Lib Dems Force Herts County Council to Accept That Highways Contract Still Not Working Properly

At the end of last month Liberal Democrat County Councillors forced the Conservative administration of Hertfordshire County Council to accept that after one full year of operation "the new and revised highways term contracts as well as the Call Centre are not fully functioning and are not working to best effect for the residents of Hertfordshire and there are still a number of important issues that require resolving".

After a year of constant criticism of repeated failures the County Conservatives have today admitted that it is now time for the Highways and Waste Management Panel of the Council to consider these continuing concerns, and, if necessary, invoke the appropriate non-performance clauses contained within the contract.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst who submitted a successful amendment to the main Conservative motion commented "This is a real break through. Finally, after literally hundreds of problems have been raised with the management team by myself and my colleagues, the Conservatives have accepted that things must improve."

Liberal Democrat Cllr Malcolm Cowan who seconded the amendment added "This is a significant step on the way to getting a fair deal for our local Council Tax Payers. But there is a very long way to go before the service we get could be described as satisfactory. I shall be monitoring what happens next and make sure that Hertfordshire's conservatives manage this contract properly to get value for money for our residents".

The picture does not show equipment actually used by Ringway, HCC's contractor, but it is a metaphor for the slowness of HCC's response to highway repairs