A strong voluntary sector is important to every area. It provides services that reach beyond the state and private business. It is citizens supporting each other in ways that are important to them. It is a voice for those without power and a way of us connecting with each other.
I am delighted to present Connected Voice’s annual account of its work helping voluntary organisations in Newcastle and Gateshead to be as strong and as effective as possible. From the many tiny and informal groups to the large multi-million-pound organisations, they are all important to creating a good society here. We are proud of our achievements over the year, but it was not without its challenges for us as an organisation, including the decision to close our long running payroll service. It was equally a time of challenge for our members, who continued to support their beneficiaries while facing rising costs and increasing demand.
I commend Connected Voice’s work to you. In doing so I thank the organisations we have worked with, our fabulous staff team and volunteers, and our trustees.
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 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 objectives of Connected Voice are, ‘to promote any charitable purpose for the benefit of any locality or community in the County of Northumberland and in the neighbourhood of the River Tyne.’
The trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 having due regard to the general guidance of the Charity Commission with respect to public benefit when reviewing the Connected Voice aims and objectives and in planning future activities. In particular, the trustees considered how the planned activities would contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.
Connected Voice has the following values:
We amplify voices
From individuals to organisations, we believe everyone has a right to be heard. Trusted to listen, understand and advocate, we strive for excellence. We’re open and honest, we stick by people and give our support to ensure their voices are heard.
We champion equality
We believe that diversity should be celebrated and valued, and everyone deserves equality.
Working towards a fairer future for all, we won't stand still. By making an impact on causes big and small, we want to improve the quality of life across the region.
We inspire charge
Courageous, resourceful and determined, we will challenge unfairness and ask difficult questions.
Working effectively and accountably to instil confidence. We aim to become stronger and more sustainable to inspire positive and lasting change throughout our community
We support action
We understand from our own experiences the challenges people face. We truly value people and we won't judge or dictate. Leading independently and side by side with our communities and partners, we share our resources, skills and expertise to enable people to take meaningful action.
We connect people
At the heart of voluntary and community action for 90 years, we are immersed and rooted in the North East.
We work collectively and inclusively to connect, grow and strengthen our society. We are warm and approachable, and we create opportunities to exchange ideas, learn from and empower one another.
Our purpose
Connected Voice exists in service of organisations committed to voluntary and social action in Newcastle and Gateshead and beyond. We work to support the enduring mission of those organisations to benefit society by reducing inequality and enriching lives.
Over the year we contributed to our overall purpose in the following ways:·
As a high-performing and well-led organisation; providing a voice for individuals and the voluntary and community sector.
By championing the value and importance of voluntary and community action.
By strengthening voluntary and community organisations through our advice and training services.
By ensuring VCSE organisations had multiple opportunities to come together for peer support, networking and working collectively.
By being proactive in tailoring our support to VCSE organisations as they met growing levels of need and dealt with financial pressures.
By highlighting issues around health inequality in Newcastle and Gateshead, and addressing these through our work, including the work of Haref with ethnically marginalised communities.
By growing engagement with Health Equity work through Haref, the Haref Allies programme, and our Digital Inclusion programmes.
By continuing work on our EDI action plan, working towards ensuring our membership and staff team reflect the communities we serve.
By growing our role in supporting volunteering, running the independent Gateshead Volunteer Centre, and working closely with partners to support volunteering in Newcastle.
By providing a wide range of advocacy services and support to vulnerable people.
Our Volunteers
We value the unique contribution of our volunteers and the added value they bring. It is our intention that all volunteers are supported and respected. We encourage volunteers to fulfil their potential and aim to provide meaningful roles where both the organisation and the volunteer mutually benefit.
This year, staff continued to benefit from our volunteering policy, which allows them two paid days off per year to volunteer locally. We share examples of staff volunteering experiences within our team meetings. We have policies and procedures in place to support our volunteers, and work closely with our partner, Volunteer Centre Newcastle, to ensure we follow best practice in volunteering. During the year we achieved the national Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation (VCQA).
Our Staff
We recognise the value and expertise of our staff, and we strive to put in place appropriate support as a good employer. We have a range of staff engagement and involvement activities, including a staff council and ideas forum and an annual staff away day. We hold the Better Health at Work award at Gold level. We are an accredited Living Wage Employer. We provide drop-ins and support for staff on topics which they have identified as important, such as menopause and pensions. We also hold the Investors In People accreditation. This year we implemented more wellbeing sessions for our staff, following feedback from our staff council.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Connected Voice enables and promotes voluntary and community action, providing voluntary sector organisations with services that enable them to be well run, fulfil their aims and objectives, and provide them with the opportunity to extend their influence in Newcastle and Gateshead through the sector’s collective voice.
We do this by providing expert advice on governance, on the policies and practices that voluntary organisations need to have to ensure they are safe and securely run, and by providing funding advice based on experience and knowledge of what funders are seeking in a good application.
We hold regular events and training to keep the sector informed, and to enable them to learn from and connect with each other. We provide opportunities for VCSE organisations to increase their reach and influence.
Connected Voice supports VCSE involvement, enabling engagement directly with public sector agencies and acting as a voice for the sector within multi-sector partnerships. During this year we continued to develop our role in representation and voice for the VCSE sector.
We engage in local authority-wide, sub-regional, regional and national activities because we want to be able to promote, share and deliver best practice. We work with a wide range of public sector partners – local authorities, NHS trusts, local NHS, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Newcastle and Northumbria Universities, and many others.
We continued to develop our generated income through our paid-for services, which have become a core part of our offer and support our overall sustainability.
During the year we refreshed our strategy and have been working towards developing our five-year plan from October 2025 onwards.
Connected Voice Support and Development
Support and Development works with community organisations, charities and social enterprises working in Newcastle and Gateshead. We provide advice and guidance on all aspects of running an organisation, a comprehensive training package and opportunities to network and share best practice.
Support and Guidance
The Support and Development team worked with 582 organisations in Newcastle and Gateshead across the year, providing advice and guidance on topics including legal structures, governance, funding, policies and procedures, and organisational development.
