The directors have pleasure in presenting their report together with the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025. The directors have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

The directors who held office during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were as follows:

None of the directors of the company held a beneficial interest in the assets of the company.

There were no emoluments paid to directors during the current year.

Prison Service Trust was incorporated as a Limited company on 28th May 2002 as a not-for-profit organisation.

The Memorandum and Articles of Association of Prison Service Trust specify the objects of the company are to relieve the need, hardship and distress of members of the Northern Ireland Prison Service or ex-members who are in necessitous circumstances, and the widows, family members and dependents of deceased prison staff. Directors of the organisation are elected at the annual general meeting and they can serve for four years before being eligible for re-election. Any additional directors appointed to the Board after the annual general meeting has taken place retire at the next annual general meeting. The Chairman is appointed by the Directors and has responsibility for the management of the staff of the organisation; the Board determine the organisational structure of the company. Changes affecting senior staff or any major programme of the organisation involves a consultation process by the Board of Directors of the company before approval for changes is given. Annual budgets are prepared and presented to the Directors for approval before the start of each financial year.

The company has a policy for the induction and training of new Directors. They are provided with an induction package giving details of the history of the organisation, the memorandum and articles of association, responsibilities of Directors, previous year accounts, the organisational structure and the major programmes of the organisation. This is accompanied by a briefing by the Chairman on current activities of the organisation, introduction to senior staff and existing Directors and an overview of the current financial situation of the company.

The Board meet regularly and manage the day to day running of the company. The finance subcommittee supports the board and consists of the Chair and Secretary. Directors are appointed by members.

The objects of The Prison Service Trust are the relief of poverty of serving members of the Northern Ireland Prison Service and their dependents, former members of the Northern Ireland Prison Service who are medically retired and their dependents, and the widows, widowers, family members and dependents of those members of the Northern Ireland Prison Service who died in service.

Prison Service Trust are seeking to improve the lives of those whom they serve. Services include:

1) Health care – incorporating physical and emotional wellbeing

2) Life planning – incorporating education, career and financial planning and

3) Support services – incorporating welfare, family and social development.

The Secretary of State authorised the setting up of the charity, with funding available outside the budget of the Northern Ireland Prison Service. The Prison Service Trust aims to help our clients reintegrate back into the community following bereavement and exit from employment from the Northern Ireland Prison Service. When the Prison Service Trust was established, we were advised by the (then) Minister, Jane Kennedy, to take on the format of a private limited company.

In the year, Prison Service Trust made progress towards achieving its objectives set out at the beginning of the year:

1) On-going contact with clients who would otherwise be isolated and alone

2) Rehabilitation of clients by encouraging them to broaden themselves and engage with the wider community

3) Assisting clients who continue to suffer hardship, both physical and mental

Prison Service Trust carries out regular risk management reviews of all aspects of its operations. Two areas are identified as key areas of risk management; Health & Safety and the issue of client confidentiality. Extensive steps have been taken to establish procedures and appropriate training in the organisation to manage these risks. The Directors review these procedures on an annual basis.

The total number of clients has grown from 427 at the time the Prison Service Trust was established to 801 today. We have established procedures to ensure all clients are contacted and we encourage them to avail of our services, including:

1) Health care – incorporating physical and emotional wellbeing

2) Life planning – incorporating education, career and financial planning and

3) Support services – incorporating welfare, family and social development.

The results are set out on pages 9 to 20. Income during the year amounted to £390,894 compared with the prior year of £257,458. After expenditure of £323,795 the charity incurred a net surplus for the year of £67,099 (2024: net surplus of £36,597).

The reserves of the company at 31 March 2025 amounted to £334,559. Of those reserves £708 were designated towards capital expenditure. The uncommitted reserves available for current activities are £333,851. This level of reserves is in accordance with our policy to maintain general reserves in excess of three months of usual income.

The work required in the incoming financial year is the same as the year just completed i.e.

1) On-going contact with clients who would otherwise be isolated and alone

2) Rehabilitation of clients by encouraging them to broaden themselves and engage with the wider community

3) Assisting clients who continue to suffer hardship, both physical and mental

Budgets have been prepared and we are continuing to streamline operations so that overheads and costs of delivery are appropriate for the level of activity we are able to provide. Funding by The Department of Justice has been agreed for the upcoming financial year.

Prison Service Trust is dependent on the generosity of the volunteers who provide support at various levels of the association’s activities.

The Board of Management of the organisation is comprised of volunteers meeting monthly to oversee the management of the organisation, and several of these Directors provide financial or personnel oversight at a more detailed level.

Clients are also supported directly by a group of volunteers. The volunteers are suitably trained and supported and they are able to act as our eyes and ears to a much greater extent than we would otherwise be able to achieve. This is why we are able to service such a high number of clients with only one full time member of staff.

