A summit focused on provision for children with special educational needs and a new approach to highway repairs are among the early priorities announced by the new Liberal Democrat leader of Hertfordshire County Council.
Cllr Steve Jarvis was elected as the new leader at a meeting of the full council on Tuesday (May 20).
In his first speech as leader, he told councillors that the Liberal Democrats had already drawn up a 100-day programme centred around a 10-point plan of priority actions.
Among those actions, he said, would be a trial of a new approach to fixing potholes—where multiple nearby potholes would be repaired at the same time.
He also highlighted plans for a summit focused on special educational needs, which would bring together teachers and other key stakeholders.
“Many people rightly complain that, despite increased resources, Hertfordshire roads have not improved sufficiently,” he told members of the county council.
“So to begin the process of addressing that, we will launch a trial of a new approach to mend more pot-holes in a single visit – rather than coming back to fix pot-holes another day.
“It is 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 is no doubt that a 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 will be bringing young people, parents, schools teachers together for a SEND summit to inform our plans to make further improvements that we need.
“These are just the first steps to show the new administration will change Hertfordshire for the better.”
Cllr Jarvis said it was a “great honour” to be elected as leader and acknowledged that, with 32 Liberal Democrat members on the 78-seat council, the minority administration would require cross-party support.
He suggested the new political landscape would mean reaching agreement “on a wider basis than it has been in the past”.
However, he said residents had clearly voted for a change in the way the county is governed—and that he intended to deliver on that.
“We want a council that people see as being 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,” he said.
“There’s a lot to achieve and I don’t under-estimate the scale of that task.”
Cllr Jarvis was elected leader with 42 votes. Thirteen councillors abstained, and 22 voted against.
Cllr Sally Symington, who nominated him for the role, praised his long-standing commitment to the Liberal Democrat values of liberty, equality, democracy, community, human rights, internationalism and environmentalism.
She said this commitment would ensure that the council could “deliver the will of the residents of Hertfordshire, as expressed in the ballot box on the first of May to see change”.
She also described him as a collaborative worker with “vision and integrity”, highlighting his experience as both a district and county councillor.
Seconding the nomination, Cllr Helen Campbell said Cllr Jarvis would lead with “integrity, transparency and drive, but also with fairness, empathy and inclusivity”.
She added that he would take the council forward in a way that is “truly progressive”.
Deborah is a Local Democracy Reporter covering news across Hertfordshire, with a strong focus on councils, local government and public policy. Her reporting includes county council decisions, council tax, spending pressures, legal and regulatory issues, healthcare stories including junior doctors, and community projects affecting local residents.
