MD2461 Communities and Social Policy Programme Budget 2019-20

This decision seeks approval for expenditure from the Communities and Social Policy Unit 2019/20 budget of £1,825,000 to deliver key elements of the Mayor’s Social Integration Strategy All of Us and The Mayor’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Inclusive London; and to support delivery of the Mayor’s community engagement programme and the GLA Social Evidence Base.

​​​​​​​This decision also seeks approval for receipt and expenditure of Home Office grant funding of £154,000 for social integration work including a particular focus on the resettlement of refugees in London.

​​​​​​​This brings the total expenditure request to £1,979,000 (of which £677,000 will be subject to further delegated decisions).

​​​​​​​The activity described in this decision will build on work carried out in 2018-19 and approved by the following related decisions: MD2314 (Equality and Fairness Work Plan), MD2313 (Community Engagement), MD2311 (Social Integration Budget), MD2236 (Home Office Grant Agreement (London Strategic Migration Partnership and Refugee Resettlement)) and MD2254 (A world-leading social evidence base to support policy making).

​​​​​​​In some areas, noted in section 2, more work is needed to develop the details of programmes and initiatives being delivered during 2019-20. In these cases, the Mayor is asked to approve the spending envelope and to delegate to the Executive Director or Assistant Director approval of detailed expenditure plans via a Director’s Decision or Assistant Director’s Decision.

​​​​​​​The Mayor’s Social Integration Strategy All of Us defines social integration as the extent to which people positively interact and connect with others who are different to themselves. It is influenced by the level of equality between people, the nature of their relationships, and their degree of participation in the communities in which they live. The programme of work to implement this strategy (led by the GLA’s Communities and Social Policy Unit) focuses on:

• • Relationships – promoting shared experiences;
  • Participation – supporting Londoners to be active citizens; and
  • Equality – tackling barriers and inequalities that can limit social integration.

​​​​​​​The Mayor’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Inclusive London sets out the steps that the Mayor will take to help make London a more fair and equal city, working across the GLA group. The GLA’s Equality and Fairness programme (led by the Communities and Social Policy Unit) has two key elements:

• • Economic Fairness - interventions to address some of the causes and effects of poverty and unfairness, with a particular emphasis on low income Londoners (see also MD 2296 – Economic Fairness Programme); and
  • Mainstreaming Equality - working with colleagues across the GLA (and the GLA group) to ensure the organisation’s work actively identifies and reduces inequalities in London, including by engaging with key stakeholders.

​​​​​​​The Mayor’s Community Engagement programme ensures that communities have a voice at City Hall and can be involved in shaping the decisions that affect their lives. The programme aims to tackle inequalities in voice and power, including by delivering a Civil Society Leadership Programme and a Civil Society Action Plan.

​​​​​​​The GLA Social Evidence Base is developing and collating robust evidence across a range of social policy issues to ensure that GLA policies and programmes are based on the best available evidence, and that their impact can be effectively monitored and evaluated.

Summary of approvals sought

​​​​​​​A breakdown of the expenditure proposed for approval is summarised in table 1 below. It should be noted that some elements of the 2019-20 Communities and Social Policy Unit work programme will be funded by budget carried forward from 2018-19. These are not included below as they are covered by previous decisions which are noted in paragraph 1.4 above.

Table 1: 2019-20 GLA expenditure proposed for approval

1. In addition to the above, approval of receipt of external income from the Home Office of £154,000 (and expenditure of the same) is also required for the Social Integration Programme.

1. ​​​​​​​Section 2 below sets out details of the above programme broken down into the four areas of work. This includes summaries of project deliverables and impact. For projects which involve grants and/or procurement, standard funding agreements and project management plans will be put in place with external partners. As noted in Section 6, procurement will be conducted in accordance with GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code.

The Communities and Social Policy budget covers four areas of work: Social Integration; Equality and Fairness; Community Engagement and the Social Evidence Base. This section sets out each programme’s aims and expected impact for 2019-20. Some aspects of the Communities and Social Policy Unit’s work in 2019-20 will also be funded by approved carry forwards from 2018-19. These are not included below as they are covered by previous decisions which are noted in 1.4 above.

