ADD2860 Continuation of Funding for the Counter Terrorism Preparedness Network (CTPN)

1.1.    The threats from terrorism and hostile state activity persist as high and evolving risks to London and other global cities. The current situation is widely recognised to be extremely fragile; it is critical that a proactive and progressive approach towards preparedness is maintained. 

1.2.    The Counter Terrorism Preparedness Network (CTPN) is an international collaboration that brings together leaders, practitioners, and academics. Its work informs city-level policies and practices that build preparedness and resilience, helping to keep our cities and communities safe from threats.

1.3.    An Executive Board governs the network. It is facilitated through an International Board of members spanning Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as relevant national and international organisations. It is coordinated via the London Resilience Unit (LRU), hosted by the GLA.

1.4.    The CTPN is unique and fills a gap. It is the only international network focussed on counter terrorism preparedness at a city level. The CTPN dominates this space; its work is underpinned by the belief that cities are essential building blocks for security and preparedness. The CTPN’s strategic positioning, outreach and influence have never been greater; it has significant potential to develop further. 

1.5.    Since its formation in 2017, the CTPN has become recognised and respected for delivering high-quality research, events, exercises, and projects as well as exchanges. Its work complements political agendas, London’s preparedness, and the priorities of its members. These includes partners such as UK Counter Terrorism Policing and the United Nations.

1.6.    Consistent and allocated funding is required to sustain the network, whilst it continues to deliver at a high international level. A decision is required so that London can participate beyond 31 March 2027.

1.7.    The benefits and deliverables of the CTPN far outweigh the costs. Running costs are relatively low (based on just 1.6 FTE staff, with 0.6 hosted and paid for by another governing city). Outputs and outcomes are relatively high, as per its track record and the annual work programme.

1.8.    Mayoral Decision MD3476 (London Resilience: Delegated Authority for LRF Programme Spend and LRU Operational Spend), signed on 26 March 2026, delegated authority to the Director of London Resilience to approve the receipt of external income and associated expenditure for London Resilience Forum (LRF) programme delivery, as well as expenditure within the approved LRU operational budget, subject to relevant governance processes. This delegation took effect from 1 April 2026 and applies to routine operational and programme expenditure that is not novel, contentious or repercussive. The proposed expenditure and income associated with the CTPN fall within the scope of these delegated powers, as the activity forms part of the LRU’s resilience programme, is consistent with approved budgets and partner funding arrangements. It will be managed in accordance with MD3476 and the GLA’s governance requirements.
 

2.1.    The objective of continuing the CTPN is to support London’s preparedness and resilience through international collaboration. This will be achieved by:

•    strengthening city-to-city learning, partnerships, and collaborations internationally
•    delivering a threat-based programme of exchanges, research, events/exercises, and projects
•    informing and developing the preparedness and capabilities of London and other cities
•    maintaining London’s leadership role in international resilience activity.

2.2.    Expected outputs include: 

•    thematic reports and guidance 
•    the delivery of multiple events and exercises
•    formal exchanges between multi-agency partners
•    wider engagement with partner initiatives (including European Commission projects).

2.3.    Expected outcomes include: 

•    improved preparedness and capabilities
•    stronger domestic and international relationships
•    enhanced skills and knowledge from sector training and professional development.
 

3.1.    Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the Mayor and the GLA must have due regard to the need to: 

•    eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act; and advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not
•    protected characteristics under the Equality Act comprise age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage/civil partnership status (the duty for the last characteristic is to eliminate unlawful discrimination). 

3.2.    The potential impacts of this decision have been considered. No adverse impact is expected on equalities issues, or any people with relevant protected characteristics under the Equality Act. 

3.3.    A previous Equality Impact Assessment of the CTPN confirmed positive impacts in supporting inclusive resilience planning and protecting all communities. This remains proportionate and accurate.

3.4.    The CTPN Executive Governance Board pays due regard to the Equalities Act 2010 and Section 33 of the GLA Act 1999. The Terms of Reference for the CTPN Executive Governance Board state the need to “ensure an inclusive and diverse approach towards Network governance and membership.” 

3.5.    The CTPN activity promotes inclusive approaches to preparedness, including consideration of vulnerable groups, community cohesion, and diverse representation in events. For example, the CTPN: 

•    builds a human-centred approach into its tabletop exercises
•    intentionally includes the voices of victims and survivors in its work
•    has delivered an international workshop focussed on equality in security
•    author reports such as Communicating with Diverse Populations…which also promote equality.
 

Key risks and issues

4.1.    The provision of continuation funding for the CTPN mitigates against the following risks and issues:

•    Insufficient funding and resources would cease deliverables and associated progress in London and beyond. This would reduce collective preparedness for terrorism and hostile state threats – widely considered to be high risk and high impact. This would also have reputational implications, given the CTPN’s profile. It would mean failure to meet and/or support various strategic priorities that are otherwise within the CTPN’s remit and scope.
•    The CTPN offers a core arm for GLA international engagement and collaboration. A lack of continuation funding would negatively impact this benefit. London would lose access to leading international collaboration and learning, which would have reputational impacts.
•    The CTPN demonstrates that the GLA is proactively and collaboratively working to address and prepare for some of the most serious threats faced by cities. A lack of funding could result in negative optics in the wake of any attack that may occur.
•    There is a risk associated with a four-year commitment extending beyond the current Mayoral term. This risk is mitigated through explicit budget caveats and break clauses in the agreement.

