The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2024.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's memorandum and articles of association, the 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).
Bar in the Community was established to promote any charitable purpose by associating together volunteers drawn from members of the Bar, charities and voluntary organisations (in order to further the exclusively charitable purposes of such organisations).
Bar in the Community was launched in October 2000 with the aim of recruiting barristers to serve on or otherwise assist the boards of local, regional and national voluntary organisations. The project is sponsored by the Bar Council and operates from the offices of the Bar Pro Bono Unit. The Unit's Chief Executive, Bar in the Community's project manager, and Bar in the Community’s Trustees oversee the running of the scheme. All the barristers registering with Bar in the Community give their services voluntarily.
This year has seen an increased demand for Bar in the Community’s services from both charities and volunteers. Between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024, 285 people signed up to Bar in the Community’s mailing list and 178 people had come forward with an interest in a role and subsequently been referred directly to the charity to apply. Volunteers were successfully placed with charities such as the Schools Consent Project, Bridging [Dis]Ability to the Bar, State2Bar, The Innocence Project, StopWatch and more, in roles ranging from trusteeships to school speakers to workshop facilitators.
In 2024, two longstanding trustees, Chris Broom and Diane Sechi, stepped down from the Board. A recruitment round took place and Lindsey Poole, who has a strong track record in the advice sector, joined the Board in June. A further recruitment round will take place in September with the aim of recruiting another trustee to the Board.
Outlook
Bar in the Community’s main focus for 2024-2025 will be engaging more organisations to provide relevant and interesting opportunities to advertise and engaging more barristers and chambers staff to take on opportunities.
A greater emphasis will be placed on engagement with charities and other organisations looking for volunteers from the legal world. Our new Trustee, Lindsey Poole, has strong links across the advice sector and she will be supporting engagement work with umbrella organisations in the sector. Opportunities from charitable organisations in or adjacent to the legal sector have proven most popular with BIC’s network so far and therefore the greatest focus will be on engaging with more charities working in this area.
More volunteers will be engaged to take on opportunities with a greater focus on engaging chambers’ professionals and those outside the South-East. A monthly newsletter has recently been created with the aim of fostering greater take up of volunteering opportunities and the effectiveness of this will continue to be monitored. By focussing on engaging more volunteers and providing more volunteering opportunities, Bar in the Community will be able to connect more organisations and volunteers.
The attached financial statements show the state of the finances of Bar in the Community as at 30 June 2024.
The Trustees are of the opinion that the state of the Charity's finances is no less sound than it was at 30 June 2023.
There are no restricted, designated or endowed funds or resources.
Reserves
Bar in the Community seeks to retain a reserve that will allow for modest contingencies.
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:
New Trustees are appointed by the current Trustees in accordance with the Articles of Association of the company. New Trustees are provided with background information, including the constitutional documents of the charity, and meet staff to be shown the work of the charity.
There is an overlap of Trustees and Directors between the Charity and the Bar Pro Bono Unit (Charity no. 1057620, Company no. 3237309).
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Bar in the Community (the charity) for the year ended 30 June 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.
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.
Bar in the Community is a private company limited by guarantee without share capital use of 'Limited' exemption and incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Advocate, Idrc, 1 Paternoster Lane, London, England, EC4M 7BQ.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The Trustees have carried out an apportionment of management and administrations costs, as appropriate between Bar in the Community and its related charity, The Bar Pro Bono Unit.
The remuneration of key management personnel can be seen in the accounts for The Bar Pro Bono Unit.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
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 Bar Pro Bono Unit, a related charity funds Bar In the Community via The Bar Council. This funding is £2,500 per quarter (2023: £2,500/quarter).
The charity had no material debt during the year.