Decisions

The Chief Officer of Asset Management and Regeneration is requested to approve the appointment of Cushman and Wakefield (UK) LLP to undertake a full professional agency service in order to appropriately market the subject assets within the specialist investment sector and provide professional support throughout . The cost will be based on a percentage of the achieved sale price.

The Chief Officer Asset Management & Regeneration has given approval to the procurement of external rating advice and rating appeal work in relation to the 2010 and 2017 Rating Lists on terms provisionally agreed and covered by the Crown Commercial Services framework.

The Director of Children & Families agreed the recommendation of a report relating to the placement of a child/young person. The individual costs of the place are £401,500.00.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable child or young person of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live in a safe environment.

The Director of Children & Families agreed the recommendation of a report relating to the placement of a child/young person. The individual costs of the place are £511,000.00.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable child or young person of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live in a safe environment.

The Director of Children & Families agreed the recommendation of a report relating to the placement of a child/young person. The individual costs of the place are £321,565.00.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable child or young person of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live in a safe environment.

The Director of Children & Families agreed the recommendation of a report relating to the placement of a child/young person. The individual costs of the place are £354,571.43.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable child or young person of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live in a safe environment.

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

The Chief Officer (Highways and Transportation):
a) noted the detail of the highway works described in outline in section 3 of this report and shown on plan AMA-40001-D-001 Rev I attached at Appendix 3 of this report;
b) gave authority to negotiate the terms of and enter into an agreement with the developer under the provisions of Section 278 of the Highways Act 1980; whereby the works associated with the development are carried out by the developer and overseen by the Council.
c) approved the adoption of new highway construction on land outlined in blue on plan AMA-40001-D-001 Rev I attached at Appendix 3 of this report so that it can be added to the Council’s maintenance regime;
d) gave authority to advertise a notice under the provisions of Section 23 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and Section 90c of the Highways Act 1980 in order to inform the public of the new zebra crossing position on Chartists Way;
e) authorised the City Solicitor to advertise notices under the provisions of Section 23 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and Section 90c of the Highways Act 1980 and to advertise a Draft Traffic Regulation Order to introduce No Waiting At Any Time restrictions along Chartists Way as indicated on plan AMA-40001-D-005 Rev F attached at Appendix 4 of this report; and if no valid objections are received, to make, seal and implement the Orders as advertised; and
f) gave authority to incur expenditure of £10,000 TRO costs and £6,000 staff checking and inspection costs, all to be fully rechargeable to the developer through the Section 278 agreement.

The Chief Planning Officer has re-designated the Kirkstall Neighbourhood Forum for the Kirkstall Neighbourhood Area.

The Chief Officer, Highways & Transportation;

i) Noted and approved the final layout of the Cottingley Hall Estate – Public Transport Infrastructure Improvement scheme as shown on the attached Drawing No TM/25/1/321/GA-2A;

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

iii) Noted the required expenditure of £647,000, comprising £510,000 works costs, £50,000 Statutory Undertakers diversionary costs, £86,000 staff fees and £1,000 legal fees, all being funded from the Connecting Leeds programme as previously approved by Executive Board and the Combined Authority’s Project Assurance Team.

iv) Noted that the scheme, valued at £647,000, is to be wholly funded from West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Connecting Leeds programme as previously approved by Executive Board.

v) Gave authority to advertise and introduce a Traffic Regulation and Movement Order to introduce waiting restrictions and bus lane respectively as shown on the attached drawing no. TM/25/1/321/GA-2A and if no valid objections are received, to make, seal and implement the Traffic Regulation and Movement Orders, as advertised; and

vi) Authorised the City Solicitor to advertise draft Traffic Regulation and Movement Orders and if no valid objections are received, to make, seal and implement the Orders and pedestrian crossings as advertised

The Chief Officer, Highways & Transportation;

a) Noted and approved the final layout of the Bramley Bus Interchange scheme as shown on the attached Drawing Nos TM/06/368/GEN/02 & TM/06/368/TRO/01;

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

c) Noted the required expenditure of £459,000, comprising £270,000 works costs, £125,000 Statutory Undertakers diversionary costs and £64,000 staff fees, all being funded from West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Connecting Leeds programme ( previously approved );


d) Noted that the scheme, valued at £459,000, is to be wholly funded from West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Connecting Leeds programme as previously approved by Executive Board.

e) Gave authority to advertise and introduce a Traffic Regulation and Movement Order to introduce waiting restrictions and bus lane respectively as shown on the attached drawing no. TM/06/369/TRO/01 and to advertise a notice under the provision of Section 23 of the Highways Act 1980 associated with provision of pedestrian crossings and if no valid objections are received, to make, seal and implement the Traffic Regulation and Movement Orders and implement the pedestrian crossings, as advertised.

f) Authorised the City Solicitor to advertise draft Traffic Regulation and Movement Orders and to advertise a notice under the provision of Section 23 of the Highways Act 1980 associated with provision of a pedestrian crossing and if no valid objections are received, to make, seal and implement the Orders and pedestrian crossings as advertised

At the ELI panel held on (13.01.2021) individual decisions were made in relation to each reaffirmed expression of interest for both the Council’s ELI scheme and flexible retirement requests.

