Decisions

The Greater Manchester Strategy recognises that the pandemic has disproportionately impacted our people and places, and acknowledges that recovery will be tough. In Greater Manchester, we will make every effort to ensure that all our people are supported to live a good life, through all ages and stages in their lives. This includes a commitment to supporting our children and young people to be good learners, with any necessary family help, education recovery, wrap-around provision and health and wellbeing needs being met.

As outlined within the GM VRU’s Serious Violence Action Plan our ambition to ‘ensure that families and communities that are affected by serious violence are effectively supported through our place-based offer’ (priority 3) recognising the significant impact that violence of any kind can have on the lives of families. In recognition that families can be both an important protective factor and a deterrent. The VRU are committed to promoting the importance of intervening earlier in Greater Manchester so that families can get help when they need it and not just when they hit crisis point. Working in partnership with national and local research institutes and families themselves to get a better understanding of what families that experience violence need so that we can be smarter and more creative about the services we offer to them.

In June 2021, the VRU in partnership with the Innovation Hub held a Primary School Summit, to address growing anecdotal concerns from primary schools in GM that issues of intergenerational violence and knife carrying appeared to be increasingly prevalent and were affecting children at a younger age than had previously been the case. Of those attendees working in schools 83% indicated that behaviour, particularly in respect to violence or threats of violence, had become worse. There was a notable call for parental education in the context of digital education and positive role modelling in their use of technology and digital interactions. It was agreed that interventions that seek to break the inter-generational concerns should include holistic family approaches for strong, consistent parenting.

The development of the VRU’s Community Led Programmes has found that in many areas of Greater Manchester many families struggle to engage with statutory services and will only engage when they hit a crisis point e.g., when certain behaviours have escalated and are now posing a risk. Parents and carers have welcomed the family support offers available in their areas with one parent who was struggling to get support in place at school with the support of a family worker they would never have known who to go to.

A full competitive tender process will be undertaken, supported and moderated by procurement and Information Governance. A further decision notice will be submitted once the successful bidder has been identified.

The service will be contract managed by the Children and Young People’s Principal (Frank Hamill) and will be subject to ongoing evaluation by the GMCA evaluation partner.

The Deputy Mayor agrees to the funding allocation of £750,000 of VRU core funding to develop and deliver a programme strength based, trauma informed, support for parents and carers

This funding will be delivered across periods 2022/2023, 2023/2024, 2024/2025. The contract will commence from contract award until 31 March 2025.

This amount has been agreed by the Serious Violence Governance Board as well as key stakeholders, including GMCA senior leadership and the relevant Home Office departments.

In late 2020, the Government announced £10 million of funding in the Budget (from April 2020 to March 2021), for interventions that address the behaviours of domestic abuse perpetrators. This additional investment builds on from the previous Police Transformation Funding but with a particular focus on developing a strong evidence base across PCC’s, to identify successful interventions.

In December 2020 the Home Office announced that GMCA were successful in securing £1,082,129 of funding.

In April 2021 the Home Office explained that they wanted to provide GMCA with additional funding to extend the existing programmes as described in the Original Grant Agreement by a further six months from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

In late Spring 2022, confirmation from the Home Office was received that they were providing a continuation of funding for the programmes with the same conditions

The schemes are fully funded to total amount of £2,812,146 and GMCA is not required to provide any match-funding in addition to the original match funding.

The funding stream 066 DAP will directly fund TLC to deliver interventions in Manchester, Salford, Stockport and Wigan as per the original grant agreement in December 2020.
Those Programmes will be;

• Children and Young People, The Respect Young People’s Programme for child to parent abuse A programme for adolescent perpetrators
• Female Perpetrators, 1-2-1 programme delivery for female perpetrators in heterosexual or same sex relationships
• Male Perpetrators, Bridging to Change group behaviour change programme for male perpetrators in heterosexual relationships
• Perpetrators who speak English as a second language respect 1-2-1 programme for perpetrators (male or female) who speak English as a second language

The funding Stream 066 Drive will continue to deliver the national Drive model which will deliver interventions for high risk, high harm perpetrators will be delivered in Manchester and Salford. The Drive National Team will continue to work closely with TLC to ensure effective delivery of the model.

