MD2945 New Deal for Young People Recovery Mission – Phase 3: Collaborative Funding

1.1.    This MD sets out the GLA’s proposed expenditure that will contribute to the London Recovery Board’s  New Deal for Young People (NDYP) mission aim 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. This mission aims to improve the life chances and opportunities of young Londoners, particularly those facing the greatest barriers to realising their potential. One of the main objectives of the mission is to increase strategic investment in London’s mentoring and youth activities. 
1.2.    The proposed expenditure in this Phase 3 investment decision, as part of the NDYP recovery mission, builds on work previously completed in the same area. Phase 1 expenditure was approved under cover of MD2800, and Phase 2 under cover of MD2885. This work also acknowledges and builds on work by the GLA, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and the Violence Reduction Unit to provide positive opportunities for young people, particularly those at risk of exclusion and involvement in crime. This work includes the Mayor’s Young Londoners Fund, Sport Unites, and investment in support for young people through London’s Violence Reduction Unit.
1.3.    Through the Phase 3 strategic investment in London’s mentoring and youth activities, the work will contribute to the other objectives within the mission: enabling more young people in need to benefit from quality mentoring and youth activities; improving the quality of mentoring by building capacity of the youth sector; and empowering system change and sustainability within the youth sector.
1.4.    There are already good-quality mentoring and youth activities taking place across London. These take many forms and are often being delivered by grassroots organisations with a deep insight into the challenges faced by young people in their local communities.
1.5.    However, like many voluntary and community organisations, those delivering youth and mentoring activities have been hit hard by Covid-19, in addition to decades of central government funding cuts. Young people are one of the groups hardest hit by Covid-19: they have had interrupted education; youth employment continues to rise; and their mental health and well-being has suffered. The GLA is committed to supporting those hit hardest by the pandemic and the organisations that support them.
1.6.    Since September 2021, the GLA has participated in senior-level discussions and workshops with other London funders to progress the ambitions for increased and strategic funder collaboration. Facilitated by London Funders, London’s cross-sector membership network for London-based funders and investors, discussions have centred around a programme following the principles and approach of the London Community Response (LCR).
1.7.    The LCR was a multi-funder collaboration that provided emergency support to London’s civil society during the pandemic response. The GLA contributed over £11m of investment to the LCR Fund (LCRF), approved under cover of MD2623. As funders’ focus moves from crisis response, the initial LCR focus, to recovery and a look towards the longer-term future of London, there is a collective ambition to build on the LCR learnings and continue collaboration by directing funding and resourcing towards London’s recovery and renewal post-Covid-19. 
1.8.    Following a series of exploratory multi-funder workshops, an outline proposal and set of principles to guide the collaborative work, currently referred to as the Collaborative Action for Recovery (CAR), was created. A network of funders committed to the proposed CAR ambitions (CAR Group) has been established and the collaborative approach has been formalised through a partnership statement. The growing funder membership of the CAR currently includes: the GLA, Bloomberg LP, City Bridge Trust, John Lyon’s Charity, the London Community Foundation, London Councils, London Funders, Macquarie and Trust for London. Collaboration and long-term systemic change are at the heart of the both the design and delivery of future CAR activity, namely Recovery-focused collaborative funding programmes (including the Collaborative Fund for Young People (CFYP)). 
1.9.    The CAR Group has now moved discussions towards financial commitments, and the GLA is seeking approval to contribute up to £23.625m towards a proposed CFYP. Several CAR members have discussed in-principle contributions to contribute significant funding alongside the GLA’s proposed investment aligned to the NDYP mission; it is anticipated that other funders will then follow suit. One significant funder, and CAR member, is seeking investment approval from their board in March 2022 that will match the GLA’s original minimum investment of £10m towards this collaboration, with strong interest in supporting work focused on young people as part of the mix. If approved this, plus other funders contributions, would increase investment towards this collaboration to a minimum of £25m over the next five years. 
1.10.    The Mayor is keen to continue to work in collaboration with London’s funding community. In order to develop CFYP expenditure and delivery plans, the GLA and other funders must at this point commit to an in-principle funding contribution and approach so that discussions can move to design and operations. This decision requests approval for GLA investment of up to £23.625m (with a minimum of £15m) towards a proposed CFYP and associated resourcing to coordinate and manage the collaborative activity. The CAR Group continues to meet to develop operational and partnership plans for the fund, upon which further detailed expenditure permission will be sought and submitted. 
1.11.    Whilst the operational and delivery plans for the CFYP will need to be agreed collaboratively, and will depend on the agreement of any organisation committing to run a pooled fund, it is anticipated that the GLA funding contribution could be split between aligned (30 per cent) and pooled (70 per cent) grant-funding opportunities, this will include the commissioning of activities (including appropriate management of grant-funding and delivery costs). In partnership with other funders, we will agree the criteria, eligibility and funding requirements; and use a single application portal for funding applications. We will also agree grant management, resources, monitoring, evaluation and communications processes and systems. Full details will be agreed, and approval sought via delegated authority as requested in this decision. 
1.12.    A minimum investment of £15m will be made in the CFYP through direct pooled or aligned activity with other funders. Further scoping will be required in order to ascertain what proportion of the remaining £8.625m may be required to remain within sole GLA control. This will depend on the ability of any new structure to be sufficiently responsive and flexible to changing London contexts. The ideal would be that any such structure would be sufficiently responsive and so the full £23.625m could be passed over to CFYP. The final decision on this point is subject to further work and scoping and will be approved by the Executive Director of Communities and Skills and the Executive Director Resources, having consulted with NDYP Co-Chairs, under delegated authority requested in this MD. 
1.13.     Approval is sought for:
•    expenditure of up to £23.625m to contribute to a CFYP to increase strategic and sustainable investment in mentoring, other tailored interventions and place-based access to youth activities for young people most in need across London, requested in this MD in order to allow the GLA to commit to an in-principle contribution alongside other partners
•    delegated authority to the Executive Director of Communities and Skills, and the Executive Director of Resources, having consulted with the NDYP Co-Chairs, to approve detailed expenditure plans within this budget (current forecast £6,762,500 in 2022-23, £6,862,500 in 2023-24 and an additional allocation of £10m to the Collaborative Fund reserve), subsequent to the commitment of funding to the CFYP from other funders via a Directors Decision
•    expenditure of £380,000 to support the delivery of NDYP mission, including £200,000 for staffing (for a Head of NDYP post for two years, which has received approval via the GLA Establishment Control processes); £180,000 for evaluation of £5.2m mentoring programmes (funded through Phase 2 NDYP investment – MD2885); and communications and events, which will be funded and/or commissioned in accordance with the GLA contracts and Funding Code.

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

2.1.    The LCR demonstrated that collaboration at pace and scale is possible, and that collaborative funding programmes can be beneficial for both recipients and funders, with increased scale (more combined funding); reach (connecting with grassroots or more specialist community and voluntary organisations); and impact when working in collaboration with others. The proposed CAR collaborative funding programmes will build on the LCR and bring together funders across London so that they can invest more strategically; help to sustain the voluntary and community sector; and support communities that face the biggest challenges. The initial financial investment from the GLA towards CAR activity will be to the developing CFYP: however, policy officers are already working with London Funders to align the live Building Stronger Communities grants covered by MD2854. 

Outcomes
2.2.    The NDYP mission commits to ensuring that by 2024 all young people in need are entitled to a personal mentor and all young Londoners have access to quality local youth activities. The mission aims to improve the life chances and opportunities by:
•    enabling more young people in need to benefit from quality mentoring and youth activities
•    improving the quality of mentoring by building capacity of the youth sector
•    increasing strategic investment in London’s youth and mentoring activities
•    empowering system change and sustainability within the youth sector
2.3.    The CAR’s activities will build on the partnership work of the Recovery Board with a proposed initial focus on the NDYP mission, funding projects and organisations that: align with its aims and objectives; and meet the three core priorities set out below:
•    Improve the quality of personal mentoring and/or youth activities – the NDYP will ensure that young people are receiving the best-quality mentoring support and/or youth activities, and will help to build the capacity of the youth sector. Organisations funded through the CFYP (that deliver personal mentoring) will be required to sign up to and implement the Mentoring Confidence Framework (current working title), an agile tool being developed to help organisations build on their best practice for mentoring and personalised support. 
•    Targeted at young people facing the biggest challenges – including those at risk of exclusion and/or involvement in crime. An illustrative, not exhaustive, list of target groups of young people is outlined below. There will be other groups of young people that will be targeted based on local need:
o    residents with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) 
o    those who are excluded from school or college 
o    those who are associated with gangs or impacted by exploitation 
o    those who are not in education, employment or training 
o    those who are experiencing, or have been impacted by, domestic violence and abuse 
o    young refugees and asylum-seekers 
o    young people with a social worker (looked-after children, those under a Child Protection Plan, children in need and care leavers) 
o    young people from low-income families/living in poverty. 
•    Support the sustainability of the youth sector – the NDYP will support the youth sector to become sustainable and provide long-term support and investment, rather than one-off or short-term funding. On top of decades of funding cuts, organisations providing vital support for young people have been hit hard by Covid-19, whilst having an increased demand for their services. Investment through the CFYP should help to build the capacity and sustainability of the youth sector.
2.4.    In order to help achieve sustainability, strategic focus and improved quality, through the pooled funding (approximately 70 per cent of the funding contribution) the GLA anticipates making fewer grants of a higher value – that is, for illustrative purposes at this stage, say 20-25 grants of £300k-£500k each.
2.5.    The CAR will support increased long-term investment towards London’s Recovery with an indicative collaborative investment of over £25m focused on young people in the form of a CFYP. 

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.    Activity and programmes under the Mayor’s NDYP will provide support to children and young people most in need. This includes young people with protected characteristics; young people who are more vulnerable; and young people most affected by the impact of Covid-19. Examples of groups that the NDYP programmes will be particularly targeting include young people with SEND; young refugees and asylum seekers; young people with a social worker; young care leavers; and those who are risk of exclusion, or who have been excluded, from school or college. 
3.3.    The CAR partnership is founded on several guiding principles that will focus and hold to account the CAR’s future programme plan. Several of these are equity-focused including the ‘equitable’ principle that has been selected to ensure that there is focus on unlearning old ways of working, and awareness of biases and lenses, to ensure the design and decision-making processes are inclusive and reflective of London’s diversity. 
3.4.    The LCR acknowledged that the pandemic was disproportionately affecting already marginalised and discriminated-against communities. With the support of the GLA, the LCR funded several Equity Partners (the Ubele Initiative, Inclusion London, the Council of Somali Organisations, London Gypsies and Travellers, Women’s Resource Centre and Consortium) to provide insight and guidance to ensure equity-centred grant-making. Several of the equity partners have been invited to, and involved in, the CAR Group workshops; and will continue to be key members of the developing CAR programme, to ensure learnings from the LCR is embedded in the CAR delivery and design. 
 

Key risks
4.1.    The key risks are identified in the table below.

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities
4.2.    Activity directly contributes to the NDYP Covid-19 recovery 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.
4.3.    The Mayor has made a commitment to build on the work of the Young Londoners Fund and the collaboration forged between leading funders during the pandemic to create a longer-term, multimillion-pound fund to support young people. Committing resources to the CAR and the proposed CFYP will support this commitment. 
4.4.    The CAR Group’s emphasis on developing funding programmes focused on improving systemic and long-term issues will provide much-needed source of sustainable support to voluntary, community and civil society organisations supporting hundreds of thousands of young Londoners.
4.5.    In 2018, the GLA commissioned a review looking at the role of City Hall and its approach to giving. This culminated in the report, “Harnessing the capital’s giving: What is the role of the Mayor and Greater London Authority in enabling civic philanthropy?” (September 2018). One of the key areas of opportunity identified for the Mayor and the GLA was increased and more strategic funder collaboration. Showing support to the CAR will demonstrate the GLA’s activation of this recommendation. 

Consultations and impact assessments 
4.6.    The NDYP mission is a partnership of the GLA, London Councils, and the voluntary and community sector. The co-chairs of the NDYP mission have worked with statutory and voluntary-sector partners across London in the development of the mission. They will continue to ensure that the delivery and related funded activity (including the CFYP) meets the needs of young people who face the biggest challenges, and that it supports the sustainability and transformation of the wider youth sector. 
4.7.    We have engaged with the youth sector and young people to help shape the NDYP mission and will continue to ensure young people's voices are front and centre of recovery. A number of online roundtables with the voluntary and community sector have been held with organisations identified as delivering best practice mentoring in London, as well as a roundtable with young people to hear their thoughts on the biggest challenges to mentoring, and what good mentoring looks like. These engagement activities are key to ensuring the programme of work is co-produced with the sector and best supports organisations working with young people most in need. 
4.8.    The CAR builds on the LCR which, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, brought together 67 funders from across London sectors and geographies. Through five waves of funding, these funders distributed over 3,400 grants with a value of over £57.7m to community organisations, prioritising the most affected communities.
4.9.    With the support of the GLA and others, London Funders commissioned a series of learning reports to evaluate the effectiveness of the LCR. The learning reports covered topics including the processes that support effective collaboration, embedding equitable approaches in funding, and supporting innovation in civil society. These findings will inform the development and delivery of future CAR activity, and similar learning reports are proposed to be commissioned for future collaborative funding programmes. 
4.10.    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 total expenditure of up to £23.625m (forecast £6,762,500 in 2022-23,£6,862,500 in 2023-24 and an allocation of £10m to the Collaborative fund reserve) to contribute to the CAR’s proposed CFYP.
5.2.    Approval is also sought for expenditure of £380,000 to support the delivery of the NDYP mission, including staffing, evaluation, events and communications.
5.3.    The expenditure detailed within this decision all sits within the Core Mission line – NDYP. 
5.4.    Expenditure will remain in an earmarked reserve until the vehicle has been set up, then it will be transferred as appropriate.
 

6.1.    The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Mayor concern the exercise of the Authority’s general powers, falling within the Authority’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further or that are facilitative of, or conducive or incidental to, the promotion of economic development and wealth creation, social development or the promotion of the improvement of the environment 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:
·    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
·    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, sex, 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     Section 1.9, above, indicates that the funding will be used for both grant-funding and the     commissioning of activities. In determining whether a procurement (contract) or grant         award (funding agreement) is the most appropriate route for the activities described         above, officers should have due regard to the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code and         seek advice from Transport for London (TfL) Commercial and TfL Legal if required.
6.4    To the extent a contribution of funding will amount to the provision of grant funding and         not payment for services, section 12.3 of the Authority’s Contracts and Funding Code         provides that decisions to award grant-funding should generally be made based on the outcome of a transparent, competitive application process. To this end, the officers must ensure that any grant-funding is awarded following such a process. Officers must also ensure that appropriate grant-funding agreements are put in place and executed by the successful recipient and the GLA before the commitment of funding.
6.5    To the extent that any of the activities described above are commissioned, the services or supplies required must be procured by TfL 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 also 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.