Registered number |
Registered Charity Number: |
1141704 |
Registered number: | |||||||
Registered Charity Number: | 1141704 | ||||||
Directors' Report | |||||||
The directors present their report and financial statements for the year ended |
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Principal activities | |||||||
Directors | |||||||
The following persons served as directors during the year: | |||||||
Directors' responsibilities |
The directors are responsible for preparing the report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations. | |||||||
Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (Financial Reporting Standard 102 and applicable law). Under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the profit or loss of the company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to: | |||||||
● | select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; | ||||||
● | 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; | ||||||
● | prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business. | ||||||
The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company 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 company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. |
In so far as the trustees are aware, there is no relevant information of which the charitable company’s independent examiner is not aware; and the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant information and to establish that the independent examiner is aware of that information. | |||||||
Disclosure of information to independent examiners |
Each person who was a director at the time this report was approved confirms that: | |||||||
● | so far as he is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the company's independent examiner is unaware; and | ||||||
● | he has taken all the steps that he ought to have taken as a director in order to make himself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company's independent examiner is aware of that information. |
This report was approved by the board on |
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Mr N Parkes | |||||||
Director | |||||||
CEO's Report | ||||
Our journey to improve the lives of families affected by childhood brain cancer continues. We find our strength from those we impact, specifically the children in our brain cancer community and their families, fighting brain cancer with incredible strength and bravery every day. As I reflect on the last 13 years leading Joss Searchlight, I remain both inspired and humbled by over 300 brave families personally known to us who have lost their child to this cruel disease. I extend my endless appreciation to our donors, who provide Joss Searchlight with the means with which to invest in our support services. To our charity partners, I am profoundly thankful for their guidance & leadership, together we navigate the challenges to enhance family lives. Joss Searchlight’s achievements are also a result of the hard work of many amazing individuals behind the scenes. Their commitment to Joss Searchlight empowers us to invest in programs and research that make a critical difference in the life of families facing child brain cancer. Together, we are a family who seeks hope & promise through working, learning and fighting. There’s plenty to be proud of again this year. In February 2024 our trustees campaigned at Parliament, together with our charity partners as part of a collaboration to form The National Brain Tumour Strategy. We’re campaigning to shine a light on the urgent need for change and further support for our brain tumour community. During brain tumour awareness month this coming May we’ll be aiming to secure 50,000 + signatures via a petition to hand to Parliament. This will help ensure we get each of the Health Ministers’ attention and highlight that we desperately need a solution that works for everybody affected by a brain tumour – no matter where they live in the UK. Once the letter is handed in, we look forward to receiving the Government’s response & working to improve outcomes for everyone. We’ve also donated a six figure sum so far as part of a multi-year commitment to fund UK paediatric clinical trails into aggressive child brain cancers. We will be continuing to work under the guidance of The Brain Tumour Charity’s Scientific Advisory Board. |
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We are only as successful as our community is supportive. We extend our deep gratitude to all who made this a successful year, our volunteers who so lovingly contribute their time, our extended cancer family community and charity partners who support us everyday & the many generous individuals, Charitable Trusts & supporters who have supported our cause. Our year end to March 2024 was an example of doing our best to move forward. Let’s keep moving forward, letting voices be heard to improve care and cancer treatments and for the children suffering brain cancer today to be promised a healthier tomorrow. Moving forward is what we do. No matter what the obstacles are in front of us. |
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Joss Searchlight | ||||||||
Registered number: | 07580941 | |||||||
Registered Charity Number: | 1E+06 | |||||||
Trustees' Charity Report | ||||||||
