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2024-03-31-accounts

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

(A company limited by guarantee)

Trustee’s Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 March 24

Registered Number: 02601495 (England and Wales) Charity Number: 1002832

Contents

Reference & Administrative details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisors

Company Number 02601495 (England and Wales)
Charity Number 1002832
Registered Ofce Naomi House, Stockbridge Road, Sutton Scotney, Winchester,
SO21 3JE
Trustees Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during
the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:
Mr Andrew Meehan Chair
Mr Julian Cracknell Vice Chair
Dr Michael Miller
Mr Julian Walker
Mrs Sam Nicolson MBE
Mr Shaun Southern (resigned 5th October 2023)
Mr Robin Hassan
Mr Rob Simpson
Ms Helen Burrows
Ms Julie Dawes
Ms Jane Ferguson
Ms Sarah Webb
Mr Alexander Delamere-White
Mr Chris Pearce (appointed 9th October 2023)
Mr Sean Allen (appointed 18th June 2024)
Key Management Mr Mark Smith Chief Executive Ofcer
Personnel Mrs Lesley Brook Director of Care/Deputy CEO
(retired 29th February 2024)
Mrs Katie Lumsden Director of Finance
Ms June Morton Director of Human Resources
Mr Paul Morgan Director of Fundraising &
Communications
Mrs Erika Lipscombe Director of Care (appointed 4th
March 2024)
Bankers Royal Bank of Scotland Plc Barclay’s Bank Plc
Drummond House, 1 Redheughs PO Box 612, Ocean Way, Southampton,
Avenue, Edinburgh, EH12 9JN SO14 2ZP
Solicitors Blake Morgan Gardner Leader
New Kings Court, Tollgate White Hart House
Chandlers Ford, SO23 9DA 24 Market Place, Newbury, RG14 5BA
Independent Auditor Crowe U.K. LLP
R+ Building
2 Blagrave Street
Reading, RG1 1AZ

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Chairman’s Statement

Message from the Chair

I am pleased to present the Annual Report and Accounts for Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust known as Naomi House & Jacksplace Hospices for the Financial Year 2023/24.

I am delighted to begin my report this year with the news that we have

retained our CQC Outstanding award following an inspection in November 2023, with the report being finalised and published in May 2024. This is a very proud achievement for us for so many reasons, not least of which is that we were selected as an early adopter of the CQC’s new Assessment Framework and therefore one of the first organisations to be inspected under this new regime. It is a real testament to our wonderful staff and volunteers, recognising their great care, commitment and hard work to ensure the children, young adults and families we serve experience outstanding care every day.

Our last CQC inspection was in 2015 when we achieved Outstanding and so we are delighted to have retained this important high standard award. However, we are far from complacent in what we do and continually strive to improve our standards and, as it had been so long since our previous inspection, we commenced the year by undertaking a mock CQC inspection using independent assessors, who reported against the existing framework. This exercise highlighted many areas that we were maintaining at the highest level and also gave us an important independent review of areas for us to improve, mostly to do with policies and processes to update, that we were pleased to action. We believe that our organisational approach towards independently benchmarking against external peers whilst working closely with our CQC relationship lead, prepared us well for our inspection later in the year. I congratulate our executive team and the whole of the medical, nursing and care staff for maintaining the highest CQC grading.

At the beginning of the year, we were still operating Naomi House & Jacksplace hospices on alternate weeks, although always responding to end of life and emergency situations for all ages when required. This ensured services were available to both children and young adults whilst we continued to restore our services with reduced numbers of qualified clinical staff, that resulted following the pandemic. Through a dedicated recruitment campaign, clinical staff numbers have improved although still not to full establishment levels and we have reopened both hospices 24/7 concurrently from July. This has helped to deliver more services throughout the year providing care to 533 children, young adults and their families through 1820 bed nights, symptom management stays, step down from hospital, emergency and planned respite, end of life care, regular day services, play therapies, hydrotherapy, counselling and bereavement support.

We are also delighted to announce an extension of our services through the establishment and provision of our purpose built, fully accessible holiday lodge based at Hoburne Bashley Park in the New Forest. For many of the families we support, taking a holiday together can be out of reach for either affordability reasons, or due to lack of the right facilities to meet the specialist needs of their children. Our new service, Naomi House in The Forest, overcomes these challenges and enables families to have a short break or one week holiday in a purpose-built lodge in a beautiful location with full hospitality, leisure, recreation and entertainment facilities on site. Although the specialist medical and support services available from the hospices are important to families, so is spending quality time together, creating wonderful family memories on holiday which Naomi House in The Forest enables.

This year has also seen us review our organisational strategy, being in the fourth year of our 2020-25 plan, which was the period in which the pandemic dominated world events and changed perspectives for all of us. The world is a very different place to the one we were in when creating our strategy in 2020, although our fundamental purpose of delivering outstanding care and support to the families who need us remained the same throughout.

The Board of Trustees and Executive Team felt it was the right time to look further forward and to refresh our strategic priorities to the changing world around us, ensuring that our plans remain current whilst developing our services for the future.

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Later in the report, we detail our achievements against this year’s plan and introduce our new 2024-28 Strategic Framework, which outlines how we intend to use our reserves to develop our service provision.

With the majority of our income being generated from voluntary sources, we are only able to provide the services we do due to the continued support of individuals, groups, trusts and companies in the community and through our shops and lottery programme. Legacy income is also a crucial funding source for us and has been higher than expected this year enabling us to deliver an operational surplus. Therefore, I would like to thank everyone who has supported us in the past and continues to do so. We couldn’t do what we do without your generous donations and by those leaving us a gift in their will.

Finally, I would like to thank my fellow trustees for the wise counsel and support of the organisation throughout the past year and, on their behalf I would like to extend our grateful thanks to the Senior Management Team, all the staff in every part of the organisation and the very many volunteers for their dedication and unstinting hard work in what continues to be challenging times for everybody.

Andrew Meehan Chair of the Board of Trustees

Ebony has a rare progressive neurological disorder called Ataxia-telangiectasia, which affects her nervous and immune systems. She loves to regularly visit Jacksplace to see her friends, relax and have fun, while she receives the specialist nursing care she needs.

“I like Jacksplace because they don’t treat you like kids and they don’t treat you like you’ve got a disability. They treat you like one of their own.” Ebony

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Trustees’ Report

The Trustees are pleased to present their annual report and accounts of the Charity and its subsidiary for the year ending 31 March 2024.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with:

Vision and Mission

OUR VISION

Our Vision is a future where children, young adults and their families have access to compassionate support and expert palliative care, when and where they need it, on the good days, difficult days and last days.

OUR MISSION

Our Mission is to always provide outstanding care for children, young adults and families. Guided by the families we support, we will develop innovative services to provide personalised care and invest in our staff, our volunteers and our communities, to deliver an inclusive and collaborative service.

Underpinning our vision and our mission are our core values. We ASPIRE to be;

We place great reliance on committed staff and volunteers, whether they are caring for children, raising money or providing essential administration. During the year we have worked with our colleagues across the charity to refresh our Vision, Mission and Values to reflect our ambitions and to describe our culture and ways of working.

Living our Values will continue to be a strong theme as we ensure that everybody, paid or otherwise, is valued and respected for their contribution to our work.

Governance and Public Benefit

The Trustees hold legal responsibility for setting the strategy of the charity and for ensuring the group complies with the Companies Act, Charities Act and Statement of Recommended Practice.

The Trustees delegate the day-to-day operational management of the charity to the Chief Executive and the Senior Management Team to facilitate the effective delivery of the charity’s aims and objectives and to ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements.

The Trustees have many responsibilities that may be summarised as two overriding objectives:

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

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As a Board we are confident that, while uncertainty remains around voluntary and statutory income, particularly the continuation of the NHSE Children’s Hospice Grant, the immediate and foreseeable future of the organisation is secure.

The aim of Naomi House & Jacksplace, is to provide end of life care, symptom management, step down, emergency and planned respite care to children, young adults and their families who live with a life-limiting or life-threating condition. We operate across the south-central region providing services to families in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, West Sussex and West Surrey. Our beneficiaries’ ages range from babies to young adults up to 35 years and their families. It is entirely consistent with the charity’s objective as set out in its governing document, and statement of purpose. Services are delivered free of charge to beneficiaries or are provided under funded arrangements with Statutory bodies.

The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set. The core policy of the Trustees is to put families at the centre of our work and to support parents, carers, siblings and other family members, as well as the life-limited children, and young adults.

Structure and Management

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 15 April 1991.

The company was established under a Memorandum of Association, which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association.

The Trust is run by a Board of Trustees, which sets and monitors strategy and policies. The Board delegates authority to deliver the strategy to the Chief Executive and staff. The Board meets quarterly to receive reports of all the principal activities of the Trust. Two special meetings are arranged each year for Trustees to discuss and review the strategy.

Board Committee Structure:

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Trustees’ Report Cont.

Trustees are elected in accordance with the memorandum and articles of association by the Trustee Members of the Trust. There are currently 14 Trustee Members who hold voting rights and 35 Advisory Members all of whom have liability limited to £10.

In line with best practice and the Charity Governance Code, the Board continuously seeks to enhance the diversity of its skillset. Trustees are recruited following open advertisement, are subject to a rigorous interview and induction to support them in becoming effective members of the Board, working in the best interests of the charity. This includes formal Trustee Training both in person and through online training courses.

In February 2022, the Board and Senior Management Team undertook a Governance Review using the Digi-Board online review tool, which is based upon the Charity Governance Code. Following this review, the Board of Trustees and Senior Management Team have undertaken the recommendations included within the report which included reviewing our Purpose and Values and improving our approach to Equality Diversity and Inclusion and our Environmental initiatives. This has resulted in a refreshed Vision, Mission and Values framework along with a dedicated initiative to develop our Environmental Sustainability guidelines and approach which is included within this report.

Strategic Report

The financial year 2023-24 saw the Trust’s activities continuing to recover and rebuild services to pre-pandemic levels and in the fourth year of our 2020-25 Strategy.

Our continuing strategic aims during the year were:

Continue to Make a Difference to Families Everyday

By meeting their needs, delivering high quality specialist care services and to be there when needed.

Afford our Ambitions

Increase our statutory, voluntary and earned income whilst managing costs to develop services in a sustainable way.

Be at the Forefront of a Changing Healthcare Landscape

Maximise the opportunities presented by the NHS Long Term Plan and new NHSE CYP (Children and Young People) Service Specification to work more collaboratively together with other providers and statutory bodies, to improve services for children, young adults and their families

Our achievements and progress against our key objectives are:

Continue to make a difference to families everyday

Afford our ambitions

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Be at the forefront of a changing healthcare landscape

The Trustees believe we are well positioned for the future. Through continued community support for our work and with our strong financial position, we’ve been able to make some important investments for the future and plan to continue to do so. The Trustees plan to increase staff numbers with the aim of increasing services and will continue to invest in facilities and services that benefit the children, young adults and families we serve. This will add to the underlying cost base of the charity and thereby put the current level of reserves to good use in forthcoming years.

Strategy 2024-28

The world has changed significantly since our 2020-25 Strategy was implemented and so during the year, the Board of Trustees and Senior Management Team have reviewed our strategy for the next four years. We are pleased to report our new Strategic Framework for the period 2024-28 is as follows:

Reach More, Do More

Utilise our reserves to increase our reach to the children, young adults and families who need our services and aim to provide greater access to families to a wider range of services in Hospital, Hospice and the Home.

Support the Healthcare System – In Partnership

Continue to be a leading integrated specialist provider of palliative care services for children and young adults, investing in and providing outstanding services to Integrated Care Boards across the Wessex Region, working with the HIOW Children & Young Adult Palliative Care Network (HIOW CYAPCN) and the Wessex Children & Young Adult Palliative Care Network (WCYAPCN).

Grow Sustainably – People, Income & Environment

Invest in and develop our people and workforce planning to ensure we have the professionally qualified and experienced staff required to deliver the range and volume of services we aspire to.

Continue to develop our voluntary and statutory income streams to achieve a more balanced income portfolio that generates income from commissioned services provided to the Healthcare system and grow existing voluntary sources whilst investing in new income streams.

Ensure we plan and invest in our environmental sustainability committing to be a charity that considers our impact on the world and the part we play in reducing our environmental effects.

Risk Management - Principal risks and uncertainties

A risk register is at the centre of the Trust’s risk management process. It is regularly reviewed by the senior management team and scrutinised by committees for onward presentation and approval by the board. Risk management is inherent in all the charity’s activities and key risks broadly cover patient care, data protection, finance, fundraising, governance and compliance, health and safety and information technology including cyber-attack.

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Trustees’ Report Cont.

We continue to develop our Risk Register within the Vantage system enabling risks to be more regularly reviewed and assessed by colleagues across the organisation. The Vantage system is also where Incident Reporting is recorded and so our intention is to have a more dynamic Risk Register informed by the incidents recorded and will be an organisational wide system improving the management of incidents, health and safety reporting and risk management overall, providing an organisational view of risks and controls.

Our currently identified key risks are:

The Trustees have put in place mitigating measures to manage these risks and monitor the likelihood of these risk events occurring. It is felt that the financial and reputational impact on the Trust, is well controlled. Regular review and updates are managed through the charity’s Risk Register and through review by internal governance committees.

Clinical governance is overseen by the Clinical Committee monthly and Healthcare Governance Committee quarterly. The Fundraising, Retail & Marketing Committee monitors the income streams of the Trust. The Finance, Risk & Audit Committee advises the Board on all finance and risk matters, and makes appropriate recommendations, when required. This includes reviewing the annual accounts and budgets, as well as appraising investment performance. The Board receives regular reports from the People & Culture Committee which oversees health, safety, mandatory training and organisational culture. During the year the Governance Committee was disbanded due to the work being integrated into the other committees and the Board.

Care Services

In 2023/2024 we focused on the reopening of both hospices; Naomi House & Jacksplace and worked towards returning to the service delivery and activity of pre-pandemic times. Although staffing remained a challenge, both hospices are now open simultaneously. The numbers of children and young adults in each house takes into consideration acuity, dependency, and staffing numbers.

