The trustees present their annual report and financial statements 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 Articles of Association, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) 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)".
Purposes
The company's objectives are to relieve homelessness and poverty and other needs and to promote the welfare of those in the community who are aged, disabled (whether physically or mentally), chronically sick or are alcohol, drug and substance addicts or recovering from such addiction or have some other condition of need. In furtherance thereof, but not otherwise, the charitable company shall seek;
To provide support, accommodation, assistance and associated facilities and amenities for such people; and
To provide vital and beneficial services to the community and associated establishments such as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
The trustees have paid careful due regard to guidance issued by OSCR in deciding what activities Rowan Alba as a charity, undertakes. Over the course of the last year, our charitable activities can be broken down into a number of areas:
Achievements and performance
We continued to provide long-term supported accommodation in three Edinburgh city centre locations, Thorntree Street which is a home for former street drinkers, Thorntree Mill, providing settled accommodation for younger men who were homeless and have addictions, particularly, poly drug use and Stramullion which provides temporary accommodation for homeless women who are vulnerable. We also take this opportunity to review our new service. Birkentree House opened in Autumn 2024 initially providing support to eight women with long term needs of care, support and a safe place to live. More recently, Birkentree House extended its offer to a further five women. This is made possible with the extension of Birkentree House over two properties in Leamington Terrace and, around the corner at Upper Gilmore Place. Furthemore, Rowan Alba increased its service provision following a successful bid for three temporary accommodation services; Broomhouse, Crewe Road Gardens and Fusion in Pilton. This has increased the numbers of people we can support from 29 to 86.
Other key achievements and highlights across the year for each service are as follows:
Thorntree Street Highlights
Our additional funding for activities and key staff has ensured the men in Thorntree Street actively take part in life enhancing skills, where their wellbeing is improved. This has created a home for life opportunity for men who had previously been rough sleeping and not engaging with services.
Women’s Service Highlights
We continue to support women in our temporary accommodation service at Stramullion on a more longer-term arrangement due to their complex needs as a result of trauma, violence and aggression they have suffered, in some cases, for many years. We are so pleased to be able to provide a home for life for women who need us in our Birkentree House service.
Thorntree Mill Highlights
The young men in Thorntree Mill benefit from living a more settled and supported lifestyle are feeling secure and cared for, in some cases for the very first time. The staff are providing a high class service to the most vulnerable of our society.
Temporary Accommodation
With the expansion of Temporary Accommodation and services, Rowan Alba is very pleased to be able to support many more people who find themselves homeless for a variety of reasons, and we hope we can continue to provide these services to many more in the future.
Community Services and Corporate Responsibility
Our established CARDS (Community And Residential Development & Support) continues to provide vital services across Edinburgh and our communities. During a year of uncertainty over funding this well established and valuable service, we are pleased to see continued investment towards training volunteers to be matched with those who need our community service. In addition to this, our corporate focus is on supporting the entire gamut of our services and encouraging continued investment to ensure Rowan Alba can support the most marginalized and vulnerable people in and around Edinburgh for many years to come.
Training
This Social Enterprise for Rowan Alba remains a passion and a commitment so we can train for the best and support our workforce. We continue to provide SVQ Assessment in-house to support our colleagues as they obtain the necessary qualifications to thrive in care and support. Our CEO is qualified to internally verify our candidates.
Events
We hope to focus on events for fundraising through our corporate responsibility and desire to partner with our local corporates, some of which we already enjoy a relationship with.
Income Development & Fundraising
We continue to benefit from the success of our well-honed social fundraising efforts, with requests to more than 200 charitable trusts, helping to ensure we can help many more people. We are enormously grateful to these trusts, as we know there are a great many other deserving causes.
