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)".
Chester Aid to the Homeless (CATH) primarily exists to meet the needs of the homeless community in Chester and the surrounding area. It is a well-established service provider of day services and supported accommodation; the charity works with other partner agencies to ensure the best available service options for clients.
The charity works with individuals to achieve stability and to gain independent living accommodation. CATH structures client support plans that encourage positive outcomes, counter chaotic lifestyles, thereby increasing pathway opportunities to success.
Staff engage with clients to increase self – esteem including individual and group sessions which form the basis of development programmes. A continued focus on trauma informed practice also underpins the programmes giving clients an opportunity to begin to deal with their individual circumstances and improve the outcome of achieving a more settled future. Improved access to counselling and mental health provision has helped with this aim.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding the activities that should be undertaken as part of the service model.
The Charity has completely returned to pre COVID working practices with face-to-face, group and related agency work all possible in-person for both the day services offered and the accommodation with support. This return to in-person service delivery is particularly important for individuals that need a high level of support and the improved accessibility to services have been key to promoting stability and progress.
However, the same cannot be said for the cost-of-living crisis and although the rapid spike in inflationary costs has receded the impact on society and the so called ‘margins’ of society are still being felt. In turn the Housing Crisis has put additional strain on all parties involved across both public and private rented sector. This has led to an increase in the general demand for our services from supporting people who are new to homelessness to working with accommodated individuals and indeed working individuals than ever before.
Chester Aid to the Homeless has again had to adapt to all these changes in demand while managing the increasing operating costs to every aspect of providing services. Maintaining service delivery has been achieved by making the most of every relationship we have with charitable and statutory services. The evidence of this is that The Harold Tomlins Centre is now used regularly by most services as a hub to meet with individuals and deliver their own services from.
Combined with the fact that a broader group of people than ever before now look to access our services CATH has become a well-established ‘community resource’. This ‘community resource’ aspect of our service is reflected in the continued support that CATH benefits from local individuals, community groups and the wider business community and our 2023 Annual Sleep-Out was closer to our pre pandemic turnout and despite the cost-of-living financial pressures donations for the reporting year remained extraordinarily generous at £91,749.
Plans for future periods
Our focus on health and access to housing that were the key features of last year’s report were in large part progressed through our working relationships. St Werburghs Surgery which is the specialist provision for people experiencing homelessness continued to provide accessible medical support and we also benefitted from the provision of both counselling services and a Rough Sleeper Mental Health Nurse. This additional resource was needed more than ever and proved invaluable in supporting people and wider engagement.
However, access to housing was more problematic. Again, we worked with a number of agencies to either help people maintain their current accommodation or where possible gain the correct support that allowed them to move-on to accommodation that better matched their needs and circumstances. Our working relationships with other housing providers and statutory agencies such as Social Services meant we could deal more effectively with everything from safe-guarding issues to moving people into private rented accommodation when individuals had been successful gaining work.
This focus on health and access to housing will remain as without health or the appropriate support other outcomes such as maintaining a tenancy are either difficult to achieve or impossible to maintain.
Priority will be given to fostering more local and volunteer partnerships which continue to emphasize the community function that CATH holds. That will be achieved by revamping the website (which has been delayed due to the overall demand on services) and the CATH social media platforms which although they have been utilised are areas that we can improve in terms of communication and engagement.
CATH will continue to provide a frontline service, but with a seemingly ever increasing and changing demand on services we will look for opportunities to be able to collaborate to make services and support more resilient. We will look to reflect the needs of the individuals that come to our service and use our position as a community resource to help deliver change, both for the individual and the way homelessness is perceived and dealt with.
Financial support for CATH’s work for the homeless continued to benefit from public and corporate donations, totalling £91,749 for 2023 -24. Although this a decrease of £10,896 from 2022-23 the impact of the cost-of-living crisis has undoubtably had an effect on charitable giving and despite this CATH remains well supported.
The Aviva platform holding at the start of the year was £216,854 and at the year-end was £234,479. This continues to be held in a portfolio managed by an Aviva Platform, the oversight of the investment is with Ludlow Wealth Management. The portfolio held is low risk and the investment has rallied from the significant economic instability of the previous year.
The 2023-24 financial year resulted in a deficit of £22,152 (2022-23, deficit £95,362) impacting reserves to £625,294. The main driver for the reduction in the deficit from 2022 -23, was due to the transition from the Government’s ‘Everyone In’ COVID emergency accommodation policy to more normalised local referral pathway into CATH’s accommodation services and therefore less service accommodation voids. However, movement towards a surplus budget will remain problematic while all operational costs continue to rise. Services and costs are under review to preserve CATH’s financial reserves in line with future plans.
Reserves policy
The Board decision regarding the unrestricted reserves policy remains that we should ideally hold a minimum of 75% of an average one year’s operating costs in reserve amounting to £294,699.
The aim is to maintain a suitable level of reserves consistent with the ongoing activities of the Charity, such that negative fluctuations in funding do not have an immediate adverse impact on clients or staff. In addition, reserves are provided to make good any deficits arising from duly authorised projects. The unrestricted reserves of £625,294 as at 31 March 2024 represents approximately two years of current expenditure of the charity.
Designated funds
Care and development fund
This is the principal reserve fund for supporting the ongoing general activities of CATH.
IT/IS Fund
A fund to ensure that CATH can obtain and run efficient and effective administration processes as required by the regulatory authorities and to the ultimate benefit of the client group.
Contents Replacement Reserve
The nature of the CATH services and client groups results in a short life and heavy utilisation of furniture and effects in the hostels, houses and the Harold Tomlins Centre. This reserve facilitates replacement of this equipment to maintain an adequate, if basic, standard of accommodation.
Redundancy Reserve
With no guarantee of ongoing funding for some of the activities of CATH this reserve is necessary to protect the interests of staff in the event of redundancies.
Development Fund
The fund permits the expansion of CATH activities where consistent with the aims of the charity.
Dilapidations Reserve
CATH does not own any of the properties it uses. This fund is necessary to provide any dilapidation payments that may arise for which CATH is responsible under the terms of the lease should buildings be returned to the landlords. There was no spend from this fund during 2023-24.
Legacies Fund
There is currently one potential legacy, which is long-standing and showing no signs of producing further income. The legacy fund is therefore reduced to a more realistic value and the balance added to the new property purchase fund.
Buildings Reserve
As all of the buildings occupied by CATH are relatively old this fund is necessary to provide for any costs that may arise in connection with any significant repairs maintenance or upgrading of the buildings or their facilities for which CATH is responsible under the terms of the lease.
During 2023-24 all repairs were funded from general reserves.
Contingency Reserve
A reserve fund for unexpected events or other adverse financial situations.
New property purchase fund
This fund is being created to enable the Charity to purchase a house designated as a “house in multiple occupation”. Until now all our properties have been rented from landlords, which has been a very beneficial model over the years, but the Board believes it would be prudent to have at least one property owned outright when market conditions for purchase are more favourable in the future.
Investment policy
Cash reserves are held in in a portfolio with Aviva platform plus a current account with Lloyds Bank and a Charity Account with Virgin Money. The investment funds can be made available within a short lead time should the need arise.
Risk policy
The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
With the advent of COVID 19 the likelihood of another exceptional disruption cannot be ruled out. The charity is well placed with sufficient reserves but has reviewed its working practices and outlined a business contingency plan to offset any possible future impact. The trustees will monitor and review any other factors as they arise.
The challenge for CATH is to maintain and strengthen our partnership working to build in resilience when the economic situation is still uncertain. Primarily this to ensure continuity of service for people that require support, but by engaging in collaborative work this will maintain service levels whilst mitigating risks and costs. The disruption caused by the COVID pandemic and ‘The Everyone In’ national policy, followed by cost-of-living and now the Housing Crisis has focused thinking on services, staffing and income. Work has begun on reviewing Board governance with these aspects in mind and CATH will continue to provide support and access to health and housing all under one roof.