In consultation with the Chief Financial Services Officer and each individual Director, the Chief Officer Human Resources approved the following:

(2) people to leave under the Council’s ELI Scheme
(4) colleagues to take flexible retirement

The cumulative savings for each individual decision associated with the above is £415,250 over the next 5 years. Actual final savings may be impacted upon by other associated costs (such as reconfiguration costs ) and the outcome will be determined in due course.

At the ELI panel held on (16.12.2020) individual decisions were made in relation to each reaffirmed expression of interest for both the Council’s ELI scheme and flexible retirement requests.

In consultation with the Chief Financial Services Officer and each individual Director, the Chief Officer Human Resources approved the following:

(54) people to leave under the Council’s ELI Scheme
(13) colleagues to take flexible retirement

The cumulative savings for each individual decision associated with the above is £7,648,718 over the next 5 years. Actual final savings may be impacted upon by other associated costs (such as reconfiguration costs ) and the outcome will be determined in due course.

At the ELI panel held on (04.12.2020) individual decisions were made in relation to each reaffirmed expression of interest for both the Council’s ELI scheme and flexible retirement requests.

In consultation with the Chief Financial Services Officer and each individual Director, the Chief Officer Human Resources approved the following:

(46) people to leave under the Council’s ELI Scheme
(8) colleagues to take flexible retirement

The cumulative savings for each individual decision associated with the above is £6,141,068 over the next 5 years. actual final savings may be impacted upon by other associated costs (such as reconfiguration costs ) and the outcome will be determined in due course’

At the ELI panel held on (06/11/2020) individual decisions were made in relation to each reaffirmed expression of interest for both the Council’s ELI scheme and flexible retirement requests.

In consultation with the Chief Financial Services Officer and each individual Director, the Chief Officer Human Resources approved the following:

(122) people to leave under the Council’s ELI Scheme
(13) colleagues to take flexible retirement

The cumulative savings for each individual decision associated with the above is £13,219,944 over the next 5 years. Actual final savings may be impacted upon by other associated costs (such as reconfiguration costs ) and the outcome will be determined in due course.

At the ELI panel held on (11.11.2020) individual decisions were made in relation to each reaffirmed expression of interest for both the Council’s ELI scheme and flexible retirement requests.

In consultation with the Chief Financial Services Officer and each individual Director, the Chief Officer Human Resources approved the following:

(206) people to leave under the Council’s ELI Scheme
(27) colleagues to take flexible retirement

The cumulative savings for each individual decision associated with the above is £20,785,773 over the next 5 years. Actual final savings may be impacted upon by other associated costs (such as reconfiguration costs ) and the outcome will be determined in due course.

At the ELI panel held on (27/10/2020) individual decisions were made in relation to each reaffirmed expression of interest for both the Council’s ELI scheme and flexible retirement requests.

In consultation with the Chief Financial Services Officer and each individual Director, the Chief Officer Human Resources approved the following:

(171) people to leave under the Council’s ELI Scheme
(20) colleagues to take flexible retirement

The cumulative savings for each individual decision associated with the above is £18,450,062 over the next 5 years. actual final savings may be impacted upon by other associated costs (such as reconfiguration costs ) and the outcome will be determined in due course’

At the ELI panel held on (14/10/2020) individual decisions were made in relation to each reaffirmed expression of interest for both the Council’s ELI scheme and flexible retirement requests.

In consultation with the Chief Financial Services Officer and each individual Director, the Chief Officer Human Resources approved the following:

(30) people to leave under the Council’s ELI Scheme
(5) colleagues to take flexible retirement

The cumulative savings for each individual decision associated with the above is £5,446,256 over the next 5 years. Actual final savings may be impacted upon by other associated costs (such as reconfiguration costs ) and the outcome will be determined in due course.

At the ELI panel held on (06/10/2020) individual decisions were made in relation to each reaffirmed expression of interest for both the Council’s ELI scheme and flexible retirement requests.

In consultation with the Chief Financial Services Officer and each individual Director, the Chief Officer Human Resources approved the following:

(181) people to leave under the Council’s ELI Scheme
(9) colleagues to take flexible retirement

The cumulative savings for each individual decision associated with the above is £21,408,395 over the next 5 years. Actual final savings may be impacted upon by other associated costs (such as reconfiguration costs) and the outcome will be determined in due course.

At the ELI panel held on (28/09/2020) individual decisions were made in relation to each reaffirmed expression of interest for both the Council’s ELI scheme and flexible retirement requests.