Families continue to be encouraged to book nights from their allocation to ensure that they maximise what is available to them. There continues to be flexibility to ensure that end of life admissions are prioritised, and we continue to facilitate symptom management stays to support hospital avoidance and step down from hospital, where possible, supporting families as they transition home from hospital after a significant stay.

Nursing shortages remain a challenge for the Healthcare sector, and we are not immune from the effects of the national shortage of nurses. Despite this and through the creative use of staff scheduling and use of bank staff, we have provided more bed nights in 23/24 than we did in the previous year. The number of beds available for service users to be admitted to is flexed according to staffing and the acuity and dependency of the children and young adult to maximise occupancy. This is planned through a duty rota but also reviewed on a shift-by-shift basis. However, due to periods of staff sickness, low staff morale and a lull in recruitment, bed numbers were reduced in November 2023 across both hospices by two available beds. Despite this decision, through great teamwork and creativity by colleagues on the care floor, bed nights increased on 22/23 numbers.

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

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Naomi House & Jacksplace provided:

The mock CQC inspection that Naomi House & Jacksplace undertook in 2023 resulted in improving our policies and processes, supporting a positive outcome when CQC inspected the hospices in November 2023; we retained our overall CQC ‘Outstanding’ rating; having received an outstanding rating for responsive and care.

Our new Director of Care, Erika Lipscombe, started in March 2024 and is reviewing current ways of working, staffing and opportunities to develop our services going forward in line with our 2024-2028 strategy of ‘Reach More, Do More’ and supporting the healthcare system through partnership working.

Despite our successful international recruitment during 22/23, nurse vacancies continue to be a challenge for the organisation, in line with national shortages, and impacts on the provision of service. This is particularly acute for senior paediatric registered nurses.

Our marketing team have worked with the care team to create a recruitment video to try and increase our reach for attracting nurses.

Across the year our delivery of End-of-Life care, both within the hospice and in supporting community teams when children are at home, has increased, as have symptom management stays to avoid hospital admissions. These admissions are supported at Naomi House by the continuing development of our relationship with the Specialist Paediatric Palliative Care (SPPC) team at University Hospital Southampton (UHS), through the two SPPC Consultants that work across both areas.

At Jacksplace, our relationship with the Adult Palliative Care team at UHS continues to develop through the crossorganisation working of our Associate Specialist in Palliative Medicine and our recently appointed Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS).

The development for reducing our service user’s time in hospital continues to be achieved through the partnership between Jacksplace and UHS and the ongoing delivery of a one stop clinic for young people with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). As reported previously this is the first of its kind in the UK and allows young adults to attend a clinic at Jacksplace, which combines the majority of their annual appointments into one day. The various clinical specialties involved include palliative care, neurology, cardiology and physiotherapy. The innovative clinic frees up hospital time and means the young adults do not have to attend multiple appointments throughout the year. This initiative continues to grow and increased clinic time is being considered for 24/25.

During 2023/24 a partnership was formed with Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust (HHFT) and Naomi House which led to the Wessex Childrens Hospice Trust funding a two-year Children’s Community Nurse (CCN). The CCN joined the team in early 2024, working with the community and Naomi House supporting those children in the community with complex neurological conditions and those children requiring palliative care.

This role enables children to be discharged home from hospital to be cared for by the children’s community team or enables care to continue to be delivered in the community, preventing a hospital admission. This role is not a role that holds a ‘case load’, the primary care team remain responsible for the child, however the role aims to provide additional, support, advice, and education to enable children to be cared for within their ‘appropriate preferred place’.

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Trustees’ Report Cont.

Day services at both Naomi House and Jacksplace continue; with sessions being provided enabling parents/ carers to attend with their child or their young adult involving themed activities such as social play sessions including music, and cooking.

With the opening of our holiday lodge Naomi House in the Forest, in February 2024, many families will benefit from a holiday in the New Forest during 2024/25. The purpose built holiday lodge provides all the specialist facilities families need including fully accessible ramps and decking, widened entrances and hallways and a dedicated wet room and adapted bedroom with a full profiling bed and hoisting equipment. This provides families with a dedicated space to create wonderful holiday memories together in a beautiful location with recreation, leisure, entertainment and restaurant facilities on hand. This extends our services for families, enabling holidays to be taken that otherwise would not be possible.

The opening of Jesters in April 2024 provides young adults with an opportunity to embrace the outdoor grounds of the hospice. Jesters aims to accommodate multiple wheelchairs and beds and has electricity points for ventilation, oxygen pumps and more. The space will be used as a pub, as a dining area, for a cinema experience, as a sensory room, for parties and special occasions, for gaming and movie nights, for themed activities, and more, an exciting opportunity and experience for our young adults.

Expansion of services for the forthcoming year includes the consideration of a research nurse post, the development of a Naomi House & Jacksplace Education Training Centre and work will continue to be undertaken to establish single points of contact that can be accessed in and out of hours.

Our Impact - Danielle’s Story

Danielle was known for her lovely smile. No matter what she was going through, she loved to smile. Danielle had a rare progressive brain disorder and died at just 17 years old. She and her family were supported by Naomi House & Jacksplace for respite, and in the last days of her life.

Danielle’s mum, Lisa, shares their family story with us.

Danielle’s personality was brilliant. No matter what she was going through, she was always smiling. She was 12 when we started to visit Naomi House. We all absolutely loved it; everyone was so kind.

At Naomi House, Danielle used to love riding the assisted bikes,

spending time in the sensory room and going in the hydrotherapy pool. Sometimes we didn’t stay at the hospice with Danielle. Even though she had serious health issues, we didn’t worry about leaving her there without us because we trusted the care team to look after her.

Danielle was having trouble breathing and was rushed to hospital where she deteriorated quickly. She was in a lot of pain and, within 24 hours, we were told by the doctor that she was coming to the end of her life. We arranged for Danielle to go to Naomi House for End-of-Life care.

When we got there I was told to go and get some sleep, as I hadn’t slept for 72 hours. I kissed Danielle goodnight, and I gave her permission and said it’s OK, you can go.

At about 10.30pm we heard a knock on our bedroom door. The care team had been trying to wake us, but we had gone into a deep sleep, we were so tired. By the time we got to Danielle, she had already gone. In a way, I think she wanted it that way, she just wanted to go peacefully.

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Danielle was settled into the Butterfl y bereavement room, and we were able to spend as much time with her as we wanted, there were no restrictions. The staff were brilliant, they were so caring towards us. If we needed to talk or needed to cry, they were there for us.

Being at Naomi House made the world of difference to us and we can’t thank them enough. The way the care staff are with the children and the parents is brilliant, they put in 100%. They are just so loving and caring.

Fundraising, Retail and Marketing Review

If the 2022-2023 period was noteworthy for the unexpected change in perspective brought about by the crisis in Ukraine and other global events, last year 2023-2024, was a period when the dawning reality of the impact of such events started to truly bite. Despite endemic economic challenges, increases to interest rates and the cost-ofliving crisis, charities the length and breadth of the country were determined to support their benefi ciaries whilst adapting to the continuing changes in appetite and interest of donors and supporters.

