Decisions

Approval for the submission of an Expression of Interest for the Historic England High Street Heritage Action Zone Programme.

The Director of City Development:

i.  Endorsed the approach to the assessment and shortlisting of high streets in Conservation Areas as outlined in Table 1, Appendix 2 and paras 3.5 – 3.12.

ii.  Approved for submission an Expression of Interest to the High Street Heritage Action Zone for New Briggate on or before 12 July 2019.

iii.  Exempted the resolutions arising from this report from the ‘Call-In’ process, on the grounds of urgency, as detailed within sections 4.5.1 and 4.5.2 of this report.

To accept funding to continue the Connecting Opportunities project to support migrants in Leeds City Region Grant funding would be received and re-distributed by the Council to delivery partners to deliver support services for migrants throughout the Leeds City Region.

The Director of Communities and Environment approved the requests to:

• Accept a grant agreement from the Community Fund (formerly known as the Big Lottery Fund) to continue manage the Connecting Opportunities programme of support for migrants across Leeds City Region.
• Extension and Variation to the existing partnership agreements with other organisations for continued local delivery of the Connecting Opportunities programme in accordance with Contracts Procedure Rule 21.1 (contract extensions).
• The following delivery partner organisations whose contracts will be extended and varied are:
  • The Children's Society
  • Halifax Opportunities Trust
  • Horton Housing Support Limited
  • Leeds Asylum Seekers Support Network [LASSN]
  • Nova Wakefield District Limited
  • PATH Yorkshire
  • SOLACE
  • Touchstone
  • WomenCentre
• Enter into agreements with other organisations that the Head of Migration Yorkshire believes are required to deliver the Connecting Opportunities programme.
• Enter into such other documents that the Head of Migration Yorkshire believes are needed to enable Leeds City Council to deliver the Connecting Opportunities programme.

The Director of Adults and Health will be recommended to approve the annual fee review for older people’s residential and nursing care home contracts for 2019/20.

The Director of Adults and Health has approved to apply the fee increase and agreed the new cost structure stated in paragraph 3.4.1 and 3.5.2 of this report for the independent sector older people’s care homes overarching agreement for the financial year 2019/2020. 

The Director of Adults and Health has noted that the Head of Commissioning for older People’s services will implement this decision immediately following the expiry of the call in period by issuing letters to the care providers to inform them of this decision and updating the Client Information System to allow payments to be made at the new rate.

Agreement is required to enable the council to pay SMEs who will be working on the GovTech Catalyst project using HM Government funding.

The GovTech Catalyst is a government-funded project that aims to identify SMEs who can pitch for funding to research and develop technological solutions to public sector challenges.  Leeds City Council with its partner City of York Council, was successful in being one of the final five organisations selected in round 3 of the Catalyst.

Our challenge is “How might we use technology to monitor the condition and quality of the council’s housing stock to proactively identify and prevent adverse environmental issues that might impact on the tenant’s health?”

The council will work with SMEs over an 18-month period to co-design innovative solutions that could lead to the improved management of its housing stock (and in the process saving money) and result in improved health outcomes.  Research/testing will be carried out with a council tenants in various wards and in a variety of different house/flat types.

Phase 1 August 2019 – November 2019
Following an application and independent marking process led by Innovate UK (through the Small Business Research Initiative process), five successful SMEs will be chosen to receive £50,000 each to carry out research into the council’s challenge and design innovative solutions. 

Phase 2 January 2020 – December 2020 (dates tbc)
Successful prototypes from phase 1 could go through to phase 2, where £500,000 will be awarded to up to two of the SMEs to continue their work to produce marketable products from their prototypes.

SME funding in both phases is financed from HM Government’s £20m GovTech fund.  Funding will be forwarded to the council by the Cabinet Office who in turn will then distribute to the SME’s to work on their solutions. 

In both phases, funding will be paid at various intervals, for example a tranche at the beginning of the phase, part way through, and on successful completion of the project.

There is no direct cost to the council.

Following phase 2, if it is deemed that any of the resulting solutions are worthy of procuring to roll out across the district, the council’s normal procurement process and rules would apply

The Director of Resources & Housing:

1  Authorised the required expenditure with successful companies to enable the project to commence with the phase 1 research and development stage.

2  Subject to a successful phase 1, authorised the required expenditure with successful companies to enable the project to progress to phase 2.

3  Noted that subject to a successful phase 1 and phase 2 where the council can identify savings and/or improved service delivery it will commence to procure the solution.

To approve the expenditure for the UTC traffic signal refurbishment in 2019/20

The Chief Officer (Highways & Transportation);

i)  noted the contents of this report;

ii)  approved the proposal at the total cost of £450,000; and

iii)  gave authority to incur expenditure of £400,000 works costs and £50,000 staff costs, being part of the Transport Policy Capital Programme 2019/20 (LTP Government grant funding). 

There are £2.276M monies available from LCC to manage requests from providers to uplift the prices to individual contracts. The impact of the National Living Wage (NLW) means that the costs of support for some individuals will increase due to this single measure.  It is important to note that this does not include any potential increase in costs attributed to an increase in the care and support needs of individuals, the increase is solely related to the increase in the National Living Wage.

The primary task of the Learning Disability Value for Money Team within Integrated Commissioning is to negotiate fee increase requests from providers and it is anticipated that any costs pressures relating to the NLW for 2019/20 will be contained within the allocated £2.276M.

