2023-03-31-accounts

The Forward

Annual Report and A t For The Year Ending 31[st]

Company Number: 02560470

Contents

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

We have also retained and grown our Surrey Prisons contract, and this now includes HMP Bronzefield.

Introduction

These annual report and accounts cover a year where the charity has experienced the extremes of working through the fallout from the ‘cost of living crisis’ contrasted by a period of significant organisational growth.

We have had to manage the challenge of delivering our mission, and looking after our staff and volunteers through a year that has seen the price of commodities increase significantly, set against the effect of cost pressures on our commissioners and benefactors and the impact of this on our finances.

All these factors were set against a period of strong organic growth as a result of significant contract wins.

Against the flow, and despite posting a loss for the current year, we have continued to go from strength to strength, both reinforcing our mission, as well as diversifying into important new markets.

As the graphic on page 6 of the report shows, we have helped nearly 15,000 clients (an increase of over 35% on the previous year) begin their journey into recovery.

We recognise that our ability to deliver these excellent services depends on the welfare and motivation of our workforce, who have faced considerable cost of living and social pressures.

We therefore decided to make a ‘one off’ cost of living payment to all staff early in the year. And in October 2022 we made an annual pay rise award that was better than in recent years, although unfortunately still well under the rate of inflation.

In addition, it is gratifying to note that an increased number of our staff took advantage of the range of non-cash benefits that we offer our staff such as Healthcare, Childcare Vouchers, and our Salary Sacrifice EV scheme. We also set up a facility to offer our staff interest free crisis loans.

In contrast to these financial pressures, we have had operationally a very good year and have seen a further significant expansion of our Commissioned Rehabilitative Services portfolio, succesfully winning and mobilising Probation Service contracts to deliver Dependency & Recovery Services to People on Probation (PoP) in London and in Humberside.

This makes us the largest provider of substance misuse services to the womens prison estate. We also secured a significant new community substance misuse contract in Medway, Kent.

The last quarter of the 2022-23 year saw us procure, and begin an extensive refurbishment of a new home for our iconic Bridges residential facility in Hull.

Our new freehold premises will allow for a significant upgrade in the standard of accommodation available, as well as the providing the opportunity for a significant growth in capacity including provision for women requiring residential treatment.

The new premises also give us the capacity for more community outreach and potentially the opening of a ‘Recovery Café’ in the future.

We do not underestimate the consequences of the financial headwinds likely to hit in the coming year, particularly in respect of the continued pressure on energy and utility costs, and the continued impact of high inflation. We remain acutely aware of the effect of all this on our staff and the pressure that this will continue to place on available resources during 2023-24.

The Board of Trustees confirm that this annual report and consolidated financial statements are made under charity law, provide a strategic report and

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

directors’ report, and are produced as required by company law.

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Message From the Chair

Despite losing one of our longest standing and largest prison contracts in Kent, the year under review shows substantial increases in turnover, in the numbers of projects we run, and in the number of clients we reach and help. This is very gratifying. However, this report also shows a considerable swing in our finances.

In the year to March 2022, we reported a surplus of over £900k. This year we show a loss of just over £800k. That represents a swing of £1.6m or approx. 5% of our turnover. Our free reserves remain adequate, and we are confident that the charity remains a going concern, but this does demonstrate the challenges that all voluntary organisations face in the present economic climate. We are therefore doubly appreciative of all the efforts that everyone at Forward has made over the last twelve months. As is more fully explained in the rest of this comprehensive report, many thousands more individuals than last year have received help from us in the 70 or more separate programmes we now run in England and Wales. The mission of the charity, to help people turn their lives around, whatever the crisis they are dealing with, whether related to drugs, to drink, to involvement in the criminal justice system, or to general mental health, remains central to all we do, and we are proud of our ability to carry on and expand our work, despite the many challenges we all face in our day to day lives.

Over the last 12 to 18 months, we have seen two marked changes; the restrictions and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are reducing, while the impact of price inflation and cost of living increases have risen. In some respects, the former has allowed us to work more effectively, though in prisons in particular, restrictive regimes still reduce access to clients. The latter change has hit all our staff as well as the charity’s cost base. One other aspect of the changes we have weathered in recent years that worries me is the legacy of working remotely. While this was an essential innovation during the pandemic that allowed ours and many other organisations to continue to function, it has continued as a new way of working that has definite disadvantages. I hope that in the future we will all be able to work together rather than in isolation. This must be healthier for all, not just our clients but also our staff.

One aspect of our recent work that I would like to draw to the reader’s attention is our increased focus on enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion in the charity. We have all been able to examine and improve our performance on these essential themes and I believe the Forward Trust is a better organisation for that.

Finally, I would like to thank my board colleagues for their support and guidance, and mention in particular Tony Hazell who stepped down as trustee and treasurer during the year. He was a valuable member of the leadership team and will be much missed. We are all very grateful for the contribution he made to the charity during the time he served on the board.

Hon David Bernstein Chair of Trustees

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Message From the Chief Executive

We at Forward Trust remain proud of our history, and the continuing efforts to implement our vision for some of the most marginalised people in society:

Our vision is that anyone – whatever their history or circumstances – gets the opportunity and support to live a positive life that fulfils their potential, and to inspire others to follow the same path.

We have more than 70 different projects around the country that aim to help people make these transformational changes in their lives – to prosper in their personal lives and make a positive contribution in their communities.

Many people go through periods of difficulty in their lives – unemployment, broken relationships, homelessness, mental health problems, addiction. For many, these problems have their roots in adverse childhood experiences – abuse, trauma, neglect – they have not experienced the care and stability that all children should

receive and are still feeling the pain in adulthood.

Forward is here to help. We try to ensure all our services inspire people to believe in their own potential to overcome their current difficulties and live a better life. Whatever the ‘label’ given to our individual services, our approach is to deal with the individual – their unique challenges, qualities, and ambitions.

• Our Employment Services aim to help people use training, work experience and job placements as a springboard to acceptance and self-respect.

• Our Addiction Services aim to help people confront and overcome the reasons driving them to problematic substance use and find the skills and strength to achieve and sustain recovery.

• Our Probation Services aim to help people put a criminal lifestyle behind them, and to tackle the stigma often attached to being an ex-offender.

• Our Mental Health Services aim to help people understand and cope with their symptoms and reach their potential.

• Our Accommodation Services aim to place people in safe and comfortable accommodation, that brings stability and security to otherwise precarious lives.

Across all our services, the concept of role models is crucial – people who have successfully turned their lives around, who give their time and experience to encourage others to follow the same path.

Most of our volunteers and trainees, and almost 30% of our employees, have lived experience of addiction or the criminal justice system.

This year, we have helped a record number of people, with a record proportion of them engaging in our structured ‘develop’ programmes, and by the end of year over 2,000 enrolled in our Forward Connect social network.

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This growth has been achieved through winning more public sector contracts, which brings its own challenges – commissioners are always looking for higher activity levels, creating pressure to reduce the quality and intensity of the interventions. We know that people need consistent and structured care to prosper, but this is not always possible for our teams to deliver under workload and capacity pressure.

We will continue in the coming year to push for higher quality services, and campaign for better public and policy understanding of our clients’ ability to change and prosper.

Mike Trace

Chief Executive Officer

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Forward in Numbers – Understanding Our Impact

2022-23 has been a challenging year in many ways. That said, it has seen some remarkable achievements even in the face of these challenges, and these are detailed below. Despite on-going restrictions, particularly within our prison-based contracts, we have continued to deliver our services to our clients and in many ways have exceeded the challenging targets that we set ourselves.

Forward Trust System of Care and Support

Our system of care and support is informed by internationally recognised ‘recovery-orientated’ models, proven to generate long-term positive outcomes for people trapped in cycles of addiction, crime and associated mental ill health. Our system is organised along four phases of change:

Phases of Change

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We offer a range of interventions at each stage to enable progression covering drug and alcohol recovery, health and wellbeing, connections (with family and friends), employment and housing, and with peer supporters and mentors providing hope and motivation at every step.

In 2018-19 we started to collect data on the number of our service users who were accessing support at different stages of Change, from ‘Pause’ through ‘Engage’ to ‘Develop’, The data can be visualised as a ‘funnel’ that flows into our ever-growing reservoir of people who are ‘Prospering’ in life (becoming part of our ‘Forward Connect’– see below).

The diagram below shows our headline performance for 2022-23, as well as the performance of our ‘funnel’ showing progression through our phases of change with numbers in brackets showing the percentage increase from 2021-22.

Client Activity

People come to Forward for help for a variety of reasons – dependence on drugs and alcohol, gambling or other forms of addiction, mental health problems, or to get out of the cycle of reoffending, long-term unemployment, poor accommodation, difficult family situations or unhealthy relationships.

Whatever the presenting challenge, our approach is to see the person behind the problem, working with them to discuss positive goals, build self-confidence and self-belief, and enable them to develop and prosper as independent individuals.

The Forward Funnel – Clients at Stages of our Phases of Change 2022-23

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Building on Success

The test of an organisation that is 100% committed to its mission even through circumstances where the odds seem stacked against it, be that lock downs, restricted access in prisons, clients suffering extreme hardship and the impacts of all of this on a client base that are already marginalised, is the resilience and commitment of its people to do their very best.

The examples below demonstrate exactly this and we are rightly proud of all involved in delivering these remarkable outcomes.

Forward’s new Dependency and Recovery Services launches in Humberside and London

On Monday 12[th] September 2022 Forward’s newest service, delivering dependency and recovery support to over 8,000 people on probation in Humberside and London, went live.

The service will help People on Probation (prison leavers and those on community orders). It is part of the suite of add-on services that probation teams can commission to provide bespoke wrap-around support to their clients and has been designed to ‘bridge the gap’ between probation and substance misuse services in the community, by building their motivation and confidence.

For our London service, we are delighted to be partnering with Catch22, a social business who are experts in designing and delivering services that build resilience and aspiration in people and communities.

The Dependency and Recovery service will involve working closely with Probation Teams, developing their understanding of substance misuse, and raising their awareness of the support available through community providers of treatment. It will also involve us brokering referrals and helping to address gaps in the criminal justice pathway.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st] The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Forward Trust CEO Mike Trace said:

“This is a new and exciting service for Forward. Having spent years helping people in prison and the community, we know first-hand how vital it is they get the right support when transitioning out of the criminal justice system, and we are thrilled to be part of this new package of support.”

Matt Randle, Assistant Director of Justice at Catch22, said:

“We know that there is a well-established and complex link between criminality and dependency issues. We know that for individuals with such needs, being able to address these will be one of the biggest factors determining whether they can go on to live a crime-free and fulfilling life. We’re excited about being involved in such service which aims to enhance an individual’s ability and motivation to access holistic support.

We are also really happy to be partnering with an organisation such as Forward Trust on this, I feel that with our collective experience and expertise we can deliver some high quality and impactful services which will expand and complement our existing offer of support to People On Probation throughout London.”

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The Forward TrustThe Forward Trust For the year ending 31 For the year ending 31[st][st]

Delivering impact to People on Probation

In 2022-23 Forward continued to deliver services to people on probation to support their personal wellbeing (enabling positive lifestyles, social inclusion, emotional wellbeing and strengthened relationships with family and significant others) and to support their accommodation needs.

Innovation and New Developments

Enhanced Peer Networks: we are increasingly connecting people on probation enabling them to achieve positive outcomes with the Forward Connect recovery network as a source of peer support, alongside opportunities to volunteer and develop skills.

Celebrating Success: we hold events to celebrate the progress made by clients, inviting friends, family, and partner organisations to take part, and building belief in the service.

Creativity and Inspiration: we are increasingly using creative projects and activities to inspire and engage clients such as music projects, acupuncture and gardening at community allotments.

Impact

Forward’s evaluation of the Personal Wellbeing Service analysing pre and post intervention data showed statistically significant improvements in scores for:

Resilience (+9%)

Mental wellbeing (+14%)

Quality of life (+16%)

“You are absolutely amazing at what you do - please keep at it, the world needs more of what you bring!” (Probation Client)

“I have been able to think about the progress I have made and how it was a big step for me joining in the group as this is not something that I am comfortable with. I’ve surprised myself.” (Probation Client)

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Addiction Awareness Week 2022

Addiction Awareness Week took place during October 2022. The week is part of a series of activities run in connection with the Taking Action on Addiction campaign, which is led by The Forward Trust. We were delighted to have the support of our patron HRH The Princess of Wales, who this year recorded a special video message directed at people impacted and living with addiction.

We were also thrilled to have a further video message of support from Tony Adams, former Arsenal and England footballer, who recorded the special message for our social media campaign and Everton and Liverpool Football Clubs who reached out to their community with campaign calls to action.

Campaign content from our channels alone reached over 370,000 people on social media during Addiction Awareness Week.

“Addiction is a serious mental health condition that can happen to anyone, no matter what age, gender, race, or nationality. Attitudes to addiction are changing. But we are not there yet, and we need to be. Still the shame of addiction is stopping people and families asking for help and people are still tragically losing their lives. We as a society need to recognise that the only way to help those suffering is to try and understand what has led them to addiction, to empathise with them and to be compassionate to their struggles.

And so today, during Addiction Awareness Week, I want to share a message of support to those who are continuing to suffer. Please know that addiction is not a choice. No-one chooses to become an addict. I want you to know that this is also a serious health condition. Please do not let shame hold you back from getting the help you so desperately need. They are here for you. So please ask for help. I know this was not a choice. Recovery is possible.”

