I am pleased to report that the year has been one of stability and consolidation for the team at MSDP. After finalising the charity’s latest Business Strategy and Plan, the Board has focused on governance, ensuring the charity is well managed and is able to provide quality and safe services for those communities that turn to us for support.
In January we concluded a small restructure of services which facilitated the expansion of our frontline Advice and Support Service which leads on our drop in and appointment duty sessions. We have seen growth in our Community Support Service and of Deaf people accessing our duty sessions. Financially, our careful management and investment of charitable resources has stood us in good stead amidst continuing challenges and competition for funds that our sector face.
Staff development has also been a priority for the year, with a number of staff currently undertaking funded apprenticeships in leadership and finance. I would like to extend my thanks to Liverpool Football Club and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for their support in accessing the Apprenticeship Transfer Levy. In April we conducted a staff wellbeing survey, and Trustees were delighted to see high levels of satisfaction amongst the team.
Highlights of the year include:
Strengthened governance across the organisation to ensure that the charity is financially strong, well run, resilient and ready to meet the changing demands of our communities.
Successfully securing a three year contract with Liverpool City Council to provide hearing loss services.
Increasing community engagement to ensure our communities are able to influence our current and future services.
Investing in the digital infrastructure of the charity including a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform and internal Learning Management System (LMS) to expand our capacity to train staff and volunteers internally.
Launching our first e-learning packages to increase the number of frontline professionals with awareness of the barriers people with hearing loss face when accessing health and social care services.
Building key relationships with local stakeholders to tackle digital exclusion, financial exclusion, improve health and wellbeing; as well as educating Deaf people at risk of mate crime and romance fraud.
Continuing our programme of hosting civic placements for Liverpool John Moores University’ nursing students as well as 12 week placements for Heriot Watt BSL language students.
Future plans
MSDP is aware of the skills shortage nationally of Deaf tutors and of registered Deaf-Blind Interpreters. We will be working locally and nationally with partners, including Signature, to establish collaborations to support the development of our training programmes and our training team.
In response to feedback from our communities, MSDP is committed to developing new services for families of Deaf children and Deaf parents. We will be proactively seeking funding over the next year to deliver projects which support local families and explores opportunities to learn sign language.
We will continue to support the most vulnerable people across our region. Staff have reported an increase in the numbers of vulnerable adults seeking support for very complex issues requiring multi-agency response. Additionally, as our frontline staff are Deaf and have multi-modal communication methods including International Sign Language we have experienced an increase in Deaf asylum seekers, refugees and migrants seeking support through our Duty service. As part of our fundraising plan, the team is looking to secure funds to further expand on our offer to these client groups.
Once again, I’d like to thank our Deaf and hard of hearing community and social groups across Liverpool and Wirral for their continued trust and support.
And finally, MSDP would not be able to deliver services to make the impact that we do, without the skill and dedication of its staff, volunteers, external consultants and without the support of individuals and organisations that made donations and funded our work. From our collaborative work with NHS Trusts on improving equality of access to our frontline staff empowering clients to achieve and enjoy the ordinary and extraordinary things in life, we are here to serve you.
The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 September 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).
Mission Statement
“MSDP working in partnerships, bringing together Deaf* and hearing communities to create more accessible services.”
*Deaf=Deaf, deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-blind
The Board of Management, staff and volunteers are committed to upholding the organisations Core Values.
The values of MSDP have recently been reviewed and the values highlighted below will provide a foundation for successful growth and development of services in the future.
We are MSDP we are PROUD
Professional
Respectful
Open communication
Unique services
Deaf aware
From the Memorandum of Association, the main object of the charity is, in the old-fashioned language “the relief of persons who are Deaf, Deaf Blind and hard of hearing (“The beneficiaries”)
This is carried out in MSDP through: -
Providing environmental aids equipment to beneficiaries in their own homes to enable them to live independently. These services are available in Wirral and Liverpool.
Providing person-centred social care outreach services to vulnerable and isolated people in their own homes, promoting independence, wellbeing and connecting them with social and cultural activities.
Providing British Sign Language (BSL) and deaf awareness training to a wide range of individuals and organisations to promote and encourage better treatment of (e.g. communication with, attitudes towards) the beneficiaries in the hearing world.
