Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Connal, Hastrick, Hofman, Saffery, Smith and Watkin.

In reference to minute number 30, motion 3, Councillor Grimston declared that she was employed by the NHS.  Councillor Mauthoor advised that one of her clients was Watford General Hospital.

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 May 2018 to be submitted and signed. 

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 May 2018 were submitted and signed.

Former Mayor Sheila Rosser

The Chairman informed council of the passing of former Mayor Sheila Rosser on 5 June.  He was sure that everyone’s thoughts were with her family at this time.  Ms Rosser had been Mayor from 1997-98.

Everyone stood for a minute’s silence in her memory.

Councillors Bell and Williams and the Chairman spoke about Sheila Rosser.

By-election

The Chairman stated that Councillor Imran Hamid had been elected for Oxhey Ward at the by-election on 21 June.  He welcomed Councillor Hamid to his first Council meeting.

Big Events

The Chairman reminded Council that the Big Screen had returned to the High Street and would be there until 22 July.  This would be followed by the Big Beach from 4 to 19 August.  He encouraged councillors to promote the events on their social media accounts.

Guideposts open day

The Chairman announced that Guideposts Trust would be holding an open day on 21 July between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Henry Smith House.  He said that the Trust was one of his chosen charities and he encouraged councillors to support the event. 

Chairman’s engagements

The Chairman informed council that he had recently attended the South West Herts Samaritans Annual General Meeting.  The organisation had been awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service on 2 June.

The Chairman advised that he had raised the flag in front of the Town Hall as part of the ‘Fly the Flag for Armed Forces Day’ national event.

A report of the Mayor had been circulated with the agenda.

The Chairman invited Members to indicate whether they wished to ask a question of the Mayor.  Councillors Bashir, Dhindsa, Mauthoor and Mills indicated that they wished to ask questions.

a)      Councillor Bashir said that his question related to the Metropolitan Line Extension.  There would be huge significant economic benefits to the town if the scheme were to go ahead.  In his view there was no other alternative.  He noted the Mayor had attended meetings with the Transport for London (TfL) and the County Council.  He asked what steps Mayor Taylor would be taking to get all parties back to the negotiating table.  The funding gap had led to the cancellation of the last project.  He hoped the Mayor of Watford would be able to build a constructive relationship with the Mayor of London and to get the Metropolitan Line Extension going again.  He understood that the August deadline would not be sufficient.  He would prefer there was a re-negotiation bringing all parties together rather than looking at alternatives.

         The Mayor said that he was pleased to have been able to have the meeting with TfL, the County Council and the Managing Director.  It had given them an opportunity to discuss any possibility of resurrecting the scheme.  It was clear there had been a funding gap which had been plugged.  However, the scheme would not be delivered as TfL would not take the cost risk associated with it.  It was confirmed the scheme was timed out.  It was regrettable for everyone as it would have had big economic benefits.

         The Mayor commented that his job was to see what could be done to take something forward.  Benefits from the meeting included all monies would be returned; protection of the Croxley Link corridor and finally looking at alternatives.  It was important to be realistic and not negative.  TfL had said they would work with the Council, the County Council and the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to find a viable alternative.  TfL had the transport experts who could provide important information about how much alternatives would cost and any benefits.  It was right that the town needed better transport infrastructure; this had been a key topic with Councillor Dhindsa during the election campaign.  He added that it was better to look forward than keep looking back.

b)      Councillor Dhindsa stated that his question was about the hop on hop off bus.  He asked whether an impact assessment had been done on the impact on the current taxi trade in Watford.  He also questioned how it would work with a 12-seater bus and whether it was economical.

         The Mayor advised that as yet the Council did not have the detailed scheme; only initial discussions had taken place.  Councillors could look at how it had worked in other towns for example Sittingbourne in Kent and Oxford was just about to introduce a scheme.  He would have hoped that Labour councillors would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

No questions had been received.

No questions had been received.

No petitions had been received.

There was no urgent business.

Report of Democratic Services Manager following by-election on 21 June 2018

Council received a report of the Democratic Services Manager seeking the appointment of Councillor Hamid to Overview and Scrutiny Committee, following the Oxhey Ward by-election.

RESOLVED –

1.      that the revised allocation of seats to Council Committees and Scrutiny Committees i.e., to increase the Liberal Democrat group membership by one seat and to decrease the Labour group membership by one seat on Overview and Scrutiny Committee be agreed.

2.      that the revised committee membership of Overview and Scrutiny Committee be agreed.

Report of Head of Service Transformation

Council received a report from Cabinet held on 4 June 2018, which was accompanied by the Head of Service Transformation’s original report to Cabinet.  There was one recommendation to Council.

RESOLVED –

that the financial resources necessary to deliver the programme as set out in section 8 of the report to Cabinet be approved.

Report of Committee and Scrutiny Officer, in accordance with the fund’s protocol, including information about the overall budget and the types of projects the wards have supported during 2017/18.

Council received a report of the Committee and Scrutiny Officer which set out the annual report for the Neighbourhood Locality Funds in 2017/18.

RESOLVED –

that the annual report be noted.