Traditional press coverage was even more impressive, seen by an estimated 802 million people during the week of the campaign, sending the message that addiction is not a choice and recovery is possible.

During the week contact to our Reach Out chat service tripled.

More Than My Past is our ambitious campaign that aims to raise awareness of the potential for exoffenders and people in recovery to turn their lives around.

In November 2022, we launched the second series of the More Than My Past podcast. This series moved

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the focus from individual stories to a thematic approach.

Co-presented by film star Jason Flemyng and Forward Trust Director Julie Muir, Series 2 opens with an interview with former Prisons Minister and broadcaster Rory Stewart.

growth of our Forward Connect communities, provided intensive recovery support for people exiting prison or treatment; and expanded the opportunities to train as a recovery practitioner for our ex-peers.

We are incredibly thankful to all those supporting and joining the Forward giving community, demonstrating the power of recovery communities, and reducing the stigma of addiction through their incredible work.

We were proud to announce Lola Bute as an Ambassador of Forward Trust, recognising her incredible work, through the Eternity movement, shining a light on addiction and the hope that recovery brings.

Other interviewees in series two include actor Michael Balogun, campaigner and charity fundraiser Speedo Mick and entrepreneur, philanthropist, and music producer Corey Johnson.

To listen to the podcast, follow this link:

https://morethanmypast.org.uk/podcast/

For more information on the More Than My Past campaign, go to www.morethanmypast.org.uk

Fundraising

We are immensely grateful to all our supporters, funders, donors, and challenge event participants.

Funds raised through our Recovery Fund have enabled us to support people, families and communities impacted by addiction who would ordinarily face challenges in accessing support, aftercare, or recovery-based treatment.

Thanks to this exceptional support we have had, we have provided bursary places at residential treatment, expanded our family work, continued the

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Forword The Forward Trust For the year ending 31" 13

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI)

We to be an aspire organisation which celebrates diversity, delivers equality, and allows everyone to access our services and ensures fairness to all of our employees.

Our commitment to EDI

Forward believes that everyone should be treated fairly and with compassion regardless of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage including civil partnership status, pregnancy and/or parental position, religion and belief, or age.

As an organisation, we have always been driven by the need for social justice, always looking to empower people from all backgrounds to achieve their potential, addressing inequality and discrimination in the process.

However, even with these strong beliefs and foundations, we do not want to rest on our laurels and need to challenge ourselves further, especially as our organisation has grown and diversified, welcoming new staff and reaching new service users.

Over the last few years, Forward has developed an action plan to strengthen our work around equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), both as a service provider and as an employer.

We are taking a pro-equality stance, to promote the best and fairest outcomes for Staff, Volunteers, and Service Users. There can be no quality without equality.

Our vision is that anyone – however, marginalised and whatever their history or circumstances – gets the opportunity and support to live a positive life that fulfils their potential and inspires others to follow the same path.

Events

On the 8th of March, we celebrated International Women’s Day.

We had numerous events during the day: a morning virtual meditation session, a Lunch and Learn with our female trustees, and an afternoon inspirational talk, and Q&A with Mandy Ogunmokun – one of our More Than my Past Ambassadors. At Margate, we shut the doors to male clients and staff for the day and opened it just to women. It was quite an inspirational day with lots of speakers, and we held well-being sessions throughout the day.

For LGBTQ+ month (February), we hosted an allstaff event in which LGBTQ+ civil rights and history were discussed. We also posted information on SharePoint with how to stand up and be a better ally to the LGBTQ+ community.

We also had staff members attend the Social Justice Conference weekend promoting Forwards work and LGBTQ+ support specifically.

We aspire to be an organisation which celebrates diversity, promotes equality, allows everyone to access our services and ensures fairness to all of our employees.

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EDI Champions and ERGS (Employmen t Resource Groups)

Our newly appointed EDI Champions have wasted no time in setting up Forward's ERGs. We now have five ERGs, who will be hosting their first meetings in April 2023. The five groups are:

Our ERGs will allow colleagues to discuss a variety of lived experiences; provide insight into unseen barriers and support Forward to devise practical, creative, and workable solutions to enable everyone to thrive and be their authentic selves.

During meetings, employees may discuss personal

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Substance Misuse in the Community

During 2022-23, Forward delivered integrated substance misuse services in East Kent (6 sites in Ashford, Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone, Margate, and Sittingbourne) and in Southend-on-Sea.

Substance misuse services were also delivered alongside structured group ‘day programmes’ as part of wider treatment systems in Hull, Essex and Liverpool and our online programme for clients in East Kent

Social Value

During 2022/23 and working with the Social Value Portal we have started to calculate the economic value generated by our Community Substance Misuse contracts in terms of local employment, staff wellbeing and carbon reduction. For the period Oct ’22–Mar’ 23 we have generated social value of:

East Kent Community Service £576,810

Southend Community STARS £219,768

Innovation and New Developments

Community growth was built on our previous year’s success in Southend-on-Sea, and expansion in Essex and Liverpool through our merger with Action on Addiction.

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Medway RIVER (Responsive, Inspirational, Visible, Empowering & Recovery-orientated) Service will be launched in April 2023 and will deliver in areas such as Chatham, Rochester, and Gillingham, and it sits adjacent to Forward’s established service in East Kent. We will deliver this service in partnership with Open Road.

This relationship has forged good connections across commissioning boundaries and allows for enhanced learning and sharing of good practice.

The exciting growth of our community services will allow us to support and deliver our mission to an anticipated additional 1,500 service users.

Forward will turbo-charge its support for women offenders: from April 2023 with the implementation of a new service at the privately run women’s prison HMP Bronzefield.

This will mean that we will be supporting over 1,500 female prisoners with substance misuse problems, making us the leading specialist provider to this group in the country.

In 2019, our substance dependence programme for women offenders, Footsteps to Recovery, was shown to reduce re-offending by 23%, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Additional Funding Streams

Additional funding from the Office of Health

Improvement & Disparities (OHID) has allowed for many exciting projects to launch and continue across all of our community-based services.

Some examples of initiatives that have benefitted from funding injections and ongoing support are:

The development of an enhanced recovery day centre at The Brink in central Liverpool. Our recovery café will be open for longer hours, offer increased support services that cover a host of matters, and warmly welcome cohorts from the community who may have previously not used this amazing facility.

Ensuring that our community hubs are welcoming, warm and trauma-informed. Co-design projects have informed what our facilities and properties should look and feel like. These service-user led projects have prompted major redesign, refurbishment, and even relocation. The results are the creation of

welcoming and warm environments that help to reduce stigma and anti-social behaviour.

Opening our doors to new cohorts. As part of Forward’s equality, diversity and inclusion agenda, attention and investment has gone into opening our doors and warmly welcoming those who may not have previously used our services, such as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, rough sleepers, and sex workers.

Forward has also been proactive with outreach work by using satellite hubs and our mobile unit. This includes the use of Fibroscan, a portable machine that measures liver health. Our work in these areas continues into 2023-24, and we look forward to reporting on their positive impact in a future annual report.

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For a while now we have been running a specialist vehicle purchased from the outgoing service provider when we took on the contract to deliver Community substance Misuse Services in Southend on Sea.

We recently had it wrapped and properly branded, and it is now operating within our East Kent community contract as well as Southend on Sea.

This vehicle is used for delivering the outreach described above; going out to rough sleepers and sex workers etc. as opposed to expecting them to come to us, which they rarely do.

It is kitted out inside with an examination bed, and clinical style cupboards, and we also operate our Fibroscan machine in it, measuring the liver health of street drinkers etc.

It is an extremely effective way of providing satellite services to disparate individuals and communities compared to renting a building or room.

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the community is of huge priority. This has been a focus for Forward Trust’s work for decades.

Prison Mental Health and llb i

Essex Reconnect, an NHS

commissioned service that seeks to improve continuity of care for those leaving prison, was recently added to Forward’s recently formed but growing Care After Custody portfolio, and proudly sits alongside our successful Reconnect services in the Norfolk and Suffolk prisons.

Reconnect works with prisoners who have an identified health need and aims to improve the wellbeing and health of those leaving prison, addressing health inequalities. The programme can support service users for up to 6 months after release.

Whilst not a clinical service, work can commence in prison 12 weeks ahead of release or up to 12 weeks post release. The service takes the form of advocacy, signposting, referral, and support to facilitate engagement with community services.

Based at HMP Chelmsford, the new Essex Reconnect service compliments other Forward services located at this busy city centre establishment, including; psychosocial and clinical substance misuse services, mental wellbeing/talking therapies, and employment Information Advice and Guidance (IAG).

NHS England and our Commissioners, believe that supporting released prisoners to better transition into

Mental Wellbeing Services (previously known as IAPT) continues to develop and deliver good outcomes in our prisons in the East of England.

A review is currently underway of our Wellbeing Model in Suffolk prisons, which is set to explore how we can better meet the complex need of Service Users and overcome ongoing difficulties and barriers in recruiting IAPT qualified staff.

In the coming year, we intend to review and redesign our strategies with regards to both our mental wellbeing services and care after custody provision.

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Vision

The Service

Our Vision Housing service supports individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness into private rented sector properties. We source suitable properties for clients, explain benefit entitlements, arrange viewings, and support the move in process.

Once housed, clients are given 12 months of support to help them maintain their tenancy as well as linking them into community activities and other services including Employment, Training, Substance Misuse and Mental Health.

All housed clients are offered the opportunity to work with one of our volunteer mentors. Vision Housing work with private landlords and agents across London, Surrey, and parts of Kent.

Vision Housing in Numbers,

32 referrals made 41 viewings arranged 22 assessments completed 94 new tenancies d

Over 90% of these tenancies have been sustained for over 6 months with 72% over 12 months.

Discretionary Housing Payments or Rent in Advance and Deposit Payments arranged with Local Authorities have totalled over £150k .

82% of our clients were housed in London, including 23% in Lambeth, 18% in Lewisham, and 7 % in Brent.

Remaining clients were housed in areas including Bromley, Crawley, and Surrey with the areas in which we can house people expanding, as the number of landlords and agents we work with continues to grow.

Vision Housing specialises in supporting those who would traditionally struggle to access privately rented accommodation including prison leavers.

Data shows prison leavers without stable accommodation are almost 50% more likely to reoffend and 53% of those who have slept rough in the last year have spent time in prison.

Since 2021 Vision Housing has been a provider within the Accommodation for Ex-offender Schemes (AFEO).

Working across London and Surrey, our operation has included being the sole provider to Croydon and Surrey County Council where 90 new PRS tenancies have been achieved.

Over £30k has been allocated to clients as move-in grants supporting over 56 clients to settle in their new homes.

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Forward’s Vision Housing has supported Mole Valley Council to be one of the top 10 providers in the UK.

Support On Release from Prison

Vision Housing supports women and men leaving Surrey Prisons (HMPs Downview, Send, Highdown, Coldingley and Bronzefield).

Funded by Surrey Police and Crime Commissioners during 2022-23, 36 people were supported into accommodation with a further 56 clients signposted to other support.

Vision Housing works in partnership with a range of other organisations to provide an overall package of care for its clients including Department of Work & Pensions, Interventions Alliance, Councils, Probation, The Clink, Women in Prison and Minerva. We have doubled our reach to women leaving these prisons.

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“
You guys helped me so much I couldn't have
done this on my own. It was a really good
experience, any time I needed something I would
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advice, all the staff were great, supportive and
knowledgeable. I would recommend the service to
others”
Ma – Vision
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User
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Partnerships

As we support more offenders, especially those linked to gangs, and more high need offenders, we have seen an increase in those recalled to prison across our Vision Housing service.

We have worked with DWP and Resettlement Teams to save tenancies to prevent homelessness on release or

supported clients to relinquish their tenancies and arrange for loved ones to collect their belongings, with the hope that they can return to Vision on release.

Through our partnership with Homeless Link, Vision Housing, alongside other organisations including, Lambeth Council, DWP, Crisis, Fat Macey’s, Hope Worldwide and DWP have formed a Private Rented Sector (PRS) London Steering Group.

The Group aims to improve the PRS in London, celebrating success learning through good practice and challenging legislation and bad practice.

Mentors

Our mentors and volunteers provide a vital support to our service users with their tenancy sustainment Without them, we would not be able to deliver the service.

With over 15 current mentors, we are constantly reviewing how they are supported, including training needs. With some due to start their level 2 qualifications in Mentoring.

Mentors Feedback – Sam

“I’ve found it a really interesting challenge. There’s been a great cross-section of mentees to work with that have taught me lots, both about their situations and needs. I feel I am always learning about the impact of the criminal justice system on individuals and how this manifests in so many different ways. I have had to deal with some tricky situations which have helped improve my resilience and flexibility to adapt to these.

“I feel incredibly well supported. Alisa is phenomenal! She’s always on top of what I am doing and checking in on what I need. When we have our catch-ups she is always across the mentees I’m working with which means our time is really well spent. She has lots of suggestions of how to help and follows up instantly on things we have discussed. I couldn’t imagine anyone better for this role!”