The Fundraising Management Team for Naomi House & Jacksplace oversee income generation across voluntary giving, Retail and the Lottery. Plans for teams are developed in consultation with the team and based on the opportunities and potential for each income stream. In voluntary giving, the Events team begin the year focused on off ering a series of events and activities that generate engagement, income and publicity for the charity whilst increasing understanding about the cause and the needs of our children, young adults and their families. Our fl agship event, Clarendon Way Walk, planned for the fi rst weekend in June, once again takes up several months of planning for the team and incorporates the support of hundreds of volunteers from the community as well as a signifi cant volunteer boost from the Army Training Regiment based in Winchester. Having raised over £2m since inception, the event between Salisbury and Winchester is supported by old and young alike and is a magnifi cent celebration of the diversity of support that the charity receives.

Amongst the array of groups, schools, universities, colleges and other groups and individuals, the Community Team continued to expand the relationship with our friends at CarFest in to a fourth year. This year, young ambassadors from Jacksplace were front and centre to the charity element of the event sharing time with the event founder and radio personality, Mr Chris Evans, as well as some of the many celebrities that attend the event.

Our Corporate team continue to engage with a mix of ongoing and charity of the year partners. They work via a series of fi ve pillars outlining how we maximise value working with our corporate partners. We are fortunate to work with several partners where we enjoy ongoing relationships not just with the company but with suppliers and business links that they have. The mutuality of these ongoing relationships sees teams undertake extraordinary feats of bravery, endurance and fun to raise funds for the cause.

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Trustees’ Report Cont.

Thanks to the generosity of one of those partners, we were able to take a group of supporters for a team building activity centre in the New Forest that has then helped further deepen relationships and move forward the range of ways that we engage with corporate supporters.

Our Trust & Foundation income experienced significant challenge in the year. A review of the trends in the market highlighted that a number of regularly supporting Trusts had either reduced charitable support, changed support criteria or decided to move funds to supporting the cost-of-living crisis. Nevertheless, our most generous Trust, The Geoff and Fiona Squire Foundation, continue to generously support our bereavement and post bereavement services.

Working in conjunction with our External Lottery Manager, we continue to develop our Lottery. Following a period where we were unable to find a suitable canvassing partner to work with, we had contracted a new canvassing agency with a focus and ethos around player recruitment that gelled more with our values. The Fundraising Partnership recruited new canvassers in the region to support the recruitment of new players. Internally, a new colleague focussed on enhanced donor engagement and stewardship. A lot of this focus is on offering long term players and winners tours of the hospice so that they can see how their funds make a difference.

Our Retail team comprised of 21 shops, a warehouse team, delivery drivers and stock sorters continue to underpin the retail operation with stock receipt, sorting, distribution and recycling from the warehouse.

The introduction of Sales promotions in the shops at season-end has continued to help move through large quantities of unsold stock whilst also helping manage space in the warehouse. Our managers have worked hard to maintain the relationships with many of the volunteers that operate throughout the network and underpin all aspects of the retail operation.

The Recycle Bike Hub continued to expand the number of bikes that they have sold for the charity and have a regular team of volunteers undertaking all aspects of the operation including assessing, servicing, dismantling, and transporting bikes to raise vital funds for the charity. They hit the cumulative landmark £50,000 worth of sales this year.

A central part of the team remains the work of the Supporter Care team. They answer calls, process income, deal with general queries and support the wider team in delivery of their aims and targets. They work with and coordinate the work of the volunteer ambassadors and enable lots of the community activity that underpins income generation throughout the year.

The reality of our operation is that the majority of donations we receive are less than £1,000. We know that the “small” gift really does make a difference to our ability to deliver all of our plans and services. The support of volunteers, whether individuals, corporate or community groups adds enormous capacity to an otherwise small team and the value of their contributions exceeds the cash value associated with the individual tasks or activities that they support.

As a team we seek to represent the same levels of care and professionalism as our nurses and care teams. We can only provide outstanding care because of the continued support of the community that we come from. Naomi House & Jacksplace looks to the coming strategic period with excitement at what we can potentially achieve to build on this ethos whilst also challenging ourselves to think about increasing our reach and geographical penetration and money raised to support our cause.

Fundraising Statement

Naomi House & Jacksplace recognises the enormous contribution made across the income generation activities from volunteers and paid employees. Volunteers underpin and add value across all aspects of the work of the team whether helping at events, supporting office duties and much more besides. Volunteers supporting our work form a natural part of the extended team and are central to all of our operations.

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Following a varied year for our Retail team, we have continued to operate 21 shops whilst seeking to increase this number with suitable propositions to add to the portfolio. Although several sites are under consideration, cost and opportunity are also carefully considered before moving forward. Hopefully, 2024/25 will be the year when we start to add to the portfolio. Another adjustment in the Retail team is the addition of a Commercial Manager in the final quarter of the year. A significant focus of the role is in supporting managers to ensure consistent standards and focus maintained on the opportunities and activities that provide the best return.

We continue to work well with our External Lottery Manager – Starvale and the new canvassing partner The Fundraising Partnership continues to operate at a level and to a standard that minimizes our attrition rate. The rise in the number of canvassers dedicated solely to our campaign has ensured that our player numbers have remained stable throughout the year and there is a focus to increase numbers in the coming year. Our attrition rates are within industry standards. We were deeply saddened to learn at the beginning of 2024 that the agency CEO died unexpectedly. Although we had only worked together for a short period of time, we appreciated the professionalism, care and passion that he brought to the relationship and the industry. Our condolences to all those who knew and worked with him.

Naomi House & Jacksplace is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and carries the Fundraising Regulator Logo on the website as a sign of our ongoing commitment to the principles and aims of that body and sector best practice.

The Fundraising Management Team support and encourage the professional development of the Fundraising team sourcing and providing regular training. Of the four people in the team who started a funded course to achieve the Fundraising Diploma in the year, one left us to take a new role with a national charity. We continue to support and encourage the others pursuing the diploma. As a team we have regular team and individual development meetings, 1:1’s and support training.

The Director of Fundraising remains Chair of the regional Committee of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and regularly offers the team opportunities to join or take part in free or low-cost training and peer to peer networking sessions. All new fundraisers are encouraged to take the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s Fundraising Foundation Course.

The Fundraising Management team continually monitor guidance and regulations from the Charity Commission, the Fundraising Regulator, and the Gambling Commission. Specifically, we review information relating to GDPR, data protection and the Gambling activities.

In the past year, we have received just two suppression requests from the Regulator. Both of which have been actioned and addressed. All complaints that we receive in relation to income generation activities are reviewed by the Board Sub-Committee responsible for Fundraising Retail and Marketing on a quarterly basis. We received a total of 21 Complaints – all of which were investigated and resolved. Again the majority of reports came from either Retail or Lottery and were managed and handled by the respective managers and reported to Trustees via the governance subcommittee. Of the three Serious Incidents that we reported last year, one has been resolved by the police with no further action against the third party that was at the centre of the case. The other two incidents are ongoing with nothing further to report at this time. A complaint regarding a collection pot lost between our shops and being returned to the office (the first in over 10 years) initiated a review of the process employed around how we manage collection pots.

As noted previously, due to the Lottery and the nature of the work of the charity, we are alive to the needs of vulnerable people and use the framework from the Gambling Commission and the Code of Fundraising Practice to guide our approach to dealing with any such individual or group. In the Retail operation, each shop has a manager and assistant who undertake regular training in these areas supported by Relief Managers our volunteer coordinator and the HR partner. Each shop displays information on contacts for anyone to report concerns. All staff undertake relevant Safeguarding and Health & Safety, Safeguarding training.

