PCD 1649 VAWG Grassroots Fund 2023-25 - additional funding

PCD 1649 VAWG Grassroots Fund 2023-25 - additional funding

In March 2022, the Mayor published his new Police and Crime Plan (PCP), and in June 2022, he published his refreshed Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy. The strategy sets out the commitment to continue to support VAWG services in London to ensure that victims and survivors can access the support that is right for them, including the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our society.

In July 2023, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) re-launched the Mayor’s £3m VAWG Grassroots Fund for 2023-25 (PCD1363). This built on upon the success of the initial £3m VAWG Grassroots Fund 2021-23 (PCD559), which awarded funding to VAWG-specialist grassroots organisations operating across London’s diverse communities and focuses on supporting the resilience of organisations working to end VAWG in minoritised and marginalised communities. The Fund is dispersed and managed on behalf of MOPAC by the London Community Foundation (LCF) under its Grant Administration Services contract (PC1196).

Between September-December 2023 applications to the new Fund were assessed and the outcomes communicated to organisations. In January 2024, MOPAC were alerted to two applications made to the Fund that, due to errors, were missed and not assessed. MOPAC instructed LCF to urgently assess both applications, following the same process undertaken for all other applications. This included external assessment followed by evaluation by the same panel members.

On conclusion of this assessment, this decision seeks approval for additional grant funding of £98,968 to LCF, to disperse to one of the two organisations who applied to the fund and were approved by panel members as meeting the criteria and priorities of the Fund.  

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:  

1. Approve additional grant funding of £98,968 for the VAWG Grassroots Fund 2023-25.

Delegate the approval of detailed arrangements for the disbursement of the funding to the Director of Commissioning and Partnerships in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer.

PART I - NON-CONFIDENTIAL FACTS AND ADVICE TO THE DMPC

1. Introduction and background

1. 1. The refreshed Mayor’s Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy 2022 – 2025 sets out the commitment to continue to support VAWG services in London to ensure that victims and survivors can access the support that is right for them, including the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our society.

1. 2. Since 2020, the Mayor has invested £6m in establishing and renewing his VAWG Grassroots Funds 2021-23 and 2023-25. The purpose of the VAWG Grassroots Fund is to nurture and enhance grassroot voluntary and community sector (VCS) providers who are supporting victims of VAWG in line with the Police and Crime Plan and VAWG Strategy priorities. The Fund is dispersed and managed on behalf of MOPAC by the London Community Foundation (LCF) under its Grant Administration Services contract (PC1196).

2. Issues for Consideration

1. 1. Between September-December 2023 applications to the new Fund were assessed and the outcomes communicated to organisations. In January 2024, MOPAC were alerted to two applications made to the Fund that, due to errors, were missed and not assessed. MOPAC instructed LCF to urgently assess both applications, following the same process undertaken for all other applications. This included external assessment followed by evaluation by the same panel members.  LCF also carried out checks to ensure that there were no other bids that had been missed and are satisfied that these were the only two applications that did not make it through the process.

1. 2. Following the external assessment, the reconvened evaluation panel took place on Monday 4th March and the successful applicant is detailed in the table below:

1. 3. A planned IT system upgrade scheduled for March 2024 will ensure that these errors do not occur in future.  

1. 4. Baroness Casey’s review into the standards of behaviour and internal culture of the MPS found it to be institutionally misogynistic and homophobic. The de-prioritisation and de-specialisation of public protection, including an overworked and inexperienced workforce and lack of infrastructure, has put women at greater risk than necessary. The MPS is not prioritising the crimes that affect most women and girls.

1. 5. The MPS’ New Met for London Plan commits to protecting the most vulnerable and those Londoners who are most likely to be at highest risk of harm from crime, focusing resources to protect and remove them from harm.

1. 6. Providing specialist tailored support to victims of VAWG is crucial to both ensuring they receive the support and/or criminal justice outcomes they deserve and improving the trust and confidence of London’s women and girls.

1. 7. This decision seeks approval for additional grant funding of £98,968 to LCF, to disperse to SheWise who applied to the fund and were approved by panel members as meeting the criteria and priorities of the Fund.  

