2022-2023 was another exceptional year for MindWise during which we launched our new five year strategy Our Strategy: What we're going to achieve in 2022-2027 (mindwisenv.org) which lays out our plans for the years ahead (2022-2027). The targets set for the first year 2022-2023 were ambitious! However, amidst the absence of a functioning government, a Northern Ireland Executive Budget, a healthcare workforce crisis, a cost-of-living crisis and the legacy issues of Covid-19 MindWise has continued to go from strength to strength.
Most importantly we continued to support and expand our operations across Northern Ireland. Our Housing services directly supported 328 people; our Community services supported 832 people; our Psychological Therapists supported 787 people and our Information, Advice and Advocacy Services supported 5,728 people. In addition, we delivered educational programmes to employers who are committed to creating mentally healthy workplaces for their staff, and notably we reached 665 employees through these programmes. We also delivered mental health resiliency programmes to over 110 cohorts in schools and community groups across Northern Ireland, allowing us to reach 3,885 children and young people. In short, we supported more people throughout the year than we had planned, and we envisage reaching even more people in the years ahead. High quality community based mental health services are desperately needed in Northern Ireland and MindWise continues to be a service provider, an employer and partner of choice for most.
In support of our work, I would like to take this opportunity to particularly thank the Agnew Group. MindWise has been Agnew Charity Partner for nearly three years now and without their support we could not have developed and expanded our work with children and young people. Building our children’s resiliency remains a primary goal for MindWise and wider society, yet all too often our children are forgotten. Notably the health budget continues to be expended on adult services (92% approximately) while child and young people’s mental health services struggle with the remaining 8%; there appears to be no real drive for change. However, MindWise will continue to push for increased investment in child and adolescent mental health services throughout the life span of Our Strategy and beyond. During this last year we commissioned, via the All-Party Working Group on Mental Health, an Enquiry into the provision of Mental Health Education and Early Intervention across education settings in Northern Ireland. The report will be launched in 2023 and it is hoped that this will take us a step further in securing the much needed support for our children.
In commending this Trustees’ Report I would be remiss if I were not to thank our highly valued, dedicated and respected team (staff, volunteers and clients) which works together to ensure everyone who comes into contact with MindWise is supported to live their best lives. I would also like to say a special thanks to those trustees', including Tom Haire, Chairperson, who retired during the year, leaving a well governed organisation.
We have much to be proud off and yet there remains much to be done!
The trustees as directors of Mind Wise New Vision (hereafter called ‘MindWise’), present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019).
The year 2022-2023 was the first year of Our Strategy 2022-2027. During the year the following elements of Our Strategy 2022-2027 underpinned our work:
Our vision is a world where mental health and wellbeing are everyone's business.
Our mission is supporting and empowering people affected by mental health issues to live their best lives.
Our values underpin everything that we do in supporting people affected by severe mental illness
and mental health difficulties. They are:
Passion - we are passionate about mental health and wellbeing. We are committed to challenging mental health stigma and discrimination. We pride ourselves on developing new and innovative ways to promote positive mental health and wellbeing.
Respect - we are respectful and value everyone in society; we work in partnership with you.
Empathy - we are empathetic, we listen and learn; we continuously improve everything we do and we support you when you need it.
Togetherness - we believe that working together is the best way to achieve our goals; we involve, empower and lead collectively.
Openness and transparency - we are open and transparent; we act with candour, honesty and integrity which are at the heart of everything we do.
Our purposes are set out in our Articles of Association and are:
To develop the capacity and skills of persons suffering from or at risk of suffering from severe mental illness who may be socially and economically disadvantaged or excluded in society by the provision of group work, training and volunteer opportunities or such other methods as the trustees may see fit in such a way that they are better able to identify, and help meet, their needs and to participate more fully in society;
To provide advice to those affected or at risk of mental health illness in an effort to relieve financial hardship by the provision of advice and assistance in the areas of debt management and money advice to persons affected by, or at risk of mental illness who, through lack of means, would otherwise be unable to obtain such advice;
To provide or secure the provision of welfare rights advice and information and refer those in need of professional assistance to the relevant agencies;
To assist in the relief of persons who have suffered a legal restriction of their liberty and who are held in custody, prison or held in youth custody care who are experiencing or who are at risk of experiencing mental or emotional suffering and to relieve the distress associated therewith by the provision of services including by means of providing or assisting in the appropriate adult scheme, access to advice, counselling, assistance and support to such persons in accordance with the relevant statutory bodies and within the agreed sentence management plan or objectives as the trustees may think fit from time to time;
To provide an effective early intervention model of supportive services to those at risk of being affected by severe mental illness and other related mental health difficulties and their families and carers by the provision of facilities, support services and equipment and by associating the statutory authorities, community and voluntary organisations and the inhabitants in a common effort to protect and preserve health; and
The furtherance of any other charitable purpose for the relief of persons suffering from or at risk of suffering from severe mental illness and other mental health difficulties and their families and carers.
Our goals for the period were set out in our Strategy 2022-2027 and are as follows:
We will deliver services that support and empower people of all ages - as well as their families and carers - with their mental health needs.
Our Operations department will drive much of this work forward by delivering a range of services across Northern Ireland, namely:
1.1 Psychological/talking therapies for people of all ages.
1.2 Housing care and support services for adults with mild, moderate, severe and enduring mental health issues.
1.3 Community support services for adults with mild, moderate, severe and enduring mental health issues.
1.4 Family and carer support services.
1.5 Information, advice and advocacy services for people of all ages.
1.6 We will also develop our early intervention and prevention strategies and service provision. 'We want to create an organisation which supports people to access support early, thereby reducing the need for specialist or crisis intervention’.
1.7 We are creating an organisation where person-centred care and support focuses on recovery and discovery throughout the life cycle (ages 0 – end of life).
We will educate and influence decision makers and raise awareness of mental health conditions and mental health wellbeing.
Our WorkWise, Policy and Communications department will drive much of this work forward by:
2.1 Delivering training and educational programmes to schools, colleges, employers and key decision makers. It is estimated that poor mental health costs the NI economy £2 billion per annum. Employers who invest in employee mental health secure, on average, £5 for every £1 spent.
