Solving the cost of living crisis: November’s meeting

In November we celebrated the first anniversary of the HIDB. A year on, and we’re in full swing, with subsidiary conferences, initiatives and funding streams all in the works to contribute to good quality, sustainable growth in Hertfordshire. At this meeting, we thanked Cllr Linda Haysey, Leader of East Herts District Council, who has done a brilliant job of chairing our meetings and leading on meaningful discussions since the organisation’s inception in November 2021.

We welcomed Cllr Lewis Cocking, Leader of Broxbourne Borough Council, who takes over as Chair, and is keen to reiterate that Hertfordshire is ‘open for business.’

The cost of living crisis was the subject of the day, an issue pertinent to all communities across the country, but we were keen to explore what the private and public sectors in Hertfordshire are doing to help alleviate the issues. Tina Barnard, Chief Executive at Watford Community Housing and Scott Crudgington, Deputy Chief Executive at Hertfordshire County Council joined Meeting Place’s Nikki Davies for a discussion at the front, before we broke into workshops and explored potential solutions further.

It is clear that many routes lead back to public sector resourcing – an issue that comes up time and time again at HIDB meetings – and one that we are taking seriously as a group. It is also clear that both short-term and long-term solutions are required, particularly to deal with rising energy costs and standards of living in our homes.

The strongest message to take away from November’s meeting is that this burden must be shared. It is the collective responsibility of the private and public sectors to work together with the shared goal of driving economic prosperity across the region.