Welcome to our Annual Trustees Report for the financial year 2023 -2024.
This is my first report as the newly elected chair of the WomenCentre board and I wish to express my thanks to the outgoing chair Maura Wilson.
Some Highlights
WomenCentre Strategies
In the year the continuation of our work with the Pilotlighters (https://www.pilotlight.org.uk/weston-charity-awards) resulted in the development of the WomenCentre Strategy 2024-2029 (to be launched in autumn 2024) ,a Voice and Influence Strategy and a Marketing and Communications Strategy. This has been a huge piece of work involving the board, staff, volunteers and women who access our services and the WC strategy was the focus of the staff and volunteer conference in March 2024. The conference was attended by 80 staff, volunteers and 2 x board members, where we focussed on our future direction – strategy, values, communications, branding and our collective WomenCentre narratives.
I would like to express my thanks to everyone for supporting these vital pieces of work that will provide the organisation with our strategic direction for the next 5 years.
Funding and Services
The work of the organisation has continued to develop over the year with some new funding streams. Our main focus has been to ensure that our core contracted, and trust /grant funded services have been maintained. In January 2024 we received the news that our Women’s Mental Health and Wellbeing service in Kirklees had been recommissioned for a further 5 years after a successful tendering process. Further bids to the National Lottery for our work with girls and young women (1125) were also successful as well as a successful bid to the NLCF alongside the STAGE partnership for continuation of our work with adults who are being sexually exploited.
The Domestic Abuse recommissioned contract in Calderdale re started from July 1st, 2023.
WomenCentre Board
The WomenCentre board continued to meet both in person and virtually throughout the year to ensure that there was a clear focus on the organisation’s work.11 trustees fully contributed their skills and knowledge. The main sub groups are Finance, HR and Contracts, Risk and Compliance. The fundraising and communications sub group was discontinued in the year, but one board member has worked closely with the CEO and the Communications and Marketing lead to ensure that this work has been progressing. Of note has been the development of the Communications and Marketing Strategy and the CRM database ensuring there is improved communication with all members and supporters.
Volunteering
The board received a report on the development of our volunteering offer at WomenCentre that was enabled from the legacy funding from the late Doreen Pickles.
Capital Projects
The board was delighted to see the windows capital project completed in early 2024 in line with the budget for the work. We would like to express our thanks to all the funders and wider supporters who invested in this capital project that has made a huge difference to the security within the building. They are, Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation, Clothworkers’ Foundation, Bernard Sunley Foundation, Beatrice Laing Trust, Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation, Community Foundation for Calderdale and all the Window’s Crowd Funder supporters.
WomenCentre Homes –The WomenCentre board has continued to support the development of our sister charitable company WomenCentre Homes and WomenCentre continues to own the three properties initially purchased with the social loan from the Community Foundation for Calderdale. WomenCentre receives rental income for these 3 properties.
Although it has been a challenging year for WCH with previous housing development opportunities no longer available WomenCentre is still totally committed to ensuring that our sister charity secures additional funding for additional properties for women and children in Calderdale.
On behalf of the board, I would like to thank all staff, volunteers, members and supporters for their commitment and investment into the lives of the women, girls and clients we support through the many services at WomenCentre.
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 [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's purpose as set out in objectives listed in the company's memorandum are to benefit the public by:
The promotion, preservation and protection of the good physical and mental well being of women;
To advance the education of women about all matters concerning their welfare.
At the annual general meeting held on 14 October 2019 a change to the objects was approved, the revised objects are:
The promotion, preservation and protection of the good physical emotional and mental well-being of primarily women and children and all victims of domestic abuse;
To advance the education of women about all matters concerning their welfare.
The aims of the charity are:
To provide a comprehensive and accessible service for women, run by women, which encompass the whole range of women's health and well-being issues.
To reach and attract women who may normally stay away from doctors and other medical and social services for reasons of age, culture, sexuality, class, marital status and racial origin.
To encourage the diffident who may be in high risk groups, to seek help that they might not otherwise receive, by providing a relaxed, non-clinical atmosphere.
To seek more effective ways of preventing and meeting women's health problems by means of research, exchange of experience, information and data collection.
To further a general understanding about women's health care provision both within the medical profession and the community.
To develop constructive and positive relationships with medical, social, voluntary and other services in order to facilitate the establishment of an effective system of referral, information and mutual support.
