ADD320 Diversity and Social Policy Team programme budget expenditure

1.1 Approval is sought by the Diversity and Social Policy Team to approve programme budget expenditure of up to £50,000 in order to:

1) Deliver the Mayor’s 8th annual Know Your Rights campaign in early 2016. The Mayor committed in his manifesto to carrying out an annual Know Your Rights campaign, to ensure that older people and their carer’s are supported with claiming Pension Credit and other benefits to which they may be entitled. Programme budget is required to cover advertising and promotional costs and awareness raising events and activities.
2) Print and launch copies of the Mayor’s Friendly London report
3) Undertake engagement on, and mainstreaming and monitoring of the Mayor’s equality framework. A number of meetings are held during the year with groups of organisations to inform the development and delivery of Mayoral strategies and programmes and contribute to the mainstreaming of equality across the GLA Group. Mayoral advisors attend these meetings where appropriate, to discuss specific issues and gain the views of stakeholders. The bulk of the cost of equality-related engagement relates to accessibility requirements for deaf and disabled people, and some hospitality costs. The engagement and mainstreaming and monitoring expenditure includes catering, accessibility services, postage and stationery, journal subscriptions and conferences costs.
4) Development of framework for social capital development in London

Deliver the Mayor’s 8th annual Know Your Rights campaign in early 2016

2.1 This campaign fulfils a Mayoral manifesto commitment to carry out an annual Know Your Rights campaign. Evidence shows that over 180,000 older Londoners are living in poverty and 1in 3 of those entitled do not claim Pension Credit and other benefits. The campaign is to help older people claim benefits, promote the availability of money management, debt advice services and credit unions in London. A budget of up to £30,000 is being requested to cover advertising and promotional costs and awareness raising events and activities.

Print launch copies of the Mayor’s Friendly London report.

2.2 The Mayor’s report 'Friendly London: A great place to live, work and visit' highlights the extent to which London has become more welcoming and friendly to all communities, on the back of hosting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Undertake engagement, mainstreaming and monitoring of the Mayor’s equality framework.

2.3 The Equality Act 2010 requires public bodies to publish specific and measurable equality objectives. The GLA’s statutory equality objectives are published in Equal Life Chances for All, which also sets out the GLA’s diversity principles. One of these principles is to make consultation and engagement with diverse stakeholders in London a cornerstone of developing and fulfilling equality actions. This request assists with the fulfilment of our statutory responsibilities under the Act. We will consult with a range of London stakeholder groups including LGBT, older, deaf and disabled, and migrant and refugee groups.

2.4 All projects promote and mainstream equality across all protected groups, involve aspects of promotion, community engagement and consultation. Monitoring and evaluation processes are also in place for all initiatives. Lead officers are all well versed about their on-going equality responsibilities, and projects are in accordance with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.

2.5 Development support to the programme definition of a social capital for London; sourcing of national and international research on city wide examples of programmes to develop social capital. Seek external expertise on how to support the social/economic community relationships that support London’s growth and maintain London’s character as a city with equality of opportunity. This work will provide a framework to detail how the GLA’s activity can support and generate better health and social outcomes for the London’s population.

3.1 The Mayor’s Know Your Rights campaign contributes to:

• The Mayor’s Equality Framework: Equal Life Chances for All by ensuring that older Londoners are informed of their right to take up any benefits and tax credits to which they are entitled;
• The Mayor’s Health Inequalities Strategy - Objective 3, Commitment 12, which specifically refers to raising awareness and supporting take-up of entitlements.

3.2 Undertake engagement, mainstreaming and monitoring of the Mayor’s equality framework
The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on public bodies, the “public sector equality duty”, to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between people with different characteristics. A specific duty arising from the Act requires public bodies to prepare and publish specific and measurable equality objectives, and engagement, mainstreaming and monitoring is essential to this process.

3.3 All revised objectives have been developed, revised and agreed with individual policy teams, and equality objectives have been cleared by either the relevant Deputy Mayor, or Executive Director, by the Corporate Management Team, and the Investment and Performance Board. Failure to implement the framework adequately could open the Authority up to legal challenge, potentially damaging the reputations of both the Mayor and the Greater London Authority

4.1 The estimated cost of this proposal is up to £50,000 and will be funded via a virement from the C&I Minor Programmes budget to the Diversity Social Policy Programme in 2015-16 (held within the Health & Communities Unit).

4.2 Any changes to this proposal, including budgetary implications will be subject to further approval via the Authority’s decision-making process. All appropriate budget adjustments will be made.