ADD2788 Supporting and Inspiring Young London projects – Sport and Mental Health

1.1.    In June 2025 Mayoral Decision (MD) 3380 approved the delivery plan for the strategic programme, Supporting and Inspiring Young London (SIYL). This programme will contribute to the following core London-level outcomes: 

•    children and young Londoners achieve the health and learning outcomes they need to thrive at every stage of development
•    children and young Londoners have the positive opportunities needed to be successful
•    Londoners have the skills they need to improve their lives. 

1.2.    The SIYL delivery plan describes how the GLA will work to bridge the gap between opportunity and offer; and enhance young Londoners’ ability to access these opportunities. The Mayor will work across London to bring together key partners, all delivering for young Londoners. This includes directly commissioning key programmes to work on meeting the most acute of these opportunity gaps. It includes activity towards meeting the Mayor’s commitment to provide 250,000 positive opportunities for young Londoners during this Mayoral term. 

1.3.    MD3380 approved the establishment of the SIYL programme with the Assistant Director, Civil Society and Sport, as the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO). It also approved the delivery plan for the SIYL programme, including the resources allocated to it: namely, £527.8m revenue funding across 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 (as set out in the delivery plan). MD3380 delegated authority to the Assistant Director, Civil Society and Sport, to approve the receipt of any additional funding from central government, or other sources, to expand or extend existing approved projects contained in the SIYL delivery plan, where the parameters of the project remain the same or similar, and after consulting with legal advisors and the GLA’s Chief Finance Officer, and having subsequently secured agreement from the Mayoral Delivery Board. MD3380 also approved (where not already covered by a delegation in an existing MD) the delegation of authority to the Assistant Director, Civil Society and Sport, to approve expenditure funded by the resources allocated to the delivery plan, or income under the terms set out in MD3380, for projects listed in paragraphs 1.18 and 1.19 of that MD.

1.4.    The projects listed in paragraphs 1.18 and 1.19 of MD3380, for which this Decision seeks approval of expenditure, are:

•    delivery of mentoring training and support for volunteer mentors and youth workers (Mental Health Training Pilot (MHTP)
•    partnership work with major US sporting brands and other brands, as appropriate and approved by Mayoral appointees.

1.5.    It is proposed that the Assistant Director, Civil Society and Sport, approve expenditure totalling £1,685,000 for the delivery of the projects listed in paragraphs 1.18 and 1.19 of the SIYL delivery plan. This is so the GLA can deliver activity that supports the priorities set out in paragraph 1.2. This work contributes to the objectives and expected outcomes of the SIYL delivery plan. This budget is allocated to projects as set out in the table below:

1.6.    As part of the process of approving Mayoral Delivery Plans, the governance around spending has also changed for Delivery Plan SROs. In Delivery Plans, there are three categories of projects:

•    where the project is already set out in detail in an approved MD, and the SRO has delegated authority to make expenditure decisions included in that legacy decision form
•    where the project budget is defined in the delivery plan; and the delivery plan MD, once approved by the Mayor, provides delegation for the SRO to take expenditure decisions outside of the thresholds stated in the current Mayoral Decision-Making Framework (MDM)
•    where the project is less well-defined, and will need a further MD to set the strategic direction of the budget.

This request falls under category No.2, in that the project budget is defined in the delivery plan and the delivery plan MD; and MD3380 approved a delegation for the SRO to take expenditure decisions outside the thresholds stated in the current MDM. 
 

Mental Health Training Pilot (MHTP): £900,000 (consisting of up to £300,000 in 2025-26, £300,000 in 2026-27, £300,000 in 2027-28)

2.1.    The MHTP will build on the Mayor’s strong legacy of increasing the quality, quantity and sustainability of mentoring – most recently demonstrated at scale through the New Deal for Young People (NDYP) mission. It will do so in particular via the highly regarded Mentoring Quality Framework (accessed by over 1,000 organisations), its associated support programmes and existing strategic partnerships.

2.2.    Three delivery modes, with their expected expenditure and delivery methods (as set out below) are anticipated to connect with and train over 1,000 volunteer mentors and youth professionals. Alongside the budget approved in MD3380, an additional £215,000 approved under cover of DD2601 to ensure a consistent model of mentor recruitment and training, and to coordinate increased access to disadvantaged young people, will fund this work. There is an anticipated profile of £75,000 for delivery mode one, and £140,000 for delivery mode two.

