The trustees, who are also the directors for the purposes of company law, 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 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).
A summary of the objects of the charity as set out in its governing document:
The relief of need, hardship, poverty or distress mainly but not exclusively in the County of Durham including but without limitation the promotion of support of the health and welfare of people ("Carers") with responsibilities for caring for those in need of support and assistance by reason, by age, infirmity, disability or poverty.
The purpose of the charity is contained in our "Mission Statement":
"Durham County Carers Support aims to provide a better life for Carers". On 1st July 2012 we became Durham County Carers Support following the merger of the four former Carer Centres (Derwentside Carer Centre, Durham and Chester le Street Carer Support, Easington District Carer Support and Durham Dales Action for Carers) into Sedgefield Locality Carers Centre which then changed its name. The service covers the whole of County Durham and offers support to all adults caring for someone in the County.
Our "Vision" sets out the overall long-term outcomes of the charity:
"Creating a community where Carers are recognised, valued and supported".
In setting the objects and planning the activities of the organisation, the Trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit.
Overall Strategy for delivering our objectives
The overall strategy for delivering the organisation's objectives is to have a clear strategic plan linked to an Operational and Development plan, ensuring that all stakeholders are consulted when developing and updating these. We focus on listening to Carers and responding to their changing needs whilst working in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders from health, social care and the voluntary and community sector. We have developed effective ways of gathering feedback and consulting with Carers and regularly review systems to ensure they are fit for purpose. In the last few years, we have developed our methods of using digital tools, face to face and in groups to listen to our service users and shape the service accordingly.
The model of delivery is based on front line generic patch-based workers supported by project workers, peer support workers and a Senior Leadership Team (SLT). We use a triage system to ensure appropriate levels of support and prioritisation are given depending on the level of need.
We use feedback, data and monitoring to ensure a process of continuous improvement is in place and that the service meets the needs of the carers we support. We have used the results of our continuous satisfaction surveys to newly registered Carers and our outcome monitoring results to shape the service. We also ran two specific surveys on parent carer support and what training is needed to support a funding bid and shape our training offer respectively. We also gather informal feedback on an ongoing basis.
Recent results from a survey of newly registered carers showed a satisfaction rating of 9.21 out of 10 and 95% would recommend the service to others, 95% said the support met their needs, 97% felt listened to and given clear information. Some comments such as “The help and all the information made life so easy and the care bearable”, “Very caring and listening to what I needed and pointed me in the right direction”, “Now I know there is help when I need it”.
Between September and March, we led on a partnership research project commissioned by the Northeast Mayoral Strategic Authority, alongside 6 other Carer Support Services. Over 450 Carers took part in this, and a report has now been published exploring the challenges and needs of Carers around employment. It is hoped there will be a new regionwide employability service set up and embedded into local services following recommendations of this.
Feedback will shape the direction and shape of our planning and has already informed developments.
Carers Week 2025 was the most successful ever. The theme was “Caring about Equality” and was all about creating a fairer future for carers. In a new approach we asked all our partners across health, social care, the voluntary sector and employers to help us by putting on local events and inviting their staff, patients and customers. The result was amazing engagement with over 40 events and over 400 Carers taking part. In addition, many more staff, customers and members of the public found out about the support available.
Carers Rights Day 2025- We hosted 5 events across Durham and Darlington and invited our partners to attend and have information stands. We also took part in an NHS led event in Bishop Auckland. We focused mainly on maximising income, minimising expenditure, taking control of your financial wellbeing, energy costs, money saving tips, and getting support from partner agencies. Over 300 Carers attended for support across the week.
In March 2026 we successfully achieved the Investors in the Environment Green Award at the highest level available. This is a fantastic achievement and the end of 4 years of hard work. This recognises the work that has gone into reducing our environmental impact, improving energy efficiency, managing waste responsibly, and embedding sustainability into our day-to-day operations.
In November 2025 we launched the Virtual Carer Centre. Carers can now register an account, request services like counselling, Carer Breaks funding, order a discount card and download lots of resources. It is aimed at enhancing support out of hours and helping Carers who might not have time through the day to still communicate and get support at a time that suits them.
The Bridgit Care app is an AI support tool for Carers that directs them to trusted services locally and further afield. They can register, access a virtual Carer Support coach, ask advice and get information. It has taken months to develop and is being launched in July 2026.
