Policy paper

Third Party Hate Crime Reporting Service Fund: prospectus

Updated 3 December 2021

This policy paper was withdrawn on 21 March 2022

This content has been withdrawn as this scheme is now closed. See information on the Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) welcome programme.

Applies to England

Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) Welcome Programme

Prospectus for applicants for: BN(O) status holders and East and Southeast Asian (ESA) Third Party Hate Crime Reporting Service Fund

Introduction

A new immigration route opened on 31 January 2021, providing British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) status holders and their eligible family members with the opportunity to come to the UK to live, study and work, on a pathway to citizenship.

This new route reflects the UK’s historic and moral commitment to those people of Hong Kong who chose to retain their ties to the UK by taking up BN(O) status at the point of Hong Kong’s handover to China in 1997.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is leading delivery of a £43.1 million HMG funded national ‘Welcome Programme’ to support BN(O) status holders and their eligible family members to help them to successfully settle in their new communities.

The Welcome Programme has the following elements:

• English language and destitution support: funding is available for local authorities to support BN(O) status holders and their family members in need, and has also been provided to deliver similar activity in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 
• An online resource providing all those on the BN(O) route with information, (also translated into Cantonese) on how to access services and understand life in the UK. Similar resources are being produced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• 12 new Welcome Hubs, across the whole of the UK, to prepare for the arrival of BN(O) status holders and their families, ensuring they have their own ‘welcome’ in place and local areas have capacity to integrate the new arrivals into communities. This is using the existing infrastructure of the Strategic Migration Partnerships.  
• National and Regional Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) funds to bolster community led activities, from befriending to employability support.   
• As part of the national VCSE fund, MHCLG in collaboration with the Department for Education (DfE), will support the development of dedicated Hong Kong educational resources for schools so that they can teach young people about our historic connection and commitment to Hong Kong and its people, and celebrate the contribution of the Hong Kong-British Diaspora to the UK.
• Funding is also being provided to deliver a hate crime reporting service for BN(O) status holders and other people of East and South-East Asian descent, to deliver hate crime reporting services and a hate crime helpline and website.

The aims of the Welcome Programme are to:

• Enable BN(O) status holders and their eligible family members to fully contribute to life in the UK, both economically and socially, enriching our society.
• Provide support to both resident communities and BN(O) status holders and their families to feel safe and welcome, as well as ensuring any hate crime is tackled in a timely way.
• Allow BN(O) status holders and their families to feel fully part of British society, able to mix confidently with people of all backgrounds and provide a positive contribution to the UK and the areas in which they settle
• Ensure that any instances of destitution and underemployment in the BN(O) status holder cohort is minimised and addressed through effective support.

Hate Crime Reporting Service

We are providing £300,000 to deliver a BN(O) status holders and East and Southeast Asian (ESA) Third Party Hate Crime Reporting Service, translated into relevant languages, and a hate crime helpline and website. The service will provide reporting and engagement services, including a helpline and website, for BN(O) status holders and their eligible family members living in the United Kingdom and also for all other people of East and Southeast Asian (ESA) descent, to report incidents of hate crime in the UK. The Hate Crime Reporting Service will provide support to both resident communities and BN(O) status holders to make them feel safe and welcome.

What are we looking for?

The overall scope of the work is to develop a service to report and capture the incidents of hate crime, the nature, range, and numbers, to help address such incidents and provide measures and mitigation. The design and implementation of a helpline and website to record hate incidents will provide a valuable tool to underpin any new measures to address such incidents.

We want a service that can increase the geographical reach of any existing reporting service to ensure it is available for all parts of the UK by actively and positively engaging with the community and its leaders.

Objectives and outputs

Objectives

We are looking for an organisation in England to develop a third-party reporting service to:

1. Help BN(O) status holders and other ESA communities resident in the UK to report hate incidents both physical, verbal and online, which will then be triaged to the relevant or appropriate authorities, for example, the Police services (which will need relevant data sharing agreements in place).
2. Engage broadly with resident communities in the development of such a third-party reporting system with recommendations to MHCLG on the structure of the system following such engagement and before implementation.
3. Develop appropriate functionality (including appropriate languages for the intended service users) as part of the reporting system, including advertising in different languages – exploring the potential of employment or volunteering of BN(O) and other ESA communities directly to provide this function. We will ask in the application form about your plans to translate the service into appropriate languages.
4. Raise awareness of the third-party service among service providers such as local authorities, across the 12 UK Welcome Hubs (Strategic Migration Partnerships), police forces and victim support services.
5. Run a communications and engagement exercise with resident communities to build awareness of reporting hate crime and to encourage better rates of reporting.
6. Ensure the integrity and robustness of the data reported, by working with academic groups to gain knowledge of data-reporting processes which will aid the regular supply of reporting data to MHCLG and other government departments to understand the rate of hate crime against BN(O) status holders and other ESA communities.

Each of the above deliverables will provide a safe and credible resource – with buy-in from the community – for BN(O) status holders and other people of East and Southeast Asian descent to report hate crimes. It will also provide a valuable resource to learn lessons and share issues.

Outputs

The key project outputs are:

1. A communications plan (implemented) which engages with national civil society groups with a high proportion of BN(O)s, and other people of East and Southeast Asian descent with a view to sharing insights and best practice on the most appropriate way to increase the rate of reporting of hate crime.

2. A helpline and website, available in relevant languages, to help with the reporting of hate crime and to provide advice and support to those who need it. A service where reporting is escalated and/or brought to the attention of the police and other authorities, and that facilitates links/referrals into victim support/counselling for victims.

3. A system to capture relevant and robust data including numbers of reports made, the nature and range of incidents, and actions taken because of the reports, by collaborating with academic resources and organisations to ensure the integrity of their data collection systems.

The organisation will provide and present to the Department the following specific deliverables:

1. A draft sample/template of the proposed website to help the reporting of hate crime.

2. The modalities for the setting up of a helpline to run in tandem with the website and how the information will be processed and made available to the relevant authorities including the police for necessary action.

3. A proposal of engagement in areas with high proportions of BN(O) status holders and other ESA communities.

4. A data-sharing agreement with the police services to facilitate the sharing of relevant information including incident-reporting.

5. Set up a monthly reporting system for MHCLG to access data on the number of calls and how these break down to physical, verbal, online hate crime, geographical spread etc.

6. Provision of standardised victim satisfaction surveys for victims to measure quality of experience.

Eligibility

We are looking for an organisation to deliver the third-party reporting service. A full list of eligible groups can be found below.

• Be a legally constituted organisation or have statutory powers. Individuals, sole traders and limited liability partnerships are not eligible.
• Have been established for at least two years, as evidenced by the public register of charities/companies or otherwise
• Have a registered bank account in the name of the organisation
• Be able to demonstrate fair and transparent governance arrangements
• Be able to demonstrate appropriate safeguarding policies if working with children or vulnerable adults
• Disclose information of all government funding received and applied for in the last 2 years. This includes funding received for other projects and purposes
• If previously funded by MHCLG or the Home Office, have met all previous conditions to be considered eligible for future funding
• Not draw any form of profit margin

Individuals are not eligible to apply but should work with the groups set out above.

Organisations must be based in England.

Proposals must include provision for both BN(O) status holders and other people of East and Southeast Asian descent.

All organisations selected will be required to undergo mandatory due diligence checks as a means of ensuring the government is not subject to potential reputational damage.

We would expect applicants to be of good financial - standing irrespective of the grant, and, through due diligence procedures, would expect that successful organisations do not receive the majority of their funding from central government.

Organisations chosen to receive grant funding must ensure that they comply with the UK’s international obligations in respect of subsidies.

Organisations applying to other Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) Welcome program grant schemes are eligible to apply for the BN(O) status holders and East and Southeast Asian (ESA) Third Party Hate Crime Reporting Service Fund but must present a distinct offer as part of this scheme.

Funding

We are looking to fund one project to deliver the Hate Crime Reporting Service.

The total amount of funding available is £300,000 in the financial year 2021/2022.

We are encouraging applicants to submit proposals for projects that will be operational quickly after being notified that they are successful, which we expect to do in early October. Delivery of your project will need to be completed by the end of March 2022. Organisations are also encouraged to consider the legacy of their project. The ability or intent to continue the service independently after MHCLG funding has ended in March 2022 will be influential in fund allocation.

Given the nature and scope of this scheme, we are looking to fund a project that could be available across the UK. Depending on the number and scale of bids received, MHCLG may ask organisations to scale up or scale down their proposals.

MHCLG will consider continuing elements in future financial years, subject to the Spending Review process.

Timelines and process

Overview: Timelines (subject to change)

• 29 July: Applications open
• 1 September: Applications close
• September: MHCLG assess bids and conduct due diligence
• October: MHCLG award grant
• October - December: organisation works with national civil society groups with a high proportion of BN(O) status holders and other people of ESA descent to share insights and best practice on the most appropriate way to increase the rate of reporting of hate crime
• October - December: organisation designs process by which reports of hate crime reported is escalated and/or brought to the attention of the police and other authorities
• October - December: organisation designs a system to capture relevant data including number of reports made and actions taken
• December: Organisation implements helpline and website to help the reporting of hate crime. Organisation implements data reporting system.
• 31 March 2022: All funds committed and core delivery ends

The selected organisation will be expected to commence and complete delivery in line with the dates set out above.

Roles and responsibilities

MHCLG will:

• Promote the prospectus.
• Review funding proposals using the scoring criteria set out in the scoring system section of this document.
• Seek Ministerial agreement for the selected funding proposal. 
• Complete due diligence checks of recipients of approved funding. 
• Notify recipients of the funding. 
• Establish grant agreements with selected organisation.
• Establish and undertake monitoring and evaluation.

Bidding organisations will:

• Ensure proposals submitted are in the standardised form provided and contain clear costings, outputs and outcomes for activities.
• Cooperate fully with the assessment and due diligence process.
• If selected, deliver the agreed proposals, including outputs and outcomes, set out in their bid within the timescales and budget set out in their application.
• If selected, deliver in line with the Key Performance Indicators set out in the Grant Funding Agreement, including collecting data on the number of people engaging with and using the third-party reporting service.
• If selected, engage with local communities and stakeholders to design and implement the service.
• If selected, commit to engaging fully in monitoring and evaluation requirements.
• If selected for funding, sign a grant funding agreement with MHCLG.
• Comply with data protection requirements and obligations such as GDPR.

Scoring system

Bids will be assessed against the 10 criteria listed below with a maximum of 3 points available for each criterion. After each criterion is scored the results will be totalled to give the bid a score out of 30. Further details about the assessment of bids can be found in the Scoring Process of this document. The 10 criteria bids will be assessed against are:

1. Proposals should detail the knowledge and experience the applicant has in delivering victim support services at a national level.

2. It is essential that projects include clearly defined outputs and outcomes these should be specific and identify how they will be measured. The proposal must include the rationale for setting these outputs and outcomes.

3. Proposals must include a timetable for delivery that meets the requirements set out in the timeline and process section of this document. Proposals should expand on this and detail all their proposed delivery dates.

4. The proposal should clearly articulate the key activities that make up the proposal and why they will lead to the achievement of the proposal’s objectives.

5. Proposals should include the planned legacy of the project after March 2022.

6. Demonstration of an understanding of the barriers victims of hate crime face in reporting a hate crime, in particular those faced by people targeted by this service, and how the project will assist victims to overcome those barriers.

7. The proposal should detail how the project will engage with and promote the hate crime reporting service among key stakeholders such as local authorities, SMPs, BN(O) status holders, other ESA communities, and local and national community organisations.

8. Demonstrate how the project will meet the diverse language needs of BN(O) status holders and other ESA communities enabling them to access the service.

A minimum score of 1 for both the criteria Value for money and risk is required for a proposal to be considered for funding. In addition, a minimum score of 3 when the scores for Value for money and risk are combined is required for a proposal to be considered for funding.

9. The application should demonstrate strong value for money. The cost specified should be proportionate to the outcomes achieved and expected number of BN(O) status holders and other ESA communities reached. Value for money could be demonstrated by detailing the following:

• the use of experience to provide robust costings, including costs per output to present the best use of money.
• all costs and any other funding are profiled in a sensible way to provide confidence in capability to commit all funding to activities by 31 March 2022.
• describe any match funding that they have secured. Lack of match funding will not disqualify a project from the programme.