“I just want to express our gratitude one more time for finding the time to meet us and help us to sort our plans out. Yesterday’s meeting is already huge step forward on our way to achieve our vision.”
“It is fantastic that Connected Voice provides so much freely available support. Thank you for all the other guidance too, it's incredibly useful!"
“We would like to thank Connected Voice for the fantastic, consistent support, advice and guidance you have given us throughout 2023, it has really made a positive difference.”
Funding
We helped VCSE organisations to secure £2,358,139 of grant funding and organised our annual Newcastle and Gateshead Funding Fair, attracting 19 funders and 102 VCSE organisations attended.
“We spoke to Connected Voice for support with creating a fundraising strategy for an exciting capital project. Beth was really supportive and encouraged us to undertake a crowdfunding campaign. We are delighted that this has been hugely successful and exceeded our target. Raising over £125,000 from donations and pledges. We are so grateful to Connected Voice for being a constant source of encouragement, ideas and support.”
“There was such lots of energy in the room and a sense of excitement about meeting each other. You and your team organised [the Funding Fair] really well.”
Networking Events
We delivered four successful VCSE Networking Events during the period, attended by 107 organisations. The themes were as follows:
Environment and Wellbeing
Digital Inclusion and Women’s Empowerment
Cost of Living
Social Prescribing and Healthy Communities
“I have attended a range of events and never been disappointed. Staff are very friendly, knowledgeable and really great at connecting organisations. They have had a positive direct impact, especially in regards to networking.”
Training
We delivered and supported 37 training courses over the year. Sessions included: Funding Strategy, Effective Bid-Writing, Monitoring and Evaluation, Trustee Roles and Responsibilities, Legal Structures, Using Social Media Effectively and an Introduction to Safeguarding. Moreover, we worked with other Connected Voice departments to support training on Finance, Advocacy and Health Inequalities. The feedback from these was overwhelmingly positive.
We continue to work with two other local infrastructure organisations (North Tyneside VODA and Northumberland CVA) to offer an eLearning platform called Elements. Between October 2023 to September 2024, 462 students enrolled in one or more Elements courses.
"I think all trustees should have to attend this training and I wish I had it 10 years ago when I started. I would give it 11/10."
“Trainer Mark was really good at explaining in a clear and concise way what we need to be aware of and why. I really appreciated that he was prepared to knowledgably answer any question asked without making me feel foolish. I found the session both interesting and helpful.”
OurGateshead
Following last year’s redesign, OurGateshead has continued to significantly increase its visitor numbers. During the year, there were 370,907 site visits with 898,631 pages viewed. This was an increase of 134% and 246% respectively on last year’s figures.
“I was part of a meeting around ESOL in Gateshead yesterday and providers were pleased we were gathering info in one place for people to access. That’s brilliant!”
Premium Services
During the year we provided paid-for services to 46 organisations. These are specialised pieces of work that take us a significant time to complete. They include organisational and governance reviews, charity registration, policy writing and bespoke training courses.
“Encouraged lots of ideas and conversation…I feel the session was good and definitely made us think. The SWOT session was very informative.”
“I thought it was brilliant! Great presenters - very knowledgeable and confident [and] the session was pitched at the right pace and level for me. I learned such a lot and felt inspired."
Information
We are a key source of information for the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Newcastle and Gateshead. Our follower numbers on social media continue to grow each year. In the reporting period we:
Distributed fortnightly electronic news bulletins to 1,400 plus subscribers
Distributed a monthly health and social care bulletin to the sector
Produced four quarterly magazines shared with around 1,500 members and key contacts. Magazine themes:
The Power of Partnership
Devolution
Financial Inclusion
Working Across Sectors
Number of followers on Twitter/X: 5,022 as of 30.09.24
Number of followers on LinkedIn: 1,844 as of 30.09.24
Number of followers on Facebook: 1,618 as of 30.09.24
Following a review of our communications strategy and link to EDI, we are reducing our profile on Twitter/X and have created a profile on the new social media platform Bluesky.
Connected Voice Haref
Connected Voice Haref works with ethnically marginalised communities to identify their key issues around health and improve the health information available to them. We help health services gain a better understanding of what communities need and we build confidence within communities so they can talk to health services about their cultural needs.
Haref Network
In the Haref Network we have 90 organisations with 120 people representing ethnically marginalised community groups and projects.
We ran 4 Haref Network meetings with discussions about:
Mental health and the stigma and language used to describe mental health
Refugee and asylum seeker healthcare
Improving access to health services
Impact of racist violence and support for mental health and the VCSE
Haref Allies
By the end of September 2024, we had 50 organisations as Haref Allies members with 66 individual Allies. We changed the Allies membership from two people per sign up to a single person in this year.
We held 3 Haref Allies meetings on the following themes:
Skill building session on Refugee and Asylum Seeker Mental Health.
Health literacy and communication
Skill building session on Health research and public involvement
Cultural Competency Training
For the Newcastle City Council Public Health contract, we delivered training to 305 attendees over 25 sessions. The contract has been extended until July 2024.
We also delivered 19 paid-for Cultural Competency training sessions to 217 people over the year.
Research Projects
The Comfrey Project - Wellness and Awareness project. Haref supported the Comfrey Project’s Wellbeing Champions to discuss opinions on mental health services for refugees and asylum-seekers and identify good practice. Haref helped with ruining the focus groups, did all the data transcribing and completed the report, in consultation with the wellbeing champions. They presented their findings at our network meeting and a Haref Allies Skills Building Session.
EVOLVE mental health research. Haref are a partner in the research project, led by Newcastle University which is looking at mental health services in the in North East and Manchester and the cultural barriers to these services. We have helped to recruit participants into this study. We are also part of the PPI group and have helped with data analysis.
Discharge from hospital project with Newcastle University. Haref are partners in research being conducted by the School of Pharmacy at Newcastle University. The research focuses on the experience of hospital discharge and returning home from hospital, and how this transition could be improved. The research hopes to develop and test a model of hospital discharge that brings together health and social care and charitable organisations to make sure the right support is in place for a timely and safe hospital discharge.
Haref are supporting with developing focus groups for the research and supporting links to practitioners and community members for their workshops.
