DD2529 Translation and communications to support COVID-19 education

1.1. This decision seeks approval for expenditure of £55,000 for the rapid translation of information to fill urgent gaps in official communications, the development of translated resources to support a fairer recovery, paid advertisement to enable effective dissemination of resources, and user-testing and web-development to improve the accessibility of the GLA’s hub of translated resources.

1.2. This builds on work agreed through DD2481 which approved £45,000 to support the translation of NHS guidance on COVID-19 in the initial wave. This funding made available COVID-19 information in over 60 languages, developed motion-graphics tailored to migrants facing health exclusion, developed and translated tailored wellbeing guidance for migrants impacted by the pandemic, and supported a wider marketing campaign to ensure these resources reached Londoners.

1.3. The funding also builds on work agreed through DD2480 which approved £27,000 for the production of content on the Employment Rights Hub in key languages spoken by Londoners at risk of exploitation at work.

1.4. This resource has also enabled the GLA to provide rapid translation of marketing messages related to COVID-19 in key languages and dissemination through paid social media and community networks, including Whatsapp. These resources have proved to be effective with positive feedback from communities and have resulted in over 45,000 visits to the GLA translations hub page where there are valuable translated resources, and a social media campaign receiving over 2.7 million impressions.

1.5. The funding set out below will support immediate ongoing translation work necessary to the next phase of the COVID-19 response and initial recovery work, as well as improving the accessibility and reach of those resources through improvements to the GLA’s hub of translated resources, and paid advertisement to signpost Londoners to key information about the pandemic to provide an ongoing resource.

1.6. London is a multilingual city, and many face barriers to learning English. To stop the spread of COVID-19, and to support an inclusive recovery, it is essential that everyone is able to access accurate information in a language they understand. Public Health England’s report on the impact of COVID-19 on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities highlighted the need “to enhance the depth of reach into BAME communities ensuring guidance and media is culturally appropriate and available in different languages”. The report also recommended funding, developing and implementing “culturally competent covid-19 education and prevention campaigns” to “reinforce messages on early identification, testing and diagnosis; and prepare communities to take full advantage of interventions including contact tracing, antibody testing and ultimately vaccine availability.”

1.7. While some official translations have since been made available, there remain gaps in the rapid translation of information, which can have an immediate impact on Londoners’ health and wellbeing. The GLA’s language hub brings together multilingual resources created by a number of organisations to improve their accessibility. However, the current site is difficult to navigate for users with limited English comprehension and requires user-testing and web-development to improve its accessibility.

1.8. A breakdown of the expenditure proposed for approval is summarised below:

2.1. This programme of work will enable the production and effective dissemination of resources in community languages to support London’s multilingual communities to understand their rights and entitlements in relation to work, understand the COVID-19 lockdown measures and how to take action to keep themselves and their families safe. This programme will also fund user-testing to better understand how London’s multilingual communities access information in a language they understand and how the GLA’s language hub and website can adapt to improve the accessibility of the site for Londoners with limited English.

2.2. In line with procurement guidelines, we will invite quotes for each of these workstreams from at least three potential suppliers where the estimated contract value is over £10,000, but under £25,000.

3.1. Under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the GLA must have ‘due regard’ of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), that is the need to:

• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation;

• advance equality of opportunity; and

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

3.2. The proposed work in this decision is specifically targeted at advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations between people who have protected characteristics and those who do not.

3.3. Improving the accessibility of information through translation will contribute to tackling the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on London’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.

3.4. The Social Integration work programme explicitly contributes to the Mayor’s equality objective to “work with others to address the inequalities and barriers that limit some Londoners’ ability to build strong relationships and be active citizens” (Objective 35).

a) key risks and issues

b) links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.1. This decision supports the following strategic priorities:

• The Mayor’s Strategy for Social Integration: Tackling barriers and inequalities, build strong relationships and become active citizens;

• The Mayor’s strategy for equality, diversity and inclusion: To create a truly inclusive London; and

• The Mayor’s London health inequalities strategy: Reducing the persistent and in some cases widening health inequalities that exist in London.

c) conflicts of interest

4.2. There are no conflicts of interest to note for any of the officers involved in the drafting or clearance of this decision form.

5.1 Approval is sought for expenditure of £55,000 to improve the reach and accessibility of translated information related to the COVID-19 response and recovery.

5.2 The expenditure will be funded from the 2020/21 ‘Recovery Fund’ [approved by MD2666] and allocated to the Social Integration programme budget with the Communities and Social Policy Unit.

6.1 The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the director fall within the statutory powers of the Authority to promote and/or to do anything which is facilitative of or conducive or incidental to social development within 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:

(a) pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people;

(b) 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

(c) consult with appropriate bodies.

6.2 In taking the decisions requested of her, 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 between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment) and persons who do not share it and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic 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 officers propose to use the requested budget to procure translation and user-testing services. To that end, the officers must ensure that they comply with the requirements of the Authority’s Contracts and Funding Code, when they procure the said services.