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 Memorandum and Articles of Association,the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended), 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 charity's objectives are:
to educate the general public as to the needs of parents and children under five; and
to encourage the development of, and support, services set up in order to alleviate disadvantage in families with young children.
The objectives of the Company are met by providing quality home visiting and group support to families with young children who are under stress or experiencing difficulties.The objects of the Company are wholly charitable.
Principal activities
The principal activity of the Company has been the support of parents and young children in accordance with its Articles of Association. Home Link Family Support currently provides Group work, Family Support, Antenatal Support, and Volunteer Family Support in Edinburgh. In Midlothian, we provide the following services: Volunteer Family Support, Systemic Family Counselling, School-based Therapy, Young Parents Family Support, Family Practitioner attached to Mayfield Nursery, Family Opportunities- tackling the impact of poverty, and Group work.
Achievements and Performance 2023-24
Strategic Aim 1
Improve children’s life chances through providing enhanced family learning experiences.
Strategic Aim 2
Enhance whole family wellbeing by supporting families to flourish and thrive, by offering support that is timely, flexible, and responsive to their emerging needs.
Strategic Aim 3
Deliver services across our communities which are inclusive and free from stigma and judgement.
The year in numbers 2023-24
Due to 50% reduction in funding in Midlothian, this had a direct impact on how many people we could support in the year. All remaining staff worked at capacity to support as many families as they could.
487 families were supported (2022-23: 615)
622 children were supported (2022-23: 778)
103 families attended our face-to-face group work and a further 46 families attended online groups
18 active volunteers provided 2808 hours of support with an economic value of £33,696 (2022-23: £47,088)
50,648 hours of early years support were delivered (2022-23: 40,664)
Number of Families accessing specific services in the year
Early Years Home Visiting (Edinburgh) 260 (2022-23: 385)
Early Years Therapy Service (Midlothian) 29 (2022-23: 31)
Therapy services in Primary Schools (Midlothian) 76 (2022-23: 111)
Back on Track- Therapy Service 84 (2022-23: 84)
Family Volunteer Service 60 (2022-23: 60)
Group work 123 (2022-23: 123)
Impact for each service area
Each family and child to score themselves against a set of specific service outcomes. We collate scores at the beginning and end of support.
Early Years Home Visiting (including volunteers)
Children’s emotional needs met - improved to 77% (2022-23 75%)
Children’s health and wellbeing - improved to 72% (2022-23 96%)
Children’s routines - improved to 74% (2022-23 74%)
Children’s learning and development - improved to 81% (2022-23 53%)
Therapy services (Midlothian)
Communication - improved to 92% (2022-23 92%)
Family functioning - improved 92% (2022-23 53%)
Social/school relationships - improved to 82% (2022-23 100%)
Individual change - improved to 89% (2022-23 66%)
Back on Track (Edinburgh)
The children supported scored themselves at the end of support against the following outcomes:
93% were coping better with difficulties they had (70% 2022-23)
82% felt better about communicating their feelings (71% 2022-23)
80% felt their relationships with family/school had improved (71% 2022-23)
Where our referrals have come from
Health 60%
Education 30%
Social Work 3%
Voluntary services/partners 4%
Self 3%
What we have achieved
We continued to ensure that our families have the best experience of support by meeting their individual needs, alleviating the impact of child poverty, social and emotional distress and helping parents be actively involved in their child’s learning and development. We offered the following parenting programmes throughout our Early Years services, HENRY (Healthy Start, Brighter Future), PICL (Parents Involved Child’s Learning), Bookbug, PEEP (Parents Early Education Partners) , Incredible Years, Play@home and Stay and Play. Our primary school-based therapy services were swamped with referrals for children who were showing both social and emotional distress.
In the course of the year:
We implemented our Early Years parenting approaches framework ensuring all staff are trained in core approaches to ensure consistency of service delivery.
We invested in staff development along with some Voluntary Sector partners, receiving 2 days of Neuro-divergent specialist training with ongoing monthly consultations for staff.
We focused our fundraising on sustaining services in the cost-of-living crisis with its impact on organisation sustainability. We secured funding that allows us to continue to reach as many people as possible and managed to maintain our core service offer in the year as well as increasing our group work offer.
We developed our data collection tools to enable more dynamic reports to be produced that can evidence the impact of what we do. We now use QR codes to enable children and families to capture the impact of the support they receive.
We revamped the website to make it more user-friendly.
We delivered a successful summer group programme, helping us to stay connected with families over the summer, including trips to the beach, park, Our Dynamic Earth as well as having teddy bears’ picnics.
We continued to invest in developing community partnerships to ensure the best outcomes for families, working collaboratively to seek funding that best meets emerging needs. We did this by forming an Early Years Collaboration in Edinburgh with Circle, Home-Start, Stepping Stones, Citizens Advice Bureau, Lothian Parent Infant Relationship Service (Lothian PAIRS) and Early Years Education to develop a service that provides alternatives to Early Years education in the community. Our established Mental Consortium (Midlothian Sure Start, MYPAS, Play Therapy Base) in Midlothian was awarded funding to provide therapeutic support to children and young people experiencing distress in any aspect of their lives.
We have continued to offer Stay and Play in Granton, Moredun, Craigmillar and Wester Hailes, where group work provision for families with children in their early years can be limited.
We had our most successful Christmas Appeal to date, the support of our partners Fresh Start, Clearwater and Intercontinental allowed us to offer bedtime story books and warm pj’s with a gift for every child in need and food hampers to help cover the Christmas holiday period. A total of 165 children and 93 families benefited from the 2023 Christmas appeal.
We helped reduce the cost-of-living impact on families as we were awarded funding to enable us to provide them with emergency payments. LACER (Local Authority COVID Economic Recovery Fund) in Midlothian and The Children’s Lottery in Edinburgh supported families in need with a total of 60 families benefiting to date with funds of £11,494 being distributed on a ‘cash-first-no-stigma basis.
The Board of Directors have taken care to track the income and expenditure in the year and were mindful of the decline in fundraising which is needed to subsidise shortfalls in several projects.
A surplus of £73,265 (2023: deficit £8,911) was reported in the year. This surplus reflects the receipt of unbudgeted restricted grant income of £36,000 which is recognised as income in the year but will be used for projects in 2024/25. In addition to this we unexpectedly received a £25,000 from the Kennedy Family Trust.
Midlothian Council continues to be Home Link Family Support's largest funder, contributing £143,901 (2023:
£232,526). Home Link Family Support also received significant levels of funding from:
• £121,677 City of Edinburgh Council (2023: £135,058)
• £100,528 National Lottery (2023: £76,689)
Home Link Family Support continues to have a strong balance sheet with total reserves of £506,882 (2023:
£433,617) made up of unrestricted reserves of £185,174 (2023: £185,649) and restricted reserves of £321,708(2023: £247,968).
We will continue to monitor the level of unrestricted reserves to ensure that the organisation is equipped to deal with the continued economic uncertainty.
The Board of Directors are confident that Home Link Family Support is well placed to meet the financial challenges which face all charitable organisations.
Home Link Family Support has already secured the majority of its 2024-25 funding, the Board will continue to scrutinise the reserve position in the coming year with key reviews of the financial positions and forecast year end position to enable decision making about sustainability of projects.
The Board's policy is to maintain unrestricted reserves equal to a minimum of three months running costs, with a target of six months over the longer term. This should allow sufficient funds to be held in reserve to cover the overall costs of closing any of the services provided should a reduced level of funding undermine the long term financial viability of the service, and provide cover for any wind up costs should there be a requirement to close the charity.
In instances where reserves are more than 10% below the agreed reserves minimum, the Finance Sub Group is required to investigate the variance and the explanation put to the Board by the Treasurer.
The requisite level of reserves should be determined as part of the budget process at the start of each financial year, and the policy updated on a regular basis to take into account changing needs and funding streams.
The charity's unrestricted free reserves - general funds less fixed assets - as at 31 March 2024 was £180,344 (2023: £177,958).
As the board have continued to invest in finance, business and operational staff the overhead allocation this year has increased for all projects. It is vital that front line staff have the support they need to ensure that all clients receive high quality support.
Due to additional funds raised in 2023-24 we can invest in several areas that will enhance our services to the children and families we support. We will do this in a variety of ways.
Restructuring of Line Management Team
We will move to having 2 team leaders, helping reduce the key person dependency and enabling more investment in development and support of our frontline services.
Staff investment
We will review the salaries of all our staff members and ensure we are adopting the real living wage in our salary awards considering the ongoing impact of the cost of living. It is important that we remain committed to competitive salary opportunities to sustain our current team and attract new staff members as needed.
We will be providing staff with additional training to help meet the changing needs of the clients we support and to promote continued professional development. A full training needs analysis will be undertaken with commissioned specialists enlisted to meet training needs identified.
We will be investing in our volunteer service providing training opportunities with other third sector providers, to help share resources, improve networking and enhance volunteer learning opportunities.
Business Support Investment
We will be reviewing and improving our client management systems to help us collate meaningful data and evidence the impact we make to the children and families we support.
We will also invest in customised evaluation tools that are user friendly and inclusive of everyone in the household we support.
Service Review
We will undertake a review of all our current services and produce a robust impact assessment to ensure the organisation is effectively responding to the emerging needs of the children, young people and families we support.
Across our Early Years Services, we will:
Develop an Early Years Community of Practice across Edinburgh and Midlothian - bringing together colleagues to share practice, ideas and resources to meet emerging needs.
Expand our PEEP offer across Edinburgh.
Work in partnership to roll out the Early Years Hubs across Edinburgh
In our Therapy Services we will:
Employ a dedicated Team Lead to manage the service and build relationships with referrers.
Produce an impact report on the Back on Track therapy service, ahead of the review of the funding stream to which this service is attached.
Grow the Art Therapy Service across Midlothian and Edinburgh to expand the reach and enable more children to access therapy in their communities.
Offer Forest Families as a group work model.
Develop the Dyadic art therapy model.
Group work we have secured funding for:
Young Parents- Healthy lifestyles- encouraging parent and child to have a shared understanding of health eating and routines.
Stay and play in areas of need- offering food, free play, song and storytelling.
Kinship carers- systemic peer support for individuals who have additional caring responsibilities.
Parents with children who have ASN- will be offered a welling being peer support focusing on their own needs.
Student Placements
We plan to offer student placements in the following disciplines: Art Therapy, Systemic Family Practice and Social Work. We believe in supporting the new workforce and providing an enriching learning experience.
Service delivery ambitions in the coming year
We want to explore how better to support transition from Early Years to P1 using therapeutic interventions.
We want to ensure all aspects of our practice are truly trauma-informed, embedding the Windows of Tolerance approach in our direct work with parent/carers.
We will continue to invest in staff wellbeing and implement our wellbeing charter.
We want to revisit children’s participation in our services, making sure we embed a rights-based approach and actively support our youngest service users to be involved in decisions about their lives.
We want to form new partnerships to help us support families who have neurological needs, offering home/community/learning tailored supports.
Home Link Family Support is a company limited by guarantee (No.SC229797) and a recognised charity (No. SC001360) governed by its Articles of Association.
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:
Lynne Spiteri – Chair
Victoria Gibson – Vice Chair/Secretary
Ross McEwan - Treasurer
Zain Sheikh
Francis Lake
Christine Brown
Murray Ferguson
Rhona Gunn
Liz Notarangelo
Jacqueline Agnew (Appointed 15 November 2023)
Diane Easson Kirten Abel | (Resigned 14 December 2023) (Resigned 19 March 2024)
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Senior management Paula Swanston
Charity number (Scotland) SC001360
Company number SC229797
Principal office and registered office 1 Dalkeith Road Mews Dalkeith Road
Edinburgh
EH16 5GA
Auditor Thomson Cooper Accountants
22 Stafford Street
Edinburgh
EH3 7BD
Bankers CAF Bank Ltd
25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill
West Malling
Kent
ME19 4JQ
The Board of Directors and other interested individuals comprise the members of the Company. The minimum number of Directors is six and the maximum twelve. Admission to membership is at the discretion of the Board.
