The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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 objects of the charity as stated in the Articles of Association are:

1. To educate the public concerning the benefits of secure couple relationships, marriage and family life in order to improve the emotional, sexual and spiritual well-being of individuals which is derived from committed relationships;

2. To seek to enhance the good health, both mental and physical, of adults and children by increasing public awareness of the benefit of committed couple relationships, marriage and family life and working to prevent poverty, hardship and distress caused by the breakdown of such relationships;

3. To provide counselling, advice, education, guidance and relief to adults and/or children in relation to any aspect of contemporary life or work which may prejudice their physical or mental well being, or influence either directly or indirectly, their present or future family or couple relationship;

4. To relieve those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage;

5. To promote research into all of the above objects and to make the results available to the public.

Vision

Relationships Sussex's vision is of a future in which healthy relationships form the heart of a thriving society.

Mission

Our purpose is to help people make those personal changes which enable them to engage in committed and loving relationships for the benefit of themselves, their family and society.

To develop and support healthy relationships by:

- Helping couples, families and individuals to make relationships work better;

- Delivering inclusive, high-quality services that are relevant at every stage of life;

- Helping both the public and policymakers to improve their understanding of relationships and what makes

them flourish.

We aim to deliver our services with cultural sensitivity and without discrimination. Our principal activity is the provision of counselling for couples, individuals, families and young people experiencing relationship difficulties, and the provision of sexual therapy.

Public benefit

Our aim is to provide our services to clients irrespective of age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, race, religion or ability to pay. We do all we can to support clients on limited incomes and we have been able to provide services to children and to some disadvantaged couples and families at reduced costs. The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.

Legal structure

During the year Relate National went into administration and was taken over by Family Action. The trustees of Relate West Sussex decided to continue independently but under the new name of Relationships Sussex. This change took place on 1st May 2025. We are now joining a network of other federated centres under the name Relationships England & Wales, however, we remain completely autonomous with regard to our finances and services.

Overview

Change, challenge and continued stability were key features of the past financial year.

Most significantly, we made the decision at year-end to leave the Relate brand following the National organisation going into Administration in November 2024, and the Relate brand being taken on by Family Action in January 2025. Along with 20 other local Relate organisations, we agreed to form a vibrant, new network under a new name, but with all the skill, reach and long history of the Relate Federation. Relationships England & Wales came into being early in the new financial year and Relate West Sussex became Relationships Sussex. A new name, new presence, and new opportunities come with the change, but our quality counselling services and 60+ years of experience in the local area remain the same.

Our long-standing and successful contracts with local Primary Care Networks and West Sussex County Council’s Early Help team came to a natural end in June and November and were not renewed due to statutory funding constraints. We continue to have strong relationships with our partners, meeting regularly and continuing our work together in new ways. The move away from the contract work had an impact on free access to our counselling services. As a result, we put extra effort into fundraising and were able to secure a number of grants to create a Relationships Sussex counselling bursary fund. Special thanks to National Lottery Awards for All, Longley Trust, David Riddell Memorial Trust, Fidelity International, Cash for Kids, and YAMH:S for their support with keeping our counselling services accessible for all.

Following the end of the contracts, we experienced a reduction in the counselling hours we offer as practitioners retired or moved on to new ventures. Building up the lost hours takes time, but by the end of the year we had seven counsellors in training on the team, and were actively recruiting new, experienced counsellors.

Despite all the uncertainty of the past year, and its necessary focus on change management, Relationships Sussex ended the financial year with a deficit of £20,976 (against a budgeted deficit of £26,529), and in a strong position for fresh and proactive movement in 2025-2026.

Key trends from 2024/2025

The end of the contracts and the reduction in counselling hours have resulted in a 26% drop in appointments over the course of the year and a drop in both income and expenditure of around 14%. Free and subsidised appointments were down by 55%, with around a third of total appointments subsidised by year end. Although individual and children and young people’s counselling were down overall (the majority of our previous contract work focused on these two groups), we saw a modest increase of 7% in relationship counselling, and 17% in psychosexual therapy (the latter from a low base).

Three year comparisons

Cases

Finances

“I learned a lot about myself and my husband and I feel better about how we move forward with less fighting and more kindness.”

“Definitely made me understand more about my relationship and has made me a better person moving forward. I am able to understand and listen more.”

Children and young people

“My daughter has had counselling before but this time she has got so much from this and even didn’t mind the 9am slot.”

“Having someone to talk to has meant I haven't self-harmed.”

“I am sleeping better.”

