DD2758 Civil Society and Sport unit projects that Celebrate London 2025-26

1.1.    The GLA’s Civil Society and Sport unit (CSS) delivers on the Mayor’s priorities to work with communities and civil society groups across London, to encourage active participation in community and civic life. It supports Londoners of all ages to volunteer, live active lives, and take action to improve London.
1.2.    The work also contributes towards wider organisational outcomes that:
•    Londoners feel able to take part in the city’s cultural life
•    London is a world-leading global city.
1.3.    This Decision seeks approval for expenditure of up to £170,000 for projects increasing diversity in volunteering, supporting the volunteering sector with best practice and reward and recognition, providing opportunities to volunteer, enabling voluntary and community organisations to connect more effectively with prospective volunteers, and collaborating with the National Lottery Community Fund to deliver the Mayor’s Community Weekend. It also seeks approval for the receipt and expenditure of income of up to £70,000 for Visitor Welcome and Major Event work costs incurred during the deployment of volunteers.
1.4.    Projects within this Decision will continue to ensure community representation and the celebration of our city’s diversity, help people to express pride in the city they call home, and support them to feel represented in their city. They will support how the Mayor works best in partnership with communities, charities and the creative sectors to deliver for Londoners. Projects include plans to support major events of global and national significance, to continue to work to attract major sporting events to London, and to encourage the participation of Londoners, and a sense of pride. The unit workplan recognises that volunteering has multiple benefits for Londoners, and that it should be accessible to all, and outlines how the GLA’s work will focus on promoting volunteering and how to give Londoners the opportunity to participate more directly in London’s cultural offer. The workplan also includes a focus on local events and celebrations, with consideration of how access to community events and cultural activity in all parts of London can be achieved.
1.5.    It is proposed that the Executive Director of Strategy and Communications approve expenditure totalling £170,000 for the delivery of projects set out within this Decision, with budget allocated  projects as set out in the table below:

1.6.    Further to the expenditure as set out at paragraph 1.5, it is proposed that the Executive Director of Strategy and Communications approve the receipt of third-party income of up to £70,000 for the Visitor Welcome and Major Events work (see paragraphs 2.10 to 2.14 below). 
 

Simply Connect volunteer website: £20,000
2.1.    Between 2013 and 2024, the GLA delivered the Team London Volunteering website as a key platform for volunteer brokerage across the capital. Following a strategic review, it was determined that the GLA would not maintain the Team London site as a long-term offer. To ensure continuity for users and avoid a gap in London’s volunteer infrastructure, CSS sought proposals from organisations that were seeking to develop a platform which aligned with GLA priorities, and having reviewed their proposed project a £50,000 grant (ADD2561) was awarded to Simply Connect Solutions Ltd. This new platform, Simply Volunteer London, launched in March 2024. An additional £11,000 (via MD3033) was approved to fund inflation-related costs and improve site accessibility and user experience. In 2023–24, a further £32,000 was granted for site maintenance, operation, and development, followed by an additional £23,000 in 2024–25 to support ongoing operational delivery of the platform. This brought the GLA’s total investment since 2022 to £116,000.

2.2.    A grant of up to £20,000 in 2025-26 to Simply Connect Solutions Ltd will fund service delivery, site maintenance, operational and development costs. This will support improvements to the user journey based on sector feedback, address technical issues, and allow for continued exploration of future platform development. The investment aligns with the GLA’s commitment to promoting volunteering and ensuring all Londoners have equitable, high-quality access to volunteering opportunities and can play a full and equal part in the life of our city.

2.3.    The development, launch and continued GLA support of Simply Volunteer London contributes to the continued free of charge availability of a citywide volunteer brokerage website following the closure of the Team London platform. Since its launch, the site has supported thousands of Londoners in finding and engaging with volunteering opportunities, while enabling voluntary and community organisations to connect more effectively with prospective volunteers. Planned updates will build on this foundation to improve the user journey, enhance accessibility, and strengthen the platform’s long-term sustainability. This work celebrates London by fostering civic participation, strengthening community connections, and helping ensure that all Londoners can take part in and benefit from volunteering and will be used to highlight causes and opportunities that support Mayoral priorities. 

