Annual report 2020 - 2021 | Hertfordshire County Council

Taken from our annual report, we've highlighted some of the key things we've achieved throughout the year.

Covid-19: Hertfordshire’s Response

1.2 million Hertfordshire residents have played their part during the pandemic, the impact of which continues to be felt in our communities. Responding to the pandemic was an example of multi-agency working with invaluable contributions made by organisations across the county.
The Volunteer and People Assistance Cell (VPAC) was a multi-agency effort that ensured all Hertfordshire residents had access to food and basic provisions where required.
Every year each of our 78 county councillors is provided with a Locality Budget to spend on projects in their local area. In light of the challenges the county faced as a result of the pandemic, this funding was increased in the 2020-2021 financial year to help support Covid-19-related schemes, with an extra £5,000 made available to each councillor. Last year, 1,587 grants were awarded totalling over £1.154m.

The Hertfordshire Growth Board comprises the County Council, the 10 district and borough councils and Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership. The Board is chaired by the Leader of Hertfordshire County Council. Over the past year the Board has formed a statutory joint committee to increase openness and transparency and to support the delivery of good growth with long-term benefits for Hertfordshire residents.
Following our declaration of a climate emergency in Hertfordshire, our Sustainable Hertfordshire Strategy was approved by Cabinet in March 2020 and the corresponding Action Plan was approved in December.

In November 2020, more than 60 young people from across Hertfordshire were recognised for their outstanding achievements at the annual Services for Young People Awards, which were held virtually for the first time. The awards took place during National Youth Work Week and highlighted the impact that Youth Workers and Personal Advisers have on helping young people overcome barriers and fulfil their potential, particularly during this challenging year. Young people were nominated by their peers and their workers.
In 2020-2021 the Hertfordshire Broadband Programme made nearly 2,500 connections available to more rural and challenging locations across the county, taking the total number of additional connections in the county to 54,000 since 2013.Opening in a new window

Work is ongoing to develop and improve nursing care capacity across Hertfordshire, with the development of a new Nursing Home at Wormley in Broxbourne set to open in Autumn 2021.
Over the last year, we have worked closely with our commissioned care support partners, Carers in Herts. They have made over 11,000 keeping in touch calls to carers, distributed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for us and provided carer hubs, training and a variety of other activities on-line.

As part of the Covid response to rough sleeping and the Government’s ‘Everyone In’ initiative, we developed a multidisciplinary approach to addressing the support needs of rough sleepers placed in emergency and temporary accommodation.
The JustTalk mental health programme, led by Public Health working in partnership with 35 agencies from across the Hertfordshire mental health system, has continued to run online and in schools and colleges across Hertfordshire.