Providing employment and volunteering opportunities for beneficiaries in the charity where they can receive training and development in an accessible environment.
Creating and maintaining effective partnerships to deliver our objectives in the service of our beneficiaries.
Facilitating social interaction and recreation amongst beneficiaries and between them and hearing people through the provision of a community space and supporting community activities in a variety of ways.
Raising funds to carry out the activities of the charity.
Understanding and reporting on Public Benefit
The Trustees of the Merseyside Society for Deaf People are fully aware of and understand the requirement to report on the charity’s activities in relation to Public Benefit, as set out in the Charity Commission’s guidance. The Trustees have paid due regard to the guidance when managing the activities of the charity and in reporting on its activities in this annual report.
Achievements and performance
Premises
MSDP is based in two premises to help them achieve the purposes of the charity. One in Liverpool on Queens Drive Retail Park and the second as co-located partners within the offices of Wirral Society of the Blind and Partially Sighted in Birkenhead. The charity continues to support Wirral Deaf Community funding their weekly room hire of Our Lady of Lourdes in Birkenhead. Smaller groups utilise community space at nearby Wirral Society of Blind and Partially Sighted where our drop-in Duty Service is also based.
The Queens Drive building rents space to organisations (when it is not in use by our own departments and community) to help raise funds towards the maintenance of the building and thus support the charitable activities of the organisation.
Training and Communication Services
The charity provides BSL and Deaf Awareness courses to corporate and individual clients.
We welcomed Apprentice Tutor Jennifer Sealey to the team in November 2023 and would like to take this opportunity to congratulate her on achieving her Level 3 teaching qualification. Jennifer has been involved in delivering Deaf Awareness and British Sign Language and just recently 100% achieved pass rate for her first group of BSL Level 1 students which is a great achievement.
This year we have delivered Deaf Awareness and Introduction to BSL to a number of organisations including HMP Liverpool, Liverpool Football Club, South Liverpool Homes, Sefton Carers Service, Hollyoaks cast and crew and The Beatles Story who also had an access audit with recommendations on accessibility for deaf people.
We also supported a teenage CODA (child of a deaf adult) to achieve their BSL Level 1 qualification.
Our working partnership with University of Liverpool continues with a new cohort of Medical Students attending Deaf Awareness Training to improve their communication skills commencing in September 2024. Ian Cockburn was invited to attend a Medical Conference at the University of Warwick in July to showcase the partnership work between MSDP and the University of Liverpool in relation to the Deaf Awareness workshop for medical students.
In February Training Project Lead, Ian Cockburn was invited to attend an interview with BBC Radio Merseyside to discuss his views on the announcement of GCSE BSL being launched on the national curriculum.
In September 2024 MSDP launched the charity’s first Deaf Awareness e-learning packages and our new Level 4 BSL Course also went live.
During October 2023 to September 2024 a total of 981 delegates attended a Deaf Awareness or introduction to BSL session. 55 students undertook one of our British Sign Language courses in the financial year.
Communication services form, a small but important part of our charitable offer. We are grateful for the hard work of all our freelance BSL Interpreters who choose to register with us and completed 762 Interpreter bookings in the financial year.
Community Support Services
Kevin Bradley was appointed to the role of Support Services Manager in October 2023, driving forward a change programme for the department.
Rotas
Implementation of the Care Planner rota system now means all staff are able to see their shifts. All Support Workers have fixed shifts which helps manage the services more efficiently.
In addition, the Support Workers are able to log in and out of the shifts via the rota app and the manager is able to monitor the whereabouts of the team. For any late log ins, the Care Planner software alerts the manager after 10 minutes of no activity.
This makes planning so much easier as we can now plan in advance of up to 6 months and discuss with clients and their families about their preferred supporting hours. This has also improved staff wellbeing as support workers are now able to book annual leave in advance and the Manager can easily plan the rota.
