The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2026.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019).
Statutory and Regulatory Requirements
The Companies Act (2006) is the legislation that serves as the main source for company law governing the UK; Hospice at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland is a Private Company Limited by Guarantee and complies with the requirements of this Act.
The Charity Commission registers and regulates charities in England and Wales, to ensure public confidence in the charity sector.
The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England and monitors all clinical activity provided by the charity.
The Fundraising Regulator is the voluntary independent regulator of charitable fundraising in the UK. Hospice at Home follows its code of practice, which ensures that fundraising is respectful, open, honest and accountable to the public.
Objectives and aims
The Charity's objects are restricted specifically, [in each case] only for the public benefit to relieve the suffering of, and provide palliative and supportive care to persons suffering from a terminal illness or from any other physical or mental infirmity, disability or disease by the establishment and provision of domiciliary and supportive care, day care, residential care and in such other ways as the trustees shall from time to time think fit (Articles of Association 2024).
Provision is free at the point of delivery and is achieved through trained clinicians and support workers. We provide clinical services in patients' homes, specifically palliative and end of life nursing care, bereavement and family support, lymphoedema management, occupational and complementary therapies. provides clinical services in patients' homes, specifically palliative and end of life nursing care, bereavement, and family support, lymphoedema management, occupational and complementary therapies. Our clinical services are open to all palliative and end of life patients regardless of their age, address (within our geographical boundaries), end-stage illness or financial circumstances.
Around 500,000 people die in England each year, and of these around 42% do so in hospital, where many people do not want or need to be and which is more expensive than other settings. Over the past year 98% of people on our caseload who wished to die at home were enabled to do so by our providing outstanding care in the home. Moreover, the high volume of care we provided has prevented admissions to hospital thereby helping reduce pressure and costs on the NHS in the North Cumbria area.
Palliative Care Development
Palliative care is defined by the World Health Organisation as an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families who are facing problems associated with life-limiting illness, usually progressive. It prevents and relieves suffering through the early identification, correct assessment and treatment of pain and other problems whether physical, psychosocial and spiritual.
Palliative care also helps those receiving care, families and carers deal with emotional, spiritual or practical issues arising from the illness. People of all ages can benefit from palliative care at all stages of their illness.
End-of-Life (EoL) care
People who are likely to die within the next twelve months are "approaching the end of life". This also considers people whose death is likely to be imminent in the next few days or hours. The General Medical Council defines people approaching the end of life as being those with:
advanced progressive, incurable conditions;
general frailty and coexisting conditions that mean they are expected to die within twelve months;
existing conditions if they are at risk of dying from a sudden crisis in their condition;
life-threatening acute conditions caused by sudden catastrophic events.
Our strategic aims are to:
Ensure financial and workforce sustainability to enable the provision of outstanding clinical care to our patients and support for their families;
Grow the business thereby ensuring sufficient funds to meet the challenges of the future;
Collaborate with others to make best use of resources, support efficiencies and share expertise where appropriate.
The trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
At Hospice at Home we have over a hundred volunteers who undertake a variety of roles: They support patients by providing companionship, emotional support, and practical assistance thereby improving the patient’s well-being; by providing respite care, listening, and emotional support. They undertake reception duties, fundraising, and working in our hospice shops. They play an important role in supporting events, and raising awareness about hospice services. This year we wrote a Volunteer Strategy that demonstrates expectations of volunteers and responsibilities towards them from the charity. We value our volunteers as valuable members of our organization and aim to recruit more volunteers from diverse backgrounds.
As we close the 2025/26 financial year, we are proud to reflect on a period of meaningful progress, strengthened collaboration, and growing organisational maturity across all areas of Hospice at Home. Despite the pressures facing the wider health and care system, our teams have continued to deliver compassionate, high quality support to patients and families across North & East Cumbria. Alongside this, we have invested in our people, modernised our systems, and expanded our fundraising capability — ensuring we remain resilient and ready for the future.
This report brings together the achievements of our Clinical Services, Fundraising and Finance, and People & Systems teams.
Clinical Services - Performance of the clinical services over the past three years
Our clinical teams have continued to demonstrate exceptional commitment, adapting services to meet rising demand while improving efficiency and accessibility. Across all services, referrals increased from 855 to 978, reflecting both growing need and strengthened pathways.