In consultation with the Chief Financial Services Officer and each individual Director, the Chief Officer Human Resources approved the following:

(17) people to leave under the Council’s ELI Scheme
(0) colleagues to take flexible retirement

The cumulative savings for each individual decision associated with the above is £2,032,722 over the next 5 years.

The Chief Officer Sustainable Energy and Air Quality has approved the waiver of CPR 8.1 and 8.2 to award a contract to Sweco UK Ltd to carry out feasibility studies for potential Phase 3 extensions of the District Heating Network to the Southbank. The studies are funded through HNDU and Energy Accelerator grant funding, which restrict the councils ability to carry out a competitive procurement.

To assign to Councillor Fiona Venner, in addition to existing Executive Member responsibilities for Children and Families, the Executive Member Portfolio for Health, Wellbeing and Adults.
The amended Executive Arrangements, will be reflected in amended documents at Part 3 Section 3a, 3b(a) and 3b(b) of the Constitution.

The Chief Officer Elections and Regulatory approved the decision to issue taxi and private hire vehicle licences for an additional period of 2 months without a vehicle inspection, to allow the inspection to take place, under reduced Covid staffing arrangements.

The Director of Resources & Housing approved the deletion of two posts (Head of Communications and Marketing post – temporarily - and Emergency Planning Manager), the arrangements set out below for covering the posts, and that the service retains a very small amount of funding required to support the proposed arrangements to ensure business continuity. This includes (with JDs and manager checklists in relevant annexes):
- a regrade for the principal officer in CXs unit, backdated to the relevant ELI date (annex 1);
- continued temporary honoraria for the shared cover for communications and marketing functions, backdated to the relevant ELI date (annex 2);
- two temporary honoraria posts in CXs office to provide management support for functions to make the organisational design principles work (annex 3 & 4);
- also, that the post/postholder of Head of Business Planning and Risk transfers to Finance, but that the savings are attributed to Strategy and Improvement as agreed with the CO Finance.

The Chief Officer, Elections & Regulatory approved the making of the draft Order attached as Appendix 1, to appoint the Ledston residents named in the Order as interim Parish Councillors until an election has been held to fill the vacancies on 6 May 2021.

The Chief Officer, Resources and Strategy of Adults and Health, approved the award of the Contract for Independent Persons and Independent Investigation Services to RRC (RRConsultancy) Limited commencing on 1st February 2021 and will expire on 31st January 2026.
There will be an option to extend for a further period of 12 months.

Leeds City Council has received £10.4m, from the Government, to support the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is a one-off contribution, for the 2020-21 financial year, and is non-recurrent.

The funding is to support proactive and preventative evidence based measures, in the fight against the pandemic. As part of this allocation, a budget has been identified for measures that support immediate support for Children and Families activity which will support public health interventions as part of the Public Health response to COVID-19:-
Due to the global Public Health emergency COVID-19 pandemic this report provides detail of programmes to to temporarily increase the capacity of the Early Years Learning Improvement Team, Children’s Residential Care teams within the Children and Families Directorate, 0-19 service within Leeds Community Health Care Trust (LCH), and Leeds City College to support the prevention, notification and management of COVID-19 in Leeds. Private, Voluntary and Independent Nurseries, 0-19 services and the FE sector, due to the nature of this requirement the duration will be from December 2020 to June 2021.

To purchase digital devices and the provision of initiatives which will increase contact with harder to reach families to support them to prevent the spread of COVID-19 including by sharing prevention and outbreak management messages , increasing adhering to self-isolation and testing guidance.

These programmes will be funded from the Test and Trace ring-fenced grant and total £348,691

Internal and External Staffing - £168,766

• COVID-19 Champion Role Private, Voluntary Independent (PVI) Nursery sector (LCC) - £20,385
COVID-19 Champion roles 2 x 0.50wte SO2 post seconded from within early years learning improvement team at a cost of £20,385 (December 2020 to May 2021) to support and manage the process to enable PVI settings to effectively notify, prevent and manage COVID-19 incidents and outbreaks.
• COVID-19 Coordinator roles Children Residential Care Settings (LCC) - £72,129
Registered Home Manager 8 x 0.20wte P05 to update and amend individual homes staffing Rotas for each community home, submit CF50 notices, liaise with advisors (H&S, Occ. Health, PHE, Ofsted Etc.) in response to managing COVID-19 related pressure. - £44,919 (January 2021 to June 2021)

Project Support Officer 1 x 0.80wte SO1 – SCP 25 to manage the reports related staffing levels across the community homes, organising & running ongoing recruitment for staffing and causals for critical cover, pre. Planning for induction of new staff - £15,360 (January 2021 to June 2021)

Administration assistant 1 x 0.60wte (B1 SCP 5) at Adel Beck Secure Children’s homes coordinated staffing resource to redeploy to homes, provide returns to regulators required by the secure estate - £7,393 (January 2021 to June 2021)

Youth worker senior support 1 x 0.10wte 52.5%DIR to undertake weekly check ins to discuss and respond to residential pressures related to COVID19 - £4,457. (January 2021 to June 2021)

All of the above are existing posts that have been redesigned to enable the service to respond to COVID.
COVID-19 Champion Leeds Community Healthcare (LCH) 0-19 services - £19,272
Family Health Worker 1 x wte NHS grade 4 - £19,272 (January 2021 to June 2021) seconded from the existing service to work as part of the clinical triage team to provide advice and support to children, young people, and families who contact the service with a specific COVID-19 related enquiry or need or are a contact to minimise harm and enable them to follow guidance to self-isolate as required.