​​​​​​​Social Integration

The Social Integration programme works with colleagues across the GLA to:

• Deliver initiatives that promote social integration through building relationships between people from different backgrounds, encouraging active participation in community and civic life, and tackling barriers and inequalities that can limit social integration;
• Pilot new approaches to social integration, including a second round of funding for the London Family Fund, support for Social Integration Design Labs, and new inter-generational approaches focused on ESOL (English for Speakers of other Languages);
• Deliver initiatives targeted at Londoners who face specific barriers to integration, including support for European Londoners, extending the reach of WIN (Workforce Integration Network), and strategic leadership on migration and resettlement of refugees (with the support of Home Office funding); and
• Influence national government to change policies that can limit social integration in London, for example immigration policies.

2.2.1 Social integration strategy implementation

Purpose: To deliver and promote the Mayor’s work on social integration in line with the objectives set out in the Mayor’s Social Integration Strategy, All of Us.

Impact and deliverables:

• External stakeholders and teams across City Hall will embed social integration as a goal within their work programmes; and
• The Mayor and GLA will be seen as a leading voice on social integration – nationally and internationally.

2.2.2 London Family Fund

Purpose: To deliver London Family Fund grants for local projects to bring diverse families together to form meaningful relationships. This second round of the fund will build on the current portfolio of funded projects to expand the range and breadth of innovative projects and support partners to develop new approaches to social integration. This year, the first round of projects will be evaluated to capture and disseminate learning for future policy and programme development. This experimental pilot programme has an emphasis on evaluation to test approaches and understand what works in creating more socially integrated communities.

Impact and deliverables:

• At least 150 additional families are supported to develop relationships with people from different backgrounds;
• 60% of families involved in funded projects report a benefit in terms of the diversity of their relationships; and
• Learning and models of best practice will be widely disseminated by the GLA to promote social integration between families.

Expenditure approvals already in place: MD2192 and MD2311 approved proposals for the London Family Fund programme.

2.2.3 Workforce Integration Network (WIN)

Purpose: To build on initial work to address under-representation in London’s workforce and share learning and best practice informed by the experiences of under-represented groups. Phase 1 of the programme focuses on supporting young black men into the construction and digital sectors.

Impact and deliverables: Increased representation of under-represented groups in London’s workforce with:

• 60 employers in digital and construction industries signing up to the WIN programme and offering jobs to young black men;
• A network of 50 peer ambassadors engaged in WIN by 2020; and
• Learning and best practice captured through programme evaluation and disseminated widely to employers and voluntary sector organisations working to close employment gaps.

Expenditure approvals already in place: MD2192 and MD2311 approved proposals for the Workforce Integration Network.

2.2.4 Social Integration Design Lab

Purpose: Enabling London’s local authorities to work with social design experts, citizens and public sector innovators to promote greater social integration as a core design principle in public service delivery with a focus on improving relationships, participation and equality.

Impact and deliverables: 16 local authorities across London develop innovative approaches to social integration.

Expenditure approvals already in place: MD2311 approved proposals for the Social Integration Design Lab.

2.2.5 English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Plus

Purpose: The Communities and Social Policy Unit has been testing new models for ESOL. This year the Unit will deliver further pilots exploring innovation in approaches to ESOL through inter-generational work and disseminate findings from the first round of pilots (which aimed to improve the accessibility and suitability of ESOL provision for learners with childcare responsibilities and those in low-paid employment).

Impact and deliverables:

• Robust evaluation findings from new approaches to inter-generational voluntary ESOL learning; and
• Successfully advocate for the devolution of the Adult Education Budget to include specific measures to improve social integration through English language provision.

Expenditure approvals already in place: MD2311 approved expenditure to deliver ESOL pilots.

2.2.6 European Londoners

Purpose: To build on existing microgrant programmes to support particularly vulnerable groups of European Londoners to access their settled status rights.

Impact and deliverables: This work is supporting existing targets of:

• 50,000 people accessing the EU Londoners Hub for advice on securing settled status (by end March 2020); and
• 1,800 Europeans reached directly through activity delivered by organisations in receipt of micro-grants.

Expenditure approvals already in place: DD2239 and DD2277 approved expenditure on work to support EU Londoners.

2.2.7 Insecure status and migration policy

Purpose: 2019/20 presents a unique opportunity to support Londoners to secure their immigration status. Recent events have led to a substantial increase in demand for GLA work on Windrush, the impact of Brexit on European Londoners, and wider work on citizenship.

Impact and deliverables:

• Increased awareness among Londoners with insecure status of their rights; and
• Increased and more sustainable capacity within the immigration policy advice sector to support vulnerable communities.

Expenditure approvals already in place: ADD2331 approved 2018-19 expenditure to support stakeholder engagement to inform this work.

2.2.8 Citizenship and Integration Initiative

Purpose: To promote active citizenship, civic engagement and secure migration status. This is a partnership initiative, including civil society secondments into the GLA funded by City Bridge Trust and Unbound Philanthropy.

Impact and deliverables:

• 5,000 people accessing online guidance for young Londoners with insecure status;
• A clearer pathway to citizenship for young Londoners with insecure status; and
• Policy makers and practitioners are more aware of the issues facing Londoners with insecure status, including young Londoners and vulnerable EEA+ Nationals.

Expenditure approvals already in place: MD2311 approved work on the Citizenship and Integration Initiative (CII) and MD2447 approved work on voter registration which is part of this initiative.

2.2.9 Built Environment

Purpose: To work with the GLA Regeneration team to develop a better understanding of the status and role of social infrastructure in London and to work with colleagues to reflect this understanding in long term policy (including proposed Supplementary Planning Guidance to the London Plan).

Impact and deliverables: Evidence to inform recommendations for:

• Supplementary Planning Guidance to the London Plan on social infrastructure;
• Good Growth by Design, the Mayor’s strategy to develop a built environment for all Londoners; and
• Future phases of the Social Integration Design Lab (see 2.2.4 above).

2.2.10 Home Office Funding – London Strategic Migration Partnership/ESOL/Community Sponsorship (seeking approval for receipt and expenditure of funds)

Purpose: The Home Office funds the GLA to lead the London Strategic Migration Partnership (LSMP). The purpose of the LSMP is to provide strategic policy coordination on migration and, through working with partners, reduce barriers affecting London's migrant and refugee communities access to services such as ESOL and advice/information.

Impact and deliverables:

To support the LSMP and the delivery of its business plan (including support to the Migrant and Refugee Advisory Panel), develop London’s approach to the resettlement of resettled refugees, and coordinate ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) for resettled refugees.

Expenditure approvals already in place: MD2236 approved this work in 2018-19. This work is a continuation of an existing Home Office grant agreement to cover staffing costs for the London Strategic Migration Partnership and associated work on refugee resettlement.

2.3 Equality and Fairness

The Equality and Fairness programme works with colleagues across the GLA to:

• Develop and deliver programmes that offer advice and support for low-income Londoners, with specific emphasis on welfare and financial wellbeing, including the creation of an employment rights portal; and
• Deliver targeted activities to meet the objectives and priorities in the Mayor’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy Inclusive London. Activities will be co-designed with GLA policy teams, and stakeholders convened in the Mayor’s EDI advisory group.

2.3.1 Poverty, Welfare and Financial Wellbeing

Purpose: This workstream aims to improve economic fairness by focusing on initiatives that tackle the causes and effects of poverty, supporting low income Londoners to increase their income and improve their financial wellbeing. It will also aim to ensure the Mayor’s lobbying and advocacy activity on issues relating to poverty, welfare reform and food insecurity is informed by high quality research and analysis.

Impact and Deliverables: Low-income Londoners are supported to increase their incomes or improve their financial wellbeing.

Initiatives are currently in development via a working group under the Mayor’s Economic Fairness programme. This MD seeks a delegation on expenditure and further approval will be sought once more detailed proposals have been developed.

Expenditure approvals already in place: this work continues and builds on work approved in MD2314.