Financial Year | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 | 2025-2026 |
Befriending | 10 | 11 | 15 |
Day Night Nursing | 398 | 439 | 411 |
Family Support | 75 | 102 | 92 |
Lymphoedema | 176 | 64 | 171 |
Occupational Therapy | 40 | 107 | 127 |
Complementary Therapy | 112 | 132 | 162 |
Hospice at Home | 3 | 0 | 0 |
TOTAL | 814 | 855 | 978 |
A key development this year was the introduction of a single point of access for Complementary Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Nursing. This has reduced administrative burden for staff and made referrals simpler and more consistent for professionals.
Day and Night Nursing (DNN) - We aligned our personal care criteria with national FastTrack funded models, enabling us to reach more patients and increase FastTrack income. Early evaluation shows this change is both effective and sustainable. The team also:
Enhanced data capture processes to support our new 5 Year Strategic Plan
Supported end of life spoke placements for NCIC nurses
Continued to deliver nurse led complex respite for patients with progressive neurological conditions, supported by Hospice UK funding
The Lymphoedema service - Our Lymphoedema nurse successfully completed Year 1 of the Glasgow diploma, strengthening specialist expertise. A donated PBM machine now enables us to offer an additional treatment option for patients.
Occupational Therapy (OT) - The OT team continued its valued partnership with Eden Valley Hospice, supporting smoother transitions from inpatient care to home. They also contributed to the Neuro Wellbeing Programme, providing structured outpatient support for people with progressive neurological conditions.
Bereavement and Family Support (BFS) - Demand for 1:1 support remained high, and our Penrith bereavement group continues to thrive. The team supported numerous student counsellors on placement and is actively seeking funding to expand group provision.
Complementary Therapy & Befriending - Caseloads increased modestly but steadily, supported by the recruitment of new volunteer befrienders.
Fundraising
This year marked a significant step forward in our digital capability with the completion of our Digital Transformation Project, moving us to cloud based servers and improving our CRM systems for fundraising and volunteer management and moving to an improved accounting system. This investment is already enabling better insight, more efficient processes, and stronger supporter engagement.
Our fundraising team delivered a vibrant programme of events, including:
Our second annual Carlisle Racecourse event
A family fun day at Carlisle Cricket Club
Christmas Tree collections
Our ongoing presence at Kendal Calling
The International Marmalade Festival at Dalemain, our flagship event
We remain deeply grateful to the individuals, businesses, groups, and trusts & foundations whose generosity sustains our free home hospice care.
A major focus this year, supported by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, was volunteer growth and engagement. Nearly 200 volunteers contributed 25,000 hours — equivalent to £390,000 in staffing costs — a remarkable testament to the strength of our community.
People and Systems
Our People & Systems team has made significant strides in building the foundations of a modern, data driven, and proactive organisation. This year has been about establishing robust baseline data, improving governance, and strengthening leadership capability.
Culture, Wellbeing & Engagement
Introduced enhanced sickness absence reporting and benchmarking
Developed a new Wellbeing Strategy and established a staff wellbeing group
Expanded wellbeing initiatives, including complementary therapy days
Prepared the first annual wellbeing survey for launch
Leadership, Learning & Capability
Reduced employee relations cases through earlier intervention and stronger management practice
Strengthened compliance processes, including HR file audits, DBS tracking, and oversight aligned to CQC requirements
Established a monthly Quality Management Group
Supported staff progression, including ISO9001 training and CIPD development
Workforce Planning & Recruitment
Introduced workforce data dashboards for consistent reporting
Streamlined recruitment processes, though consistency remains an area for improvement
Increased use of coaching and mentoring to support managers
Operational Efficiency & Digital Transformation
Digitised timesheets and mileage claims, reducing paper use and improving efficiency
Designed and implemented a central quality management database
Improved TOIL tracking, annual leave management, and year end assurance
Identified a new HR system, with implementation planned for March 2027
Health, Safety & Compliance
Partnered with external specialists to review and update all health and safety policies and risk assessments over the next two years
The past year has been one of consolidation, growth, and renewed ambition. We have strengthened our clinical services, expanded our fundraising reach, and built a more resilient organisational infrastructure. Most importantly, we have continued to provide compassionate, high quality care to those who need us most.
The charity is registered with the Fundraising regulator, the voluntary independent regulator of charitable fundraising in the UK. Hospice at Home follows their code of practice which ensures that fundraising is respectful, open, honest and accountable to the public. The charity will continue to adhere to all regulations governing fundraising and follow any best practice guidelines that are issued to ensure positive relations are maintained with the generous local people who support us.
The fundraising department always aims for the highest standards in fundraising and organise an annual plan which aims to meet the expenditure requirements within the financial plan.
The accounts show net deficit for the year of £585,531 before taking into account the gain on investments of £228,845. After accounting for the gain on investments in the year, the net movement in funds was a deficit of £356,686. In the previous year, the charity reported a net deficit of £131,615 after recognising investment gains of £11,431.
Income levels decreased from £1,951,784 to £1,788,128 in the current year and this is mainly due to the decreased income in legacies. The legacy income received in the year amounted to £208,963 (2025: £460,261). Expenditure levels were higher in the year ended 31 March 2026 than the previous year with costs increasing mainly due to inflation and increase in wages expense.
As at 31 March 2026, the charity held total reserves of £2,846,508 (2025: £3,203,194) which included unrestricted funds of £2,710,025 and restricted funds of £136,483.
The unrestricted funds include intangible and tangible fixed assets of £16,973 leaving free reserves of £2,693,052.
The Trustees have determined free reserves should be at least equivalent to the greater of 6 months budgeted costs or the potential close down costs. This has been calculated to be approximately £1,222,030. Reserves exceeded this criteria at the year end. Funds required for the day to day running costs, based on the annual budget, should be kept in the company's bank current account and any instant access account with an institution governed by the financial services compensation scheme (F.S.C.S).
Any other funds not required for the day to day running costs are to be invested in individual UK based institutions covered by the F.S.C.S. or into funds managed on an advisory basis by Vesta Wealth. The criteria we use to invest in are medium risk investments. There was a gain on the investments in the year ended 31 March 2026 of £228,845 (2025: gain of £11,431). Transfers out of managed funds can be made by the Finance and Income Generation Committee but further investments into managed funds are by recommendation of the Finance and Income Generation Committee to the Board.
The Charity received financial support from the Integrated Care Board (ICB) devolved from the NHS in the year. This contribution to costs gives confidence against a background of the very welcome voluntary support. The charity is profoundly grateful to all in the community for the excellent support received.
Another form of funding are legacies which the charity receives from supporters, although this source of income is not guaranteed.
The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, including in particular those related to the operations and finance of the charity. This is done through a Corporate Risk Register on a bi-monthly basis. Trustees are satisfied that systems and procedures are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
Objectives and policies
The charity's activities expose it to a number of financial risks including credit risk, cash flow risk and liquidity risk.
Cash flow risk
The charity’s activities expose it primarily to the financial risks of changes in interest rates.
Credit risk
The charity’s principal financial assets are bank balances and cash, trade and other receivables, and investments. The charity’s credit risk is primarily attributable to its trade receivables. The amounts presented in the balance sheet are net of allowances for doubtful receivables. An allowance for impairment is made where there is an identified loss event which, based on previous experience, is evidence of a reduction in the recoverability of the cash flows. The credit risk on liquid funds and derivative financial instruments is limited because the counterparties are banks with high credit-ratings assigned by international credit-rating agencies. The charity has no significant concentration of credit risk, with exposure spread over a large number of counterparties and customers.
Liquidity risk
In order to maintain liquidity to ensure that sufficient funds are available for ongoing operations and future developments, the charity uses a mixture of long-term and short-term cash deposits.
The following are our shared priorities for 2026/27 as we enter Year 2 of our Business Plan:
Clinical
Looking ahead, our clinical focus will be on strengthening quality, improving coordination, and embedding data driven decision making. Key priorities include:
Further enhancing data capture to inform future service design
Completing and evaluating the Hospice UK Complex Respite Project
Implementing EMIS scheduling to improve patient coordination
Strengthening education and clinical skills development across all staff
Improving care planning and advanced care planning in partnership with Deciding Right and the Northern Cancer Alliance
Embedding clinical audits to monitor standards and outcomes
Fundraising
Deepening volunteer engagement and expanding roles
Strengthening data driven fundraising strategies through improved CRM insight
Growing our events portfolio and corporate partnerships
Enhancing supporter stewardship to build long term sustainability
People and Systems
Year 2 of our Business Plan focuses on embedding the foundations laid this year and addressing capacity challenges. Key priorities include:
Strengthening workplace wellbeing and resilience
Enhancing recognition, engagement, and performance conversations
Building a more inclusive, collaborative culture aligned with organisational strategy
Mapping competencies and training needs across all roles
Developing leadership capability through coaching and clearer expectations
Stabilising recruitment and improving retention
Establishing workforce planning data for board level reporting
Digitising payroll, scheduling, and training records
As we enter 2026/27, our focus is on sustaining momentum — embedding the improvements we have made, investing in our people, and ensuring our services remain responsive, effective, and grounded in the needs of our communities. Together, we are building a stronger, more sustainable Hospice at Home, ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of the years ahead.
Nature of governing document
The Company is constituted under a Memorandum of Association dated 1 April 2003 and is a registered charity, number 1095708. The principal object of the Company is to provide palliative and supportive care to persons suffering from any terminal illness in their own home.
The Directors of the Company are also Charity Trustees for the purpose of Charity Law and in the Company's Articles of Association are described as Trustees.
The trustees who served during the year were:
The management of the company is the responsibility of the Trustees who are elected and co-opted under the terms of the Articles of Association. The maximum number of Trustees is 15 and the minimum is 3. At each annual general meeting one third of the Trustees for the time being or, if their number is not 3 or a multiple of 3, then the number nearest one third, shall retire from office. The Trustees to retire are those who have been longest in office since their last election.
A review of the Trustees' skills is carried out regularly and where a skill is not represented on the Board potential appointees are either approached to offer themselves for election or advertisements are placed in local newspapers and on the Charity website.
Decisions regarding the management of the Charity are taken at Board meetings which are held quarterly. There are 4 sub-groups which report to the Board and these are Clinical Assurance, Workforce, Information Governance and Finance and Income Generation.
The Company Secretary and Chief Executive Officer attend Board meetings but neither has a vote. The Chief Executive Officer takes overall responsibility for leadership of the Charity.
In October 2025 three trustees completed nine years with the charity and stepped down from their role in accordance with the Articles of Association (2024).
A board skills analysis was undertaken with the aim of ensuring a diverse, efficient and knowledgeable board of trustees as a result of this analysis, we welcomed three new trustees.
Associate Trustees:
We welcomed Judith Smales to our charity as the Associate Trustees Volunteer Support. Judith is a very experienced volunteer co-ordinator and will strengthen our volunteering endeavours, advise the staff on volunteer matters and be a member of the Workforce Subcommittee.
Patrons:
Hospice at Home is pleased to welcome a new Patron; Sarah Dunning, OBE, DL. Sarah is Chair of Westmorland Limited, which operates motorway services in Cumbria, Gloucestershire and Scotland. In addition to this, Sarah is a Trustee of the Francis Scott Trust which supports young people in Cumbria, an Honorary Fellow of the University of Cumbria, Patron of Eden Valley Hospice and an Ambassador for the Scout movement in Cumbria.
The trustees are also delighted to welcome another new patron; Helen Rebanks. Helen was born and raised on a farm in the English Lake District; her family have been farming for many generations. Helen runs a farm in near Ullswater with her husband James who is also an author. Their farm has become globally important through their nature friendly farming practices and they share their expertise and encourage others to farm sustainably. Helen and James are passionate advocates for the future of family farms and share their knowledge about regenerative farming methods at international events, and on courses they run at their farm. Helen has a first- class honours degree in Fine Art and worked in Oxford before becoming a full- time farmer’s wife and mother. ‘The Farmer’s Wife, my life in days’ is her first book.
Susan Aglionby, OBE. Susan has been farming in Cumbria for 33 years, her passion is sharing skills and knowledge about the production of sustainable and delicious meat from traditional breeds with young people, adults and community groups. Her dynamism and energy has been an inspiration to many
Jane Hassell-McCosh, DL continues to actively support Hospice at Home and hosts the annual Marmalade Festival at Dalemain which again was a great success and this year celebrated its 21st anniversary. Several Japanese visitors attended as did the Spanish Ambassador.
Juliet Westoll MBE, DL continues her valuable work as patron, raising funds in a number of ways.
Our patrons have raised our profile nationally and internationally and raised a great deal of money through their fund-raising activities. We are extremely grateful for their loyalty and commitment and look forward to continue working together.
Board Development:
Members' knowledge and skills are regularly updated through a variety of face-to-face and online activities which include refreshing regulatory and statutory requirements and trustee-focused mandatory training delivered through a specific training platform. For this training we have a target of 85% compliance and a stretched target of 95%. We achieved all targets over and above the basic requirement.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Hospice at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland 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 Saint & Co. be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies exemption.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Hospice at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2026 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the statement of financial position, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including 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 for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, 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.
Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:
the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the charity through discussions with trustees and other management;
we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the charity;
we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence; and
identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We assessed the susceptibility of the charity's financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud;
to address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in the accounting policies were indicative of potential bias; and
investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and
reviewing correspondence with relevant regulators such as Charity Commission and the charity's legal advisors.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
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.
Fundraising trading
Investment income
Raising funds
Fundraising
Trading
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
Fundraising trading
Investment income
Raising funds
Fundraising
Trading
Hospice at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Valley Court, Barras Lane Estate, Dalston, Carlisle, CA5 7NY.
The charity is limited by guarantee and consequently does not have share capital. Each of the members are liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 towards the assets of the charity in the event of liquidation.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include the revaluation of certain financial instruments at fair value. 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.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Grants are recognised when the charity has an entitlement to the funds and any conditions linked to the grants have been met. Where performance conditions are attached to the grant and are yet to be met, the income is recognised as a liability and included on the balance sheet as deferred income to be released.
Income from fundraising events undertaken in the year is recognised when there is evidence of
entitlement, receipt is probable and its amount can be measured reliably
Investment income from interest on deposit funds held is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity which is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
These are costs incurred in attracting voluntary income, the management of investments and those incurred in trading activities that raise funds.
Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources, for example, allocating property costs by floor areas, or per capita, staff costs by the time spent and other costs by their usage.
Intangible assets acquired separately from a business are recognised at cost and are subsequently measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses.
Intangible assets acquired on business combinations are recognised separately from goodwill at the acquisition date where it is probable that the expected future economic benefits that are attributable to the asset will flow to the entity and the fair value of the asset can be measured reliably; the intangible asset arises from contractual or other legal rights; and the intangible asset is separable from the entity.
Amortisation 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:
Individual fixed assets costing £500 or more are initially recorded at cost, less any subsequent accumulated depreciation and subsequent accumulated 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.
Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year. Transaction costs are expensed as incurred.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible 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).
Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost comprises direct materials and, where applicable, direct labour costs and those overheads that have been incurred in bringing the stocks to their present location and condition. Items held for distribution at no or nominal consideration are measured the lower of replacement cost and cost.
Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.
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 charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.
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 and defined benefit NHS scheme are charged as an expense as they fall due.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Fundraising trading
During the year ended 31 March 2026, no trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity.
During the year £nil (2025: £nil) was paid to trustees for the reimbursement of travel costs.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Termination payments totalling £17,506 (2025: £7,573) were made in the reporting period. This included £nil Ex-Gratia payment (2025: £7,572.50) and there is £15,586 related to payment in lieu of notice (2025: £nil) and £1,920 relating to holiday entitlement (2025: £nil).
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
Financial assets held at fair value
Valuations of listed investments are prepared by Vesta Wealth Ltd. Valuations are generally prepared on the basis of the middle market price at the close of business on the valuation date, and as supplied by external information providers. For certain securities, the price may be on a different basis e.g. last trade or bid price.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
Deferred income of £409,542 relates to NHS grant income for 2026/2027 and £18,644 relates to golf day event to be held post year end.
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees.
In addition, the charity is contributing to the NHS pension scheme for the nursing staff, which is a defined benefit pension scheme. The charity is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the plan. Accordingly, the charity has taken advantage of the exemption in FRS 102 and has accounted for its contributions to the scheme as if it were a defined contribution scheme. Pension costs relating to NHS scheme during the year were £5,198.
Contributions amounting to £12,574 (2025: £10,801) were payable to both schemes at balance sheet date and are included within other creditors.
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.
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.
Operating lease payments represent rentals payable by the charity for its properties, equipment and vehicles.
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:
At 31 March 2026 the charity had been notified of their entitlement to a further legacy that has not yet been recognised in income, because sufficient information is not there to quantify the charity's share of the assets or to determine if there is sufficient money in the estate to pay out the legacy.
During the year the charity entered into the following transactions with or on behalf of the related parties:
The charity obtained an insurance policy covering Trustees' Liability up to £5 Million, Employment Practices Liability up to £5 Million and Entity Legal Liability (including Professional Indemnity) up to £5 Million for annual premium of £4,820 (2025: Trustees' Liability amounting to £2,169 and Entity Legal Liability (including Professional Indemnity) insurance amounting to £1,205).
The charity had no material debt during the year.