To recognise and welcome the contribution that alternative therapies can make to a service of this kind
To encourage actively the formation of self-help and support groups, both therapeutic and educational in nature.
The charity's aims, objectives and activities are reviewed each year. This review looks at the activities undertaken in the previous year to ensure that benefits have been brought to those groups the charity was set up to help, the review also helps to ensure that our activities remain focused on our stated aims and objectives. We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning the charity's future activities. In particular the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.
The charity's objects and funding limit the service we provide to women, however equal access by women to the charity's services is an important issue, so ensuring the charity doesn't discriminate against age, race, disability or sexual orientation. Beneficiaries to the charity's services are any women seeking our assistance, with many beneficiaries referred to our services by government agencies. The charity provides it services free of charge so ensuring that women in poverty are not excluded. Many of our projects are specifically charged with the objective of encouraging and enabling excluded women and their children to engage with the services of the WomenCentre.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
CEO Report
Overview and Achievements
It has been another busy year at WomenCentre with 4880 referrals received across all services. We recruited additional staff into the Calderdale Staying Safe Team at the commencement of our new contract in July 2023 and have a new team of volunteers supporting all our work in Calderdale and Kirklees. We also receive additional support from a range of students on placements with us too.
The senior team has gone from strength to strength and in March 2024 we recruited a new senior operational manager for Kirklees, following the retirement of the previous manager. Our team managers working across all sites ensure that the day-to-day quality of our service provision remains high.
Service Delivery
We continue to offer a mix of face to face and telephone interventions with some virtual appointments also taking place across our 4 sites. The commissioned and grant funded operational services have all remained busy with demand outstripping the resources available across many of our services. In particular, there are waiting lists across our counselling services. The board receives contract monitoring and grant funding reports at the relevant subgroup and there is reporting to all commissioners and funders of our services.
Organisational Strategic Priorities
The priorities for the organisation in the past year have been aligned to our 3 key organisational objectives. They are:
Delivering quality services
A learning organisation that shapes best practice at a national level
An effective, well-managed and resilient organisation
A review of the priorities with the senior management team and the WomenCentre Board in March/April 2024 evidenced that the organisation had remained focused on all priority areas of work.
Income generation has continued via donations, membership, and external fundraising. Membership donations in 23/24 were £4,955 with general donations at £16,975 with gift aid still to be added.
Our social media presence has continued throughout the year, supporting wider communications about our work and that of wider women’s organisations across the country.
Partnership and Consortium Working
Our national and influencing work alongside Agenda, SafeLives, Survivors Trust and Respect has been maintained in support of our operational work with both victims and perpetrators of domestic and sexual abuse/violence. We continue to feed into national consultations and liaise with the Domestic Abuse Commissioners Office about the Violence Against Women and Girls agenda. Across West Yorkshire we have been attending quarterly meetings with the WY Mayor and her Deputy and receive regular updates on the work being undertaken in relation to the delivery of the Safety of Women and Girls Strategy.
WomenCentre also continues to be involved in a range of strategic partnerships including Domestic Abuse Strategic Boards in Calderdale, Kirklees and Bradford, and the WY Third Sector Advisory Board via the WY Mayor’s Office.
Additionally, WomenCentre continues to attend the Third Sector Leaders in Kirklees, the Chief Officers group in Calderdale where the WomenCentre CEO is the current Chair, Calderdale Liaison and Diversion Board (Chair) and the WY Liaison and Diversion Strategic Board.
Safeguarding
All teams are clear about their safeguarding responsibilities The organisational safeguarding assessment will be refreshed in 2024-2025.
Volunteers
There are now 2 part time volunteer coordinators, and this has resulted in a significant increase in volunteers supporting all WomenCentre activities. This includes including 1-1 counselling, drop-in support, group work, shopping and administrative support. In total in the year 64 volunteers including board members contributed 3263 hours at a monetary value of £51,724.08 to WomenCentre. We envisage an increase in volunteers in 2024-2025 to support our 40th year celebrations.
Core Funding Grants
WomenCentre would like to continue to express out thanks to: -
The Garfield Weston Foundation who provided WomenCentre with a grant for core funding from January 2023 until the end of December 2024. This has enabled the CEO and the Communications and Marketing lead to become more strategically involved in the organisation’s development work.