Link to Mayoral priorities 

4.2.    This work links to the Mayor’s priority to ensure the safety and security of London; and to wider work on city resilience, and building international relations. The CTPN is also directly embedded in the Mayor of London’s City Resilience Strategy. One of the Strategy’s actions is to expand city collaboration on counter terrorism preparedness through the CTPN. 

4.3.    Resilience is recognised in the GLA’s Portfolio Management Framework as a cross-cutting principle, rather than a standalone programme. The LRU focuses on embedding resilience considerations across Mayoral strategies and delivery plans. As such, the CTPN and other resilience activities contribute directly to London’s overall resilience.

Strategies and priorities

4.4.    The CTPN follows the position of the European Commission Counter Terrorism Agenda. This encouraged strategic dialogue between cities, and highlighted cities as the backbone of urban security. The CTPN closely aligns with a wide range of strategies at all levels. For London, this includes the London Resilience Partnership Strategy; and GLA obligations under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. London’s work as part of the CTPN also supports progress against the Lord Harris Review on London’s Preparedness to Respond to a Major Terrorist Incident.

Practical benefits

4.5.    The CTPN provides ready access to a significant network of senior leaders and experts in preparedness, resilience and counter terrorism across Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Its membership also includes academic institutions, and international organisations. It facilitates the sharing of knowledge, experiences and practices that can inform the development of arrangements locally, in the following ways:

•    Outputs and learning from the CTPN are fed into London resilience arrangements to support continuous improvement. There are direct benefits for individual/lead agencies (e.g. UK Counter Terrorism Policing, Metropolitan Police, and local authorities) through engagement and participation with CTPN deliverables, training and exercises, and exchanges on specific matters with counterparts. This means learning can be applied in London and channelled via relevant boards such as CONTEST Board (the UK’s strategy for countering terrorism), the Security Review Committee, the London Resilience Forum, and Hostile State Subgroup.

•    The London Resilience Partnership benefits from open access to CTPN products and deliverables. These include recommendations that can be factored into the London Lessons Database. This means CTPN report recommendations can be used as part of the capability development process to help inform and develop city-wide, multi-agency, and organisational preparedness in London.

•    As a governing city, London can also influence the CTPN work programme, and commission research, events, and projects, whilst highlighting London as a resilient city. 

•    The cost represents value for money, given the scale of outputs and the contribution from international partners as well as cashable costs. Some tasks that fall within the remit of the Head of the CTPN would need to be done anyway – meaning the actual cost is diluted. This, alongside other cashable costs (such as in-kind collaborations from partners), emphasises value for money. Investing upfront in counter terrorism also has the potential to more than pay for itself in terms of recovery costs, as incidents are managed more effectively. The Head of the CTPN otherwise carries an on-call role in support of emergency response in London.

Conflicts of interest

4.4.    No conflicts of interest have been identified by officers involved in the preparation of this decision.
 

5.1.    Approval is sought for CTPN income and spend until 2030-31. This includes:

•    pay and non-pay spend of £75,750 per year, funded by the City of Stockholm until 2030-31
•    up to £100,000 spend funded from UK Counter Terrorism Policing for a ringfenced programme of work in 2026-27 (and potentially each year thereafter)
•    up to £100,000 spend to organise the international CTPN conference in 2026-27; this is subject to event costs being covered by underspends in the LRU, given this event is currently unfunded.
•    the next international CTPN conference in London is scheduled for 2030-31 as below.
•    up to £37,875 spend, consisting of unfunded CTPN pay and non-pay costs; these will need to be met by underspends in the LRU.

5.2.    The full breakdown of spend and income is shown in the table below: 

5.3.    Funding beyond this period is subject to future budget-setting processes.

6.1.    The foregoing sections of this ADD indicate the decisions requested by the Director of Resilience concern the exercise of the GLA’s general powers, falling within the GLA’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further, or that are facilitative of, or conductive or incidental to, the promotion of economic development and wealth creation/social development, or the improvement of the environment of Greater London. In formulating the proposals in respect of the decisions sought, officers have complied with the Authority’s related statutory duties to:

•    pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people
•    consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development
•    consult with appropriate bodies.

6.2.    In taking the decisions requested, the Director of Resilience 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, and foster good relations, between persons between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation) and persons who do not (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Director of Resilience should have particular regard to section 3, above.

6.3.     The Director of Resilience must ensure that:

•    no reliance is placed upon, nor commitments made that rely upon, the availability of future years’ budgets, until such budgets are confirmed
•    appropriate governance and contractual agreements are in place, in accordance with MD3476 and the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code
•    a revised CTPN Funding and Governance Agreement is implemented.

6.4.    Given that decisions exceed the current Mayoral term, officers must ensure that the terms of all agreements entered do not have the effect of fettering the discretion of any future administration, considering the London elections taking place in May 2028. Accordingly, officers must ensure all agreements that involve making such commitments:

•    include a GLA right to terminate at any point for convenience (at no cost to the GLA) 
    are managed in such a manner, and any services, supplies, works deliverables, milestones and/or output requirements are structured, to mitigate risks of the GLA incurring abortive expenditure (which might reasonably be taken to fetter the exercise of such discretion).
 

7.1.    Subject to approval, officers will: 

•    finalise a revised agreement with international partners
•    ensure inclusion of required governance provisions
•    confirm London’s continued participation.

7.2.    Delivery will continue through the established CTPN governance structure and work programme.