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Trustees’ Report Cont.

We continue to provide third party fundraisers with a fundraising agreement. This sets out expectations in regard of health and safety arrangements together with information for insurance, cash handling etc. We acknowledge donations electronically or by post and provide receipts on controlled stationery for staff involved in cash collections.

In the coming year we look forward to updating our fundraising activities to maximise income, embrace new technology and further embed the principles and values reflected in the Vision, Mission and Values of the charity.

People Review

At the start of 2023 we began a major initiative to refresh our Vision, Mission and Values, and the focus for the Human Resources team was to develop a new set of values that described what the Trust feels it stands for. Just as personal values describe the codes, beliefs and personality of an individual, we wanted to capture, promote and celebrate what working with us means to our 170 staff and over 500 volunteers. A series of interactive workshops were held during the late Spring and over 80 people participated with representation also from our Trustee Board and a small group of service users. Each group was asked a very simple but thoughtprovoking question: “what do we stand for?” and each group found common themes as well as some personal or functional behavioral trends.

Some sentiments stood out; reflecting, quality, flexibility, understanding, belonging, respect, ambition, teamwork, expertise, listening, pride. Teams described not only what they thought we demonstrated but also where they wanted to improve and innovate. The challenge then was to distill a long list of nouns, adjectives and phrases into one set of words that embraced those themes, and to design an acronym which described our personality and reflected the Trust’s hopes and ambitions for the future. Hence, ASPIRE was born, from Agile, taking the initiative, being innovative, showing flexibility and always listening and learning. Supportive, being committed to helping others and by acknowledging and rewarding contribution. Proud, recognising and celebrating our colleagues, the work we do and the difference we all make. Inclusive, creating an environment where everyone feels valued, empowered, respected, and heard, where everyone feels they belong. Responsive, being committed to taking responsibility, taking action, and getting results. Encouraging, inspiring everyone to do their best, to get involved and to strive to improve.

Having a culture where our people ASPIRE to deliver the promise we make in our vision and mission will now underpin our people initiatives over the next strategic period.

Naomi House & Jacksplace is an employer committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and aims to offer competitive, fair and equitable remuneration to all staff. Remuneration levels are reviewed annually in April and at other intervals from time to time and where appropriate, adjustments to either basic salary or other benefit terms and conditions are made. Whilst the Trust aims to pay salary levels that are comparable to other professionals and various labour markets appropriate to its staff, it must always consider the overall interests of the organisation and ensure a strategy that is affordable. Pay awards for members of the executive team are determined in line with this policy. Pay for the Chief Executive is subject to the same scrutiny and is approved by the Chair of the Board of Trustees.

During the year, we have continued with our efforts to increase our number of qualified nurses and our recruitment and retention scheme, introduced at the end of 2022 helped us attract 10 new recruits in total, including a new Head of Jacksplace. We also promoted internally to fill our vacancy for a Head of Family Support. Our most significant appointment however was into the role of Director or Care following the retirement of our previous colleague of 13 years. Our replacement is a very well-qualified and well-respected senior nurse who brings additional expertise in research as well as an excellent knowledge of hospice care.

We have also made progress in the area of employee engagement and communication introducing a new Intranet site with pages dedicated to the different parts of the Trust.

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Page 14

As an employee information tool, the People page is one of the most visited and our content has become more interactive as we gain more experience how to make the most of the site.

Our Staff Survey indicated that engagement continues to improve with an increase in response rate from 60% to 80%. Overall, the survey showed that people were positive about working here although they recognise we could improve our processes for getting feedback from one another. In response, we have promoted more faceto-face meetings and also held more soft skills training with all our managers, including workshops on emotional intelligence, compassion fatigue and neurodiversity. We know more, too, about our colleagues from our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion data.

This data will help us promote further new initiatives that support, engage and celebrate our people. Of course, our colleagues are not only those who earn a salary. We currently have 509 regular volunteers across all departments who gave a staggering 85,204 hours of voluntary work during the financial year. Many of our volunteers have been involved with the charity for some time, often providing their help and support in a number of departments.

As we engage with such a broad selection of dedicated and talented people, we have decided to change the name of our HR team to the People Team which gives a better reflection of both our work and what we ASPIRE to achieve. We are enormously proud of everyone who makes this organisation a success.

Environmental

At Naomi House & Jacksplace we acknowledge the impact our services and activities have on the environment. We are committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and our carbon footprint to ensure a healthier future for those that we serve and the community around us.

Throughout the year, we have diligently worked to establish our carbon footprint, allowing us to determine our baseline, identify environmental projects to reduce our emissions and track our future progress.

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Trustees’ Report Cont.

Our Current Carbon Footprint

As part of this commitment, we have measured our current carbon footprint (using the Scope 1,2 & 3 guidance) to establish our baseline emissions of 1.23k total tCO2e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) per annum.

This measurement comes from calculations across the charity incorporating Naomi House & Jacksplace Hospices, 21 retail shops and our warehouse operation.

Over the strategic period we will plan to reduce our Scope 1 & 2 factors in the following ways:

  1. Scope 1: Cut down on single use plastic, reducing waste going into landfi ll across all departments. Use sustainably sourced products throughout each department. Generate our Carbon footprint and include this data in our annual reports. Our sustainability initiatives become part of our story across all communications. Create training assets and advice guidelines via the intranet to inform all staff .

  2. Scope 2: Reduce power usage in all the buildings, smart lights, LED lights - awareness of usage across the organisation. Use greener energy suppliers, fi t solar panels to the hospice buildings. Install a BMS system to smartly manage our HVAC systems. All shops to be standardised in having recycling bins, support training and internal process in dealing with waste & recycling.

2023/24 Environmental Achievements

Financial Review

We are pleased to report a successful fi nancial year, achieving an operational surplus of £325,000. This was accomplished despite our trustees initially setting an anticipated in-year defi cit budget of (£685,000). The main factor contributing to our operational surplus was an outstanding year for legacy income. Our investments also performed exceptionally well, achieving an unrealised gain of £1,751,000, which contributed to an overall surplus of £2,076,000. For a detailed breakdown of funds held refer to page 41.

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Page 16

Total income for the year ending 31 March 2024 amounted to £9,131,000.

NHS England continued to support our services through the Children’s Hospice Grant Scheme with an increased annual grant of £900,050 (2023: £754,769). Income from Integrated Care Boards (ICB’s) amounted to £410,413 (2023: £211,975). This increase is due to our ability to charge for End-of-Life care in accordance with the NHS’s statutory obligations. There has been significant uncertainty regarding the future of the Children’s Hospice Grant, and we are pleased

to report the grant has been guaranteed for 2024/25. Moving forward there is less certainty with a requirement to contract with the six ICB’s that we support through the healthcare system. It is important to acknowledge that this income stream, which represents 9.8% of our income, is crucial to support our children, young adults and families in the future and any risk to this income may have an impact on our future service provision.

Our retail network of 21 shops (2023: 21) has had a challenging year compared to the outstanding year they had in 22/23. Retail remains our largest income stream with income of over £2.5m and accounting for 28% of our total income. The Retail team continue to seek opportunities to expand the retail network and grow retail income.

Legacy income for 2023/24 has been exceptional, totaling over £2.3m, which is double our income from 2022/23. Although legacy income can be volatile, it remains a crucial revenue stream for us. This year, our positive financial performance has been driven by outstanding legacy income and a substantial unrealised gain of £1,751,000.

Retail Gift Aid claimed from HMRC totalled £160,670 (2023: £136,876). Our retail network has also benefitted from continued reduction in business rates on retail premises, which is a government support measure.

Naomi House Children’s Hospice Trust is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trust. The subsidiary acts as the agent for the Retail Gift Aid scheme and handles all trading activities. All profits from the trading activities can be gift aided to the Trust, subject to HMRC regulations, benefiting the charity by reducing any corporation tax liability. During the year the trading activity income grew to £30,781 (2023:£20,103).

The Board had ambitious plans during 2023/24 including the provision of a new holiday home, a drive to increase care activity, invest in our staff and buildings and identify new fundraising activities. To achieve this the Board recognised that financial investment was required which has resulted in us spending over £700,000 more in

2023/24 than 2022/23.

Total expenditure amounted to £8,806,645 (2022/23:£8,071,508).

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Trustees’ Report Cont.

Managing the financial challenges of the hospices and identifying future income opportunities requires careful planning and resource allocation. It is crucial to continually evaluate our cost effectiveness and explore opportunities for efficiency gains without compromising the quality of care and service provided here at Naomi House & Jacksplace.

Investments

As of the 31st March 2024, the Trust’s investment portfolio was valued at £15,903,022. Despite ongoing global instability and the withdrawal of £1million to support our cash requirements and capital programme, our investments performed well during the year, achieving an exceptional unrealised gain of £1,750,825 (2023: decreased by £200,999)

The management of the Trust’s investments portfolio is entrusted to an independent fund manager Meridiem Investment Management formerly known as Veritas. Investments are managed in line with our investment policy, aiming for a “real return on a rolling 5-year view with an emphasis on capital growth with income” achieving 47.7% over the last 5-year period.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration and stewardship feature at multiple stages of Meridiem’s investment process and they actively monitor and assess the ESG risk associated with companies in which they invest.

Maintaining a long-term perspective and considering market condition is crucial. The Trust’s commitment to responsible investing and its partnership with an independent fund manager play a crucial role in navigating the challenges and optimising returns over the long term.

We have enjoyed a successful relationship with our investment managers for several years. However, in line with good governance practices, we conducted a review of our investment management services. Following a competitive selection process, we have awarded Cazenove the contract to manage our investments.

Reserves Policy

The purpose of reserves is to secure the future of our services and fulfill long-term commitments to the children, young adults and families we support. Our reserves ensure that we can maintain operations during periods of unpredictable income and allows us to absorb planned deficit budgets.

In light of significant global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, war in the Ukraine and the Cost-of-Living crisis, it’s been evident that charities need to maintain sufficient reserves for the future. In recent years there has been a shift by charities towards adopting risk-based reserve policies, moving away from the traditional approach of maintaining reserves to cover a specific number of months expenditure, which for us was historically set at 18 months.

We conducted a review of our reserve policy during the year and have adopted a new approach. Our new policy incorporates a methodology that considers risk to our income streams and maintains coverage for six months of expenditure. The Trustees believe that the new reserve policy is appropriate to ensure future sustainability of our services and of our financial health.

The general unrestricted reserve funds increased by £4,263,497 as at the 31st March 2024 to £7,605,568 (2023: £3,342,501) this improvement can be attributed to an exceptional unrealised gain in the year and receiving significant legacy income during the year, resulting in an operational surplus for the financial year. In addition an adjustment to the revaluation reserve to bring it in line with the uplift on investments at the year end from historic cost to market value has contributed to the increase.

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Page 18

Our trustees are committed to using our unrestricted reserves to strengthen service delivery, particularly in light of the current challenges facing the hospice sector, including operational demands and long-term financial sustainability.

Financial Sustainability

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee (FRAC) has undertaken a detailed review of the cashflow forecasts, unrestricted reserves and investment position of the group and has provided assurance to the Board of the sustainability of the group for the foreseeable future.

Key financial sustainability considerations were:

Disclosure of information to auditor

Each of the persons who are Trustees at the time when this Trustees’ Report is approved has confirmed that:

Auditor

The auditor, Crowe U.K. LLP, has indicated his willingness to continue in office. The designated Trustees will propose a motion reappointing the auditor at a meeting of the Trustees.

Approved by order of the members of the board of Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Mr Andrew Meehan (Chair of Trustees) Date: 8th October 2024

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable las and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

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

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Group and the Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Group and the Company 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 Group and the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust (the ‘parent charitable company’) and its subsidiary (the ‘Group’) for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Consolidated Balance Sheet, the Company Balance Sheet, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and the related notes, 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:

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 Group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council’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 Group’s or the parent charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Annual Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

Page 21

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust Cont.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of our 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’ Report including the Strategic Report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement, 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 Group’s and the parent 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 Group or the parent 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 identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these between our audit team members. We then designed and performed audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

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Page 22

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charitable company and Group operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011, together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be fundamental to the charitable company’s and the Group’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charitable company and the Group for fraud. The laws and regulations we considered in this context for the charity were the Gambling Commission, CQC Regulations and General Data Protection Regulations.

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be with the completeness and accuracy of certain income streams and the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management, and the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, designing audit procedures over income, sample testing on the posting of journals, reviewing accounting estimates for biases, reviewing regulatory correspondence with the Charity Commission and reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing noncompliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

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.

Page 23

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust Cont.

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 its members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Janette Joyce (Senior statutory auditor)

for and on behalf of

Crowe U.K. LLP

Statutory Auditor R+ Building, 2 Blagrave Street Reading Berkshire RG1 1AZ

Date: 10 October 2024

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Page 24

Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2024

The notes on pages 29 to 50

Page 25

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Consolidated Balance Sheet

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust - 02601495 As at 31 March 2024

The fi nancial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on and signed on their behalf by:

8th October 2024

The notes on pages 29 to 50 form part of these fi nancial statements.

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Page 26

Company Balance Sheet

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust - 02601495 As at 31 March 2024

The fi nancial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on and signed on their behalf by:

8th October 2024

The notes on pages 29 to 50 form part of these fi nancial statements.

Page 27

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust - 02601495 As at 31 March 2024

The notes on pages 29 to 50 form part of these fi nancial statements.

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Page 28

Notes to the Financial Statements

1. General Information

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust is a registered charity (charity number 1002832) and a private company limited by guarantee (company number 02601495) incorporated in England & Wales. The registered office and principal place of business is Stockbridge Road, Sutton Scotney, Winchester, SO21 3JE. This is also the address of its wholly owned subsidiary Naomi House Children’s Hospice Ltd.

2. Accounting Policies

2.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011.

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.

These financial statements consolidate the results of the charitable company and its wholly-owned subsidiary Naomi House Children’s Hospice Ltd on a line by line basis. Transactions and balances between the charitable company and its subsidiary have been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements. A separate statement of financial activities, or income and expenditure account, for the charitable company itself is not presented because the charitable company has taken advantage of the exemptions afforded by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006. The Charity has taken advantage of the exemptions in FRS 102 from the requirement to present a charity only Cash Flow Statement and certain disclosures about its own financial instruments within the consolidated financial statements.

The Company has taken advantage of the exemption allowed under section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not presented its own Statement of Financial Activities in these financial statements.

2.2 Going concern

The Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern.

The Trustees believe that the Group’s financial resources and contingency planning is sufficient to ensure the ability of the Group as a going concern for the foreseeable future, being at least twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements and therefore have prepared the financial statements on a going concern basis.

2.3 Income

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

Income from government grants (including retail grants) and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the Group 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.

Where entitlement occurs before income is received, the income is accrued. Where income is received in advance of the Group having entitlement to the funds the income is deferred.

Page 29

Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements Cont.

Donations and gifts represents amounts receivable during the year, together with any associated tax refund and do not include the value of any pledges secured for future donations. Income from gift aid tax reclaims is recognised for all donations made prior to the year end, where valid gift aid declarations are held.

The contribution of volunteers is not included in the Statement of Financial Activities, but is disclosed in the Trustees’ Report in accordance with the SORP.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

Where legacies have been notified to the Charity, but the criteria for income recognition have not fully been met, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed in note 23.

Donations in the form of legacies are recognised when it is probable that the legacy will be received and its value can be measured reliably. These criteria will normally be met following probate once the executor(s) of the estate has established that there are sufficient assets in the estate, after settling liabilities, to pay the legacy. A 5% provision is netted off against accrued legacy income to cover legal and finalisation costs from obtaining the legacy income.

Evidence that the executor(s) has determined that a payment can be made, may arise on the agreement of the estate’s accounts or notification that payment will be made. When notification is received after the year-end but it is clear that the executor(s) has agreed prior to the year-end that the legacy can be paid, the legacy is accrued in the financial statements. The certainty and measurability of the receipt may be affected by subsequent events such as valuations and disputes.

2.4 Expenditure

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

Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

2.5 Allocation of support costs

Expenditure is allocated to the specific activity directly associated with the corresponding cost.

However, the cost of overall direction and administration of each activity, which includes comprising the salary and overhead costs for our support functions and governance, are allocated based on the percentage of activity expenditure.

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Page 30

Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the Charity. These costs are associated with constitutional and statutory requirements and include any costs associated with the strategic management of the Charity’s activities and are included within support costs.

2.6 Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the Group; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

2.7 Operating leases

Rental charges are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

2.8 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets costing £2,500 or more are capitalised.

Depreciation costs are allocated to activities on the basis of the use of the related assets in those activities. Assets are reviewed for impairment if circumstances indicate their carrying value may exceed their net realisable value and value in use.

Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of tangible fixed assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives.

Depreciation is provided on the following bases:

Leasehold land - Over period lease Leasehold buildings - 50 years Motor vehicles - 4 years Fixtures and fittings - 5-10 years Computer equipment - 3 years

2.9 Listed investments

Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the Balance Sheet date using the closing quoted market price. Any change in fair value will be recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities and any excess of fair value over the historic cost of the investments will be shown as a fair value reserve in the Balance Sheet. Investment gains and losses, are shown in the heading “Net gains/(losses) on investments” in the Statement of Financial Activities. The Group does not acquire put options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments.

Investments in subsidiaries are valued at cost.

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements Cont.

2.10 Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. In general, cost is determined on a first in first out basis and includes transport and handling costs. Net realisable value is the price at which stocks can be sold in the normal course of business after allowing for the costs of realisation. Provision is made where necessary for obsolete, slow moving and defective stocks.

2.11 Financial instruments

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

Debtors

Trade debtors, other debtors and accrued income 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 at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

Creditors

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

2.12 Pensions

The Trust operates two pension schemes. The first is a defined contribution pension scheme, the assets of which are held independently from those of the Group. Expenditure made through the Statement of Financial Activities represents the contributions arising in the year.

The second scheme is available to ex-NHS staff and is a defined benefit scheme. As the charity is not able to identify its share of the asset and liabilities of the scheme, the scheme is treated by Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust as if it were a defined contribution scheme in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102. Any funding shortfall would be met by the Exchequer. See Note 25 for more detail.

2.13 Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are donations and other income received or generated for the charitable purposes and have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the Trustees for particular purposes. Details of the aim and use of designated funds are included within the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund. Details of the restrictions are included within the notes to the financial statements.

Endowment funds are investments donated to the Charity to generate income which can be spent on charitable activities. Details of the aim and use of endowment funds are included within the notes to the financial statements.

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2.14 Signifi cant estimates and judgements

Preparation of the fi nancial statements requires management to make signifi cant judgements and estimates. The items in the fi nancial statements where these judgements and estimates have been made include:

Management judgement is applied over the valuation of legacy income and the legacy pipeline where cash is not yet received. See note 2.3 for the legacy accounting policy and note 23 for the value of the legacy pipeline.

3. Income from donations and legacies

4. Income from charitable activities

Income from charitable activities is unrestricted during this and the prior year.

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements Cont.

5. Investment income

6. Expenditure on raising funds Costs of raising voluntary income

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Costs of operating shops

7. Analysis of expenditure by charitable activities

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements Cont.

Analysis of direct costs

Analysis of support costs

Governance costs of £27,845 (2023: £31,952) are included within support costs.

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8. Auditor’s remuneration

The auditor’s remuneration amounts to an auditor fee of £22,900 (2023 - £21,250).

9. Staff costs

Redundancy and termination payments totalling £nil were made to no employees during the fi nancial year (2023: £12,000 to 2 employees).

The average number of persons employed by the Company during the year was as follows:

The number of employees whose employee benefi ts (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:

The total employee benefi ts including pension contributions and employers NI of the key management personnel were £455,453 (2023: £431,927). Key management personnel are listed on page 1.

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements Cont.

10. Trustees’ remuneration and expenses

During the year, no Trustees received any remuneration or other benefi ts (2023 - £NIL).

No expenses were paid for, or reimbursed to any trustees in the year (2023: Nil).

11. Taxation

The Charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes. The Charity’s trading subsidiary Naomi House Children’s Hospice Ltd gift aids available profi ts to the parent Charity within nine months of the year end so it has no tax charge.

12. Tangible fi xed assets

Group and Company

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13. Fixed asset investments

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements Cont.

Principal subsidiary

The following was a subsidiary undertaking of the Company:

14. Stocks

Stock levels are consistent with the previous year.

15. Debtors

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16. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

Deferred income of £32,994 (2023: £274,860) relates to amounts received in advance for events held in the next fi nancial year and a deferred grant. All of the prior year deferred income has been released in the current year.

17. Financial instruments

Financial assets measured at fair value through income and expenditure comprise listed investments.

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements Cont.

18. Statement of funds

Statement of funds - current year

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Balance at 31 March 2024 Balance at 1 Aprll 2023 Transfers Inlout Gainsl (Losses) Income Expenditure Restricted funds Fixed Asset Fund-Jacksplace Fixed Asset Fund-Naomi House Hospi Running Costs Building & Facil ities Diversion Therapy Endowment Fund 1,602,919 (146,272) 1,456,647 4,841,200 (50,100) 4,791,100 5,000 1,203,248 (1,205,246) 3,002 145,866 16,844 (7,776) (3,482) 151,452 12,718 500 (7,117) 6,101 10,000 10,000 6,617,703 1,220,592 {1,416,511) (3,482) 6,418,302 Total of funds 30,323,789 9,131,460 (8,806,645) 1,750,825 32,399,429 Wessex Children's Hospice Trust Page 43

Notes to the Financial Statements Cont.

Statement of funds - prior year

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Unrestricted funds

Unrestricted funds can be used for any charitable purpose. The non- charitable trading funds relate to the Trading subsidiary.

The revaluation reserve relates to the market uplift of the listed investments when comparing their year end market value to their historic cost at the year end.

Purpose of designated funds

The designated funds comprise:

Fixed Asset Fund

This is the net book value of unrestricted Tangible Fixed Assets. This mainly represents the NaomiHouse building and equipment.

Designated Risk Reserve

Children’s and young adult’s hospice services are expensive to run and highly dependent on the Trust providing continuous services from initial referral through to end of life.

Our funding depends on private rather than government sources. Trustees must ensure that suffi cient funds are available to sustain our services for children, young adults and families in the event of reduced income.

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Notes to the Financial Statements Cont.

The risk-based reserve assesses income risk and expenditure coverage to determine a target reserve level within + or – 15% range. This ensures we maintain sufficient reserves to manage potential income shortfalls and cover costs for up to six months.

Capital Development Fund

The Capital Development Fund represents our commitment to investing in the capital programme for buildings and fixed assets in the upcoming year.

Retail Operations Fund

This fund represents our future lease commitments for our retail network. While we typically negotiate short-term leases, some extend longer, with the longest commitment until the year 2031.

Naomi House in the Forest

In October 23 we purchased the Naomi House in the Forest holiday home, the holiday home is located on a holiday park whereby we have a license to occupy the plot for 25 years in exchange for a pitch fee. This fund represents our future pitch fee commitments.

Purposes of restricted funds

Restricted funds can only be expended in accordance with the donors’ specific instructions. The purpose of each fund is as follows:

Fixed Asset Fund - Jacksplace

The net book value of restricted fixed assets purchased with restricted funds and predominantly relates to the Jacksplace hospice.

Fixed Asset Fund - Naomi House

This represents the refurbishment cost funded by restricted funds.

Jacksplace Fund

Funds received specifically to meet the running cost of Jacksplace.

Hospice Running Costs

This denotes donations received to pay for care staff and the direct costs of running both hospices.

Building & Facilities

This fund relates to donations received explicitly to meet the costs of improving and maintaining hospice facilities.

Diversion Therapies

This covers the cost of the wide range of therapies, play and activities which enrich the children and young adult’s stays.

Endowment Fund

This was donated to the Trust to be held as investment cash to generate income from interest.

Fund transfers are either for capital purchases made during the year where the restriction has been fulfilled or they were transfers to accurately reflect the closing designated fund balances.

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19. Analysis of net assets between funds

Analysis of net assets between funds - current period

Analysis of net assets between funds - prior period

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Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust

Notes to the Financial Statements Cont.

21. Analysis of cash and cash equivalents

22. Analysis of changes in net debt

23. Contingent assets - legacies

At the year end the Charity had a legacy pipeline with a potential value of £3,312,993 (2023: £3,457,640).

The legacy pipeline includes a generous pledge of £3m from a couple who have expressed their intention to leave their estate to Naomi House & Jacksplace.

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24. Pension commitments

The Group operates a defined contribution pension scheme for certain qualifying employees and contributes up to 8% of basic salary matching employee contributions. The total pension contributions payable in the year were £154,345 (2023: £134,105). There were £23,513 outstanding contributions at the year-end (2023: £21,635).

Past and present employees are covered by the provisions of the two NHS Pension Schemes. Details of the benefits payable and rules of the Schemes can be found on the NHS Pensions website at www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/pensions. Both are unfunded defined benefit schemes that cover NHS employers, GP practices and other bodies, allowed under the direction of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in England and Wales. They are not designed to be run in a way that would enable NHS bodies to identify their share of the underlying scheme assets and liabilities. Therefore, each scheme is accounted for as if it were a defined contribution scheme: the cost to the NHS body of participating in each scheme is taken as equal to the contributions payable to that scheme for the accounting period.

In order that the defined benefit obligations recognised in the financial statements do not differ materially from those that would be determined at the reporting date by a formal actuarial valuation, the FReM requires that “the period between formal valuations shall be four years, with approximate assessments in intervening years”. An outline of these follows:

Accounting valuation

A valuation of scheme liability is carried out annually by the scheme actuary (currently the Government Actuary’s Department) as at the end of the reporting period. This utilises an actuarial assessment for the previous accounting period in conjunction with updated membership and financial data for the current reporting period, and is accepted as providing suitably robust figures for financial reporting purposes. The valuation of the scheme liability as at 31 March 2024, is based on valuation data as 31 March 2023, updated to 31 March 2024 with summary global member and accounting data. In undertaking this actuarial assessment, the methodology prescribed in IAS 19, relevant FReM interpretations, and the discount rate prescribed by HM Treasury have also been used.

The latest assessment of the liabilities of the scheme is contained in the report of the scheme actuary, which forms part of the annual NHS Pension Scheme Accounts. These accounts can be viewed on the NHS Pensions website and are published annually. Copies can also be obtained from The Stationery Office.

Full actuarial (funding) valuation

The purpose of this valuation is to assess the level of liability in respect of the benefits due under the schemes (taking into account recent demographic experience), and to recommend contribution rates payable by employees and employers.

The latest actuarial valuation undertaken for the NHS Pension Scheme was completed as at 31 March 2020. The results of this valuation set the employer contribution rate payable from April 2024. The Department of Health and Social Care has recently laid Scheme Regulations confirming the employer contribution rate will increase to 23.7% of pensionable pay from 1 April 2024 (previously 20.6%). The core cost cap cost of the scheme was calculated to be outside of the 3% cost cap corridor as at 31 March 2020. However, when the wider economic situation was taken into account through the economic cost cap cost of the scheme, the cost cap corridor was not similarly breached. As a result there was no impact on the member benefit structure or contribution rates.

The total pension contributions payable in the year were £128,229 (2023: £134,338). There were £21,190 outstanding contributions at the year-end (2023: £17,154).

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25. Operating lease commitments

At 31 March 2024 the Group and the Company had commitments to make future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

26. Related party transactions

The intercompany balance at the year end was £12,927 owed by Naomi House Children’s House Hospice Limited (2023: £1,764). Amounts of £7,584 (2023: £3,943) were recharged to the subsidiary during the year.

The Gift aid payment of £5,526 (2023: £5,096) payable to Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust has been eliminated on consolidation.

During the year donations from Trustees to the charity were made of £1,221.

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Care and support for the good days, difficult days and last days ' | =< al

I think Naomi House & Jacksplace have given Cathers an improved quality of life and when we talk about her visits, she lights up. It’s her special place where she can come and stay and we know that she’s looked after. That’s the most important thing for any mum.

Fiona, Cathers’ mum