Key information
Decision type: Director
Directorate: Strategy and Communications
Reference code: DD2594
Date signed:
Date published:
Decision by: Niran Mothada, Executive Director, Strategy and Communications
Executive summary
There is a need to improve London Resilience Forum’s engagement with the community and voluntary sector across the city. Learning from recent emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic, showed how important it is to work in collaboration with London’s communities, faith, equalities, and voluntary sectors. London Plus (Greater London Volunteering) have proposed a new forum, the London Community Emergencies Partnership, which it is felt will expand engagement. They have also submitted an application to Bridge House Estates to support the funding of a new London Community Emergencies Partnership. This director’s decision form (DD) seeks approval for the Greater London Authority’ award of grant funding to London Plus (Greater London Volunteering) as a further contribution to their costs of developing and administering this new Partnership.
Decision
That the Executive Director of Strategy and Communications approves expenditure of up to £100,000, (comprised of £17,000 in year 2022/23, £33,000 in year 2023/24, £33,000 in year 2024/25, and £17,000 in year 2025/26) to London Plus (Greater London Volunteering) to contribute to the costs of their new London Community Emergencies Partnership.
Part 1: Non-confidential facts and advice
1.1. London Resilience Forum currently operates two Sector Panels to engage London’s community, faith, and voluntary sector: the Voluntary Sector Panel and the Faith Sector Panel.
1.2. The Voluntary Sector Panel’s membership focuses primarily on first-responder organisations, such as British Red Cross. This has unwittingly excluded more local civil society across the city, such as local Voluntary Community Sector organisations, Volunteer Centres or other community-led groups.
1.3. The Faith Sector Panel’s membership focuses on Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, and wider faith and belief representation.
1.4. There is no formal Panel or mechanism to engage with London’s equalities sector.
1.5. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a Strategic Coordination Group (SCG) was in operation, under which a new forum was set up to coordinate with London’s civil society response. This forum, the Funders, Community, Voluntary Sector, and Faith (FCVSF) group, coordinated partners. When the SCG was stood down it also was stood down and stopped meeting in 2022.
1.6. A review was commissioned and completed by the City of London Corporation of the FCVSF group, whose recommendations included a new way of working across partners. London Plus, a pan-London organisation supporting London’s civil society infrastructure, was tasked with responding to these recommendations.
1.7. London Plus (Greater London Volunteering) are London’s civil society infrastructure body, bringing together Volunteer Centres and Voluntary and Community Sector Councils across the city. They have been working in collaboration with the Voluntary Community Sector Emergency Partnership (VCSEP) in responding to recent emergencies, including the Afghan and Ukraine refugee crises in London. VCSEP is a national organisation supporting emergency response and preparedness with communities, supported by British Red Cross, and is represented at the UK Resilience Forum.
1.8. London Plus and VCSEP have submitted an application to Bridge House Estates for funding to support its new London Community Emergencies Partnership. The partnership costs across 4 financial years will total £767,500 will build on recommendations from the FCVSF group.
1.9. It is proposed that the GLA also award of grant funding of up to £100,000 over four financial years (to be drawn from GLA Reserves) to assist further with the meeting of London Plus’s costs in this regard. The feasibility and success of the new Partnership is reliant upon London Plus securing third party funding such as, for example, the prospective Bridge House Estates funding noted above.
2.1. The objectives of this funding are to:
- Increase partnership working with London’s community, faith, equalities, and voluntary sector in response to emergencies.
- Increase London’s preparedness to emergencies by working with community, faith, equalities, and voluntary sector partners.
- Expand London Resilience Forum’s mechanisms for engagement with London’s communities, including the equality sector.
- Expand London’s approach to community resilience building.
2.2. The expected outcomes of this funding are:
- Better engagement and involvement of community, faith, equalities, and voluntary sector partners in preparedness and response to emergencies in London.
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 (PSED), that is the need to
- eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
- advance equality of opportunity; and
- foster relations between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not.
3.2. The London Community Emergencies Partnership will specifically include equalities sector representation to improve the engagement and understanding of equalities in response to emergencies.
3.3. The inclusion of equalities sector partners in the new Partnership will improve mechanisms for the London Resilience Forum to engage with these partners.
4.1. Key risks have been identified as:
4.2. Links to Mayoral Strategies and Objectives:
- This proposal will support the Mayor’s City Resilience Strategy.
- The new London Community Emergencies Partnership will build on existing and wider work as part of the London Recovery Board’s Building Strong Communities Mission.
4.3. There are no conflicts of interest to note for any of the officers involved in the drafting or clearance of this decision form.
5.1. Executive Director’s approval is sought for approves expenditure of up to £100,000, (comprised of £17,000 in year 2022/23, £33,000 in year 2023/24, £33,000 in year 2024/25, and £17,000 in year 2025/26) to London Plus (Greater London Volunteering) to contribute to the costs of their new London Community Emergencies Partnership. 2022-23 contribution of £17,000 is to be funded from GLA Reserves and future years contribution is to be requested as part of 2023-24 budget setting process that will be subject to approval.
5.2. The funding should be monitored against outcomes outlined in section 2 and any deliverables outlined in the funding agreement.
5.3. This funding will be managed and administered by Resilience team in City Operation’s Unit within Strategy & Communication’s Directorate.
6.1. The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Director fall within the exercise of the GLA’s statutory duties to promote tourism to, in and through Greater London and powers to promote and/or to do anything which is facilitative of or conducive or incidental to economic development and wealth creation within Greater London and in formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought, officers have complied with the GLA’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; and
- consult with appropriate bodies.
6.2 In taking the decisions requested of him, the Director 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 and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment) and persons who do not share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Director should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.
6.3 Officers have indicated that the expenditure proposed amounts to the provision of grant funding as a contribution to related third party project costs and not a payment for services to be provided. They must therefore ensure, that the proposed funding is disbursed in a fair and transparent manner in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code and a funding agreement is put in place between and executed by the GLA and London Plus before any commitment to provide the funding is made.
6.4 Officers have indicated that the feasibility and success of the new Partnership (and therefore, the rationale for the award of GLA funding) will be influenced by the securing by London Plus of third party funding to meet project costs. If the Director is minded to make this decision officers should ensure that such funding is secured and applied to the costs of the new Partnership as a condition of any GLA award.
6.5 As it is proposed that funding be awarded that extends beyond the current Mayoral term officers must ensure that the funding agreement contains as termination for convenience right in favour of the GLA and that the milestones/outputs associated with the GLA funding are configured and managed in a way so as to avoid abortive expenditure being incurred.
7.1. The delivery of the London Community Emergencies Partnership will be led by London Plus through networks, forums and meetings.
7.2. Key dates are as following:
Signed decision document
DD2594 Signed