The Council and the CCG are working in partnership in managing cost pressures arising from provider fee requests and the CCG will be meeting the cost of any uplift in the fees for those individuals that are fully or partly funded through Continuing Health Care.  This contribution is anticipated to be approx. £900K.

The Director of Adults & Health approved the allocation of £2,276M to manage all uplift requests for 19/20 for all independent sector Learning Disability providers.

The Director of Adults & Health agreed the process already followed by the Head of Commissioning, Working Age Adults, and Learning Disability Contracts Value for Money team for managing these uplifts, is a direct consequence of this Key Decision.

The Director of Adults & Health noted that further updates and breakdown of this expenditure will be made available, once all uplift agreements for 2019/20 have been reached with providers.

Approve the expenditure for the UTC communications upgrade 2019/20

The Chief Officer (Highways & Transportation);

i)  noted the contents of this report.

ii)  approved the proposal at the total cost of £350,000; and

iii)  gave authority to incur expenditure of £310,000 works costs and £40,000 staff costs, to be funded from the LTP Transport Policy Capital Programme (100% Government grant funding).

Approval to tender the Underwater Inspections Contract 2019

The Chief Officer (Highways & Transportation) approved the tender and evaluation of the Underwater Inspections Contract 2019 for a period of one year, extendable for a further three x one year periods.

To approve the detailed design, implementation and expenditure associated to the proposals made in the annual pedestrian crossing review 2019.

The Chief Officer (Highways & Transportation);

i)  noted the contents and recommendations of this report and the procedures carried out in respect of conducting the annual pedestrian crossing review;

ii)  reviewed and approved the recommendations of the Annual Pedestrian Crossing Review as the basis for the 2019/20 programme for introducing new formal and informal pedestrian crossings; and gave authority to commence the detailed design, consultation and implementation of the schemes described in Section 3 of the report and Appendix 2;

iii)  gave authority to incur expenditure of £400,000 inclusive of all works costs, fees and legal costs, which will be funded £360,000 from the Local Transport Plan Transport Policy Capital Programme and £40,000 from a Section 106 receipt;

iv)  gave authority to display notices on site under the provisions of Section 23 of the Roads Traffic Regulation Act 1984 in order to inform the public of the proposed pedestrians crossings;

v)  gave authority to request the City Solicitor to draft and advertise a Notice under the provisions of Section 90C of the Highways Act 1980 for the implementation of traffic calming to complement some of the proposed pedestrian crossings;

vi)  gave authority to request the City Solicitor to draft, advertise and implement, subject to objections, a Traffic Regulation Order, Movement Order or Speed Limit, where required, to support the proposed pedestrian crossings;

vii)  approved, with reference to the powers contained in Section 66(4) of the Highways Act 1980, where required, that the relevant lengths of footway 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; and

viii)  agreed to receive such other further reports as may be needed to address any objections received to advertised Notices or other matters arising from the detailed scheme proposals.

The majority of agency workers deployed to Leeds City Council are provided through a single contract with Reed Specialist Recruitment Ltd. The 2-year contract has an annual value of around £5 million and expires on 25/7/19 but has provision to extend for up to 2 years. It is recommended that the contract is extended until July 2021.

The Director of Resources and Housing approved the extension of the contract with Reed Specialist Recruitment Ltd. The extension period is 2 years – up to 26th of July 2021. The value of this extension is estimated to be £10.3m.

The Director of Adults and Health submitted a report which provided an update on the work of the ‘Visible Project’, an initiative based within the Women’s Counselling and Therapy Service (WCTS) which looked to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for adult survivors of child sexual abuse.

The Board welcomed to the meeting: Sinead Cregan, Commissioning Programme Leader, who had been chair of the Strategic Steering Group for the project, and Tessa Denham, Chief Executive of the Women’s Counselling and Therapy Service.

Members welcomed the valuable work which had been undertaken to establish the Visible Project and extended their thanks to all those who had been involved.

The Board wholeheartedly supported the adoption of the policy statement and sought further information on how Members could further promote this initiative in their local Wards.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the Visible Policy statement and briefing, as appended to the submitted report, be adopted, with the Board providing a commitment to the statement’s implementation;

(b)  That agreement be given for the Director of Adults and Health in conjunction with the Chief Officer for Human Resources to establish a ‘task and finish’ group to implement the Visible Policy Statement across the Council.

The Director of Adults and Health submitted a report which provided an update on recent Ward Member conversations on health and care, reflecting the increased importance of Community Committees as local forums for discussion on this issue and which highlighted the development of Local Care Partnerships (LCPs) as a basis for improving population health.

In considering the report, Members emphasised the need for the arrangements to ensure that robust cross-boundary partnerships were achieved to ensure seamless service provision, wherever possible.

Also, Members discussed how Elected Members fitted into the new LCP structure and highlighted the enabling role which they needed to play to help ensure that this approach looked to best meet the bespoke needs of each local community.

The Board discussed the relationship between Community Committees and LCPs. Regarding the geographical boundaries of the two, officers were asked to pick up any specific issues raised regarding Member representation on those LCPs which fell outside of the appointing Community Committee boundary.

Finally, a suggestion was made that it may be beneficial, especially for newly elected Councillors, for a Member seminar to be scheduled in order to further raise awareness on this agenda.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the progress made regarding Ward Member conversations on health and care to date, be noted and that the continuation of this approach, led by the Leeds Health and Wellbeing Board, be supported;

(b)  That the actions being taken to further develop Member involvement with Local Care Partnerships, through Community Committees, be noted, together with the relevant governance implications, as outlined in the submitted report;

(c)  That it be noted that the Leeds Health and Wellbeing Board will continue to provide strategic leadership for the Leeds Health and Care Plan, with it also being noted that as part of the Plan’s refresh, engagement with Community Committees will continue.

