The trustees, who are also the directors of Southend Mencap for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Directors' And 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 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.
The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024, for Southend Mencap (charity number: 1078686).
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 constitution, 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 objectives are:
To serve the interests of children and adults with learning disability, and those of their families and carers, resident within Southend and the surrounding areas of Castlepoint, Rochford and Rayleigh.
To increase understanding, and public awareness, of the problems, and needs, of children and adults with learning disability, and their families and carers.
To introduce new, or already proven schemes, in the fields of education, training, social integration and employment.
To act as a pressure group, to stimulate local action, where the existing provision is inadequate, and to advocate for the needs of the learning disabled.
The aims of the charity are:
To work towards the full integration and acceptance of learning disabled children and adults into the open community.
To be a forward thinking and innovative society and to co-operate with other organisations and Royal Mencap in furtherance of these objectives.
To raise adequate funds for the achievement of the foregoing objectives and to invite and receive grants, contributions, donations and subscriptions.
To act always in conformity with the laws governing charities and with the Charity Commission.
The trustees are aware of their duty under S.17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Public Benefit Guidance published by the Charity Commission. As such, the trustees ensure that the activities of the charity are for the public benefit.
On both an achievements and financial performance, this financial year ending 31st March 2024 was an incredibly successful one and one that, ultimately, provided the society with a level of long-term security it’s never had before.
Back in January 2020, the society had taken on the property upstairs from our Novel Coffee Shop at 98A London Road, Southend, initially on a monthly rental basis with the view that the opportunity to purchase it would become available within 18 months. However, due to the pandemic and other legal issues outside of the society’s control, renting the property continued through until the end of 2023. Then, on 29th February 2024, Southend Mencap finally completed on the purchase of 98A London Road. As we already owned The Novel Coffee Shop downstairs, this completion also saw the society take over the freehold for 98 London Road resulting in Southend Mencap owning some land for the first time in its history. This double purchase was only possible following the receipt of a large legacy in August of 2023 that had been bequeathed to the society and which had eventually been completed after a period of four years by the solicitors who were also the executors to the legacy.
Student numbers continued reaching record levels across our projects and activities, allowing our self-sufficiency strategy to continue to deliver a small level of unrestricted income back into the society. As reported last year, our Showstoppers Project again reported a profit for this financial year and, along with the continued success of our Novel Coffee Shop, those two services have been able to continue to support the financial costs for our Family Support Worker project. This had always been the long-term aim of our self sufficiency strategy whereby a few projects may eventually start turning a profit that could then support other projects that would never reach self sufficiency. This continued achievement means funding is still not required to be sought for our Family Support Worker project. In turn, this frees up other funding applications to be submitted, and ultimately funds secured, for our Advocacy service and ensure their costs continue to be covered in the future.
As reported in last year’s report, our charity shop in Shoeburyness was closed down on 31st March 2023 but we were still liable for the lease, which at that time still had six years left to run. An agreement had been reached with the landlord that as soon as a new tenant had been found for the premises, the society would be able to completely exit the lease. The society was delighted to be informed just three months later that a new tenant had been found and during September 2023, once their new lease had been finalised, the landlord cancelled our lease and the society no longer had any financial liabilities to 110 West Road, Shoeburyness.
The Novel Coffee Shop continued to exceed all expectations and was even requested by other organisations to host a number of fundraising events during the year. These events, although seeing funds raised for other organisations, still resulted in all drinks and food purchased at these events being given to the society as a thank you from these other organisations. The use of the upstairs premises also provided opportunities for a number of local community groups to stage regular meetings, gatherings etc, allowing The Novel Coffee Shop to be recognised as a trusted venue for the wider community.
With full capacities continuing across our entire service provision, the society was again able to deliver a number of our own fundraising events that can be relied upon to produce some much needed funding to support those projects that will never be able to become self-sufficient. Our End of Summer Ball was another great success and the Cabaret Luncheon, where entertainment was provided by our Showstoppers Project, also returned for the first time since before the pandemic.
Our MODS drama group’s two night performance at The Palace Theatre in November saw close on 90% audience capacity across both nights and allowed the wonderful cast of actors and actresses to again showcase their amazing confidence and talents to the local community. Incredibly moving standing ovations at the end of both performances happened and, thanks to the very generous audience members, we were able to raise over £1,200 from the raffle held on the two nights. In addition, The Only Fools and Horses Social Group were present and presented a cheque for £2,000 following them choosing MODS as their charity to support. However, in a change to their usual practice, The Only Fools and Horses Social Group chose to continue supporting MODS during 2024 and have two fundraising events planned for the summer of 2024 that will see them raise more funds for the drama group.
The Making Care Fair Campaign continued during this year and, finally, the society felt with the support of Blade Education that we had started to ‘open the eyes’ of the authorities overseeing both the benefits system and financial assessment process for the learning disabled. The society accepted that this would be a long process so the fact it has taken over 2 years to just reach this point has not deterred the campaign and its long-term goals for the learning disabled community.
It was mentioned in last year’s report about discussions having taken place regarding The Music Man Project separating from Southend Mencap, something that would allow both charities to continue on their respective paths in as successful a way as possible. This separation occurred at the start of September 2023 and Southend Mencap wishes continued success and growth for The Music Man Project Charity.
The financial climate remained a very uncertain one, especially with the continuation of the cost of living crisis in the UK. However, the fundraising and donations the society secured during the year proved more than sufficient to ensure the Executive Committee continued to be confident on the long-term future for the society.
