Leeds City Council met on 10 September 2025, and among other business, councillors approved the Leeds Ambitions as part of the council's Budget and Policy Framework, and agreed to amend Article 14.5 of the council's constitution relating to the signature of documents. They also discussed the Leeds Local Plan, affordable housing, and the city's 'Outstanding' rating from Ofsted[^2].

• [^2]: Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills. They inspect and regulate services that care for children and young people, and services that provide education and training.

Here's a breakdown of the key discussion topics:

Leeds Ambitions

The council adopted the Leeds Ambitions as part of its Budget and Policy Framework, following a recommendation from the Executive Board. The Leeds Ambitions document is intended as a refresh and renewal of the Best City Ambition, and sets out a strategic intent shared between the council and its partners, to work together as Team Leeds. The aim is to provide a shared vision for the future of Leeds, focused on tackling poverty and inequality.

The Best City Ambition was introduced in 2022, with the intention of supporting the council to continue to shift its focus in strategic planning to an approach which recognised the role of partnership working. The council's LGA Peer Challenge in November 2022 recognised the progress made, noting that the evolution from Best Council Plan to the Best City Ambition had been a powerful way of galvanising partners across the city.

The refresh was driven by a number of contextual factors, including changes in the health system and Leeds' role as a key testing ground of national missions. The refresh has been informed by a set of clear objectives, including:

• Going further and faster in tackling poverty and inequality.
• Positioning the Ambition to have broader city ownership and better visibility.
• Continuing to enhance and embed the Team Leeds approach.
• Updating the shared city vision and priorities.
• Improving the impact achieved by developing the Ambition.

The branding has been refreshed to the clearer, simpler Leeds Ambitions name, with the strapline A city at its best – tackling poverty and inequality . The priorities set out in the Leeds Ambitions are informed by what matters most to people in Leeds, and the document is targeted towards statutory organisations, businesses, and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations in Leeds, as well as key partners outside the city.

The Leeds Ambitions document includes more detail about how the council will evolve the Team Leeds approach, including what it means in practice around more distributed leadership, and a renewed effort on identifying opportunities to share data and resources to support work to improve outcomes. The refresh proposes broadening the framework to include a fourth area focused on 'strong communities', providing a place to capture priorities including community safety, cleaner neighbourhoods and social cohesion. The zero carbon pillar has also been broadened to wider reflect climate and environmental issues, and how these affect people's daily lives, alongside the net zero goal, and will now be named 'sustainable city'.

Moving forward, the council plan to enhance the evidence underpinning the Ambitions and goals, mapping out the trajectory the city is on and strengthening the approach to measurement. The Leeds Ambitions also set out a renewed approach to leadership around the four Leeds Ambitions, with different organisations/partnerships stepping forward as convenors to bring the city together around that theme.

Amendments to Article 14.5 of the Constitution

The council approved amendments to Article 14.5 of the Constitution, which relates to the Signature of Documents. The key change is to increase the current threshold for the execution of contracts from £100,000 or above to £250,000 or above.

Article 14.5 of the Constitution sets out the process for the execution of contracts which are valued at £100,000 or above, requiring contracts to be executed in one of three ways:

1. Made under the Common Seal of the Council attested by at least one Officer; or
2. Signed by at least two Officers of the Council; or
3. In the case of electronic contracts, accepted by one Officer, provided that at least two Officers of the authority have approved in writing the execution of the contract.

For all goods and services contracts which are £100,000 or above and for all works contracts between £100,000 and £1m, Article 14.5 (2) is the most used method of execution. Under the City Solicitor's Sub-Delegation Scheme, this is primarily carried out by specified Officers within the Procurement and Commercial Services (PACS) Legal Team. There are currently four Officers within that team authorised to execute contracts.

The requirement puts a considerable strain on the limited resource within PACS Legal to execute all new contracts, contract extensions and contract variations with a value of £100,000 or more, and can sometimes cause bottlenecks and or delay in contracts being signed and completed. Increasing the threshold to £250,000 will better align it with the new decision-making categories set out in Article 13 of the Constitution that came into effect in May 2024.

Report on Appointments

The council approved the following appointments:

• Councillor John Tudor to replace 'whips nominee' on the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee.
• Councillor Penny Stables to replace Councillor Lou Cunningham on the General Purposes Committee.

The council noted the following changes in appointments to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Committees:

• In terms of the Combined Authority's Scrutiny Committee: Councillor Hannah Bithell to replace 'Whip's Nominee'.
• In terms of the Combined Authority Climate, Energy & Environment Committee: Councillor Katie Dye to replace 'Whip's Nominee'.

Report on Community Committees

The council received the Community Committees' Annual Report for 2024/25 and noted the work being progressed to further improve the effectiveness and community engagement role of the Community Committees, via the Community Committee Review. They also noted that further work will be taking place over the coming months, looking at potential delegations to the Community Committees.

Community Committees provide the infrastructure through which the council executes one of its democratic functions and community engagement ambitions. Together, the committees create an invaluable city-wide network, through which communities are encouraged to engage and influence how the Council and its partners delivers its business functions.