Authority to enter into a grant agreement with Leeds Culture Trust.

The Director of City Development submitted a report providing an update on the progress being made in respect of the ‘Leeds 2023’ initiative and which looked to delegate to officers the authority to enter into a grant agreement with Leeds Culture Trust in order to deliver a programme of activity.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the overall progress made in this area be noted, together with the further progress being made on establishing Leeds Culture Trust;

(b)  That the necessary authority be delegated to the Chief Officer, Culture and Sport to enable the Chief Officer to enter into the final grant agreement in line with the draft, as detailed at Appendix 1 to the submitted report, with variations being made subject to consultation with the Leader of the Council.

To consider the business case for selective licensing in Harehills under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004.

The Director of Resources and Housing submitted a report which presented for the Board's consideration the appended business case regarding the proposal for selective licensing designation in Harehills, and the proposed designation of the area outlined on the map at Appendix 1 of the business case as a selective licensing area, with effect from the 6th January 2020.

It was noted that following the despatch of the agenda papers and prior to the meeting, correspondence which had been received from a member of the public concerning both items 18: ‘Business Case for Proposed Selective Licensing Designation: Harehills’ and item 19: ‘Business Case for Proposed Selective Licensing Designation: Beeston’, had been circulated to Executive Board Members for their consideration as part of the Board’s deliberations on this matter.

It was also noted that following the despatch of the agenda papers, and prior to the meeting, Board Members had received a reformatted version of Appendix 2 to the appended business case, with it being noted that the data in the appendix remained as originally published and circulated, with the information simply being re-provided in a sharper/clearer format for the benefit of the reader.

In presenting the report, the Director of Resources and Housing drew Members’ attention to the legal criteria for designating an area as set out in the report, and the information in the business case demonstrating that these criteria were met. 

Also, Members received information on what the scheme would entail and were also provided with the outcomes from the significant consultation processes which had been undertaken. It was noted that overall the residents, and private rented tenants in Harehills who had responded were in favour of the introduction of selective licensing, whilst the vast majority of landlords and all of the managing agents who had responded were against the proposal.

In considering the submitted report and the potential implications of introducing the proposed designation, Members’ attention was drawn to the landlords’ concerns. The Board was informed that these were covered in detail in the accompanying business case. One of the principal concerns was the costs of the scheme, in particular the proposed licence fee, and the impact on rent levels if the costs of the scheme were passed on to tenants. With regard to the licence fee, it was noted that this could only be used to administer the scheme, and that the proposed licence fee of £825 equated to around £3 per week across the 5 years to which it will apply.  With regard to rent levels, it was highlighted that these were influenced by the Local Housing Allowance, which was likely to restrict rent increases.

Members discussed the benefits of the scheme for landlords and the incentives for them, with it being noted that there was a discount to the licence fee for landlords who were members of the ‘Leeds Rental Standard’ scheme, that landlord investment in their properties would benefit the area and potentially increase the value of their property and that in implementing such an initiative, there would be further opportunity for the Council to help address issues in the area, such as anti-social behaviour.

Responding to a further enquiry, the Board noted that the potential issue of displacement had been taken into consideration when the proposed boundary had been drawn up.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the contents of the submitted report and the business case for Harehills as appended to that cover report, be noted;

(b)  That the business case for selective licensing designation in Harehills, as appended to the cover report, be approved;

(c)  That approval be given to designate the area shown on the business case map as detailed at Appendix 1 of the submitted business case document (appended to the covering report) as a selective licensing area with effect from 6th January 2020;

(d)  That it be noted that the Director of Housing and Resources is responsible for the implementation of the resolutions detailed above.

To consider the business case for selective licensing in Beeston under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004

The Director of Resources and Housing submitted a report which presented for the Board's consideration the appended business case regarding the proposal for selective licensing designation in Beeston, and the proposed designation of the area outlined on the map at Appendix 1 of the business case as a selective licensing area, with effect from the 6th January 2020.

It was noted that following the despatch of the agenda papers and prior to the meeting, correspondence which had been received from a member of the public concerning both items 18: ‘Business Case for Proposed Selective Licensing Designation: Harehills’ and item 19: ‘Business Case for Proposed Selective Licensing Designation: Beeston’, had been circulated to Executive Board Members for their consideration as part of the Board’s deliberations on this matter. During the consideration of this report, Members’ attention was drawn to such correspondence which focussed upon the consultation process undertaken in Beeston.

It was also noted that following the despatch of the agenda papers and prior to the meeting, Board Members had received a reformatted version of Appendix 2 to the appended business case, with it being noted that the data in the appendix remained as originally published and circulated, with the information simply being re-provided in a sharper/clearer format for the benefit of the reader.

In presenting the report, the Director of Resources and Housing drew Members’ attention to the legal criteria for designating an area as set out in the report, and the information in the business case demonstrating that these criteria were met. 

Also, Members received information on the outcomes on the significant consultation processes which had been undertaken, and it was explained that the consultation exercise did not represent a vote on the proposal, but rather formed one piece of evidence which the Board was asked to consider. It was noted that overall the response to the residents’ consultation was against the proposal,  with 92% of online responses being against the proposal. However, officers explained that there remained concerns about the validity of some of the online responses received following validation of the feedback and when compared to the paper responses received. It was noted that such concerns were not explainable by the correspondence which had been received.