CHARITABLE OBJECTS | ||||||||
To relieve the needs of children suffering from cancer and their families through the provision of a co-ordinated support service including but not by way of limitation by offering practical and emotional support for families affected by a child's diagnosis. | ||||||||
The Impact of the cost of living crisis on our organisation: | ||||||||
In 2023/24 we received an increase of 26% to our Helpline with calls being longer & more complex as families struggle to cope with the COL crisis. We've not seen poverty in our brain cancer family community like this before, our hope is that we can continue to help those worse affected. A childhood brain cancer diagnosis can lead to significant inequalities (both short & long term) in a child’s life. Even for survivors there are devastating physical effects from aggressive cancer treatments. Children with brain cancer are especially high risk as they are generally followed up by neuro-oncology specialists rather than receiving the full elements of follow-up care. (The effects on the body vary depending on the brain cancer type & treatments but can include chronic disabilities & neuro-cognitive disorders). Via our Cost of Living project we were able to collate detailed information regarding the financial impact for families, together with families stories of the difficulties in accessing benefits. The findings illustrated the devastating impact on families. Generally families have described that our resources helped to ease problems & helped to build resilience. Our support services are being highly praised by our cancer family community for tackling the unmet needs. It provides children & their families with ongoing personalised support packages & information which is helping to improve the experience throughout their cancer journey. Families who’ve received support & signposting are on average £5,000 per annum better off helping to ease the pressure. Feedback direct from families & via our community volunteers have informed us that the information, family grants & boxes of essential items have been well received. As the COL crisis continues, we are seeing more families come to us for top-ups of essential household items & hearing about more families turning their heating off to save energy. By providing basic essentials to a family we alleviate some financial pressure, meaning they can put the heating on for a bit longer, or can cook a healthy meal. |
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We also supported via our online Live Chat engaging with families to establish individual family needs & ensuring families can access the support & information they need both via our direct services & online platforms & signposting to additional sources of support. Volunteers supported the sourcing of goods (essential items) for the family hampers, appealing for shopping vouchers, packing & distribution of hampers/goods to family homes. We promoted our work via our website & via social media to our support groups & 43,000 social media followers. | ||||||||
Joss Searchlight | ||||||||
Registered number: | 07580941 | |||||||
Registered Charity Number: | 1E+06 | |||||||
Trustees' Charity Report | ||||||||
Our findings from our work are supporting our organisation to work in collaboration with other cancer support charities for a better understanding of the immediate needs faced by families & a strong need for easy to complete benefit forms. Our report is not exhaustive, it simply sheds light on the difficulties faced & makes a case for an increased focus on families affected by childhood brain cancer inequalities. More work is needed to fully describe the inequalities & together with partners we’re work on closing the gaps & promoting changes. |
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IMPACT ON FAMILIES | ||||||||
Brain cancer families face high financial costs, on average an extra £730 per month. This is an average of 38% of the families monthly income without measuring the wider impact of loss of full time employment & opportunity costs. Over three quarters of families had one parent who had to cease work in order to care for their sick child, in 18% of families both parents had to stop work completely & were completely dependent on benefits for their household income. It’s not uncommon for parents to have feelings of guilt, helplessness & confusion. For struggling parents, coping with the immense challenges of childhood brain cancer, financial worries made the simple act of fun family times very difficult. Parents frequently suffer a poorer quality of life in terms of their own physical and mental health & well-being and in their social relationships. Parents are increasingly asked to fill the void left by staff shortages in the NHS (children’s nurses account for just 6% of the UK’s total nurse population). Families are falling through the ever widening gaps in health and social care & this is putting an immense strain onto these families.This relentless pressure of 24/7 care combined with the financial cost of living crisis is impacting on parent’s wellbeing and mental health. 35% of parents show signs of acute stress 24% of parents have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 70% of parents have been prescribed anti depressants and/or sleeping pills |
