Company number: 02368562 Charity Number: 1003342
## Ss Public Law Project
The Public Law Project Report and financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Contents**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
Reference and administrative information............................................................................................. 2 Reports from the Chair and CEO ............................................................................................................ 4 Trustees’ annual report ........................................................................................................... 6 Independent auditor’s report .............................................................................................................. 24 Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) ...................... 28 Balance sheet ....................................................................................................................................... 29 Statement of cash flows........................................................................................................................ 30 Notes to the financial statements ........................................................................................................ 31
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Reference and administrative information**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
|**Company number**|02368562||
|---|---|---|
|**Charity number**|1003342||
|**Registered office**|The Design Works, 93-99 Goswell Road||
|**and operational**|London||
|**address**|EC1V 7EY||
|**Country of incorporation**|United Kingdom||
|**Country of registration**|England & Wales||
|**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:|
||Sarah Jane Burton|(stepped down December 2024)|
||Melanie Carter|(joined June 2025)|
||Saimo Chahal|(joined March 2025)|
||Flora Alexander|(joined June 2025)|
||Renata Czinkotai|(stepped down December 2024)|
||Lorynn Demetriades|(joined March 2025)|
||Simon Fletcher|Treasurer (from December 2024)|
||Khatija Hafesji|(joined June 2025)|
||Andrew Hood|Company Secretary until June 2025|
||Harbi Jama|(stepped down December 2024)|
||Ravi Mehta||
||Bryan Nott||
||Carien Rai||
||Richard James Savill|Treasurer (stepped down December 2024)|
||Jonathan Senker|Chair|
||Joseph Tomlinson|(joined June 2025)|
||James Whiting|(joined June 2025)|
|**Chief Executive Officer**|Shameem Ahmad||
|**Bankers**|Unity Trust Bank PLC||
||Nine Brindleyplace||
||BIRMINGHAM||
||B1 2HB||
|**Auditor**|Sayer Vincent LLP||
||Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor||
||110 Golden Lane||
||LONDON, EC1Y 0TG||
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
## Report from the Chair of Trustee Board
## **Jonathan Senker**
Rising to the challenge of advancing rights and promoting justice in uncertain times, PLP has, over the past year, sharpened its purpose and clarified its direction. At the same time, we have made real progress; through legal action, influential research, thought leadership, sector-leading training, and by working alongside others to support more effective collaboration.
This was a milestone year for PLP, defined by a comprehensive strategic review. Shaped by the voices of people with lived experience, and by our staff, trustees and partners, this work led to the launch of our strategy after the year end, in July 2025. This sets out a bold vision: a fair and inclusive society, secured by a just and confident state. The strategy reflects an important shift in our role, from focusing solely on holding power to account, to taking a more active part in shaping what fair and accountable governance looks like in practice.
Recognising the continued fragility of rights, particularly for people and communities who have long faced structural exclusion, our strategy commits us to placing lived and living experience at the centre of everything we do.
Our casework successes, from challenging DWP overpayments to protecting people at risk from unlawful immigration decisions, demonstrate the power of combining legal expertise with insight drawn from lived experience. At the same time, our groundbreaking work on AI and automated decision-making has exposed and challenged the lack of safeguards to prevent technology from entrenching discrimination and placing injustice out of sight.
To support greater impact as we deliver our new strategy, we strengthened both our leadership and governance during the year, appointing and embedding new members to our senior leadership team and Board. Recruitment begun during the year also led to five further trustee appointments early in the following year.
PLP’s financial position remains resilient, supported by a diverse group of funders and donors, as well as by those who share their resources with us, from expert insights to generous use of venues. This support has enabled us to maintain an ambitious programme and take on cases that are crucial for advancing public law.
The strategy we developed over the year is not only a direction for PLP, it is also an invitation. If you share our purpose and belief in what is possible, feel the urgency of upholding people’s rights, and see the law as a powerful tool for fairness, then we hope you will continue to work alongside us.
This annual report is, similarly, a testament to collective effort and shared achievement. Thank you to all our partner organisations and supporters, our staff, trustees, clients and funders, for everything you have contributed over the past year, and continue to do, to deliver our mission.
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
## Report from the Chief Executive Officer
## **Shameem Ahmad**
As I reflect on the last 12 months, I am reminded of the enormity of the challenges we face as a society and the extraordinary determination of those we have the privilege to work alongside. This has been a year of profound change and notable opportunities, a year when PLP confronted the mounting threats to the rule of law and democracy and actively shaped a more hopeful future for the communities we serve.
The stakes have never been higher. In line with trends across the globe, the threat of authoritarianism has reached our shores. If those with authoritarian impulses gain the levers of power, they would have the means to systemically target marginalised communities, dissolve the principles that underpin a healthy democracy for us all, and distract us from needs pressing on society: poverty, climate change, unfettered use of technology, fracturing of society and increasing unaccountability of those more powerful. It is precisely these challenges that demand that we are more ambitious than ever.
In the last year, our work has addressed some of society’s most pressing injustices. Through our casework, we have brought the last test case against the Rwanda policy, as well as standing with individuals and organisations fighting against unlawful benefit sanctions and challenging discriminatory algorithmic decision-making. Our groundbreaking research into the Government’s use of artificial intelligence and automation has positioned PLP at the forefront of urgent conversations about accountability and transparency in the age of Artificial Intelligence. Our training and events reached more than 1,000 participants, including practitioners, policy makers and campaigners from across England and Wales, and built capacity within the legal sector to recognise and respond to public law issues.
Looking ahead, our new 2025-2030 strategy provides us with a more hopeful and aspirational vision than PLP has ever had before – one in which the state is not only lawful and fair, but confident and just, capable of securing a fair and inclusive society. In these uncertain and fractious times, we should not be aiming for anything less. Our purpose – advancing fairness through public law – demands that we act boldly to do our part to bring about the society we want. We will continue to centre marginalised communities in everything we do, advance and protect the frontiers of public law, and ensure that justice is accessible to all.
The challenges ahead are formidable, but I have never been more optimistic about our ability to meet them. With courage and conviction, with commitment to those who are marginalised or left behind, and with others, we will continue to advance fairness in society through public law.
All this work is only possible because of our extraordinary partnerships, staff team, Trustee Board, clients, and supporters. My thanks to all of you.
I hope you enjoy reading about our work, our impact in 2024-25 and our vision for the years ahead.
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
## Trustees’ annual report
The trustees present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025. Reference and administrative information set out on page 3 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.
## Objectives and activities
## **Role of trustees**
The trustees review the aims, objectives and activities of the charity each year. This report outlines what has been achieved in the reporting period and the outcomes of this work. The trustees report on the success of key activities and the benefits the charity has brought to the groups of people that it is set up to help. The review also enables trustees to ensure the charity's aims, objectives and activities remained focused on its stated purposes.
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 future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.
## **Purpose and aims**
The decisions of public bodies have a significant impact on the lives of marginalised and disadvantaged people. Such decisions may include whether health care will be provided to an older person, whether benefits will be awarded to a destitute family, or whether a migrant fleeing torture will be detained or removed from the country. Those with the most to lose from unlawful or unfair decisions are often the most vulnerable.
The purpose and aims of the charity during this period were to:
- Improve access to public law remedies for those whose access to justice is restricted by poverty or some other form of disadvantage
- Promote and undertake research into the practice of public law, and
- Increase understanding, expertise, and knowledge of public law and how it can be applied.
In fulfilling this mission, PLP carried out work in the following areas:
- Research and advocacy work to influence and inform policy
- Training and events to enhance capacity and expertise in the use of public law
- Advice and support to frontline charities and civil society organisations
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
- Casework to represent individuals or NGOs with standing, to act as an intervener, and in exceptional circumstances, to act as a litigant in its own right.
## Strategic Report
In this report, we outline PLP’s progress against the priorities set out in our 2022-2025 strategy. These were:
-
- Priority 1. A constitution that promotes accountability
- Priority 2: Government use of new technologies is transparent and fair
- Priority 3: A fair and humane immigration system
-
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- Priority 4: A just and non-discriminatory welfare system
- Priority 5: An effective and accessible legal aid scheme
## **Anti-discrimination**
As part of our three-year strategy, we also committed to a set of anti-discrimination objectives to guide us in this work. These were:
1. Identify and challenge discriminatory impact in priority areas and amplify the voices of marginalised communities in the legal policy space
2. Promote better understanding, and use of, discrimination arguments in public law
3. Consider and mitigate equality impacts of our work and decision-making
4. Increase diversity and inclusivity within PLP
5. Further open and share our events and training platform
6. Support longer-term improvement of public body equality duties and obligations
We worked towards these by taking on significant cases involving human rights and antidiscrimination law, but also by internally assessing our own diversity and establishing an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion working group to tackle any issues around PLP’s accessibility.
During this reporting period, we also began working towards a new strategy for 2025-2030. (See: Our plans for the future below.)
## Priority 1: A constitution that promotes accountability
## **Context**
At our annual conference in October 2024, the new Attorney General stated that the ‘rule of law is back.’ We have tested this statement through our continued work on the lack of scrutiny involved in key statutory instruments. PLP also continued to envision what the future of rights, accountability and the constitution could look like through proactive work.
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
## **Working across the sector**
PLP worked with other public law experts to publish a new guide to public interest interventions in February 2025, which aims to give smaller or grassroots organisations the tools to bring about progressive change through intervening in judicial review cases. Contributors included Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID), Black Equity Organisation, Childhood Bereavement Network (National Children’s Bureau), JUSTICE, and the3million, as well as A&O Shearman and Landmark Chambers.
“If you’ve got something of real value to add and are committed to getting it before the court, you can influence a case, however small you are,” said Victoria Pogge von Strandmann, PLP’s Legal Director.
We also continued to work with other groups to criticise the Safety of Rwanda Act from a constitutional angle and call for the new Government to roll it back entirely.
## **Intervention in Liberty’s case against the Home Secretary**
Liberty won their challenge to unlawful anti-protest powers in the High Court with the help of PLP’s intervention, which criticised the use of statutory instruments to avoid scrutiny of sweeping changes to protest law.
In May 2024, the Court found that the Home Secretary acted unlawfully by misusing her executive power to restrict one of our fundamental rights, thereby undermining the role of Parliament.
## **Fighting discrimination**
During this reporting period, we continued to weave together our anti-discrimination and constitutional work.
For example, PLP supported Black Equity Organisation to intervene in a successful legal challenge brought by Windrush survivor Trevor Donald against the former Home Secretary. The court agreed in June 2024 that key recommendations from the Windrush ‘Lessons Learned’ report should not have been dropped and the Government has now pledged to create a Windrush Commissioner.
PLP researcher Lee Marsons also produced a blog for Rainbow Migration in June 2024 about the importance of public law in advancing the rights of LGBTQ+ immigrants.
Priority 2: Government use of new technologies is transparent and fair
## **Context**
During this reporting period, PLP built on the highly successful launch of the Tracking Automated Government (TAG) register and our previous work on the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, which was dropped after the election.
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
We were able to influence debate, increasing understanding and support for the importance of proper regulation and transparency amongst parliamentarians. We also worked in coalition with other pro-transparency organisations when the new Data (Use and Access) Bill was introduced.
## **Influencing the content of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill**
Following our previous work on “bank surveillance” powers in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, we were quick to respond in the media when it was reported in September 2024 that these powers would be resuscitated by the new Government.
Since these powers have been revised and taken the form of Eligibility Verification Measures, we have worked with organisations like Big Brother Watch to stop the Government’s surveillance of welfare recipients’ bank accounts.
## **Influencing the content of the Data (Use and Access) Bill**
We have also successfully engaged and influenced Parliamentarians on the development and regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automated Decision Making.
- PLP highlighted our concerns about transparency through giving evidence to House of Commons committees, publishing research, and responding to consultation, ultimately contributing to the government’s decision to create an ICO code of practice on automated decision-making.
- The report “Around the world in AI regulations: how the UK can become a leader in transparency,” published in October 2024, compared the reported effectiveness of transparency requirements from Canada, the USA, France, Japan, and the EU.
- PLP drafted and persuaded legislators to table amendments that, although they didn’t survive through to the eventual Act, influenced behind-the-scenes debate that led to the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard becoming mandatory (according to senior civil servants in a recent Open Government webinar.)
## **Influencing civil society, think tanks, government and the media**
- PLP worked with The Guardian on articles about bias in DWP's fraud detection system in August and December 2024, calling for more transparent fairness analysis.
- We also established a Welfare and Tech working group to begin working more effectively in coalition.
## Priority 3: A fair and humane immigration system
## **Context**
This reporting period followed an unprecedented increase in parliamentary attacks on the UK’s asylum system.
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
After challenging two of the most damaging pieces of legislation in recent history, the Illegal Migration Act and the Safety of Rwanda Act, PLP began working to guide the new Government’s approach to immigration.
PLP exhibited leadership by forming new coalitions with other organisations and exploring the most timely issues for people in the asylum and immigration system.
## **Leading the test case against the Rwanda policy**
Our client ‘SM’ led the legal challenge against the previous Government’s harmful policy of removal to Rwanda, which potentially affected over 50,000 people. Following the intervention of organisations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the case was settled on July 9, 2024. After the policy was ended, ‘SM,’ a torture survivor from Sudan, was granted asylum.
This case was covered by publications like the Telegraph and The Independent.
## **Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill**
In response to the new Government’s approach to immigration, PLP formed the Coalition for Asylum Rights and Justice as a continuation of previous work on the Illegal Migration Act and the Safety of Rwanda Act. The coalition comprises PLP and eight other organisations in the legal and human rights sector, working for a fair and humane immigration system: Asylum Aid, ATLEU, Bail for Immigration Detainees, Detention Action, Freedom From Torture, Helen Bamber Foundation, Medical Justice and MiCLU.
## **‘Punishing the Victim’**
PLP researcher Lee Marsons wrote a report about the experiences of asylum-seeking young people from Albania, working in collaboration with Shpresa and Islington Law Centre, which had a parliamentary launch in February 2025.
“Punishing the Victim: How the UK’s broken asylum system fails the people it should protect” warned against the “potentially devastating” measures in the Government’s new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill which would make asylum and human rights claims from Albania inadmissible.
## **Withdrawal Agreement rights**
Throughout this period, PLP continued to work with the3million on the rights of EU nationals under the Withdrawal Agreement, resulting in two successful cases about housing support in June 2024.
We also took on casework involving the Withdrawal Agreement rights of domestic abuse survivors and people who had made successful late applications but were still hit with significant NHS charges.
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
## **PLP’s reports on young people in the asylum system**
PLP’s Dr Jo Hynes collaborated with Young Roots and Immigration Social Work Services to produce a paper on “Good Decision-Making in Age Assessments”, published in September 2024. With Together with Migrant Children, PLP produced “Experiences of Accessing Education in Asylum Accommodation,” published February 2025, which found that children are experiencing significant disruption.
## **Homes for Ukraine scheme**
Changes to the 'Homes for Ukraine' visa scheme that prevented Ukrainians from bringing their children to join them in the UK were reversed after a PLP lawyer issued a challenge to the changes for Work Rights Centre.
## Priority 4: A just and non-discriminatory welfare system
## **Context**
From April 2024 to April 2025, PLP was working at the forefront of the welfare debate as a newly elected Government defended the choices of the previous Government and announced sweeping cuts. The Disabled community were particularly alarmed by these choices and by a lack of consultation with the groups who were most likely to be consulted.
The national conversation was led by startling revelations that were spotlighted by our cases, like the DWP’s internal estimate that almost 100,000 people could be pushed into poverty by planned welfare cuts.
