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 governing document, 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)".
Scottish Mediation (SM) has as its vision a Scotland that deals positively with conflict and its mission is to help to achieve this. Mediation is a process in which disputing parties seek to resolve their differences and/or improve communication with the assistance of a trained mediator acting as an impartial third party. Mediation operates on the principle that agreements are made freely and aims to offer the disputing parties the opportunity to be fully heard.
SM’s objects are expressed in its articles of association as follows:
To encourage awareness, understanding and appropriate use of mediation and other related forms of conflict management and prevention;
To support and promote education, training and research in skills and best practice in the use of mediation and other related forms of conflict management and prevention;
To create and encourage links among the various fields of mediation and related forms of conflict management and prevention; and
To promote and organise standards of professional conduct and training in the fields of mediation and related forms of conflict management and prevention.
The last year has seen significant progress towards the achievement of the objectives that Scottish Mediation set.
Promoting Mediation, demonstrating its use and increasing its profile
During 2024-5 a group has been established to examine court mediation standards, the purpose of the group being to identify appropriate standards for court referred mediations. It involves the University of Strathclyde Mediation Clinic, the Edinburgh Sheriff Court Mediation Service, a Sheriff, academics and practitioners.
During the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 346 calls were received on the Helpline. This compares to the 388 received in the same period last year. The difference in case numbers was across all areas of advice. SM continues to promote the helpline at in-person events that were attended throughout the year.
Scottish Mediation have kept abreast of the development in mediation in other jurisdictions. At the AGM we welcomed Rebecca Clark former Civil Mediation Council Chair to speak on development in England and Wales. The Director has joined a steering group for a study being undertaken by University College Dublin on unmet mediation need. This will provide insight into other jurisdictions.
A big focus for work on Peer mediation this year has been in Perth and Kinross via support from the Gannochy Trust. To deliver this work Scottish Mediation have engaged and trained a group of associates to deliver this work in schools. We have continued to partner with Our Minds Matter in Fife supporting the work already carried out and exploring new possibilities.
Further engagement has taken place around legal education and how best to include mediation as a central part of the curriculum. This has included attendance at conferences and meetings with those running University based courses. SM are examining producing a video resource for all Universities.
SM has set up an equality and diversity working group to take forward work in this area. In the past year a survey of members was carried out to build on a similar survey of the Board. SM has continued to engage with a range of other organisations to ensure that as much is done as possible to encourage as diverse a range of mediators in Scotland.
Through continued membership of the Collaborative Partnership for Dispute Resolution the Director has regularly attended group meetings in order to promote the use of mediation. He also attended a UK conference designed to share best practice on dispute resolution in the construction sector including mediation.
Scottish Mediation has held a number of seminars with organisations in Health, Outdoor Access, tertiary education and in the rented housing sector to promote the use of mediation and mediation skills. The work in the rented sector was funded by Safe Deposits Scotland and has supported a panel of mediators to deal with disputes.
Scottish Mediation attended the Scottish Letting Day conference taking the opportunity to promote mediation to the delegates.
Throughout the year blogs have been published on a range of platforms to promote mediation. Scottish Mediation has promoted mediation via a range of social media accounts and platforms.
The Director and Project Officer attending the Gathering for Third Sector organisations to promote mediation and the Third Scheme which continues to attract support.
The Institute of Directors hosted a seminar from Scottish Mediation in which the Director presented on how to access mediation, Registered Mediator Rachel Bicknell provided examples of the effectiveness of mediation.
Supporting excellence in mediation in Scotland
The Workplace Mediation Group has held a number of sessions through the year covering topics such as Balance in mediation, Ethics in Mediation. The group has proved valuable in connecting workplace mediators and sharing best practice.
A group has been launched to support Family Mediators in Scottish Mediation. The group will operate in a similar way to the Workplace Group and has held a number of meetings and practice session through 2024-25.
A final draft of a new Code of Professional Conduct was agreed by the SM Board in January and is due to be launched in June 2025. Alongside this work is now taking place on a guidance document to help share information to support good practice in mediation across Scotland.
SM has held a wide range of CPD and seminars to promote good mediation practice including sessions on Family Mediation, Coercive Control, Reflective Practice and Reluctance to Mediate and Homelessness and Peer Mediation Train the Trainer Sessions.