2.3.    The MHTP will support and enhance the Mayor’s 2024 manifesto commitment to deliver ‘mental health first aid training for mentors’ through a package of training and support for volunteer mentors and youth professionals. The core aim of the pilot is to test delivery options that will increase the ability and capacity of volunteer mentors and youth professionals across London, so as to better support young people’s mental health and wellbeing needs. The MHTP will provide mentors and youth professionals with the skills and knowledge to support young people’s emotional resilience, mental health and wellbeing. It will also contribute towards the Supporting and Inspiring Young London programme core London-level outcomes; and the delivery of 250,000 positive opportunities for young Londoners.

Delivery mode one: Mentoring Support Programme expansion, up to £385,000 (consisting of up to £155,000 in 2025-26, up to £115,000 in 2026-27 and up to £115,000 in 2027-28)

2.4.    Delivery mode one will build on the Mayor’s Mentoring Support Programme, previously funded entirely through the NDYP mission. It will continue to deliver a package of training and support that improves the quality of mentoring for young people, aligned to the Mentoring Quality Framework. However, it will also expand to include an increased focus on mental health training. This will provide:

•    mental health first aid training
•    development of resources and tools
•    guidance on signposting to specialist services and mental health support for youth professionals and mentors themselves
•    support and enhanced mentoring practice and mental health support at a borough level 
•    consideration of how the impact of mental health training can be tracked and reported.

2.5.    It is anticipated that this will help train over 560 youth professionals and mentors across London. This will be facilitated initially by a variation to the existing Mentoring Support Programme contract, completed in accordance with the GLA Contracts and Funding Code; and allowing for a continuation of delivery in this area. A subsequent open grant funding round for up to £385,000 will then be completed, seeking proposals from an organisation/consortium for a 2026-28 project with outcomes aligning to this area and Mayoral priorities. 

Delivery mode two: Virtual Mentoring Academy Platform (VMAP) expansion, up to £195,000 (consisting of up to £65,000 in 2025-26, up to £65,000 in 2026-27 and up to £65,000 in 2027-28)

2.6.    The VMAP expansion will build on a pilot, funded through the NDYP mission, to develop an online platform to support the recruitment, training and retention of volunteer mentors by connecting the significant Anchor Institution workforce with high-quality mentoring organisations seeking skilled and diverse community mentors.

2.7.    The VMAP expansion will include new mental health training modules accessible through the platform providing training to an estimated 280 mentors. An extension of the VMAP contract for the digital platform will be completed in accordance with the GLA Contracts and Funding Code. A procurement exercise for mental health training modules will be completed for up to £195,000 from 2026 to 2028.

Delivery mode three: Peer Mentoring Pilot – up to £320,000 (consisting of up to £80,000 in 2025-26, up to £120,000 in 2026-27 and up to £120,000 in 2027-28)

2.8.    The Peer Mentoring Pilot will fund a partnership project between anchor institution South Thames College Group (STCG) and experienced peer-mentoring youth organisation Fitzrovia Youth in Action (the latter currently being grant-funded through NDYP), for their peer-mentoring project. Through their project, Fitzrovia Youth in Action (experts in peer mentoring will increase the knowledge, skills and capacity of staff and students. Their ‘train the trainer model’ will enable students and staff across the college group to support each other to improve their mental well-being and self-esteem; and empower systems change and sustainability within the health and education sectors. The training will focus on mental health awareness, peer-mentoring techniques, and leadership, particularly for students who have experienced support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). It is anticipated to train up to 160 mentors from September 2025 to July 2028.

2.9.    A grant variation will be completed with Fitzrovia Youth in Action, providing funding of up to £80,000 in 2025-26, and a grant awarded to STCG of up to £10,000 in 2026-27m for this pilot to take place in the September 2025 – July 2026 academic year. For 2026-27 and 2027-28 (with budgets of £110,000 and £120,000 respectively) the pilot will be reviewed (including reach, scale and outcomes) alongside the needs of young Londoners to determine the route to award the 2026-27 and 2027-28 funding, but always in accordance with the contracts and funding code.

