Transcript

Transcript

Good morning, everybody, and welcome to this annual Council meeting of Hertfordshire County Council held at 10am on Tuesday 20 May 2025. I've been asked to read this announcement for the benefit of all members. As required by law, the Council will be holding this meeting in person. With regard to webcasting, this meeting of the Council will be webcast on the internet and will also be recorded on the internet. recorded and published on the Council's website. It may also be published in other formats. Any members of the press and public present are asked to note that if you are in the Council chamber at any time during the meeting, you acknowledge that you will be included in the webcast and recording. All parts of the room can be seen or heard by the camera or microphones. So if you do not wish to be recorded, please leave the chamber now. With regard to speaker scheduling for members, the speaker scheduling system will be in operation at this meeting. Members should press their microphone button if they wish to speak. Microphones will be activated when called by the chairman to speak. With regard to electronic voting, the electronic voting system will be used during this meeting as appropriate when the chairman opens the electronic voting roll. Please select your vote and the system will be updated. You may change your vote at any time until the voting closes, at which point your vote will be locked in. To assist with the effective use of webcasting and electronic voting systems, members are asked to remain in the seats allocated to them and to use the microphone and voting buttons allocated to that seat. Members are reminded to use the ECP charging point spaces in the members' car park only when charging their car. And also, members are reminded, please, to make sure that your mobile phones are either turned off or at least silent. So we come now to the agenda and apologies. I have apologies from Michael Blissett. Are there any other apologies for absence? No, thank you. The next item is the election of the chairman of the council. Before we do that, if you'll indulge me, I have a few words which I would like to say. I am very grateful to the Right Reverend Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans, for his words, and I was privileged to attend his farewell service on Sunday in the Abbey. The majesty of the service and the surroundings and the wise and thoughtful words of Bishop Alan and the other speakers was a fitting celebration of his years of service in that role. I recall asking, as I mentioned earlier, Bishop Alan, some two years ago, if he would give prayers at my first meeting in the chair. And so I was delighted when he agreed to return and lead us in prayer and contemplation on this, my final council meeting. I was reminded that Bishop Alan has been in place for 16 years and I wish him well and every happiness for the future and the enjoyment of his garden. And I think I'd like to ask you to show your appreciation for his work within the diocese of St Albans over the last 16 years. So, this is it. You know, Tony Blair has got a lot to answer for. Why? Because of two lines in his 1997 election manifesto which said, and I quote, There will be more parent governors and for the first time parent representatives on LEAs, which was my first introduction to the county hall as a PGR. I remained there and here for about five years and was first elected in 2009. And that heralded for me a 16 year commitment to the county and the council. I'm hugely proud to have served the administration for the last 16 years and the ultimate in position as chairman. Looking back during those years, we saw the start of the A120, the A602, the creation of the Catherine Warrington School, long discussions with Dick Bowler about the land acquisitions for Bishop Stortford new and primary, new secondary and primary schools. Looking across the county, we have seen a number of new school buildings, not least those in the Sen sector. Of my 16 years as a county council, I have been an executive cabinet member for two as a deputy and two as chairman, otherwise always in the front line of the cabinet. And then on the 23rd of March 2020, lockdown and within days, the county council mobilised a huge level of support and transformed the way our 8000 staff worked across the sectors. Not least of which was education. As part of the cabinet during those times, I shall never forget the extraordinary commitment that everyone, staff and members alike, showed. At this point, it would be fitting to recognise the work of my predecessor, Annie Brewster, who took on the chairman's role from Seamus Quilty, who I'm delighted to see here. And how well she did in chairing the council meetings in the Gordon Craig Theatre, sometimes in the face of one or two challenges. During the last two years, we have seen the passing of two of our current councillors, Judy Billing and James Bond, and two former councillors, Ian Laidlaw-Dixon and Tony Hunter. We will not forget them. So to my term as chairman, following Annie was no mean feat, but I have sought to represent Hertfordshire both within the county and further afield. I was delighted to see the Buntingford First School and the Valley School come into fruition, attending the amazing Schools Gala at the Royal Albert Hall, visiting visits to the Hare Krishna Temple and the Buddhist Monastery, and have welcomed members from different faiths to lead prayers before the council. I hosted the signing of the Faith Covenant and hosted events for Black History Month. I've overseen the re-signing of the Armed Forces Covenant and attended the Liberator Memorial commemoration in Chesson, to mention just a few. The chairman's office with the central Hertfordshire rug, which is, by the way, coming with me, some will be pleased, some won't be, is a room which relatively few people have been to. And I've opened it up to receptions for staff members about to retire, long service recipients, our brilliant volunteers, community first responders, carers, Rory's gang, the Baby Lost Group. As a trustee of Hertfordshire Community Foundation, I've been able to visit a number of groups which have benefited from the financial support they provide, including a starter grant for a group called Electric Umbrella. You may have heard of them. I shall miss this place, but hopefully I will be back from time to time for the Citizenship Awards, where I have been honoured to present these to our new UK citizens, although many of them have been here for many years. Leslie Greensmith has been a fantastic deputy chairman attending events all over the county where there's been a diary clash. We could not have done these in the past two years without the unfailing support of our PA Paula Robnett and to whom I am so grateful. And I have a small gift for you if you'd like to come up. Thanks also to Ellie Schell, Steve Charteris, Quentin Baker and the whole team in Member and Democratic Services. Oh, and Paul Thompson and the IT team. You will get to meet him. You certainly will get to meet. I want to thank my daughters Louise and Emma for their love, understanding and support over the last 16 years. Your mum would be proud of you. I also want to acknowledge the deputies I've worked with over the years. There's been a few. Mark Mills Bishop, Ralph Sankster, Tim Hutchins, Adam Mitchell