REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: SC370936 (Scotland)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: SC007443

Report of the Trustees and

Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025

for

Hamilton Citizens Advice Bureau

Page

Report of the Trustees

1

to

7

Report of the Independent Auditors

8

to

11

Statement of Financial Activities

12

Balance Sheet

13

Cash Flow Statement

14

Notes to the Cash Flow Statement

15

Notes to the Financial Statements

16

to

26

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives and aims

Our Vision

A resilient community, active citizens and a safety net for those in need.

Our Objectives 2024/25

- Continue to develop our community-based services, establishing further locations to ensure we are as accessible as possible.

- Work with partners to secure town centre premises which are fit for our purposes, ensuring we continue to meet the needs of our community.

- Continue to deliver our 2023-2026 strategic plan, taking forward the work we started in 2023/24.

- Ensure all our staff and volunteers are supported, have access to excellent training and personal development opportunities.

- Contribute to tackling child poverty and wider inequalities by focusing our resources and sharing our experiences and knowledge.

- Continue to contribute to local networks and forums, including the Child Poverty Action Group, Third Sector Chief Officers Group, Homelessness Strategy Group and the South Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership.

- Achieve Investing in Volunteers accreditation.

Significant activities

Who used and benefited from the Services of Hamilton CAB in 2024/25

During 2024/25 advice was provided to 3,986 people (2023/24: 3,982). Of these, 2155 (2367) had never used our service before. We had a total of 13,374 (10,363) contacts with people during the year.

People using our services in 2024/25 came from all social and economic backgrounds and from 21 (24) different ethnic groups. The age profile of people who used our service ranged from 15 - 80+ years.

What was provided

We provided a mix of advice, practical assistance and support, negotiation and arbitration, casework, and representation on 13,239 (12,029) different issues across 16 areas of advice.

Social Security matters continued to be the main area of enquiries, comprising 38% (36%) of our work. 38% of these enquiries related to Adult Disability Payment and 15% were Universal Credit issues.

The number of energy and utilities issues made up 17% (18%) of our work. Most (98%) of these enquiries related to enquiries about electricity and gas, and 45% of these related to emergency fuel voucher assistance.

Finance & Charitable support enquiries made up 17% (17%) of our work. 70% of these enquiries related to emergency food vouchers.

Housing issues comprised 9% (8%) of our enquiries. The majority (39%) related to Local Authority housing issues. We continued to provide a specialist in-court advice service during the reporting period. A change to the funding priorities for this service saw the removal of assistance with simple procedures, and a focus on helping those facing repossession action in relation to their homes. In the reporting period, the in-court service helped 226 people. At the beginning of 2025, we lost our office at Birnie House due to changes within the civil court building. We continue to have access to a room to support clients on in-person court days and would like to thank the court staff for their ongoing support.

Our drop-in service is provided by volunteer advisers and deals with both routine and emergency enquiries. We continue to operate a triage system for initial contacts. During the reporting period, the drop-in service provided advice to 2115 (1,607) people. Of the advice provided, 48% related to welfare benefits issues and 17% to housing.

The grant funding provided by South Lanarkshire Council on an annual basis supported the volunteer service as well as management and administration costs. This was supplemented by Scottish Government Money Talk Plus funding to provide a five-day service. Funding was secured from South Lanarkshire Council and the Scottish Government for 2024/25 ensuring the continuity of this service. South Lanarkshire Council continued to provide the main Bureau premises, on Almada Street, rent free.

Securing Financial Gain

We continue to provide value for money and bring income into the pockets of local people. A total of £1,079,995 (£1,042,832) was secured in financial gain for people using our services. We generated £20 (£20) for each £1 of SLC grant funding provided.

Delivery of Services

We offered a mixture of face-to-face, telephone and email advice with home visits offered where appropriate.

Contact with people was 27% (30%) face-to-face; 66% (61%) by telephone; 2% (2%) by letter and 5% (7%) by email. Substantial ongoing contact with people is maintained through SMS and use of mobile phones.

