Officer Decisions

Date of Decision:

20 January 2021

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Judith Badger

Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Non-specific

Brief Description of Decision:

That following the volume of claims made to the discretionary business grant scheme, funded by Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG), grant payments will be increased to £2,000.

Reasons for the Decision:

To provide support to local business whilst maximising the discretionary grant available to RMBC.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

Explore new business categories that support could have been provided to but given the short time window available this was not feasible.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No conflicts of interest

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

None

Reports or parts of reports considered

Briefing Paper – ARG - Discretionary Business Support

Date of Decision:

19 February 2021.

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Suzanne Joyner

Strategic Director, Children and Young People Services.

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Non-specific.

Brief Description of Decision:

To allocate 80% (£593,000) of the Rapid Testing Fund (RTF) in accordance with the mandatory grant conditions, and to distribute the 20% (£148,000) discretional element - on an assessment of the emerging risks, and in line with the wider testing strategy.

Reasons for the Decision:

The Government announced an extra £149 million grant nationally to support the roll out of Lateral Flow Device (LFD) testing in care homes. The main purpose of the fund is to support the setup, training and implementation of additional rapid testing of staff in care homes, and to support testing visiting professionals. The expenditure must be incurred between t2 December 2020 and 31 March 2021.

The fund can be used for:

·       Staff costs associated with training and carrying out LFD testing.

·       Costs associated with recruiting staff to facilitate increased testing.

·       Costs associated with the creation of a separate testing area where staff and visitors can be tested and wait for their result. This includes the cost of reduced occupancy where this is required to convert a bedroom into a testing area, but only if this is the only option available to the care home; and,

·       Costs associated with disposal of LFD tests and testing equipment.

The fund is only intended to support additional rapid testing using LFDs. The Council has been allocated £741,000.

The Council has facilitated the distribution of the specified 80% of the Rapid Testing Fund in accordance with the grant conditions. This is recorded via the Record of Officer Executive Decision from the Strategic Director of Children and Young People Services.  If a home refuses its allocation the funding will be added to the 20%, in accordance with the grant conditions. 

Councils must use 20% of the fund to support the care sector to operationally deliver rapid testing, but this can be allocated at the Council’s discretion.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

There were no alternative options for consideration as the grant funding available is time limited and needs to be spent before the end of the financial year with clear grant eligibility criteria in place.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No conflicts of interest declared.

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

N/A

Reports or parts of reports considered

The report of the Interim Assistant Director - Strategic Commissioning, Adult Care, Housing and Public Health - ASC Rapid Testing Fund and ASC Workforce Capacity Fund Briefing.

Date of Decision:

19 February 2021.

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Suzanne Joyner

Strategic Director, Children and Young People Services.

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Non-specific.

Brief Description of Decision:

To allocate the Workforce Capacity Fund (WCF) in line with the mandatory grant conditions across the following strands:

·       Core adult social care activity: Integrated Discharge Team (IDT) social care agency contracts, brokerage provision and the additional staffing requirements at in-house provision (£300,000).

·       Support the operation and development of the Skills Academy to attract and recruit a highly skilled care workforce for Rotherham (£30,000).

·       Invite expressions of interest (EoI) from independent sector CQC registered providers that are providing care to adults and have a registered location in Rotherham (£342,000).

Reasons for the Decision:

On 16 January 2021, the Government announced a further fund of £120m nationally to increase staffing capacity in adult social care. Rotherham’s allocation is £672,000.

The conditions of the funding are that the monies have to be spent by 31 March 2021 and covers expenditure between 16 January and 31 March 2021. Local authorities who have not fully spent their allocation at the end of the fund?will?be expected to repay any unspent monies?to Government.

The funding will be paid as a Section 31 grant ringfenced exclusively for actions which enable local authorities to deliver measures to supplement and strengthen adult social care staff capacity - to ensure that safe and continuous care is achieved to deliver the following outcomes:

·       Maintain care provision and continuity of care for recipients where pressing workforce shortages may put this at risk.

·       Support providers to restrict staff movement in all but exceptional circumstances, which is critical for managing the risk of outbreaks and infection in care homes.

·       Support safe and timely hospital discharges to a range of care environments, including domiciliary care, to prevent or address delays as a result of workforce shortages; and,

·       Enable care providers to care for new service users where the need arises.

The conditions of the fund are extremely time restrictive as the window for expenditure to be incurred opened on the 16 January and closes on the 31 March 2021. The grant will be allocated as set out and is recorded via the Record of Officer Executive Decision from the Strategic Director of Children and Young People Services.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

There were no alternative options for consideration as the grant funding available is time limited and needs to be spent before the end of the financial year with clear grant eligibility criteria in place.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No conflicts of interest declared.

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

N/A

Reports or parts of reports considered

The report of the Interim Assistant Director - Strategic Commissioning, Adult Care, Housing and Public Health - ASC Rapid Testing Fund and ASC Workforce Capacity Fund Briefing.

Date of Decision:

26 February 2021

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Paul Woodcock – Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Nonspecific

Brief Description of Decision:

That the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment exercises his delegated powers and resolves that:

a)    The standing objections are not supported.

b)    The existing scheme be confirmed as detailed in the report.

c)    The Director of Legal Services be authorised to make the Order.

d)    The objectors be informed of the decision made and of the reasons for the decision. 

Reasons for the Decision:

To enable the processes to progress the implementation of additional road humps on Winney Hill, Harthill.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

The alternative option of doing nothing was rejected due to the nature of the road and the previous complaints that had been received relating to excessive speed; it was felt that the proposed traffic calming infrastructure would provide the most effective option and  would also complement existing measures to the north of the route.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No Conflicts of Interest

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

 Not Applicable

Reports or parts of reports considered

The report of the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment - Report of objections to proposed additional road humps on Winney Hill, Harthill.

Date of Decision:

2 March 2021

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Paul Woodcock – Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Nonspecific

Brief Description of Decision:

That the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment:

a)    agrees that the objections to the proposals be dismissed.

b)    approves the proposals as shown on drawing No 126/18/TT736 (as attached as Appendix 2 of the report) for implementation.

c)    requests that the objectors to the proposals be informed of the decision.

Reasons for the Decision:

To enable the processes to implement the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to introduce ‘no waiting at any time’ parking restrictions and prohibition of “U” turns on B6089 Coach Road/Potter Hill Greasbrough to commence.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

Various junction arrangements were considered, however the preferred option that was identified delivered a number of benefits for the location, including:

·       Increased vehicle capacity with a reduction of traffic congestion.

·       Air quality improvements

·       Improved pedestrian accessibility.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No Conflicts of Interest

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

 Not Applicable

Reports or parts of reports considered

The report of the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment - Proposed Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to introduce ‘no waiting at any time’ parking restrictions and prohibition of “U” turns on B6089 Coach Road/Potter Hill Greasbrough

Date of Decision:

12 February 2021

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Tom Smith - Assistant Director; Community Safety and Street Scene

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

 Non-specific

Brief Description of Decision:

The objective of this agreement was to identify suitable providers to meet the Council’s need for the supply, installation, maintenance and repair of litter bins across the Borough and provide a longer term arrangement to ensure consistency of supply, rather than spot purchasing ad-hoc requirements. 

This requirement primarily included the provision of solar smart bins, standard street litter bins and dual-purpose litter/dog waste bins, however recognising the differences in the supply market for the different requirements, the procurement was split into two lots:

·       Lot One – solar smart bins

·       Lot Two – standard street litter and dual-purpose litter/dog waste bins.

This was tendered and awarded for a period of 36 months, with the option to extend for a further 12-month period as follows:

·       Lot One (Solar Bins): Somylon Equipment Ltd trading as PEL

·       Lot Two (Litter Bins and Dual Bins): Wybone Ltd

Details of the contracts can be found on the Council’s contracts register at the following link:

https://www.rotherham.gov.uk/downloads/download/7/tenders-and-contracts

Reasons for the Decision:

The result of a competitive procurement procedure.