10. Applications should show evidence of a realistic understanding of potential financial and delivery risks, including counter fraud and mitigations to address them.

Summary of scoring process for award of funds

The combined score for each bid based on the combined score of criteria 1-10 will be out of 30. Bids will be placed in priority order based on their score out of 30. Scores generated from the scoring process will be used to arranged bids in a priority list, from highest total score to lowest total score.

This priority list will be submitted to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government as a recommendation as to the allocation of funding. The final decision as to which applications receive what level of funding will rest with the Secretary of State.

Monitoring and evaluation

The selected organisation must comply with evaluation and monitoring requirements.

Evaluation: the project will be expected to complete an evaluation at the end of the delivery period. MHCLG will provide a template to complete. Successful organisations will also be asked to produce a statement of grant usage upon completion of the grant period.

Monitoring: at bi-monthly intervals, projects will be expected to provide a reporting update to MHCLG. This reporting template will ask for an update on project progress, information on any delays and reasons for these, key risks, and upcoming milestones.

How to apply

Please send completed applications to HKHateCrimeReportingGrant@communities.gov.uk by 23:59 on 1 September 2021. If you have any questions about the application process, please send these to the same email address, HKHateCrimeReportingGrant@communities.gov.uk

Scoring process

Assessment criteria  

  Assessment of bids will be carried out by MHCLG following the end of the submission period. 

Proposals will be assessed how well they meet each scoring criteria using the table below.  Proposals can receive up to 3 points for fully meeting a criteria requirement. Proposals will be marked against the 10 scoring criteria to generate a total score out of 30.  

A minimum score of 1 for each of the criteria Value for money and risk is required for proposals to be considered for funding. In addition, a minimum score of 3 when the scores for Value for money and risk are combined is required for proposals to be considered for funding.