2.3.2 Social Welfare Advice

Purpose: Advice on social welfare is one of the most effective ways of protecting Londoners from the problems that everyday life can throw up. Many of these problems have been, or could be, exacerbated by the Government’s austerity agenda and could further increase as a result of Brexit or slowing economic growth. This workstream covers research and evaluation activity to inform policy development across the GLA on work relating to social welfare, as well as supporting the delivery of advice on specific areas of social welfare, including through the development of an employment rights hub.

Impact and Deliverables:

• GLA and civil society/public sector partners receive clear recommendations for actions that London organisations could take to increase the reach and impact of social welfare advice;
• Information about employment rights is made more accessible for Londoners; and
• Londoners are signposted to appropriate local support.

Expenditure approvals already in place: DD2321 approved expenditure for a strategic evaluation of social welfare advice provision in London. MD2314 approved expenditure on the development of the employment rights hub.

2.3.3 Equality, diversity and inclusion strategy implementation

Purpose: This workstream supports the Mayor’s ambition to mainstream equality, diversity and inclusion in all areas of his work. The workstream does not directly deliver the objectives in the EDI strategy – that will be achieved through the work of teams across the GLA group. This workstream includes a set of specific activities directly related to the EDI strategy including support for teams to implement the strategy; producing the Mayor’s Annual Equalities Report; effectively engaging with organisations representing equality groups to inform work across GLA through the EDI Advisory Group; and supporting a small number of specific initiatives identified either by the process of implementing the strategy, or by the EDI Advisory Group.

Impact and Deliverables:

• GLA policy is informed and tested by the expertise of stakeholders;
• Policy development in a range of areas linked to EDI strategy objectives is directly informed by communities; and
• Further opportunities for delivering on objectives in EDI strategy are identified and exploited.

Expenditure approvals already in place: this work continues and builds on work approved in MD2314.

2.4 Community Engagement

The Community Engagement programme works with colleagues across the GLA to:

• Develop the whole organisation’s capacity to engage in meaningful ways with Londoners;
• Deliver the GLA Civil Society Action Plan and Civil Society Leaders programme; and
• Support the Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Social Integration, Social Mobility and Community Engagement to deepen their understanding of London’s communities and strengthen their connections with a range of communities and the voluntary sector.

2.4.1 Celebrations and Commemorations

Purpose: A programme of events to celebrate and commemorate key dates for Londoners, with a focus on seldom-heard communities.

Impact and deliverables:

• Strengthen the connection to communities, highlighting key moments, celebrations and commemorations which are of significance to them.
• Successful delivery of community-led events at City Hall with a focus on seldom-heard communities. Events to include: Stephen Lawrence Day, Rwandan Remembrance, Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month, Windrush Day, Slavery Remembrance, Black History Month, Diwali Reception, Interfaith Week.
• Delivery of a programme of work focused on celebrating London’s black communities. This will highlight stories of success, with a focus on inspiring young people to strive for excellence.
• Supporting the GLA Events Team to involve and engage communities in Mayoral events on Trafalgar Square including Vaisakhi, Eid, Diwali, Africa on the Square, St George’s Day, and St Patrick’s Day.

Expenditure approvals already in place: this work continues and builds on work approved in MD2313.

2.4.2 Civil Society Action Plan

Purpose: This workstream aims to improve the ability of communities to influence our work. Activities aim to strengthen our relationships with civil society, improve their capacity to work with us and create policies that are more informed by community insight.

Impact and deliverables:

• 25 civil society leaders will be developed through a flagship civil society leadership programme;
• Policy decisions will be better informed by community insight;
• The role of civil society and communities will be highlighted raising their status as social policy influencers; and
• The GLA will have a broader network of civil society partnerships, resulting in more opportunities to co-design policy and programmes to improve Londoners’ lives.

Expenditure approvals already in place: ADD2314 approved activities and expenditure on the civil society leadership programme in 2018-19, with some expenditure now carried forward to 2019-20.

2.4.3 London Community Story

Purpose: This project is a community inspired initiative to promote the lived experience of Londoners by showcasing their personal stories.

Impact and deliverables:

• Improvement in policy making through an improved understanding of Londoners’ lived experience;
• Development of a web-based platform to showcase six creative projects including films, animations, illustrations; and
• Six commissioned articles that will give a snapshot of London communities’ lived experience.