We also started campaigns around issues that related closely to our clients and research projects, resulting in media coverage and MPs tabling our amendments to key welfare bills. We were able to directly brief parliamentarians, who regularly used our research and briefing materials.
## **Bereavement support case returns to court**
During this period, the DWP appealed to the Supreme Court over our client Daniel Jwanczuk's successful Bereavement Support Payment case.
The Court of Appeal and High Court had both previously found that the DWP had unlawfully discriminated against our client by denying him Bereavement Support Payment after the death of his Disabled wife because she had been unable to work during her life and therefore had never paid National Insurance.
The Supreme Court hearing took place on March 11, 2025. Jwanczuk’s case was also covered by the Big Issue in April.
## **Exposing the harms of benefit deductions**
PLP’s research on benefit deductions resulted in the report “From Pillar to Post,” which was published in September 2024.
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
The findings of this report were shared with parliamentarians who used them to inform their debates. For example, Siân Berry MP cited the fact that one third of survey respondents became destitute because of deductions in an opinion piece for Politics Home in April 2025.
The report was also covered by publications like the Big Issue and Legal Action Guide.
## **Successful challenge to a consultation on Work Capability Assessment changes**
Our client Ellen Clifford's challenge to a rushed and unlawful consultation on Work Capability Assessment changes was successful in the High Court. The hearing, which took place on December 11 and 12, exposed internal DWP documents which revealed how many hundreds of thousands would be pushed into poverty by these changes.
This significant case led to the Government vowing to re-consult on the changes, addressing the shortcomings in the previous consultation and properly consulting the Disabled community.
The judgment on January 16 was covered by many national and regional publications, like The Guardian and The Times.
## **Tackling unfair overpayment debt**
PLP has been working to positively influence the Public Authorities (Fraud Error and Recovery) Bill through casework examples, research, public affairs and media engagement.
Our lawyers had been regularly working on Universal Credit overpayment debt cases since a breakthrough case in 2023. PLP identified that it was a growing issue: in 2023/24, 686,756 new “official error” UC overpayment debts were entered on the DWP’s Debt Manager system.
We were successful in raising awareness of unfair overpayment debt. This included a joint letter on overpayments to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall, which was signed by over 30 other organisations and shared by 12 publications in March 2025.
Siân Berry MP (Greens) also tabled our amendment to restrict the DWP’s recovery of this debt in the House of Commons in April 2025.
## Priority 5: An effective and accessible legal aid scheme
## **Context**
Following years of PLP playing a central role in gathering evidence from across the sector about the extent of the legal aid crisis, we finally saw a historic legal aid increase announced by the new Government.
In November 2024, the Ministry of Justice announced the first increase for any civil legal aid providers in almost 30 years, in the form of a £20 million investment to increase civil legal aid fees for immigration and housing.
During this reporting period, PLP was informing parliamentarians through consultation responses and by publishing cutting-edge research. PLP’s influence on the Government’s new approach to legal
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
aid could be observed by multiple citations in the Public Account Committee’s Value for Money from Legal Aid, published May 2024, and the Ministry of Justice’s response to the Review of Civil Legal Aid.
## **PLP research guided the Government’s approach to new legal aid frontiers**
PLP researcher Dr. Jo Hynes looked at the new hybrid world of remote working and how it related to immigration work in a report published September 2024, arguing that remote legal advice was not a straightforward solution for legal aid deserts.
This forward-looking research, which was covered by sector publications, recently influenced Ministry of Justice's remote advice proposals in its response ‘Civil Legal Aid: Towards a sustainable future.’
## **Uncovering new depths in legal aid inaccessibility**
In 2024 and 2025, we continued to communicate the need for proper investment in access to justice through feeding into consultations, examining research questions and parliamentary influencing.
- PLP produced a report with Exeter University on the real costs of cuts to legal aid made through the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act of 2012, exposing how the inaccessibility of legal aid has led to increased spending in other parts of government. This was covered by sector publications like the Law Society Gazette.
- “New depths of an ocean of unmet need?” revealed a “mirage” of capacity in the south-west in December 2024, building on our previous report on inaccessibility of immigration legal advice and the Government’s response.
## Our work in Wales
Thanks to our lawyer based in Wales, PLP’s work in holding Welsh public bodies to account and challenging unfair decision-making continued to build momentum over this reporting period.
PLP has been challenging Cardiff Council’s refusal operation of an unlawful housing allocation scheme with regards to allocation to disabled persons.
We also held a webinar on judicial review in Wales, our first Wales-focussed event in a few years, aimed at charity and community groups in Wales to help them understand and consider using JR.
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
## Our plans for the future
Our new strategy 2025-2030 strategy, ‘Advancing fairness in society through public law’, sets out how the charity will achieve its vision of a fair and inclusive society secured by a just and confident state.
Co-created by PLP staff and trustees, with valuable input from users, partner organisations, funders and academics, the new strategy is grounded in an understanding of PLP’s history and strengths and an analysis of external trends. Among the interconnected challenges that the strategy seeks to address are: rising authoritarianism, social fracturing and climate impacts on marginalised communities.
The charity has always existed for people experiencing marginalisation. Its new strategy aims to further centre marginalised communities in its work. PLP will deliver its vision through three strategic cornerstones:
- The frontiers of public law are advanced and protected
- Justice is accessible to all
- No one is marginalised in society by those with power
In the coming years, PLP is looking to strengthen its multi-disciplinary team. It will invest in strategic communications to increase its impact and influence and expand its fundraising capacity to diversify its income.
## **Volunteers and interns**
In the last year, PLP staff members were delighted to host Bonavero Intern Ellie Jones, who assisted PLP with updating the TAG register by looking at a wider range of local authorities and public sector bodies, among other projects.
PLP’s conferences and training events are made possible by the qualified and enthusiastic speakers who contribute their time and expertise. We are grateful to all these academics, barristers, solicitors, advisers and other experts who have participated in our events.
## Fundraising
PLP’s approach to fundraising has historically focussed on foundations and grant giving trusts, both for core and project funds. Since PLP employed our first Grants and Trusts Manager in 2023/24 we have professionalised our stewardship of relationships with trusts and foundations. We are pleased with the results of this work which we believe has resulted in PLP retaining comparable levels of funding to previous highs in the years post Covid and Brexit. Our next priority is to grow and diversify our funding relationships by reaching out to new funders; we have undertaken prospecting work to identify and qualify funders who we believe would be interested in starting a funding relationship with us. We recognise that this approach will be challenging and note that, prior to our investment
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
in fundraising, PLP did not have had capacity to apply to funders unless we had a high chance of success.
PLP reviewed our approach to individual donors and took the decision to create a new Philanthropy Manager role (appointed August 2025). This role will help us partner with individual donors offering the opportunity to be part of securing the change we envision in our new strategy.
PLP receives direct donations via a Charities Aid Foundation account, and from unsolicited donations including through our website. Routes for individuals to donate to PLP are listed on its website. PLP occasionally uses its general mailing list to offer the opportunity to make donations. This year we raised a total of £14,690 through donations (2024: £9,071).
We are currently in the process of voluntarily registering with the Fundraising Regulator to provide potential donors confidence in our handling of their support.
Staff involved in organising fundraising regularly update themselves with relevant legislation and codes of practice (including all those overlapping with GDPR), and practice concerning finance, such as VAT and fundraising events, through courses and seminars. PLP received no complaints regarding its fundraising in 2024/25.
We do not directly involve vulnerable people in our fundraising activities. Where an individual has been identified as a benefactor of PLP’s work, for instance in a case study of PLP’s activities, their permission must be explicitly sought.
PLP does not ask any third parties to undertake any direct fundraising activities on its behalf. We work with third parties to provide consultancy advice and research so we may identify and better understand potential and existing supporters and ensure value for money across our fundraising activities.