The Mayor’s Community Weekend: £50,000 
2.4.    The Mayor’s Community Weekend is a collaboration between the Mayor of London and The National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF). The Mayor’s Community Weekend delivers events and activities designed to bring Londoners together and celebrate the city’s vibrant culture, communities and diversity, with TNLCF providing small grants to community groups across the capital. The initiative was first held in June 2023, when £250,000 was awarded to 185 community groups. Following its success, the Mayor’s Community Weekend will return in September 2025, with £385,000 of National Lottery funding set to support over 200 community organisations across London. This work celebrates London and Londoners, with City Hall providing participating groups with guidance and support. Expenditure of up to £50,000 in 2025-26 will assist organisations to increase the impact of their events. Procured in accordance with the GLA Contracts and Funding code, this includes access to branded event materials and promotional merchandise, the distribution of event packs to grantees, training Team London volunteers to become filmmakers and videographers and photographers to record groups before and during the events, as well as costs associated with delivering and evaluating this project.

2.5.    2025 will also see the deployment of the Mayor’s Team London Volunteers to support events, with some volunteers trained as volunteer filmmakers, to interview, capture and share the experience of volunteers from funded groups. This deployment is in line with the outcomes and recommendations of the 2025 Team London Volunteer Review to provide opportunities for Londoners to participate in community events in line with Mayoral priorities.

2.6.    The Mayor’s Community Weekend will deliver meaningful outcomes by supporting over 200 community-led events across London, directly engaging thousands of Londoners through activities that reflect the city's diversity, bring communities together and enabling Londoners to participate in culture and community events across the city. Groups will benefit from practical support, enhancing awareness of their work in their communities. The mobilisation of Team London Volunteers to support selected events will deliver additional capacity for the events. Furthermore, the cohort of trained volunteer filmmakers capturing compelling stories from community organisers and volunteers, will amplify community voices and celebrate grassroots impact. This work celebrates London by showcasing the richness of London’s cultures and communities, encouraging civic participation, and building pride in local neighbourhoods with volunteer stories added to the London Lifelines website (a sector resource that highlights and showcases the positive experiences and value of volunteering in London).

Supporting the volunteering sector: £25,000
2.7.    CSS will deliver support to, and promote volunteering in London. Work will primarily focus on reward and recognition, and increasing equity and accessibility in volunteering to give Londoners the opportunity to participate more directly in London's cultural offer and to build skills. This will include convening the Equitable Volunteering Forum, which brings together volunteer managers from across the sector to share best practice, build inclusive approaches, and strengthen efforts to engage underrepresented groups, delivered via a new series of forum events. CSS will also explore policies and interventions to improve trustee diversity within the boards of London’s civil society organisations. In addition, volunteer reward and recognition will celebrate the contributions of those who give their time to support communities. This initiative will highlight the impact of volunteering through targeted campaigns, storytelling, and inclusive recognition events to ensure volunteers feel valued. Together, these activities will promote a culture of appreciation, support greater inclusion, and help grow participation in volunteering across the capital.

2.8.    Expenditure of up to £25,000 will be used to procure (in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code) event requirements and associated costs of convening the Equitable Volunteering Forum. It will also be used to procure research data and convene sector experts to feed into the work on improving trustee diversity as well as testing ideas to reduce the financial burden of trusteeship. Expenditure will also be used for the development of communications materials, event delivery, and outreach, and to support mayoral visits and communications (including professional videography and photography) for work on supporting Volunteer Reward and Recognition. This work directly supports the Mayor’s aim to celebrate London by promoting equitable access to volunteering, civic pride, and greater social connection across the capital.

