Provision of Grant from the Jack Petchey Foundation to VPCs

This paper is requesting the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) approval to enable the 92 Volunteer Police Cadet (VPC) units to bid for the Jack Petchey Foundation funding with an estimated maximum annual value of £138,000 and £690,000 over five years.

That the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) approves that each Volunteer Police Cadet Unit in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) can apply for Achievement Award and Leadership grants for the next five years. This would represent a total grants up to £138,000 per year and £690,000 over five years based on the current number of VPC Units (92).

Introduction and background

1. The Volunteer Police Cadets (VPC) is the primary youth engagement and diversion programme of the Metropolitan Police Service, with just over 5,000 cadets volunteering regularly across London to support operational policing, crime prevention and community safety. In 2015, cadets completed over 196,000 volunteer hours supporting the MPS.

Issues for consideration

1. This paper is requesting the DMPC’s approval for the MPS to bid for the Jack Petchey Foundation funding. There are 2 elements to this funding;
   1. Achievement Awards – up to 3 each year at £250, a total of £750 p.a. and
   2. Leader Awards – up to 1 per year at £750.

      Achievement Awards are in recognition of cadets achievements and are nominated by their peers. The £250 award is used for the benefit of the Cadet Unit and not a personal reward. The Leader Awards are nominated by the cadets to recognise leaders who support and inspire them. Again the £750 grant is used to support the Cadet unit e.g. equipment, educational/activity trips, etc.

2. The Jack Petchey Foundation has operated for 17 years and has estimated that it has distributed £100m in London and Essex over this period. Jack Petchey received a knighthood in recognition of his charitable work in the 2016 New Year's Honours List.
3. The grants will be used for small projects that will be determined by the cadets in the units.

Financial Comments

1. Based on the current number of 92 VPC units, if all units successfully bid for all the awards the annual value would be £138,000. The MPS are asking for a 5 year time frame so the total maximum value based on 92 VPC units would be £690,000.
2. There are no other financial implications associated with the provision of the Jack Petchey Foundation funding.

Legal Comments

1. This report seeks MOPAC’s approval to receive a grant of up to £138,000 each year for the next five years from the Jack Petchey Foundation. This grant includes £69,000 under their Achievement Award Scheme and £69,000 in small grants linked to their Leader Award.
2. Paragraph 4.8 of MOPAC’s Scheme of Consent and Delegation provides the DMPC with delegated powers to approve bids for grant funding.

Equality Comments

1. The VPC programme aims to be representative of the communities in which it serves and currently includes 52% of cadets from BME backgrounds and 48% of cadets are female, including a significant proportion of cadets from extremely disadvantaged and poor socio-economic backgrounds
2. This additional funding will support the MPS’s objectives to expand opportunities to disadvantaged young people.