The trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025.

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 Charitable Company’s objectives are to promote any charitable purpose for the public benefit by the advancement of education, the protection and preservation of health and the relief of poverty, sickness and distress in particular, but without limitation, for the benefit of the community in the Borough of Wigan and surrounding areas. The trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit.

Vision and Mission

Our Vision is that people can access our service easily and have the knowledge and confidence they need to find a way forward, whatever the problem.

What we will do to achieve this is set out in our mission statement which is:

To support our communities health and wellbeing through the provision of quality advice which empowers people to overcome their problems, and to speak up for those who are treated unjustly, championing equal, diverse and inclusive policy and practice.

Public Benefit

We review our aims, objectives and activities each year. We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s Charities and Public Benefit document. All of our charitable activities focus on the promotion of research, charitable and youth projects for the benefit of the community.

Overview of Services

The Citizens Advice Service in the Borough of Wigan provides a Borough-wide advice and information service through a range of methods of delivery and seeks to make its services available for all sections of the community in the Borough, and to provide services that are relevant to their needs. Services are the subject of Delivery Plans, agreed with the main funders.

The service is free, independent, impartial and confidential. It is accessible to anyone, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

The voluntary contribution

The Charitable Company relies on volunteers undertaking advice work, administrative support and governance, to enable us to deliver our services. The continued commitment and dedication of our volunteers is recognised with appreciation.

The Charitable Company's volunteers provided 1,526 administrative support hours and 8,897 advice hours during the year. The monetary value of the voluntary contribution to the Charitable Company is estimated at £129,685 for the year. This is not recorded in these financial statements.

As a member of Citizens Advice, the Charitable Company operates and implements the equal opportunities policies of the Association, and requests that all employees, volunteers and Board members accept and act in line with the policies. The Charitable Company operates an on-going cultural monitoring survey of its clients, covering disability, age, ethnicity and gender groups.

A summary of the results for 2024/25 is provided on the next page.

Client Profile for 2024/25

Ethnicity

86% White

3% Asian

6% Black

2% Mixed

3% Other

Gender

55% female

45% male

Disability / Long Term Health Condition

58% clients with a disability / LTH condition

Factors affecting the service

As we move forward, we continue to face some significant challenges. Residents are still struggling to manage financially and Council Tax debts were the top debt issue we supported clients with during 2024/25. Client queries are ever more complex and time consuming and more people are struggling to find affordable, quality housing which is suitable to their needs. Of the issues we advised on, 37% of clients wanted help with Welfare Benefits, Tax Credits and Universal Credit. A further 24% received advice and information relating to financial services and capability. Changes to Welfare Benefits will have serious consequences for our clients and we anticipate a rise in demand as people try to understand and enforce their rights under these changes.

Pension Wise, a long existing funding stream will cease on 31 March 2026. The Money and Pensions Service are also consulting on the commissioning of the Debt Advice Project, with tendering due to commence in 2026/27. Increased employment costs have meant that we will need to use further reserves in 2025/26, reducing our surplus reserves further and limiting our ability to recruit additional staff to meet increasing demand.

Other factors affecting our organisation include increases to employment costs without associated funding uplifts, government employment policies and further devolvement to Greater Manchester. Increasingly funders are commissioning at a regional level, resulting in the need to look to develop relationships outside of the borough.

Strategic priorities

Our priorities for the planning period centre around 4 key themes, which are Organisational Health, Advice, Advocacy and Inclusivity.

Our priorities over the next 12 months include:

• Improving organisational sustainability and planning for succession to key roles

• Improving our ability to meet demand, through the recruitment of volunteer advisers and delivery of training to partner organisations

• Reviewing our data gathering and monitoring mechanisms to ensure we are able to fully articulate our impact

• Continue our research and campaigning activities, sharing our knowledge with those who can effect change

• Ensure our service is inclusive to all groups from the first point of access

Acknowledgements

The Trustee Board gratefully acknowledges the support of our funders. In 2024/25 these were:

• Wigan Council

• National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (in Partnership with the Money and Pensions Service, the National Grid, Department for Business and Trade and the Energy Supplier WHD initiative)

• Atherton and Leigh Foodbank (funded by the Trussell Trust),

• Macmillan

The Statement of Financial Activities provides a summary of the Charity’s Income and Expenditure during 2024/25.

The Charity has experienced another challenging year in 2024/25, marked by ongoing economic uncertainty and increasing demand for our services. Despite these pressures, we remain vigorously focused on supporting the health and wellbeing of our communities, with our resilient team continuing to deliver high-quality, client-focused services.

For the year ended 31 March 2025, the Charity’s total income was £891,748, representing a decrease of £108,080 compared to the previous year. This reduction was anticipated, following the cessation of several one-off grants received in 2023/24, along with the discontinuation of Help to Claim and Income Maximisation funding at the start of the financial year. The loss of these key funding streams required us to scale back staffing from 1 April 2024, contributing to an overall reduction in income and service capacity.

Amidst such challenges, we are delighted to report several positive and encouraging developments. The Charity successfully secured a 12-month extension to Macmillan funding and gained further investment from Atherton and Leigh Foodbank to expand project work. We also secured continued funding through the Energy Advice Programme, enabling us to deliver targeted energy advice to fuel-poor households - an increasingly critical need in the current cost of living crisis.

Reduced income was accompanied by a £141,691 decrease in total expenditure from prior year, with investment in charitable activities amounting to £884,462 for the 12 months ending 31 March 2025. Expenditure was focused primarily on direct service delivery, with staffing costs representing approximately 82% of total expenditure, consistent with our commitment to maintaining client-facing services. Staff costs reduced from prior year by £144,007 to £723,236, with the average number of employees reducing from 34 to 28 in line with funding. The 1.2% rise in average employment costs per head partially reflects governmental changes to National Insurance contributions, disappointingly not covered through funding provider uplift, thereby limiting our ability to further recruit.

Looking ahead, we face continued uncertainty. The forthcoming cessation of a number of funding streams over the next 18 months, including the loss of Pension Wise funding from April 2026, coupled with anticipated changes to the welfare benefits system and likely increases to the National Living Wage next year, pose significant risks to both our income and our clients' wellbeing.

The Board of Trustees and Management Team remain committed to ensuring the financial sustainability of the Charity. Identifying new income streams and responding strategically to emerging tender opportunities will be key priorities in the coming year, ensuring that we can continue to meet the needs of our local community.

Citizens Advice Service in the Borough of Wigan is a charitable company limited by guarantee, and was registered as a charity on 10 August 1989. The Company was established under a Memorandum of Association, and incorporated on 29 March 1989. The Articles of Association were amended by special resolution dated 20 September 2022, superseding all previous amendments. Notice of these special resolutions have been filed at Companies House and the Charity Commission.

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:

Organisational structure

The Trustee Board is responsible for:

• the overall control and conduct of the affairs of the Charitable Company;

• establishing the strategic direction and the strategic objectives of the Charitable Company;

• the determination of the terms of reference and the composition of Committees;

• the review of Board Membership in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association;

• the financial viability of the Charitable Company, including financial policies and control; and,

• monitoring the performance of all the Charitable Company's functions, to ensure that it performs in accordance with legislative and regulatory requirements, and to the highest standards of probity, efficiency, effectiveness and service.

The Trustee Board/Management Committee may appoint committees to undertake various aspects of its work, but responsibility for matters that are so delegated remains with the full Board. The Board of Trustees/Management Committee ensures that the committee structure of the Charitable Company is appropriate to the scope and nature of its operations and is capable of ensuring that its responsibilities can be properly controlled and conducted. There are no separate committees at the present time.

The delegation of managerial authority

The Trustees Board has resolved that the operational management of the affairs of the Charitable Company shall be delegated to the Chief Officer of the Charitable Company (L Kidston) with the Chief Officer being responsible to the Board for the proper conduct of the Charitable Company's operations. The Chief Officer must assist the Trustee Board to ensure that the Charitable Company's objectives are achieved.

Risk Management

The Trustee Board has considered the significant risks which the Charitable Company faces. These are included in the Company Risk Register and Business Continuity Plans.