2.2 Ensuring mental health remains high on the public agenda by encouraging open dialogue, understanding and acceptance.
2.3 Influencing mental health policy, legislation and practice via mental health and wellbeing campaigns, for example: How to protect and maintain mental health and wellbeing; How to create a mentally healthy society where discrimination is not tolerated; How to address drivers for poor mental health across society.
2.4 We will also create an organisation where the people we work with and for are aware of and supported to access their rights under the United Nations (UN) Human Rights and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).To support recovery through the expansion and development of creative and innovatory models of best practice and services.
2.5 Enhancing the digital literacy of our clients, staff and volunteers.
3. We will digitally transform so that we can reach more people in need.
Our Executive Office will drive much of this work forward by:
3.1 Enhancing the digital literacy of our clients, staff and volunteers.
3.2 Investing in our digital systems and processes.
3.3 Pilot and roll out digital services and offer new delivery approaches for existing services.
3.4 Developing our Impact Measurement Frameworks.
4. We will sustainably develop and grow.
Our MindWise family, together as a whole, will drive this work forward by:
4.1 Strengthening our approach to client engagement at every level in the organisation and beyond.
4.2 Strengthening our partnerships and collaborative approaches across Northern Ireland, the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
4.3 Developing an organisational culture, system and practice which is Trauma informed.
4.4 Train, recruit and retain a highly skilled workforce which is flexible and adaptable and which can meet the ever changing and complex environment in which we work and live.
4.5 Evidence our value for money (cost, quality and impact) and client satisfaction by sustainably developing and growing as an organisation.
4.6 Retaining our quality markers (Investing in People, Investing in Volunteers.
In setting our objectives and planning our activities for the year the trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s guidance on public benefit to ensure that the activities have helped to achieve the Charity’s purposes and provide a benefit to the beneficiaries. Our key achievements from the past year are set out under our four goals below.
Goal 1: We will deliver services that support and empower people of all ages - as well as their families and carers - with their mental health needs.
Specific achievements follow for each area portfolio:
Housing and Independent Living:
Our eight housing services have 86 spaces available to provide housing support services to adults who have experienced mental health issues. 30 of the spaces offer intensive support whilst 56 offer medium to low level support. Due to movement within tenancies, we delivered housing support services to 115 adults during the year, with 38 of these adults accessing support through Inverary House, our homeless hostel in East Belfast.
Whilst the services continued to work within the Covid-19 restrictions and the Public Health Agency and Department of Health guidelines, the easing of the restrictions provided more opportunities for tenants to re-engage with activities within their local community and to return to volunteering and attendance at their local community services and programmes. We secured a number of small grants to further enhance the environment around the properties and tenants became more involved in the maintenance of the gardens, which they have reported as having a positive impact on their mental health.
Community:
Day service/opportunities services supported 453 clients throughout the year. With restrictions fully lifted, face to face delivery was reintroduced; however, clients continued to benefit from a menu of community support including online and telephone support to continue to keep everyone safe. Clients benefited from a range of activities, workshops and day trips throughout the year which were all developed in line with client guidance and input.
Wellness programme: three key strands were delivered throughout the year in the Western Health and Social Care Trust area, with a total of 120 Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAPs) delivered to families and mums of children.
The Family Wellness project supports children aged five to 12 experiencing emotional and behavioural problems and their parents/carers and siblings in their own homes or school.
The Mums Wellness Project supports expectant and new mothers experiencing mental health and wellbeing challenges in the perinatal stage in the individual’s own home on a one-to-one basis.
MACE (Multiple Adverse Childhood Experiences) project, funded through the European Union INTERREG VA programme secured by Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT), the cross-border health and social care partnership; this project had five partner organisations: the Health Service Executive in the Republic of Ireland, the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, the Western Health and Social Care Trust, the Health and Social Care Board and the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland.
Carer and Family support services supported 139 carers and family members throughout the year in the Northern and the South-Eastern Health and Social Care Trust areas. Regular peer support group meetings were facilitated, as well as carers availing of specialist and social support such as counselling support information sessions, health talks, fashion shows and gardening sessions.
Self-management programmes and Voices face-to-face programme sessions were offered within the Belfast and South-Eastern Health and Social Care Trust areas with a total of 120 clients benefiting from the sessions. Focussing on stress and anxiety management, resilience, mindfulness, self-esteem, and social skills, the programmes were well received as evidenced within the positive final programme evaluations. The Voices Forum ran monthly within both areas, supporting service users to find their voice to provide feedback on their support experiences within the Trusts.
The Digital Inclusion service was introduced in March 2023. This service will provide digital literacy training for clients across our services using a practical and holistic approach. Clients will complete an initial base line assessment which will provide a tailored training and support plan for the client.
Information, advice and advocacy:
The Hospital/Community Advocacy Support, funded by South-Eastern Health and Social Care Trust saw normal service resume this year as the governmental restrictions gradually eased following the Covid-19 pandemic. This meant that face to face advocacy support within the Downpatrick, Ards, Ulster, Lisburn Hospitals and South-Eastern Health and Social Care Trust community could fully and effectively resume without any further restrictions in terms of accessibility. The South-Eastern Health and Social Care Trust advocacy achieved a delivery of 106% of utilisation across the portfolio throughout the year with the advocacy services within the Shannon Clinic, funded by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust coming in at 100% utilisation rate.
The demand for advocacy continued to increase across the South-Eastern Health and Social Care Trust advocacy delivery sector. Similar to 2021-2022, the main requests for our independent advocacy services were in the arena of Welfare Reform and benefits (applications and information). This was followed by issues raised in relation to treatment programmes, ward issues along with best interest meetings in the Ulster Hospital, Lagan Valley, Downshire, and care facilities. The value of the service, its credibility, and standing in the Trust catchment areas was clearly demonstrated in that an extremely high proportion of referrals came from Mental Health Professionals including community psychiatric nurses, psychiatrists and hospital ward staff.
The Shannon Clinic Patient Advocacy service continued to provide mostly face to face advocacy, alongside some groupwork, for up to 34 patients at any time. A significant focus of the work was on legal matters, with our Patient Advocate sourcing legal representation for patients ahead of tribunal hearings. With the support and guidance from the Area Manager, our Patient Advocate has also recently committed to take forward the Good Lives Model Pilot project within Shannon Clinic on behalf of MindWise and has undertaken the necessary training. Alongside this and ongoing work with patients, our Patient Advocate also represented MindWise within the Forensic Managed Care Network staff wellbeing survey advisory group which will launch in May 2023.
NI Appropriate Adult Scheme (NIAAS), funded by the Department of Justice: In the year 2022-2023, the NIAAS team attended 3,947 calls to PSNI stations, 312 calls more than the previous year, an increase of 8.5%. During the year we updated our data collection to capture a wider field of genders and saw declarations from detainees of five as transgender, four as intersex and one as non-binary.
Mental Health Money Advice Service (funded by Lloyds through Mental Health UK): In the year 2022-2023 we saw a continuing increase in demand for our services, with the cost-of-living crisis impacting our clients more than ever. Client referrals totalled 332 clients, with numbers slightly below that of the prior year of 356 clients, due to reduced staffing levels. The overall utilisation rate within the service was 103% for the year. We generated income for our clients of just over £3.1 million with this figure only coming from clients who choose to report back to us. The impact of the service continued to be demonstrated through our clients recording an 87% increase in wellbeing and a 93% increase in the ability to manage money.
Our Peer Navigator programme, funded by Johnson & Johnson through Mental Health UK, ended in February 2023. The Navigator role had two main aims: firstly, to support the non-clinical needs of people experiencing mental illness, e.g. housing, social integration, or employment; and secondly, to reduce demands on the capacity of GPs, Mental Health Nurses, A&E, and other frontline health and social care professionals. Our Peer Navigator created a network of referral pathways from senior mental health practitioners within GP surgeries, while also receiving referrals from Community Mental Health Workers within MindWise.
Talking therapies:
During the year our Talking Therapies service renewed the contracts with two hubs in South-Eastern Health and Social Care Trust area - Lisburn and North Down and Ards. The contract with Belfast Health and Social Care Trust was also renewed, with delivery this year taking place across all four areas in the city for the first time for MindWise. We supported 787 clients in this year and delivered over 3,300 sessions, which represented an increase in numbers from the previous year (3,024 hours – or sessions). Overall, Trust contracts utilisation was 126% of contracted targets.
A new partnership was developed with Macmillan Cancer and Aware NI, developing a project of support for individuals who have received a cancer diagnosis, by offering coaching interventions in one of three ways – individual coaching, peer-group coaching and family/friends coaching. In the pilot stage we supported one group of ten individuals over six weeks and four individuals with up to eight sessions of coaching. Initial feedback was very positive, which will shape the development of this vital service in the coming years in conjunction with Macmillan Cancer.
A successful funding bid to Mental Health UK Innovations Fund provided the Talking Therapies service with an opportunity to develop a specific counselling service for children and young people. This pilot project known as WiseTalking offered up to eight sessions of counselling/cognitive behaviour therapy interventions to children and young people aged 12–18, free of charge in specific geographical locations. All therapists recruited for this service took part in Lego-based therapy training to support delivery to individuals who may struggle with engagement in talking therapies initially. As part of the funding allocation, a new digital diary management tool is being embedded into the service, supporting the digital transformation strategy of the organisation.
The Talking Therapies service developed its Employee Assistance Programme, offering counselling and coaching interventions to private sector organisations and businesses. In this year, a new partnership was agreed with a local organisation that has offices throughout Ireland and Great Britain.
The service continued to recruit new associate counsellors and coaches, whilst supporting the current pool of associate therapists by meeting on a quarterly basis and offering Continuing Professional Development opportunities such as access to MindWise’s internal training courses. The service currently contracts 28 active Counsellors/Therapists who come with a wealth of knowledge and skills to support MindWise to deliver and grow the Talking Therapies service. The main modalities of our therapists range from a counselling perspective (person centred), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Mental Health Life Coaching, with most therapists working in an integrative manner.
We continued to accept referrals from Wellbeing Hubs as well as self-referrals/private clients. The Talking Therapies team also supported MindWise staff in 1:1 sessions and group work when required. All clients who engage in one of our therapies will complete questionnaires at various stages of their journey on CORE-OM. The CORE-OM is a 34-item questionnaire designed to tap into a 'core' of clients' distress in a wide range of psychological therapies service settings. Taking into consideration a range of variables which may impact on improvements, the average final score of our clients across all contracts shows an improvement of 5.5 points on the scale, which shows 'reliable change'.
Goal 2: We will educate and influence decision makers and raise awareness of mental health conditions and mental health wellbeing.
During the year we provided secretariat duties to the All-Party Group on Mental Health. The group met over 10 times from June 2022 and began its inquiry into Mental Health Education and Early Intervention in Schools. The inquiry has received over 20 plus written evidence submissions and is currently holding oral evidence session every month. The group is regularly attended by MLAs from across the political spectrum and sees at least 20 stakeholders in education, mental health and the voluntary and community sector attending each meeting. The group has heard from a number of witnesses including the Mental Health Champion’s Office, heads of key statutory bodies and psychiatrists in child and adolescent mental health. The Group plans to write a report at the end of 2023 considering all submitted written and oral evidence.
The pandemic continued to impact WorkWise activities throughout 2022-2023, with the cost-of-living crisis adding further difficulties for the provision of staff wellbeing courses in organisations. Delivery increased later in the year, with some organisations committing to supporting their workforce by providing various specialist workshops. Most courses were delivered in person, such as Mental Health Awareness and Managing Mental Health in Work for Managers course and our Building Resilience course.
We also developed a new course, Financial Wellbeing, which was offered by our Mental Health and Money Advice Manager through WorkWise. During this time we delivered 52 sessions to 649 participants. With the success of virtual delivery, we will continue to offer virtual and face-to-face sessions in the future. We offer a free consultation to all our customers, and delivery is designed around our customers to ensure that we meet their needs.
In partnership with Kingstown College, we continued to deliver the Advanced Diploma in Mental Health and Wellbeing Coaching programme during 2022-2023. This course is internationally accredited by the European Coaching and Mentoring Council and is designed for those practising in mental health, human resources, wellbeing, and associated areas, to equip them with skills to diversify their practice, while learning techniques that can powerfully benefit their client on their journey of recovery to discovery. The course was delivered virtually and had 16 students complete the Advanced Diploma in Mental Health and Wellbeing Coaching course in 2023.
Children and young people services over the last year delivered mental health resiliency programmes to over 110 cohorts in schools and community groups across NI, allowing us to reach 3,885 children and young people. This was achieved through the delivery of three programmes: Bloom, Your Resilience and Beyond Bricks.
Since September 2019 we have been delivering ‘Bloom’ within local schools. Bloom is a UK-wide programme, funded by Lloyds Banking Group (incorporating Halifax in Northern Ireland) and delivered in Northern Ireland by MindWise on behalf of Mental Health UK. The programme supports young people’s mental health resilience and is delivered in schools and colleges to 14-16 year-olds and 17-18 year-olds. Over the last year we trained 279 teachers in Northern Ireland to deliver Bloom within their schools, which resulted in 2,149 young people taking part in the Bloom programme within those schools.
In addition to Bloom, we deliver the ‘Your Resilience’ programme, funded by the Allan & Gill Gray Foundation, to coaches and young people involved in sports. The Bloom and Your Resilience programmes are very similar, with the key difference being the settings that they are being delivered in; Bloom is delivered in schools whilst Your Resilience is delivered in sports settings. For both programmes, we train the teachers/coaches, then co-deliver the programme to two cohorts aged 14-18 years across six weeks, providing all resources, including teacher/coach guides and workbooks for the young participants. It is the hope that the schools/clubs then continue with delivery using the resources that we provide. Over the last year we trained 102 professionals which resulted in 146 young people taking part in the Your Resilience programme.
The Beyond Bricks programme was developed over the last year, with the help of teachers, Special Educational Needs specialists, young people, educational physiologists and training associates. Beyond Bricks, which is delivered in primary schools, is a Lego based play programme for 9-11 year olds that will support them in developing their social skills and resilience to recover from the pandemic and enhance their overall mental health and wellbeing. The programme was funded during the year by Lloyds Banking Group through Mental Health UK (MHUK) and the later in the year by the Agnew Group. Beyond Bricks has been able to support 1,590 children across NI. With the support from Agnews Group 44 teachers have been trained on the delivery and theory behind the Lego based play therapy programme; of these 44 teachers 97% said that Beyond Bricks training had increased their knowledge of children's emotional and mental health and how to support children develop skills to build resilience.
2022-2023 saw the launch of our WiseMoves film series which was created in partnership with the Educational Shakespeare Company. This co-produced series of short films tells the inspiring stories of our clients, our tenants, staff, trustees, and volunteers throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. The series was formally launched by Siobhan O'Neill, Mental Health Champion, at our Annual General Meeting in November 2022. The videos feature on our YouTube channel as well as our website and it is hoped that the collaboration will continue, with new films produced in 2023-24.
2022-2023 had gaps in capacity within the Communications team due to recruitment challenges. However, April 2023 saw the appointment of a Policy and Public Affairs Manager as well as a Communications Officer to drive this work forward in 2023-2024.
2022-23 saw a drop in reach and engagement which can be mostly attributed to changes in the Facebook algorithm. Facebook page reach and engagement now penalise non-paid content; going forward, there should be consideration given to budgeting for paid content on the platform in order to maximise reach, in particular for campaigns and potentially for job postings. There should also be consideration as to which platforms are most effective for us in terms of reaching our audiences going forward. Given the increasing use of video at MindWise, and our broadening of services for Children and Young People, we may wish to more fully utilise platforms such as Instagram and investigate the use of TikTok. The introduction of a dedicated Policy and Public Affairs function may also see a changing approach in the use of Twitter.
Overall reach across all platforms, excluding LinkedIn was 191,321. Engagements were 7,851, however, the engagement rate increased by 43% to 4.2% per post. Over all channels, we increased our audience by 529.
The website gained 122,067 page views with 47,424 users. Some of our most viewed pages were blogs, which suggests we should invest in writing blogs using keyword strategies.
Goal 3: We will digitally transform so that we can reach more people in need.
Building on previous investment in ICT infrastructure and capability, we created and recruited the role of Digital Transformation Manager to develop and implement a Digital Transformation Strategy. The investment in this capability will support the changes needed so that we can reach more people in need, enhance digital literacy across the organisation, invest in our digital systems and processes, pilot new delivery approaches and develop impact measurement capabilities.
Based on an extensive engagement and digital capability assessment throughout the year the strategy was agreed and sets the foundation for a balanced approach to delivering short and medium-term digital transformation, alongside developing overall digital maturity and organisational capability as a platform for sustainable growth so that we can reach more people in need.
The Digital Transformation Strategy 2023-2025 has seven strands:
Skills & Structures – skills development programmes alongside creation and support for collaborative team structures needed for digital systems, products, and services development.
Data Management – developing data as a key organisation asset to enable efficiencies, security, compliance, demonstrating impact and as a platform for future proofing and developing opportunities in service and product development.
Service Design – embedding user centred design processes into digital products and services development.
In-House Development Capability – developing our capacity and capability in using best-of-breed technologies to improve and develop new systems that meet our needs, on an ongoing and iterative improvement basis.
Collaboration & Innovation – building internal and external collaboration to support innovation.
Technology & Infrastructure – ongoing management and development of a fit for purpose technology infrastructure.
Security, Governance, Risk & Compliance – focusing on meeting best practice and regulatory requirements across data, digital and technology services.
ICT infrastructure development continued in the year with significant progress in enhancing security, flexibility, efficiency, and scalability of our core systems on cloud-based services. Focusing on security, we moved to follow best practice set out by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to mitigate the increasing cyber security threats facing every organisation. We introduced regular short cyber security training for all staff alongside a range of continually evolving technical measures to mitigate risks. In addition, modern multi-factor authentication practices were rolled out for all users and devices. As a result, all staff now have access to the latest cloud-based software on reliable, managed mobile devices including laptops and mobile phones where appropriate.
Goal 4: We will sustainably develop and grow.
Our core values of Passion, Respect, Empathy, Togetherness, Openness and Transparency continue to be embedded into all aspects of our work, underpinned by the MindWise competency framework. During the year we transitioned to a new Coaching for Performance Development system for managing staff performance; this is a strengths-based approach to performance management which keeps the staff member at the heart of the process.
