Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Grant

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have offered MOPAC a grant, under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, for the purposes of funding two policing teams across the boroughs of Westminster, Camden and Islington. The grant is to undertake activities associated with homelessness, begging, encampments and anti-social behaviour on the streets.

Although it was originally intended, by the Ministry, that this grant would continue until the 6 July 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the officers were redeployed to other duties on 18 March 2020.

In accordance with MOPAC’s Scheme of Consent and Delegation, authority is requested to accept the grant of £143,066 to fund 1 Sergeant and 8 Constables for a period up to, and including, 18 March 2020.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is asked to approve the receipt of a grant of £143,066 from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, under the provisions of section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, to support additional policing for street activity work.

1. Introduction and background

1.1. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) had offered a grant of £359,253 to MOPAC to fund additional policing activities in two BCUs, namely Central West and Central North for a period of 6-months.

1.2. The purpose of the grant was to provide a dedicated team of 1 Sergeant and 5 Constables in the City of Westminster and a second team of 3 Constables across Camden and Islington Boroughs until 6 July 2020.

1.3. The activities for the teams had been defined by the MHCLG as:

• Providing a dedicated resource to work on street activity such as anti-social behaviour, tents and encampment and local begging hot spots;

• Support local commissioned services to engage with rough sleepers and form collaborative approaches to support this vulnerable group away from the streets;

• Improve multi-agency working between the police and local commissioned services to provide a more focused and efficient approach to tackling street activity and supporting rough sleepers away from the streets.

• Improve police enforcement approaches to wider street activity, including anti-social behaviour.

2. Issues for consideration

2.1. This is a retrospective request. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the initiative had to be called to an early closure on 18 March 2020 in order that the officers could be redeployed to more pressing priorities. Up until the point of redeployment the cost of the officers, overtime and vehicles has been calculated as £143,066.

2.2. The need for rough sleeping is indiscriminate in who it effects and can be caused by a myriad of reasons. A number of the rough sleepers on the streets of London are young people who have been trafficked or escaping a life of violence or discrimination. Addressing these issues are key strands of the Police and Crime Plan and the receipt of this additional funding has supported work to assist those that find themselves on the street including a number of successful referrals to St Mungo’s shelters.

3. Financial and Commercial Comments

3.1. The grant has been calculated on a full-cost recovery basis including an allowance for both overtime and vehicles. The full breakdown of costs up to 18 March 2020 are contained in the table below.

4. Legal Comments

4.1. The grant is to be provided by the Ministry of Communities, Housing and Local Government under the provisions of section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003.

4.2. Paragraph 4.8 of MOPAC’s Scheme of Consent and Delegation requires the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime’s approval to accept an offer of grant funding.

4.3. The terms of the grant and services to be provided by MOPAC will be documented in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) supplied by the Ministry. In line with paragraph 5.22 of MOPAC’s Scheme of Consent and Delegation the MoU will be submitted to MOPAC to be sealed as a grant.

5. GDPR and Data Privacy

5.1. The MPS is subject to the requirements and conditions placed on it as a 'State' body to comply with the European Convention of Human Rights and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018. Both legislative requirements place an obligation on the MPS to process personal data fairly and lawfully in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals.

5.2. Under Article 35 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Section 57 of the DPA 2018, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) become mandatory for organisations with technologies and processes that are likely to result in a high risk to the rights of the data subjects.

5.3. The Information Assurance and Information Rights units within MPS will be consulted at all stages to ensure the service meets its compliance requirements. It is not intended that the funded project will use personally identifiable data of members of the public, so there are no current GDPR issues to be considered. If the project does use personally identifiable data of members of the public at a later date, DPIAs will be completed as required.

6. Equality Comments

6.1. This business case has undergone initial equality screening. Due regard has been taken to the Equality Act’s Public Sector Equality Duty. Real consideration has been taken to assess equality impact caused by the proposed business changes.

6.2. Homelessness can impact anybody at any time and is completely indiscriminate as to the background of those impacted. The dedicated policing teams will assist victims from all backgrounds and minority groups without discrimination.