2.9.    The Equitable Volunteering Forum events will provide a consistent platform for volunteer managers to share best practice, and work with the sector and experts will explore policy and practical interventions resulting in strengthened inclusive approaches across the sector and improved trustee diversity within civil society organisations. CSS will utilise key sector moments throughout the year, (including the Mayor’s Community Weekend, Trustees’ Week, Volunteers’ Week, and International Volunteer Day) to recognise and celebrate the contribution of London’s volunteers. These coordinated activities will support the Mayor’s ambition for a stronger, more inclusive volunteering ecosystem by building sector capacity, increasing visibility, and encouraging participation from underrepresented communities. 

Visitor Welcome and Major Events volunteering: GLA budget of £75,000 and income of up to £70,000
2.10.    The CSS volunteering team (Team London Volunteering) create accessible and rewarding volunteering opportunities. An annual programme of events includes volunteering for major sporting and cultural events and supporting strategic partnerships to promote the city as a leading global destination. Events and high-profile partnerships in recent years include Formula-E, Champions League football and European Rugby. These events increase the opportunity to boost the reputation of London as a welcoming global city. As well as the advantages to London, the volunteering opportunities can bring significant benefits to volunteers. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations’ (NCVO’s) Time Well Spent research points out several benefits of volunteering – such as reduced isolation, increased contact with people from different backgrounds or cultures, improved health and wellbeing, and new skills and experiences (NCVO, 2023). The Mayor’s volunteering team aims to bring the benefits of volunteering to all Londoners. Following a strategic review of this work in 2024-25, future volunteering deployments and volunteering opportunities will be more aligned with mayoral priorities, such as providing positive opportunities for young people during school holidays and term time and a refined major events volunteering project providing more diverse opportunities for volunteers to support at sporting and cultural events. 

2.11.    To enhance opportunities for all Londoners to support each other and their city through volunteering, expenditure will be used for project delivery and management costs. The external funding will be sought from event organisers to support costs related to deploying volunteers at their events. This value has been estimated using the roster of events in previous years. This expenditure covers delivery costs such risk assessments; volunteer expenses to ensure that opportunities are accessible (not cost-prohibitive) and equitable; training events including equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI); customer service-specific training and materials; uniform; and technical equipment. Expenditure will also cover accessibility (such as British Sign Language interpreters/taxis/additional transport) to reduce barriers to participation; temporary staff to support delivery at peak times; and a specialist volunteer management system. These resources are used throughout the year across numerous events including the London Marathon and the New Year’s Eve fireworks; and for multiple sporting and cultural events, as well as for the deployment of volunteers who support London’s crisis response as required. These support requirements will be procured in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code. Where the income is raised by the provision of discretionary services, the charges for the services will not exceed the costs of providing the services.

2.12.    The programme of events planned so far for 2025-26 anticipates delivering over 7,500 volunteering hours, with additional opportunities to be added throughout the year. Volunteers will support the delivery of major events and projects aligned with Mayoral priorities. A key initiative for 2025 is Holiday Hope, which will provide structured volunteering opportunities during both term time and school holidays. Volunteers will support young people’s development by delivering mock interviews and career talks in schools, helping to build essential employability skills. During holiday periods, the same volunteers will be redeployed to support Kitchen Social events across London, creating safe, welcoming spaces where young people can make friends, access nutritious meals, and take part in positive activities. The 2025 pilot aims to deliver high-quality youth opportunities, with a view to scaling the initiative in future school breaks.

2.13.    The Major Events volunteering strand will continue to position London as a global host city by mobilising trained volunteers to support the successful delivery of international and Mayor of London run events. Having deployed volunteers for the UEFA Champions League Final and the men’s and women’s UEFA EUROs as part of London’s host city obligations, this area will expand to offer a broader range of roles both within and beyond the event venues. At least one major international event and up to ten Mayoral events will be supported annually, enabling Londoners to gain valuable experience while enhancing the city’s reputation for excellent event delivery. This work also contributes to developing a skilled, inclusive volunteer workforce that reflects London’s diversity and civic pride.