Two new registration events were held for people looking to join the mediation register. With over 90 registered for these events they have proved a popular way of engaging about the requirements of the Scottish Mediation Register.
Work on taking forward equality and diversity has progressed with sessions with the community mediators on what reasonable adjustments are appropriate and the Director attended the Fair Justice System Scotland Conference which brought stakeholders across the wider justice system together to consider progress being made and opportunities for further work.
Governance
The system of Board performance reviews previously established continues to work well and has contributed to Trustees being involved in a wider range of issues such that their skills and experience have contributed more effectively to the work of the Scottish Mediation.
During the year the Trustees reviewed Key Performance Indicators and agreed KPI’s for the Board, Committees and the Executive.
During the year the Board has continued to use working groups as a way of exploring issues in more depth and involving a wider range of people in SM’s work.
SM had a deficit of £1,064 (2024 : surplus £770) for the year. Scottish Mediation’s key financial objective for 2025-26 is to deliver a surplus in order to support the development of mediation in Scotland over the coming years. Trustees consider this to be satisfactory.
Funding sources
The principal grant funding sources for the period under review were: The Scottish Government Justice Department, The Scottish Government Health Department, Safe Deposits Scotland and the Corra Foundation. SM has a range of income generation activities the most significant being those derived from membership and training activities. In terms of the Statement of Recommended Accounting Practice (SORP) grant funding from the Scottish Government is restricted to the activities that relate to key objectives in the SM’s forward plan. All other funds are unrestricted contributions to the core costs of SM and as such have been applied in support of all its key objectives.
The Board has set a target to maintain their reserve at a minimum level of six months of SM’s running costs (£75,000). The balance on the unrestricted funds at 31 March 2025 was £97,756 (2024: £106,940) therefore there are no going concern issues at this time.
Under the Articles of Association, the charitable company has the power to invest any money that it does not immediately require in any investments, securities or properties. As there are limited funds available for long-term investment the directors, having paid careful regard to the liquidity requirements of operating SM and to the reserves policy, have operated a policy of keeping available funds in an interest-bearing bank account.
The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
The Board maintains a register of risks and a risk assessment report is considered by the Board of Trustees on a minimum of a bi-annual basis and action taken to mitigate those risks accordingly. At the end of the financial year 2024/25 the key risk area was the maintenance and development of relationships with key funders.
Plans for the Future
The Scottish Government agreed funding for the financial year 2024/25 of £100,000.
Strategy 2024-27 In April 2024 the Board of Trustees adopted a new Strategy covering the period 2024-27. The strategy was adopted following joint work between the Trustees and staff. The key points of the strategy are as follows.
Vision Our vision is of a Scotland where people, communities and organisations respectfully deal with disagreements. Our contribution to achieving this is to promote mediation and a mediation approach; demonstrate their use and benefits; increase their profile; and support excellence and innovation in the professional practice of mediation.
We Value
We expect the outcomes of our Vision will see 1. A culture shift so that people, organisations, and communities have access to mediation as part of a range of options to resolve their disputes. 2. Organisations valuing mediation skills in the course of their work and offering mediation as a way of resolving disputes. 3. Scottish schools being places where young people learn peace building skills and use these to prevent bullying and to resolve conflict. 4. Mediation being the natural first step in appropriate civil justice disputes. 5. An expansion of opportunities to learn mediation skills for people from all walks of life whether they wish to improve social and business skills or engage in dispute resolution.
We will put mediation and a mediation approach at the heart of the Scottish way of life in education, business, government, and civil society. What we aim to accomplish: 1. That because of collaborative working with Scottish Mediation, organisations across Scotland are inspired to commit themselves to mediation and the skills of mediation in performance of their work. 2. That Scottish Mediation is internationally recognised as an influential professional body providing a space for creative dialogue and listening and promoting the highest standards. 3. That Scottish Mediation training, events and CPD are highly regarded and delivered to a high standard. 4. That the Scottish Mediation Register is the recognised go-to listing to find a mediator and the mark of good practice mediators in Scotland. 5. That mediation is valued and that the work mediators carry out is rewarded appropriately.