Emily, Restart Participant

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66 SOME HAVE AN ANGEL, PROTECTING US FROM SIN, I'VE GOT A DEMON WITH BIG TEETH AND A FIN. JOHN We all have this sea we call life in which we all tread, some of us peacefully, some filled with dread. Some have an angel, protecting us from sin, I've got a demon with big teeth and a fin. Circling below me, keeping me at fin's length, He's biding his time and saving his strength. A canny demon this one, attacks when I'm weak, he's subtle at first, as I can see hi5 fin's peak. You see that's when I'm safe, I can judge his intent, but that fin goes under, he's on to my scent. I've let my guard down, and lost sight of that fin, flailing my legs below the surface, I begin to spin. My eyes wide open, trying to spy that damn shark, he brushes my leg beneath in the cold and the dark. The relapse is coming, and he can smell the fear, I glance below me, but the water ain't clear. With panic set in, arms and legs thrashing, I hear screams not my own, and others are splashing. I find I'm not alone in this sea, I have friends and peers, each with their own demons and their own fears. But as a collective, we had bested that shark, I'm not alone in the cold and the dark.

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Employment Services in Partnership

In 2022-23, the Forward Trust has continued to deliver the DWP Restart Scheme in Thanet. Restart

forms part of the Government’s Plan for Jobs, which is helping millions of people across the country. Forward’s Restart Scheme provides intensive employability support to help unemployed people in Thanet find sustained employment. We are delivering the service in conjunction with Reed in Partnership – the prime provider of the Restart Scheme in the Home Counties.

Case study: Jonathan

“When I started working with Restart I had zero confidence, I was struggling to get interviews and I didn’t have a CV. I have been supported by my Restart Advisor at Forward. I also worked with the Forward Skills Trainer and undertook a one-on-one CV session to build a CV to which I could add and adjust easily

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

The Prison Apprenticeship

Pathway (PAP)

“Joseph attended the PAP during the summer of The PAP project provides a unique pathway to 2022 and completed the programme. Joseph had apprenticeships for people who are currently in not previously worked in hospitality, but his IAG prison. This is a pathway that hitherto did not exist. Advisor highlighted his interest in the hospitality It works by identifying people who are within threesector. Joseph had little awareness of knowledge months of release and who might be suitable for anof apprenticeships prior to starting the PAP. apprenticeship when they get out. Joseph was working in the prison kitchens which provided him with a practical flavour of the The pathway involves a series of short sessions hospitality environment. which not only provide information about apprenticeships to participants (many may haveJoseph enjoyed the PAP workshops relating to never heard of them) but help dispel myths peopleeffective communication and how technology was might have about what apprenticeships involve orused in the hospitality sector, for example, how who can benefit from them. Participants are offered:the kitchens could see customer orders using a paperless system.

Joseph stated that he struggled with his numeracy Masterclasses with our Trainers and skills and was not well supported by prison education to do this. The PAP Tutor discussedEmployers on a range of hospitality topics; with Joseph how numeracy could be applied toSupport to access prison jobs or Release on hospitality roles, for example, when weighingTemporary Licence (ROTL) in hospitality; ingredients. However, he felt that numeracy could Help to prepare and submit apprenticeship/job be a barrier to him applying for an apprenticeship applications; as it specified a requirement for GCSEs or Level 2 functional skills. Meetings with apprenticeship providers and

employers to find out more about hospitality The PAP Tutor worked with Joseph to explain that apprenticeships and setting up initial a Level 2 apprenticeship would not require this interviews; level of Maths and it would be taught within the apprenticeship. Joseph felt that he improved hisSupport in the community to attend interviews organisational skills whilst he was undertaking theand start apprenticeships, as well as wider PAP course and that he was managing to engagepastoral and holistic support; better with his other prison education courses, He Opportunities to join our growing Forward also felt he had improved his teamwork and Connect peer support network. communication skills particularly through his work in the prison kitchens.

Achievements

By the end of March 2023, Forward had achieved the following:

Impact

The pathway also helps prepare people for theUpon leaving prison, Joseph secured a job in a practical elements of what an apprenticeship willfive star hotel chain and is considering involve, so that by the time they are due for releaseundertaking an apprenticeship in hospitality once they are ready to be placed in an apprenticeshiphis probation period has been passed.”

immediately. We then work with apprenticeship partner Umbrella Training and others to link them with suitable apprenticeships upon release.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

“Today's session was a good eye opener to the current trends in the job and how I could improve myself. I enjoyed the session with Sherileen as she clearly explained the difference between mind-set and skills.”

London Learner

Quotes

“This course in general is really building my confidence around work. Doing this course has made me realise I need to work on my written communications skills. I enjoy using OneFile because I am building my IT skills. I like the Teaching methods because it's helpful and I gain immediate knowledge.”

London Learner

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

The Bridges, Relocation and Refurbishment Project

made even more so after Covid-19 which saw several specialist treatment centres across the UK close down.

Ironically, the premises we decided to purchase was a former hotel and pub.

Buying the new building, however, was the easy part.

After completing, and after a nine month long planning battle to change the terms of use, we were finally granted planning permission to convert this somewhat rundown old site into the new home of The Bridges, Hull.

Refurbishing the site was about as complex and frustrating as these things almost always are, and the refurb and operations teams are to be commended for maintaining their positive and cooperative spirit despite all the frustrations.

In the end, the transformation has been outstanding and in May 2023, we will commence the move into our new home.

The Bridges Hull will be open for men and women with a capacity of up to 18 residents in treatment. All client accommodation is en-suite.

There is also a health and wellbeing zone which will have free weights, exercise bikes and a running machine. There is also a studio for yoga, meditation, and mindfulness.

The original Bridges building at Holderness Road was tired and in need of extensive overhaul in order to maintain our high standards in respect of providing safe and comfortable therapeutic spaces.

One of the key things about our new premises is that we really wanted to bring the recovery community into what we do, so we have created a space for fellowships such as AA and NA, and we will facilitate family groups to run meetings in the evenings and at weekends.

The Original Bridges Building at Holderness Road was tired and in need of an extensive overhaul in order to maintain our high standards in respect of providing safe and comfortable therapeutic spaces.

After 19 years of renting at Holderness Road in Hull, we made a huge decision to end our long tenancy

and purchase a new building to deliver our residential rehab services.

The decision was based on our wanting to provide a better environment for clients and staff, but it also needed to be a safe therapeutic space that offered a homely environment where people could come and recover.

The Bridges, Hull… Our new Study Bedrooms are comfortable and perfect f li i h

Our analysis also suggested that the demand locally for residential treatment for women was huge and

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

The new premises for The Bridges, Hull were it’s fair to say, a bit of a challenging renovation….

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

FAMILY & YOUNG PEOPLE

The 2022-23 financial year has been one of significant growth for the Forward Trust, with increased energy and focus being put into understanding the importance of relationships in recovery and how we can harness the power of connection to improve the lives of the people we support and their family members.

Following the 2021 merger with Action on Addiction, which brought together expertise from both organisations, the newly created Family and Young People department at the Forward Trust has supported the organisation through the introduction of a new programme of specialist training for staff, new therapeutic programmes co-produced with clients and increased partnership working.

Family – A New Forward Definition

focused approach when designing and delivering treatment and other such services can better support improvements to the lives of those affected by addiction, offending and mental ill health.

We must also consider the impact on family members themselves and wider significant relationships. An individual’s addiction, offending and mental ill health can have a psychological, physiological, and financial impact on the people around them.

Involving family members is complex though - for some people, their close relationships may be a protective factor, supporting them on their recovery journey. For others, their relationships may not be nurturing or safe and some may attribute their situation to difficult family experiences.

We also know that in the context of modern-day society the term Family has evolved. This was evidenced by an extensive external review of the literature undertaken by our Family and Young People team and an organisation wide survey which asked staff and clients to define what family means to them.

At Forward we spent 2022-23 reflecting on our use of the term family, what it means to those we support and challenged our own thinking in order to move the organisation and its approach to family work forward.

As a result of this, we have agreed on a Forward definition of family which will ensure we provide inclusive services that meet a diverse range of needs.

At the Forward Trust we define family as a group of 2 or more individuals whose relationship plays a significant role in their lives. We recognise the value and complexity of family and understand the potential positive and negative impact of relationships.

We believe how a family is defined is up to the individuals within that system and that we all hold our own unique version of what family looks like.

Our family work aims to strengthen relationships and interpersonal connections, so every person feels safe, supported, and valued by the people they surround themselves with.

Over the decades research has highlighted that supporting an individual in isolation from the familial systems around them, may not provide the best chances of sustainable recovery. Taking a family-

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Specialist Training

One of the roles of the new department is to support the organisation’s staff by providing a suite of specialist training to help continuously improve practice and outcomes for clients. In 2022-23 we designed and delivered the following courses for staff:

Think Family & Relationships;

• Working with Families affected by offending/addiction;

• Adverse Childhood Experiences and their impact in adulthood;

• Facilitating Meetings with family/significant others;

• Relationships Matter facilitator training.

During the 2022-23 financial year we trained a total of 291 staff.

----- Start of picture text -----
Staff feedback from training:
“Please pass on my thanks for a fantastic
training session today. It kept me engaged
from beginning to end and I have really come
away feeling better informed about ACEs and
PACEs. I look forward to taking what I have
learnt back into my job next week. A day
thoroughly well spent - thank you”..
----- End of picture text -----

Relationships Matter

This new intervention has been developed following a scoping exercise and extensive review of our existing Family Ties programme. The review highlighted the need for an intervention which could be used flexibly and adapted across all of Forward’s services, to support people to understand and focus on their relationships and explore how those relationships interact with their own behaviour.

In the context of our new definition of family, it was also important to ensure we were looking at family through a diverse lens.

The programme was piloted in 5 prisons, one community setting and one residential setting. 79 clients participated in the pilot and the feedback gathered from clients and staff informed the final version of the programme.

It was launched across the whole organisation in February 2023 and an additional 23 staff were trained to deliver the programme. Following the pilot and roll out, a total of 8 programmes were delivered in Q4, with 61 participants attending and 58 completing the programme.

----- Start of picture text -----
Participant feedback:
“Relationships do matter because we all have
them in this world. I enjoyed getting to
understand myself and others and our feelings
and work together” (Relationships Matter
participant)
“I would like to say thank you to the team who
put this course together … It has made me
realise relationships are so important to our
lives … it’s made a big impact on my way of
life. I’ve spoken to my family, and they are so
proud of me” (Richard, Relationships Matter
Participant).
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
M-PACT Programme
----- End of picture text -----

Developed in 2005 in response the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) Hidden Harm report, the M-PACT programme can be best described as an evidence-based, psychosocial, and educational intervention, that takes a whole family approach.

At its core, through recognising the overlooked voices and experiences of children, M-PACT has a number of objectives with the overarching aim of improving the well-being of children and families affected by addiction.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

The programme continues to grow across the UK with 12 new licenced partners joining us in 2022/23. We now have 22 licenced sites delivering M-PACT around the UK and Ireland.

We also trained 124 staff who are now accredited M- PACT practitioners, able to support families affected by addiction.

During 2022-23 we have supported:

----- Start of picture text -----
Feedback and Artwork produced by
participants in the M-PACT programme in
Kent
“Re-affirmed my belief in people.”
“Helped me understand my Dad’s addiction.”
“It has helped me to remember to take care of
myself.”
“It has helped my family understand each
other a lot more.”
“It has helped me to look forward to the
future.”
“It has helped me to deal with any problems.”
“it has helped me understand myself, my
family and addiction in a positive way.”
“Has helped us to understand each other’s
emotions and made me feel not so alone.”
“it helped us pull together as a Family and be
more positive.”
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
M-PACT Neurodiversity
----- End of picture text -----

In November 2022 we were delighted to be awarded funding from the Mackie foundation to undertake a complete review of the existing M-PACT programme from a neurodiverse perspective.

This project will enable us to make changes to continuously improve and better support the neurodiverse needs of the families attending the programme and the staff delivering it.

By doing this we will increase intervention effectiveness for all, reduce stigma and actively enable inclusion.

The project started on the 1[st] of January 2023 and has involved an in depth review of both our practitioner training and programme through a neurodiverse lens.

We are especially excited to be working in partnership with Yasmin Darling.

Yasmin is a holistic education consultant and neurodiversity specialist. She has a postgraduate diploma in psychoanalytic approaches to working with children, young people, and families, from the Tavistock & Portman NHS clinic in London.

Yasmin has over 26 years’ experience of working with children and families and is the creator and founder of her own multi-award-winning early years holistic - systemic approach.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

She also has her own lived experience of neurodiversity, and she is sharing her knowledge and expertise in this area with us to support programme changes.

----- Start of picture text -----
M-PACT Gambling
----- End of picture text -----

We are excited to announce that we will be working in partnership with the Beacon Counselling Trust on a 3 year project, addressing gambling harms within families.

Funded by Gamble Aware, we will be adapting our evidence-based M-PACT programme to help us to support children, young people, and adults, affected by a family member’s harmful gambling. The project will commence on the 1[st ] of April 2023 and delivery will be focused in the Liverpool region of the UK.

Change

Funded by the CHK Foundation, the Change UP programme is an 8 session, group intervention for 18 to 30-year-olds which helps to reduce the harms associated with substance use.

The programme also supports young adults to improve their wellbeing and meet others with shared experiences. It is currently delivered online and has also been delivered as a 1:1 programme for those who do not feel ready for group learning.

We have also trained staff in 2 of our Prisons to deliver Change Up as a face-to-face programme.

