STAFFORDSHIRE NORTH AND STOKE ON TRENT CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAUX FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022 COMPANY NO. 2402902 CHARITY NO. 1001204 CONTENTS Report of the Directors and Tru5tee5 3-16 Independent Auditorfs Report 17-20 Statement of Financial Activities Incorporatlng the Income and 21 Expenditure Account 22 Balance Sheet 23 Cashflow 24-45 Notes to the Financial Statements The followlng page does not form part of the statutory financial statements- Income & Expendlture Account 47 Staffordshlre North and Stoke on Trent Cltlzens Advlce Bureaux Report of the Dlrectors and Trustees The Dlrectors and Trustees have pleasure In presenting the5r report and flnanclal statements for the year ended 31 March 2022, REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DEfAILS OF THE CHARITY, rrs TRUSTEES AND ADVISORS Trustees and Dlrectors: R.J. Pemberton Ichalrl Dr L. Haines J. Seaman J. Davies R. Holt A. Wilshaw (resigned 091061221 B. Lawton E. Porteous A. Teasdale Ire51gned 061061221 A. Powner C. Brady A. Kazmi T. Hall (Co-opted 061061221 D. Ware (Co-opted 18108/221 S. Willins Ico-opted 26191221 Chief Executive and Companysecretary.. S. Harrls Reglstered Office: Advice House Cheapside Hanley Stoke on Trent STI IHL Bank: Unity Trust Bank plc 9, Brindley Place Birmingham BI 2H8 Auditors.. Dains Audit Limlted Suite 2 Albion House 2, Etruria Office Village, Forge Lane Etrurla, Stoke-on-Trent STI 5RQ Staffordshlre North and Stoke on Trent CltlzensAdvl¢e Bureaux Report ofthe Dlrertors and Trnstees AIMS, OBJEcfivES AND PLANS Oblects The Char￿t￿s objects, set out In the memorandum and articles of association, are to promote any charitable purpose for the benefit of the community primarily but not excluslvely wlthin stsffordshire, by the advancement of education, the protection and preservatlon of health and the relief of poverty. sickness and distress. Strategles and Plans for the Year Staffordshire North & stoke on Trent Citizens Advice Bureaux aims to provide free, confidential, Impartial and independent advice and information for the benefit of the local community. to ensure individuals receive the advice they need to deal with the problems they face and to use their experience of legislative and administrative problems to influence the development of social policie5 and services. Locally, Staffordshire North & Stoke on Trent Citizens Advlce Bureaux has interpreted these aims to focu5 on the relief of poverty and promotion of equality through advice work and addressing the causes of poverty and inequality through campaigning to change social policies, engaging in partnership working and supporting communitles. In April 2021 the Trustee Board adopted a new 3-year strategic plan and accompanying Business and Development Plan around four strategic themes. In doln8 SO the Trustees have Considered the relevant guidance on public benefit to ensure that the artivities we undeTtake help us to deliver our aims and objectives and beneflt the people we serve. The four main strategic themes reflect our understanding of the needs of our enquirer5 and those people from the area's poorest communities who currently do not get the advice they need. Access: We are committed to improvlng access to advice by maintaining existing Services and developing new services that make getting advice easier, meet emerging need5, meet the needs of excluded group5, SUPPOrt collaboration with partners, support people to develop skills and confidence and promote earlier intervention. Equality & Dlversity: This plan commits the organisation to becoming a champlon of dlverslty and equality, not only in the services it delivers and our ability to engage with hard-to-reach groups, but also in our own systems and practices. We aim to broaden access as far a5 Possible reducin& where we can, the barriers whlch people face In accessing services. Re5ilien¢e: In recognition of the challenging financial climate the organisatiori will pay special attention to ensuring it is resilient in the future. Influence: The advice queries we deal with on a day-to-day basis provide us with a valuable body of evidence showing how social policies and legislation impact on the lives of the poorest and most disadvantaged. We wlll use thls to lobby for changes In the servlces and laws which create many of the problems we are called upon to solve. Stthrdshlre North and Stoke on Trent atizens Advlce Bureaux Report ofthe Dlrectors and Trnstees- Having had due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission. the Trustees believe that the strategic direction the organisation pursues demonstrates that they comply with their duty under section 4 of the 2006 Charltles Act regarding delivering public benefit. ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE- HOW WE DELIVER PUBLIC BENEFIT In 2021122 our delivery was dominated by the recovery from COVID-19 pandemic and the changes we had to make to our service to continue to operate during unprecedented circumstance5. Despite these challenges we achieved the following, described below under our four strategic themes. Access Outreoch: Due to the continuing restriction5 arising from the COVID-19 pandemic all our face-to-face services were suspended Including our outreach seryices. Therefore, we have been unable to deliver any traditional outreach 5ervice5 under any gf our projects or activities. Telephofte advlce: Durln8 2021122 most of our advice services carried on being available by telephone. email or webchat, 6,592 clients from North Staffordshire had their calls to the Citizens Advice Adviceline answered, which was down on 2020121 but still higher than the preceding year. Despite this we recognise we need to improve our performance In future years to meet the demand for advice over the phone. 2,627 clients were helped over the phone a5 part of the national Help to Claim service sUPPOrting people to claim Unlversal Credit14,407 in 20201211. Thi5 reflects the spike in demand for advice on Universal Credit claim5 during the flrst lockdown, which had abated by the following year. 2021122 wa5 our fifth full year as a local delivery centre for Citizen5 Advice's national consumer helpline. This project does not contribute to local stat15tics, as the figures are recorded nationally. Desplte the disruption caused by the continuing restrictions during 2021122, we nonetheless answered 119,273 calls1108,144 calls in 20201211. The service as a whole provided advice to 3,355 people from North Staffordshlre13,692 in 20201211. Their m05t cummon issues invofved home maintenance and improvements or used vehicles. Webchot.. A key element of the swltch to remote services was providing advice by webchat, which we continued to do for consumer advlce: 12,061 web chats113,531 in 20201211; debt: 3,86913,926 in 20201211. These continue to be affected by the measure5 introduced to protect people in debt during the lockdown, which suppressed demand for debt advice,. Help to Claim-. 385 webthats1695 in 20201211 again reflectlng the fall in demand for help around Universal Credit claim5. Increased Genemlist Advice-_ generalist advice was delivered by phone, email and webchat and we began to resume a limited face to face service targeted at those clients who were unable to access us by remote channels. Plans for this were disrupted by the re-imposition of restrictions in the autumn of 2021 and January 2022. stsfftlrdsh1￿ North and Stoke on Trent Cltlzens Advice Bureaux Report of the Dirertors and Tw5tee5 New Migrunts.. We contlnued to provide advice to a range of new migrants, including those established In the local area and those newly arrived, especially the refugees temporarily accommodated in Clayton under the resettlement scheme where we worked In partnership wlth Refugee Action to provide support. By the end of the year, we were preparing to support anv refugees from Ukraine who reached North Staffordshire. Dist7bled people.. traditionally disabled people have approached vs for advice over sickness and disability benefit5. The suspension of medical assessments and thus decisions on entitlement saw huge drop in the demand for thi5 type of advice. However, the switch to remote advice and the increased phone services have enabled disabled people with a range of other problems to access advice. 35% of people seeking advice had a lon8-term illness or disability, Young People.. We maintailled our previou5 Usage by young people at 7%. Advice and support to victims of crime.. 2021122 was the sixth full year of the Staffordshire Victim Gateway and Restorative Justice SeNice. The service continues to be delivered in partnership with Citizens Advice Staffordshire Southwest. During the year the Gateway received more than 58,673 referrals and self-referrals, 63% of whom were entitled to an enhanced Service. We provided advice. 8uidance, information and signp05ting to 38,920 victim5. In October 2021 we launched Uniting Staffordshire Against Hate, a county wide hate crime support service, following a successful tender exercise. Inlluence Partnerships: We maintained our presence in many local partnerships where we contributed to area- wide discussions and developments and sought to influence the practice of partners. These included maintaining a leading role in Challenge North Staffs and interagency groups delivering services for refugees and people seeking asylum. We have taken a leadin8 role in the North Staffordshire Advice Network and Coordinate the Staffordshire Restorative Justice partnership. We have continued to feed our experience into the Stoke-on-Trent Wider welfa￿ Reform Group and the Stoke-on-Trent Hardshlp Commission. In partlcular we have highlighted the Impatt of the COVID pandemic on local people in three reports produced in collaboration with the Centre for Business Innovation and Enterprise at Staffordshire University: "Post COVID-19 Crisis and Its impact on poverty and destitution In 5toke-on-TrenV (Etherington, Jones, Harris & Hubbard April 20211,. 'Powerlng up or Reduclng inequalities? Asse551ng the impact of benefit cuts and the withdrawal of employment support Ifurloughl on Stoke-on-Trent" (Etherington, Jones. Harri5 & Hubbard September 20211 and "The Pending Poverty Catastrophe in Stoke-on-Trent.' How benefit cuts and the cost-of-living crisi5 impacts on the poorf, IEtherin8ton, Jones, Telford, Harris & Hubbard Imarch 20221. Research & Compaigning.. We contributed evidence to several Citizens Advice natiortal i55ue5, by submitting evidence forms. We participated in Big Energy Saving Week, by offering online energy advlce events, and Scams awareness month to raise consumer awarenes5 of both i55ues.across North Staffordshire. We have rdised many social policy issues locally with service provider5, including stsffordshlre North and Stoke on Trent Cltlzens Advice Bureaux Report of the Dirertors and TNstees the Community Ener8y Scheme, where we continue to work with partners and regulators to improve the running of the scheme. Equality and Diverslty We have.. Maintsined levels of diversity amongst staff and volunteers. Sustalned our seNices to excluded groups such as Refugees and People seeking Asylum, vlrtlms of discrimination and victims of crime. Worked closely with other local and regional agencies to address issues affecting these client groups. Continued to be a leading partner in Challenge North Staffs delivering casework to the vlctlms of hate crime, Actlvltles To achieve our objecttves we provided advice, information and support to the publlc throughout 2021122. These Services were provided from our main offices and from a range of home working locations acr055 the area. The advice we 8ave aimed to help people deal with a wide range of issues and problems they faced. Many issues dealt with in 2021122 arose from the immediate thallenges faced by local people during the Covid restrictions, Increasing the Income of some of the poorest local people remained a priority. We did this by encouraging the take up of welfare benefits, helping people challenge decisions they disagreed with and accessing other payment5. Thls is money which will benefit the poorest people in the communlty and be spent within the beneficiaries, local communitie5. In 2021122 Staffordshire North and Stoke on Trent Citizen5 Advice Bureaux: Provlded full advice via our mainstream seNices to 14,956 people116,626 in 20201211. Answered a further 6,551 simple querie513,246 in 20201211. Dealt with 46,456 brand new advice issues145,852 in 20201211. Which generated 78,048 activitie5169,939 in 20201211. Our advisers helped 3,630 people with i55ues around Universal Credit. These were mainly help with claiming under the national Help to Claim Service funded by the DWP and dellvered by local Citizen5 Advice offices across the country, Thi5 reflects the hu8e demand for 3dvlce on Universal Credit, especially at the start of the lockdown. Our debt advisers helped 6,261 people with 10,973 debts totalling £12,939,629. While a increase on 2019120, this is significantly lower than previous years and reflects the impact of the measures the government introduced during the lockdown to protect vulnerable people. 3.869 people received advice on their debts from us as part of the national debt webchat 5ervlce. 1,374 people received support to develop their financial skllls through training and support on energy choices, money management and managing credit through the Potteries Moneywlse project, funded by the National Lottery, and energy related fundlng. This was a Significant Increase on the previous year18621. 5taffordshire North and Stoke on Trent Citizens AdvSce Bureaux Report of the Directors and Trustees The Houslng team provided specialist housing advice and casework to 427 people. While thi5 Is signlficantly more than in the previous year12721 ft is still below normal levels and is the result on the moratorium on evictions IntrOdu￿d In March 2020 and the closure of the courts for most of the year. Helped people access £6.6 million of extra income and other financial gains, mainly arisin8 from unclaimed benefit, including £4.6 million from new claims for Universal Credit Helped clients benefit from £1.9 million of written off debt, through Debt Relief Orders and bankruptcy. OROS for 198 people reducing their indebtednes5 by over £2 million. Provided advice and information to 16,717 victlms of crime. Provided in depth support to 624. We have maintained our stipport to people facing serious welfare benefits problems, by developlng projects specifically targeted at working with groups and the frontline staff who support them. Our work with VOICES is the main exafnple of thi5, which was sustained during the pandemic despite the covid restrictions. The Potteries Gold project, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. helps us to increase the knowledge and understanding of welfare reforms amongst local people but provides only limited scope for direct one to one advice work. The range of advice issues we have addressed is shown in the graphic below. Once again debt was our largest category of enquiry. This reflerted the slow resumption of normal recovery action bv creditors as the measures introduced during the lockdown were removed and the fall In new Universal Credit queries once people returned to work. As well as addressing individual debt issues through advice, we have been working closely with partners in the Financial Inclusion Group to develop plans to Increase the capacity of local organi5ations significantly to address the issues of debt and financial exclusion that are so prevalent locally and are likely to increase following the lockdowns. Towards the end of the year this was exacerbated by the Browing c05t of livirbg crisis, especially where energy costs were concerned. We have been fortunate to secure additional funding through the Energy Redress Fund and British Gas EnerEY Trust to enable us to meet these additional demands. The National Lottery Community Fund's decision to refund Potterie5 Moneywise has also helped hugely to maintain our capacity around financial capability support. Housing queries remained low but began to climb agaln towards the end of the year as the courts resumed hearing possession and evlction cases and landlord began to recover arrears that had accrued during the lockdowns. Immigration and asylum enquiries picked up too as nomial services resumed slowly durlng the year while employment queries fell from the prevlous yeals high point. stsffordshire North and Stoke on Trent atizens Advlce Bureaux Report of the Dlrectors and Trustees Part l issues % 11.830 alsoTh4¢È&& capi 1369 H￿￿9 2,149 W1.372 14% Urkn*all¥OIli CoMumviywJv85¢n4. 11gZ7 GVA&IIè¥cthè1115 T￿￿&1￿￿5pOrt1l6z Eth¢•V4n 1102 OK 2K 4K 6K IOK 12K Iffjc •ial H•￿￿&COrN￿OJn1yl￿R oth GVA&Hii•Cth Lqg Who U$es Oursekvlces The followlng enquirer profile, for the local service demonstrates that the people we see tend to be poorer, more likely to be suffering poor health and more likely to live in rented housing than the populatlon at large. The profile is for clients using all of our Services. Age Under 25 26-59 60 and over 75.1 17.5 Gender Female Male Prefer alt term 57.7 42.2 Ethnic Origin White UK Black lalll Asian lalll Mixed lalll WhitR Other 66.7 Other Staffordshire North and Stoke on Trent Citizens Advice Bureaux Report ofthe Dlrectors and Trnstees Health Dlsabled Long Term Health Conditlon No disability or LTHC 30.0 65.4 Housing Tenure Owner Occupler Private Tenant Social Tenant Other 15.8 28.2 39.4 16.6 Occupation Employed< 30hr5 Employed >30 hrs Self-employed Unemployed Permanently sitk/di5abled Retired Carer- children Carer- adults Looking after home other 15.5 11.8 21.1 23.7 Contribution of Volunteers The charity receives invaluable help and sUPPOrt in the form of voluntary as5i5t3nce in advising the public and administering the charity. We estimate the financial value of this help at £185,179 for the financial year 2021122. This is slightly higher than 2020121 but significantly lower than in prevlous years and reflects the impact that the recovery from the pandemic has had on our ability to recruit and retain volunteers, many of whom have continued to struggle to work remotely and were unable to use our offices. FactorsAffertinq the Achlevement of Objectlves The organisation is well aware of the flnancial pressures experienced by its major funders, and in view of this has taken active mea5LJres to seek additional sources of funding for its services. The organisation Is a150 well aware of the principal strategic Issues whlch will affect the achievement of its objedives and seeks to influence local strateEles throtjgh its presence in local partnerships and keeps abreast of national strategies via contact wlth relevant national bodies, such as the Legal Aid Agencyi the Money and Pensions Service and our national association Citizens Advice. 10 Stsffordshire North and Stoke on Trent Citizens Advice Bureaux Report ofthe Dirertors and Tiustees FUTURE PLANS staffordshire North & Stoke on Trent Citizen5 Advlce Bureaux Ltpdated the strategic plan in April 2022. The plan continues to focus on the 4 themes of.. ACCESS - to Increase access to advice and support by redesigning our client journey and Channel mix to ensure we bulld on recent learnlnz to dellver servlces that: Make it easier for people to get advite by utlllslng a multl-channel approach balancing face to face, telephone, webchat and email,. delivering more advice in partnership,. and where necessary shifting the emphasis between channels le.g., increasing the number of Advlcellne talls we can answer). Maintain or increase the range and depth of advice we give lintluding restating our belief that good quality generalist advice is essential to promoting access), opening up new areas of advice and maintaininB specialist capacity to support generalist advice or deal with more Serious problems. Meet