PCD 1761 The recommissioning of the hate crime victims service

The contract for the MOPAC Hate Crime Victims Service lapses on 30 September 2025.  The service was commissioned in 2021 following a competitive tender process and is delivered by the Community Alliance To Combat Hate (CATCH), a consortium of specialist providers.  Hate crime is recognised as a ‘high harm’ crime and the provision of specialist by-and-for support is a well-established part of the victim services landscape.  It is MOPAC’s intention to commission a new Hate Crime Victims Service to ensure that victims of hate crime continue to have access to the kind of specialist support that best meets their needs.  

MOPAC will offer a three-year contract to the value of up to £672,300 per year with an option to extend by a maximum of a further two years.  A further DMPC Decision will be required to authorise the exercise of that option.  The service will be procured via a competitive public tender process, with a service commencement date of 1 October 2025.  

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:   

1. Approve the budget of up to £2,016,900 for the provision of specialist support for hate crime victims in London for three years commencing 1 October 2025. 

2. Approve the initiation of a procurement process to replace the existing arrangements for the delivery of the Hate Crime Victim Service at potential maximum cost of £3,697,650. 

3. Note that any further contract extensions or uplifts above the original value of £2,016,900 up to a potential maximum value of £3,697,650 are subject to DMPC approval and additional funding being identified.  

4. Delegate authority to sign and execute the contracts to the Chief Financial Officer, in accordance with the general power of delegation in paragraph 1.7 of the MOPAC Scheme of Consent and Delegation. 

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

1. Introduction and background  

1. The reporting of hate crimes has followed an upward trajectory over many years and continues to be subject to spikes driven by national and international events.  Around 27,000 hate crimes were reported in London in the past year – one in four of all hate crimes in England and Wales.  It is also an established fact that hate crimes are significantly under-reported. 

2. The Mayor’s 2022-25 Police and Crime Plan restates his commitment to “ensure that victims of hate crime receive the specialist support that best meets their needs”.  Hate crime victims often have complex needs which are best served by specialist “by-and-for” services. Hate crime service providers report that as well as a long-term trend of an increase in the number of referrals, the complexity of cases supported has increased. This is further compounded by the courts backlog, meaning victims require support for longer. As the Casey Report highlighted, low trust and confidence in the police by marginalised communities is a barrier to reporting and receiving support. 

3. Hate crime is recognised as a ‘high harm’ crime and the provision of specialist by-and-for support is a well-established part of the victim services landscape.  It is MOPAC’s intention to commission a new Hate Crime Victims Service to ensure that victims of hate crime continue to have access to the kind of specialist support that best meets their needs.  

4. To address these longstanding issues, MOPAC commissioned a pan-London Hate Crime Victims Service in 2021 (authorised by PCD 904). The Community Alliance To Combat Hate (CATCH), a consortium of specialist hate crime victim service providers, was awarded a £1,138,216, two-year contract following a competitive tender process.  PCD 1437 extended the duration of the contract for a further two years and this contract will expire on 30 September 2025.  

5. Providing specialist, tailored support to victims of hate crime is crucial to both enabling their cope and recovery from what has happened to them and enabling them to engage with the criminal justice service if they so wish.  The engagement of the victim is a significant factor in achieving a successful criminal justice outcome. 

2. Issues for consideration 

1. MOPAC plans to recommission a specialist support service for victims of hate crime that will go live from 1 October 2025, commencing when the current service contract expires.  The new MOPAC Hate Crime Victims Service will be delivered via a contract with the successful provider following a competitive public tender process.    

2. As in the existing service, the new Hate Crime Victims Service will be delivered by specialist hate crime providers who will set up appropriate referral pathways and triage their support offer according to need.  Research shows that victims of hate crime suffer higher levels of depression, stress and anger and more episodes of repeat victimisation when compared with victims of all crime. As such, the enhanced level of support provided by the Hate Crime Victims’ Advocates model currently operated in London has proved an excellent way to help victims to cope and recover and engage with criminal justice services, with high levels of victim satisfaction with the service. It is anticipated that the service will be delivered by a number of Hate Crime Victims’ Advocates across all hate crime strands.  

3. The market for hate crime victims support services is smaller and less mature than some services supporting other cohorts of victims such as VAWG and Serious Youth Violence.  The market mainly comprises small, localised providers and a small number of pan-London or national organisations.  The by-and-for nature of these organisations means that many, large and small, support victims of a single strand of hate crime victims. 