COVID-19 Champion and administrator Further Education settings (Hosted by Leeds City College) - £56,980
COVID-19 Champion 1 x 1.0wte SO1 and 1 x 1.0wte LS4 (January 2021 to June 2021) to support and manage the process to enable Further Education settings to effectively notify, prevent and manage COVID-19 incidents and outbreaks - £56,980.
These are existing posts and funding will be used to enable them to have dedicated time to fulfil this work

COVID-19 sport sessions for young people - £60,000
A grant of £60,000 provided to Street Games to enable 15 local third sector groups that make up the Youth COVID-19 response network to deliver further COVID-19 projects for Young People. A new Family door steps sports sessions to create a positive platform to share COVID-19 messages. £45,000 will be provided to fund grants to each third sector group and £15,000 will be provided to Street Games to for overheads, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the projects.

Digital Devices, training and equipment - £119,925

This decision details the authority to procure and fund the purchase of digital devices and a range of activities to increase understanding of and adherence to testing, contact tracing and self-isolation advice among children, young people, families and parents to be, targeting those less likely to adhere to central guidance and at increased risk of poorer outcomes as a result of COVID-19. The funding will be used to increase family’s virtual and face to face access to services they already have an established and trusting relationship with. Each service will provide the opportunity for families to discuss COVID-19 and will offer tailored support to enable families to minimise the spread of the virus. This will be delivered in partnership with DIS who will purchase the devices on behalf of the organisations and 100% Digital who support maintenance and management of the devices for loan including longer term. This report provides authority for DIS to procure the required digital devises for the purposes detailed in this report

The plan consists of the following, all costs are approximate at this stage:-
Homestart – £10,402
Purchase of 12 x iPads and 1 x laptop and £200 phone top up data purchased via DIS (a division of the Council)
• 12 x iPads = £7,342
• 1 x laptop = £600 + £240 software = £840
• 1 x phone top up = £200
A grant provided to Homestart to provide 2 hours per week of coordinator time for 3 months provided by Homestart practitioners and families to increase access to virtual young parents - £2,020
Children’s Centres – £37,765
Purchase of 40 x Ipads and 30 x smart phones, including data purchased via DIS linked to 100% digital to enable a minimum of 200 additional vulnerable families to access virtual support from Children Centres, purchased by DIS (a division of the Council)
• 30 x smart phones = £10,500
• rental charge = £2,790
• 40 x iPads = £24,475
Women’s Health Matters- £19,960
40 x devices including set up, training, IT support and delivery to households for use by vulnerable families working with Women’s Health Matters purchased by DIS (a division of the Council)
Purchase of
• 40 x chromebooks @ £300 each device - £12,000
• 40 x dongles @ £45.00 each - £1,800
• 40 x 3 months unlimited data @ £60.00 each - £2,400
A grant provided to Women’s Health Matters to provide staff time to support set up of each of the 40 x devices including set up, training, IT support and delivery to households for use by vulnerable families working with Women’s Health Matters 40 x £94.00 each - £3,760

Health for All - £6,270
• £8,300 funding for DIS to purchase 8 x IPADS, - smart phones and data to enable Health for All, Breast Feeding Peer Support service (BFPS) to increase number of women able to access virtual support incorporating COVID 19 prevention and management.
• 8 x Ipads @ £500 each = £4,000
• 2 x laptop @ £1,100 each = £2,200
• 2 x smart phones with data @ £35.00 each = 70.00

Equipment - £30,528
• Recharges from Children’s Services (a division of the Council) for actual equipment purchased to include web cams, oils, baby mats and staff training to enable virtual delivery of baby massage courses by Children Centre staff to vulnerable families which will include discussion on preventing and managing COVID-19 - £30,528

Training - £15,000
• A grant of £4,000 provided to Health for All to deliver additional Breast Feeding Peer Support training in order to upskill and increase the number of breastfeeding peer support volunteers by 15-20.
• A grant of £11,000 provided to Health for All to deliver Breast Feeding Peer Support coordinator time to deliver 2 additional weekly Breastfeeding Peer Support groups.

Health for all are an existing provider who currently provide breastfeeding peer support so are able to mobilise quickly in order to meet this immediate work to provide support during the pandemic therefore have the skills, knowledge and networks to implement immediately providing a best value for money option.

