FOI - LGBTQIA+ Projects [Jul 2023]

Your request

I am interested in issues of gender sexuality inclusion in the authority area. For the last year up to date, but inclusive of information and documents from work which may have begun before this period and is still being pursued by the council. (For example, a project to devise an action plan may have begun in 2020, but plans may still be used by the council now)

1. Could you please outline an projects undertaken to increase inclusion in regards to gender, sexuality, and LGBTQIA+ issues generally. For example, putting out pride flags or rainbow crossings, staging Pride march, or a drag queen story hour, school outreach work.

2. Could you please outline an policies relating to inclusion in regards to gender, sexuality, and LGBTQIA+ issues generally, and any particular guidance for staff used (perhaps from an outside body) or devised by the authority itself - and can you provide examples of this. For example, a guide to correct use of language (particularly gender-inclusive language) or targets for representation

3. If possible, could you provide a cost breakdown from 2020 on spend to date on the following: Pride flags, Rainbow crossing, Badges or pins related to LGBTQIA+ (pronoun badges for example), Pride march expenses broken down in as much detail as possible, Drag queen events (story hour for example) and School events overseen by the council in some way
4. For the above work to, gender, sexuality, and LGBTQIA+ issues generally, can you please provide information any grants received by the council to pursue this work, or any payments or grants made by the council to pursue this work (for example, charities with expertise in this area)
5. Can you also detail any outside advice of consultation offered or procured for all issues detailed above, i.e, boosting LGBTQIA+ inclusion in libraries and museums. For example, advice given by Stonewall.

Our response

Please note that the GLA is London's strategic government and does not operate in the same way as local Borough Councils. If you have not already done so I would suggest you contact the individual local Borough Councils who may hold information relating to schools, museums etc: London Government Directory (londoncouncils.gov.uk)

Projects

• Building a Fairer Action Plan for London - 'Building a Fairer City’, the London Recovery Board’s action plan for addressing the structural inequalities that drove the disproportionate impact of the pandemic, was launched at City Hall in May 2022. London’s LGBTQI+ community are one of the groups most impacted by the pandemic that this programme seeks to support. We have now entered the implementation phase of this programme of work with our commissioning partners, and a programme of support for partner agencies to tackle structural inequality/racism will be published over the Summer. The plan can be found here Building a Fairer City Plan | London City Hall
• Safe spaces for Black LGBTQI+ people in London - Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice sponsored an LGBTQI+ History Month event in January 2023 in partnership with BlackoutUK, a not-for-profit social enterprise run and owned by a volunteer collective of Black gay men. The event hosted by Queer Britain, how the Black LGBTQI+ community supports learning about the past and present, to engage community members and stakeholders in shaping potential future safe, culturally inclusive spaces where they believe Black queer lives can thrive.

Projects funded under the Building Strong Communities Grants programme area:

The projects we’ve funded/are about to fund to support the LGBTQ+ community are below:

Round 1

• Kiki Youth Education CIC The road to Oz: Project supporting 50 LGBT+ Young people through mentoring and group support through Proud North London [Barnet, Enfield, and Waltham Forest] and Proud NewHamlets [Newham and Tower Hamlets] to reduce isolation and social anxiety when meeting others and promote positive health and well-being among the LGBT+ Youth community.
• LGBT CLT The Quietest Voices: Homes for marginalised LGBTQ+ Londoners: Project that seeks to provide homes where this community can live safely and free of opression. The project will facilitate dialogue around the topic and inform future decisions to demonstrably influence and shape direction and the housing they will eventually provide.

Round 2

• Sport4Health Community Interest Company: Health & Wellness for Older LGBTQ+ People Project will support the physical and mental health of Older LGBTQ+ People through providing 4 hours per week of structured programmes of sport, exercise and social activities in Wandsworth and Westminster.
• The NO Collective Kaleidoscope - Culture Club & Dry Bar: Project is a new Culture Club and dry bar for the LGBTQ+ community in Romford. With a focus on cultural identity and experiences, it will create Romford’s first safe, fun, and educational space for people aged 17 - 24 to find solace, embrace their creative passion and to celebrate their identity. Avant-Gardening The Spring Affair: 50 members of the LGBTQ+ community in Greenwich and Lewisham will devise and deliver a community-led and produced variety show for an older generation of LGBTQ+ community.
• London LGBTQ+ Community Centre Limited Healing together; healing better: Project offers a holistic trauma-informed programme including meditation, art and crafts healing workshops, free therapy and resources.

Round 3 (soon to be funded):

• Camden Shorinji Kempo - Martial Arts Club Empowering London Communities Through Inclusive Martial Arts: Addressing the Cost-of-Living Crisis by providing Affordable, Regular Access to High-Quality Martial Arts Training: Mainly LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people living in the estates near Kings Cross and Euston / Residents in Camden who COVID-19 has negatively impacted, specific members of the LGBTQIA+ community who have experienced increased isolation during the pandemic.
• Queer Diary CIC Queer Diary London 2023: Queer Diary will deliver 3 activities (2 diary-reading open-mic nights, 1 zine-making workshop) for 100+ attendees & 20+ participants, creating space for London’s LGBTQ+ community to connect, bond, and creatively express themselves in a sociable safe space. Participants also have the opportunity to contribute to our 2nd collaborative zine.We’ll work with new partners and consultants to reach more participants and audiences, improve accessibility for our events and develop our approach as a new CIC.
• VSSL studio CIC The Sunday Skool: Queer Grief and Belonging: Our project will offer 20 LGBTQ* Londoners who are grieving or experiencing bereavement through monthly creative support sessions, across a 10-month period. Using artistic and creative methodologies we will hold space to think and feel through death and dying, supporting participant mental health, and building community.
• London LGBTQ+ Community Centre: This project will offer a holistic trauma-informed programme including meditation, art and crafts healing workshops, free therapy and resources.

Other projects supported (indirectly): The following organisations were also supported by the GLA to host their TNLCF MCW events (they were not directly funded by us but were granted up to £1500 to deliver community events to celebrate the city’s togetherness, diversity and resilience):

• Kibo Productions
• Out & Proud African LGBTI
• London LGBTQ+ Community Centre
• Heard Organisation Limited

Policies

Equality Impact Assessments: The Greater London Authority are currently reviewing their approach to Equality Impact Assessments and will roll out a standardised approach, with refreshed staff guidance, later this year.

Cost breakdown and Grants

The GLA does not sponsor any Pride events. However, the GLA provides £125,000 in grant funding to support the delivery of the Pride parade on 1 July. GLA staff and volunteers joining the Pride parade were provided with uniformed t-shirts and hand-held flags at a cost of £1,700. See press release below for further information: Pride in London awarded funding to deliver London’s Pride celebrations | London City Hall

Further information within the scope of your request is contained within the Mayoral Decision for Pride in London 2023-2027. This is deferred from publication until September 2023 when the open tender process for funding to deliver London Pride 2023-27 will have concluded.

Section 22 of the FOI Act provides an exemption for information that is intended to be published in the future. Information is exempt if, at the time when the public authority receives a request for it:

• the public authority holds the requested information;
• the public authority intends the information to be published at some future date, whether that date is determined or not; and
• in all the circumstances it is reasonable to withhold the information until its planned publication.

Section 22 acknowledges that public authorities must have freedom to be able to determine their own publication timetables. This allows them to deal with the necessary preparation, administration and context of publication. It is however necessary to consider whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption (and withholding the information until the publication date), is greater than the public interest in releasing the information before this date.

In this instance, it is felt that there is a greater public interest for the GLA to keep to its original timetable of disclosure for the above reasons. The public interest – i.e. the best interests of the public – is met by the GLA being open and transparent, but also by managing its resources effectively, and this includes setting reasonable publication schedules to meet this public interest. While there is an obvious public interest in the release of expenditure related information, we believe this is met by our intention to publish this information in the coming month. We do not believe the public interest favours the disruption that would be caused to GLA staff by expediting this publication when its early publication would not meet any immediate or exceptional public concerns at the present time. We therefore find the balance of public interest falls in maintaining the exemption and the GLA publishing this information in accordance with our existing publication timetable.

Further request 

Could you please clarify on how much was paid in support of these projects, and from which fund or department (culture for example) the funding came from IN particular this project:

• "LGBT CLT The Quietest Voices: Homes for marginalised LGBTQ+ Londoners: Project that seeks to provide homes where this community can live safely and free of oppression. The project will facilitate dialogue around the topic and inform future decisions to demonstrably influence and shape direction and the housing they will eventually provide."

And this project

• "Camden Shorinji Kempo - Martial Arts Club Empowering London Communities Through Inclusive Martial Arts: Addressing the Cost-of- Living Crisis by providing Affordable, Regular Access to High-Quality Martial Arts Training: Mainly LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people living in the estates near Kings Cross and Euston / Residents in Camden who COVID-19 has negatively impacted, specific members of the LGBTQIA+ community who have experienced increased isolation during the pandemic."

Our response