The Overview & Scrutiny Committee of Hertfordshire Council held evidence-gathering sessions on Tuesday 03 February 2026 to scrutinise the council's budget proposals for 2026/27 and the Medium Term Financial Strategy. Discussions covered Children's Social Care, Education, SEND & Inclusion, Highways, and Environment, Transport and Growth portfolios. Key areas of focus included the recruitment and retention of foster carers and social workers, support for care leavers, investment in SEND services, home-to-school transport, the high needs block deficit, and the maintenance of highways infrastructure. The committee also discussed the active travel fund, waste management services, and sustainable transport initiatives. Recommendations were to be compiled and presented to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 9 February 2026.

Children's Social Care

The committee discussed the budget for children's social care, with a particular focus on foster care. An increase of £1.4 million in the budget for foster carers was explained as covering an uplift to allowances, with 6.88% attributed to a Department for Education (DfE) uplift and 3% to cost-of-living increases. Councillor Anthony Rowlands, Cabinet Member for Children's Social Care, reported positive progress in foster carer recruitment, with 34 approvals forecast for 2025-26, compared to 21 the previous year. The NEST (nurture, empathy, trust, support) programme and the emergency foster care project were highlighted for their positive outcomes in supporting children and achieving savings.

Discussions also covered care leavers, with clarification provided on how expenditure is reflected within the children's services budget. The care leaver staffing team's costs are grouped under safeguarding, amounting to nearly £2 million, while direct support and spending for care leavers sits under CLA and leaving care, totalling just over £1 million. Increased investment in the care leaver service has included expanding teams, adding management capacity, and employing dedicated education, employment, and training (EET) workers and mental health workers. The percentage of care leavers in EET has risen to 60%, up from around 50%.

The committee also addressed challenges in recruiting and retaining key staff, including social workers, residential care workers, and educational psychologists. Councillor Rowlands noted that Hertfordshire's turnover rate (10%) and agency rate (6%) are better than statistical neighbours (15% and 18% respectively), with a vacancy rate of 7% compared to a neighbour's 16%. Jo Fisher, Director of Skills and Inclusion, identified work-life balance, caseloads, salary, and career progression as key priorities for social worker retention. The council is implementing a grow our own strategy, including apprenticeships and academies, with 130 people completing apprenticeships since 2021 and 41 studying for integrated social work degrees.

Education, SEND & Inclusion

Significant investment in SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) staffing and specialist provision was discussed, with a £6.3 million investment planned. This includes 30 additional EHC (Education, Health, and Care) coordinators, a 28% increase, and 12 additional review officers. £2.3 million is allocated to school-based SEND services, and £1.36 million to the educational psychology service, increasing its capacity by 80%. A further £1 million from the SEND investment is earmarked for children missing education, enhancing oversight of safeguarding and coordination for those educated outside of school or electively home educated.

Mark Watkin, Executive Member for Education, stated that despite financial pressures, the council is investing in the SEND service to meet growing demand. He highlighted improvements in the timeliness and quality of EHC needs assessments and annual reviews. The council is also planning to invest £140 million in facilities to create an additional 1,150 specialist places in mainstream and specialist schools.

Regarding home-to-school transport for SEND pupils, an additional £3.4 million uplift to the budget represents a 9.3% increase, with £0.8 million for inflation and £2.7 million for rising demand. The council is strongly encouraging families to use personal travel budgets (PTBs), with uptake increasing from 251 in 2021 to over 950. For 16-18 year olds, PTBs will become the default option from September 2026, with a clear appeals process and digital systems to support the transition.

Concerns were raised about the high needs block deficit, which is projected to reach £89 million by the end of the current year and £90 million next year. Rachel Adler, Director of Strategy and Performance for Children's Services, explained that this is driven by insufficient growth in grant funding compared to rising need and expenditure. The council is focusing on mainstream inclusion and increasing capacity in specialist resource provisions and special schools to de-escalate costs.

Investment in school buildings and capital maintenance was also discussed, with a £16.1 million allocation from the Schools Conditions Grant for 2025-26. The budget shows higher spending in earlier years due to the reprogramming of underspent grant funds.

Highways

The Highways Locality Budget (HLB) is proposed to increase by £5,000 to £95,000, which is not an inflation-linked increase but a general uplift. While this increase is not sufficient to cover inflation, members are protected from inflation increases on agreed schemes during the financial year. The council is exploring batching purchases and bidding for materials like bollards and white lining to mitigate the effects of inflation. A specific inflation uplift of £1.5 million has been included in the highways budget for the current year, calculated using the Price Adjustment Formula Indices for Construction (PAFI-E4) index, which is more aligned with construction costs than CPI or RPI.

Regarding pothole repairs and winter maintenance, the council has quality controls in place with contractors and is trialling different methods, such as road mender, which is proving effective. An additional £700,000, with a push to increase it to £1 million, is allocated for road mender to address potholes on concrete sub-base roads that previously did not meet the criteria for repair. The budget for highways is managed flexibly, with potential for deferring schemes or accessing central contingency funds in extreme circumstances.

The integrated works programme for the next financial year includes 1,069 schemes with a budget of £107 million for maintenance and transport infrastructure, covering 3,200 miles of roads and 3,500 miles of pavement. This is planned work to maintain the network, not an outstanding backlog. Concerns were raised about delays in street lighting repairs due to parts availability, and the council is working with contractors to minimise backlogs and improve communication with residents about repair timelines. A reduction in the grass cutting budget was noted with disappointment, though the council will monitor its impact.

