ADD2321 London Homeless Charities Group

In 2017, 18 rough sleeping charities formed the London Homeless Charities Group (LHCG). Its mission statement is as follows:
‘The LHCG is working towards ending homelessness. We are committed to sharing best practice, sharing ideas and developing fundraising campaigns to assist in achieving our goal of ending homelessness. The LHCG believes that each member of the coalition should support work with other organisations that can provide people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with supportive services and tailored housing solutions.’

The Group received donations made via the Mayor’s first rough sleeping winter campaign in 2017/18 and is again the recipient of donations made via the Mayor’s rough sleeping winter campaign currently underway. Its membership has expanded this year, to 22 homelessness charities.

Since it was formed, it has been co-ordinated by one of its members - St Mungo Community Housing Association (St Mungo’s). St Mungo’s approached the GLA for grant funding towards the cost of activities arising from the Group being the recipient of donations made via this year’s Mayor’s winter campaign, as it become apparent during last year’s campaign that significant more resource than anticipated was needed to undertake the range of tasks needed. These activities fall into three broad areas:

• Membership: managing the membership of the LHCG to ensure that all members who receive donations are registered charities operating in London whose main focus is on tacking or preventing rough sleeping.
• Administration and coordination: ensuring there are agreements in place regarding funding, publicity, and other responsibilities between all LHCG members, the GLA, and all donation platforms and providing the central liaison point between all parties. They also ensure that all LHCG members are aware of and meet their monitoring obligations, and aggregate and produce monitoring reports.
• Donation administration: responding to comments and questions on the GoFundMe donation platform and providing up to date information about the progress of the appeal and donations. It also involves ensuring there is the required information to distribute donations to LHCG members do so at agreed times over the course of the campaign and engaging with the company providing the donation platform on areas relevant to processing of donations, such as GDPR.

Additional resource is needed for management time, support on specialist matters and press and PR activities.

The total cost of these activities is £30,834, of which the GLA’s proposed contribution is £20,571.

As St Mungo’s performed a similar coordination role for last year’s campaign and has the resources to do so again, and with no other LHCG members inclined to take on this essential work, no formal competition process for this grant funding is deemed necessary.

To maximise donations by Londoners via the Mayor’s 2018/19 winter rough sleeping campaign, by providing a single donation point.

To ensure that donations are correctly disbursed to and used by LHCG members, to prevent and tackle rough sleeping in London.

To ensure that there is comprehensive and robust monitoring information on how donations are used by the LHCG members.

Under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the GLA must have ‘due regard’ of the need to:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; and

• Advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not.

Of those seen rough sleeping in 2017/18:

• 46 per cent were non-UK nationals;
• 50 per cent had a mental health need;
• 15 per cent were women;
• Most of those seen rough sleeping (56 per cent) were in the 26-45 age group;
• Eight per cent were under 26 years old;
• 11 per cent were over 55; and
• 11 people were under 18.

As rough sleepers are over-represented among those with the protected characteristics of race and disability, the proposals in this paper are likely to have positive impacts on these groups. By facilitating the raising of funds to help this group of people, the donations raised because of the campaign, and which would not be possible without the funding of this post, will positively impact those with protected characteristics who access the services that the donation allow the 22 charities to offer.

Among the 22 members of the LHCG, some focus their work particularly on groups with protected characteristics. Examples include the Albert Kennedy Trust, which works with young LGBTQ+ people, and charities funding projects that specifically help those with mental or physical health support needs.

1. Key risks and issues:

2. Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

​​​​​​​The objectives of the proposals are in line with the Mayor’s London Housing Strategy, which includes a commitment that ‘Rough sleepers should be supported off the streets as quickly and sustainably as possible.’.

3. Impact assessments and consultations

The London Housing Strategy has been subject to a full-integrated impact assessment (/sites/default/files/2018_lhs_impact_assessment...) and statutory consultation.

This decision requests approval for revenue expenditure of £20,571 to grant funding St Mungo Community Housing Association (St Mungo’s) towards the costs of co-ordinating the relationship between the London Homeless Charities Group and the GLA campaign in 2018/19. This funding will be used to fund a full-time co-ordinator for four months from the middle of September and a donor care assistant (0.5 FTE) from November to February, inclusive of travel, insurance and overheads.

The above expenditure will be funded from the Housing and Land Management and Consultancy budget and is expected to be incurred in 2018-19.