Serious Violence Toolkit and HeadStart Action

The VRU has a budget of £19.2m (excluding 2019/20 carry-forwards) and over the past year the Unit has consulted with and listened to communities about what they view our key challenges to be across London, and what needs to be done. Based on learning and consultation over last 12 months, the VRU now has placed its greatest focus into five key priority areas:

• Youth Work

• Education, Schools and Settings

• Early Intervention for Violence Prevention

• Neighbourhoods & Local Violence Reduction Plans

• Young People – giving them their voice

Bounce Agency were originally contracted to develop a Serious Violence Toolkit in April 2019, which could be used by a range of stakeholders (community safety partnerships, schools, voluntary organisation and individuals) when responding in the aftermath of a serious incident of violence. This decision proposes to develop a digital version of the tool via a responsive website application to improve accessibility and user ability.

Secondly, this decision also requests approval to award London Youth further grant funding towards the HeadStart Action programme. HeadStart Action is an employability and social action programme for disadvantaged 14-18-year old young Londoners. This programme is match funded by the GLA. Due to COVID-19 impacting on timelines and delivery schedules, a further £7k is required to deliver the programme.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to approve:

• The award of a further grant of £7k to London Youth to fund HeadStart Action, to manage the impact of COVID-19 on programme delivery. This brings the total grant funding to London Youth for the HeadStart Action programme to £457k.

• A single tender award to Bounce Agency of £42k to produce a digital version of the Serious Violence Toolkit.

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

1. Introduction and background

1.1. This decision covers 2 programmes which are;

Serious Violence Toolkit

1.2. Bounce Agency were originally contracted to develop a Serious Violence Toolkit in April 2019, (contract of £15k). This is a toolkit that could be used by a range of stakeholders (community safety partnerships, schools, voluntary organisation and individuals) when responding in the aftermath of a serious incident of violence. The final toolkit was then tested by these groups and feedback was that community safety partnerships would benefit from an edited version of the toolkit. £10k was subsequently direct award grant funded to Bounce Agency to develop this version (Approved by DMPC in decision reference PCD 673, December 2019).

1.3. As the use of the toolkit has developed, it was thought useful to directly link to several external resources via a browser to meet immediate need and function. The proposal within this decision is therefore to develop a digital version of the content through a responsive website that is designed to be viewed on a mobile device, allowing the highest level of access and user ability for all target audiences.

HeadStart Action

1.4. London Youth was grant funded £450,000 in a previous DMPC decision (PCD 649) to manage the Headstart Action programme, to positively engage vulnerable young people between 14-28 years old in social action and employability. This programme is match funded by the GLA.

1.5. The decision requests DMPC approval for the allocation of a further £7,078 to be awarded to London Youth to manage the impact of COVID-19 on HeadStart Action, an employability and social action programme for disadvantaged 14-18-year old young Londoners. The programme will be delivered by up to 12 of London Youth’s member organisations, who will receive capacity building support and will engage at least 360 young people.

2. Issues for consideration

Serious Violence Toolkit

2.1. Having produced the toolkit, the agency has attained an in-depth consultative research base and unique knowledge of the range of services and access points to enable a Community Safety Partnership to respond to a serious incident of violence. The intention is to award a single tender contract of up to £42,000 to ensure continuity of service and convert the research process and contents of the toolkit into a responsive website.

HeadStart Action

2.2. London Youth has held clarification meetings with members to identify the final organisations who will be delivering the programme. Due to the current situation with Covid-19 there has been a delay to the start of the programme, in relation to delivery partners being given extra time to adapt plans, budgets and develop digital engagement plans. Moderation meetings and clarification meetings were also pushed back from the original timeline.

2.3. This has extended the timeline. The initial grant period was from February 2019 – July 2021, this would cover an extension until August 2021 and include additional resources needed before then.

3. Financial Comments

3.1. Both programmes will be funded from the existing VRU commissioning budget, to a total of £49,078. This will be profiled as £42,900 in 20/21 and £6,178 in 21/22.

3.2. HeadStart Action - The additional £7,078 grant to London Youth will be match funded with GLA funding. This will allow London Youth to work towards a revised timeline, specific costs include support costs, staff costs etc.

4. Legal Comments

4.1. MOPAC has powers under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (formerly under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011) to award grants to secure the reduction of crime and disorder in London.

4.2. Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC’s Scheme of Consent and Delegation provides the DMPC with delegated power to: Approve bids for grant funding made and all offers made of grant funding; and/or where appropriate a strategy for grant giving.

4.3. 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.

4.4. Paragraph 5.12 delegates authority to the Chief Executive for the approval of all contract exemptions for MOPAC below £100,000.

5. Commercial Issues

5.1. As per the MOPAC Contract Regulations (Clause 8.2), contracts to the value between £5k to £50k require three written quotations. However, it is proposed to single tender award Bounce Agency directly to the value of £42k.

5.2. In terms of the rationale for a single tender award to Bounce Ltd for the development of the Serious Violence Toolkit digitisation, this is rationalised through the need for a continuity of service from Bounce who have provided the research and developments so far to create the initial Serious Incident Toolkit. Further then creating a bespoke Community Safety Toolkit that has been based upon the initial toolkit. The continuity of service is essential and would allow for the intellectual property of Bounce to be used to seamlessly develop the Community Safety Toolkit on a high-tech platform. Intellectual Property Rights for the content on the Toolkit in both PDF and in an app would remain with the VRU.

6. Public Health Approach

6.1. The spend plan takes a public health approach to tackling violence, which means looking at violence not as isolated incidents or solely a police enforcement problem. Instead, this approach looks at violence as a preventable consequence of a range of factors, such as adverse early-life experiences, or harmful social or community experiences and influences.

7. GDPR and Data Privacy

7.1. The Serious Violence Toolkit project does not use personally identifiable data of members of the public, so there are no GDPR issues to be considered.

8. Equality Comments

8.1. Under s149 of the Equality Act 2010 (the Equality Act), as a public authority the Deputy Mayor/MOPAC must have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and any conduct that is prohibited by or under this Act; and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. Protected characteristics under the Equality Act are age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status (the duty in respect of this last characteristic is to eliminate unlawful discrimination only).

9. Background/supporting papers

9.1. None.