Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Hall, Leeds, LS1 1UR. View directions

Contact: Sandra Pentelow (0113) 37 88655  Email: sandra.pentelow@leeds.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

52.

Late Items - City Development- Carillion

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

 

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes.)

Minutes:

Minute 57 refers to this item of business.

 

The Scrutiny Board agreed to consider this item of business. The information was not available at the time of agenda despatch, but was subsequently made available on the Council’s website.

53.

Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests declared at the meeting.

 

54.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted by Councillor N Dawson, Councillor D Ragan and Councillor Paul Wadsworth.

 

Notification was received that Councillor J Jarosz was to substitute for Councillor N Dawson and Councillor R Grahame was to substitute for Councillor D Ragan.

 

55.

Minutes - 20 December 2017 pdf icon PDF 122 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 20 December 2017.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on the 20December 2017 be approved as a correct record.

 

 

56.

Road Casualty Reduction Initiatives pdf icon PDF 175 KB

To consider the report of the Director of City Development which provides an overview of the progress made on the Leeds Killed and Seriously Injured (KSI) road casualty reduction programmes with the emphasis on reducing casualties for vulnerable road users. The report also provides an update on road safety initiatives delivered since the last scrutiny report in October 2016.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director of City Development submitted a report which provided an overview of the progress made on the Leeds Killed and Seriously Injured (KSI) road casualty reduction programmes, with emphasis on reducing casualties for vulnerable road users. The report also provided an update on road safety initiatives delivered since the last this area was last scrutinised in October 2016.

 

The following information was appended to the report:

 

-  Leeds Safer Roads Action Plan

-  Road Safety Engineering Schemes

-  Road Safety Education, Training and Publicity, Year Planner 2017

 

 

The following representatives were in attendance:

 

-  Inspector Nick Berry – West Yorkshire Police

-  Chief Inspector Chris Corkindale – West Yorkshire Police

-  Gary Bartlett, Chief Officer, Highways and Transportation

-  Andrew Hall, Head of Transportation

-  Becky James, Team Leader (Road Safety)

 

The key areas of discussion were:

 

·  The range of proposals for road safety improvements for 2017 and beyond and the progress made.

·  The formation and membership of the West Yorkshire Safer Roads Executive Group.

·  The announcement by Chief Inspector Chris Corkindale that a West Yorkshire bespoke road policing strategy is being launched. He added that considerable progress has been made since road safety was last scrutinised, particularly with regard to resources, with a very recent decision taken to separate out specialist roads policing. The Board welcomed this information.

·  The review and restructuring of Neighbourhood Policing Teams who will utilise intelligence to bid for operational support for roads policing.  Members are still encouraged to report local issues directly to their Neighbourhood Policing Team.

·  The importance in planning and engineering in the provision safer highways.

·  The acknowledgement that police resources are being increased, however even taking account of the increase, resources will still be less than in 2010.

·  The acknowledgement that 20mph zones are effective in the improvement of road safety, however there is a need for enforcement where this is the only avenue to reduce killed and seriously injured numbers.

·  The intended use of more covert enforcement which is addressed in the roads policing strategy.

·  The delivery of pro-laser courses

·  Clarity was sought regarding ‘Copenhagen style’ design at junctions

·  Clarity was sought regarding addressing anti-social driving behaviour. In response the Board was advised that resources must be prioritised with a focus on the five most risky behaviours. It was reinforced however that anti-social behaviour is not ignored. The city wide injunction following the motor bike incident in Leeds city centre was highlighted as an example.

 

RESOLVED – The Scrutiny Board (Infrastructure and Investment) noted the report and thanked West Yorkshire Police representatives for their contribution.

 

 

57.

Late item of business entitled 'City Development - Carillion' pdf icon PDF 150 KB

To receive a report from the Director of City Development entitled ‘City Development – Carillion’ as a late item of business.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director of City Development submitted a provided and update of the position between the Council and Carillion Construction Ltd.

 

The following information was appended to the report:

-  East Leeds Orbital Route Contract Award, Report to the Chief Highways Officer, 7th November 2017, author Anne Sweeting

-  Creditsafe, Carillion Construction Ltd

-  Carillion recent awards

 

The following representatives were in attendance:

 

-  Martin Farrington, Director of City Development

-  Oliver Priestley, Highways Project Manager

 

The key areas of discussion were:

 

·  An update on the current position

·  The Board sought clarity on the impact on the procurement strategy and implementation on ELOR caused by the liquidation of Carillion.

·  The Board also raised questions regarding procurement processes and rules, and the use of market intelligence to make an assessment of companies that may be of concern. The Board was advised that judgements made during a tendering process were taken in the context of procurement law and against a background where Carillion was considered to have provided the most economically advantageous tender based on a quality/price evaluation. Accordingly, any decision to not award the contract to Carillion could be challenged if the actions were not considered to be fair and proportionate in the context of the mitigation measures put forward.

·  The Board was advised that it was the case that considerations did take account of the information available at the time. The pre-qualification process took place at the beginning of 2017 before profit warnings were made later in 2017. 

·  The board was advised that due to concerns identified, Carillion awards were on the basis of receiving a 10% insolvency bond from a third party financial institution as a mitigation. If that bond was not provided no contract would be entered into.

·  Clarity was sought regarding the incurring of costs as a result of re-letting contracts. The Board was advised that the drawing down of the City Connect bond has mitigated cost for that project. With regard to ELOR the programme is still on schedule despite the need to appoint a new contractor for phase 1.

·  In the context of how services are commissioned from large companies, and the issues that have arisen due to the collapse of Carillion Construction Ltd, the Board recommended that Scrutiny Board (Strategy and Resources) conduct a review of the robustness of the Council’s procurement policies and strategies and identify what lessons can be learned.

 

RESOLVED - The Scrutiny Board (Infrastructure and Investment):

 

a)  Noted the report

b)  Requested that the Principal Scrutiny Advisor communicates the request for scrutiny to the Chair of the Scrutiny Board (Strategy and Resources) as detailed in the key areas of discussion.

58.

Powering up the Leeds Economy through Digital Inclusion - Scrutiny Inquiry Recommendation Tracking pdf icon PDF 2 MB

To consider the report of the Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support and Chief Digital and Information Officer which sets out the progress made in responding to the recommendations arising from the scrutiny inquiry ‘Powering up the Leeds Economy through Digital Inclusion.’

 

Minutes:

The Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support and Chief Digital and Information Officer submitted a report which set out the progress made in response to the recommendations arising from the scrutiny inquiry ‘Powering up the Leeds Economy through Digital inclusion.

 

The following information was appended to the report:

 

-  Appendix 1- Recommendation tracking flowchart and classifications

-  Appendix 2- An update on progress in relation to Powering up the Leeds Economy through Digital Inclusion

 

The following representatives were in attendance:

 

-  Dylan Roberts, Chief Digital and Information Officer

-  Richard Hart, Deputy Head of Service, Digital and Reading

-  Jason Tutin, Digital and Learning Development Manager

-   

The key areas of discussion were:

 

·  Progress made in responding to the recommendations arising from the scrutiny inquiry ‘Powering up the Leeds Economy through Digital Inclusion’.

·  Clarity sought surrounding plans for tablet lending schemes in relation to geographic location and potential cohort. The Board were advised of the ongoing focus on targeting support to those who are digitally excluded as a priority.

·  Confirmation that Elected Members could be influential in supporting programmes in their communities through the investment of funding available to them.

·  Concern was expressed regarding the ongoing issues relating to access to broadband and free Wi-Fi.

·  The Board expressed that overall it is satisfied with progress made and will schedule a further review in the next municipal year.

 

The status of recommendations were agreed as follows:

 

·  Recommendation 1 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 2 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 3 – Stop Monitoring

·  Recommendation 4– Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 5 – Achieved

·  Recommendation 6– Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 7– Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 8– Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 9– Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 10– Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 11 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 12 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 13 – Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring).

·  Recommendation 14 – Achieved

 

 

RESOLVED –

 

(a)  The Scrutiny Board noted the contents of the report

(b)  The recommendation statuses above were approved.

 

 

59.

Leeds Site Allocations Plan (SAP) pdf icon PDF 189 KB

To consider the report of the Director of City Development which provides an overview regarding the preparation of the Site Allocations Plan (SAP) and update since the Scrutiny Board meeting of 21st December 2016.  The SAP is now at an advanced stage, having been through four stages of public consultation, with a fifth one on a Revised Submission Draft Plan scheduled to take place between 15th January and 26th February 2018.  The Development Plan Panel has provided oversight of the plan making process since 2012 and made recommendations at all the plan making stages, which have subsequently been endorsed by the City Council’s Executive Board and Full Council.

 

Scrutiny Board Members to bring retained SAP Council Papers 10 January 2018 – these are appendix 1. This is publically available on the Leeds City Council Website.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director of City Development submitted a report which provided an overview regarding the preparation of the Site Allocations Plan (SAP) and update since the Scrutiny Board meeting of the 21st December 2016. The SAP is now at an advanced stage, having been through four stages of public consultation, with a fifth one on the Revised Submission Draft Plan scheduled to take place between 15th January and 26th February 2018. The Development Plan Panel has provided oversight of the plan making process since 2012 and made recommendations at all the plan making stages which have subsequently been endorsed by the City Council’s Executive Board and Full Council.

 

The following representatives were in attendance:

 

-  David Feeney, Head of Strategic Planning

-  Tim Hill, Chief Planning Officer

-  Lois Pickering, Team Leader Local Plans

 

The key areas of discussion were:

 

·  Clarity was sought regarding the mechanisms for members of the public to raise concerns. The board were advised that representation can be made through the public consultation process and directly to the Planning Inspector.

·  Clarity was sought regarding the removal of green belt sites in the revised SAP due to suggested revised housing numbers referenced in the Governments consultation document. The Board were advised that the Council are reviewing the housing requirement and the Government housing number figure is out for consultation. The housing requirement figure cannot be changed through the SAP however the Core Strategy review is currently being undertaken and is due to be presented to Executive Board in February 2018.

·  The Board acknowledged the need to adopt the SAP however the Governments interjection has caused uncertainly which the Board hope will be brought to a conclusion and quickly and as equitably as possible.

 

RESOLVED - The Scrutiny Board (Infrastructure and Investment) considered the information contained within the report and presented at the meeting.

 

60.

Work Schedule pdf icon PDF 107 KB

To consider the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the 2017/18 municipal year.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support submitted a report regarding the Board’s work schedule for the 2017/18 municipal year.

 

RESOLVED – That subject to any on-going discussions and scheduling decisions, the Board’s outline work schedule be approved.

 

61.

Date and Time of Next Meeting

Wednesday 28 February at 10:30am

 

(pre-meeting for all Board Members at 10:00am)

Minutes:

Wednesday, 28 February 2018 at 10:30am

(pre-meeting for all Board Members at 10.00am)

 

(The meeting concluded at 12.45pm)