2021-12-31-accounts

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

fREED FRnM IMPOWIR SURVIVORS R!BUIIDINrf '1 111 1,4. ANNUAL REVIEW 2021 11

“One of the most powerful ways to fight torture is to empower survivors to become agents: first to get rid of the impact of torture and live free from what the torturers wanted to achieve, and second to stand tall against torture by using their voice how they wish to.”

KOLBASSIA HAOUSSOU MBE, DIRECTOR OF SURVIVOR EMPOWERMENT

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Message from our Chair of Trustees Message from our Chief Executive Together for a world free from torture Pathways to recovery Shaping services together Starting to heal: Grace’s story The diference expert support makes Life-changing campaigning A stronger voice, together Angela’s story The force of the law Nothing about us without us We are many! A future promise Thank you to our supporters and funders Strategic review Together for a future free from torture Our priorities for 2022 Fundraising statement Financial review for 2021 Risk management Organisational structure Statement of trustees’ responsibility Independent auditor’s report to the trustees and members of Freedom for Torture Statement of Financial Activities Reference and administrative details of the charity	Message from our Chair of Trustees Message from our Chief Executive Together for a world free from torture Pathways to recovery Shaping services together Starting to heal: Grace’s story The diference expert support makes Life-changing campaigning A stronger voice, together Angela’s story The force of the law Nothing about us without us We are many! A future promise Thank you to our supporters and funders Strategic review Together for a future free from torture Our priorities for 2022 Fundraising statement Financial review for 2021 Risk management Organisational structure Statement of trustees’ responsibility Independent auditor’s report to the trustees and members of Freedom for Torture Statement of Financial Activities Reference and administrative details of the charity	Message from our Chair of Trustees Message from our Chief Executive Together for a world free from torture Pathways to recovery Shaping services together Starting to heal: Grace’s story The diference expert support makes Life-changing campaigning A stronger voice, together Angela’s story The force of the law Nothing about us without us We are many! A future promise Thank you to our supporters and funders Strategic review Together for a future free from torture Our priorities for 2022 Fundraising statement Financial review for 2021 Risk management Organisational structure Statement of trustees’ responsibility Independent auditor’s report to the trustees and members of Freedom for Torture Statement of Financial Activities Reference and administrative details of the charity	Message from our Chair of Trustees Message from our Chief Executive Together for a world free from torture Pathways to recovery Shaping services together Starting to heal: Grace’s story The diference expert support makes Life-changing campaigning A stronger voice, together Angela’s story The force of the law Nothing about us without us We are many! A future promise Thank you to our supporters and funders Strategic review Together for a future free from torture Our priorities for 2022 Fundraising statement Financial review for 2021 Risk management Organisational structure Statement of trustees’ responsibility Independent auditor’s report to the trustees and members of Freedom for Torture Statement of Financial Activities Reference and administrative details of the charity	Message from our Chair of Trustees Message from our Chief Executive Together for a world free from torture Pathways to recovery Shaping services together Starting to heal: Grace’s story The diference expert support makes Life-changing campaigning A stronger voice, together Angela’s story The force of the law Nothing about us without us We are many! A future promise Thank you to our supporters and funders Strategic review Together for a future free from torture Our priorities for 2022 Fundraising statement Financial review for 2021 Risk management Organisational structure Statement of trustees’ responsibility Independent auditor’s report to the trustees and members of Freedom for Torture Statement of Financial Activities Reference and administrative details of the charity	Message from our Chair of Trustees Message from our Chief Executive Together for a world free from torture Pathways to recovery Shaping services together Starting to heal: Grace’s story The diference expert support makes Life-changing campaigning A stronger voice, together Angela’s story The force of the law Nothing about us without us We are many! A future promise Thank you to our supporters and funders Strategic review Together for a future free from torture Our priorities for 2022 Fundraising statement Financial review for 2021 Risk management Organisational structure Statement of trustees’ responsibility Independent auditor’s report to the trustees and members of Freedom for Torture Statement of Financial Activities Reference and administrative details of the charity	Message from our Chair of Trustees Message from our Chief Executive Together for a world free from torture Pathways to recovery Shaping services together Starting to heal: Grace’s story The diference expert support makes Life-changing campaigning A stronger voice, together Angela’s story The force of the law Nothing about us without us We are many! A future promise Thank you to our supporters and funders Strategic review Together for a future free from torture Our priorities for 2022 Fundraising statement Financial review for 2021 Risk management Organisational structure Statement of trustees’ responsibility Independent auditor’s report to the trustees and members of Freedom for Torture Statement of Financial Activities Reference and administrative details of the charity	Message from our Chair of Trustees Message from our Chief Executive Together for a world free from torture Pathways to recovery Shaping services together Starting to heal: Grace’s story The diference expert support makes Life-changing campaigning A stronger voice, together Angela’s story The force of the law Nothing about us without us We are many! A future promise Thank you to our supporters and funders Strategic review Together for a future free from torture Our priorities for 2022 Fundraising statement Financial review for 2021 Risk management Organisational structure Statement of trustees’ responsibility Independent auditor’s report to the trustees and members of Freedom for Torture Statement of Financial Activities Reference and administrative details of the charity						4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 29 30 32 33 37 55

									e










	supporters and funders

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Message from our Chair of Trustees

RECOVERY AND RENEWAL

As I reflect back on 2021, another year disrupted by Covid-19, I am so proud of the resilience and strength of Freedom from Torture. Having rapidly adapted our ways of working in 2020, last year was a year of recovery and renewal.

It was wonderful to once again open up our centres to clients in 2021 whilst also offering the option of new digital solutions such as remote therapy. Providing these options allowed clients to access vital therapy in ways that suited them.

With the continued assault on the rights of survivors of torture, our work in shining a light on injustice and influencing government policy is more important than ever and I am so proud of our achievements. Together with people who have survived torture, we made big strides and met vital milestones which have had a real and significant impact. This included our campaign against the Overseas Operations Bill which resulted in the government withdrawing its plan to de-criminalise torture for British troops abroad and for which we won a prestigious award.

Survivor empowerment

Central to our change agenda is making sure that people with lived experience are at the heart of everything we do at Freedom from Torture.

In 2021 we proudly welcomed Kolbassia Haoussou MBE as the first member of our Senior Management team who has survived torture. He leads our new Survivor Empowerment Directorate, where most of his colleagues also have lived experience of torture. Kolbassia and his team were in the driving seat in designing our groundbreaking four-year strategy for Freedom from Torture, launched in early 2022.

Survivors co-led surveys, focus groups and interviewed supporters and partner organisations. Together we refined our learning to make sure people’s real-life experiences, priorities and ambitions became our guiding light for this new roadmap to a brighter future. (You can read our full strategy here.)

To back up our commitment to being an anti-racist organisation, we’ve made sure our Board members represent a more diverse range of skills and backgrounds. Three out of 12 of our trustees now have direct experience of torture and/or of the UK’s asylum system.

Growing our movement

Extending our reach to connect with others working towards a better world for survivors of torture, asylum seekers and refugees has enabled us to amplify our power. 2021 saw a huge leap in our active supporters mobilising in support of our campaigns and we’re honoured to have helped set up Together with Refugees – the largest coalition of its kind in UK history.

Finally, our investment in more innovative fundraising and communications methods is already paying off. We’re generating more sustainable income to bring our strategy to life and connecting with even more compassionate people ready to take a stand for torture survivors’ human rights in the UK.

None of this is possible without our dedicated donors, supporters, staff and volunteers. My deep and profound thanks to you all.

Sue Berelowitz

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Message from our Chief Executive

STRONGER TOGETHER

I’m so proud that 2021 was the year we created our new Survivor Empowerment Directorate. This means that people who are ‘experts by experience’ are strengthening our services and spearheading our calls for change, in line with anti-racist principles.

Torture survivors co-designed our new clinical model, Pathways, which has transformed our rehabilitation service. Grounded in human rights, it offers people more choice of therapies to help work through their trauma, with better outcomes.

In response to a clear message from those who helped develop our new 2022-25 strategy, we’re now increasing our fundraising activities to enable us to open up our rehabilitation services to even more survivors. We also want to increase the number of life-saving expert medical evidence reports we can provide to support their asylum claim (known as medico-legal reports or MLRs).

In another exciting development, people who have completed treatment with us are now directly involved in supporting others who have lived through torture. Through our peer support programme, survivors learn skills for integrating back into society after their therapy ends. Now we are planning for co-led stabilisation services to help survivors cope with their mental health while they wait for therapy to start.

A breakthrough year

As movements for social justice including Black Lives Matter gain ground globally, it matters more than ever that people with direct experience of torture are leading Freedom from Torture’s calls for change.

One Strong Voice is the UK’s first campaign coalition of refugee and migrant campaigners, including the Survivors Speak OUT network. We are proud to host them. 2021 saw the launch of their campaign to challenge the Nationality and Borders Bill, plus a seven-point manifesto for a more welcoming Britain.

The group also helped set the agenda for Together with Refugees, an historic coalition of more than 400 organisations which Freedom from Torture helped to create.

Overall, 2021 was a breakthrough year for Freedom from Torture. And it was all made possible by the energy, compassion, activism, and generosity of survivors, our supporters and funders.

It’s inspiring to see all our combined passion and hard work growing into a thriving movement of thousands who stand united for a world free from torture. My heartfelt thanks to you all – together, we’ll achieve even stronger impact in 2022.

Sonya Sceats

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

TOGETHER FOR A WORLD FREE FROM TORTURE

We are committed to tackling structural inequality and promoting diversity and inclusion in all of our work to achieve a world free from torture.

This includes facing up to the pervasive racism built into our immigration system, our public institutions and our history books.

Freedom from Torture supports people who have survived torture to heal, and feel safe and strong again. Our vision is a world free from torture.

Our therapists work with survivors to rebuild their physical and mental health. Our doctors document evidence of torture, and our lawyers and welfare advisors help survivors with their asylum cases and social support.

We also support other organisations delivering high quality rehabilitation services.

Together, we speak out to expose torture and defend the rights of survivors, nationally and globally. We hold torturing governments to account. And we campaign for women, men and children to be treated fairly when they seek safety in the UK after being tortured.

We are able to do it all because we are backed by an active movement of compassionate, outspoken supporters.

We are committed to survivor leadership in the fight against torture.

And by recognising our diversity as our biggest strength, we are becoming a truly inclusive movement.

THESE FOUR VALUES GUIDE OUR WORK:

COMPASSION:

We understand suffering and work together to end it.

EMPOWERMENT:

We unlock strength and help people move from passive to active.

RESOLVE:

We never give up, no matter what.

HOPE:

WHAT WE STAND FOR

We know things can change for the better.

We stand with anyone, anywhere, who has survived torture. We believe in offering safety to people who risk being tortured elsewhere.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

PATHWAYS TO RECOVERY

We also offer personalised treatments for other difficulties including depression, self-harm, grief and loss, adjustment, and other anxiety difficulties such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), worry, and panic and other disorders.

Despite the challenges posed by Covid-19, our five UK centres remained open throughout 2021, supporting torture survivors with ground-breaking clinical rehabilitation services.

We rolled out our human rights-based ‘Pathways’ clinical model, which we co-designed with our clients.

Wider reach

We’ve continued to offer survivors a choice between remote or in-person therapy using the online systems we set up during lockdowns.

They told us their top priority was getting treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD) symptoms, such as nightmares and flashbacks.

We also provided mobile phones and credit to clients who counldn,t otherwise attend therapy sessions.

As a result, we have extended our offer of therapies that are proven to be effective in helping people recover from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They include Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EDMR), and TraumaFocused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT).

Moving on

In 2021 we discharged a total of 290 clients who had completed their therapy or other types of care with us.

Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET): Originally developed for use in low-income countries for victims of organised violence, NET, has been since used to treat refugees and asylum seekers worldwide. NET involves the re-organisation of memories of traumatic events into a chronological narrative, allowing trauma to be considered within the socio-political context in which it occurred.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR Therapy): Uses the natural healing ability of the mind to process information, which usually occurs during REM sleep. However, traumatic events can overload this natural mechanism causing the memories to remain in a raw and unprocessed form. During EMDR therapy, clients are asked to recall traumatic memories whilst watching an object move backwards and forwards across their visual field, recreating eye movements similar to those in REM sleep. This helps to process the traumatic memories into a verbal story mode so that it loses its painful intensity.

Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT): Allows the client to talk about the thoughts and feelings they have at different points in the traumatic event. In this way, various unhelpful cognitions can be identified. A critical part of the trauma narrative is the cognitive restructuring work, used to help the client develop more helpful thought, potentially leading to more positive emotions and behaviours.

To ensure therapies continue to the meet the needs of our clients, they provide regular feedback to our therapists. To ensure therapies continue to the meet the needs of our clients, they provide regular feedback to our therapists. “I would like to thank you. Therapy really helped me to keep my mind “I would like to thank you. Therapy really helped me to keep my mind relaxed and to focus. Supporting Freedom from Torture means you save relaxed and to focus. Supporting Freedom from Torture means you save Hezan lives. It means you’re supporting humanity.” Hezan lives. It means you’re supporting humanity.”

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

709 PEOPLE FROM ALMOST 50 COUNTRIES IN 2021, BENEFITED FROM OUR PIONEERING TORTURE REHABILITATION SERVICES

The top 10 countries of origin of our clients receiving therapy are: Sri Lanka / Afghanistan / Iran / Democratic Republic of Congo / Turkey / Ethiopia / Sudan / Iraq / Eritrea /Cameroon

TURKEY

IRAQ IRAN

ERITREA

CAMEROON

AFGHANISTAN

----- Start of picture text -----
SUDAN
----- End of picture text -----

ETHIOPIA SRI LANKA

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

1 – 25 clients 26 – 50 clients Top ten countries

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

SHAPING SERVICES TOGETHER

Because survivors know best what they need to recover, we’re now developing and delivering our services together.

We have also worked together with people with lived experience of torture to revise how we deliver the stabilisation phase of our rehabilitation services. People with lived experience were involved in a pilot to co-deliver stabilisation services to clients. These group sessions support clients to develop new skills for managing PTSD symptoms and understanding more about why trauma leads to these symptoms. This enables clients to have a greater sense of control over their symptoms and better equips individuals to access trauma focused therapies.

“I feel happy and honoured to be involved in developing this programme alongside my clinical colleagues. It was a chance for me to share my own personal journey with new clients, and offer hope that they too will get through what can be a difficult process.”

Their feedback has transformed both the content of the programme and the way we deliver it, resulting in a detailed manual that we are now rolling out in 2022.

Sharing expertise

Many people seeking asylum in the UK are referred to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) programme run by the NHS, the country’s largest therapy provider. However, most IAPT practitioners lack experience and confidence in working with the complex needs of people who have been tortured.

In 2021, we partnered with a London NHS Trust to train 70 of its employees to provide Narrative Exposure Therapy to 140 torture survivors. Many more are set to benefit in the future.

“The training gave a great interactive experience and direct feedback on developing NET skills, in a supportive and safe environment. I hope the skills I have learnt will continue to help clients with more complicated trauma presentations.”

Melissa Miles, a CBT therapist with the IAPT’s ‘Back on Track’ service.

Jeremie Diatapakola, Service User Administrator at Freedom from Torture, who led our stabilisation programme pilot project.

One of our key strategic goals for 2022-25 is to build on this work and change even more lives by becoming a recognised clinical centre of excellence.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

STARTING TO HEAL: GRACE’S STORY

When Grace’s GP referred her to Freedom from Torture, she was struggling with PTSD symptoms and feeling sad and overwhelmed. Today, through a combination of therapy and support, she is turning things around.

Grace, 40, fled her home country in Africa after state police tortured her simply for participating in a demonstration supporting better pay for teachers. She started EDMR therapy with her therapist, Mel, on Zoom in February 2021.

In the beginning, Grace found it hard to recall her most traumatic memories. Mel used specific techniques to help her feel less distressed and work through her experiences over time.

After six months, Grace was having fewer nightmares and flashbacks. Finally, she felt able to grieve for the family and life she had been forced to leave behind.

Grace was ready to leave therapy after a year. She still grieves, but now she knows that this is a natural and healthy process. She has also received legal advice and support from Freedom from Torture to start rebuilding her life in the UK.

“I am extremely grateful for the support I have received from Mel – from the initial breathing exercises she taught me, that helped with my anxiety, to the specialist therapies that gave me back the memories of my earlier life that had become too painful to recall. I am now able to begin grieving for the loss of my life in Africa, and I no longer blame myself for what happened.”

Grace

“When I first met Grace, she felt so sad and overwhelmed that she thought about ending her life. Now her PTSD symptoms have hugely improved.”

Mel, Grace’s therapist at Freedom from Torture

Note: some images used are anonymous to protect identity

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

THE DIFFERENCE EXPERT SUPPORT MAKES

Medical evidence matters

Many survivors can’t start to heal while they live in fear of being sent home and being tortured again. Our world-renowned expert medical evidence helps people prove their right to asylum and settle down safely in the UK.

Most of our clients are seeking asylum in the UK. To be recognised as refugees, they first have to prove that they have been tortured.

A medico-legal report (MLR) is a document prepared by a medical expert after a physical and psychological assessment. We also offer clinical evidence from treating therapists. People who have survived torture can then use these reports to support their asylum application.

Timing matters – for example, if physical scars have faded this can dramatically impact your chances of success. That’s why we are continually striving to make our MLR service available to everyone who needs it, when they need it.

Emergency legal help during the pandemic

Many people who have survived torture face a long and anxious battle to navigate the UK’s hostile asylum system. We stayed by their side during the pandemic’s second year, when referrals to our legal and welfare service increased by 12% from 2020.

Our Legal Advice and Welfare Service (LAWS) provides free specialist advice to help people who are receiving therapy at Freedom from Torture with their immigration, asylum and welfare challenges.

In 2021, we helped 596 clients with immigration and welfare advice to tackle urgent problems including homelessness, destitution and financial difficulties.

Through our Emergency Relief Fund, we made sure 129 survivors and their families could pay for basics such as food, warm clothes, travel to therapy sessions and doctor’s appointments, and buy phone credit to stay in touch with loved ones or attend online therapy sessions.

“When I heard about my local Freedom from Torture centre, I couldn’t believe it. Their money helped me to buy food during this difficult time. Life is still hard, but I am happier. My family are with me and I have made new friends. I will never forget what the supporters of Freedom from Torture did for me.”

Shakil, who was forced to leave Kuwait in 2019 after the authorities arrested and tortured him for campaigning for ethnic minority rights.

The impact our clinical evidence reports made in 2021

We produced 199 pieces of clinical evidence overall, which benefitted 180 survivors of torture.

We produced 145 medico legal reports (MLRs) to support new asylum applications or to appeal a previous decision.
We prepared 29 MLRs for initial asylum claims.
27 of 31 asylum appeals that we prepared MLRs for, and were decided in 2021, were successful.
Out of another 32 MLRs prepared in 2021 to support asylum appeals, 90% have so far had a successful outcome.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

LIFE-CHANGING CAMPAIGNING

We saw some amazing achievements in 2021, thanks to the growing numbers of people in the UK who proudly stand with torture survivors.

Who are Survivors Speak OUT?

We are a national network of former Freedom from Torture clients. We speak with authority about torture, and about living in the UK as asylum seekers and refugees who have survived trauma. As experts on fighting torture, we also influence others and call for evidence-based policies.

Defeating the ‘Torture Bill’

Alongside our Survivors Speak OUT network, we played a leading role in a campaign that caused a remarkable political defeat for the government.

15,000 of our supporters wrote to ask their MPs to stop the de-criminalisation of torture via the Overseas Operations Bill. And together with a broad coalition of organisations, we forced the UK government to back down – despite its 80-seat majority – on its plans to block prosecutions of British troops for torture and other international crimes abroad.

We are so proud that this campaign won ‘Campaign of the Year’ at the prestigious annual Sheila McKechnie Foundation National Campaigner Awards in 2022. This event celebrates people who have made change happen “most effectively, creatively and courageously”.

We’re now learning from this campaign’s success so we can replicate it in the future.

“The proposals in the Overseas Operations Bill were a stark reminder of the need to protect the absolute global ban on torture. We must all make sure that we never come this close to decriminalising torture again.” Kolbassia Haoussou MBE, Director of Survivor Empowerment

----- Start of picture text -----
Nasrin projected onto Parliament.
----- End of picture text -----

“In the midst of Black Lives Matter, which is a fight for equality against the oppression of the colonialist mentality that this legislation was written with, I’m glad that I played a part in raising awareness about this racist bill – and that we could take away some of the worst parts of it.

Nasrin Parvaz, a Survivors Speak OUT member who spent eight years in prison in Iran during the 1980s for her work as a women’s and civil rights activist.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

A STRONGER VOICE, TOGETHER

We’re proud to have played our part in creating Together with Refugees – the largest refugee rights coalition in UK history.

Connecting with more than 400 UK refugee rights groups under the Together with Refugees umbrella marks a big step forwards towards our goal of building a wider movement of people prepared to defend torture survivors’ human rights.

----- Start of picture text -----
Our activists ‘arrest’ Paddington Bear for arriving in the UK by ‘irregular means’
– just like many torture survivors are forced to do.
----- End of picture text -----

United against the ‘Anti-Refugee Bill’

Together, we changed the national conversation about the government’s cruel Nationality and Borders Bill in 2021 by reframing it as the ‘Anti-Refugee Bill’.

We commissioned a pro bono legal opinion from a team of barristers led by Raza Husain QC, which concluded that the controversial bill was “the biggest legal assault on international refugee law ever seen in the UK” and breached international and domestic law in at least 10 different ways.

----- Start of picture text -----
Raza Husain QC
----- End of picture text -----

Together with Refugees demonstration in Parliament Square

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021 13

----- Start of picture text -----
Refugees Welcome petition with
over 179,000 signatures being
delivered to 10 Downing Street.
----- End of picture text -----

Freedom from Torture and Survivors Speak OUT coled on the campaign’s advocacy and campaigning work. 100,000 people took action in support of our campaign during 2021 and while the Bill eventually passed in 2022, our work to oppose it continues, including via litigation.

One Strong Voice

This work follows our One Strong Voice initiative to build power among activist groups led by people with lived experience of the UK’s asylum and immigration system. Set up in December 2019 by Survivors Speak OUT, their vision is an immigration system that treats people with humanity and dignity.

Housed at Freedom from Torture, One Strong Voice now serves on the governance group that guides the Together with Refugees coalition.

The group’s many achievements in 2021 included:

Shaping the decisions of Freedom from Torture and the Together with Refugees coalition to prioritise opposition to the government’s plan to scrap its intention to discriminate against refugees depending on how they arrive in the UK, during the passage of the Nationality and Borders Bill.
Working with 400 organisations in the Together with Refugees coalition to galvanise united opposition political parties against this discriminatory system.
Launching ‘Our Vision of a Welcoming Britain’, a seven-point manifesto for a compassionate immigration and asylum system, including giving people access to refugee protection regardless of how they arrive; making asylum decisionmaking free of political interference; and ending immigration detention.
Delivering their manifesto to 10 Downing Street with a 9,000-strong petition.
Publishing a spoof newspaper called Metbo – based on Metro , the UK’s highest-circulation print newspaper, and handing out thousands of copies at events, including the Conservative Party conference.

The spoof Metbo newspaper envisions an alternative reality where government posters announce that ‘It’s time to help people seeking safety’, Boris Johnson declares a U-turn on immigration policy and a Chanel ad promotes a new perfume called ‘Sanctuary’. It also highlights personal stories revealing the harsh reality for people seeking safety in the UK, and their fears around the ‘Anti-Refugee Bill’.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

ANGELA’S STORY

Angela McLeary is a One Strong Voice member.

“When the Anti-Refugee Bill was first announced, most of the large NGOs focused on humanitarian visas and resettlement. But I felt that Clause 11 would be the most harmful part for refugees.

“Not only would it be contrary to the Refugee Convention by punishing people who were seeking safety from persecution – it would criminalise us and treat us like second-class citizens with no route to settling in the UK.

“I felt so sad because I know what it feels like to be treated as a second-class citizen. It is the most heart-breaking thing anyone can go through. You feel lost and lose your fundamental connections to your community.

“Together with Refugees have been amazing and turned out to be one of our strongest supporters. They have worked with us to gather wider public support by sharing our lived-experience perspective, helping people understand what refugees have been through and why we need to stand together.”

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

THE FORCE OF THE LAW

As well as building public support for a more compassionate asylum system, we pursue legal cases to stop government policies that will hurt people who have survived torture.

In November 2021, we filed a legal challenge against the Home Office’s lethal policy of pushing back refugee boats in the English Channel.

----- Start of picture text -----
Refugees crossing the English Channel.
----- End of picture text -----

We joined forces with legal experts and other NGOs for maximum impact, and sought a judicial review of the policy.

Success! A week ahead of the planned judicial review, the government abandoned this controversial policy.

“We know from our work with torture survivors that most people seeking safety are forced to travel without seeking permission first. This might be because they come from a country where it’s not possible to apply for a passport, or because the UK does not offer visas for people who need to seek asylum.

“This momentous climbdown by government shows that change is possible when we come together. But we should never have had to take this government to court to defend the sanctity of life – it is scandalous that it reached this point.”

Freedom from Torture’s Chief Executive, Sonya Sceats

No more training for police who torture

We celebrated another campaign victory in November 2021 when Police Scotland announced that it would end its training programme for the Sri Lankan police force, which has long been known to torture people.

More than 500 Freedom from Torture supporters wrote to their MSP (Member of Scottish Parliament) to support our joint campaign with Survivors Speak OUT, showcasing yet again the power we have when survivors and supporters work together.

Police Scotland ended its training programme for the Sri Lankan police force thanks to our campaigning.

----- Start of picture text -----
ANNUAL REVIEW 2021 16
----- End of picture text -----

‘NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US’

Activist Nadine Tunasi was appointed as Survivor Champion for the UK Government’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) in 2019, alongside our new Director of Survivor Empowerment, Kolbassia Haoussou.

During 2021, Nadine worked to develop a new approach to documenting the experiences of people who have survived sexual violence in conflict situations.

The Murad Code is a code conduct that is designed to set guidelines for engaging with survivors of sexual violence. It encourages those who are engaging with survivors to proceed with a do not harm principle, and promote a survivor centred approach ensuring survivors wellbeing and welfare are considered in any actions and initiatives.

Nadine was involved in the consultation process and final editing before the document was published.

“The Murad Code is about ensuring survivors are not harmed.” Nadine says. “Having survivors involved means that we are in a better position to advise documenters about what to do and not do. As we often say, nothing about us should be done without us.”

Her goal is making sure any investigative work is done safely, ethically and with respect for human rights.

----- Start of picture text -----
Nadine Tunasi
----- End of picture text -----

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

WE ARE MANY!

We’re delighted that a record number of people joined our work for a world free from torture in 2021. Our recent campaign wins have only been possible because our active, compassionate, brilliant supporters back us all the way.

Our innovative campaigning methods are showing tangible results, with the number of campaign actions quadrupling in two years, up from 32,000 in 2019 to 130,000 in 2021.

We’re also growing our year-on-year support across all age groups, including among younger people, which is vital for the future of our movement.

And most encouraging of all, more people than ever are standing up for a UK that welcomes torture survivors. Our regular polling confirms significant shifts in public opinion:

We saw 65% of the UK population agreeing that torture is wrong in any circumstances, up 7 points from two years previously.
49% of the public support the UK as a place of safety for torture survivors, up 8 points from two years ago.

The fundraiser took place between Humanitarian Day in August and World Peace Day in September. Holly, who led a team of 10 kayakers between the two Brighton piers, said: “I took part in the challenge to stand against the government’s hostile Anti-Refugee Bill and stand in solidarity with those who are forced to make dangerous journeys to reach the UK.”

21 miles and 21 bridges

Supporters in Scotland crossed the Deveron and the Spey rivers in a three-day bike ride, while others made their journey on foot, criss-crossing the numerous canal bridges in Edinburgh. In Devon, supporters kayaked across the Exe estuary, and in Norfolk one brave participant even crossed the River Yare in a home-made coracle.

In London, a team of nine hardy fundraisers walked 21 miles and crossed 21 bridges, raising over £4,500 between them. Not to be outdone by the grown-ups, 12-year-old Maya was a true inspiration, running an incredible 20km along the London canals.

Teresa, who came up with the idea and made the dream a reality with the huge support of Holly, Joanna and other members of the North London Freedom from Torture supporters’ group, said: “This challenge demonstrates how much so many people care about others, and how they really want to support those in need of a helping hand.”

Making a splash

All over the UK, our intrepid supporters made journeys across rivers, oceans and canals as part of our most successful fundraising challenge to date.

In 2021, dozens of Freedom from Torture supporters demonstrated their solidarity with the people around the world who are forced to make perilous journeys across water to escape persecution and conflict.

The ‘Crossing Over Water’ challenge enabled people of all ages and abilities to raise funds for survivors of torture, in their own time and at their own pace. Participants brought the challenge to life with a huge amount of enthusiasm, creativity and team spirit, raising over £14,000 for our work with survivors of torture.

Our North London group raised over £4,500 in their Crossing Over Water challenge.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

A FUTURE PROMISE

Almost a third of our total fundraised income in 2021 came from gifts in wills. Without these generous donations, we simply couldn’t do much of our life-changing work. Two of our supporters explain what leaving this legacy means to them.

“I’ve specified that 10% of my estate will be split between three charities, including Freedom from Torture. The thing about leaving something in your will is that you don’t actually have to find the money now. It’s a future promise.

Brid Fitzpatrick, Supporter

“Leaving a gift in your will is an opportunity to perhaps give a larger sum than a monthly standing order, and will ensure a useful income for the charity each year. Freedom from Torture’s work is important because it’s trying to support those who’ve lost everything and are in great physical and mental distress – trying to give them some hope and become complete again. Tied into that is the support to give them a safe place to stay, so they’re not left on the streets.”

Simon Taylor, Supporter

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS AND FUNDERS

Mrs Kathrine Tollis
National Lottery Community Fund
Newcastle City Council
Pea Green Community First Fund
Points Family Trust
Rickety Charitable Trust
Rosemary Beardow & Philip Young
Saxham Trust

Freedom from Torture relies on the kindness and generosity of our supporters. Every single penny donated helps us provide therapy and support, empower survivors, and fight for change. Below are some of our donors who have made significant contributions through their trusts, foundations and companies and who are happy to be listed in this report. There are of course many others, far too many to name here – and we would like to say a huge thank you to each and every supporter who makes our work possible.

Scottish Government Equalities and Social Cohesion Fund
Sigrid Rausing Trust
Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation
Stockwell Charitable Trust
The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust
The AB Charitable Trust
The Beatrice Laing Trust
The Eddleston Settlement
The Eveson Trust
Alchemy Foundation
Anthony and Rachel Williams Charitable Trust
Barrow & Cadbury Trust
Brewster Maude Charitable Trust
Brook Trust
Bryan and Sirrka Sanderson Foundation
Cecil and Hilda Lewis Charitable Trust
Chillag Family Trust
David Family Foundation
Elizabeth Bennett Charitable Trust
Forest Hill Charitable Trust
JS Smilg Family Charitable Trust
London Catalyst
Lord Mayor Of Birmingham’s Charity
Manchester City Council
Mercers’ Company
Ministry Of Justice
Mirianog Trust
The Grut Charitable Trust
The Hadrian Trust
The Health Foundation
The Hospital Saturday Fund
The Ian Mactaggart Trust
The Mercers’ Company
The Patrick & Helena Frost Foundation
The S.E. Franklin Charity Trust No 3
The Sir Charles Jessel Charitable Trust
The Sutasoma Trust
The TL Trust
The Volant Trust
Tinsley Charitable Trust
Trust for London
Unbound Philanthropy
Victoria Wood Foundation
Vivienne Westwood
• Wyn and Ken Lo Memorial Fund

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

STRATEGIC REVIEW

As the pandemic continued to impact our lives in 2021, we built on what we learned in 2020 and continued to adapt our services to meet our clients’ needs. As survivors of torture seeking safety in the UK are threatened with increasingly hostile policies, our work is more important than ever. In 2021, we made huge strides in building a movement of people committed to justice and humanity, coming together to stand against these cruel policies.

Our clinical services team were able to resume faceto-face therapy and rehabilitation services whilst also retaining remote services, enabling clients to access vital clinical support in ways which best suited their needs.

Standing by our commitment to put survivor voices at the heart of everything we do, we established the Survivor Empowerment Directorate in 2021. Led by Kolbassia Haoussou MBE, the Survivor Empowerment team developed our co-led clinical approach, which is being implemented across our centres in 2022. The team also co-led our campaigning and advocacy work.

We were able to strengthen our impact by joining together with other organisations. In 2021, together with six other organisations, we founded Together with Refugees, a coalition calling for a better approach to supporting refugees that is more effective and humane. Much of the focus for Together with Refugees was on opposing the government’s anti-refugee Nationality and Borders Bill.

Our campaigning and advocacy activities shone a light on injustices, delivering victories on the Overseas Operations Bill and the ending of Scottish-backed police training of forces in Sri Lanka known to employ torture. All of this public-facing work is helping to shift opinion on the use of torture, with an increase in the percentage of UK public stating that they support the UK as a place of safety for torture survivors.

Our fundraising income in 2021 was lower than in 2020, mainly because we received expected income early at the end of 2020. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic also impacted some of our fundraising activities because of the restrictions on events and gatherings.

However, during 2021 we attracted over 11,000 new supporters to help fund our life-changing work, nearly double the amount we had planned.

----- Start of picture text -----
ANNUAL REVIEW 2021 21
----- End of picture text -----

TOGETHER FOR A FUTURE FREE FROM TORTURE

No government should ever commit or tolerate torture. The way we treat those who have survived it shows who we are as people and what our society stands for.

We’ve set four ambitious goals:

Changing Lives
Changing the System
Survivors Driving Change
Changing Ourselves

This is our most ambitious strategy ever – moving beyond a collaborative approach to one where our clinical services and campaigns are co-designed and co-delivered by people who have survived torture.” Sonya Sceats, Chief Executive

By 2025:

We are working towards a more compassionate world, where torture is consigned to history books and survivors get the help they need to thrive. Our new strategy explains what we will achieve by 2025.

For the first time ever, we created it with people who have lived through both torture and the UK’s harsh asylum system.

Our survivor colleagues took the lead by designing and carrying out a survey on how we should do our work. More than 1,000 supporters, 100 people with lived experience of torture from 35 different countries, and 300 members of the public took part.

Then we refined our learning to make sure people’s reallife experiences, priorities and ambitions become our guiding light for this new roadmap to a brighter future.

We will have doubled the number of people who benefit from our ground-breaking rehabilitation services and the clinical evidence we prepare for survivors’ asylum claims.
We will be recognised as a centre of clinical excellence, with highly skilled teams leading innovative research alongside key academic partners. We will participate in national and global debates and deliver outstanding outcomes for the people we work with.
We will build broad support for the torture ban and for Britain as a country of sanctuary for survivors, and ensure a fair, compassionate asylum system.
We will employ people who have survived torture across most of Freedom from Torture’s directorates, so they are influencing decisions at all levels.
We will inspire others working with torture survivors to draw from our trauma-informed wellbeing framework as a model of good practice.
We will increase our income to allow us to meet our strategic goals.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

OUR PRIORITIES FOR 2022:

Partnering with survivors

We will launch our survivor/therapist co-led services, starting with a pilot at our London centre, and relaunch our service user engagement programme, building on the hybrid model to ensure that more people have the opportunity to access, evaluate and shape our services.

This will include training survivors and therapists to deliver a wider range of treatments together; evaluating the impact of the co-led services, and aiming to ensure that at least 25% of service users in each centre take part in service user panels, with strong representation of women.

Sharing our clinical excellence

We want to be recognised as a centre of clinical excellence that delivers outstanding outcomes for the people we work with, including through our trailblazing Pathways programme and medico-legal report service.

In 2022, we will hold a Freedom from Torture conference, partner with other academic and research institutions in clinical research, submit publications in journals, and participate in national and global debates. And we will ensure that more of our clinical and survivor colleagues speak at external conferences and relevant media, sharing our expertise and good practice.

Driving policy change

In 2022, we aim to influence a wide range of government and civil society organisations to meaningfully change their policies and practice, with input and inspiration from our Survivor Empowerment team.

We will play a leading role in a new global project led by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture

Victims (IRCT) on survivor empowerment models. We will also connect with other IRCT members to help them adapt our approach to survivor empowerment in their organisations.

Scaling up our medico-legal reports

We’ll continue rolling out our new medico-legal report (MLR) operating model to increase the number of survivors who benefit from our life-saving clinical evidence, with a view to doubling the number of survivors who benefit by 2025.

Growing the movement

Throughout 2022, we’ll keep campaigning against anti-refugee government policies – including via legal challenges where necessary. We’ll seek to grow and galvanise the movement of people who want to see a kinder, more compassionate approach to refugees, and use the campaign to pass power within this growing movement to those with lived experience of the system.

Reporting on torture

In 2022, we are planning reports on ‘what justice means’ for survivors, on torture survivors’ journeys to the UK and what happens on arrival, and on UK training of police in China, with a view to improving understanding among policy makers/parliamentarians, which will translate into improved policy.

The reports, which will draw on extensive national and international research and consultation with survivors, will also lead to greater public understanding of issues as seen from a survivor perspective, in turn leading to increased campaign action.

Reflecting the communities we serve

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are some of our greatest assets and we are committed to promoting anti-racist principles at Freedom from Torture. In 2022, we will continue to make sure our workforce reflects the communities we serve, including in management positions and across our clinical services.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

FUNDRAISING STATEMENT

Freedom from Torture relies on fundraising to deliver income for our work. Our fundraising strategy links to our organisational strategy and is supported by policies and procedures, including our ethical fundraising policy to ensure Freedom from Torture meets best practice standards.

Fundraising effectiveness

In 2021 for every £1 spent on fundraising we received £2.95.

Delivering a sustainable funding model

Freedom from Torture has a balanced fundraising portfolio, delivering income from a wide range of sources including charitable trusts and foundations, individual donations, community fundraising and gifts in wills. In 2021, we continued to invest in fundraising activities to build a sustainable funding base, balancing investment in testing new activities with established and proven techniques. All of our fundraising activities are consistent with our values and driven by the needs of survivors of torture.

Our Supporter Promise establishes the principles that guide our fundraising activities. These principles include: valuing and thanking our supporters’, responding to queries, communicating honestly and openly and respecting our supporters’ privacy. The full Supporter Promise can be found on our website. None of our life changing work would be possible without our generous supporters and this is reflected in the way in which we fundraise. Freedom from Torture is committed to transparency and welcomes feedback from supporters to enable us to improve and grow. In 2021, we received 49 complaints about our fundraising activity, down from 67 in 2020.

To deliver our broad programme of activities, we work with external specialists including face-to-face fundraising agencies, telephone fundraising agencies and database consultants.

When working with external agencies, we always ensure we have written agreements in place and the team regularly provide training and monitor our suppliers to ensure they are compliant and meet the standards set out in our Vulnerable Adults Supporter Policy as well as all relevant regulations and legislation. Freedom from Torture is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and all our activities follow the Code of Fundraising Practice.

We are also members of the Lotteries Council and follow all relevant legislation, including GDPR and data protection.

Our dedicated supporter care team is available 5 days per week and aims to respond to any questions, concerns or complaints within 5 working days. The team can be contacted on info@freedomfromtorture. org or by phoning 020 7697 7788.

----- Start of picture text -----
Members of our Fundraising team meet new supporters.
----- End of picture text -----

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

FINANCIAL REVIEW FOR 2021

In 2021, Freedom from Torture was able to balance income and expenditure very closely. We had a small shortfall between income and expenditure of £106k – 0.1% of incoming resources. This was despite a very challenging external environment caused by the ongoing pandemic, Brexit and the general economic uncertainty throughout the year.

During 2021, our General Reserves reduced, although they are at a safe level. In addition, our designated funds increased significantly. The Trustees plan to

utilise some of the designated funds in 2022 to deliver improved and expanded services, improve some of our infrastructure and invest in generating future income.

Overall, Freedom from Torture is in a very strong financial position and is looking to a future that, through prudent targeted investment, will see the organisation grow significantly in the next four years.

Income

Although income reduced compared to the previous year, our fundraising portfolio remains strong and our supporter base is growing. We continued to see impressive results from our warm direct marketing initiatives and our income from digital activities increased significantly in 2021.

Total Income: £10.347m

----- Start of picture text -----
Legacies £3.037m
Donations from individuals £2.650m
Committed donations £2.360m
Gift Aid £881k
Trusts, Grants & Corporate £752k
Events, Raffles, Fees etc. £633k
----- End of picture text -----

Two of our biggest sources of income – committed donations and donations in response to appeals, newsletters and other direct marketing – performed very well, generating £4.7m. The vast majority of this income came from people who have been giving to us for more than 5 years, in many cases for more than 10 years. This underlines the strength and commitment of our supporters to Freedom from Torture and gives us a very solid base to build upon in the future.

Legacy income remained very important, with income of more than £3m. During 2021, we were notified of a very large (£2m plus) legacy which we will receive in 2022. This, coupled with a similar sized legacy we were already aware of (£1.2m of which was received in 2021) gives the organisation a very strong financial foundation from which it intends to develop. These two legacies will be used in 2022 to:

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Increase our resources delivering services.
Invest in infrastructure to make us more effective and agile.
Invest in future income generation.

As part of the implementation of a new fundraising and engagement strategy based around increasing donor involvement and engagement with Freedom from Torture, we carried out a major restructure of our Fundraising and Communications directorate. This included the formation of a dedicated Digital and Campaigning Team which is building on the results mentioned above. The scale of the restructure inevitably led to some posts becoming vacant during the year, which, along with some staff turnover, temporarily impacted income. By the end of 2021, we were back to a full complement of Fundraising, Digital and Communications staff.

In addition, the Covid-19 lockdowns impacted some of our planned activities, in particular in events, donor recruitment and community fundraising. The consequence of this, alongside the restructuring of our fundraising department, was a fall in income compared to 2020.

Expenditure

Fundraising expenditure increased in 2021 by £354k, compared to 2020. Much of the increase was related to investment in digital acquisition as part of a strategy to develop new digital income streams. In addition, staff costs increased partly due to the creation of a dedicated Digital & Campaigns team in 2021.

Total Expenditure: £10.347m

----- Start of picture text -----
Staff costs £5.969m
Direct costs £2.055m
Support costs £2.398m
----- End of picture text -----

Charitable expenditure remained at a very similar level to the previous year, 1% less than in 2020. Plans to increase our resources and expenditure on our services and influencing work were impacted by the ongoing uncertainty resulting from the continued impact of Covid-19 throughout much of the year. Despite the disruption caused by the Covid-19 lockdowns, we continued delivering our therapeutic services, including the continued development of remote virtual sessions pioneered in 2020.

The increased expenditure will be financed by the projected increase in fundraised income and the utilisation of some designated funds, the level of which will be more than sufficient to enable the delivery of our plans. Trustees are confident that the strategy can be achieved while ensuring that Freedom from Torture will remain financially sustainable long into the future and that the organisation is a going concern moving into 2022.

We are planning on increasing charitable expenditure in 2022 and beyond in order to deliver our new fouryear strategy, approved by the Trustees in late 2021. This will see our services and influencing work expand in 2022, through increased investment and more efficient working methods. To enable this growth, investment in fundraising activities will support our ambition to grow income by 30% in four years.

Fixed Assets

Total capital spend was £373k, of which £289k was on furniture, fixtures and fittings. Much of this expenditure related to replacing some fire doors at our centre in London in order to comply with fire regulations.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Reserves and Investment Policy

It is the policy of the Trustees to maintain a General Reserve equivalent to two to four months’ direct charitable expenditure, which equates to £1.1m and £2.2m. The General Reserve serves two main purposes:

to make up for any shortfall in budgeted income in a particular year; and
to cover any unbudgeted expenditure which may become necessary.

The policy is designed to ensure that Freedom from Torture can meet these two eventualities in any financial year without immediately having to cut back services. In the event of unforeseen loss of budgeted income or increased expenditure, it gives Freedom from Torture a period in which to seek to remedy the situation by securing additional funds and, if this is not possible, to plan an orderly reduction of expenditure commitments. The policy is reviewed annually by our Finance, Governance and Audit Committee.

at historical fluctuations, type of income and level expected in the financial year. The potential risks for each income stream were added together to make a “worst case” scenario and the reserves level is set to cover this scenario. In addition, the level of reserves retained would have covered the period during which any major shortfall of income would be identified, and the appropriate action required is agreed and implemented.

The Trustees have designated funds as shown on page 28 which include a fixed assets reserve, long-term donation, major building repairs, development fund and working capital reserve.

General Reserve

The level of our General Reserve decreased in 2021 by £1.2m. The organisation ended the year with a General Reserve of £1.4m, which is above the lower safe limit set by our reserves policy (see above).

Freedom from Torture’s main source of income is donations from the general public. The level of income from this source can fluctuate in any given financial year.

While every effort is made to have realistic income forecasts the charity retains adequate levels of reserves to cover potential income shortfalls. The level of reserves for 2021 was set by identifying the potential risk and level of shortfall for all of our main income streams. This was done by looking

Restricted Funds

These relate to income the use of which has been restricted to specific areas of our services. It includes donations from trusts and foundations, and grants from public bodies towards the costs of projects or specific lines of expenditure. Trustees expect to use the funds held at the end of 2021 during the next financial year.

Total Funds held at the end of 2021

Total Funds held at the end of 2021
Fund	Total
Designated Funds	£9,715,929
General Reserve	£1,433,229
Restricted Funds	£381,448
Total Funds	£11,530,606

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Investment Policy

The Trustees consider that it is not prudent to invest any of the reserves long-term. The investment policy is therefore to manage funds so as to obtain the best rate of interest on them.

Designated Funds	Designation	Use of fund	Value at year-end
Fixed Assets Reserve	Property (two buildings owned by the charity, used as clinical centres) & ICT equipment, furniture, fixtures & fittings etc.	This represents the extent to which unrestricted funds are tied up in the organisation’s property and other fixed assets. The year-end balance is equal to the book value of the fixed assets less any amount that is funded by loans.	£3,851,416
Long-term Donation	Gif given to the charity. The donor expressed a wish that the donation be invested and the proceeds be used for psychotherapy.	Trustees have authority to use this fund as they see fit but intend to abide by the donor’s wishes to retain the capital received where possible.	£526,812
Major Building Repairs	Fund to cover any large- scale repairs or refurbishments to property owned by the charity. Current policy is to place £40k a year into the fund.	We placed £40k in the fund in 2021, as per our policy and drew down £214k to fund the replacement of some fire doors to our London Centre.	£368,571
Development Fund	Fund to provide for long-term develop of the organisation through infrastructure improvements and long-term investment in income generation.	We were fortunate to receive notifications of two unprecedently large legacies, likely combined value of £4.4m. We received the first tranche of the funds, £1.2m, in 2021. We expect to receive the rest in 2022.	£1,200,000
Working Capital Reserve	Fund to cover working capital needs. Level of fund required is calculated as Current Assets, excluding Bank and cash, less Creditors.	Represents the extent to which unrestricted funds are tied up in working capital (in particular where significant legacies are due but not received).	£3,769,130
Total Funds			£9,715,929

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

RISK MANAGEMENT

We have a thorough approach to managing risk at Freedom from Torture. We use a risk register to document our most important risks and monitor measures in place to mitigate these risks. Risk management is discussed at regular Senior Management Team meetings. The risk register is reviewed at every Board of Trustee meeting and every Finance, Governance and Audit committee meeting and feedback is given to ensure we have the most robust mitigation plans and strategies in place.

Summary of top five risks

Risk 1

Failure to raise adequate funds to enable us to deliver our strategic plans.

Mitigation includes: Restructured Fundraising and Communications team to ensure the correct level of expertise and resource is in place to deliver our plans. Continued investment in Fundraising and Communication to develop sustainable income streams and attract new supporters. A proactive approach to media and profile building activities to improve Freedom from Torture’s brand recognition.

Risk 2

Freedom from Torture’s cyber security is breached due to targeting from hostile parties resulting in major disruption to the website and associated services.

Risk 3

Additional strain on Freedom from Torture’s ICT systems and resources due to the move towards remote and hybrid working.

Mitigation includes: Introduction of additional leadership post to enable the team to meet increased demand. Business contingency plans have been introduced. Additional support through student placements and consultancy resource in place.

Risk 4

Survivor Empowerment Directorate is unable to deliver on all of its strategic commitments due to lack of full resources in place.

Mitigation includes: Additional support to Survivor Empowerment leadership from Human Resources and CEO to ensure that survivor empowerment is fully integrated across the charity. Review of team structure and resource with subsequent recruitment underway. Management training to support with service user engagement activities.

Risk 5

Clinical teams are restricted in delivery of Pathways model due to out of date and insufficient clinical data systems resource.

Mitigation includes: Current system has been reconfigured to enable basic Pathways compatibility. A project to replace the current system with a more suitable solution will be launched in 2022.

Mitigation includes: A robust cyber security review and additional penetration testing. Additional cyber security software has been installed. Remote access policy has been updated to ensure all staff comply with required security measures.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

Structure, governance and management

Freedom from Torture is legally constituted as a company limited by guarantee, registered as Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture since 1985. The organisation changed its legal name to Freedom from Torture on 28th February 2020.

Our governing instruments are the memorandum and articles of association.

We are registered with both the Charity Commission and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. Our only subsidiary, Survivors Trading Limited, is dormant and has no significant assets or liabilities.

Remuneration policy

The remuneration of the key management postholders, who consist of the individuals disclosed in note 7 to the financial statements on page 48, has been established in accordance with market rates, taking into account the level of expertise, experience and skills required to fulfil the roles successfully. Our general staff remuneration policy was reviewed in 2021 and approved by the Trustees.

Organisational structure

In March 2018, Freedom from Torture adopted the Charity Governance Code to continue to drive forward improvements in its governance. The governing body is the Board of Trustees (the Board), which met four times in 2021. The Trustees are also Directors of the company. In 2021, the following standing Committees of the Board, each consisting of a number of Trustees, met during the year: Finance, Governance and

Audit (four meetings), Performance, Standards and Effectiveness (four meetings) and Remuneration (one meeting).

The Board received reports from the Chief Executive, members of the Senior Management Team and the Board Committees covering the financial situation and the work of all departments, noting significant developments in our work and in the environment in which we operate.

The Board includes senior professionals in key disciplines relevant to the management of the organisation: human rights, medicine, mental health, law, policy, finance, accountancy, governance, safeguarding and fundraising, who are able to appreciate and assess the risks in their respective fields.

We are also proud to have a Trustee with lived experience of torture who is a former service user, as well as two Trustees with lived experience of the UK asylum system.

New Trustees are appointed by the Board when the need arises to replace leavers and strengthen particular core competencies against a skills audit. Recruitment of new Trustees is through an open process, with vacancies advertised on various websites; applications are particularly encouraged from former service users with expertise in the fields sought. The term of office is three years, after which a Trustee may be re-appointed for up to a maximum of two further terms. In exceptional circumstances, the Board of Trustees has the power to permit two Trustees to serve two years beyond a third term if the Board of Trustees considers it in the best interests of the charity.

In 2021, we recruited a new Treasurer to the Board.

New Trustees receive a comprehensive induction covering the organisation’s mission, activities, strategy and finances, as well as information about their legal responsibilities as a Trustee. The Board approves the strategy, annual budgets and major investments,

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

alongside receiving the most recent management accounts and assessing overall performance. The Senior Management Team has delegated responsibility for operational management of the charity, taking dayto-day decisions in the interest of the charity. Away days are held to review longer-term strategic issues. Details of changes to Trustees during the year are on page 55.

The Chair of Freedom from Torture is Susan Berelowitz, who was elected in October 2017. Sonya Sceats has been the Chief Executive since March 2018.

Clinical services (including medical, psychotherapeutic and social work) are provided through our centres in England (London and South East, North West, North East and West Midlands) and Scotland (Glasgow). We deliver one-to-one, group and family rehabilitation to survivors of torture and produce forensic medico-legal reports. Our Clinical Services Directorate also provides training and capacity-building services to external partners and organisations involved in the welfare of survivors of torture, including NGOs and statutory services, as well as relevant Home Office teams.

Clinical services also deliver outreach work, which includes psychotherapy, and legal and welfare casework isprovided in outreach centres.

We employed 173 people at the end of 2021 and the organisation was fortunate to have the services of 38 part-time volunteers. Most worked in the area of medical, therapeutic and casework services in our five clinical centres.

During the year, we developed better approaches to fundraising and communications with a view to generating more sustainable income, reaching more people and increasing public awareness of torture happening around the world. This involves an ambitious programme of digital growth; improved supporter care; attracting new philanthropists, and improving how we report so that supporters can follow our progress and see the impact they are enabling us to make.

To implement all this, we expanded our teams across Fundraising and Communications through a largescale recruitment drive. As a result, we now have the required expertise to increase our income, bring this new strategy to life and grow the movement to end torture.

The Trustees confirm that they comply with their duty to have regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees (who are also directors of Freedom from Torture for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report, Strategic Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. 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 Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP);
make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards including FRS 102 have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the

charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 as amended by the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Amendment (No.2) Regulations 2014.

They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware; and
the Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

The Trustees’ Annual Report is approved by the Trustees of the Charity.

The Strategic Report, which forms part of the Annual Report, is approved by the Trustees in their capacity as directors in company law of the charity.

Signed on their behalf by:

Sue Berelowitz Chair, Freedom from Torture Approved on 28 June 2022

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES AND MEMBERS OF FREEDOM FROM TORTURE

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 charitable company 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.

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Freedom from Torture for the year ended 31 December 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 December 2021 and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (as amended) and regulations 6 and 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).

Conclusions relating to going concern

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 charitable company’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. 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.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs(UK))

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in 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 there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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 the audit:

the information given in the trustees’ annual report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
The trustees’ annual report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the trustees’ annual report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 or the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

the charitable company has not kept adequate and sufficient accounting records, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the parent charitable company’s 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.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 32, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes 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 charitable company’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.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under Section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and under the Companies Act 2006 and report to you in accordance with regulations made under those Acts.

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.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in 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 noncompliance 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.

Explanation as to what extent the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

The objectives of our audit in respect of fraud, are; to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud; to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud, through designing and implementing appropriate responses to those assessed risks; and to respond appropriately to instances of fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit. However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both management and those charged with governance of the charitable company.

Our approach was as follows:

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory requirements applicable to the charitable company and considered that the most significant are the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (as amended), regulations 6 and 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended), the Charity SORP, and UK financial reporting standards as issued by the Financial Reporting Council.
We obtained an understanding of how the charitable company complies with these requirements by discussions with management and those charged with governance.
We assessed the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements, including the risk of material misstatement due to fraud and how it might occur, by holding discussions with management and those charged with governance.
We inquired of management and those charged with governance as to any known instances of non-compliance or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations.
Based on this understanding, we designed specific appropriate audit procedures to identify instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. This included making enquiries of management and those charged with governance and obtaining additional corroborative evidence as required.

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK) we exercise professional judgement 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 purposes of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the charitable company’s 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 charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

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 charitable company 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.
Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of the entities or business activities within the charitable company to express an opinion on the consolidated financial statements. We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the charitable company audit. We remain solely responsible for our audit report.

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.

the charitable company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members and trustees those matters which we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report addressed to them and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to any party other than the charitable company and charitable company’s members as a body, and the charity’s trustees, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

[Date] 10 August 2022

Luke Holt (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Moore Kingston Smith LLP, Statutory Auditor Devonshire House 60 Goswell Road London EC1M 7AD

Moore Kingston Smith LLP is eligible to act as auditor in terms of Section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

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 and to

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Incorporating Income and Expenditure Account for the year ended 31 December 2021

December 2021
		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total funds	Total funds
	Notes	funds (£)	funds (£)	2021 (£)	2020 (£)
Income from:
Donations and legacies	2	9,231,886	174,067	9,405,953	11,422,655
Charitable activities	4	183,299	274,221	457,520	998,146
Other trading activities (incl. fundraising)	3	444,396	-	444,396	367,373
Investments		5,480	-	5,480	23,680
Total Expenditure on: Raising funds Charitable activities Total Net gains/ (losses) on investments Net Income / (expenditure) Net movements in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	5 6 9	9,865,061 3,436,428 6,111,155 9,547,583 2,882 320,360 320,360 10,828,798 11,149,158	448,288 - 874,805 874,805 - (426,517) (426,517) 807,965 381,448	10,313,349 3,436,428 6,985,960 10,422,388 2,882 (106,157) (106,157) 11,636,763 11,530,606	12,811,854 3,081,948 7,065,252 10,147,200 (2,967) 2,661,687 2,661,687 8,975,076 11,636,763

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

In the current and previous year the only restricted income was included in Donations and legacies and Charitable activities (see Notes 2 and 4); the only restricted expenditure was included in Charitable activities (see Note 6).

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2021

----- Start of picture text -----
Notes 2021 (£) 2020 (£)
Fixed Assets
Tangible assets 8 4,354,874 4,320,300
Intangible assets 8 26,530 22,092
Investments 9 17,086 14,204
4,398,490 4,356,596
Current Assets
Debtors 10 4,463,152 4,246,073
-
Short-term deposits 621,307
Cash at hand and in bank 3,575,915 3,477,618
8,039,067 8,344,998
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 11 (797,480) (850,480)
Net current assets 7,241,587 7,494,179
Total assets less current liabilities 11,640,077 11,850,775
Creditors: amounts falling due after one year 12 (109,472) (214,012)
Net assets 11,530,606 11,636,763
Funds 14
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds 9,715,929 8,165,026
General reserve: 1,433,229 2,663,772
11,149,158 10,828,798
Restricted income funds: 381,448 807,965
11,530,606 11,636,763
----- End of picture text -----

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

The accounts were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Trustees on the 28 June 2022 and signed on its behalf by Manny Sandhu, Trustee

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Cash flow statement for the year ended 31 December 2021

Notes	2021 (£)	2020 (£)
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities	(48,928)	746,220
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends and interest from investments	5,480	23,680
Purchase of property, plant and equipment	(373,455)	(167,193)
Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities Cash flows from financing activities: Repayments of borrowing Interest paid Net cash (used in)/provided by financing activities Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period General reserve:	(367,975) (102,862) (3,246) (106,108) (523,011) 4,098,925 3,575,915	(143,513) (100,908) (5,200) (106,108) 496,599 3,602,327 4,098,925

Reconciliation of net income/ (expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities

operating activities
	2021 (£)	2020 (£)
Net income / (expenditure)	106,157	2,661,687
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges	323,768	306,524
Amortisation charges	10,677	11,654
Dividends and interest from investments	(5,480)	(23,680)
Interest paid	3,246	5,200
(Gains)/Losses on investments	(2,882)	(2,967)
(Increase)/decrease in debtors	(217,079)	(2,334,415)
Increase in creditors	(55,021)	116,283
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities Analysis of cash and cash equivalents Cash in hand Notice deposits (one year)	(48,928) 3,639,079 - 3,575,915	746,220 3,477,618 621,307 4,098,925

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these accounts.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021

1. Accounting policies

General information and basis of preparation:

Freedom from Torture is a charitable company limited by guarantee. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information on page 55 of these financial statements. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are included in the Trustees’ Report.

The functional currency used to prepare the financial statements was Sterling and rounded to the nearest £.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014, as updated through Update Bulletin 1 published on 2 February 2016 and Update Bulletine 2 published on 5 Octoner 2018, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 as amended by the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Amendment (No.2) Regulation 2014 and UK Generally Accepted Practice as it applies from 1 January 2015.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value.

The financial statements do not consolidate the income, expenditure, assets or liabilities of the trading company as disclosed in note 9 due to their immateriality.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated.

Going Concern

The Trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern basis is appropriate and have considered possible events or conditions that might cause significant doubt on the ability of the charitable company to continue as a going concern. The Trustees have made this assessment for a period of at least one year from the date of approval of the financial statements. After making enquiries, the Trustees have concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the charitable company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Should the impact of Covid-19, or the cost of living crisis, require a reduction in expenditure or implementation of new ways of working, Trustees are confident management will be able to develop and implement plans to achieve this. Trustees are also sure that Freedom from torture has sufficient General Reserve and access to designated funds to enable time for plans to be developed and implemented in a strategic and timely way, ensuring long-term financial stability.

Tangible and intangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently at cost less depreciation and any impairment losses. Purchases above £500 are capitalised according to our policy. Depreciation is provided at rates per annum calculated to write off the cost or valuation of each asset over its useful life, as follows:

Freehold land	0%
Freehold buildings	2%
Long leasehold building	2%
Computer equipment	25%
Database sofware	20%
Furniture, fixture and fitting	25%

The depreciation rates above reflect the duration that assets retain a value to the organisation.

Intangible assets are amortised over their expected useful life, as follows:

Software 20%

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Investments

Listed investments are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at fair value. Changes in fair value and gain and losses arising on dispossal of investment are reflected in the Statement of Financial Activities at the balance sheet date. Investments in subsidiaries are stated at cost less any provision for impairment.

Cash and cash equivalents

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.

Financial instruments

Basic financial instruments are measured at amortised cost other than investments which are measured at fair value.

Income recognition

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.

For donations to be recognised the charity will have been notified of the amounts and the settlement date in writing. If there are conditions attached to the donation and this requires a level of performance before entitlement can be obtained then income is deferred until those conditions are fully met or the fulfilment of those conditions is within the control of the charity and it is probable that they will be fulfillment.

Income from trading activities includes income earned from fundraising events and trading activities to raise funds for the charity. Income is received in exchange for supplying goods and services in order to raise funds and is recognised when entitlement has occurred.

Expenditure

Direct charitable expenditure is analysed under four broad activity headings: medical/therapeutic/ casework; education, training and information; human rights work; and relief grants for individuals and families. Under each of these headings is included staff costs directly attributed to each activity, specific project costs and an allocation of shared costs such as premises and telephone usage on the basis of the staff time spent on each activity. Cost of generating funds includes direct expenditure incurred in relation to fundraising campaigns and events, staff costs directly attributed to this activity and shared costs which are allocated as above. Support costs represent those functions which are wholly or mainly in support of the above activities including senior management, human resources and financial administration. Governance includes only those costs associated with maintaining the charity as a legal, rather than an operational entity. See note 6.

Foreign exchange

Transactions in currencies other than pounds sterling are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at the dates of the transactions. At each reporting end date, monetary assets and liabilities that are denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the rates prevailing on the reporting end date. Gains and losses arising on translation are included in the Statement of Financial Activities for the period.

Operating leases

No amount is included in the financial statements for volunteer time in line with the SORP (FRS 102). Further detail is given in the Trustees’ Report. For legacies, entitlement arises when the charity is aware that probate has been granted. Receipt is normally probable when the executors have established that there are sufficient assets in the estate. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

The rentals paid on operating leases are charged to expenditure on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

Pension cost

The charity provides a defined contribution pension scheme for its employees and contributions payable for the year are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees, in furtherance of the general charitable objectives of the charity. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in note 14. The General Reserve is the balance of unrestricted funds not designated by the Trustees. Restricted funds are funds, the use of which is subject to specific conditions imposed by the donors or as specified in an appeal to donors.

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

In preparing the financial statements it is necessary to make certain judgements, estimates and assumptions that effect the amounts recognised in the financial statements. In the view of the Trustees, judgements, estimates and assumptions that had the most significant affect included legacy income recognition and depreciation, as per the accounting policies previously disclosed.

2. Donations and legacies

----- Start of picture text -----
2021
2021 2021 2021
Unrestricted funds (£) Restricted funds (£) Total funds (£)
Trusts & foundations 319,771 150,999 470,770
-
Companies 7,031 7,031
Individuals:
-
Committed donations (excluding Gift Aid) 2,360,096 2,360,096
Major donations (excluding Gift Aid) 779,701 6,200 785,901
Other donations (excluding Gift Aid) 1,847,433 16,868 1,864,311
-
Gift aid tax claimable 881,147 881,147
-
Legacies 3,036,697 3,036,697
Total 9,231,886 174,067 9,405,953
----- End of picture text -----

2020 2020 2020	2020
Unrestricted funds (£) Restricted funds (£)	Total funds (£)
Trusts & Foundations 392,686 737,791 Companies 20,214 - Individuals:	1,130,477 20,214
Committed donations (excluding Gif Aid) 2,362,361 - Major donations (excluding Gif Aid) 914,481 25,250 Other donations (excluding Gif Aid) 1,919,120 6,401 Gif aid tax claimable 956,025 - Legacies 4,088,326 - Total 10,653,213 769,442	2,362,361 939,731 1,925,521 956,025 4,088,326 11,422,655

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Income from trusts and foundations included the following:

Donor	Purpose	£
Trust for London	Human Rights Work	15,000
David Family Foundation	London Centre: Children, Young People & Families	10,000
Unbound Philanthropy	Human Rights Work	10,000
The Patrick Frost Foundation	Write to Life	7,500
The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust	West Midlands Centre:- Therapeutic Support	5,000
The Volant Trust	Scotland Centre: Supporting Women and Girls	5,000
The Beatrice Laing Trust	Natural Growth Project	5,000
The Eveson Charitable Trust	West Midlands Centre:- Therapeutic Support	3,000
Pea Green Community First Fund	North East Centre:- Therapeutic Support	2,000
The Hospital Saturday Fund	London Centre: Adult Groupwork	2,000
Lord Mayor Of Birmingham’s Charity	West Midlands Centre:- Therapeutic Support	1,655
London Catalyst Charitable Trust	London Centre: Client Relief	1,500
Barrow & CadburyTrust	Human Rights Work	1,000
The Hadrian Trust	North East Centre:- Therapeutic Support	500

At the end of 2021 there were 25 open residuary legacies with an estimated total value of £2,623,622 which had not met the conditions for recognition as income during the year (2020 – 9 open legacies with an estimated total of £1,556,438). It should be noted that £2,365,000 of that figure is represented by two

significant legacies, one of £2m and one of £365,000. The remaining 23 legacies total £258,622. In addition, there are 4 estates with an estimated total value of £34,500 which will be released on the expiration of life trusts.

3. Other trading activities (incl. Fundraising)

	2021 (£)	2020 (£)
Rafles	77,687	135,829
Fundraisingevents	290,159	57,366
Christmas cards	38,865	46,319
HMRC - Furlough grant	24,683	123,685
Sundry	13,002	4,174
	444,396	367,373

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

4. Income from charitable activities

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 2021 2021 2021
Unrestricted funds (£) Restricted funds (£) Total funds (£)
Grants from government and public bodies:
-
National Lottery Community Fund (see below) 68,037 68,037
United Nations - 31,770 31,700
-
Scottish Government (Inspire Scotland) 30,000 30,000
Others - 144,414 144,414
-
Sub-total government and public bodies 274,221 274,221
-
Fees for medico-legal reports 181,244 181,244
-
Training fees & Others 2,055 2,055
Total 183,299 274,221 457,520
----- End of picture text -----

2020 2020 2020	2020
Unrestricted funds (£) Restricted funds (£)	Total funds (£)
Grants from government and public bodies: National Lottery Community Fund (see below) - 367,943	367,943
United Nations - 34,380 Scottish Government - 50,000 Scottish Government (Corra Foundation) - 97,028 Others - 188,217 Sub-total government and public bodies - 737,568 Fees for medico-legal reports 258,227 - Training fees & Others 2,351 - Total 260,578 737,568	34,380 50,000 97,028 188,217 737,568 258,227 2,351 998,146

There are no known unfulfilled conditions, or contingencies attached to the income recognised in respect of government grants.

The income shown above is comprised of the total funds received as adjusted for the movement in debtors.

Freedom from Torture was grateful to receive three grants from the National Lottery Community Fund in 2021 as follows:

	Restricted funds (£)
Holistic Rehabilitation to help Survivors of Torture Rebuild their Lives Birmingham	49,704
Helping Survivors of Torture Improve Connectivity and Relationships to Enhance their Lives	10,000
Third Sector Communities Recovery Fund	8,333
	68,037

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

The grants above contributed to therapy in Scotand and West Midlands.

Freedom from Torture was grateful to receive six grants from the from the grant giving bodies below in 2021:

Scottish Government InspiringScotland	Core and HealingNeighbourhoods	30,000
Mayor of London - Young Londoners Fund	Supporting survivors of torture aged 10-21 based in London	24,000
Manchester City Council - Our Manchester Fund	Supporting survivors of torture in Manchester	39,045
Ministry of Justice	Supporting survivors of torture in Birmingham	64,515
Newcastle City Council	Supporting survivors of torture in Newcastle	25,155
The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture	Supporting survivors of torture in London	31,770
		214,485

These funds are included as part of the relevant restricted funds in Note 14.

5. Cost of raising funds

5. Cost of raising funds
	2021 (£)	2020 (£)
Direct Marketing	2,180,286	1,791,603
Legacies	110,144	105,459
Trusts and Corporate	182,917	311,699
Events	170,619	118,125
Local groups	79,915	102,954
Community	108,718	86,003
Major Donors	238,128	278,357
Grants	146,038	104,652
Cost of raising volutary income	3,216,765	2,898,851
Cost of activities for generating funds	219,663	183,097
	3,436,427	3,081,948

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

6. Analysis of total expenditure

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 Staff costs (£) Other direct costs (£) Support costs (£) Total 2021 (£)
Raising funds
Donations and legacies 1,122,961 1,548,518 545,285 3,216,765
Trading activities 44,052 157,270 18,340 219,663
1,167,013 1,705,788 563,625 3,436,428
Charitable expenditure
Activities in furtherance of our objects:
Medical/therapy/casework 3,642,426 70,845 1,343,231 5,056,502
Education/training/info. 284,794 10,723 114,743 410,260
Human rights work 846,103 179,381 363,279 1,388,763
Relief grants 29,048 88,454 12,933 130,435
4,802,371 349,403 1,834,186 6,985,960
-
Support costs 772,900 1,624,911 (2,397,811)
-
Total expenditure 6,742,284 3,680,103 10,422,388
2020 Staff costs (£) Other direct costs (£) Support costs (£) Total 2020 (£)
Raising funds
Donations and legacies 1,018,381 1,382,476 497,994 2,898,851
Trading activities 39,862 124,335 18,900 183,097
1,058,243 1,506,811 516,894 3,081,948
Charitable expenditure
Activities in furtherance of our objects:
Medical/therapy/casework 3,670,470 112,857 1,123,734 4,907,061
Education/training/info. 419,173 10,858 173,448 603,479
Human rights work 860,599 182,707 326,598 1,369,904
Relief grants 15,844 162,792 6,172 184,808
4,966,086 469,214 1,629,952 7,065,252
-
Support costs 763,372 1,410,473 (2,146,845)
-
Total resources expended 6,760,701 3,386,498 10,147,200
----- End of picture text -----

All expenditure on raising funds was unrestricted (2020 – the same); of the charitable activities expenditure £6,109,329 was unrestricted (2020 - £5,487,107) and £874,805 was restricted (2020 - £1,578,145).

During 2021 Freedom from Torture gave £88,454 in relief grants to survivors of torture (2020 - £174,976). Of this, £21,998 was for emergency assistance. In additon clients received travel costs to attend face to face appointments and mobile phones and phone credit to enable attendance to virtual video therapy appointments. In total £66,456 was given to enable access to our services.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Net incoming resources are stated after charging:

	Total 2021 (£)	Total 2020 (£)
Auditors’ remuneration:
Audit fee - statutory accounts	14,9000	13,050
Audit fee - non audit services	1,045	920
Operating lease rentals - Land and buildings	234,000	56,662

Support costs represent premises and other overhead costs which cannot be directly attributed to departments and projects. The allocation of support costs in the above table is as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
Premises,
phone, furniture, 2021 Total
post, equipment, Financial Senior HR and staff allocated
print (£) Governance (£) administration (£) management (£) training (£) (£)
Raising funds
Donations and legacies 269,751 8,243 110,306 52,571 104,414 545,285
Trading activities 9,073 277 3,710 1,768 3,512 18,340
278,824 8,520 114,016 54,339 107,926 563,625
Charitable expenditure
Activities in furtherance
of our objects:
Medical/therapy/
664,493 20,304 271,723 129,501 257,210 1,343,231
casework
Education/training/info. 56,763 1,734 23,211 11,062 21,972 114,742
Human rights work 179,714 5,491 73,488 35,024 69,563 366,280
Relief grants 6,397 196 2,616 1,247 2,477 12,933
907,367 27,725 371,038 176,834 351,222 1,834,186
Total 1,186,191 36,245 485,054 231,173 459,148 2,397,811
----- End of picture text -----

		Premises,
	phone, furniture,							2021 Total
	post, equipment,			Financial	Senior	HR and staf		allocated
		print (£)	Governance (£)	administration (£)	management (£)	training (£)		(£)
Raising funds
Donations and legacies		263,714	8,540	109,986	53,002		62,753	497,995
Trading activities		10,008	324	4,174	2,012		2,382	18,900
		273,722	8,864	114,160	55,014		65,135	516,895
Charitable
expenditure
Activities in furtherance
of our objects:
Medical/therapy/ casework		595,075	19,270	248,185	119,601		141,603	1,123,734
Education/training/info.		91,849	2,974	38,307	18,460		21,856	173,446
Human rights work		172,850	5,600	72,132	34,760		41,155	326,597
Relief grants		3,269	106	1,363	657		778	6,173
		863,143	27,950	359,987	173,478		205,392	1,629,950
Total		1,136,865	36,814	474,147	228,492		270,527	2,146,845

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

The basis of allocation of costs in all cases is the proportion of direct staff time spent on each function. Senior management includes the Chief Executive’s office.

7. Staff costs and transactions with trustees

	2021 (£)	2020 (£)
Salaries (including temporary staf)	5,604,489	5,561,817
Interpreters	369,672	403,860
Social security	457,657	465,562
Pension contributions	297,459	313,956
Life assurance contributions	13,007	15,506
	6,742,284	6,760,701

The charity contributes at the rate of 6% of gross salary to a money purchase pension scheme for staff with more than three months’ service who have not opted out of the scheme.

The year-end creditors includes an amount of £0 (2019 - £227) for accrued pension costs.

The number of employees whose emoluments as defined for taxation purposes amounted to over £60,000 in the year was as follows:

year was	as follows:
		2021	2020
£60,001	- £70,000	2	1
£70,001	- £80,000	3	3
£80,001	- £90,000	-	-
£90,001	- £100,000	1	1

Key management personnel comprises of the Trustees and Senior Management Team (listed below):

Chief Executive Officer National Director of Clinical Services Director of Finance and Central Services Director of Fundraising and Communications Director of Policy and Advocacy Director of Survivor Empowerment

Total remuneration for these posts amounted to £532,615 (2020 - £463,745)

All the employees in the above categories participated in the pension scheme. Contributions made for them amounted to £27,510 (2020 - £24,074).

The Trustees act in a voluntary capacity and received no remuneration. 1 Trustee (2020-3) received reimbursement of expenses totalling £300 during the year (2020 - £188). There were no other related party transactions in the year (2020 - £nil).

Staff costs included ex-gratia, redundancy and payment in lieu of notice costs of £126,927 (2020 - £61,094).

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

The average number of paid employees and self-employed interpreters (full-time equivalent) over the year by function was:

function was:
	2021	2020
Medical, therapeutic and casework	80	72
Interpreters services includingadmin	10	10
Human rights work	5	9
Pension contributions	16	16
Support	15	14
Fundraising	24	23
Total full-time equivalent (salaried staf)	150	144
Interpreters self employed	9	8
Total full time equivalent (all staf)	159	152
Total on payroll, full time and part time	173	183

During the year the charity was fortunate also to have the services of around 38 (2020 - 49) part-time volunteers. Most worked in the medical, therapeutic and casework area.

8. Tangible and intangible fixed assets

	Tangible Fixed Assets
	Freehold land and building (£) Long leashold building (£) Computer hardware / Ofice equipment (£) Furniture / Fixtures and fittings (£) Total (£)
Cost:	5,419,752 435,331 959,460 955,158 7,769,701 - - 69,182 289,158 358,341
At 01.01.21 Additions
At 31.12.21	5,419,752 435,331 1,028,642 1,244,316 8,128,042
Depreciation: At 01.01.21 Charge for the year	1,726,310 106,788 807,340 808,963 3,449,401 105,856 6,571 70,622 140,719 323,767
At 31.12.21	1,832,166 113,359 877,962 949,682 3,773.168
Net book values:
At 31.12.20	3,693,442 328,543 152,120 146,195 4,320,300

At 31.12.20	3,587,586 321,972 150,681 294,635 4,354,874

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

	Intangible
	Fixed Assets (£)
Database sofware
Cost
At 01.01.21	650,011
Additions	15,115
At 31.12.21 Amortisation: At 01.01.21 Charge for the year At 31.12.21 Net book values: At 31.12.20 At 31.12.21	665,126 627,919 10,677 638,596 22,092 26,530

The freehold land and building comprised the charity’s main premises in Finsbury Park, London. The Long leasehold building, being the Newcastle centre is held under a 295 years lease running from 2006.

9. Investments

At the end of 2021 the charity held listed investments comprising of shares valued at £17,086 (2020 - £14,204) which had been donated by supporters. The main holding is Scottish Investment Trust Plc £14,654 (2020 - £12,250).

	2021 (£)	2020 (£)
Market value at beginningofyear	14,204	17,171
Unrealised investment gain/(loss)	2,882	(2,967)
Market value at end of year	17,086	14,204

In addition to the investments described above the charity retained the shares comprising its £100 (2020-£100) investment in its trading subsidiary company, Survivors Trading Limited. Survivors Trading has been dormant since 2011 and therefore there was no turnover income or expenditure. Net assets amounted to £8 at the year-end (2020£8). The income, expenditure, assets and liabilities of the trading company are not consolidated in this financial statements due to their immateriality. Copies of Survivors Trading’s financial statements are available from 111 Isledon Road, London, N7 7JW.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

10. Debtors

10. Debtors
	2021 (£)	2020 (£)
Trade debtors (medico-legal report fees)	375,538	404,082
Bad debts provision	(36,687)	(39,863)
Tax recoverable on Gif Aid donations	102,689	214,702
Legacies	3,867,969	3,537,469
Sundry debtors	38,358	68,584
Prepayments	115,285	61,099
	4,463,152	4,246,073

11. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

	2021 (£)	2020 (£)
Bank loan repayable within one year	103,458	101,776
Trade creditors	353,848	420,233
Inland Revenue: PAYE and NI contributions	134,581	127,115
Staf salaries and pensions	-	-
Other accruals	205,593	201,695
	797,480	850,819

See details of bank loan below in note 12.

12. Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year

	2021 (£)	2020 (£)
Between one and two years	105,126	112,189
Between two and five years	4,346	101,823
	109,472	214,012

The above loan from the Co-operative Bank is secured against our freehold property at 111 Isledon Road, London N7 with interest charged at 1.10% above SONIA. It is repayable in monthly instalments over 14 years from December 2009.

13. Lease commitments

Total future minimum lease payments payable under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

are as follows:
	2021 (£)	2020 (£)
Up to one year	16,250	36,178
Between one and five years	217,750	20,484
	234,000	56,662

The charity had commitments under non-cancellable leases for land and buildings which relate to clinical centres in Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

14. Movements in funds

Opening and closing balances and movements in funds were as follows:

	Brought	Incoming	Outgoing	Transfers &	Carried
2021	forward at	during	during	investment	forward at
	end 2020 (£)	2021 (£)	2021 (£)	gains 2021 (£)	end 2021 (£)
Restricted funds:
Medico-legal work	-	8,000	(107)	-	7,893
Psychological therapy - Adults	-	35,615	(33,532)	-	2,083
Psychological therapy - CYPF*	54,276	35,500	(80,066)	-	9,710
Group work - Adults	83	20,349	(20,432)	-	-
Group work - CYPF	4,167	5,244	(8,994))	-	417
Welfare advice and care	2,808	-	(2,808)	-	-
North West centre	21,507	44,175	(56,575)	-	9,107
Scotland centre	124,019	54,357	(172,509)	-	5,867
North East centre	2,708	19,354	(21,693)	-	369
West Midlands centre	85,362	140,874	(221,944)	-	4,292
Yorkshire and Humberside hub	-	-	-	-	-
Survivors writing group - Write 2 Life project	4,667	8,300	(6,092)	-	6,875
Training & capacity building	11,249	10,000	(14,583)	-	6,666
Research and Information	-	-	-	-	-
Human rights work	165,148	62,500	(225,005)	-	2,644
Relief grants	-	4,020	(3,895)	-	126
Memorial events in memory of A. Wetherfield	3,429	-	-	-	3,429
North East centre Fixed Assets reserve Designated funds:	328,542 807,965	- 448,288	(6,571) (847,805)	- -	321,971 381,448
Fixed assets reserve Working Capital Reserve Development Fund Long term donation Major building repairs General reserve (unrestricted fund)	3,701,294 3,497,030 - 526,812 542,400 8,267,536 2,561,262 11,636,763	- - - 13,170 - 13,170 9,851,891 10,313,349	- - - (13,170) - (13,170) (9,534,413) (10,422,388)	150,122 272,100 1,200,000 - (173,829) 1,448,393 (1,445,511) 2,882	3,851,416 3,769,130 1,200,000 526,812 368,571 9,715,929 1,433,229 11,530,606

*Children, young people and families

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

	Brought	Incoming	Outgoing	Transfers &	Carried
2020	forward at	during	during	investment	forward at
	end 2019 (£)	2020 (£)	2020 (£)	gains 2020 (£)	end 2020 (£)
Restricted funds:
Medico-legal work	82,541	33,128	(115,669)	-	-
Psychological therapy - Adults	-	148,447	(148,447)	-	-
Psychological therapy - CYPF	85,019	153,466	(184,209)	-	54,276
Group work - Adults	1,416	16,822	(18,155)	-	83
Group work - CYPF	21,662	9,321	(26,816)	-	4,167
Welfare advice and care	6,000	29,214	(32,406)	-	2,808
North West centre	12,949	157,336	(148,778)	-	21,507
Scotland centre	115,334	264,251	(255,566)	-	124,019
North East centre	4,958	27,870	(30,120)	-	2,708
West Midlands centre	80,446	242,425	(237,509)	-	85,362
Yorkshire and Humberside hub	3,667	4,282	(7,949)	-	-
Survivors writing group - Write 2 Life project	750	13,694	(9,777)	-	4,667
Training & capacity building	6,666	15,000	(10,417)	-	11,249
Research and Information	-	5,000	(5,000)	-	-
Human rights work	118,515	384,365	(337,732)	-	165,148
Relief grants	501	2,390	(2,891)	-	0
Memorial events in memory of A. Wetherfield	3,429	-	-	-	3,429
North East centre Fixed Assets reserve	335,247	-	(6,705)	-	328,542
Designated funds:	879,100	1,507,011	(1,578,146)	-	807,965
Fixed assets reserve Working Capital Reserve Long term donation Major building repairs General reserve (unrestricted fund) Sub-total: Charity funds	3,743,064 1,278,898 526,812 532,400 6,081,174 2,014,802 8,975,076	- - 13,170 - 13,170 11,291,673 12,811,854	- - (13,170) - (13,170) (8,555,883) (10,147,200)	(41,770) 2,218,132 - 10,000 2,186,362 (2,189,330) (2,968)	3,701,294 3,497,030 526,812 542,400 8,267,536 2,561,262 11,636,763

The capitalised expenditure on the North East centre (North East Centre fixed assets reserve) is considered restricted as the grant provided towards these costs, imposes specific condition that the building should continue to be used for the purpose of the Freedon from Torture. The £6,571 (2020-£6,705) outgoing resources represents the depreciation on the building.

The Fixed assets reserve is an unrestricted fund designated by the Trustees. Its purpose is to reflect funds tied up in the charity’s fixed assets (other than the North East centre held in restricted funds as above) after taking into account the bank loans which are part-financing them. When additional fixed assets are required, further funding will be sought if necessary.

The Long term donation is a fund set-up in response to a donor’s wish that the £500k they gave be invested and any interest gained be used to help fund psychotherapy services over a sustained period. The intention of the donor was to provide long-term assistance but the Trustees have discretion to draw on it at times of great need. The charity plans to use these funds in the next 18 months to support fundraising

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

The charity is putting aside £40,000 p.a. into a Major Building Repairs Reserve to fund major repairs to its freehold property in London and its leasehold property in Newcastle. Due to the nature of the costs covered it is not possible to anticipate the timing of the expenditure.

15. Analysis of assets and liabilities between funds

2021	Unrestricetd Funds
	Restricted Funds(£) Designated Funds (£) General Reserve (£) 2021 Total (£)
Tangible and intangible fixed assets Investments Net current assets Long term loan	321,971 4,059,433 - 4,381,404 - - 17,086 17,086 59,477 5,765,968 1,416,143 7,241,588 - (109,472) - (109,472)
	381,448 9,715,929 1,433,229 11,530,606

2020	Unrestricetd Funds
	Restricted Funds(£) Designated Funds (£) General Reserve (£) 2021 Total (£)
Tangible and intangible fixed assets Investments Net current assets Long term loan	328,542 4,013,850 - 4,342,392 - - 14,204 14,204 479,423 4,467,698 2,547,058 7,494,179 - (214,012) - (214,012)
	807,965 8,267,536 2,561,262 11,636,763

16. Taxation

Freedom from Torture is a registered charity and as such its income and gains are exempt from corporation tax to the extent that they are applied to its charitable objectives.

17. Analysis of changes in net debt

17. Analysis of changes in net debt
	Brought		Carried
	forward at		forward at
	end 2020 (£)	Cashflow (£)	end 2021 (£)
Cash	4,098,925	(523,011)	3,575,915
Loans falling due within one year	(101,776)	(1,682)	(103,458)
Loans falling due afer more than one year	(214,012) 3,783,137	104,540 (420,153)	(109,472) 3,362,985

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY

Board of Trustees

Susan Berelowitz (Chair) Melanie Essex (Vice Chair) Fiona Goudie Joanne Stubley Javier Rodriguez Alarcon (Appointed 17 May 2021) Mahesh Wickramasinghe (Appointed 17 May 2021) Manny Sandhu (Treasurer, appointed 17 May 2021) Michael Johnson Rasha Obaid (Appointed 17 May 2021) Sarah Taylor Peace Seibatu Amara Sonali Naik John Jacob Dalhuisen (Resigned 12 October 2021)

Finance, Governance & Audit Committee

Manny Sandhu (Chair) Sarah Taylor Peace (Vice Chair) Javier Rodriguez Alarcon Susan Berelowitz Rasha Obaid Sonali Naik

Performance, Standards and Effectiveness Committee

Melanie Essex (Chair) Michael Johnson Fiona Goudie Joanne Stubley Seibatu Amara Mahesh Wickramasinghe

Remuneration Committee

Sarah Taylor Peace (Chair) Manny Sandhu Sue Berelowitz Melanie Essex Joanne Stubley Michael Johnson

Bankers

Chief Executive

Sonya Sceats

Charity Registration Number

National Westminster Bank plc 95 High Street, Huntingdon Cambs PE29 3DT Co-operative Bank plc 80 Cornhill, London EC3V 3NJ

1000340

Auditors

Registered Name

Freedom from Torture

Moore Kingston Smith LLP Devonshire House, 60 Goswell Road London EC1M 7AD

Registered Office

111 Isledon Road, London N7 7JW

Solicitors

DMH Stallard

Scottish Charity Number

SC039632

Griffin House, 135 High Street, RH10 1DQ Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP 10 Queen Street Place London EC4R 1BE

Company Registration Number

2398586

ANNUAL REVIEW 2021

Registered charity number: 1000340 Registered charity number in Scotland: SC039632 ANNUAL REVIEW 2021 56

CONTENTS

Message from our Chair of Trustees

RECOVERY AND RENEWAL

Survivor empowerment

Growing our movement

Sue Berelowitz

Message from our Chief Executive

STRONGER TOGETHER

A breakthrough year

Sonya Sceats

TOGETHER FOR A WORLD FREE FROM TORTURE

Freedom from Torture supports people who have survived torture to heal, and feel safe and strong again. Our vision is a world free from torture.

THESE FOUR VALUES GUIDE OUR WORK:

COMPASSION:

EMPOWERMENT:

RESOLVE:

HOPE:

WHAT WE STAND FOR

PATHWAYS TO RECOVERY

Despite the challenges posed by Covid-19, our five UK centres remained open throughout 2021, supporting torture survivors with ground-breaking clinical rehabilitation services.

Wider reach

Moving on

709 PEOPLE FROM ALMOST 50 COUNTRIES IN 2021, BENEFITED FROM OUR PIONEERING TORTURE REHABILITATION SERVICES

SHAPING SERVICES TOGETHER

Sharing expertise

STARTING TO HEAL: GRACE’S STORY

THE DIFFERENCE EXPERT SUPPORT MAKES

Medical evidence matters

Emergency legal help during the pandemic

The impact our clinical evidence reports made in 2021

LIFE-CHANGING CAMPAIGNING

Who are Survivors Speak OUT?

Defeating the ‘Torture Bill’

A STRONGER VOICE, TOGETHER

We’re proud to have played our part in creating Together with Refugees – the largest refugee rights coalition in UK history.

United against the ‘Anti-Refugee Bill’

One Strong Voice

The group’s many achievements in 2021 included:

ANGELA’S STORY

Angela McLeary is a One Strong Voice member.

THE FORCE OF THE LAW

Success! A week ahead of the planned judicial review, the government abandoned this controversial policy.

No more training for police who torture

‘NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US’

WE ARE MANY!

We’re delighted that a record number of people joined our work for a world free from torture in 2021. Our recent campaign wins have only been possible because our active, compassionate, brilliant supporters back us all the way.

And most encouraging of all, more people than ever are standing up for a UK that welcomes torture survivors. Our regular polling confirms significant shifts in public opinion:

21 miles and 21 bridges

Making a splash

All over the UK, our intrepid supporters made journeys across rivers, oceans and canals as part of our most successful fundraising challenge to date.

A FUTURE PROMISE

THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS AND FUNDERS

STRATEGIC REVIEW

However, during 2021 we attracted over 11,000 new supporters to help fund our life-changing work, nearly double the amount we had planned.

TOGETHER FOR A FUTURE FREE FROM TORTURE

No government should ever commit or tolerate torture. The way we treat those who have survived it shows who we are as people and what our society stands for.

We’ve set four ambitious goals:

This is our most ambitious strategy ever – moving beyond a collaborative approach to one where our clinical services and campaigns are co-designed and co-delivered by people who have survived torture.” Sonya Sceats, Chief Executive

By 2025:

OUR PRIORITIES FOR 2022:

Partnering with survivors

Sharing our clinical excellence

Driving policy change

Scaling up our medico-legal reports

Growing the movement

Reporting on torture

Reflecting the communities we serve

FUNDRAISING STATEMENT

Fundraising effectiveness

Delivering a sustainable funding model

FINANCIAL REVIEW FOR 2021

Income

Total Income: £10.347m

Expenditure

Total Expenditure: £10.347m

Fixed Assets

Reserves and Investment Policy

General Reserve

Restricted Funds