MOPAC and VRU Commissioning

The Committee will investigate the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and the Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) commissioning work, which is mainly concentrated on victims services, crime prevention, and violence reduction services for young people. It will examine:

• How MOPAC and the VRU are spending commissioning budgets, including: what services have been commissioned over the last three years, the aims and priorities of these services, how the services meet local need and improve the lives of Londoners.
• How MOPAC and the VRU evaluate commissioned programmes to support the delivery of the Mayor's Police and Crime Plan and ensure the needs of Londoners are met.
• To review recent changes in MOPAC’s commissioning budget, including the 30 per cent transfer from the London Crime Prevention Fund to the centralised co-commissioning fund, and evaluate whether this has had an impact on wider service delivery.

MOPAC and VRU responsibilities around commissioning have expanded over time. In 2012/13, MOPAC’s commissioning budget was £23.6m. By 2019/20 it had risen to £53.6m, and in its latest annual report (covering 2022-23), this had risen to around £70m, expanding to £90m if combined with the Mayor’s Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation project which it runs in partnership with the GLA.

MOPAC has devolved responsibility from the Ministry of Justice for commissioning victims’ services in London, as well as wider responsibilities for crime prevention services. Its commissioning can generally be split into two broad categories. First, funds that are allocated to boroughs, predominantly done through the London Crime Prevention Fund (LCPF). Boroughs are then responsible for the use of this money, with some MOPAC oversight. Second, MOPAC and the VRU also directly commission services on a London-wide basis.  

The current LCPF (covering the period from April 2022 to the end of March 2025) is made up of the following allocations:

• £39,315,555: direct funding to boroughs
• £4,800,000: funding for boroughs specifically earmarked for the VRU
• £9,884,445: co-commissioning fund

A list of MOPAC commissioned services can be found in its quarterly reporting, as well as on its website. The VRU, which is funded by MOPAC, also commissions programmes, the majority of which focus on young people, violence prevention and early intervention.

MOPAC uses evidence to inform commissioning, including publishing quarterly updates on the performance of commissioned services. It has developed several tools and resources to help it measure impact, including an outcomes framework to measure services against priorities in the Mayor’s Police and Crime Plan, and a commissioning catalogue, detailing key information about each service, including why the service exists, the need it demonstrates and desired outcomes.

• Are MOPAC and the VRU delivering value for money in their commissioning of services?
• Are Londoners receiving high quality services from commissioned organisations, particularly around victim support, crime prevention, reducing reoffending, and violence reduction? Is money being spent in the greatest areas of need?
• How are MOPAC and the VRU evaluating the success of commissioned services? Against what criteria is this evaluation taking place?
• How is MOPAC ensuring that commissioned organisations receive the long-term funding they need to make a significant impact?