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Families informed us of: | ||||||||
Loss of employment or reduced hours of work to care for their child. Increased nutritional food, supplements & medications for the side effects of cancer treatments. Increased need for specialist medical equipment not funded by the NHS Increased household bills (extra cost of increased heating to keep a sick child warm & the electricity for increased washing & tumble drying). The cost of transportation to & from hospital visits & the cost of lodgings, |
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IMPACT ON FUNDRAISING | ||||||||
Annually we secure significant funding via large events, corporate sponsorship & ticket sales. We also secure further funds via live actions. The cost of living crisis has had a huge impact on the above. However, our double donation Crowd funders have encouraged our regular donors to chip in & has created new donors which has greatly eased the pressure. | ||||||||
Joss Searchlight | ||||||||
Registered number: | 07580941 | |||||||
Registered Charity Number: | 1E+06 | |||||||
Trustees' Charity Report | ||||||||
The support we put in place to address the COL crisis: | ||||||||
To help relieve the financial & emotional strain Support Workers support families with everything from providing essential healthcare, food & household items, e.g. clothing & bedding & funding specialist equipment. We give support with accessing the right benefits, signpost for financial support as well as giving compassion & simply someone to unburden with. We also increased our psychosocial support services to fill the gaps in support via the NHS. | ||||||||
KEY SERVICES | ||||||||
Via our support work & the families we support we actively listen to ensure the voices & experiences of children, siblings & families are heard. They are instrumental to our support service development. This enables us to share our findings with families, health & education professionals & work to make a difference. We are dedicated to strengthening our understanding of the challenges incurred by families. Via our focus groups of children, siblings, parents, health & education professionals (in addition to existing findings) we’re establishing an extraordinary grasp of what is most needed by families. Our Common Experiences program indicates that the biggest gaps in childhood brain cancer journeys are within the area of long term recovery. Evidence via our Focus Groups, our community groups & our online support groups illustrated that there is a need for better communications provision & a need for talking/listening projects. This is of key importance as 82% of parents expressed frustration at being handed a bunch of NHS leaflets. We carried out a consultation by engaging with parents & via questionnaires. We identified a need to explore brain cancer families experiences of treatments & social care services. Our BAME community felt enhanced strategies were needed to involve them in a wider national initiative as opposed to targeting locations. We also focused on end of treatment communications. Feedback from our groups indicates that effective communication with NHS professionals is not happening with some 70% of families were not fully aware that their child’s cancer treatments could cause serious late effects. Only a quarter reported that they had received a letter of their child’s cancer treatments. Common goals include better integration into school life, more effective social & educational development. Our findings illustrated that it’s the families as opposed to the care professionals who are assuming most of the burden of care responsibility. |
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Live Chat’ via our website proved a popular new way for families to reach out for help. Understanding more about how families cope with cancer related stress is enabling us to develop needs driven support services. | ||||||||
Joss Searchlight | ||||||||
Registered number: | 07580941 | |||||||
Registered Charity Number: | 1E+06 | |||||||
Trustees' Charity Report | ||||||||
Art therapy projects: | ||||||||
We achieved our aims by providing free art kits & workshops to children affected by childhood brain cancer, their siblings & parents to allow them to benefit. These included sketching, paintings, group poems, model making & textiles. Via our online gallery & via partner galleries & events we provided a place for those affected by childhood brain cancer to share their work so that they felt heard, understood & part of the wider cancer community. Under headings of ‘The Real Me’, ‘My Cage, My Love’ ‘Scared to tell you’ & ‘What is sad?’ we created therapeutic group poems & artworks expressing the tragic raw emotions felt by so many. This helps friends, family & the wider cancer community to better understand some of the common experiences & problems children, their siblings & parents have to endure. We also focused on the more uplifting themes of ‘What is a child cancer hero?’ ‘Healing Hands’ & ‘Hope, Dream, Believe’, exploring themes of creating hope. We supported families’ emotional needs giving children with brain cancer, their siblings & parents a space to explore & express their feelings, exploring & challenging communications, processing hurt, developing self awareness & moving towards the changes they need to make to cope with their struggles. Our projects enabled us to continue to reach vulnerable families when they were in a bad way, struggling to cope with lessened ability, disability, learning difficulties (caused by cancer treatments), feelings of isolation as they feel separated from friends & their wider family. Our project was delivered by art therapists & support workers with the collaboration of professional artists. Our volunteers helped to facilitate creative activities by motivating families to explore & develop new skills. Additionally, we successfully collaborated with The Brain Tumour Charity to provide works from children & families for the ‘TIME’ art exhibition which is being staged at The Business Design Centre, London. Time will be open to the public to help everyone better understand the journey taken by patients, loved ones, supporters, clinicians & researchers when they’re living with a brain tumour or supporting a family who’s received a diagnosis. |
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Joss Searchlight | ||||||||
Registered number: | 07580941 | |||||||
Registered Charity Number: | 1E+06 | |||||||
Trustees' Charity Report | ||||||||
Treatments for rare brain tumours | ||||||||
Amazing progress has been made with many child cancers, e.g. children with leukaemia now have survival rates 80% (compared with just a 20% survival rate in the 1970’s) This is due to the multi million pounds research. Development funding that was made available to child leukaemia. Joss Searchlight are dedicated to the funding of clinical research into the most rare & devastating brain tumours in children, along with improved diagnostics, treatment & care. In 2023 Joss Searchlight made a £150,000 pledge to fund childhood glioma research. Our research strategy focuses on what matters to families living with DIPG/DMG. We will fund science of the highest quality that has potential to deliver. Our research funding is designated for developing treatments that are less toxic to children & to finding treatments for brain tumours to extend & improve life & hopefully prevent aggressive tumours in the future. We’ve donated a six figure sum to this important work. Our financial support, together with collaboration with other cancer organisations, charities & advocacy groups is making a significant contribution towering improving the outcomes for children with brain tumours. Brain cancer are the biggest disease related killer of our children. |
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In Spring 2024 new treatment was approved for rare paediatric brain tumours, which demonstrates the impact of early stage research. Though this treatment will affect a small population (around 30-60 children a year), this represents real progress, as it’s the first treatment to be approved by NICE in decades. NICE has approved the use of dabrafenib and trametinib for use in children aged between 1-17 with low and high-grade gliomas that have a BRAF V600E mutation. The current standard of care is radiotherapy & chemotherapy, which are not always effective for these types of tumours & can have brutal side effects. The new treatment is taken in tablet & liquid form so can be administered at home with few side effects as well as less time spent in hospital. The combination medication is the first targeted treatment to be made available on the NHS for paediatric gliomas. The two drugs work together to block the growth signal coming from the mutant BRAF protein, slowing or even stopping the tumour from growing. Clinical trials show that this treatment has the potential to: • Improve five-year survival • Offer fewer treatment related side effects |
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Joss Searchlight | ||||||||
Registered number: | 07580941 | |||||||
Registered Charity Number: | 1E+06 | |||||||
Trustees' Charity Report | ||||||||
Public benefit: | ||||||||
The charity acknowledges its requirement to demonstrate clearly that it must have charitable purposes or ‘aims’ that are for the public benefit. Details of how the charity has achieved this are provided in the trustees' report. The trustees confirm that they have paid due regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit before deciding what activities the charity should undertake. | ||||||||
Financial sustainability: | ||||||||
Our work is sustainable due to our incredible volunteers raising funds to increase our income. We have also worked hard to ensure that we secure multiple year donations from a small number of charitable trusts and foundations. | ||||||||
Financial review: | ||||||||
The charity received total income of £117,988, the cost of raising funds was £42,112 (including Professional, Consultancy fees & VAT) | ||||||||
Risk assessment: | ||||||||
The trustees actively review the major risks which the charity faces on a regular basis and believe that maintaining the free reserves stated, combined with the annual review of the controls over key financial systems carried out on a annual basis will provide sufficient resources in the event the adverse conditions. The trustees have also examined other operational and business risks which they face and confirm that they have established systems to mitigate the significant risks. | ||||||||
Reserves policy: | ||||||||
The trustees have considered the level of reserves they wish to retain, appropriate to. The charity’s needs. This is based on the charity’s size and the level of financial commitment held. The trustees aim to ensure the charity will be able to continue. To fulfil its charitable objectives even if. There is a temporary shortfall income or unexpected expenditure. The trustees will endeavour not to aside funds unnecessarily. The policy is to ensure free reserves for 6 months of expenditure. Joss Searchlight is very dependent on. Its own fundraising efforts. The. Trustees ensure that the reserves are regularly checked and keep the reserves policy under quarterly review. The trustees are unconcerned by the surplus level held at 31st March 2024 given that in addition to the above, allowing for income fluctuations, the trustees plan to commit substantial funds to raise further awareness of brain tumours and in collaborations with The Brain Tumour Charity and other cancer charities to fund UK paediatric clinical trials. |
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Joss Searchlight | ||||||||
Registered number: | 07580941 | |||||||
Registered Charity Number: | 1E+06 | |||||||
Trustees' Charity Report | ||||||||
Governing document: | ||||||||
Joss Searchlight is a company limited by guarantee without share capital use of 'Limited' exemption, governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association as amended on 3 November 2011. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission. Members of the charitable company guarantee to contribute amounts not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charitable company in the event of winding up. | ||||||||
Recruiting & appointing trustees: | ||||||||
Trustees are known to us and have ‘lived’/direct experience of caring for a child with cancer, two have experience of working as consultants at Macmillan Cancer Support, one as an employee within Cancer Research. | ||||||||
Volunteers: | ||||||||
We have a total of 44 wonderful volunteers who support the work of our charity,. Volunteers contribute greatly to the charity by: | ||||||||
1 | Creating awareness of childhood brain cancer, e.g. delivering publications to treatment centres and promoting messages online. | |||||||
2 | Support Services - organising activities, e.g. art therapy sessions, meeting with families to offer support, delivering toys, art materials, cleaning materials and other support items. Creating and delivering small remembrance gifts, e.g. to families who lost a child to brain cancer. | |||||||
3 | Working with our focus groups to establish ‘common experiences’ and what helps to build resilience. | |||||||
4 | Evaluating how well health, education and social services listen to children with brain cancer and their families. | |||||||
5 | Event planning and delivery, e.g. our Christmas Ball for 300 guests | |||||||
FUTURE PLANS: | ||||||||
Our key priorities include: Looking for opportunities to expand our support services to give families access to care services and resources. Conducting continuing evaluation to the development of the information for families on our website & ensure we’re meeting their needs. To continue to collaborate with The Brain Tumour Charity & other associated charities to complete a 5 year research program into aggressive paediatric brain cancers. We also plan to continue to collaborate with collective voices & plan to link with The Brain Tumour Charity regarding their art exhibitions & ongoing awareness. |
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Joss Searchlight | ||||||||
Registered number: | 07580941 | |||||||
Registered Charity Number: | 1E+06 | |||||||
Trustees' Charity Report | ||||||||
Support Services | ||||||||
Central to our support is for every child with a brain tumour to be properly cared for & supported at home with their families whenever possible & to have involvement in all decisions. | ||||||||
Communications | ||||||||
Via communications we plan to focus on long-term care support, especially regarding late effects leading to disabilities. We need to establish common services needed by groups of children with chronic needs & disabilities. We plan to further develop our supportive services for families of children with brain cancer to provide information, more opportunities for advocacy, peer support, & specialist services We are developing a stronger public voice for families on key issues & developing communication tools to improve communication of our impact. We need to continue our campaign to raise awareness of the pressure on families with the cost of living crisis & of families having increased expectations to deliver 24/7 support with little help. The charity has established nationwide connections with cancer charities & hospices, all united by a common objective: collaboration, the exchange of communications, successful strategies. By harnessing our connections, we aim to strengthen our impact & enhance our support. We strive to maintain regular communication & provision to families, promote interaction between parents, families & signpost to other organisations. We further aim to increase public awareness of childhood brain cancer. Our enhanced website is expanding our reach, growing our audience & promoting more digital activity. We have consolidated online articles on wellbeing to help families navigate the cancer journey. The content in the family sections are informed by the needs & issues faced by families & by the health professional community. |
