MD2667 SfL Emergency Recovery Support Funding - Covid-19

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, LEAP Delivery Team officers have been actively engaging with current skills delivery partners to understand the impact of COVID-19 on their capital projects and the day to day running of the organisations. As well as this, on the 27 of April 2020 the Association of Colleges (AoC) hosted a meeting with a range of delivery partners, including London’s Institutes for Adult Learning (IALs), Further Education (FE) colleges and GLA officers. The meeting included a discussion on the key challenges being faced by skills providers in the short to medium term and how the GLA could support providers going forward.

One of the key challenges raised by delivery partners is the growing pressure for IT equipment to enable effective online learning. Delivery partners have expressed a significant need for capital funding to enable them to invest in the technology needed to facilitate remote learning in both the short term and the longer term, as the need for more innovative online learning is anticipated to continue beyond the course of the virus.

The sector has also expressed a significant need for investment in creating ‘COVID-19 secure’ physical learning environments, in order to enable re-opening of London’s education and skills establishments.

Via an urgency procedure in July 2020, the LEAPIC endorsed a £6m capital emergency equipment fund. The fund responds to the IT and online learning pressures that London’s skills providers are facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as responding to the sectors’ need to create ‘COVID safe’ learning spaces to enable skills providers to reopen their doors.

The funding is being sourced from unallocated Skills for Londoners Capital funding, which is currently endorsed by the LEAP to provide COVID-19 related contingency funding to existing delivery partners. The Mayor approved receipt of this funding from Government to LEAP as part of the £56m Growth Deal 3 allocation in MD2142.

The objective of this funding pot is to respond to the IT and online teaching needs of London’s skills providers necessitated by the measures that have been put in place in response to COVID-19. The funding will also respond to the sector’s needs to invest in creating safe learning spaces so that they can reopen their facilities and deliver onsite learning where possible. The LEAP Delivery Team would open this funding up to the sector using a short online application form.

The funding will be available to London’s skills sector and will be made available via an online application launching in July, with funding being given out in late August/early September. Providers will be able to bid for between £25,000 and £200,000 to invest in equipment to support online and remote learning as well as safety equipment to enable colleges to reopen.

To be eligible for applications to be considered, skills providers will need to show the following:

• an evidenced and clear need for the funding having arisen as a result of the measures put in place in response to COVID-19;
• how they will put in place and maintain effective online/remote learning arrangements during the COVID-19 and post COVID-19 environments;
• how they will create safe learning spaces onsite; and
• demonstrate the organisation’s ability to secure value for money in using any funding granted.

Eligible applications will then be evaluated by GLA officers by reference to clear evaluation criteria which will be developed and published with the application materials.

Examples of some of the capital costs incurred by skills providers as a result of COVID include; protective screens, adaptations to reception areas, toilets and other facilities, sanitizer stations, provision of one way circulation, signage and adaptations to fire doors to reduce human contact.

To enable maximum accessibility for skills providers, match funding would not be required. It is clear that the sector is currently facing financial challenges as a result of COVID-19, and organisation’s reserves will likely need to focus on recovery and contingency funding going forward.

Due diligence will be carried out on applicants to mitigate potential risk and a grant agreement will be put in place for all recipients to ensure accountability.

To ensure that the impact of the funding is evaluated, it will be a condition of the funding that all recipients must complete a self-evaluation/closure form. As the grants will be relatively small, it would not be proportionate to measure outputs for a given period after the funding has been drawn down. Self-evaluation forms will be collated, and the impact of the funding reported back to the LEAPIC.

The GLA is required, in the exercise of its functions, to have due regard to the need to:

a) eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010;
b) advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and
c) foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

In the context of the emergency support funding, the Mayor’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy launched in 2018 includes the following relevant objectives:

a) many more people of all ages progressing in learning to reach their full potential;
b) ensuring all Londoners and London’s businesses can access the skills they need to succeed;
c) promoting social integration and contact between different groups and tackling the inequalities that exist which prevent people from being active citizens;
d) more young people having the knowledge, skills and life experiences to succeed;
e) reducing the number of jobless young people;
f) London being a city where people of every background feel connected with each other and can realise the benefits of London’s diversity; and
g) creating greater equality, diversity and inclusion (which includes gender parity in terms of career outcomes and greater social mobility within professions).

