Decisions

The Chief Officer for Communities approved both strategies following the approval by the Leeds Strategic Migration Board and reference to annual updates to Executive Board

The Chief Officer (Highways and Transportation):

i) Noted the contents of the report;

ii) Approved the implementation of a package of waiting restrictions associated with the reconstruction of the St Theresa’s Catholic Primary School, as shown on the attached drawing no. TM/10/478/TRO, at a total cost of £15,000;

iii) Noted the required expenditure of £8,000, comprising £3,000 works costs, £4,000 staff fees and £1,000 legal fees, all being funded by the department for Education; and

iv) Gave authority to advertise and introduce a Traffic Regulation Order to introduce waiting restrictions as shown on the attached drawing no. TM/10/478/TRO and if no valid objections are received, to make, seal and implement the Traffic Regulation Order a as advertised.

The Chief Officer, Highways & Transportation:

i) Noted and approved the Middleton Park – Public Transport Infrastructure Improvement scheme as shown on the attached Drawing Nos TM/23/373/MISC/07, 08 & 09;

ii) Gave authority to issue the works to the term contractor and to construct the scheme as shown.

iii) Noted the required expenditure of £300,000, comprising £210,000 works costs and £90,000 staff fees, all being funded from the Connecting Leeds programme as previously approved by Executive Board and the Combined Authority’s Project Assurance Team; and

iv) Noted that the scheme, valued at £300,000, is to be wholly funded from West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Connecting Leeds programme as previously approved by Executive Board.

The decision has been taken to approve the replacement of the existing version of the Financial Procedure Rules with a new version containing updated guidance and information.
The decision has also been taken to approve the Contract Procedure Rules for Schools. These have been updated to bring them inline with the renewed version of Leeds City Council’s Contract Procedure Rules.

The Director of Communities and Environment:
I. Approved acceptance of the tender submitted by Kier Construction in the sum of £7,750,075.67 inclusive of all professional design fees incurred by the appointed contractor, development costs and surveys incurred by the contractor.

II. Approved entering into a contractual agreement with Kier Construction to deliver the development on Newmarket Approach. This will take the form of a NEC 3 Option A Contract with a Fixed Price Activity Schedule.

III. Noted that the officer responsible for implementation is the Director of Communities and Environment and the Acting Chief Officer (Environmental Services) and authorise them as a signatory of all other contract related documentation that is required to deliver the project subject to constitutional delegation.

The Director of Resources and Housing:
• approved the award of the Professional Services Contract for the design activity in connection with the District Heating Clusters scheme to Cenergist Limited for the sum of £91,633.50;
• noted that a subsequent report seeking approval to award the construction and operation and maintenance contracts for the Wykebeck Valley and the Barncrofts clusters is expected to require a decision in late summer 2021.

The Head of Service, One Adoption West Yorkshire (OAWY) approved the waiver of CPRs 8.1 and 8.2 to award a twelve month contract from 1st April 2021 to the value of £48,000 to Highton Consultancy to continue to provide independent advice and quality assurance to the OAWY adoption panels.

The Director of Resources and Housing:
1. Authorised the required expenditure to enable the programme to progress the property acquisitions detailed in Confidential Appendix A. These acquisitions to be funded from the Council Housing Growth Programme budget, via a combination of Housing Revenue Account (HRA) borrowing and Right to Buy receipts.
2. Noted that Executive Board granted Authority to Spend for the programme on 24th July 2019.
3. Noted that a report is being submitted in parallel to the Director of City Development to request approval to acquire the properties for Housing & Resources so that they can be returned to Council Housing Stock.

The Chief Officer, Environmental Services noted the contents of this report and approved:
• The transfer of service functions relating to void garden clearance and vulnerable garden maintenance from Environmental Services to the Void Garden Team in Housing Services.
• Approved the transfer of CNT staffing budgets totalling £257,000 and equipment budgets totalling £64,890 from Environmental Services to the Housing Services Voids Team.
• Approved the transfer of the corresponding income budget of £321,890 to The Voids Team which is wholly chargeable to the HRA account.

The Director Adults & Health has approved the waiver of CPRs 9.1 and 9.2 to enter into an interim contract with Leeds Centre of Integrated Living (LCIL) from 1st April 2021 for a period of eight months to enable the facilitation of a six month mobilisation period under the current Direct Payment Support Service contract that was due to expire on 31st March 2021. The service is jointly commissioned with Children’s Services. Adults and Health contribution to the contract will be £419,183 and Children and Families contribution will be £100,667. The combined value of the contract will be £519,850. Decision D52664 was taken on 05/02/21. Offering direct payments is a statutory duty for Local Authorities and this contract delivers a key support function assisting adults/families to manage their direct payments.

