Protect specialist community organisations from funding gaps

The London Assembly has today welcomed the £3 million secured by Southall Black Sisters through the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) for the London Holistic Advocacy Wrap Around Service, which supports migrant women with No Recourse to Public Funds facing abuse and destitution. 

The Assembly also noted the service has helped hundreds with accommodation and thousands more through specialist support but raised concern over a recent six-month funding gap that put vital services and skilled staff at risk. It highlights that short-term funding cycles undermine stability for frontline organisations and the vulnerable Londoners who rely on them.

In a motion agreed today, the Assembly called on the Mayor to prevent future funding cliff edges by guaranteeing ringfenced, long-term funding for ‘by and for’ organisations, engaging meaningfully with them on future funding criteria, and introducing transparent monitoring to ensure commitments are met. 

Zoë Garbett AM, who proposed the motion, said:

“Yet many are trying to do this work while dealing with piecemeal funding that makes it incredibly difficult to plan ahead or keep services running consistently.”

“The LHAWAS service run by Southall Black Sisters, which supports migrant women with no recourse to public funds shows what happens when that funding falls through the cracks. The service provides safe accommodation, casework, counselling and immigration advice for migrant women of colour who are often left with nowhere else to go. When funding dries up, support like this is put at risk.”

“This is a clear example of why London needs reliable and long-term funding that is properly ring-fenced so organisations can keep providing the support that so many people rely on.”

Hina Bokhari AM, who seconded the motion, said:

"Small charities provide vital, life-saving services to some of London's most vulnerable people, but they cannot operate effectively when their funding can disappear off a cliff edge at short notice. 

“This motion calls on the Mayor to prevent future funding gaps by guaranteeing ring-fenced, long-term funding to ensure vital services can plan with certainty for the future."

The full text of the motion is:

“This Assembly notes with appreciation the £3 million in funding secured by Southall Black Sisters (SBS) through work with Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).

Southhall Black Sisters lead the London Holistic Advocacy Wrap Around Services (LHAWAS), in in partnership with the Asian Women’s Resource Centre (AWRC), Ashiana Network, Solace Women’s Aid (SWA), and nia since 2019. LHAWAS is a lifeline for some of London’s most vulnerable people – migrant women with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) who are facing domestic abuse, exploitation, and destitution.

Over the years, it has supported more than 700 migrant victim-survivors with accommodation and subsistence, and thousands more through specialist casework, counselling, immigration advice, and training for professionals. However, this Assembly also notes that last year MOPAC notified SBS that funding would end in September 2025 with any new funding only beginning in April 2026 in the new budget year, if awarded. This left a six-month cliff-edge for services provided by LHAWAS. Interim funding was ultimately found from a private donor but the risk to the women using these life-saving services was severe. For services in any sector to be effective and viable in the long-term, funding frameworks must not allow for these gaps, which could cause vital services from small and grassroots organisations to be lost, and vulnerable people to be harmed.

This Assembly acknowledges that it is not just provision of service that is affected by funding gaps, but highly skilled staff who are embedded in communities are at risk of being forced out of their sector by funding uncertainty that puts their jobs and therefore their own personal financial security at risk.  While GLA and MOPAC budgets are decided on an almost annual basis, services to improve the lives of Londoners - from VAWG survivors to programmes for young people - cannot be effective it they are essentially paused and then restarted.

We, the London Assembly call on the Mayor to remedy these shortfalls by:

• Acknowledging his duty to prevent future funding cliff edges by guaranteeing ring-fenced, long-term funding for a meaningful time period, for example five years, for ‘by and for’ organisations;
• Engaging in meaningful dialogue with ‘by and for’ organisations to ensure new funding strands support partnership working and reflect the needs of marginalised communities, with openness to reconsider funding criteria if required; and
• Establishing transparent monitoring and accountability mechanisms to ensurecommitments are met.”

The meeting can be viewed via webcast or YouTube.

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