Project Voyage funding and governance arrangements

Report: 9
Date: 21 July 2011
By: Deputy Commissioner

Summary

The Black Police Association Charitable Trust (BPACT) has received agreement in principle for £1.6m of grant funding from the GLA, over the period 2011/12 to 2013/14, for the expansion of Project Voyage. This report sets out the MPA’s proposed financial contribution to the Project and the recommended governance arrangements for the funding provided.

In addition, the Authority is asked to note the provision of two days special leave to all MPS volunteers who participate in the week long Young Leaders for Safer Cities project strand.

A. Recommendations

That members note:

• That no provision was made for Project Voyage in the London Policing Plan and Budget 2011-14;
• That the GLA has agreed in principle to provide an output based grant of £1.6m over the period 2011/12 to 2013/14 for the expansion of Project Voyage;
• That for 2011/12 the MPS will provide the Black Police Association Charitable Trust with total grant aid of £353k [in cash (£60k) and in kind (£293k)] for Project Voyage and that any future funding will be dependent on business case approval and the overall financial position of the Service;
• The governance framework for the grant aid as set out in paragraphs 15 to 2O;
• That all officers and staff volunteers who participate in the week long “Young Leaders for Safer Cities” project strand will receive two days paid special leave.

B. Supporting information

Background

1. Project Voyage (Voice of Youth and Genuine Empowerment) is a youth engagement and empowerment project established by the Metropolitan Black Police Association (MetBPA) and overseen by the TPHQ Safer Neighbourhoods Portfolio.

2. The Project was set up in 2002 and its target audience is young people aged 13-15 years from black and minority communities, predominately in the Trident Boroughs, which have the highest level of serious youth violence ie Brent, Camden, Ealing, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth and Westminster.

3. The project strands that are funded under Voyage are:

• Young Leaders for Safer Cities (YLFSC) Programme
• Horizons (formerly Young Offenders’ Leadership Development Programme)
• One day workshops (Violent Crime and Stop & Search).

4. Voyage is delivered by a core team of three members of police staff (Band A, Band C and Band E) who are supplemented by practitioners and teaching professionals from outside the MPS. In addition, it relies on a significant contribution from the MPS in the form of police officer and staff time, to run the programmes and workshops.

5. The delivery of the YLfSC programme requires significant contribution from the MPS in opportunity costs of police officer and staff volunteers who support the individual programme strands. Horizons is delivered using staff that are external to the MPS, but for the one day workshops, Voyage works with community organisations as well as MPS officers and directorates to deliver this element.

6. In 2010/11 the MPS spent £323k on Project Voyage through MetBPA, excluding the opportunity costs of officer and staff volunteer time. All of the expenditure was unfunded in terms of base budget provision and was met from reserves and the diversion of TP resources by realignment of existing budgets. In addition, the MetBPA received £100k of grant funding from the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) in support of the YLfSC strand, which was the final year of a two year grant agreement totalling £200k.

7. Due to MPS funding constraints and in line with the original position that the initiative should become self-financing at end of the three-year agreement, the BPA were advised in early 2010 that funding for Voyage would conclude at the end of 2010/11 and that exit strategies would need to be planned if external funding could not be secured. As a consequence no provision for Voyage was made in the London Policing Plan and Budget 2011-14.

8. However, the GLA has agreed in principle to provide the Black Police Association Charitable Trust (BPACT) with an output based grant of £1.6m over three year period 2011/12 to 2013/14 (£680k; £460k; £460k) for the expansion of the Voyage Programme which is dependent on:

• continued funding from the MPS;
• significant increased volunteering from the MPS at no cost to BPACT (in order to meet the requirements of the expanded programme), and
• delivery of additional outcomes as specified in the grant agreement.

Proposed Financial Support 2011/12

9. Given the BPACT’s success in obtaining GLA grant funding, the MPS is proposing to provide them with a total package of financial support in cash and kind (e.g. volunteers’ time, staff and officer facilities etc) amounting to £353k. This will be comprised of:

2011/12 Proposed Funding Contribution to Project Voyage

Note (1) Includes one TP post currently funded from vacancies and two further posts funded by the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate (DCFD), incorporating one Staff Association *MetBPA post

10. Under the proposed expanded Voyage programme, the cost to the MPS of lost time for officer and staff volunteers participating in the project, which is treated as duty time, increases from £44k to £100k. It is considered that this cost should be counted as part of the overall package of financial support to BPACT given the escalation in requirement for volunteers and the impact on the current financial and abstraction challenges that the MPS is facing. This will ensure that the true cost of supporting Voyage is properly reflected.

11. The cost of volunteers time includes two days special leave (circa £10.4k) for the 22 officer and staff volunteers who will be required to participate in the two YLfSC week-long summer residential modules which the project team are planning to hold in August 2011. This concession was granted to volunteers in 2010 and it is proposed that they receive it again in 2011.

12. As Voyage targeted boroughs will be asked to contribute £5k of their PPAF allocation to the project, they will be encouraged to actively contribute to the management of the Voyage outcomes as a key approach to reducing violent crime and re-offending, improving public confidence, narrowing the satisfaction gap, etc.

13. For 2011/12 it is proposed that rather than the MPS directly funding MetBPA for Voyage, all financial support provided whether cash or kind (i.e. volunteer’s time) is provided as grant aid to BPACT as a restricted donation for use on Project Voyage only.