The procedure was undertaken as an Open Tender exercise which was conducted in line with the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and the Council’s own Financial and Procurement Procedure Rules.

Details of Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

n/a

Where the decision is made under specific delegation from a decision making body, the names of any member of the relevant body who has declared a conflict of interest in relation to the decision and name of the body granting the specific delegation and the date when it did so:

n/a

Background Papers:

Tender evaluation report

Date of Decision:

26 February 2021

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Simon Moss

Assistant Director of Planning, Regeneration and Transport

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Nonspecific

Brief Description of Decision:

That the Assistant Director of Planning, Regeneration and Transport approves in principle the proposals shown on drawing number 126/18/TT728 and gives approval for:

·       The usual statutory consultations to be undertaken;

·       The Assistant Director of Legal Services to prepare the draft order and notices;

·       The proposals to be advertised;

·       The order to be made subject to there being no objections received.

Reasons for the Decision:

To enable the consultation and processes to commence regarding the proposed no waiting at any time parking restrictions at various locations and waiting limited to 1 hour no return within 3 hours Monday to Saturday on High Street, Swallownest.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

None.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No Conflicts of Interest

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

 Not Applicable

Reports or parts of reports considered

The report of the Assistant Director – Planning, Regeneration and Transport - Proposed no waiting at any time parking restrictions at various locations and waiting limited to 1 hour no return within 3 hours Monday to Saturday on High Street, Swallownest.

Date of Decision:

23 February 2021

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Paul Woodcock – Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Nonspecific

Brief Description of Decision:

That the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment approves the proposed designs and associated spend (as detailed in the report) for the Hope Fields Covid-19 Memorial Garden.

Reasons for the Decision:

To support the aim of the Rotherham Together programme in providing lasting memorials to those who have lost their lives during the pandemic and to those who gave so much to the emergency response, relief efforts and recovery support, either as key workers, volunteers, businesses or residents supporting their community.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

Through initial consultations in July 2020 a number of options were discussed for appropriate memorials ranging from a Town Centre commissioned public artwork to the Hope Fields proposal. Consultation was overwhelmingly in favour of the Hope Fields proposal for the following reasons:

·       Offering a quieter, more relaxed space for recovery from grief, anxiety and mental health issues

·       Providing a larger area to encourage dwell time and enable larger groups of people to come together when it is safe to do so

·       Ability to adapt over time and respond to the changing and unforeseen circumstances of the pandemic.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No Conflicts of Interest

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

 Not Applicable

Reports or parts of reports considered

The report of the Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment - Hope Fields COVID-19 Memorial Garden

Date of Decision:

26 February 2021

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Simon Moss

Assistant Director of Planning, Regeneration and Transport

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Nonspecific

Brief Description of Decision:

That the Assistant Director of Planning, Regeneration and Transport approves in principle the proposals shown on drawing number 126/18/TT737 and gives approval for:

·       The usual statutory consultations to be undertaken;

·       The Assistant Director of Legal Services to prepare the draft order and notices;

·       The proposals to be advertised;

·       The order to be made subject to there being no objections received.

Reasons for the Decision:

To enable the consultation and processes to commence regarding the introduction of No waiting at any time parking restrictions on A629 Upper Wortley Road, London Way, Hesley Bar and Flitcroft

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

None.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No Conflicts of Interest

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

 Not Applicable

Reports or parts of reports considered

The report of the Assistant Director – Planning, Regeneration and Transport - Proposed No waiting at any time parking restrictions on A629 Upper Wortley Road, London Way, Hesley Bar and Flitcroft.