In conclusion, Executive Board Members were asked to take such matters into consideration when weighing up all of the evidence available to them.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the contents of the submitted report and the business case for Beeston, as appended to that cover report, be noted;

(b)  That the business case for selective licensing designation in Beeston, as appended to the cover report, be approved;

(c)  That approval be given to designate the area shown on the business case map as detailed at Appendix 1 of the submitted business case document (appended to the covering report) as a selective licensing area with effect from 6th January 2020;

(d)  That it be noted that the Director of Housing and Resources is responsible for implementation of those resolutions detailed above.

The Director of Communities and Environment submitted a report which set out proposals to redesign the Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team (LASBT), with the aim of establishing a more sustainable service through which officers were increasingly able to focus upon early intervention and work with communities in order to prevent anti-social behaviour.

Members welcomed the proposals and highlighted the role which had been played by the Environment, Housing and Communities Scrutiny Board in the review exercise.

Responding to an enquiry, assurance was provided that resources would continue to support outer areas, but in addition, the new model would aim to integrate further with wider service provision in order to maximise the benefits for all.

Also, assurance was provided that when anti-social behaviour was reported, the team would respond to it in accordance with agreed procedures and protocols, irrespective of whether it occurred on Council land or elsewhere.

RESOLVED – That the priorities, as outlined in the submitted report be noted, and that the implementation of the service changes, as set out in paragraphs 3.7 – 3.20 of the submitted report, be endorsed.

To give approval to incur expenditure of £659,000 to support the Outline Business Case submission, planning application and develop the detailed design of Otley Flood alleviation scheme.

To give approval to inject £1,328,000 of Central Contingencies to underwrite the currently identified funding gap on the scheme to ensure the delivery of the scheme by the end of 2020 in time to utilise the previously allocated £2m of Flood Defence Grant in Aid from central government as identified in the Autumn 2016 Statement. Alternative sources of funding are being explored further, but it is recommended we proceed on this basis.

To delegate authority to spend (ATS) approval of the full scheme to the Director of City Development, subject to agreement with the Executive Member for Environment and Active Lifestyles.

The Director of City Development submitted a report which presented details of flooding issues in the Otley area, requested authority to submit the Outline Business Case and Planning Application as detailed, requested authority to incur the required expenditure, highlighted the current funding shortfall and requested support for additional funding to be sought.

Responding to a Member’s enquiry, assurance was provided that all such schemes must fully take into account and mitigate against any impact upon communities downstream.

Also, regarding a Member’s comment about the lack of engagement from the Environment Agency which local Ward Members had experienced regarding issues in their local area, officers undertook to take this specific matter up with the Environment Agency on the Members’ behalf.

Following consideration of Appendix D 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 approval be given to inject the remaining £1,509,000 of available Government Grant funding into the scheme;

(b)  That approval be given to inject £1,328,000 of Central Contingencies to underwrite the currently identified funding gap on the scheme, in order to ensure the delivery of the scheme;

(c)  That approval be given to submit the Outline Business Case, as detailed at exempt Appendix D to the submitted report, to the Environment Agency;

(d)  That approval be given to submit the associated Planning Application;

(e)  That approval be given to incur additional expenditure of £260,000, to support the Outline Business Case submission and planning application in order to enable the scheme to progress in line with the programme;

(f)  That approval be given to incur expenditure, following the approval of the Outline Business Case, of £399,000 to develop the detailed design of Otley Flood Alleviation Scheme in order to enable the scheme to progress in line with the programme;

(g)  That the necessary authority be delegated to the Director of City Development to enable the Director to make the necessary authority to spend (ATS) approvals for the full scheme, subject to agreement with the Executive Member for Environment and Active Lifestyles.

To approve in principle the development of an indoor play facility at the Arnold and Marjorie Ziff Tropical World.

The Director of Communities and Environment submitted a report which outlined a proposal to develop an indoor play facility at the Arnold and Marjorie Ziff Tropical World following other developments which have been undertaken at the attraction in recent years.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That approval be given to the in principle development of an indoor play facility at the Arnold and Marjorie Ziff Tropical World, with approval also being given to an injection of £2.0m capital, funded through prudential borrowing;

(b)  That approval be given to incur necessary expenditure to undertake a full feasibility design;

(c)  That the necessary authority be delegated to the Director of Communities and Environment to enable the Director to make the necessary authority to spend approvals for the full scheme, subject to consultation with the Executive Member for Environment and Active Lifestyles;

(d)  That it be noted that the Chief Officer, Parks and Countryside will be responsible for the implementation of this project, with an anticipated opening in Easter 2020.

This decision seeks permission to invest in additional housing as part of the Council Housing Growth Programme

The Director of Resources and Housing submitted a report which provided an update on the progress of the Council Housing Growth Programme, set out proposals for the delivery of further new Council housing across the city and presented the proposed rent setting approach for the Council Housing New Build Programme.

Members welcomed the speed at which the Council had acted in this area, following the lifting of the cap on Council borrowing to deliver new homes via the Housing Revenue Account. 

The Board welcomed the establishment of a Local Housing Company, with Members noting the benefits and flexibility that the formation of the company would bring. In response to a Member’s enquiry, it was highlighted that the delivery of affordable housing via this model need to not be wholly focussed upon the city centre, however, the number of appropriate sites as designated via the Site Allocations Plan in the city centre was highlighted.

