PCD 1692 PCCN 25/26 Funding

Executive Summary:   
The Violence Reduction Unit’s parenting and families work focuses on developing stronger and more resourceful families (to better support young people). The Unit takes a ‘whole family approach’ to reducing violence. Programmes in this space focus on building strong parental and family relationships and supporting organisations and agencies to work together to engage families and support their needs. 

The Violence Reduction Unit has invested in a Parent Carer Champion Network (PCCN), approved in PCD 1442, 1295 and 1263, which has already supported 11,724 parents and carers to increase their confidence in parenting and improve their family relationships. The first evaluation of PCCN started in April 2024 (CEOD 29/2023) and will be completed in January 2025, when a new iteration of the service will be developed based on the findings and recommendations of the evaluation.  

To ensure that there is no gap in delivery of this important programme for parents, and that there is sufficient time to develop, commission and procure the new iteration, the Violence Reduction Unit is providing an extension of one year to the existing 29 PCCN grants.  For these reasons, this decision seeks approval to extend the programme for a year across FY 2025/26 by £600,000. 

Recommendation: 

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:  

• Approve the extension of the Parent Carer Champion Network Programme by 12 months, from April 2025 – March 2026 to the 29 local authorities at a total cost of £600,000. 

• Approve the allocation of £600,000 from the VRU budget smoothing reserve. 

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

1. Introduction and background – 

 1.1. Violence Reduction Unit’s Families Work - Developing stronger and more resilient families to better support young people is one of the seven priority areas of the VRU. Supporting stronger families is central to improving outcomes relating to children and young people’s development and health. The VRU’s Parenting programmes play a central role in strengthening communities, ensuring that resilience, wellbeing, and opportunities for young people to succeed extend beyond school settings, and are supported at home and in the wider community. The parenting programmes are also paramount to increasing confidence in public institutions through peer-to-peer support.  
 

 1.2. Parent Carer Champion Network - In 2020, the VRU invested in its flagship parenting programme, the Parent Carer Champion Network (PCCN). The Parent Carer Champion Network is a peer-to-peer support programme that enables safe spaces for parents to share experiences, receive training and access community-led support on topics like violence affecting young people, grooming, school exclusions and transitions. The Network has to date supported over 11,724 parents across 29 local authorities, through 27 voluntary and community sector organisations.  
 

 1.3. PCCN Evaluation - The Parent Carer Champion Network has never been externally evaluated, and so in April 2024 the VRU commissioned Alma Economics to evaluate the programme to establish the effectiveness of the Network’s approach to reaching its high level intended outcomes. The findings and recommendations will be essential to developing and commissioning the next iteration of the VRU’s investment into supporting stronger families.   

     2.  Issues for consideration  

1. The Parent Carer Champion Network plays a central role in strengthening communities, ensuring that resilience, wellbeing, and opportunities for young people to succeed, extend beyond school settings and are supported at home and in the wider community. The PCCN not only delivers substantial impact to the parents and carers it trains up and supports but is also a credible and effective way of increasing confidence in statutory services through culturally aware, peer-to-peer support imbued with compassionate and compelling lived experience. 
    

2. To decommission the existing PCCN network before the next iteration has been developed will risk losing the vital networks built up by the 29 local authorities and the VCSO commissioned to deliver the network. Parents/carers and families will be left unsupported, and the wider impact of the service in further trust being established in public services will be eroded. 
    

3. A £600,000 grant extension would provide the 29 local authorities with just under a 50% contribution to the running costs of the existing networks. The VRU have conducted a consultation process with local authorities in the networks, and many are seeking additional funding to be able to sustain the network across 25/26, acknowledging the impact the network has. 

   3.     Financial Comment 

  3.1. The total budget for this work is £600,000. The programme will be delivered across 12months (April 2025 – March 2026), and up to 29 local authorities will receive equal funding to continue funding the voluntary sector grassroots organisations they work with to deliver their PCCNs. Costs will be funded through the budget smoothing reserve.  

4. Legal Comments 

4.1. 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.  

4.2 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. 

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

5.Commercial  

5.1. This decision is seeking approval to extended current funding to 29 London authorities for Parent Carer Champion work across April 2025 to March 2026 for the g of £600,000. 

5.2. As the below are grants and not a contract the 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. 

5.3. 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: 

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

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. 

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

6.Public Health Approach  

6.1. The spend plan takes a public health approach to tackling violence, which means looking at violence not as isolated incidents or solely a police enforcement problem. Instead, this approach looks at violence as a preventable consequence of a range of factors, such as adverse early-life experiences, or harmful social or community experiences and influences.  

6.2. This programme is part of the London Violence Reduction Unit’s Families portfolio. The programme acknowledges that violence affecting children and young people is preventable, and the parents and carers, communities, voluntary sector organisations, and local authorities, have a unique role to play in intervening early and ensuring that children and young people get access to the interventions and support services that they need. 

6.3. This piece of work has been informed by discussions and feedback from stakeholders including the use of data to take evidence informed approach to investment. 
 

7.GDPR and Data Privacy  

7.1. 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. Suppliers will be asked to provide a Data Protection Impact Assessment. 

7.2. All contracts will include clear provisions relating to compliance in this area, and in relation to the processing of personal data. These terms have been drafted following consultation with MOPAC’s GDPR Project Manager.  

8.Equality Comments 

8.1. Under s.149 of the Equality Act 2010 (the Equality Act), as a public authority the Deputy Mayor/MOPAC must have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and any conduct that is prohibited by or under this Act; and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. Protected characteristics under the Equality Act are age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status (the duty in respect of this last characteristic is to eliminate unlawful discrimination only). 
 

8.2. The VRU are committed to promoting equality and participation in all their activities, whether this is related to the work we do with our external stakeholders or whether this is related to our responsibilities as an employer. As public authorities we are also required to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations when making decisions and developing policies. To do this, it is necessary to understand the potential impacts of the range of internal and external activities on different groups of people. 

8.3. An equality impact assessment has already been undertaken for the Parent Carer Champion Network to ensure that all protected characteristics are considered in the commissioning and delivery of this work. 

9.Background/supporting papers 

PCD 1442 

PCD 1295  

PCD 1263 

CEOD 29/2023