PCD 1328 Girls & Young Women Extension

PCD 1328 Girls & Young Women Extension

The Girls and Young Women programme- previously approved via DMPC Decision Paper PCD 1016- will be extended for 3 months whilst the VRU assesses the impact of the programme. 

The variation will extend delivery from June 2023 to September 2023. An independent evaluation, conducted by Ecorys will also be extended, in order to track impact and outcomes for the girls and young women who have engaged with the programme until September 2023. 

The VRU will develop a new service specification to continue supporting this cohort for delivery beyond September 2023, this service specification will be launched in Summer 2023.  

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to : 

• approve a variation to the current contract awarded to Advance of £156,000. The cost of the variation is within VRU budget. 

• approve a variation to the current contract awarded to Ecorys of £18,338. The cost of the variation is within VRU budget.   

PART I - NON-CONFIDENTIAL FACTS AND ADVICE TO THE DMPC 

1. Introduction and background  

1. The VRU Girls and Young Women programme provides tailored support to girls and young women with the aim of improving wellbeing, self-esteem and resilience, and reduce vulnerability to becoming involved in criminal networks. 

2. The programme was designed following sector engagement, which highlighted how the vulnerabilities and needs of girls will often go unidentified and unaddressed, with girls’ support needs more likely to go under the radar until crisis point. The programme is therefore focussed on prevention and early-intervention and improving knowledge of gender-informed approaches when supporting girls at risk of being involved in crime. 

3. The programme consists of 2 core elements, delivered across 2 lots; 

1. Lot 1- A targeted and intensive training offer to staff working in education settings- delivered by Tender 

2. Lot 2- Community-based support and mentoring for girls and young women at crucial age points from 9 to 25 years, covering healthy relationships, peer on peer abuse (including exploitation and grooming), transitioning into adulthood and access to further education and employment. 

4.  Following an open competition, a contract was awarded to Advance with the value of £692,970 and the contract term of March 2022 to June 2023 to deliver Lot 2 services. A contract to evaluate Lot 2 of the programme was awarded to Ecorys following an open competition. The value of the contract is £79,464.  

2. Issues for consideration  

1. Extending Lot 2 of the service will enable continuity of service whilst a competitive tender process is run, for mobilisation of a new service in September 2023. Advance deliver a series of 9-month interventions to girls and young women, and this extension will enable them to continue accepting referrals into these programmes until January 2023.  

2. Lot 1 is not being considered for extension from June 2023 to September 2023 because this programme relies on delivery within education settings.   

3. Ecorys will be undertaking an evaluation of the programme and delivering an interim report in January 2023. The evaluation will inform the next steps of a commissioning exercise, with a new service specification launching in summer 2023. 

4. Mcorys will deliver a final evaluation report sharing both impact and process-level findings in the 3 months following the end of the programme. 

3. Financial Comments  

1.  The £156,000 cost to extend the programme and £18,338 to extend the evaluation (total £174,338) will be funded from the VRU’s 2023/24 core budget. 

4. Public Health Approach  

1.  London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) was established to coordinate a fundamentally new public health approach to reducing violence and spreading opportunity in London. We know the best time to stop violence is before it starts. 

2. The VRU workplan is divided into five key priority areas: Youth Work; Education, Schools and Settings; Early Intervention and Whole Family; Neighbourhoods & Local violence Reduction Plans; and Young People – giving them their voice. 

3. The key areas which are being focussed on as part of this programme are:  

• Children and Young People – reducing Adverse Childhood Experiences and building resilience. 

• Wellbeing and achievement in schools - Institutions providing responsible leadership; London partners having mutual accountability to invest in what works 

5. Legal Comments  

1. Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) has delegated authority to approve business cases for revenue or capital expenditure of £500,000 or above. As well as the strategy for the award. 

2. Paragraph 4.13 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) has delegated authority to approve all requests to go out to tender for contracts of £500,000 or above.   

3. The Mayor's Office for Policing Crime is a contracting authority as defined in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations").  All awards of public contracts for goods and/or services valued at £181,302 or above will be procured in accordance with the Regulations.  

6. Commercial Issues  

1. Regulation 72 of The Procurement Contract Regulations 2015 provides the conditions that must be met in order to modify a contract, based on the following justifications both variations meet all the requirements:  

1. The original contract term was included in the ITT documentation. An option to  extend was not included as the expectation was all the services would be delivered within the contract term  

2. The overall nature of the contracts has not changed. The Supplier will be delivering similar services during the extension period.  

3. The increase in price does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contracts.  

2. The original contract value for Lot 2 awarded to Advance is £692,970 this extension is for the value of £156,000. This brings the total contract value to £848,970. 

3. The original contract value for the evaluation awarded to Ecorys is £79,464, this extension is for the value of £18,338. This bring the total contract value to £97,802. 

7. GDPR and Data Privacy  

1. MOPAC will adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and ensure that any organisations who are commissioned to do work with or on behalf of MOPAC are fully compliant with the policy and understand their GDPR responsibilities.   

2. The existing programme has followed GDPR and Data Privacy guidance and will continue to adhere to these. 

8. Equality Comments  

1. MOPAC is required to comply with the public sector equality duty set out in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. This requires MOPAC to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations by reference to people with protected characteristics. The protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. 

9. Background/supporting papers 

1. None