Regarding the expansion of the property acquisition programme, Members were advised that a report on this was scheduled to be submitted to the Board in July.

Members highlighted the need to work with local communities on such matters in order to ensure that the Council housing provision established by this programme looked to meet the bespoke needs of each area.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the progress made to date on delivering the Council Housing Growth Programme, be noted;

(b)  That the additional sites, as listed in Table 2 of the submitted report, for the delivery of new build Council housing, be noted;

(c)  That the proposed investment, as outlined in Table 5 of the submitted report, be approved, with approval also being given to inject the balance of funding £17.5m into the programme for the delivery of c.176 new build Council houses as part of the Council Housing Growth Programme (with it being noted that £16.1m was injected as part of the February 2019 capital programme), and that support be provided for any funding bids to optimise the funding mix for each scheme;

(d)  That the application of the proposed rent setting principles and the approach to future Council housing new build developments, as set out in the submitted report, be approved, and that decisions on rent setting for each individual housing scheme be delegated to the Director of Resources and Housing;

(e)  That it be noted that a report will be submitted to Executive Board in July 2019 on the Property Buyback/Repurchase Programme.

Injection of a significant Housing Infrastructure Fund grant into the capital programme and authorise expenditure on design, planning and procurement work for the East of Otley Relief Road that will support development of housing and employment uses on the East of Otley site.

Further to Minute No. 63, 20^th September 2017, the Director of City Development submitted a report providing an update on the progress which had been made on bringing forward the East of Otley development, and which sought approval to a number of matters which would formalise the Council’s role in this work and enable critical infrastructure and planning activities to progress.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the positive progress which has been made in this area, be noted, with the Board reconfirming the Council’s commitment to bringing forward the East of Otley mixed use site;

(b)  That the Director of City Development’s approval for the Council to enter into a funding agreement with Homes England for a Housing Infrastructure Fund grant of £6.318m, on the basis set out at paragraph 3.1.10 of the submitted report, be noted; with it also being noted that the approved injection of this sum into the Capital Programme along with contractual arrangements of the funding will be the responsibility of the Head of Regeneration;

(c)  That agreement be given for the Council to take a leading role on the delivery of the East of Otley Relief Road project, and that agreement also be given for the Chief Highways and Transportation Officer, in consultation with the Executive Member for ‘Climate Change, Transport and Sustainability’ to undertake the actions as set out at paragraphs 3.2.7 and 3.2.8 of the submitted report to enable its delivery;

(d)  That the principle of the Council making a financial contribution towards the East of Otley Relief Road, be approved, with the contingent delivery risks, as outlined in paragraph 3.3.5 of the submitted report being noted;

(e)  That the revised Heads of Terms relating to the disposal of the Council’s land within the East of Otley allocation, be approved, and that approval also be given for the Council to enter into an Agreement with developers to facilitate the delivery of the East of Otley Relief Road project, as set out at paragraph 3.3.7 of the submitted report; with it being noted that the Head of Land & Property will be responsible for agreeing the associated detailed terms of the disposal and the related agreement;

(f)  That the intention to undertake consultation on a Development Brief for the East of Otley site, as set out at paragraph 3.5.1 of the submitted report, be noted; that approval be given for this to include the potential inclusion of Council-owned land at the former Ing’s Tip and north of Cambridge Way, and that it be noted that the Head of Strategic Planning will be responsible for delivery of the brief.

Further to Minute No. 143, 14^th January 2019, the Chief Planning Officer submitted a report which invited Executive Board to recommend to full Council that: the Council note the Inspector’s final report on the Submission Draft 2017 Site Allocations Plan (SAP), accepts the Inspector’s Main Modifications and adopts the Site Allocations Plan (subject to any further non-material additional modifications being made in advance of consideration by Council).

It was noted that following the despatch of the agenda papers, and prior to the meeting, Board Members had received a note detailing several corrections which related to the Executive Board covering report and Appendix 2, together with updated versions of the relevant table and plans, which were to be taken into consideration by Members as part of the Board’s deliberations on the matter.

Responding to Members’ comments and concerns, the Board discussed and received further information regarding:

·  How the SAP, as submitted, with inclusion of the Inspector’s recommended Main Modifications, had been deemed as being ‘sound’ by the Inspector;

·  Members welcomed that the adoption of the SAP would enable a 5 year land supply to be confirmed and a plan-led approach to be taken, moving forward;

·  The time which had taken to get to the current position, and the implications of that timescale;

·  The current housing requirement figures, and how that level of requirement was being reviewed as part of the ongoing and separate Core Strategy Selective Review process, and how a review of the SAP would be required following the adoption of the CSSR;

·  Members discussed the reasons why issues had been experienced regarding levels of development on brownfield land in recent years, with it being highlighted that the Authority continued to liaise with Government on this issue, and with a request being made that further opportunity to consider this matter be sought;

·  Members discussed the proportion of brownfield and green belt sites detailed in the submitted plan which had been allocated for housing;

·  Members discussed the associated infrastructure provision needed to facilitate the housing requirement moving forward, and the need for any future developments to be sustainable.

On behalf of the Board, the Chair extended her thanks to officers and all who had engaged in the process to date, for getting the Plan to this advanced stage.

