PCD 1845 Holiday Hope Programme

Executive Summary:  

This Decision requests the transfer of up to £900,000 (up to £300,000 per annum for 2025-26, 2026-27, and 2027-28), from the GLA’s Holiday Hope Programme to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) (MD3771).  

These funds will used to deliver summer activities from 2025 to 2028, in line with the Holiday Hope programme and directly contributing towards the Mayor’s overarching ambition that 250,000 young people will have access to positive opportunities by 2028.  

This will be broken down in three areas: 

• Up to £300k will be allocated towards the VRU’s Stronger Futures programme for 2025-26, funding thirteen of the existing Stronger Futures 2.0 grantees’ summer holiday provisions as outlined in their delivery plans. 

• A further £300k will be allocated towards the VRU’s Stronger Futures 3.0 programme for 2026–27 for holiday activities. 

• The remaining £300k will be allocated towards holiday activities within a potential contract extension of the Stronger Futures 3.0 programme for 2027-28, dependent on further funding and a DMPC decision.

Recommendation: 

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to: 

1. Approve the VRU taking receipt of a Holiday Hope grant of up to £900,000 from the GLA (£300,000 per annum for 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28), as per the Mayoral Decision MD3771.  

2. To approve allocating £300,000 of this funding to award thirteen equal grants to current Stronger Futures 2.0 grantees to deliver summer holiday provisions during the period of June - September 2025.  

3. To approve allocating a further £300,000 to be embedded into the Stronger Futures 3.0 programme for 2026-27, to be used for holiday activities.  

4. To approve allocating the remaining £300,000 towards a potential extension of the Stronger Futures 3.0 programme for 2027-28, again to be used for holiday activities. 

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. The Stronger Futures programme specification was informed by discussions and feedback from consultation with community-led organisations, members of the Violence Reduction Unit's Young People's Action Group and industry experts. The VRU recognises the importance of an engaging and safe after-school provision. 

3. The Stronger Futures programme, which launched in 2021 directly supports community leaders and organisations involved in the violence reduction agenda, working in partnership with the VRU to build capacity and support their sustainability within the community on their offer to young Londoners.  

4. The second iteration of the programme launched in 2023 and funded 23 organisations from a budget of £3.1m over two years. To ensure that the Stronger Futures programme had maximum impact, an investment in finance and capacity building was provided strengthening organisational resilience. A suite of workshops, action learning sessions and up to 3 days a year of customised one-to-one support, online community of practice and networking sessions were provided to all grantees. Stronger Futures 2.0 has reached over 14,352 young people and a further 1,109 parents. 

5. The VRU’s Stronger Futures 3.0 after school and holiday programme is to be launched 2026 and is designed to keep young Londoners safe after school between the hours from 3pm -10pm, a period when the risk of violence is heightened. We know that ensuring more equitable outcomes for all young Londoners requires an explicit and targeted approach to those young people who are most in need. This mission-led work will focus on those young people who are from some of London’s most disadvantaged communities and who are vulnerable to exploitation, poverty, and violence. 

Holiday Hope Programme  

6. The Holiday Hope Programme provides an ambitious response from the Mayor to this issue and will connect and strengthen high-quality holiday activity across London. The Holiday Hope Programme directly contributes towards the Mayor’s overarching ambition that 250,000 young people will have access to positive opportunities by 2028. Holiday Hope connects City Hall holiday provision with key partner delivery offering to increase young people’s access to youth spaces and positive opportunities, with food available, during the challenging holiday periods.      

7. The VRU will support implementation and delivery of activities aligned with the aims and objectives of Holiday Hope Phase Two with a transfer of up to £300,000 per annum for three years, from the GLA to the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), to extend delivery of the Violence Reduction Unit's Stronger Futures programme.  

8. The decision is seeking to award grants totalling £300,000 to 13 of the current 23 Stronger Futures 2.0 grantees to provide summer holiday provisions. These organisations have been identified by the incumbent Stronger Futures programme grant management company, Rocket Science. . The criteria for selection was those organisations who had already planned for delivery of summer activities in their Stronger Futures delivery plans for 2025–26. 

9. The VRU will award the additional funds direct via separate grant agreements to the 13 individual Stronger Futures organisations to deliver summer activities between June and Sept 2025. 

1. Box up Crime  

2. The Big House Theatre Company  

3. Knights Youth Centre  

4. London Tigers  

5. Salaam Peace  

6. Coffee Afrik  

7. Young Ealing Foundation  

8. Edmonton Community Partnerships  

9. Tottenham Hotspur Foundation  

10. The Safety Box  

11. Leaders in Community  

12. Reaching Higher  

13. BelEve 

10. For 2026-27 and 2027-28 Stronger Futures delivery, £300,000 for each year will be added to the Stronger Futures 3.0 programme to fund summer activities delivered as part of the Holiday Hope programme forward plan.  

11. The 2027 - 28 Stronger Futures 3.0 extension will not be exercised until the VRU has sought DMPC approval for the additional extension period.   

2. Issues for consideration 

2.1 13 Stronger Futures organisations are delivering holiday activities as part of their advertised holiday programme delivery. However, as part of Stronger Futures 2.0 they are not contracted to deliver during holiday periods only after school activities, these grants will support delivery for the Holiday Hope Programme as part of the wider VRU Stronger Futures programme moving forward to cover school holiday periods. The holiday activity programmes on offer will include a variety of activities including; sports activities, music, theatre, arts and crafts, martial arts, and healthy cooking workshops.  

2.2 From the current Stronger Futures 2.0 programme 2025-26, 13 of the 23 organisations will be offered direct equal grants to deliver Holiday Hope. The 13 organisations were identified via the Stronger Futures 2.0 grant management company and selected to receive the grant due to stating they have a holiday offer as part of their organisation delivery structure. 

2.3 For the Stronger Futures 3.0 programme it will be contractually agreed that all organisations have a holiday delivery plan as part of the programme for 2026-27, therefore future Holiday Hope funding will be across all organisations which are part of Stronger Futures 3.0. 

3. Financial Comments 

1. This decision is seeking approval to receive funding of up to £0.900m from the GLA (MD3771 refers) over the period of 2025-26 – 2027-28, allocating it across Stronger Futures 2.0 and Stronger Futures 3.0 as set out in the table below. 

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 approval for the VRU taking receipt of £900,000 Holiday Hope grant from the GLA (£300,000 per annum for 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28), as per the Mayoral Decision MD3771.  

2. Approve the allocation of £300,000 to award 13 grants to current Stronger Futures 2.0 grantees to deliver summer holiday provisions during the period of June - September 2025. During the application stage all applicants were asked to submit their programme of work and include any summer provisions if possible. Out of the 23 grantees who received grant funding, 13 grantees included summer programmes. The VRU has made a decision to award to the 13 grantees so that they can deliver on their project outcomes. All Stronger Futures grantees will sign a Grant Agreement detailing the requirements and payment schedules for work to take place in the summer period June - September 2025. 

3. To approve allocating a further £300,000 to be embedded into the Stronger Futures 3.0 programme for 2026-27, to be used for holiday activities.  

4. To approve allocating the remaining £300,000 towards a potential extension of the Stronger Futures 3.0 programme for 2027-28, again to be used for holiday activities. 

5. 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. 

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. The public health approach model is built around using evidence, insight, data and listening to London’s diverse communities to build on what works to reduce violence. The VRU will continue to develop this approach to contribute to sustainable reductions in violence in the capital, centred on three strategic objectives:   

• A city in which children and young adults both feel safe and are safe.  

• Taking a partnership approach to delivering solutions.  

• Stabilising and reducing violence through prevention and enabling positive opportunities.  

2.  Violence is complex, with evidence showing links with poverty, deprivation and lack of opportunity. Austerity, the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis has cumulatively impacted young adults, families and communities.  

3. As part of the public health approach to reducing violence we know there is emphasis on a preventative agenda which is supported by this positive opportunity for summer activity to keep young people engaged and provide active learning as well as positive role model and peer support. 

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 Holiday Hope proposals we are required to demonstrate 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. 

2. Appendix 

        Stronger Futures 13 organisations identified to deliver Holiday Hope, including current VRU funding received through Stronger Futures 2.0, along with projected additional Holiday Hope funding indictive of grant value:  

  Box up Crime - Stronger Futures 2.0 investment: £170,000, Holiday Hope Projected investment: £23,076 

3. The Big House Theatre Company - Stronger Futures 2.0 investment: £91,163, Holiday Hope Projected investment: £23,076 

4. Knights Youth Centre - Stronger Futures 2.0 investment: £160,629, Holiday Hope Projected investment: £23,076 

4. London Tigers - Stronger Futures 2.0 investment: £140,000, Holiday Hope Projected investment: £23,076 

5. Salaam Peace - Stronger Futures 2.0 investment: £82,702, Holiday Hope Projected investment: £23,076 

6. Coffee Afrik - Stronger Futures 2.0 investment: £150,000, Holiday Hope Projected investment: £23,076 

7. Young Ealing Foundation - Stronger Futures 2.0 investment: £166,200, Holiday Hope Projected investment: £23,076 

8. Edmonton Community Partnerships - Stronger Futures 2.0 investment: £162,310, Holiday Hope Projected investment: £23,076 

9. Tottenham Hotspur Foundation - Stronger Futures 2.0 investment: £145,000, Holiday Hope Projected investment: £23,076 

10. The Safety Box - Stronger Futures 2.0 investment: £80,000, Holiday Hope Projected investment: £23,076 

11. Leaders in Community - Stronger Futures 2.0 investment: £115,000, Holiday Hope Projected investment: £23,076 

12. Reaching Higher - Stronger Futures 2.0 investment: £144,759, Holiday Hope Projected investment: £23,076  

13. BelEve - Stronger Futures 2.0 investment: £149,999, Holiday Hope Projected investment: £23,076