The Ministry of Justice for their grant towards core costs from January 2023 until March 2025. which has contributed towards core staffing posts as well as office rents, IT, and database licences. We are working closely with the MOJ to share outcomes data on the work we are undertaking with women at risk of or who are involved with the criminal justice system.
Finally, I would like to congratulate the chair of our WomenCentre Board Mel who was as awarded an MBE in the 2024 New Years Honours for her services to children.
Angela Everson
CEO
Services Overview
Counselling Calderdale - Calderdale ICB provided grant funding for the counselling service at WomenCentre. The counselling service, over the year, has been provided by 3 part time qualified counsellors. In the year 178 referrals were received and the team engaged with 120 clients with 80 clients receiving counselling sessions.
81% of the referrals come from internal services at WomenCentre with 63% from Calderdale Staying Safe Domestic Abuse service at WomenCentre and a further 19% as self-referrals.
The main presenting issues were domestic abuse, trauma, anxiety, bereavement, self-harm, suicidal ideation and family and child contact issues.
Additional funding also continued to be received for the Moving Forward group- a safe and empowering space for women who have experienced trauma and or domestic abuse. 7 courses were offered and a total of 29 women attended one of the groups.
Calderdale Staying Safe Domestic Abuse Support Service Commissioned by Calderdale MBC under the guidance of the DA strategic partnership board. WomenCentre began delivery of the newly commissioned contract from July 2023 working with adults (male and female aged 16 years+) across all risk levels. In the year the service’s Leading Lights (SafeLives) accreditation was renewed after a successful and robust assessment process. Additional funding has continued to be added to the contractual work with grants received from the Ministry of Justice via the West Yorkshire Mayor’s Office for increased high risk IDVA support. There has also been wider funding for other vital support needs from local charities and national charities particularly the Household Support Fund in Calderdale and the Circle Fund via Safe Lives.
Support has predominantly been provided in person and by phone. Referrals have continued to be received from wider multi-agency professionals, self-referrals and those internal to WomenCentre. The team works alongside a range of partner agencies and attends the Daily Risk Assessment Management Meeting (DRAMM) and attends the fortnightly MARAC (Multi- Agency Risk Assessment Conference).
The court IDVA in the team has continued to support victims at courts in West Yorkshire throughout the year as well as working closely with criminal justice partners to support increased attrition rates.
This year the service received 2805 referrals of which 1568 domestic abuse victims accessed a service. The Freedom Programme and the Own My Life course were attended by 139 women which is an increase in attendees on the previous year.
The service user group has become established.
The team continues to be offer advice and support to a wide range of multi-agency frontline workers across all sectors in Calderdale.
PCC Capital and Revenue Project West Yorkshire Mayor’s Office - WomenCentre has continued to work with the Mayoral office and wider Criminal Justice partners to successfully deliver a Live Video Link to the courts. This continues to be a most valuable resource to support victims of crime to give their evidence safely both for victims in Calderdale and also out of area. In total 44 video links were booked and whilst the successful outcomes were not as high as the previous year this has been mainly due to adjournments and some victims withdrawing due to the time it takes to get the court.
Women Making Changes - The Henry Smith Charity has been providing a 3-year grant that will end in January 2025. In year 2 to December 2023 due to the increased hardship that many women are suffering, we received more requests for help, particularly at the crisis end of support.
We supported 157 women, 58 of whom were supported by our reception triage volunteers. This support was varied and often included an urgent food parcel prior to being referred to/linked with the food banks, toiletries including sanitary products, utilities support including lengthy telephone calls to the relevant company.
A great deal of emotional support due to ongoing distress is also offered sometimes over several visits.
The Women Making Changes team also supported a larger group of women (45) to access critical support but not all these women were ready to take the next step of intensive one to one work which requires emotional work from the women.
Additional support at the initial triage assessment and engagement stage, has also included mobile phone top up, bus passes, nappies, toys for Christmas or birthdays and phone chargers.
Calderdale Small Council Grant - 6 Greener Women sustainable living courses were offered for women to find out more about recycling, upcycling, reducing energy costs, food waste and how to shop smarter. Supported Fortnightly free walks in the local community were also offered.
Healing Moves - Funded by the West Yorkshire Mayor’s Community Safety Fund the Healing Moves group was a new partnership approach for WomenCentre.
Working alongside a trained Taekwondo instructor the course aims to help the attendees to learn a new skill in a safe environment, gain physical and mental strength, self-confidence and to connect with others and have some fun.