In the next three years we aim to: 1. Work to support a wider use of mediation across Scotland. Ensure that all levels of government see mediation as an essential part of their business and to drive awareness and adoption of mediation across Scottish society. 2. Ensure that high standards of practice are supported; delivering training and development opportunities to mediators; and encouraging mediators to reflect on their own performance. Ensure that the standards we ask mediators to achieve support public confidence in mediation. 3. Ensure that Peer Mediation is available across all Scottish Schools with the learning from that activity captured and reported on. That a discussion takes place on how Scotland deals with conflict at a national and community level. 4. Grow Scottish Mediation membership from individual practitioners and corporate and individual supporters. Promote the gathering of data to highlight mediation’s impact. 5. Better reflect the diversity of the population we serve, and in doing so capture the diversity of thinking and practice that would bring |
6. Develop SM funding to develop so that SM has the capacity to deliver a wider range of services for people seeking mediation and for mediators seeking support with the development of their practice.
7. Support a broad range of activity, working collaboratively with others to promote the use and development of mediation when opportunities arise. .
8. Develop SM’s online resources across all aspects of its work.
Over the period of this plan we will use a number of different outcome measures both quantitative and qualitative to measure our progress against what we seek to accomplish. We will support this with annual plans based on SMART objectives in the key areas of the plan.
Scottish Mediation Key Work Areas for 2025-26
Civil Justice
The key priority for 2025-26 will be continuing to take forward the recommendations from Bringing Mediation into the Mainstream published in July 2019. With Mediation now available across all the Sheriffdoms in Scotland for Simple Procedure cases the opportunity exists to extend that work into other case types Scottish Mediation in collaboration with others will seek to ensure that any lessons learned from work in Scotland and in other jurisdictions will help inform our work as we move forward.
A work area for 2025-26 will be continuing our work on equality and diversity in mediation in Scotland. As part of our strategic objective in this area we are seeking to work collaboratively with other organisations to develop diverse networks to share recruitment opportunities for Board and staff positions. SM has begun to engage with organisations in this area in order that the Scottish Mediation Register reflects the diversity of the Scottish population.
Mediation Seminars
Over the past year Scottish Mediation’s engagement with a range of organisations has grown significantly. Originally devised for the Third Sector the seminars have been held for Health, Development Trusts, Third Sector, Housing and Land Access organisations. It is planned to continue this work over the next year.
Peer Mediation – for Young Mediators Having increased Scottish Mediation’s capacity to deliver Peer Mediation across Scotland we are focusing on promoting peer mediation through attendance at key stakeholders in the education sector and by seeking to partner with agencies doing complimentary work. At the same time, we are maintaining the work carried out in Fife and developing Peer Mediation across Perth and Kinross schools.
Mediation in Construction Scottish Mediation will continue to support the Conflict Avoidance Coalition which has brought people from across the construction industry together to seek better ways of preventing conflict and dealing with it when it occurs. Our aim will be to profile mediation in a way in which makes it a realistic and effective option for those in dispute.
Scottish Mediation Register Publishing the new Code of Professional Conduct and then developing our guidance document for mediators is a key priority for 2025-26. Supporting that work we will be revising Practice Standards for Family Mediators and developing the Professional Code further to include aspects particular to family mediation. |
Helpline Promotion and Management
Scottish Mediation will promote the Helpline by working closely with other agencies involved in providing advice. We are also planning further awareness-raising sessions with advice agency staff. By adopting this approach, we are seeking to help those interested in using mediation get to information quicker so they can be better informed about their options for resolving their disputes. Through attendance at events we will also promote the Helpline.
Third Sector Mediation Project
The Third Sector project continues to provide vital support to Third Sector organisations by helping to resolve disputes. This year is the 10th anniversary of the project and we will be engaging to spread the message of what the project has achieved and how Third Sector organisations can take advantage of the service on offer. The Helpline currently has 41 volunteers ready to support mediations.
Mediate 2025
After the success of last year’s in person conference in Dundee plans are underway for this year’s conference.
Background
The office of Scottish Mediation Network (SMN) was set up in Edinburgh in September 2002 after attracting a 3-year funding package from the Big Lottery. For the duration of the 3 years ended 31 August 2005, it operated as a division of the Bristol based Mediation UK. On 24 October 2003, Scottish Mediation Network was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee, to continue its work after the Big Lottery funding ended. The company remained dormant from October 2003 until the assets and liabilities of the Scottish operations of Mediation UK were transferred into the newly incorporated SMN company on 1 September 2005. On 3 December 2018 Scottish Mediation Network changed its name to Scottish Mediation.