The charity is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated on the 21 December 1998 and is therefore governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Most trustees have worked for CATH as volunteers, usually in the Harold Tomlins Centre. Prior to appointment as a trustee, CATH endeavours to ensure that the board has a wide range of skills and experience such as Finance, Human Resources, Fundraising etc.
The trustees are collectively responsible for the governance of the organisation. The CEO reports directly to the Chair at monthly supervision sessions and to the full Board at quarterly meetings. Additionally, the Board hold strategic planning away days which all trustees attend. A strong commitment prevails in respect of the Trustee development programme which manifests itself through training in areas such as trustee responsibilities, internal audit, information security and any other topical areas of governance.
The CEO works with one service manager to deliver services and accommodation with support. Continuous improvement of service delivery remains key to CATH’s success. The operational teams work to outcome measures to ensure the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of service. Performance indicators, client feedback mechanisms and peer-to-peer review ensure true client engagement remains a priority.
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
The remuneration of key management personnel is determined annually by the Trustees. Traditionally the level of remuneration has been determined by reference to the annually revised pay scales of the union Unison for workers in similar positions to CATH's employees. For the last few years the Trustees has considered key economic indicators such as performance of RPI and average level of pay increases in the previous 12 months.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Chester Aid To The Homeless for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Chester Aid To The Homeless (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2024.
As the trustees of the charity (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Chester Aid To The Homeless is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is The Bluecoat, Upper Northgate Street, Chester, CH1 4EE.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The accounts have been prepared on the historical cost convention, modified to include certain financial instruments at fair value. 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 when a liability is incurred.
Charitable activities include expenditure associated with the operation and managed residential accommodation and welfare support services.
Governance costs include those incurred in the governance of the charity and its assets and are primarily associated with constitutional and statutory requirements.
Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
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.
Capital expenditure that does not in reality produce a saleable asset or an increase in value of an existing asset will be written off totally in the year the expenditure is incurred.
Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year. Transaction costs are expensed as incurred.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Defined contribution pension scheme
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
Rents and housing benefit received
Food and household goods
Rent
Rates and water
Light and heat
Repairs and maintenance
TV and recreation
Client education and training
Travel and motor expenses
Staff training
Governance costs includes payments to the auditors of £nil (2023 - £nil) for audit fees.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
The leasehold property recognised at £1 in the accounts relates to Crispin House, 56 Nicholas Street, Chester was bought and refurbished with the help of a grant of £139,000 from the Resettlement Agency. Certain covenants and restrictions were imposed and in particular, the grant will be repayable should the usage of the building be other than for the existing resettlement activities. In addition, the Resettlement Agency has a first charge over the property.
The historical cost of the investments was £199,000 (2023 - £199,000) and all investments are valued at the traded market value at the year end.
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.
No restricted funds were received in the year to 31 March 2024.
In 2023 a £5,000 grant was received from The B&Q Foundation that was restricted to expenses relating to structural repairs, redecoration and refurbishment and gardening. During 2023 all of the £5,000 was spent for its intended purpose.
In 2023 a £4,000 grant was also received from The Winter Household Support Fund that was restricted to expenses relating to supporting individuals or families in West Cheshire with food and other essentials such as heaters, blankets, beds, clothes, white goods and paying household bills. During 2023 all of the £4,000 was spent on supporting individuals or families in West Cheshire with the paying of household bills.
The income funds of the charity include the following designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purpose:
Legacies
The charity is a co-beneficiary of some land in Cheshire. This has not been included in the financial statements as no notification of further distribution has been received. The charity does not yet have a reliable estimate of the value of the legacy. Costs associated with bringing the legacy income to fruition are allocated to a designated fund (see note 18) as they fall due.
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows: