REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 02914384 (England and Wales)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1046018

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND

AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

FOR

CITIZENS ADVICE MERTON AND LAMBETH

LIMITED

(A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

Page

Chair's Welcome

1

Report of the Trustees

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14

Report of the Independent Auditors

15

to

17

Statement of Financial Activities

18

Statement of Financial Position

19

Statement of Cash Flows

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Notes to the Statement of Cash Flows

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Notes to the Financial Statements

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36

I am pleased to present our 2024-2025 Trustees Report and Accounts. During the period of the report high levels of hardship have remained for the majority of our clients, resulting in many clients presenting more complex cases for the team to address. We remain wholly committed to the success of the range of support delivered predominantly in Merton and Lambeth, on behalf of our commissioners and funders, with so many positive outcomes for our clients.

The number of clients supported reduced by two percentage points on last year's figure, as indeed did client issues. The team supported 24,436 clients, who presented 42,154 issues this year. Against these similar client numbers and issues I am delighted to report that the direct financial outcomes achieved for clients increased by an impressive 39% to £4.2m. This increase will have delivered very positive outcomes for local families and individuals experiencing high levels of hardship, which the team are rightly proud of.

In addition to the direct financial benefit of over £4m achieved for individuals, the overall support of the team is considered to have a total worth of £13.2m to the people we helped, with overall financial value to society of £17.7m.

Client demand has remained high during the year. We have worked hard to recruit to match the demand but this has been difficult. As a local charity we continue to work hard to afford a team to address continued high levels of demand for our services. Our funders understand the challenges posed by such high need for our service. They support us, where possible, to retain the high quality, fully accredited services that we provide.

With public sector budgets remaining under considerable pressure, although we get continued financial support from funders, we have increased activity to attract and retain volunteers, who remain key to our overall success. Our amazing volunteers continue to contribute so much to our organisation and have our deepest thanks for their time and commitment.

I would also like to recognise our Trustee Board members who additionally add so much value in the way they support the team, enabling the overall success of the portfolio of services we provide. Trustees are also volunteers and their range of talent and expertise remains a huge asset to the Charity. In 2024-2025, two Trustees stood down following long service and real commitment so further thanks to them.

During 2025 the whole team, including volunteers and Trustees, will be influencing the shape of a CAML 2030 strategy which will seek to understand and address the challenges and opportunities over the next five years. With significant financial sustainability challenges going forward I know our collective determination to continue supporting our clients will continue to have a lasting impact on individuals, their families and local communities.

Elizabeth Coulter

Chair of the Board of Trustees

30 October 2025

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

Principles, Aims and Strategic priorities

Citizens Advice Merton and Lambeth (CAML) is one of London's leading and busiest advice charities. We support individuals and families who live, work or study primarily in the London Boroughs of Merton and Lambeth, but also elsewhere. We also work to raise awareness and understanding of the challenging issues affecting individuals and our communities.

The charity's objects 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 for the benefit of the communities we serve.

We were one of the first Citizens Advice services to open our doors in 1939, so in September 2024 the team and partners celebrated 85 years of providing our services and support, which remain as important today as they were when our work began.

Our Purpose

Supporting people to resolve their advice problems and change their lives for the better. We do this on a free, confidential and impartial basis by:

- Providing advice and information services to support people in resolving the problems they face; and

- Supporting the improvement of policies and practices that affect people's lives both locally and nationally.

Our Values

Clients and Beneficiaries first

- We work for the public and place the interests of our clients and communities at the heart of our high quality advice, information and support.

- We collaborate with other organisations and partners for the benefit of our clients.

Professionalism

- Working together as a team we take pride in doing things properly, in making a real difference.

- Our staff, volunteers and trustees act with integrity.

- We support our team with on-going training and mentoring to achieve the best for clients and beneficiaries.

Compassion

- We believe everyone should have access to social justice.

- We value diversity, challenge discrimination and create a culture where all can flourish.

The Principles and Aims of CAML's Work and Services

We provide advice services responding to clients needs via the telephone, online and face-to-face.

Our aim is to empower clients to better help themselves. But we are always here for further support and advice as and when needed.

Our approach embraces the following principles:

Build and foster trust - With our clients, our partners, and those we work closely with.

Embrace joint working and collaboration - To meet individual needs, tackle wider strategic issues and maximise resources we need to work together, drawing on the diverse skills, knowledge and experience of the CAML team, our partners and those we work closely with. Collaborative working ensures the best outcomes for our clients.

Work flexibly - We know the needs of individuals, families and communities change over time - in terms of changing demographics, challenges individuals and families face, and how they prefer to receive support. To ensure we continue to meet clients needs and demands, CAML's professional, high quality advice services need to evolve over time.

Supportive - The challenges clients face are increasingly complex which can be immensely stressful for them, their families and those who support them (including the CAML team). At CAML we are here for our clients and our team. We recognise that to best support clients we need to ensure those who work and volunteer with us are comprehensively supported. In the past year we have developed and implemented enhancements for our team including improved support and supervision, implementation of recommendations from volunteer review and team training.

Evidence based - The design, delivery and evaluation of services must be evidence based. Although we're not a large charity, we need to ensure that evaluating and demonstrating impact and delivering value for money is embedded within what we do.

Quality Assurance - As a member of the National Citizens Advice network, all our advice work is subject to professional quality assurance standards so we can ensure the best standard of support is being consistently delivered. In addition, monitoring and recording of client satisfaction is an integral part of our services. This information includes client profiles which enable us to monitor that our services are meeting the needs of the community including hard-to-reach groups such as those with additional communication needs or enhanced support through a range of delivery models to maximise access (phone, email, online, face-to-face, drop-in and appointments at multiple community venues, where possible close to where clients reside).

We record, monitor and measure customer satisfaction in a variety of ways. We have detailed information (with consent) on how we have supported clients and the number of issues resolved. We can also value economic and financial gains, the latter of which have improved considerably in the 24/25 financial year.

With national Citizens Advice, clients are invited to participate in feedback. Where the client agrees, a third party organisation contacts them to complete a survey (telephone or online) to reflect their experience with CAML.

Looking forward, we are considering how AI can help to lessen administrative time attached to the services we provide. The intention is to maximise the benefit of advisor time with clients and minimise the time producing records and case notes to our usual high standards, as independently verified.

"I have always found my local CA office [CAML] to be extremely helpful!!! They helped with my long standing case to reach a successful outcome. Cannot recommend highly enough." - Client

Strategy 2021-2027

In 2021 we developed and implemented a five-year strategy in consultation with staff, volunteers, funders, commissioners, clients and other stakeholders. The strategy was considered valid though to 2027 by the Board, who agreed to develop a new five year strategy during the 2025 calendar year, looking ahead to 2030. A strategy event was held with all staff, volunteers and a majority of Trustees in September 2025 to begin the process of shaping the new strategy CAML 2030.

Strategic Priorities 2021-2027

1. To deliver the highest quality advice and support across the range of our services.

2. To use technology to enable multi-channel access and to support as many clients as we can in the way that best meets their needs.

3. To ensure our services are accessible by:

a) Prioritising face-to-face support for those who most need it.

b) Finding other means to help vulnerable clients where that would be more effective.

4. To invest in quality training and supervision to make the most of our exceptional staff and volunteers.

5. To build the long-term success of the charity by prioritising financial sustainability and by attracting more investment from our communities.

Public benefit

The Trustees have complied with the duty in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charities Commission. The company's objects are to promote any charitable purpose for the public and preservation of health and the relief of poverty, sickness and distress but without limitation, for the benefit of the community in London Boroughs of Merton and Lambeth and surrounding areas; specifically, to provide free, independent, confidential, impartial advice, advocacy and information to the public on civil, financial, legal and other matters.

The Trustees refer to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the aims and objectives of the company and in planning its future activities. The Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.

The Charity believes its strategy should be a living document, engaging with all our stakeholders and being actively reviewed and enhanced in response to the rapidly changing social, political and economic external environment. To ensure that we remain relevant and effective in responding to the needs of our local communities, we are committed to building on what we know works, involving our partners, commissioners, funders, staff, and volunteers.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Charitable activities

Our services

CAML provides a range of services and specialist projects primarily for the residents of the two London boroughs of Merton and Lambeth, but also wider London/elsewhere. The demographics of the two London boroughs differ, and our funding and hence services and projects in the respective boroughs also vary, albeit that some of our core services are consistent in each borough. Our focus remains on each and every client and their particular situation, which continue to typically be more complex and can also change following changes in Government policy, especially in regards of eligibility criteria for key benefits.

We work in partnership with other organisations, including considering new partnerships with other organisations, knowing that together we can often achieve better outcomes for individuals and families in need. Our information, support and advice services are provided via telephone, online, video conference and face-to-face, plus a range of specialist services and projects.

Although we have a modest portfolio of funding sources, unfortunately we do not have the resources to immediately support everyone who contacts us. The high number of clients we have supported has only been possible through the continued commitment of our staff team, our amazing volunteers, our partners and our fantastic funders/supporters.

"My advisor was very helpful and made me feel that someone really had an interest in my problem, and was doing everything they could to help." - Client.

A year of ongoing hardship and challenges for our clients

Client demand continued to exceed our ability to support people as promptly as we would like during the 24/25 financial year, with generally high levels of hardship, high costs and low incomes creating challenges for clients that they require our help to address. As an employer we have been vigilant regarding the welfare of our team, including providing additional non-pay benefits, including a new Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support our team from a wellbeing point of view so they are able to continue to provide excellent service to clients.

In addition to our core contracts from the two boroughs for overall advice, funding continued for specific cost-of-living (CoL) advice projects in both Merton and Lambeth, including with the benefit of GLA funding. The active programme in Merton to provide Saturday CoL events were all supported by the CAML team.

Clients helped and value generated

During the year we supported over 24,436 clients, two percentage points lower than last year's figure. Client issues also reduced by two percentage points to 42,154. The direct financial benefit provided to clients did however increase by an impressive 39% to £4,210,501. The figure does not include people who accessed the self-help resources on the CAML website. Visits to our website in the last year have doubled to 68,000.

For every £1 invested in our services in 2024-2025, we generated*:

£1.89 in savings to government and public services (fiscal benefits)

By helping stop problems occurring or escalating, we reduce the need for public services (health, housing, out of work benefits).

£13.03 in wider economic and social benefits (public value)

Supporting and helping to solve residents' problems improves lives - and this means better wellbeing, participation and productivity for residents, communities and the boroughs we serve.

£9.74 in financial value to the people we help

Through our services and support we can increase people's income, help write off debt, take up benefits and resolve consumer issues.

*Data calculated using Treasury impact model available to Citizens Advice network.

Main public advice services in Merton and Lambeth Boroughs

CAML delivered general advice and information services for Merton and Lambeth residents by telephone (Adviceline) - 33% of clients, email - 32% of clients, in-person drop-in sessions at charity offices in Mitcham, Morden and Kennington - 35% of clients, closely consistent with the previous year, plus through our website (caml.org.uk). Our general advice support encompasses information support, advice needs assessments, advice appointments and referral to specialist advice services provided by CAML's special projects, pro bono law partners or other organisations. For more about special projects and pro bono support see below.

The main topics we received enquiries about across all our services were benefits, housing and debt issues. Within benefit enquiries, Personal Independence Payments (PIP) were the most prominent issue supported by the team. Housing and debt issues accounted for a third of our work. The top debt issues that people came to us for help with were council tax arrears, fuel debt and housing association rent arrears.

85% of demand from:

Those less than 3%

Benefits and tax credits

25%

Financial services & capability

Housing

21%

Consumer goods & services

Debt

10%

Health & community care

Universal Credit

10%

Relationships & family

Immigration and asylum

7%

Utilities & communications

Legal

6%

Travel & Transport

Charitable Support & Food Banks

3%

Employment

3%

Adviceline services

Our Adviceline telephone and email service provides information, assessments and support through two Advicelines - one for Merton and one for Lambeth.

Continued high levels of hardship has meant the demand for Adviceline across both local authorities continues to create volumes which the team are not able to respond to as promptly as we would like. During the year we supported over 12,000 calls and online queries, but demand levels continued to result in individuals facing potentially long wait times to speak with a team member. Additionally the complexity of individuals' circumstances and support requested has created longer average call times with more pressure on the team.

"I first reached out to them several years ago and they went above and beyond to help me resolve my issues. I believe that if it wasn't for the help I received from that call I probably wouldn't be alive today. That call saved my life and eventually helped me to build and sustain the wonderful blessed life I now have. Thank you so very much." - Client

Case study: Kevin's* no fault eviction

About to turn 60, Kevin was in a fix. His upstairs neighbours were troublesome. They'd caused leaks and made false accusations against both Kevin and his landlord. The whole situation led to his landlord deciding it was time to sell - despite Kevin having paid his rent on time for the last 20 years.

The landlord gave Kevin a section 21 no fault eviction notice. This added to Kevin's stress levels - his serious mental and physical health problems had prevented him working for many years. His local authority mental health support worker had left and not been replaced. In despair, he called CAML's Lambeth Adviceline service.

Our adviser reassured Kevin that he could not be thrown out of his flat overnight. We explained that section 21 notice periods must be at least 2 months, that landlords can't go to court until notice periods end, and that bailiffs then had to give at least 2 weeks' notice of any actual eviction. We showed Kevin how to contact the council's housing options team for help in finding another place to live, and their adult social care team for an assessment of his support needs.

Kevin put the phone down heartened that he knew a way forward and that he could contact us again if needed.

* Names and identifying details have been changed to preserve confidentiality

In-person services

High levels of hardship resulted in increased numbers of clients seeking in-person support. During the year we supported 5,674 people with on-the-day information and advice assessment support, a reduction of 9% on the prior year. Additionally we supported 1,955 clients with generalist advice appointments.

Merton and Lambeth residents continued to face complex challenges, sometimes engaging with us very late in the day which can add to the challenge of finding successful solutions. We endeavour to prioritise face-to-face support for clients who need it, including those with complicated situations, who are vulnerable, or needing complex casework.

"Was very grateful for the support which I was given because I just couldn't deal with any of this on my own not with all my health issues, thank you kindly." - Client

Key Demographics

Client demographics across CAML's advice services:

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Female

62%

<25 years

3%

Black

39%

Male

38%

25-29

6%

White

31%

Other/refer not to say

0%

30-39

20%

Asian

14%

40-49

23%

Mixed

8%

Disability

50-59

22%

Other

8%

60-69

17%

Disabled

7%

>70

9%

Long term health condition

52%

No/prefer not to say

41%

Many clients, for understandable reasons, may choose not to disclose health conditions. The demographic information above is largely consistent with the prior year, with no significant changes in demographics evident.

We continue to support clients mentioning mental health concerns but not disclosing a specific condition. CAML continues to deliver a contract with South West London & St Georges NHS Mental Health Trust supporting clients who are formally receiving mental health support. We continue to support any safeguarding concerns raised by clients. We have comprehensive safeguarding policies and procedures and work closely with statutory teams as appropriate to support our clients.

Case study: Lois* banks on support from CAML

In her late 80s, Lois lives on her own and loves her independence. As well as her state pension she has a small private pension and some modest savings.

She got a phone call from someone saying they were investigating criminal bank staff who were taking money from people's bank accounts. They told her to go to a specific branch and withdraw £1,500 in cash and, if asked, to say it was for a new bathroom. She was then to post the money to a given address. She did as she was told. They did this several times, telling her to use different branches and to keep quiet about having been asked to get the money out. The bank asked no questions.

A few days later, she went to withdraw some cash for herself but found her card had been stopped. The manager told her that she had been scammed out of almost £10,000. They said there was nothing they could do because she had authorised the withdrawals. She notified the police and Action Fraud.

Worried sick because she had lost most of her life savings, Lois came to a drop-in session at CAML's Mitcham office. She wanted to know if there was any further action she could take to get some or all of her money back. With her permission, we wrote to the bank and asked why they hadn't asked her for paperwork proving she was having her bathroom renewed, and why bank staff hadn't been notified about all these large cash withdrawals. As a single elderly person, Lois was a typical target for scammers so the bank should have implemented banking protocol much earlier.

* Names and some details have been changed to preserve confidentiality

Specialist Services Review

CAML's projects provide specialist advice and casework support or focus on specific issues, groups and/or localities.

Lambeth Children's Centre service

This is an outreach service with dedicated advisers based in Better Start Children's Centres across Lambeth supporting families. During the year, we supported 353 families (a rise of nearly 22% compared to the previous year) with over 3,774 issues. Alongside the increase in families supported, the number of issues increased by a third - primarily benefits, debt and housing.

Londoners (GLA)

CAML is one of many local Citizens Advice offices funded by the Greater London Authority (GLA). Our GLA-funded Adviser provides general advice and support for Londoners. CAML works with community groups and organisations including Merton Carers Support and Mushkil Aasaan. CAML is also funded to employ a specialist welfare benefits adviser who takes referrals from CAML and other Citizens Advice charities in South and West London. We also started a new service where faith/community groups across all London boroughs could refer clients needing our assistance. 767 Londoners were supported in total.

Merton Cost-of-Living

Our Merton Cost of Living grant supports a dedicated team of generalist and debt advisers to provide a mix of drop-in sessions and pre-booked appointments in outreach venues including Merton libraries and Wide Way Medical Centre. We supported 956 Merton residents in 2024-2025, which is 55% more than the previous year.

Immigration Service

The Trust for London funds us to provide a specialist immigration advice service, working in partnership with three other London Citizens Advice charities. Our dedicated Immigration Adviser supports residents across five London boroughs. The service supported 268 clients with 1,063 issues. The demand for this specialist support continued to exceed our forecasts.