Case Study (Name Changed) Jason contacted us about attending the Change Up programme after he had been charged with driving without insurance and under the influence of cannabis. This event made him realise that he needed help and support to improve his quality of life and the choices he was making. Due to his severe social anxiety, we agreed to deliver the programme to Jason on a 1:1 basis. Working with the practitioner he was able to explore how risk taking behaviours had negatively impacted his life and identify areas for change, to enable him to maintain contact with his daughter and take responsibility for his upcoming court case.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Forward Looking – Outlook for 2023 and Beyond

During 2022-23, we have seen our service offering diversify significantly and have continued to grow into new mission-aligned markets at a rate that was beyond even our ambition. As we move into the 2023-24 financial year our turnover will grow to in excess of £40m.

As a result of this, we significantly exceeded our medium-term growth ambitions and strategic market positioning. We are therefore in a position to help an even greater number of those for whom the life chances that so many of us take for granted were never an option.

This success has now triggered a strategic review of our market positioning and operating model to ensure that our continued growth is both sustainable in terms of maintaining central contributions, but also remains laser focussed on our core mission.

Throughout 2022-23, we have secured growth through further contract wins in Prison Substance Misuse, retaining and expanding our Surrey Prisons contract which now includes HMP Bronzefield making us the leading provider of SMS services to prisoners in the women’s estate, as well as winning contracts to provide community based services in Medway.

We have again overseen a significant expansion of our Commissioned Rehabilitative Services, mobilising contracts to provide services to Persons on Probation with support with Dependency and Recovery in both London and Humberside. These 43 month contacts went live in September 2022.

Our pipeline remains good and full of potential for future growth, and we continue to enjoy a ‘top table’ partnership with Mitie Care and Custody to bid for whole Prison contracts as part of the MOJ Prison Operator Services Framework. 2023 will see two of these competitions, and if the partnership is successful, Forward will be in the unique position of being part of the strategic management of the prison in a way that no other voluntary sector organisation is currently.

In addition to the above, our pipeline also provides opportunities for further growth:

Opportunities to expand our employment advice, skills development and job finding services in prisons and community.

Further opportunities to expand on recent successes under the Probation Dynamic Purchasing Framework.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

New and exciting models for Residential Rehabilitation Services through developing Clouds House as well as expanding our capacity in Hull.

New opportunities to work with the families of those interacting with our services through further development of our new Families & Young People services; and

Further new models of accommodation for clients in recovery, probation service clients and prison leavers.

Whilst our success during 2022-23, and the early months of the 2023-24 year will see us significantly exceed our original target of increasing turnover to between £30-35 million by 2023, we will continue to conduct a wide-ranging programme of business development over the next 3-year period.

Our expansion plans will continue to be informed by our programme of continuous improvement to our service provision – refining and developing new models of intervention, responding to user feedback, and adding to our sector-leading portfolio of evaluation and outcome research.

We will continue to support our mission and contracted service delivery by maximising the promotion of ‘visible recovery’ in all its forms, including recovery from addiction, crime, homelessness, and unemployment – developing and creating role models who demonstrate the possibility and value of recovery and rehabilitation.

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Forward

Forword The Forward Trust For the year ending 31" 34

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

FINANCE REPORT

Message from the Treasurer

This Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts has been produced in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the FRS102 Charity SORP (Statement of Recommended Practice effective 1st January 2019).

The accounts for the year ending 31[st] March 2023 record a period that has seen the Charity facing several headwinds but thanks to the exceptional work of all our colleagues the Charity has continued to deliver its services to a growing number of people who need our help. We are in the process of developing a longer-term strategic plan which will help the Charity deliver on its System of Care and Support to that wider population.

Although the Charity delivered a deficit in the financial year, our strong reserves exist to help us manage the current challenges we face with the cost-of-living crisis following the impact of COVID-19. The Charity has prepared a budget for the 2023-24 financial year that should deliver a break-even result. Our donations from our funders have remained resilient in the face of the current economic climate.

We have come through this year with the majority of our contract base intact and the quality of our service delivery has helped us win a number of significant contracts in the year which are referred to elsewhere in the Annual Report. I am also personally very happy with the steps the Charity has taken in respect of Equality, diversity, and inclusion which allows everyone to access our services and ensures fairness to all our employees.

The Charity will continue to carefully manage its financial resources. There are undoubtedly steps we could take to improve the financial results of the Charity but that would affect our levels of service and the support we offer to our colleagues. The future financial plans will follow on from the work being done on our longer-term strategy.

Once again, we have benefitted from the generosity of our donors and the huge amount of work that some of them have done to ensure that we can provide the highest quality of care to those who need it.

On a personal note, I take this opportunity to thank my fellow Trustee Tony Hazell, my predecessor as Treasurer, who had to step down unexpectedly. Sometimes the accountancy profession can be perceived as a bit dry, but his calm demeanour and enormous empathy is something I can only wish to emulate.

Jamie Drummond-Smith

Treasurer

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Financial Highlights –Forward in Numbers

The Charity’s total income for the period increased to £32.87 million (2022: £30.90 million) .

This is largely due to the mobilisation of new Probation Dependency & Recovery Contracts in London and in Humberside.

Total income derives principally from contracts with local authorities, NHS Trusts, Ministry of Justice or similar institutions, commercial contracts, fundraising activities including trust and grant income.

Income from charitable activities, which represented 93% of total income, increased from the previous financial year, largely due to a reduction in the amount of fundraised income raised during the year.

Principal funding resources are explained in the notes to the financial statements.

These funds are directly applied to the delivery of addiction treatment services, accommodation services, family services, mental health, probation, and employability services.

The Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) shows the analysis of charitable activities split between a number of service offerings.

Substance Misuse Services, Family Services, Young Peoples Services, Recovery Support Services, Residential Rehabilitation Services, Clinical Services, Employability Services, Probation Services, and Education Services.

The total spending on charitable activities has risen in the period to £33.68million (2022 £29.97 million) .

Despite careful control of costs throughout the period, spending to help staff face the cost-of-living crisis as well as significant inflationary pressures, have meant that at year-end, the charity is returning a deficit in respect of the current reporting year.

.

Total assets for 2022-23 have decreased slightly and this is largely due to the impact of the operating deficit. Total assets however remain strong at just short of £7m.

The above comparisons offer a clear representation of how the organisation has achieved continued growth and stability, even against significant financial headwinds largely due to the cost-of-living crisis and very high inflation, and in particular the impact of charitable income and costs of keeping our staff and clients safe.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Our contractual base, which constitutes 93% of total income, remains stable and indeed will grow again during the coming year. We retain a strong and healthy cash and reserves position.

For the 2023-24 financial year, we are budgeting a better than breakeven budget, although like many other organisations we expect another challenging period due to the impact of global financial pressures.

Reserves Policy

The General Reserves Policy continues to protect our programme work from the risk of disruption at short notice due to a lack of funds, while at the same time ensuring that we do not retain income for longer than required.

The Policy also provides parameters for future strategic plans and contributes towards decisionmaking. It determines an appropriate target level for general reserves, considering the following factors:

Vulnerability to unplanned changes in financial position, including potential costs arising from the termination of services and delays in payment of invoices.

• The need for the Charity to invest in implementation and other start-up costs of new services.

• The Charity’s requirement to manage fluctuations in cash flow.

Financial risks related to the above, as well as the mitigation steps available to management.

The fact that expenditure is generally predictable and long term, with the exception of ‘variable’ spend on restricted programmes, where risks typically involve unplanned events such as a change in government policies.

On 31[st] March 2023, the Charity’s General Reserves (excluding designated funds) are £6.49 million (2022: £6.65 million) and represent unrestricted funds, excluding funds that have been designated and those funds tied up in fixed assets.

The basis of determining the target reserves’ level is kept under periodic review and will be adjusted as perceptions of risk and other factors change.

Our total funds as at 31[st] March 2023 are slightly lower at £6.99 million (2022: £7.71 million) .

There is a degree of judgement involved in identifying risks faced by the Charity and in establishing the appropriate level of reserves that the Charity should maintain to mitigate these risks.

The Trustees are of the opinion that the level of reserves is acceptable based on the level of activity, and therefore the appropriate target range for free reserves is between £2.1 million and £4.3 million.

This will also provide a buffer should Forward Trust encounter adverse conditions in its market.

Cash and cash equivalents at 31[st] March 2023 were £2.33m and within the target level for free reserves.

On this basis, the Trustees also consider that the Forward Trust has adequate resources to continue the business for the foreseeable future.

The Reserves Policy will be subject to full review during the 2023-24 reporting year.

Designated Funds (unrestricted)

Designated funds are those unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

The designated funds held at 31[st] March 2023 were £0.50 million (2022: £0.50 million) .

These funds are allocated to cover our estimated maximum liability for dilapidation costs on the freehold properties, the Bridges project and other property.

Further details of the designated funds and their movements during the year are shown in Note 17 of the accounts.

Restricted Funds

These funds are used for specified purposes, as laid down by the donor. As at 31[st] March 2023, unspent restricted funds were £0 (2022: £0.56 million) .

Going Concern

The Trustees consider that there are sufficient reserves held at the year-end to manage any foreseeable downturn in the UK economy, including any future negative impact resulting from the worldwide cost of living crisis.

Trustees believe that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.

For this reason, the Trustees continue to adopt the ‘going concern’ basis in preparing the accounts.

In setting ET pay, the Trustees take account of the skills and experience required for each of the roles, and remuneration in the sectors from which suitable candidates for such posts would be found. They also take account of affordability for The Forward Trust.

We do not pay bonuses or other incentive payments. Pay increases to the ET and other employees are reviewed annually subject to good performance and the Charity’s financial position.

The remuneration is also benchmarked against other competitors within the sector of a similar size to ensure that the remuneration is set fairly, and not out of line with that of generally similar roles.

Financial Risk Management

Services are subject to contracts; prices of goods are based on market prices; and salary costs are subject to a formal annual review.

Our standard payment terms are 30 days. Credit risk on amounts owed by debtors is low. The organisation retains a small overdraft facility on its main bank account.

In terms of liquidity risk, The Forward Trust has no current borrowings, and our policies on the management of investments and reserves are set out above.

Key Management Personnel Remuneration

The Trustees consider the Board of Trustees and the Executive Management Team (ET), which includes the Chief Executive Officer, as comprising the key management personnel of the Charity in charge of directing, running, and controlling the Charity, and operating the Charity on a day-to-day basis.

All Trustees give their time freely and no Trustee remuneration was paid during the year. Details of any Trustee expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in Notes 8 and 18 to the accounts.

In deciding appropriate pay levels, The Forward Trust aims to strike a balance between paying enough to recruit and keep people with the skills we need, meeting our contracting partners’ needs, and the public and our supporters’ expectations that the money they entrust us with will be used wisely.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

MANAGEMENT OF PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

In delivering our objectives, we face significant risks every day (whether that be to the safety of our staff, to our clients, to our financial health, a duty of care to those that attend our fundraising events etc.).

We have robust procedures to evaluate, design and implement effective measures to reduce both the likelihood and the potential impact of these risks occurring.

Risk Policy

The Forward Trust carries out annual risk identification, assessment, and management analysis. A register of risks has been compiled, with risks scored for likelihood and impact severity.

Risk management strategies and time scales are also established and reviewed at least annually. Individual senior managers or committees are nominated to take

responsibility for each key risk, which is reviewed on a quarterly basis.

The Trustees reviewed how risk is managed within the Charity, and the level of reserves that should be held in relation to the principal risks that we face.

The Trustees have also examined other operational and business risks through an organisational risk management process; have identified those risks, which the Charity faces; and confirm that they have established systems to mitigate the significant risks.

Key Risks

For each risk identified, specific actions and performance indicators relating to them are monitored quarterly by the relevant committee.

The following major risks were identified at an organisational level for the Charity in 2022-23:

• There is a risk that income from contracts that are not fixed price do not meet budgeted expectations, with a particular focus on income derived from Employment Services and Fundraising.

• There is a risk of failure to reach targets for new contract wins and retention of existing contracts that are coming up for re-tender.

• There is a risk of restrictive financial envelopes for new business opportunities (particularly for prisons) presenting real risks and challenges during this period of rising costs and salary demands. Forecasting tight budgets for a 5–7year period presents risks financially and for both mission and service quality and could limit and restrict the number of future business opportunities that FT can safely absorb.

• There is risk of failure to reach revenue targets for new contract wins and maximise revenues through Payment by Results contracts.

• There is a risk that performance, compliance, and quality are below standards required by commissioners and may impact on revenue but also contract retention.

• There is a risk that a combination of significant increases in cost of living, as well as flat or significantly under inflation increases in contract income makes our ability to fund a significant % pay increase in October 2022 challenging.

• There is a risk of environmental and operational factors increasing voluntary turnover, impacting on the costs of delivering services and the reputation of the organisation.

• There is a risk that pending a planning application, The Bridges lease will be terminated at the end of September.

• There is a risk of poor employee retention impacting on contract and mission delivery.

• There is a risk of inability to effectively recruit quality and sufficient numbers of new staff. Similar reasons that contribute towards low workforce retention creating a challenging recruitment market.

• There is a risk of failure to achieve progress made/significant progress made on Ofsted

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

New Provider Monitoring Visits for Adult Education Budget and Apprenticeships (prime contracts).

Other key components of The Forward Trust’s risk management include:

Governance & Quality Assurance Framework.

• Clinical Governance Framework.

• Clear policies regarding safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

• Regular consideration by the Trustees of financial results and variance from budgets and delegation of authority and segregation of duties.

• A Strategic Plan and annual budget approved by the Trustees and performance is reported regularly including financial reporting of monthly results.

our staff and the risk of expectations on higher pay increases as a result of these.

We have budgeted a slightly better than breakeven position for 2023-24, but recognising that achieving this, given current and predicted headwinds, will be challenging.

We will be devoting significant management energy throughout the coming year looking for opportunities to mitigate this, and to maximise the cash, as well as non-cash benefits for our staff.

Fundraising

Forward Trust does not actively raise monies from the general public and no complaints were received in relation to fundraising in either the current or preceding accounting period.

Auditor

The Trustees seek to monitor and manage the above risks through a strategic risk register, which outlines each risk’s likelihood, impact, severity, as well as the risk owner and the committee responsible for the risk.

A resolution proposing the reappointment of Haysmacintyre LLP as the charity auditor will be submitted at the Annual General Meeting.

These risks are also reviewed on a regular basis and are standing agenda items during monthly supervisions of risk owners and quarterly committee meetings. Internal risks are minimised through a clear authorisation process for all transactions and projects to ensure consistent quality of delivery for all operational aspects of the Charity.

These procedures are reviewed annually to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of the Charity.

The Trustees receive regular reports on compliance with regulatory and statutory frameworks, including those in respect of the health and safety of staff and clients.

Cost of Living Crisis – Inflation Pressures

As we move into the 2023-24 financial year, we are acutely aware of the continuing impact of the cost-ofliving crisis on the organisation, and the potential for budget smashing price increases across a number of our cost lines.

We are also aware of the potential for inflationary pressures continuing to have a significant impact on

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing Document

The Forward Trust is a charity registered in England and Wales (Charity Number: 1001701) and a UK company limited by guarantee (Company Registration Number: 02560474). The governing document is the Articles of Association that determine its legal framework. The Charity does not have any share capital. This remains the case after the merger with Action on Addiction.

Board of Trustees (Directors)

As of 31[st] March 2023, the following members of the Board of Trustees were registered as Directors of the Charity:

Chair	Hon David Bernstein
Treasurer	Jamie Drummond-Smith
	(Anthony Hazell resigned March
	2023)
	Lady Louise Gibbings
	Hon Isabelle Laurent
	Dame Benita Refson DBE
	Ben Houghton
	Andrew Wylie
	David Riddle
	Lisa Bryer
	Rebecca Priestley
	Joyce Adu

The Directors of the Charity, who are the Charity’s Trustees, form the Board of Trustees which is its ultimate governing body.

The Board of Trustees is responsible for ensuring that all activities are within UK law and fall within the agreed charitable objectives. Its work includes governance, setting the strategic direction, ensuring

the Charity upholds its values and delivers its objectives, and agreeing the financial plan.

Executive Team

The Board of Trustees reviews a schedule of matters reserved to them and delegates certain responsibilities to the Trustee sub-committees and the Chief Executive Officer.

The day-to-day running of the Charity has been delegated to the Executive Management Team constituting:

• Chief Executive Officer

• Chief Operating Officer Executive Director of Substance Misuse Executive Director of Employment Services Executive Director of Business Development Executive Director of Fundraising and Communications

• Executive Director of Recovery

Structure

The Board of Trustees meets quarterly to consider strategic business issues. Each year we approve the annual budget and strategic risk register and review the strategic plan of the Charity.

The Trustees and Chair are appointed for an initial period of three years that can be extended for further three-year terms. Any further extension may be made if it is deemed to be in the best interests of the Charity.

The Trustees are recruited to provide the skills and experience required to govern the Charity.

We seek to appoint Trustees from among our Trustees’ network and through the utilisation of external advertising or specialist agencies where required.

Recommendations for appointments are made to the Board by the Chair, which is then ratified by the Board.

New Trustees are provided with information on legal obligations under Charity and Company Law, the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, and the content of the Articles of Association, the committee and decision-making processes, the

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

business plan and recent financial performance of the Charity.

New Trustees also spend a day meeting key employees and other Trustees. Trustees are required to complete mandatory training modules and are encouraged to attend appropriate external training events where these will facilitate the undertaking of their role.

The Chair is an ex officio member of all Committees. Any Trustee may attend any Trustee sub-committee meeting. The sub-committees each have specific responsibilities on behalf of the Charity as outlined below. They provide counsel, expertise, and support to the Senior Management Team.

Individual Trustees also take reasonable steps to ensure there is regular and direct contact between Trustees, staff, volunteers, and people who use our services at a local level.

There are annual scheduled visits to Programmes by Trustees with an Executive Management Team member, although these have been suspended during this period due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Finance and General Purposes Sub-committee

During the reporting year, the committee was comprised of the following members: Tony Hazell – Chair (replaced by Jamie Drummond-Smith in March 2023 after resignation), Ben Houghton, Hon David Bernstein, Hon Isabelle Laurent, David Riddle, and Andrew Wylie, together with the Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer, Director of Human Resources, and Director of Finance & Commercial.

The Committee is responsible for the oversight of all aspects of the Charity’s financial policies and operations. It monitors the short and long-term financial viability of the Charity, ensuring there are sufficient resources to fund its commitments. The committee reviews and approves for recommendation the Investment and Reserves Policy and monitors the effectiveness of the Charity’s risk management and internal control systems. It reviews the annual financial plans of the Charity and monitors performance against plans and recommends action where necessary.

times during the reporting year (one of these an extraordinary meeting regarding salary increase proposals).

Governance & Quality Assurance Sub-committee

The Committee has responsibility for the implementation and monitoring of effective governance throughout the organisation, including clinical governance. During the reporting year the committee was comprised of the following members: David Riddle (Chair), Hon David Bernstein, Lady Louise Gibbings, Lisa Bryer, and Dame Benita Refson DBE, the Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer, Divisional Directors of Services, the Clinical Director and the Director of Governance and Quality Assurance.

A separate Clinical Governance Quality Assurance Forum is responsible for ensuring the collection and analysis of data and other information sufficient to ensure effective clinical governance, ensuring the input of clinical leadership and advice, promoting quality of care, including the safety and wellbeing of service-users, families, and carers. This forum reports into the Governance and Quality Assurance Sub-committee via the Clinical Director.

The Committee is responsible for managing a culture of statutory compliance, as well as processes for managing health & safety issues; facilitating an examination and review of significant events and incidents; ensuring audits of services are undertaken and acted upon; and ensuring compliance with all legislation and contractual obligations.

During the period, the Charity was assessed and achieved re-accreditation (with zero non-compliance) against ISOs 9001, 14001, and 45001 as well as Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation. Work continues on the achievement of ISO27001.

The Committee also reviews all issues concerning human resources (including sickness, staff turnover, and equality, diversity, and inclusion). It met five

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Continuous Service Improvement (CSI) Sub-committee

The Committee members include up to five Trustees including (Dame Benita Rayne DBE (Chair), Hon David Bernstein, Lady Louise Gibbings, and Lisa Bryer) and the Chief Executive together with the Divisional Director of Research and Development and Director of Service Improvement.

The Continuous Service Improvement Subcommittee is charged with providing an effective governance framework for the management of all aspects of service improvement across all areas of service delivery. Its focus is on research, service improvement, and implementation of best practice.

Fundraising & Communications (FC) Sub-committee

The Committee members include four Trustees (Lady Louise Gibbings (Chair), Hon David Bernstein, Hon Isabelle Laurent, and Dame Benita Refson DBE) and the Chief Executive together with the Executive Director of Fundraising & Communications. The Committee is responsible for providing an effective governance framework for the management of all aspects of the Fundraising and Communications functions of the Charity.

----- Start of picture text -----
Public
Benefit
Statement
----- End of picture text -----

In preparing the report, the Board of Trustees have considered the requirements

of the Charities Act 2011 and have satisfied themselves that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the ‘Public Benefit’ guidance published by the Charity Commission.

We have referred to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in reviewing our activities and objectives, and in planning future activities. We have reviewed our reporting to ensure our activities clearly indicate public benefit through achievement of our aims.

Our main activities and achievements within these are described in the Chief Executive’s section of this report. Broadly, our activities help advance health and save lives amongst our direct beneficiaries by the provision of treatment and support to rehabilitate substance misusers; we advance citizenship through reintegration support; and we deliver benefits to the wider public through the prevention of crime and destructive behaviour.

In addition to the many thousands of prisoners who have received services from the Charity, our programmes have also had a positive benefit for the families of the individuals we directly help, as well as for the wider community though reducing reoffending among some of the most prolific offenders and improving life chances through the delivery of education and vocational training to disadvantaged groups.

Supporting Our Employees and Volunteers

As at 31[st] March 2023 we employed a total of 671 staff, a 6.3% increase on the 631 people we employed at 31[st] March 2022.

Achieving the desired transformational changes in our clients will depend on the expertise and motivation of those who work with us, and we have continued throughout the last year with efforts to support our workforce to adapt to the changes in the way that we work.

We have a strong commitment to develop the diversity of our staff and volunteers through equal opportunity policies, training, and practical action.

As at 31[st] March 2023 the representation of women in our total workforce increased to 72.9%. from 68.3%.

The percentage of staff from an ethnic minority decreased slightly to 16.7% of the total workforce for whom their ethnic origin is known.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

We remain particularly indebted to the commitment of the 10,585 hours volunteered to us during the year from the 158 volunteers we engaged over the year.

Our volunteers work tirelessly in various projects. These incredible people are at the heart of everything that we do.

We calculate the value of these hours to be in excess of £115,376 (based on the Outer London Real Living Wage - support worker rate), and our services and events simply would not be possible without them.

The roles vary from project to project, and event to event: it might be a few hours or entire days. Whatever their role, our volunteers generously provide significant amounts of their time to The Forward Trust, and we are enormously grateful.

We are committed to strengthening skills training for all our volunteers, ensuring that they are able to gain new experiences and feel they have a greater connection to our work.

Lived Experience

The Charity is strengthened by the number of people with Lived Experience, both those in recovery from addiction, and ex-offenders who are involved in the day-to-day operations at all levels.

This involvement ranges from Board members to ‘peer supporters’ and serving prisoners who volunteer to support our programme delivery.

In the year April 2022 to March 2023, an average of 27% of our staff and volunteers (who declared as such) had their own lived experience of being in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction. This is less than last year where the figure was 34.89%, but a reflection of the merger and our expanding contract base outside of substance misuse.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

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

Company and charity law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the net movement in funds and application of resources, including the income and expenditure of the Charity 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 SORP.

• Make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.

• Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis, unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation.

information included on the Charity's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

In so far as we are aware:

• There is no relevant audit information of which the Charity'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 auditor, Haysmacintyre LLP is willing to be re-appointed in accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006.

The Trustees’ Report, incorporating the Strategic Report, was approved, and authorised by the Board of Trustees on 8[th] November 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Hon David Bernstein Chair of Trustees

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

GOING CONCERN DECLARATION

The Trustees have reviewed the circumstances of The Forward Trust and consider that adequate resources are available to fund the activities of the Charity for the foreseeable future.

Eighteen-month rolling cashflow projections are included in management’s regular financial reports to Trustees, and income and expenditure is monitored against budget.

The Trustees are of the opinion that the Charity is a going concern and the accounts have been prepared on this basis.

Hon David Bernstein Chair of Trustees

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

INDEPENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Forward Trust for the year ended 31[st] March 2023 which comprise the Statements 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[st] March 2023 and of the Charitable Company’s net movement in funds, including the 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 requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for Opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

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 Trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ Annual Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

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

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

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 (which includes the strategic report and the directors’ report prepared for the purposes of company law) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• The strategic report and the directors’ report included within 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 Trustees’ Annual Report (which incorporates the strategic report and the directors’ report). We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• Adequate accounting records have not been kept by the charitable company; or

• The charitable company 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 for the Financial Statements

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement set out on page 41, 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

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Based on our understanding of the charity and the environment in which it operates, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to charity and company law applicable in England and Wale, and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006.

We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks were related to revenue recognition, in particular the risks that revenue is recorded in the wrong accounting period or that improper journals are posted to revenue, and management override of controls. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:

• Inspecting correspondence with regulators;

• Discussions with management including consideration of known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws and regulation and fraud;

• Reviewing recoverability of debtors, including post-year end payments and the appropriateness of judgements made in the relation to the need for provisions against bad or doubtful debts;

• Reviewing post balance sheet events.

• Evaluating management’s controls designed to prevent and detect irregularities;

• Identifying and testing journals; and

• Challenging assumptions and judgements made by management in their critical accounting estimates.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission, or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of Our Report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Lee Stokes (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of Haysmacintyre LLP, Statutory Auditors, 10 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1AG

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Forword The Forward Trust For the year ending 31" Date.. 14 December 2023 50

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Including the income and expenditure accounts for the year ended 31[st] March 2023.

