Migrant Advice and Support Fund prospectus

• The Greater London Authority (GLA) has announced funding of up to £300,000 for frontline organisations providing specialist advice and/or holistic support to migrant Londoners. The fund will provide grants of between £10,000 and £70,000 for an initial six-month period of activity from March 2023, with a potential option for extension by an additional six months.
• The Migrant Advice and Support Fund has been established to support migrant Londoners to access the advice and support that they need. It aims to develop capacity for currently underserved groups and areas of emerging need; promote lasting collaborations across the advice sector to improve support for migrant groups; and support practices which prioritise staff wellbeing to improve the long-term resilience of the sector.
• We particularly welcome applications from organisations that are led by and for racialised and migrant communities and/or that can demonstrate reach among groups that are particularly underserved by existing advice and support services. This could include services tailored to the needs of new arrivals from Ukraine, Hong Kong, and Afghanistan, as well as communities that face systemic exclusion, including Roma communities, racialised migrants and those particularly impacted by Brexit, hostile environment policies, and the Nationality and Borders Act.

Migrant Londoners are integral to our great city. London would not be the welcoming, diverse, and truly global city that it is without its people, who come from all over the world. Our communities, culture, and economy have been continuously shaped and strengthened, in myriad ways, by the generations of people who have come to the capital and chosen to call it home.

Yet there is a pressing need for a robust and inclusive advice sector to support migrant Londoners, who are affected by complex legislation and increasingly hostile policies. In recent years, the capital has stepped up to welcome people from Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Hong Kong, amongst many others. Alongside this, thousands of Londoners have continued to navigate the profound impact of events such as Brexit, the Windrush scandal, and the passing of the Nationality and Borders Act. These developments have led to the emergence of new and dynamic needs across London’s communities which require effective response.

The UK Government’s expansion of hostile environment policies towards migrants mean that many people face barriers, or are excluded from, accessing fundamental support and opportunities, such as housing, healthcare, or a basic income if they are unable to prove their immigration status or are subject to restrictive visa conditions. This includes people who are undocumented¹, lack evidence of their status, or are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) visa condition. These policies disproportionately impact racialised communities, and make many migrant Londoners some of the hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis.

Specialist advice is crucial if migrant Londoners are to navigate these hostile policies, understand their rights and entitlements, and access essential services. However, the demand for free, independent, and specialised advice for migrants far outstrips supply in the capital. For example, annual demand for immigration advice was last estimated in the hundreds of thousands, with yearly supply just over 10,000 for legal aid cases and about 4,000-4,500 for cases not covered by legal aid³. Provision in broader areas, such as social welfare, housing, and employment, is also in short supply, especially with the necessary specialism for migrant Londoners who require services which account for the complex and far-reaching effects of immigration status and provide for diverse linguistic and cultural needs.

The Mayor is committed to a vision where all Londoners can thrive irrespective of immigration status.  Access to necessary advice and support is a key part of this vision. Since 2019, the Mayor has invested almost £3 million in funding to support migrants, including investment into immigration advice, and this year launched the Migrant Londoners Hub which offers tailored information about the rights, entitlements, and where to access support.

The Migrant Advice and Support Fund builds on the legacy of this investment. Grant funding is being made available for six-month projects from March to September 2023 from a total pot of up to £300,000. There is also an intention to extend support for up to a further 6 months with flexibility to deliver the projects until the end of March 2024, pending approval of an additional funding.

The Migrant Advice and Support Fund aims to support a resilient and inclusive advice sector to meet the dynamic needs of migrant Londoners.  The broad objectives of the fund are to:

• Develop advice, support and outreach capacity for currently underserved groups and areas of emerging need;
• Promote lasting collaboration across the advice sector for the betterment of migrant groups by funding partnership work;
• Promote practices which prioritise staff wellbeing in challenging contexts to improve the long-term resilience of the sector.

