Decisions

To implement the Government’s COVID-19 response to extend business rate relief to retail, leisure, and hospitality properties.

1. To adopt a scheme implementing the Government’s Expanded Business Rates Retail Discount 2020/21 providing 100% business rates relief to retail, leisure, and hospitality properties.

2. To note that c£160m business rate relief will be claimed from the Government via S31 grant calculated by the completion of an updated NNDR1 return.

3. To reimburse business rates for 2020/21 where business which are eligible for business rates relief under the Expanded Business Rates Relief Discount 2020/21have already paid business rates in 2020/21.

4. This decision will be exempted from call in.

To provide chiller/freezer rooms for the temporary mortuary.

The Director of Communities & Environment approved the Waiver of Contract Procedure Rules 9.1 and 9.2 to invite a single tender from and to appoint Airedale Catering Equipment Ltd to provide and install bespoke chiller/freezer rooms and associated equipment in a temporary mortuary facility in an industrial unit at Waterside Industrial Park.

This appointment is exempt from call-in as any unnecessary delay may severely impact on the city’s ability to deal with the anticipated increase in mortality rates as a consequence of the Covid-19 outbreak.

To authorise expenditure for a temporary mortuary

The Director of Communities & Environment approved the incurring of expenditure of £800,000 from existing cost centre code 85014 299 00 on the proposed manufacture, supply and installation of bespoke equipment to form a temporary mortuary facility at Waterside Industrial Park. 

This decision is exempt from call-in as any unnecessary delay may severely impact on the city’s ability to deal with the anticipated increase in mortality rates as a consequence of the Covid-19 outbreak.

To spend £21.9m of funding from the government in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

•  Authority to spend the £21,964,950 of funding provided by MHCLG to address pressures faced across all service areas in response to the Covid-19 pandemic;

•  Exempt the decision from call in on the grounds of urgency for the reasons set out below.

To approve the programme of planned highways asset maintenance and strengthening (roads and highway structures) for the 2020/21 financial year (with a provisional programme for 2021-2023), and give authority to incur expenditure linked to these works.

The Chief Officer (Highways and Transportation):

i)  gave authority to incur expenditure of £23,759,000 (£17,222,415 works costs and £5,004,885 internal staff and partner design fee costs plus £1,531,700 bridge inspection, assessment and asset management fees) funded from the 2020/21 Local Transport Plan Capital Grant Allocation (£8,459,000) and Leeds City Council Capital Resources (£15,300,000);

ii)  approved the addition of the schemes listed in appendices B and C to this report into the Highways Infrastructure Maintenance Programmes 2020/21;

iii)  noted the addition of schemes listed in appendix D to this report into the Revenue Highways Infrastructure Maintenance Programmes 2020/21;

iv)  noted that this report is based on the anticipation of funding received from Central Government being the same as in 2019/20, if this amount of funding is not forthcoming the programmed will be trimmed to suit the available funding, if it is exceeded then works can be brought forward from those shown in Appendix B3;

v)  the Chief Officer shall be responsible for implementation of the attached programmes of work within the 2020/21 financial year.

To approve the annual programme of Traffic Management Capital Schemes & authorise the detailed development, consultation, preparation & delivery of these schemes subject to the satisfactory completion of any necessary orders & statutory processes.

The Chief Officer (Highways and Transportation):

i)  reviewed and approved the prioritised list of Traffic Management Capital schemes to the sum of £200,000 as identified in Appendix A for the 2020/21 capital year allocation;

ii)  approved the design, consultation and subject to the making of any necessary Traffic Regulation/Speed Limit Orders, the implementation of the approved programme of works as detailed in Appendix B of this report;

iii)  gave authority and requested the City Solicitor to advertise any Traffic Regulation Orders as listed in Appendix A (Speed Limit, Waiting/ Movement Restriction Order or Experimental Order and any related traffic calming measures and proposals pursuant to The Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976 in relation to Hackney Carriages) as required to address/ resolve the problems identified for each scheme, and if no valid objections are received, to make, seal and implement the Orders as advertised;

iv)  will receive such other further reports as may be needed to address any objections received to advertised Orders or other matters arising from the detailed scheme proposals; and

v)  gave authority to incur expenditure of £200,000 inclusive of any legal fees, staff fees and works costs which will be funded from the Traffic Management Capital Programme; and to commence the detailed design, consultation and implementation of the schemes described in Appendix B of this report.