## Financial Review
## **Support for our work – grants and donations**
Public Law Project could not exist in anything like its current form without the generosity of our funders and supporters. Grants and donations represent 66% of our income in this reporting period (grants and donations: £1,318,035, total income: £1,968,209). As anticipated, income from grants and donations decreased compared to the year prior (2025: £1,318,035, 2024: £1,669,699). This reflects wider trends in the human rights sector as funding which peaked in response to the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Johnson/Truss administrations returns to more typical levels. For PLP, the reduction is particularly linked to the conclusion of long-term support from the Lankelly Chase Foundation (2025: £0, 2024: £177,675) as they consider their priorities for future funding and redistribute and close their funding.
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
In this context we are particularly pleased to share the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation’s renewal of long-term funding to advance migrant justice following their commitment to prioritise funding for organisations led by the people they serve (2025: £50,000, 2024: £5,528).
PLP receives crucial unrestricted support from AB Charitable Trust, the Oak Foundation, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Sigrid Rausing Trust. The support we receive from these donations and grants gives PLP the flexibility to invest in urgent new research before we have secured project funding, to take on more work from clients who would otherwise have no representation. It also allows us to ensure the support functions of our work are properly resourced providing all our charitable activities with the foundation they require to focus on their important work.
Restricted funding enables the delivery of specific, strategically important projects or fund core areas of our work. Our largest restricted funds enable us to work with:
- Baring Foundation to improve access to justice in Wales,
- Justice Collaborations to lead a coalition challenging unfairness and racism in immigration,
- The Law Society to champion legal aid,
- The Legal Education Foundation to ensure fair executive power amid the rise of AI,
- Lloyds Bank Foundation to challenge discriminatory welfare rules,
- Access to Justice Foundation to deliver free legal advice to marginalised people,
- Trust for London to resist inhumane treatment of immigrants and benefit claimants
- Sebba Family Charitable Trust to work collaboratively with government, Parliament & media,
- Unbound Philanthropy to challenge inappropriate executive power and improve regulation.
Note 16 provides further details on the restricted funds which many of our funders support. Note 2 provides a full list of our funders, to all of whom we are exceedingly grateful.
## **In-kind support from our partners**
PLP’s benefits enormously from gifts-in-kind – the provision of goods and services as opposed to a cash donation. Our events programme in particular is strengthened and made accessible by the provision of free venues and catering by our partners (2025: £33,609, 2024: £24,000). We have estimated the value of the donations based on what PLP would have paid if we had to source a venue and catering ourselves. In practice PLP often benefits from venues and catering of a quality that we could not access and those costs would at least in part be passed onto the individuals and partners to whom we offer training and learning opportunities. This year, support for our events came from Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (HSFK), Allen & Overy and Shearman (A&O Shearman) and Kingsley Napley.
Much of the support PLP receives pro-bono from our partners in City Firms would be well beyond PLP’s means to purchase at private rates to the extent that PLP would not have been able to purchase an alternative service at all. As such, the following gifts-in-kind do not meet the technical requirements to be included in PLP’s financial statements. The hours and/or value estimates provided below are to give an indication of the quantity and quality of support PLP has been privileged to receive from these partners.
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
PLP continued to support Liberty in its case that Home Secretary Suella Braverman unlawfully restricted the right to public protest. PLP received support estimated at over £120,000 from HSFK bringing the total support since 2024 to over £250,000.
HSFK also provided PLP with over £19,000 of pro-bono support with respect to our premises at Goswell Road, updating our Articles of Association and managing contracts with an events venue. The support of the HSFK team enabled PLP to negotiate a range of technical and legal issues with minimal stress and uncertainty enabling our Operations team to focus on supporting our charitable work.
Fieldfisher provided PLP with over 20 hours of support enabling us to apply for a Visa for the first time. As well as the value of this advice the support enabled PLP to retain a valued member of our team for which we are enormously grateful.
A&O Shearman and Landmark Chambers supported the production of PLP’s Intervention guide with over 350 hours of research and writing. Without this generous support PLP would not have been able to provide this detailed learning and advice to charities considering using this important tool to influence public decisions.
## **Income from charitable activities**
Fees from events and training continued to provide PLP with stable income to subsidise the costs of running our events programme (2025: £101,664, 2024: £95,501).
PLP’s casework income is unpredictable year on year due to the relatively low volume of cases and the disproportionate impact that winning any particular case has on the level of income PLP will achieve. Casework income increased significantly this year having been relatively low in the last two years (2025: £516,002, 2024: £337,978, 2023: £346,617). We anticipate that the long-term pattern of income from casework varying up and down significantly from year to year will continue.
## **Expenditure summary**
In response to reducing and uncertain income PLP also decreased total expenditure (2025: £1,979,641, 2024: £2,172,022).
PLP’s principal expenditure is on staff which reduced (2025: £1,392,210, 2024: £1,654,531). In light of the high levels of inflation this 16% reduction in staff expenditure translates to a 23% reduction in staff numbers (2025: 24.5, 2024: 32.1 FTE).
Expenditure on key management personnel (KMP) increased (2025: £381,864, 2024: £293,647). This follows a restructure of the leadership team which replaced the three roles of Legal Director, Head of Research and Head of Casework (of which one was KMP) with two roles; Legal Director and Research Director (of which both are KMP). As a result, expenditure on governance (the main cost of which is an allocation of KMP time spent on senior leadership and board activities) also increased (2025: £107,181, 2024: £95,701).
17
**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
Fundraising costs increased (2025: £99,734, 2024: £62,488) with the PLP’s first grants and trusts manager being in post for the full year – the appointment is PLP’s primary mitigation to the reduction in PLP’s income from existing funders and the need to reach out to new potential funders and manage more funds to maintain income at existing levels. These costs also include consultancy and preparatory work towards further diversifying PLP’s income in coming years.
Expenditure on support costs decreased (2025: £676,093, 2024: £715,2261) reflecting a reduction in support staffing (2025: 5.4, 2024: 6.1) and professional indemnity insurance (2025: £27,538, 2024: £42,304) compared to the prior year. The decrease in insurance costs tracks with a period of reduced casework income in prior years.
## **PLP funds**
Roughly half of PLP’s funds are restricted to purposes agreed with our funders (£346,890, 16% of total funds) or designated by our board of trustees (£676,500, 32% of total funds).
Our largest designated fund relates to casework work in progress (WIP) (2025: £570,146, 2024: £484,292). WIP is income that PLP has earned through billable hours recorded by our caseworkers at industry standard rates, but where a bill has yet to be agreed with the LAA or defendant. Much of PLP’s WIP relates to work done on cases years ago as cases continue to proceed through the courts or negotiations on the final amount to be paid continue. As such PLP cannot be confident that it would be able to convert recent casework income into cash should the need arise during any short-medium period of time. As casework WIP is a major source of unrestricted income PLP shows this unpaid income in a designated fund in order to avoid giving the impression that these funds are available to invest in our charitable activities.
PLP’s second designated fund is set aside by the trustees to cover relocation costs in order that we can move offices if required at the end of our lease (2025: £106,354, 2024: £93,177).
The remainder of our unrestricted funds (£1,086,904) are available as general funds and form the basis of calculating our reserves.
PLP’s total funds have decreased slightly by £11,432 (0.5%) during the year (2024: £2,121,476), with the general fund decreasing by £84,201 (7%). This reflects both PLP having planned and budgeted for a deficit year in line with the lower reserves policy approved in 2023/24 and our uncertain casework income which was higher than expected. Cash at bank and in hand remains healthy for a charity of PLP’s size (2025: £1,615,479, 2024: £1,545,758) for which we are grateful to our funders, the majority of whom pay PLP in advance or at the start of the grant period.
## Reserves policy
PLP’s reserves are held to deal with the following contingencies:
- Problems with cash flow, for instance when waiting for casework receipts;
- As a mitigation against uncertain casework income year to year;
18
**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
- Reductions in or withdrawal of grant funding and other income; and
- In the event of closure, the costs to wind up the organisation and pay redundancies and leasehold liabilities.