Criteria	Criteria Description	Scoring Guide
1. knowledge and experience	Proposals should detail the knowledge and experience the applicant has in delivering victim support services at a national level.	No experience of delivering national projects, no detail of how this would be mitigated. Score = 0 Some knowledge of operating national grant funded projects, this may be in a different area. Score = 1 The proposal builds on knowledge gained from delivering similar grant funded projects. The proposal shows awareness of how the project will be delivered. Score =2 The proposal is based on experience of delivering multiple successful projects in a similar grant funded area. The proposal is logically structured and shows where experience is being applied. Score = 3
2. outputs and outcomes	It is essential that projects include clearly defined outputs and outcomes these should be specific and identify how they will be measured. The proposal must include the rationale for setting these outputs and outcomes.	No method of measuring outcomes or outputs outlined. Score = 0 Outputs and outcomes are defined along with method for measuring. However, the methods are not specific and do not define how outputs and outcomes will be measured. Score = 1 Outputs and outcomes are defined and there is a specific method for measurement. There is a rationale why the outputs and outcomes were chosen. Score = 2 There is a specific method for measuring outputs and outcomes that feeds into the project and enable the project to adapt its delivery. There is a rationale why the outputs and outcomes were chosen. Score = 3
3. timetable	Proposals must include a timetable for delivery that meets the requirements set out in the Timelines and process section of this document. Proposals should expand on this and detail all their proposed delivery dates.	Proposal does not outline a timetable.  Score = 0 Proposal includes a timetable that will deliver the requirements, but not at the required times.   Score = 1 The proposal includes a detailed timetable that will meet the delivery requirements.   Score = 2 The proposal includes a detailed timetable that will meet the delivery requirements. This includes further project delivery points and links to project actions.  Score = 3
4. activities	The proposal should clearly articulate the key activities that make up the proposal and why they will lead to the achievement of the proposal’s objectives.	No key activities listed.  Score = 0 Key activities are listed and linked to the timeline.  Score = 1 Key activities are listed, linked into the deliver timeline and detail how they will enable the project to fulfil the stated outcomes.  Score = 2 There is a delivery plan for the key activities, this includes how they will be delivered as well as when, with details of the intermediate steps involved. Score = 3
5. legacy	Proposals should include the planned legacy of the project after March 2022.	There is no planned legacy after March 2022.   Score = 0 Legacy is discussed but there are no commitments or plans past the project end date. Score = 1 Legacy has been considered and is part of the planning, the project will have impact after March 2022. Score = 2 The proposal has a plan to ensure the project’s legacy, this could be through additional funding, use of outcomes to impact other services or other means. Score = 3
6. overcome barriers	Demonstration of an understanding of the barriers victims of hate crime face in reporting a hate crime, in particular those faced by proposed users of this service, and how the project will assist victims to overcome those barriers.	The proposal contains no plan to overcome barriers.  Score = 0 The proposal contains a plan to overcome barriers, but it is vague and is not specific to this project. Score = 1 The proposal has a strategy for overcoming barriers and is specific to this project. Score = 2 The proposal has a strategy for overcoming barriers and is specific to this project. The strategy is able to change based on feedback from stakeholders and details how this could happen. Score = 3
7. engage stakeholders	The proposal should detail how the project will engage with and promote the hate crime reporting service among key stakeholders such as local authorities, SMPs, BN(O) status holders and other East and Southeast Asian communities, and local and national community organisations.	Proposal does not address how they will engage stakeholders or proposal does not have plans to engage both the specific BN(O) community and other ESA communities. Score = 0 Proposal has a plan for how they will engage stakeholders of both the BN(O) community and other ESA communities, but the plan is vague. Score = 1 Proposal has a plan for how it will engage and promote the project to stakeholders it includes named examples of stakeholders who will be engaged. The proposal must include plans to engage with both the BN(O) community and other ESA communities. Score = 2 Proposal has a detailed plan for how it will engage and promote the project to stakeholders including both the BN(O) community and other ESA communities. It includes named examples of stakeholders. There has already been some engagement and the feedback has been built into the project outcomes and overview. Score = 3
8. diverse language needs	Demonstrate how the project will meet the diverse language needs of both BN(O) status holders and other ESA communities enabling them to access the service.	No language needs addressed.  Score = 0 Proposal includes provision for services to be offered in more than one language with justification of how the languages on offer will support both BN(O) status holders and other ESA communities. There may not be 24 hour or partial provision. Score = 1 Proposal includes provision for all services to be offered at least bilingually, this includes both web based and phone based services. The proposal has justification of how the languages chosen will support both BN(O) status holders and other ESA communities. Score = 2 Proposal includes provision for all services to be offered in multiple languages, this includes both web based and phone based services. The language planning is justified in the proposal and forms a core of the project. The proposal has justification of how the languages chosen will support both BN(O) status holders and other ESA communities. Score = 3
9. value for money	The application should demonstrate strong value for money. The cost specified should be proportionate to the outcomes achieved and expected number of both BN(O) status holders and other ESA communities reached. Value for money could be demonstrated by detailing the following: - the use of experience to provide robust costings, including costs per output to present the best use of money. - all costs and any other funding are profiled in a sensible way to provide confidence in capability to commit all funding to activities by 31 March 2022. - describe any match funding that they have secured. Lack of match funding will not disqualify a project from the programme.	Proposal does not include costings, there is no cost profiling.  Score = 0 Proposal includes costings and details the numbers of both BN(O) status holders and other ESA communities the project could support. Funds are projected to be fully committed by 31 March 2022.  Score = 1 Proposal includes detailed costing and profiling for the length of the project. These costs are linked to the project plan and number of both BN(O) status holders and other ESA communities reached. Funds are projected to be fully committed by 31 March 2022.  Score = 2 Proposal includes detailed costing and profiling for the length of the project. These costs are linked to the project plan and number of both BN(O) status holders and other ESA communities reached. Funds are projected to be fully committed by 31 March 2022. Match funding has been secured.  Score = 3
10. risks	Applications should show evidence of a realistic understanding of potential financial and delivery risks, including counter fraud and mitigations to address them.	The proposal does not identify or address any risks. Score = 0 The proposal identifies potential risks, some mitigations outlined.  Score = 1 Proposal outlines delivery and financial risks and has planned mitigations listed.   Score = 2 Proposal outlines delivery and financial risks and has planned mitigations listed. There is a method of monitoring and controlling risks listed, further risk policy documents are referenced (contingency plans, risk register, anti-fraud policy etc).  Score = 3