RESOLVED – That subject to the incorporation of the ‘corrections’, as submitted to Board Members prior to the meeting for their consideration, full Council be recommended to:-

(i)  Note the Inspectors’ final Report of the Leeds Site Allocations Plan and accept the Main Modifications of the Inspectors’, as detailed in their Report (June 2019) presented at Appendix 1 to the submitted Executive Board report;

(ii)  Adopt the draft Site Allocations Plan (version for Adoption), as detailed at Appendix 2 to the submitted report,with effect from 10th July 2019, pursuant to Section 23 of the Planningand Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended);

(iii)  Note the deletion of saved Unitary Development Plan policies, that will be superseded by the Plan (as set out in Appendix 3 of the Plan detailed at Appendix 2 to the submitted report).

(The matters referred to within this minute, given that they were decisions being made in accordance with the Budget & Policy Framework Procedure Rules, were not eligible for Call In, as Executive and Decision Making Procedure Rule 5.1.2 states that the power to Call In decisions does not extend to those decisions being made in accordance with the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules)

The Director of Resources and Housing submitted a report which sought approval to adopt the Council’s New Procurement Strategy, as appended to the submitted report, following a period of consultation, with the report highlighting that the new strategy looked to retain value for money and good governance as the foundation stones of procurement.

Members welcomed the proposed strategy.

In considering the report, a Member suggested that consideration be given to the values which embodied the proposed new strategy being used by the Council in its role as a landlord of commercial properties.

Responding to a further enquiry regarding the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as detailed at appendix 3 to the submitted report, it was noted that the intention was to submit an annual report regarding procurement to the Board, and that after the strategy had been operational for a year, further baseline figures were intended to be introduced into the KPIs in order to monitor performance.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the contents of the submitted report and appendices, be noted;

(b)  That approval be given for the adoption of the New Procurement Strategy, as appended to the submitted report;

(c)  That it be noted that the officer(s) responsible for implementing the adoption of the new strategy in accordance with paragraph 3.8.9 of the submitted report are: the Head of Commercial (Legal) and the Procurement Manager (both Procurement and Commercial Services).

As part of the Council’s closure of its 2018/19 accounts consideration to be given to the earmarking of reserves for the purposes stated in the report to be received at Executive Board.

The Chief Officer, Financial Services submitted a report which provided the Council’s final outturn position for the financial year 2018/19, and which sought consideration of any related actions.

Responding to a Member’s enquiry regarding a proposal to utilise part of the provisional 2018/19 surplus from the Leeds City Region Business Rates Pool to support the West Yorkshire Combined Authority ‘China/India Desk’, the Board received further detail on the work of that project and its aims, in terms of providing benefit and inward investment for the region.  Also, the Board noted that in order for the pool to utilise such funds, it needed to be allocated to activities promoting economic growth and development.

Also, responding to an enquiry, the Board received further information and context regarding the reserves which were currently held within the Adults and Health directorate.

Finally, responding to the Chair’s comments and ahead of the forthcoming Local Government Association conference, support was provided for a cross-party approach to be taken in continuing to raise concerns around the lack of certainty being provided by Government in respect of the future financing of Local Government.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the outturn position for 2018/19, as detailed within the submitted report, be noted, and that the creation of earmarked reserves as detailed in paragraph 5.3 of the same report, be agreed, with the release of such reserves being delegated to the Chief Officer Financial Services;

(b)  That the use of the projected surplus from the 2018/2019 Leeds City Region Business Rates Pool to forward fund the projects which are detailed in paragraph 2.9 of the submitted report, be approved, with it being noted that these projects were initially agreed by the Leaders of the Member Authorities of this Pool following its disbanding on the 31st March 2019;

(c)  That it be noted that the Chief Officer Financial Services will be responsible for the implementation of the above resolutions following the conclusion of the ‘Call In’ period.

The Director of Resources and Housing submitted a report which provided an update on the Council’s most significant corporate risks and the arrangements in place, together with the further activity planned during 2019/20, to manage them.

RESOLVED – That the annual Risk Management report as submitted, together with the assurances provided on the Council’s most significant corporate risks, be noted, in line with the authority’s Risk Management Policy and the Board’s overarching responsibility for their management.

Approval to carry out detail design and construction of the measures to improve public transport benefits and the public realm on A61 North and A65 bus priority corridors. 

The Director of City Development submitted a report which provided an update on the progress being made on the delivery of the Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme’s (LPTIP) significant schemes during 2019/20 and outlined the next steps for delivering the implementation of improvements to the A61 North Bus Priority Corridor scheme and improvements to the A65 signals.

Responding to a Member’s concerns, officers highlighted that although significant consultations had taken place on the submitted proposals, discussions with local Ward Members were seen as continuing conversations and that should Ward Councillors have any issues, then they could be raised with relevant officers as part of the ongoing dialogue.

As part of the Board’s discussions, it was highlighted that a condition of the projects funded via the LPTIP, was that such projects were required to be substantially completed by the end of March 2021, which precluded this programme from undertaking more complex, or larger scale projects with long lead in times for delivery, but that further, separate funding would continue to be sought to help develop the transport infrastructure across the city.

Members also discussed the significant role of the bus providers and the part they played in the provision of public transport across the city, the need to continue to liaise with bus companies to ensure that the best deal was achieved for Leeds, with Members also discussing the issue of devolution and the potential impact that further local control could have in this area.

