Sir – Re: the letter from S Stevens headed Promises, promises (WHT, January 9): Mr Stevens is quite right, promises have no value unless they are used as a measure of performance and reported against. I can assure him that we have indeed been making cl

Sir - Re: the letter from S Stevens headed 'Promises, promises' (WHT, January 9): Mr Stevens is quite right, promises have no value unless they are used as a measure of performance and reported against.

I can assure him that we have indeed been making clear progress against our five promises - community safety, environment, housing, community and accountability - over the past three years.

Since 2005 we have published our first corporate plan and aligned it with the existing community plan for the borough. This means all measurable targets owned either by ourselves or our local partners are now set out in one place.

We have also delivered a copy of our annual report to every household in the borough during autumn 2007. This summarises our recent achievements and future objectives, and also explains how we spent the portion of the council tax we are entitled to keep (which is less than 14 pence in every pound we collect).

Our achievements in 2006-07 include providing four street wardens to tackle anti-social behaviour at its source; constructing 75 new off-street parking spaces in neighbourhoods where environmental damage is being caused; delivering over 350 new affordable homes; introducing an enhanced concessionary bus travel scheme enabling more local people to travel for free across Hertfordshire; and delivering an annual consultation on local priorities which enabled over 500 residents to share their views with us.

Mr Stevens can obtain a copy of Welwyn Hatfield 2015, our corporate and community plan, or Putting People First, our annual report for 2006-07, from our reception areas.

Both documents can also be found on www.welhat.gov.uk where quarterly updates are also available.

Cllr Steven Markiewicz, executive member for performance.