PLP’s board of trustees consider PLP’s free reserves to include all unrestricted funds excluding designated funds and the value of fixed assets (2025: £14,880) and long-term debtors (2025: £41,085). Work in progress (our largest designated fund) is not freely available as explained above.
|**PLP funds and reserves**||
|---|---|
|Total unrestricted funds|£1,763,154|
|Less designated funds of|£676,500|
|Less assets and longterm debtors of|£55,965|
|Freelyavailable, unrestricted reserves|£1,030,688|
PLP’s reserves policy during the year ending 31 March 2025 is to retain between three and five months of running costs (3: £537,067, 5: £895,111). PLP’s trustees’ long-term aim is to hold reserves in the middle of the reserves policy i.e. four months. This is slightly higher than average for a charity of PLP’s size given the high level of PLP’s fixed costs (largely permanent staff and lease on premises) and the unpredictability of some of its unrestricted income (particularly casework income as noted above).
Our unrestricted freely available reserves at 2025 are £1,030,688 (2024: £1,104,486) representing 5.8 months of running costs as budgeted for the coming year. This is over the maximum set in the policy and despite cash amounts in our reserves having reduced by £83,951 and from 6.7 months running costs over the year.
The reserves policy is reviewed annually when the board of trustees set the budget for the following financial year. During the review process for the 2025/26 budget, the trustees noted that PLP is commencing the year with less budgeted grant income secured than it has in previous years and that this is mitigated by investment in our fundraising team and by increasing levels of confidence in our casework income. As such, the trustees agreed that PLP could continue to prudently hold between three and five months’ running costs. In order to properly resource the delivery of our new strategy a deficit budget has been agreed which will bring PLP’s reserves within the reserves policy as we aim to increase our income to reduce and remove the deficit in future years.
## Principal risks and uncertainties
With the election of a new government during the year, the principal risks to PLP’s mission have shifted from resisting administrations which actively sought to undermine the role of Parliament, and erode key rights and access to justice for marginalised communities. The current government, sensitive to attacks on immigration and fiscal profligacy has been slow or unwilling to strengthen
19
**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
rights and protections. Stagnation, while support for populism and authoritarianism grows in the electorate, presents a strategic danger to PLP’s mission. In addition, the current government continues to need to be held to account for its own policies, continuation of unfair and discriminatory policies and to ensure it acts to protect society from global threats such as unfettered AI and climate change.
PLP most significant financial risks relate to reduced opportunity for funding from grants and foundations. Economic stagnation and instability, increasing demand and the legacy of the unprecedented levels of support provided in response to Covid-19 and post-Brexit threats to the rule of law have meant that most of PLP’s funders are having to reduce the level of support while it is increasingly difficult to reach new funders. We also continue to see a shift in funder’s prioritisation of local, grassroots charities. PLP’s new strategy provides a refreshed case for support and grounds for optimism in meeting this challenging fundraising context. In addition, PLP is investing in how we work more closely with individuals and corporations to diversify our income from grants and donations.
The impact of years of record inflation continues to pressure wages despite the rate of inflation slowing. PLP’s staff are the principal means through which PLP delivers its charitable objects. PLP’s trustees are keenly aware of the indirect costs of not increasing wages on PLP’s ability to attract, retain and support the wellbeing of staff which all affect our effectiveness. As such, the trustees regret being unable to match inflation in recent years. PLP mitigates the impact of this on lower paid staff by awarding cost of living increases inclusive of a fixed portion which favours lower paid staff compared to allowances made purely on the basis of a percentage of wages. PLP is also committed to the Real Living Wage as set by the Living Wage Foundation.
PLP is pleased to have a full complement of the reshaped senior leadership team (SLT) in place at the start of 2025/26 and acknowledges that with three members of the team appointed during the last year and with our CEO soon to start parental leave that there is a particular need to ensure the effective operation of the new SLT. The trustees have invested in appointing an interim CEO and in providing external facilitation of the SLT’s development as a team during this crucial time at the outset of our new strategy.
The trustees have assessed PLP to be going concern with no material uncertainties. In so assessing they have considered the impact of the above and other risks and uncertainties that impact on solvency and liquidity alongside prepared budgets, forecasts, and sensitivity analysis.
## Governance & Management
The Board are PLP’s charitable trustees who accept ultimate responsibility for directing the affairs of PLP and ensuring that it is solvent, well-run, and delivering the charitable outcomes for the benefit of the public for which it has been set up. The trustees are volunteers who receive no remuneration for their time beyond reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (2025: £114).
The trustees elect a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer to whom the Board may delegate any of its powers. In practise, the Chair carries out the function of line-managing the CEO and leading the Board and
20
**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
managing Board meetings. The Treasurer is expected to provide general financial oversight of PLP among other duties relating to the financial management and control of the charity. The Secretary has overall responsibility for meeting reporting requirements and board administration as required by PLP’s regulators and its Articles. The board may create committees and working groups of its members to focus on particular areas of governance such as personnel, fundraising, finance and risk.
The Chair ensures that new trustees receive an appropriate induction. New trustees meet key management personnel and are inducted in PLP strategy, policies, recent board discussions and other information relevant to the role.
The Board is responsible for appointing PLP’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and is involved in the appointment of other members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). The Board delegates authority for the day-to-day operation of PLP to the CEO who may further delegate to the SLT or other staff as they consider appropriate. Some decisions are reserved to the Board including expenditure over set amounts, escalated staff grievances, relocating PLP’s office, acting in ‘own-name’ litigation and the recruitment, contracts and pay of the SLT.
The SLT is made up of the ‘key management personnel’ of the organisation and, in addition to the CEO, includes the Chief Operating Officer, Legal Director, Communications & Engagement Director and Research Director. The Chair and Personnel sub-committee is involved in setting pay and remuneration of the SLT. Trustees consider relevant and available information on comparable roles when setting pay. Current SLT and staff pay is informed by a benchmarking exercise carried out by Total Reward Group in 2024.
Since the last annual report, PLP welcomed Sue Wixley to the role of Communications & Engagement Director. Sue brings three decades of strategic communications and campaign leadership experience across the non-profit sector in the UK, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and South Africa. Her career spans senior roles with leading organisations including Clean Air Fund, New Philanthropy Capital, the awardwinning International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Amnesty International. At PLP, Sue leads external communications, events, and fundraising.
PLP is grateful to outgoing Communications Director, Luke Robins-Grace who joined PLP in 2019 as our first Director of Communications. Luke established and expanded a successful communications and public affairs team that transformed the organisation’s profile and impact. Luke built a shared understanding as to why and how PLP should communicate and campaign, and he raised our expectations – PLP now regularly features in national media and in Hansard and is an influential voice across a range of policy areas. We thank Luke for the skill, hard work and determination this required.
PLP’s Board of Trustees has welcomed seven new trustees since the last report:
Flora Alexander, the Executive Director of International Rescue Committee UK, has over 20 years in senior roles in global non-governmental organisations. Previously Flora was the Global Chief of Advocacy at UNICEF and Chief of Staff at Save the Children UK.
Melanie Carter is a senior public lawyer, partner at Stone King, and Co-Founder of the Public Law Solicitors Association. Melanie has been ranked by Chambers and Legal 500 as a Band 1 leader in public & administrative law.
21
**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
Saimo Chahal KC (Hon) is a fee-paid Judge and former Bindmans LLP partner, specialising in public, health, and international law. She’s an Associate Fellow at Cambridge and has received multiple awards, including Honorary QC and Solicitor of the Year, recognising her impact on legal development and human rights.
Lorynn Demetriades, a Certified Public Accountant and ethics advisor, helps global organisations tackle financial integrity and compliance issues. Starting at EY New York, she moved to London in 2012, gaining expertise in bribery and corruption. She supports NGOs worldwide in building transparent, accountable governance and safeguarding donor funds.