Merton Disability Welfare Service

Our Specialist Disability Caseworker delivers expert advice to disabled people living in Merton. The service is part-funded by London Borough of Merton, with the charity supporting the balance following the decision of Trustees to invest in this much-needed programme focusing on supporting some of the most vulnerable people in Merton to access/receive the disability benefits to which they are entitled.

125 individuals were supported through the service with a mix of advice and casework, addressing 610 issues, Due to clients' needs and circumstances nearly all appointments are face-to-face. Many cases involve appeals against disability allowance rejections. In the last year 33 of 36 appeals supported were successful to the benefit of the client.

Wimbledon Guild

For a number of years we have worked in close partnership with Wimbledon Guild with a dedicated CAML adviser based in their central Wimbledon venue supporting clients one day a week. During the year, we supported 79 clients with 298 issues.

Wimbledon Guild additionally provided funding for a specialist debt adviser one day a week to respond to the cost-of-living crisis. Our adviser supported 34 clients with 185 debt issues. The debt service has now finished.

South West London and St George's Mental Health Trust project

In 2024-2025 we started to run a new project in conjunction with South West London and St George's Mental Health Project as part of the national Community Mental Health Transformation Programme. This offers full advice (including casework) to clients with mental health issues who are out-patients of the NHS trust. In total 79 clients were supported in 2024-2025.

Lambeth Cost-of-Living

Our Lambeth Cost of Living grant supports a generalist advice service in our Kennington Hub, at Streatham JobCentre plus and Gracefield Medical Centre. In total we assisted 645 clients in 2024-2025.

Pro Bono Advice

CAML continued to partner with two law firms in 2024-2025 to provide clients with free initial legal advice on housing matters. Duncan Lewis Solicitors accepted referrals for telephone advice and Abbotts Martin saw clients referred by us in Kennington. We are grateful for their continued support and the valuable advice they provide to our clients.

Communications, Research & Campaigns

We have a fully effective Research & Campaigns (R&C) team of volunteers who support both National Citizens Advice campaigns and also help to raise policy issues at local level with local Councillors and Members of Parliament to influence policy changes that could benefit our clients. To ensure that National Citizens Advice's policy work is informed by the experiences of the people of Merton and Lambeth, our advisers, assessors and the Adviceline team sent National Citizens Advice 4,526 evidence forms, covering 1,078 problem issues faced by our clients. Challenges with the benefits system contribute to around a third of these issues, but housing concerns, in both the private and social rented sectors continue to be a key problem for clients. The case studies regularly shared with National Office are considered as high quality and effective in promoting the benefits for clients of the services we provide. Our Senior Manager who oversees and guides the R&C team was asked to present a CAML case study at the 2024 National Citizens Advice annual conference.

We also engage with the wider community through regular posts on our website and social media networks including Instagram and LinkedIn. In addition to physical promotional information being visible at our outreach locations, staff have regularly attended weekend cost of living events. We retain strong links with local foodbanks as communication hubs for our services, plus other outreach locations where we can take advice into community locations, such as libraries and GP Practices.

Volunteers

Volunteers are a vital part of CAML's services and the organisation's contribution to our local communities. All volunteers receive a comprehensive induction and ongoing training with daily support and supervision from dedicated staff members. National Citizens Advice calculates that CAML volunteers gave an estimated £294,500 worth of time during this financial year.

Following previous years of reduced volunteer numbers (which is part of a national trend), we needed to broaden both how we attracted volunteers and to provide more options of what volunteers could do to support overall service to clients. To do this, the team reviewed our process for recruiting volunteers and made some changes to increase and improve volunteer recruitment.

We additionally welcomed three interns during the year who worked on different projects for an eight week period, including producing a new slide deck for volunteer induction. Later in the year we also started to attract what we term as 'consultancy volunteers' who have specialist experience and skills which we do not have in house, who do not necessarily volunteer regularly, but will help with specific pieces of work on a pro-bono basis.

"CAML never forgets that we are volunteers and genuinely values our contribution. It is a real privilege to meet our clients, many of whom have complex problems but are dealing with them with grace. I often feel that I haven't done much to help, but the clients are incredibly grateful. It is such an eye-opening and rewarding role." - CAML Volunteer

Staff

During the 2024-2025 financial year, CAML employed an average of 40 members of staff (full time and part time). In full time equivalent (FTE) terms this represents an average of 32 staff. As core funding drops in real terms and payroll costs increase this makes it a challenge financially to increase staff resources to address increased client demand. The Trustee Board support consideration of ways to retain great staff and have increased non-pay options including an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which has been available to all staff and volunteers from May 2025.

We continue to employ the best and highest quality staff members that we can and continue to maintain full or near full staffing levels throughout the year to ensure the charity continues to provide the best service provision possible and deliver on agreed targets.

CAML's support

We believe that investing in and listening to our team makes us a better organisation. We involve staff and volunteers in the design and delivery of services and how we work. We regularly survey and seek feedback and also have a strong commitment to professional development and continuous training. We are proud of our team and are delighted when individuals wish to progress their career and choose to do so with the charity, including volunteers successfully applying for staff roles and staff progressing to supervision and management roles with our support.

We would like to thank every member of the CAML family. Their professionalism, commitment and dedication ensure tens of thousands of individuals and families throughout Merton and Lambeth receive the right support when they need it most.

"Thanks for listening. Thanks so much for your help and support with this. I really appreciate it." - Client

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial position

In the past year CAML had a small increase in its income level to £1,381,163 from £1,279,534 the previous year. This was as a result of some new funding streams, with most existing streams showing no change from the previous financial year.

Expenditure also rose to £1,348,941 from the prior year figure of £1,299,971, largely as a result of increased payroll costs, which accounts for around 80% of overall costs, plus most other costs increasing. As a result, we closed the 2024-2025 financial year with a small surplus of £31,145. This compares favourably with a prior year deficit of £19,530.

As mentioned throughout this report, the ongoing high levels of hardship for so many of our clients means that high levels of demand exceeding our day-to-day capability will remain in the foreseeable future. This drives us to work hard to maintain, and ideally increase, our income so we can maintain and enhance our team resources to meet demand and deliver excellent service to our clients.

We continue to work closely with commissioners, partners and funders to professionally support the communities we serve in what remain challenging times for those experiencing high levels of hardship, low incomes and high costs.

Investment policy

Similar to many charities of our size, CAML currently has no investment funds. Surplus funds when not immediately required are placed in deposit accounts with CAF Bank and Metro Bank.

Reserves policy

In setting the reserves policy, the Board of Trustees considers the need to provide against any future income shortfall, fulfil working capital requirements and allow funds to be available to support service developments. Throughout 2024-2025 we continued to meet the reserves policy of three months operational expenditure in unrestricted funds. As at 31 March 2025, unrestricted funds were £464,365 (see note 17 for further details).

Principal risks and uncertainties

The Trustees regularly review risks and as part of internal control, look ahead at potential risks in the future that could undermine the sustainability of the charity, including:

- Ability to recruit and retain skilled staff. Experienced Supervisors and Managers in Citizens Advice are highly trained and skilled people, and it remains a challenge to recruit and afford sufficient resources in London, where living costs are high.

- Securing longer term and viable funding remains a challenge, albeit that there is currently some stability of two year funding. Key funds from local authorities are under long term pressure due to budget deficits and typically do not cover cost increases over their contract terms, adding additional pressure on resourcing to meet demands. On a positive note, there are two funding opportunities for the 2026-2027 financial year that would be over longer funding periods of three and five years.

- Continued levels of hardship that our clients are facing produces a sustained demand for our services in excess of our resources on a day-to-day basis. Delays in providing support can lead to client dissatisfaction. Resourcing pressures can make it more difficult to accept new funding opportunities when delivery is expected at relatively short notice.

To address and mitigate these risks, ongoing actions and initiatives include:

- Raising our profile as a local charity at community level, to assist recruitment of new staff and to attract and retain a much larger number of active volunteers. Specialist volunteers have supported CAML in 2025 to help promote this initiative.

- Consolidating and diversifying our income streams, minimising the reliance on local authority funding, including engaging with the business community to assist income generation and encouraging volunteers.

- Reviewing our service delivery model to consider how we better handle high levels of demand, including by improved process and use of technology. The CEO and IT lead Senior Manager are working with London Citizens Advice to develop AI to improve efficiency and assist workload pressures for our team. We have also extended our opening hours to help manage continuous high levels of demand for our services.

PLANS FOR 2025-2026 AND FUTURE PERIODS

Governance and Management

We continue to strengthen the Board through identifying gaps in skills/knowledge/experience and successfully recruiting to these roles. During the year we recruited three new Trustees - Catherine Anderson, Elaine Okyere and Rory Weal. With Raj Patel stepping down as Treasurer and a Trustee in 2025-2026, Catherine Anderson became CAML Treasurer. Looking ahead and with Carole Mercer and Kirsty Gray Roberts also stepping down in 2025-2026, we have appointed three new Trustees in 2025-2026: Carl McCloskey, Christina Dodds and Nikhil Vijh.

Strengthening Access

A key aspect of meeting rising demand for our services and support in an environment of lower resourcing (financial and otherwise) is to ensure we have the correct balance of service provision between telephone, online, face-to-face and outreach, and between information, assessments (triage), generalist advice and specialist advice.

This is an ongoing process as patterns of demand can change and a successful service must be flexible in order to respond appropriately.

We continue to have important conversations with our core advice funders, the London Boroughs of Merton and Lambeth. Both to ensure that our respective directions of travel are closely aligned and also to influence their future priorities for funding advice services through our expertise.

SUSTAINABILITY, FINANCIAL VIABILITY AND RISKS

Political, financial and societal uncertainties externally make it never more important to ensure the charity is properly resourced with a strong business plan and a highly professional operational leadership team. This is even more important as Local Authorities and other funders are under increasing and unavoidable pressure to cut their budgets.

We are therefore working to secure appropriate funding for existing service contracts and our Chief Executive is tasked with securing new funding opportunities within the approved three-year budget. Within this, being able to demonstrate the impact of our work and communicate this effectively to key stakeholders is of primary importance.

As a charity with a turnover in excess of £1 million, CAML is excluded from bidding for many charitable funds. Those that we are eligible to bid for are subject to increased competition. The three-year business plan and budget provides a framework for the charity to sustainably grow and develop. During the 2024-2025 financial year and the current financial year, additional income was achieved broadly in line with the business plan and budget. There remains a number of future risks of key funding support changing and the Board of Trustees may well need to make major strategic decisions if core local authority funding does not meet full cost recovery going forward. In addition to local authority funding, the increased competition for grants from other funders and potential strategic changes in their priorities also makes future income a challenge.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Constitution and organisational structure

The charity is constituted as a company limited by guarantee.

Recruitment and Appointment of New Trustees

The Directors of the company are also Charity Trustees for the purposes of charity law and under the company's articles are known as the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees seeks to ensure that the needs of the users of the charity's services are appropriately reflected through the diversity of the members of the Trustee body. As part of our succession planning, we continue to advertise and recruit new Trustees. Prospective trustees are interviewed by trustee recruitment panel. Successful applicants are then invited to meet the Chief Executive and observe a Board meeting.

Organisational Structure and decision making

The Board of Trustees meets quarterly and is responsible for the strategic direction and policies of the charity. There are also two sub-committees of the Board covering Finance and People & Operations. These have delegated powers, terms of reference and meet quarterly and as required. The Chief Executive, assisted by three senior managers, is responsible for charity operations including services, contracts and projects within the strategy and policies set by the Board.

Induction and Training of Trustees

New Trustees have a welcome induction including information, time spent with services, team meetings and opportunities to familiarise themselves with the charity's activities and policies. All Trustees are also encouraged to join team meetings and team training. Trustees also undertake relevant training from national Citizens Advice and other organisations.

Key Management Remuneration

Remuneration levels for key management personnel are reviewed annually by the Board. Trustees consider benchmarks against comparable roles for other similar charities when determining salary and other employment benefits.

Related Organisations

The Charity is a member of Citizens Advice, a national network of over 230 local charities that deliver advice across the country, overseen by a national framework provided by Citizens Advice.

We have excellent relationships with the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Merton who provide us with core funding for the open public advice services through contracts/grants to support our vital work with their communities.

We continue to work in partnership with other organisations including Wimbledon Guild, Wimbledon Foundation, Greater London Authority (GLA), South West London & St Georges NHS Mental Health Trust, Citizens Advice Hounslow, Wandsworth and Hammersmith & Fulham and collaboratively work with other charities and organisations relevant to our clients' needs.

On behalf of our clients and everyone involved with Citizens Advice Merton and Lambeth, we would like to extend our gratitude for the support and co-operation we receive from all our funders, partners and other organisations.

Statement of Internal Control

Risk Management

The Trustees, following review and update of the risk register, remain satisfied that there are measures in place to mitigate those risks. The Trustees always undertake appropriate due diligence and seek appropriate professional advice when taking major decisions.

The charity's objectives, its internal organisation and the environment in which it operates change over time and internal controls are in place to help manage and control risk appropriately. As not all risks can be fully mitigated, an approach to risk appetite supports decisions about appropriate risk management actions.

