ADD2696 London Charter to End Rough Sleeping

1.1.    London has experienced a rise in rough sleeping over the past year. The latest data from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network states that between July and September 2023, 4,068 people were seen sleeping rough in the capital. This represents an increase of 12 per cent compared to the same period as the previous year. 

1.2.    The Mayor of London is committed to tackling rough sleeping in the capital; and making sure there is a route off the street for everyone, and relevant support services so people can rebuild their lives. In his 2018 London Housing Strategy, the Mayor set out his aim for a sustainable route off the streets for every rough sleeper in London. In June 2018 he published his Rough Sleeping Plan of Action, which outlines the steps that must be taken by City Hall, government and others to achieve this aim. In 2021, the Mayor refreshed his Rough Sleeping Commissioning Framework, which sets out the overarching and cross-cutting priorities underpinning the GLA’s commissioning activities from 2021 to 2024. 

1.3.    The London Charter to End Rough Sleeping (the Charter) started with a small group of organisations that wanted to engage better with the community, and build a movement in London around the goal to end rough sleeping. In May 2023, consultations were held with people with lived experience, rough-sleeping services providers, faith and community-based organisations, and business leaders to get their feedback on the Charter. This feedback was used to create the Charter principles and actions. 

1.4.    The Charter is a way to get members of the public, residents, businesses, workers, faith groups, charities and public bodies to work together towards a common goal: to end rough sleeping in London. It is not a Mayoral initiative, but is well aligned with the Mayor’s aims in relation to rough sleeping.

1.5.    The Charter Development Group,  in conjunction with the Life Off the Streets Partnership, has agreed that The Passage will manage the administration of the Charter. The Passage was chosen by the group as the member best able to lead this project, due to its expertise and capacity. 

1.6.    The Passage’s work on the project includes implementing the Charter website as it is transferred from the web developers; hosting and maintaining the site; developing and producing any further content as required; monitoring sign-ups and managing any communications following the launch; and undertaking some marketing work to promote the site during the winter. 

1.7.    This decision therefore seeks approval of expenditure of £41,930 of grant funding to The Passage for its role in hosting the website for the Charter.  

1.8.    Grant funding will be provided in accordance with the provisions of the GLA’s Contracts and Funding code. 

1.9.    £34,990 of the funding relates to project delivery in 2023-24. Of this, £6,400 (largely for the hosting and basic maintenance of the website) relates to the period from 1 April to 30 November 2024. The final payment will be made in 2023-24, once the main phase of the project is evidenced as complete, with grant recovery clauses included in the funding agreement. 
 

2.1.    The website will facilitate the objectives of the Charter, which aims to:

•    create a shared vision; and enable people and communities to support the goal to end rough sleeping
•    make a public commitment to work together to end rough sleeping
•    strengthen partnerships across London
•    provide opportunities for residents, businesses, workers, faith groups, charities and public bodies in London to help end rough sleeping
•    communicate what rough sleeping looks like and how best to help
•    provide transparency, accountability and a way to monitor progress

2.2.    The Passage has a clear set of expectations for delivery that have been set by the Charter Development Group. The Passage’s work will include, but is not limited to:

•    the technical aspect of the website – overseeing and ensuring that the hosting, maintenance, development and analytics are delivered to a high quality; updating content around videos, testimonials, success stories, pledges, challenges, where money has been spent
•    development of the website – making any developments required following launch, such as if there any changes to the Charter requested by the Charter Development Group
•    promotion and marketing of the website in the initial months following the launch to continue to encourage people to sign the charter – for example, through search engine optimisation, paid adverts on search engines or promotion on social media
•    content generation and updates for the website – ensuring that regular updates are made in the initial months following the launch, including writing and posting new stories, updating data on the site, and other activities related to this
•    managing users’ interactions with the website including checking suitability of pledges, managing an inbox for the Charter, responding to all contacts in an appropriate way and ensuring all offers of help are effectively managed
•    evaluating and reporting on progress of the Charter up until the end of March 2024, including creating and presenting updates on the delivery of the website, users of the site (analytics, pledges, etc, to selected Life off the Streets working groups).
 

3.1.    Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as public authorities, the Mayor and the GLA are subject to a public-sector equality duty and must have due regard to the need to: 

•    eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, and victimisation
•    advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not
•    foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not. 
Protected characteristics under section 149 of the Equality Act are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status (all except the last being “relevant” protected characteristics).

3.2.    Of those seen sleeping rough in 2022-23:

•     51 per cent were non-UK nationals 
•    17 per cent were women 
•    19 per cent were Black or Black British 
•    5 per cent were Roma 
•    51 per cent had a mental health need
•    most (58 per cent) were aged 26-45 
•    8 per cent were under 26 
•    12 per cent were over 55.

3.3.    Homelessness in London, and specifically rough sleeping, disproportionately affects non-UK nationals and people who are disabled. The Charter’s aim to quicken London’s progress towards ending rough sleeping will be of great benefit to many people experiencing homelessness in London and especially those groups which are overrepresented amongst the rough-sleeping population. 
 

4.1.    Key risks and issues

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.2.    The project for which this ADD seeks approval will help meet Policy 7.2 of the Mayor’s London Housing Strategy: supporting rough sleepers off the streets. This will occur through a range of actions to help meet the stated central aim of the Mayor “to ensure there is a route off the streets for every single rough sleeper in London”. The GLA Rough Sleeping team works closely with partners in local authorities; London Councils; the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; and the charity sector, to support rough sleepers off the streets. The team also provides pan-London leadership and coordination, of which the Charter forms a part.

Conflicts of interest 

4.3.    There are no conflicts of interest to declare from those involved in the drafting or clearance of this decision form.

Subsidy control

4.4.    The Subsidy Control Act 2022 requires that grant funding and other potential subsidies be assessed in relation to a four-limbed test. The grant funding must meet each limb of the test in order to be considered a subsidy. The second limb of this test is that the funding confers an economic advantage on one or more ‘enterprises’. In this case, it is considered that The Passage, a registered charity, is not engaging in economic activity in this work, and thus it is not deemed to be subsidy as defined by the legislation. 
 

5.1.    The Assistant Director’s approval is sought for revenue expenditure of £41,930 to grant fund The Passage to administer the Charter in 2023-24. This will be funded from the core Rough Sleeping programme’s 2023-24 budget.

6.1.    The project will be delivered according to the following timetable:

*Due to The Passage’s urgency to start the project following launch, they began work in December 2023. They have done so at their own risk, and on the understanding that no funding from the GLA is confirmed.