The society also benefited greatly from an increase in other organisations choosing Southend Mencap, or one of our particular projects/activities, to raise funds for during the year.
Then, though, there was the receipt of two large legacies that had been left to the society. The first, mentioned previously, and that took over four years to finally be completed, allowed the society to purchase 98A London Road as well as the freehold for 98 London Road, thus greatly increasing our fixed assets. Secondly, the society was also one of ten charities named in another legacy that resulted in the securing of cash funds that will provide a long-term financial security we haven’t previously experienced. At a time that is still proving immensely challenging and concerning for our client base, with the society’s 70th anniversary on the horizon the Executive Committee feel extremely confident in confirming that Southend Mencap’s service provision and support can only increase from this point forward.
For the financial year, expenditure was equal to £515,200, whereby three month's expenditure would approximate as £128,800. At the balance sheet date, reserves totalled £421,541, of which £347,653 is unrestricted.
Funding applications continued to be needed as not all projects will be able to become self sufficient e.g. Advocacy, which is a free service so generates no income. However, the continued success of the self-sufficiency strategy results in our Family Support project continuing to be funded by surplus funds generated by both our Showstoppers Project and Novel Coffee Shop.
We had the continuation of our ongoing five-year grant from The National Lottery Community Fund, which provided £17,914.36 during this financial year and continues through until September 2025. Additionally, we had the continuation of our three year grant from Children In Need, which provided £25,063.70 during this financial year and continues until May 2024.
Other funding secured for the year from grant applications was £14,500 from the Post Code Community Trust, £10,650 from the Edward Gostling Foundation, £10,032 from the Trusthouse Charitable Foundation, £9,780 from a funder that prefers to remain nameless, £6,952.36 from Southend Short Breaks, £5,196 from Sport England, £2,500 from the FSJ Charities Trust, £2,500 from The Rosca Trust and £1,500 from the Tesco Community Grants Scheme. The society is immensely grateful to all these organisations for their financial support this year.
The charity continues to feel it is appropriate to hold reserves equivalent to three months running costs. This is considered to present a reasonable amount to allow time for the sourcing of new funds or the orderly winding up of the charity, in the case of the failure of present funding.
Risk Management:
The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
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:
The board of trustees has the power to appoint and remove trustees on a majority basis, with the chairman C Hebden having the deciding vote where necessary.
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company.
The charity is organised so that trustees meet regularly to manage its affairs. M. McOwen is a full time support administrator, who implements the decisions of the trustees, overseeing the day to day running of the charity and organising fundraising and applications for grants etc. There is also one full time shop manager, a part-time assistant shop manager and two part-time job sharing office support administration assistants. In addition it has one full time and one part time advocates for the learning disabled, and their families, together with a part time Family Information Officer. There are some twenty two employees who run various activities for the learning disabled. These are a mixture of full and part time staff. We are also very grateful to all our volunteer workers, without whom the Society could not function.
The Directors' and trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Southend Mencap (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2024.
As the trustees of the charity (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Southend Mencap is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is The Harvey Centre, 100 London Road, Southend on Sea, Essex, SS1 1PG.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, 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 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. 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. The trustee's recognise there are no material uncertainties about the entity's ability to continue and thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
This view is supported by the approval of grant funding receivable over the next five years to support specific projects.
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.
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.
Grant income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received
Trading income is recognised when the sale occurs to the customer, and is shown after discounts and net of VAT.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:
Costs of generating funds include the costs of commercial trading activities and its associated support cost and fundraising costs incurred in inducing people and organisations to contribute financially to the charity's work, this includes the cost of advertising for donations and the staging of special fundraising events and all associated support costs.
Expenditure on charitable activities includes all expenditure directly related to activities undertaken to further the purpose and achieve the objectives of the charity and their associated support costs.
Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading.
Support costs are those functions that assist in the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the charities programmes and activities. These costs have been allocated to expenditure on charitable activities. The basis on which support costs have been allocated are set out in note 8.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Freehold land and assets in the course of construction are not depreciated.
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.
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 measured at transaction price including transaction costs 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 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.
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 at transaction price.
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.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
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.
Membership fees
Programme & Merchandise income
Other direct charitable expenditure
Remuneration was paid to a trustees for services provided to the Charity during the year; £8,607 (2023: £8,666 ) to L Nardone. Due to their employment status they are non-voting trustees.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The full time equivalent of the total part time staff was 12 for the year (2023: 13).
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
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.
Description of material funds:
Advocacy (£45,317) and Family Support Worker (£7,138) projects represent free advice and support services provided by the charity, which are funded by external grant funding and the surpluses produced by unrestricted trading activities.
Showstoppers (£10,849), Smash (£2,685) and Yoga (£5,905) projects represent activity clubs operated for a membership subscription price, to enable to projects to cover their costs, and offered to the charity's core audience on a weekly basis.
All restricted funds showing deficits at the year-end date do so due to cashflow timing and return to surpluses shortly after the year-end, as further club fees, grant payments or donations are received.
The only exception to this is the Music Supplies fund, which remains at its deficit of £1,305 post year-end. This deficit relates to the unwinding of depreciation on tangible assets purchased with this fund, that is to cleared using unrestricted, general funds in the future.
During the year, transfers were made between restricted and unrestricted funds in order for the restricted funds relating to the Music Man Project (Music Man Project, Maldon Branch and Palladium Concert) to be transferred to the new charity established in September 2023.
All transfers were agreed upon by the Trustees and no other transfers were made in addition to those described above.
The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows.
The following amounts were outstanding at the reporting end date: