MD3029 Hong Kong Welcome and Integration Programme – Year 2

1.1.    This decision form seeks approval to receive and spend £984,473 income related to the delivery of the Hong Kong Welcome and Integration Programme.

1.2.    Following China’s imposition of the National Security Law on the people of Hong Kong in July 2020, the UK government introduced a new immigration route for Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (Hong Kong BN(O)) status holders, providing the opportunity for them and their family members to live, work and study in the UK. The government’s impact assessment in October 2020 estimated that between 123,000 and 153,000 BN(O) status holders, and their dependants, could take up the route in its first year, with between 258,000 and 322,000 over five years. While it is impossible to predict where in the UK arrivals will choose to settle, analysis based on existing diaspora, alongside the additional pull factors of the capital, suggests that up to a third of arrivals could choose to live in London. So far, since January 2021 to June 2022, there have been 140,500 applications for the visa, of which we estimate that upwards of 35,000 people have chosen to live in London.

1.3.    To support new arrivals to settle in the UK, in 2021 the government launched a £43m Integration Programme to improve access to housing, work and educational support; and ensure arrivals from Hong Kong were able to integrate and thrive in their communities. As part of this, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) provided £5m to establish a total of 12 ‘welcome hubs’ across the UK: one in every region in England, and one each in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The aim of these hubs is to coordinate support for, and give practical advice and assistance to, new arrivals from Hong Kong to enable their access to services and social integration. A sum of £917,000 was apportioned to the GLA to administer through the London Strategic Migration Partnership (LSMP) for this purpose, with income and expenditure approved under MD2831 and DD2576. This decision seeks approval for the receipt and expenditure of grant funding to continue into a second year. The grant amount for year two has been supplemented by additional income from the DLUHC as a result of underspend from the weighted regional Voluntary Community Social Enterprise funding for 2022-23, which was £67,269; the total grant amount is therefore £984,269.

1.4.    The first year of the Hong Kong Welcome and Integration Programme focused on establishing capacity in London to support the welcome of new arrivals, including research and engagement work; the development of online resources for arrivals from Hong Kong as part of the Migrant Londoners Hub; the creation of a trauma-informed mental health programme; and grant-funding for local authorities and civil society to support the development of services that meet Hongkongers’ needs.

1.5.    Following the successful implementation of the first year of the programme we are now seeking approval for year two, which will build on the learning and capacity-building work undertaken. The programme detailed in this decision form continues strategic investment in capacity-building and coordination work to improve Hongkongers’ access to services; and expands to better meet the requirements of Hongkongers with intersectional needs, including supporting younger Hongkongers set to arrive under the extended eligibility for the visa route later this year.

1.6.    This decision further seeks approval for the receipt of £57,000, and expenditure of the same towards delivery of the LSMP. Approval to receive £154,000 was approved under MD2973 for longstanding work, including the enabling function, in addition to work on refugee resettlement and ESOL. A further £60,000 was later approved under DD2576 to support our response to Afghan resettlement. The additional £57,000 funding proposed in this decision is for the LSMP to lead the development, coordination and implementation of a Regional Dispersal Plan; and to act as a single point of contact for London to facilitate and drive the Transformation Programme, and support a place-based migration model.

Hong Kong Welcome and Integration Programme

Purpose

2.1.    Year two of the Hong Kong Integration programme will continue strategic investment in capacity-building and coordination work to improve Hongkongers’ access to services; and will expand to better meet the requirements of Hongkongers with intersectional needs, including supporting younger Hongkongers set to arrive under the extended eligibility of the visa route later this year. This work will include the following:

• Capacity: Extension of fixed-term contracts within the team and the establishment of two new posts to meet the additional demands on the team’s capacity to deliver this work at pace.
• Research: Continuing engagement with Hongkongers to shape the direction and prioritisation of our funding, and improve our understanding of Hongkongers’ needs.
• Local coordination: Continuation and expansion of the Local Hong Kong Welcome Fund to build capacity within local authorities to support the welcome and integration of new arrivals from Hong Kong. The funding will enable local authorities to deliver work that engages and supports local Hong Kong civil society; improves local understanding of the Hong Kong diaspora; celebrates Hong Kong identity; enables arrivals from Hong Kong to access council and other mainstream services; and facilitates local welcome and integration activities.
• Civil society: Continuation and expansion of funding for civil society to respond to the needs of Hongkongers, including support and incubation for newly established and emergent Hong Kong-led groups.
• Intersectional needs: The commissioning and grant-funding of services that supports Hongkongers with intersectional needs, to be defined through our research and engagement. This might include LGBTQI+ Hongkongers; young Hongkongers arriving under the new eligibility for the visa; older Hongkongers; and Deaf and disabled Hongkongers. This strand of work will also enable the development of a tailored response to the safety and security concerns of Hongkongers, and those with specific mental health needs.
• Translation, promotion and communications: Translation of materials, paid advertisements and other promotional activity to ensure that arrivals from Hong Kong can access the information and services developed through this programme, including the Migrant Londoners Hub and Thrive LDN mental health resources.
• Audit: Commission an independent audit of the Hong Kong Welcome and Integration Programme in order to fulfil the GLA’s obligations under the grant agreement with the DLUHC.

Deliverables

2.2.    This programme will deliver year two of the Hong Kong Welcome and Integration Programme; and will align with the ambitions set out in the Mayor’s Social Integration Strategy, ‘All of Us’, and in the recovery mission to provide a robust safety net. Specifically, this programme aims to:

• grow capacity, build understanding and improve coordination across London services to respond to the needs of Hongkongers in a culturally specific and trauma-informed way
• maintain robust governance arrangements to oversee the programme, centring the voices of Hongkongers
• align with wider funding to support broader civil-society infrastructure for migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking Londoners, as well as East Asian and South East Asian communities
• ensure arrivals through the Hong Kong BN(O) route can access relevant support services, feel welcome in London and thrive in their new communities.

Table 1

London Strategic Migration Partnership 

Purpose

2.3.    To support the delivery of full dispersal and associate work with developing regional plans and a place-based migration model, the DLUHC has granted funding towards the LSMP to act as a single point of contact for London. The core responsibilities will include:
leading the development, coordination and implementation of a Regional Full Dispersal Plan
supporting engagement with London Councils and the boroughs towards the delivery and maintenance of the Regional Full Dispersal Plan
improving efficiency and communications between local and central government’s interaction with the Home Office on asylum issues
considering the impact of dispersed accommodation in the region on housing pressures, other services and community cohesion.

Deliverables

Table 2

2.4.    A new FTE post will be created within the Social Integration team to lead the work and any associated costs for the delivery of this work, subject to normal GLA Establishment Control approval processes. This role will be fixed-term until March 2023, in order to align with the timelines of the grant.

3.1.    Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the GLA must have ‘due regard’ of the Public Sector Equality Duty, that is, the need to:

• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation
• advance equality of opportunity
• foster good relations between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not.

3.2.    Equality, integration and inclusion are the drivers behind these programmes. They support the delivery of: the Mayor’s Social Integration Strategy, ‘All of Us’; and the recovery missions to enable access to ‘good work’ and a ‘robust safety net’. These programmes also help address challenges highlighted in other missions, including commitments to support young people and to build stronger communities. All these programmes seek to tackle the inequalities that pose barriers to Hongkongers and people seeking asylum. These barriers can prevent Londoners from fully participating in their communities; the related work of these programmes includes improving access to services that promote Londoners’ access to their rights and entitlements.

3.3.    Any commissioning and grant-making processes will ask potential partners to demonstrate how their projects are inclusive of a diverse group; and actively work to eliminate discrimination on the basis of the nine characteristics protected in the Equality Act 2010. In order to ensure that the highest standards of equality, diversity and inclusion are upheld, the GLA will use outreach and engagement approaches to target activities at particular groups that are less able to engage, or that face greater barriers to engagement, to enable them to participate, while ensuring that activities are open and accessible to all Londoners.

Key risks and issues

Conflicts of interest

4.1.    There are no conflicts of interest to note for any of the officers involved in the drafting or clearance of this decision form. The team that will be administering these projects includes secondees and trustees of a number of relevant organisations; appropriate mitigations will be put in place throughout all tendering and grant programmes to remove relevant officials from a decision-making role regarding funding where any conflict does arise. This applies to GLA officers and also those funded to deliver work on our behalf. All commissioned services will be procured competitively in accordance with the Contracts and Funding Code.

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.2.    This work links to the Mayor’s Strategy for Social Integration, ‘All of Us’, including confronting barriers and discrimination faced by migrants and refugees; and supporting Londoners with insecure immigration status to access their legal rights to citizenship and residence.

Consultation and impact assessment

4.3.    The design of this programme has been informed by research and engagement with Hongkongers and organisations working closely with new arrivals from Hong Kong. The work is being overseen by a steering group of expert organisations and includes the voices of Hongkongers.  

5.1    Approval is being sought for receipt and expenditure of £984,473 grant funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to continue delivery of the London Hong Kong Welcome and Integration Programme. The expenditure breakdown is detailed in the below table. Funding will be carried as income in advance to 2023-24, so there will be no need for a budget carry forward.

5.2    Approval is also being sought for receipt and expenditure of £57,000 grant funding from the Home Office towards the delivery of the LSMP. The grant funding will fund a fixed term contract until March 2023 and costs associated with the delivery of the LSMP programme.

Power to undertake the requested decisions

6.1    The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Mayor concern the exercise of the Authority’s general powers and fall within the Authority’s statutory power to do such things considered to further or which are facilitative of, conducive or incidental to the promotion of social development within Greater London and in formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought officers have complied with the Authority’s related statutory duties to:

• pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people
• consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom
• consult with appropriate bodies.    

6.2    In taking the decisions requested, the Mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty; namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010, and to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation) and persons who do not share it and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

Procurement

6.3    Officers are reminded to comply with the requirements of the Authority’s Contacts and Funding Code (the “Code”) where they are procuring services, supplies or works in furtherance of Mental Health Recovery Mission, Thrive LND and World Mental Health Day 2022.

Funding from the GLA

6.4    Officers are reminded to ensure that all funding be distributed in accordance with the requirements of the Code and that an appropriate funding agreement be put in place between the GLA and the relevant recipient, before any of the funding be paid to the recipient.

Funding to the GLA

6.5    As set out in decisions 1 and 3 above, it is proposed that the Authority receive grant funding of £984,473 from DLUHC and £57,000 from the Home Office.  Officers are reminded to ensure that they comply with the conditions which DLUHC and the Home Office place on the use of the relevant grants.