The income from fines and permits under the New Roads and Street Works Act (NRswa) is projected to increase by 10% due to updated fees and more robust enforcement. The council is also exploring the potential for growing its internal fleet to further reduce transport costs, though this is in the early stages of consideration.

Environment, Transport and Growth

The active travel fund is being used to develop and deliver walking and cycling schemes, with a focus on local cycling and walking infrastructure plans (LCWIPs) to identify priorities. The council has a number of schemes in development and delivery funded by Active Travel England and developer contributions. While there isn't a pool of shovel-ready schemes, there are developed ideas that are being progressed to be ready for funding opportunities. Community engagement is crucial, with efforts to improve and enhance this through online tools, LCWIPs, and working with local councillors and districts. The council is also ensuring that new developments incorporate active travel infrastructure from the outset, as outlined in the Place and Movement Planning Design Guide.

Regarding waste management, the council is confident that proposed budget changes will not reduce the convenience of services for residents. The Hertfordshire Waste Partnership is actively involved in campaigning and behavioural change initiatives, with a budget of £175,000 funded by contributions from 11 authorities. The county council also has an officer dedicated to school assemblies and workshops. The potential impact of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) on waste disposal costs is a significant risk, with a projected net pressure of £7-7.5 million annually. Mitigation measures include lobbying, producer engagement, and exploring carbon capture technologies.

Improvements to bus services are being delivered through the Bus Improvement Plan (BIP), including enhanced ticketing, increased service frequency, and physical improvements to aid bus reliability and priority. Demand-responsive transport (DRT) services, such as Hertfordshire Links, are being expanded with additional vehicles to improve responsiveness to user demand. The council is also working with employers to encourage staff to use public transport and is investing in infrastructure improvements, such as at Lister Hospital. The use of e-bike hire schemes is being supported, with data from these schemes used to inform transport planning. Community education and engagement play a vital role in supporting alternative travel modes, with a dedicated budget of £200,000 for the school travel planning team.

The council is committed to supporting car users, though the focus of the Environment, Transport and Growth budget is on active and public transport. The Highways portfolio is responsible for road building, with a limited allocation for new roads, encouraging the use of section 106 agreements for such developments.

Recommendations for Further Action

Following the evidence-gathering sessions, several areas were identified for further action and potential recommendations:

• Children's Social Care:

  • Improve transparency regarding care leaver funding.
  • Ensure proper monitoring and oversight of the additional funds allocated for recruiting and retaining foster carers.
  • Maintain a continued focus on staffing recruitment and retention across children's services.
  • Provide a detailed breakdown of the £16 million investment between children looked after and disabled children, including the number of children in each category and any overlap.

• Education, SEND & Inclusion:

  • Provide more detailed information on lessons learned from previous 20mph zone rollouts, including project timelines, key risks, success monitoring, and how changes in speed management strategy could expedite delivery.
  • Clarify where specific communities are experiencing difficulties with engagement and whether this is due to active communities or other factors.
  • Explore the potential for investing in the internal fleet longer-term to maximise additional efficiencies for home-to-school transport.
  • Provide more detail on the proposed ESI savings programme and the nature of wider service efficiencies.
  • Consider providing an appendix to the budget outlining the projected impact of anticipated government reforms, particularly concerning the high needs block, once information becomes available.

• Highways:

  • Provide further clarification on the modernization scheme for street lighting, including timelines for delivery, prioritization, and the makeup of the £10 million contingency fund.
  • Offer more detail on the deliverability and prioritization of winter maintenance and the wider highways budget, including how the £4.5 million is likely to be spent and the allocation of the contingency fund for highways.
  • Clarify the rationale behind the specific uplift for the Highways Locality Budget (HLB), including the figures and why this level was chosen.
  • Provide further clarification on the grass cutting budget, noting regret over the reduction.
  • Express concern about the vulnerability of the planned highways programme to inflation in construction materials, particularly in light of global events.

• Environment, Transport and Growth:

  • Provide more detail on the lessons learned from previous 20mph zone rollouts and the feasibility of delivering 200 additional schemes.
  • Clarify the specific communities where engagement is challenging and the reasons behind it.
  • Explore the potential for a survey to determine if more stops are needed on existing demand-responsive transport routes.
  • Provide more detail on the proposed ESI savings programme and wider service efficiencies.
  • Consider providing an appendix to the budget outlining the projected impact of anticipated government reforms, particularly concerning the high needs block, once information becomes available.
  • Provide further details on the use of the internal fleet for home-to-school transport and the potential for growing the fleet.
  • Provide more detail on the capital programme for school maintenance, particularly regarding how it is funded in the early years versus later years of the medium-term financial plan.
  • Provide more detail on the review of grant funding for the music service and the robustness of these grants for the medium-term financial strategy.
  • Provide more detail on the proposed ESI savings programme and wider service efficiencies.
  • Clarify the specific communities where engagement is challenging and the reasons behind it.
  • Provide more detail on the capital programme for school maintenance, particularly regarding how it is funded in the early years versus later years of the medium-term financial plan.
  • Provide more detail on the review of grant funding for the music service and the robustness of these grants for the medium-term financial strategy.