Ministry of Justice funding for HMYOI Cookham Wood Pilot

MOPAC is working in partnership with the MoJ and Kent PCC to pilot a service in HMYOI Cookham Wood which recognises young offenders’ past experiences of victimisation as a driver for offending behaviour and seeks to reduce both future victimisation and future reoffending. MOPAC is acting as the commissioner for the pilot and, to this end, this decision seeks approval to accept the agreed funding of £100,000 from the Ministry of Justice and £25,000 from Kent PCC for 2021/22 and to delegate authority to approve the commencement of appropriate competitive procurement processes.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:

1. Accept the grant funding of £100,000 from the Ministry of Justice and £25,000 from Kent PCC for the Cookham Wood pilot for the financial year 2021/22.

2. Delegate authority to the Director of Commissioning and Partnerships to approve the commencement of the procurement process.

1. Introduction and background

1.1. There is growing awareness of the victim/offender overlap. A recent study by Middlesex University found that 50% of young offenders under supervision by the Youth Offending Services have been victims of crime. Young offenders’ experiences of victimisation may contribute to their offending behaviour. Addressing victimisation is therefore important to reduce reoffending and ensure young people get the right support.



1.2. In April 2019, the Justice Secretary chaired a discussion on the effectiveness of the criminal justice system as part of the Prime Minister’s Serious Youth Violence summit. The discussion was aimed at improving join-up across the criminal justice system to deliver innovative approaches that reduce reoffending, recognising that many young people in custody have also been victims of crime. The Government took an action to pilot specialist training for staff at YOIs to support young people in custody who have previously been victims of serious violence and help direct them to support services.

1.3. Public Health England published the Collaborative approaches to preventing offending and re-offending in children (CAPRICORN) in 2019. This identifies that a high number of young people entering YOIs have experienced complex trauma.

1.4. MOPAC is working in partnership with MoJ, Kent PCC and the Youth Custody Service to pilot a service in HMYOI Cookham Wood which addresses young offenders’ past experiences of victimisation by supporting young people through-the-gate and in the community on release, to enhance resettlement and reduce reoffending.

1.5. HMYOI Cookham Wood is located in Kent and holds up to 188 boys between the ages of 15-18. The YOI receives young people from southern England and East Anglia but a large proportion are from London. In July 2019, there were 162 young people in Cookham Wood – 69% from London and 22% from Kent. The most common offences for Londoners were violence/assaults, robbery, offensive weapons and murder. The most common offences for Kent reflect a similar pattern for London and show violence and robbery as the most prevalent offences.

1.6. The pilot will build the capacity of Cookham Wood staff to identify victims and provide psychological support to address victimisation, as well as providing a through-the-gate service to prepare young people to engage with support in custody and continue to support them to engage with services post-release. The pilot will also upskill existing victim services in the community to work with young offenders. The pilot will run through 2021/22 with the possibility of a six-month extension (which will be subject to subsequent DMPC decisions. The objective of the pilot is to address young offenders’ victimisation in order to reduce reoffending and consists of three elements:

1.6.1. Building capacity within the YOI

Upskilling caseworkers and other prison staff to identify victimisation and building the capacity of psychologists to provide psychological support to address victimisation. Young people could be identified through caseworkers or through the YOI’s Secure Stairs model.

1.6.2. Through the Gate Service

Young people often need support to get them ready to engage with interventions. This can be done by building a trusting relationship with the young person and understanding their past experiences of trauma. The pilot will provide a trauma-informed through-the-gate service to prepare young people identified as victims to engage with psychologist support in custody and continue to support them to engage with services upon release. The through-the-gate service will refer the young people to existing victim support services in London and Kent.

1.6.3. Referring into victim services/upskilling staff to work with young offenders

The pilot will train existing victim services (e.g. CYP Service, LVWS) on working with young offenders.

2. Issues for consideration

2.1. The MoJ Terms and Conditions are in line with those MOPAC has accepted for the Victims Funding and, as such, are acceptable.



2.2. The Kent PCC Terms and Conditions have been adapted at our request and, as such, are acceptable.

2.3. There will be three separate but concurrent procurement strands for this pilot, as described in paragraph 1.6 above. All of these will be under £100,000 and, therefore, able to be delegated to the Director for Commissioning and Partnerships under the Scheme of Delegation.

2.4. MOPAC has a timeline for the project, including the procurement processes, which can be found at Annex 1.

3. Financial Comments

3.1. This decision requests authority to receive £100,000 in (grant) funding from the Ministry of Justice, and £25,000 in (grant) funding from Kent PCC, in accordance with the respective agreed grant conditions. This amount will form part of the approved 21/22 budget for MOPAC’s Criminal Justice Commissioning service toward the Cookham Wood pilot project scheduled for 21/22.

3.2. MOPAC is contributing £50,000 of funding to the pilot, which has been identified and secured from 20/21 carry forward budget (approved under PCD 849). The funding amounts and sources over 2021/22 are set out in the table below:

3.3 The external funding for this project is noted for a 12 month period. MOPAC will recognise the £125,000 within Criminal Justice Commissioning service budget for 21/22 in line with the grant conditions from both partners.

4. Legal Comments

4.1. 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.” Section 143 (3) specifically allows MOPAC to make grants in connection with such arrangements and any grant may be made subject to any conditions that MOPAC thinks appropriate.

4.3. 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.

4.4. Under MOPAC’s Scheme of Delegation, the approval of business cases for revenue or capital expenditure of £500,000 and above, are for the DMPC. The strategy for contract extensions are also for the DMPC. The decisions in this report can be approved by the DMPC.



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

4.6. 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 offers of grant funding.



4.7. Paragraph 4.6 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides the DMPC authority to delegate those functions which have reserved for the DMPC.

4.8. These recommendations are in line with the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent.

5. Commercial Issues

5.1. All grants and contracts which utilise this funding will incorporate the relevant terms from the grant agreement between MOPAC and the Ministry of Justice to ensure compliance.

6. Public Health Approach

6.1. The VRU will be consulted on services commissioned using this funding to ensure alignment with VRU activity and wider public health approach to tackling violence in London.

7. GDPR and Data Privacy

7.1. 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

8.1. 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. MOPAC will ensure Equalities considerations form part of all work commissioned with this funding.

9. Background/supporting papers

9.1. PCD 849

9.2. Project timeline at Annex 1.