During the year we continued to promote a total rewards approach to reward and recognition. The 2022 MADE (Making a Difference Everyday) celebration was developed with client involvement and participation. This was an inspirational event which recognised and celebrated the difference MindWise makes in the lives of so many people every day. To assist with the cost-of-living crisis all staff were awarded a one-off payment cost of living payment; financial awareness sessions were also rolled out to support staff with the financial pressures being faced.
MindWise continued to invest in learning and development during the year with more courses being delivered face to face, as Covid-19 restrictions lifted. Several staff were supported to complete the Level 4 QCF (Qualification and Credit Framework) qualification in the Principles of Leadership and Management and the Level 3 QCF qualification in Health and Social Care. Managers received additional coaching skills training to support them in their roles and in the roll out of the coaching for performance development process. Reflective practice training was also offered to all staff to enhance and develop these skills.
HealthWise continued to develop initiatives to support the health and wellbeing of staff at work, including partnering with Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke through the ‘Live well work well’ programme. Three members of staff were trained as health and wellbeing champions and an extensive health and wellbeing survey was conducted with all staff. This survey resulted in a detailed action plan being developed to support staff wellbeing at work, including making health checks available to staff through Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke.
The year 2022-2023 showed a negative net movement in funds of £15,279. Restricted Funds showed a positive movement of £88,587. Unrestricted Funds showed net expenditure of £103,855, due to the charity expending funds held from prior financial years. This result was better than planned and was due to reduced salary costs as a result of recruitment issues which continue to face the whole of the health and social care sector. The trustees have developed a plan to expend reserves generated in prior years, particularly in the year 2021-2022 when the Charity generated a large surplus as a result of delays in expenditure to mitigate the potential negative impact of Covid. The Charity had planned to expend £331,385 from this Fund in the year 2022-2023, but due to delays arising from challenges in appointing staff, the Charity expended the lower amount of £220,663. In the year 2022-2023 the trustees transferred £137,930 from the General Fund to the Designated Fund to fund posts within the Mental Health and Money advice Service and to fund digital developments and support within the organisation. The trustees will continue to monitor the delivery of the Designated Fund to ensure the continued investment as planned.
Funding
The principal funding sources for MindWise continue to be contract income from the Health and Social Care Trusts, Supporting People/Northern Ireland Housing Executive and the Department of Justice, along with time-limited programme funding, sales and investment income. An analysis of income by type is as follows:
Source | Income | % of total |
Income from Service Level Agreements | £1,311,687 | 29% |
Grants and one-off fees | £605,975 | 13% |
Fees for domiciliary care | £2,248,125 | 50% |
Other income | £350,408 | 8% |
Total | £4,516,195 | 100% |
An analysis of income by activity is as follows:
Activity | Income | % of total |
Housing | £2,225,179 | 49% |
Resource centres | £484,915 | 11% |
Advocacy/NI Appropriate Adult Scheme | £1,146,555 | 25% |
User/Carers’ support/ volunteers | £304,983 | 7% |
Training | £239,288 | 5% |
Management and support | £115,275 | 3% |
Total | £4,516,195 | 100% |
Balance Sheet
Balance Sheet Net Assets have decreased by £15,279 from the previous year, reflecting the net surplus of the Charity for the year of £17,080 plus a loss on investment assets of £32,359 as set out in the Statement of Financial Activities. Total funds held at 31 March 2023 were £1,636,922, of which £164,490 were restricted funds. The level of free reserves at the year end, excluding tangible fixed assets and designated funds, was £526,105.
Reserves policy
The Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” defines Unrestricted Reserves as funds which are expendable at the discretion of the Board of Trustees in furtherance of any of the Charity's objects but which are not yet spent or committed. Consistent with responsible financial management and risk management, the Board of Trustees balances the needs of their current and future beneficiaries by identifying the likely challenges and opportunities the Charity faces in the medium to long term. A reserves policy and adherence provides confidence that the Charity can meet its operational requirements. A full review of the Charity’s reserves policy was carried out in August 2019, using the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s Guidance Note EGO63 (March 2018): Developing a Reserves Policy, which took into account the following points:
What income the charity can reasonably expect to generate both in the current year and in the future.
What expenditure is planned for this year and future years.
The charity’s future needs, commitments, opportunities and costs.
Whether there is likely to be a short fall in funding and how the charity will meet:
its contractual obligations in relation to employees, such as salaries, pension obligations or redundancy payments;
committed rental or lease agreements, in relation to property or equipment;
outstanding payments to suppliers.
The trustees have defined the following reserves to meet both the current and imminent future needs of the Charity:
Long-term Reserve: This reserve, which is a general unrestricted reserve, reflects the amount of reserve tied up in buildings held by the Charity.
General Funds: This reserve, which is an unrestricted reserve which excludes the reserves invested in buildings (the Long-term Reserve), has been established to support the financial stability of the Charity. The trustees have reviewed the reserve and are of the opinion that this reserve should equate to 25 weeks of planned expenditure of those projects and services (including support services) which are deemed to have more risk attached to them.
Designated Funds: This reserve is a general unrestricted fund which the trustees have set aside to ensure the sustainable development of the organisation, with a particular focus on supporting the implementation of the recommendations of an Organisational Review completed in 2018-2019 and transforming the Charity to support client engagement and digital delivery with enhanced information systems.
The trustees have developed a Finance Strategy to work towards this agreed level of reserves and will continue to monitor compliance with this policy on a regular basis through the budgetary system. These reserves are detailed in the notes to the financial statements.
Investment Policy
MindWise has adopted a prudent investment policy which is designed to support the reserves policy. The investment policy is reviewed annually to ensure that it continues to reflect the needs of the Charity. The investment objective of the trustees is that the real value of the investment assets be maintained and enhanced over the long term by investment in a portfolio comprised of equities, fixed income stocks, collective investment schemes and cash, so as to:
provide a balanced pro-equity approach, bearing in mind proper attention to investment risks and taking into consideration the needs of the Charity; and
provide an income and capital growth which could be available to support existing services and new projects.
provide an income and capital growth which could be available to support existing services and new projects.
The trustees are content that investments were managed in line with the objectives set out within the Investment Policy.