2.14.    Summer and Autumn 2025 will also see the deployment of the Mayor’s Team London Volunteers to support a select number of events with volunteering support (such as event set up, marshalling and wayfinding) and trained volunteer filmmakers (who will interview and capture and share the experience of volunteers from funded groups).This deployment is in line with the outcomes and recommendations of the 2025 Team London Volunteer Review, to provide opportunities for Londoners to participate in community events in line with Mayoral priorities. This work will also enable volunteers to celebrate London, connect with fellow Londoners of diverse cultures, and take part in events within their local communities.
 

3.1.    Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (the 2010 Act), as a public authority, the GLA must have ‘due regard’ to the need to: eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and any conduct that is prohibited by or under the 2010 Act; and advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. Protected characteristics under the Equality Act are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status (the duty in respect of this last characteristic is to eliminate unlawful discrimination only).  
3.2.    Simply Volunteer London targets inequality in access to volunteering by improving how individuals connect with volunteering opportunities. Informed by sector research, including the experiences of disabled Londoners and those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, the platform’s design supports inclusive volunteering through clear, accessible features and functionality. The GLA’s continued investment in the platform reflects its commitment to ensuring volunteering infrastructure meets the needs of a diverse population. The platform helps to remove digital and structural barriers to participation and supports organisations in reaching and engaging volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds. This work advances equality of opportunity and fosters good relations between groups by enabling more Londoners to engage meaningfully with their communities through volunteering.
3.3.    The Mayor’s Community Weekend provides an opportunity for Londoners from all communities to participate in and benefit from local community events. The project encourages applications from grassroots organisations that work with communities under-represented in civic life, including ethnic minority communities, disabled Londoners, LGBTQ+ people, and faith-based groups. Monitoring of grant recipients includes equalities data to help assess reach, identify participation trends and adjust approaches where required. This aligns with the Public Sector Equality Duty by removing barriers to participation, advancing equality of opportunity, and fostering good relations between different communities across London.
3.4.    The Civil Society and Sport unit previously commissioned research to look at the barriers and challenges involved in enabling Londoners to participate in volunteering. This was to ensure that volunteering and social action projects are structured in a way that is as appealing, equitable and accessible as possible. The GLA’s work to support inclusive volunteering builds on this research to strengthen good practice in removing the barriers to volunteering; and, thus, ensure that volunteering is open to all. As part of the selection and recruitment process, the work takes specific steps to monitor the participation of volunteers from ethnic minority groups, and those who identify as disabled and adjust approaches where required. This work aims to ensure that the make-up of volunteers represents London’s population in relation to ethnicity and disability. The 2019 Survey of Londoners showed that volunteering and social action participation improves social integration. As such, increasing accessibility of opportunities will improve rates of social integration experienced by volunteers – thereby meeting the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty to foster good relations between groups.  
3.5.    Delivering accessible volunteering opportunities for Londoners is the focus of this volunteering work, and extensive work is undertaken to reflect the diversity of London in our volunteer pool. In 2022 a working group of Team London volunteers who identified as Black, Asian or Minority ethnic, disabled and/or neurodiverse came together (with the support of Team London staff and EDI consultants) to discuss their experience and put together a set of recommendations about how the volunteer experience can be improved. The recommendations of the group were implemented in 2023-24 and continue to be reviewed and updated.  
3.6.    After a comprehensive review of the focus and purpose of the Mayor’s Team London Volunteer programme and the deployment of volunteers, the outcome confirmed a refocus of volunteering opportunities aligning with Mayoral priorities, developing volunteering offers in partnership with global events hosted in the capital, and improving the volunteering journey, with the intention of creating a high-quality volunteering experience and a skilled and diverse volunteer workforce.
 

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

4.2.    The projects outlined in this decision support the following Mayoral strategies and priorities: 
•    Increasing opportunities for Londoners to volunteer; and for communities to connect, come together and celebrate. This supports the Mayor’s aim for London to be a city for everyone; and a place where all communities are welcome, respected and celebrated, and can engage in the opportunities that the city has to offer, including through volunteering.  

•    Seeking to make London a fairer city by tackling structural inequalities. This will be done by investing in partnerships with civil society organisations; and using intelligence, insights and trends from the sector to help shape potential interventions.  
•    Providing positive opportunities for young people during school holidays and term time. This will be done by deploying adult volunteers at schools to conduct mock interviews and career talks, as well as supporting in delivering Kitchen Social community events during school holidays.  

•    Positioning London as a global leader in hosting sporting events. This will be achieved through an enhanced major events volunteering offer which is planned to be scaled up to support events such as UEFA EURO 2028 and position Team London Volunteering so it can play a role in major events bids, including a potential bid for the 2040 Olympic Games.
Subsidy control 
4.3.    The proposed award to further funding (£20,000) to Simply Connect Solutions Ltd as a contribution of its Simply Volunteer London volunteer brokerage website (as described in paragraphs 2.1 - 2.3) has been considered by GLA officers in line with the GLA’s obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022.  
4.4.    Officers do not consider that the proposed award constitutes a subsidy. This is because the award does not meet all four limbs of the subsidy test set out in the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Specifically, the proposed award fails 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 brokerage website service is not-for-profit, free to use, and with 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.
4.5.    Simply Connect Solutions Ltd was first established as a Voluntary Action group and moved into creating software to support community development, working across sectors to bring people together and build delivery partnerships, design digital pathways, and provide online services to deliver sector and community support.
4.6.    The Simply Volunteer London platform is a unique service for the London civil society sector, creating vital capacity that the sector needs, and opportunities to volunteer that deliver multiple benefits for Londoners. This funding is required to allow this vital service to continue which would otherwise not exist. 
Conflict of interest
4.7.    There are no conflicts of interest arising from those involved in the drafting and clearance of this decision form. If any conflicts of interest arise during the delivery of initiatives contained within this Decision, they will be handled in line with the GLA policy on registering and declaring interests. 
 

5.1.    This decision seeks approval for expenditure of up to £240,000 (consisting of GLA budgets totalling up to £170,000 and external income of up to £70,000) and receipt of up to £70,000 external income for projects that encourage active participation in community and civic life, support Londoners of all ages to volunteer, ensure community representation and celebrate London and Londoners.
5.2.    Expenditure of £170,000 will be funded by the following Civil Society and Sport unit programme budgets: Website and awareness (£70,000); Reward and Recognition (£25,000) and Visitor Welcome (£75,000). External income of up to £70,000 will be sought from third parties in relation to the programme-related expenditure.
5.3.    The GLA funded expenditure totalling £170,000 is allocated to projects as set out in the table below:

6.1    The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Director concern the exercise of the Authority’s general powers; falling within the Authority’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further, or that are facilitative of, or conducive or incidental to, the promotion of economic development and wealth creation and social development in Greater London; and in formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought officers have complied with the Authority’s related statutory duties to:
6.1.1.    pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people 
6.1.2.    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 
6.1.3.    consult with appropriate bodies.
6.2    In taking the decisions requested, the Director 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 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 share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Director should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report. 
6.3    The Subsidy Control Act 2022 requires that proposed award of grant funding to Simply Connect Solutions Ltd be assessed in relation to its requirements. Officers have made this assessment and have set out at sections 4.3 to 4.6 above and have concluded that the funding proposed does not amount to an unlawful subsidy.
6.4    If the Director makes the decisions sought, officers must ensure that:
•    no reliance is placed upon, nor commitments made to expenditure which relies upon future years budgets or as yet unsecured third-party funding until they have been approved and secured;
•    to the extent that expenditure concerns the award of grant funding, it is distributed fairly, transparently, in manner that affords value for money and in accordance with the requirements of the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code; such awards meet the requirements of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 where applicable and grant funding agreements are put in place between, and executed by, the GLA and recipients before any commitment to fund is made; and
•    to the extent that expenditure concerns the purchase of services, supplies or works they are procured in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code; and contracts are put in place between and executed by the GLA and contractors before commencement of such services supplies or works.