DD2624 No Wrong Door – additional funding and reallocation of funds

1.1 The Good Work mission aims to “support Londoners into good jobs with a focus on sectors key to London’s recovery”. There is a strong emphasis on Londoners that have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and face structural inequalities.

1.2 The Good Work mission includes four project strands. One of them is the ‘No Wrong Door’ (NWD) initiative. The overarching vision for this, 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.”

1.3 In terms of governance, the Skills for Londoners (SfL) Recovery Task and Finish Group sat as a subordinate body to the SfL Board until March 2022 and provided a steer on the implementation and delivery of the mission. It reported into the SfL Board and SfL Business Partnership (now known as the Jobs and Skills Business Partnership). Since the SfL Recovery Task and Finish Group was disbanded in March 2022, the SfL Board and Jobs and Skills Business Partnership provides steer on the implementation and delivery of the Good Work mission.

1.4 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.

1.5 Under cover of MD2833, the Mayor approved expenditure of £720,000 for NWD across two financial years (£500,000 in 2021-22 and £220,000 in 2022-23). There was an expectation that further match funding or in-kind support would be secured from key project partners, including the DWP, sub-regional partnerships (SRPs), and London Councils, and that the GLA and its key project partners would explore additional ways of augmenting delivery to maximise impact given the scale of the intervention required.

1.6 In May 2021, the GLA applied for funding to the government’s United Kingdom Community Renewal Fund (UKCRF) to support the expansion of the NWD initiative.

1.7 In November 2021 the government shortlisted six London-based projects to receive funding from the UKCRF, totalling £3,788,211.79. On 25 November 2021, the Mayor approved the receipt of that allocation (MD2851) and that the GLA acts as the organisation responsible for administering these funds in London on behalf of the UK government, setting the financial delegation limits relating to the six projects.

1.8 The NWD was one of the projects awarded funding by the UKCRF, receiving £500,000, to be matched with £500,000 from the existing programme budget. The new grant supported the NWD activities from 8 November 2021 to 31 December 2022. The original end date was 30 June 2022 but delays to rollout by central government meant the grant was extended to 31 December 2022.

1.9 As outlined in MD2916, in December 2021 an additional £840,000 across three financial years (£280,000 in 2022-23; 280,000 in 2023-24; and £280,000 in 2024-25) was allocated to further support the NWD, subject to approval. It was also agreed that future NWD programme level decisions within the scope of this decision would be delegated to the Executive Director for Communities and Skills via a DD form, including receipt and expenditure of additional funding.

2.1 The objectives and programme delivery approach of NWD are recorded in MD2833. The GLA and London Councils have worked with key stakeholders across London – including the DWP and the borough SRPs, to produce working definitions of NWD that set out a clear vision of how the system could look different:

i. for Londoners, NWD will 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

ii. for service organisations and providers, NWD will 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, which will allow Londoners, delivery partners and other stakeholders to be referred to and access services that are right for them, or the individuals they are supporting

iii. NWD will support multi-agency, person-centred models of practical support that put the needs of service users and job seekers at the heart of service planning and provision

iv. 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, including health services, housing, childcare, and Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) support.

2.2 NWD is currently delivering three strands of activity to meet the programme objectives:

i. Integration Hubs: grant funding for SRPs to establish and deliver virtual ‘Integration Hubs’ to help coordinate skills and employment services within their localities. This element went live in Q4 2021-22. The delivery of the first phase will be completed on 31 March 2023, in line with the current grant agreements. An outputs and outcomes framework for this strand is attached in Appendix A. The GLA will continue to use this framework to monitor the delivery progress of the hubs in Years 2 and 3.

ii. A research, innovation and marketing programme to identify ways to better connect Londoners to skills and job support opportunities, including production of a minimal viable product for this, and promotional activity. Work on this started in Q4 2021-22. Research partners, the Young Foundation, have produced a draft final report and an Integration Hubs toolkit in Q3 2022-23. The research findings and recommendations are informing Stage 2 of the Research & Innovation strand and will inform the pilot programme. London Councils and the DWP are involved in planning Stage 2.  

iii. Pilot funding to help places design, prototype and develop pilots for new models to promote NWD in practice (scoping activity planned for Q1 2023-24).

