PCD 1707 Acceptance of funding Y2A staff training and user engagement 

MOPAC manages and co funds the Youth to Adult Hub, a pilot project which aims to reduce reoffending and improve outcomes for young adults on probation in Newham.  

This decision seeks approval to accept £38,000 in funding awarded by Barrow Cadbury Trust to enable the delivery of specialist staff training to multi-agency staff within the hub at a maximum cost of £15,000, and a user engagement service to ensure continued iteration of the model informed by user engagement at a cost of £23,000. Both of these services will be funded for six months from Barrow Cadbury Trust grant funding.   

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:   

1. Accept £38,000 from Barrow Cadbury Trust to enable the delivery of specialist training for Youth to Adult Hub staff and to fund a user engagement service in the Youth to Adult Hub. 

2. Update 2024/25 budgets to reflect the additional income. 

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

1. Introduction and background  

1. MOPAC manages a pilot hub for 18-25 year olds on probation and 17-year olds transitioning from the Youth Justice Service to adult probation in Newham. The pilot involves:  

• Commissioned services designed to respond to young adults’ needs and life stage, such as mental health, accommodation support and mentoring, collocated alongside probation;  

• a trauma-informed, welcoming hub co-designed by young adults;  

• a comprehensive programme of staff training and ongoing workforce development, that has recently come to an end and will be able to continue under the funding accepted through this decision.  

2. The pilot was originally funded by His Majesty’s Treasury’s Shared Outcomes Fund until 31 March 2023 and has since been extended under a co-commissioning approach to allow sufficient time to evidence impact, with MOPAC acting as programme manager and lead commissioner.  

3. Funding for the extension in 24/25 has come from MOPAC, London Probation, London Borough (LB) of Newham, NHS England and HMPPS.  

2. Issues for consideration  

1. Barrow Cadbury Trust have now awarded £38,000 in grant funding towards 24/25 delivery of the hub.  

2. The funding has been awarded for the delivery of two hub services for a 6-month period. These are staff training and user engagement. 

3. A specialist staff training programme will continue to equip staff in the hub with the tools they need to respond to the specific needs of the young adult cohort. This will include a programme of training on working with young adults for all new starters in the hub, as well as a series of training sessions responding to training gaps identified by existing hub staff. The training programme will also include reflective practice sessions and the development of resources for ongoing development and wider use in London Probation. 

4. A user engagement service will ensure that young adults’ voices remain central to service delivery and enable the service to be iterated based on the needs of young adults. The delivery of a user engagement service, which came to an end in June 2024, has shown that the young adults engaged found the service valuable. 

3. Financial Comments  

1. This Decision requests approval to accept £38,000 in grant funding from Barrow Cadbury Trust and update budgets appropriately. 

2. PCD 1584 previously approved the re-tendering of the staff training and user engagement services at a value of up to £34,000 for user engagement and up to £17,000 to staff training, pending the outcome of the funding bid to Barrow Cadbury Trust. 

4. Legal Comments  

1. 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. 

2. Legal advice is not required and no legal implications are expected. 

5. Commercial Issues  

1. PCD 1584 approved the re-tendering of the Youth to Adult Hub staff training and user engagement services.   

2. Both services will be awarded through a competitive tendering process. 

3. Public Health Approach   

1. The work of the hub aligns with a public health approach to violence reduction in London by tackling the drivers of offending behaviour through responding to the specific needs of young adults on probation. 

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. Inclusion Impact Assessment will be completed for each service.  

9. Background/supporting papers 

• PCD 1584