The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024.
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 Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) 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 objects for which the company is established are charitable (being “charitable” for the purposes of the 2005 Act and the Taxes Acts) and are to promote, advance and further the following charitable purposes:
the advancement of health; and
the relief of those in need by reason of age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage.
These objectives are achieved through operating to promote and assist organisations throughout Scotland which provide services to persons who are elderly or infirm or disabled by assisting with the arranging of repairs or improvements or works of maintenance to be carried out to the houses of such people.
Our company objective is to ensure that the Care and Repair movement in Scotland is sustainable for the future and able to continue and develop its role in helping older and disabled home owners remain in their own homes, in safety and comfort, for as long as possible.
To achieve this objective the charity operates a central office based in Glasgow. This office is funded entirely by grant aid from the Scottish Government. During the reporting period, the staff consisted of a full time National Director with part time Administrator.
Care and Repair Scotland is engaged in a number of activities to support our objective. These include:
Services to Care and Repair Offices
Developing and promoting good practice guidance
Mutual support through facilitating regional and national information exchange
The provision of training opportunities
Commissioning, coordinating and disseminating research
Directly supporting organisations experiencing particular challenges
Quality Assurance
Overseeing the Scottish Quality Mark quality assurance framework
Measuring Outcomes
Overseeing the national framework for measuring outcomes
Coordinating and reporting on the activities and outcomes of Care and Repair each year on behalf of the Scottish Government
Branding and Marketing
Developing and marketing the Care and Repair brand
Representing Care and Repair
Collectively representing Care and Repair at local government and Scottish Government levels
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Effective Engagement: We continue to engage directly with decision makers in the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament, local authorities, the NHS and other relevant organisations, as well as service users, potential service users, their families and carers to promote the importance and potential of Care and Repair. We have continued to enjoy increased engagement with our colleagues in Care and Repair England and Wales due to the use of digital conference platforms like Zoom and MS Teams. This year we have collaborated on a manifesto document for the elections. We remain members of the Parliamentary Working Group in Westminster that is working to increase awareness about Carbon Monoxide safety
Local Delivery: We support the local delivery of Care and Repair across the whole of Scotland so that all eligible persons can access a service. We have facilitated and attended regional managers' meetings to encourage information sharing and develop good practice. These have been held over MS Teams or Zoom conference call. We have met with Scottish Government, Health and Council officials in a number of areas to lobby for the continuation and development of the service.
We have renewed our involvement with Electrical Safety First which was suspended during Covid lockdowns. This scheme provides funding directly to participating offices to allow small electrical works to be quickly carried out.
We continue to administer the Quality Mark scheme for Scotland in partnership with Foundations. This year, Inverness and Glasgow were awarded the Quality Mark.
Innovation and Improvement: We have collaborated with a number of agencies and organisations such as Scottish Government, Energy Savings Trust, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue, Age Scotland, NHS Scotland and the Health and Wellbeing Group to develop new services.
We continue to work as members of the 4 Nations Falls Prevention Collective which brings organisations together to discuss four priorities in falls prevention: Deconditioning from Covid Restrictions, Training and Development, Falls Data and Dissemination Guidelines.
We have had a Restricted Fund showing in previous accounts that was carried over from our South Ayrshire Digital Inclusion Pilot which ended in 2018. We have commenced two new pilot projects that will continue the experience that we gained in Ayrshire. All Care and Repair offices in Scotland were invited to bid for funding and the Board chose the new pilot areas to be East Ayrshire and Lanarkshire. The Restricted Funding has been allocated to the offices and the pilots commenced in April 2024. It is our intention to apply for additional funding through the Scottish Government Digital Champions programme that will allow further expansion of these projects.
We continue to be members of the Inclusive Living Alliance which will oversee the ISPA Project which is an ambitious 5 year participatory mixed method study that will explore and understand how the stigma attached to where people live can intersect with experiences of disability and ageing. It aims to develop interventions related to home and environmental modifications which encourage interventions for inclusive approaches that support people to age well within homes and communities across England, Scotland, and Wales. The project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and runs from September 2022 to September 2027.
We continue to work with the Scottish Housing Adaptations Network to promote collaboration and good practice between Care and Repair Teams and Local Authorities around the effective delivery of adaptations to homeowners in Scotland.
We have joined the Glasgow care and Repair Strategy Group, which aims to provide guidance to the service from a wide range of stakeholders in the City.
Governance: We intend to maintain Care and Repair Scotland as a fit for purpose organisation, delivering good governance, meeting its legal and financial responsibilities, and providing effective leadership.
The Board met with the Director of Employers in Voluntary Housing in December 2023 to discuss succession planning.
The trustees are satisfied with the financial performance of the charity during the year.
Reserves Policy
It is the policy of the charity to maintain unrestricted funds at a level which equate to approximately 3 months unrestricted expenditure. This provides sufficient funds to cover management, administrative and support costs. Unrestricted funds were maintained at least at this level throughout the year.