A robust evaluation framework will be embedded into the programme and conducted by the GMCA Research team. This will provide an evidence base across a range of perpetrator interventions and risk levels, applying a whole system approach throughout which will help inform future commissioning conversations at both a local and regional level.


The Funding Stream 066 DAPP, will support general perpetrator interventions and be grant funded to local authorities.

The Funding Stream 066 CYP will support child and adolescent interventions and be grant funded to local authorities.

This is a continuation of the second round of funding from August 21.

The funding is aimed to increase the geographic expansion of programmes and the target cohort through adaptation of programmes to reach wider needs.
Grants will be provided to PCCs as the lead partner, but the expectation is that PCCs will deliver the intervention in collaboration with a partner organisation.

As a part of the bid that has been accepted by the home office it was agreed that Local Authorities within GM would be the partner organisation.

GMCA have been successful in securing an extension to the Home Office grant funding, to support the continuation of perpetrator-focused domestic abuse interventions.

In the original pilot areas in December 2020, were Salford, Manchester, Wigan and Stockport where TLC were identified as our delivery partner, given that we already have a commissioning relationship with them, which complies with the Home Office conditions.

The conditions to the extension are the same as the original funding, therefore this is a continuation of the original grant agreement.

066 DAP Pand 066 Drive are the new Home Office grant agreements for this element of the funding.

The funding for this element will be awarded to Talk, Listen, Change (TLC) for the delivery of a range of perpetrator programmes set out in the DAPP grant agreement and the Drive Grant Agreement

This includes:

• £243,997 (Drive Programme Fund)
• £1,051600 (Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme Fund)
• A total amount of £1,295,597



Greater Manchester Combined Authority have also been successful in an extension to the round 2 funding and will be receiving a grant from the Home Office for Domestic Abuse Perpetrator work.

The funding was aimed to increase the geographic expansion of programmes and the target cohort through adaptation of programmes to reach wider needs.

Adult 066 grant agreement and 066 CYP grant agreements.

The element of this funding is that grants will be provided to PCCs as the lead partner, but the expectation is that PCCs will deliver the intervention in collaboration with a partner organisation.

Local Authorities within GM will continue to be partner organisation’s and commission a range of perpetrator programmes set out in the Adult and CYP grant agreements:

This includes;

? £992,050 for to support general perpetrator interventions(Adult)

? £524,499 for to support child and adolescent interventions. (CYP)


A total amount for Adult & CYP is £1,516,549


A total amount for all 4 elements of the Home Office Extension 066 is –

£2,812,146

For the Adult and the CYP interventions the rest of Greater Manchester will be in receipt of funding as follows;

• GMCA have allocated £167, 000 Bolton for adult interventions,
For Bolton to Commission, TRAC Psychological (Inner Strength) to deliver a range of perpetrator programmes including expand Inner Strength: strength-based therapeutic interventions for perpetrators & victims

• GMCA have allocated £335,000 Bury Interventions

£185,000 for TLC: Talk, Listen, Change to deliver the Drive Programme, this funding will be paid directly to TLC to extend current Drive provision into Bury
£100,00 for Bury for adult interventions,
• For Bury Council to Commission TLC to deliver a range of perpetrator programmes, New DAPPs for men in heterosexual relationships & adapted 121 programme for ESOL & those in gay & bisexual relationships

£ 50,000 For Children and Young people interventions
• For Bury Council to commission TLC to deliver, Child Respect Young People’s Programme for CYP (children & young people) age 10-16 abusive or violent towards parents/carers.
• For Bury Council to commission TLC to deliver, Child TLC Healthy Relationships Programme adapted & shortened version of TLC’s DAPP (behaviour change programme), for CYP age 10+ violent towards intimate partners / peers.


• GMCA have allocated. £187,000 for Oldham Interventions

£100,00 for Oldham for adult interventions,
• For Oldham Council to Commission TLC to deliver a range of perpetrator programmes, New DAPPs for men in heterosexual relationships & adapted 121 programme for ESOL & those in gay & bisexual relationships
£ 87,000 For Children and Young people interventions,
• For Oldham Council to commission TLC to deliver, Child Respect Young People’s Programme for CYP (children & young people) age 10-16 abusive or violent towards parents/carers.
• For Oldham Council to commission TLC to deliver, Child TLC Healthy Relationships Programme adapted & shortened version of TLC’s DAPP (behaviour change programme), for CYP age 10+ violent towards intimate partners / peers.

• GMCA have allocated £234,000 for Rochdale for adult interventions,
£135,000 for TLC: Talk, Listen, change to deliver the Drive Programme, this funding will be paid directly to TLC to extend current Drive provision.
For Children and Young people
£31,039 for Rochdale to commission a VCSE provider to deliver Child to Parent Abuse and Intimate Partner Abuse and £68,960 for the Early Help Team to also deliver Child to Parent Abuse and Intimate Partner Abuse a total of – £99,999
• GMCA have allocated. £445,000 to Tameside
£245,000 for adult interventions,
High risk perpetrators - Expand Roots Tenancy Support & Compliance Service (for MAPPA & PPO high-risk offenders) to work with perpetrators
£ 200,000 For Children and Young people interventions
• For Tameside Council to Commission TLC to deliver a Child to Parent Abuse programme Respect Young People’s Programme for CYP (children & young people) age 10-16 abusive or violent towards parents/carers. Covers: Insight into violence & abuse & its’ effects, Emotional regulation, Solution focused work & goal setting

• GMCA have allocated £147,500 for Trafford Interventions
£60,000 for Trafford to allocate to adult interventions,
• Make a Change Perpetrator Programme
£ 87,500 For Children and Young people interventions
• For Trafford Council to commission TLC to deliver, Child Respect Young People’s Programme for CYP (children & young people) age 10-16 abusive or violent towards parents/carers.
• For Trafford Council to commission TLC to deliver, Child TLC Healthy Relationships Programme adapted & shortened version of TLC’s DAPP (behaviour change programme), for CYP age 10+ violent towards intimate partners / peers.
Grant agreements for all 4 funding streams are attached to this decision notice.

HMPPS approached GMCA in February 2022 having identified an internal Reducing Reoffending budget underspend. The addendum attached to the original Decision notice ( was agreed and signed on the 24th March 2022 which sets out the terms and conditions of this funding.

The Addendum sets out two funding areas to deliver in-year (2021/22) capital and outcomes targets. The first funding area is to assist reduce women’ re-offending and £1,000,000 was allocated against this target. The second area of spend is specifically limited to GMIRS providers of £400,000 for capital investment to strengthen the offer of these providers for people on probation.

Key stakeholders have agreed the funding allocations, including GMCA and the relevant HMPPS departments. These proposals are in line with Greater Manchester’s ambition to increase the alignment of services to avoid fragmented delivery and to improve support for people on probation by recognising and supporting voluntary and community assets that already exist within Greater Manchester.

HMPPS have identified an underspend and have approached regions to identify resource and capital spend and GM is one of the three identified areas to receive funding.

The allocation is in-year funding for 2021-22. However, in the case of small and medium sized enterprises (SME) providers we have secured agreement that capital investments can be purchased after this date and then reconciled to this financial year through the MOU and addendum with specific terms and conditions. GMCA finance representative have been involved in all stages.

