Decisions

Leeds Building Services (LBS) currently use two applications in order to allocate work to operatives in the field and manage and charge works.

The Council’s current contract expires February 2021, and the supplier have advised they will no longer be in a position to support the system beyond the current contract end.

In accordance with CPR 10.2, LBS is therefore seeking approval to award a contract under Regulation 32 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 Negotiated Procedure without prior publication of a Contract Notice for the provision of a new IT operating system.

The Director Resources and Housing approved the use of CPR 10.2 to award a contract using Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 Negotiated Procedure without prior publication of a Contract Notice to Totalmobile Ltd for the provision of Totalmobile Connect.

The contract will commence on the 19th June 2020 unless the parties agree a new commencement and expiry date, but in any event the duration of the contract will be 5 years.

The annual costs for the contract are:

•  Year 1: £172,010.00

•  Years 2 to 5:  £119,490.00 per year

The total contract cost is £649,970.00.

Leeds Building Services (LBS) are seeking to appoint up to 2 contractors on a multi-year contract to deliver drainage works to housing and non-housing properties where LBS are responsible for the maintenance.

It is anticipated that the total overall value of this contract will exceed £500k; a confirmed figures will be included as part of the forthcoming Authority to Procure report

The Director of Resource & Housing gave authority to procure a contractor for each of the following Lots:

i. Lot 1 – Housing – East only and Non-Housing –

East & West

ii. Lot 2 – Housing – South only and Non-Housing –

South only (commencing 1st July 2021)

b) Lot 1 of the contract to start 1st April 2021 and Lot 2 to start 1st

July 2020 for a 4 year period ending initially on the 31st March

2025 with the option to extend for a further 4 x 12 months. The

value of the contract will be £1.6millon pounds per year, totalling

£12.8 million including any extensions.

The City Solicitor approved the extension to the WYLaw Framework.

The extension period is one year to 30 June 2021. The value of this extension is estimated to be £2m and the anticipated spend for Leeds approximately £500k.

Leeds City Council to receive the transfer of £100,000 from Leeds CCG on an annual basis and this will be recurrent. The purpose of the transfer will be to support a programme of work addressing mental health inequalities experienced by BAME groups, specifically the over  representation of people from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups who are detained under the mental health act. This is a priority within the Leeds Mental Health Strategy and a key performance measure within the Leeds Plan.

The funding will be used to recruit to a post within Public Health which will focus on developing a city-wide network and whole systems approaches. The funding will also be used to deliver a grants programme, administered by the Third Sector.

This programme forms part of wider work in the city. Organisations in Leeds are already working with national partners who are providing expertise, coaching and facilitation across Manchester, London and Birmingham (www.synergicollaborativecentre.co.uk

The Director of Adults and Health noted the contents of this report and approved the following:-

a)  That the committee/Director of Public Health note the partnership arrangements and transfer of funding from Leeds CCG to a value of £100,000 per annum on a recurrent basis.

b)  To recruit to a PO4 post on a permanent contract

Whilst Leeds City Council must follow government guidelines in the design and implementation of the discretionary scheme the detail will be determined locally.

The scheme will amount to 5% of the total value of grants paid out by Leeds City Council as part of the original COVID-19 business grant funds scheme which was nationally defined. At the 11 May that would amount to £7 m for Leeds City Council to distribute.

The decision will be to approve the scope of the discretionary scheme as designed for Leeds City Council.

The Director of City Development:

a)  Noted the contents of this report and the advice contained within it.

b)  Approved the proposed Leeds COVID-19 Discretionary Grant Scheme and delegated the approval to award individual grants to officers with delegated authority under City Development’s existing Sub delegation scheme.

c)  Agreed that the decision should be exempt from call-in due to the reasons outlined in paragraph 4.5.8.