As the Council would be entering into grant arrangements with the above named organisations, the Council will have no contractual control over enforcement of the terms. The only sanction available with grant payments is for the Council to claw-back grant monies unspent. However, this is balanced by the opportunity for creative approaches to be developed making use of the flexibility of the grant; and for added value to be obtained.

There is a risk of challenge that the grant payment is not a grant. Legally there is some confusion about when a grant can and cannot be used as there is a fine line between a grant (which is not caught by the procurement rules) and a contract for services (which is caught by the procurement rules).


Funding from which any grant payment is made must be designated as “grant” money. If the Council wish to make a grant, the money must be in the “grant” block. If it is not, it can normally be moved from other blocks in the Council budget into the grant block.


Awarding the grants to the named organisation in this way could leave the Council open to a potential claim from other providers, to whom this grant could be of interest, that it has not been wholly transparent. However the risk of this would appear to be low.


As this is a grant it is not subject to the Council’s Contracts Procedure Rules or within the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 but good practice and transparency will be observed throughout.


There is no overriding legal obstacle preventing the award of the grants and the contents of this report should be noted. In making their final decision, the Director of Public Health should be satisfied that the course of action chosen represents best value for the Council.

As this decision is a consequence of a previous key decision dated 11th December 2020 (D52580) under the special urgency rule, each separate decision at most, should be an administrative decision but for clarity a significant operational decision for the entire report and not be subject to call-in

Leeds City Council has received £10.4m, from the Government, to support the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is a one-off contribution, for the 2020-21 financial year, and is non-recurrent.

£150k of funding is to support proactive and preventative evidence based measures, in the fight against the pandemic. As part of this allocation, a budget has been identified for measures that support the development of prevention projects in 6 wards with high levels of clinical and social vulnerability as part of the Public Health response to COVID-19:-
To provide grant funding to 3rd sector providers to deliver key projects in the wards identified as having high levels of clinical and social vulnerability and to provide support to communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected older people, those living with long term conditions and those living in more deprived communities. As highlighted in the Marmot Review Build Back Fairer, inequalities in social and economic conditions before the pandemic have contributed to the high and unequal death toll. It also highlighted the need to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on health and health inequalities and on the social determinants of health.

This approach to funding projects to support communities identified by overlaying The British Red Cross vulnerability matrix with IMD data to identify the wards with the MSOAs of most vulnerability. This provided the list of 6 wards:
- Killingbeck and Seacroft
- Hunslet and Riverside,
- Middleton Park,
- Gipton and Harehills
- Armley
- New Farnley.

Working through strong pre-COVID-19 networks with ward members, LCPs, Primary Care Networks, communities team, projects were identified and have been discussed with the Proactive, Prevention and Place (3P’s meeting). The organisations and partnerships which will deliver the projects are all connected to local communities and have been part of the local response to COVID-19. These projects will meet local gaps in support for communities where there are the highest levels of clinical and social vulnerability.

The projects which will be delivered are listed below with an outline of the project. The providers who will be delivering the projects are part of local partnerships and are working closely with the community to have identified the needs. It is essential that Providers have experience and trust within communities in order to deliver these programmes effectively and immediately. Many have been working with the communities both before and during the pandemic and have been able to identify where the gaps are but will also identify future opportunities to engage and support individuals, families and communities. All of the providers are well supported by local partnership infrastructures such as LCPs, PCNs, 1% priority neighbourhoods etc. where strong links will be made to ensure that the projects are well co-ordinated and supported.
Gipton and Harehills – SPACE 2 (in partnership with Zest, The Old Fire Station, Health watch Leeds, People in Action, Shantona Women’s and Family Centre)– grant of £25,000

Project - We’ll Come to You - Support and Prevent
By working directly in the areas known to us to be the most hard hit economically, physically and emotionally by the pandemic we aim to take the Prevention message and Supportive activities out to the community.
Using insights gathered throughout our delivery during the pandemic we will respond to what we know to be local need, by using a van to take staff and our volunteers (known to and trusted by the communities of Gipton and Harehills, activity and support directly to the streets, on a weekly basis – this will take the form of:
- make a film "talking heads" to record local people's feelings
- provide extra support and resources for people with learning disabilities
- Start to use insight to start the development of a 5 year community led recovery plan from COVID-19 to support people through the long term effects of the pandemic.

Space 2 will manage the project, however the delivery plan is based on a partnership approach working with organisations who delivery other services in the ward and have a steering group established to manage the ongoing delivery. The organisations are embedded closely with local strategic partnerships such as the NIP and are also delivering the COVID-19 food hub and are part of the local Connect and Support scheme.

Killingbeck and Seacroft - LCC Communities and Environments – grant of £15,000
Project - Health Inequalities and Digital Inclusion worker
Partnership approach working with local ward members to support the employment of an ABCD worker. The role will identify needs or gaps in the community and work across partners to identify solutions and interventions. They will work closely with Social Prescribers, third sector organisations, GP practices and local residents and will contribute to the Leeds Outbreak Plan by offering a local intelligence opportunity with a Seacroft lens.