West Yorkshire Liaison and Diversion via Wakefield Council provided a grant to WomenCentre to deliver a behaviour change Respect accredited programme in Calderdale.
Numbers attending the group work programme have been low despite a great deal of promotion of this programme across partner agencies, so some individual programmes of work have been undertaken.
Calderdale Cost of Living Fund - WomenCentre received funding from the above fund which allowed WomenCentre to help the women and families we support to manage with the current rising cost of living. The grant providers were The WY Mayor’s Cost of Living Emergency Fund, Calderdale Council, Community Foundation for Calderdale and the Department for Work & Pensions via the Household Support Fund.
WomenCentre was able to buy duvets, blankets, slow cookers, air fryers, household packs, food vouchers etc for distribution to the women we support.
Bradford Services
Domestic Abuse Bradford – the service is commissioned by the City of Bradford MBC and the Bradford City, Bradford District and Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven ICB’s and WomenCentre is part of Survive and Thrive partnership alongside Staying Put and Family Action. WomenCentre received additional New Burdens Funding in 2023-2024 from Bradford Council for the specialist DA and SV counselling as part of the Survive and Thrive contract.
Our service has been delivered from our office base in Bradford City Centre providing safe spaces for counselling to take place as well as offering the behaviour change group work programme. As part of this contract WomenCentre delivers Bradford Maze the Domestic Abuse Behaviour Change Perpetrator Programme that is RESPECT accredited and the DA and SV counselling service. Both services are for men and women.
Over the year Bradford Maze received 385 referrals for the Behaviour Change group work programme of 1:1 work with 353 assessments being undertaken.
122 men accessed the group and 22 were offered the programme on a 1-1 basis.
The Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence counselling service continued to see an increasing demand for the service with 636 referrals.
44% of clients reported improved coping strategies, 39% had a reduction in their anxiety and trauma symptoms and 14% if clients were able to access language support.
The Moving Forward group received 162 referrals and the programme ran 6 times through the year and worked with 51 clients. 48% felt better able to manage their mental health and 50% of the clients reported a reduction anxiety and trauma symptoms.
Kirklees
Mental Health and Wellbeing Service
The service is commissioned by Kirklees Council and both Kirklees NHS ICB’s and supports women living in Kirklees, aged 18 years and over who experience mental ill-health to access opportunities that promote, protect, and improve mental health, physical and emotional wellbeing, and recovery.
The team offers a range of group-based activities to help build resilience, confidence and self-esteem and to reduce isolation. The team works hard to create an environment of warmth, acceptance, comfort and inclusivity. The service is holistic and creative, focusing on women’s strengths providing solace, security and support in a confidential space.
Referrals are received from GPs, Mental Health Services in North and South Kirklees, Housing Providers and Probation Services; but most referrals come from women who have used our services, word of mouth and other Voluntary Sector providers including our Working Together Better partners.
Over the year 570 women were supported via a range of support and activities including 63 accessing person-centred counselling and there were 387 new referrals. Services offered were Creative Therapies, Dance & Movement, Music & Art, Peer Support Groups, Women in Exile, Mothers Apart, Sister Shout (LGBTQ), Relaxation, Addictive Behaviours Tea & Quiz (Dewsbury), Relaxation, Menopause Support. There was also a range of coproduced groups including Making Sense, Relationships, Confidence, Activity Groups (Sewing & Knitting, Walking, Singing, Yoga).
The team continued to offer the low-cost counselling service.
The team looks forward to continuing this invaluable service until 2029 following the successful tendering process in December 2023.
Women Making Changes (WMC) - Funded by Kirklees MBC the team supports victims and survivors of domestic abuse with complex needs.
In the year, the team received 137 referrals from a wide range of sources with case work completed with 126 women. The highest % of referrals were self-referrals with a range of presenting issues including benefits, debt, budgeting, domestic abuse.
A new partnership approach will commence in April 2024 – KDASS (Kirklees Domestic Abuse Support Services) working alongside Pennine Domestic Abuse Partnership, KRASSAC and the Bridges Outcomes Partnerships.
STAGE (Support to Overcome Experiences of Sexual Exploitation) was funded by National Lottery Community Fund via Changing Lives. Since January 2022 collaborating with other women’s organisations WomenCentre has been able to continue to support women affected by historical CSE in Kirklees.
