ADD2811 Get Britain Working Trailblazers - Local London proactive enrolment pilot

1.1.    The Get Britain Working Trailblazers focus on integrating existing local provision across the work, health, and skills landscape, with an emphasis on innovative approaches. The UK government has allocated up to £30 million of funding to support the implementation of Economic Inactivity and Youth Trailblazers in London between April 2025 and March 2026.

1.2.    In London, the GLA is the accountable body for the Trailblazers, working closely with London Councils and London’s four Sub-Regional Partnerships to deliver them. £20 million grant funding has  been allocated to Local London, South London Partnership and West Alliance to deliver Economic Inactivity Trailblazers, whilst the remaining £10 million has been split equally between the GLA and Central London Forward to deliver Youth Guarantee Trailblazers.

1.3.    Year one delivery, between April 2025 and March 2026, of the five Trailblazers in London was approved by the Mayor under Mayoral Decision MD3348. In August 2025, the Secretary of State confirmed that the London Youth Trailblazers funding would be extended into the 2026-27 financial year and in October 2025, Year two funding for the Economic Inactivity trailblazers was confirmed. 

1.4.    The pan-London Youth Guarantee Trailblazer led by the GLA aims to support young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET) or at risk of being NEET. The project seeks to create a universal youth offer across the city. A core offer will be developed to ensure all young people in London can access support through interactions with a youth frontline advisor. The aim is to transform the way young people who are NEET are supported across the capital.

1.5.    Delivery for year two of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers was included in the ‘Supporting and Inspiring Young Londoners’ delivery plan, approved in MD3380 in July 2025. Their objectives align with the ambition to support young Londoners achieve the learning outcomes they need to thrive at every stage of development, have the positive opportunities, and access for training to develop the skills needed to be successful and improve their lives.

1.6.    In October, the Department for Work and Pensions in partnership with the Department for Education (DfE), offered areas with a Youth Trailblazer, including London, the opportunity to access additional funding in the current 2025-26 to pilot one of their new policies: ‘proactive- or auto-enrolment’ in further education for young people aged 16 and 17 who do not otherwise have a place. This funding is separate from and additional to the current Trailblazers allocations and offers a chance to begin delivery now and carry forward the work into 2026-27.

1.7.    The GLA, as accountable body for the programme in London, submitted a proposal on behalf of the Local London SRP for a £500,000 pilot to be delivered across 2025-26 and 2026-27. DWP approved that proposal in December 2025 and the GLA has received the addendum to its Youth Trailblazer funding agreement for 2025-26 to commit the additional funding (outlined in paragraph 1.9).

1.8.    The budget of £500,000 will be financed as follows: an additional £400,000 awarded by DWP, via an addendum to the Pan London Youth Trailblazer funding agreement for 2025-26, and £100,000 for 2026-27, which will be drawn from the GLA’s Pan-London Youth Trailblazer allocation for 2026-27.  

1.9.    In August 2025, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, announced that the Youth Trailblazers would be extended until 31 March 2027 and London will receive a further £30 million for the period for all five Trailblazers, including £10m for the Youth Trailblazers. The DWP Trailblazers Project Board approved the London Trailblazers plans for year two in the autumn and the GLA received its Grant Funding Agreement for 2026-27 in December 2025.

1.10.    Approval for this funding commitment is sought through an Assistant Director’s Decision, under the delegated authority granted by the Mayor to the Assistant Director – Civil Society & Sport (as Senior Responsible Officer for the programme) to authorise the use of resources for named projects in the Supporting & Inspiring Young Londoners (SIYL) Delivery Plan (MD3380) including approving 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. 
 

2.1.    The Local London Proactive Enrolment Pilot aims to reduce the number of young people NEET by identifying and supporting at-risk Year 11 students across boroughs in the SRP area with the highest need. Running from December 2025 to March 2027, the programme will be delivered through Local London’s existing infrastructure, including East London Careers Hub, No Wrong Door  and the Trailblazer Youth Integration Network .

2.2.    Local London will recruit a team, consisting of approximately six Transition Officers and one Team Leader. Over the term of the pilot, the team will support around 300 learners across 25–30 schools in the Local London sub regional area, including mainstream, alternative provision and Pupil Referral Units. Support will be holistic and relationship-based, including trauma-informed practice, motivational interviewing and strength-based coaching.

