As 2020 begins and we look forward to a new year, for most of us the festive season is a time to get together with friends and family, but this isn’t the case for everyone. So I’m immensely proud of those who work or volunteer to help others in need, particularly the lonely and vulnerable. Thank you.

We’ve been absolutely committed to delivering core, local public services. During winter, we work as hard as we can to keep the county moving on our roads through frost and snow while safeguarding our most vulnerable residents. Throughout the next year we will continue to focus on delivering our key services to a high standard to keep our residents safe and well and our county clean and prosperous.

We will drive further towards our vision to have the opportunity to live in thriving places, share in Hertfordshire’s prosperity, to see everyone achieve their potential and to enjoy healthy and safe lives. Key for us is to shape positively the growth planned for the county and to see that it is supported by the right infrastructure.

The county council remains committed to ensuring that our services represent the best value for the funding we secure from local council taxpayers, business ratepayers and Central Government.

In 2020, we will continue working closely with our public sector partners to achieve this as well as learning commercial approaches from other areas such as business. Even though we are financially robust we continue to need the additional funding from Central Government to repair our roads and provide care to those who need it most.

Finally, 2020 will bring the ‘Hertfordshire Year of Culture’ to celebrate, share and explore Hertfordshire’s arts, culture and heritage and we anticipate continued good growth across the County.

I wish everyone in Hertfordshire a happy and healthy 2020.

Cllr David Williams

Leader of Hertfordshire County Council