Project Fulcrum- Grant Acceptance

This is a request for MOPAC to accept Home Office Science, Technology and Research (STAR) funding of £355,000 for Project Fulcrum for 2021/22. Project Fulcrum is an NPCC multi-force proof of concept proposal to develop and test a digital tool for the management of out of court disposals (OOCDs), to help forces deliver conditional cautioning requirements under forthcoming legislation, as well as other diversionary criminal justice approaches.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to approve acceptance of a Grant of up to £355,000 from the Home Office Star Fund for Project Fulcrum.

1. Introduction and background

1.1. This application seeks acceptance of grant funding awarded from the HO STAR fund of £355,000 to support the development of a digital tool for managing out of court disposals and diversion activity, titled Project Fulcrum. There is a time pressure for this decision due to the lateness of the award from the HO with all funds to be utilised by 31/3/22

1.2. Project Fulcrum is an NPCC multi-force proof of concept proposal to develop and test a digital tool for the management of out of court disposals (OOCDs), to help forces deliver conditional cautioning requirements under forthcoming legislation, as well as other diversionary criminal justice approaches. Using the supplier Make Time Count, there is the potential of adapting their existing tool used in Probation that could connect offender managers, intervention providers and offenders in one place to manage the end to end process of an OOCD.

1.3. The need for developing digital support in OOCDs is high. OOCDs currently comprise one third of all police case disposals and police-led diversion and offender supervision within OOCDs will increase considerably with forthcoming legislation. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021 mandates conditional cautioning and will replace the simple caution, fixed penalty notices for disorder and all drugs warnings from April 2023. Other diversionary criminal justice approaches via deferred prosecution, community resolution and application of Home Office Outcome Code 22 will remain at the discretion of forces.

1.4. Combined, the new legislation will create new demand on front line policing to manage and support offenders, aiming to prevent reoffending. A digital tool could mitigate some of the additional demand requirements, by bringing efficiencies in harnessing access to existing community rehabilitative support and reducing offender management administration time.

2. Issues for consideration

2.1. If funds are not released by October, the viability of the project within the current funding envelop is at risk and work would be halted. This could jeopardise the entire project and lead to loss of the funding opportunity.

2.2. If successful, the project can help keep young people safe by improving early intervention to prevent those at risk of offending of being drawn into a life of crime. Decision support tools within the product could reduce disproportionality of criminal justice outcomes issued by police and improve victim satisfaction.

3. Financial Comments

3.1. The cost break down is taken from the successful STAR fund application and covers the supplier’s costs only. Policing project costs are absorbed into business as usual.

3.2. Funding is entirely via the Home Office STAR grant until 31st March 2022.

3.3. This is a proof of concept project only. If promising, further consultation and funding to fine tune the tool, procure and roll out to forces would be required.

4. Legal Comments

4.1. MOPAC may legally accept this offer of Grant funding pursuant to legal powers granted under Schedule 3, Paragraph 7 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 which provides that,

7(1) The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime may do anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of the functions of the Office.

(2)That includes—

entering into contracts and other agreements (whether legally binding or not);

4.2. In accordance with Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Consent and Delegation, the DMPC may approve all offers made of grant funding; and/or where appropriate a strategy for grant giving.

4.3. The Mayor’s Officer for Policing Crime is a contracting authority as defined in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (“the Regulations”). All awards of public contracts for goods and/or services valued at £189,330 or above will be procured in accordance with the Regulations.

4.4. Paragraph 7.23 of the Scheme provides that the Director of Strategic Procurement has consent to approve all proposals to award of all contracts with the exception of those called in through the agreed call in procedure.

4.5. The proposed route to market is via the Crown Commercial services G-Cloud 12 Framework, MPS shall comply with the Crown Commercial guidance in relation to the use of G-Cloud 12, and therefore the procurement is compliant with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

5. Commercial Issues

5.1. The value of the procurement is within the delegation of the Metropolitan Police Service. MPS Commercial Services legal advice confirm procurement of the Make Time Count tool can be conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 if procured via the G-Cloud 12 Framework. The G Cloud procurement route is a recognised, timely and compliant route to market.

5.2. Make Time Count Limited are a Social Enterprise Company and are listed as a supplier on the G-Cloud 12 Framework. Forces as public sector bodies can access all services offered on the G-Cloud Framework provided they undertake the process as set out in the G-Cloud 12 Customer Guidance.

5.3. Value for Money: MTC are the only supplier that supplies this product and are offering rates which are discounted against their normal G-Cloud rate.

6. GDPR and Data Privacy

6.1. The MPS is subject to the requirements and conditions placed on it as a 'State' body to comply with the European Convention of Human Rights and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018. Both legislative requirements place an obligation on the MPS to process personal data fairly and lawfully in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals.

6.2. Under Article 35 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Section 57 of the DPA 2018, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) become mandatory for organisations with technologies and processes that are likely to result in a high risk to the rights of the data subjects.

6.3. The Information Assurance and Information Rights units within MPS will be consulted at all stages to ensure the project meets its compliance requirements. On the advice of the Director responsible for the above unit, for this project, this role is being undertaken by Kent Police given the live pilot sits within their force. The MPS are neither the Data Controller or Data Processor. Kent Police own the project and data until such time it is launched nationally, at which time the DPIA requirement will be reviewed.

6.4. The DPIA is being completed by Kent Police. The initial pilot will be in Kent. Though the MPS is the lead force for the project there will be no data processed in the MPS at this stage. The project will ensure a privacy by design approach, which will allow the tool to find and fix problems at the early stages of any project, ensuring compliance with GDPR. DPIAs support the accountability principle, as they will ensure the MPS and partner forces complies with the requirements of GDPR and they demonstrate that appropriate measures have been taken to ensure compliance.

7. Equality Comments

7.1. A full Equalities Impact Assessment has been conducted by the multi-force project team and will be a living document as the tool is developed. No equality and diversity concerns have been identified and the digital tool does not exclude or reduce provision of service to offenders and appropriate adults without digital access themselves.

8. Background/supporting papers

8.1. MPS Report – Project Fulcrum