Decisions

The Director of Adults and Health approved the authority to spend capital expenditure of £600k for equipment for the Leeds Telecare Service to be spent in 2024/25 budget

Leeds City Council (LCC) Children & Families have existing cooperation agreements in place with clusters which are due to expire 31/3/24.

A delegated decision is required to provide approval for the LA to enter into new co-operation agreements with clusters in respect of the LA funding contribution to clusters. The agreements will be for 12 months, with options to extend subject to funding being available.

a)  The Director of Children & Families approved the decision to enter into new cooperation agreements with Clusters. These will retrospectively start from the 1^st April 2024 to 31^st March 2025 with the option to extend by 2x 12 months. 

b)  The funding for clusters will continue to be calculated utilising the funding formula that was approved as part of the key decision (D52724). The total LCC Cluster funding pot for 2024/25 is £780,830 but will be £2,342,490 for the duration if extensions are taken up, subject to funding being available.  The funding for Clusters currently sits in the Early Help Service area.  Appendix 2 provides the breakdown of the funding allocation per annum.

Approval will be sought to accept the 2024/25 allocation of the Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment & Recovery Grant from the Office of Health Improvement & Disparities.

The Director of Public Health:

Accepted £8,212,541 from the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities via the Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant for the period 1^st April 2024 to 31^st March 2025.

Accepted £588,237 from the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities via the Supplementary Substance Misuse Treatment & Recovery Housing Support Grant for the period 1^st April 2024 to 31^st March 2025.

Noted that a report will be submitted for the approval of the expenditure of these two grants. All of the decisions, regardless of value, will be a direct consequence of this key decision and will therefore be a significant operational decision at most, which will not be subject to call in.

Approval will be sought to accept the 2024/25 allocation of the Local Stop Smoking Services and Support Grant from the Office of Health Improvement & Disparities.

The Director of Public Health :

Accepted £985,430 from the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities via the Local Stop Smoking Services and Support Grant for the period 1^st April 2024 to 31^st March 2025.

Note that a report will be submitted for the approval of the expenditure of this grant. All of the decisions, regardless of value, will be a direct consequence of this key decision and will therefore be a significant operational decision at most, which will not be subject to call in.

The Director of Public Health approved the direct award of the Leeds Suicide Bereavement Service to Leeds Mind from the 1^st January 2025, for a period of 3 years with an option to extend for a period of up to 24 months in any combination.  The value of the contract is £107,003.40 per annum, £535,017 for the full period of the contract including the extensions.  The direct award will be carried out in accordance The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 (PSR) which came into force on the 1^st January 2024.

Approval to carry out formal consultation on the scheme, and delegated approval to progress and implement the scheme, as set out in the main report. The scheme is expected to generate surplus revenue anticipated to be higher than £500,000.

The Director of City Development submitted a report regarding the development of a potential Leeds Lane Rental Scheme. The report provided details of the benefits from such a scheme and sought approval to progress with key next steps in its proposed delivery. The proposed next steps were specifically in relation to the commencement of formal consultation with key stakeholders, and to delegate the necessary authority to officers, in consultation with the Executive Member, regarding the application to the Secretary of State and in relation to the timing, specific content and the implementation of the scheme.

By way of introduction to the report, the Executive Member provided an overview of what the scheme would entail, the background to the proposals and the benefits arising from its delivery. It was also noted that the principal aim of the scheme would be to further reduce disruption caused by road and street works.

Responding to enquiries, the Board was advised that any potential impact on residents from highways works, including overnight works, would continue to be taken into consideration as they currently are as part of the existing permit scheme. It was noted that the aim would be to continue to deliver the best outcome for all, and to strike the correct balance when considering the competing demands upon the highway.

Regarding the revenue generated from the scheme, it was noted that the first call would be to reimburse any costs incurred from its delivery. In terms of the allocation of any surplus revenue, particularly with regard to highways maintenance improvements, it was noted that the Government’s consultation on such matters was ongoing.

When considering how such a scheme may impact upon works required to deliver a mass transit project, it was highlighted that the Council would work alongside the West Yorkshire Combined Authority on such matters, as the Council would not want to inhibit the development of a mass transit scheme.

A Member enquired about the approach taken to address the backlog relating to highways maintenance and whether it could be reflected upon to ensure that local maintenance works including pothole repairs undertaken were as effective and efficient as possible. In response, it was noted that this was an area of service delivery that was intended to be reviewed over the coming year. 

