MD2800 New Deal for Young People Recovery Mission – phase 1

1.1. This MD sets out investment that will contribute to the London Recovery Board’s mission that by 2024, all young people in need will be entitled to a personal mentor and all young Londoners will have access to quality local youth activities.

1.2. London’s recovery is led by the London Recovery Board, chaired jointly by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the Chair of London Councils, Councillor Georgia Gould. It brings together leaders from across London’s government, business and civil society, as well as the health and education sectors, trade unions and the police, to oversee the long-term recovery effort.

1.3. The London Recovery Board has committed to taking a missions-based approach to the Recovery Programme. It has agreed nine missions of which the New Deal for Young People mission is one. This mission will support all young people, but particularly those facing the greatest barriers to realising their potential. This mission aims to align funding and resources to provide place-based access to youth provision across London and to support personalised mentoring and other tailored interventions for young people, including aiding social skills such as confidence and mental health support, alongside educational support and developing employment skills.

1.4. Approval is sought for:

• expenditure of up to £121,000 in 2021/22 for Peer Outreach young people engagement activity including receipt and receipt of approximately £10,000 in external funding from organisations benefiting from Peer Outreach activity as set out in paragraph 1.9, and receipt and expenditure of £46,000 from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime as set out in paragraphs 1.10 and 1.11;

• expenditure of up to £750,000 (£275,000 in 2021/22, £368,000 in 2022/23 and £107,000 in 2023/24) to grant fund the Stepping Stones primary to secondary transition programme (noting that multi-year grant commitments will not be made until after the 2021 Mayoral election);

• expenditure of up to £1m in 2021/22 for mentoring and tailored support for children and young people through Wave 5 of the London Community Response; and

• a revenue grant of £1.5m in 2021/22 from the GLA to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime in accordance with section 121 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (GLA Act) which the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime has determined that it will be used for the additional delivery of ‘My Ends’ Community Connectors.

1.5. This MD sets out proposals for the following activities:

Continuation of the Peer Outreach Workers programme for 2021 to 2022

1.6. The Mayor’s Peer Outreach Workers (POW) are a team of 30 young people aged 15 to 25. The POW team was set up in 2006 to represent the diverse life experiences of young Londoners. They provide valuable input from a young person’s perspective into decision making at City Hall, across the GLA Group and with other London agencies and will help ensure that young people’s voices are at the heart of the New Deal for Young People mission (see paragraphs 1.1 to 1.3).

1.7. The work of the POW team has helped shape City Hall policies, strategies and services in areas from culture and health, to regeneration, environment and transport. Their role is central to delivering the Mayor’s commitment to ensuring young Londoners’ voices and experiences are heard, especially the most vulnerable young people. Two-thirds of the team are referred from targeted programmes such as Youth Offending Teams, Pupil Referral Units, leaving care and children in care, teenage parents, young carers, mental health projects, and the other third are not in education, employment or training (NEET). The POWs also encourage young people across London to play an active part in civic society.

1.8. The majority of expenditure is for Peer Outreach Workers (POW) time. Sessional Peer Outreach Workers complete timesheets to record the hours that they work and are paid hourly at the London Living Wage for the work they do. To the extent that services are to be commissioned the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code will be followed. Please see paragraph 2.1 for further information.

1.9. As part of its sustainability strategy the Peer Outreach programme has a process by which it charges external organisations or City Hall teams if Peer Outreach Workers are undertaking a substantial project for either the external organisation or City Hall, for example the POW’s management of young people scoring Young Londoners Fund applications. This decision includes approval for the receipt and expenditure of an estimated £10,000 of income received from other City Hall teams or external organisations to fund the time that Peer Outreach Workers have spent on their projects. This is paid to POWs at an hourly rate and also supports team management and administration costs.