	Restricted	Unrestricted	2023	2022
	Funds	Funds	Total funds	Total Funds
Notes	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
INCOME
Donations and Legacies 2	1,727	587	2,314	2,564
Charitable Activities 3
Substance Misuse	-	15,309	15,309	15,564
Family Services	-	410	410	40
Young People Services	-	124	124	89
Recovery & Resettlement Services	-	662	662	930
Residential Rehabilitation Services	-	2,654	2,654	3,350
Clinical Services	-	1,217	1,217	1,588
Employability Services	-	5,472	5,472	4,155
Probation Services	-	4,265	4,265	2,151
Education Services	-	124	124	179
Investment Income	-	38	38	-
Income from Other Trading Activities	-	283	283	292
Total Income	1,727	31,145	32,872	30,903
EXPENDITURE
Costs of Raising Funds 4	-	56	56	27
Expenditure on Charitable Activities 4
Substance Misuse	253	16,771	17,024	16,620
Family Services	286	169	455	42
Young People Services	144	(5)	139	96
Recovery & Resettlement Services	676	60	736	993
Residential Rehabilitation Services	803	2,145	2,948	3,575
Clinical Services	-	1,354	1,354	1,695
Employability Services	127	5,957	6,084	4,438
Probation Services	-	4,740	4,740	2,297
Education Services	1	138	139	190
Total Expenditure	2,290	31,385	33,675	29,973
Net Income (Expenditure) Before Transfer of Action on Addiction Assets	(563)	(240)	(803)	930
Transfer of Assets from Action on Addiction	-	-	-	3,587
Net Income/Expenditure	(563)	(240)	(803)	4,497
Other Recognised Gains and Losses
Actuarial gains on Def Ben Pension Scheme 21	-	88	88	64
Net Movement of Funds	(563)	(152)	(715)	4,561
Reconciliation of funds
Total Funds Brought Forward	563	7,146	7,709	3,148
Total Funds Carried Forward	-	6,994	6,994	7,709

The notes on pages 49 to 70 form part of these financial statements.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

BALANCE SHEET

Company Number 02560474

As at 31[st] March 2023

ASSETS Notes	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible Assets 9	4,075	3,369
Intangible Assets 10	75	29
Investments 11	2	2
CURRENT ASSETS
Stock 12	4	2
Debtors and Prepayments 13	4,153	3,696
Cash at Bank and In Hand 16	2,329	3,644
	6,486	7,342
CREDITORS
Amounts Falling Due Within One Year 14	(3,644)	(3,033)
NET CURRENT ASSETS	2,842	4,309
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES	6,994	7,709
FUNDS
Unrestricted Funds
General Reserves 16,17,18	6,494	6,646
Designated Funds 16,17,18	500	500
	6,994	7,146
Restricted Funds	-	563
TOTAL	6,994	7,709

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Trustees on 8[th] November 2023 and signed on their behalf, by:

.....................................

Jamie Drummond Smith

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...................................
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Hon David Bernstein

Treasurer

Chairman

The notes on pages 49 to 70 form part of these financial statements.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

CASH FLOW STATEMENT

	2023	2023	2022	2022
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Cash Flows from Operating Activities		(443)		1,328
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Dividends, Interest and Rents from Investments	38		-
Purchase of Property, Plant, and Equipment	(910)		(142)
Net Cash Provided By (Used In) Investing Activities		(872)		(142)
Increase (Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents		(1,315)		1,186
Analysis of Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and Cash Equivalent at the Beginning of the Period		3,644		3,644
Cash and Cash Equivalent at the End of the Period		2,329		3,644
			2023	2022
			£’000	£’000
Reconciliation of Net Movement in Funds to Cash Flow Operating Activities
Net Income/(Expenditure) for the Reporting Period (as per the statement of financial activities)			(803)	930
Pension Service Cost Net of Finance cost			88	64
Depreciation and Amortisation Charges			158	135
Dividends, Interest, and Rents from Investments			(38)	-
Decrease (Increase) in Debtors			(457)	(819)
Decrease (Increase) in Creditors			611	1,018
Movement in stock			(2)	-
Net Cash Provided By (Used) in Operating Activities			(443)	1,328

The notes on pages 49 to 70 form part of these financial statements.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Accounting Policies

Status of the Charity.

The Forward Trust is a charity registered in England, a Limited Company by guarantee without share capital use of 'Limited' exemption limited by guarantee and not having share capital.

It is a registered charity with its registered office at Unit 106, Edinburgh House, 170 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5DP, and is not liable to direct UK taxation on its charitable activities.

Accounting Policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

Basis of Preparation

The financial statements of The Forward Trust have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Second Edition, effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

The Forward Trust meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

Going Concern

The Trustees have reviewed the circumstances of the Charity and consider that adequate resources continue to be available to fund their activities for the foreseeable future.

In making this determination they have considered forecast cashflows, current contract portfolios, pipelines, reasonable fundraising expectations, as well as known major projects.

The Trustees also consider that there are sufficient reserves held at the year-end to manage any foreseeable downturn in the UK economy, impact of continued high inflation, and the worldwide cost of living crisis.

Accordingly, the financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis and the trustees are satisfied that there are no material uncertainties in making that assessment.

Income

All income is recognised once the Charity has entitlement to income, it is probable that income will be received, and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

Income is recognised when the Charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount can be measured reliably.

Recognition of income is deferred where conditions specify that such income relates to future accounting periods. Where donors specify that funds are for specific purposes such income is included in incoming resources of restricted funds.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Grant Income

Income from Government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Investment Income

Investment income is recognised on a receivable basis once the amounts can be measured reliably.

Donations & Legacies

Income from donations and legacies includes donations and gifts in wills, which are recognised where there is entitlement, probability of receipt and the amount of the gift is measurable. Income from donations, covenants and gift aid includes receipts from fundraising events.

Donations together with the resulting tax credit from gift aid, is credited directly to the statement of financial activities on an accruals basis. Donations and all other receipts (including capital receipts) from fundraising are reported gross and the related fundraising costs are reported in raising funds.

Fund Accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes.

Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that the settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings.

Cost of raising funds comprises the direct and indirect costs associated in the day-to-day running of a Fundraising Department.

Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of all activities undertaken to further the purposes of the charity relating to the strategic vision and their associated support costs.

Direct costs are allocated on an actual basis to the relevant expenditure headings.

Support costs are allocated between expenditure headings on the basis of time spent and the number of staff working on projects and activities. Governance costs are allocated in line with the support costs.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of resources expended for which it was incurred.

Employee Benefits

Short term benefits

Short term benefits including holiday pay are recognised as an expense in the period in which the service is received.

Employee termination benefits

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Termination benefits are accounted for on an accrual basis and in line with FRS102.

Operating Leases

Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the SOFA on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

The Forward Trust strives to ensure that its property leases are co-terminus with its contracts. Where a property lease is longer than the initial contract, we strive to ensure that break clauses are in place.

Pension Costs

The Charity operates five defined benefit pension schemes on behalf of its employees. The Pension Scheme has been accounted for in accordance with FRS 102.

A defined benefit plan defines the pension benefit that the employee will receive on retirement, usually dependent upon several factors including age, length of service and remuneration. A defined benefit plan is a pension plan that is not a defined contribution plan. The liability recognised in the balance sheet in respect of the defined benefit plan is the present value of the defined benefit obligation at the reporting date less the fair value of the plan’s assets at the reporting date.

The defined benefit obligation is calculated using the projected unit credit method. Annually the Group engages independent actuaries to calculate the obligation. The present value is determined by discounting the estimated future payments using market yields on high quality corporate bonds that are denominated in sterling and that have terms approximating the estimated period of the future payments.

Tangible Fixed Assets

Tangible fixed assets costing over £1,000 are capitalised and included at cost including any incidental expenses of acquisition. Depreciation has been provided on the straight-line method to write off the cost of tangible fixed assets on a straight-line basis over their considered useful economic lives as follows:

Furniture, fixtures, and fittings over 3 years Computer equipment over 3 years Motor vehicles & equipment over 3 years

A full year of depreciation is charged in the year of acquisition.

Financial Instruments

Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at amortised cost with the exception of investments which are held at fair value. Financial assets held at amortised cost comprise cash at bank and in hand, together with trade and other debtors.

A specific provision is made for debts for which recoverability is in doubt. Cash equivalents are used as working capital. Financial liabilities held at amortised cost comprise all creditors except social security and other taxes and provisions.

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Cash and cash equivalents include cash and short term highly liquid investments.

Creditors and Provisions

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

Share Capital

The Charity has no share capital but is limited by guarantee. The members of the Charity are the Trustees who are also ordinary members. 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.

Taxation

The Charity is registered and therefore is not subject to Corporation Tax on surpluses arising from charitable activities. The Charity is registered for VAT purposes. VAT is paid on inputs (purchases/costs) and is charged to the relevant expense category, unless expressly reclaimable under HMRC guidance.

Judgement in Applying Accounting Policies and Key Resources of Estimation Uncertainty

Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Although these estimates are based on Management’s best knowledge of the amount, events or actions, actual results may ultimately differ from those estimates. The Trustees consider the following items to be areas subject to estimation and judgement.

Depreciation: The usual economic lives of tangible fixed assets are based on Management’s judgement and experience. When Management identifies that actual useful lives differ materially from the estimates used to calculate depreciation, that charge is adjusted retrospectively. As tangible fixed assets are not significant, variances between actual and estimated useful economic lives will not have a material impact on the operating results. Historically no changes have been required.

Pensions:

The Charity has obligations to pay pension benefits to certain employees.

The cost of these benefits and the present value of the obligation depend on a number of factors, including life expectancy, salary increases, asset valuations and the discount rate on corporate bonds. No adjustment has been made to the accounts to recognise the surplus within the sub-scheme. This is consistent with the treatment of the surplus in last year’s disclosures. Management estimates these factors in determining the net pension obligation in the balance sheet. The assumptions reflect historical experience and current trends.

2. Income from Donations and Grants

	2023 2022
	£’000 £’000
Individual Donations	109 128
Other Income	1,784 2,323
Events Income	421 113
	2,314 2,564

57

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

3. Income from Charitable Activities

	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
Substance Misuse	15,309	15,564
Family Services	410	40
Young People Services (FEF)	124	89
Recovery Support Services	662	930
Residential Rehabilitation	2,654	3,350
Clinical Services	1,217	1,588
Employability Services	5,472	4,155
Probation Services	4,265	2,151
Education Services	124	179
	30,237	28,046

4. Analysis of Expenditure

	Direct	Other		Total Costs 2023 £’000 17,024 455 139 736 2,948 1,354 6,084 4,740 139 56 33,675
	Costs	Direct	Support
	Staff	Costs	Costs
	£’000	£’000	£’000
Substance Misuse	9,487	5,558	1,979
Family Services	254	149	52
Young People Services	77	45	17
Recovery Resettlement Services	410	240	86
Residential Rehabilitation Services	1,644	963	341
Clinical Services	754	442	158
Employability Services	3,390	1,986	708
Probation Services	2,641	1,548	551
Education Services	77	45	17
Cost of Raising Funds	29	27	-
	18,763	11,003	3,909

	Direct	Other		Total Costs 2022 £’000 16,620 42 96 993 3,575 1,695 4,438 2,297 190 27
	Costs	Direct	Support
	Staff	Costs	Costs
	£’000	£’000	£’000
Substance Misuse	9,438	5,033	2,149
Family Services	24	13	5
Young People Services	54	29	13
Recovery Resettlement Services	564	301	128
Residential Rehabilitation Services	2,032	1,083	460
Clinical Services	963	513	219
Employability Services	2,520	1,344	574
Probation Services	1,305	696	296
Education Services	108	58	24
Cost of Raising Funds	18	9	-

58

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

17,026 9,079 3,868 29,973

5. Analysis of Support Costs

	Executive
	& Central						2023
	Admin		Resources		Governance		Total
	£’000		£’000		£’000		£’000
Substance Misuse	827		931		221		1,979
Family Services	22		24		6		52
Young People Services	7		8		2		17
Recovery Support Services	36		40		10		86
Residential Rehabilitation Services	143		160		38		341
Clinical Services	66		74		18		158
Employability Services	296		333		79		708
Probation Services	230		259		62		551
Education Services	7		8		2		17
	1,634		1,837		438		3,909

	Executive
	& Central						2022
	Admin		Resources		Governance		Total
	£’000		£’000		£’000		£’000
Substance Misuse	973		994		182		2,149
Family Services	3		2		0		5
Young People Services	6		6		1		13
Recovery Support Services	58		59		11		128
Residential Rehabilitation Services	209		212		39		460
Clinical Services	99		101		19		219
Employability Services	260		265		49		574
Probation Services	134		137		25		296
Education Services	11		11		2		24
	1,753		1,787		328		3,868

6. Governance Costs

	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
Staff Costs	293	12
Legal and Professional Fees	96	278
Audit Fees and Other Fees Payable to Auditor	49	38
	438	328

59

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

7. Net Income for the Year

These are stated after charging:

	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
Depreciation & Amortisation	158	135
Auditors Remuneration (excludes VAT)	49	38
Operating Lease Charges
Property	660	411
Other	93	84

8. Staff Numbers and Costs

The average number of employees during the year, excluding trustees/directors was:

	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
Charitable	552	490
Administration	77	61
	629	551

Staff Costs Were as Follows:

	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
Salaries and Wages	18,389	16,854
Social Security Costs	1,852	1,619
Pension Contributions	995	898
Apprenticeship Levy	78	65
Operating Costs of the Defined Benefit Pension Scheme	88	64
Redundancy and Termination Costs	54	25
Other Forms of Employee Benefit (Life, Critical Illness Insurance and Health Plan)	205	218
	21,661	19,743

The redundancy and termination costs are accounted for in full during the year.

There are no liabilities at the balance sheet date that relate to ex gratia payments or payments in lieu of notice.

60

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

The number of employees whose annualised earnings were over £60,000 per annum:

				2023		2022
£60,000	-	£69,999			9		10
£70,000	-	£79,999			5		2
£80,000	-	£89,999			3		4
£90,000	-	£99,999			2		2
£100,000	-	£109,999			1		-
£110,000	-	£119,999			1		1
£130,000	-	£139,999			-		1
£160,000	-	£169,999.	(NB. The employee in the high band is a specialist Doctor)		1		-

In respect of the higher paid employees above, contributions for the provision of pension benefits totalled £169k (2022: £125k). The total remuneration of the key management personnel of the of the group, including benefits were £791k (2022 £724k).

The Key Management personnel of the organisation at 31[st] March 2023 are the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Executive Director of Substance Misuse Services, Executive Director of Employment Services and Executive Director of Research & Development, Executive Director of Recovery and Executive Director of Fundraising and Communications.

During the year, no Trustee received any remuneration (2022: £Nil), any benefits in kind (2022: £Nil), or any reimbursement of expenses or amounts that were paid directly to third parties (2022: £Nil).

9. Tangible Assets

		Freehold	Leasehold	IT	Plant &	Motor	Fixtures &	Total
		Property	Property		Machinery	Vehicles	Fittings
		£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Cost or Valuation
At 1stApril 2022		3,100,000	7,088	167,000	295,530	16,373	30,958	3,616,949
	Additions	475,325	-	248,896	-	-	110,589	834,810
Disposals		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
At 31stMarch	2023	3,575,325	7,088	415,896	295,530	16,373	141,547	4,451,759
Depreciation
At April 1st2022		-	3,658	152,291	68,559	-	22,560	247,068
Charge	For Year	-	1,646	29,494	92,313	3,275	2,962	129,690
At March 31st	2023	-	5,304	181,785	160,872	3,275	25,522	376,758
Net Book Value
At 31stMarch	2022	3,100,000	3,430	14,710	226,970	16,373	8,398	3,369,881
At 31stMarch	2023	3,575,325	1,783	234,112	134,657	13,099	116,024	4,075,000

61

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

10. Intangible Assets

		Computer Software	Investment in Subsidiary	Total
		£	£	£
Cost or Valuation
At 1stApril 2022		41,384	-	41,384
	Additions	-	75,000	75,000
	Disposals	(3,434)	-	(3,434)
At 31st March 2023		37,950	75,000	112,950
Amortisation
At April 1st2022		12,645	-	12,645
	Charge For Year	12,650	13,750	26,400
	Elimination on Disposal	(1,049)	-	(1,049)
At March 31st 2023		24,246	13,750	37,996
Net Book Value
At 1stApril 2022		28,739	-	28,739
At 31st March 2023		12,655	61,250	74,954

11. Fixed Asset Investments

		Assets
		£
Cost or Valuation
At 1stApril 2022		1,581
	Additions	-
At 31st March 2023		1,581
At 31st March 2022		1,581
At 31st March 2023		1,581

12. Stock

	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
Finished Goods and Goods for Resale	4	2

62

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

13. Debtors: Due Within One Year

	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
Trade Debtors	3,361	2,938
Other Debtors	109	93
Prepayment and Accrued Income	683	665
	4,153	3,696

14. Creditors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year

	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
Trade Creditors	1,046	825
Other Taxes and Social Security	776	564
Accruals	422	398
Other Creditors	203	409
Deferred Income	1,197	837
	3,644	3,033

15. Deferred Income Within One Year

	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
As at 31stMarch 2022	837	786
Released to Incoming Resources	(818)	(683)
Income Deferred to a Future Year	1,178	734
As at 31stMarch 2022	1,197	837

16. Statement of Funds

	1st April			Transfers	31st March
	2022	Income	Expenditure	Gains/Losses	2023
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Designated Funds
Redundancy & Pension Fund	-	-	-	-	-
Property Maintenance Fund	500	-	-	-	500
	500	-	-	-	500
General Funds	6,646	31,145	(31,384)	88	6,494
Total Unrestricted Funds	7,146	31,145	(31,384)	88	6,994

63

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

	1st April			Transfers	31st March
	2021	Income	Expenditure	Gains/Losses	2022
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Designated Funds
Redundancy Fund	350	-	(350)	-	-
Property Maintenance Fund	119	381	-	-	500
	469	381	(350)	-	500
General Funds	2,632	28,290	(27,608)	3,332	6,646
Total Unrestricted Funds	3,101	28,671	(27,958)	3,332	7,146

The Designated Fund represents funds set aside to cover refurbishment costs of the freehold properties at Clouds House and Manor House, the Bridges Project in Hull, and Head Office in London.

Summary of Restricted Funds 2022-23

FY 2022/23	1 April				31 March
	2022	Income		Expenditure	2023
	£’000	£’000		£’000	£’000
Restricted Funds
The Saintbury Trust	8		-	(8)		-
The Taylor Family Foundation	3		-	(3)		-
J Leon Group	4		-	(4)		-
Monday Charitable Trust	4		-	(4)		-
The Reso Charitable Foundation	1		-	(1)		-
The Cyril & Eve Jumbo Charitable Trust	1		-	(1)		-
The Big Give	4		-	(4)		-
The Mackie Foundation	12		-	(12)		-
Michael and Shirley Hunt Charitable Trust	1		-	(1)		-
16th July 2022 Gala Fundraising Event	-		-	-		-
In Memory of Mary Parkinson	4		-	(4)		-
John Bramble charity motorcycle Ride	5		-	(5)		-
St James Place	26		-	(26)		-
CHK Charities Limited	6		-	(6)		-
Fowler Smith & Jones Trust	1		3	(4)		-
Ganzoni Charitable Trust	1		-	(1)		-
Garfield Weston Foundation	74		25	(99)		-
Peter Cruddas Foundation	6		-	(6)		-
Suffolk Community Foundation	4		-	(4)		-
Annie Tranmer Charitable Trust	-		-	-		-
The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust	287	1,057		(1,344)		-
The National Lottery Community Fund	69		82	(151)		-
Randal Charitable Foundation	9		18	(27)		-
Frank Litchfield General Charitable Trust	-		1	(1)		-

64

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

David & Ruth Lewis Family Charitable Trust	27	-	(27)	-
29th May 1961 Charitable Trust	-	1	(1)	-
Cumber Family Charitable Trust	-	1	(1)	-
Eternity Dinner & Auction	-	40	(40)	-
Tanagra Foundation	-	50	(50)	-
The Patrick & Helena Frost Foundation	-	3	(3)	-
The WO Street Charitable Foundation	-	3	(3)	-
The Belvedere Trust	-	1	(1)	-
Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust	-	5	(5)	-
Hospital Saturday Fund	-	2	(2)	-
Pilkington Charities' Fund	-	4	(4)	-
Stichting Benevolentia	-	100	(100)	-
The Rothschild Foundation	-	8	(8)	-
The Aurum Charitable Trust	-	40	(40)	-
Henry & Dora Needler Memorial Trust	-	2	(2)	-
Liz & Terry Bramall Foundation	-	50	(50)	-
Lord Barnby's Foundation	-	6	(6)	-
R E Pilkington's No 4 Settlement	-	1	(1)	-
Sir James Reckitt Charity	-	10	(10)	-
The Brewers' Company General Charitable Trust	-	1	(1)	-
The Samuel Storey Family Charitable Trust	-	1	(1)	-
The Sylvia and Colin Shepherd Charitable Trust	-	12	(12)	-
Yorkshire Charity Clay Day	-	80	(80)	-
John Coates Charitable Trust	-	3	(3)	-
Surrey Community Foundation	-	5	(5)	-
CHK Foundation	-	13	(13)	-
Wittersham PCC	-	1	(1)	-
Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust	-	35	(35)	-
D C Moncrieff Trust	-	1	(1)	-
Kent PCC	-	18	(18)	-
The John Armitage Charitable Trust	-	30	(30)	-
Other Restricted Funding	5	18	(23)	-
Total	563	1,727	(2,290)	-

65

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Summary of Restricted Funds 2021-22

FY 2021/22	1 April			31 March
	2021	Income	Expenditure	2022
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Restricted Funds
The Saintbury Trust	11	-	(3)	8
The Taylor Family Foundation	5	10	(11)	3
J Leon Group	2	5	(3)	4
Monday Charitable Trust	6	-	(2)	4
The Reso Charitable Foundation	2	-	(1)	1
The Cyril & Eve Jumbo Charitable Trust	1	-	-	1
The Big Give	2	3	(2)	4
The Mackie Foundation	10	8	(5)	12
Michael and Shirley Hunt Charitable Trust	2	-	(1)	1
16th July 2022 Gala Fundraising Event	1	-	-	-
AE Walker Fund	2	-	(2)	-
CHK Foundation	15	-	(15)	-
Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent fund	5	-	(5)	-
Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust	3	-	(3)	-
In Memory of Mary Parkinson	33	-	(30)	4
Jarvis (Harpenden) Charitable Trust	5	-	(5)	-
John Bramble Charity Motorcycle Ride	7	-	(2)	5
The Julia & Hans Rausing Trust	7	1,214	(934)	287
LCVS	3	-	(3)	-
Maria Marina Foundation	10	-	(10)	-
Patrick Wilson	22	-	(22)	-
Process Psychotherapy (S Hoare)	2	-	(2)	-
Reckitt Benckiser	155	-	(155)	-
St James’s Place Charitable Foundation	37	-	(11)	26
The Tallow Chandlers Company	2	-	(2)	-
Wirral Council	-	-	-	-
Charles S French Charitable Trust	-	3	(3)	-
Belpech Trust	-	5	(5)	-
CHK Charities Limited	-	58	(52)	6
Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund	-	5	(5)	-
Fowler Smith & Jones Trust	-	3	(2)	1
Ganzoni Charitable Trust	-	2	(1)	1
Garfield Weston Foundation	-	100	(26)	74
Henry Oldfield Trust	-	25	(25)	-
Hull & East Riding Charitable Trust	-	5	(5)	-
The Ian MacTaggart Trust	-	2	(2)	-

66

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Kent Community Foundation	-	3	(3)	-
The Office of the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner	-	100	(100)	-
Liz & Terry Bramall Foundation	-	50	(50)	-
Mayor of Harrow’s Charity Fund	-	-	-	-
Mobbs Memorial Trust	-	5	(5)	-
Peter Cruddas Foundation	-	15	(9)	6
Stichting Benevolentia	-	50	(50)	-
The Hemby Trust	-	1	(1)	-
Shepherd Building Group Limited	-	2	(2)	-
Sir James Reckitt Charity	-	10	(10)	-
Suffolk Community Foundation	-	10	(6)	4
Annie Tranmer Charitable Trust	-	1	(1)	-
The Joseph and Annie Cattle Trust	-	5	(5)	-
The National Lottery Community Fund	-	176	(108)	69
The Patrick & Helena Frost Foundation	-	8	(8)	-
The Payne-Gallwey Charitable Trust	-	5	(5)	-
Randal Charitable Foundation	-	13	(4)	9
The Rayne Foundation	-	25	(25)	-
The Samuel Storey Family Charitable Trust	-	4	(4)	-
The Shauna Gosling Trust	-	18	(18)	-
The Swire Charitable trust	-	5	(5)	-
The Sylvia and Colin Shepherd Charitable Trust	-	12	(12)	-
The Tribune Trust	-	3	(3)	-
Matrix Causes Fund		1	(1)	-
Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust	-	35	(35)	-
Frank Litchfield General Charitable Trust	-	1	(1)	-
The John Armitage Charitable Trust	-	120	(120)	-
The Rothschild Foundation	-	38	(38)	-
Hull County Council	-	13	(13)	-
David & Ruth Lewis Family Charitable Trust	-	38	(11)	27
Chapman Charitable Trust	-	1	(1)	-
McInroy & Wood Limited	-	1	(1)	-
Headley Pitt Trust	-	1	(1)	-
Other restricted funding	(3)	17	(9)	5
Overall Total	346	2,232	(2,015)	563

67

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

The purpose of restricted funds are:

The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust Apprenticeships and Traineeships Stichting Benevolentia Prisoner Apprenticeships Pathways CHK Charities Limited Change Up Programme in East Kent CHK Charities Limited Change Up Programme in East Kent Cumber Family Charitable Trust Clouds House Other Restricted funding Clouds House 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust Clouds House Bursary Eternity Dinner & Auction Clouds House Bursary Tanagra Foundation Clouds House Bursary The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust Clouds House Bursary The Patrick & Helena Frost Foundation Clouds House Bursary The WO Street Charitable Foundation Clouds House Bursary Garfield Weston Foundation Core costs of Families & Young people Other Restricted funding Core costs of Families & Young people Randal Charitable Foundation Core costs of Families & Young people The Taylor Family Foundation Core costs of Families & Young people The Saintbury Trust Core costs of Families & Young people J Leon Group Core costs of Families & Young people Monday Charitable Trust Core costs of Families & Young people The Reso Charitable Foundation Core costs of Families & Young people The Cyril & Eve Jumbo Charitable Trust Core costs of Families & Young people The Big Give Core costs of Families & Young people The Mackie Foundation Core costs of Families & Young people Michael and Shirley Hunt Charitable Trust Core costs of Families & Young people John Bramble charity motorcycle ride Core costs of Families & Young people In memory of Mary Parkinson Core costs of Families & Young people & Research The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust Core costs of Recovery Support Services CHK Foundation Cost of a Recovery Support Worker Suffolk Community Foundation Recovery & Resettlement Worker in Suffolk HESS Prisons The Rothschild Foundation Espresso Futures Other Restricted funding Essex SHARP Randal Charitable Foundation Family Work in Surrey Prisons David & Ruth Lewis Family Charitable Trust Family Work in Surrey Prisons The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust Family Work in Surrey Prisons John Coates Charitable Trust Family Connections Service in Surrey Surrey Community Foundation Family Connections Service in Surrey The John Armitage Charitable Trust Surrey HMP Send & Downview: Female Offenders The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust Forward Connect Wittersham PCC East Kent Forward Connect The National Lottery Community Fund Salary costs in Forward Connect The Aurum Charitable Trust Forward Enterprise Fund The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust Forward Enterprise Fund

