PCD 1782 Y2A Hub 25/26 wellbeing and accommodation support services

Following PCD 1743, which confirmed £400,000 of MOPAC funding for the continuation of the Youth 2 Adult (Y2A) Hub in Newham Probation for a further 12-months from April 2025. This Decision requests approval for an exemption from competitive tendering for the award of £220,000 for the hub wellbeing service to the East London Foundation Trust, to enable the continued value for money, whilst maintaining current service delivery.  

This Decision also requests a 12-month extension by contract variation of an existing contract with Step Ahead Services for the delivery of the accommodation support service in the Y2A Hub, the value of the extension will be £60,000.  

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:   

1. Approve the award of a 12-month contract, at a maximum value of £220,000 to the East London Foundation Trust for the delivery of a wellbeing service in the Youth 2 Adult Hub. 

2. Approve a variation to MOPAC’s existing contract with Step Ahead for the provision of the Y2A accommodation support service to extend the contract for 12 months, at a value of £60,000. 

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 Offending 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  

2. The pilot was originally funded by His Majesty’s Treasury’s Shared Outcomes Fund until 31 March 2023. Since then, the pilot has been extended under a co-commissioning approach, with MOPAC acting as programme manager and lead commissioner. Funding for this has primarily been from MOPAC and London Probation, with funding also provided by the NHSE, HMPPS, Barrow Cadbury Trust and the London Borough (LB) of Newham.  

2. Issues for consideration  

1. PCD 1743 approved £400,000 in MOPAC funding for delivery of the Youth 2 Adult (Y2A) Hub in Newham Probation for the 2025/26 financial year.  

2. The Y2A Hub pilot evaluation is under way. The final process report highlighted key strengths of the model including; co-location, multi-disciplinary approach, a distinct young adults offer, the services on offer and the physical space. Evaluation of impact is underway and due to be published in early 2025. 

3. A 12-month extension of the Newham hub will maintain a living example of the model, ahead of further evaluation findings and long-term decision making by central government. The hub will also continue to benefit around 200 young adults at any one time. 

4. The wellbeing service within the Y2A hub consists of a team of psychologists, a speech and language therapist and youth outreach workers trained in therapeutic approaches. Currently this service is delivered by East London Foundation Trust (ELFT), funded primarily by MOPAC, but contracted through NHSE. Partial funding of £50,000 is provided by HMPPS and NHSE through the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) commissioning. This funding comes with an agreement of shared resources between the Newham Hub and the Brent OPD service, which, bolsters the Y2A model. This Decision proposes a continuation of this agreement into 2025/26. 

5. Since PCD 1743 was signed, it has come to light that NHSE will not be in a position to pass-through funds and contract the Y2A wellbeing service for a further year. However, NHSE have agreed to a continuation of the arrangement between the Newham Y2A hub and Brent OPD service, including funding of £50,000 in kind through the provision of youth outreach workers. This arrangement adds significant value to service delivery and would not be possible if a different provider were to be contracted. The current provider, ELFT have also agreed to cover shortfalls in staffing costs for the 2025/26 financial year. Without this, a reduced service would be required. For these reasons, a request for exemption from competitive tendering has been approved by MOPAC’s Commercial Assurance Group.  

6. The accommodation support service in the Y2A hub is currently delivered by Step Ahead Services Ltd, following a re-tendering process that took place in April 2024. This service provides support to young adults in making housing applications, maintaining tenancies and life skills.  

3. Financial Comments  

1. The total budget requirement for this work totals £280,000, made up of £220,000 for the wellbeing service and £60,000 for the accommodation support service.  The programme will be funded from within the Criminal Justice 2025/26 budget, across the 2025/26 financial year. This funding has already been approved through PCD 1743. 

4. Legal Comments  

1. 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 unforeseen variations and extensions to contracts when the variation or extension is greater than 10% of the original value. 

2. The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) has delegated authority to approve all exemptions to competitive tendering. 

3. Legal advice is not required and there are no additional legal implications. 

5. Commercial Issues  

1. Both requirements referred to in the recommendations relate to contracts falling under Schedule 3 (the ‘Light Touch Regime’) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and therefore fall below the thresholds set out in Regulation 5 of the same. 

2. MOPAC Commercial Assurance Group agreed the extension by contract variation for a further 12-months for the accommodation support service in the Y2A Hub could progress to MOPAC Board. This decision is considered proportionate due to the contract being below-threshold, which will now be £110,000, and because the current provider were the only bidder for this contract when it was re-tendered in May 2024.  

3. On approval, the necessary notices will be published for transparency and compliance with procurement legislation. 

4. An award via exemption from competitive tender above £100,000 in value must be approved by the DMPC in accordance with 4.13 of MOPAC’s Scheme of Delegation. Regarding the contract variation, as the value of the original contract falls below £500,000 and as the value of the variation has a value of £60,000, this must be approved by the Chief Executive Officer in accordance with 5.12 of the same. 

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

6. Public Health Approach  

1. The work of the hub aligns with a public health approach to violence reduction in London by using 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.   

2. New contracts will be put in place and the DPO will be consulted on the GDPR section of the Terms and Conditions of the contracts. Any data sharing will be covered by an appropriate agreement. Existing DPIAs will also be reviewed and updated. 

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. Equalities Impact Assessments (EIA) were completed and are in place for each hub service. These will be reviewed and updated in the new Inclusion Impact Assessment in the run up to pilot extension to ensure any learning from existing delivery is considered from an equalities perspective. 

9. Background/supporting papers 

• Appendix 1 PCD 1743 

• Appendix 2 CAJT – exemption from competitive tendering, Y2A wellbeing service 

• Appendi3 CAJT – contract variation, Y2A accommodation support