3. Financial Comments

1. 1. The additional budget requirement for the funding to LCF is £98,968 split across 2023/24 and 2024/25 which takes the total funding requirement for the VAWG Grassroots Fund over 2023/24 and 2024/25 to £3,098,968. This will be funded from the 2023/24 and 2024/25 VAWG budgets.

4. Legal Comments

1. 1. MOPAC’s general powers are set out in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). Section 3(6) of the 2011 Act provides that MOPAC must “secure the maintenance of the metropolitan police service and secure that the metropolitan police service is efficient and effective.” Under Schedule 3, paragraph 7 (1) MOPAC has wide incidental powers to “do anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of the functions of the Office.” Paragraph 7(2) (a) provides that this includes entering into contracts and other agreements.

1. 2. Section 143 (1) (b) of the Anti-Social, Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides for MOPAC to provide or commission services “intended by the local policing body to victims or witnesses of or other persons affected by, offences and anti-social behaviour.” Section 143 (3) specifically allows MOPAC to make grants in connection with such arrangements and any grant may be made subject to any conditions that MOPAC thinks appropriate.

1. 3. There are further relevant powers set out in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 at sections 17(1) (a) to (c) which place MOPAC under a duty to exercise its functions with due regard to the likely effect of the exercise of those functions on, and the need to do all it can to prevent, crime and disorder (including anti-social and other behaviour adversely affecting the local environment), reoffending in its area, and the misuse of drugs, alcohol and other substances in its area. The proposed arrangements are consistent with MOPAC’s duties in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

1. 4. Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) has delegated authority to approve all the award of all individual grants whether to secure or contribute to securing crime reduction in London or for other purposes. 

1. 5. Paragraph 4.6 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides the DMPC authority to delegate those functions which are reserved for the DMPC.  

1. 6. These recommendations are in line with the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent.  

1. 7. Officers must ensure the Financial Regulations and Contract Regulations are complied with.  

1. 8. Officers should ensure that the funding agreements are put in place with and executed by MOPAC and each of the providers before any commitment to fund is made.

5. Commercial Issues

1. 1. This decision requests approval to award additional funding to LCF at a value of £98,968 to disperse to one of the two organisations who applied to the Fund managed by LCF.

1. 2. The actions proposed can be taken in compliance with procurement legislation and MOPAC’s Contract Regulations.

6. Public Health Approach

1. 1. Grant awards and variations are informed by the Mayor’s public health approach to violence reduction and therefore part of MOPAC’s contribution to overall efforts led by the Violence Reduction Unit.  The public health approach to violence prevention is being led by London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), which supports the MOPAC work through preventative programmes supporting young people.

7. GDPR and Data Privacy

1. 1. MOPAC will adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and ensure that any organisations who are commissioned to do work with or on behalf of MOPAC are fully compliant with the policy and understand their GDPR responsibilities. 

8. Equality Comments

1. 1. MOPAC is required to comply with the public sector equality duty set out in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. This requires MOPAC to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations by reference to people with protected characteristics. The protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

1. 2. As highlighted in Baroness Louise Casey’s review standards of behaviour and internal culture of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), women and girls have been left further behind due to various reasons such as the de-prioritisation and de-specialism of certain areas of public protection. It found that the Met under-protects and over-polices Black Londoners.

1. 3. The difficulties faced by Black and minoritised women, disabled women, LGBT+ people and migrant women when accessing services are well known. The Mayor’s VAWG Grassroots Funds were established to provide grant funding and learning programmes to strengthen, support and improve the resilience of grassroots ‘by and for’ organisations responding to VAWG in London. The provision of these specialist services is crucial to helping restore trust and confidence in the MPS.

1. 4. MOPAC will ensure Equalities considerations form part of all work commissioned with this funding. As part of the quarterly performance monitoring of each service we collect demographics information, which helps us to understand who is accessing each service and how any barriers to accessing may be overcome.

9. Background/supporting papers

• • • PCD 559 Mayor’s VAWG Fund
    • PCD 1196 Procurement of Grant Administration Services
    • PCD 1363 Developing Grassroots Provision in the VAWG Sector 2023/24-2024/25 Round Two