Health Information Sessions
Haref have been providing capacity and support to initiate information sessions with Network members on topics they are interested in and delivered by our Haref Allies. This year we supported the following sessions:
Dieticians from NUTH dietician project with the Rabta group about access to services, finding out more about why people might not be accessing their service, look at any promotional materials, and talk about diet and exercise.
Digital Voice to a Muslim women's group in Gateshead to deliver Digital Skills courses.
In collaboration with Gateshead Public Health, delivered an online session to the Haref Network on Understanding Polio and Vaccination Types.
Arranged a mental health and wellbeing information session for South Mountain Chinese Older People's Association delivered by ReCoCo.
Coordinateda meeting with Everyturn and Elswick Pool to run 6 weeks of wellbeing mental health course.
Coordinated 6 weeks of wellness sessions delivered by Everyturn to First Step to run throughout April, May, and June.
Dementia and Memory Loss health information session delivered by Dr Alison Killen to the Hindu Temple.
Coordinated a nutrition and diabetes session for the Rabta group within Bilal Jamia Mosque, ran by NUTH dietitian Faye Bremner.
Coordinated a health check session delivered by Farah Chemists for the Rabta group within Bilal Jamia Mosque.
Company of Others and Rabta Muslim Women’s group session on Dance and exercise.
North East Ambulance Service and Hindu Temple Elders group session on Emergency First Aid.
Sharing experiences of accessing health services
Haref are providing paid opportunities for network group members to have their say, influence health service delivery and share their experience. We have 6 community groups who we will support to share their story of using a health service, either in anonymised written transcript, audio or in video format.
These case studies can then be shared with the Integrated Care Board for their Patient Voices board meetings. Stories that are heard at the board meetings should then get a response from the Integrated Care Board and will get clinical leads to feedback on this.
Response to the impact of rise in racist incidents
We held discussions with our Network members and have fed back information to key contacts in the OPCC, Local authorities, Hospital trusts and the ICB. The key issues raised were:
Communities were scared and the impact of this remains.
Public transport particularly felt unsafe.
Parents were concerned about the safety of their children at schools.
More preventative and anti-racist work needs doing with children and you people.
People felt the police response was good however more ways to share local key messages are needed, as there were mixed messages and misinformation.
Work to support communities and cohesion needs to be undertaken, and to tackle the issues that caused people to riot.
Funding to the VCSE is vital to support wellbeing and resilience to improve security, and to deliver training.
Commissioning of Interpreters and Translators in Public Services
Haref has been working with Success for All, Everyday Language Solutions, English Unlocked and US Language Services and Consultancy about the commissioning and standards of interpreters and translators' services for people whose first language is not English in public services. We found there are several key issues with the way interpreters and translators are commissioned in public services:
The commissioning system for the provision of interpreters and translators is not designed to support local and smaller providers.
The quality control on current providers is not adequate, there are poor employment rights and pay, a lack of adequate supervision, and a lack of qualified interpreters and translators.
People do not know their rights around asking for interpreters and translators in different settings, and they are not getting a service that works for them due to the first two issues.
Staff are not trained or upskilled to work professionally with interpreters and translators and require training.
VCSE organisations struggle to cover the costs of using interpreters and translators, as funding for this is often not included in funding bids.
We collated information on the key issues, why interpreter quality matters, and suggestions on what commissioners need to do to make it more equitable towards local and smaller providers, including ongoing quality control on providers. This information was shared with Commissioners and key contacts in statutory services and within the VCSE.
Ramadan calendars 2024 with safe fasting messages
Haref worked with 10 mosques across North Tyneside, Gateshead and Newcastle and with the NHS Diabetes Centre, Glaucoma UK and Diabetes UK to get the right health information relating to fasting for the calendars. We printed 4000 of our calendars which were distributed to 10 mosques and to community-facing buildings and health services, including GPs.
Communications and recipients
For the Haref monthly bulletin:
We had 927 people signed up in September 2023 with an opening rate of 32.9%
We had 1,030 people signed up in October 2024 with an opening rate of 41.9%
Health Equity
This area of our work supports VCSE involvement in health equity work across Newcastle and Gateshead, and is underpinned by the Connected Voice Health bulletin.
VCSE Engagement in Mental Health Transformation in Gateshead
This role works with smaller-sized voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations that support people with mental health issues in Gateshead, to ensure they have a direct role in influencing and benefiting from the borough’s NENC ISB delivery plan and commissioning for mental health services. This year we:
In consultation with stakeholders, we launched the Gateshead VCSE Health Alliance in March 2024 and this was aligned with the ICB Integrated Neighbourhood approach and the Local Authority Locality working.
The purpose of the Alliance is to create formal and informal learning opportunities to grow skills and knowledge to help our sector and our communities thrive, and to join up resources within the community to improve opportunities for local people.
We had 90 Alliance members signed up in Gateshead by September 2024.
We run Connected Voice Health and Wellbeing Events in Gateshead to support the Alliance.
The first was on 3 July and the theme of the event was working with the new mental health roles in Primary Care.
The second event on 26 September themed on Gateshead’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy and how to build effective collaboration between Public Health team and VCSE in Gateshead. The Alliance now has representation on the Strategy Implementation Group.
Thanks to the ICB, Connected Voice were able to administer a Small Grants Programme through the Alliance on the theme of mental health of children and young people. This Small Grants Programme provided £70,000 to ten organisations in Gateshead. In addition to the Grant funding, the Alliance was given a budget to cover the cost of venues and refreshments for the training.
The Alliance are delivering training provided by the Children’s Primary Care Mental Health Team for VCSE organisations across 2025. Successful Grant applicants need to attend these as part of their project but is also open to other VCSE staff and volunteers.
Digital Inclusion in Health and Social Care in Gateshead
This project works across Gateshead to improve digital inclusion in the area in collaborations with local communities and stakeholders. It coordinates the Gateshead Digital Inclusion Steering Group, which includes local NHS partners, Gateshead Council, voluntary and community organisations, researchers, and tech firms.
We were awarded Levelling Up funding from Gateshead Council for the UKSPF Digital Inclusion funding. Through this project, from December 2023 to March 2025 we are working with 20 VCSE organisations based in Gateshead to improve digital inclusion through funding, project support, and free opportunities.
