MPS Police Property Act Fund: Application for a grant by the Safer London Foundation

Report: 7b
Date: 19 July 2004
By: Commissioner

Summary

A request for consideration of an application from the Safer London Foundation for an award above the delegated limit of £20,000 from the Police Property Act Fund.

A. Recommendations

That the Committee consider a grant from the Police Property Act Fund to the Safer London Foundation of up to £71,500 to complete the set-up of the Trust during the current financial year.

B. Supporting information

1. The Safer London Foundation is in the process of being created to provide support to vulnerable individuals and community groups affected by crime in the MPA London Area. The aims of the Foundation are to reduce crime, support victims of crime, provide diversionary initiatives and promote community cohesion.

2. The creation of the Foundation was agreed by the MPA Co-ordination and Police Committee on 5 March 2004 subject to the submission of a further paper addressing the outstanding concerns of committee members. This paper elsewhere on this agenda has been prepared in tandem with the follow-up paper elsewhere on this agenda and deals with financial issues relating to the funding of the Trust until it is self-sufficient.

3. The Safer London Foundation will be a new charitable company limited by guarantee, affiliated to the MPA and MPS but independent of both organisations. The MPS itself is providing £125,000 for one-off setting-up costs of the Foundation but no on-going revenue funding has been set aside for the Foundation and, until the inception of the company is formalised, no external funding can be generated although some potential sources of financial assistance have been identified. The likely income from these, however, is insufficient to cover the full set-up costs.

4. The Foundation is, therefore, seeking a grant from the Police Property Act Fund (PPAF) of £71,500 in 2004-5 towards its set-up costs to be met from the £100,000 which has been set aside for pan-London initiatives for this financial year. (A further application for £53,500 will be submitted by the Trust for 2005-6 but this will be dealt with separately.)

5. The 2004-5 grant would be utilised to meet the costs of completing the formalities of setting up the Foundation as a limited liability company and would cover the first year’s costs of

• the selection and appointment of a suitable chief executive and company secretary/business manager
• pay costs for these staff
• the rental of accommodation and equipment
• marketing and promotional activities to initiate a comprehensive fundraising programme.

6. The grant would be managed under the direction of the Chair of the company who will be independent of the MPS and MPA, although MPS officers will still have an involvement pending the handover to the Trust’s staff.

7. The Co-ordination and Policing Committee agreed the grant criteria for the PPAF on 6 February 2004 and the administrative arrangements were approved by the Finance Committee on 19 February 2004. A copy of the grant criteria is attached at Appendix 1 for the information of members. Under these arrangements, the approval of grants above £20,000 must be referred to the Co-ordination and Policing Committee and there is a general caveat that grants above £50,000 will only be made in exceptional circumstances.

8. This application is submitted in anticipation that formalities will be finalised in the very near future, which will provide some reassurance as to the viability of the project in its initial stages. The Foundation, although initiated by the MPS, will be an independent body whose basic objectives include, amongst others, support for diversionary and crime reduction work and police/community projects.

9. It is recommended that an award is made to the Safer London Foundation to facilitate its formation. An appraisal of the availability of funding is given below.

C. Race and equality impact

The aims of the Safer London Foundation are in accordance with the criteria for the disbursement of funding from the Police Property Act Fund, in particular those relating to the encouragement of good relationships with the London community.

D. Financial implications

As agreed by Finance Committee on 19 February, £100,000 of the £500,000 available this year has been set aside for pan-London activities and £400,000 for local borough initiatives. The latter sum has been allocated to boroughs and is therefore ringfenced. Applications have already been received for grants from the pan-London fund and so far awards have been made totalling £30,000 which meet all outstanding applications. The approval of an award of £71,500, however, would mean that we would not be able to make further pan-London grants for the remainder of the financial year.

E. Background papers

Reports “Grant Criteria” submitted to the MPA Co-ordination and Policing Committee on 6 February 2004 and “Arrangements for the Disbursement of Grants and Administration of the Police Property Act Fund” to the MPA Finance Committee on 19 February 2004.

F. Contact details

Report author: Terry Price, Head of Corporate Finance

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1: PPAF Grant Criteria

The criteria for disbursement derive from the MPS Agenda for Action (Mission, Vision, Values) in the following objectives:

• cut crime and the fear of crime
• improve police/community relations at the local level
• work in local partnership.

The following criteria derive from the above objectives.

Project criteria

The projects which are supported by PPAF grants must be for charitable purposes and must benefit of residents of Greater London or a part of it. The aims of a project must include one or more of the following:

1. to support people who are or have been
   • victims of crime
   • vulnerable to crime
2. to improve the quality of life for residents by initiatives which
   • prevent crime or reduce the fear of crime
   • divert people, especially young people, away from crime
   • reduce drug and alcohol abuse
   • reduce re-offending
3. to promote greater co-operation between the police and local communities by
   • encouraging the development of a positive relationship between members of local communities and the police, especially those sections of the community which are currently under-represented in the MPS
   • improving informed community engagement in the policing of London
   • developing local partnerships which have a relevance to policing in London and relationships between police and the community

In addition to supporting specific projects, grants may also be available to support the general activities of an organisation provided the organisation can demonstrate ongoing financial viability which is not dependent on MPA funding

Eligibility criteria

The organisations should:

1. operate on a not-for-profit basis
2. carry out activities which benefit residents within the Metropolitan Police area
3. be able to demonstrate
   • sound management of their affairs (for instance by accounts, annual reports etc)
   • on-going financial viability which will not be dependent on MPA funding
4. not seek to promote or oppose any political party or take part in party political activity
5. promote equality and diversity both in its employment practices and its service delivery
6. be able to account for how the disbursement is to be used and how the results will be measured.
7. not seek to promote or oppose any religion, or any religious belief,

Selection criteria

Applications must provide information on the following:

1. the amount of grant being requested
2. the goals and objectives of the project, how these will be delivered and what measures will be adopted to measure success
3. what the potential benefits of the project are for people who live or work in the Metropolitan Police District, with particular reference to the above project criteria
4. which sector of the community the project is aimed at
5. whether the project is responding to a demonstrated need and, if so, how this has been expressed
6. evidence that the project has the support of the Crime and Disorder Reduction partnership for the borough in which it is located, where appropriate
7. how the organisation is constituted, its management and membership
8. its finances, including sources of grant funding and income generation, and accounts to demonstrate viability
9. the viability of the project, including the consequences of MPA funding not being available
10. examples of previously managed projects (if any).

Grant conditions and parameters

Grants will not be made:

1. to provide funds for services or goods normally provided from government, local authority or other funding sources
2. to directly support a local authority or other public organisation (other than indirectly through a partnership arrangement)
3. to fund individuals employed by the MPA or MPS; to fund organisations that are wholly or substantially controlled by the MPA/MPS or by MPS Staff Associations or staff ; fund-raising events organised by the MPS or its officers, organisations or bodies connected with the police service generally. However consideration will be given to funding for charitable organisations whose work is intended to provide health or welfare benefit for serving or former MPS officers and staff or dependents and organisations and events run by off-duty police officers and staff, and for those organisations where the MPS has a minority or associated interest.

Award of grants:

1. only non-recurring grants will be made, without any commitment to funding in future years
2. the MPA propose to delegate awards of grants of £20,000 and under to the MPS
3. grants above that figure to be approved by the MPA Co-ordination and Policing Committee.
4. Grants above £50,000 will only be made in exceptional circumstances

If grant aid is given, the organisation will be required to report back on the outcome of the project and to account for how the grant has been spent.

Funding for grants will depend on the availability of PPAF income for disbursement.

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