To extend existing contracts and then award new contracts up to 31 March 2022 to:

·  Community Links Oakwood Hall

·  Touchstone Community Support Team

·  Community Links Rose Villa/The Maltings

 Catholic Care Foundry Mill.

The Director of Adults and Health approved the following:

a)  To undertake a direct award of a contract utilising the Negotiated Procedure without Prior Publication of a notice under Regulation 32 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 to Community Links (Northern) Ltd. in respect of the Oakwood Hall service on the basis that competition is absent due to technical reasons.  If the procurement process utilising Regulation 32 is successful and Community Links (Northern) Ltd. becomes the preferred provider to deliver this service, then the intention is to bring a further report to Delegated Decision Panel in April 2020 to seek approval to award a 22 month contract in the sum of £914,723.  The contract shall commence on 1 June 2020 and expire on 31 March 2022 in order that it remains co-terminus with the other mental health contracts referred to in this report. This subsequent decision will be a Significant Operational Decision as it is linked to this decision and will be made as a consequence of it.

b)  Waive Contract Procedure Rules 9.1 and 9.2 and award a contract to Touchstone-Leeds (for the Community Support Team service) in the sum of £369,365. The contract shall commence on the 1 June 2020 and expire on the 31 March 2022.

c)  In accordance with Contract Procedure Rules 21.1 and 21.2 extend the existing contract with Community Links (Northern) Ltd. (for the Rose Villa/The Maltings services) in the sum of £105,773. The extension shall commence on the 1 August 2020 and expire on the 31 January 2021.

d)  In accordance with Contract Procedure Rules 21.1 and 21.2 extend the existing contract with Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds) (for the Foundry Mill service) in the sum of £17,173. The extension shall commence on the 1 August 2020 and expire on the 31 January 2021.

e)  Waive Contract Procedure Rules 9.1 and 9.2 and award a contract to Community Links (Northern) Ltd. (for the Rose Villa/The Maltings services) in the sum of £246,804. The contract shall commence on the 1 February 2021 and expire on the 31 March 2022.

f)  Waive Contract Procedure Rules 8.1 and 8.2 and award a contract to Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds) (for the Foundry Mill service) in the sum of £40,069. The contract shall commence on the 1 February 2021 and expire on the 31 March 2022.

Additionally, that the Director of Adults and Health notes that the contracts for Oakwood Hall and the Community Support Team are funded by Adults and Health. The contracts for Rose Villa/The Maltings and Foundry Mill are funded by Resources and Housing. The Director of Resources and Housing has agreed that the Director of Adults and Health can take the required decisions for the contracts funded by Resources and Housing.  The respective extensions and interim contracts will be based on existing contract rates with no uplifts.

The Director of Adults and Health approved the authority to spend capital expenditure of £600k for the transition from analogue to digital for the Leeds Telecare Service to be spent in 2020/21 budget. Any further expenditure will only be incurred however once financial questions around ongoing revenue costs have been resolved and technical capabilities of the technology are fully understood.

The Director of Adults and Health approved the authority to spend capital expenditure of £600k for the transition from analogue to digital for the Leeds Telecare Service to be spent in 2020/21 budget. Any further expenditure will only be incurred however once financial questions around ongoing revenue costs have been resolved and technical capabilities of the technology are fully understood.

The Director of Adults and Health will be recommended to approve the fee uplifts for externally commissioned home care services, care homes, extra care services, shared lives and uplifts for direct payments together with approving the process of individual fee negotiations with providers of services for working age adults.

Public Health (Adults and Health) working with partners within the Falls Steering Group has successfully secured funding to continue the falls prevention programme which is currently funded and evaluated through the Improved Better Care Fund (iBCF).  The funding from Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has been secured on a recurrent basis.

Gain authority to receive the funding from Leeds CCG and spend it on the provision of 20 week strength and balance programmes for people who are at risk of or who have had a fall.  The programmes will be delivered by Active Leeds (City Development, Leeds City Council) 

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

Public Health (Adults and Health) to receive funding from Leeds CCG to a value of £200,000 per annum on a recurrent basis.