The second main purpose of the role is to recruit, train and support volunteers or Community Health Champions to work in their communities with the aim of supporting the delivery of groups, activities and projects that improve the health and wellbeing of their family friends and neighbours. This funding will provide a specific focus to being engaged with COVID-19 prevention including the delivery of COVID-19 interventions and identifying key community residents who can support the outbreak plan at a local level.

Killingbeck and Seacroft - LS14 Trust – grant of £10,000
Project - LS14 Trust - meeting the needs and engagement with local residents and partners around the support during and after the pandemic
Work with local volunteers and community champions to influence local messages to support the community to access testing, engage with the vaccination programme. Increase engagement with local residents groups to localise key messages and make them meaningful to residents.

Support the delivery of the vaccination programme through a community development model, engaging and empowering the community
Work with existing community members who are engaging with the community hub to identify ways to support families both in relation to prevention but also the impact of COVID-19. Develop local community volunteers to support with COVID-19 programmes such as vaccination rollout, testing and provide meaningful insight to support the strategic direction of the programmes
Support families with extra support who are regularly using the hub for support and identify opportunities to support them during and after the pandemic.

LS14 Trust are a well-respected organisation in the local area and are well connected to other organisations. Through their engagement with the Boggart Hill core group, delivery of the COVID-19 Food Hub as well as delivery of other services which support the Seacroft community they are well known, trusted and respected. LS14 Trust also work closely with other organisations in the area and are closely linked to the Seacroft Local Care Partnership where their organisation has demonstrated the impact that can be made.

Hunslet and Riverside – Hamara – grant of £24,770
Project - Creating digital access opportunities for low income families
Identification of digitally excluded households through attendance at foodbank. Households invited to access digital training to upskill and enable use of the wellbeing offer and employment support opportunities available at Hamara. Hamara are very well known and trusted organisation in the area with the personnel and internal infrastructure in place to reach out to culturally diverse families and deliver a programme requiring ongoing linkage into other projects and support. Remote training licence procurement will enable delivery of digital sessions. Participating households will receive a tablet, data and be linked into the digital training. If expressed the household may also receive vouchers to pay for fuel.

Middleton - Belle Isle Tenant Management Organisation – grant of £24,770
Project - Creating digital access opportunities for low income families
Identification of digitally excluded households through tenant management survey. Households invited to access digital training to upskill and enable use of the wellbeing offer, TMO services and employment support opportunities available at BITMO. Remote training licence procurement will enable delivery of digital sessions. Participating households will receive a tablet, data and be linked into the digital training.

Armley, Farnley & Wortley - New Wortley Community Centre – grant of £25,244
Project - Connecting-Armley-Connecting New Wortley
The “Connecting” model aims to utilise IPad as an asset in the local community by providing virtual access to a wide range of local support services. Through the partnership working with the delivery partners this provided access to support workers from New Wortley Community Centre, Armley Helping Hands, Barca, Leeds City Council and other Council or third sector organisations.

Aims and objectives

The “Connecting” model aims to utilise Ipads as an asset in the local community by providing virtual access to a wide range of local support services. Through the partnership working with the delivery partners this provided access to support workers from New Wortley Community Centre, Armley Helping Hands, Barca, Leeds City Council and other Council or third sector organisations.

Aims

Improve digital inclusion levels in New Wortley and Armley
Reducing barriers of access
Improving confidence, skill levels and motivation around the use of technology
Supporting local residents in accessing COVID-19 information for approved sources
Developing relationship with local residents to engage with project and wider local services

Objectives

Connecting individuals with those in their community through the creation of peer support groups
Accessing benefit and housing support through Customer Services
Accessing tailored employability support from Job shops
Engaging with individuals who have been isolated due to the impact of COVID-19

Delivery Model
IPad will be purchased from 100% Digital Leeds, this allows for remote access and disablement of the devices if they should be misused or lost and is successful delivery model. Each device will then be lent to the participant for a fixed term loan period, the participant will meet with the NWCC support team at the Community Centre to identify the best use of the device to create a bespoke programme of support groups, courses, activities and information sources. The participant will also be offered IT support to use the device fully and develop their digital skills and improve their confidence. At the end of the loan period, the IPad is then wiped of any existing data and re-loaned.
As each loan period is unique to the participant, this creates a legacy to the programme that is this beginning of their journey in learning digital skills and developing connections with the local community which is then replicated through each cohort. Through the development of these community connections, we are able to build more resilient communities and broaden the reach of public health messaging.
The support of 100% Digital Leeds is guaranteed throughout the project, offering both digital champion training to New Wortley Community Centre and local volunteers in additional to 1-1 support for all participants throughout their loan period or any subsequent devices.
Recruitment of participants
Participants will be recruited from the local community in a number of ways
• Engagement with New Wortley Community Centre’s Outreach Workers
• Engagement with Armley Helping Hands , Barca, TVC, One You Leeds
• Contact with Local Housing Officers
• Social media advertising
• Promotion from local GP’s and the social prescribing team
Evaluation
• Tracking engagement in support groups, activities and programmes for each participant
• Improvement in health and wellbeing through wemwebs scoring
• Employability outcomes –moving into work or volunteering
• Reducing in social isolation through participation in peer to peer support groups
• Increased participating in COVID-19 testing and vaccination due to improve access to public health messaging.
motion in the community through initial cohort of participants