The project has offered support to women, aged 16 and over, to address and overcome experiences associated with sexual exploitation and grooming. Our case worker provided personalised trauma-informed 1:1 and group-based support to help women achieve their personal goals. WomenCentre has continued to share our expertise as part of the wider partnership work in Kirklees and has continued to be part of the Stage Influencing group at a national level.
In November 2023 we were delighted to be part of the national launch of the Changing the Narrative report about the work that had been undertaken across the partnership and look forward to further continuing our delivery as part of this partnership. From April 2024 we will be expanding our service offer and recruiting an Adult Sexual Exploitation worker in Calderdale to help women address their immediate needs. The work will drive and embed best practice in working with young women as they transition into adulthood.
WY Mayor’s Community Safety Fund bid for a specialist DA recovery programmes in Kirklees tailored to racially minoritized groups was awarded in January 2024. Alongside PDAP (Pennine Domestic Abuse Partnership we will deliver a co-produced 10-week programme in community languages alongside Black, Asian and minoritized victims of DA.
We will aim to: -
Reduce isolation and increase emotional wellbeing and resilience
Improve understanding of Domestic Abuse and support early warning signs and healthy relationships
Provide opportunities for peer led learning and ongoing support
Increase confidence to access other services and support entry into further development such as access to education and employment.
There will also be ongoing facilitated peer support groups, building on the relationships formed to reduce anxiety, develop confidence. Increase engagement and maintain peer relationships.
Kirklees Household Support Fund – administered by One Community in Kirklees. WomenCentre received funding from the above fund helping to enable us to provide duvets, blankets, slow cookers, air fryers, household packs and food vouchers etc for distribution to the women we support with the grant.
The Mothers Apart: Common Threads Collective began work on the Keeping Mothers in Mind project. This new study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research under its Research for Patient Benefit Programme, brought together mothers, practice pioneers, and Lancaster academics to address serious shortfalls in mental health provision for women in care proceedings. The collective, facilitated by Siobhan Beckwith, are the Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) and throughout the project existing models of consultation were adapted to ensure that lived experience and shared learning was central throughout the whole project.
The findings will be used to make recommendations to social care professionals and organisations about the support that these mothers need with their mental health. Webinars, Easy Read materials, short films, reports, and articles for social care organisations were produced to ensure that as many people as possible read the research.
As part of our Mothers Apart work at WomenCentre we also continue to provide consultancy to adoption agencies to enhance their learning and understanding.
Services Working Across Calderdale and Kirklees
1125 funded by the National Lottery’s Community Fund concluded in August 2023. The provided girls and young women aged 11-25 years living in Calderdale and Kirklees, with a range of early intervention approaches focussing on times of distress and significant transitions in their lives. Frontline delivery was provided by two full time project workers and in the final year 37 girls and young women received 1-1 and or peer support.
The length of the support ranged from a few weeks, to over one year and in the final year we delivered support in schools, colleges, community venues, in the girls’ own homes (where appropriate) as well as in our centres.
1125 helped equip them with increased resilience and confidence, enabling them to cope better with difficulties and change, as these arise, building wellbeing and connections and supporting future planning. During the year whilst waiting for a future Lottery funding decision WomenCentre worked with funding from Pennine Domestic Abuse Partnership to provide safety, resilience and wellbeing support to children and young people who were victims of domestic abuse.
Freedom to be myself - working alongside North Huddersfield Trust School as part of a school programme the1125 team delivered sessions for groups of 6-8 girls focussed on, values and morals, labelling, self-identity, change and why we often compare ourselves to others The programme focused on the messages of empowerment and equality and a booklet was produced for each girl to take away with them on the topics covered with resources, links, tips, strategies and worksheets.
A successful bid to the National Lottery Communities Fund has meant that the service will resume from January 2024.
West Yorkshire All Age Liaison and Diversion Service funded via NHS England via Wakefield Council
WomenCentre has 3 seconded staff working on the female pathway. Across the 12 months ending March 2024, our L and D staff worked with 154 female service users across Kirklees and Calderdale as part of a wider cohort of 680 females across West Yorkshire (23%).
Of the 154 female service users, 26 of these (17%) received a referral into the Women Centre for counselling and/or wider support.
Assessments completed when service users start working with Liaison and Diversion identified vulnerabilities and of significance the most common needs identified were those of mental health, victim of abuse and financial need.