Client records
As part of MSDP’s digital transformation, all key documents were reviewed and transferred into the Care Planner system. This included Support Plans, Consent forms, Health Passport, MSDP Risk Assessment, Safeguarding Risk Assessment, Premises & Environment Risk Assessment. This has enabled the team to improve and facilitate our person-centred services. All Support Workers have been assigned the key worker roles for nominated clients, with the support from the Manager, the support workers are then able to work with the clients and go through all areas of support needed. Then discuss the risks and how to manage the risks effectively. All clients have new folders each that has details of their support, information relating to their health.
As with the documents, all support workers use the app to complete tasks and day notes, they can also read through any updates to the support plan for that client.
Assessment of needs form was created by Sarah-Jane and a visit to all of the clients were completed with the scope to look at how we can improve support and use the information onto the support plan. A spot check form was created by the Manager with a view to improving the standards of support workers and how they conduct themselves within work and with their clients. This is linked up to their training and professional development plan.
Training
With the introduction of the training online, all support workers are able to complete either from office place or from home should they wish to complete it further. All support workers have completed their mandatory training. Supervisions are being completed and all support workers have reported that they are in a happy place, they feel supported by their manager and there is flexibility around work-life balance. Team meetings are conducted on a monthly basis with an average attendance of 8-9 staff (we have 15 in total including bank staff). The team feel valued in the meeting and are able to express their concerns or issues, all actions/ follow-ups were completed by the next team meeting.
We offer support across all areas of Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral and this year the team were commissioned to deliver 11,369 hours of community support. Our specialism is our communication methods which include Deaf-Blind Tactile Sign, International Sign Language and British Sign Language.
Successful outcomes for clients include:
Realising an ambition for a Deaf-blind client who had always wanted to try rock climbing. Staff implemented a risk management plan and worked with a rock climbing venue to enable to client to join the group, which he now participates in weekly.
Supporting a client with complex needs to visit a lifelong friend in Newcastle. With the support from our team, hours were moved around to enable the client to travel with support worker. His goal in 2025 is to travel around the UK more.
Identifying that an elderly Deaf female, placed in a mainstream care home, was in cognitive decline due a lack of access to her first language BSL. MSDP consistently advocated for better access to ensure the client remains connected to her language and culture. After a review meeting with Adult Social Care, support hours were agreed and the client is much happier.
A Deaf young lady who expressed a desire to make socialise and make friends. MSDP staff identified a community based social disco suitable for her needs. Today, client runs into the venue and starts singing and dancing on the stage with her peers and has a new best friend. Her goal for 2025 is to travel to new places with support.
Our specialism is our ability to provide services for Deaf and Deaf-Blind individuals who use BSL, Deaf-Blind Manual and Deaf-Blind Hands on Signing, Sign Specific English or International Sign Language as their first or preferred language. The team in our support services continue to enable some of the most vulnerable people in Merseyside to live independently, stay connected and thrive.
Our focus in the year has been on reviewing the effectiveness of our support services and developing our staff. During the year we have:
Advice and Support Service
Following an organisational restructure in January 2024, the team was strengthened by the introduction of an Advice and Support Service Manager and two Advice and Support Officers. The team provided 1,456 sessions of support to Deaf and Deaf-blind clients this year in Sefton, Liverpool and the Wirral.
The service continues to be a gateway to a large array of mainstream services for isolated Deaf people seeking support across a wide range of issues. In September 2024 MSDP was awarded a small amount of funding through Our Liverpool to expand on our work with Deaf migrants, refugees and asylum seekers over three years.
Environmental Aids department
The Environmental Aids department continues to work across Liverpool City and Wirral Borough Council areas to assess the needs of clients, installing and repairing equipment where required to maintain independence in their homes.
This year our Rehabilitation Officers completed 1,097 home visits to assess, fit and repair environmental aids equipment. Use of new doorbell technology has made efficient use of resources and has resulted in a reduction of requests for repairs. This has enabled the team to expand outreach work through holding equipment demonstrations across our region.
Community Engagement Team
As a user led charity we are shaping our user engagement plan to enable our communities to influence our services. More than 60% of our staff team are d/Deaf, we have d/Deaf Trustees and provide social spaces to the one of the largest Deaf Social Clubs in the country. MSDP’s Community Engagement Manager Janice Connolly is the charity’s representative at the British Deaf Association’s BSL Alliance, feeding in the views of Deaf people in our region.
In Summer 2024 we were grateful to the VOLA Consortium for a grant towards upgrading IT equipment in our computer room at Queen’s Drive and to cover costs of enhancing our WIFI capability to enable community access. We have been working with a Deaf IT enthusiast who has delivered sessions on basic IT.
Liverpool University Foundations Hospital Trust
Supporting LUFHT to create a BSL Survey for Deaf/HoH people.
Sefton Council – supporting their Engagement and Accessibility Officer to improve access to information for deaf people
Liverpool Women Hospital
We are currently working with Liverpool Women’s Digital Inclusion team lead to make their hospital more accessible.
One issue raised was how inaccessible it is to contact the hospital independently as a Deaf person. LWH now looking into the VRS Directories so that calls can be make to cancel/change/clarify appointments and give Deaf people the same access to switchboard as a hearing person.
Currently discussing their alert system and how this can be changed to include a flag when a Deaf person needs a BSL Interpreter. This means all the information will be available for the staff members on how to book an Interpreter.
We were invited to attend the PLACE assessment at LWH to support with an action plan of spotting inaccessible aspects within the hospital from the point of view of a Deaf person. This included intercoms, unreadable maps, lack of signage, lack of Interpreter booking policy awareness.
Staff attended an Anti-racism Awareness Event.
BDA British Deaf Association
We have just met with the team running the new project called Deaf Together. All staff will have received an email regarding the Deaf at Work (ATW) survey and were asked to complete.
NSPCC – Amy Holland
We have been working closely with Knotty Ash primary school, NSPCC and Deafness Resource Centre in St Helens, to support the creation of a Cyber Bullying video for parents of deaf children. This is due to be launched in December 2024.
Police – Invitation to their annual event.
Healthwatch Community Engagement Board
This is a new steering group set up to include a variety of issues faced by disabled and marginalized people. The first topic we have been discussing is access to GP’s.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service – BSL999
Met to discuss access issues for Deaf people and found that although MSFR knew about the launch of the new BSL999 app, they needed more information on it. We ended up giving an education session on the how Deaf people use the new app and the variety of aspects to it, such as a chat function.
Tate Gallery – accessibility audit on plans to refurb the museum.
Clatterbridge Hospital Wirral Audit/building assessment with community members. This was to support with an action plan of spotting inaccessible aspects within the hospital from the point of view of a Deaf person. This included intercoms, unreadable maps, lack of signage, lack of Interpreter booking policy awareness.
Community Events:
Sewing afternoon on Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoons
Knitting and crochet
Dog training – Delivered by an MSDP Volunteer.
Cyber crime unit – Merseyside Police
Carbon monoxide – Royal Association of Deaf People
Police horse (visit to the police stables to see how the keep/train the horses)
BSL walking group
Yoga
Quizzes
Halloween children’s party
Christmas crafts
Christmas children’s party
Knife crime talk from Danny’s Place charity
History of the Fire Engine – external visit to Bootle Fire Station Museum
Christmas Fayre – £381 raised for MSDP
Bowel Cancer UK
Visit to Merseyside Police Headquarters to show how fingerprints are obtained from a scene
Visit to World of Glass in St Helens
Diabetes dietician
Easter children’s party
Depression / bereavement – SignHealth
SignLive – explanation of their directory
PIP - green paper explanation from Helen Fisher
Summer Fayre - £490 raised for MSDP
Mersey tunnel visit – Birkenhead Tunnel
MacMillian Coffee Morning £140 raised
Save Energy at home – Healthy Homes Project from LCC
Titanic Museum Trip
Fraud talk delivered by Merseyside Police
Wirral Healthwatch visit to get feedback
Deaf CAMHS – ADHD & Autism information
Visit to the Recycling Centre in Fazakerley
Chess lessons
Liverpool Deaf Community and Joes Bar
MSDP provides a room at Queen’s Drive for the use of community groups, which includes a bar. “Joes Bar” funds itself and is run by Liverpool Deaf Community committee with the help of 14 volunteer bar staff. Our weekly timetable is:
Regular Groups:
Tuesday Afternoon Hard of Hearing
Wednesday Afternoon Elderly Pensioners Club (EPC)
Thursday Morning Coffee Morning
Thursday Afternoon Arts and Crafts sessions including sewing
Friday Evening Sports and Social Club
Sunday Evening St Vincent’s Parish
Monthly Groups:
Occasionally – Big Bingo
Thank you to all the volunteers who continue to work in the bar and the Committee for their continued support.