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‘Common Experiences’ Program | ||||||||
By addressing the key learnings from the support sessions we are able to create a strong foundation to develop future support services. | ||||||||
Key Aims: | ||||||||
1. To shed light on relatively ignored issues and make the case for an increased focus on childhood brain cancer inequalities. 2. Provide high-quality follow-up care that addresses the social & socioeconomic impacts of a childhood brain cancer diagnosis, as well as the physical and psychological late effects. |
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Joss Searchlight | ||||||||
Registered number: | 07580941 | |||||||
Registered Charity Number: | 1E+06 | |||||||
Trustees' Charity Report | ||||||||
It’s Good to Talk Films | ||||||||
As part of our ‘It’s Good to Talk’ Support we plan to create films & media to find the positivity through the adversity of childhood brain cancer. Our key aims are to look at experiences & perception of children. To explore ages, developmental stages, emotional & social strengths, family dynamics & to seek more information regarding their care. To provide a greater insight into the experiences needed to improve health & education care providers ability to better align their support with the need & perspectives of families. To strengthen connections & relationships with other charities & partners & enhance collaborations. To better understand the influences of ethnicity & culture & help create strategies to address inequalities. | ||||||||
Clinical Research | ||||||||
We plan to continue to collaborate with large cancer organisations to provide funding for rare childhood brain tumours over the long term. Our financial support, together with collaboration with other cancer organisations, charities and advocacy groups will make a contribution towards improving the outcomes for children with rare brain tumours including DIPG/DMG. Joss Searchlight supports the discovery of new knowledge to advance paediatric research into childhood brain tumours, with a focus on the deadliest of all tumours DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pons Glioma) /DMG which kills 100% of all children suffering from it. Our research strategy focuses on what matters to families living with DIPG/DMG. We will fund science of the highest quality across the world that has the potential to deliver for DIPG/DMG sufferers. |
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Key Areas of Interest | ||||||||
Make improvement in the knowledge of treatment late effects, quality of life & survivorship; Advancing approaches to diagnosis; Development of brain cancer healing approaches & reduction of chemical toxin in treatment. We’re delighted to be one of the UK partners involved in a collaborative network with the objective of improving outcome for children with newly diagnosed, high-risk brain tumours (including diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma & high-grade gliomas). This 5 year research will conduct small, scientifically-rational, pilot. studies. To assess incorporating promising new therapies into established frontline therapeutic regimes. The key aims are to : Provide a detailed & accurate genetic profile of a brain tumour; To investigate how well selected therapies in the TARGET trial work; To examine the reasons why some child patients respond to treatment & some don’t; To increase the knowledge about paediatric high-grade gliomas; To collect data that will benefit individual child patients. “We believe the research we’re doing is cutting edge, it’s pioneering in terms that we’re actually focusing very much on high risk brain tumours. We now have examples where we have studied specific targeted drugs that block pathways that lead to the growth of some brain tumours. Recent clinical trials may lead to these replacing conventional chemotherapy” Professor Darren Hargrave - University College, London “For the first time we are not simply trying things that have already failed in adult brain tumours”. Professor Chris Jones - Institute of Cancer Research |
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Joss Searchlight | ||
Independent Examiners report | ||
to the members of Joss Searchlight | ||
Opinion |
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charitable company for the year ended 31 March 2024, set out on pages 14 to 27. |
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 company 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. | ||
Responsibilities and Basis of Report | ||
As the charity’s trustees of the charitable company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’). | ||
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the charitable company 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 your charitable company’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the ‘2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act. | ||
