levels of walking or cycling or where there is a high density of vulnerable dwellings, such as care homes or sheltered accommodation.

The panel also received an update on the progress that the council has made in delivering its Highway Asset Management Plan. This plan is a requirement of the Highways Act 1980, which requires local authorities to:

maintain the highway

The report showed that the council had generally met the targets it had set itself for maintaining the road network. However, some councillors expressed concerns about the state of pavements and footpaths in the county.

The Environment Cabinet Panel met on Friday 28 June 2024. The Panel discussed, among other things, a proposal to replace the county's existing Strategic Housing and Infrastructure Needs Assessment (SHIA) with a new Decision Making Support Pack. The SHIA is a technical document that assesses the need for new homes and infrastructure. The report considered by the panel argued that:

The SHIA is a technically complex document which can be challenging for non-technical audiences to engage with

The panel decided to recommend that the council approve the new Decision Making Support Pack.

The Public Health & Community Safety Cabinet Panel received a report on the use of surveillance powers by the council. The report was presented under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA).

RIPA and IPA provide a framework for the use of covert surveillance by public bodies.

The report showed an increase in the use of RIPA powers by the council, which it attributed to an increase in activity by the council's Trading Standards Team following the pandemic. The meeting also heard a presentation about the work the council is doing to address the increase in the number of measles cases in Hertfordshire. The presentation explained that:

Vaccine hesitancy has led to a decline in uptake of the MMR vaccine over a number of years and an increase in cases of measles

The presentation went on to highlight the importance of vaccination.

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee met on Thursday 27 June 2024 to consider a presentation by Healthwatch Hertfordshire¹. Healthwatch Hertfordshire is an independent statutory body set up under the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

Healthwatch England’s job is to make sure that those running services put people at the heart of care by listening to what people like about services and what could be improved.

The Committee were particularly interested in Healthwatch Hertfordshire's Enter and View programme ², which allows them to carry out announced and unannounced:

visits to health and social care services to find out what it’s like to use them

The committee also approved their work programme for the coming year. The work programme sets out which of the council's activities the committee will scrutinise in the coming year.

At the meeting of the full council on June 25, Angie Ridgwell was appointed to the post of Chief Executive and designated as the Head of Paid Service. The decision will come into effect from September 2024 or on a date agreed upon by Ms Ridgwell and the Director of Human Resources.

The Chairman of the Council also used the meeting to pay tribute to former County Councillor and Leader David Beatty, who recently passed away.

It was with great sadness that the Chairman announced that former County Councillor and Leader of the Council, David Beatty, had passed away at the weekend at the age of 91.

Formal tributes will be paid at the next council meeting in July.