Reconnect
WomenCentre has a seconded worker as part of Reconnect. This service as part of L and D aims to improve the wellbeing of women leaving prison, reduce inequalities and address health related drivers of offending. The service offers liaison advocacy signposting and support to facilitate engagement with community-based health and support services.
Crisis Funds
Safe Lives – through the Circle Fund provided a grant to support DA victims at times of emergency.
DV Flee Fund via Women’s Aid – a national government funded initiative enabling WomenCentre to access funds to support women leaving in an emergency to refuge accommodation.
The Bearder Charity has continued to provide WomenCentre with funding to help women and their families at times of great need. We could not be more grateful for this fund that we use for transport, food, furniture, and other essential basic items etc.
Halifax Rotary, Revoplas and the Junior Chamber of Commerce supported WomenCentre at Christmas and as ever their donations were well received from the families we support.
The Board of Trustees has developed a reserves policy in line with guidance from The Charity Commission. The principle funding sources are government grants and grants from charitable trusts which are used to fund the activities detailed above.
At March 2024 unrestricted funds stand at £330,899, a reduction from the previous year. This figure includes 3 designated funds totalling £316,888 and remaining free reserves of £14,011.
The 3 designated funds are:
£131,689 Doreen Pickles legacy which is being used to support women at all levels within the organisation with a specific emphasis on volunteers. £39,466 has been utilised during the financial year.
£35,198 Garfield Weston Foundation which will be used on senior staff salaries during the 24/25 year.
£150,000 Contingency Fund. The Board recognises the need to cover staffing costs which may not be eligible or affordable within restricted funds expenditure (e.g. maternity pay, long term sick pay, redundancy pay), cash flow management (particularly if grants are received in arrears) and unforeseen building maintenance as well as the need to set aside funds for continuing core costs for a short period in case of the loss of significant funding stream.
The charity aims to maximise interest earned by placing cash in high interest accounts whenever the amount of funds held by the charity allow.
The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.
The trustees have conducted a review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed and systems have been established to mitigate those risks. Internal risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all transactions and projects and to ensure consistent quality of delivery for all operational aspects of the charitable company. These procedures are periodically reviewed to ensure that they still meet the needs of the charity.
Priorities in 2024 -2025
Delivering Quality Services
We will:
Continue to focus on offering the highest quality services and WomenCentre will look for opportunities to maintain all contracted delivery through successful bidding and tendering processes especially in Bradford, Calderdale and alongside Wakefield Council for the re tendering of the WY Liaison and Diversion Service.
Seek to continue to develop our reach and identify new opportunities.
Introduce the Adult Sexual Exploitation Service in Calderdale in addition to Kirklees (Formerly Stage) and continue to deliver the 1125 National Lottery Community Funded service to develop our work with girls and young women across Calderdale and Kirklees.
Work alongside Kirklees council to embed an outcomes-based approach to the delivery of DA services- KDASS. (Formerly Women Making Changes)
Continue to develop our work with women in the criminal justice system supported by the MOJ core costs funding alongside criminal justice partners e.g. West Yorkshire Liaison and Diversion Service and wider partners in the women's sector, CLINKS.
Quality assure and evidence our longstanding trauma informed delivery across all service areas by conducting an audit and producing an action plan to identify areas of good practice and gaps across services using the WY Trauma Informed Checklist.
All the above work will be supported and overseen by the WomenCentre Board.
A learning organisation that shapes best practice, at a local and national level.
We will:
Continue to learn from the women/clients we support and ensure that Women’s Voices are heard to bring about change by implementing a WomenCentre Women and Girls Voice and Influence Strategy.
Engage fully in the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)
Work and support campaigns that highlight the injustices for women and girls alongside wider women’s sector organisations locally, regionally, and nationally. We will challenge approaches that have a negative impact on the lives of women and girls via existing partnerships, national discussions and consultations and networks e.g. WY Mayor’s Office, DA Commissioners Office.
Engage with WC members/supporters/matrons to further spread the word about the importance of our work.
Engage with all WomenCentre stakeholders for ideas and will launch our 40th year celebrations with a programme of events for 2025, a team of fundraising volunteers, a timeline of WomenCentre’s growth using archive materials and by asking local women to share their stories with us.
Encourage our staff and volunteers to develop their skills by accessing both internal and external professional development training.