We were delighted to receive a grant from CAF Keystone Fund which allowed us to significantly develop and strengthen our organisation to improve future sustainability in line with our strategic plan. We were able to complete an organisational re-brand, highlighting ‘Community and Connection.’ We have successfully integrated 4 new accommodation services through partnership development and a re-designed management structure, including settled homes for women with experience of violence. This has strengthened our organisational capacity to deliver more supported homes, addressing increased demand in Edinburgh’s housing emergency. We have integrated our community activities across our whole organisation to improve social wellbeing and positive futures for all clients and maximise on volunteering opportunities, particularly for individuals with lived experience. Our re-brand has allowed more structured social media activity and promising development of new partnerships with individual and corporate donors including local sponsorship and training opportunities.
Haydon Kirkwood Charitable Trust provided £11,047.50 for our new homes for women.
Psychology Project with St Martins -in-the-field
Now in our second year of this innovative project, to provide a vital life-line through access to in-house psychology for our service users, and, importantly, training for our staff to continue this great work at the end of the three-year term, our Psychologist and Assistant Psychologist, continue to forge ahead with this joint venture with NHS Lothian and City of Edinburgh Council ensuring. where needed, access to the right services.
The charity had an overall surplus of £239,443 (2024: surplus of £197,083) for the year, of which a deficit of £23,713 (2024: deficit of £155,250) relates to unrestricted funds and a surplus of £263,156(2024: surplus of £352,333) relates to restricted funds. As at the balance sheet date the charity had total reserves of £966,717 (2024: £727,274), of which £917,360 (2024: £654,204) relates to restricted funds and £49,357 (2024: £73,070) relates to unrestricted funds.
Unrestricted funds at 31 March 2025 total £49,357. While this does not currently meet the conditions of our Reserves Policy, there is work to be done to make sure that all funding streams are aligned in a budget format to ensure that the funds that are available are allocated appropriately, and that the true extent of unrestricted funding is targeted in a more realistic way.
Our new services who joined us via a TUPE transfer in September 2024 show a deficit position, however, this is a settling in period of allocating the current funding to ensure these services become more aligned to all our services. There are unspent funds that require to be met with service needs and it is likely this will change the fortunes of the services affected.
Reserves Policy
It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should aim to be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six month’s expenditure, and where this is at risk, that the organisation has a plan to mitigate this. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will help ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. The charity continues to progress towards this level, and in reassuring the position, the charity is seeking way to increase income from services through new developments and looking at a staffing structure to meet that growth is the most cost effective way, which will provide the resources to meet the financial requirements.
Pension scheme
The charity is a member of the Pensions Trust CARE Pension Scheme, a multi-employer defined benefit pension scheme. The scheme is in deficit and the charity has agreed to a deficit funding arrangement. As a result, a liability of £11,325 (2024: £16,329) has been recognised. A net actuarial loss of £665 (2024: gain of £2,637) arose during the year.
Risk management
Rowan Alba’s risk register is an established monitor and is updated at least quarterly. Where appropriate, systems or procedures have been established to mitigate the risks the charity faces. Internal control risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all transactions and projects.
Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with health and safety of staff, volunteers, clients and visitors. The continuing implementation of the National Standards and a strong training and supervision programme ensure a consistent quality of delivery for all operational aspects of the charity. These procedures are periodically reviewed to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of the charity.
Risk Description - Operational
Because of the highly vulnerable nature of many of our service users, we require a highly dedicated and well-trained staff. We provide a lot of in-house training and psychological supervision for our staff which allows them to continue to offer the service to high standards. Peer audits regularly assess the quality of services and ensure that we exceed the standards.
Risk Description - Financial
We are reliant on public funding for the majority of our services. Other services are reliant on grant funding/general fundraising. We have secured funding from the City of Edinburgh Council for a further eight years and we continuously seek additional funding to enhance the lives of all our service users in our communities and throughout Edinburgh.
Risk Description – Environmental and External
The incidence of homelessness is increasing in Scotland and this is further exacerbated in Edinburgh following the Scottish Government’s announcement of a housing crisis and the City of Edinburgh’s halt on mainstream Lets. Rowan Alba will continue to work alongside other providers to ease this situation and provide suitable accommodation with the services needed.