and Fiona Hill. And of course, the doyen of the council, Richard Thake. He was my first boss. And I also thank Richard Roberts and all my colleagues for giving me this opportunity. I am extremely grateful. In my travels, I am reminded the position of this county council and the esteem with which it is held by our peers. We are regarded as one of the best performing councils and one of the leading counties in the land. It is something that we should be proud of and promote far and wide. We are fortunate to boast a thriving media and filming industry which will rival Hollywood. At one time, I thought it would be good to have a Hollywood sign on the hill on the back lot of the Warner Brothers in Leavesden. It would look really good. I have been. And we also have a thriving aerospace and biosciences area. I have been fortunate enough to visit a number of our businesses. Likewise, I have visited and spent time at voluntary and support groups, providing such diverse provision of older people's lunch clubs, activity and travel groups, including businesses like the Watford Hub, employing people with challenges. Hertfordshire is a great county with great people. In this one county, you will find everything that is in England apart from the sea. Treasure it and be proud of the county and its residents and the businesses that you serve. To paraphrase JFK, ask not what Hertfordshire can do for you. Ask what you can do for the county of Hertfordshire. Thank you. I now invite Stephen Giles Medhurst to move his nomination for the chairman of the council. Stephen. Thank you, Mr Chairman. And before doing so, can I thank you for your two years service as chair of the council. Indeed, previously in different roles and as an executive member on this authority. And we've passed our spurs across the chamber on a couple of occasions on those. Thank you for your service for the community of Hertfordshire and for all its residents. It is very much appreciated. Right, I'm not sure I can power raise your speech as much as you have done. So, but I'll start off. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Well, not quite that long ago. 52 years, in fact, this very month in Hartsmere Bushy. The very first elections were held for the newly created Hartsmere Council. Deja vu coming on, I can see, in a few years time, maybe. Amongst the batch of the freshly newly elected councillors was a very young man called Lawrence Stephen Bass, who won the then St. James's Wall, having moved to Bushy in 1972, where he still lives. I actually first met, although I don't think Lawrence actually remembered at the time, or when I mentioned it to him a week or so ago, in 1977. I was very young, younger than Lawrence, and he won the by-election in the then Millward. I know I was there. I have the very leaflet I delivered. Yes, I do have an archive at home of everything that I've delivered or designed. He was one of the, I was out canvassing and his delivery efforts were paid off, and Lawrence remained a Hartsmere councillor until the early eighties. But even in 1973, Lawrence was no stranger to politics. He stood as the youngest liberal candidate at the time in the 1970 general election in Hornsey. He then took on Margaret Thatcher in both the 1974 general elections, coming just 6,000 votes behind in one of them, and obviously was on the same platform at one stage with her. Then it came the European elections in 1979, Edmonton in 1983, and finally his home area of Hartsmere in 1987. Lawrence has certainly got his political spurs in the heat of battle, and like all great liberals and liberal Democrats, Lawrence has never given up. And four years ago, I was delighted that he was persuaded to stand for the Bushy North County seat next to my own then county division of Central Watford and Oxy. This seat is rather special to liberals, as many of you will know from this side of the chamber. First won by the late Michael Cohn in 1973, who became the first liberal chair of this council. Lawrence not only won almost half a century after his first election, but won very easily with a massive majority, as he did just under three weeks ago. To many, he is known as Mr Bushy, and his regular brass tats column in the My Bushy magazine shows how in touch he is with Bushy residents. But Lawrence has a distinguished career outside of politics, which many of you perhaps do not know. He has been distinguished without doubt his passion for peace and harmony, and his strength for purpose. And anyone who doubts this should read the interview in the December 2023 Church Times. It was powerful. After a successful career as solicitor, Lawrence was appointed the judge in 2000 and presided primarily for the next 18 years as an asylum immigration judge. He also chairs social security tribunals, particularly over disability living allowance, a topic at the moment, learning a lot about medicine during that period and sitting with a doctor to hear the appeals of people refuse disability living allowance. It's fair to say, I believe Lawrence has helped many that would have been destitute without it, and his judicial career precluded him at that time from entering into party politics until his retirement. So we're doubly pleased to hear have Lawrence here start this morning. Lawrence's other work includes being Vice President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and he still serves today as a patron of the faith matters, a multi-faith body promoting integration and combating extremism. Lawrence's other work is also currently chairman of the UK Friends of the Oasis of Peace. This is something I didn't know that much about. This is a unique village, and my apologies for those who I get this pronunciation wrong. It's called Neva Shalom or Wada al-Salam, which forces peaceful coexistence in the Middle East. It is between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It is a settlement where Arabs and Israeli Jews live together in peace and harmony in equal numbers, something I think we could all aspire to have in the Middle East at the present time. He is a trustee of the country's leading charity offering art therapy for cancer patients, and he certainly knows how to conduct meetings without fear and favor. And he's been chair as he's been the chair of the NHS doctors disciplinary panel for 10 years. Lawrence's passion for caring has no bounds. And this was more recently evidence by the way he is able to help and persuade others to help, I have to say, Afghan refugees who were settled in his home area after escaping from Kabul. So very much passionate in ensuring they had the clothes to actually go on their backs when they arrived here. Given all of this, and I'm sure there's more I could say, I have no hesitation in nominating Lawrence Stephen Brass, given his knowledge, ability, wealth and experience and his love of Hertfordshire and its diverse community to be our next chairman of Hertfordshire County Council. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Thank you very much indeed, Stephen. Do you have a seconder? I think it's Stephen Jarvis. Yes, yes, Chairman, I'd be happy to second that nomination. Excuse me. Stephen has told us at great length about Lawrence's distinguished local government career, interrupted only by his distinguished legal career. And I'm sure that he will discharge the responsibilities of chair of this council in all ways, admirably. So I'm very happy to second this nomination. Thank you very much indeed. Are there any other nominations? No. Well, we will go to the vote and just so that you can get used to it if you would vote for or against or abstain. Just so that you're aware, of course, it's a vote for members and both I and Lesley, the vice chairman, are no longer members, but we retain our position for the next few seconds almost. As chair and vice chair of the council. That's why we are left clear. I can confirm that Lawrence Brass has been elected the chairman of Hertfordshire County Council. And I invite the new chairman to come and pass over the chain. That's for the consort. I know there is one for the consort. I was told there wasn't there. That's a consort's badge, isn't it? Yes. Looking at my daughters. That's a consort's badge, isn't it? Yes. Yes. There you go. Well done. Thank you very much indeed. I think you could have applauded, actually. Well, my first task, Terry, is to thank you for the industrious and conscientious way that you fulfilled your civic duties, for which I and everyone in this room are enormously grateful. And I know that there will be further speeches shortly from party leaders thanking you for your excellent work for the past two years. We now move on to the next item on today's agenda, which is to appoint a vice chairman of the council. And. Oh, I'm sorry, I've got to I've got to do the formal declaration, which I'm honored and thrilled to do. I, Laurence Stephen Brass. Having been elected to the office of chairman of Hertfordshire County Council hereby declare that I take that office upon myself and will duly and faithfully fulfill the duties of it according to the best of my judgment and ability. Okay. Do I sign that? Do I? Lovely. Thank you very much. Well, Terry, it appears that I now have the further great pleasure of presenting to you the badge of the ex chairman of the council. And I hope you will wear it with pride and honor, as I'm sure you will. Would you like to come forward and receive it? So before we elect the vice chairman, I'm going to invite the group leaders to thank the outgoing chairman, and I'm going to start with Councillor Jarvis. Thank you chairman. Clearly, the role of chairman that Terry has performed so admirably over the last two years involves two very distinct portions. One is the management of our meetings, which is part of the chairman's role that we all see. And Terry has discharged those responsibilities admirably. He has been a fair chairman. He has made sure that our meetings were run in an efficient way. And that's very important. But of course, the role of chairman is actually much more than chairing the meetings. And Terry talked a little when he spoke earlier about some of the things that he has done. And it's important to remember that the chair is, for many people, the public face of the council. There are many hands to be shaken, many receptions to be attended, no doubt. But it's vital that the chair represents the council to the people of Hertfordshire and beyond during their term of office. And in many respects, that's where we'd like the meetings here to be run effectively. That's the most important part of the job. And I know that Terry has discharged that admirably. He was talking to me earlier this morning about some of the ways in which he had expanded that role a little to make sure that the people he interacted with had a better experience. And he this morning talked about what he has done in far more detail than I'm able to. But I think that just illustrated how he had played this role. And of course, he has also played a significant role in the council for many years. I hope you don't mind me saying many years, Terry, in this respect, before he became chair and has had some significant inputs to the things that the council has done over that time. So, Terry, thank you very much for your contribution you've made to Hertfordshire, to the County Council and to Hertfordshire as a whole over the years. And you've done, I think, a great job. And I'm sure you will continue to play a role in Hertfordshire, albeit a different one. So thank you, Terry. And to ask Councillor Roberts to speak on behalf of the Conservative group. It will be tragic that we will no longer be able to enjoy Terry's jackets as he goes around the county and, for example, doing his auctioneering, which he did at the county show with such aplomb. Many people tried to sit on Terry because they thought it was a mobile deck chair. But, Terry, thank you for bringing your humanity, your humility and a huge respect and integrity to the role of chairman. And I'm absolutely certain, I know we abstained, but absolutely certain that Lawrence Brass will bring exactly those qualities and more, possibly not more than Terry. So thank you. Thank you so much. And thank you for making everybody welcome in the county, including the King. And echoing Steve's point about before becoming the chairman, because chairman is to some extent valedictory. You made major contributions in the way that you described them, but also in education when you're both as governor of a school and then as chair of governors in Hertfordshire, but also nationally sitting on the board of governors and then therefore promulgating that really important role of the parent and or the citizen taking part in education. So thank you for that. And highways as well. And for me, it was probably the peak of your career. There was bringing the contractors in to this chamber and haranguing them. It hadn't happened before and it hasn't happened since. But in and thereafter, Hertfordshire highways, our roads were never better and now are significantly fantastic compared to all the others in the country, entirely down to Terry. Terry, you are the former chairman you follow in my tenure as leader, Annie Brewster. Both of you have been exemplary figures in representing Hertfordshire, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you, Terry. Now again to invite Councillor Bainbridge, I think your maiden speech in this chamber, at least to say a few words on behalf of your group. Thank you, Mr Chairman. Terry, I know you by a reputation from my position as a borough councillor. We've never met personally, but listening to the accolades that you're receiving today, it is evident that you've done a wonderful job. And from this side of the bench, we wish you well in your retirement and enjoy it is all I can say. So thank you very much for all you've done. Thank you. Now invite the leader of the Labour Group, Councillor Nigel Bell, to say a few words. Thank you, Chair. And so many others have already said very adequate words and more about Terry. I'll just say a few words. I did, you know, I had it down that clearly Annie was always going to be very hard to follow hard acts. She was so good. And when we get a new chair, whatever doubts we may have had about him or her, they always become unique in their own way. And that's what Terry has done. And it's important that I think Richard mentioned how he's always made everyone welcome to the county. And I think that's the thing that stood out with Terry. He meant to as many openings as he could, made people welcome. But he went to the serious stuff as well. So important in Hertfordshire for business. Terry always seemed to be there, not