An effective resilient and well-managed organisation
We will:
Finalise, launch and implement the WomenCentre Strategy 2024-2029.
Recruit three additional board members with relevant skills and ensure all board subgroup members further develop skills/expertise to support robust governance.
Continue to focus on organisational data capture to evidence the breadth of the work across the organisation and to ensure that services meet the needs of the communities we work with.
Undertake a staff survey, review all HR processes implement the employee Hospital Saturday Fund Health Plan across all WomenCentre employees
Continue to prioritise our environmental approaches in 2024-2025 focusing on the priorities within our sustainability plan and further evidence our social value.
The charity is controlled by its Memorandum and Articles of Association, dated 29 January 2007, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee.
The charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association were amended on the 5 August 2008, to change the charity name from Calderdale Well Woman Association to Womencentre.
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 charity is managed and overseen by the trustees appointed by the members. All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed are set out in the accounts.
The following specific roles were held on the board by trustees during the year:
Chair - M S John-Ross
Vice Chair - J L Alford
Treasurer - A L Dower
Vice Treasurer - R Kamche
The key management personnel of the charity have been identified as the Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executive, Finance Manager and Operations Managers for Calderdale, Bradford and Kirklees. The aggregate employment benefits, including employers national insurance and pension contributions, for these key management personnel for the year was £214,593 (2023 - £192,858).
The salaries of these key management are set by annual review and confirmed by the trustees.
Liability of members
The liability of members is limited.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that BK Plus Audit Limited be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Womencentre Limited for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Womencentre Limited (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 and Reports) Regulations 2008 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
sufficient 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 144 of the Charities Act 2011 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.
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.
Other matters
Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:
The engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
We identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with directors and other management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the industry sector;
We focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company, including the Companies Act 2006, taxation legislation and data protection, anti-bribery, employment, environmental and health and safety legislation;
We assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence; and
Ensured laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We assessed the susceptibility of the company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
Making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was a susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud;
Considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations; and
Understanding the design of the company’s remuneration policies.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we;
Performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
Tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions
Assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in note 2 were indicative of potential bias; and
Investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risks of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
Agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
Reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
Enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and
Reviewing correspondence with HMRC, relevant regulators and the company’s legal advisors.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from the financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in accordance with section 391 of the Companies Act 2014. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
BK Plus Audit Limited is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Womencentre Limited is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 23 Silver Street, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 1JN.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Grants
Counselling
Rent and room hire
Placement fees
Book sales
Rent, rates and insurance
Repairs, renewals and computer costs
Light and heat
Telephone, postage and stationery
Refreshments and room hire
Cleaning costs
Subscriptions and books
Staff training
Staff and volunteer expenses (incl. DBS checks)
Redundancy and recruitment
Clinical Supervision, sub-contractors and consultants
Activity costs
Evaluation and research costs
Finance costs and bank charges
Other costs
Rent, rates and insurance
Repairs, renewals and computer costs
Light and heat
Telephone, postage and stationery
Refreshments and room hire
Cleaning costs
Subscriptions and books
Staff training
Staff and volunteer expenses (incl. DBS checks)
Redundancy and recruitment
Clinical Supervision, sub-contractors and consultants
Activity costs
Evaluation and research costs
Finance costs and bank charges
Other costs
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
In respect of the loan balances above, legal charges are registered against the properties acquired by the charity.
The charges were registered at 20 March 2020 and 26 May 2021 by the lender, Community Foundation for Calderdale.
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
The 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.
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.
The unrestricted funds are to be used to assist the charity with its aims and objectives as detailed in the trustees report.
The contingency fund represents an amount that has been designated by the Trustees for possible future liabilities relating to sick pay and redundancy pay, the fund also represents an amount that has been designated by the Trustees to ensure that the charity can continue to operate in the event of the unexpected loss of a source of funding or unexpected building or repairs costs.
Restricted funds are represented as detailed in the notes and are to be used as specified by the donors, however these are in accordance with the aims and objectives of the charity as detailed in the trustees report.
Transfers between funds
During the year a number of restricted and unrestricted funds have received funds from the general fund to cover costs in addition to the funding received
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).
In common with many other businesses of our size and nature we use our auditors to prepare and submit returns to the tax authorities and assist with the preparation of the financial statements.
The charity is under the control of the board of trustees.