Moving forward into Year 2 of Our Strategy (2022-2027) we will continue to sustainably develop and grow. We will build on our achievements to date and learn from our mistakes. Our commitment to developing our client engagement, trauma-informed and rights-based practices remain. We will also develop our early intervention and prevention activities and embed our life cycle approach to mental health and wellbeing. We will grow to meet the increased demand for our services, aiming to enhance the mental health and wellbeing of the Northern Ireland population, while supporting the mental health needs of people across the UK via our activism within Mental Health UK. We are also expecting to expand our activities across the island of Ireland in the year(s) ahead.
Importantly, we will not pay lip service to what our clients (people with lived experience of mental health issues, their families and carers) tell us. We will continue to listen, we will work together, we will create safe places to support each other, reflect, learn, grow and connect across society. We will support recovery and discover new ways of being, we will do this together because mental health is everyone’s business.
Governing Document
Mind Wise New Vision is a company limited by guarantee governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 7 February 2011. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. At 31 March 2023 there were 540 members (2022-502 members), each of whom agrees to contribute £1 in the event of the Charity winding up.
Organisation
The Board of Trustees administers the Charity, and the trustees who acted during the year are listed below. During the year 2022-2023, the Board of Trustees met on a quarterly basis and had a number of committees in place which reported to the Board – the Finance and General Purposes Committee and the Operations Committee.
The day to day running of the Charity is delegated to the Chief Executive Ms A Doherty, who has delegated authority, within terms approved by the trustees, for operational matters including finance, employment and service delivery.
MindWise has grown and developed in recent years, and as a result we have reviewed our supporting infrastructure and made changes to our Good Governance, Leadership and Management structures, systems and practices. In the year ahead we will continue to consolidate these actions through planned investment in developing our Collective Leadership Framework and our Communicating to Connect structure. In addition, MindWise’s commitment to creating synergies and affecting change through partnerships and alliances remains unchanged; we will continue to invest in these relationships going forward.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Appointment of Trustees
As set out in the Articles of Association, the Chair of the Board of Trustees is elected by the trustees. The Board of Trustees comprises of a minimum of five and a maximum of fourteen trustees. Trustees are appointed either by election by the members at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) or by co-option by the existing trustees. Co-opted trustees will hold office until the next AGM, at which they will be eligible for election. Elections and co-options will be conducted to attempt to elect or co-opt up to one third of the trustees from users and carers, subject to there being such persons willing to serve as trustees who are deemed suitable by the trustees to serve as a trustee.
Trustee Induction & Training
New trustees undergo induction training to inform them of key organisational aspects as follows: their legal obligations under charity and company law; the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland guidance on public benefit; the content of the Memorandum and Articles of Association; the Committee and decision-making processes within MindWise; and the business plan and performance of the Charity, including the financial performance of the Charity. Trustees also operate within the Governance Handbook, which supports them in the delivery of their role.
During induction training, trustees meet key employees and other trustees. Trustees are encouraged to attend appropriate external training events where these will facilitate the undertaking of their role.
Related parties and co-operation with other organisations
None of the trustees receive remuneration or other benefit from their work with the Charity. Any connection between a trustee or senior manager of the Charity with a related party must be disclosed to the full Board of Trustees in the same way as any other contractual relationship with a related party. In the current year no such related party transactions were reported.
MindWise is connected with Mental Health UK, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). Rethink Mental Illness, Adferiad Recovery Hafal in Wales (known as Hafal until June 2021), MindWise and Support In Mind Scotland are all members of Mental Health UK. Mental Health UK is not considered part of MindWise and has not been consolidated in the financial statements.
The Charity has no wholly or partly owned subsidiaries.
Pay policy for senior staff
The Board of Trustees and the executive directors’ team comprise the key management personnel of the Charity who are in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the Charity on a day to day basis. All trustees give their time freely and no trustee received remuneration in the year. Details of trustees’ expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in notes 11 and 25 to the accounts.
The pay of the senior staff is reviewed by the Board of Trustees periodically in conjunction with all staff. Pay levels are benchmarked against similar organisations in the charitable, community and voluntary sectors.
Risk Management
MindWise’s Risk Management Framework commits MindWise to the requirements of an effective system of internal control in line with the Risk Management Principles and Guidelines as stated in AS/NZS ISO 31000: 2009:2018. Our Board of Trustees has maintained a watching brief on all corporate risks throughout the year and has remained satisfied that our Risk Management Framework is fit for purpose and that all corporate risks have been effectively managed. The Board of Trustees placed a particular focus on the management of Covid-19 related risks from March 2020 to date, whilst also recognising that we have learned to live with Covid-19. The organisation continues to commit to effective risk management strategies at all levels and as we move forward, we will continue to manage the impact of an absent Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive Budget as well as the cost of living and healthcare workforce crisis.
Client Engagement
Working in partnership with staff and clients we completed the core document for the Client Engagement Function, the Client Engagement Strategy and Framework. We engaged with over 100 clients and 50 staff to gain their views regarding how Engagement should be done within the organisation. Best practice regarding involvement of clients was gathered from across the UK to inform the document. A scoping study was carried out regarding the types of opportunities that clients could access. The Strategy and Framework provides a pathway to deliver the waves of change in terms of priorities for action and the supporting framework aims to deliver waves of change that will lead to a cultural shift within our organisation, where engagement with our clients will become part of our very DNA.
An accompanying project plan for clients that relates to the implementation of the Strategy and Framework was developed. This is a multi-year plan that outlines when we wish the major pieces of the Client Engagement function to be delivered. The initial step of the plan began with the establishment of a Client Engagement Working Group. The Client Engagement Working Group, which comprises clients, staff and volunteers, acts as a sounding board and guide to the Client Engagement Manager regarding the implementation of the project plan and how it links to the overall Strategy and Framework. The group’s first tasks in 2022-2023 were to design an engaged client’s programme and to develop the Recruitment and Induction of clients; the latter was done through a pilot and involved support from a client to troubleshoot any issues. Widespread recruitment will begin as per the portfolio plans.
Client Engagement is always iterative in its approach and has the guiding hand of the Strategy, Framework and overall project plan. However more granular plans were required. Portfolio Client Engagement Plans were initiated and completed in 2022-2023. These plans outline what Client Engagement will be done in MindWise for 2023-2024 and include the outputs (activities) that need to be done to achieve the outcomes we desire.
