Title and Reference – PCC/D/111
Subject: Release of Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner Community Safety Fund Competition
Report of: Police and Crime Commissioner
Date: 13/11/2023

Summary:

Service provision has already been allocated from the Community Safety Fund, for financial year 2023-2024 supporting the following;

– Sports-based early intervention
– Community Mediation/ Hate Crime
– Out of Court Disposals
– Youth Offending Services
– Neighbourhood Watch/ Community Watch Schemes
– Restorative Justice/ Restorative Approaches
– Activity in HMP Bedford
– Family, Drug and Alcohol Court

Wishing to build upon this service provision, Bedfordshire Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) have taken the opportunity to award funding to a further 8 projects up to the cost of £5,000 each for the provision of a project/service/ activity to deliver in the three local authority areas.

Through the monitoring of currently commissioned partners funded via the Community Safety Fund and the Ministry of Justice, data is evidencing that between 25-30% of clients accessing support services have a disability or learning difference. To respond to this demand specifically, the value of £5,000 is awarded for local/ community developments project/ services/ activity to improve community engagement, reduce crime/ reduce recidivism or criminality and/or support victims with a focus on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and neurodiversity requirements.

The process will be completed in line with the OPCCs commitment to working closely with 7 Force Commercial Services, ensuring that the Commissioning Team and wider OPCC adhere to the local Financial Regulations and Contract Standing Orders which set out the following financial thresholds:

• £0-£5,000 – one written quote required to commission services
• £5,000 – £50,000 – three written quotes required to commission services
• £50,000 and above – services to be commissioned via competitive tender.

Although the OPCC is required to only obtain 1 quote per initiative as the funding allocation is under £5,000, The competition will be held to follow best practice, awarding up to 8 projects to a value of up to £40,000. The funding will be allocated following a bidding opportunity, releasing a specification of the opportunity to obtain bid responses on the OPCC website and via email to known stakeholders of the office. Once bid responses are received, a process of reviewing due diligence and independent evaluation will take place to review the responses and score them against the criteria published, ensuring sustainability against the Police and Crime Plan, and providing assurance that the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner is funding initiatives in a supportive and considered way, bearing in mind sustainability and appropriateness of each project. The funding will then be awarded to the 8 highest scoring projects following evaluation.

Recommendation

A recommendation is made to implement a funding competition to introduce local/ community developments project/ services/ activity to improve community engagement, reduce crime/ reduce recidivism or criminality and/or support victims with a focus on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and neurodiversity requirements.

Using best practise following the decision to align to the 7 Force Commercial Services Financial Regulations and Contract Standing Orders, the competition will ensure the OPCC receive over the 3 quotes required for the funding limit and will provide a structure on decision making to identify which bid responses will be successful.

Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner
I hereby approve the recommendations above.