2.3 In addition, the GLA has commissioned an evaluation which has been reviewing the impact of the programme against its original programme aims. The evaluators are also working together with the subregional partners. The programme logic model (see Appendix B) sets out how early hub interventions and activity is expected to result in medium and long-term impact.

Programme Delivery – Integration hubs

2.4 This element has been developed in partnership with London Councils, the DWP and the SRPs and builds on year one delivery and the findings of the first-year evaluation. The overall progress from the hubs have been successful. They have shown to be engaging in many activities and events to help Londoners back into work.

2.5 The ICF report shows there is extensive evidence that the programme is meeting its objectives and hub plans have made significant progress. The four SRPs are in the process of each developing a detailed proposal for the next two years of delivery based on learnings from Year 1, geographic priorities and local need. SRPs will receive grant funding (via their accountable local authority) to resource and manage their hubs and deliver key activities.

2.6 The GLA expects the hubs will maintain the service levels of Year 1, while expanding the reach and impact of the hubs in Years 2 and 3 based on the learnings from Year 1. The project proposals for Years 2 and 3 will set out how their planned delivery activity will meet the programme objectives and measure impact in the themes set out in the programme logic model (see Appendix B). The themes include resident engagement/experience, referral practices, and partnerships/collaboration.

2.7 Indicative areas of activity may include:

i. identifying and helping to address practical barriers to integration and partnership working, including sub-regionally and pan-London

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

iii. supporting improved partnership working in alignment with NWD principles

iv. bringing in service user voice and improving employer engagement with skills and employment provision

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

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

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

viii. developing frameworks to measure impact including but not limited to pulse surveys, data collection, referrals, and feedback from residents and stakeholders.

2.8 Project deliverables are to be confirmed but may include:

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

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

iii. improved partnership working through the development of appropriate partnership structures and arrangements

iv. tools, training, good practice networks to embed best practice

v. sustainability plans to support the continuation of key structures and activities beyond the timeframe of the project

vi. key learning and best practice insights will be shared with the London Recovery Programme (GLA and London Councils) and project partners (including other integration hubs).

2.9 The budget allocated to the Integration Hubs approved under the cover of MD2916 of £280k per year in 2023-24 and 2024-25 does not reflect the increased costs of delivery, so would result in a scaling down of activity. Therefore, over £380k of the additional £440k will be used to increase the Integration Hubs budget for the next two years of delivery to allow the hubs to maintain delivery of the programme and to reflect the increased cost of delivering in London (see Table 1 on page 7/8 below for a programme level breakdown of activity). This will allow the Hubs to address key structural barriers to Londoners gaining employment, facilitating the greater integration of skills and employment provision across London.

Research, innovation and marketing programme

2.10 The Research & Innovation programme is composed of two stages. The first stage involved a programme of research and engagement with Londoners, partners and practitioners (March 2021 to December 2022), followed by a second stage of developing practical tools or a platform (January 2023 to March 2024). There are plans to commission an external agency to support the GLA in developing practical innovative tools for this second stage. This DD seeks to extend the end of the Research & Innovation programme from March 2023 to March 2024 to ensure that the focus of Stage 2 is based on the findings of Stage 1 and can be co-created with the DWP and London Councils. This does not have any budget implications.

2.11 The following outcomes have resulted from Stage 1 of the Research & innovation programme:

i. undertook customer journey analysis, mapping pathways especially for priority groups most at risk of exclusion, to identify how more coordinated provision can support them and improve their access to provision – 136 Londoners from priority groups participated in this research

ii. established a baseline of how well coordinated provision is currently and used this baseline to track the impact of project interventions

iii. captured a picture of how integration of systems is currently working through 100+ provider survey responses and 100+ partners attending sub-regional co-creation workshops

iv. identifying and disseminated best practice in coordination and integration of provision, through the development of a toolkit for Integration Hubs

v. identified opportunity areas for the GLA and partner intervention to take forward in Stage 2, including influencing future UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), a proportion of which has been earmarked to support NWD in 2024-25.

2.12 Stage 2 will draw on the insights and evidence from the first phase of the project to design and develop a minimum viable product or intervention to promote visibility and awareness of and access to skills and employment support opportunities in London.

Pilot set-up fund

2.13 To support concept development and prototyping of new practice models or interventions, a key aim of the programme 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.

2.14 Areas of focus are to be confirmed but may include models that:

i. accelerate and scale existing activity that has shown evidence of impact

ii. involve multi-agency practice that aligns with the recovery programme

iii. build referral networks and pathways into opportunities in the Adult Education Budget, linked to the Skills Roadmap for London / policy priorities

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

v. support user-led services and pathways, and directly bring resident and user voice into decision-making and service planning.

2.15 Project deliverables may include:

i. commissioning specialist support and guidance

ii. pilot prototypes and plans

iii. align the objectives of Stage 2 with the UKSPF commissioning round for people and skills in partnership with London Councils.

a. The GLA will continue to explore securing further match funding from other sources for pilot set‑up support, for example via the DWP’s Flexible Support Fund. Any ideas or concepts that are supported will have a realistic prospect of being fundable, deliverable and sustainable from sources outside of the GLA.

b. The pilot programme will be informed by Stages 1 and 2 of the research & Innovation programme, and the evaluation of year 1 of the Integration Hubs. For this reason, the pilot programme scoping will begin early in the 2023-24 financial year.

2.16 The current indicated focus for the pilot project (based on Stage 1) includes:

i. a new commissioning and funding framework

ii. holistic learning and development models for practitioners

iii. co-creating principles for employment support

iv. aligning with UKSPF people and skills funding pillar 2024-25.

Evaluation and learning

2.17 The GLA has procured evaluation partners, ICF, with the possibility of extending their contract to continue the evaluation into years 2 and 3 of the programme. Having received their draft interim report in November 2022, the GLA will continue to work with them to develop the evaluation into years 2 and 3 to focus on measuring impact of the programme.

2.18 Interim evaluation findings indicate strong evidence of hubs undertaking activities that would not otherwise be happening. This includes bringing new partners together and discussing issues that were not actively being addressed, engaging the sub-regional system, engaging residents, improving the quality of referral practises and creating the conditions to improve referral practises in the future. ICF have confirmed that the programme rationale and theory basis have proven to be robust. There is a clear apparent need, previously uncatered for, for additional focus on streamlining the employment and skills system in London.

2.19 In order to extend the evaluation contract to cover the extended period of delivery to 2024-25, approval is sought for an additional £70k, bringing the evaluation total to £119,000, increased from £49,000.

Management and Administration

2.20 This will fund GLA staffing resource to contract manage elements of the programme. Where required, new posts will be approved through the parallel “establishment control” process. This has been reduced to half a salary, as the other half will be funded by the staff member’s other responsibilities (e.g., the Mayor’s Academy Programme).

2.21 Due to the complex nature of the programme more staff time has been spent on the programme than originally intended. It is therefore requested to increase spend from £140k to £200k over the programme lifetime.

2.21 It is anticipated that £130k will have been spent on salaries by the end of 2022-23, of which £54k will have been contributed by the UKCRF. A total increase of management and administration costs of £60k across the lifetime of the programme is being requested to ensure dedicated staff support to contract manage the programme.

2.23 Funding for 2023-24 and 2024-25 will reflect the reduced need of staffing oversight once the Integration Hubs have been established, so funding for just one 0.5 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) member of staff will oversee contract management of the Integration This post will be responsible for contract management of the hubs and this amendment has been detailed in Table 1 below.  