Rally Together London: £200,000 (consisting of GLA investment of up to £60,000 in 2025-26, £75,000 in 2026-27, £65,000 in 2027-28)

2.10.    Rally Together London is a strategic three-year partnership between the Mayor of London and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), designed to grow and diversify London’s tennis workforce while expanding access to high-quality, free tennis opportunities for young Londoners in under-served communities. Developed in tandem with the return of elite women’s tennis to the Queen’s Club after 50 years, the programme will leverage the platform of the HSBC Championships and the Mayor’s commitment to diversifying access to sport to leave a social legacy. A grant award of £200,000 over three years to the LTA will be matched by their own £300,000 investment over the same period.

2.11.    Tennis participation in London is notably high, with approximately one in five adults playing the sport at least once per year – twice the national average. Recent investment in over 160 park venues across the capital has significantly improved access to free, bookable tennis facilities. However, despite this infrastructure progress, a shortage of trained coaches and community activators – particularly women and Londoners from under-represented backgrounds – continues to limit the sport’s reach. Rally Together London seeks to address this challenge by supporting the recruitment, training and deployment of a more diverse and inclusive community tennis workforce. The aim is to expand access to tennis and provide meaningful employment pathways. 

2.12.    The programme will be delivered through three interconnected strands combining activations in the community; free park tennis sessions; and a workforce development programme. These strands will collectively support the training of 250 individuals, and the delivery of tennis activities to over 5,500 (predominantly young) Londoners in community and park-based settings. Sessions will be delivered in locations with identified need, and the programme will prioritise collaboration with trusted community groups to ensure activities are inclusive, culturally responsive, and sustainable. The Coach Development programme will ensure at least 50 per cent female representation across its cohort. This aims to address the under-representation of women within the tennis workforce.

London Basketball Taskforce: £85,000 (consisting of up to £20,000 in 2025-26, £30,000 in 2026-27, £35,000 in 2027-28)

2.13.     In 2024, the Mayor commissioned a basketball taskforce for London to advance the growth of the game in the capital. With over 1.5m people playing basketball weekly across the UK, the Sport England Active Lives survey shows it to be the joint-second most played sport in England after football. This taskforce aims to build on that momentum by boosting access to basketball across London, attracting high-profile events such as live National Basketball Association (NBA) games and International Basketball Association (FIBA) tournaments. This is developing pathways for local talent, and engaging young people through the sport. 

2.14.    Basketball has significant links to the arts and culture; and a growing fan and participation base in London. It has also been historically and systemically under-funded when compared to other sports (e.g., rugby and cricket). The London Basketball Taskforce will commission and produce a report to assess the ‘state of play’ across the city; and identify recommendations and solutions to advance the growth of the game. It will also oversee and provide advice on significant interventions and investments pertaining to basketball by the taskforce members and City Hall. This decision seeks approval for expenditure for the taskforce’s support and delivery costs over this three-year period, including research, insight, reporting, board costs, community engagement and stakeholder communications, as well as piloting and advancing key solutions proposed. All of the above will be procured in accordance with the Contracts and Funding Code. 

‘London Coaches Program’ phase two: £500,000 (consisting of up to £125,000 in 2025-26, £175,000 in 2026-27, £200,000 in 2027-28)

2.15.    In December 2021 MD2895 approved the award of £500,000 of funding for the London Coaches Program, matched by and in partnership with the NBA. The London Coaches Program upskilled 500 young coaches and has engaged 10,000-plus young Londoners with free basketball activities. Following the success of the partnership, the second phase of the partnership is proposed to continue and build on this success. 

2.16.    The proposed three-year project, match-funded by the NBA (£500,000), will request proposals from organisations seeking funding for projects that will create the following outcomes:

•    Strand one will recruit a cohort of coaches on a retainer basis to deliver basketball in schools and community settings. This strand aims to amplify impact for young people and grow basketball participation across the city. Basketball participation is to be supported with employability and learning opportunities through dissemination of the ‘NBA in the Classroom’ curriculum. This strand will recruit 60 coaches (20 per year), paid to deliver basketball sessions in school and community settings. The coaches will obtain level III qualifications. In turn, this strand of work is expected to provide 50,000-60,000 positive opportunities for young people, alongside employability and employment outcomes for the coaches.

•    Strand two will offer a scaled-down extension of the coach-training element from the first phase of this work. This strand will:

o    train 180 coaches (60 per year) to obtain level II qualifications
o    reach 5,000-10,000 young people through coaching; and provide employability and employment outcomes for the coaches.

•    Strand three will create a basketball workforce development initiative providing internships for young Londoners, focusing on the wider basketball and sporting industry. Working with the NBA and other employers, this strand will provide subsidised placements to 30 internships in the industry.
 

3.1.    Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (the Act), the Mayor and GLA must comply with the public sector equality duty and must have due regard to the need to:

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

•    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.

3.2.    As set out in MD3380, activity within the SIYL programme will provide support to disadvantaged children and young Londoners. This includes young people with protected characteristics and those who are more vulnerable. The projects in the programme will particularly support certain disadvantaged groups – for example, young people with SEND; young refugees and asylum seekers; those who are socio-economically disadvantaged; Black, Asian and minority ethnic young Londoners; disabled young Londoners; young people with a social worker; young care leavers; and those who are at risk of exclusion, or who have been excluded, from school or college. Careful consideration will be given to ensuring appropriate accessibility for the widest range of young people; this will include targeted engagement, where this is considered supportive. Young people’s voices and co-production will be used in planning, development and delivery, to maximise effectiveness. 

3.3.    The MHTP will support volunteers and mentors working with children and young people most in need and facing multiple disadvantage including (but not limited to) care experienced young people, young people with SEND, young refugees and asylum seekers, young carers, those excluded or at risk of exclusion from school, young people affected by violence, and young people that are experiencing poor mental health and well-being (including those on CAMHS waiting lists). An equalities impact assessment will also be completed as part of the programme development.

3.4.    The Rally Together London partnership with the LTA will address the under-representation of women and Londoners from underprivileged backgrounds within the tennis workforce. The programme aims to achieve at least 50 per cent female representation within its recruited workforce training cohort; and will prioritise reaching young Londoners from lower socio-economic groups and those currently not in employment, training, or education, or at risk of becoming such. The 5,500 Londoners reached through tennis activations will represent a diverse group of predominantly young people who otherwise would not be able to access tennis, or would have perceptions about its inaccessibility. These young people will be reached through trusted community groups engaged by the GLA and the LTA. Tennis activations will prioritise 16 London boroughs ranked as highest priority/need based on the GLA IMD/CIU analysis, mapped against the LTA park transformation work.

3.5.    The London Basketball Taskforce aims to create positive opportunities for young Londoners, particularly those from marginalised and under-represented communities. Basketball is a sport that has been historically and significantly under-funded due to systemic racism and classism that exists within sporting policies and industry.

3.6.    The Taskforce has been developed in line with the GLA’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. Appointments to the Taskforce have been made with consideration for gender balance and diverse representation, including members from across the professional, grassroots, and disability sport sectors. This includes representation from wheelchair basketball and a clear commitment to inclusive practice across all aspects of the Taskforce’s work. Secretariat delivery and engagement activities will also follow GLA equality standards, ensuring accessibility and inclusion for all participants. As a result this work will advance equality of opportunity between people who share and people who do not share a relevant protected characteristic, and foster good relations between people who share and people who do not share a relevant protected characteristic.

3.7.    The ongoing work with the NBA to support young people playing and coaching basketball will further address structural inequalities in sport. Increased representation is vital within the workforce to bring better and fairer outcomes across sport, via greater understanding of needs, advocacy and fairer decision making. It will also support employment outcomes for those who may face greater barriers to employment. In a similar manner to the LTA project, this project will provide free high-quality play opportunities to young people who would otherwise not be able to access them – particularly those from under-represented groups. The training of coaches will further equal opportunity between those who look alike and those who do not, by bringing more women into a traditionally male-dominated space.
 

Key risks and issues

4.1.    The key risks, and mitigations, are listed in the table below:

4.2.    This work aligns with statutory and other Mayoral strategies in the following ways:

•    The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, as revised in the Mayor’s Equality Objectives (2022), which aims to remove the barriers preventing children and young Londoners from realising their potential now and in later life. 

•    The London Health Inequalities Strategy, the Mayor’s ten-year strategy to address unfair, systematic and completely avoidable differences in health between groups of people. This includes the key commitments Healthy Children (every London child has a healthy start in life) and Healthy Minds (all Londoners share in a city with the best mental health in the world). 