This represents approximately another 5000 hours of volunteer service carried out on behalf of The Prison Service Trust each year. As a result our clients are given positive encouragement and development each week. The financial value of this voluntary service would be in excess of £100,000 each year. We are very grateful to each and every volunteer who gives of their time to contribute to the personal development and wellbeing of all our clients.

The organisations' details are as disclosed on the company information page.

The registered name of the organisation is Prison Service Trust. However, while this is our registered name, we are also known as PST.

The directors are responsible for preparing the Directors' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure of the company for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:

- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019 (FRS 102);

- make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in operation.

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and the group and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

We, the directors of the company who held office at that date of approval of these financial statements, as set out above, each confirm so far as we are aware, that:

• there is no relevant audit information of which the company's auditors are unaware; and

• we have taken all the steps that we ought to have taken as directors in order to make ourselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company's auditors are aware of that information.

During the year the company made charitable donations amounting to £1,000 (2024: £Nil).

The auditors, Johnston Kennedy DFK, are deemed to be re-appointed under Section 487 (2) of the Companies Act 2006.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies exemption.

We have audited the financial statements of The Prison Service Trust (the 'charity') for the year ended 31 March 2025 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:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' 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 company'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 directors 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 directors 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 directors' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the directors' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' 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

• certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

• the directors were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemption in preparing the directors' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

As explained more fully in the directors' responsibilities statement, the directors 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 directors 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 directors are responsible for assessing the company'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 directors either intend to liquidate the 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:

• the nature of the industry and sector, control environment and performance;

• results of our enquiries of management about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities;

• the matters discussed among the audit engagement team and relevant internal specialists where necessary regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud;

• any matters we identified having obtained and reviewed the charitable company's documentation of their policies and procedures relating to:

- identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;

- detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud;

- the internal controls established to mitigate risks of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations.

As a result of these procedures, we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the organisation for fraud. In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override.

We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that the charitable company operates in, focusing on provisions of those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 and Taxation Legislation.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which may be fundamental to the charitable company's ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty.

As a result of performing the above our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:

• reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with provisions of relevant laws and regulations described as having a direct effect on the financial statements;

• enquiring of management concerning actual and potential litigation and claims performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud;

• reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance and reviewing correspondence with HMRC;and

• in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments; assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.

We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members, including internal specialists, and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

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.

The purpose of our audit work and to whom we owe our responsibilities

This report is made solely to the 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 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 company and the company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

These financial statements have been prepared and delivered in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The Prison Service Trust is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Northern Ireland. The registered office is Hydebank Wood, Hospital Road, Purdysburn, Belfast, BT8 8NA. The nature of the charity's operations and principal activities are given in the directors' report on page 3 of these financial statements.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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) (second edition - October 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Practice as it applies from 1 January 2019.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below.

Income is recognised when the 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.

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. The majority of costs are directly attributable to charitable activities. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to charitable activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources. Staff costs and overhead expenses are allocated to activities on the basis of staff time spent on those activities.

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly represent charitable activities. Support costs include back office costs, finance, human resources, payroll and governance costs which support the charity's activities. These costs have been allocated against the expenditure on charitable activities.

The charity has different types of funds for which it is responsible, and which require separate disclosure. These are as follows:

(a) Restricted funds - Funding received which can only be used for a specific purpose as determined by the funder. Such purposes are within the overall aims of the organisation and are set out in the notes to the financial statements.        

(b) Unrestricted funds - Funds which are expendable at the discretion of the directors in the furtherance of the objectives of the charity. In addition the funds may be held in order to finance capital investment and working capital.                                                            

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is credited or charged to surplus or deficit.

Cash and cash equivalents are basic financial assets and 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.

Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the charity after deducting all of its liabilities.

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, bank loans, loans from fellow group companies and preference shares that are classified as debt, 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 business 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.

The company is exempt from corporation tax, it being a company not carrying on a business for the purposes of making a profit.

The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense, unless those costs are required to be recognised as part of the cost of stock or fixed assets.

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 company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged to profit or loss on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease except where another more systematic basis is more representative of the time pattern in which economic benefits from the leases asset are consumed.

Government grants are recognised at the fair value of the asset received or receivable when there is reasonable assurance that the grant conditions will be met and the grants will be received.

A grant that specifies performance conditions is recognised in income when the performance conditions are met. Where a grant does not specify performance conditions it is recognised in income when the proceeds are received or receivable. A grant received before the recognition criteria are satisfied is recognised as a liability.

The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the company during the year was:

The company is a company limited by guarantee and does not have share capital. The company is not for profit and limited by guarantee, the liability of the members is limited to £1.

None of the directors received any remuneration during the year.

The company had no financial commitments as at 31 March 2025 and at 31 March 2024.

In common with many other charities of our size and nature we use our auditors to assist with the preparation of the financial statements.

The company is controlled by its directors. The directors are appointed by and are accountable to the members.