The following risk categories are included in the risk register:

- Governance

- Service Delivery

- Finance and Funding

- People Management

Our Business Continuity Plan details how we will handle significant risks that could cause disruption to our normal services and which have the potential for significant impact on our clients and the overall operation of the charity.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

02914384 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1046018

Registered office

7 Crown Parade

Morden

London

SM4 5DA

Principal address

326 London Road

Mitcham

London

CR4 3ND

Trustees

Ms E Coulter Chair

Mr R Patel Treasurer (resigned 11/9/25)

Ms K Gray (resigned 11/9/25)

Ms C Mercer (resigned 20/3/25)

Ms L Whiting

Mr C Southorn

Ms E Okyere (appointed 17/6/24)

Ms C J Anderson (appointed 17/6/24)

Mr R Weal (appointed 17/6/24)

Ms C Dodds (appointed 11/9/25)

N Vijh (appointed 11/9/25)

Mr C Mccloskey (appointed 19/6/25)

Mr J S Gosal (resigned 22/7/24)

Mr S Graham (resigned 22/7/24)

Mr A Ma

Chief Executive and Company Secretary

Simon Shimmens

Senior Management

Simon is supported by Karen Brunger (Deputy CEO), Bill Petty (Head of Adviceline, Information & Facilities) and Denitsa Ivanova (Head of Projects & Quality).

Auditors

Hartley Fowler LLP

Statutory Auditors

Chartered Accountants

4th Floor Tuition House

27-37 St George's Road

Wimbledon

London

SW19 4EU

Legal Advisors

Bankers

Muckles LLP

Metro Bank Plc

CAF Bank Ltd

Time Central

75 Piccadilly

25 Kings Hill Avenue

32 Gallowgate

Mayfair

Kings Hill

Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4BF

London W1J 8HU

West Malling ME19 4JQ

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

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

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the 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, Hartley Fowler LLP, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 30 October 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

Ms E Coulter - Trustee

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Citizens Advice Merton and Lambeth Limited (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Statement of Financial Position, the Statement of Cash Flows 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.

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 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 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 (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the 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:

We identify and assess risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

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

-the nature of the industry and sector, control environment and the charities activities;

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 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 framework that the charitable company operates in. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the Charities Act 2011, UK Companies Act and tax 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, we did not identify any key matters related to the potential risk of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations.

Our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:

- reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with provision 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;

-reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance, reviewing internal reports, 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 for 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 and remained alert to any indication of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

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. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an 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.

Jonathan Askew FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Hartley Fowler LLP

Statutory Auditors

Chartered Accountants

4th Floor Tuition House

27-37 St George's Road

Wimbledon

London

SW19 4EU

4 November 2025

2025

2024

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

funds

funds

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

INCOME FROM

Donations and gifts in kind

3

42,282

35,000

77,282

77,503

Charitable activities

5

Merton Advice,Adviceline & Information Services

431,208

45,000

476,208

476,068

Lambeth Advice,Adviceline & Information Services

286,771

22,500

309,271

293,000

Lambeth Children's Centre

80,000

-

80,000

84,000

Londoners (GLA)

-

88,042

88,042

91,125

Merton Cost of Living Advice

-

75,000

75,000

75,000

Immigration

-

48,234

48,234

41,750

Lambeth Council Tax Summons Service

-

-

-

29,930

Merton Disability Advice

25,000

-

25,000

25,000

Other Services and Projects

61,317

68,014

129,331

42,341

Lambeth Cost of Living Advice

56,666

-

56,666

18,889

Investment income

4

4,019

-

4,019

3,356

Other income

12,110

-

12,110

21,572

Total

999,373

381,790

1,381,163

1,279,534

EXPENDITURE ON

Raising funds

6

4,181

-

4,181

4,785

Charitable activities

7

Merton Advice,Adviceline & Information Services

368,327

105,603

473,930

496,456

Lambeth Advice,Adviceline & Information Services

343,854

-

343,854

375,907

Lambeth Children's Centre

72,241

-

72,241

73,156

Londoners (GLA)

-

86,427

86,427

91,807

Merton Cost of Living Advice

-

105,604

105,604

70,360

Immigration

-

49,592

49,592

44,902

Lambeth Council Tax Summons Service

-

-

-

26,814

Merton Disability Advice

26,089

-

26,089

16,879

Other Services and Projects

81,191

65,141

146,332

86,260

Lambeth Cost of Living Advice

40,691

-

40,691

12,645

Total

936,574

412,367

1,348,941

1,299,971

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

62,799

(30,577

)

32,222

(20,437

)

Transfers between funds

17

(53

)

53

-

-

Other recognised gains/(losses)

Actuarial gains/(losses) on defined benefit schemes

(1,077

)

-

(1,077

)

907

Net movement in funds

61,669

(30,524

)

31,145

(19,530

)

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

402,696

28,928

431,624

451,154

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

464,365

(1,596

)

462,769

431,624