The Board also discussed the key role which needed to be played by an effective public transport service in helping to address the Climate Emergency; emphasised the need to ensure that an ambitious approach was taken in this area; discussed the options being considered to further develop park and ride facilities; and highlighted the need to ensure that projects being brought forward as part of the programme did not have unintended consequences, such as greater levels of commuter parking on residential streets.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the progress made since April 2016 in developing proposals for the relevant projects benefiting from LPTIP funding, together with the subsequent public consultation responses received, be noted;

(b)  That approval be given for the remaining expenditure of £5.5 million from the existing LPTIP fund which will be used to carry out detailed design and construction of the improvements to the A61 North Bus Priority Corridor, with approval also being given for an injection of £45,039 from S106 Developer Contributions;

(c)  That approval be given for the expenditure of up to £5 million from the existing LPTIP fund which will be used to contribute to the East Leeds Orbital Road (ELOR) project, to carry out the detailed design and construction of the King Lane to Stonegate Road section of the A61N Bus Priority Corridor;

(d)  That approval be given for the expenditure of up to £1 million from the existing LPTIP fund which will be used to carry out detailed design and the construction of the A65 signals, with approval also being given for an injection of £252,675.95 from S106 Developer Contributions;

(e)  That subject to ongoing consultation with relevant Executive Members as appropriate, it be noted that the Chief Officer for Highways and Transportation will be responsible for the implementation of the resolutions detailed above.

Variations and updates to the Clean Air Zone charging regime from the scheme that was approved by Executive Board in October 2018

The Director of Resources and Housing and the Director of City Development submitted a joint report which provided an update following the Government’s approval of the Final Business Case for the Leeds Clean Air Charging Zone and confirmation of the final funding position and spending conditions related to the Clean Air Funding awarded in January 2019. The report also detailed why clarifications and amendments for certain elements of the Charging Order were being considered, presented the longer term approach to establishing future emissions standards for the taxi and private hire trade and provided a progress report on the implementation of the Clean Air Zone (CAZ), highlighting the delay to the CAZ ‘go live’ date.

Responding to a Member’s enquiry regarding the delay to the CAZ ‘go live’ date, the Board received further information on the nature of the delay, which it was noted had been caused by a delay in the development of the required digital services by Central Government. It was also noted that the Council would continue to liaise with Government on this, in order to emphasise the importance of having the digital infrastructure in place at the earliest opportunity.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the funding conditions of the Clean Air Fund, as detailed within the submitted report, be noted and approved;

(b)  That the commencement of a statutory public consultation process on the specific points, as detailed within the submitted report, be approved;

(c)  That the change to the ‘market capacity’ take action date for the HGV sector only to 31st October 2019, be approved;

(d)  That the progress which has been made to date on the implementation of the CAZ by the Council, together with the actions taken regarding the distribution of associated funding, be noted;

(e)  That the delay to the ‘go-live’ date, be noted.

Outcome of statutory notice to increase learning places at Micklefield Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School.

Further to Minute No. 194, 17^th April 2019, the Director of Children and Families submitted a report which set out details of a proposal brought forward to meet the Local Authority’s duty to ensure a sufficiency of school places. Specifically, this report detailed the outcomes arising from the period of representation following the publication of a Statutory Notice regarding a proposal to permanently expand primary provision at Micklefield Church of England Primary School, with the report seeking a final decision on such proposals.

Responding to a Member’s enquiry, the Board received further information regarding the work which continued to take place in order to manage any bulge cohorts in terms of secondary education provision.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That approval be given to the proposal to permanently expand primary provision at Micklefield Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School from a capacity of 140 pupils to 210 pupils, with an increase in the admission number from 20 to 30, with effect from September 2021;

(b)  That provisional approval be granted for the ‘Authority to Spend’ of £2.298m in order to deliver the proposed permanent expansion at Micklefield Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School;

(c)  That it be noted that the proposed expansion of the primary provision is subject to feasibility and planning permission, as indicated at paragraph 4.4.1 of the submitted report, with it also being noted that the proposal has been brought forward in time for places to be delivered for 2021;

(d)  That it be noted that the responsible officer for the implementation of such matters is the Head of Learning Systems.

The Director of Children and Families submitted a report which, as required, presented the One Adoption West Yorkshire (OAWY) Annual Report covering the period April 2018 to March 2019, together with an updated Statement of Purpose.

Noting the recommendation in the submitted report which proposed that future annual reports be submitted to the West Yorkshire Joint Committee (WYJC) for the regional adoption agency, assurances were sought regarding how the Council would continue to have an oversight of this area. In response, the Board was assured that reports, including the annual report, would be submitted to the Corporate Parenting Board for consideration and that the Executive Member for Children and Families would Chair the WYJC.

In addition, it was suggested that related future reports to Executive Board could potentially signpost Board Members to future versions of the annual report.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the annual report of One Adoption West Yorkshire (OAWY), as detailed at Appendix A to the submitted report, be received and noted, as required by the National Minimum Standards for Adoption 2014, pursuant to the Care Standards Act 2000, which is to enable the Executive Board to monitor the management and outcomes of the service so that they may be satisfied that the agency is effective and is achieving good outcomes for children and/or services users; and also to satisfy themselves that the agency is complying with the conditions of registration;

(b)  That the updated Statement of Purpose for OAWY, as appended to the submitted report, be noted, with it also being noted that the Statement of Purpose is required as part of the national minimum standards provisions, in order to enable the relevant services to be provided and which also enables the Executive to agree any changes to the Statement of Purpose on an annual basis;

(c)  That it be agreed that future annual reports for this service be submitted to the West Yorkshire Joint Committee for the regional adoption agency, as it is deemed a more appropriate forum for such documents to be received, given that this is a regional service.

The Director of Children and Families submitted a report regarding the work undertaken by the fostering service between April 2018 and March 2019, and which provided an update on the actions which were being taken in relation to the recruitment and retention of foster carers, and also on the developments within the service.