just at voluntary groups. And that's something we remember. And going back to his education, I always knew Terry long before I was a county councillor because of his interest in being obviously on his governors. I thought he was the main school governor in the county before I realised I knew Terry was everywhere. So it's great that he was able to become a county councillor, a different political view for me. But clearly he has served the county very well finally in the last two years as chair. So well done, Terry. And, you know, you've done the county proud. Thank you. And finally, I'm going to ask again, I think a maiden speech in this chamber from the leader of the Green Group, Kirsty Taylor Moran. Terry, like many of my colleagues here today, I've not had the what sounds like a pleasure to work with you. But on behalf of the Green Group, thank you very much for your service to the people of Hertfordshire. Thank you, colleagues. We now move on to item two on today's agenda, which is the election of the vice chairman of the council. And do I have any nominations? Yes, Councillor Motkin. Thank you very much, Chairman. Congratulations on your election to the peerage or something near it. And can I also add my personal thanks to Terry. I regard him almost as a friend, nearly close as a good companion. We meet often and he's always been very welcoming and very open. And his dedication to Hertfordshire is just unrivaled. So thank you very much, Terry. Enjoy your moment of quiet and peace before you get involved in some of the schemes. Chairman and fellow councillors, I have great pleasure proposing Sandy Walkington to be our vice chairman. I need only refer you to his entry on the Voter Info website. And this is his words. His words were formed during six months of loading lorries in Cold War Berlin and experiencing both sides of the Berlin Wall. He studied economics and law at Cambridge and was called to the bar, following which he worked as a letterpress printer and crane operator, Fetler, Swarthclear and night watchman. Now, that isn't a good training in the bar. I don't know what is. In 1978, he went on to work for Emlyn Hooson MP in the House of Commons and then became head of research and speechwriter for the Parliamentary Liberal Party. Moving into industry, he joined the Texaco Oil Company, where he ran the press office, negotiated joint ventures in the North Sea, looked after the Texaco Trophy one day cricket internationally, which I suspect was the highlight of that job and spent two years in New York managing international public relations. He returned to the UK in 1992 to become director of public affairs for BT during 13 years of the dot com boom and bust and the whole debate about broadband Britain, also leading the largest corporate social responsibility programme in Britain. His final full time job gave him public sector experiences as director of public affairs for Transport for London. So, apart from his illustrious professional life, he has served the people of St Albans South with such dedication and commitment for the last 12 years, that this May they returned him with the highest vote tally and biggest majority of any councillor in this chamber. In recent years on this council, he has been an outstanding vice chair of overview and scrutiny, holding the administration to account, and knowing Sandy, he will apply the same scrutiny of our performance. In his spare time, he may be found sailing the English Channel or on a long distance walking route when he is not chairing the Abbey Line Community Rail Partnership. So, in summary, the man I propose to be our vice chairman is fit, witty, charming, imposing, successful in all aspects of his life. I am certain that he and Judge Brass will make a formidable team representing this council and keeping us all in order. Thank you. I believe that Councillor Symington is going to be the seconder. Is that right? Yeah, I thank you. I'm delighted and honoured to second the nomination of Sandy for deputy mayor. Sandy is a consummate communicator and is an experienced ambassador in many roles. He brings a long standing dedication to public service and a huge enthusiasm for sharing the virtues of Hertfordshire as a county to live, work, study and to relax in our rural, beautiful countryside. So I'm delighted, as I said, and honoured to be seconding the nomination. I hope you will all join me in supporting him to be our next deputy mayor. Thank you very much. Are there any other nominations for vice chairman of Hertfordshire County Council? In which case, I think we should vote. Yes, right. Would everyone please vote in the normal manner? And I declare unanimously, unlike me, I notice that Sandy Walkington becomes the vice chairman of Hertfordshire County Council. Congratulations, Sandy. I think I just said. Declaration. Declaration. Having been elected to the office of vice chairman of Hertfordshire County Council, hereby declare that I take that office upon myself and will duly and faithfully fulfil the duties of it, according to the best of my judgment and ability. Thank you. You don't want to say anything, vice chairman. I will. Outgoing, vice chairman. I want to say a few words. Well, we thank you very much for your industry, your conscientiousness and the efforts you have made to be the vice chairman of the council. Right. Right. So Sandy is going to speak a few words at this moment. An exceedingly few words. I just want to say thank you all for this great honour. And I have to say, I did rush out and I bought the best selling textbook, which was written by Prince Harry. And I want to just say thank you to Leslie because she has fulfilled that duty of being the spare with elegance, economy and a great grace and just picking up the invisible pieces. And I just want to say that it is an important role. This is a fantastic county. It's an incredibly historic thing. You know, this is the longest lasting unit of government anywhere in the world. Literally, even China doesn't beat the length of time that shire counties have operated and we should cherish it. And in this role, I intend to cherish it. So thank you all very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Leslie. Colleagues and friends, I stand before you this morning as the first non conservative county council chairman in Hertfordshire for 32 years. The last member of my party to hold this office, who's already been mentioned briefly, was my dear late friend, Michael Kong, who lived in Bushy, represented the same division that I do. And I walked this morning upstairs along the chairman's corridor. Where Michael's portrait sits. And I might have imagined it. But I thought I saw him smiling at me and I was very moved. Friends, it's a great honor to be invited to chair this council and to effectively represent 1.3 million people in this great county. And I pledge to carry out my duties impartially and to the best of my ability. And to justify the support and trust you placed in me. Please allow me to also pay tribute this morning to my wife, Hillary, who has graciously agreed to act as my consort. Hillary has stood by me. Through the ups and many downs of my political life. And Stephen mentioned it. But Hillary, I courted you on the doorsteps of Hornsey in 1970 when I was the youngest parliamentary candidate in the country. And you proved to be an ace leaflet