To distribute the Council’s allocation from the Infection Control Fund to Care Homes in Leeds in accordance with the grant determination letter issued by the Secretary of State on 26th May 2020. In accordance with the Grant Determination requirements the decision is to allocate 75% (£5.3m) of the fund directly to Care Homes in 2 payments – one immediately and one in July 2020 – based on the current number of CQC beds registered within each home. The allocation equates to a total payment from the fund of an estimated £963 per registered bed. The payments are to be made on a stringent set of conditions to which care homes must comply, including sign up to and regular and consistent updating of the ‘National Capacity Tracker’, agreement on the deployment of staff to minimise any detrimental impact on infection control, spend the allocation only on infection control, provide evidence of such expenditure and return any funds not spent on that purpose.

The remaining 25% balance of the fund (£1.8m) can be distributed to care homes and domiciliary care providers, including to support wider workforce resilience in relation to Covid-19 in relation to infection control. The plans for the remaining 25% balance are not the subject of this report.

A brief statement of the reasons for the decision[1]

The Grant Determination letter and guidance makes clear that the government is concerned about the spread of the virus between care homes through the movement of staff between homes, either Agency staff or staff who ordinarily work in more than one home. In expressing this concern the government recognise that many of the staff concerned are low paid and in the current situation should not be penalised for doing the right thing.

The Minister’s letter states:

“This funding should therefore be used to maintain the normal income of staff members in both residential and domiciliary care who are now restricted in when and where they can work as a result of these measures, and those who are self-isolating with symptoms of COVID-19 or following a positive test.”

Annex C of the guidance expresses this as follows:

“Local Authorities must ensure that 75% of the grant is allocated to support the following measures in respect of care homes:

§  Ensuring that staff who are isolating in line with government guidance receive their normal wages while doing so.

§  Ensuring, so far as possible, that members of staff work in only one care home

§  Limiting or cohorting staff to individual groups of residents or floors/wings

§  To support active recruitment of additional staff

§  Steps to limit the use of public transport by members of staff

§  Providing accommodation for staff who proactively choose to stay separately from their families in order to limit social interaction outside work. This may be provision on site or in partnership with local hotels.”

In order to claim the second and final instalment of this fund (up to the estimated £963 per registered bed per care home), the grant conditions go on to specify how the council must confirm that the first instalment paid to care providers is to be verified before the second instalment can be made:

“Local authorities must make it a condition of allocation of funding that providers must account for all payments paid out of the ‘per beds’ allocation and keep appropriate records. In so far as a provider does not use the entirety of the ‘per beds’ allocation in pursuit of the infection control measures any remaining funds must be returned to the local authority. Local authorities must ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place to enable them, if necessary, to recover any such overpayments. None of the ‘per beds’ funding is to be used for any purpose other than the infection control measures specified in paragraph [2] of Annex C.”

The conditions also state:

“…the local authority must not make an allocation of the second months funding to a care home provider who has not consistently completed the daily Capacity Tracker. And if the authority believes that the provider has not used the money for the purposes for which it was provided it must withhold the second payment until satisfied that the provider has so used it. And if the provider has not used it or any part of it for the infection control measures for which it was provided the local authority must take all reasonable steps to recover the money that has not been so used.

Finally, the conditions say that care home managers must:

“If requested to do so will provide the local authority or DHSC with receipts or such other information as they request to evidence that the funding has been so spent, provide DHSC or the local authority with an explanation of any matter relating to funding and its use by the recipient as they think necessary or expedient for the purposes of being assured that the money has been used in an appropriate way in respect of those measures and will return any amounts which are not spent on those measures.”

The conditions go on to say the grant money must be spent within two months of the council receiving the second instalment (expected in late June) – so by the end of August 2020. The council must send in a return on how much it has paid out for instalment one by 26 June and on what both instalments have been spent on by 23 September 2020.

The expectation is that this funding is distributed to care homes within 10 working days of receipt by the Council.

To ensure that the Council can comply with the requirements of the grant determination, including that care home providers utilise these funds in accordance with the government’s intentions, it is proposed that a letter is issued to all care home providers outlining these requirements, requesting their confirmation of all of the relevant terms and conditions of the funding and also requesting that they submit their claim to the Council via invoice once they can make that confirmation statement. The Council will then make an immediate payment to the provider.

Brief details of any alternative options considered and rejected by the officer at the time of making the decision

There are no alternative options in relation to the 75% of the fund (£5.3m) which must be allocated to all care homes on a per bed basis. Some discretion is permitted in relation to the 25% balance of the fund which will be the subject of a further report.