The GLA will separately commission a service for organisations which will focus on embedding supportive practices for staff. This may include a series of sessions focused on aspects of staff wellbeing, resources, or investment into a community of practice. Proposals should include costings for staff time to participate in these activities to ensure they can have the greatest impact.

• Establishment or strengthening partnerships between organisations providing advice and support to migrant Londoners, including across community groups. This may be an opportunity for organisations supporting London’s newly arrived communities to collaborate with more established networks and civil society organisations and invest in lasting referral pathways and the development of culturally tailored services.
• Outreach, signposting, or holistic support activities to support enduring access to information and support for migrant Londoners who are currently underserved by existing advice provision.
• Expansion of advice and casework provision for migrant Londoners and their family members in response to emerging areas of need. This may include immigration advice or broader advice provision, as long as this is tailored to support those with immigration needs and meets the priority advice needs of your target client group.
• Development and dissemination of translated information to support migrant Londoners to understand and access their rights, including the Migrant Londoners Hub.
• Investment into organisational capacity to respond to the new and emerging needs of migrant Londoners, including development of awareness and cultural competence through collaboration with community groups. 
• Development of a tailored response to new communities and/or new community needs (including supporting new arrivals from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Hong Kong).
• Investment into staff welfare and wellbeing, including contributions to staffing, organisational governance, development of or support to staff counselling and assistance services. Applications should include staff time to participate in the wider wellbeing elements of this programme. 

The GLA will work with grantees to agree on outcomes to be measured. Below are some suggested measures for quantitative and qualitative monitoring and evaluation:   

• The number and nature of Londoners who are supported by grant funded activity which should capture (for participants willing to provide this) age, gender, whether the client has a disability or long-term health condition, and household makeup (e.g. lone parent with two children, single person, etc.). As this pot of funding is drawing from multiple funding streams dedicated to particular purposes, we are also interested in: 
  • How many Hongkongers are supported by grant funded activity 
  • How many Ukrainians are supported by grant funded activity 
• The number and nature of the issues referred for advice, as well as the number and nature that have been resolved/progressed. This could cover: 
  • Immigration advice - Applications for specific immigration routes; number of people referred for ongoing representation; number of successful applications. 
  • Social welfare advice - Number of people seeking support for destitution; number of benefit claims or appeals supported, or restriction to benefits lifted (eg. NRPF); estimated increase in income;  number of referrals for further advice, as well as advice types and number of matters resolved; number of referrals for hardship funds/grants; referrals to foodbanks. 
  • Housing advice - Number of matters raised relating to specific issues (eg. disrepair, eviction), how many of matters resolved; number of homelessness applications. 
• Indicators of staff wellbeing. This may include surveys with staff which could be co-produced with grantee organisations to incorporate their suggested wellbeing measures, as well as consideration of proxy indicators, such as sick leave and staff absences.  
• Indicators of reach with underserved groups. This may be measured through an uptick in referrals from identified groups, or self-referrals demonstrating trust. 
• Qualitative measures which may be articulated through case studies or other efforts, for example, putting in place governance which includes underserved communities. 
• Additional impact measures that the organisation may value and that the GLA can learn from.

Additional measures may also be developed in collaboration with grantees to best capture their progress according to their own organisational vision to serve migrant Londoners. 

Applications are open to community groups and civil society organisations that have a strong track record of working with migrant Londoners and/or are responding to an increase in need for migrant Londoners, especially newly arrived and underserved groups. In particular:

• Organisations must be delivering work to support Londoners, we cannot fund activities where the target beneficiaries are not resident in London.
• While we will accept applications from individual organisations, partnerships or joint applications made up of two or more organisations are strongly encouraged (with one lead partner identified in the application).
• Lead organisations will need to confirm they have adequate and appropriate policies and procedures in place, including policies for Safeguarding, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and complaints (where services include advice provision).
• Lead/applying organisations may comprise of a range of governance structures but need to be a constituted group, at a minimum. This includes organisations with the following structures:  
  • Registered, exempted, or excepted charity   
  • Charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)   
  • Community Interest Company limited by guarantee   
  • Charitable company limited by guarantee (that is not also a registered charity)   
  • Community benefit society (Industrial and Provident society)  
  • Faith group, where the activity is not promoting religion   
  • Constituted but unincorporated club or association   
  • Constituted community group   
  • Community Infrastructure Organisations   
  • Social Enterprise/CIC
• In the case of partnerships applications, only the lead organisation needs to meet the above criteria.
• Applicants must have appropriate experience or qualification for the services offered. For example, applicants offering immigration advice must demonstrate OISC or SRA accreditation, whilst applicants offering holistic support, outreach, or signposting must demonstrate reach and experience of working with the groups or communities they serve.
• Organisations must be financially sound, secure and in a healthy position to deliver their proposed projects through the duration of the grant. The GLA will undertake financial due diligence prior to awarding any grants.

• Grants range from £10,000 to £70,000 for the initial six-month period of March 2023 – September 2023. Applications from individual organisations will be able to apply for a maximum of £30,000, whilst partnerships will be eligible to bid for up to £70,000.   
• There is a total funding pot of up to £300,000 for this initial period, and the GLA is expecting to fund approximately 10 projects.  
• There is also an intention to extend support for up to a further 6 months (from October 2023, with the flexibility to deliver until March 2024), pending approval of additional funding. Bids should include costings for this optional extension. 
• The funding pot includes a proportion of funds from the Hong Kong Welcome and Integration Fund that is dedicated to the support of Hongkongers. We are particularly interested in funding partnership work between organisations supporting Hongkongers, especially newly established and grassroot Hong Kong groups, and those working with wider communities around shared needs or issues (such as the NRPF condition, or digital immigration status). 

Grants can cover costs incurred in delivering or facilitating projects that align with the fund’s objectives. This could include, but is not limited to:

• Costs for qualified advisors or solicitors’ costs whether employed directly or not. This may cover areas such as immigration, social welfare, community care, housing, etc. 
• Interpreting and translation costs where these are related to accessing specialised advice.  
• Salary costs for outreach or community engagement workers to support underserved migrants to access advice and support.  
• Pro-bono barrister or volunteer expenses, such as essential travel and subsistence.  
• Client expenses such as essential travel and obtaining ID documents.  

This is not an exhaustive list, and we encourage organisations to think creatively to address how to respond to the advice and support needs of migrant Londoners.  

We are also open to funds being used towards core costs given the current cost-of-living crisis, however this should not amount to more than 20% of the overall grant.  

Please note grants cannot fund: 

• Non-essential expenses  
• Retrospective costs incurred prior to the grant award or which go beyond the end of the grant period 
• Costs already covered by existing funding, including Legal Aid 

Successful applicants will be selected following a competitive application process.

Applicants should respond to all questions in the ‘Application Form’. Applicants may complete this document and send it back or copy the questions into a new document and submit this separately. 

The deadline for applications is 9am on Monday 27 February 2022. 

If applying in partnership, the lead applicant should complete the application form. The lead applicant may be contacted to answer clarification questions if needed.  

If you are a lead/applying organisation, please provide the following documentation with your application:  

• A copy of your organisation’s most recent signed set of Financial Statements / Accounts  
• Submission of your organisation’s Financial Regulations 
• A copy of your organisational governing document 
• Evidence of registration with Companies House or the Charity Commission (if registered) 

Depending on the outcome of the initial Due Diligence, we may require further information from you such as:

• Safeguarding Policy 
• Equality and Diversity Policy 
• A statement of your organisation’s cash flow for the current year  
• Evidence of public liability and employer's liability insurance
• Evidence of relevant qualification for services provided

Please note that we may require other additional information depending on your project activities or organisation.

To apply for this grant-funding please complete the online application form by 9am Monday 27 February 2023.

Partnership applications should be submitted by the lead organisation, with information about and contact from partners. 

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].