deliverer. And you've not lost your touch since. And you stood by my side during five general elections. You even allowed me and how many wives would do this to stand for the local council six weeks after we came home from honeymoon. Without your support for 53 years, Hillary, I would not be sitting here this morning. I didn't know and I was told exactly the opposite last night, but I didn't know that you do get a badge of honor. And I'd like my colleagues to know who you are. And I would invite you to come forward and let me present you with the special badge which you get here as my consort. Please, would you come forward? Colleagues, in my manifesto, if you want to call it that, to my Liberal Democrat colleagues, I said that one of my main ambitions when I stood in this chair would be to make the meetings a little brisker. And with that in mind, I'm now going to conclude these remarks. But I know we like to describe Hertfordshire as the county of opportunity. And I want to thank all of you, everyone in this room for giving me the opportunity to represent this very special county. And I promise you, I will try and live up to your expectations. Thank you. I'm now going to ask members to confirm the minutes of the meeting of the council held on the 25th of February 2025 as a correct record. Is that agreed? Thank you. So we're not going to vote. And there are no chairman's announcements today. Item five on the agenda is to confirm the election of 78 councillors for each of the divisions within Hertfordshire. And I congratulate each and every one of you on your election success. And we have before you the report of the directors of law and governance, the returning officer confirming your election. So that deals with that matter. So I move now on your behalf, the report of those elections. Is that agreed? We now come to item six on the agenda, which is the election of leader of the council. And I'm going to invite the outgoing leader of the council, Richard Roberts, to address us. Thank you so much, chairman. I'm almost surprised to be given the opportunity just prior to deciding who the next leader of the council should be that you're inviting me to speak. So here is my manifesto for my bid to be leader of the county council. Thank you. No, that's that's not the case at all. Lawrence, just just a small matter of caution, both to Labour, Green and obviously Liberal Democrat councillors. The population has just gone up by 100,000 and you've only been since two weeks since the last election. It's gone up from one point two to one point three million. We've got to slow this house building down. I jest. First of all, the election was searing for us. It was successful in parts for some of you. The changes that have been brought by this election, not just in Hertfordshire, but across the country are significant and have been in some places called existential. I feel that metaphorically I stand before you naked. The last four years have been the privilege of my life to lead the conservative group in the administration of this great county of Hertfordshire. It has been an absolute privilege. We have come through during that period, a relatively short period. We came out of Covid. We prepared Covid recovery programmes. We then moved into cost of cost of living challenges wrought by the war of Russia versus Ukraine, the consequences of which are still with us. Our own organisation had to increase its costs to keep services going by some 300 million pounds. The impact on us on our organisation to deliver can keep delivering has been immense. And yet throughout that time. We kept a high standard of performance. Thank you as opposition for holding us to account. And we were in 2023 independently verified as the best performing council, county council in the country. And that is a record that everybody in this chamber can be proud of, and particularly on this side of the chamber. We will and I will move into opposition. And I look forward to that role with my group and or groups. We will understand more shortly. I think the challenge for the new administration is going to be the size of that of the various parties. And whilst we will hold you to account, we are challenged. Sorry, we are given the challenge of throwing the rocks at you as you have thrown them at us. But we have to make sure that residents and businesses come first in all that we do. And today is the day to remind ourselves of of that. I would like to add my thanks. To our officer team, led by Angie Ridgewell, universally supported through the employment committee to be our new chief executive. And I'm grateful for the leadership that she is providing, which is then disseminated through the senior leadership team and down through the 8000 officers that day in, day out. Deliver on behalf of residents and businesses in Hertfordshire. These are challenging times. Tariffs come and go. Climate change is happening. Governments have got agendas. We are buffeted. We are going to have to stand strong both in opposition and in leadership of administration. In order to provide what our residents and businesses need in the following few years. We know we've got LGR and Devo coming down the track. We know we have a government that is destined or that is determined to build ever more houses. 5000 were built the previous year, and that was a max in 20 years. And yet we know they want us to build 10,000 houses. The green belt has been undermined and being called grey belt. We need to make sure that the places that we call our beautiful countryside is protected. And we have a great education environment and highways and all the rest of it that we do that needs either enhancing or protecting. This is now starting to sound like a speech from the from the leader, and I apologize for that. This is about me thanking all of you and including all of you and including all of you. Yeah, and you for being here today to take us through this process of change, which has been so significant. And I hope that I and my team have the humility to recognize that change has been brought. And what we will be the pugilists that you will not wish to engage with hugely. We will. At the core, remember our respect for the process that's got us here in the first place. Thank you, Chairman. We now I'm calling for nominations for the new leader of the Council, and I believe that Councillor Symington wishes to move one of those nominations. Chairman members. Firstly, thank you to Richard, our previous leader. It's a huge, huge role to lead the Council, and you've undertaken it with dedication and commitment. I know that Steve will be speaking on that more later. I'm standing and I'm delighted to be standing to propose that the leader of the Liberal Democrat group, Steve Jarvis, is the next leader of Hertfordshire County Council. Steve's longstanding experience as a Liberal Democrat and his commitment to our Liberal Democrat values of, and just to remind you what they are, liberty, equality, democracy, community, human rights, internationalism and environmentalism, will ensure we can deliver the will of the residents of Hertfordshire, as expressed in the ballot box on the 1st of May, to see change. After 26 years of Conservative administration, it is time for us to do better for Hertfordshire's children with special educational needs. It's time to fix our broken roads and bus services, and it's time to create a greener county. I've known Steve for 10 years. I've known Steve for 10 years. Firstly, as a colleague in party roles. He was chair of what the Liberal Democrats call the English Party. And more recently, I've been a county council colleague of Steve's as I was elected four years ago. He's a collaborative worker. He brings vision and integrity to all the roles that he undertakes. Outside of politics, Steve's worked in the IT industries, initially for global multinationals, and more recently running a Herts-based technology company. He has wide experience of local government. He's been a district councillor for 33 years, and a Herts County councillor for the last eight years. He brings wide experience of the role, serving on many cabinet panels, including highways and transport, environment, growth infrastructure and planning. More recently, children's services and resources, and the resources and performance cabinet panels. And two years ago, he was elected as the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the county council group. We're welcoming many new members, both into our own group, but also into the council. Steve's skills, experience, and abilities to work with others will be vital in leading the changes on Herts County Council, and most importantly, delivering for our residents. I'm proud and honoured to nominate Steve Jarvis as the first Liberal Democrat leader of Herts County Council, and I hope you will join me in supporting him. I'm going to invite Councillor Helen Campbell to second that nomination. Thank you, Mr Chairman, and sincere congratulations to you and to the new Vice Chairman on your appointments this morning. May I also add my sincere thanks to the outgoing Chairman and Vice Chairman and to Richard Roberts as the outgoing leader for all of your dedication, hard work and focus. I'm delighted, over the moon actually, to be seconding this nomination of Steve Jarvis to lead this council. I know that Steve will dedicate himself to leading with integrity, transparency and drive, but also with fairness, empathy and inclusivity. Taking this council forward in a way that is truly progressive. A council where things are not just talked about, they do get done. I know that Steve will lead this council with true commitment, with ambition and a clear plan for all of the people of Hertfordshire. For its children, for its young people, for its elderly and vulnerable, for its businesses, for its visitors. I would urge the Chamber to support this nomination of Steve Jarvis to lead Hertfordshire County Council. Thank you. Thank you, Mr Chairman. Could I ask if there are any other nominations for leader of Hertfordshire County Council? Well, I therefore declare that Steve Jarvis is the new leader of Hertfordshire County Council. Congratulations. Need to vote? We need to vote. Sorry. You see, I'm still a bit naive on these matters. We need to vote. So would you please be kind enough to cast your votes? Thank you very much. I can now once again now formally declare Stephen Jarvis leader of Hertfordshire County Council. And I'd be obliged, Stephen, if you would address us. Thank you very much, Chair. And it's a great honour to be elected as leader of the council. Slightly embarrassing listening to some of the speeches I've just heard, but it is nevertheless a great honour to be elected as leader of the council. And I'd like to thank the council for placing its trust in me to do what I think is an important job. Although I wasn't born in Hertfordshire, I've lived here for almost all of my life. I did leave briefly twice. Well, actually, the first time I didn't leave, they moved the boundaries of Hertfordshire. So I found myself in Barnet instead. And then I was briefly forced to leave as a first time buyer because housing was cheaper in Bedfordshire. But I was able to rapidly return. So I'm very proud to be able to play a leading role in a community that's been such a central part of my life. Now, whilst in this chamber we tend to focus on what we disagree with, we shouldn't forget that on many issues we agree. I think almost everyone and certainly everyone here who I've met who has taken an elected role in local government has become involved because they saw it as a means to improve their community, their town or village, their county, their country and the ambitious ones, the world. And I think it's really important that we all recognise that although we may disagree about things, we are here to achieve whatever we think is the best result for people in Hertfordshire. Now, Richard spoke about what he had done over the last four years, and although we haven't agreed about everything, I'd like to thank him for his work and his leadership of the council over that time. I think and it's clear that he spent an enormous amount of effort doing what he thought was best for the people in Hertfordshire and for the community as a whole. And I think we need to thank him for that, even though there were a few things where I thought he was deeply misguided about the way he was going about it. And I'd like to hope that in future when we agree, and I know I'm under no illusions that the electoral arithmetic means that agreement is going to be perhaps have to be on a wider basis than it has been in the past. But I hope that when we do agree, we'll continue to work together across this chamber to do the best for the people of the county. But I think the people did make it plain at the start of May that they wanted to see a change in how the county is run. And it's my intention that they should not be disappointed in that respect. We want a council that people see us on their side doing better for the children with special needs and for the children without special needs as well, actually fixing roads and bus services and creating a greener county. Now, there's a lot to achieve, and I don't underestimate the scale of that task. I know the council will continue to be under probably increasing financial pressure that may make it more difficult to make those improvements in some respects. And of course, in many areas, the council role is to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable members of our society, which we're quite rightly obliged to do. We do it anyway, but we actually don't have any choice. We have to do those things. But in those areas where we do have discretion, I think we must ensure we're using our resources in ways that deliver what matters to the people of Hertfordshire. Now, before the election, the Liberal Democrats set out a detailed programme to do that over the life of the council. Although, of course, local government reorganisation means that we're not quite sure what the life of the council is going to be. But nevertheless, we will work on the basis of progressing over whatever the government decides the life of the council should be. And we will focus on those areas in terms of Hertfordshire's children, in terms of environment and sustainability, about transport and about how we make the most effective use of the council's resources to do that. So that's the programme that the new administration will now start to implement. But it's important not only that we make some changes, but that people can see the difference. So in the first 100 days, we have a 10 point plan of priority actions targeted at and this bit