MD2833 No Wrong Door initiative to support London’s recovery

1.1. The London Recovery Board has established the London Recovery Programme to deliver its grand challenge to restore confidence in the city, minimise the impact on communities, and build back better the city’s economy and society as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This will be achieved through the delivery of nine recovery missions, one of which is the Good Work for All mission.

1.2. The Good Work for All mission aims to “support Londoners into good jobs with a focus on sectors key to London’s recovery”.

1.3. The interventions outlined in this MD are aimed at supporting those most at risk from the impact of the economic crisis brought on by Covid-19. Through the evidence that has been received and examined by the London Recovery Board and its sub-groups, we have identified the priority groups listed below. This list is in no particular order and subject to further refinement as the evidence base evolves:

• 19 to 24-year-olds

• those aged 50 and above

• Londoners qualified at Level 2 or below

• Londoners in the retail, accommodation and food, and aviation sectors

• ethnic minorities (and particularly Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi Londoners)

• disabled Londoners

• Londoners with complex needs

• women

• parents and carers

• Londoners earning below the London Living Wage

• refugees and people seeking asylum.

1.4. The Good Work for All mission includes four project strands. One of them is ‘No Wrong Door’ (NWD). The overarching vision, approved by the London Recovery Board, is:

“Coordinating skills, careers and employment support so there is ‘no wrong door’ for Londoners; and ensuring that employment and enterprise provide a secure route out of poverty.”

1.5. The budget allocated for NWD is £500,000 in the 2021-22 financial year, and £220,000 for the 2022 23 financial year (subject to the annual budget setting process). There is an expectation that we will receive either match funding or in kind support from key project partners.

1.6. In terms of governance, the SfL Recovery Task and Finish Group sits as a subordinate body to the SfL Board. It has general oversight of the mission action plans, and reports into the SfL Board and SfL Business Partnership. The project also reports to the London Recovery Board via the GLA’s central recovery team, ensuring that activities and objectives align with the outcomes and cross cutting principles (CCPs) of the Recovery Programme.

Strategic purpose and outcomes

1.7. The initiative responds to a set of long-standing challenges related to fragmentation of services, entrenched silos, and a lack of joined-up and local responsiveness in the skills and employment system. This means many Londoners – including groups that now face the risk of economic scarring and long term unemployment – miss out on opportunities or fall between the cracks.

1.8. The GLA and London Councils have worked with key stakeholders across London – including Jobcentre Plus and sub-regional partnerships – to produce working definitions of the NWD initiative that set out a clear vision of how the system could look differently.

• For Londoners, NWD would mean that no matter what their starting point or which service they access first, they will be connected to the right type of support, at the right time, to help them on their journey to good work.

• For service organisations and providers, NWD would mean a clear and shared understanding by all partners of the pathways to good work in their area, including coordinating the services available to support this. This will allow Londoners, employers and other stakeholders to be referred to, and access, services that are right for them.

• NWD would support multi-agency, person-centred models of practice that put the needs of service users and jobseekers at the heart of service planning and provision.

• While the most immediate priority is to improve integration between skills and employment related organisations, NWD is also about building strong partnerships and pathways with other vital services in sectors that are critical to residents’ journeys to and through work. These sectors include health services, housing, childcare, and community and Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) support.

1.9. The NWD agenda has the potential to contribute to a range of vital outcomes. These benefits include:

• end outcomes for residents, in particular helping key groups of Londoners into good work and connecting them to opportunities for training and progression

• improving the quality of user experience with services, including better relationships between participants and advisers; improved access to, and smoother movement between, services; and an improved awareness of, and confidence, in navigating skills and employment provision

• improving the quality of services, underpinned by shared quality standards, more responsiveness to user need, and – over the long term – changes to how support is commissioned and delivered

• embedding best practice in coordinating services, including wider points of referral, common triage processes, high-quality referral practices, and greater standardisation and simplification of processes

• wider financial and public sector benefits, including increased efficiency of services (less duplication, and smoother onboarding and referrals), potentially a reduction in the cost of providing services and reduced demand on other services (such as health/social care).