Armley, Farnley & Wortley - Armley Helping Hands & LCP partners – grant of £10,441
Project - Listening Room
Virtual Listening Room, supporting isolated residents, linking them to eventual face to face support, skills and exercise. Armley Helping Hands have established a small scale test pilot of the listening room project which has proved very successful. Armley Helping Hands have a dedicated men’s work and adept at work of this nature. They have excellent community links and network to promote and engage with their target audience. The organisations is well linked to local partnerships and had a proven record for the delivery of projects. Consultation was undertaken in June 2020 with older men and results highlighted the major challenged faced by the community such as loneliness and lack of social interaction. The listening room was developed to provide a place for men to meet in a non-judgemental arena to discuss problems and allow for signposting where relevant. Armley Helping Hands has been involved in the delivery of programmes working with older men and know that there is a high number who feel disconnected from their families, lonely, un-employed and feeling particularly isolated and purposeless. Many simply have no family, friends or relatives they can talk to. We also know there is a large amount of robust peer reviewed academic evidence of this problem in the surrounding area. Therefore providing this space for the community to discuss issues around COVID-19 and the impact this has on them is extremely beneficial.


Armley Helping Hands have already evaluated the project and have proved its worth locally. This funding allows the opportunity to grow the project and offer this service to more men living in the area through digital means where they do not feel comfortable to access the centre and also currently due to lockdown restrictions.


Delivery Model
The Delivery Model will be online using a website that will be bespoke and designed for ease of use. The videos will initially be live streamed in real time and then stored with links that will allow men to access them any time they want. The listening room will be opened from 2 days a week to 4 days and we will have a virtual listening room which will also run out of office hours to enable men who are working the time to access the service if they require it. We will advertise the website using our own social media platforms and working closely with the local GP practices and adult services in the areas. We will also open a Facebook page and twitter account to enable us to grow our own following.

Armley, Farnley & Wortley - TCV & Volunteers – grant of £8,625
Project - Talking Sheds
Talking sheds will build wellbeing and develop team skills over an 8-week period. The project will consist of build a shed from pallets on an allotment. Future “a practical group project need on a plot” Share a communal lunch (to be COVID-19 Secure) and having a facilitated discussion (Mindful etc.) in the afternoon.

TCV are part of local partnerships and have delivered projects in the area and are well connected to local services and understand the needs of the local community. The project has been developed in response to local need with the high levels of older men who are in need of support

Farnley and Wortley - Family Learning Team and Farnley Children’s centre (a LCC service) – grant of £2,400
Project - Treasure Books-Family Learning during COVID-19
Provide “first step “education engagement activities for parents/carers whilst children centre provision remains limited using the book Going on a Bear Hunt. Offer mental health support activities to parents/carers. Offer opportunities for parents/carers/children to work together to improve speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Armley, Farnley & Wortley - TCV & Volunteers – grant of £3,750
Project – TCV - Wildlife Walks
Responding to the need for opportunities to provide socialisation between people who have become isolated during the pandemic. Making use of the beneficial properties of being outdoors and taking notice of wildlife and landscapes, taking advantage of being outside making it easier to achieve social distancing and avoiding infection.

Helping some build confidence to go exploring on their own or with people they meet through the group and thus creating some enduring benefits.
The proposal is based on past effectiveness and continuing demand for existing groups run in other areas. Use demonstration of online wildlife ID and walk route planning as a means to show digitally excluded people what they are missing, and 100% Digital Leeds have offered to drop by to do Face to Face introduction of their serve (tablet loan etc.) to help bring some more people to digital services where they lack device/skills/means to afford.

TCV are part of local partnerships and have delivered projects in the area and are well connected to local services and understand the needs of the local community. The project has been developed in response to local need with the high levels of older men who are in need of support

As the Council would be entering into grant arrangements with the above named organisations, the Council will have no contractual control over enforcement of the terms. The only sanction available with grant payments is for the Council to claw-back grant monies unspent. However, this is balanced by the opportunity for creative approaches to be developed making use of the flexibility of the grant; and for added value to be obtained.