Governing document
Scottish Mediation (“SM”) is a company limited by guarantee incorporated on 24 October 2003 and governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association last updated on 22 October 2012. It is registered as a charity with HM Revenue & Customs and OSCR.
Reference and Administrative Information
Charity registration number SC034921
Company registration number SC258173
Registered Office
18 York Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3EP
Our advisors
Independent Examiner
Fiona E Haro, B Com (Hons), CA
Thomson Cooper Accountants
22 Stafford Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7BD
Bankers
Bank of Scotland, 300 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh, EH1 2PH
Solicitors
Morton Fraser LLP
30 – 31 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1JX
Directors and Trustees
The directors of the charitable company (the charity) are its trustees for the purpose of charity law. The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:
Key management personnel Scottish Mediation: Trustees’ and Directors
Chair
Alun Thomas (resigned 7 October 2024)
Tracey Chrystal (appointed 7 October 2024)
Vice Chair
Len Bunton (resigned 30 January 2025)
Tamsin Bailey
Malcolm Currie (appointed 3 March 2025)
Treasurer
Alastair Fraser (resigned 7 October 2024)
Ralph Strang (appointed 7 October 2024)
Secretary
Graham Boyack
Elected Trustees:
Fiona Cameron
Rosanne Cubitt (resigned 7 October 2024)
Craig Cathcart (resigned 7 October 2024)
Len Bunton (resigned 30 January 2025)
David Scott
Colin Harper (resigned 7 October 2024)
Sarah Allan (resigned 7 October 2024)
Tamsin Bailey
Elizabeth Leonard (resigned 30 January 2025)
Githathevi Kanisin
Jacqueline Unsworth (resigned 7 October 2024)
Michael Waite
Patrick Scott (appointed 7 October 2024)
Ben Thomson (appointed 7 October 2024)
Laura Allison (appointed 7 October 2024)
Key management personnel:
Executive Director Graham Boyack
Appointment of trustees
The Board of Trustees comprises up to 12 elected and 2 co-opted Trustees. Elected Trustees are appointed by the members from their number at the AGM. Elected Trustees are appointed for a term of 3 years up to a maximum of 3 consecutive terms. Co-opted Trustees (who need not be members) and casual vacancies amongst the elected posts may be filled by Board appointment during the year and they serve until the next AGM. At their first meeting after the AGM the Board elects office-bearers for the coming year. Following appointment, a Trustee is provided with an induction pack of key documents and induction training is provided to Trustees. The Trustees – in their role of company directors – act in an unpaid capacity. As a membership organisation with Trustees drawn from individual and corporate members of the charity some Trustees may be related parties in terms of the Companies Acts. Trustees are required to disclose any conflicts of interest in regard to any business undertaken by the Board.
Organisation
The Board meets 4 times a year to deal with the general business of SM and twice to review the strategic and operational needs of the Network. The Executive Director meets regularly with the office bearers as an Executive Committee and he deals with the day-to-day operational management through a staff team of 3.5 full time equivalent staff.
Trustee induction and training
The induction and training of Trustees is carried out during their term of service.
Related parties
None of our trustees receive remuneration or other benefit from their work with the charity. However, two associates did receive remuneration for their work.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Scottish Mediation 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 Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and 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.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025, which are set out on pages 11 to 24.
The charity’s trustees, who are also the directors of Scottish Mediation for the purposes of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investments (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1)(a) to (c) of the 2006 Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the financial statements as required under section 44(1)(c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations; and
to prepare financial statements which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 8 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations;
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Scottish Mediation is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is 18 York Place, Edinburgh, Midlothian, EH1 3EP.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
Scottish Mediation 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 £.
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 a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for a period not less than 12 months. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are funds that can be used in accordance with the objectives of the charitable company at the discretion of the directors.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside by the directors for specific future purposes or projects.
Restricted funds are funds that can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objectives of the charitable company. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to, and virtually certain to receive, the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following policies are applied to particular categories of income:
- Voluntary income is received by way of grants and donations and is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. Grants, where entitlement is not conditional on the delivery of a specific performance by the charity, are recognised when the charity becomes unconditionally entitled to the grant.
- Incoming resources from grants, where related to performance and specific deliverables, are accounted for as the charity earns the right to consideration by its performance. Income is deferred when performance related grants are received in advance of the performances or event to which they relate.
- Incoming resources from charitable activities is accounted for when earned.
Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), the general volunteer time Trustees is not recognised and refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.
On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.
Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. The company is not registered for VAT and accordingly irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of resources expended to which it relates.
- Costs of generating funds are those costs incurred in attracting voluntary income and the costs incurred in trading activities that raise funds.
- Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charitable company in the delivery of its activities and services to its beneficiaries. It includes both the direct costs and indirect costs necessary to support these activities.
- Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charitable company and include the audit fees and costs linked to its strategic management.
- Costs relating to a particular activity are allocated directly; others are apportioned on an appropriate basis e.g. estimated usage, staff costs by time spent.
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back office costs, finance, and governance costs which support the charity. The bases on which support costs have been allocated are that of a project or activity percentage basis.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses. The cost of minor additions or those costing below £50 are not capitalised but are written off.
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.
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 at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Scottish Mediation does not operate a company pension scheme, and no contracting out certificate under the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 is in force. Scottish Mediation contributes a sum equal to 5% of the salary of each employee towards any private pension taken out by that employee.
The pension charge recorded in these accounts is the amount of contributions payable in the accounting year.
Grant income
Membership fees
Workshop / Course / Conference income
Peer mediation income
Investments
Promotion of Mediation
Maintaining Standards
Events and Training
Staff training
Marketing & PR
Website & IT support
Travel & subsistence
Meeting & course costs
Promotion of Mediation
Maintaining Standards
Events and Training
Staff training
Costs of training and events
Marketing & PR
Website & IT support
Travel & subsistence
Meeting & course costs
Depreciation
Premises and insurance
Telephone and internet
Postage and stationery
Repairs and renewals
Bank charges
Subscriptions
Sundry
The company initially identifies the costs of its support functions. It then identifies those costs which relate to the governance function. Having identified its governance costs, the remaining support costs are apportioned between the three key charitable activities undertake (see note 5) in the year. The support costs are apportioned on a direct basis.
Rosanne Cubitt who was a board member until March 2024, was Head of Practice for Mediation, of Relationships Scotland a charity from whom Scottish Mediation rents premises space at a cost of £12,753 (2024 : £11,844).
The average number of employees during the year, calculated on the basis of full time equivalents, was as follows:
The charity was liable for contributions to employees’ personal pension plans totalling £6,054 (2024 - £4,534) in the year. At 31 March 2025 outstanding contributions totalled £nil (2024 - £nil).
Pension costs are allocated to activities in proportion to the related staff costs incurred.
The key management personnel comprise of the Executive Director. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £49,442 (2024 - £48,510).
The following Board members received renumeration for their role as Associates on the Peer Mediation Project. Alun Thomas £1070, Hanna Dushkova £2092. (2024 - £747). Scottish Mediation has recruited 8 people as associates for the project who are paid a set fee and expenses for each training they carry out. No Board members were renumerated for their role as Trustees. (including payments after term finished)
Travel and subsistence re-imbursements for the year totalled £344 (2024 £nil paid).
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Income from government grants comprises of grants provided to cover the day to day running costs of the organisation and funding from the Scottish Government Health Department.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
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.
Name of Description, nature and purpose of the fund
restricted fund
Scottish Government This is the charity’s core funding stream the funds are spent on a plan
submitted to the Government on an annual basis. The plan includes two broad
work areas; promoting mediation, demonstrating its use and increasing its
profile; and supporting excellence in mediation in Scotland.
NHS Funding from the Scottish Government Health Department is for the charity’s
mediation project to provide mediation for complaints in the NHS in Scotland.
Safety Deposit Scotland Funding to provide workshops.
Incoming resources
Resources expended
Transfers
Incoming resources
Resources expended
Transfers
Name of Description, nature and purpose of the fund
unrestricted fund
General Fund The ‘free reserves’ after allowing for all designated funds.
Designated Fund The designated fund is used for anticipated website costs in the future.
The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. In the event of the company being wound up, each member is obliged to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.