the needs of excluded groups, especially those unable to engage remotely or digitally and those new needs that will emerge following the pandemic. Collaborate wlth partners to Include advice alongside other specialisms to provide a complete package of support to particular cllent groups. Support and enable people to develop the skills and confidence to manage life situations more effectivelv. Allow us to intervene earlier before problems become acute. EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION- to malntain and enhance our reputatlon as a champion of equality, diverslty and inclusion by: Ensuring that the setvices we offer are inclusive. Where we can, removlng barrlers (physical and attitudinal) that prevent people accessing advice. Recruiting a diverse workforce of paid staff, volunteers and trustees. Challenglng oppressive practice among partners and other service provider5. Ensuring our own staff and volunteers, model good practlce In promoting equality and celebrating diversity. RESILIENCE- to achleve the other obJectlves in this plan we need to be ? resilient organisation. To do this we will: Maintain our Strong financial p05ition by tontinuing to build reseNes and ensure adequate liquidity through Strong financial management. Ensure a reconfigured operating model continues to offer value for money to funders and allows us to operate efficiently and effectively. ideally advising more clients within the same reSoUr￿s, Increase the amount of se5f-generated Income and the diversity of income sources to reduce our reliance on diminishing public fund5 and national Cit12ens Advlce funds. Maintain effective and fit for purpose ICT infrastructure that allows us to take advantage of opportunltles and changed behaviour following the pandemic. Stafford5hlre North and Stoke on Trent Cltlzens Advlce Bureaux Report of the Direthr5 and Trustees Demonstrate excellent Governance, leadership and management,. and supporting those in such roles to do so. Ensure staff and volunteers are well trained, supported and developed. INFLUENCE -we wlll address poverty and Inequallty by Inlluenclng pollcy makers and servlce provlders locally and nationally bv: Partlcipatlng in natlonal campaigns within and outside the Cltizens Advlce seNlce that seek to change the issues that affect our clients. Influencing the emerging strategic framework for the Citizen5 Advice service so that it is able to meet the needs of our clients. Running local campaigns to effect change on a local scale and improve seNice provision. 5nfluencing partners by modelling good practice and constructive and posttive engagement in partnership initiatives. Using our learning from both our and our client5, experiences of the lockdown to influence the strategies and seNices of partners across the public and not for profit sectors. Feeding our clients, lived experience of a wide range of public policy issues into debates and as the basis for our campai8nlng actlvities. We will contirbue to influence the practice of partners and increase their understanding and knowledge of social welfare law and it5 impact on clients, lives through trainin& hosting student placements and supporting the skills development of other front-line staff. FINANCIAL REVIEW Flnanclal Posltlon There was a net inflow of funds in 2021122 of £ 119,890. This represented a net inflow on unrestricted funds of £186,454 and a net outflow on restricted funds of £ 66,564. The Trustee Board recognises the need to provide for risks such as redundancy and building repairs 3nd have decided to designate our surplus funds as follows.. £75,000 towards building repairs, £ 49,665 towards general contingencies, £50,000 towards IT re-provi5ion and £400.000 towards the cost of potential redundancies. Reserves Poll¢y The Board of Directors retognises the importance of establishing the long-term financial SU5tainability of the organisation, especially in a funding environment which relies on short temi, time-limited funding. The Board of Directors believes that one way of achieving this is to establish reserves to enable the organisation to survive the vagaries of short-term funding. Consequently, the Board of Directors Is requlred to ensure that monles are available In each flnancial year to meet any reasonak)le foreseeable contingency. They believe 2n amount of not less than £I.000,O(X) will be adequate. They have also designated fund5 for the following purposes: staffing costs (mainly redundancy costs), building repairs, IT Re-provision and general contingencies. They will ensure that the financial performance of the organisation 15 subject to close and regular scrutiny. 