68

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

St James Place MPACT development Garfield Weston Foundation M-PACT Families and Young People The Belvedere Trust Reach out services Fowler Smith & Jones Trust Recovery & Resettlement Worker HMP Chelmsford Ganzoni Charitable Trust Recovery & Resettlement Worker in HESS Prisons Frank Litchfield General Charitable Trust Recovery & Resettlement Worker in HESS Prisons D C Moncrieff Trust Recovery & Resettlement Worker in HESS Prisons Other Restricted Funding Recovery Support Services The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust Recovery Support Services Henry & Dora Needler Memorial Trust The Bridges Liz & Terry Bramall Foundation The Bridges Lord Barnby's Foundation The Bridges Other Restricted funding The Bridges R E Pilkington's No 4 Settlement The Bridges Sir James Reckitt Charity The Bridges The Brewers' Company General Charitable Trust The Bridges The Samuel Storey Family Charitable Trust The Bridges The Sylvia and Colin Shepherd Charitable Trust The Bridges Yorkshire Charity Clay Day The Bridges Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust The Brink Café, Liverpool Hospital Saturday Fund The Brink Café, Liverpool Pilkington Charities' Fund The Brink Café, Liverpool Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust Vision Housing Peter Cruddas Foundation Volunteering and Mentoring Worker Kent PCC VRF Recovery Support in East Kent Frank Litchfield General Charitable Trust Recovery and Resettlement Worker in HENS Prisons

69

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

17 . Summary of Funds

	1st April			Transfers	31st March
	2022	Income	Expenditure	Gains/Losses	2023
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Designated Funds	500	-	-	-	500
General Funds	6,646	31,145	(31,385)	88	6,494
Total Restricted Funds	563	1,727	(2,290)	-	-
	7,709	32,872	(33,675)	88	6,994

18. Analysis of Net Assets Between Funds

At 31st March 2023	Restricted	Unrestricted	Total
	Funds	Funds	Funds
	£’000	£’000	£’000
Fixed Assets	-	4,152	4,152
Current Assets	-	6,486	6,486
Current Liabilities	-	(3,644)	(3,644)
	-	6,994	6,994

At 31st March 2022	Restricted	Unrestricted	Total
	Funds	Funds	Funds
	£’000	£’000	£’000
Fixed Assets	-	3,400	3,400
Current Assets	563	6,779	7,342
Current Liabilities	-	(3,033)	(3,033)
	563	7,146	7,709

19. Operating Lease Commitments

At 31[st] March 2023, the Charity’s future minimum operating lease payments are as follows:

BUILDINGS	2023	2022
Leases That Expire:	£’000	£’000
Within One Year	461	165
Two to Five Years	249	74
Over Five Years	5	-
	715	239

70

The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

During the year, the Charity incurred rental costs in respect of assets under operating leases of £660k (2022: £411k).

20. Related Party Transactions

There were no related party transactions in the current year.

Donations from Trustees in aggregate were £4.6k (2022: £1.6k).

21. Pensions

The Charity contributes to both defined contribution and defined benefit pension schemes for its employees. All defined benefit schemes are closed to new entrants and the numbers of active members can only grow as a result of the transfer of staff from other organisations (TUPE).

The Charity contributes to a number of schemes: Group Personal Pension Plan managed by Aviva, NHS Pension Scheme managed by NHS Pensions, Shropshire County Pension fund managed by Shropshire Council, Civil Service Pension managed by The Cabinet Office and The Prudential Platinum Pension Scheme. The Group Personal Pension Plan managed by Aviva is a defined contribution plan.

The NHS Pension Fund is a closed defined benefit scheme specific to employees TUPEd who were members of an NHS Pension Scheme at the time of transfer. Shropshire County Pension is a closed defined benefit scheme applicable to employees TUPEd who were members of Shropshire Pension Scheme at the time of transfer. Civil Service Pension Scheme is a closed defined benefit scheme applicable to employees who were members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme at the time of transfer.

The Charity participates in ‘Prudential Platinum Pension – The Forward Trust,’ a funded defined benefit statutory pension scheme in the UK which is contracted out of State Second Pension. This scheme was set up to ensure that we provide a comparable scheme for staff who are TUPEd with final salary pension rights. The assets of all pension schemes are held separately from those of the Charity.

Pension costs charged in the Statement of Financial Activities represent all the contributions payable by the Charity for the year together with any material provision to record the Charity’s liability in relation to a defined benefit pension scheme, where this can be identified, in accordance with the accounting standard incorporated in FRS102.

Pensions: Prudential Platinum Pension – The Forward Trust

Prudential Platinum Pension is a centralised scheme which is available to employers throughout the United Kingdom. Each participating employer (or group company arrangement) has its own ring-fenced section and accordingly there is no cross subsidy between employers, other than in a group company arrangement. The Scheme provides retirement and death in service benefits for Members and their Dependants. It is a defined benefit scheme which means that the benefits under it are calculated on a pre-determined basis specified in the Scheme’s rules. The Scheme, which is legally and financially separate from the employers, is constituted by a Trust Deed and is administered in accordance with the rules by the Trustees. The Forward Trust is legally bound by a Deed of Adherence to the Scheme and became a participating employer with effect from 18 May 2012. This note reflects the position appropriate to The Forward Trust for the purposes of the UK pensions accounting standard FRS 102. It does not reflect the position of any other participating employer in the Prudential Platinum Pension Scheme. The costs and balance sheet items in respect of the Charity’s other pension arrangements are included elsewhere in the Charity's disclosures.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

The Prudential Platinum Pension scheme is set up on a tax relieved basis as a separate trust independent of the Charity and supervised by an independent Trustee. The Trustee is responsible for ensuring that the correct benefits are paid, that the Scheme is appropriately funded and that Scheme assets are appropriately invested. This scheme provides pensions and lump sums to members on retirement and to their dependants on death. Members who leave service before retirement are entitled to a deferred pension.

Active members of the Scheme pay contributions at a rate based on their pensionable pay and the Charity pays the balance of the cost as determined by regular actuarial valuations. The independent trustee is required to use prudent assumptions to value the liabilities and costs of the scheme whereas the accounting assumptions must be best estimates.

The liabilities for this year’s accounting disclosures have been calculated by rolling forward the 31 December 2015 liabilities from that valuation date to 31 March 2023 allowing for member movements and cash-flows and using the assumptions set out below. The figures in the following disclosure were measured using the Projected Unit Method.

The amounts recognised in the statement of financial position are as follows:

	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
Defined Benefit Obligation	(341)	(501)
Fair Value of Plain Assets	520	710
	179	209
Net amount recognised year end (before any adjustment for deferred tax)	179	209
Adjustment of Non-Recognition of Surplus	(179)	(209)

The amounts recognised as comprehensive income are:

	2023	2022
SERVICE COST	£’000	£’000
Current Service Cost (Net of Employee’s Contributions)	8	16
Administration Expenses	86	51
Loss (Gain) on Plan Introductions, Changes, Curtailments and Settlements	-	-
Net Interest Expense (Credit)	(6)	(3)
Change (Credit) Recognised in Profit and Loss	88	64

	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
Change (Credit) Recognised in Profit and Loss	88	64
Re-measurements of the Net Liability
Return on Scheme assets (Excluding amounts Included in Net Interest Expense)	205	(19)
Actuarial Gains (Losses)	(167)	(75)
Credit Recorded on Other Comprehensive Income	38	(94)
Total Defined Benefit Cost	126	(30)

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

The Principal Actuarial Assumptions Used Were:

		2023	2022	2022
		%	%
Liability Discount Rate		4.9			2.7
Inflation Assumption – RPI		3.2			3.3
Inflation Assumption - CPI		2.15 / 2.95	2.3	/	3.1
Rate of Increase in Salaries		2.65 / 3.45	2.8	/	3.6
Revaluation of Deferred Pensions - CPI		2.15 / 2.95	2.3	/	3.1
Increases for Pensions Payment - CPI		2.15 / 2.95	2.3	/	3.1
Expected age of Death of Current Pensioner at Age 65:
	Male Aged 65 at Year End	85.9		85.9
	Female Aged 65 at Year End	88.9		88.8
Expected age of Death of Future Pensioner at Age 65:
	Male Aged 45 at Year End	87.2		87.1
	Female Aged 45 at Year End	90.3		90.3

Reconciliation of Scheme Assets and Liabilities	Assets	Liabilities	Total
	£’000	£’000	£’000
At Start of Period	711	(501)	210
Benefits Paid	(15)	15	-
Administration Expenses	(86)	-	(86)
Current Service Cost	-	(8)	(8)
Contributions from the Employer	95	-	95
Contributions from the Employees	1	(1)	-
Interest Income (Expenses)	19	(13)	6
Return on Assets (Excluding Amount Included)	(205)	-	(205)
Net interest Expense	-	167	167
Actuarial Gains (Losses)	-	-	-
At End of Period	520	(341)	179

The Return on Plan Assets Was:

	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
Interest Income	19	15
Return on Plan Assets (excluding amounts included in net interest expense)	(205)	(19)
Total Return on Plan Assets	(186)	(4)

The Scheme has no investments in the Charity on property occupied by the Charity.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

The Major Categories of Scheme Assets are as Follows:

	2023	2022
	£’000	£’000
Corporates	265	343
Index Linked	255	367
Cash	-	-
Total Market Value of Assets	520	710

22. Capital Commitments.

In January 2023, the Forward Trust purchased a freehold property, The Mayfair Hotel at 333-335 Beverley Road, Hull, HU5 1LD. This purchase was made from Charity funds and for the purpose of providing permanent, charity owned, premises in order to transfer our Bridges[™ ] Residential Rehabilitation programme from its current rented premises to a new fully renovated building. The property required extensive refurbishment overrunning the current year end. Up to 31[st] August 2023 these costs were £164k.

23. Contingent Liabilities.

There are no known contingent liabilities at the yearend.

24. Post Balance Sheet Events.

Forward was successful in winning a new contract to deliver community substance misuse services in Medway, Kent. This new service will operate for 5 years from 1[st] April 2023 and has a total contract value of £13.59m. In addition to this we have successfully retained and grown our existing contract to deliver substance misuse services in Surrey prisons. In addition to retaining the existing prisons in this group, we have also added HMP Bronzefield. This retained and expanded service will operate for 7 years from 1[st] April 2023 and has a total contract value of £33.15m. The addition of these 2 sizeable contracts, alongside other smaller wins will take our budgeted annual turnover for 2023-24 to over £41.7m.

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

The Forward Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee.

Charity Number: 1001701 Company Number: 02560474

Trustees/Directors as at 8[th] November 2023

Chair Hon David Bernstein Treasurer Jamie Drummond-Smith Dame Benita Refson DBE David Riddle Hon Isabelle Laurent Joyce Adu Lady Louise Gibbings Lisa Bryer Rebecca Priestley Andrew Wylie Amelia Fitzalan Howard (Joined 22[nd] August 2023) David Meredith (Joined 22[nd] August 2023) Ivor McKay (Joined 22[nd] August 2023) Katie Simpson Lloyd (Joined 22[nd] August 2023) Steven McIntosh (Joined 22[nd] August 2023)

Company Secretary John Biggin OBE

Patrons

HRH The Princess of Wales Tony Adams MBE The Revd. Jonathan Aitken Chris Difford Sir Anthony Hopkins CBE Erwin James Jonathan Pryce CBE The Hon. Emma Soames

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The Forward Trust For the year ending 31[st]

Founders Jonathan Wallace Peter Bond Michael Meakin Business Address Unit 106, Edinburgh House Registered Office 170 Kennington Lane London SE11 5DP Key Management Michael Trace Chief Executive Officer Personnel John Biggin OBE Chief Operating Officer Jason Moore Executive Director of Substance Misuse Services Asi Panditharatna Executive Director of Employment Services Carwyn Gravell Executive Director of Research & Development Julie Muir Executive Director of Recovery Sally Benton Executive Director of Fundraising & Communications

Bankers HSBC The Peak 333 Vauxhall Bridge Victoria London SW1V 1EJ Auditor HAYSMACINTYRE LLP Chartered Accountants & Registered Auditors 10 Queens Street Place London EC4R 1AG

Solicitors BATES WELLS & BRAITHWAITE 10 Queens Street London EC4R 1BE

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www.forwardtrust.org.uk

www.forwardtrust.org.uk