gets a bit repetitive on the roads, making journeys safer, improving our environment and supporting the people who need them, need our help most. So today I want to announce the first two of our priority actions. Many people rightly complain that despite increased resources, Hertfordshire roads have not improved sufficiently. So to begin the process of addressing that, we will launch a trial of a new approach to mend more potholes in a single visit rather than coming back to fix nearby potholes another day. It's also clear that despite the great efforts of the expanded team dealing with special educational needs and disabilities, that there is still a need to improve the experience of parents and children who rely on these services. There's no doubt that the national system for SEND has many defects, but we have to work with that system. And until such time as the government fixes it, we must strive to do the best we can within its limitations. So to support those who most need our help, we'll be bringing young people, parents, schools, teachers together for a SEND summit to inform our plans to make the further improvements that we need. Now these are just the first steps to show the new administration will change Hertfordshire for the better. I look forward to working with all of you, all of you, all members and with the council's tremendous team of officers to achieve the real change for the people of our county. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Councillor Jarvis and we're on item seven of the agenda. Now political proportionality on the county councils, ordinary committees and subcommittees, local government and housing act 1989 review of allocation of seats to party groups. And my understanding is that you're going to explain the procedure on this. I expected to be asked to identify the members of cabinet and their portfolios before we did that. Yes. We just want to note it. Is it, are there any acting? That's agreed then. Firstly, congratulations on becoming, sorry, apologies. Firstly, congratulations to Councillor Brass, to Councillor Walkington and also to Councillor Jarvis. I'm just interested. The section seven of our council's constitution, it, it ascribes many powers, many responsibilities, functions to the council's executive. And I'm, I'm just interested that you've said quite, I think quite, quite, quite, quite fairly. You know, Councillor, Councillor Jarvis, that you're looking forward to working with all members over the coming years. I noticed in her, her, her speech proposing you, Councillor Symington spoke of democracy, as Councillor Symington will know comes from the Greek demos for people and kratos for power. It is, it is. So 8.4% of the electorate voted for the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties at the most recent elections. I'm sorry, are you making a point of order? Well, would you tell me under which standing order you're making the point of order? Otherwise, I'm going to have to ask you to resume your seat. Okay. There will be chance for debate later. Okay, I'm just interested to know how the rest of the council will be engaged, that's all, because we've got an administration here of 32 councillors in the council of 78. Thanks. So we're now, we're now going to debate item seven. The time limit of speeches in this debate are as follows. The mover of the motion, five minutes. First speaker from each of the other groups, or the speaker who's been nominated to the chairman previously in writing by the group leader, five minutes. And all other speakers, including the mover of the motion when exercising their right of reply has three minutes. So I'd like to move the motion as set out on the order paper that the council notes the number of seats for each group on the council and the resulting percentage of political proportionality following the county council elections. That we agree that the independent county council will be in one place on the education center inclusion cabinet panel as the cabinet panel best representing areas interest. That we approve the allocation of seats set out in part A of the appendix of this report that we agreed to continue the waiver of political proportionality requirement in respect to the overview and scrutiny committee and the health scrutiny committee. And any scrutiny review or subcommittee or subcommittee of those committees as set out in part B of the appendix. And I guess principally for new members, it's probably worth me summarizing why that is. And both the health scrutiny committee and the health scrutiny committee and the health scrutiny committee have members who are not members of the county council. And the legislation doesn't take account of that in the in the proportionality rules. So in order to ensure fair representation of all the groups on this council in the proportion that they would have if there weren't these external members, we need to not follow the proportionality rules. That sounds a bit odd, but it means that within the council representation, the membership of the committees is proportional, which means that everyone gets what would appear to be their fair share. The overall membership of the overall membership of the committee is not proportional, but as we have these external external members. So that is why we need to agree to waive the political proportionality. It isn't doing anyone out of any representation. In fact, it's securing that they get the representation to reflect the proportionality of the chamber. So I would like to move. Move those recommendations set out in the order to take the chat. Councillor Simington, are you going to be seconding this? Yes, I second the motion and reserve my right to speak. Thank you. I understand that Richard Roberts is the lead speaker for the Conservative group on this item. I do apologise, Chairman. I think I've got ever so slightly confused whether we're on 6-2, which is nomination of Cabinet, or are we on to 7? I am more than aware, and thank you for the report, Quentin, that you did on proportionality, and thank you, Stephen, for some of the conversations we've had in the last couple of weeks around proportionality. It's been important to understand so that we can prepare for today's meeting. I know that the wire has been bent slightly in order to accommodate what is a very different chamber with many different parties now represented in different proportions, and therefore there has to be a little bit of flexibility. And I support the papers put forward, and therefore I'm supporting the political proportionality for allocating all positions to all committees and panels. Thank you. And I now gather that Doug Bainbridge, lead speaker for the Reform Group, will wish to address us on this. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yeah, I too have had conversations with both Richard and Steve, and on this occasion we will be supporting the motion. We've had a number of conversations with the county solicitor to make sure all is fair in love and war. Thank you. Thank you. And Nigel Bell. Thank you, Chair. Yes, I certainly agree with the motion and pay tribute to the work of Quinton and the Chief Executive and others who've worked on this proportionality. And obviously, we've had good talks with Councillor Jarvis. I think, yeah, we certainly agree in that a lot of this has been well worked. So thank you, Chair. Thank you. Thank you. And finally, Kirsty Taylor Moran. Thank you. First of all, congratulations to the new leader and chair of the Council. We are delighted by the change of administration. We are supportive of this motion. Thank you. I have notification of one speaker, Councillor Chris Lloyd. Yeah, the reason for my speech is I fully support this. I assume that you're taking item 6.5 after this because we do actually need to do that bit of business. And I'm sure that was what Quinton was advising. So I will sit down because you want people to be brief. We've taken 6.5 as read actually, Chris. It was noted by the Council. Names given to us. We didn't have names. I was expecting names, Chairman. My information from our Head of Legal is those names will be delivered to the Cabinet this afternoon and are not available for us this morning. Sorry. We have no names now. Has a Cabinet been appointed or not? Because we haven't been given the name. So I hope that there is a Cabinet. Well, they will be appointed this afternoon. And are there any other speakers on item 7? Appointment to committees I move on to is item number 8. Oh, we have a vote on that. Sorry. On 7. Sally, do you reserve your right to speak? Yeah, I'd like to speak now. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just would like to thank all the group leaders for their support for this. And I have no more to say other than that, clearly, as a seconder, I support it too. But as I said, I'll welcome the unanimity around this so that we can move forward in the spirit of collaboration straight away. Thank you. And Councillor Jarvis, you are untitled to excite your right to reply. I don't think I need to reply to it, yeah. Well, I am asked to remind you that no member is to vote against if proportionality is to be waived. So we're going to open the electronic voting now. So we have nobody against. We have two abstentions and we have four to 74 in favour. Does that meet the requirement? It does. Right. Thank you very much. We now move on to eight. Right. So the council is asked now to appoint county council members to serve on the following committees for the ensuing year. And we start with audit. Have they got the list in front of them? Right. So you have the list in front of you. And I would like to ask, is that all agreed? Thank you. We've had a movement from the Labour group this morning to the Liberal Democrats. Does that in any way change its advice through you, I guess, to the chief legal officer? Does that in any way change the dynamic that we face in terms of appointments to panels and groups of things? Thank you. I'm advised that this is not considered to be material. But we do note the position. Ordering up to number eight. Nine. I invite Steve Jarvis now to move the nominations set out in the order of business. We're on number nine appointment of chairman of vice chairman of committees. Chairman, I am happy to move the nominations set out in the order panel. And I invite Sally Symington to second. I'm happy to second the nominations. Thank you. And you have everything in front of you and. We're going to vote electronically again on that. Yes. So we have to vote on that. So I'm going to open the voting on those those appointments of chairman and vice chairman of committees. And that is all agreed. Seventy four in favor. No one against no abstentions. We're on item 10. And. I'm going to ask councillor Taylor Moran to move. Are you with us? Good. We move that Matt Fisher be appointed to the county council's representative for police and crime panel until the annual meeting of the council next following. Thank you. And. And. I'm told that councillor Fisher is seconding. Is that right? Yes. Thank you, chair. I said that. Yep. Can I ask council if if that is agreed if anyone wants to object? No. All agreed. Thank you. I declare those appointments duly made. Item 10 appointments to the joint committees continue to now again. Now I'm asking councillor Jarvis to move. I think I would like to. Just checking where we are in the order. Yeah. That I'd like to move that Tim Williams be appointed as 10 cancers representative on local government pension scheme access joint committee until the annual meeting of the council next following. And is that seconded? I second the nomination of Tim Williams. And again, I ask the council, is that agreed? And we're not going to vote electronically. Right. Appointments to joint committees continue the Hertfordshire Growth Board. I invite Steve Jarvis to move the motion to appoint to the Hertfordshire Growth Board. This is a bit weird. I nominate that I should be appointed Councillor Jarvis as the county council's representative on the Hertfordshire Growth Board until the annual meeting next following. Yes, I second the motion. Is that agreed? I declare the appointments made. Next item is appointments to the county council representative of the Harlow and Gilston Gardentown Joint Committee until the annual meeting of the council next following. And again, I believe that Steve Jarvis is going to move that. I would like to move that Councillor Miriam Swainston be appointed as the county council's representative on the Harlow and Gilston Gardentown Joint Committee until the annual meeting of the council next following. Seconded? I second the motion. Thank you. And everyone agreed on that? And then we come to the representation on the local government association and county councils network. And I again would invite Steve Jarvis to move nominations. Thank you, Chairman. Forgive me. I think it's Richard Roberts. Do forgive me, Steve. I think on that one I turned over two pages and it's actually Richard Roberts who's going to make this this nomination. But association and county councils network. I appreciate that. Thank you, Chairman. I would like to put forward Fiona Thompson to be the conservative group representation representative for to the LGA and myself to the county councils network. Okay. And Councillor Brainbridge, you're going to make some reform nominations. Yes, for the LGA is myself and to the county council network is Councillor David Herring. Is that agreed, Council? Now we're up to representation on the local government association and county councils network, Councillor Jarvis to make the Liberal Democrat nominations. Thank you, Chair. I would like to nominate myself and Councillor Symington to the local government association general assembly and the same two nominations, the county council network. And is that seconded? I second the nominations. Thank you. And is that agreed, Council? And I believe that concludes all the. Yes. Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, members of the press, members of the public who I hope have enjoyed watching on the webcast. I apologize if a little teething trouble up here. I'm still finding my feet, but I will get familiar with the system before the year is out. Do not worry. The next meeting of the council will be held on Tuesday, the 22nd of July at 10 a.m. We will meet again then. I hope I might meet some of you at the county show at Redbourne next weekend, the 24th and 5th of May. Certainly that's an event that we all ought to try and make an effort to attend if we could. Thank you very much for your patience. Thank you for electing me as your chairman and have an enjoyable rest of the day. Good day to you.