We continued to participate in community groups, increased our use of social media and made good use of our networks to ensure we were as accessible as possible.

Learning environment

We continued to provide a learning and development environment for our staff and encouraged and supported them to achieve their potential. A full programme of internal and external opportunities was offered using face-to-face and online platforms and, enthusiastically, taken up. The Citizens Advice Scotland electronic learning management system continued to be used for access to learning materials, e-learning, logging and managing progress on core and external training and personal development.

Quality of Advice

During 2024/25, we actively worked to ensure we will achieve reaccreditation at our next SNS audit, which began at the start of 2025. We also continued to comply with CAS membership conditions. During the reporting period we achieved full compliance in relation to our SACAB membership standards audit. We continued to receive excellent results and feedback on our CAS quarterly quality of advice audit.

Work with partners to secure premises and funding to enable relocation to Hamilton Town Centre

Securing accessible, fit-for-purpose premises in Hamilton town centre remains one of our most significant and persistent challenges. Throughout the reporting period, we actively explored several potential opportunities; however, none met our requirements, largely due to financial constraints. We remain committed to addressing this critical need and continue to work with South Lanarkshire Council to identify and pursue viable options.

Work with partners and our community to begin to deliver our new 2023 to 2026 Strategic Plan

We continued work to deliver our Strategic Plan, Here for All. This plan was developed through consultation with our community, staff, volunteers and partners and set the following objectives:

- Enhance our service delivery

- Stay resilient

- Build the brand

Our progress in 2024/25:

A significant amount of work was done to improve our social media engagement, including introducing a new communication and engagement strategy and recruiting a new volunteer social media coordinator.

During the reporting period the Board also agreed to fund a part-time Business Development Officer post to strengthen our financial position. This post will explore alternative fundraising opportunities beyond grants to ensure we remain financial resilient in the years to come.

Continue to develop our community-based services, ensuring we are accessible to all

In 2024/25, we significantly expanded our outreach efforts, delivering services from 12 different locations across Hamilton, Blantyre, Larkhall, Uddingston, and Bothwell. This targeted approach was vital in reaching some of the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach individuals in our communities, helping us to remain as accessible and inclusive as possible. Through our outreach work, we provided support to over 200 people who may otherwise have faced barriers to accessing advice. We are deeply grateful to our community partners for generously hosting us and enabling this vital work to happen.

Partnerships

Good partnerships and working relationships are crucial and we continued to be fully committed to ensuring that these were maintained and developed so that we could best meet the needs of local people and make the best use of limited resources. We continued to focus on developing collaborative working arrangements and referral pathways with community led organisations. During 2024/25, our partnerships were strengthened, and new working relationships formed.

Many thanks to our partners:

South Lanarkshire Council, Scottish Courts Administration, NHS Lanarkshire, SL Health & Social Care Partnership, VASLan, Lanarkshire Carers Centre, Terminal 1, COVEY, PAMIS, Liber8, The Beacons, Larkhall & District Volunteer Group, Hamilton District Foodbank, Clyde, Avon and Nethan Foodbank, our neighbouring CABs, Community Links, Legal Services Agency, Blantyre Miners Welfare, June Stewart Centre, Trust Jack Foundation, Blantyre Parish Church, Whitehill Community Group, Nazarene Church Hall, Uddingston, Bothwell Parish Church, Blantyre Life and Hareleeshill Community Group.

Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers

Over the year, we had enquiries from 91 (59) people interested in volunteering with us. Of these:

- 26 (29) returned the application form and were invited for interview

- 12 people withdrew as they could not commit to 6 hours per week minimum

- 3 people completed the selection process and commenced Trustee recruitment.