Responding to a Member’s enquiry, the Board was provided with further information on the actions being taken to reduce the number of children looked after who were living in placements provided by independent and private providers, together with further context on the challenges faced in this area. Also, it was highlighted that the welfare of the children and young people in such matters was the Authority’s priority.

Responding to a Member’s request, officers undertook to provide further relevant financial detail in such reports in future, if it was felt that that would be beneficial to Members. 

In conclusion, on behalf of the Board, the Chair extended her thanks to foster carers for the vital role which they played across the city.

RESOLVED – That the contents of the submitted report and appendices be received and noted, with the Board continuing to support the work of the fostering service in achieving the best possible outcomes for children looked after and also the ongoing work to recruit and retain high quality carers within the service.

To approve recommendations on the renewal of a Leeds City Centre BID for its second term. (2020 – 2025)

The Director of City Development submitted a report which presented a proposal for the Board to support the renewal of the Business Improvement District (BID) for Leeds City Centre, for a second term (2020 – 2025).

RESOLVED –

(a)  That approval be given to the renewal ballot of LeedsBID in accordance with the role of the Local Authority, as set out in the BID Regulations 2004, and that confirmation be provided that the Council is satisfied that the renewal proposals do not conflict with existing Council Policy;

(b)  That the draft renewal Business Plan, as appended to the submitted report, be noted, with it also being noted that the completed business plan will be presented to Executive Board for Council support in September 2019, at which point Leeds City Council will determine its voting intention in the pending ballot;

(c)  That approval be given to the Baseline Services Agreement and the Operating Agreement, as appended to the submitted report, which provides a commitment to maintain provision of quality services in the BID area;

(d)  That the arrangements for the Council to operate the renewal ballot, as detailed within the submitted report, be approved;

(e)  That the stages and timescales required to implement the related decisions on this matter, as outlined within the submitted report and the above resolutions, be noted, with it also being noted that the Head of City Centre Management will be responsible for the implementation of such matters.

The Chief Officer, Financial Services, submitted a report presenting a final update on the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy and operations for the period 2018/19.

Responding to a Member’s enquiry, the Board was provided with a detailed update regarding: the Council’s current debt position; the approach taken in terms of managing debt between the short term and long term and the factors which were taken into consideration on such matters; the review work being undertaken on the Council’s Capital Programme and an update on the current position and the approach being taken in respect of the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP). Linked to this, it was noted that a report regarding the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy was scheduled to be submitted to the Board in July.

RESOLVED – That the Treasury Management outturn position for 2018/19, as detailed within the submitted report, be noted, together with the fact that treasury activity has remained within the treasury management strategy and policy framework.

Contractors to support LBS in delivering of the Kitchen & Bathroom Electrical rewiring works.

Existing contractors have advised both written and verbally that their capacity is full and are unable to support the LBS Kitchen & Bathroom Re-Wire Programme, putting the programme in risk.

The Director of Resources and Housing approved, in line with Contract Procedure Rule 3.1.6, a competitive tender process to procure a contract with providers to be appointed for a 3 year period with the option to extend for a further 12 month period in the estimated sum of £1.05 million per annum.

To agree the introduction of the new role of Crew Chargehand to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Refuse Service.

The Director of Communities and Environment:

a. agreed to the introduction of the new Chargehand role in line with the Review of Refuse Operations.

b. agreed that the protocol on recruitment to the new role agreed with the Trade Unions and appended to the Review of Refuse Operations interim progress report of May 2019 be followed.

c. noted that implementation of the proposals is ultimately subject to a sufficient number (75%) of current Refuse Drivers applying to move to the new Chargehand role so as to become operationally viable (an indicative expression on interest exercise undertaken indicates that 94% of drivers want to become a Crew Chargehand).

To approve the spend of the Disabled Facilities Grant budget of £8.671m.

The Director of Resources and Housing approved the requests to:

1.  Authorise the expenditure of £8.671m on the 2019/20 Disabled Facilities Grants programme

2.  Approve the funding of the Care and Repair Home Improvement Agency and Handypersons Service at a value of £194k in 2019/20 from within the DFG budget.

To agree the school calendar for community and voluntary controlled schools and SILCs for the academic year 2020 – 2021.

The Director of Children & Families approved the 2020-21 calendar as detailed in appendix 1.

The Director of Children & Families approved the continuation of a fixed Easter break for schools going forward.

To seek authority to procure a new integrated service model to provide accommodation and support for young people, care leavers and unaccompanied asylum seeker children. The new contract will start on 1st July 2020 and be for 5 years (with potential option to extend for up to three years).

The Director of Resources and Housing & Director of Children and Families jointly approved the requests to:

• grant authority to procure the ‘service to provide accommodation and support for vulnerable young people, care leavers and unaccompanied asylum seeking children’ using the open procedure with negotiation

• approve a contract length period of five (5) years, with the option to extend for up to three (3) years with a maximum budget of £4.4 million per annum

• grant approval to waive CPR 15.2 to change the tender evaluation quality threshold for the ‘service to provide accommodation and support for vulnerable young people, care leavers and unaccompanied asylum seeker children’. The procurement exercise will be based on 70% quality and 30% price.

And noted that:

• the Director of Resources and Housing and Director of Children and Families will use their delegated authority to take commissioning decisions which will be a direct consequence of this Key Decision. These will be at most a Significant Operational Decision. This is subject to the decisions being in line with the key principles and features as described in this report.