for the Period Ended 31 March 2023
Directors report | |
Profit and loss | |
Balance sheet | |
Additional notes | |
Balance sheet notes | |
Community Interest Report |
Directors' report period ended
The directors present their report with the financial statements of the company for the period ended 31 March 2023
Principal activities of the company
Directors
The directors shown below have held office during the whole of the period from
1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023
The director shown below has held office during the period of
24 January 2023 to 31 March 2023
The director shown below has held office during the period of
18 January 2023 to 31 March 2023
Secretary
The above report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions in part 15 of the Companies Act 2006
This report was approved by the board of directors on
And signed on behalf of the board by:
Name:
Status: Director
for the Period Ended
2023 | 2022 | |
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| £ | £ |
Turnover: | | |
Cost of sales: | ( | ( |
Gross profit(or loss): | | |
Administrative expenses: | ( | ( |
Operating profit(or loss): | | |
Interest receivable and similar income: | | |
Profit(or loss) before tax: | | |
Tax: | ( | ( |
Profit(or loss) for the financial year: | | |
As at
Notes | 2023 | 2022 | |
---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
Fixed assets | |||
Tangible assets: | 3 | | |
Total fixed assets: | | | |
Current assets | |||
Debtors: | 4 | | |
Cash at bank and in hand: | | | |
Total current assets: | | | |
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year: | 5 | ( | ( |
Net current assets (liabilities): | | | |
Total assets less current liabilities: | | | |
Total net assets (liabilities): | | | |
Members' funds | |||
Profit and loss account: | | | |
Total members' funds: | | |
The notes form part of these financial statements
This report was approved by the board of directors on
and signed on behalf of the board by:
Name:
Status: Director
The notes form part of these financial statements
for the Period Ended 31 March 2023
Basis of measurement and preparation
Turnover policy
Tangible fixed assets depreciation policy
Other accounting policies
for the Period Ended 31 March 2023
2023 | 2022 | |
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Average number of employees during the period | | |
for the Period Ended 31 March 2023
Land & buildings | Plant & machinery | Fixtures & fittings | Office equipment | Motor vehicles | Total | |
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Cost | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ |
At 1 April 2022 | | | ||||
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Disposals | ||||||
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At 31 March 2023 | | | ||||
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At 1 April 2022 | | | ||||
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On disposals | ||||||
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At 31 March 2023 | | | ||||
Net book value | ||||||
At 31 March 2023 | | | ||||
At 31 March 2022 | | |
for the Period Ended 31 March 2023
2023 | 2022 | |
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£ | £ | |
Trade debtors | | |
Other debtors | | |
Total | | |
for the Period Ended 31 March 2023
2023 | 2022 | |
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£ | £ | |
Trade creditors | | |
Taxation and social security | | |
Other creditors | | |
Total | | |
for the Period Ended 31 March 2023
REVIEW OF BUSINESSArtistic ProgrammeThese accounts represent the fourteenth year of trading for Writing East Midlands and the seventh period since converting to Community Interest Company status in support of the organisation's artistic aims and social values. The organisation continued to create opportunities for new and experienced writers to connect with communities. We believe in an open society which for us means that everyone should have equal access to the means of creativity, the arts, and expression.WEM works to build the region's reputation for the quality and diversity of its writers and as a place where writing is valued as an art and for its social impact. We run programmes that raise the skills and aspirations of writers connecting them to communities. We aim to be the place in the East Midlands, where people exchange ideas for working in the literature sector knowing we can connect them with partners among organisations, artists, producers, local authorities, schools, universities, museums, libraries, heritage organisations, and the health sector.2022-23 was marked by an intense focus on bidding for the next round of NPO grants 2023-26, managing the continuing repercussions of Covid-19, and the economic downturn. We found that these, alongside increased competition for online services, affected opportunities to generate sales income. Considering this, WEM decided to move its focus away from the delivery of short courses. This was reflected in the sales of the subsidiary company Writing School East Midlands Ltd. where income fell further from £6,130 to £5,387. With the public less able to engage in paid for activity because of the cost-of-living crisis, we also saw the focus of grant givers increasingly aimed at the support of basic needs, leading to an increase in competition for arts-based funding. However, we were successful in fundraising an additional £98,803 resulting in the organisation maintaining its general financial position.WEM's strong social mission continue to find support from Trusts and Foundations. This was also reflected in its ability to meet Arts Council England's Let's Create strategy and a subsequent award of a further NPO grant for 2023-2026. The Directors were delighted by that an uplift to the core grant of £70,000 p.a which will contribute to the removal of the historic funding gap. WEM will be better able to be a source of innovative initiatives for social good, supports the diverse cultural life that marks healthy societies, and generate paid employment for artists at a time when social and economic pressures are increasing.The organisation is committed to diversity and inclusion with an emphasis on the following areas:- empowering the neurodiverse community, particularly autistic people, through creative writing activity.