The funding conditions set out in the addendum cover two areas; Reducing Women’s Reoffending and GMIRS Providers Capital Investment.
Reducing reoffending allows for:-
• On-site support
• Emotional regulation that includes but is not limited to, Dependency and recovery, health improvement offers for women and the broader reducing reoffending landscape including restorative justice, analytics, drugs early warning system.
• Off-site support

An asset register will be maintained to ensure all spend is against agreed decisions and a final reconciliation can be undertaken once the provider has purchased the items.


A senior governance board for GMIRS oversees and scrutinises the overall programme of work, including this spending plan

It has been agreed to support specific projects with capital spend relating to the original decision notice, those extra projects will be;

Back on Track - Refurbishment of Wellbeing room: £9,850
The Women’s Alliance - Cyber Essentials: £11,760
The Women’s Alliance - Vetting: £2,000

It presents an excellent opportunity to develop public health and harm reduction approaches with GMP for a relatively small investment.

GMP do not currently have a bespoke Drugs Policy or Strategy and this cross cutting thematic is widely acknowledged as a demand driver in crime and health provision.

Jason Kew is a subject matter expert and former Detective Chief Inspector with Thames Valley Police and Violence Reduction Unit.

He led the development of Thames Valley’s cross sector Drug Related Harm Reduction Forum, fusing together partnerships, communities, and service providers to enable the joint commissioning of diversion schemes, peer recovery worker Naloxone training for drug users and police officers, and the installation of needle exchange points in custody suites.

He was the Home Office appointed Southeast Heroin and Crack Action Area Coordinator and undertook a yearlong review into drug use, supply, and harm reduction across the Southeast. He is a member of The Faculty for Public Health, has a fellowship with the University of South Wales Substance Use Research Group, and serves on the Boards of the ISSUP (International Society for Substance Use Professionals) and GLEPHA (Global Law Enforcement and Public Health).

The decision is that:
GMCA and GMP will jointly fund consultancy work led by Jason Kew to develop a GMP and GMCA Drug Framework and Delivery Plan.

The cost of 10 days of Jason Kew’s services will be £4,750 inclusive of all expenses and taxes.

An Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS) bid has been approved by GMP for £2,375 (half the total costs). Matched funding of £2,375 will be provided by GMCA.

It is proposed that that over a period of two months he will:

• Work alongside Mark Knight the Strategic Lead for Substance Misuse at GMCA, who is fully sighted and supportive of this proposal and bid;
• Conduct research into existing drug strategies, and align recommendations with national and regional GMP and GMCA strategic objectives;
• Consult with the National Police Chief Council Drugs Lead (Mark Lay, who has agreed to work with Jason) as well as regional drugs leads and experts from ISSUP (International Society for Substance Use Professionals) and other academic and medical expert forums, to identify solutions and innovative approaches not already considered by existing drug strategies; and
• Engage at every opportunity with people with lived experience and draw upon the knowledge and experience of those people to shape the delivery of the final framework, attending either in person or remotely (where permitted), strategic, stakeholder, and community meetings.

Three local authorities will be taking forward an accelerated change management programme to implement the new Adolescent Safeguarding Framework with direct support from the VRU. Local authority Directors of Children’s Services (DCSs) have asked for the procurement of an expert change management consultant to support implementation of Phase 1. Zoe Appleton Consulting (ZAC) has been identified as an appropriate expert change consultant at at a cost of £60k for six months starting December 2022.

To approve the Zoe Appleton Consulting (ZAC) to deliver Change Management support to three GM local Authorities (to be selected by the VRU in December 2022), to implement the Adolescent Safeguarding Framework as agreed at November 2022 GM Children’s Board.


To be delivered December 2022 to May 2023
Value £60,000

There is currently a great deal of media publicity and topical debate related to school-based harassment, bullying and the pressures faced by the native digital generation impacting on mental health and resilience. Schools are well placed to support young people to use technology safely but given the 24/7 nature of digital communications cannot do so efficiently in isolation. There is a call for GM school to access staff for training and programme for their young person in tandem with effective parental engagement and a whole community approach to online protocols.

The GM VRU invited expressions of interest and requested quotes via the network of extended partners connected to the four VRU delivery strands between May – July 2022.

Further to the previously published Decision Notice. This notice is an amendment of an original notice published in September 2022 takes into account the additional charges in respect of administrative work, not factored in the original notice which was to the value of £34,999.

The GM VRU are seeking to award Zoe Appleton Consultancy £44,999 to deliver phase 3 of the Social Switch Project for safer digital access for Young People across Greater Manchester over the academic year 2022/23 between September 2022 and July 2023.

The project specification has been distributed between VRU partners via the delivery strand networks and extended to partners across GM.
Having received one return in the form of a fully costed proposal, Zoe Appleton Consulting are deemed able to deliver against the specification criteria.

Zoe Appleton Consultancy was previously awarded £46,800 to deliver phase 1 and 2 of the Social Switch programme out of the 2020/21 and 2021/22 Serious Violence funding following a successful quote submission. The funding amount awarded to Zoe Appleton since the 2021/22 funding cycle totals to £91,799

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The VRU communications strategy has three key objectives:
1. Raise awareness of how Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) is working together with partners and the community to address serious violence and its underlying causes.
2. Promote an alternative to violence by showcasing opportunities for people affected by violence and build aspirations for young people through campaigns and communications activity.
3. Demonstrate the impact of the VRU in reducing serious violence, especially violence amongst young people.

To deliver against these objectives, the VRU has a content plan for the year.
This includes using our existing channels (VRU website, social media accounts, earned media) to reach young people and parents with key messages;
- Positive alternatives to violence
- Opportunities
- Voice of lived experience - other young people, members of the community
- Violence reduction campaigns

We are continually trying to grow the number of young people we reach with our messages and are keen to use radio as a new way of reaching people by tapping into existing and regular audiences.

The VRU is seeking a supplier to produce and air radio content specifically aimed at young people in Greater Manchester. We are looking to use radio as an additional way of reaching more young people and young people that can be hard to reach through our existing platforms – VRU website and social channels.

Content to be determined by young people but to include key topics, guest interviews etc.

The budget for this commission has been set at a maximum of £30,000.

As set out in the attached Part B report

1. Confirmation that the indicative preferred bidder has satisfied the validation phase and is the preferred bidder is noted;
2. The contract be awarded to the preferred bidder in respect of the Bolton Large Local Service Contract for Sub Area A as set out in the report, and
3. The preferred bidder and other bidders of the contract award decision be notified in accordance with the Utility Contracts Regulations 2016 and all commercial and contractual arrangements to give effect to the decision be finalised;
4. It is noted that the Monitoring Officer has authority to enter into all necessary arrangements to give effect to the above.

As set out in the attached Part B report

1. Confirmation that the indicative preferred bidder has satisfied the validation phase and is the preferred bidder is noted;

2. The contract be awarded to the preferred bidder in respect of the small Local Service Contracts for Sub Area A as set out in the report;

3. The preferred bidder and other bidders of the contract award decision be notified in accordance with the Utility Contracts Regulations 2016;

4. All commercial and contractual arrangements to give effect to the decision be finalised;

5. Note that the Monitoring Officer has delegated authority to enter into all necessary arrangements to give effect to the above.

As set out in the attached Part B report

1. Confirmation that the indicative preferred bidder has satisfied the validation phase and is the preferred bidder is noted;
2. The contract be awarded to the preferred bidder in respect of the Wigan Large Local Service Contract for Sub Area A as set out in the report, and
3. The preferred bidder and other bidders of the contract award decision be notified in accordance with the Utility Contracts Regulations 2016 and all commercial and contractual arrangements to give effect to the decision be finalised;
4. It is noted that the Monitoring Officer has authority to enter into all necessary arrangements to give effect to the above.