Applicants will be asked to demonstrate how they will utilise the capital funding to ensure that those who are the most digitally disadvantaged are prioritised to receive the IT and digital equipment needed to ensure effective learning.

a) Key risks and issues

There is a risk that the emergency funding cannot be easily accessed by the sector. The LEAP Delivery Team will ensure that the application is short and will be advertised on multiple platforms including the Regeneration and Economic Development GLA webpages, Skills and Employment Unity webpage, LEAP webpage and will also be communicated via the Association of Colleges and skills contact database.

There is a risk that unsuccessful applicants challenge the appraisal process. Officers will follow a fair process by two officers evaluating applications, solely by reference to published evaluation criteria and scoring methodology followed by a manager review. All unsuccessful applicants will be offered the opportunity to receive feedback, with areas for improvement outlined to support them should they decide to apply for any future round of funding.

As with all funding programmes, there is a risk that a delivery partner will be awarded funding and then be unable to carry out the project. To mitigate against unallocated spend for the programme falling away, a reserve list will be drawn up.

Funding required to deliver projects exceeds that available –all funding pots rolled out to date have been oversubscribed. The GLA continue to lobby government for further funding using informed evidence-based proposals on the future requirements of the sector.

Due to the fluid nature of COVID-19 and the ever-changing environment, there is a risk that the sector’s needs change further. The LEAP Delivery Team will continue to actively engage with the sector in order to keep abreast of their needs and respond accordingly.

There is a risk of fraud. To mitigate against this, the LEAP Delivery team will seek support of the Regeneration and Economic Development team’s Programme Office to support with checking the credibility of those applying for funding.

b) Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

The investment supports the priorities set out in a City for All Londoners based on the principles of ‘good growth’ and investment in London’s future. The funding will form an integral part of London’s recovery post COVID-19. The Government have been clear that London’s skills and education providers are critical in enabling the economy to recover and grow. The Skills for Londoners Capital Fund (from which capital is being provided for the Emergency Response Support Fund) provides a significant foundation and support for the skills sector to ensure that London’s skills system meets the needs of London’s businesses while supporting all Londoners to access the skills they need to find and progress in work.

The Skills for Londoners Capital Fund also supports the London Infrastructure Plan 2050 by enabling skills providers to understand London’s forward infrastructure investment pipeline and ensure that skills provision aligns to the capital’s requirements.

c) Links to National strategies and priorities

The Skills for Londoners Capital Fund aligns to the government’s Post-16 Skills Plan and Industrial Strategy green paper’s commitment to ‘developing skills’ by providing investment in FE estate and machinery to enable the delivery of high quality skills provision.

Approval is being sought for the expenditure of up to £6m as a Capital Emergency Fund under the Skills for Londoners programme. This fund is required as a response to the IT and online learning pressures London’s skills providers are facing as a result of COVID-19.

The £6m will be dispensed via a bidding process in which applicants can request funding anywhere between £25,000 - £200,000. The emergency aspect of the fund requires payments to be made upfront to help alleviate cashflow problems many skill providers have encountered since COVID-19. To mitigate the risk associated with this, a funding agreement will be issued with clawback clauses requesting evidence of equipment orders before funds are released with invoices to follow. Furthermore, successful recipients will be subject to due diligence checks.

This will be funded from Growth Deal funds repurposed from a planned third round of the Skills for Londoners programme.

The foregoing sections of this report indicate that:

- the decisions requested of the Mayor fall within the general statutory powers of the Authority, to do anything which is considered to promote or facilitative of or conducive or incidental to the promotion of economic development and wealth creation in Greater London; and

- in formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought officers have complied with the GLA’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.

In taking the decisions requested, the Mayor 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 (race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment) and persons who do not share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

Officers must ensure that in the case of each grant paid from the fund the subject of decision 1 that:

- in allocating the grant funding, they adhere to the requirements of section 12 of the Authority’s Contracts and Funding Code;

- the GLA receive no direct benefit from the recipient of the grant in return for the grant funding; and

- an appropriate grant agreement be executed by both the Authority and the relevant recipient before payment of any part of the relevant grant funding be made.

Any function exercisable by the Mayor on behalf of the Authority may also be exercised by a member of the Authority’s staff albeit subject to any conditions, which the Mayor sees fit to impose. To this end, the Mayor may make the requested delegation to the Executive Director of Good Growth, if he so choose.