PCD 1685 Multi Faith Networks

Executive Summary:  

This Decision requests the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime approves a funding spend of up to £250,000 to be allocated as grants to support up to two established Multi Faith Network members to design, develop and deliver their local responses to violence and enhanced training offer for staff members, volunteers to identify signs of exploitations and  grooming within their faith groups.  

London`s Violence Reduction Unit have set up a Multi Faith Network with the strategic aim of bringing together faith leaders and faith organisations, to focus on exploring what the faith sector can do in supporting young people affected by violence within the communities they serve. 

Feedback from established Faith networks like those in the West Midlands has highlighted how impactful and how instrumental the faith sector can be to respond to some of the gaps in provisions of support for young people affected by violence.   

To get approval for up to £250,000 for 2024/2025 and 2025/2026, allocating up to £70,000 to two consortium/partnerships, where criteria are met. With remaining budget of £50,000 for Multi Faith Training, strategy, consultancy fee, development and £60,000 for a learning partner.

Recommendation: 

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to: 

1. Approve VRU to award grants to two established faith-based organisations from within the Multi-faith Network following an Invitation to Apply (ITA) process, via a competitive tender process for the value of £140,000 for the period of up to two years.   

2. Note that VRU intend to use £50,000 for the provision of Training, strategy, and development Multi Faith Network.  

3. Approve VRU to carry out a competitive tender process for up to £60,000 for the evaluation of Multi-faith Grants. 

4.  Delegate the final award decisions for the contracts to the Director of the VRU.  

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

1. Introduction and background  

1. The VRU are continuously listening to our partners to understand potential gaps, additional asks and how we can better support local provision, partnership responses to violence and share our learning across London to further understand impact and ‘what works’.  

2. London`s Violence Reduction Unit have set up a Multi Faith Network with the strategic aim of bringing together faith leaders and faith organisations, to focus on exploring what the faith sector can do in supporting young people affected by violence within the communities they serve. 

3. The London VRU has been learning from the West Midlands Faith Alliance, and seeing how London can set up its own Multi Faith Network. In November 2023, the VRU invited over 60 Multi - faith leaders to an information and networking session, to hear directly from leaders on the gaps and opportunities for them to get involved within the violence reduction agenda.  

4. Since the launch in November 2023, The Multi Faith Network has grown to over 100 multi-Faith professionals across London. We have provided free training opportunities for front line faith practitioners working with young people affected by violence. 

• In February 2024, we held an inaugural Core Group Steering Group meeting to shape the Networks strategy and Terms of Reference. 

• Feedback from established Faith networks like those in the West Midlands has highlighted how impactful and how instrumental the faith sector can be to respond to some of the gaps in provisions of support for young people affected by violence.   

• The Multi faith Network overarching aims includes:  

• Empowering faith leaders and organisations to priorities early prevention and intervention.   

5. Enhance the faith networks capacity to support vulnerable Londoners via needs-based assessments and amplification of training, sharing resources and best practice workshops.  

6. Supporting Faith Networks to understand how they can play an instrumental role in providing safe space for vulnerable communities as a space for diversionary activities and for the after math of an incident. 

• Empower and educate faith leaders and originations to best support young people and families affected by violence, through training in area’s identified through the Multi Faith Network core steering groups needs 

• Enable Faith spaces to open as youth hubs during core hours of heightened risk of violence   

• Enable capacity building through shared practice across the faith sector, multi faiths to be able to learn from funded faith groups undertaking successful youth hubs targeting young people affected by violence.  

7. The Multi Faith Network to promote female faith leaders across the network. 

8. The grant allows Multi faith Network members to bid for up to £70,000 to design, develop and deliver their local responses to violence and enhanced training offer for staff members and volunteers to identify signs of exploitations / grooming within their congregations. 

9. The Multi Faith Network geographic coverage will be Pan London.  

10.  Multi Faith Network members will also be able to use the grant to provide additional outreach and mentoring, therapeutic support for families and community engagement and reassurance additional local visibility at high peak times during out of hours.   

11.  Using the £140,000 to set up one youth hub within the first year, and two hubs over the first two years, working directly with faith partners and linking into existing VRU funded programs.  

12.  Spending £50,000 over the two years, building a clear strategy, consultancy support, theory of change, training packages and upskilling of the faith sector to better understand violence affecting young people.   