2.4.4 Community Researcher Network

Purpose: Building on the Citizen- led Engagement programme approved in 2018-19 this workstream will support the sustained engagement of a network of community researchers, providing training, support and development of researchers from the initial pilot and projects funded during 2018-19 (see also section 2.3.3).

Impact and deliverables:

• GLA policy teams will have access to ‘on-the-ground’ community insight to inform decision-making.
• Feedback from participants will indicate higher political literacy and increased confidence in their ability to influence the work of the Mayor and GLA.

Expenditure approvals already in place: MD2313 approved the Citizen Led Engagement programme. This work builds on that programme to support a wider network of community researchers established through the Citizen-Led Engagement programme and on-going access to research experience.

2.4.5 City Hall Takeover – Europe in London

Purpose: To engage with European Londoners, celebrate their presence in the capital and offer ongoing support for those applying for settled status.

Impact and deliverables:

• Delivery of a City Hall ‘takeover’ event focused on engaging and celebrating European Londoners; and
• Develop stronger relationships with European community organisations.

2.5 Social Evidence Base

The Social Evidence Base programme works with colleagues across the GLA to develop and disseminate a robust set of data on a broad range of policy areas from economic fairness and poverty to social integration, regeneration and equalities. This year the Social Evidence Base programme will:

• Publish and disseminate analysis from the Survey of Londoners and other research projects on social integration, economic fairness and food insecurity (including updated sets of measures as set out in the Mayor’s Social Integration and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategies);
• Provide analytical support for evaluation of programmes in these areas, including a social integration measurement toolkit; and
• Commission and conduct further policy research to fill gaps in the evidence base, as required.

2.5.1 Dissemination of Social Evidence Base

Purpose: to disseminate the evidence produced from the Survey of Londoners and other research projects, targeted to reach different audiences in the UK and internationally.

Impact and deliverables:

• Evidence from the Survey of Londoners is widely used by GLA, Boroughs, civil society, and stakeholders in other cities in formulating policy and delivering projects.
• Outputs will include events and seminars to disseminate findings, new easy-read reports, and interactive tools to visualise and search for evidence on the London Datastore.

Expenditure approvals already in place: MD2254 approved the 2018-19 programme including the Survey of Londoners.

2.5.2 Inequality in higher education outcomes and employment progression

Purpose: To improve the GLA’s understanding of the causes of inequality in higher education outcomes and employment progression with an emphasis on barriers faced by minority ethnic groups.

Impact and deliverables: Evidence on inequalities leads to development of policy to improve fairness. Outputs will include externally commissioned research to understand the cause of unequal outcomes in higher education and employment progression using administrative data and depth interviews.

2.5.3 Experience of reporting hate crime

Purpose: To improve GLA and MOPAC’s understanding of experiences of those reporting hate crimes in London.

Impact and deliverables: Recommendations to build Londoners’ trust and confidence in reporting hate crime. Outputs will include an externally-commissioned qualitative research project to understand the experiences of those reporting hate crimes with the police and justice systems, including interviews with victims and staff. This work will be delivered in partnership with MOPAC.

2.5.4 Understanding poverty and crime

Purpose: To better understand how to target funding and interventions for young people growing up in poverty, for the prevention of crime.

Impact and deliverables: More effective targeting of funding and interventions for young people for prevention of crime. Outputs will include externally-commissioned qualitative research project to understand the ways in which growing up in poverty can make some young people more vulnerable to involvement in crime, and meta-analysis of public health data for London where prior evidence shows these factors are linked to crime. This work will be delivered in partnership with MOPAC.

2.5.5 Social integration measurement and evaluation toolkit

Purpose: To develop a toolkit to support organisations including the GLA to measure social integration in London. This has been specifically requested by organisations who work in this area and should help improve consistency of measurement across our work and support organisations bidding for GLA funding to effectively measure and evaluate their impact on social integration.

Impact and deliverables: More consistent and effective measurement and evaluation of social integration impacts, including by organisations bidding for GLA programme funding.

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.

Equality is a key driver of the Communities and Social Policy Unit’s programme. The work within the programme is specifically targeted at advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations between people who have protected characteristics and those who do not.