Wirral Deaf Community
Wirral Deaf Community continues to meet at Our Lady of Lourdes in Birkenhead.
Fundraising activities
The landscape for trusts and foundations continues to be highly competitive. However, we were grateful to secure £8,555 of applications from funders.
We wish to express our gratitude to VOLA Consortium’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund for a grant of £8,017 Digital Connectivity in Community Facilities grant to upgrade our IT room in Queen’s Drive. Douglas Arter Foundation funded new equipment for our sewing group. We also successfully bid for £31,933 of funding from Forester Family Trust which will enable the charity to seed fund development of new services for families of Deaf children in 2025.
We received a further £10,551 in donations, including money raised by a team of Deaf women, interpreters and staff.
Volunteers
MSDP has a team of 11 volunteers providing frontline support to our reception, in our community activities and supporting external events.
Volunteers had many reasons for seeking volunteer opportunities. Some may have attended a BSL course and wanted to improve their signing skills, others wanted to support the community and to use their signing skills to help out in any way they can.
Volunteers are placed in different areas within the Charity to ensure they get to develop new skills, build on existing ones or simply help others to participate in their community.
Task descriptions:
Reception/Admin
Classroom support for students.
Activity Group Coordinator/Worker.
Bar staff on Joe’s Members’ Bar.
Partners
A key objective in the charity’s Business Plan 2020-2023 was the development of partnerships. We wish to say a huge thank you to our partners and peers who have worked with us and supported us over the last year. We are stronger together!
Deaf Active: with thanks to joint CEOs Thomas Maher and Katie Godfrey
Deafness Resource Centre: with thanks to Helen Fitzgerald and the team
Wirral Society of the Blind and Partially Sighted: with thanks to Lynne Sedgewick and the team
The Deaf Health Charity SignHealth
Bradbury Fields
Deafness Support Network
Deaf Chief Officers Group
The 800 Group
Wirral Health and Wellbeing CIC
Well Placed (Liverpool’s Health and Wellbeing Strategic Leads Forum.
Core 20+5 Wirral
We overachieved this year with our training offers compared to our original budget by £13k and interpreting was £50k higher in income contributing £20k. We need a focused strategy on the sales of our e-learning packages for the coming year, working with a marketing consultant to set a successful strategy going forwards. We have continued to achieve small increases to our two main contracts, a trend we anticipate will continue.
In addition to the Local Authority Contracts, the main income for the charity comes from:
Training Courses
Interpreting Services
Rental of space
Donations and legacies.
The Board are satisfied with the charity’s year end position despite the challenges that all charities will have faced over the period. Trustees set a budget of an £85k operational deficit based on income and expenditure. It’s worth noting that £52k of the end of year loss comes from legacy expenditure from a rent-free period and then depreciation. We still have approx. £400k in cash in a savings account. The Trustees are considering options to maximise charitable reserves through ethical investment opportunities such as forestry.
We are working with our tenants on the ground floor to separate utility bills, which we hope could save £20k per year.
We have a grant budget of £80k for 2024/2025 and have secured £40k but the outlook for funding is still very challenging.
Looking ahead:
To secure an extension to our Wirral Service Level Agreement
The Increase in costs due to cost of living and inflation are expected to fall in the next financial year.
We are reviewing our training department schedules, with our Head of Services driving forward sales of our e-learning packages
Reforecast based on the government’s changes to Employers National Insurance and National Minimum Wage increases.
We would like to extend our thanks to the organisations who have supported us to deliver vital projects or services over the year:
Vola Consortium
Douglas Arter Foundation
Forrester Family Trust
Liverpool City Council
Wirral Council
Sefton Council
Reserves policy
The Trustees have reviewed the Charity’s need for reserves in line with guidance issued by the Charity Commission. The Trustees agree to the aim of holding at least three months running costs in free reserves on the understanding that the charity’s funding is not certain and to ensure that the charity can run effectively and continue to meet the needs of its beneficiaries.
Accountability
The charity must comply with legislation and regulation in many areas of its work, including: -
data protection, staffing issues, selection, conditions, remuneration, discipline, grievance, Income Tax, National Insurance, health and safety, equality issues, race, gender and disability.
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.
Merseyside Society For Deaf People is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. The charity is governed by a memorandum of association, 13 June 1997, Revised and approved by Board and Members of the Deaf Community 31 March 2017. The company has no share capital, being a company limited by guarantee.
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 Trustees have
Regular reviews of the company’s Risk Register
Review of our Business Continuity Plans
Improvements to our Induction processes which now includes the requirement to sign up to the Charity Governance Code Principles
Increasing staff engagement through staff surveys and all staff meetings
Inviting representatives from the Deaf Community to observe some Board meetings.
Dedicated sub-groups for Finance, Safeguarding and People & Culture. Each sub-group is chaired by a designated Trustee Lead with support from staff.
Our Patron is Lord Salisbury
He says “I am very honoured to be a Patron of MSDP, particularly in view of my family’s long connection with the City of Liverpool, and it is a privilege to be a supporter of such an effective organisation. I wish MSDP the very best of good fortune in the years to come.”
Trustee Selection and Development
The charity recruits Trustees onto the board who can contribute to the achievement of the charity’s objectives based on their skills, experience and knowledge. We proactively seek to recruit Trustees with lived experience of d/Deaf issues from a variety of perspectives. Prospective Trustees are asked to complete an application form and skills audit which covers the experience they can offer and their reasons for wishing to be a Trustee. After submitting the form, the prospective Trustee is interviewed by representatives of the Board. The appointment of the prospective Trustee is discussed at the next board meeting, and if approved by a majority of Trustees present, is invited to observe the board for a three month probation period before being formally registered with Companies House and the Charity Commission.
Any new Trustee is taken through an induction process that includes meeting staff to learn about our services, attending Deaf Awareness sessions, completing trustee and safeguarding training, signing up the Charity Governance Code Principles. Providing a three month period before formally signing up a new Trustee allows but the Board and potential Trustee to get to know each other and to get a feel for the charity and our objectives. All Trustees are valued and it’s important they become familiar with the charity and are encouraged to take advantage of occasions to meet staff and community members.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Michell Charlesworth (Audit) Ltd be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
Small company provisions
This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Merseyside Society for Deaf People 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;
- 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 Merseyside Society for Deaf People (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 30 September 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of 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.
Conclusions relating to going concern
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, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, 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.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
the information given in the trustees' report, which includes the directors’ report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the directors' report included within the trustees' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' report included within the trustees' report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the Trustees' Report and from the requirement to prepare a Strategic Report.
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.
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.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
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;
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 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
identified 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 susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and
considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
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 were indicative of potential bias; and
investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk 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; and
enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from 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.
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.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable 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 charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Merseyside Society for Deaf People is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Queens Drive Retail Park, West Derby, Liverpool, L13 0DJ.
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 £.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have 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 can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt.
Income from donations and grants, including capital grants, and contract income is included in income when these are receivable, except as follows:
When donors specify that donations and grants given to the charity must be used in future accounting periods, the income is deferred until those periods.
When donors impose conditions which have to be fulfilled before the charity becomes entitled to use such income, the income is deferred and not included in income until the preconditions for use have been met.
When donors specify that donations and grants, including capital grants, are for particular restricted purposes, which do not amount to preconditions regarding entitlement, this income is included in restricted funds when receivable.
Other grants, which have particular service requirements and which are provided in accordance with a contract or service level agreement are included in the Statement of Financial Activities under the heading Charitable Activities.
Rental income from operating leases (net of any incentives given to the lessees) is recognised on a straight-line basis over the lease term.
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Management and governance costs are those incurred in connection with administration of the charity and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.
Intangible assets acquired separately from a business are recognised at cost and are subsequently measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses.