Overall, 2022-2023 was a planning phase for Client Engagement where we have produced some of the key documents and one of the key supporting bodies of the service (CEWG). The service is ready to operationalise in 2023-2024. However, in 2022-2023 we did not miss opportunities to involve clients in ad hoc opportunities that arose. MindWise has several clients who are already very engaged with the organisation and they have taken part in various opportunities including developing and taking part in events, making films regarding their covid experience and recruitment and selection of MindWise staff.
An excellent example of Client Engagement came to fruition during the year. A project called WiseMoves was developed in conjunction with the Educational Shakespeare Company using the creative mechanism of storytelling (via video) to demonstrate the value of the work of MindWise through clients telling stories of their mental health journeys during the Covid-19 pandemic. Clients participated in the steering group managing the project and staff and clients participated in making the videos. 37 videos were created. The impact of making the videos was a cathartic experience for our clients and they were able to share the activities that they did during the pandemic to facilitate their good mental health journey. After Covid-19, many of these skills have been shared with other Mindwise clients through workshops. The WiseMoves videos are available on the MindWise Website WiseMoves film series (mindwisenv.org).
Volunteers
Volunteering within MindWise continued to diversify and strengthen over the past year. During the year 64 active volunteers donated over 8,026 hours in a range of roles including befriending, photography and arts and crafts. Interest from applicants remained steady, with over 100 enquiries made to the volunteer department. In terms of adapting to meet the current environment we continued to deliver our volunteer training online with 150 courses being completed in the year.
Communication with volunteers was key and we continued to produce monthly newsletters via Mailchimp to keep volunteers updated in activity across the organisation.
In June 2022 we held four Big Lunch events to reconnect volunteers, clients and staff. These were a great success with over 120 people attending. During the year we also obtained our reaccreditation of the Investing in Volunteers (IIV) Quality Standard, the quality standard for volunteer management in the UK and Ireland. The process involved staff, volunteer and trustee interviews as well as a broad review of our policies and processes.
Volunteers are integral to the work we do and we are keen to strengthen volunteering in the coming years. The IIV Assessor highlighted one key area below;
There is a strong culture within the organisation of encouragement and support offered to help individuals get involved and realise their aspirations through volunteering. Volunteers spoke of how the support from staff and their peers helped them build their confidence in what they could achieve, “I wouldn’t have thought of myself as a leader before and now I’m leading a group”.
The table below shows a summary of some of the key impacts over the last 12 months and comparisons over the last 5 years.
| 2022-2023 | 2021-2022 | 2020-2021 | 2018-2019 |
Number of active volunteers | 64 | 40 | 45 | 77 |
Number of hours donated | 8,026 | 7,330 | 4,050 | 9648 |
No of inquiries | 114 | 130 | 180 | 220 |
Number of training courses completed | 150 | 148 | 220 | 62 |
VIVA Ratio (for every £1 invested)* | £2.29 | £2.37 | £1.31 | £1.83 |
*VIVA= Volunteer to Investment Audit (VIVA) for every £1 invested there was a value return in £
The trustees, who are also the directors of Mind Wise New Vision for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that GMcG BELFAST be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Mind Wise New Vision (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
the information given in the trustees' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, is consistent with the financial statements; and
the directors' report included within the trustees' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' report included within the trustees' report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the trustees' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In identifying and assessing potential risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliances with laws and regulations, we considered the following:
The nature of the industry and sector, control environment and business performance, including the company’s remuneration policies for directors, bonus levels and performance targets, if any;
Results of our enquiries of management about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities;
Any matters we identified having obtained and reviewed the company’s documentation of their policies and procedures relating to:
Identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instance of non-compliance;
Detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; and
The internal controls established to mitigate risks of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations;
The matters discussed among the audit engagement team regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and potential indicators of fraud.
As a result of these procedures, we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the company for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in revenue recognition. In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override.
We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that the company operates in, focusing on provisions of those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the Companies Act 2006, and local tax legislation.
In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which may be fundamental to the company’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty.
Our procedures to respond to the risks identified included the following:
Reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with provisions of relevant laws and regulations described as having a direct effect on the financial statements;
Enquiring of management concerning actual and potential litigation and claims;
Performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud;
Reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance and reviewing correspondence with tax authorities; and
In addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments; assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.
We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.
Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. In addition, as with any audit, there remains a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as they may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The notes on pages 26 to 45 form part of these financial statements.
Mind Wise New Vision is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Northern Ireland. The registered office is Pinewood House, 46 New Forge Lane, Malone Road, Belfast, BT9 5NW.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), the general volunteer time of supporters is not recognised.
Grants, service agreements, fee income and grants for equipment are recognised in the period in which they are receivable.
Income is deferred only when the Charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor/ funder has specified that the income is to be expended in a future period.
Members' subscriptions are taken to income on a received basis.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Costs of generating funds are costs incurred in attracting voluntary income, and those incurred in trading activities that raise funds.
Charitable activities and Governance costs are costs incurred on the charity's operations, including support costs and costs relating to the governance of the Charity apportioned to charitable activities.
Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities.
Support costs are those costs incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the Charity.
Governance costs are those incurred in connection with administration of the Charity and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.
All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year. Transaction costs are expensed as incurred.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The company is a registered charity and the charitable tax exemptions are therefore being claimed to the extent that income and/or gains are applicable and applied to charitable purposes only. These exemptions will remain in place as long as income and expenditure is applied to charitable purposes only.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged as an expense on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
The annual depreciation charge on fixed assets depends primarily on the estimated lives of each type of asset and estimates of residual values. The directors regularly review these asset lives and change them as necessary to reflect current thinking on remaining lives in light of prospective economic utilisation and physical condition of the assets concerned. Changes in asset lives can have a significant impact on depreciation and amortisation charges for the period. Detail of the useful lives is included in the accounting policies.
Short term debtors are measured at transaction price, less any impairment. Impairment of such debtors involves some estimation uncertainty.
Judgements are made in relation to allocation of income and expenditure to restricted and unrestricted funds. The directors consider it appropriate to allocate these funds based on interpretation of amounts received.
