The London Assembly has today
welcomed the £3 million secured by Southall Black Sisters through
the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) for the London
Holistic Advocacy Wrap Around Service, which supports migrant
women with No Recourse to Public Funds facing abuse and
destitution.
The Assembly also noted the service has helped
hundreds with accommodation and thousands more through specialist
support but raised concern over a recent six-month funding gap
that put vital services and skilled staff at risk. It highlights
that short-term funding cycles undermine stability for frontline
organisations and the vulnerable Londoners who rely on them.
In a motion agreed today, the Assembly called on
the Mayor to prevent future funding cliff edges by guaranteeing
ringfenced, long-term funding for ‘by and for' organisations,
engaging meaningfully with them on future funding criteria, and
introducing transparent monitoring to ensure commitments are met.
Zoë Garbett AM, who proposed the motion, said:
“Yet many are trying to do this work while dealing with
piecemeal funding that makes it incredibly difficult to plan
ahead or keep services running consistently.”
“The LHAWAS service run by Southall Black Sisters, which
supports migrant women with no recourse to public funds shows
what happens when that funding falls through the cracks. The
service provides safe accommodation, casework, counselling and
immigration advice for migrant women of colour who are often left
with nowhere else to go. When funding dries up, support like this
is put at risk.”
“This is a clear example of why London needs reliable and
long-term funding that is properly ring-fenced so organisations
can keep providing the support that so many people rely on.”
AM, who seconded the
motion, said:
"Small charities provide vital, life-saving services to some
of London's most vulnerable people, but they cannot operate
effectively when their funding can disappear off a cliff edge at
short notice.
“This motion calls on the Mayor to prevent future funding
gaps by guaranteeing ring-fenced, long-term funding to ensure
vital services can plan with certainty for the future."
The full text of the motion is:
“This Assembly notes with appreciation the £3 million in funding
secured by Southall Black Sisters (SBS) through work with Mayor's
Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).
Southhall Black Sisters lead the London Holistic Advocacy Wrap
Around Services (LHAWAS), in in partnership with the Asian
Women's Resource Centre (AWRC), Ashiana Network, Solace Women's
Aid (SWA), and nia since 2019. LHAWAS is a lifeline for some of
London's most vulnerable people – migrant women with No Recourse
to Public Funds (NRPF) who are facing domestic abuse,
exploitation, and destitution.
Over the years, it has supported more than 700 migrant
victim-survivors with accommodation and subsistence, and
thousands more through specialist casework, counselling,
immigration advice, and training for professionals. However, this
Assembly also notes that last year MOPAC notified SBS that
funding would end in September 2025 with any new funding only
beginning in April 2026 in the new budget year, if awarded. This
left a six-month cliff-edge for services provided by LHAWAS.
Interim funding was ultimately found from a private donor but the
risk to the women using these life-saving services was severe.
For services in any sector to be effective and viable in the
long-term, funding frameworks must not allow for these gaps,
which could cause vital services from small and grassroots
organisations to be lost, and vulnerable people to be harmed.
This Assembly acknowledges that it is not just provision of
service that is affected by funding gaps, but highly skilled
staff who are embedded in communities are at risk of being forced
out of their sector by funding uncertainty that puts their jobs
and therefore their own personal financial security at
risk. While GLA and MOPAC budgets are decided on an almost
annual basis, services to improve the lives of Londoners - from
VAWG survivors to programmes for young people - cannot be
effective it they are essentially paused and then restarted.
We, the London Assembly call on the Mayor to remedy these
shortfalls by:
- Acknowledging his duty to prevent future funding cliff edges
by guaranteeing ring-fenced, long-term funding for a meaningful
time period, for example five years, for ‘by and for'
organisations;
- Engaging in meaningful dialogue with ‘by and for'
organisations to ensure new funding strands support partnership
working and reflect the needs of marginalised communities, with
openness to reconsider funding criteria if required; and
- Establishing transparent monitoring and accountability
mechanisms to ensure commitments are met.”
Notes to editors:
- The Motion was agreed by 14 for and 9 against