Directors may be appointed at any time by resolution of the directors, following the procedure outlined in the Articles. Directors shall be eligible to serve for an initial three-year term from the date of their appointment at which point they shall resign but may be eligible for re-appointment for a second three year term. Following the second term, Directors must retire for at least one year, following which he or she will be eligible for re-election for a third and final term.
Home Link's work is focused on vulnerable young children and their families, and as such the Directors seek to ensure that the needs of such children are appropriately reflected through the inclusion on the Board of individuals with social work and early years backgrounds, business, legal and human resources skills. Home Link maintains a 'Person Specification', detailing both the 'essential' and the 'desirable' qualities sought in Board members. New Board members are not required to meet all of the 'desirable' specifications, but the specifications must be represented by the Board as a whole.
New Board members are invited to a Board induction to familiarise themselves with the charity and the context in which it operates. These inductions are led jointly by the Chair of the Board and the Manager of the charity and cover: the obligation of board members; the main documents which set out the operational framework of the charity, including the Articles of Association; resourcing and the current financial position as set out in the latest published accounts; and future plans and objectives.
The Directors meet six times each year and decisions are based on a majority vote of those present Day-to-day management of the charity is delegated to the Manager.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Home Link Family Support 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 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.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Thomson Cooper 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 Home Link Family Support (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2024 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 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.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) require us to report to you if, in our opinion:
the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the trustees' report; or
proper accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
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.
We have been appointed as auditor under section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.
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 considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the organisation for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following areas: existence and timing of recognition of grant income and the posting of transactions to the correct funds. We discussed these risks with management, designed audit procedures to test the timing and existence of donations and grant income, including reviewing of grant paperwork and terms and conditions, reviewing the allocation of costs against the correct funding and reviewed areas of judgement for indicators of management bias.
We identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our sector experience through discussion with the officers and other management (as required by the auditing standards). We focused on specific laws and regulations which may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or operation of the charity, including the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).
We assessed the extent of compliance of the laws and regulations identified above by inspecting any legal correspondence and making enquiries of management.
We reviewed the laws and regulations in areas that directly affect the financial statements including financial and taxation legislation and considered the extent of compliance with those laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items.
With the exception of any known or possible non-compliance with relevant and significant laws and regulations, and as required by the auditing standards, our work in respect of these was limited to enquiry of the officers and management of the company.
We communicated identified laws and regulations throughout our team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit. However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with the trustees. To address the risk of fraud we identified internal controls established to identify risk, performed analytical procedures to identify unusual movements, assessed any judgements and assumptions made in determining accounting estimates, reviewed journal entries for unusual transactions and identified related parties.
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. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.
These inherent limitations are particularly significant in the case of misstatement resulting from fraud as this may involve sophisticated schemes designed to avoid detection, including deliberate failure to record transactions, collusion or the provision of intentional misrepresentations.
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 and to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act and regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees 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 charity and the charity’s trustees 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.
Home Link Family Support is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is Unit 1 Newington Business Centre, Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh, EH16 5GA.
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 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.
Income from government and other grants, whether capital or revenue in nature, are recognised when the charity has unconditional entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. Unconditional entitlement will be achieved once any performance or other conditions attached to the grants have been met, or fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the charity.
Where a restricted grant has conditions attached to its use, for instance time-imposed or performance-based conditions that are not yet met, the grant is recognised as a liability in the balance sheet and released to income once those conditions are met.
Income from other trading activities includes income earned from both trading activities to raise funds for the charity and income from fundraising events and is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that these will be received and the amounts can be measured reliably.
Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity. This is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.
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.
Expenditure on raising funds includes all expenditure incurred by the charity to raise funds for its charitable purposes.It includes the cost of all fundraising activities and events together with those costs incurred in seeking donations, grants and legacies and investment management costs.
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.
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.