The Director of Adults and Health approved to distribute the Council’s allocation from the Infection Control Fund to Care Homes in Leeds in accordance with the grant determination letter issued by the Secretary of State on 26th May 2020. In accordance with the Grant Determination requirements the decision is to allocate 75% (£5.3m) of the fund directly to Care Homes in 2 payments – one immediately and one in July 2020 – based on the current number of CQC beds registered within each home.

The Director of Adults and Health noted the allocation equates to a total payment from the fund of an estimated £963 per registered bed.

The Director of Adults and Heath noted the payments are to be made on a stringent set of conditions to which care homes must comply, including sign up to and regular and consistent updating of the ‘National Capacity Tracker’, agreement on the deployment of staff to minimise any detrimental impact on infection control, spend the allocation only on infection control, provide evidence of such expenditure and return any funds not spent on that purpose.

The Director of Adults and Health noted the remaining 25% balance of the fund (£1.8m) can be distributed to care homes and domiciliary care providers, including to support wider workforce resilience in relation to Covid-19 in relation to infection control. The plans for the remaining 25% balance are not the subject of this report.

The Chief Officer, Financial Services submitted a report providing an interim briefing on the forecast position for the Council when considering the scale of the financial challenge faced by the Authority in terms of 2020/21 and future years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the agreement of the Chair, the submitted report had been circulated to Board Members as a late item of business prior to the meeting for the reasons as set out in section 4.5.2 of the submitted report, and as detailed in Minute No. 166.

In introducing the submitted report, the Executive Member for Resources highlighted the scale of the financial challenge being faced by the Council, which it was emphasised remained an evolving picture.  With regard to the recommendation that the Board write to the Government to ask for financial assistance to enable the Council to fulfil its requirements, it was highlighted that it was proposed that in addition to this, Government would be asked to provide support through the proposals, as set out within section 3.5.2 of the report.

Responding to a Member’s enquiry regarding the options available to the Council moving forward, the Board was advised that a further report was scheduled to be submitted to the Board in June presenting the financial position over the next 2 years, which would also provide detail of the options available to the Council if further funding was not forthcoming from Government. Also, responding to a Member’s enquiry, the Board noted that the issuing of a ‘Section 114’ report would only be undertaken as a final resort.

In response to a Member’s enquiry, it was undertaken that Executive Members would continue to briefed on relevant matters between this Board meeting and the next scheduled meeting on 24^th June.

Members highlighted the need for local Government to continue dialogue with the Treasury in order to explore all potential options available to financially assist Local Authorities during this time and moving forward.

A Member requested an update on the Council’s commercial investment portfolio during this challenging period, arising from the national press coverage given to the issues that some Local Authorities were experiencing in this area. In response it was noted that currently there were no specific issues to report on such matters.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the position, as outlined in the submitted report by the Chief Officer, Financial Services concerning Leeds City Council’s financial position as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, be noted;

(b)  That agreement be given for Executive Board to write to Government to ask for financial assistance to enable the Council to fulfil its requirements to deliver services to the residents of Leeds, and that in addition to this, Government support be sought on the proposals, as set out within section 3.5.2 of the report;

(c)  That it be noted that a further report is to be submitted to Executive Board in June 2020 detailing the impact over the financial years 2020/21 and 2021/22 of the COVID-19 pandemic, together with an updated forecast budget position for 2021/22.

To agree to the proposed purchase of land at Torre Road/Trent Road owned by Arcadia for the provision of a new secondary school in East Leeds.

Further to Minute No. 177, 20^th March 2019, the Director of City Development and the Director of Children and Families submitted a joint report which looked to bring together three interconnected workstreams that had been progressed following the Board’s previous approval in March 2019 to enter into negotiations with the Arcadia Group Ltd. for the potential acquisition of part of their site at Torre Road for the creation of the new East Leeds Secondary School.  The report set out the current position regarding each of those workstreams and presented the rationale for the requirement of the Council to enter into the final Heads of Terms with Arcadia Group Ltd. for the purchase of the site to ensure the delivery of a new Secondary School for opening in September 2021.

Members provided support for the proposals as detailed within the submitted report and appendices.

Following the consideration of Appendix 1 / A to the submitted report, designated as being exempt from publication under the provisions of Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4(3), which was considered in private at the conclusion of the meeting, it was

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the progress made to date regarding: the negotiations with Arcadia Group Ltd. for the purchase of part of their site for a new secondary school in East Leeds; the free school presumption under the terms set out in the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (section 6A) and the design development of the scheme to date, be noted;

(b)  That approval be given for the Council to enter into the final Heads of Terms for the acquisition of 2.77ha of the unused playing field land at Torre Road owned by Arcadia Group Ltd from REDCASTLE (FREEHOLDS) LIMITED who are part of the Arcadia Group Ltd., for the new East Leeds secondary school; and that approval also be given to authorise the Director of City Development to use his delegated powers to approve the exchange and completion of the contract for the land purchase by the 31^st July 2020;

(c)  That ‘authority to spend’ the amount as detailed within the exempt appendix 1 / A to the submitted report on the purchase of the playing field land at Torre Road owned by Arcadia Group Ltd., be approved.

Further to Minute No. 161, 22^nd April 2020, the Chief Executive submitted a report providing an update on the coronavirus (COVID-19) related work across the city, being driven by the response and recovery plan, as previously reported to the Board. The report provided information on organisational issues arising from the pandemic as well as a citywide update, and noted that the response and recovery plan aimed to mitigate the effects of the outbreak on those in the city, especially the most vulnerable, and prepare for the early stages of recovery. The report also noted that the city’s multi-agency command and control arrangements were set within the national approach and guidance from the Government, plus the context of resilience and health partnership arrangements at a West Yorkshire level, and the Combined Authority.

With the agreement of the Chair, the submitted report had been circulated to Board Members as a late item of business prior to the meeting for the reasons as set out in section 9.1 of the submitted report, and as detailed in Minute No. 166.

In introducing the submitted report and providing an update on the current position, the Leader, on behalf of the Board, extended her thanks to all of those involved in the development and implementation of the response and recovery plan to date, including the continued delivery of detailed communications with all relevant parties. The Chief Executive reiterated such comments, paying tribute to all those who continued to deliver services across the city in response to the pandemic. 

Members discussed and received further information on a number of issues, including:-

·  The national role being undertaken by the Chief Executive with regard to the programme of testing, tracing and containing the virus, with Members highlighting the need for appropriate procedures to be implemented in respect of this at a localised level;

·  The significant impact of the pandemic across a number of sectors. In response to enquiries regarding the hospitality sector, the Board was provided with information on the support being provided to that sector, with it being highlighted that provision of such support would be a key area of activity for the Council moving forward;

·  Responding to a Member’s comments regarding the delivery of formal meetings whilst social distancing measures remained in place, it was noted that formal meetings held remotely continued to take place and be scheduled, and that preparations were being made to deliver meetings which could potentially be attended both remotely and physically, however such physical attendance at meetings would not be introduced until Members felt it appropriate to do so, and that further Member discussions on such matters were required;

·  A Member highlighted the importance of the Council taking into consideration service users’ feedback and the outcomes from engagement processes when reviewing the Council’s response to the pandemic and the adapted delivery of services. Responding to such comments, the Board received updates on a number of service areas including those delivered in crematoria, the distribution of food in communities / the delivery of associated grants, and the delivery of actions addressing period poverty;

·  With regard to support for the agricultural sector, specific reference was made to the Council supported ‘Pick for Britain’ programme. Responding to a Member’s enquiry, officers undertook to provide the Member in question with further details on how the Council was engaging in this initiative;

·  Also, the Board received updates from several Executive Members regarding related matters within their respective portfolios. These included:-

-  Council decision making processes during the current period;

-  Communication processes established to ensure that local communities remained informed of the help and support available to them, with a number of specific examples being provided;

-  The current position within Care Homes in Leeds and the actions being taken to address the challenges which continued to be faced in this area, with specific tribute being paid to the work of frontline care workers during this time;

-  The monitoring of the health inequalities agenda;

-  The ongoing work aimed at delivering greater active travel provision, and the level of public engagement to date with the ‘Common Place’ platform.

In conclusion, the Chair highlighted the need for the Government to focus its efforts upon a more localised approach moving forward, with the key role of Local Authorities in such an approach being emphasised. 

Finally, on behalf of the Board, the Leader asked all Directors to relay thanks to their respective teams for their continued efforts throughout such challenging circumstances.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the updated national context and local response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as detailed within the submitted report, be noted;

(b)  That the updated Response and Recovery plan, which includes the updated aims and objectives, be agreed;

(c)  That the approach towards and messaging for running a safe city, as detailed within the submitted report, be agreed;

(d)  That the submitted report and the comments made in respect of it during the discussion be noted in context with the more detailed report on the financial implications of the Coronavirus pandemic for the Council, as presented within Minute No. 171;

(e)  That all Directors relay to their respective teams Members’ thanks for their continued efforts throughout such challenging circumstances

.

Executive Board will be asked to consider the outcome of a statutory governance review which has been undertaken and resolve:

1)  That an Order would be likely to improve statutory functions;

2)  Agree the draft Scheme for publication; and

3)  Delegate authority to officers to consult the general public on the draft Scheme

The Chief Executive submitted a report which provided an update on the latest stage of the process to implement the West Yorkshire Devolution Deal, as agreed between the region and Government in March 2020. The report included information on the outcome of the statutory governance review which had been undertaken and also sought approval to progress to the next phase involving public consultation on the draft Scheme, as appended to the submitted report.

In introducing the submitted report, the Leader highlighted that work on the devolution deal continued at pace, with it being reiterated that the intention was to progress in line with the timeframe as set out within the report. It was also highlighted that bearing in mind the current situation regarding the Coronavirus pandemic, discussions continued around allowing an element of flexibility in the timeframe to ensure that all due diligence, consultation and scrutiny processes in respect of the proposals were fully undertaken as required.

In considering the submitted report, Members discussed and received further information on the following:-

·  Given the current situation regarding the Coronavirus pandemic, emphasis was placed upon the importance of ensuring that members of the public and Elected Members of the Council were provided with appropriate opportunity to engage with and discuss the proposals as part of the consultation and communications exercises, which included the respective scrutiny functions at both the City Council and the Combined Authority. The importance of the democratic accountability and transparency of the process was reiterated, with the need for all Opposition Groups to receive briefings and communications on such matters, as appropriate, being highlighted;

·  Proposals regarding the range of functions to be undertaken by the Mayoral Authority as part of the devolution deal were discussed, with it being highlighted that as a result of this process, no current functions would be transferred away from the City Council, unless by agreement of the Council. In response to specific enquiries, officers undertook to provide a Member in question with further information on how the function of housing and land acquisition would be delivered under the proposed model, with it being undertaken that a Member’s specific comments around the setting of precepts would be fed into the relevant consultation processes;

·  The potential economic benefits for the area arising from the adoption of the devolution deal for West Yorkshire were highlighted, with Members emphasising the importance of this, given the current financial position of Local Authorities in light of the Coronavirus pandemic.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That having considered the Governance Review, as appended to the submitted report at Appendix 1, the Review’s conclusions be endorsed, including that an Order under S104 and S105 in relation to the changes to constitutional arrangements considered in the Review and the delegation of additional functions to the Combined Authority would be likely to improve the exercise of statutory functions in relation to the Combined Authority’s area;

(b)  That the Board’s consideration and comments regarding the draft Scheme for the establishment of the Mayoral Combined Authority, as detailed at Appendix 2 to the submitted report, be noted;

(c)  That agreement be given for a public consultation exercise to be undertaken on the proposals contained within the Scheme, with the Board’s consideration and comment upon the draft consultation questions, as detailed in Appendix 3 to the submitted report being noted;

(d)  That the progression of engagement with the Combined Authority and other constituent Councils, as described within the submitted report, be agreed, with the Board’s agreement also being given that the Managing Director of the Combined Authority shall, in consultation with the Leader and Chief Executive of this Council, be authorised to take any steps to finalise the preparation and publication of the Scheme and progress the public consultation exercise, as set out within the submitted report;

(e)  That the updated timetable, as set out in Appendix 4 to the submitted report be noted, together with the next steps including, subject to the approval by constituent Councils and the Combined Authority, the submission of a summary of the consultation responses to the Secretary of State in August / September 2020, and to subsequently consent to any draft Order in September 2020 so that a mayoral combined authority model and associated changes may be adopted and implemented by May 2021, as set out in the Deal;

(f)  That the proposals, as outlined in section 3.49 of the submitted report around political engagement throughout the devolution process, be agreed;

(g)  That approval be given for all decisions taken by the Executive Board from this report, and as resolved above, be exempted from the Call In process on the grounds of urgency, as set out in paragraph 4.5.3 of the submitted report.

(The Council’s Executive and Decision Making Procedure Rules state that a decision may be declared as being exempt from the Call In process by the decision taker if it is considered that the matter is urgent and any delay would seriously prejudice the Council’s, or the public’s interests. In line with this, the resolutions contained within this minute were exempted from the Call In process, as per resolution (g) above, and for the reasons as detailed within sections 4.5.3 of the submitted report)

Approval to carry out detail design and construction of the measures to improve signals upgrade on the A660 bus priority corridor. 

The Director of City Development has taken the following delegated decisions following the £173.5m Executive Board approval in June 2017:

a)  Approved the injections of S106 Developer contributions of £326,016 for the A660 Headingley to Weetwood signals upgrade scheme.

b)  Approved the expenditure of £1.25m from the Connecting Leeds programme to construct the A660 Headingley to Weetwood signals upgrade scheme, subject to detail design approval which is delegated to the Chief Officer for Highways and Transportation.

c)  Noted that, subject to ongoing consultation with the Executive Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development as appropriate, the Chief Officer, Highways & Transportation will approve the final version of the designs for construction after further consultation with stakeholders and Members.

To agree the school calendar for community and voluntary controlled schools and SILCs for the academic year 2021 – 2022.

The Director of Children & Families approved the 2021-22 calendar as detailed in appendix 1.

Request for authority to spend and tender acceptance to remodel and refurbish the former CLC on Allerton Grange School site to accommodate general teaching spaces for 6^th form in order to facilitate a bulge cohort of 60 additional pupils in the main school building from September 2020.

• Approval of the expenditure of £2,151,200.80 from capital scheme number for the construction work and associated fees necessary to remodel and refurbish the former CLC on Allerton Grange School site to accommodate general teaching spaces for 6^th form, in order to facilitate a bulge cohort of 60 additional pupils in the main school building from September 2020.
• Authorisation to proceed with acceptance of the tender submitted via the Leeds Local Education Partnership in the sum of £2,078,700.80 inclusive of all professional design fees incurred by the appointed contractor, development costs and surveys incurred by the contractor. Release of funding for the construction costs will be subject to valuations completed and validated by NPS Ltd Leeds.
• Authorisation of the requirement to enter into a contractual agreement with Leeds D&B One Ltd to deliver the development at Allerton Grange School. This will take the form of a JCT 2016 head contract between the authority and Leeds D&B One Ltd for the sum of £2,078,700.80
• Note that the officer responsible for implementation is the Head of Service Learning Systems and the Head of Projects and Programmes, Asset Management & Regeneration and authorise them as a signatory of all other contract related documentation that is required to deliver the project.
• This decision is taken under the general exception provision and not subject to call in. The current Covid-19 pandemic places additional constraints on certainty to maintain programme and meet delivery for September 2020. Bringing the programme start date forward to the earliest possible date provides an opportunity to commence while schools are not fully operational and facilitates changed working practice under social distance measures which, alongside potential limited resource capacity, will lengthen delivery timescales. Any failure to deliver on this site would have a wider impact on the demand for school places across the city which are already under pressure. 

Approve in line with Contract Procedure Rules 3.1.6 to carry out a competitive tender exercise to award a Framework for the supply of miscellaneous Scanning Services.

The Director of Resources and Housing approved the decision to tender for a new single service provider for Scanning Services and provision of software.