- reduce feelings of isolation in older people through creative writing activity- providing more creative, and career development opportunities for young people from diverse backgrounds and areas of lesser provision.Activity that supported these aims included Beyond the Spectrum, which has been running since 2020 with the support of a variety of funders. In 2022 WEM received a grant of £34,500 from the National Lottery Reaching Communities fund which supported the extension of the project. We gathered evidence of the positive impact of the activity on participants and are now committed to submitting significant funding bids in 2023/24 to offer the benefits to autistic people, while connecting the project to arts organisations, libraries, NHS social prescribers, and specialist Autism service providers across the country. A grant from The Mighty Creatives also allowed us to run a Bronze Arts Award course for a group of Autistic children.A further grant of £8,498 from Shine in Lincolnshire allowed the Surviving by Storytelling project to continue into a second year led by Dr Mark Pearson and Dr Helen Foster from the University of Nottingham. The workshops were designed to support the mental health of participants in a safe and inclusive environment. A grant of £9,965 was also secured for further activity in 2023/24 with a particular focus on carers in the Boston area.We continued to lead and collaborate on projects which satisfied our aims to work with diverse groups of children and young people, particularly in areas of lesser provision. A partnership was developed with the young person's charity Eastside, to deliver Spoken Word Power (SWP) in the East Midlands. SWP connects students with leading poets to encourage self-expression and confidence. The programme will continue in 2023/24 to include a greater number of schools in Lincolnshire.Our WEMterns programme, which supports 18-25-year-old writers taking the next steps in their writing careers, continued to grow. Members were provided with opportunities to shadow established writers, engage with work experience, and take part in arts leadership and governance, including Scribble Fest, a one-day event commissioned by The Nottingham Poetry Festival. In 2023/24 our Youth Advisory Board will allow these young voices to play an important role in WEM's governance and decision-making.Once again, we worked with Serendipity in Leicester to deliver the Black Ink writing competition for writers from the African-Caribbean diaspora. WEM's annual writing competition, Aurora, ran for the seventh time, as did Solstice the nature-themed, young writers prize. WEM was commissioned by ArtReach to produce the Journeys Gazette which was distributed at Journeys Festival International in Leicester in August 2022. Collaborating with local communities with experience of migration and resettlement, the newspaper aimed to challenge the negative assumptions about asylum seekers and migrants portrayed in some medias, and celebrates Leicester as a welcoming city.FINANCIAL SUMMARY The organisation continue to benefit from strong support from Arts Council England through National Portfolio funding. ACE provided a core activity grant of £128,038 in the period. The Directors noted that the direction of these activities correspond closely with Arts Council England's. Let's Create 10-year strategy to support creative people; cultural communities, and a creative and a cultural country. This will be demonstrated in future activity during the during the new NPO period 2023-26. The company maintained its financial position in what are still difficult circumstances. £98,803 (£129,423) additional funds were raised from all sources. This saw a decrease in turnover to £226,841 (£257,461). Administrative expenses were £177,280 (£167,021). After deductions for costs of sales £48,798 (£78,087), this resulted in an operating surplus before tax of £765 (£12,365). The Board notes that reserves have therefore increased to £53,749 (£53,212). While this is in line with a previously stated policy of moving reserves to a minimum position equivalent to three months of operational costs, the current environment makes it prudent to raise expectations and requirements for holding a higher level of reserves measured against a proportion of turnover. By this measure reserves in the last period were equivalent to 21% of total income. We would like to increase this to 25% by the end of the next period. DIRECTORS The directors shown below have held office during the whole of the period from 1 April 2022 to the date of this report. Ms J M Allnatt Ms S Chauhan M J Molloy R R Parmar C S R Walker Other changes in directors holding office are as follows: Ms C O'Farrell - appointed 18 January 2023 Ms C A Adlam - appointed 24 January 2023Ms G G P Pendse ceased to be a director after 31 March 2023 but prior to the date of this report. This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Arts Council England is our major funder. We provide quarterly cashflow and management accounts plus annual accounts in order to draw down our funding. Our ACE Relationship Manager regularly reviews our activity.
No remuneration was received
No transfer of assets other than for full consideration
This report was approved by the board of directors on
25 October 2023
And signed on behalf of the board by:
Name: Mr Martin Molley
Status: Director