Report of Committee and Scrutiny Officer on the work of scrutiny during the preceding year

Council received a report of the Committee and Scrutiny Officer and the Annual report of Overview and Scrutiny in Watford Borough Council for 2017/18.

RESOLVED –

that the Annual Report of Overview and Scrutiny in Watford Borough Council for 2017/18 be noted.

1.     The following motion has been proposed by Councillor Stotesbury and seconded by Councillor Hofman

“This council notes that currently stations in Watford Borough sit in Zone 7 in the case of Watford Metropolitan Line Station, Zone 8 in the case of Watford High Street and Bushey, or in Zone ‘W’ in the case of Watford Junction station.

This council notes that commuters in Watford, which is 16.5 miles from their main central London terminus, pay around £1000 a year more than a commuter from Epping, which is also 16.5 miles from its central London terminus but in Zone 6.

This council notes that this is deeply unfair on Watford commuters who travel from all Watford stations, who currently have to pay more to travel the same distance into central London.

This council resolves to ask the Elected Mayor to write to TfL and the Mayor of London to ask on behalf of the council for all stations in Watford Borough to be moved into Zone 6.”

2.     The following motion has been proposed by Councillor Williams and is seconded by Councillor Bell

“The Council opposes Hertfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner's proposal to become the Fire and Rescue Authority for Hertfordshire and that the Fire and Rescue Service should remain under the control and democratic accountability of Hertfordshire County Council.

The Council therefore fully supports the view taken by Hertfordshire County Council in this regard, and its Leader's submission to the Home Office dated 22nd June, 2018 (attached).

The Council therefore instructs the Elected Mayor to write to the Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service in similar vein as the Leader of Hertfordshire County Council, highlighting that this Council opposes Hertfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner's proposal to become the Fire and Rescue Authority for Hertfordshire.”

3.     The following motion has been proposed by Councillor Khan and seconded by Councillor Bell

“70 Year of the NHS

The council notes that;

This July sees the 70th anniversary of the creation of our National Health Service. It is one of this country’s proudest and greatest achievements.

We cherish the way it puts people first and supports us at every stage of our lives, but we need to guarantee that it serves us for generations to come.

Over the past 8 years the Tories have starved the NHS of the resources it needs, they have allowed more and more local services to be privatised and undermined staff doing their best to care for the sick.

We note that the government has pledged to increase funding by £20billion, however we need more funding to transform our NHS to make it even better.

Our A&E is overstretched, The Hospital Trust is in financial crisis as well as the Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group. Cuts are being made to our local NHS services, including the inspirational Nascot Lawn centre.

One in four people now wait a week or more to see a GP. Despite all this, our NHS front line staff do  ...  view the full agenda text for item 30.

Council was informed that three motions had been received.

Motion 1

The following motion was proposed by Councillor Ian Stotesbury and originally seconded by Councillor Mark Hofman; at the meeting councillors were informed that it was now seconded by Councillor Stephen Bolton

“This Council notes that currently stations in Watford Borough sit in Zone 7 in the case of Watford Metropolitan Line Station, Zone 8 in the case of Watford High Street and Bushey, or in Zone ‘W’ in the case of Watford Junction station.

This Council notes that commuters in Watford, which is 16.5 miles from their main central London terminus, pay around £1000 a year more than a commuter from Epping, which is also 16.5 miles from its central London terminus but in Zone 6. 

This Council notes that this is deeply unfair on Watford commuters who travel from all Watford stations, who currently have to pay more to travel the same distance into central London.

This Council resolves to ask the Elected Mayor to write to TfL and the Mayor of London to ask on behalf of the Council for all stations in Watford Borough to be moved into Zone 6.”

Members debated the motion.

On being put to council the motion was AGREED.

RESOLVED –

This Council notes that currently stations in Watford Borough sit in Zone 7 in the case of Watford Metropolitan Line Station, Zone 8 in the case of Watford High Street and Bushey, or in Zone ‘W’ in the case of Watford Junction station.

This Council notes that commuters in Watford, which is 16.5 miles from their main central London terminus, pay around £1000 a year more than a commuter from Epping, which is also 16.5 miles from its central London terminus but in Zone 6. 

This Council notes that this is deeply unfair on Watford commuters who travel from all Watford stations, who currently have to pay more to travel the same distance into central London.

This Council resolves to ask the Elected Mayor to write to TfL and the Mayor of London to ask on behalf of the Council for all stations in Watford Borough to be moved into Zone 6.

Motion 2

The following motion was moved by Councillor Williams and seconded by Councillor Bell

“The Council opposes Hertfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner's proposal to become the Fire and Rescue Authority for Hertfordshire and that the Fire and Rescue Service should remain under the control and democratic accountability of Hertfordshire County Council. 

The Council therefore fully supports the view taken by Hertfordshire County Council in this regard, and its Leader's submission to the Home Office dated 22nd June, 2018 (attached). 

The Council therefore instructs the Elected Mayor to write to the Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service in similar vein as the Leader of Hertfordshire County Council, highlighting that this Council opposes Hertfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner's proposal to become the Fire and Rescue Authority for Hertfordshire.”

Members debated the motion.

On being put to council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.