1.10. There is strong strategic alignment between the NWD initiative and key commitments in the Mayor’s manifesto, strategies, programmes, and the policies of the GLA and its partners and key stakeholders (a business case gateway document setting this out is available upon request). The importance of the NWD agenda has also come out strongly in Adult Education Roadmap engagement to date, with several organisations identifying local integration as a key marker of success.

Spending objectives and proposals

2.1. The business case (available as a background document upon request) sets out spending objectives, based on the strategic aims, outcomes and vision set above, and engagement with key stakeholders. The overarching priority these objectives respond to, consistent with the Good Work for All mission, is to support priority groups of Londoners into good work, and to improve the user experience of services on the ground.

2.2. The spending objectives spell out how funded activities can achieve this. They are:

• to increase understanding and awareness of the experiences of key groups of Londoners in engaging with the skills and employment system; and to identify practical ways to improve the quality of user journeys, and embed service-user voice into service planning

• to create a significantly stronger awareness and visibility of the skills and employment support offer and landscape in London among key groups of Londoners and system stakeholders (commissioners, providers, employers)

• to support sustainable infrastructure and activity that increases the quality of partnership working, professional practice, and coordination of skills and employment provision, leading to higher-quality referrals, better access and user experience of services, stronger engagement with employers and providers, and improved service and professional standards

• to develop projects that align with key strategies, including the overarching outcomes and principles agreed by the London Recovery Programme.

Spending proposals

2.3. The following section provides a breakdown of the GLA’s proposed expenditure and activities for the NWD initiative. The proposals have been tested extensively with project stakeholders (including sub-regional partnerships, boroughs and London leads of Jobcentre Plus).

2.4. The recommended spending proposals are based on our assessment of prioritising projects or interventions that:

• were broadly identified as priorities by partners and stakeholders

• are likely to have the most impact on, and contribute to, sustainability of the NWD initiative

• make best use of the finite budget and are deliverable within the relatively short timescales afforded by the London Recovery Programme.

Spending proposals for financial year 2021-22 (£500,000)

2.5. Research and innovation programme (£200,000). The proposed programme will comprise two stages. The first stage will involve research and engagement activities, followed by a second stage of developing practical tools or a platform. A consultant will be commissioned through a competitive process in line with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code, with support from Transport for London (TfL) Procurement to deliver both stages of the programme. The programme will run for 12 months following the appointment of a contractor.

2.6. The scope and specification of the research will need to be further refined but is likely to include:

• undertaking customer journey analysis, especially for priority groups most at risk of exclusion, to identify how more coordinated skills and employment provision can support them and improve their access to provision

• establishing a baseline of how well coordinated provision is currently, and using this baseline to track the impact of project interventions; this may be done at a smaller area level (for example, sub-regional or borough) to ensure it is manageable

• identifying and disseminating best practice in coordination and integration of provision.

2.7. Stage 2 will draw on the insights and evidence from the first phase of the project to design, and develop a minimum viable product of a tool(s) or platform to promote visibility and awareness of, and access to, skills and employment support opportunities in London.

2.8. Project deliverables are expected to include:

• research and engagement activities with key stakeholders (including Londoners and practitioners)

• report(s) and associated materials laying out project findings, and policy and practice recommendations/guidance

• presentation of findings and insights to project partners and stakeholders

• supporting the development of a good practice network in collaboration with integration hubs (see paragraph 2.9, below)

• scoping study/research into the development of a tool(s) or platform

• prototyping/testing a proof of concept with stakeholders

• developing a minimum viable product for the tool/digital intervention.

2.9. Grant funding to establish sub-regional ‘integration hubs’ that will boost coordination and partnership working in the skills and employment system (£280,000). Sub-regional partnerships will be invited to submit proposals to receive grant funding (via their accountable local authority) to establish and manage the integration hubs and deliver key activity. Each sub-regional partnership will be offered an equal share of funding, subject to a successful proposal that meets the GLA’s minimum requirements. The grant process will be run in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code; and the grants will be managed by grant agreements entered into by the GLA and each recipient of the grants. Sub-regional partnerships will be expected to commit to matched in-kind or cash support to boost hub capacity. The integration hubs are not intended to be physical locations. Rather, the funding will be used to create new capacity within the sub regional partnerships, for example through new posts, secondments or a

ssociate support, to deliver activity that boosts coordination and partnership working in skills and employment support provision.

2.10. The specific role and remit of the integration hubs will be outlined in guidance issued to the sub regional partnerships. The focus will be on making a tangible difference on the ground, and to the experience and outcomes of residents and service users. Key areas are likely to include:

• identifying and helping to address practical barriers to integration and partnership working, including sub-regionally and across London

• surfacing and promoting good practice, for example, with respect to referrals

• supporting improved partnership working in alignment with NWD principles

• bringing in service-user voice, and improving employer engagement with skills and employment provision

• engaging with commissioners and policymakers to recommend changes to policy or structures, including by helping to formalise necessary strategic-partnership arrangements

• delivering training or support to help stakeholders and practitioners implement NWD in practice

• helping to develop sustainable infrastructure for ongoing partnership working and coordination following the end of funded project activity

• sharing key learning with the London Recovery Programme (GLA and London Councils).

2.11. Project deliverables are expected to include:

• an overarching focus on improved job-related outcomes for Londoners, and an improved experience with services to facilitate this

• improved referral practices, leading to more Londoners from priority groups getting into good work

• improved partnership working through the development of appropriate partnership structures and arrangements

• tools, training and good practice networks to embed best practice

• sharing of learning and best-practice insights with GLA and project partners (including other integration hubs)

• sustainability plans to support the continuation of key structures and activities beyond the time frame of the project.

2.12. There is a strong opportunity to augment hub resource with the London Economic Action Partnership’s (LEAP’s) economic recovery resourcing project, which is offering boroughs and sub regions 50 per cent match-funding towards 12-month posts to support the London Recovery Board’s economic recovery missions. In addition to this, we will work closely with colleagues from other Mission areas to ensure that the proposed hub aligns with other planned hubs.

2.13. Evaluation and learning (£20,000). An evaluation and learning budget will capture overall learning from the above activities, measured against agreed programme key performance indicators (KPIs) (to be determined). A key focus of the evaluation and learning will be the extent to which the interventions have supported priority groups of Londoners into good work, or improved their experiences in accessing and engaging with skills and employment provision. The evaluation and learning services will be competitively commissioned and the successful bidder will deliver activities for both year one (2021-22) and year two (2022-23) subject to funding confirmation (see paragraph 2.19, below). The contractor will be appointed in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code.

Spending proposals for financial year 2022-23 (£220,000)

2.14. Continued support for integration hubs (£140,000). Additional grant funding will be provided to the recipients to continue delivery of the integration hubs (see paragraph 2.9, above). Allocating the grant funding will follow the same process as in 2021-22 and will be in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code. Due to funding availability the budget will be half of what will be made available in 2021-22. The expectation is that sub-regional partnerships or project partners match fund the remaining required resources.

2.15. Pilot set-up fund to support concept development and prototyping of new practice models or interventions (£60,000). A key aim of the second year of the project is to support the development of new models of practice that build on the evidence, learning and opportunities identified in year one of the project. To achieve this, a consultant will be commissioned to deliver specialist support and guidance to help sub-regional partnerships and relevant project stakeholders to set up pilots.

2.16. Areas of focus are to be determined but may include models that:

• accelerate and scale existing activity that has shown evidence of impact

• involve multi-agency practice that aligns with the recovery programme

• build referral networks and pathways into opportunities in the Adult Education Budget (AEB), linked to the Adult Education Roadmap/policy priorities

• engage the community sector and wider partners to connect key groups of Londoners to skills and employment opportunities, for example through outreach, peer networks and referrals

• boost employer engagement in the skills and employment landscape, for example through platforms or tools

• support user-led services and pathways, and directly bring in resident and user voices into decision-making and service planning.

