PCD 1847 Facilitation for Victim Voice Forum for London’s Black Communities

Executive Summary:  

The Casey Review highlighted that trust needs to be rebuilt between the MPS and victims of crime. The Police and Crime Plan for London commits to increase public trust in the MPS and provide better support to victims. Engagement with individuals with lived experience like the existing Victim Voice Forum (VVF) enables the MPS and MOPAC to gain valuable insight and drive change.  

MOPAC and the MPS are extending the VVF programme to specific groups of victims with the lowest trust and confidence in the police. This includes a VVF for victims from London’s Black communities. The appointment of an independent organisation providing culturally competent recruitment to and administration and facilitation of this new Forum is needed to ensure its success. 

This decision seeks approval to procure a facilitator for the proposed VVF for victims from London’s Black communities and to allocate an initial budget of up to £50,000 over 30 months (2.5 years) for this purpose. Additional extensions of the contract may be invoked for up to an additional two years, at a maximum of £20,000 per annum. To accommodate for the possibility of the need to commence further consultation work with those with lived experience, the maximum budget for this contract will be advertised as £108,000. Any extensions or variations to this contract above the initial value of £50,000 will require a further decision.   

Recommendation:  

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:   

1. Approve the initiation of a procurement process to award a contract to a provider to recruitment, administrator and facilitate the Victim Voice Forum for victims from London’s Black communities. 

2. Approve the allocation of up to a maximum total value of £108,000 across financial years 2025/26 to 2028/29 to the contractual arrangements resulting from this procurement process. The indicative initial annual value of the contract will be a maximum of £20,000 per annum for an initial period of 30 months (2.5 years), with possibility of extending the contract for up to 2 years.  

3. Note that any further contract extensions or uplift above the original value of £50,000 are subject to a further decision and additional funding being identified.  

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

1. Introduction and background  

1. The Casey Review has highlighted that trust needs to be rebuilt between the MPS and victims of crime. The Police and Crime Plan for London commits to increase public trust in the MPS and provide better support to victims. Engagement with individuals with lived experience like the existing Victim Voice Forum (VVF) enables the MPS and MOPAC to gain valuable insight and drive change.    

2. VVF feedback and findings over the last year have fed into the MPS End-to-End Victim Care Programme Board and informed MOPAC’s work. The group has coalesced and gained confidence. It is an established and valued sounding board and source of ideas for the improvement of MPS policies, protocols and approach to supporting victims. 

3. To build on this success, MOPAC and the MPS are committed to expanding the number of VVFs to focus on cohorts where trust in the MPS is low, as highlighted by the Casey Report. These groups include victims from Black communities, disabled victims, LGBTQ+ victims, victims of VAWG and young victims.  

4. MOPAC has previously procured external support for establishing the VVFs for victims/survivors of VAWG; LGBTQ+ victims; and disabled victims. MOPAC is now seeking additional external support to establish a VVF for victims from London’s Black communities that will be mobilised in 2025.  

2. Issues for consideration 

1. The Forums directly address the Casey Review recommendation to rebuild trust with London’s communities to restore consent. Creating safe spaces for victims to feedback directly to the MPS and MOPAC will enable participants to see how their feedback is making change. The pilot has shown that this improves participant perceptions of the MPS and is meaningfully improving the MPS’ services to victims. 

2. Representatives from the MPS will attend the Forums in non-uniform to remove potential barriers, motivate participants to share their experience and assure attendees that the MPS are willing to listen and drive improvement.   

3. Commissioning an independent partner to facilitate discussion will ensure participants feel able to speak freely and can access support if required.   

4. City of London have a Policing Plan priority to ‘put victims at the heart of everything we do’; a partnership between MOPAC and the City of London would enable learning across both PCCs and provide value for money for Londoners.    

3. Financial Comments 

1. The total budget committed by this decision is £50,000; this includes up to £10,000 for mobilisation and then £20,000 per annum thereafter from 2025/26 to 2027/28. The programme will be funded from the 2025/26 and 2026/27 Victims Care Hub budget. Possible extensions from 2027/28 – 2029/30 at £20,000 per annum and up to a 20% uplift have been included in the advertised tender value to enable additional work to be called off under this contract. Any extension or budget uplift beyond the initial £50,000 will require a further decision.  

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.   

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.”  

3. There are further relevant powers set out in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 at sections 17(1) (a) to (c) which place MOPAC under a duty to exercise its functions with due regard to the likely effect of the exercise of those functions on, and the need to do all it can to prevent, crime and disorder (including anti-social and other behaviour adversely affecting the local environment), reoffending in its area, and the misuse of drugs, alcohol and other substances in its area. The proposed arrangements are consistent with MOPAC’s duties in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.  

4. In line with paragraph 4.8 of MOPAC’s Scheme of Delegation and Consent, the DMPC has the authority to approve transfers to and from reserves, which will be required to allow for the carry-forward and draw down of monies in 2026/27 to pay for delivery in that financial year.    

5. Commercial Issues  

1. This Decision seeks to undertake an Invitation to Quote to award a contract up to the value of £50,000 over 30 months. 

2. Both of these requirements fall under the Light Touch Regime and so are classified as a below-threshold contracts. The Exemption from Competitive Tendering Justification and the Procurement Strategy have both been approved by Commercial Assurance Group on 16 September 2024. 

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

4. Through consultation with MOPAC’s Engagement Team and providers in this sector we have identified a satisfactorily dynamic market to answer this procurement.  

6. Public Health Approach 

1. MOPAC will ensure that the Victim Voice Forum programme adheres to best practice and will prioritise the health and wellbeing of participants above all other considerations.  

2. The Forums will work with a varied mix of victims from London’s Black communities. Their experiences will be utilised by MPS and MOPAC to help drive improved outcomes for victims of crime.   

3. The length of the contract will enable MPS and MOPAC to have a continual feedback loop to some of these communities so that short and long-term changes can be reviewed.     

4. Participant experiences may highlight inequalities in levels of risk and the impact this has on their lives, which MPS and MOPAC can use to improve practice/services. 

5. Guidance from the National Police Chief Council’s ‘Voice of the Victim in Police Service Design’ has been followed throughout. 

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. MOPAC’s Public Attitude Survey has found that LGBT, Black and mixed ethnicity Londoners have a less positive attitude towards the police. Confidence in the criminal justice system is lower among people of a mixed or white ethnicity, although Black, Asian and multi-ethnic groups face challenges around their treatment and outcomes within the criminal justice system and have the lowest rates of overall victim satisfaction.  

3. The Forum goal is to remove or minimise disadvantage suffered by the named cohorts when they have become victims of crime. By listening to their experiences through regular Forums, it will help the MPS and MOPAC to identify negative impact on these cohorts and will drive change in process to aid these groups to have a more positive experience.   

4. Participants involved in the Forum will see the changes they are making, which will help foster good relations between the MPS and these cohorts. This may increase participants likelihood to report crime in the future as they have direct experience of positive engagement with the MPS.  

5. The proposed Victim Voice Forums cover many, but not all protected characteristics. Those chosen to be represented with a Forum are from groups with well-evidenced lower than average trust and confidence in the MPS and it is, therefore, felt to be key to understand their concerns to positively impact the End to End Victim Care Improvement Programme element of A New Met for London. 

9. Background/supporting papers 

Appendix 1 Inclusion Impact Assessment