Continue and enhance the 20 week strength and balance programmes for people who are at risk of or who have had a fall

Maintain the existing quality assurance model for falls prevention and water based strength and balance courses. 

Active Leeds (City Development) will deliver these programmes on behalf of the council via a Service Level Agreement with Public Health. A project brief and monitoring arrangements will be developed as part of this.

To approve the permission to go out to tender for the supply of community equipment for adults and children and award of the contract following the procurement process.

The Director of Adults and Health:

• Approved the undertaking of a procurement exercise to procure a 5 year framework agreement, with an option for the Council to extend the contracts for a period of up to 24 months in any combination for the supply of Community Equipment.

• Implementation discussions will take place with the suppliers once the contract is awarded.

• Agreed that the proposed timescale for implementation is 1^st June 2021.

• Agreed that the Service Delivery Manager- Assisted Living Leeds will be the officer responsible for the implementation.

To approve the permission to go out to tender for the supply of Telecare equipment and award of the contract following the procurement process

The Director of Adults and Health :

Approved the authority to undertake a procurement exercise in accordance with Contracts Procedure Rules (CPR) 3.1.6 to procure a 2 year framework agreement for the supply of Telecare Equipment to commence 1^st September 2020 until 31^st August 2022 with an option for the Council to extend up to a further period of 24 months. 

Agreed that implementation discussions will take place with the suppliers once the contract is awarded

Agreed the proposed timescale for implementation as 1^st September 2020.

The Service Delivery Manager- Assisted Living Leeds will be the officer responsible for the implementation.

The Director of Children’s & Families is requested to approve the extension of the existing dining hall at Cockburn John Charles Academy and associated works in order to provide sufficient school places within the area of need. This work will support an additional 90 pupils split over 2020 and 2021 ahead of a permanent expansion of the PAN to 240 in 2022.

The Director of Childrens & Families agreed to:

a)  Approve the expenditure of £2,150,924.03 from capital scheme number 33178/JCA/000 for the construction work and associated fees to facilitate a permanent expansion to the PAN of 30 places at Cockburn John Charles Academy. Executive Board approved authority to spend (ATS) based on a provisional sum of £2,278,732 on 18 September 2019 as costs were still being finalised for Phase 2 (ATS included Phase 1 ad Phase 2 works)

b)  Authorise acceptance of the tender submitted by Nu Construction Ltd as issued by Investors in the Community (Leeds Schools) Ltd the special purpose vehicle (SPV) responsible for managing the PFI contract, for the sum of £1,421,434,000 inclusive of all design fees, development costs and surveys (associated with Nu Construction Ltd)

c)  Approve the implementation of a City Council Change under the PFI contract with Investors in the Community (Leeds Schools) Limited for the works at the Cockburn John Charles Academy School PFI building, and approve the entering in to of any associated documentation including without limitation a deed of variation (if required). 

d)  Note this work will attract an annual revenue cost of £42,565.62 which includes additional catering / cleaning staff and the associated ‘life cycling’ as identified in the terms of the existing PFI contract. Of which, the annual revenue costs will be the responsibility of the Academy and charged accordingly.

e)  Note that the breakdown of project costs, highlighted in point 1 above, are detailed within section 4.4 of this report.

f)  Note the programme dates identified in section 4.4 of this report, in relation to the implementation of this decision. The programme dates represent the critical path for project success and must be adhered to wherever possible. 

g)  Note that the officer responsible for implementation is the Head of Projects & Programmes, City Development.

h)  Note the negotiations held with solicitors acting on behalf of INVESTORS IN THE COMMUNITY (LEEDS SCHOOLS) LIMITED;

i)  Give authority for the deed of variation of the PFI project agreement (the “Deed of Variation”) to be executed and completed between Leeds City Council and Investors in the Community (Leeds Schools) Limited to vary the PFI project agreement to accommodate the Phase 2 dining hall extension works at the Cockburn John Charles Academy, together with any other documentation required to facilitate Phase 2; and

j)  Give authority for any other necessary action to be taken to effect the Deed of Variation.

Determination of the hourly funding rates for all Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) providers.