2.3.    Transition Officers will work with Headteachers, SEND Coordinators, career leads, attendance teams and safeguarding staff to identify students showing multiple “risk flags” such as poor attendance, exclusion history, low engagement or unmet additional needs. Officers will conduct baseline assessments and develop tailored transition plans, coordinate with careers advisers, youth workers, and SEND teams, provide mentoring, peer support, and summer engagement activities, track progress and ensure sustained participation

2.4.    Pilot Key Performance Indicators:

3.1.    Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the GLA (including the Mayor of London) must comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) when exercising its functions. The PSED is a duty to have due regard to:

•    the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and any conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010; and
•    advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between people who share a ‘protected characteristic’ as defined in the Equality Act 2010 and those who do not.

3.2.    The protected characteristics under section 149 of the Equality Act are: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, marital or civil partnership status, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Compliance with the duty may involve ensuring people with a protected characteristic are provided with all the opportunities that those without the characteristic would have.

3.3.    This involves having due regard to the need to remove or minimise any disadvantage suffered by those who share a relevant protected characteristic that is connected to that characteristic; taking steps to meet the different needs of such people; and encouraging them to participate in public life or in any other activity where their participation is disproportionately low.

3.4.    This pilot and the Pan London Youth Trailblazer more widely reach out to and support vulnerable young Londoners, such as students with disabilities or coming from ethnic minority backgrounds. They also encourage collaboration between youth services, local schools, community groups, and enhance inclusivity and service reach.   

3.5.    As part of the project evaluation, Local London will set out a baseline dataset, recording demographic, attainment and wellbeing data for every participant. The evaluation will also benchmark against regional NEET averages and similar national pilots.
 

4.1.    The existing Local London No Wrong Door Agreement will be further varied to incorporate the funding for the pilot, building on the previous variation that committed funding and established the programme requirements for the Pan‑London Youth Guarantee Trailblazer for the YIN.

Key risks and mitigation

4.2.    Key risks and mitigation measures are outlined below.

Links to Mayoral Strategies and priorities

4.3.    This pilot supports the implementation of the Inclusive Talent Strategy and London Growth Plan by seeking to ensure Londoners can find the right training and career path for them. 

4.4.    It also serves as a key intervention for the supporting and Inspiring Young Londoners strategic programme as the activities will contribute to young Londoners having the positive opportunities needed to be successful. The pilot aligns with the wider objectives of the Trailblazer programme to pilot integrated and accessible support for young people at key transition points in their education and career journey.

Considerations for the provision of grant funding and subsidy control

4.5.    It is proposed that the provision of additional sums to the London Borough of Redbridge constitutes the award of grant funding, rather payment for services, because: 

•    the sum is a contribution to the costs of existing third-party (and not GLA) projects that align with the Mayor’s priorities, but are the initiatives of the third parties in question; and
•    the GLA will not receive any benefit as a result, with the benefits accruing instead to Londoners.

4.6.    GLA officers have carried out an analysis of the pilot against the Statutory Guidance for the UK subsidy control regime. They have assessed that the subsidy control regime does not apply in these circumstances because the proposed award of additional funding does not constitute a subsidy.

4.7.    In particular, the grant award fails to satisfy Limb B of the four-limbed test set out in the Subsidy Control Act 2022, as the organisation is not classified as an enterprise. It is a local authority, none of whose funded activity involves it engaging in economic activity to offer goods or services on a market. The funding will be used to enable the provision of activities such as one-to-ones and peer mentoring.

Conflict of interest

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

5.1.    Approval is sought for the receipt of an additional £400,000 grant funding from the DWP to the Pan-London Youth Guarantee Trailblazer, for delivery of a proactive enrolment pilot and.

5.2.    The award of £500,000 to the London Borough of Redbridge, accountable body of Local London, to deliver a proactive enrolment pilot across 2025-26 (£400,000, funded through additional DWP grant) and 2026-27 (£100,000, funded from year two of the Pan-London Youth Guarantee Trailblazer).

5.3.    The budget of £500,000 will be financed as follows: the additional £400,000 awarded by DWP, via an addendum to the Pan London Youth Trailblazer funding agreement for 2025-26, and £100,000 for 2026-27, which will be drawn from the GLA’s Pan-London Youth Trailblazer allocation from the DWP for 2026-27.

5.4.    This will be managed through the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer programme budget.