PCD 1560 Acceptance and granting of MOPAC’s Safer Streets Funding from the Home Office (FYs 2023/2024 & 2024/25)

PCD 1560 Acceptance and granting of MOPAC’s Safer Streets Funding from the Home Office (FYs 2023/2024 & 2024/25)

On 26th October 2023, the Home Office confirmed that MOPAC had been successful in applying for £990,324.28 in funding from Round 5 of its Safer Streets Fund, which is focusing on acquisitive crime, anti-social behaviour, and safer spaces for women and girls. The funding is covering two financial years (2023/24 and 2024/25) and will be split into two tranches accordingly. The first tranche for 2023/24 is £455,631.44 and the second tranche in 2024/25 will be £534,692.84. 

MOPAC has received the first contract to sign from the Home Office covering the first FY 2023/24. 

This decision is for MOPAC to accept both tranches of funding to re-grant to three London boroughs and their respective projects. The successful boroughs were put forward by MOPAC in its successful proposal to the Home Office earlier in 2023 following a shortlisting and review process involving colleagues from MOPAC, the GLA, and the Metropolitan Police. 

The amounts to be granted to boroughs by MOPAC following receipt will be: 

• £502,992.00 to Lewisham (£272,664.00 in FY 2023/24 and £230,328 in FY 2024/25). 

• £239,832.28 to Haringey (£100,467.44 in FY 2023/24 and £139,364.84 in FY 2024/25). 

• £247,500.00 to Croydon (£82,500.00 in FY 2023/24 and £165,000.00 in FY 2024/25). 

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:   

1. Accept both tranches of the Home Office’s Safer Streets grant funding totalling £990,324.28. 

2. To agree for MOPAC to grant the monies received to Lewisham, Haringey, and Croydon in the amounts shown in the Executive Summary to support their Safer Streets projects. 

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

1. Introduction and background  

The Home Office launched Round 5 of its Safer Streets Fund on Monday 10th June 2023. As with Round 4, the areas of focus for the fund are acquisitive crime, ASB, and safe spaces for women and girls. This funding round is running for 18 months from 1st October 2023 to 31st March 2025 

Over the summer of 2023 MOPAC invited all boroughs to submit their proposals via the application form provided by the Home Office. Three boroughs and their respective projects were successfully put forward by MOPAC; these were Lewisham, Haringey, and Croydon.  

2. Issues for consideration  

1. This decision will allow MOPAC to receive and grant the funding from the Home Office to distribute to the three boroughs included in MOPAC’s proposal to the Home Office earlier this year. 

The boroughs’ bids totalled £990,324.28 and include: 

• A proposal from Croydon focused on tackling ASB, personal robbery, VAWG, and serious violence in Croydon town centre, with a specific focus on female offenders at risk of entering the criminal justice system. 

• A proposal from Haringey focused on ASB and VAWG in public spaces around commercial and residential areas on Tottenham High Road. 

• A bid from Lewisham focused on increasing awareness of how to report crime and upskilling the community to recognise potentially harmful situations – with a particular focus on VAWG and ASB in the night-time economy.  

Recommendations following Casey Review & Engage 

The Metropolitan Police’s New Met for London Plan has community crime-fighting as one of its three core pillars in recognition of the need to build the strongest ever neighourhood policing by working in partnership with communities. This funding will support the Met’s work in this area specifically in aiding neighbourhood teams to tackle neighourbood crime, anti-social behaviour, and safe spaces for women and girls. It will also support the new structures that the Met has brought in to strengthen neighbourhood policing, such as the new borough superintendents.  

3. Financial Comments  

1. The total budget requirement for this work and the amount to be received by MOPAC from the Home Office totals £990,324.28. The programme will be funded from within the Strategy and MPS Oversight Budget across two years. 

2. The amounts to be granted to boroughs by MOPAC following receipt of the Home Office funding will be: 

4. 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 all bids for grant funding. 

5. 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.   

6. 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. 

7. Background/supporting papers 

8. N/A