PCD 1493 Womens Night Safety Audits

PCD 1493 Womens Night Safety Audits

As outlined in the refreshed Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy 2022 – 2025, the Mayor is determined to make London a safer city where all women and girls feel confident and welcome at night.  

In 2020, MOPAC commissioned University College London (UCL) to conduct a scoping study into London’s participation within the UN Women’s Safer Cities programme, producing practical recommendations to improve women and girls’ safety within London. The report recommended that MOPAC and partners, including Transport for London (TfL), conduct localised women’s night safety audits in community locations across London. The purpose of these audits is (i) to gather data on women’s night safety experiences and (ii) using the data gathered in the audits, collaborate with local stakeholders to create local Women’s Safety Action Plans.  

This decision seeks approval to transfer up to a maximum of £125,000 to TfL, as the project’s procurement lead, to commission providers to carry out the night safety audits in agreed community locations across London. 

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:   

1. Approve the transfer of up to £125,000 to TfL in 2023/24 to deliver the pilot women’s night safety audits in London.  

2. Approve entering into a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with TfL to collaboratively manage the pilot.   

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

1. Introduction and background  

1. The Mayor’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy 2022-25 outlines the Mayor’s ambition to make London a safer city, where every woman and girl can participate fully in public life without experiencing or fearing harassment, abuse or violence from men.  

2. As part of this commitment, in 2020 MOPAC commissioned University College London (UCL) to conduct a scoping study into London’s involvement with the UN Safer Cities programme. MOPAC, alongside Transport for London (TfL) and other partners, has committed to implementing this report’s recommendations to improve women and girls’ safety within London.   

3. One of these recommendations includes exploring and piloting women’s night safety audits in town centres, transport hubs and public spaces across London. The audits are designed to gather data on how women’s safety experiences may differ based on individual characteristics such as disability, neurodivergence, and race, and how to improve women’s safety in public. 

4. The night safety audits will also contribute to the Mayor’s commitment, as outlined in the VAWG Strategy, that MOPAC will work with TfL, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), and other partners to ensure active travel policy and delivery is informed by an awareness of VAWG and the strategies women and girls use to keep safe.  

2. Issues for consideration  

1. MOPAC and TfL have been working together to develop the scope of and specification for the audits. Audit locations will be identified through a range of criteria including areas where respondents to the annual Public Attitude Survey (PAS) were most likely to report that they felt unsafe. Delivery of audits in these locations is therefore hoped to ultimately improve the confidence of women navigating their local areas at night, improve perceptions of safety, and encourage women and girls’ greater ownership of the public realm.  

2. MOPAC and TfL require a holistic, nuanced approach to understanding women’s experiences and needs in London. It is intended that the participatory Women’s Safety Action Plans produced through the audits creates a best practice model that can be adopted elsewhere in London and help address VAWG in public spaces.  

3. The audits will also inform how TfL can better plan the design of public spaces to consider women and girls' safety needs. MOPAC and TfL will work together to develop an evaluation process for the audits in 2024/25.  

4. The Casey review found the MPS to be institutionally sexist and had failed to protect women and girls from gendered crime and violence. This work is part of the Mayor’s renewed focus on tackling VAWG to improve women’s trust and confidence in the MPS. The audits are intended to make London safer for women and girls and for them to feel comfortable in public spaces, including those policed by the MPS, and the resulting Women’s Safety Action Plans may involve actions overseen by the MPS to support this outcome.  

5. It is envisaged that increased dialogue between the MPS and those participating in the audits, alongside women and girl’s improved confidence in public spaces following MPS action, will improve trust between women and girls and the MPS. 

3. Financial Comments  

1. This decision seeks approval to transfer £125,000 to TfL to deliver and evaluate women’s night safety audits in community locations across London. 

2. Funding will be met from the Women’s Night Safety Audit budget in 2023/24. 

4. Legal Comments  

1. MOPAC’s general powers are set out in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). Section 3(6) of the 2011 Act provides that MOPAC must “secure the maintenance of the metropolitan police service and secure that the metropolitan police service is efficient and effective.” Under Schedule 3, paragraph 7 (1) MOPAC has wide incidental powers to “do anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of the functions of the Office.” Paragraph 7(2) (a) provides that this includes entering into contracts and other agreements.  

2. Section 143 (1) (b) of the Anti-Social, Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides for MOPAC to provide or commission services “intended by the local policing body to victims or witnesses of or other persons affected by offences and anti-social behaviour.”  

3. There are further relevant powers set out in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 at sections 17(1) (a) to (c) which place MOPAC under a duty to exercise its functions with due regard to the likely effect of the exercise of those functions on, and the need to do all it can to prevent, crime and disorder (including anti-social and other behaviour adversely affecting the local environment), reoffending in its area, and the misuse of drugs, alcohol and other substances in its area. The proposed arrangements are consistent with MOPAC’s duties in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. 

4. In the absence of MOPAC’s Scheme of Delegation not specifically referencing the transfer of funds to other organisations within the Greater London Authority (GLA) family, approval is being sought from the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime for the transfer of funding to TfL.   

5. Officers must ensure the Financial Regulations and Contract Regulations are complied with.   

5. Commercial Issues  

5.1 TfL will procure the provider to conduct the audits. MOPAC is, however, co-commissioner and that role grants oversight of contractual performance as set out in the Service Level Agreement.  

5.2 Given the total value of the contract is up to £250,000 in 2023/24, an Invitation to Quote (ITQ) will be issued by TfL to procure a provider to undertake the audits. TfL is the procurement agent for the GLA and, therefore, MOPAC is comfortable with the procurement approach and process that TfL will undertake.   

6. Public Health Approach  

6.1 Violence against women and girls is a public health issue. This decision provides funding to enable a better informed and more cohesive partnership approach to improving outcomes for victims in London which will align with and support the Violence Reduction Unit’s public health approach to tackling the causes of violent crime in London. 

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.   

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. 

2. As highlighted in Baroness Louise Casey’s review, standards of behaviour and internal culture of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) have impacted the trust and confidence of women and girls in the MPS. 

3. MOPAC will ensure equalities considerations form part of all work commissioned with this funding, including the development of local Women’s Safety Action Plans. 

9. Background/supporting papers 

None