4. The tender offer will not prescribe the character or make-up of any bidding organisation, however our knowledge of the market means it is unlikely that any single provider will be able to provide services to victims of all strands of hate crime.  We also estimate that this will result in a small number of bids submitted by consortia or partnerships comprising those existing local and pan-London providers. 

5. The Hate Crime Victims Service will work closely with the MPS and other victim services providers, building pathways into the service and assisting the MPS aim to rebuild trust with marginalised communities. 

3. Financial Comments  

1. The maximum indicative budget requirement for this service for the first 3 years of delivery is a maximum potential funding commitment of £2,016,900, spread over four financial years: 

2. The source for this budget is up to £319,450 from the Ministry of Justice’s Core Victim Grant and £352,850 MOPAC’s core budget.  

3. The contract will contain an option to extend for a maximum of a further two years.  A further DMPC decision will be required to authorise the funding to exercise this option. 

4. The full potential value of the contract will be explicit in the published tender. This will include headroom of circa 10% to account for the possibility of additional funding uplifts to support the service in responding to spikes in hate crime, such as the recent Mayoral funding provided to support the service respond to hate crime stemming from the ongoing conflict in Gaza.  

5. There is no confirmation of MoJ funding beyond 2025/26, and future funding allocations are subject to the Comprehensive Spending Review. In the event funding is reduced, budget allocations will be reduced accordingly. The contracts will include terms that allow MOPAC to reduce the value of any of the individual contracts to offset the impact of any potential future reduction in external funding. 

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.  

4.2 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.” 

4.3 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 business cases for revenue or capital expenditure of £500,000 or above.  

4.4 The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime is a contracting authority as defined in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (“the Regulations”). All awards of public contracts for goods and/or services valued at £181,302 or above will be procured in accordance with the Regulations .Paragraph 4.13 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime  (DMPC) has delegated authority to approve all requests to go out to tender for contracts of £500,000 or above.  

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

4.7 Officers should ensure that the funding agreements are put in place with and executed by MOPAC and each of the providers before any commitment of funds is made.  

4.8 Officers confirm that sufficient assurance has been carried out on this decision to determine that the DMPC has legal authority to agree the recommendations. 

5. Commercial Issues  

1. This Decision seeks to proceed to procurement for the provision of specialist support for hate crime victims in London for three years commencing 1 October 2025, at a value of £2,016,900. The service will be procured via an open competitive procurement process. The tender will be published in January 2025. 

2. Market workshops will take place in November and December and will inform the specification for the service and any other relevant tender documentation.  Invitations to the workshops and other, remote opportunities to inform the recommissioning exercise are widely disseminated across hate crime and victims service stakeholders. Details about the workshops were also included in an advertised Prior Information Notice. 

3. This procurement strategy was approved at Commercial Assurance Group on 11th November 2024. Proceeding to procurement for an opportunity of this value must be approved by the DMPC in accordance with 4.13 of MOPAC’s Scheme of Delegation. 

4. The actions proposed can be taken in compliance with procurement legislation and MOPAC’s Contract Regulations. 

6. Public Health Approach  

6.1 This decision provides the funding to enable a better informed and more cohesive partnership approach to improving outcomes for victims in London which will much align with and support the VRU’s public health approach to tackling the causes of violent crime in London.  

7. GDPR and Data Privacy  

1. MOPAC will have no access to any data related to the Hate Crime Service which is personally identifiable and will adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018.  Contract stipulations will ensure that any organisation(s) 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. 

8.2 The definition of hate crime was set by the Home Office, in agreement with criminal justice system partners, in 2007. It states that “A hate crime is defined as any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a hostility of prejudice based on a personal characteristic; specifically, actual or perceived race, religion/faith, sexual orientation, disability and transgender identity.” As such, certain communities are disproportionately affected by hate crimes on the basis of one or other of those characteristics.  

8.3 Hate crime victims have higher levels of depression, stress and anger, and for longer, than victims of all crime. The service provider will comprise partners who work with and support victims of all strands of hate crime whether it be motivated by race, faith, sexual orientation, disability or transgender status or an intersection of two or more of those personal characteristics. This decision will enable the Hate Crime Victim Service to continue to play a valuable role in supporting the MPS to address some of the findings of the Baroness Casey Review. 

8.4 Equality monitoring will form part of the contract management of the service, ensuring equitable access to services and pro-actively addressing any barriers to the service. 

9. Background/supporting papers 

1. PCD 904 and PCD 1437.