1.10. The Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), which sits within MOPAC, has recently established a Young People Action Group (YPAG) made up of young people who comment on and shape VRU activity, propose and lead on projects that contribute to the VRU’s aims, and work with VRU Community Engagement Officers to develop a full, youth-led, youth-engagement strategy.

1.11. Like the Peer Outreach Workers, the VRU YPAG members are paid for their time at the London Living Wage. In order to support the mobilisation of the YPAG and to avoid duplication of processes, the VRU draws on the human resource and financial systems and processes which have been established by the GLA to enable the Peer Outreach Workers to operate. The GLA processes the payments of the wages for the VRU YPAG from its Peer Outreach Team’s budget and MOPAC reimburse this on a quarterly basis. The total payment for 2021/22 is £46,000. A service level agreement is in place between MOPAC and the GLA to manage this process.

1.12. MD2660 approved funding for the peer outreach team to March 2020 and a decision is now required to fund from April 2021 to March 2022.

Expansion of the Stepping Stones peer mentoring programme to support children transitioning from primary to secondary school

1.13. Stepping Stones is a GLA-developed programme to support disadvantaged children transition from primary to secondary school. It is a well-established sustainable model which provides kick-start funding for schools to introduce peer mentoring and summer schools to help Year 7 pupils. Piloted in 2016/17, the GLA has funded its delivery in 18 schools. Funding supports two cohorts of children; those starting Year 7 in September 2021 and those starting Year 7 in September 2022.

1.14. Further funding will enable the programme to expand to 14 more secondary schools and for evaluation of the programme to take place. It will provide crucial support to help reduce the impact of learning lost following the closure of schools to most pupils due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

1.15. Funding approval is required now to enable the grant application process to commence, and grant awards to be made by May 2021. This will enable funded secondary schools to start work with their feeder primary schools early in the summer term and help identify those Year 6 pupils who would benefit most from the Stepping Stones programme.

1.16. Schools will be grant funded and the evaluation will be commissioned in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code.

Contribution to Wave 5 of the London Community Response (LCR)

1.17. The LCR was launched by the Mayor and City Bridge Trust in March 2020 and is coordinated by London Funders . It supports London’s voluntary and community sector organisations to respond to the needs of communities in the capital affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and brings together funding from many different organisations. A single funding application point for charities and community groups enables organisations to access funding from multiple funders in a fast and efficient way.

1.18. Wave 5 of the London Community Response is providing one-year renewal grants of up to £50,000. GLA investment will fund activity supporting children and young people linked to the New Deal for Young People mission, including mentoring and tailored support that focuses on young people facing the greatest barriers to realising their potential.

1.19. Applications to deliver Wave 5 activity closed on the 15 February 2021 and were made through the LCR portal. The GLA, in consultation with MOPAC, VRU and London Councils’ members of the New Deal for Young People mission recovery group, will evaluate applications against set criteria and fund its own portfolio of projects from Wave 5 applications using the GLA grant funding agreement. Projects are set to start delivery in May 2021.       

Additional funding to the Violence Reduction Unit’s My Ends Community Connectors programme

1.20. Funding is proposed for an additional two My Ends grants which aim to strengthen and sustain neighbourhood networks to enable them to develop grassroots projects to tackle violence.

1.21. The VRU launched the My Ends programme in September 2020. It is designed to provide support, capacity, and funding for locally designed interventions in neighbourhoods affected by high and sustained levels of violence. It is a neighbourhood-focused initiative and a response to evidence and academic research on understanding and preventing violence, which heightened the importance of a place-based approach. Projects are due to start delivery in April 2021.

1.22. My Ends is closely aligned with the New Deal for Young People mission. Young people are at the heart of the programme. The voice and views of young people are strongly represented in the bidding consortia. Their input is integral to the community networks, and they are central to the projects being developed. These focus on positive and accessible youth activities and quality mentoring which is core to this mission.

1.23. The GLA will provide revenue grant funding in accordance with section 121 of the GLA Act which will be earmarked to support two ‘My Ends’ projects which will deliver over two years and receive up to £750,000 per organisation. The VRU has already entered a competitive grant process for the My Ends programme, with open applications via the MOPAC website. The additional funds would be applicable for awardable applicants only. The existing grant process will not be changed.

Past approvals     

1.24. The table below sets out past approvals for activity related to proposals in this MD. These approvals are historical and do not overlap with approvals in this decision document. The table shows related prior activity.

2.1. The GLA’s Peer Outreach Workers team aims to ensure policy and programme activity is better aligned with the concerns and perspectives of children and young people whilst providing personal skills development opportunities for the young people involved. Peer Outreach Workers team objectives are to:

• ensure young Londoners voices and experiences are heard and that they can shape City Hall policy, including that of the New Deal for Young People mission;

• facilitate systematic and sustained young people engagement within City Hall and with key partners organisations; and

• provide personal skills development opportunity for young people in the POW team.

2.2. Stepping Stones aims to support vulnerable young people in their transition from primary to secondary school. Its objectives are to support improvements in pupil attainment, behaviour and attendance through the delivery of six interrelated activities all designed to support vulnerable leaners:

• engagement days with primary schools: liaising with teachers, Year 6 pupils and parents to understand needs and identify those who may benefit from the programme;

• summer school: running activities during a two-week summer school to help immerse selected incoming Year 7 pupils in the secondary school environment;

• Stepping Stones lessons: key learning sessions for selected Year 7 pupils, helping develop their confidence and ability to deal with different social and academic situations;

• peer mentoring: training Year 10 pupils to support selected Year 7 pupils via weekly one-to-one mentoring sessions (this is a mandatory element);

• community mentoring: adult mentors providing support with peer mentoring and Stepping Stones lessons; and

• aspirational and career-based activities: working with external organisations to inspire selected Year 7 pupils about different careers and future goals.

2.3. The GLA’s contribution to Wave 5 of the London Community Response aims to support young people who are facing the greatest barriers to reaching their potential.

2.4. The My Ends programme provides support, capacity, and funding for locally-designed interventions in neighbourhoods affected by high and sustained levels of violence. It is also about increasing the sustainability of community networks, so that they are well placed to respond to local emerging needs and add long-term capacity and support to an area. Developing the local networks is an integral part of the programme – ensuring they are equipped with the skills, knowledge, and access to resources and information in order that they may help shape plans and ideas. By developing this ground-up approach, we hope to see the emergence of new ideas and locally led interventions that reach those who need them most.

3.1. Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (the Equality Act), as a public authority the Mayor must have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and any conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act; and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

3.2. The Peer Outreach Workers team was established to include young people from a wide range of backgrounds (many who have protected characteristics), and it represents the diverse life experiences of young Londoners. Two-thirds of the team are referred from targeted programmes such as Youth Offending Teams, Pupil Referral Units, leaving care and children in care, teenage parents, young carers, mental health projects, and the other third are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Its work fosters good relations between young people who have protected characteristics and those that do not by bringing groups of young people together to discuss a wide range of issues that they are most concerned about including children’s rights, mental health, and racism and anti-discrimination.

3.3. Through targeting young people most impacted by Covid-19 and vulnerable children, Stepping Stones supports many children with protected characteristics. For example, almost a third of Year 7 participants in the 2018 to 2020 programme had Special Educational Needs or disabilities. Schools will be encouraged again to target these young people who may need extra support as they transition to secondary school. Stepping Stones lessons help young people understand diversity and equality and help build relationships between people who do, and do not have protected characteristics.

3.4. Investment in Wave 5 of the London Community Response and in the My Ends projects will provide support to children and young people with protected characteristics, and those most affected by the impact of COVID-19. As part of the My Ends mobilisation process the VRU will work with consortiums to ensure that an Equality Impact Assessment is undertaken, and that suitable monitoring is in place.

  

Key risks

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.1. Activity directly contributes to the New Deal for Young People COVID-19 recovery priority that by 2024, all young people in need will be entitled to a personal mentor and all young Londoners will have access to quality local youth activities.

4.2. Delivery aligns with the Mayor’s priority to reduce serious youth violence in London and the work of the Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit to address the root causes of violent crime by improving young people’s resilience, aspiration and ambition and preventative solutions to tackling violence and knife crime.

4.3. The Mayor’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion Strategy includes objectives to: help understand which groups of children and young people are most likely to experience physical and mental health issues and help them to access treatment and support; work with schools, boroughs and London Councils to support higher levels of educational progress for the lowest attaining groups.

4.4. The work of the Peer Outreach Workers team impacts on a wide range of mayoral strategies through the support it provides officers across City Hall; for example, to support activity within the Health Inequality Strategy on heightened mental health and child obesity concerns since the COVID-19 pandemic and wider engagement with diverse young people to inform the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. The team is holding monthly sessions around different topics around racism and inclusion together with the VRU and the London Youth Assembly, and including interns and apprenticeships, culminating in a ‘The Future Speaks’ event and publication. This contributes towards team, directorate and GLA-wide diversity and inclusion and anti-racism initiatives in City Hall.

Consultations and impact assessments

4.5. Following two workshops with City Hall staff in 2020, the Peer Outreach Workers team has published the ‘Children and Young People as Partners’ handbook which provides resources, tips and case studies to help connect young people with decision makers. The Handbook includes testimonials and examples of the Peer Outreach Workers team’s work with City Hall colleagues and the impact it has had.

4.6. The Stepping Stones 2018 to 2020 evaluation demonstrates that the programme can contribute to successful transition. It had a positive impact on academic progress, behaviour and attendance. The evaluation showed that the peer mentoring and summer school activities are consistently linked to improvements in attendance and academic progress.  It showed that peer mentoring helps socially anxious young people and/or those who struggle to control their behaviour. Peer mentoring provides positive role models and a relatable source of support that can increase self-esteem and confidence. Summer schools help socially anxious, or shy, quieter young people improve their social confidence before the start of the school year, and the Stepping Stones lessons help young people who struggle to control their behaviour through helping them to develop their self-confidence and ability to deal positively with a range of situations. 

4.7. An independent report on the London Community Response funding process was carried out in October 2020. This reviewed LCR’s activities and gave an overview of the first three waves of funding, identifying what worked well, what was challenging, and recommendations for areas of improvement.

4.8. In January 2020 the VRU published its Strategic Needs Assessment. A key recommendation was to consider the importance of place-based violence reduction interventions to support those neighbourhoods who have experienced sustained and high levels of violence. In response the VRU has launched the My Ends programme in September 2020.

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

5.1. Approval is sought for expenditure of £3,371,000 and receipt of £56,000 in external income for four areas of work that will contribute to the London Recovery Board’s New Deal for Young People mission. Below is the profile across financial years detailing expenditure and income receipts:

5.2. Of the £3,371,000 total gross expenditure, £3,315,000 will be funded from the 2021/22 ‘New Deal for Young People’ mission budget and allocated to the Education and Youth team. The remaining £56,000 will be funded via the receipt of income from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (£46,000), and income from organisations benefiting from peer outreach activity (£10,000).

5.3. Future years’ budgets are indicative and subject to the GLA’s annual budget setting process.

6.1. The decisions requested of the mayor 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.

6.2. 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 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 mayor should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

6.3. The GLA has powers to make a revenue grant to its Functional Bodies including the Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime for the purposes of, or in connection with, the discharge of their functions. The making of grants between the GLA and its Functional Bodies is subject to the framework set out in section 121 of the GLA Act, under which the Mayor must consent to the payment of a grant for revenue expenditure for the undertaking of activities as referred to in this decision. Officers must ensure an appropriate funding letter is put in place between GLA and MOPAC before any commitment to fund is made, noting that conditions may not be attached to such grants.