Specifically, the Communities and Social Policy Unit helps to ensure the GLA fulfils the PSED through the publication and implementation of two strategies – Inclusive London, the Mayor’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy; and All of Us, his Social Integration Strategy.

Inclusive London in particular fulfils the Mayor’s specific duty to prepare and publish, at least once every four years, a set of equality objectives to guide the work of the organisation in fulfilling the general PSED. These objectives were informed by consultation with a wide range of Londoners, including individuals sharing protected characteristics and organisations representing groups sharing protecting characteristics. Both strategies are underpinned by extensive evidence bases containing information on disadvantages experienced by and the needs of people from protected groups, as well as where their participation in public life is disproportionately low. By demonstrating how their work contributes to the fulfilment of these objectives and how it has taken into account the evidence underpinning those objectives, teams across the GLA can demonstrate the ‘due regard’ that the PSED requires.

In this way, the decisions for which approval is sought in this MD – particularly those which relate to the implementation of Inclusive London – are fundamental to providing the resources and processes necessary for the GLA to fulfil its statutory obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

In addition, the programme of work for which this MD seeks approval is made up of a number of individual projects and workstreams that will themselves contribute to the fulfilment of the equality objectives set out in Inclusive London.

The Social Integration 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).

The decision requested by this MD to launch the second phase of the London Family Fund will contribute to the Mayor’s equality objective to work with others to “support improved access to high quality, flexible early education and childcare for all” (Objective 15). This objective is underpinned by evidence of the segregation that exists in early years settings according to ethnicity, disability and deprivation/level of income. The London Family Fund has been explicitly designed to pilot new approaches to address this segregation.

The decision requested by this MD also builds on the initial work of the Workforce Integration Network to address underrepresentation in London’s workforce and will contribute to the Mayor’s equality objective to work with others so that “as many Londoners as possible can participate in, and benefit from employment opportunities in London” (Objective 19). This objective is underpinned by evidence of the wide range of groups – including disabled people, young black men, veterans, carers, care leavers, mothers, older Londoners and homeless people – that are under-represented in the workforce. The Workforce Integration Network is initially focused on supporting young black men.

The Equality and Fairness programme contains a workstream of specific activities fundamental to the implementation of Inclusive London, including publishing the Mayor’s Annual Equality Report, engaging with organisations representing equality groups through the EDI Advisory Group, and supporting specific initiatives identified through the process of implementing the Strategy, or by the EDI Advisory Group.

The decision requested by this MD to delegate authority to authorise expenditure on policy development and project delivery aimed at supporting low-income Londoners to increase their incomes and improve their financial wellbeing will contribute to a number of the Mayor’s equality objectives, including:

• The objectives to work with others to “increase the supply of homes that are genuinely affordable to buy or rent” (Objective 1) and to “make preventing homelessness a priority” (Objective 5) by informing lobbying and advocacy work targeted at the welfare reforms that are making the private rented sector unaffordable to low-income Londoners and driving homelessness. This objective is informed by evidence that welfare reforms are particularly affecting women, disabled people, some BAME Londoners and people above state pension age; and
• The objective to work with others to “help address the root causes of child poverty” (Objective 13). This objective is underpinned by evidence of the changing nature of child poverty which increasingly affects children in working families and those living in the private rented sector as well as the fact that migrants, families with non-working mothers, and some BAME groups are amongst those at the greatest risk of living in poverty.

The decision requested by this MD to delegate authority to authorise expenditure on the launch and promotion of an employment rights hub will contribute to the Mayor’s equality objective to work with others to “help ensure London’s employers have fair and inclusive employment practices” (Objective 20). This objective is underpinned by evidence that women, those with caring responsibilities and disabled people are more likely to work part-time; that young people are over-represented in low-wage sectors; and that Pakistani and Bangladeshi employees are more likely than white employees to earn less than the London Living Wage. It is also informed by evidence that many women are forced to leave their jobs because of harassment and discrimination during pregnancy, maternity leave and on their return to work. The development of the employment rights hub has been informed by this evidence and by other evidence of who is at the greatest risk of exploitation in the workplace. The promotion of the hub will continue to take this evidence into account.