Risk Review
The Board has reviewed and updated a register of major risks to which the charity was exposed during 2023/24, and has continued to give consideration to the risk arising from its assessed pension debt liability. Internal risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all transactions and projects. These procedures are periodically reviewed to ensure that they still meet the needs of the charity.
Plans for Future Periods
The charity continues to implement its 3-year business plan for 2023-26 that will help us build on the considerable achievements of the past and shape the future for Care and Repair in Scotland.
Care and Repair has an important contribution to make to the Scottish Government's developing strategy for the future care of older people in Scotland and any future plans will be linked to that agenda.
The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 12th January 2001 and registered as a charity on 12th January 2001.
The company was established under a Memorandum of Association, which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association.
Members of the Board, who are directors for the purpose of company law and trustees for the purpose of charity law, who served during the period and up to date of this report, are set out below.
Workmans took over the management of 135 Buchanan Street building from Savills in December 2020. The lease for the office was extended in March 2021.
Membership of the Company
Membership of the Company shall consist of not more than 12 members of which:-
(a) four members shall be Nominated Representatives of the Care & Repair Regional Groups, with one member from each of the four Regions;
(b) a maximum of three members shall be nominated representatives of voluntary groups and agencies;
(c) a maximum of three members shall be nominated representatives of a statutory or government agency; and
(d) two members shall be elected by ordinary resolution of the board of directors .
No employee of the company may become a member. A person admitted to membership shall automatically cease to be a member if he / she becomes an employee of the company.
A person may not become or remain a member if a nomination, election or other sanctioning (from the organisation which he or she represents) is withdrawn in respect of which he / she was admitted as a member or if he / she shall resign, or refuse to accept, office as a director of the company or otherwise cease to hold office as a director of the company.
The term of membership of any member appointed shall last for 2 years. At the end of the 2 years, the body which nominated the member may, at their sole discretion, elect to re-appoint the member in question.
Dentons solicitors have acted as Company Secretary since January 2018.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Care & Repair Forum Scotland 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;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; 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 Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and 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.
I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024, which are set out on pages 8 to 18.
The charity’s trustees, who are also the directors of Care & Repair Forum Scotland for the purposes of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investments (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1)(a) to (c) of the 2006 Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the financial statements as required under section 44(1)(c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the financial statements presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the financial statements, and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the financial statements.
In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations; and
to prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations;
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
Investments
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Care & Repair Forum Scotland is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is 135 Buchanan Street, Suite 2.5, Glasgow, G1 2JA.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Articles of Association, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended), 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 charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
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 accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention. 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.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors 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.
Revenue grants are recognised in line with their related costs.
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.
All fixed assets are initially recorded at cost. Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £250.
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 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.
Pension costs
The charity operates a multi-employer defined benefit pension scheme for employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
This scheme is accounted for as a defined contribution pension scheme as there is insufficient information available.
Operating lease agreements
Rentals applicable to operating leases where substantially all of the benefits and risks of ownership remain with the lessor are charged against income on a straight line basis over the period of the 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.
Grants receivable
Bookkeeping fees
Payroll processing fees
Other office expenses
Rent and service charges
Insurance
Other motor and travel costs
Telephone and other
Bank and finance charges
Printing and stationery
Subscriptions and membership
Advertising & promotion
Information Technology - Repairs & maintenance
Independent examination fees
Legal & professional fees
Cost of AGM & meetings
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or expenses during the year, (2023- none were reimbursed in the year).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Of the employees whose emoluments exceed £60,000, 1 (2023: 1) has retirement benefits accruing under defined benefit pension schemes.
The charity operates a defined benefit multi-employer pension scheme. This scheme is accounted for as a defined contribution pension scheme due to there being insufficient information available.
At the year end the net deficit within the scheme was £44,000 (2023: £21,000). If the liability of the scheme was included in the financial statements the net asset position would be £44,000 lower.
Since April 2019 the charity has been contributing annually to the deficit. On 30th March 2022, the company was informed of the progress of the 2021 actuarial valuation by the Employer Committee and the payment of deficit contributions beyond 30th September 2022. The result of this valuation was released on 31st May 2022 notifying each employer registered within the scheme that current deficit contributions will cease on 30th September 2022, and the final deficit contribution payment under the current recovery plan would be made within the charity’s October 2022 contribution.
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
Digital Inclusion project
In 2017 the charity received a grant of £120,000 from Scottish Government Digital Inclusion project for a 2-year pilot to explore how digital technology can assist the charity clients to live at home. The project ended during the year ended 31st March 2019. The donor has advised they are satisfied for the unused funds to continue to be used by the charity to promote what was learned from the Digital Inclusion project.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
General Funds
Restricted Funds