13.  Holding £60,000 to develop a learning partner, to create an understanding of learning along with impact of the work.  

14.  The VRU Research, Monitoring, Evaluation Learning (RMEL) team is currently developing our online evidence hub, designed to share learning and best practice in the violence reduction field. The VRU would like to further develop this function locally by supporting local faith-based organisation.  

15.  We hope to be able to increase our volume of learning around ‘what works’ in this field to help better target not only VRU investments in the future, but also show guidance and advice to boroughs on the importance in engaging with the Multi faith sector within their programmes of delivery. There will be set criteria for this application process (which we will keep as light touch as possible) to support the VRU to respond to any expression of interests in a proportionate manner. Those will include: 

• Applicants must be active members of the Multi faith Network 

• Must be related to violence prevention and reduction. 

• Has clear, evidence-based aims and objectives. 

• Focuses on an area with a currently limited or emerging evidence base. 

2.  Issues for Consideration 

1. There is a high chance the budget will be spent quickly once we offer to Multi faith Network members to support violence affecting young people’s response. This is something the VRU will need to monitor to assess need and resource. 

2. VRU to support around putting bids together, supporting faith groups not used to bidding process as mainly voluntary run, ensure invited faith groups are fully aware of all required stipulations needed for access to VRU funding.  

3. Help build relationships with local authority, linking in Faith groups with local LAs and other VRU funding consortiums, expanding awareness of the Multi Faith Network youth hubs, ensuring they can be supported and successfully signposting local residents onto.  

2.4 Due to the dependency of volunteers for many faith groups, non-paid staff will need a more hand on capacity building from the VRU.  

2.5 Challange in bringing faith groups together to work on the same agenda in violence reduction, the hubs plan to address this through bring groups together to share goof practise in youth hubs.  

3. Financial Comments  

1.  Totals spend of up to £250,000, to be allocated as follows:  

• £140,000 to be allocated as grants to support up to two established faiths based orgaisations from within the Multi-faith Network, maximum £70,000 per application where the criteria have been met. 

• £50,000 for Multi Faith Training, strategy and development 

• £60,000 for a learning partner 

2. Allocation of £100,000 in 2024/2025 and £150,000 in 2025/2026 from existing Mayoral funded budgets. 

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 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. 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. 

3. Officers can confirm that the DMPC has the legal authority to agree this decision in Accordance with the legal framework. 

5. Commercial Issues  

1. This decision is seeking an approval to:   

• Approve VRU to award grants to two established faith-based organisations from within the Multi-faith Network following an Invitation to Apply (ITA) competitive tender process for the value of £140,000 for the period of up to two years.   

• Approve VRU to enter a competitive tender process for up to £60,000 for the evaluation of Multi-faith Grants. 

• Approve VRU to carry out a competitive tender process for up to £50,000 for the provision of Training, strategy, and development Multi Faith Network 

2. For the grants; Public Contract Regulations 2015 does not apply. The VRU will continue to seek quarterly monitoring reports with updates on the project status. The general terms and conditions within the Grant Agreements will be monitored to ensure value for money is achieved.  

3. 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: 

1.  Approve bids for grant funding made and all offers made of grant funding; and/or where appropriate a strategy for grant giving. 

2. Approve the strategy for the award of individual grants and/ or the award of all individual grants whether to secure or contribute to securing crime reduction in London or for other purposes. 

4. For the competitive tenders;VRU will run a single stage open tender process. 

5. It is proposed an evaluation methodology with a Technical: Commercial ratio of 80:20 will be used to select the most economically advantageous tender. The author of the report has demonstrated clear rationale for the proposed procurement route and contracting arrangements.  

6. Officers can confirm that the DMPC has the legal authority to agree this decision in Accordance with the legal framework. 

6. Public Health Approach 

1. As part of the public health approach, we know that evidence led approach is important. The VRU undertakes a significant programme of evaluation and research, and this pilot will help build upon the evidence base. The VRU supports over 100 Multi Faith Network members in sharing promising practice, delivering learning hubs and peer reviews. 

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. Through the Innovation Fund proposals were required to demonstrate their plans to ensure they would deliver a service embedded with equality, diversity and inclusion. This included ensuring their service incorporated inclusive practices to support all gender identities who are victims/ perpetrators of violence as well as cultural sensitivity. The VRU will ensure this is factored into the monitoring of the contract and delivery.