Housing
Resource centres
Advocacy/NIAAS
User/carers' support/volunteers
Employment and training
Management and support
Fees for domiciliary care
Housing
Resource centres
Advocacy/NIAAS
User/carers' support/volunteers
Employment and training
Management and support
Fees for domiciliary care
Income from training and therapeutic support
Housing
Resource Centres
Advocacy / NIAAS
User/Carers' support / Volunteers
Employment and Training
Management and Support
Charitable activities
Housing
Resource Centres
Advocacy / NIAAS
User/Carers' support / Volunteers
Employment and Training
Management and Support
Charitable activities
Housing
MindWise provides high quality stable homes and a range of services to help individuals live independently. MindWise has developed a housing continuum reflecting the ‘Stepped Care’ service model from Hospital to independent living.
Resource Centres
MindWise delivers a number of services within the community. This includes:
Resource centres which offer one-to-one and group work providing informal social contact and practical help.
Community Opportunities Services which help and support those people over 18 who are recovering from mental health issues.
Advocacy / NIAAS
This encompasses the following services:
The delivery of free independent and specialist advocacy, advice and information for people with mental health problems within the South East Health and Social Care Trust. Advocacy services are also offered to detained patients in the regional forensic medium secure unit.
The provision of a suite of services to carers, families and professionals in several key areas. This includes advocacy, listening support, peer support through carer and family groups, debt and financial advice, practical support around issues such as Self-Directed Care, and signposting to other organisations which offer more specialised support and advice.
The Family Wellness Project which is an early intervention mental health project for children aged five to twelve and their families.
A Mental Health and Money Advice service, a UK-wide online advice service, which helps individuals understand, manage and improve their financial and mental health.
The Northern Ireland Appropriate Adult Scheme which provides advice, assistance and support to adults with mental health vulnerabilities, and juveniles under the age of 18 years who find themselves in police custody, whether detained or as voluntary attendee.
User/Carers' support / Volunteers
This encompasses the following services:
A Community Care and Support Service open to individuals over the age of 18 years with a mental health problem who are known to the Community Mental Health Team and are in need of support to maintain their day to day community living in their own home.
A volunteer service which supports dedicated volunteers in engaging across services. The Charity encourages the participation of people with lived experience of mental health issues.
Employment and Training
This encompasses four key areas of work:
The delivery of WorkWise, a brand within MindWise which delivers bespoke training for employers and employees on creating a more mentally healthy workplace.
The delivery of our education programmes (Bloom, Your Resilience and Beyond Bricks) which support children and young people’s mental health resilience and is delivered in primary schools, secondary schools and in colleges.
The delivery of an Advanced Diploma in Coaching for Mental Health and Wellbeing, which is unique and is delivered in partnership with Kingstown College. The course is fully accredited by the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) and is aimed at those practising in mental health and associated areas.
The Talking Therapies Practice which offers individuals a range of psychological interventions, for example Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, counselling and coaching, which support recovery journeys and initiate personal discovery.
Management and Support
This relates to the central management of the Charity.
Housing
Resource centres
Advocacy/NIAAS
User/carers' support/volunteers
Employment and training
Management and support
Cost of raising funds
Governance and professional support to trustees
External audit and accounts fee
Governance costs includes payments to the auditors of £5,292 (2022- £5,040) for audit fees.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxationof Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
The Charity’s investments are managed on a discretionary basis by an independent investment broker. Included in investments are cash balances of £34,251 (2022 - £260,966) held as part of the investment portfolio.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the following:
Big Lottery Fund- Linked In Project: Funding received to deliver the Linked In Project which works with young people aged 13-24 who are due to leave or have just left police custody.
Big Lottery- NI Families Network: Funding to deliver the Family Wellness Project which is an early intervention mental health project for children aged 5-12 and their families.
Big Lottery- Older People Project: Funding to support older people who are experiencing mental health problems to re-engage and re-integrate back into their local communities.
Mental Health UK Funded Services: Funding to deliver the Money Advice Service, the Navigator programme, Bloom, Your Resilience, Digital Inclusion project and Beyond Bricks.
BBC Children in Need: Funding to support the strategic development of young people.
NIHE Supporting People: Funding to deliver support to adults with mental health problems within housing services and within the community.
Department of Health Special Recognition: Funding to pay health and social care staff a special recognition payment to acknowledge work done during the pandemic.
Department of Health Revenue Grant: Funding to to support the Charity’s regional infrastructure for the purposes of advancing the sustainable development of its activities, namely a diverse range of recovery community-based services, advocacy, carers support and Talking Therapies.
Department of Health Training Grant: Funding to support staff development within MindWise.
Comic Relief: Funding received to deliver the New Mothers’ Wellness Project.
Department for Communities Breathing Space: Funding to research and deliver a report outlining the requirement and viability of introducing “Breathing Space” (debt remedy legislation) into Northern Ireland.
Community Foundation NI Wellness: Funding to deliver the Family Wellness Project which is an early intervention mental health project for children aged 5-12 and their families.
Agnew Beyond Bricks: Funding to deliver a Lego®-based play intervention within primary schools to enhance children's overall mental health and wellbeing.
The designated funds of the Charity comprise the following:
Long Term Fund: This reserve reflects the amount of reserves tied up in buildings held by the Charity.
Designated Fund: This reserve is a fund which the trustees have set aside to ensure the sustainable development of the organisation, with a particular focus on supporting the implementation of the recommendations of an organisational review completed in 2018-2019 and transforming the Charity to support client engagement and digital delivery with enhanced information systems.
Transfer between funds: At 31st March 2023 the Board of Trustees transferred £137,930 from the General Fund to the Designated Fund. This transfer will be used to fund posts within the Mental Health and Money advice Service and to fund digital developments and support within the organisation
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
The charge to profit or loss in respect of defined contribution schemes was £151,180 (2022 - £148,730).
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2022 - none).
The charity had no debt during the year.
A portion of grants received become repayable if the company fails to comply with the terms of the letters of offer.
The company is limited by guarantee not having a share capital. The company is registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, reference number 103469. At 31 March 2023 the company had 540 members, each of whom agrees to contribute £1 in the event of the Charity winding up.