During the year we received 3910 referrals in total between County Durham and Darlington.
Our frontline benefits and grants support continues to experience significant demand. Across County Durham and Darlington our work helped carers secure more than £2.4m in additional annual benefit, over £700,000 in backdated awards and more than £41,000 in grants. This support makes an important contribution to improving carers' financial wellbeing and ensuring they receive the benefits and financial assistance to which they are entitled.
For the third year running, working closely with Durham County Council, we delivered £235,000 of Household Support funding to Carers across County Durham. This provided vital financial assistance to Carers experiencing pressures as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, including support with food and fuel costs, essential white goods and fuel debt. The funding was provided through the Government’s Household Support Fund, which is intended to support households most affected by rising living costs.
We have continued to develop our digital offer whilst keeping the face-to-face contact for vulnerable Carers who need this most. Website visits grew to 27,000 across the whole year. Our social media followers total 8519. We have an instant messaging service via the website that dealt with over 165 requests, and we now have embraced some features of AI to support out of hours queries. We circulate a monthly update to over 18,000 people. We launched our Virtual Carer Centre in late 2025 and will launch an AI platform in July 2026. All of these are aimed at extending the reach and reducing the barriers to Carers, in particular out of hours support.
Following the annual training survey, we developed a training plan and during the year delivered a wide range of workshops, courses and activities mostly face to face to 386 Carers across County Durham and Darlington. These were funded by a mixture of Durham County Council Care Academy, Darlington Borough Council funding, working with partners and our Carer Wellbeing fund from fundraising and donations. A mixture of in-house and external trainers are sourced. The aim is to provide practical help, peer support and ways to improve health and wellbeing. All courses are evaluated, and a sample of comments include “The content was very good. It was descriptive, informative, detailed and clear” “I found the morning emotional but very practically valuable. So much better to feel connected. Thank you”.
The Volunteer service has contributed a huge 12,015 hours of support. This includes dealing with 496 counselling referrals and the “Keeping in Touch” team calling 101 Carers, resulting in many of these getting additional support and services. A focus on developing the benefit form filling service has enabled 74 families to get support with child DLA. Our 7 support groups are now attended by an average of 60 every month.
The Hospital Discharge teams based in County Durham and Darlington acute hospitals have developed great links with front line staff and management in both areas. They have supported 280 Carers during the year and we have secured an extension on this funding to continue the work in 25/26.
Additional funding this year was secured from Ballinger Trust to enhance the volunteer service, Masonic Foundation for 2 years specialist Parent Carer support and Darlington Borough Council for specialist Parent Carer and Connecting Carer projects. Carers Trust awarded us an 18 month grant to deliver a Carer Money Matters project alongside 23 other Carer Centres nationally. This funding came from the Northern Gas Networks to offer support around fuel efficiency and debt, income maximisation and cost of living issues.
Key Statistics 2025/ 2026
County Durham statistics. 3302 referrals during the year. 258 supported with benefits. £2,178,760 in additional income secured as a result and £652,717 in backdated payments. 4417 Carer discount cards issued. 2639 Carer breaks funded and organised. 173 Carers accessed grants or bursary’s which totalled £33,559.
Darlington statistics. 608 referrals during the year. 67 Carers supported with benefits, gaining £241,878 in additional income and £52,245 in backdated awards. £7,599 secured from grants for individual Carers.
The organisation has a Reserve Policy that is reviewed on an annual basis by the Board of Trustees. The Trustees have established the policy of maintaining unrestricted funds, which are the free reserves of the Charity. The agreed level equates to between 3 and 6 months expenditure to provide sufficient funds to cover premises, management, administration and support costs. At 31 March 2026 the company held unrestricted free reserves of £600,473 which is considered to be more than adequate in relation to the requirements of the reserve policy.
Our current Chief Executive of 14 years has decided to retire at the end of August 2026. Trustees formed a Transition Steering Group and worked with the team to review the leadership team structure. Following this they made the decision to change this to a Co-CEO structure with 2 people appointed to lead the organisation forward. The new appointments begin on 1st September 2026. Liz Johns will become Co-CEO Operations and Jacqui Coulson Co-CEO Resources. They are working with the board to plan the transition. Jenni Wood as retiring CEO is working closely with them to ensure continuity and a smooth handover.
The new Co-CEOs will be working with the board to plan next steps, update the Operation and Development plan focusing on sustainability and income generation whilst ensuring the quality of the service is maintained and developed wherever possible.
The two Hospital Discharge projects are working closely across the County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust hospitals to improve Carer recognition and referral. Carer Friendly Ward pilots are in progress and have already led to increased referrals, awareness and engagement. They are currently working with the senior leadership at CDDFT to develop this further alongside supporting their own staff who have a caring role.
We will continue to ensure that Carers have various accessible ways to shape the service through surveys, feedback opportunities and informal routes. By listening to this we will develop our services using this lived experience.
We will also continue to be committed to our Green Investors in the Environment award and look at ways to make our building more energy efficient and sustainable.
Finally, we are on a steering group, working regionally with 6 North East Carer Support services to deliver support to Carers to get into employment and sustain employment. We are hoping this will be funded through a bid to the Northeast Mayoral Strategic Authority (NEMSA). This follows on from the research project we led on into Carers and employment. We are also working across the wider ICB area with around 30 Carer Support services to improve the engagement and communication with key decision-making bodies such as the ICB, ADASS and NEMSA.
Governing document
Durham County Carer Support (DCCS) is a charity and a company limited by guarantee. Sedgefield Locality Carer Centre was renamed Durham County Carers Support on 1st July 2012 and the other four former Carer Centres merged into it on this date. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association, which establishes the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association. In the event of the company being wound up members are required to contribute an amount of £1 on the winding up of the organisation.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Recruitment and appointment of new Directors
The Trustees of the charity are also Directors for the purposes of company law. Under the requirements of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, at the annual general meeting one third of the directors who are subject to retirement by rotation, or the number nearest to one third, shall retire, but if there is only one director who is subject to retire by rotation, he/she shall retire. If the vacancies are not filled, the retiring directors, if willing, can be deemed to have been re-appointed.
The Articles of Association state that the Company shall use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that not less than 25% of the directors from time to time shall be service users. Currently the majority of Directors are Carers or former Carers living in County Durham thereby ensuring that the organisation is governed by representatives of those it seeks to serve.
The Board of Directors has identified key skills required by Directors and has implemented a fair recruitment process involving provision of information on the role and skills required and a formal application process for all interested parties. In an effort to maintain a broad skill mix, each Director completes a curriculum vitae of experience, positions held and skills, updated annually.
Organisational structure
The Board of Directors is elected by the membership and can comprise up to sixteen members and has responsibility for the strategic direction and policy of the company and ensuring it meets legal requirements. They have appointed staff to undertake the day to day running of the organisation led by the Chief Executive delegated to manage the day-to-day operations of the organisation. In addition to bi-monthly meetings of the Board of Directors, the Elected Officers of the Executive Board of the Board of Directors meet regularly to review policy, strategy, finance and human resource issues.
The organisation has established a senior management team involving the Chief Executive and Senior Managers to oversee development and operations, review performance information, make financial decisions within the agreed annual budget and prepare reports and recommendations for the Board of Directors.
Induction and training of Directors
All Directors have an induction and all Directors are issued with a Directors Handbook which covers their legal obligations under charity and company law, summaries of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, roles and responsibilities, organisational reporting structures and staff structures, health & safety policy and procedures information. Directors also have policy inductions on Confidentiality, Equality & Diversity, Health & Safety and Quality.
Risk Management
The Board of Directors and Management Team produce an updated risk register once a year. This follows a review of risks to which DCCS is exposed through assessing all areas of the organisation's activities. These cover governance, management, environment, operations and finance. The risk register has a rating against each risk and identifies what controls are in process and any gaps. Leads are identified and dates when actions are to be completed are set. As a contract requirement we also have a business continuity plan to show how we would continue to operate in the face of disasters or a major breakdown. In March 2021 we were successful in securing Trusted Charity award which included an external assessment of a wide range of areas, including the management of risk and Trustee and Senior Management policies and procedures.
Relationship to wider networks
Durham County Carers Support is a network member of Carers Trust, a National Charity supporting Carers and Carer Support Organisations. We have a Principles of Partnership agreement which clearly sets out each sides' responsibilities. We are also affiliated to Carers UK who lead on policy and lobbying to make positive changes for Carers. DCCS is an active member of the Northern Hub of Carers Trust Carer Centres and meets regularly regionally to share intelligence and feedback to the national networks. DCCS works in partnership with VCS organisations across County Durham through Advice in County Durham and Better Together forum. In Darlington we Chair the Darlington Carers Strategy which produces an action plan and works to deliver this.
Related Parties
None of our Directors receive remuneration or other benefit from their work with the charity. Any connection between a Director or a Senior Manager of the charity with an organisation we contract with or for must be disclosed to the full Board of Directors.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Allen Sykes Audit Limited 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.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Durham County Carers Support 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; 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 Durham County Carers Support (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
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 company through discussions with directors and other management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of the sector;
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 company, including the Companies Act 2006, Charities Act 2011, taxation legislation, data protection, anti-bribery, employment, environmental and health and safety legislation;
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 company'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; and
considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
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 were indicative of potential bias; and
investigated the rationale behind any identified 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;
enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and
reviewing correspondence with HMRC, relevant regulators and the company'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.
As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:
Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the internal control.
Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the trustees.
Conclude on the appropriateness of the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the charity to cease to continue as a going concern.
Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.
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.
Durham County Carers Support is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is The Old Methodist Church, Durham Street, Spennymoor, Co Durham, DL16 7AT.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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. 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.
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.
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).
Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost includes all costs of purchase, costs of conversion and other costs incurred in bringing the stock to its present location and condition.
Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.
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.
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.
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.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes 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.
The company is incorporated under the Companies Act 2006 and is limited by guarantee, each member having undertaken to contribute such amounts not exceeding £1 as may be required in the event of the company being wound up whilst he or she is still a member or within one year thereafter.
At 31 March 2026 there were 203 members (2025 - 210 members).
Grants
Fundraising activities
Bank Interest Receivable
Supervision for Counselling
Other costs
Carer Breaks
Carer Events
DCC Vouchers
Consultancy
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year. A total of £nil (2025 - £217) was paid during the year in respect of board expenses and training.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The fund transfers relate to either transfers from restricted funds to unrestricted funds where non-monetary expenditure (e.g. management charges, etc) has been released during the year or transfers from unrestricted funds to restricted funds to cover a deficit on the fund where expenditure was greater than the income receivable. The transfers have been made in order that the restricted funds shown in the balance sheet at the year-end shows the total amount of funding remaining which has been restricted in its purpose.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
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.
Details of restricted funds
Resi & Opps Carer Breaks - To provide a holiday and opportunity fund for carers who qualify under a set criteria;
Carers Trust - Fuel Poverty Alleviation - To provide assistance to carers living in fuel poverty;
PCT Mental Health Easington - To provide support for carers who care for someone with a mental health condition living in the Easington locality;
Darlington Digital - To fund the connecting carers project in County Durham which aims to support carers to get online;
Carer Grant - Bursaries provided for carers;
DCC Carer Breaks - Funds to enable carers to have a break from their caring role;
Darlington Carer Support - To provide a carer support service in Darlington;
Household Support - To provide financial support for carers;
Darlington Hospital Discharge - To provide specialist support to carers supporting someone leaving hospital;
Tech for Carers - To provide technology support to carers;
Durham Hospital Discharge - To provide specialist support to carers supporting someone leaving hospital;
Counselling Project - To provide free, confidential counselling support to unpaid carers;
PCP Mental Health - To deliver transformation to mental health services in the Derwentside locality;
Darlington Parent Carer - To fund specialist support for parent carers living in Darlington;
Carers Trust AI Funding - To provide carers with access to technology, equipment and digital support;
Darlington Household Support - To provide financial support for carers;
Volunteer Welfare Benefits Project - To provide support by trained volunteers to assist with completing benefit claim forms;
DCC Recovery & Reset - To improve support for employed carers and digitally connecting them to reduce social isolation;
Carers Wellbeing Fund - To provide carer groups and events and emergency grants for carers;
Durham Parent Carer - To fund specialist support to parent carers living in County Durham;
Other - Other smaller projects.
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.
There are no related party transactions to disclose.
The charity had no material debt during the year.