“I don’t feel so worried. I’ve liked doing scribble drawing and mixing my own colours.”

“I've learnt that it's OK to not be OK, also that tears are not a sign of weakness. I've learnt that talking helps.”

“Counselling has provided me with an alternative perspective on how to deal with problems in my life. It has also provided me with different techniques on how to cope with challenges that may arise.”

“My confidence has been boosted. I can be myself and talk to my family about my feelings.”

“I feel better about opening up about my feelings.”

Adult individuals

“Helped me to be brave and speak up without getting ill from emotion. Generally helped me to find a better quality of life.”

“I've learnt so much about myself and really valued our sessions. I've noticed great progress and I'm proud of myself, and happy that I feel less anxious.”

“I felt very understood by my counsellor and seeing her has made me feel more secure in how I’ve felt about things in my life. It gave me a lot more confidence in standing up to people in my life that I’ve felt quite intimidated by and have never been able to talk to and express my feelings without getting anxious and losing my words.”

“I feel it went very well because I eventually learnt not to feel guilty about losing a close friendship and it helped to rebuild my confidence.”

“I found the counselling helpful in the following ways: offering a safe space in which to explore feelings and issues; guidance as to how to begin to work on those feelings/issues; encouragement as we worked through things.”

“It helped me process my thoughts and understand my feelings. The questions were thought provoking.”

“It was an incredibly helpful experience which has helped me to understand, reflect and move on from a very difficult time in my life. My heartfelt thanks to my counsellor who has made such a difference to me.”

Financial position

The Statement of Financial Activities on page 10 shows a deficit of £20,976 (2023/2024: surplus of £4,245) and this has been reflected in the Balance Sheet as set out page 12. The balance of the Unrestricted Funds is adequate to fulfil the company's obligations.

Funding sources

We are always grateful to our partners, funders and members of the general public who have consistently supported the vital work of Relationships Sussex over the years. Thank you to the following partners and funders who have given monies during the year:

Our charity shop remains a mainstay for the organisation, bringing in consistently high levels of income. Cara and her team of volunteers continue to do a brilliant job. In the last financial year, the shop made a profit of £120,169 (2023-2024: £106,990).

Reserves policy

The charity needs reserves to enable it to provide a stable and quality service, to meet its contractual liabilities should it have to close, to meet unexpected costs and to allow for investment. The Trustees believe that the ideal level of reserves to meet its general purposes and specific activities should be the equivalent of four months operating costs (currently approximately £124,851) calculated and reviewed annually. This is calculated excluding the costs of the charity shop. Trustees believe that the reserves should be maintained or built up to the desired level in stages as necessary, consistent with the charity's overall financial position and its need to maintain and develop its charitable objectives. At the end of the financial year, the level of freely available reserves stood at £85,991 (2023/2024: £96,525), equivalent to 2.8 months.

Our transition from Relate West Sussex to Relationships Sussex marks the start of the 2025-2026 financial year. With this comes new freedom for development, along with an opportunity to reach our client base in fresh, new ways. Maintaining a stable core following a time of great change is a key focus for us moving forward. We aim to build up our client income through the recruitment of new counsellors, the opening of new counselling hubs and spaces, and more efficient utilisation of available slots. At the same time we are committed to growing our bursary fund to maintain accessibility to our services and will be approaching a range of trusts and foundations for support with this.

Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, Memorandum and Articles of Association, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

Relationships Sussex recruits trustees with particular skills who have an interest in counselling support for relationships, families, individual adults, and children and young people. All new board members receive a comprehensive induction pack about Relationships Sussex and their responsibility as charity trustees and company directors. We offer trustees internal and external workshops and ongoing advice, information, training and guidance relating to their duties and the charity's operations.

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the overall governance of the charity. Trustees are elected, appointed or co-opted, the total number of Trustees not being fewer than six nor exceeding eighteen.

The Trustees generally meet between six and 12 times a year, review strategy and operational performance, and set operating plans and budgets. The Board delegates the exercise of certain powers in connection with the financial management of the charity, controlled by requiring regular reporting back to the Board, so that all decisions made under delegated powers can be ratified by the full Board in due course.

Organisational structure

The company is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association adopted in 2006 and updated in October 2008, May 2014, May 2021, October 2022, October 2023 and March 2025

The Trustees, who are also directors of Relationships Sussex for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the annual report, and for the preparation of financial statements for each financial year, in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accountancy Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The Treasurer, Chair, Centre Manager and Finance Manager undertake the financial management of the charity. They meet regularly to review the budget and management accounts and to prepare financial papers for review by the Trustee Board every two months. They ensure proper procedures are in place to manage cash resources prudently and to maximise income from liquid resources whilst maintaining sufficient funds to meet daily cash requirements. They advise the Trustee Board on the appropriate level of free reserves and of any significant change needed in financial management strategy. Forecasting is a key element of the financial management activities and forecasts are reviewed regularly at Trustee meetings.

The Centre Manager is responsible for the day to day management of the charity's affairs and for implementing policies agreed by the Board of Trustees. The Supervisors, Finance Manager, Operations Manager and the Administrative Support Team assist the Centre Manager.

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each 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:

- ensure that the most suitable accounting policies are established and applied consistently;

- make judgements and estimates which are reasonable and prudent;

- observe the methods and principles in the charities SORP;

- prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation.

The Trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that the charity has appropriate systems and controls, financial and otherwise. They are also responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and for their proper application as required by charity law. They must take reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities and to provide reasonable assurance that:

- the charity operates efficiently, effectively and in compliance with relevant laws and regulations;

- proper records are maintained and financial information used within the charity, or for publication, is reliable;

- the charity complies with relevant laws and regulations.

Corporate Governance

The organisation adheres to internal controls over all forms of commitment and expenditure. These are continually refined to improve efficiency. The Centre Manager reports to the Board on performance so that all aspects are reviewed and monitored regularly by the Board of Trustees.

The systems of internal controls provide reasonable but not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss and include:

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:

The Directors/Trustees of Relationships Sussex have conducted a formal review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed. A Risk Register is kept and this is reviewed as part of the business of Board Meetings. The trustees are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate its exposure to all the major risks. Internal control risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all financial transactions. Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with health and safety of staff, volunteers, clients and visitors to the Centre.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Relationships Sussex (the charitable company) for the year ended 31 March 2025.

As the trustees of the charitable company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law), you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charitable company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charitable company’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.

Since the charitable company’s gross income exceeded £250,000, the independent examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accounts in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

accounting records were not kept in respect of the charitable company as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.

the financial statements do not accord with those records; or

the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 March 2025.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

Relationships Sussex is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. It is also a charitable company registered with the Charity Commission. The registered office is The Orchard, 1-2 Gleneagles Court, Brighton Road, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 6AD.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charitable company's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The charitable company is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charitable company. 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 charitable company 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.

Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

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.

Grants are credited to the Statement of Financial Activities in the year in which the charitable company becomes entitled to them.

Other trading activities includes income from goods donated to the shop to be sold on and is recognised when the goods are sold.

Charitable activities include client income received by way of counselling, PST and other client income and is recognised when received.

Investment income is recognised in the year it relates to.

Liabilities and related expenditure are recognised in full in the financial statements as soon as an obligation arises and include VAT.

Cost of generating funds includes expenses related to running the Charity Shop and are recognised as incurred.

Expenditure represents the costs directly attributable to charitable activities including governance costs and external Independent Examiner fees.

Support costs now include governance costs which are costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charitable company and include Independent Examiner fees, accountancy fees, legal and professional fees and bank charges.

Allocation and apportionment of costs

The main activities of the charitable company are counselling and running the Charity Shop, so all costs related to these are classed as direct charitable costs. All other costs are allocated as support costs.

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.

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.

The charitable company only has financial assets and liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

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 charitable company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

The charitable company operates a defined contributions pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Debtors

Debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due.

Creditors

Creditors are recognised where the charitable company has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any discounts due.

In the application of the charitable company’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.

Charity shop expenses

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charitable company during the year.

Trustees' expenses

There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2025 nor for the year ended 31 March 2024.

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.

Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company 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.

Restricted funds relate to income that has been set aside for the Young People's service also known as Relateen.

The Horsham District Council grant refers to funds received as a contribution towards the cost of delivering face to face counselling in Horsham.

These are unrestricted funds which are material to the charitable company's activities.

The computers fund has been set aside in order for the charitable company to update their computers.

The counsellor training fund has been set up so the charitable company can provide training for their counsellors in the future when required.

The marketing fund has been set aside in order for the charitable company to market their future services further.

The charity shop fund has been set aside to update the electrics in the shop and and other repairs that are required.

The fundraising fund has been set aside to provide subsidies and bursaries according to the fund guidelines.

Early Help contract relates to monies received from West Sussex County Council to provide a family counselling service.

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.

At the reporting end date the charitable company had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none).

The charitable company had no material debt during the year.