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 Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019).
The Charity consists of a team of people with learning disabilities and autistic people and their supporters working with equal rights and responsibilities. The objects for which the Charity is established are to advance the education of adults, children and young people with learning disabilities, autistic people and mental health in self-advocacy and related areas. Powers in promoting the objectives amongst others include:
(a) help people to speak for themselves.
(b) make information available in a form which everyone can understand.
(c) create employment opportunities for members and others.
(d) teach members and others to speak to other groups and to talk to professionals to help them learn more; and
(e) do anything else which will promote self-advocacy.
We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, and we have had regard to it when reviewing our aims and objectives, and in planning our future activities. In particular, we consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives we have set.
During the financial year ending March 2025, we had a reduced level of overall income to that of the year ending March 2024, as demonstrated in the statement of financial activities, as a result of reduced income in both unrestricted and restricted funding. Our overall expenditure for the year ending March 2025 versus the year ending March 2024 increased, as a result of restricted expenditure increasing, in support of our continuing charitable activities.
During the financial year we were successful in obtaining new project funding as noted:
Research Collaboration with a number of universities (cited in Financial Review)
Electrical Safety First – Electrical Safety Fund 2024-2025
several smaller funders
Also during the financial year, we had continuation funding from:
NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB)
The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training programme
Rotherham MBC
The National Lottery Communities Fund – Reaching Communities
Voluntary Action Rotherham – NHS Mental Health Support Grant
The Henry Smith Charity – Improving Lives programme
Social Finance – co-collaborator ‘Building evidence around advocacy for learning disabilities and autism’ (The Henry Smith Charity research programme)
The main achievements, in addition to the above, continue to be the excellent work undertaken as required by our Service Level Agreement with Rotherham MBC. We have enjoyed the support of NHS England and several NHS Integrated Care Boards across the Yorkshire & Humber region for specific pieces of commissioned work. We continue to deliver work around Transforming Care and Integrated Care Systems agendas. A key component of Transforming Care, particularly in relation to learning disabilities and autistic people, is to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and ensure individuals receive appropriate local support.
The Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH) continue to contract with us to provide two Peer Support Workers to work in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Learning Disability Services in Doncaster and Rotherham respectively. We also employ two further Peer Support Workers under contract with the NHS South Yorkshire ICB.
In keeping with our main mission of providing employment and employment opportunities for vulnerable adults we have provided employment for 21 people with a Learning Disability and Autistic People; 15 of which are involved in delivering The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training programme. Additionally, we have provided other sessional work opportunities for 6 people with a Learning Disability or Autistic People.
Employment is for Everyone (EIFE)
EIFE is a social movement aiming to improve the employment opportunities for autistic people and people with a learning disability in South Yorkshire. It has the support of the NHS South Yorkshire ICB, NHS England and the 4 local authorities – Rotherham, Doncaster, Sheffield and Barnsley.
We know the positive difference employing people with learning disabilities and autistic people can make to a business and we want to share our knowledge and skills to encourage businesses to do the same – please visit www.employmentisforeveryone.org.uk for more information.
Speakup, the Charity, is a Disability Confident Employer, an ISO9001 accredited organisation and was awarded The National Learning Disabilities and Autism Awards People’s Award 2024 and for Making a Difference in 2016 due to the success of two of our employed self-advocates.
The principal funding sources for the year were derived from our service level agreement with Rotherham MBC and the variety of funders noted under achievements and performance, and fees generated for services provided and commissions received, all of which contributed to the charitable income.
Unrestricted funding decreased during the year ended March 2025. We continue to enjoy the support of NHS organisations, and others, when commissioning services for specific project activities, such as Easy Read documents and accessible film production.
The research collaborations with universities are mainly multi-year awards from institutions such as the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC); as noted below.
Research Collaboration – named lead Universities but involves multiple partners:
Manchester Metropolitan University
University of Sheffield
University of Strathclyde
University of Bristol (Norah Fry Centre for Disability Studies)
University of Warwick
and others as Co-collaborators
Research Projects:
Supported Employment connectivity for working age adults with learning disabilities and/or autism
Individual Placement and Support (IPS) as it operates beyond Severe Mental Illness (SMI)
Mental Health Medications in the Lives of People with Learning Disabilities
Building towards a vision of Work-Health Expert Research Collaboration
Workplace Intervention for Sustainable Health and Employment
Wellcome Trust Anti-Ableist Research Culture
ERSC Humanising Healthcare
No Research About Us, Without Us
Substituted Parenting
Evaluating approaches to, or models of, adult social care and social work practice
Expenditure continues to support our key objectives of making information available in a form that everyone understands, creating employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities and autistic people, to teach members and others to speak up for themselves and learn more, and to promote self-advocacy. As will be seen from the statement of financial activities, we had an increase in expenditure during the year to maintain all our service provision to an excellent standard and to ensure all project outcomes and milestones were delivered, and continue to be delivered, with great success, whilst at the same time safeguarding employment for people with a learning disability and autistic people. Some of the increase in expenditures resulted from increasing the number of employed Experts by Experience as Peer Support Workers and the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training programme. This further endorses our belief that the services we provide are of an invaluable need for all the people we support, in what are still exceedingly difficult economic times, and for the prospects of the Charity.
Speakup has net assets of £342,560 (2024 - £498,537) and will continue in its aim of achieving the levels of reserves as stated by the reserves policy below.
It is the policy of the Charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three- and six-months’ expenditure. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will 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. As at the end of March 2025 the Charity’s unrestricted funds were at a level equal to approximately four months of unrestricted expenditure as required by this policy.
At 31 March 2025, the amount of restricted funds was £180,954 (2024 - £247,471) as detailed in note 18.
The unrestricted funds held by Speakup, after making allowance for any restricted funds was £161,606 (2024 - £251,066).
Significant post year end transactions
The contract to deliver the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training programme across South Yorkshire was extended until November 2026 with a contract value of £363,916. An ‘options’ paper is being produced to present to the Senior Management Teams within the South Yorkshire NHS Trusts, local authorities and other social care organisations, for Speakup to continue to deliver the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training programme from December 2026 onwards.
Whilst we are generally finding the funding landscape difficult, there are opportunities for increased commissioning of our services regarding the ongoing Transforming Care agenda and the NHS 10 Year Plan.
We are passionate about the employment of people with a learning disability and autistic people, and we will continue to offer employment opportunities and work placements to as many people with a learning disability and autistic people as we are able to and for as long as we are able to do so.
We continue to experience an increasingly negative impact on disabled people being in employment because of ongoing welfare benefit changes. This is due mainly to disabled people being re-assessed for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and losing what was their Disability Living Allowance (DLA); even when they had been awarded DLA ‘for life’.
People are now being migrated from their ‘legacy’ benefits on to Universal Credit (following having to make a new claim) which, often, leads to a reduction in overall income. As Universal Credit is paid monthly, this is leading to people experiencing budgeting issues and can lead to people being in arrears with their priority bills. This can increase further their levels of despair and anxiety, and begs the question “are disabled people better off in work?”
As a nationally recognised self-advocacy organisation, committed to the employment of people with a learning disability, autistic people and increasing employment opportunities whenever possible, we will endeavour to seek new opportunities that will enable us to embrace our philosophies and objectives. These opportunities help build peoples’ confidence, identity and self-worth and reach their personal potential to work. We also facilitate and support excellent Peer and Group advocacy.
We continue supporting people with learning disabilities and autistic people through our ‘Peaceful Futures’ project, Improving Lives project and ‘Friendship Circles’ and ‘Solutions Circles’ work; and providing people with ‘Hospital Passports’ and ‘Health Passports’ in support of their health needs. This work helps people to develop positive social networks and/or family relationships and helps people cultivate relationships that provide emotional and practical support, increase resilience, and foster a sense of connectedness. This also enables people with learning disabilities and autistic people who face material deprivation to benefit from having a Friendship Circle and Solution Circle of support to help keep them out of crisis and improve their resilience to future crises.
The aim of the ‘Peaceful Futures’ project is to build up people’s resilience and confidence so that they are able to live independently, cope with times of crisis and feel that they are living their best life. Feelings of isolation decrease through peer support and meeting other people in similar circumstances in a nurturing environment, and mental and physical health improves. Household or family income will be stabilised through access to public entitlements and individuals will feel more able to manage their money, better navigating the transition from weekly benefit payments to monthly Universal Credit Payments, by providing the vital support that is needed. This project will enable and support beneficiaries to be more resilient, experience less anxieties, and be less likely to fall into crisis in the future.
The charity is a company limited by guarantee without share capital, number 04655406. It is a registered charity number 1109054. The registered office is Galax Business Centre, Fitzwilliam Road, Eastwood Trading Estate, Rotherham, S65 1SL.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, who served during the year were:
On appointment, new trustees are provided with induction training in relation to their duties and responsibilities for the Charity. Trustees are also provided with additional training if required and take part in a range of activities to enable them to update and improve their skills and knowledge.
None of the trustees have any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
The Management Committee (Team) is responsible for ensuring the work of the charity is conducted within the framework of the Memorandum and Articles of Association.
The Management Committee is made up of twelve people with learning difficulties and autistic people including two of the directors/trustees of the charity. The committee operates through the use of employed self-advocacy workers assisted by a number of support staff.
Key Management Personnel (KMP) pay has traditionally been set at Further Education (FE) Pay Scales, as the level of expertise of KMP is ‘in line or greater’ than those working in the FE sector with similar educational levels of attainment. The majority of our KMP are educated to Level 7 or greater and pay scales have been agreed with our Board of Trustees. Annual increments (increases) in pay are set at a lower level than those awarded in the public sector.
Highly qualified and professional support staff consist of principal finance, business and commercial officers, media officers, lead tutors, experts by experience trainers and researchers (employed self-advocates). These people enable the Management Committee to fulfil all of the objectives of the Charity and relevant regulations.
Details of the charity’s transactions with its related parties are included in note 22.
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.
Note 20 sets out an analysis of the assets attributable to the various funds and a description of the trusts. These assets are sufficient to meet Speakup's obligations on a fund by fund basis.
The auditor, Hart Shaw LLP, is deemed to be reappointed under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Speakup Self Advocacy Limited 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.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Speakup Self Advocacy Limited (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet 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, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, 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.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
the information given in the trustees' report, which includes the directors’ report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the directors' report included within the trustees' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' report included within the trustees' report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which 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 prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the trustees' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
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.
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.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
At the planning stage we identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our general commercial and sector experience and through discussion with the trustees and other management, as required by auditing standards. The potential effect of any laws and regulation on the financial statements can vary considerably. There are laws and regulations that directly affect the financial statements (e.g. the Companies Act, The Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP)) as well as many other operational laws and regulations where the consequences of non-compliance could have a material effect on amounts or disclosures in the financial statements. Owing to the size, nature and complexity of the organisation and the applicable laws and regulations to which it must adhere, the risk of material misstatement was deemed to be low. Therefore the procedures performed by the audit team were limited to:
Communicating identified laws and regulations at planning throughout the audit team to remain alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit.
Enquiry of management and those charged with governance around actual and potential litigation and claims as well as non-compliance with laws and regulations.
Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Reviewing board minutes.
We have assessed the overall susceptibility of the financial statements to material misstatement due to fraud as low because the nature of the business does not particularly lend itself to fraud.
Management override is the most likely way in which fraud might present itself and as such is inherently high risk on any audit. Management override, which may cause there to be a material misstatement within the financial statements, may present itself in a number of ways, for example:
Override of internal controls (e.g. segregation of duties).
Entering into transactions outside the normal course of business, especially with related parties.
Fraudulent revenue recognition, including fictitious sales and sales being recorded in the wrong period.
Presenting bias in accounting judgements and estimates.
In order to reduce the risk of material misstatement to an acceptable level, numerous audit procedures were performed including:
Enquiries of management as to whether they had any knowledge of any actual or suspected fraud.
Review of all material journal entries made to prepare the financial statements.
Reviewing the underlying rationale behind transactions in order to assess whether they were outside the normal course of business.
Increased substantive testing across all material income streams.
Reviewing board minutes.
Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. Furthermore, as with all audits, there is a higher risk of irregularities (especially those relating to fraud) being undetected, as these may involve the override of internal controls, collusion, intentional omissions and misrepresentations etc. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance or fraud and therefore cannot be expected to detect all instances of such. Our audit was not designed to identify misstatements or other irregularities that would not be considered to be material to the financial statements. The further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it.
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 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 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 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.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.
Speakup Self Advocacy Limited is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales and a registered charity. The registered office is Galax Business Centre, Fitzwilliam Road, Eastwood Trading Estate, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S65 1SL.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
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 modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties. 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 the foreseeable future. Thus 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 unless the funds have been designated for other purposes.
Unrestricted funds are funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.
Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund.
Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.
Government grants are recognised at the fair value of the asset received or receivable when there is reasonable assurance that the grant conditions will be met and the grants will be received.
A grant that specifies performance conditions is recognised in income when the performance conditions are met. Where a grant does not specify performance conditions it is recognised in income when the proceeds are received or receivable. A grant received before the recognition criteria are satisfied is recognised as a liability.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Turnover is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for goods and services provided in the normal course of business, net of discounts, VAT and other sales related taxes.
All expenditure is accounted for on an accrual basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category.
A proportion of costs are attributed to direct charitable expenditure and governance costs based on the actual costs incurred.
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.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Support costs
Governance costs
Governance costs include:
- audit fees of £4,055 (2024 - £4,035).
None of the trustees received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the current or previous year for their role as a trustee. No trustees received any expenses during the current year (2024: £nil).
See note 9 for details of remuneration of key management personnel.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Other debtors relate to monies loaned to social enterprise companies supported by Speakup in the normal course of business. There are not any formal loan agreements or repayment terms in respect of these amounts. Speakup does not have any intention of requesting repayment in the foreseeable future.
The charity received a government supported loan amidst the coronavirus outbreak. The loan is repaid at £833 per month over a term of 5 years starting from 1 year from the date received of November 2020. Interest is payable at 2.5% per annum on the principal amount.
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 income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:
Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training Contract (OMMT)
The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a requirement that regulated service providers ensure their staff receive training on learning disability and autism which is appropriate to the person’s role.
The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism is the standardised training that was developed for this purpose and is the government's preferred and recommended training for health and social care staff to undertake.
We were awarded a contract by NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board to deliver the OMMT training to health and social care staff across South Yorkshire, initially until May 2025. This contract has been extended from June 2025 to November 2026
The Henry Smith Charity – Improving Lives
A grant towards the salary costs to support our Inclusion Workers to enable continuity and support for our vulnerable individuals.
Electrical Safety First - Electrical Safety Fund
The funding is to be used to support electrical safety related activity that aims to address issues around safer use, misuse and/or lack of maintenance of electrical products.
National Lottery Reaching Communities – Peaceful Futures
The aim of the project is to build up people’s resilience and confidence so that they are able to live independently, cope with times of crisis and feel that they are living their best life. Feelings of isolation will decrease through peer support and meeting other people in similar circumstances in a nurturing environment, and mental and physical health will improve. Household or family income will be stabilised through access to public entitlements and individuals will feel more able to manage their money, better navigating the transition from weekly benefit payments to monthly Universal Credit Payments, by providing the vital support that will be needed. This project will enable and support beneficiaries to be more resilient, experience less anxieties, and be less likely to fall into crisis in the future.
Voluntary Action Rotherham – NHS Mental Health Support Grant
To help support positive mental wellbeing for adults in Rotherham, and to help reduce the impact of Covid.
Reaching Communities – Peaceful Futures
The aim of the project is to build up people’s resilience and confidence so that they are able to live independently, cope with times of crisis and feel that they are living their best life. Feelings of isolation will decrease through peer support and meeting other people in similar circumstances in a nurturing environment, and mental and physical health will improve. Household or family income will be stabilised through access to public entitlements and individuals will feel more able to manage their money, better navigating the transition from weekly benefit payments to monthly Universal Credit Payments, by providing the vital support that will be needed. This project will enable and support beneficiaries to be more resilient, experience less anxieties, and be less likely to fall into crisis in the future.
Disability Rights UK – Tackling Inequalities and Sport England Together Fund
Disability Rights UK are delivering these funds on behalf of Sport England and will be working with Speakup, as a User Led Organisation, to help tackle inequalities in physical activity, experienced by disabled people and people with long term health conditions.
The income funds of the charity include the following designated fund which has been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes:
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
Amounts recognised in profit or loss as an expense during the period in respect of operating lease arrangements was £11,412 (2024 - £9,014).
Ms V Farnsworth is the daughter of R Farnsworth, one of the charity's trustees. During the year she was employed by the charity and received a gross salary of £13,447 (2024 - £12,072).
Mrs V Farnsworth is the wife of R Farnsworth. During the year Mrs V Farnsworth has been paid for cleaning services via transfers made to R Farnsworth bank account. These payments total £960 (2024 - £nil).
During the year the charity paid £5,000 (2024 - £5,000) for support services provided by J K Ferguson T/A Aroma Herbs & Health. This is the partner of A Ferguson, one of the members of key management personnel within Speakup Self Advocacy Limited.