2.17. Project deliverables are expected to include:

• commissioning specialist support and guidance

• piloting prototypes and plans.

2.18. Delivery of pilots themselves is beyond the scope of available funding, but we would expect that any ideas/concepts that are supported have a realistic prospect of being fundable, deliverable and sustainable.

2.19. Evaluation and learning (£20,000). This will capture overall learning from the second year of the project. A key deliverable will be a final learning report published at the end of 2022-23. As per paragraph 2.13, this will be delivered by the same contractor that will deliver evaluation and learning activities services in 2021-22.

2.20. In addition to the prospect of match funding and in-kind support from project partners, we will also explore further funding opportunities, including:

• the UK Community Renewal Fund (UKCRF), the precursor to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund

• potential opportunities through the AEB, for example with respect to research and appropriate pilot projects

• strong potential for this project to benefit from the GLA and LEAP’s economic recovery resourcing project.

2.21. An overview and sequencing of the spending proposals can be found in Appendix A. This is followed by a project logic chain for the NWD initiative, which provides a summary of how the proposals will contribute to the spending objectives and support key outcome and KPI areas.

3.1. Section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010 provides that, in the exercise of their functions, public authorities must have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010

• advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it

• foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

3.2. Relevant protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

3.3. The GLA has consulted on the NWD proposals with key sector representatives and equalities experts, and will closely monitor, review and evaluate their equalities impacts. Feedback received has informed the content of the proposals.

3.4. Equality, diversity and inclusion is a CCP across the London Recovery Programme.

3.5. Further information is available as a separate document. This includes information on how we have worked with colleagues leading the ‘structural inequalities’ CCP to articulate initial proposals for how the NWD project will promote the CCP.

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.1. The project business case (available as a separate document) outlines how the interventions proposed in this MD align with commitments made in the Mayor’s SfL Strategy, as well as the priorities of the Adult Education Roadmap. These include:

• the Mayor’s (2021) Manifesto commitments around good work, recovery and ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’

• the SfL Strategy’s emphasis on the importance of ‘greater integration’ and a ‘local first’ approach; the potential for a locally led and coordinated system is also key to the Mayor’s arguments for devolution, as laid out in the ‘Call for Action’ published alongside London Councils

• the Adult Education Roadmap’s emphasis is on locally relevant provision, and links between adult education and wider services; the Roadmap explicitly identifies NWD as an important agenda for adult education.

Risks arising/mitigation

4.2. Key risks and mitigation measures are outlined below. This may be refined following further stakeholder engagement.

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

5.1. This decision is seeking the Mayor’s approval for expenditure of £720,000 allocated for NWD. The project will be funded from the 2021/22 and 2022/23 budgets. There is also an expectation that we will raise match funding or in-kind support from project partners.

5.2. Below is a breakdown of the funds for the spending proposals:

5.3. Budget allocations for future years will be subject to the annual budget-setting process.

6.1. The foregoing sections of this report indicate that:

6.1.1. The decisions requested of the Mayor concern the exercise of the GLA’s general powers, falling within the GLA’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further or which are facilitative of, conducive or incidental to, the promotion of economic development and wealth creation, social development or the promotion of the improvement of the environment in Greater London.

6.1.2. In formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought, officers have complied with the Authority’s related statutory duties to:

• pay due regard to the principle that there should equality of opportunity for all people

• consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute toward the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom

• consult with appropriate bodies.

6.2. In taking the decisions requested, the Mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty; namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010, and to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion) and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Mayor should have regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

6.3. Paragraphs 2.9 and 2.14 above indicate that the contribution of funding to establish integration hubs will amount to the provision of grant funding and not payment for services. Officers must ensure that an appropriate funding agreement is put in place between and executed by the GLA and recipient before any commitment to fund is made.

6.4. Any services required by the GLA described in this report must be procured with the assistance of the TfL Procurement team in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code. Officers must ensure that appropriate contract documentation is put in place and executed by the successful bidder(s) and the GLA before the commencement of the services.