Date of Decision:

1 February 2021

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Simon Moss - Assistant Director – Planning, Regeneration and Transport

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

 Non-specific

Brief Description of Decision:

The award of a contract in respect of providing services for maintenance, servicing and repairs relating to heating and hot water installations within various Corporate and Civic establishments situated within the Borough, as detailed within the Procurement Business Case, which was approved by Simon Moss (Assistant Director, Planning, Regeneration and Transport) on 11 September 2020. This was tendered and awarded to Sure Maintenance Ltd for a period of 24 months, with the option to extend for a further 2 x 12 month periods.

The contract will commence on 1 April 2020

Details of the contract can be found on the Council’s contracts register at the following link:

https://www.rotherham.gov.uk/downloads/download/7/tenders-and-contracts

Reasons for the Decision:

The result of a competitive procurement procedure.

The procedure was undertaken as an Open Tender exercise which was conducted in line with the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and the Council’s own Financial and Procurement Procedure Rules.

Details of Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

n/a

Where the decision is made under specific delegation from a decision making body, the names of any member of the relevant body who has declared a conflict of interest in relation to the decision and name of the body granting the specific delegation and the date when it did so:

n/a

Background Papers:

Tender evaluation report

Date of Decision:

8 December 2020

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Paul Woodcock

Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Non-specific

Brief Description of Decision:

1)    That in line with regulations, the number of attendees at a funeral service remains at a maximum of 30, continuing to observe 2 metre distancing for family bubbles within the chapel.

2)    That service times for cremations be reduced from 45 minutes to 30 minutes to further increase availability in line with the current back log and predicted increase in the death rate.

3)    That the price for a service be reduced from £943 to £775 to reflect the reduced time in chapel.

4)    That the service streaming fee be included in the £775 price. This will allow management of funeral attendee numbers and enable bereaved families and friends to view the service.

5)    That the changes to service times take effect from 4 January 2021.

6)    That monitoring of the ongoing situation is carried in line with the key areas of consideration as detailed in the officer’s report.

Reasons for the Decision:

To increase the number of available slots for services in anticipation of an increase in demand.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

The option to make Sundays available for services was considered and rejected as the slots for services that had been made available on Sundays earlier in 2020 had not been taken up by funeral directors or families.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No conflicts of interest

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

None

Reports or parts of reports considered

Decision Briefing Paper - Proposal to reduce service times at East Herringthorpe Crematorium Chapel in order to increase capacity – 8 December 2020

Date of Decision:

1 February 2021

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Simon Moss

Assistant Director of Planning, Regeneration and Transport

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Nonspecific

Brief Description of Decision:

That the Assistant Director of Planning, Regeneration and Transport approves in principle the proposals shown on Drawing Number 21505/TRO-01A and gives approval for:

1.    The usual statutory consultations to be undertaken.

2.    The Assistant Director of Legal Services to prepare the draft order and notices.

3.    The proposals to be advertised.

4.    The order to be made subject to there being no objections received.

Reasons for the Decision:

To enable the consultation and processes to commence regarding the introduction of the Traffic Regulation Orders associated with the A633 High Street/ Bellows Road Improvement Scheme.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

None.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No Conflicts of Interest

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

 Not Applicable

Reports or parts of reports considered

The report of the Assistant Director – Planning, Regeneration and Transport - Proposed Bus Lanes, Prohibition of ‘U’-turns, Time Limited Parking and No Waiting at Any Time Restrictions - A633 High Street, Rawmarsh, Rotherham

Date of Decision:

05 March 2021

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Paul Woodcock – Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Non-specific

Brief Description of Decision:

To seek approval to undertake the procurement activity to appoint a contractor to deliver refurbishment works of a local historical site – Keppel’s Column; specifically carrying out the stonework and other associated construction/refurbishment as detailed within this report.  

Reasons for the Decision:

To support this new project and its implementation as a direct result of the funding on offer from Historic England.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

The contract will be for the conservation and repair of Keppel’s column. It includes all temporary and permanent works associated with the repair and the contract will be for the conservation building work only.

The contract will be awarded under NEC short form terms and conditions.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No Conflicts of Interest

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

 Not Applicable

Reports or parts of reports considered

Procurement Business Case - 20-219 Keppel’s Column Refurbishment.