- At 31st March 2025 we had 21 (25) active volunteers - 10 advisers, 5 in training and 6 admin/triage/reception

Achieve Investing in Volunteers Accreditation

During the reporting period, we formally began our journey towards achieving the Investing in Volunteers (IiV) accreditation-the UK's gold standard for excellence in volunteer management. This commitment reflects the high value we place on our volunteers and our determination to provide them with a consistently positive, supportive, and rewarding experience. Gaining this accreditation will not only demonstrate to our current and prospective volunteers how much they are appreciated but also give us assurance that our volunteer practices meet the highest standards across the sector.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Reserves policy

The reserve policy is to maintain a sufficient level of reserves to enable operating activities to be

maintained at acceptable levels and within contractual requirements, taking account of potential

risks and contingencies that may arise from time to time. The Trustees believe an amount

equivalent to three to six months of unrestricted expenditure (£20,000 - £40,000) is reasonable.

This policy is reviewed annually by the Trustees. Currently general funds which have not been

designated to other purposes are £79,026 In addition, £70,000 has been set aside to meet the

financial risks associated with potential contingencies and any uncertainty relating to the charity’s

operating activities, with an additional £39,216 designated to new premises expenditure.

Our main source of income continues to be by way of grant funding. Total incoming resources

were £564,748 (2024: £616,916). Resources expended during the year were £583,277 (2024:

£573,218). Net expenditure for the year was £18,529 (Net income 2024: £43,698).

OUR OBJECTIVES 2025/26

- Begin work on our 2026-2029 Strategic Plan, ensuring our staff, volunteers, trustees and community feed into this plan.

- Refresh our volunteer training to ensure we make the most of our volunteers and offer them the best experience possible.

- Work with our Business Development Officer to strengthen our financial position by pursuing new fundraising opportunities, in line with our fundraising policy.

- Establish a premises working group made up staff, volunteers and trustees to fully investigate our options in relation to new premises.

- Continue to contribute to local third sector and statutory networks and forums, ensuring we continue to tackle local inequalities by sharing resources, experience and knowledge

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

On 28 January 2010, the Bureau registered as a company limited by guarantee and adopted Articles of Association at a meeting specially convened for this purpose. In the event of the company being wound up members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

The Trustees are recruited and appointed in accordance with the Articles of Association. A recruitment and selection policy and procedure is in place and reviewed regularly ensuring best practice. New trustees are provided with a handbook, induction training which includes awareness of the role and responsibilities of the governing body and individual trustees. It also includes familiarisation with the Bureau's history, structure, purpose, key policies and its work. Training needs are identified on joining the Board and annually reviewed. Trustees attend training provided by Citizens Advice Scotland and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and attend local and national conferences to maintain knowledge and ensure awareness of environment.

Organisational structure

The Trustees are responsible for the strategic direction and effective governance of the Bureau. Key responsibilities include developing and reviewing the strategic plan; agreeing annual plans and budgets; ensuring compliance with legislation and regulations - particularly employment, health and safety and data protection; ensuring robust financial planning and management systems are in place and regularly reviewed. The operational management of the Bureau is delegated to the Chief Officer within the agreed strategic and operational framework.

Wider network

Hamilton Citizens Advice Bureau is an independent organisation but is a member of the Scottish Association of Citizens Advice Bureau.

Risk management

The Board, with support from the Chief Officer, has adopted a structured approach to risk management into the management practices. An annual review of major risks facing our organisation is conducted to consider the impact and likelihood of such risks and the potential actions to mitigate these risks are explored. The findings are reported, discussed and acted upon by the Board. Hamilton CAB also safeguards against risks by maintaining Trustee Indemnity and Professional Indemnity insurances.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

SC370936 (Scotland)

Registered Charity number

SC007443

Registered office

Almada Tower

67 Almada Street

Hamilton

South Lanarkshire

ML3 0HQ

Trustees

Imtiaz Ahmed (appointed 13.11.24)

Cameron Bailey

Josh McArthur

Rosemary Ann Robinson (Chair)

Graham Fraser Sturrock

George Welsh (resigned 26.2.25)

Martyn Connolly (appointed 26.2.25)

Amanda Mccool (appointed 26.2.25)

Auditors

Accountants Plus (Hamilton) Ltd

T/A Accountants Plus

Statutory Auditor

Second Floor

Airbles House

270 Airbles Road

Motherwell

ML1 3AT

Chief Officer

Jennifer Howdle

Bank

Unity Trust Bank plc

PO Box 7193

Planetary Road

Willenhall

WV1 9DG

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (who are also the directors of Hamilton Citizens Advice Bureau for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to

-	select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

-	observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP;

-	make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

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

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

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

-	the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

AUDITORS

The auditors, Accountants Plus (Hamilton) Ltd, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 27 August 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

Graham Fraser Sturrock - Trustee

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Hamilton Citizens Advice Bureau (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (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, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and Regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 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 Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable 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 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 charitable 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 trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.

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.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 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 the audit:

-	the information given in the Report of the Trustees for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

-	the Report of the Trustees has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Trustees.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

-	adequate and proper 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 trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or

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

-	the trustees were not entitled to take advantage of the small companies exemption from the requirement to prepare a Strategic Report or in preparing the Report of the Trustees.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees 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 charitable 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 trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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 a Report of the Independent Auditors 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:

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations. We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these among our audit team members. We then designed and performed audit procedures to respond to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

In identifying and assessing the risks or material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations we considered the following;

- The nature of the charity, the environment in which it operates and the control procedures implemented by management and the trustees; and

- Our enquiries of management and trustees about their identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities.

Based on our understanding of the charity and the sector as a whole we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to, but were not limited to;

- Regulations and legislation pertinent to the charity's operations; and

- UK tax and employment legislation.

We considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material impact on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations which have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements, such as the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Regulations 2006. We evaluated management and trustees' incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of management override of controls), and determined that the principal risks of the charity were related to;

- Inappropriate journal entries; and

- Management bias in accounting estimates.

Audit response to the risks identified:

Our procedures to respond to the risks identified included the following:

- Gaining an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to the charity and the sector in which it operates;

- Reviewing 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, trustees and legal advisors concerning actual or potential litigation and claims;

- Reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;

- In addressing the risk of fraud as a result of management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments and evaluating rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business; and

- Communicating relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all audit team members, and remaining alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above. The further removed any non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.

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, and to the charitable company's trustees, as a body, in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members and the trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' 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.

Fiona Struthers (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Accountants Plus (Hamilton) Ltd

T/A Accountants Plus

Statutory Auditor

Eligible to act as an auditor in terms of Section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006

Second Floor

Airbles House

270 Airbles Road

Motherwell

ML1 3AT

29 August 2025

31.3.25

31.3.24

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

funds

funds

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

2

-

-

-

875

Charitable activities

4

Charitable activities

56,026

503,170

559,196

614,711

Investment income

3

5,555

(3

)

5,552

1,330

Total

61,581

503,167

564,748

616,916

EXPENDITURE ON

Charitable activities

5

Charitable activities

54,355

528,922

583,277

573,218

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

7,226

(25,755

)

(18,529

)

43,698

Transfers between funds

15

54,384

(54,384

)

-

-

Net movement in funds

61,610

(80,139

)

(18,529

)

43,698

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

128,813

128,324

257,137

213,439

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

190,423

48,185

238,608

257,137

31.3.25

31.3.24

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

funds

funds

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible assets

11

2,182

-

2,182

4,198

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors

12

19,642

-

19,642

8,117

Cash at bank and in hand

175,535

48,187

223,722

249,592

195,177

48,187

243,364

257,709

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

13

(6,936

)

(2

)

(6,938

)

(4,770

)

NET CURRENT ASSETS

188,241

48,185

236,426

252,939

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

190,423

48,185

238,608

257,137

NET ASSETS

190,423

48,185

238,608

257,137

FUNDS

15

Unrestricted funds

190,423

128,813

Restricted funds

48,185

128,324

TOTAL FUNDS

238,608

257,137

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

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 27 August 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:

Graham Fraser Sturrock - Trustee

Cash flows from operating activities

Cash generated from operations

1

(31,424

)

73,107

Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities

(31,424

)

73,107

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of tangible fixed assets

-

(1,479

)

Interest received

5,552

1,330

Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities

5,552

(149

)

Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period

(25,872

)

72,958

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period

2

249,592

176,634

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period

2

223,720

249,592

1.	RECONCILIATION OF NET (EXPENDITURE)/INCOME TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Net (expenditure)/income for the reporting period (as per the Statement of Financial Activities)

(18,529

)

43,698

Adjustments for:

Depreciation charges

2,017

3,336

Interest received

(5,552

)

(1,330

)

(Increase)/decrease in debtors

(11,526

)

27,253

Increase in creditors

2,166

150

Net cash (used in)/provided by operations

(31,424

)

73,107

2.	ANALYSIS OF CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Cash in hand

297

226

Notice deposits (less than 3 months)

223,425

249,366

Overdrafts included in bank loans and overdrafts falling due within one year

(2

)

-

Total cash and cash equivalents

223,720

249,592

3.	ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS

At 1.4.24

Cash flow

At 31.3.25

£

£

£

Net cash

Cash at bank and in hand

249,592

(25,870

)

223,722

Bank overdrafts

-

(2

)

(2

)

249,592

(25,872

)

223,720

Total

249,592

(25,872

)

223,720

1.	ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Plant and machinery

-

25% on cost

Computer equipment

-

15% on reducing balance

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

2.	DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Donations

-

875

3.	INVESTMENT INCOME

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Deposit account interest

5,552

1,330

4.	INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

31.3.25

31.3.24

Activity

£

£

Grants

Charitable activities

559,196

614,711

Grants received, included in the above, are as follows:

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Grants

559,196

614,711

5.	CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS

Support

Direct

costs (see

Costs

note 6)

Totals

£

£

£

Charitable activities

538,160

45,117

583,277

6.	SUPPORT COSTS

Governance

costs

£

Charitable activities

45,117

7.	NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Auditors' remuneration

5,160

4,770

Auditors' remuneration for non audit work

1,440

-

Depreciation - owned assets

2,016

3,335

8.	TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2025 nor for the year ended 31 March 2024.

Trustees' expenses

There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2025 nor for the year ended 31 March 2024.

9.	STAFF COSTS

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Wages and salaries

437,113

433,997

Social security costs

32,374

32,174

Other pension costs

8,770

8,773

478,257

474,944

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

31.3.25

31.3.24

Management

2

2

Advisory

16

16

18

18

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

10.	COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

funds

funds

funds

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

875

-

875

Charitable activities

Charitable activities

56,121

558,590

614,711

Investment income

1,332

(2

)

1,330

Total

58,328

558,588

616,916

EXPENDITURE ON

Charitable activities

Charitable activities

64,190

509,028

573,218

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

(5,862

)

49,560

43,698

Transfers between funds

28,435

(28,435

)

-

Net movement in funds

22,573

21,125

43,698

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

106,241

107,198

213,439

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

128,814

128,323

257,137

11.	TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Plant and

Computer

machinery

equipment

Totals

£

£

£

COST

At 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025

28,608

12,593

41,201

DEPRECIATION

At 1 April 2024

25,663

11,340

37,003

Charge for year

1,827

189

2,016

At 31 March 2025

27,490

11,529

39,019

NET BOOK VALUE

At 31 March 2025

1,118

1,064

2,182

At 31 March 2024

2,945

1,253

4,198

12.	DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Other debtors

2,714

8,117

Prepayments and accrued income

16,928

-

19,642

8,117

13.	CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Bank loans and overdrafts (see note 14)

2

-

Other creditors

336

-

Accrued expenses

6,600

4,770

6,938

4,770