Regarding the references within the submitted report to ‘Leeds Land Rental Scheme’ at recommendations (a) and (b), the Board noted that these should read ‘Leeds Lane Rental Scheme’.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That, subject to the corrections referenced above, the contents of the submitted report, be noted;

(b)  That the process and benefits of introducing a Leeds Lane Rental Scheme, as detailed within the submitted report, be noted;

(c)  That the progress made to date on the development of a Leeds Lane Rental Scheme, be noted;

(d)  That the commencement of formal consultation with key stakeholders, as identified in Department for Transport guidance and required as part of the development of a Leeds Lane Rental Scheme, be approved;

(e)  That the necessary authority be delegated to the Chief Officer Highways and Transportation, in conjunction with the Executive Member for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, to enable decision making on the timing, specific content, application to the Secretary of State and implementation of the Leeds Lane Rental Scheme.

The Director of Adults and Health submitted a report presenting the Adult Social Care Plan for the period 2024 – 2027 for the Board’s consideration.

In presenting the report the Executive Member highlighted that the plan outlined the vision and priorities that would be focussed upon over the next three years as part of the Council’s delivery of its statutory duties under the Care Act 2014. It was highlighted that the plan had been informed by the Council’s Better Lives Strategy and supported the implementation of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy. It was also noted that once agreed, the plan would be published and accompanied by an accessible summary document and other resources.

A Member enquired about the ways in which progress made against the plan’s priorities would be measured. In response, the Board received further detail on the range of metrics which would be used. These included the responses from the nationally reported surveys which gauge the opinion of both service users and carers, the demographic data gathered and also via engagement with service providers and partners. It was noted that conversations on such matters would continue, in order to monitor that services were accessible and being provided to those who needed them.

Responding to a specific request, officers undertook to provide the Member in question with the performance metrics used to monitor the progress being made. 

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the contents of the Leeds Adult Social Care Plan 2024 – 2027, as presented at appendix 2 to the submitted report, be noted, and that the Board’s approval be given to the plan’s publication, together with the Director of Adults and Health’s intention to publish an accessible summary of this plan;

(b)  That it be noted that the Director of Adults and Health is responsible for keeping the Leeds Adult Social Care Plan up to date, and also for providing regular updates on the delivery of the plan through the Leeds Local Account.

The Director of Public Health submitted the fifth report of the Leeds Health Protection Board since it was established in June 2014. The report, which had been considered by the Health and Wellbeing Board on the 21^st March 2024, included an update on the Board’s activity, detailed the progress made on the Health Protection Board priorities and highlighted the achievements of the health protection system.

By way of introduction to the report, the Executive Member highlighted the key role that the Board played and noted that it was made up of partners from across the health protection system and chaired by the Director of Public Health.

Members received an overview of the work of the Board, including the local system response to new and emerging infectious diseases. It was also noted that the Board’s aim was to deliver a one system approach to health protection risks and priorities in Leeds. Reference was also made to the range of performance indicators monitored in this area.

Thanks was extended to those officers involved in the key health protection work that continued to be undertaken.

RESOLVED – That the contents of the submitted report be noted, together with the following, as presented in the appended Leeds Health Protection Board Report 2023:-

(a)  The progress which has been made on the Health Protection Board priorities;

(b)  The case studies highlighting the approach to managing significant infectious disease outbreaks in the city; and

(c)  The key achievements, and the targets for 2024, setting out recommended actions for the next 12 months.

Further to Minute No. 71, 22 November 2023, the Director of Communities, Housing and Environment submitted a report which provided an update on the cost-of-living situation in Leeds, and which reflected upon national policy interventions and the actions being taken by the Council and partners in response to such matters.

By way of introduction to the report, the Executive Member provided an overview of the key issues being faced in Leeds in relation to the ongoing cost-of-living situation, together with details of the actions being taken by the Council and its partners. The significant levels of demand for support services was highlighted, whilst the Board also received an update on national policy developments.

Thanks was extended to those officers and partner organisations involved in the continued provision of key services in this area.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the contents of the submitted report, be noted, and that the approach being adopted, be endorsed;

(b)  That it be noted that the Director of Communities, Housing and Environment will be responsible for overseeing and implementing any actions arising from the submitted report.

The Chief Officer (Financial Services) submitted a report presenting an update on the financial position of the Authority at the Provisional Outturn, reflecting the first eleven months of the 2023/24 financial year.  Specifically, the report reviewed the current position against the 2023/24 budget and provided an update on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and the Council Tax and Business Rates Collection Funds.

In presenting the report the Executive Member provided an overview of the key points which included the current forecasting of a balanced position for the General Fund in 2023/24 which would be achieved through the use of reserves. This included the use of the £17.7m from a refund from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and also £14.7m from the Merrion House reserve. 

Members received further information on the directorate budget action plans which were in place to mitigate against the pressures detailed within the submitted report. This included the ongoing measures to monitor and manage the pressures arising from key areas of demand for services delivered through the Children and Families directorate.

Responding to a specific enquiry, the Board received further detail on the use of £14.7m from the Merrion House reserve which complements the Strategic Contingency Reserve to manage unforeseen budget pressures and is therefore being used as a contribution towards achieving a balanced position for the General Fund in 2023/24. The Board noted that external auditors were aware of such matters, and that there was no additional impact on the revenue budget as a result of using the Merrion House reserve in this way.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That it be noted that at Provisional Outturn (Month 11 of the financial year) the Authority’s General Fund revenue budget is forecasting a balanced position for 2023/24 after the application of reserves;

(b)  That it be noted that at Provisional Outturn (Month 11 of the financial year) the Authority’s Housing Revenue Account is forecasting a balanced position;

(c)  That it be noted that known inflationary increases, including demand and demographic pressures in Social Care, known impacts of the rising cost of living, including the NJC pay settlement of £1,925 and the JNC pay settlement of 3.5%, have been incorporated into this reported financial position, as submitted. That it also be noted that these pressures will continue to be reviewed during the year and reported to future Executive Board meetings as more information becomes available, and that proposals would need to be identified to absorb any additional pressures;

(d)  That it be noted that where an overspend is projected, directorates, including the Housing Revenue Account, are required to present action plans to mitigate their reported pressures and those of the Council’s wider financial challenge where possible, in line with the Revenue Principles agreed by Executive Board in February 2023 through the annual Revenue Budget report.

This decision encompasses significant energy efficiency improvements to back-to-back homes in two deprived areas of Holbeck and Armley.

The specific decisions are:

To accept £1.785M of Better Homes Hub funding from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and £4.5m from the Department for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing (DLUCH) via the Levelling Up Fund.

To inject £4.422M for Armley and £8.52M for Holbeck into the capital programme and provide authority to spend on both.

To give authority to directly procure and award to a contractor to deliver Holbeck via an approved framework.

To give authority to procure using the WYCA Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction Framework for Armley, utilising a two-stage process to undertake the following:

·  Fabric energy efficiency works to 100 back-to-back homes in Armley including external wall insulation, attic room insulation and where necessary the installation of new energy efficient doors and windows.

·  A feasibility study into the installation of ground source heat pump technology using a shared loop.

The Director of Communities, Housing and Environment submitted a report on proposals regarding the development of energy efficiency improvements to a number of back-to-back homes in some of the most deprived areas in Leeds, and which sought several approvals from Executive Board in order to progress such proposals.

In presenting the report the Executive Member provided an overview of the proposals within it, which would see a significant investment in energy efficiency improvements to 350 back-to-back homes in Armley and Holbeck. Details of the range of benefits arising from the proposals were highlighted, with it being noted that such improvements were in line with Leeds’ Marmot City principles. It was also noted that a feasibility study was proposed to be undertaken on the 100 properties in Armley to ascertain the suitability of the area for ground source heat pumps.

Regarding the reference within the submitted report to ‘Equans S.A.S’ at recommendation (d), the Board noted that this should read ‘Equans Regeneration Ltd.’.

A Member raised an enquiry about the possibility of delivering further schemes to cover other areas in the city. In response, it was acknowledged that whilst the submitted proposals would build upon previous schemes, the potential delivery of further improvements would be welcomed, but with it being noted that any such proposals would be dependent upon securing further funding.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That, subject to the correction referenced above, the contents of the submitted report, be noted;

(b)  That the necessary authority be provided to enter into a grant agreement for £1.785m with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA); and that the necessary authority be provided to enter into a grant agreement for £4.5m with the Department for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing (DLUCH) via the Levelling Up Fund (LUF), with the latter being subject to the LUF grant award;

(c)  That the request to inject £1.785m of WYCA grant funding and £4.5m of DLUCH grant funding into the Capital Programme, be approved, supplemented by £6.3m of other income, as set out within the ‘Resource Implications’ section of the submitted report;

(d)  That the necessary authority to spend for £12.992m in order to deliver both entire programmes in Armley and Holbeck, be approved;

(e)  That the necessary authority to direct award to Equans Regeneration Ltd. via the Greener Futures Partnership Decarbonisation Delivery Framework, be approved;

(f)  That the necessary authority be delegated to the Director of Communities, Housing and Environment in order to enable the Director to determine whether to seek further WYCA funding of c£2.1m to part-fund phase 2 in Armley, subject to the outcome of the feasibility study; and that should this funding be secured, the necessary authority be delegated to the Director of Communities, Housing and Environment.in order to provide the Director with the authority to procure, to inject into the Capital Programme and also provide the Director with the authority to spend.

(Further to Minute No. 118 above, Councillor Arif left the meeting room for the duration of the Board’s consideration of this item, returning to the meeting at the conclusion of this item)

Key Delegated Decision to approve expenditure over £500k in respect of the 2024/25 Planned Maintenance Programme.

The Director of Children and Families agreed to:

a)  Approve the proposed programme of Planned Maintenance works in maintained and Foundation (Trust) schools to be delivered during 2024/25 and funded from the available Schools Condition Allocation grant provided by the DfE.

b)  Authorise expenditure of £5,000,000 of the available Schools Condition Allocation grant on these essential condition works.

c)  Approve the proposed procurement strategy, using the in-house Procurement Team, and the use of the internal provider for some work areas and Yortender portal to contractors from Constructionline framework for the remaining programme.

-  Approved the council entering into Connection and Supply Agreements with a number of prospective customers for Leeds PIPES

-  Approved the awarding of contract/contracts to the project’s Principal Contractor for detailed design at a number of sites to facilitate connections to Leeds PIPES, utilising standard council T&Cs

-  Approved the awarding of contract/contacts to the project’s Principal Contractor for works to connect customers to Leeds PIPES, utilising an NEC3 contract

Potential customers to be detailed in the accompanying Key Decision report confidential appendix.

The Director for Communities, Housing, and Environment has taken the following decisions:

a)  Approve the awarding of contracts for detailed design at sites included in Confidential Appendix 1 – 24/25 Leeds PIPES Customers, to the maximum values stated, to Vital Energi Utilities Ltd.

b)  Approve the entering into of Connection and/or Supply Agreements with the customers included in Confidential Appendix 1 noting that any variations to the standard council position in these agreements will be subsequently approved by the Chief Officer for Climate, Energy and Green Spaces under the established delegations.

c)  Approve the awarding of contracts to Vital Energi Utilities Ltd for the design and build of connections to sites included in Confidential Appendix 1, to the maximum values stated.

d)  Note that Confidential Appendix 1 is excluded from this report for reasons detailed at paragraph 41, in line with the Local Government Act 1972.

Approval of schemes to deliver traffic signal upgrades across the road network including asset renewal, control strategy upgrades, telecommunications infrastructure upgrades and optimisation of existing asset.

a)  The Chief Officer (Highways and Transportation) has:

i)  Reviewed and approved the prioritised list of proposed schemes set out in Appendix A for delivery as part of the 2024/25 Urban Traffic Management & Control (UTMC) Capital Programme.

ii)  Approved the injection of £1,832,000 from CRSTS and £500,000 from TSOG into the UTMC Capital Programme 2024/25.

iii)  Given authority to incur expenditure of an expected £2,332,000 (inclusive of all works costs, fees and legal costs) which will be funded by way of £1,832,000 from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) and £500,000 from the Department for Transport Traffic Signal Obsolescence Grant (TSOG).

Key Delegated Decision to approve expenditure over £500k in respect of the 2023/24 & 2024/25 Health and Safety Programme

In the absence of The Director of Children and Families, The Chief Officer of Resources & Strategy agreed to:

a)  Authorise expenditure of £1,000,000 of the available School Condition Allocation Grant to spend on essential health and safety condition works.

b)  Approve the proposal to undertake Asbestos Works, Electrical testing, Condition Survey Works and unforeseen urgent Reactive Works at Leeds schools.

The Director of Public Health is recommended to:-

Approve the direct award of the contract to Health for All (Leeds) Ltd for the provision of the family healthy living programme for a period of 3 years commencing on 1^st April 2024 (with an option to extend for a period of up to 24 months in any combination) in the sum of £261,576 (£87,192 per annum) in accordance with Contract Procedure Rule (CPR) 9.5. The value of the contract if the full extension period was to be utilised would be £435,960 which would be subject to a separate decision at the appropriate time.

Approve the direct award of the contract to Dance Action Zone Leeds (DAZL) Ltd for the provision of the family healthy living programme for a period of 3 years commencing on 1^st April 2024 (with an option to extend for a period of up to 24 months in any combination) in the sum of £247,338 (£82,446 per annum) in accordance with CPR 9.5. The value of the contract if the full extension period was to be utilised would be £412,230 which would be subject to a separate decision at the appropriate time.

Approvedthe direct award of the contract to LS-TEN Ltd for the provision of the family healthy living programme for a period of 3 years commencing on 1^st April 2024 (with an option to extend for a period of up to 24 months in any combination) in the sum of £59,724 (£19,908 per annum) in accordance with CPR 8.3. The value of the contract if the full extension period was to be utilised would be £99,540, which would be subject to a separate decision at the appropriate time.