The Public Health & Community Safety Cabinet Panel of Hertfordshire Council is scheduled to meet on Monday 02 February 2026. The meeting's agenda includes discussions on the council's budget for 2026/27 and its Medium Term Financial Strategy, an update from Hertfordshire's Chief Constable, and a response to a motion concerning the role of Trading Standards in disrupting illegal and illicit goods.

Budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026/27

The panel is set to consider the council's budget for the upcoming financial year and its Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). The report outlines an ambitious £1.2 billion budget aimed at delivering vital services, despite facing significant financial pressures including a £42 million annual loss in government funding over the next three years. The council plans to invest an additional £108 million in key services such as children's services, SEND support, and adult social care. The report details proposed investments in priorities such as supporting vulnerable residents, helping children and young people thrive, improving roads and transport, and growing a more sustainable Hertfordshire. It also highlights the need for significant savings, with a target of £55 million for the next financial year, and proposes a 2.99% Council Tax increase alongside a 2% Adult Social Care precept. The panel is invited to note and comment on these proposals, endorsing them to the Cabinet.

Update from Hertfordshire's Chief Constable

The panel will receive a verbal update from Andy Prophet, the Chief Constable for Hertfordshire. Members will have the opportunity to ask questions of the Chief Constable for a period determined by the Chair.

Response to Motion: Trading Standards' Role in Disrupting Illegal/Illicit Goods

A report is scheduled for discussion regarding a motion referred to the panel by the County Council on 9 December 2025. The motion, proposed by A Curtis and seconded by Morris Bright MBE, highlights the success of Hertfordshire's Trading Standards Service, working with partners like Hertfordshire Constabulary and the Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Jonathan Ash-Edwards, in operations against counterfeit goods and illicit activities. It expresses concern over the presence of premises acting as fronts for criminal activity, such as money laundering linked to counterfeit goods, illicit tobacco, and illegal vapes, which undermine legitimate businesses and town centres. The motion calls for a reaffirmation of the council's commitment to eradicating these fronts, requesting increased Trading Standards investigative capacity in the 2026/27 budget, and asking the Executive Member for Public Health and Community Safety to convene a meeting with various stakeholders to enhance intelligence sharing, joint operations, and the use of closure and licensing powers. The report aims to inform the panel on the work undertaken by Hertfordshire Trading Standards and its partners in relation to these issues.

Other Agenda Items

The agenda also includes the confirmation of the minutes from the previous Public Health & Community Safety Cabinet Panel meeting held on 1 December 2025. There are no Part II ('closed') agenda items scheduled for this meeting.