14. By providing financial support in the form of grant aid it provides clarity that responsibility for Project Voyage rests with the BPACT and not the MPS. This is an important dimension in order to reassure both the MBPA and the GLA that the project is not being led by the MPS.

Governance Arrangements

15. As the MPS will be providing grant funding to the BPACT, which is specifically for use on Project Voyage only, it is important that there are robust governance arrangements in place to monitor the use of the grant.

16. Grant terms and conditions will need to be agreed with BPACT, which ideally should mirror the GLA grant terms and conditions as far as possible. As a minimum they need to specify the agreed project outputs that the MPS expects to be delivered together with the regular reporting requirements to enable the MPS to monitor the use of the grant.

17. GLA grant is essentially linked to increased number of participants in each of the project strands. The MPS would wish to replicate this link to participant numbers and performance measures related to quality/effectiveness of courses run. The MPS will also require regular reports, at least quarterly, on grant spend and volunteering hours on each strand of the project. Milestone points will be set for the claiming of grant expenditure.

18. In terms of project oversight the BPACT will establish a Project Board for Voyage which will have GLA and senior MPA and MPS membership. The Project Board will be responsible for ensuring that the project meets its aims and objectives and that agreed milestones are satisfactorily achieved. It will meet quarterly and will also report to the GLA and Met BPA Executive Board.

19. As part of the grant terms and conditions, the BPACT will be required to submit an end of year report covering both performance and use of funding for sign off by the MPA/MPS.

20. This grant agreement will be for 2011/12 only. Future financial support will be dependent on Voyage meeting its 2011/12 objectives and would be subject to both business case approval and the overall financial position of the MPS.

C. Other organisational & community implications

Equality and Diversity Impact

1. The Metropolitan Black Police Association’s Voyage Programme engages young people and families from black and minority ethnic communities with a view to reducing youth crime and nurturing young advocates, who will actively promote safer cities and cohesive neighbourhoods. The programme operates in London Boroughs experiencing high levels of youth violence and social deprivation, and seeks to actively reduce the number of first time entrants into the Criminal Justice System.

2. Historically the MPS has experienced difficulties in maintaining meaningful and productive engagement with Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Communities, particularly young people. Arguably Voyage provides a vital bridge between London’s black communities and the police service increasing the levels of trust and confidence and changing perceptions.

3. These positive benefits provided to challenged and disaffected communities are an example of the MPS and MetBPA working together to improve the lives of BME communities and should be seen as a positive contribution to reducing offending and improving life chances for young Londoners.

Consideration of MET Forward

4. The provision of grant aid to the BPACT for Project Voyage supports the Met Partners strand of MET Forward. Serious youth violence and gangs continues to be a significant issue for Londoners and engaging with young people and empowering them to make the right decisions is crucial. The Voyage Programme aims to develop leadership skills in young people from BME communities in crime hotspots across London.

5. Voyage seeks to develop an understanding of the surrounding environment, foster a sense of belonging in society, develop character and responsibility, change attitudes and perception of crime, increase trust and confidence in the police and raise awareness of the impact of violent crime. As such it is in line with the aims and objectives of the Mayor’s Time for Action strategy to equip people for the future and prevent violence.

Financial Implications

6. It is proposed that all financial support provided by the MPS to the BPACT in support of the expanded Voyage Project, be it in cash or kind (ie volunteer time) is provided in the form of grant aid. Total grant aid to be provided amounts to £353k, which will be met from existing MPS budgets for 2011/12. The cash contribution, amounts to 60k, which is based on the 12 Voyage Boroughs each contributing £5k of their PPAF allocation to the project. The “in kind” element relates to the cost of both the 3 posts in the core project team (£193k) and MPS volunteer time (£100k), including special paid leave (£10k).

7. The proposed financial and governance framework for managing and controlling the grant funding is set out in paragraphs 15 to 20.

8. Future funding will be dependent on business case approval and the overall financial position of the Service.

Legal Implications

9. Paragraphs 15 to 20 of this report sets out the financial and governance framework. No legal implications arise

Environmental Implications

10. There are no environmental issues raised by this report

Risk Implications

11. The MPS has a significant and well established reputation to maintain. Given the inter relationship between the MetBPA and the MPS, any failure within the Voyage project is unlikely to be seen as a failure of the BPA alone. As outlined in the body of the paper there are risks to the MPS in that despite the independent charitable status of the MBPACT, the staff involved are nonetheless MPS employees. Should there be any suggestion of lack of operational delivery or ineffective financial management then the MPS will not be immune from adverse comment. The proposed Governance Board and reporting regime are intended to mitigate this risk.

12. The GLA has publicly supported the Voyage programme and it has been cited as an example of effective engagement with disaffected communities in line with the Mayor’s Time for Action Programme. Should the MPS decline to support the Voyage initiative and secure the significant investment offered by the GLA, there may be a critical reaction to that decision from both political and community voices, which could expose the MPA and the MPS to an avoidable degree of embarrassment.

D. Background papers

None

E. Contact details

Report authors: Adrian Hanstock, OCU Commander, Neighbourhood Policing and Partnership for London and Karim Mahamdallie, Director of Business Support, MPS Finance Services, MPS

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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