PCD 1532 County Lines SMIN

PCD 1532 County Lines SMIN

This paper seeks approval to accept £570,567 per year for an additional two years of Home Office grant funding to continue to  support the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) sponsored County Line Social Media Intelligence Network (CLSMIN) in tackling county line offending and associated serious youth violence and exploitation from 2023/24 to 2024/25, as well as approval for an agreement in principle to accept future Home Office grant funding per year of up to £1,000,000 for two years from 2025/26 to 2026/27  to support CLSMIN  including potential expansion of the project.  

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:      

1. Approve a new Home Office grant agreement of £570,567 per year  for an additional two years to fund the County Line Social Media Intelligence Network. Funding recovered will reflect actual expenditure incurred during the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years. 

2. Approve in principle to accept Home Office grant funding to support County Line Social Media Intelligence Network per  year of up to £1,000,000 for two years from 2025/26 to 2026/27  including potential expansion of the project. There is a risk that Home Office funding will cease at the end of 2024/25 at which time continuation of the project would require alternative funding. 

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

1. Introduction and background   

1. MOPAC approved the receipt of previous funding for this project in the previous two years  totalling £272,708 and £495, 000 PCD-956 in 2021/22 and  PCD-1218 in 2022/23, respectively. 

2. Issues for consideration.  

1. The proposed grant funding will support the MOPAC Police & Crime Plan by undertaking activities to directly impact upon gang related serious violence and organised criminality. It will also seek to reduce the criminal and sexual exploitation of young and vulnerable people. 

2. The funding will support the continuation of the County Line Social Media  Intelligence Network (CLSMIN) as a dedicated team in tackling county line offending in support of the three County Line Task Forces located in the MPS (Op Orochi), Merseyside Police and West Midlands Police. 

3. This proposal  for 2023-2025 reflects an increase in funding from prior years of £272,708 in 2021/22, £495,000 in 2022/23 to £570,567 each year for the next two years to support an increase from six officers in 2022/23 to seven officers. The MPS assure that cost recovery will reflect actual expenditure incurred in terms of staff pay,  overtime, support costs plus training and operational equipment specific to the role.  

4. The uplift in funding will enable additional officers to be dedicated to engagement activities, collaborating with partners to deliver online initiatives to prevent & divert young people away from County Lines, raising awareness and offering help & support. 

5. The pursuance of intelligence and evidence-based methodology to tackle county line offending originating from London presents major benefits to the MPS and Londoners. The funds sought will boost MPS output in combatting violence and crime linked to gangs. 

3. Financial Comments.  

1. The proposal  seeks approval to accept  £570,567  Home Office grant funding for 2023/24  and up to £570,567 indicative funding for 2024/25. The grant will support funding for the provision of seven posts including once  additional post for the MPS element of the CLSMIN as well as operational equipment and training specific to the role.  

2. The grant agreement will provide authority for expenditure against the delivery plan submitted to the Home Office for the project. All purchases of equipment or training will be via MOPAC approved and compliant procurement routes. 

3. There are no ongoing financial commitments to the MPS should additional funding not be forthcoming for 2025/26. Staff will be redeployed across Frontline Policing in this event, taking with them skills and experience that can be deployed elsewhere in the organisation in tackling MPS priorities. 

4. Legal Comments. 

1. Para 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Consent and Delegation provides the DMPC with delegated power to approve  Bids for grant funding made and all all offers made of grant funding. 

2. The acceptance off additional Grant funding permitted legal under Schedule 3, Paragraph 7 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and  states  that 

• 7(1) The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime may do anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of the functions of the Office.  

• (2)That includes— entering into contracts and other agreements (whether legally binding or not); 

3. MOPAC has an obligation to publish a grant agreement pursuant to Schedule 1, Paragraph 3(g) of the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) (Amendment) Order 2012. 

4. The Home Office will pay the Additional Grant to the MOPAC(MPS) in exercising the power conferred to it by Section 169 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to make awards of grant funding. 

5. Commercial Issues.  

1. There are no commercial issues. 

6. 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 MPS assure that a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) has been completed in respect of the Social Media Hub under which the CLSMIN sits as a capability. The DPIA concluded the risk of a data breach occurring was low based on current practices. Recommendations regarding data storage and retention have been followed with the use of the MPS approved BOX data storage solution and an updated data retention policy. Ongoing consultation with the Information Assurance and Information Rights units within MPS will be completed to ensure the project continues to meet its compliance requirements 

7. 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. The MPS assure that the CLSMIN falls within the Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) completed for the Social Media Hub as an extension of Hub capability. Due regard has been taken to the Equality Act’s Public Sector Equality Duty under Sec 149 of the Equality Act 2010. Consideration has been taken to assess equality impact caused by the proposed business change including effective engagement and analysing relevant equality information. As a result,  the MPS assure an action plan has been implemented to address potential negative impact to any individual. 

8. Background/supporting papers 

9. Appendix 1 MPS Report County Line Social Media Network  continued Home Office Grant 2023-2025