The Trustee Board recognises that a balance needs to be achieved between benefits and risks; that is, between being concerned not only to prevent adverse situations from happening, but also to ensure that worthwhile changes do happen and are not prevented by a disproportionate assessment of possible difficulties. The resources expended in mitigating a risk must be in proportion to its probable impact on the service.

In managing risks, the Trustee Board:

• identifies the risks which apply to the charity

• determines the likelihood and impact of the risk materialising

• considers how they can mitigate against each risk

• ensures effective controls are in place

• regularly reviews its risks throughout the year

Statement of Internal Control

The board of trustees oversees the information security of all personal information of our clients, staff, funders and strategic partners which is processed. The Trustee Board holds joint responsibility for client data that is held in its case management system, with the national Citizens Advice Service. An information assurance management team exists to ensure that the confidentiality, integrity and availability of all personal and sensitive data is maintained to a level which is compliant with the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018.

Reserves, Depositing and Designated Funds

The Articles of Association of the Charitable Company make provision for the Trustee Board to invest monies not immediately required in such investments or other assets as the Board in its complete discretion thinks fit, subject nevertheless to such conditions and consents as may be imposed or required by law.

In establishing its policy on the holding of reserves, the Trustee Board considers the following:

• Income and expenditure forecasts for the year

• Redundancy liabilities

• A risk assessment covering financial and operational matters, including the dependability of income sources, and the level and nature of expenditure commitments

• The Charitable Company's Strategic Plan and service developments arising under Citizens Advice requirements.

The Trustee Board has agreed to hold an amount in unrestricted reserves equivalent to three months salaries and other running costs (equating to £211,943 based on current known expenditure for 2025/26). The Trustee Board has also considered its financial responsibilities for redundancy provision and has deemed it prudent to set aside an amount for redundancy costs of £73,222. In addition, an amount equating to £33,787 of unrestricted funds has been set aside as designated funding. This funding includes £22,887 budgeted deficit for the year, £7,900 to help the Charitable Company meet its Health and Safety duties in respect of covering the eye tests of Display Screen users and maintaining accessible premises, and a further amount of £3,000 has been designated to support a collaborative project, aimed at raising funds, with other Citizens Advice offices across the GM region.

The trustees report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Citizens Advice Service in the Borough of Wigan (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2025.

As the Trustees of the charity (and also its directors for the purposes of company law), you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.

Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000, the independent examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of ICAEW, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.

the financial statements do not accord with those records; or

the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.

Investments

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

Investments

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 March 2025. No member of the company has deposited a notice, pursuant to section 476, requiring an audit of these financial statements.

The director acknowledges her responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

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

Citizens Advice Service in the Borough of Wigan is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales and a registered charity in England and Wales. The registered office is Magnum House, 33 Lord Street, Suite 2.1, Leigh, Lancashire, WN7 1BY.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” (effective 1 January 2019). 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 accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue operating for the foreseeable future. As outlined in the Trustees' Report, they remain mindful of ongoing and anticipated pressures on social funding budgets. Nevertheless, the Trustees have undertaken an assessment, taking into account the contracts currently in place and their remaining duration, along with a review of budgets and cashflows for the forthcoming year. Based on this assessment, the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the Trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Trading activities relate to student placements and reimbursements made from other Citizens Advice Bureaux for shared costs.

Bank interest is accounted for when received into the charity's bank account.

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure, including irrecoverable VAT is recognised on the accrual basis.

In particular, the policy for including items within charitable activities is as follows:

Charitable activities comprise those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both the costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

All costs are allocated between the expenditure categories of the Statement of Financial Activities on bases designed to reflect the uses of particular resources. Costs relating to a particular activity are allocated directly, while others are apportioned on an appropriate basis.

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost, net of depreciation and any impairment losses. Only assets with a value of £1,000 or more will be capitalised.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost 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 recognised in the statement of financial activities.

At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Financial assets, other than those held at fair value through income and expenditure, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each reporting date. Financial assets are impaired where there is objective evidence that, as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the financial asset, the estimated future cash flows have been affected.

If an asset is impaired, the impairment loss is the difference between the carrying amount and the present value of the estimated cash flows discounted at the asset’s original effective interest rate. The impairment loss is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.

If there is a decrease in the impairment loss arising from an event occurring after the impairment was recognised, the impairment is reversed. The reversal is such that the current carrying amount does not exceed what the carrying amount would have been, had the impairment not previously been recognised. The impairment reversal is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.

Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the charity transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity, or if some significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained but control of the asset has transferred to another party that is able to sell the asset in its entirety to an unrelated third party.

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.

The pension costs charged in the accounts represent the contributions payable by the charity during the period.

The charity has also entered into a deficit funding agreement and the company has recognised its liability for this obligation as disclosed in note 12.

Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged as an expense on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease.

Prior year adjustment

The comparative figures have been restated to recategorise £468,200 of unrestricted charitable income, previously categorised as unrestricted donations. There is no effect to the net movement in funds on the statement of financial activities,

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods. The trustees consider the company's share of the pension scheme to be a critical area of judgement and estimation as it is not possible for the company to obtain sufficient information to enable it to account for the scheme as a defined benefit scheme as detailed in note 12. The actuarial valuation, calculated by independent actuaries with input from management, includes assumptions such as discount rates, annual rates of return and mortality rates. These assumptions vary from time to time according to prevailing economic conditions.

The trustees have also assessed the estimated costs of future potential redundancies and have included this estimate within designated funds in Note 18.

Help to Claim

Money Advice Service

Pension Wise

Other income

Investments

Unrestricted funds

Restricted funds

Unrestricted funds

Restricted funds

Staff and volunteer costs

Office costs

Premises costs

Other

Age UK costs

None of the Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration, benefits or expenses from the charity during the year.

Redundancy and termination payments totalling £nil (2024 - £13,341) were made in the reporting period.

The company participates in the scheme, a multi-employer scheme which provides benefits to some 521 non-associated participating employers. The scheme is a defined benefit scheme in the UK. It is not possible for the company to obtain sufficient information to enable it to account for the scheme as a defined benefit scheme. Therefore it accounts for the scheme as a defined contribution scheme.

The scheme is subject to the funding legislation outlined in the Pensions Act 2004 which came into force on 30 December 2005. This, together with documents issued by the Pensions Regulator and Technical Actuarial Standards issued by the Financial Reporting Council, set out the framework for funding defined benefit occupational pension schemes in the UK.

The scheme is classified as a 'last-person standing arrangement'. Therefore the company is potentially liable for other participating employers' obligations if those employers are unable to meet their share of the scheme deficit following withdrawal from the scheme. Participating employers are legally required to meet their share of the scheme deficit on an annuity purchase basis on withdrawal from the scheme.

A full actuarial valuation for the scheme was carried out at 30 September 2023. This valuation showed assets of £514.9m, liabilities of £531.0m and a deficit of £16.1m. To eliminate this funding shortfall, the Trustee has asked the participating employers to pay additional contributions to the scheme as follows:

Deficit contributions

Unless a concession has been agreed with the Trustee the term to 31 March 2028 applies.

Note that the scheme’s previous valuation was carried out with an effective date of 30 September 2020. This valuation showed assets of £800.3m, liabilities of £831.9m and a deficit of £31.6m. To eliminate this funding shortfall, the Trustee asked the participating employers to pay additional contributions to the scheme as follows:

Deficit contributions

The recovery plan contributions are allocated to each participating employer in line with their estimated share of the Series 1 and Series 2 scheme liabilities.

Where the scheme is in deficit and where the company has agreed to a deficit funding arrangement the company recognises a liability for this obligation. The amount recognised is the net present value of the deficit reduction contributions payable under the agreement that relates to the deficit. The present value is calculated using the discount rate detailed in these disclosures. The unwinding of the discount rate is recognised as a finance cost.

PRESENT VALUES OF PROVISION

ASSUMPTIONS

The discount rates shown above are the equivalent single discount rates which, when used to discount the future recovery plan contributions due, would give the same results as using a full AA corporate bond yield curve to discount the same recovery plan contributions.

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:

There were no related party transactions during the year (2024: none).

The charity is controlled by the trustees.