The Director of Children & Families approved the breakdown of the Free Early Education Entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds as follows:

£0.17 centrally retained (down £0.01 on 2019-20) 

£0.29 deprivation supplement (same as 2019-20) 

£0.05  SENDIF (up £0.01 on 2019-20)

£4.38 base rate paid to all providers (up £0.08 on 2019-20)

The Director of Children & Families approved the entire £5.28 per child per hour paid to the Local Authority in the DSG Early Years grant is paid in full to providers (increase of £0.08 per hour per child on 2019-20).

Leeds City Council (LCC) and Leeds Community Healthcare Trust (LCHT) shall enter into a cooperation agreement with the objective to work co-operatively to provide an integrated Therapeutic Social Work Service (TSWS) to some of the city’s most vulnerable young people.

As part of the cooperation agreement LCH shall provide Clinical Psychologists and a Speech & Language therapy who will be integrated within LCC’s TSWT.

The cooperation agreement will provide structural integration within LCH to ensure interfaces with LCH services under contracts held by LCH with NHS commissioners. These interfaces are underpinned by well-developed pathways, shared information systems, shared infrastructure and consistent clinical supervision and continued professional development. Structural and functional integration ensures a seamless service for C&F accessing a range of health and social services.

The Director of Children and Families gave approval to enter into a cooperation agreement to Leeds Community Healthcare Trust (LCHT) under the Regulation 12(7) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 for provision of clinical psychology & speech and language therapy input into the Therapeutic Social Work Team (TSWT). The total maximum value of the agreement is £579,926

The cooperation agreement shall commence on the 1st June 2020. There are two elements to the contract:

a)  Element 1 - LCHT will recruit permanent posts (psychology & SaLT) and the agreement will be for 3 years to expire on the 31st May 2023. The value of this element is £445,552.

b)  Element 2 - LCHT will recruit to a temporary post (psychology) for 12 months to expire initially on 31^st May 2021. This element will be reviewed each year with the aim of extending for a further 2 x 12 months; subject to funding being available. The value of this element is £134,374 for the full 3 years. The value for the first year is £44,320.

Key Delegated Decision to approve expenditure over £500k in respect of the 2020/21 Health & Safety Programme.

The Director of Children & Families agreed to:

a)  Approve the proposal to carry out asbestos, electrical testing and condition survey works and unknown urgent reactive works at Leeds Schools as noted in Section 3 below of this report.

b)  Authorise expenditure in the sum of £1,000,000 from capital scheme number 33286/000/000.

Executive Board will receive a progress update on delivery plans for a new city centre park in South Bank, agree proposals for Council land at Meadow Lane and the proposed sustainable management approach, agree the proposed next steps on the disposal of the unlocked Meadow Lane development plot and agree the detailed terms of the proposed legal agreements.

The Director of City Development and Director of Communities and Environment:

(i)  Noted the progress being made on the delivery of the city centre park across both phases.

(ii)  Agreed to the detailed terms of proposed legal agreements between the Council and Vastint as set out in exempt appendix [5] for the maintenance and operation of the park.

(iii)  Agreed that, following consultation with Executive Board members, the Director of City Development (in consultation with the Director of Communities and Environments and Director of Resources and Housing) will make any future decisions on the management and maintenance of the Park, and approved the Council entering into all necessary legal agreements and ancillary documents to facilitate the establishment and future maintenance and operation of the Park.

(iv)  Agreed the proposed next steps on the disposal of Council land at Meadow Lane and for the Director of City Development to determine and implement the disposal as per the principles contained at paragraphs 3.26 to 3.28.

(v)  Requested that a paper is brought to Executive Board on the detailed design of the Meadow Lane green space and Sovereign Square Footbridge.

(vi)  Noted that the Council’s revenue contributions towards the maintenance of the park to Green Flag standards will be approved on an annual basis as part of the budget setting process as per the terms set out in appendix 5, and that the Director of Communities and Environment will be responsible for overseeing the maintenance of the park.

Confirmation of the go-live date for the Leeds Clean Air Charging Zone. There are significant financial implication arising from the Implementation of the zone, in respect of discharge of funding and revenue.

The Director of Resources & Housing:

a)  Approved the variation to the Leeds Clean Air Zone Charging Order as set out in paragraph 3.52.

b)  Noted the contents of this report and that Members will further consider the ‘go live’ date when appropriate, in light of the current position regarding COVID-19.