There is a risk of challenge that the grant payment is not a grant. Legally there is some confusion about when a grant can and cannot be used as there is a fine line between a grant (which is not caught by the procurement rules) and a contract for services (which is caught by the procurement rules). The preamble to EU Procurement Directive 2014/24/EU makes it clear at paragraph (4) that “the mere financing, in particular through grants, of an activity, which is frequently linked to the obligation to reimburse the amounts received where they are not used for the purposes intended, does not usually fall within the scope of the public procurement rules”.

Funding from which any grant payment is made must be designated as “grant” money. If the Council wish to make a grant, the money must be in the “grant” block. If it is not, it can normally be moved from other blocks in the Council budget into the grant block.


Awarding the grants to the named organisation in this way could leave the Council open to a potential claim from other providers, to whom this grant could be of interest, that it has not been wholly transparent. However the risk of this would appear to be low.


As this is a grant it is not subject to the council’s Contracts Procedure Rules or within the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 but good practice and transparency will be observed throughout.


There is no overriding legal obstacle preventing the award of the grants and the contents of this report should be noted. In making their final decision, the Director of Public Health should be satisfied that the course of action chosen represents best value for the Council.


As this decision is a consequence of a previous key decision dated 11th December 2020 (D52580) under the special urgency rule, each separate decision at most, should be an admin decision but for clarity a significant operational decision for the entire report and not be subject to call-in.

The Director of Adults and Health has approved a grant of £100,000 to Forum Central to provide additional support for mental health over winter as set out in the attached proposal.

The Chief Officer Asset Management and Regeneration has given approval to acquire this site on the terms detailed in the report and attached confidential appendix.

The Chief Digital and Information Officer approved the waiver of contract procedure rules 8.1 and 8.2 for intermediate value procurements to approve direct award of a contract to Virgin Media Business (VMB) for the delivery of Managed WAN services for 19 newly identified key sites which require a corporate connection for a period of 6 months.

The Director of Resources and Housing approved the award of a short-term contract to Whistl UK Limited for the provision of postal goods and services for a period of one year (from 1 February 2021 to 31 January 2022) with a contract value of £800,000.

The Deputy Director, Children & Families agreed the recommendation of a report relating to the placement of a child/young person. The individual costs of the place are £145,702.79.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable child or young person of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live in a safe environment.

The Deputy Director, Children & Families agreed the recommendation of a report relating to the placement of a child/young person. The individual costs of the place are £111,846.43.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable child or young person of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live in a safe environment.

The Deputy Director, Children & Families agreed the recommendation of a report relating to the placement of a child/young person. The individual costs of the place are £111,846.43.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable child or young person of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live in a safe environment.

The Deputy Director, Children & Families agreed the recommendation of a report relating to the placement of a child/young person. The individual costs of the place are £208,571.43.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable child or young person of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live in a safe environment.

The Deputy Director, Children & Families agreed the recommendation of a report relating to the placement of a child/young person. The individual costs of the place are £264,706.34.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable child or young person of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live in a safe environment.

The Deputy Director, Children & Families agreed the recommendation of a report relating to the placement of a child/young person. The individual costs of the place are £272,679.51.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable child or young person of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live in a safe environment.

The Deputy Director, Children & Families agreed the recommendation of a report relating to the placement of a child/young person. The individual costs of the place are £247,678.57.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable child or young person of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live in a safe environment.

The Deputy Director, Children & Families agreed the recommendation of a report relating to the placement of a child/young person. The individual costs of the place are £186,410.71.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable child or young person of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live in a safe environment.

The Deputy Director, Children & Families agreed the recommendation of a report relating to the placement of a child/young person. The individual costs of the place are £169,933.57.
It is considered in the public interest that information contained in the report is exempt from publication as it relates to a vulnerable child or young person of the City and the actions being taken to enable that person to live in a safe environment.

The Chief Planning Officer has re-designated the Hyde Park Neighbourhood Forum.

Leeds City Council has received £10.4m, from the Government, to support the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is a one-off contribution, for the 2020-21 financial year, and is non-recurrent.

This funding is to support proactive and preventative evidence based measures, in the fight against the pandemic, which are informed by the Leeds outbreak plan. Setting up a local contact tracing service is a requirement of central Government. As part of this allocation, a budget has been identified for this local contact tracing service, it is necessary that this service is implemented immediately as part of the Public Health response to COVID-19:-

The development and implementation of the local contact tracing service for Leeds was launched in November 2020. This service has been developed at pace with partners across the Council.

The programmes developed are detailed below, it is anticipated costs for 12 months from November 2020 – December 2021 will be approximately £785,158. There will be flexibility with this approach depending on the specific needs of the Leeds population and the rates of infection, therefore costs may increase or decrease in line with local data.

In line with Contract Procedure Rule (CPR) 18, the Director of Resources & Housing approved the request to appoint Restore Digital Ltd to the Framework Agreement to Restore Digital Ltd for the provision of Scanning and Document Digitisation Services for a period of four (4) years from 1st February 2021 to 31st January 2025. The total spend allowable under the Framework Agreement is £2 million.