Amortisation 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:
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:
Freehold land is not depreciated.
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are 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.
Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged as an expense on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease.
Rentals received under operating leases are credited to the Statement of Financial Activity on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.
Taxation
The charity benefits from various exemptions from taxation afforded by tax legislation and is not liable to corporation tax on income or gains falling within those exemptions. Recovery is made of tax deducted from qualifying income and from receipts under gift aid.
The charity is not able to recover Value Added Tax. Expenditure is recorded in the accounts inclusive of VAT.
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.
There are no critical accounting estimates or judgements in these accounts.
Exam fees
Other costs
Premises costs
Office costs
Other costs
Support and governance costs are recharged to charitable activities.
The analysis of auditor's remuneration is as follows:
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year, and no trustees were reimbursed expenses (2023- no trustees remunerated or reimbursed expenses).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Included within payroll costs above is £72,175 (2023: £79,291) for costs of freelance interpreters, bank staff, social care and training contractors.
The land at Queens Drive is included at the deemed cost of £30,359 as allowed by regulations under FRS102 and the charity SORP 2015, see note 24.
Barclays Bank plc hold a floating charge over all property or undertakings of the charity.
National Westminster Bank plc hold a legal charge, created in July 2017, over freehold land and buildings at Queens Drive, West Derby, Liverpool.
As at 30 September 2024 the amount owed to National Westminster Bank plc was £421,342 (2023: £458,107).
Freehold land and buildings includes investment property which comprises one floor of the property at Queens Drive, West Derby, Liverpool. The entire property is accounted for as freehold land and buildings within tangible fixed assets as the fair value of the investment property component cannot be measured reliably without undue costs to the charity.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
The bank loan is secured by a legal charge over the charity's property in Queens Drive, Liverpool.
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 charge in the statement of financial activities for the year in respect of defined contribution schemes was £15,063 (2023: £15,189).
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
The operating leases represent leases to third parties. The leases are negotiated over terms of 5 to 15 years and rental income is fixed for 5 years. The longer leases includes a provision for five-yearly upward rent reviews according to prevailing market conditions. There are no options in place for any party to extend the terms of the leases.
At the reporting end date the charity had contracted with tenants for the following minimum lease payments:
Income
Expenditure
Income
Expenditure
National Lottery Awards for All - This funding will be used to develop resources and update materials to improve the Training courses that we deliver.
The Wirral building fund aims to raise funds to purchase and renovate a building on the Wirral to enable the charity to reach those who need it most.
CAF Funding - Transformation programme, for charitable purposes to cover specific project and resilience costs to support the development and improve resilience of all areas within the Charity.
Wirral Infection Control Fund – to help reduce the rate of COVID-19 transmission and support recruitment and retention of employees within the care sector.
Liferooms Commission – To provide physical activity sessions and community activities to improve physical and mental health of Deaf and Deaf-blind people. In partnership with Deaf Active.
Deaf Migrants - This project aims to reduce social isolation experienced by Deaf refugees, Deaf people seeking asylum and Deaf vulnerable migrants, to involve them in their local communities.
VOLA Digital Connectivity for Local Community Facilities Project - This funding will be used to upgrade the IT suite at Wirral Society of the Blind and Partially Sighted People in Birkenhead, where MSDP are co-located to improve IT access for Deaf-Blind people and people with sight loss in the local community.
NHS England – Student placements - We are providing opportunities for Nursing students from John Moores University to attend on work placements, to gain insight into the Deaf Community. A contribution towards hosting the students is paid to MSDP.
During a previous year, the trustees designated funds to establish additional permanent, physical spaces on Merseyside to enable the charity to reach those who need it most. However, last year the decision was made by the trustees to release these funds back to general unrestricted reserves.
Included within the unrestricted funds is the revaluation reserve of £23,991 (2023: £23,991). This is the deemed cost element of land retained at Queens Drive, West Derby for the new building to be erected following the sale of the site and old building in the year ended 30 September 2015, less the original cost of that land of £6,368.
The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows.
The son of trustee John Brennan is employed by the charity and receives a salary which is at market rate. He was made redundant in January 2024.
There were no other related party transactions in the year.