The Chief Officer, Highways & Transportation:

i) Noted the contents of the report;

ii) Noted and approved the final layout of the Rothwell & Robin Hood – Walking and Cycling Improvement scheme as shown on the attached Drawing Nos TM/00/371/GA/01 to 07;

iii) Gave authority to issue the works to the term contractor and LCC Parks & Countryside department and to construct the scheme as shown;

iv) Noted the required expenditure of £1,719,000, comprising £1,450,000 works costs, £267,000 staff fees and £2,000 legal fees, all being funded from the Connecting Leeds programme as previously approved by Executive Board and the Combined Authority’s Project Assurance Team.

v) Authorised the City Solicitor to advertise a notice under the provision of Section 90c of the Highways Act 1980 associated with provision of vertical traffic calming as outlined on attached Drawing Nos TM/00/371/GA/01 to 07 and if no valid objections are received, to implement the traffic calming as advertised; and

vi) Approved with reference to the powers contained in Section 66(4) of the Highways Act 1980, that the relevant lengths of footway outlined on attached Drawing Nos TM/00/371/GA/03 as proposed cycle tracks are removed and that following the removal of the footways, cycle tracks are constructed under the powers contained under the provisions of section 65(1) of the Highways Act 1980 for shared joint use by pedal cyclists and pedestrians.

The Chief Officer Asset Management and Regeneration has approved the purchase of a property on the terms detailed in the confidential appendix for Resources and Housing to return to Council stock.

The Chief Officer Operations approved
a) the delivery of ‘business as usual’ savings at John Charles Centre for Sport (JCSC) associated with the operation of the facility
b) extra time to hold further discussions with the interested third party in realtion to the potential future operation of the Tennis Centre to determine if a viable proposition exists for the Centre to operate under a lease or licence arrangement.
c) the service to find the replacement savings to allow for the 2021/22 slippage while these options outlined at a) are explored.

The Chief Digital and Information Officer approved the waiver of Contracts Procedure Rules 8.1 and 8.2 and award a contract to Zoom Video Communications, Inc., for the sum of £57000. This figure could increase depending on the amount of licenses required. Additional licences are co-termed within the current contract, and the licences are priced with a local authority discount. The contract commenced on the 15/07/2020 and will expire on the 15/07/2021.

The Director of Resources and Housing:
1. Authorised the required expenditure to enable the programme to progress the property acquisitions detailed in Confidential Appendix A. These acquisitions to be funded from the Council Housing Growth Programme budget, via a combination of Housing Revenue Account (HRA) borrowing and Right to Buy receipts.
2. Noted that Executive Board granted Authority to Spend for the programme on 24th July 2019.
3. Noted that a report is being submitted in parallel to the Director of City Development to request approval to acquire the properties for Housing & Resources so that they can be returned to Council Housing Stock.

The Deputy Director, Access & Care Delivery approved the contents of a report regarding a care plan in respect of a person with complex care needs, the individual cost of which is £157,657.76 per annum.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable citizen of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live independently in a safe environment.

The Deputy Director, Access & Care Delivery approved the contents of a report regarding a care plan in respect of a person with complex care needs, the individual cost of which is £157,400.00 per annum.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable citizen of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live independently in a safe environment.

The Deputy Director, Access & Care Delivery approved the contents of a report regarding a care plan in respect of a person with complex care needs, the individual cost of which is £122,054.40 per annum.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable citizen of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live independently in a safe environment.

a) The Chief Officer of Civic Enterprise Leeds approved the award for this framework agreement for the provision of home to school transport of SEND children, children who are in the care of the Authority, and adult day centre transport to commence from the 1st April 2021.
b) The maximum length of the contracts will be four years (1+1+1+1), with an estimated spend of approximately £6m to £8m per annum.

The Director of City Development has approved the allocation of £2.5m of Additional Restrictions Grants (ARG) monies to fund free three year driver licences to existing private hire and hackney carriage drivers (which numbered 6191 in January 2021). Details outlined in the attached document.

The Chief Officer, Highways & Transportation:
a) noted the contents of this report, and the report to the Director of City Development dated 23rd November 2020;

b) instructed the City Solicitor to advertise two experimental Traffic Regulation Orders to introduce:

i) A Bus Taxi and Cycle gate and a one way traffic flow on Queen Street from its junction with Chapel Hill southbound for 27 metres;

ii) Extension of the existing Prohibition of Vehicles on Queen Street to cover the period 7pm – 7am Friday – Monday and to restrict loading and unloading between 5pm and 7pm in addition to the existing hours of restriction;

iii) No Waiting At Any Time on parts of Queen Street on the approach to the junction with Chapel Hill, all as shown on drawing No. TM-26-664-TRO-01 and to include a provision within the Orders to enable the Chief Officer (Highways and Transportation) to modify or suspend the operation of the Orders or any of their provisions during the period of the experiment if it appears to him to be essential to do so; and

c) At the end of the experiment which can remain in operation for a maximum period of 18 months and if no valid objections are received following the 6 month minimum objection period, to give appropriate consideration to making the Orders permanent to incorporate any modifications considered necessary as a consequence of monitoring the experiment.

The Leader has approved amendments to their executive arrangements to take effect from 24 February 2021 for the remaining part of the 2020/21 municipal year as set out attached.

Leader of Council, Councillor James Lewis has approved executive arrangements by an earlier decision of 16th February 2021
He has further decided to amend arrangements for the appointment of deputy and support executive members as set out attached to be contained in Part 3, Section 3 of the Council’s Constitution.

The Deputy Director, Access & Care Delivery approved the contents of a report regarding a care plan in respect of a person with complex care needs, the individual cost of which is £213,176.08 per annum.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable citizen of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live independently in a safe environment.

The Chief Officer Operations approved
a) providing notice to terminate the existing shared use agreement
b) to allow for extra time to hold discussions to take place with the school and the potential third party to develop a new shared use agreement which delivers the financial saving of 37k.
c) the service to find the replacement savings to allow for the 2021/22 slippage while these options outlined at b) are explored.

The Chief Officer Operations approved
a) further work to continue with interested third parties to identify options for future delivery of Leeds Sailing and Activity Centre whilst continuing to increase usage by existing parties.
b) moving forward with an Expressions of Interest process in relation to a)
c) the service to find the replacement savings to allow for the 2021/22 slippage while these options outlined at a) are explored.

The Programme Director, Strengthening Families Protecting Children approved the take up of the extension provision on contracts DN470778 and DN484936 with two consultants supporting the Leeds Relational Practice Centre for twelve months from 1st April 2021 up to a total potential value of £135,000.

The Leader has approved their executive arrangements to take effect from 24 February 2021 for the remaining part of the 2020/21 municipal year as set out in the attached documents.

At the meeting of full council on 24 February 2021 the leader was appointed and the Leader is required to present the details of their executive arrangements.
The executive arrangements are contained in the attached documents and are set out in Part 3, Section 3 of the Council’s Constitution.
Section 3A: Responsibility for Executive Functions
Sets out the name and ward details of the Leader, his deputy, and the Executive Members appointed by him.
Section 3B(a-c): Executive members Portfolios
Set out the details of the eight executive portfolios and details of responsibility in relation to the executive functions of Directors.

The Chief Officer (Highways and Transportation);

a) noted the detail of the highway works described in outline in section 3 of this report and shown on plan 258099-03-SK-03 Rev B attached at Appendix 2 of this report;
b) gave authority to negotiate the terms of and enter into an agreement with the developer under the provisions of Section 278 of the Highways Act 1980; whereby the works associated with the development are carried out by the developer and overseen by the Council.
c) approved the adoption of new highway construction on land shaded dark green on plan 258099-03-SK-03 Rev B attached at Appendix 2 of this report so that it can be added to the Council’s maintenance regime;
d) requested the City Solicitor to advertise a notice under Section 90c of the Highways Act 1980 to provide a vertical traffic calming feature as shown on drawing number 258099-03-SK-03 Rev B at Appendix 2; and if no valid objections are received, to implement the proposal as advertised;
e) requesed the City Solicitor to advertise draft Traffic Regulation Orders to implement a one-way system and contra-flow cycle lane and introduce parking/loading restrictions and alter the extents of No Waiting At Any Time restrictions as shown on drawing 258099-03-SK-03 Rev B at Appendix 2; and if no valid objections are received, to make and seal the Orders as advertised; and
f) gave authority to incur expenditure of £20,000 TRO costs and £6,000 staff checking and inspection costs, all to be fully rechargeable to the developer through the Section 278 agreement.

The Chief Officer (Highways and Transportation);

a) noted the detail of the highway works shown in outline in section 3 of this report and shown on plan 733379-LCC-HWT-XX--DR-CH-MI-13_02 attached at Appendix 3 of this report;
b) gave authority to negotiate the terms of and enter into an agreement with the developer under the provisions of Section 278 of the Highways Act 1980; whereby the works associated with the development are carried out by this Council at the cost of the developer;
c) gave authority to request the City Solicitor to advertise a draft Traffic Regulation Order to alter the extents of No Waiting At Any Time restrictions as shown on drawing 733379-LCC-HWT-XX--DR-CH-MI-13_02 at Appendix 3 of this report; and if no valid objections are received, to make seal and implement the Orders as advertised;
d) approved a notice to be displayed on site under the provisions of Section 23 of The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the establishment of a toucan crossing as shown on drawing 733379-LCC-HWT-XX--DR-CH-MI-13_02 at Appendix 3 of this report;
e) approved with reference to the powers contained in Section 66(4) of the Highways Act 1980, that the relevant lengths of footway shown on drawings 733379-LCC-HWT-XX--DR-CH-MI-13_02 as footway works are removed and that following the removal of the footways, cycle tracks are constructed under the powers contained under the provisions of section 65(1) of the Highways Act 1980 for shared joint use by pedal cyclists and pedestrians; and
f) gave authority to incur capital expenditure of £281,000 works costs, £64,000 staff costs, £7,500 TRO costs, all to be fully rechargeable to the developer through the Section 278 agreement.

The Chief Officer (Highways and Transportation);

a) Gave authority to incur expenditure for the preparation of a design and business case to enable a further submission for FDGiA funding and, subject to viability and affordability, to implement a flood alleviation scheme at Farnley Wood Beck at an estimated total cost of £450,000.
b) Gave authority to drawdown the £300,000 Section 106 contribution to fund the delivery of this scheme.

Context and background
Initial plans for mass asymptomatic testing, targeted and at scale, were developed by Leeds City Council in December 2020 following announcement and communication by central government via the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). However, following the national lockdown imposed in January 2021, DHSC recommended that local asymptomatic testing should instead be targeted to critical key workers and cohorts of the workforce that are frontline and unable to work from home. Local councils were encouraged to develop plans and submit a proposal for key worker testing, setting out costs, arrangements, and key worker cohorts. DHSC stated that the testing programme could only run during a specific time frame until March 31st 2021; this meant that the development of local plans and discussions with partners had to occur at pace to ensure testing could be implemented for a 6-8 week period.

Leeds proposal
The proposal in Leeds is to test approximately 3,500 key workers twice a week, from the following cohorts:
• Fire service/ West Yorkshire Police/ Transport
• 3rd sector
• Hostel and temporary accommodation staff
• Funeral directors
• Hotel staff
• Early years staff
• Taxi drivers
• Passenger transport
• Cleaning staff
• Waste management
• Children’s homes
This amounts to 56,000 tests over the duration of an 8 week programme.
The three testing sites proposed across the city are:
1. Headingley Campus, Leeds Beckett University, LS6 3QS
2. City Campus, Leeds Beckett University, LS1 3HE
3. The Old Fire Station, Gipton, LS9 6NL
The two Leeds Beckett University sites are already established, with existing infrastructure and workforce arrangements in place to undertake student and staff lateral flow testing. Following discussion with university colleagues, utilising the space capacity at these sites (due to a decrease in student testing demand following the national lockdown) was agreed to be a prudent approach to developing the testing programme. The third site at Gipton was agreed to be ideally located to capture the key workers transiting in/out of Leeds, in particular third sector workers. Unlike the university sites, the Old Fire Station will require setting-up as a test centre in the first instance, which includes establishing the appropriate infrastructure. This site will be staffed by Leeds City Council workforce identified within the human resources staffing pool.

The Chief Officer, Operations approved an award of contract for the provision of a Leisure Management System as a result of a competitive tender exercise.

Refer to attached report for details.

Leeds City Council commissions a range of housing related support services for vulnerable people in Leeds. The primary aim of these services is to support people to achieve and maintain independent living. These contracts are managed by the commissioning team in Adults and Health on behalf of Resources and Housing, and include a resource centre delivered by St Anne’s Community Services that engages with people who are rough sleeping, homeless and vulnerably housed.
A review of this provision, to consider the best approach to support people who are homeless, vulnerably housed, rough sleeping and / or begging, was due to take place in 2020. However, this was not possible as all resources were diverted to responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The contract with St Anne’s Community Services is due to end on 31st March 2021. Approval is therefore sought in accordance with Contracts Procedure Rule (CPR) 21.7, to do a variation of the contract end date for the St Anne’s Resource Centre Service from 31st March 2021 to 31st March 2022, incurring additional expenditure in the sum of £210,000.
This will ensure continuity of service and provision to a vulnerable client group whilst the review and any subsequent commissioning is carried out.

The director of Resources and Housing granted approval to:

• Enter into separate Design Services Agreements (DSA) with Wates Construction Ltd for the sum of £478,580.69 (£296,701.66 for Amberton Terrace and £181,879.03 for Seacroft Crescent) to develop design and cost proposals for the two schemes.

• Delegate approval to the Head of Council Housing Growth, as per the scheme of delegation, to approve any costs incurred through the design stage for additional surveys or third party consultancy costs.

• Delegate any minor extensions of the contract term and minor increases to the design fees (up to £100,000) to the Head of Council Housing Growth. The Head of Council Housing Growth will update the Director of Resources and Housing.

The Chief Officer Economy and Culture:
• Awarded a Call off Contract to Telefonica of circa £111k for iPads and associated data, data management software licences and protective screens.
• The procurement was for 150 iPads following Employment and Skills successful award of contract from DWP to purchase and loan them to disadvantaged Leeds residents.