Khatija Hafesji is a barrister at Monckton Chambers, ranked as a Rising Star and Up and Coming Junior across three practice areas. Khatija also brings governance insight from her role as Senior Independent Trustee at Become, a national charity for children in care
Joe Tomlinson brings leading research experience as a Professor of Public Law at the University of York. He has worked extensively in the charity sector, with the government, in Parliament, and with legal practitioners, including the judiciary.
James Whiting is the CEO of Doughty Street Chambers and Co-Chair of the Legal Practice Management Association. James was previously the CEO of Malaria No More UK and the Managing Director of Friends of the Earth.
## Related parties and relationships with other organisations
None of our trustees receive remuneration or other benefit from their work with the charity. Any connection between a trustee or employee and anyone involved in the charity’s business must be disclosed to the board of trustees in the same way as any other contractual relationship with a related party. In the current year, no such related party transactions were reported.
## Statement of responsibilities of the trustees
The trustees (who are also directors of PLP for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law 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 of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
- Observe the methods and principles in the charities SORP.
- Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
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**The Public Law Project**
## **Trustees annual report**
## **For the year ended 31 March 2025**
- State whether applicable UK accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.
- Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In so far as the trustees are aware: there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware, and the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31 March 2025 was 8 (2024: 11). The trustees are members of the charity, but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.
## Auditor
Sayer Vincent LLP was re-appointed as the charitable company's auditor during the year and has expressed its willingness to continue in that capacity.
The trustees’ annual report has been approved by the trustees on 06 October 2025 and signed on their behalf by
Jonathan Senker, Chair of the Board of Trust
23
Independent auditor’s report
To the members of
The Public Law Project
## Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of The Public Law Project (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 _The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland_ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
- Give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended
- Have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice
- Have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006
## Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## Conclusions relating to going concern
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:
- The trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate; or
- The trustees have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the charitable company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
24
Independent auditor’s report
To the members of
The Public Law Project
## Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report, including the strategic report and the director’s and chair’s reports, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
- The information given in the trustees’ annual report, including the strategic report and the director’s and chair’s reports for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements
- The trustees’ annual report, including the strategic report and director’s and chair’s reports, has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ annual report including the strategic report and director’s and chair’s reports.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- Adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
-
-
- The financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- Certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- We have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
25
Independent auditor’s report
To the members of
The Public Law Project
## Responsibilities of trustees
As explained more fully in the statement of responsibilities of the trustees set out in the trustees’ annual report, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:
- Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
- Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control.
- Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the trustees.
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Independent auditor’s report
## To the members of
## The Public Law Project
- Conclude on the appropriateness of the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the entity to cease to continue as a going concern.
- Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.
## Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charitable company's members as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
## Noelia Serrano
## 23 October 2025
for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor 110 Golden Lane, LONDON, EC1Y 0TG
27
## The Public Law Project
Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)
For the year ended 31 March 2025
|Unrestricted
£
663,299
516,002
105,664
28,325
183|Restricted
£
654,736
-
-
-
-|2025
Total
£
1,318,035
516,002
105,664
28,325
183|Unrestricted
£
857,746
337,978
95,501
24,123
30|Restricted
£
811,953
-
-
-
-|2024
Total
£
1,669,699
337,978
95,501
24,123
30|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|1,313,473|654,736|1,968,209|1,315,378|811,953|2,127,331|
|159,691
452,743
376,779
309,430|-
329,451
148,228
203,319|159,691
782,194
525,007
512,749|102,045
790,166
349,954
354,236|-
227,931
294,945
52,745|102,045
1,018,097
644,899
406,981|
|1,298,643|680,998|1,979,641|1,596,401|575,621|2,172,022|
|14,830|(26,262)|(11,432)|(281,023)|236,332|(44,691)|
|1,748,324|373,152|2,121,476|2,029,347|136,820|2,166,167|
All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 16 to the financial statements.
28
The Public Law Project
## Balance sheet
|Balance sheet|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|As at 31 March 2025|||Company no. 2368562||
|Note
10
11a
11b
12
15a
15
Fixed assets:
Tangible assets
Non current debtors
Current assets:
Amounts recoverable on casework
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities:
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Net current assets
Total net assets
The funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds
Unrestricted income funds:
Designated funds
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total charity funds|£
570,146
220,657
1,615,479|2025
£
14,880
41,085|£
484,292
352,627
1,545,758|2024
£
25,284
41,085|
|||55,965
2,054,079||66,369
2,055,107|
||2,406,282
(352,203)||2,382,677
(327,570)||
||676,500
1,086,654||577,469
1,170,855||
|||2,110,044||2,121,476|
|||346,890
1,763,154||373,152
1,748,324
-|
||||||
|||2,110,044||2,121,476|
Approved by the trustees on 06 October 2025 and signed on their behalf by
Jonathan Senker Chair of the Board of Trustees
1
The Public Law Project
## Statement of cash flows
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities
|(as per the statement of financial activities)
Depreciation charges
Investment income
Decrease / (increase) in debtors and WIP
Increase in creditors
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Investment income
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash provided by investing activities
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of fixed assets
Net (expenditure) for the reporting period|£
£
41,396
28,325
-
28,325
69,721
1,545,758
1,615,479
2025|£
£
41,396
28,325
-
28,325
69,721
1,545,758
1,615,479
2025|2,025
£
(11,432)
10,404
(28,325)
46,116
24,633|2,024
£
(44,691)
14,193
(24,123)
(227,330)
74,669|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||41,396|(207,282)|
||||£
£
(207,282)
24,123
(3,001)
21,122
(186,160)
1,731,918
1,545,758
2024||
||||||
|||69,721
1,545,758||(186,160)
1,731,918|
|||1,615,479||1,545,758|
30
The Public Law Project
Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
- 1 Accounting policies
- a) Statutory information
The Public Law Project is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in the United Kingdom.
The registered office address is The Design Works, 93–99 Goswell Road, London, EC1V 7EY.
## b) Basis of preparation
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) - (Charities SORP FRS 102), The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.
In applying the financial reporting framework, the trustees have made a number of subjective judgements, for example in respect of significant accounting estimates. Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The nature of the estimation means the actual outcomes could differ from those estimates. Any significant estimates and judgements affecting these financial statements are detailed within the relevant accounting policy below.
- c) Public benefit entity
The charitable company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.
- d) Going concern
The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern.
The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.
- e) Income
Income is recognised when the charity 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 and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.
Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.
Work under conditional fee agreements is valued at nil until the case is won, at which point the charity has entitlement to the funds.
## f) Donations of gifts and services
Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item or received the service, any conditions associated with the donation have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised so refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.
On receipt, donated gifts, professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity, which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt. There were gifts in kind for 2024/25 worth £33,609 (2023/24: £24,000 ). These relate to the provision at no cost of venue space or catering for PLP Events. Many PLP events were held online in the years following the pandemic, leading to no such income in the year prior. PLP received substantial pro-bono support from a number of law firms which could not be recognised on the basis that PLP could not have afforded to pay to obtain such services on the open market so refer to the trustees' annual report for more information about their contribution.
31
The Public Law Project
Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
- 1 Accounting policies (continued)
- g) Interest receivable Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.
- h) Fund accounting 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.
Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.
- i) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT 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:
- Costs of raising funds relate to the costs incurred by the charitable company in inducing third parties to make voluntary contributions to it, as well as the cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose.
- Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of delivering legal services, education and training events and conducting research undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
- j) Allocation of support costs Resources expended are allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. Support and governance costs are re-allocated to each of the activities on the following basis which is an estimate, based on staff time, of the amount attributable to each activity.
||Support|Governance|
|---|---|---|
||Costs|costs|
|Cost of raising funds|7%|8%|
|Casework and legal advice|36%|39%|
|Research|26%|29%|
|Influencing (Policy, Information, Training)|22%|24%|
|Governance|9%||
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.