Strategy to Manage Risk
With tight public funding, we continue to demonstrate the effectiveness of our models and aim to do more of this. With regard to grant funding, our staff structure allows us to better monitor the grants situation and the Board receives regular management accounts. We have a growing social media presence, which we hope will generate more income from new sources. We are now looking at a funding structure which widens out interest to communities and corporations. We are also building on our training offering, which we expect to generate more income.
Plans for future periods
Partnership with Common Ground Against Homelessness
We hope our partnership with CGAH, owners of our building at Thorntree Mill, to bring us more opportunities to house many more people over the coming years. We will also actively explore the possibility of Rowan Alba partnering with those organisations who may be able to build suitable accommodation for us and look to develop our own property portfolio.
Thank you to our staff
This last year has seen Rowan Alba develop and grow its viability and opportunities to new and exciting levels. The Board extend their most sincere gratitude to the staff of Rowan Alba. The commitment of the staff has been exemplary, and it is noted that Rowan Alba is a successful charity, focussing on the most vulnerable of our homeless individuals, due to the excellent, committed and dedicated staff. We thank you all.
The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 1 September 2005 and registered as a charity on 1 September 2005. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association, which sets out the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association. In the event of the company being wound up members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.
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:
Recruitment and appointment of directors
Under the requirements of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, directors are elected to serve for a period of one year, after which they must be re-elected at the next Annual General Meeting.
Due to the nature of homelessness, which is our primary area of interest, the charity works with a diverse range of clients. The directors seek to ensure that the needs of this group are appropriately reflected through the diversity of the Board, and review membership on an equalities basis annually.
Traditional business and appropriate skills for the sector are well represented on the Board of Directors. In an effort to maintain this broad skill mix, members of the Board are requested to provide a list of their skills (and update it annually) and in the event of specific skills being lost due to retirements, individuals are approached to offer themselves for election to the Board. This current year saw the recruitment of four new members.
Organisational structure
We have a Board who meet quarterly and are responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity. At present the Board has nine members from a variety of professional backgrounds relevant to the work of the charity.
A scheme of delegation is in place and day-to-day responsibility for the provision of services rests with the Chief Executive and Service Managers. The Chief Executive is responsible for ensuring that the charity delivers the services specified and that key performance indicators are met. The Lead Managers have responsibility for the day-to-day operational management of the services, individual supervision of the staff team and ensuring that the teams continue to develop their skills and working practices in line with good practice.
We are an approved centre for the SQA award in health and social care, which has helped to train all staff to Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) approved levels and will continue to do so with the introduction of support workers to the SSSC register.
In so far it is complementary to the charity’s objects, the charity is guided by both local and national policy, working closely with the local authorities who interpret this and commission services accordingly. These services are provided in accordance with the standards for services as set out by the SSSC.
Directors' induction and training
Most directors are already familiar with the practical work of the charity having been encouraged to visit our services on a rolling programme offered annually, or through the induction process. Service Managers report to the board, and every other meeting, attend before the main business to explain more about their work at a local level.
Additionally, new directors are invited and encouraged to attend a short training session to familiarise themselves with the charity and the context within which it operates.
Training sessions are led by the Chief Executive of the charity and cover:
The obligations of Board members;
The main documents which set out the operational framework for the charity including the Memorandum and Articles;
Resourcing and the current financial position as set out in the latest published accounts;
Future plans and objectives.
A governance handbook is available. This is distributed to all new directors along with the Memorandum and Articles and the latest financial statements.