Thanks to a joint decision panel with the Community Foundation, we have awarded 22 grants and project support to smaller VCSE organisations working in Gateshead for bespoke digital inclusion projects with £65,000 of grants awarded.
We have worked with Gateshead East PCN and Pelaw Bowling Club to set up 6 sessions for patients on the NHS App at Pelaw Community Bowling Club. We are linking with other PCNs for other possible digital inclusion work in primary care.
We have been collaborating with the BT Engagement Team, Gateshead Council, and Gateshead VCSE organisations that support marginalised communities to provide engagement and information about the Digital Switchover.
We organised a drop-in on the digital switchover at the Jewish Community Council of Gateshead. A large part of the Jewish Communities in Gateshead are landline-only. We requested a male and a female staff to provide a culturally appropriate session, in a segregated space and 45 people attended the drop-in.
"Very informative drop-in - within a few minutes, the advisor had explained what the changes would be and basically explained that in my case, it wouldn't affect me much besides for having to use the local area code when calling out."
Digital Inclusion in Health and Social Care in Newcastle
We have recruited the new officer for the Digital Inclusion role in Newcastle who started in September 2024. This is a 24-month funded project and will establish a steering group to support collaborative working to enable digital Inclusion for people, the VCSE and statutory services in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Healthy Communities and Social Prescribing Place-Based Engagement in Newcastle
From March 2023 until March 2025, Connected Voice are supporting VCSE capacity with Social Prescribing within Newcastle. We worked with NENC ICB, and the NCC officer for locality working to deliver this work. We are running Health and Wellbeing events for the VCSE in Newcastle These will include information about health service delivery and local updates about the Integrated Care Boards (NHS) and information from the wider regional VCSE involvement structures.
We have run 4 Health and Wellbeing events for the VCSE in Newcastle:
October 2023, a Social Prescribers and PCN event jointly facilitated by the ICB, Local Authority and Connected Voice.
October 2023, a VCSE Healthy Communities and Social Prescribing networking event.
March 2024, a Newcastle VCSE Health and Wellbeing event with updates about the NENC ICB new structure
July 2024, a Newcastle VCSE Health and Wellbeing event with updates Newcastle General Practice Services, Newcastle City Council Locality work and Neighbourhood Networks and Newcastle City Council Health Champions
We attended the Newcastle Neighbourhood networks. They are in 4 areas of the city and are networking opportunities where we could promote our events. We also have conversations about VCSE understanding of Social Prescribing and have directed others to attend through our social media and website.
We have shared more targeted information in our monthly Health bulletin linked to healthy communities and social prescribing.
North East and North Cumbia VCSE Partnership Programme
The North East and North Cumbria VCSE Partnership Programme is run by VONNE and its aim is to ensure that the VCSE sector is embedded at all levels of our Integrated Care System (ICS). The VCSE sector is able to provide extensive expertise and reach into the communities that receive health and care services, particularly those that the NHS can find it difficult to connect with. Our Chief Executive and the Heath Equity and Involvement Manager attend and represent Newcastle and Gateshead VCSE at key meetings.
VCSE Partnership Programme Executive meeting
VCSE Partnership Programme Steering group
Newcastle ICB Place Committee
Gateshead Cares System Board
Collaborative Newcastle Joint Directors Team
ICP North Partnership meeting
Communications
In September 2023, we revamped our monthly Health bulletin, which was previously known as 'On the Hoof'. This Health bulletin covers:
Updates on Connected Voice Health Equity projects
Information for the Newcastle and Gateshead VCSE sector about the local NHS, council services and multi-agency structures
Information for the Newcastle and Gateshead VCSE sector about local, regional and national health policy
Information about local health events and activities
Information about current consultations, research and reports
We had 1,159 people signed up to the Health bulletin in September 2024.
Connected Voice Business Services
CVBS continued to support organisations with year-end accounts preparation, Independent Examination, and book-keeping. We also supported organisations to switch to digital finance, providing training as Quickbooks Pro certified advisors. As the reporting year drew to a close, our trading subsidiary Connected Voice Business Services Ltd was wound up. Our payroll bureau closed after the end of the financial year. Financial services for charities are now provided directly through the main charity.
Connected Voice Advocacy
The Connected Voice Advocacy vision is that people from marginalised communities, who experience disadvantage or discrimination have their voices heard, their rights upheld, access to the services they need and improved quality of life. Our strategic goals for 2023/24 focused around advocacy delivery, quality, communication, sustainability, developing equity and effective systems.
Each year the advocacy team gets together to analyse the case work of the previous year and identifies trends in the communities we serve. This helps the team write a collective annual work plan which aligns to the Aims and Vision. In addition to our regular funded advocacy projects, we chose to fundraise and target extra support in 2023/24 to Refugee and Asylum communities, and people experiencing housing crisis. We also chose to further develop our Self Advocacy workbook and online app DIY Advocate by offering more in-person workshops. We held two workshops this year in which ten people received in-depth learning. One of the workshops was led by our Farsi speaking advocate to support local communities to learn in their first language and create peer support networks. The workshops cover topics of: Self Advocacy, the person and their world, communication, managing emotions, tackling problems. this includes learning skills to negotiate, be assertive, and prepare well for meetings or formal challenges.
Our communities were significantly affected by the civil unrest and riots across the region in the summer of 2024. Our Hate Crime Advocacy Service offer supports people affected by racism to identify and report a crime and recover from the impact. To ensure a strategic approach we attended meetings with Police, Local Authorities and VCSE organisations across the region to share our data intelligence and offer solutions. Our advocates take a person-centred, holistic approach and were able to explore the impact of the crime on the person’s life and help them access health and social care and housing. Advocating for anyone impacted by abuse or threats to property or people targeted on the basis of race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity, we noted trends around problems with housing and public transport as well as the need for safeguarding. Many people we supported were at risk of isolation and mental health crisis. Of the people we advocated for this year, English was not the first language for over a fifth people, 24% experienced barriers to accessing health appointments, with 53% having mental health needs or neurodivergence, a third experienced risk of homelessness or housing disrepair and 50% needed financial support from foodbanks and energy vouchers. We continue to hear that people find it hard to report a hate crime and fear repercussions, feel ignored or lack trust in the criminal justice system.
We joined up with Durham and Northumbria Universities again this year to revisit the groundbreaking research from 2019 “Exploring ‘hate relationships’ through Connected Voice’s Hate Crime Advocacy Service.”. This research introduced the concept of repeated hate incidents now known as Hate Relationships. We were curious to find out what impact the Covid 19 Pandemic had on hate crime referrals, so the research team looked over 384 cases from April 2019 to March 2022. We held a launch event in summer 2024 to share the findings of “Improving Responses to Hate Relationships”. The research showed that repeated hate was on the rise, and that there was a systemic lack of understanding across all professions to support the victim adequately. They found
that victims were misunderstood, disbelieved, and that there was often a mislabelling as anti-social behaviour or harassment. There was also a lack of understanding around people having more than one protected characteristic and intersectionality. The research found that hate relationships rose from 28% to 44% of the total hate crime cases. So together with Connected Voice the Durham and Northumbria University team created a solution to offer professionals a way to better understand the impact on victims mental and physical health and created HATE ID app to help clarify what a hate crime is and how to deal with it. We held a consultation event in summer 2024 to launch research and share the prototype app for feedback from police, and other statutory partners. This will be launched in March 2025.
In winter 2023/24 we were involved in the Sunderland University Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries annual Police Project. We advised students who created a series of short films to depict the barriers to reporting hate
Growing and developing
We had a year of successfully securing existing services as well as expanding and developing on what we already did. In 2023/24:
We held successful events to showcase our expertise in advocating for people in vulnerable situations such as Child Protection processes and Personal Injury claims and rehabilitation
We delivered presentations to raise awareness of advocacy to several partners in the region including Pride NE, Walking with in North Tyneside, Wearside Women in Need as well as offering advocacy surgeries in community venues and outreach venues
We developed training programmes Social Justice Champions and Supporting people with neurological conditions: helping them to be heard and protecting their rights. We made the programmes adaptable so we can offer two standalone modules around Effective Communication and Active Listening and Putting People First, person centred approaches to supporting individuals
We were re-awarded a Community Foundation grant to widen the support we offer to Refugee and Asylum Seekers
Our six-year partnership project with Northeast Law Centre and Changing Lives continued to deliver Help through Crisis to support people in financial crisis in Newcastle with a National Lottery Fund grant
The Northumbria Office for Police and Crime Commissioner continued to fund Hate Crime Advocacy which we have pioneered for the last seven years
An ongoing contract from the NHS Integrated Care Board enabled us to deliver our long-standing Health and Social Care advocacy in Newcastle and Gateshead.
We were funded by the Barbour Foundation to develop our core advocacy services
We reached new customers for individual contracts, reaching an additional 37 people this year who have experienced child protection hearings or recovering from life changing accidents
We continued to provide Independent Mental Health Advocacy in Mitford National Autistic Unit in Northgate Hospital.
Listening and learning
The team are proud to have received excellent feedback this year and worked well to achieve an outstanding Net Promoter Score (NPS) consistently over 75% throughout the year, meaning that people who used the advocacy service or referred to us would recommend us highly.
"I don't think I would have been heard at all if you hadn't been there.”
“Made it a lot less stressful and I think I composed myself better through this support.”
“Our experience with Connected Voice Advocacy has been exceptional. The service provided to our mutual client was exemplary, demonstrating the organisations commitment to promoting social inclusion, equality and social justice. The Advocate showed great skills in helping the client get their voice heard and needs met. Overall, Connected Voice Advocacy's professionalism, expertise and client-centred approach make them an invaluable resource in the community. Their service truly embodies their mission of enabling people to have their views heard and their rights upheld.”
We have been delighted that people who have used advocacy have volunteered their time in 2023/24 to share their views and help shape the way we deliver our services. This is now a crucial part of our 2024/25 work plan to ensure people are at the heart of the work we do. In 2023/24 we continued to deliver on our Service User Engagement Strategy this year committing time and energy to arranging sessions to bring people together. We reached over 50 people through surveys, direct phone calls and most popular was our focus groups with lunch which brought 22 people together. This year people helped us with the following developments in the service:
Overhaul of our referral process to make it easier for people to self-refer which resulted in an easy online referral form
Clarity on the terminology when speaking about people who use advocacy to avoid unwanted labels. This also led to a re-write of our webpages to speak to people who use the website for information on advocacy and create a dedicated Service User Hub page
People met some of the Connected Voice Trustees to learn more about the governance of the organisation and how the advocacy vision sits within it. They shared ideas which Trustees are incorporating into the new Connected Voice three-year strategy
Influencing
We believe research is a fundamental way to ensure visibility of the people we support and raise their issues strategically.
This year we joined the Steering Group of the Sunderland University for Safeguarding Adults for Empowerment (SAFE) project exploring effectiveness of the Making Safeguarding Personal agenda in the over 75 age group.
Our role on the Safeguarding Adults Boards brings key issues facing the VCSE in Newcastle and Gateshead, and to ensure that the safeguarding process is person-centred, and statutory partners understand the role of advocacy. This year we have been involved in setting strategies and training offers as well as Serious Adult Reviews.
We ensure we have a strong publicity campaign for Safeguarding Adults week, Hate Crime week and Advocacy Awareness Weeks.
We worked with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to help shape their offer and strategy to understand barriers people face to making complaints and improve access to the Ombudsman.
We fed into the review of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Code of Practice.
Our feedback informed the Office of the Public Guardian survey to improve services. We have influenced systemic change within housing providers complaints process to ensure equity.
We have been involved in the national Advocacy Leaders Network since it began in 2020 and during 2023/4 we continued to contribute to consultations and research nationally.
Year in numbers:
Supported 516 people across multiple projects and worked with them on 1017 issues, providing 15607 hours of direct advocacy
Advocated for 77 people facing court hearings for child protection cases, rehabilitation planning after life changing accidents, or upholding the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards for people
Supported 100 victims of hate crime and 64 of those were experiencing ongoing incidents called hate relationships
Ensured 21 people were safeguarded or prevented from harm and abuse
Gained over £19,419 for people’s awards/claims
Supported 81 people to formally challenge decisions, including Tribunals, Court of Protection, and complaints processes
Worked in over 80 ethnically marginalised communities across 17 languages and employed 2 bilingual Independent Advocates.
Connected Voice Volunteering
During 2023/24, the Volunteering service continued to grow, expanding from two to three projects with the launch of Volunteering Newcastle. This new initiative aimed to amplify the voices of volunteers and the organisations that involve them, while also assisting organisations in recruiting individuals with additional needs into volunteering roles. Outlined below are the key achievements of each project featuring quotes and case studies.
Gateshead Volunteer Centre
We secured the Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation from the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA). The accreditation is valid for three years. Across its five functions, GVC exceeded in Strategic Development of Volunteering and Good Practice Development, while meeting all the requirements in Brokerage, Developing Volunteering Opportunities, and Voice of Volunteering.
Gateshead Volunteer Centre supported 56 people with additional needs into volunteering opportunities.
Gateshead Volunteer Coordinators’ Network continued to grow over the year with meetings themed on topics including cost of living, mental health, and neurodiversity.
“I attended the Gateshead Volunteer Coordinators’ Network meeting in July 2024. I am often unable to attend the meetings but made a point of making sure I could go because the topic of neurodiversity was so relevant to my role and organisation. The speakers were fantastic, and we had some good discussions about improved ways of working and different perspectives. I was able to bring these insights and ideas back to my workplace and share with the team to benefit not just our volunteers but also staff to ensure everyone’s skills and strengths are valued and utilised. Thanks for organising this event!”
Volunteering Newcastle
In Newcastle, 85 volunteering-involving organisations were consulted about their challenges and successes resulting in the establishment of the Newcastle Volunteer Coordinators’ Network. The network has met on three occasions, covering topics including inclusion and wellbeing.
“The Connected Voice meetings and sessions have been invaluable to me as a Volunteer Coordinator. It can be isolating working in this role as I am the only one dealing with volunteer management. The meetings and training provided by Connected Voice has been a great way to network and chat to other professionals who deal with volunteering. The training has been really useful also helping me gain an insight into procedures and practices for managing volunteers. Thank you for being a great support mechanism.”
Through Volunteering Newcastle, 27 VCSE organisations completed a volunteering health check and were provided additional support to update or create new volunteering policies and procedures, role descriptions, and recording systems.
Seven VCSE organisations were funded to deliver social action projects led by volunteers in their local communities across Newcastle.
“The grant we received helped us deliver weekly sessions at the Haven in North Kenton. The group is a women’s group which uses business enterprise skills as a vehicle for social action in the local area. We created naughty and nice greetings cards to sell at Home Group, as well as learning how to crochet, cooking on a budget and general peer-to-peer support group helping and signposting women for skills and mental health support. The group came with a schedule of activities and events for 2024, so the group could be sustainable, with facilitation by On the Up. These women are a force to be reckoned with, despite suffering with PTSD, anxiety, domestic abuse, agoraphobia, issues with their children. They have an idea for a mam’s podcast which we are going to launch once we have the funding, which we are very close to achieving.”
Sector Connector
Sector Connector organised 14 free workshops and events in collaboration with eight local, regional and national businesses for VCSE organisations. Workshop themes included recruiting with purpose, what is social impact, and staying safe online.
Sector Connector worked in partnership with Muckle LLP during Small Charities Week in June 2024 to deliver free legal clinics to 23 VCSE organisations. Topics included governance, construction, data protection, and property and real estate.
Sector Connector collaborated with Home Group in July 2024 to deliver a trustee’s event for their employees, resulting in four charities each securing new trustees with skills across legal, finance, and health and safety.
“This was an excellent event by Connected Voice, so helpful for charities looking for trustees. The endorsement from Home Group to employees considering a trustee role is exemplary. It's refreshing to see a large employer recognising, and valuing, the benefit that being a trustee can bring to their organisation, employees and local communities. Having the opportunity to explicitly recruit for the skills needed to a room full of interested people was invaluable, I think all the Charities attending made relevant connections. Thanks!”
Review of transactions and financial position
The balance sheet shows that at 30 September 2024 total funds carried forward are £727,465 (2023: restated £741,312), of which £365,817 (2023: restated £425,629) relates to unrestricted funds, £21,653 (2023: £77,267) relates to designated funds and £339,995 (2023: £238,416) relates to restricted funds. The specific earmarked restricted funds projects are detailed in note 26 of the accounts and note 27 for designated funds.
This was represented by tangible fixed assets of £15,399 (2023: £18,864), investments of £nil (2023: £460,065) and net current assets of £712,066 (2023: restated £262,383).
Connected Voice holds contracts from the NHS and local authorities, as well as applying for grants from charitable trusts and foundations. We are growing our self-generated income through development of paid-for services. A substantial part of our income comes through contracts. In the current year this was three contracts. Connected Voice is assiduous in looking for appropriate sources of funding, and as an organisation responsible for advising the voluntary sector on funding sources, is well placed to know what opportunities are available. We use a full cost recovery model, which enables us to estimate the actual costs of a service and its true cost to Connected Voice. As the value of public sector contracts continues to decrease in light of inflation, this is an essential tool for us to use in deciding whether or not to bid for a service.
Senior managers and the board meet to set budgets annually. The management team reviews financial performance monthly, and the board reviews it quarterly via a finance sub committee and the board meetings. Day to day financial management and reporting is managed by our finance arm - Connected Voice Business Services.
Our trustees are clear about our aims and mission and that we need to be sustainable, but keep to our vision and values. Connected Voice will not enter into partnerships and contracts which are contrary to our aims and objectives and we recognise that we need to stay within our agreed budget limits for the year
Assets
The charity's assets are being held to enable them to carry out its objectives. The movements in fixed assets during the year are set out in note 15 to the accounts.
Trading activities
The results of Connected Voice Charity Business Services for the prior financial year was a deficit of £188,602. The decision was taken by the board in 2022 to bring the subsidiary back into the main charity as of 1 October 2023 and wind up the separate company. The company was dissolved in September 2024
Financial dependency
The charity in order to meet its objectives is financially dependent on grants from the Local Authorities, government programmes and charitable trusts.
Additional funds are derived from smaller grants and charitable donations made by a variety of organisations and individuals.
Going Concern
The Trustees have considered the level of funds and forecast income and expenditure for a period of 12 months after the date of approval of these financial statements, the budgeted income and expenditure is considered sufficient given the levels of reserves held by the Charity. Therefore, the Trustees have adopted the going concern basis of preparation for these financial statements.
Reserves Policy
The Trustees regularly review levels of reserves and have agreed again this year that reserves equivalent to between three and five months running costs are appropriate for the organisation.
Three months running costs would equate to around £210,000 and five months £350,000, based on the accounts for the 12 months to 30 September 2023. The reserves should not fall below this level in order to support good governance of the organisation.
The Reserve Policy allows for the use of funds in excess of the level required to be spent in furtherance of the organisation's vision and mission. Any proposal should be presented as an individual business case to the Trustees for review and approval.
The 'free reserves' of the charity (defined as those unrestricted funds not designated for specific purposes or tied up in fixed assets) stood at £350,418 (2023: restated negative funds of £49,455). The Trustees monitor the level of reserves regularly and the Reserves Policy is reviewed annually with the support of the Finance Sub Group.
Risk management
The trustees have examined the major strategic, business and operational risks which the charity faces and confirm that systems have been established to enable regular reports to be produced so that the necessary steps can be taken to lessen these risks. The Board reviews the strategic risk assessment annually and the full report is discussed at. a Board meeting annually where mitigating actions identified and taken. Health and Safety information is presented on a quarterly basis to the Board.
Indemnity insurance
The charity has Professional Indemnity Insurance cover in respect of the Trustees and Officers of the charity.
The charity's full name is Connected Voice. It is an incorporated charity registered with the Charity Commission (number 1125877) and a company limited by guarantee (number 06681475).
Governing documents
The charity's governing documents are its Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Connected Voice is an independent charity working with the voluntary sector primarily in Newcastle and Gateshead. It is run by a Board of Trustees elected annually by its member organisations, and by co-opted members. The Board controls the direction and policy of the work, and met five times during this financial year. It holds a special away day meeting with senior managers, once a year, in order to look at opportunities and define strategy for the coming year.
Connected Voice is a membership organisation with over 844 members.
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:
Trustees are elected from the membership. Notice is sent to all members, and if a ballot is required, it is conducted prior to the Annual General Meeting Trustees may only serve for a set period of time. The skills and experience of existing trustees are audited regularly and new trustees are recruited in order to complement the existing trustees ensuring a wide set of skills and knowledge is reflected in the overall board. If the Board feels there are particular skills lacking, they are able to promote these during the recruitment process The governance document allows for co-opted trustees so that specialist skills can be brought onto the board. The Chair has extensive experience in the charity sector and of governance. The treasurer is a chartered accountant with significant experience of the charity sector.
The company's current policy concerning the payment of trade creditors is to follow the CBI's Prompt Payers Code (copies are available from the CBI, Centre Point, 103 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1DU).
The company's current policy concerning the payment of trade creditors is to:
settle the terms of payment with suppliers when agreeing the terms of each transaction;
ensure that suppliers are made aware of the terms of payment by inclusion of the relevant terms in contracts; and
pay in accordance with the company's contractual and other legal obligations.
Trade creditors of the company at the year end were equivalent to 14 day's purchases, based on the average daily amount invoiced by suppliers during the year.
The Board of trustees, which can have up to fourteen members, has control of the charity, including its property and its funds. The Board normally meets four times per year and there are three sub groups covering finance, advocacy, and volunteering, which report into the Board. Task and Finish groups of the trustees are also created as necessary. This year we closed the Task and Finish group for workforce development, after the agreement of our new pay polity, and created one for trustee recruitment. We have staff-led groups who take forward our EDI and Climate emergency action plans, and these report into the board. The Chief Executive is appointed by the trustees to manage the charity and has delegated authority for all operational matters.
Pay policy for senior staff
The Chief Executive implements the pay policy on an ongoing basis and is responsible for pay reviews and setting salaries for senior staff. The Board reviews the Chief Executive's salary annually and is responsible for making any decisions about remuneration of the Chief Executive. Remuneration is benchmarked against similar roles within voluntary and community sector organisations of similar size in the North East.
We understand that in light of increasing inflation and a difficult employment market, pay should continue to be reviewed regularly. Our workforce strategy task and finish group of the board developed and implemented a new pay policy during the year.
Connected Voice's new Pay Policy covers all staff. Senior staff are not treated differently to other staff and all benefits (including pension contributions) are applied equally across all staff groups. The pay policy allows for staff progression within pay bands, based on performance.
Related parties and co-operation with other organisations
None of the trustees receive remuneration or other benefit from their work with the charity. Any connection between trustees or senior managers of the charity with suppliers must be disclosed to the full Board of trustees In the current year no such related party transactions Were reported. Trustees are asked to declare their interests before each board meeting and there is a Register of Interests.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Sumer Auditco Limited be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Connected Voice (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 notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, 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 for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, 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.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Based on our understanding of the charitable company and the sector in which it operates, we identified that the following laws and regulations are significant to the entity:
Those laws and regulations considered to have a direct effect on the financial statements including UK financial reporting standards, Company Law and Charity Law.
Those laws and regulations for which non-compliance may be fundamental to the operating aspects of the charity and therefore may have a material effect on the financial statements include compliance with charitable objectives, public benefit, fundraising regulations, safeguarding and health and safety legislation.
These matters were discussed amongst the engagement team at the planning stage and the team remained alert throughout the audit.
Audit procedures undertaken in response to the potential risks relating to irregularities (which include fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations) comprised of: inquiries of management and the Trustees as to whether the entity complies with such laws and regulations; enquiries with the same concerning any actual or potential litigation or claims; inspection of relevant legal correspondence and legal costs incurred; review of Trustee meeting minutes; testing the appropriateness of journal entries; and the performance of analytical review to identify unexpected movements in account balances which may be indicative of fraud.
No instances of material non-compliance were identified. However, the likelihood of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is limited by the inherent difficulty in detecting irregularities, the effectiveness of the entity's controls, and the nature, timing and extent of the audit procedures performed. Irregularities that result from fraud might be inherently more difficult to detect than irregularities that result from error. As explained above, there is an unavoidable risk that material misstatements may not be detected, even though the audit has been planned and performed in accordance with ISAs (UK).
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.
Connected Voice is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is One Strawberry Lane, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 4BX.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, 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, modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and 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 the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.
Designated funds comprise funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors which have been raised for a specific purpose. The cost arising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.
All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.
Voluntary income is received by way of grants, donations and gifts are included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when the trust becomes entitled. Grants where entitlement is not conditional on the delivery of a specific performance by the charity, are recognised when the charity becomes unconditionally entitled to the grant.
Donated services and facilities are included at the value to the charity where this can be qualified. The value of the services provided by volunteers has not been included in these accounts in line with the SORP (FRS102). Assets donated are recognised in full as donations and fixed assets.
No amount is included within the financial statements for volunteer time in line with the SORP (FRS 102).
Income is deferred only where criteria for recognition as incoming resources in the Statement of Financial Activities does not exist at the balance sheet date.
Incoming resources from charitable trading activities and commercial trading activities are accounted for when earned as the related services are provided. Services provided to clients which at the balance sheet date have not been billed to clients and where there is a right to consideration, have been recognised as income. Income recognised in this manner is based on an assessment of the fair value of the services provided at the balance sheet date as a proportion of the total value of the engagement. Unbilled revenue is included in work in progress.
Investment income is included when receivable.
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. It is categorised under the following headings:
Costs of generation funds comprises the costs associated with the commercial trading activities of Business Services department.
Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services fir its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include the audit fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the expenditure when incurred.
Individual fixed assets costing over £1,000 are capitalised at cost and are depreciated over their expected useful economic lives as follows:
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.
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.
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.
Commercial Income
Services provided under contract
Sales of services
Activities directly undertaken
Loss on closure of trading subsidiary
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.
There were no expenses paid to trustees during the year totalling (2023: £50).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Key management has been determined to be the Trustees and the Chief Executive Officer (2023: 1).
Trustees receive no remuneration or benefits.
The total remuneration of the senior management team was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
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.
Restricted IT equipment
Providing resources to enable key staff to work from home throughout the COVED-19 pandemic.
HAREF (Restricted Donation)
An ICB NHS funded project to support engagement with ethnically marginalised communities across Newcastle and Gateshead into health services.
North of Tyne Volunteering Project (VODA)
To create the North of Tyne as a volunteer area of excellence, this is a five year. project.
Gateshead Infrastructure
VCSE infrastructure support contract for Gateshead.
Gateshead Volunteer Centre
To establish and run an independent Volunteer Centre for Gateshead.
Newcastle Infrastructure
VCSE infrastructure support contract for Newcastle.
Health Bulletin - NHS ICB
To fund On the Hoof health information bulletin.
National Lottery Community Fund
To 'support families through crisis.
PCC Hate Crime
Providing. Hate Crime Advocacy, supporting-people who have experienced, or .are at risk of hate crime in the Northumbria area.
Refugees & Asylum Seekers
Direct advocacy to refugee and asylum seekers to have voices heard and access to services.
NIHR Mental Health
Research project looking at how culturally competent mental health services are for ethnically marginalised communities in Newcastle and Nottingham.
HAREF Digital Inclusion
An ICB NHS funded project to improve Digital Inclusion in Health and Social Care Project in Gateshead.
Health Equity
A project for supporting better links between the VCSE and social prescribers in Newcastle and running Health and wellbeing event for the VCSE.
Health Equity Mental Health
An ICB NHS funded project improving VCSE Engagement in the Mental Health Transformation in Gateshead.
UKSPF Local community Partnership
Building VCSE sector capacity with organisations in the outer west and north of Newcastle.
VCSE Resilience Fund
To provide support packages comprising business resilience and management support for community sector organisations based in Newcastle.
Waiting Well (VONNE)
An ICB NHS funded project offering targeted support to certain groups of patients waiting for surgery in the North East and North Cumbria.
UKSPF Digital Inclusion
Funding to support constituted groups and charities in Gateshead through tailored approaches, in order to develop their digital infrastructure and capability.
Gateshead Mental Health
The NENC ICB provide funds for Connected Voice to administer as grant applications to develop community-based activity which supports children and young people's mental health and emotional wellbeing in Gateshead..
Awards for All
Funding for Haref to support our work with ethnically marginalised communities in Newcastle and Gateshead, in order to collaborate with health services to improve accessibility.
Gateshead Council
Funding to support Haref’s engagement work in Gateshead with ethnically marginalised communities on health access needs, and ensuring links to key strategic health meetings.
Community Foundation
Funding for Haref to support our work with ethnically marginalised communities in Newcastle and Gateshead, in order to collaborate with health services to improve accessibility.
NIHAR HAREF COVID
NIHR funded research project working with community partners to look at health messaging in the age of Covid.
UKSPF North of Tyne Volunteering
Project to enhance support for volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations in Newcastle.
These are unrestricted funds which are material to the charity's activities.
Digital Transformation
For new digital infrastructure including new telephony, software and processes.
HAREF
To extend the ongoing Haref Allies Project It is expected that this fund will be utilised by 30 September 2023.
Office Move
To cover additional costs associated with the office move to One Strawberry Lane. The move took place in January 2023.
Advocacy
Development and restructuring of the advocacy service.
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.
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 charity's wholly owned subsidiary, Connected Voice Business Services Limited was dissolved on 3 September 2024. Connected Voice has written off the inter company debtor and the resulting loss on investment of £231,811 is included within the prior year SOFA.
There were no other disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023: none).
Connected Voice Business Services Limited was dissolved and disposed of during the year on 3 September 2024, which resulted in a loss on disposal as described in notes 10 and 31.