•    Recent studies indicate that one in five of those aged 8-25 has a probable mental health problem (NHS Digital, 2023). This has increased significantly in recent years (from one in nine 7–16-year-olds in 2017 – NHS Digital, 2022). Anxiety, depression and behavioural disorders are among the most common, with children from disadvantaged backgrounds and racialised communities often bearing a disproportionate burden.  Statutory services are overwhelmed, and voluntary sector organisations and youth mentors often lack the necessary resources and expertise to support these young people appropriately. Additionally, mentors face stress, burnout and secondary trauma, particularly those with lived experiences. The MHTP will support mentors and youth professionals to better support these young people most in need, whilst not replacing clinical and/or specialist services. Research also shows that peer mentoring enhances empathy, resilience and leadership in young people, empowering them with life skills that extend beyond education.

 
•    In his 2024 manifesto, the Mayor committed to working with partners to provide free access to sporting facilities to young Londoners. The Rally Together London programme will facilitate free access to park tennis activations, as well as free tennis activations in community settings. The Mayor has also committed to working with major sports events to ‘get even more children active across the capital, ensuring that kids from every background can reap the benefits of participating in sports and physical activity.’ His partnership with the LTA (formed following the return of women’s tennis championships to Queen’s) follows this commitment. His partnership with the NBA and the commissioning of a Basketball Taskforce for London also respond to this commitment.

•    In the 2024 manifesto, the Mayor recognised the significance of basketball to the capital. He has pledged to create a taskforce exploring bringing more sports from North America, and around the world, to London. The Mayor has also committed to specifically develop and grow the game of basketball, by helping to boost access to basketball and campaigning to bring the NBA to the capital. In September 2024, the Mayor met with the NBA Deputy Commissioner and announced the Basketball Taskforce for London.
Subsidy control

4.3.    The funding within this programme has been considered in line with the Subsidy Control Act 2022. GLA officers have considered whether programmes will involve the provision of grant funding to enterprises that are likely to receive funding from other public-sector organisations, such that these activities have been considered further in light of the subsidy control principles. Those activities are as follows: 

•    the award of up to £80,000 to Fitzrovia Youth in Action, via variation to their existing NDYP grant, in relation to the MHTP - Peer Mentoring Pilot as described in paragraph 2.9 

•    the award of up to £10,000 to STCG in relation to the MHTP – Peer Mentoring Pilot as described in paragraph 2.9

•    the award of up to £200,000 to the LTA over three years, in relation to the Rally Together project as set out in paragraphs 2.10 to 2.12.

4.4.    Officers do not consider that the proposed awards constitute a subsidy. This is because these awards do not meet all four limbs of the subsidy test set out in the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Specifically, the proposed awards each fail to satisfy Limb 2 (providing an enterprise with an economic advantage) and Limb 4 (capable of having an effect on competition or investment within the UK or between the UK and another country) of that test, because the funding: 

•    is ringfenced for non-economic purposes – the project is not-for-profit, free to use, and has the benefit of the funding accruing to end-recipients, rather than meeting general costs for core operational function. 

•    will not have a genuine effect that is more than incidental or hypothetical on competition or investment in the UK, or on international trade or investment.

 
Conflict of interest 

4.5.    There are no conflicts of interest arising from those involved in the drafting and clearance of this decision form. As and when individual conflicts of interest arise during the delivery of initiatives contained in the SIYL delivery plan, they will be handled in line with the GLA policy on registering and declaring interests.

5.1.    In pursuant of the delegated authority provided by Mayoral Decision MD3380, approval is being sought from the Assistant Director of Civil Society and Sport for the following: 

•    expenditure of up to £1,685,000 for projects that bridge the gap between opportunity and offer and enhance young Londoners ability to access positive opportunities

5.2.    The projects will be funded by the following programme budgets:

•    MHTP: £900,000 (consisting of up to £300,000 in 2025-26, £300,000 in 2026-27, £300,000 in 2027-28) funded from the Youth Mental Health budget

•    Rally Together London: £200,000 (consisting of up to £60,000 in 2025-26, £75,000 in 2026-27, £65,000 in 2027-28) funded from the Sport Partnerships budget

•    London Basketball Taskforce: £85,000 (consisting of up to £20,000 in 2025-26, £30,000 in 2026-27, £35,000 in 2027-28) funded from the Sport Partnerships budget

•    London Coaches Program phase two: £500,000 (consisting of up to £125,000 in 2025-26, £175,000 in 2026-27, £200,000 in 2027-28) funded from the Sport Partnerships budget.

5.3.    Funding for future financial years will be subject to the annual budget setting process and is subject to change.

5.4.    Any contracts that commit the GLA in future years will be subject to appropriate break clauses.

6.1.    The work will be delivered according to the following schedule: