| Notes |
https://www.london.gov.uk/decisions/dd2432-receipt-and-expenditure-funding-vital-strategies
DD2432 Receipt and Expenditure of funding from Vital Strategies
Type of decision:
Director's decision
Code:
DD2432
Date signed:
17 February 2020
Decision by:
Sarah Mulley, Executive Director Communities and Skills
Executive summary
This decision seeks approval for the GLA to receive external grant funding to the value of USD $50,000. The transfer will be in pounds sterling £40,179 from Vital Strategies on behalf of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Partnership for GLA’s Healthy Cities Programme. This funding will enable the GLA to commission a Phase 2 Healthy Years London (HEYL) plan to develop new models of support for increasing the number of HEYL settings implementing food standards that meet England's Voluntary Food and Drink Guidelines. This will be implemented in up to 10 boroughs with high child overweight/obesity in Reception school year aged children 4/5 years in 2020/21.
This is additional funding to the approximate $100,000 given by Vital Strategies on behalf of Bloomberg to HEYL in 2017-19 for Phase 1 funding and Evaluation of Healthy Early Years London which completed in December 2019.
Bloomberg (via Vital Strategies) will in total give the GLA USD $150,000 between 2017-20 for HEYL.
Decision
That the Executive Director of Communities & Skills approves:
1. the receipt of funding of the value of USD $50,000 from Vital Strategies on behalf of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Partnership Healthy Cities Programme; and
2. expenditure of the same to commission a Phase 2 plan to develop new models of support for increasing the number of Healthy Years London (HEYL) settings implementing food standards that meet England's Voluntary Food and Drink Guidelines. This will be implemented in up to 10 boroughs with high child overweight/obesity in Reception school year aged children (4/5 years).
Part 1: Non-confidential facts and advice
In 2017, the Mayor accepted an invitation extended by Bloomberg Philanthropies to participate in the $5 million Partnership for Healthy Cities (PHC) Initiative. The PHC is a global network of cities committed to saving lives by preventing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries. The Partnership engages cities across the globe and provides technical, financial, and communication support to bring visibility to the cities’ work on NCD and injury prevention. The Partnership is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Vital Strategies as implementing partners.
On 20 September 2017, Bloomberg Philanthropies approved HEYL’s proposal to commission a process and impact evaluation of the first year of the Healthy Early Years London programme which concluded in December 2019. Approval for Phase 1 funding for the receipt and expenditure of $100,000 from Bloomberg Philanthropies to commission the evaluation, was approved through DD2158 and MD2439 (attached). Cavill Associates were commissioned to undertake the evaluation and finalised a report in December 2019.
In October 2019, Vital Strategies approved Healthy Early Years London’s September 2019 Phase 2 submission and implementation plan to improve early years menu provision in up to 10 boroughs with high child overweight/obesity at Reception age 4/5 years and will grant the GLA an additional grant of USD $50,000 for the period of 1 November 2019 to 31 December 2020. The transfer will be in pounds £40,179 and will be made in April 2020. A sub-grant agreement has been issued for signature by the GLA and Vital Strategies.
Global Recognition: Last year the Mayor’s Healthy Early Years London programme featured in a new World Health Organisation Cities report, released on 31st October 2019 World Cities Day http://www.who.int/ncds/publications/tackling-ncds-in-cities/en/ and HEYL case study https://www.who.int/ncds/publications/London-case-study-final.pdf?ua=1. Additionally, in the Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer, 2019 Health, our global asset – partnering for progress, Michael Bloomberg stated, ‘’In London, Mayor Khan’s administration is pioneering a comprehensive approach to improving childhood nutrition, the Healthy Early Years London program.’’
We currently have 218 early years settings that have achieved the HEYL Bronze Award and met England’s Voluntary food and drink guidelines and so are serving healthy food to their under-fives in childcare. The current HEYL Evaluation which concluded in December 2019, assessed the extent to which settings comply with the Voluntary Food and Drink guidelines for Early Years settings in England. It has identified local capacity issues for supporting settings in meeting the guidelines and reaching the most deprived children and families. With this Phase 2 funding, we need to:
• explore how HEYL, local authorities and partner agencies can better support and quality assure settings implementing these guidelines effectively e.g. for staff, caterers and boroughs to be able to understand and implement the guidelines, check menus and improve food/drink provision overall and to encourage children and families to choose, prepare, cook, eat and drink healthily, particularly in boroughs with high child overweight and obesity in Reception aged children;
• consider the impact of ongoing local austerity measures on local capacity to support and quality assure HEYL settings implementing these guidelines and achieving HEYL awards; and
• modify the HEYL Framework and Bronze award audit tool to make it more user-friendly so to encourage accelerated achievement of HEYL Bronze. |