Issue - meetings
QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS
Meeting: 08/10/2026 - Council (Item 45)
45 QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS 
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To consider any questions submitted by Members of the Council, in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11 (b).
Decision:
In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11, five questions had been submitted by the required deadline set out in the Constitution.
(A) Councillor Resignation if Breach of Nolan Principles
Councillor Ruth Brown to Councillor Val Bryant, Leader of the Council.
(B) Update on Steps Taken to Implement Recommendations of Section 106 Task and Finish Group Report
Councillor Ralph Muncer to Councillor Val Bryant, Leader of the Council.
(C) Cost of Paused Local Government Reorganisation Process for the Council
Councillor Ralph Muncer to Councillor Val Bryant, Leader of the Council.
(D) Staff Recruitment for Local Government Reorganisation and Cost for NHDC
Councillor David Chalmers to Councillor Val Bryant, Leader of the Council.
(E) Council Procedure for Unauthorised Development
Councillor Ralph Muncer to Councillor Donna Wright, Executive Member for Place.
Minutes:
Audio recording – 01 hour 20 minutes 22 seconds
In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11, five questions had been submitted by the required deadline set out in the Constitution.
(A) Councillor Resignation if Breach of Nolan Principles
Councillor Ruth Brown to Councillor Val Bryant, Leader of the Council:
‘Does the Leader agree that a Councillor who has demonstrably breached the Nolan Principles should resign as a Councillor?’
Councillor Val Bryant provided the following response:
‘The Nolan Principle are embedded in the North Hertfordshire Council Constitution and form the basis of the Council’s Code of Conduct. If it is considered that a Councillor has breached the Code of Conduct, a complaint may be made to the Monitoring Officer. Details of the complaints procedure are available on the Council’s website.’
Councillor Ruth Brown asked a supplementary question, as follows:
‘On the 31st of August 2026, the Guardian reported the Court of Appeals ruling that a rate mitigation scheme enabling businesses to avoid tax was unlawful. This practice was promoted by a company whose co-owner and financial director is a Labour member of this council. The scheme has cost councils, in particular London Boroughs, hundreds of millions in lost revenue over more than a decade. Will you ask the member of your group who promoted this practice to resign as a councillor?’
Councillor Val Bryant responded:
‘We have the Standards Committee next week and I have just looked at the papers and at this moment there are no outstanding complaints that have not been dealt with so we don’t actually have an outstanding complaint against a councillor.’
(B) Update on Steps Taken to Implement Recommendations of Section 106 Task and Finish Group Report
Councillor Ralph Muncer to Councillor Val Bryant, Leader of the Council:
‘To ask the Leader of the Council to provide an update on the steps taken by the administration to implement the recommendations of the Section 106 Task and Finish Group Report which was presented to Cabinet in April 2026.’
Councillor Val Bryant responded:
‘At this stage, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s recommendations have not been approved by the Cabinet for implementation. An update will be presented to Overview and Scrutiny at its November meeting at the request of the Scrutiny Officer.’
Councillor Ralph Muncer asked a supplementary question, as follows:
‘I thank the Leader of the Council for that response and I look forward to that coming back to Overview and Scrutiny in November. But as she will recall at the meeting of Cabinet in April, there was an indication that the implementation of the recommendations of the Section 106 task and finish group may not occur as a result of Local Government Reorganisation. Now that Local Government Reorganisation has been paused, can she commit to those recommendations being implemented by and until the end of this council? And will she also further commit to ensuring that the budget is found for those recommendations to be implemented even if that means that’s not currently contained within this year’s ... view the full minutes text for item 45