Grants for distribution
Social work student placement
Admin fee on LACER Fund grants for distribution
Fundraising
Premises Costs
Running and IT Costs
Motor and Travel Costs
Legal and Professional Fees
Clinical supervision and staff training
Home Link Family Support acted as lead partner in the delivery of project work and acted as an agency where it received funds from Midlothian Council to remit directly to named charitable organisations As such, these funds from Midlothian Council and payments to the charitable organisations are not included as income or expenditure in the Statement of Financial Activities as these funds were held on behalf of and paid over to third parties.
Home Link were approved partner of LACER and Children’s lottery fund to enable staff to make emergency payments to families facing the pressures of the cost of living crises. In the year to 31 March 2024 Home Link Family Support received £16,022 and remitted £11,494 in funds for third parties.
Board Meeting costs
Governance costs includes payments to the auditors of £6,300 (2023- £6,000) for audit fees.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The pension charge represents contributions due from the charity and amounted to £17,647 (2023 : £18,637). At the year end £3,517 was due in respect of pension contributions (2023 : £3,540).
The directors consider the manager and deputy manager being the key management personnel of the charity. The total remuneration including employer's national insurance and pension contributions for the year was £88,235 (2023 : £88,680).
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
Midlothian Befriending Service and Family Support Fund
Represents sums received from Midlothian Council to fund the befriending service in Midlothian. This service closed in June 2023 with families moving to staff based support.
Edinburgh Befriending Service and Family Support Fund
Represents sums received from City of Edinburgh Council and Garfield Western to fund the befriending service and family support in Edinburgh.
Volunteer Officer Fund
Represents funding from small grants and City of Edinburgh Council to co-ordinate volunteer family support in Edinburgh
Systemic Family Counselling in Midlothian
Represents sums received from Midlothian Council and The Robertson Trust for delivering counselling services in primary schools including art therapy.
Early Years Fund (Big Lottery)
Represents sums received from Big Lottery and the Volant Trust to fund the Early Years Service.
Antenatal Project
Represents sums received from the Big Lottery and the Volant Trust.
Systemic Mental Health
Funds received under partnership formed with MYPAS, Midlothian,Sure Start and Play Therapy Base. The partnership received funds from the Community Mental Health Framework to offer children, young people and their families experiencing wellbeing and mental health issues.
Midlothian Young Parents' Support Service
Represent funding received from the Henry Smith Trust and The People's Postcode Lottery to fund the Young Parent's Service in Midlothian. The loss of other funding in the year has meant a reduction in service being offered.
Family Practitioner
This post is fully funded by Midlothian Council to provide children and their families with family learning opportunities through home visiting and community engagement to improve access to early years education.
Art Therapy
This is funding received from Midlothian Council, Midlothian Sure Start and St David's Primary School to provide art therapy and systemic family counselling to families with children under 5 living across Midlothian as well as RS Macdonald Trust providing funding to these posts to enable school-based therapy to be increased to meet demand.
Stay and Play
Community-based groups with funding from Kelly Family Trust and Awards for All.
Cash for Kids
Funds received to enable families to receive educational packs and food vouchers during the first lockdown. The project closed in April 2022.
Families Opportunities Worker- Midlothian
Funding from Midlothian Council for a post that alleviates the impact of poverty on children in their early years.
Back on Track
Funding from Community Health Framework to work in partnership with Crossreach to deliver therapy services in the high school catchments of Liberton and Gracemount; addtional funding was received from RS Macdonald Trust to provide art therapy.
LACER Fund
Funding from Midlothian Council for grant distribution of emergency payments to families facing the pressures of the cost of living crisis.
Scottish Children’ Charity
Grant from Scottish Children’s Charity for grant distribution of emergency payments to families facing the pressures of the cost of living crisis.
ELTF
Grant from Edinburgh and Lothian Trust Fund to for grant distribution of emergency payments to families facing the pressures of the cost of living crisis.
These are unrestricted funds which are material to the charity's activities made up as follows:
Incoming resources
Resources expended
Transfers
Incoming resources
Resources expended
Transfers
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:
During the year RMM Associates, an organisation owned by a trustee donated £1,000 to the charity. There were no other related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).
The charity had no debt during the year.