32
The Public Law Project
Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
- k) Operating leases
Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.
- l) Tangible fixed assets Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £1,000. 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 provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:
- Fixtures and fittings
33.00% Straight line
- m) Amount receivable on casework (WIP)
- Income is recognised on casework earned and due ("work in progress" or "WIP") according to the time booked on the matter multiplied by the relevant legal aid or interpartes rate. Appropriate provision is made for irrecoverable WIP. While some WIP will be recoverable within 12 months and some over 12 months, it is not possible to calculate this split with accuracy. The charity accounts for WIP as a current asset as it aims to recover WIP within the shortest possible timeframe; however, WIP is excluded from the free reserves of the charity.
## n) Debtors
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
- o) Cash at bank and in hand
- Cash at bank and cash 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.
- p) Creditors and provisions Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
- q) Financial instruments
The charity 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.
- r) Pensions
The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company in an independently administered fund. The charitable company has no liability under the scheme other than for the payment of those contributions.
- s) Client monies
Client monies are excluded from the financial statements. The balance on the client bank account of these client monies at 31 March 2025 was nil. (2024: £18.31 ).
33
The Public Law Project
Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
## 2 Income from donations and grants
Grants and donations included in income were received from the following:
|Movement in WIP and payments on account
Contracts and other income
AB Charitable Trust
Garden Court Chambers
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Allen & Overy Foundation
Bromley Trust
Disrupt Foundation
Gifts in Kind
Sam and Bella Sebba Charitable Trust
The Legal Education Foundation
London Legal Support Trust
Sigrid Rausing Trust
Lloyds Bank Foundation
Access to Justice Foundation
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
The Law Society
Sub-total for Casework and legal advice
Lankelly Chase Foundation
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Baring Foundation
Courses and conferences
Events sponsorship
Income from charitable activities
Oak Foundation
Other Donations <£5,000
Trust for London
Unbound Philanthropy
Legal Aid Fees
Sub-total for Influencing (Policy, Information,
Training)
Total income from charitable activities
Other Casework Fees
Strategic Legal Fund|Unrestricted
£
70,000
-
-
-
-
-
50,000
-
33,609
-
-
-
-
-
10,000
250,000
55,000
-
180,000
-
-
-
14,690|Restricted
£
4,000
100,000
25,000
50,737
-
-
-
-
-
8,578
35,000
-
280,599
-
-
-
-
30,000
-
6,422
64,400
50,000
-|2025
Total
£
74,000
100,000
25,000
50,737
-
-
50,000
-
33,609
8,578
35,000
-
280,599
-
10,000
250,000
55,000
30,000
180,000
6,422
64,400
50,000
14,690|Unrestricted
£
70,000
-
8,000
-
20,000
50,000
-
4,000
24,000
-
-
177,675
-
-
10,000
250,000
55,000
-
180,000
-
-
-
9,071|Restricted
£
-
100,000
25,000
64,041
-
10,000
5,528
-
-
-
30,000
-
285,074
110,310
-
-
-
30,000
-
-
92,000
60,000
-|2024
Total
£
70,000
100,000
33,000
64,041
20,000
60,000
5,528
4,000
24,000
-
30,000
177,675
285,074
110,310
10,000
250,000
55,000
30,000
180,000
-
92,000
60,000
9,071|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||663,299|654,736|1,318,035|857,746|811,953|1,669,699|
||Unrestricted
£
77,931
351,517
700
85,854|Restricted
£
-
-
-
-|2025
Total
£
77,931
351,517
700
85,854|Unrestricted
£
14,789
302,000
1,288
19,901|Restricted
£
-
-
-
-|2024
Total
£
14,789
302,000
1,288
19,901|
||516,002
4,000
101,664|-
-
-|516,002
4,000
101,664|337,978
4,000
91,501|-
-
-|337,978
4,000
91,501|
||105,664|-|105,664|95,501|-|95,501|
||621,666|-|621,666|433,479|-|433,479|
## 3 Income from charitable activities
34
The Public Law Project
Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
- 4a Analysis of expenditure (current year)
|Staff costs (Note 6)
Audit
Bank Charges
Legal Fees
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Personnel
Premises and Equipment
Depreciation
Office overheads
Casework Costs
Courses, seminars, conferences
Research Costs
Fundraising
Other grant expenditure
Support costs
Governance costs
Total expenditure 2025
Total expenditure 2024|Cost of
raising funds
£
77,542
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
22,192
-|Charitable activities|Charitable activities|Charitable activities|
Governance
costs
£
96,916
10,265
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-|
Support
costs
£
285,958
-
578
3,264
27,538
59,284
135,968
10,404
152,439
-
-
-
660|
2025
Total
£
1,392,210
10,265
578
3,264
27,538
59,284
135,968
10,404
152,439
74,945
82,369
7,525
22,192
660|
2024
Total
£
1,654,532
11,243
910
1,938
42,304
50,254
144,527
14,193
142,182
46,529
35,544
27,865
-
-|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||
Casework
and Legal
Advice
£
398,320
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
74,945
-
-
-|
Research
£
291,220
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
7,525
-|Influencing
(Policy,
Information,
Training)
£
242,254
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
82,369
-
-|||||
||99,734
47,219
12,738|473,265
243,296
65,633|298,745
178,192
48,070|324,623
148,158
39,968|107,181
59,228
(166,409)|676,093
(676,093)
-|1,979,641
-|2,172,022
-
-|
||159,691|782,194|525,007|512,749|-|-|1,979,641||
||102,045|1,018,097|644,899|406,981|-|-||2,172,022|
35
The Public Law Project
Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
## 4b Analysis of expenditure (prior year)
|Staff costs (Note 6)
Audit
Bank Charges
Legal Fees
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Personnel
Premises and Equipment
Depreciation
Office overheads
Casework Costs
Courses, seminars, conferences
Research Costs
Other grant expenditure
Support costs
Governance costs
Total expenditure 2024|Cost of
raising funds
£
60,965
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,523
-
-|Charitable activities|Charitable activities|Charitable activities|Governance
costs
£
84,458
11,243
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-|Support
costs
£
318,953
-
910
1,938
42,304
50,254
144,527
14,193
142,182
-
-
-
-|2024
Total
£
1,654,532
11,243
910
1,938
42,304
50,254
144,527
14,193
142,182
46,529
35,544
27,865
-|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||Casework
and Legal
Advice
£
589,428
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
46,529
-
-
-|Research
£
374,409
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
27,865
-|Influencing
(Policy,
Information,
Training)
£
226,319
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
34,021
-
-||||
||62,488
32,682
6,875|635,957
315,726
66,414|402,274
200,457
42,167|260,340
121,156
25,486|95,701
45,240
(140,941)|715,261
(715,261)
-|2,172,022
-
-|
||102,045|1,018,097|644,899|406,981|-|-|2,172,022|
36
The Public Law Project
Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
- 5 Net expenditure for the year
This is stated after charging:
|This is stated after charging:|||
|---|---|---|
||2025|2024|
||£|£|
|Depreciation|10,404|14,193|
|Operating lease rentals:|||
|Property|91,300|87,242|
|Auditor's remuneration (excluding VAT) - for audit:|11,350|10,800|
- 6 Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel
Staff costs were as follows:
|Staff costs were as follows:
Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel|||
|---|---|---|
|Social security costs
Salaries and wages
Employer’s contribution to defined contribution pension schemes|2025
£
1,166,370
125,109
100,731|2024
£
1,393,976
145,904
114,652|
||1,392,210|1,654,532|
Redundancy and termination costs in the year were £12,301 (2024: £11,446)
One employee earned between £80,000 and £90,000 during the year (2024: 1)
The total employee benefits including pension contributions and employer's national insurance of the key management personnel were £381,864 (2024: £293,647). During 2024/25 these were the CEO, the COO, the Legal Director, the Research Director and the Communications Director.
The charity trustees were not paid or received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2024: 0). No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2024: 0).
