Key information
Decision type: Director
Reference code: DD2113
Date signed:
Decision by: Jeff Jacobs , Head of Paid Service
Executive summary
The Home Office funds the Greater London Authority (GLA) to lead the London Strategic Migration Partnership (LSMP), which provide a strategic leadership, advisory, coordination and development function for migration and integration in London.
This year, the GLA has secured agreement from the Home Office for additional funding to progress development of a community sponsorship model for the resettlement of Syrian refugees in London.
The grant will cover the staff cost needed to support the LSMP and develop London’s approach to the resettlement of Syrian refugees, as well as the cost for delivering programmed activity.
This decision is to obtain approval for receipt and expenditure of a new enabling grant agreement for the period from 1 April 2017 – 31 March 2018.
Decision
That the Executive Director of Communities and Intelligence approves:
1. Receipt of £124,000 of funding from the Home Office; and
2. Expenditure of the same to lead the London Strategic Migration Partnership (LSMP) and develop London’s approach to the resettlement of Syrian refugees for 2017-18.
Part 1: Non-confidential facts and advice
The Home Office funds the Greater London Authority (GLA) to lead the London Strategic Migration Partnership (LSMP). A representative from the Mayor's Office usually chairs the LSMP. The previous grant agreement was for £64,000 and covered the period from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017.
A new grant agreement of £124,000 will fund the GLA in 2016/17 to lead the LSMP and development of London’s approach to the resettlement of Syrian refugees. The funding for 2017/18 has been confirmed in writing by the Home Office (Appendix A and Appendix B).
The purpose of the LSMP is to provide a strategic leadership, advisory, coordination and development function for migration and integration in London. The LSMP brings together cross-sector partners to look at migration issues of strategic importance to London. In particular, its remit includes data and demographics and supporting integration. The work of the LSMP is also informed by the Mayor’s Migrant and Refugee Advisory Panel (MRAP) whose members are organisations that support migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The LSMP will ensure its work supports the Mayor’s priorities and the GLA policies and activities.
The Home Office has also agreed to grant fund the GLA to work with London stakeholders to develop a sustainable community sponsorship model for refugee resettlement which can work in London, including generating new offers of support, securing commitments and developing relevant policies, processes and structure to implement the model. This will also enable the GLA to provide support and guidance to London boroughs, creating a network of boroughs (and other stakeholders where appropriate) together to enable peer learning/ support and cross-borough/cross-organisational collaboration.
The LSMP work plan for 2017/18 is currently in development, but it is expected that it will include:
1) Strategic coordination: to provide leadership, advisory and co-ordination functions for immigration and asylum issues in London and deliver effective stakeholder and community engagement for UKVI, the GLA and other partners.
2) Demographic and policy trends: to improve the range, quality and timeliness of migration data available for London and develop and maintain a picture of the state of migration and integration in London.
3) Integration: to ensure migrants and refugees in London are able to quickly and effectively integrate with the economic, community and cultural life of the city, share best practice on migrant and refugee integration in London and to identify and mitigate as possible any unintended consequences of immigration policy implementation and enforcement in London.
The Home Office have also agreed to fund a regional co-ordinator to take forward work relating to the resettlement of Syrian refugees. In particular, this will include:
1) Develop a sustainable community sponsorship and regional co-ordination model with buy-in from interested boroughs and other key London stakeholders including communities and civil society, businesses and employers, funders and philanthropists which aspires to work with the maximum amount of Community Sponsorship possible for the Capital.
2) Generate new offers of support for community sponsorship in London
3) Act on initial offers of support and built links with interested businesses, boroughs and charitable organisations, aiming to increase capacity and experience across sectors to become involved in a model of Community Sponsorship and community partnership
4) Provide participating local authorities in the Region with information to support their engagement with the Programme, ensure all participating local authorities are aware of guidance on key areas;
5) Establish a network of borough officers leading on resettlement co-ordinators which will meet on a quarterly basis
6) Identify issues and challenges on resettlement shared across local authorities in the Region, and ensure information and solutions are shared across the region;
7) Capture key learning, good practice, issues and new developments and share with regional and national stakeholders to support Programme development;
8) Respond to requests to collate, provide and clarify information from local authorities in the Region to contribute to the review or evaluation of the Programme at national, regional and sub-regional levels where requested;
9) With the agreement of local authorities in the Region, support work within the region to secure economies of scale in services provided to Beneficiaries arriving under the Programme.
The LSMP promotes equality for refugees and vulnerable migrants. The work plan will take into account the GLA’s wider statutory duties under the Equality Act 2010 to advance equality of opportunity for migrants and refugees and foster good relations between communities.
Key risks and issues
Our proposal for developing a community sponsorship scheme for the resettlement of Syrian refugees that works in London will be dependent on generating offers and securing commitments from London stakeholders, including businesses, boroughs and civil society, to overcome some of the inherent challenges to resettlement working in London (principally relating to the availability and affordability of accommodation). If London is to succeed, we will be setting an international precedent of how community sponsorship can work at scale in a global city.
Our proposal for taking forward work relating to the resettlement of Syrian refugees is based on recruiting a co-ordinator for 12 months. The Home Office team have advised that we can carry forward the grant funding for 2017/18 to enable us to recruit a co-ordinator for 12 months.
Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities
1. The Mayor’s social integration priority;
2. Culture priorities;
3. The Health Inequalities Strategy; and
4. MOPAC work e.g. the Hate Crime Reduction Strategy for London.
Approval is being sought for the receipt and expenditure of up to £124,000 in grant funding in financial year 2017-18.
The grant funding will be provided by the Home Office.
a. Power to undertake the requested decision
i. Section 30 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (“the Act”) entitles the GLA, after appropriate consultation, to do anything which will further the promotion within Greater London of economic development and wealth creation, social development and the improvement of the environment.
ii. Section 34 of the Act allows the GLA, to do anything which will facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of any functions of the GLA.
b. In formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought officers have complied with the GLA’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 of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom; and
• consult with appropriate bodies.
c. Sections 1-5 of this report demonstrate that:
i. The requested decision may be viewed as falling within the GLA’s powers to do anything which is facilitative of or conducive or incidental to the GLA’s exercise of its power under section 30 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 to promote social development within Greater London. In this regard, the LSMP will provide the benefits of a strategic leadership, advisory, coordination and development functions for migration and integration from regional bodies in all sectors to promote the benefits of migration and minimise adverse impact.
d. General requirements
i. Any procurement required and authorised should be undertaken in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code and in consultation with Transport for London Procurement, who will determine the procurement strategy;
ii. officers must ensure that appropriate contract documentation be put in place and executed by the successful bidders(s) and the GLA before the commencement any services; and
iii. officers must ensure that an appropriate funding agreement is put in place between and executed by the Home Office and the GLA before any commitment to fund is made.
Appendix A Letter from the Home Office confirming LSMP funding for 2017-18
Appendix B Letter from the Home Office confirming grant funding for the resettlement of Syrian refugees in 2017-18
Signed decision document
DD2113 Grant funding for the LSMP (signed)
Supporting documents
DD2113 Appendix A Letter from the Home Office confirming LSMP funding
DD2113 Appendix BLetter from the Home Office confirming grant funding