Pay policy for senior staff
Pay and remuneration including expenses and pension are set and reviewed by the Board of Trustees on an annual basis. Salaries and terms and conditions are set by sector comparison and there is a commitment to do this annually with staff.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Rowan Alba Ltd for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' 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 charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Thomson Cooper be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Rowan Alba Ltd (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and the 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, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the trustees' report; or
sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
We considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charity for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following areas: existence and timing of recognition of income, management override through posting of unusual journals along with any complex transactions and complying with laws and regulations. We discussed the risk with management, designed audit procedures to test the timing and existence of income, reviewed areas of judgement for indicators of management bias and held discussions with management regarding compliance with laws and regulations to address these risks.
We identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our sector experience through discussion with the officers and other management (as required by the auditing standards). |
We reviewed the laws and regulations in areas that directly affect the financial statements including applicable charity and company law and considered the extent of compliance with those laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items. |
With the exception of any known or possible non-compliance with relevant and significant laws and regulations, and as required by the auditing standards, our work in respect of these was limited to enquiry of the officers and management of the charity. |
We communicated identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks throughout our team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance or fraud throughout the audit. However the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with the trustees. |
Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations. |
These inherent limitations are particularly significant in the case of misstatement resulting from fraud as this may involve sophisticated schemes designed to avoid detection, including deliberate failure to record transactions, collusion or the provision of intentional misrepresentations. |
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Thomson Cooper is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Rowan Alba Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is 1 Lochrin Square, 92 - 98 Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, EH3 9QA.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Trust Deed, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
Rowan Alba Ltd meets the definition of a public benefit entity under 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 pound sterling.
The financial statements 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 reviewed the charity’s cash flow requirements and projections. Whilst the trustees recognise that the level of unrestricted funds is lower than the desired level they are satisfied that there are sufficient reserves to support continued operations for at least twelve months. Accordingly, 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.
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.
All income is included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:
Donations are included in full in the statement of financial activities when receivable. Donated assets are included in the financial activities where the benefit to the charity is reasonably quantifiable and measurable. The value of the donated assets is the estimated price the charity would expect to pay on the open market for the equivalent assets.
Income from charitable activities is accounted for when earned in accordance with the date of the event.
Income from grants where entitlement is not conditional on the delivery of a specific performance by the charity, is recognised when the charity becomes unconditionally entitled. Income related to performance and specific deliverables, is accounted for as the charity earns the right to consideration by its performance.
Investment income is included when receivable.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is shown inclusive of irrecoverable input VAT and is classified under the following heading activities:
Costs of raising funds comprise the costs of fundraising.
Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs incurred by the charity in delivery of its activities and services to its beneficiaries and their associated support costs.
Allocation of support costs
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include governance costs which comprise costs associated with the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
The charity has the policy not to capitalise items under £1,000.
Programme related investments are measured at historical cost as it’s fair value cannot be reliably measured. Consideration is made annually for any impairment in value.
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 only has financial assets and liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value, with the exception of listed investments, which are subsequently measured at fair value. Financial assets comprise of cash, investments, accrued income, other debtors and grants receivable. Financial liabilities comprise of trade creditors and accruals.
Provisions are recognised when the charity has a legal or constructive present obligation as a result of a past event, it is probable that the charity will be required to settle that obligation and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation.
The amount recognised as a provision is the best estimate of the consideration required to settle the present obligation at the reporting end date, taking into account the risks and uncertainties surrounding the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the amount expected to be required to settle the obligation is recognised at present value. When a provision is measured at present value, the unwinding of the discount is recognised as a finance cost in net income/(expenditure) in the period in which it arises.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
FRS 102 requires that any surplus or deficit on the defined benefit pension scheme be recognised in the financial statements. The charity is a member of the Pensions Trust CARE Pension Scheme, a multi-employer defined benefit pension scheme, which is unable to identify Rowan Alba Ltd's share of underlying assets or liabilities in the scheme. Consequently, the Board of Directors have accounted for the contributions to the scheme as if it were a defined contribution scheme. Pension costs recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities represent contributions payable for the year.
The scheme is classified as a 'last-man 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. 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 using the discount rate detailed in these disclosures. The unwinding of the discount rate is recognised as a finance cost.
Income from charitable activities
Income from charitable activities
Income from charitable activities
Income from charitable activities
Other income - rent & housing benefit
Investments
Raising funds
Staff training & development
Recruitment
Rent
Rates & water
Insurance
Heat & light
Travel & subsistence
Postage & stationary
Telephone
Legal & professional
Repairs & maintenance
Other costs
Audit & accounts fees
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the current or previous year.
The average monthly number of employees excluding agency staff during the year was:
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
Other trading activities
Non charitable activities
As the company is exempt under the terms of section 505 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, there is no tax charge.
The charity participates in the scheme, a multi-employer scheme which provides benefits to some 36 non-associated employers. The scheme is a defined benefit scheme in the UK.
It is not possible for the charity 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 in to 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.
A full actuarial valuation for the scheme was carried out at 30 September 2022. This valuation showed assets of £49.6m, liabilities of £57.1m and a deficit of £7.5m. To eliminate this funding shortfall, the Trustee asked the participating employers to pay additional contributions to the scheme as follows:
Deficit contributions
From 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2027: | £1,672,000 per annum (payable monthly and increasing by 3.0% each year on 1st April) |
The recovery plan contributions are allocated to each participating employer in line with their estimated share of the 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.
The discount rates 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.
The following schedule details the deficit contributions agreed between the company and the scheme at each year end period:
DEFICIT CONTRIBUTIONS SCHEDULE
Year ending | 31 March 2025 (£s) | 31 March 2024 (£s) | 31 March 2023 (£s) |
Year 1 | 5,839 | 5,669 | 5,847 |
Year 2 | 6,014 | 5,839 | 6,022 |
Year 3 | - | 6,014 | 6,203 |
Year 4 | - | - | 6,389 |
Year 5 | - | - | 3,290 |
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
Accommodation Services
Restricted funding received from City Edinburgh Council. Other funding for additional activities across accommodation services was received from Albert Hunt Trust and Henry Smith Charity and smaller grant funders.
The Robertson Trust provided unrestricted funding for all services.
CARDS Project
Provides community befriending support and peer social groups for isolated individuals at risk of alcohol harm and Alcohol Related Brain Damage. Funding for this project was received from NHS Lothian, Edinburgh Alcohol and Drugs Partnership, RS MacDonald Charitable Trust, National Lottery Improving Lives, Edinburgh Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, Alliance Self-Management Fund and the CHAMP Fund.
Psychology Project
Funding was received from St Martins in the Field Charity Mental Health and Homelessness Fund to embed a clinical psychologist in our accommodation services.
Birkentree House
Funding for capital renovations of our new settled homes for women was received from The Wolfson Foundation.
Funding for new women's homes was also received from Haydon Kirkwood Charitable Trust, Walter Scott Giving Group, LandAid, B&Q Foundation, Nationwide Community Fund, Awards for All, BlackRock Gives, Cervus Trust and other smaller funders.
CAF Keystone Fund
We were delighted to receive a grant from CAF Keystone Fund which allowed us to significantly develop and strengthen our organisation to improve future sustainability in line with our strategic plan. We were able to complete an organisational re-brand, highlighting ‘Community and Connection.’ We have successfully integrated 4 new accommodation services through partnership development and a re-designed management structure, including settled homes for women with experience of violence. This has strengthened our organisational capacity to deliver more supported homes, addressing increased demand in Edinburgh’s housing emergency. We have integrated our community activities across our whole organisation to improve social wellbeing and positive futures for all clients and maximise on volunteering opportunities, particularly for individuals with lived experience. Our re-brand has allowed more structured social media activity and promising development of new partnerships with individual and corporate donors including local sponsorship and training opportunities.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
Rental totalling £80,388 (2024 - £46,200) was paid during the year to Common Ground Against Homelessness for the Peffermill property.
The charity had no material debt during the year.