The Community Engagement programme directly delivers the strategic community engagement objectives set out in Inclusive London which are: “to develop stronger relationships with disadvantaged and excluded communities in London so that we can develop policy and projects that are better informed by the lived experience of Londoners” and “to work with London’s civil society organisations to strengthen London’s diverse voluntary and community sector”.

The events programme for which authorisation is sought through this MD will bring a wide range of diverse communities into City Hall. The decisions for which authorisation is sought will also help to bring more marginalised community voices into the policy development process and will build capability within civil society.

This MD also seeks approval for the Social Evidence Base programme which will deliver improved data and research on a wide range of GLA priorities identified through the All of Us Social Integration Strategy. It will also directly contribute to the regular updating of the evidence base that underpins Inclusive London and which provides more detailed data than has previously been available on individual groups, including those sharing protected characteristics.

Risk register

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

Social integration is one of the Mayor’s top priorities. The projects listed in this MD directly address objectives from two Mayoral strategies:

• All of Us the Mayor’s Strategy for Social Integration, approved in MD2250, and launched by the Mayor in March 2018.
• Inclusive London the Mayor’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy, approved in MD2314, and launched by the Mayor in May 2018.

Work proposed within this decision which relates to other areas of GLA work, including the Early Years Hubs, the Skills Strategy, the London Violence Reduction Unit, Culture and Creative Industries, Team London and Sports programmes, Environment, Housing, Regeneration and Planning, and Economic Fairness will be coordinated with the relevant officers from other GLA units.

Approval is sought for expenditure of up to £1.825m on the Communities and Social Policy Unit work programme for 2019-20.

The total cost of £1.825m will be funded from the Communities and Social Policy Unit’s 2019-20 budget. Further breakdown is as follows:

Approval is also sought for receipt and expenditure of £154,000 in Home Office grant, to fund the work streams associated with the London Strategic Migration Partnership.

The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Mayor (in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code) concern the exercise of the GLA’s general powers, falling within the GLA’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further or which are facilitative of, conducive or incidental to the promotion of economic development and wealth creation, social development or the promotion of the improvement of the environment 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:

• 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.

The Mayor is restricted by section 31(3) of the GLA Act 1999 from incurring expenditure in providing any educational or social services that could be provided by a London Borough or public body. However, the Mayor is not prevented from incurring expenditure in co-operating with, facilitating or co-ordinating the activities of a London Borough Council or other public body. The initiatives described in this Mayoral Decision document do not constitute the provision of an education or social service by the GLA but instead have as their aim strengthening the delivery of such services. The role of the GLA is a co-operative, facilitative and co-ordinating one and is, therefore, permitted under the GLA Act.

In taking the decisions requested, the Mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty; under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, that is, 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 (race, disability, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment) and persons who do not share it.

Officers must ensure that they are content that the GLA can comply with any conditions to which Home Office funding is subject. In any event no reliance should be placed upon such funding until there is a legally binding commitment from Home Office to provide the same.

Services required to deliver the initiatives detailed in section 2 above must be procured by Transport for London Procurement who will determine the detail of the procurement strategy to be adopted in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code.

Officers must ensure that appropriate contract documentation is put in place and executed by the successful bidder(s) and the GLA before the commencement of the services.

Officers have indicated above that the GLA intends to award grant funding to third parties to deliver programmes/activities that align with the objectives and outcomes detailed above. Officers must ensure any funding is distributed fairly, transparently, in accordance with the GLA’s equalities and in a manner which affords value for money in accordance with the Contracts and Funding Code.

Officers must ensure that an appropriate funding agreement is put in place between, and executed by, the GLA and a recipient before any commitment to fund is made.

The above report indicates that fixed-term members of staff will be recruited to help deliver the programmes detailed above. Officers must ensure such recruitment is in line with GLA’s HR protocols including obtaining permission from the Head of Paid Service as appropriate, and that contracts appropriate for fixed term appointments are entered into.

Once this MD has been approved the team will develop detailed delivery plans for each of the programmes for the year. Key milestones are set out below.