12 stsffordshlre North and Stoke on Trent atizens Advlce Bureaux Report of the Director5 and Trustees They aim to malntain a projection of income for at least 3 year5 ahead (although they recognise the difficulty of this in the current climate) and wlll ensure that this continues to be derived from as wide a variety of sources as possible. They will take all necessary steps to ensure that at no time within the period would it be possible for the cessation of anyone funding stream to present so serious a challenge to the future of the organisation that it could not be managed 50 as to continue to provide a best value advice Service. Prlnclpal Funding Sources The Directors extend theirgratitude to Stoke on Trent City Countll who continued to SUPPOrt the core advice selv1￿. Newca5tle-under-Lyme Borough Council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and Biddulph Town Council have all maintained their support, for which we are very grateful. The Money and Penslons Service's funding for face-to-face debt advice (administered by Citizen5 Advicel significantly increases our capacity to offer this essential service. Additionally. project-specific funding was received from a wide range of sources who are detailed at notes 16 and 17 to the accounts. This yearthe contract secured to deliver consumer advice Is the most significant new source of income. We continue to receive valuab5e support from the Big Lottery Fund and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Stafford5hire. The charity did not have any borrowlngs from either providers of funding or other sources at the balance sheet date. Funds In Deflclt There are no funds In deficit at the period end. Investment Artivities The charity doe5 not currently hold material investments. Investment Pollcy A5 requlred in its Memordndum paragraph 4.11, In furtherance of its objects. and for no other purposes, the Company has the power to invest the monies of the Company not immediately required for its purposes in or upon such investments, securities or property a5 may be thought fit, subject nevertheless to such conditions and such consents as may for the time being be imposed or required by law. srRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT GovernlnE Document Staffordshire North & Stoke on Trent Citizens Advice Bureaux is a reglstered charity and a company limited by guarantee. The maximum liability of each member 15 limited to one pound. At 31 Marth 2022 the company had 12 members. Staffordshire North & Stoke on Trent Citizens Advice Bureaux is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association as amended in September and November 2004 and Aprll 2013. Staffordshire North & Stoke on Trent Citizens Advice Bureaux was incorporated as a company limited bv guarantee on Iljuly 1989. The charity commenced Dperations on Ilth July 1989 at which date the assets and Ilablllties of the unincorporated Stoke on Trent and Longton Citizens Advice Bureaux were acquired. In April 2013 the assets of Biddulph and Newrastle-under-Lyme and Kidsgrove CABX were also 13 Stafford5hire North and Stoke on Trent Citizen5 Advice Bureaux Report of the Directors and Trustees transferred to the company.ln April 2016 following a national rebranding exercise Staffordshire North and Stoke-on-Trent Citizens Advice Bureaux adopted the operating title of Citizens Advice Stoffordshire North & Stoke-on-Trent. Recruitment, Appointment of Trustee5 Trustees, who are also Olrectors of the Company, are elected from the local community at the Annual Public Meeting. The Trustee Board oversee5 the elections proce55 for Trustee and OffI￿r appointments. A separate process agreed by the Trustee Board is followed for the election of the Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer. No persons or bodles external to the charlty are entitled to appoint persons to the Trustee Board. Inductlon of Trustee$ Newly appointed Trustees are provided with a comprehensive induction through the provision of trainin& visit5 to ObSe￿e activities and mentoring by established Trustee5 or the Chief Executive. Organlsational Structure Staffordshire North & Stoke on Trent Citizens Advice Bureaux is governed by its Trustee Board which is responsible for setting the strategic dlrection and the policy of the charlty. The Trustee Board carries the ultlmate responslbillty for the condL*Ct of Staffordshire North & Stoke on Trent Citizens Advice Bureaux and for ensuring that the charity satlsfies Its legal and contractual obligations. The Trustee Board meet5 as a minimum quarterly and delegates the day-to-day operation of the organisation to a senior management team, of Chief Executive and fNe managers. The Trustee Board is independent from management. The Trustee Board has four sub-committees. The Finance sub-committee receives reports on the organisation's financial position and advises the Management Team on issues of fundraisit)E and financial management. The Personnel sub-committee considers issues relatinE to staffing matters and advises the Management Team on personnel issues. The Officers group advises the Chief Executive on Strategic issues, takes responsibility for governance issues and organi5ational development. The Estates group looks at issues affecting our premises and advises the Board on their maintenance. All sub