London Crime Prevention Fund – 2017/18 to 2020/21

MOPAC has powers under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to award crime and disorder reduction grants. The London Crime Prevention Fund (LCPF) was established in 2013, bringing together a number of funding streams that had existed before MOPAC was set up. The fund ran from 2013/14 to 2016/17 in line with the Police and Crime Plan (DMPCD 2013/96). These arrangements end on March 2017.

The purpose of this decision is to sustain the current London Crime Prevention Fund (LCPF) budget, with a number of key changes to the overall approach, for a further four years (2017/18 to 2020/21) in line in with the next Police and Crime Plan which will come into effect in April 2017.

This decision confirms the specific funding allocations to each of the 32 boroughs for 2017/18 and 2018/19. A further DMPC decision will be made in 2018/19 to finalise the allocations for 2019/20 and 2020/21.

The DMPC is asked to agree:

• The continuation of the LCPF budget for four years from 2017/18 to 2020/21.
• To commit the direct borough funding for 2 two year periods (2017/18-18/19 and 2019/20-20/21), affording boroughs the flexibility to apportion spend over a two year period.
• The borough funding allocations for 2017/18-2018/19 as set out in APPENDIX A in attached PDF.
• To uplift funding for the those boroughs which were previously allocated less than their share of the LCPF budget in year one (according to an assessment of current levels of need and demand in the first two years of the fund) then redistribute funding based entirely on a need and demand formula for the remaining three years of the fund.
• To apportion the LCPF budget between direct borough funding (70%) and funding for co-commissioned services (30%) starting in year 2 of the fund, from 2018/19 to 2020/21. Boroughs will be core partners in the development and use of the new co-commissioning funding pot which accounts for 30% of the LCPF budget from 2018/19 onwards.

Introduction and background

The role of MOPAC is broader than policing — it has overarching responsibility for crime reduction, and significant powers to commission services and assign budgets.

Section 9 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 gives the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime the power to award a crime and disorder reduction grant to any person in order to secure or contribute to securing crime and disorder reduction in the police area. The grant may be subject to any conditions that the Mayor (or Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime) may deem appropriate.

In 2013/14 the Home Office allocated an unringfenced Community Safety Fund to each Police and Crime Commissioner and MOPAC. For 2013/14 this fund sat alongside the Main Policing Grant. From 2014/15 these two funds were merged into one unringfenced funding pot.

In June 2013 the DMPC approved the provisional annual budget for the London Crime Prevention Fund (LCPF) to run from 2013/14 to 2016/17 in line with the Police and Crime Plan (DMPCD 2013/96). This funding was reconfirmed at the start of each financial year by a DMPC decision. These arrangements end on 31 March 2017.

This decision sets out MOPAC’s approach to the future of the LCPF from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2021.

Continuation of the LCPF for four years

The continuation of the LCPF budget for four years from 2017/18 to 2020/21.

In 2017/18, individual borough funding remains at 2016/17 levels except for fourteen boroughs who will see an increase in funding in order to bring their share of the LCPF budget in line with a new assessment of local need and demand.

2 two year commitment on funding

Under the previous arrangements for the LCPF, local commissioning plans were aligned with the annual confirmation of the LCPF borough funding allocation which meant some boroughs were unable to commission services for more than one year. This approach to the LCPF commits funding for 2 two year periods, with the allocation for each two year period being committed irrespective of the outcome of the yearly policing grant. This offers local authorities greater flexibility in utilising the new LCPF budget over a two year period.

Allocation based on need and demand

Introducing a new formula for the allocation of direct borough funding will ensure that changes in demographics, crime patterns and more broadly need/vulnerability are better reflected in the level of local funding provided by MOPAC. These indicators are aligned to the core values and priorities within the future Police and Crime Plan.

In 2017/18, there are no reductions to the 2016/17 borough allocations of LCPF funding and for 13 boroughs there will be an uplift in funding in order to support a gradual transition to the redistribution of the direct borough funding according to need and demand. From 2018/19 the LCPF budget for direct borough funding will be apportioned for all 32 boroughs according to the need and demand formula.

In 2019/20 and 2020/21, 70% of the LCPF budget will be apportion to boroughs in accordance with a refreshed calculation of the borough funding formula. This formula will be reviewed in year 2. Please see Appendix B for the need and demand indicators.

LCPF Budget – direct funding to boroughs and a co-commissioning fund

This decision splits the use of the LCPF budget between direct borough funding (70%) and funding for co-commissioning services (30%) over the course of 2018/19 to 2020/21. Splitting the budget in this way acknowledges the important role this funding now plays in supporting local community safety and prevention services while also recognising that some London challenges relating to future PCP priorities can be better addressed through either regional or sub-regional commissioning arrangements.

The framework for the use of the co-commissioning fund will be developed in consultation with London Councils, boroughs, and wider partners under the leadership of the London Crime Reduction Board in 2017/2018. The funding for co-commissioning will be utilised from 2018/19 to 2020/21.

Next Steps

Following the publication of this decision MOPAC will inform borough Leaders, Chief Executives, and Heads of Community Safety of their borough allocation, the indicators under the new funding formula as it relates to their borough, and an explanation of the process for providing information to MOPAC on the proposed uses of their funding. MOPAC will hold a meeting for local Heads of Community Safety to support them in putting forward proposals to use the funding. MOPAC will endeavour to ensure that all projects which Local Authorities wish to continue to utilise LCPF funding for are protected from involuntary de-commissioning as a result of implementing this new approach by March 2017.

MOPAC will work closely with London Heads of Community Safety in developing the process by which boroughs can utilise this funding as well as systems for performance monitoring. Performance monitoring for the future of the LCPF will be more reliant on annual reviews that align with assessing the progress on Police and Crime Plan commitments as opposed to the administratively burdensome quarterly returns of the previous iteration of the fund.

Issues for consideration

Links to Police and Crime Plan and MOPAC priorities:

• A decision on the future of the LCPF is being made prior to the publication of the Police and Crime Plan because local authorities require an early decision on the future of the LCPF to safeguard the interests of service users and allow enough time to effectively commission/de-commission services.

• The Police and Crime Plan will provide a performance framework by which local commissioned services can be measured.

Consultation:

• The current decision on the future of the LCPF was developed in full consultation with London Councils.
• The process for submitting proposals for spend and quarterly monitoring is being developed with borough Heads of Community Safety.
• The formula for borough funding allocations will be consulted on before it is applied to the budget for 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Impact assessments / implications:

• An equality impact assessment was undertaken.
• There is a risk that changes to MOPAC funding by central government may reduce the resources available for future years.

Financial Comments

This decision paper will commit MOPAC to providing £32,407,878 to Local Authorities over the course of 2017/18 and 2018/19.

Through the existing LCPF budget and re-allocation of funds held for Police and Crime Plan priorities, this cost can be met from within the current overall MOPAC budget.

While the LCPF only accounts for a small portion of the Main Policing Grant (1%), there is a risk that committing funding over a two year period affects MOPAC’s ability to mitigate the potential impact of planned reforms to the police funding formula in 2018/19.

Legal Comments

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act (s9) states:

• (1) The elected local policing body for a police area may make a crime and disorder reduction grant to any person.
• (2) A crime and disorder reduction grant which, in the opinion of the elected local policing body, will secure, or contribute to securing, crime and disorder reduction in the body’s area.
• (3)The elected local policing body may make a crime and disorder reduction grant subject to any conditions (including conditions as to repayment) which the body thinks appropriate

The recommendations in this decision are in line with the legislation.

Under MOPAC’s Scheme of Delegation, approval of the strategy for the award of individual grants and the award of all individual grants (for crime reduction or other purposes) is a matter generally reserved to the DMPC (paragraph 4.8). The release of funding in accordance with the proposals set out in this decision form is accordingly to be approved by the DMPC. The delegation of responsibility for the finalisation of planning and contractual/grant arrangements, including relevant terms and the signing of agreements, to the Chief Operating Officer is in accordance with the general power of delegation in paragraph 5.4.

Equality Comments

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.

An Equality assessment has been undertaken for the London Crime Prevention Fund.

Background/supporting papers

Please see attached PDF