Independent Examiner's Statement | ||
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: | ||
1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or | ||
2) the accounts do not accord with those records; or |
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3) the accounts 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 | ||
4) the accounts 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)]. |
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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 accounts to be reached. However, I would like to draw your attention to the related party disclosure in Note 13 on pages 23. |
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Independent Examiner | 2 Meadow Court | |
for and on behalf of | High Street | |
Witney | ||
Independent Examiner | Oxfordshire | |
OX28 6ER | ||
Income Statement | ||||||||
for the year ended |
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Notes | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||
£ | £ | |||||||
Income from generated funds: | ||||||||
Charitable activities | 3 | |||||||
Charitable Grants | ( |
( |
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Direct charitable expenditure | (60,679) | (60,972) | ||||||
Expenditure on raising funds | (886) | (12,490) | ||||||
Support and governance costs | ( |
( |
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Operating loss | 4 | ( |
( |
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Interest payable | 6 | ( |
( |
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Loss on ordinary activities before taxation | ( |
( |
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Tax on loss on ordinary activities | - | - | ||||||
Loss for the financial year | ( |
( |
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Statement of Comprehensive Income | |||||||
for the year ended |
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Notes | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
£ | £ | ||||||
Loss for the financial year | ( |
( |
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Other comprehensive income | |||||||
Total comprehensive income for the year | ( |
( |
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Statement of Financial Position | |||||||
as at |
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Notes | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
£ | £ | ||||||
Fixed assets | |||||||
Tangible assets | 7 | ||||||
Current assets | |||||||
Stocks | 8 | ||||||
Debtors | 9 | ||||||
Cash at bank and in hand | |||||||
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year | 10 | ( |
( |
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Net current assets | |||||||
Total assets less current liabilities | |||||||
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year | 11 | ( |
( |
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Net assets | |||||||
Capital and reserves | |||||||
Profit and loss account | 12 | ||||||
Total equity | |||||||
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the Financial Reporting Standard 102 Section 1A smaller entities. | |||||||
For the financial year ended 31 March 2021 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006. | |||||||
No notice has been deposited under section 476 of the act requesting the company to obtain an audit. | |||||||
The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for ensuring that the company keeps accounting records which comply with section 386 and for preparing accounts which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the financial year and of its surplus or deficit for the financial year in accordance with the requirements of sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to accounts, so far as applicable to the company. |
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Mr N Parkes | |||||||
Director | |||||||
Approved by the board on |
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Statement of Changes in Equity | ||||||||||
for the year ended |
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Designated | Restricted | Unrestricted | Total | |||||||
Funds | Funds | Funds | ||||||||
£ | £ | £ | £ | |||||||
At 1 April 2022 | - | |||||||||
Loss for the financial year | (18,918) | (18,918) | ||||||||
Transfer between funds | (115,000) | - | ||||||||
At 31 March 2023 | 140,000 | - | (9,266) | 130,734 | ||||||
At 1 April 2023 | - | (9,266) | ||||||||
Loss for the financial year | ( |
( |
||||||||
Transfer between funds | - | - | - | |||||||
At 31 March 2024 | - | (16,977) | ||||||||
Statement of Cash Flows | |||||
for the year ended |
|||||
Notes | 2024 | 2023 | |||
£ | £ | ||||
Operating activities | |||||
(Loss)/profit for the financial year | (7,711) | 49,487 | |||
Adjustments for: | |||||
Interest payable | 248 | 487 | |||
Depreciation | 5,243 | 2,816 | |||
Decrease in stocks | - | 2,218 | |||
Decrease in debtors | - | 6,853 | |||
Decrease in creditors | - | (1) | |||
( |
|||||
Interest paid | ( |
- | |||
Cash (used in)/generated by operating activities | ( |
||||
Investing activities | |||||
Payments to acquire tangible fixed assets | ( |
( |
|||
Cash used in investing activities | ( |
( |
|||
Financing activities | |||||
Repayment of loans | ( |
( |
|||
Cash used in financing activities | ( |
( |
|||
Net cash (used)/generated | |||||
Cash (used in)/generated by operating activities | ( |
||||
Cash used in investing activities | ( |
( |
|||
Cash used in financing activities | ( |
( |
|||
Net cash (used)/generated | ( |
||||
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April | 128,214 | 70,983 | |||
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March | 122,081 | 128,214 | |||
Cash and cash equivalents comprise: | |||||
Cash at bank | |||||
Joss Searchlight | ||||||||
Notes to the Accounts | ||||||||
for the year ended 31 March 2024 | ||||||||
1 | Summary of significant accounting policies | |||||||
Basis of preparation | ||||||||
Turnover | ||||||||
Intangible fixed assets | ||||||||
Tangible fixed assets |
Tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less accumulative depreciation and any accumulative impairment losses. Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets, other than freehold land, at rates calculated to write off the cost, less estimated residual value, of each asset evenly over its expected useful life, as follows: | ||||||||
Freehold buildings | over 50 years | |||||||
Leasehold land and buildings | over the lease term | |||||||
Plant and machinery | over 5 years | |||||||
Fixtures, fittings, tools and equipment | over 5 years |
Investment property | ||||||||
Investments | ||||||||
Stocks | ||||||||
Taxation | ||||||||
Provisions | ||||||||
Foreign currency translation | ||||||||
At the end of each reporting period foreign currency monetary items are translated at the closing rate of exchange. Non-monetary items that are measured at historical cost are translated at the rate ruling at the date of the transaction. All differences are charged to profit or loss. |
||||||||
Leased assets | ||||||||
Pensions | ||||||||
2 | Critical accounting estimates and judgements | |||||||
3 | Analysis of turnover | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
£ | £ | |||||||
Charity Shop/Ebay Shop | - | - | ||||||
Fundraising income | ||||||||
By geographical market: | ||||||||
UK | ||||||||
4 | Operating profit | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
£ | £ | |||||||
This is stated after charging: | ||||||||
Depreciation of owned fixed assets | ||||||||
5 | Staff costs | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
£ | £ | |||||||
Wages and salaries | - | - | ||||||
Social security costs | - | - | ||||||
Other pension costs | - | - | ||||||
- | - | |||||||
Average number of employees during the year | Number | Number | ||||||
Administration (including Trustees) | ||||||||
6 | Interest payable | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
£ | £ | |||||||
Bank loans and overdrafts | ||||||||
7 | Tangible fixed assets | |||||||
Equipment | Fixtures and Fittings | Motor Vehicles | Total | |||||
At cost | At cost | At cost | ||||||
£ | £ | £ | £ | |||||
Cost or valuation | ||||||||
At 1 April 2023 | ||||||||
Additions | - | |||||||
At 31 March 2024 | ||||||||
Depreciation | ||||||||
At 1 April 2023 | ||||||||
Charge for the year | - | |||||||
At 31 March 2024 | ||||||||
Carrying amount | ||||||||
At 31 March 2024 | ||||||||
At 31 March 2023 | ||||||||
8 | Stocks | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
£ | £ | |||||||
Donated goods and good for distribution | ||||||||
9 | Debtors | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
£ | £ | |||||||
Other debtors | ||||||||
10 | Creditors: amounts falling due within one year | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
£ | £ | |||||||
Bank loans | ||||||||
Trade creditors | ||||||||
11 | Creditors: amounts falling due after one year | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
£ | £ | |||||||
Bank loans | ||||||||
12 | Profit and loss account | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
£ | £ | |||||||
At 1 April | 149,652 | |||||||
Loss for the financial year | ( |
( |
||||||
At 31 March | ||||||||
Designated Funds: | ||||||||
Brain tumour research | 50,000 | 50,000 | ||||||
Raising awareness | 12,000 | 12,000 | ||||||
Support work activities | 20,000 | 20,000 | ||||||
Holiday grant programme | - | - | ||||||
Unrestricted funds | 41,023 | 48,734 | ||||||
123,023 | 130,734 | |||||||
13 | Related party transactions | |||||||
During the financial year the amount of consultancy fees paid (via the company Absolute Works Ltd of which D Parkes is a Director) was £38,746 inclusive of VAT. (2022/23 £33,123 inclusive of VAT). | ||||||||
Note: the charity occupies a large 2 storey building owned by two of the directors rent free. The Board of Directors consider it reasonable to reimburse the Directors for a portion of the electricity and heating, internet and telephone/helpline costs that they have paid personally. | ||||||||
14 | Presentation currency | |||||||
15 | Legal form of entity and country of incorporation | |||||||
Joss Searchlight is a private company limited by guarantee and incorporated in England. | ||||||||
16 | Principal place of business | |||||||
The address of the company's principal place of business and registered office is: | ||||||||
Registered office: Station House 15 Station Lane Witney OX28 4BB |
||||||||
Principal place of business: Station House 15 Station Lane Witney OX28 4BB |