2.24 The revised NWD programme budget breakdown which reflects additional GLA funds, spend in 2021-22 and proposed budget over the programme lifetime is outlined in Table 1 overleaf. Some underspend from previous years has been reprofiled into 2023-24 and 2024-25, however this does not require a decision under 18/14 of ‘Mayoral Decision-Making in the GLA’ document:

Table 1[3]:  Revised budget breakdown

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:

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

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

iii. 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 re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

3.3 Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion is a cross-cutting principle across the London Recovery Programme The interventions outlined in this DD are aimed at supporting those most at risk from the impact of the economic crisis brought on by Covid-19. Priority groups include learners from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities; learners without basic skills; learners with special needs or disabilities; lone parents; and low-paid learners. However, the groups referenced in the Good Work for All mission are also considered to be priority groups and include those hit hardest by the pandemic including young people; newly unemployed people; people with caring responsibilities; people at risk of redundancy; and Londoners with the most complex needs, such as disabled Londoners and the ‑long-term unemployed. The GLA has consulted on the equalities impact of these changes with key sector representatives, and will closely monitor, review, and evaluate their impact.

4.1 Key risks and mitigation measures are outlined below. These may be refined following further stakeholder engagement and evaluation work.

           Table 2:

Links to Mayoral Strategies and Priorities

4.2 The programme outlined in this DD aligns with commitments made in the Mayor’s Skills for Londoners (SfL) Strategy and the Skills Roadmap for London which sets the direction of travel for adult education and skills in London over the Mayoral term and beyond. In the Skills Roadmap for London, the Mayor commits to fostering a more integrated skills and employment system, including with other public services and support, through establishing the NWD Integration Hubs. It will support the London Recovery Board’s Programme and the Helping Londoners into Good Work mission.

Consultation

4.3 This is a partnership programme between the GLA, London Councils and the DWP. There has been regular consultation with these key partners through monthly strategic meetings, and through workshops relating to the research & innovation strand.

4.4 There has been an extensive research programme undertaken in partnership with the Young Foundation, which consulted with 135+ Londoners from priority groups, and with 150+ providers working across the system. The findings have been incorporated into the design and implementation of each of the NWD programme strands.

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

5.1 This decision seeks approval for the expenditure of an additional £440,000 of GLA funds to the No Wrong Door (NWD) programme, specifically to fund the continuation of the Integration Hubs into years 2023-24 and 2024-25, previously covered under MD2833. This, with the existing budget of £2.06m (approved under the cover of MD2833 and MD2916), brings the approved value of the programme to £2.5m over its lifetime (2021-22 to 2024-25).

5.2 MD2916 delegates authority to make future NWD programme-level decisions within the scope of the decision to the Executive Director for Communities and Skills. This includes approval to receive and spend additional funds (even in excess of £150,000) secured for the programme.

5.3 The revised NWD programme budget breakdown which reflects additional GLA funds, actual spend in 2021-22 and proposed budget over the programme lifetime is outlined in Table 3 below:

Table 3:

5.4 Budget allocation for future financial years (2023-24 and 2024-25) will be subject to the annual budget setting process and is subject to change. The expenditure of £440,000 from the Skills No Wrong Door budget across the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 is assumed to be affordable and can only be confirmed when the budget allocation is formally approved in March 2023.

5.5 Any contracts that commit the GLA in future years are subject to appropriate break clauses.

6.1 The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Executive Director of Communities and Skills 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 improvement of the environment, in Greater London.

6.2 In implementing the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought, officers should comply with the GLA’s related statutory duties to:

i. pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people

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

iii. consult with appropriate bodies.

6.3 In taking the decisions requested, as noted in section 3 above, the Executive Director of Communities and Skills must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010; to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, gender, age, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment) and persons who do not share it; and to foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. To this end, the Executive Director of Communities and Skills should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

6.4 Section 1 of this report indicates that part of the sought budget will amount to the provision of funding. Officers must ensure that the funding is distributed fairly; transparently; in accordance with the GLA’s equality policy and subsidy control rules; and in a manner that affords value for money in accordance with the GLA Contracts and Funding Code. Officers must ensure that an appropriate funding agreement is put in place and executed by the GLA and the recipient before any commitment to funding is made.

Appendix A – Outputs and outcomes framework for Integration Hubs

Appendix B – Programme Logic Model for evaluation purposes