Annual Report of the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee

The council received and considered the annual report reflecting the work of the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee in the 2024-25 municipal year.

The Corporate Governance and Audit Committee is appointed by full Council to support the discharge of its functions in relation to good governance by providing a high-level focus on audit, assurance and internal controls.

Leeds Local Plan

Councillor Barry Anderson, Leader of the Conservative Group, proposed a motion opposing the full Green Belt review to meet the Labour Government's centrally imposed housing target. The motion stated that amendments made to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in February 2025 would fail to deliver affordable housing in sustainable locations or prioritise regeneration of previously developed land. It also raised concerns about the administration's suggested methodology for assessing sites for allocation in the revised Local Plan, and stated a belief that several local policies now conflict with the NPPF, including housing mix, land use, biodiversity, and renewable energy.

Councillor Ryan Stephenson proposed an amendment to delete Angela Rayner, M.P., from the last paragraph and replace her with him .

Councillor Colin Campbell, Liberal Democrat Group Whip, proposed a second amendment to delete all after housing target. in the first paragraph and the entirety of the second paragraph, replacing it with new paragraphs stating that the council does not believe centrally imposed targets reflect the housing needs of Leeds residents and has grave reservations as to the methodology for assessing sites for allocation in the revised Local Plan.

Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Deputy Leader of Council and Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Sustainable Development, proposed a third amendment to delete all after This Council and replace it with text noting the urgent need to tackle the housing crisis, and to improve living standards by building the social and affordable houses needed, ensuring that everyone has the right to a safe and secure home.

Councillor Wayne Dixon, Leader of the Social Democratic Group, proposed a fourth amendment to add the following after the second paragraph:

This Council recognises that the British countryside and our valued green spaces are fundamental to our national heritage and cultural identity. The preservation of wildlife habitats and the enhancement of the public realm—particularly within our villages and suburban areas—are vital to the wellbeing and quality of life of our residents.

The amendments in the name of Councillor Stephenson, Councillor Campbell and Councillor Dixon were declared lost. The amendment in the name of Councillor Pryor was carried.

The substantive motion in the name of Councillor Pryor was then voted on and RESOLVED that this Council notes the urgent need to tackle the housing crisis, and to improve living standards by building the social and affordable houses needed and ensuring that everyone has the right to a safe and secure home.

Legal Obligation on Developers

Councillor Robert Finnigan, Group Whip, proposed a motion stating that the legal obligation on Developers across the Leeds City Council area to provide affordable homes should increase to 50% to bring Leeds City Councils policies in line with the London Plan.

Councillor Barry Anderson proposed an amendment to delete all after This Council believes and replace it with text stating that the council believes in building the right homes in the right places according to local need, and rejects an arbitrary increase to the proportion of affordable housing that must be built on sites.

Councillor Stewart Golton, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, proposed an amendment to insert the ambition of between with and the London Plan so that the final motion would read: This Council believes that the legal obligation on Developers across the Leeds City Council area to provide affordable homes should increase to 50% to bring Leeds City Councils policies in line with the ambition of the London Plan.

Councillor Jessica Lennox, Executive Member for Housing, proposed a third amendment to delete all after This Council and replace it with text stating that the council will continue to build on its track record in affordable housing delivery, working with partners across the city to deliver 1,600 social rented homes in the last 5 years and over 2,900 new affordable homes.

The amendments in the name of Councillor Anderson and Councillor Golton were declared lost. The amendment in the name of Councillor Lennox was carried.

It was RESOLVED that this Council will continue to build on our impressive track record in affordable housing delivery, working with partners across the city to deliver 1,600 social rented homes in the last 5 years and over 2,900 new affordable homes.

OFSTED

Councillor Helen Hayden, Executive Member for Children and Families, proposed a motion celebrating Leeds' exceptional achievement in receiving a third consecutive 'Outstanding' rating under Ofsted's ILACS framework[^1], and recognising the significant contributions made by partner organisations in the city, paying tribute to the staff who work to support children all across Leeds.

• [^1]: ILACS is the Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services framework.

Councillor Ryan Stephenson proposed an amendment to insert a paragraph noting that the Ofsted Inspectors' report states that beyond the Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) team, the response to neglect is not as robust.

Councillor Diane Chapman proposed an amendment to delete the final sentence in the third paragraph and replace it with text stating that feedback from families in Leeds, particularly in relation to closures of Schools, Children's Centres and Little Owls Nurseries and concerns with Transport for SEND students, highlights that not all services are meeting their expectations.

Councillor Ed Carlisle proposed an amendment to add a final paragraph committing to putting lived experience at the heart of research and analysis.

Councillor Wayne Dixon proposed an amendment to delete the final paragraph and replace it with text regretting serious incidents that have highlighted systemic vulnerabilities.

The amendments in the name of Councillor Stephenson, Councillor Chapman, Councillor Carlisle and Councillor Dixon were declared lost.

It was RESOLVED that this Council celebrates Leeds' exceptional achievement in receiving a third consecutive 'Outstanding' rating under Ofsted's ILACS framework, and Council recognises the significant contributions made by partner organisations in the city and pays tribute to the staff who work so tirelessly to support children all across Leeds.