One charity trustee received £114.40 as payment or reimbursement of travel costs paid in the year (2024: £0 ).
## 7 Staff numbers
The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was as follows:
|Research
Raising funds
Casework and legal advice
Influencing (Policy, Information, Training)
Governance
Support|2025
No.
1.2
7.0
6.2
4.9
6.7
1.3|2024
No.
1.1
12.0
9.2
5.2
7.4
1.3|
|---|---|---|
||27.3|36.1|
The average number of employees (based on full-time equivalent) during the year was as follows:
|The average number of employees (based on full-time equivalent) during the year was as follows:|||
|---|---|---|
|Casework and legal advice
Raising funds
Governance
Research
Support
Influencing (policy, information, training)|2025
No.
1.2
6.8
5.3
4.5
5.4
1.3|2024
No.
1.1
11.2
8.0
4.4
6.1
1.2|
||24.5|32.1|
37
The Public Law Project
Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
- 8 Related party transactions
The following related party transactions occurred in 2024/25:
One trustees was reimbursed £114.40 expenses for travel to attend a PLP-run event. Four trustees received gifts totalling £334.50 thanking them at the end of their service.
## These totalled £448.90
24/25 note: PLP received access to meeting rooms at Fieldfisher for the purpose of trustee meetings via trustee's relations with same. Fieldfisher also provided PLP with pro-bono legal advice; see the trustees annual report for further details.
## 9 Taxation
The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.
## 10 Tangible fixed assets
|10
Tangible fixed assets|||
|---|---|---|
|11a
11b
Accrued income
Net book value
Charge for the year
At the start of the year
Disposals in the year
At the end of the year
At the end of the year
Prepayments
Lease deposit
Current debtors
At the start of the year
Other debtors
All of the above assets are used for charitable purposes.
Non current debtors
Trade debtors
Cost
At the start of the year
Depreciation
Disposals in the year
At the end of the year
Additions in year|Fixtures and
fittings
£
103,721
-
(9,365)|
Total
£
103,721
-
(9,365)|
||94,356|94,356|
||78,437
10,404
(9,365)|78,437
10,404
(9,365)|
||79,476|79,476|
||14,880|14,880|
||25,284|25,284|
||2025
£
41,085|2024
£
41,085|
||41,085|41,085|
||2025
£
133,287
36,084
51,286
-|2024
£
56,687
64,009
74,939
156,992|
||220,657|352,627|
38
The Public Law Project
Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
- 12 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
|e year ended 31 March 2025
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year|||
|---|---|---|
|Taxation and social security
Accruals
Deferred income
Other creditors
Trade creditors|2025
£
128,449
99,428
76,909
40,296
7,121|2024
£
160,370
49,821
85,766
31,613
-|
||352,203|327,570|
All deferred income brought forward was released in the year
## 13 Deferred income
|
Deferred income
All deferred income brought forward was released in the year
Accruals
Deferred income
Other creditors|76,909
40,296
7,121
352,203|85,766
31,613
-
327,570|
|---|---|---|
|Amount deferred in the year
Balance at the end of the year|2025
£
7,121|2024
£
-|
||7,121|-|
## 14 Pension scheme
The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme administered by People's Partnership (formerly named B&CE). The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company in an independently administered fund. The charitable company has no liability under the scheme other than for the payment of those contributions. At 31 March 2025 PLP had 27 (2024: 27) employees in the scheme. The amount owed to the pension scheme at Year End was £0 (2024: £10,942).
## 15a Analysis of net assets between funds (current year)
|Amounts recoverable on casework
Net assets at 31 March 2025
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
Fixed assets
Liabilities|General
unrestricted
£
55,965
220,657
-
1,162,235
(352,203)|
Designated
£
-
-
570,146
106,354
-|Restricted
£
-
-
-
346,890
-|Total
funds
£
55,965
220,657
570,146
1,615,479
(352,203)|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||1,086,654|676,500|346,890|2,110,044|
15b Analysis of net assets between funds (prior year )
|Fixed assets
Liabilities
Cash at bank and in hand
Debtors
Net assets at 31 March 2024
Amounts recoverable on casework|General
unrestricted
£
66,369
352,627
-
1,079,429
(327,570)|
Designated
£
-
-
484,292
93,177
-|Restricted
£
-
-
-
373,152
-|Total
funds
£
66,369
352,627
484,292
1,545,758
(327,570)|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||1,170,855|577,469|373,152|2,121,476|
39
The Public Law Project
## Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
16a Movements in funds (current year)
|Influencing (Policy, Information, Training)
Advocacy, research and events - Allen & Overy
Policy & Influencing - Sam and Bella Sebba Charitable Trust
Civic Power Fund - The Legal Education Foundation
Support costs
Emergency grant - AB Charitable Trust
Total restricted funds
Total designated funds
General funds
Legal Aid - The Law Society
Benefits Deductions - Lloyds Bank Foundation
Casework and legal advice
Research
Designated funds:
Together with Migrant Children - Strategic Legal Fund
Amounts recoverable on casework (work in progress)
Litigation Strategies - Barings Foundation
Office relocation fund
Fairer Systems - The Legal Education Foundation
CELC Benefits Sanctions Discrimination Project - Lloyds Bank
Foundation
Justice Together Initiative - Justice Collaborations
Unrestricted funds:
Total funds
Improving Lives Through Advice - Access to Justice
Foundation
Rule of Law - Unbound Philanthropy
Total unrestricted funds
Immigration & Welfare - Trust For London
Rule of Law Restoration - Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
Access to Judicial Review in Wales - Barings Foundation
Restricted funds:|At 1 April
2024
£
-
100,000
-
7,500
18,990
2,250
31,048
130,000
-
25,000
50,864
7,500
-|
Income and
gains
£
50,000
100,000
177,599
35,000
50,000
6,422
-
102,000
64,400
8,578
25,000
737
30,000
1,000
4,000|
Expenditure
and losses
£
(50,000)
(100,000)
(101,716)
(25,000)
(52,323)
(6,422)
(2,250)
(31,048)
(132,000)
(64,400)
(8,578)
(25,000)
(51,601)
(30,000)
(330)
(330)|
Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-|At 31 March
2025
£
-
100,000
75,883
17,500
16,667
-
-
-
-
-
100,000
-
-
-
25,000
-
7,500
670
3,670|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||373,152|654,736|(680,998)|-|346,890|
||484,292
93,177|-
-|85,854
13,177|-
-|570,146
106,354|
||577,469|-|99,031|-|676,500|
||1,170,855|1,313,473|(1,397,674)|-|1,086,654|
||1,748,324|1,313,473|(1,298,643)|-|1,763,154|
||2,121,476|1,968,209|(1,979,641)|-|2,110,044|
40
The Public Law Project
Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
16b Movements in funds (prior year)
|**Influencing (Policy, Information, Training)**
**Support costs**
Total restricted funds
Total designated funds
General funds
Restricted funds:
Access to Public Law Remedies - Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Access to Judicial Review in Wales - Baring Foundation
Casework and legal advice
Justice Together Initiative- Justice Collaborations
Legal Aid - The Law Society
Improving Lives Through Advice- Access to Justice
Office relocation fund
Fairer Systems - The Legal Education Foundation
Systems change and transition fund
Research
Unrestricted funds:
Designated funds:
Amounts recoverable on casework (work in progress)
Immigration & Welfare - Trust For London
Litigation Strategies - Barings Foundation
IT project - Disrupt Foundation
Advocacy, rearch and events - Allen & Overy
Benefits Deductions- Lloyds Bank Foundation
Constitutional Reform - AB Charitable Trust
Constitutional Reform - Baring Foundation
Influencing - Sam and Bella Sebba Charitable Trust
Rule of Law - Unbound Philanthropy
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds|At 1 April
2023
£
31,772
-
-
25,982
7,500
20,186
-
7,500
21,688
2,820
11,872
-
-
7,500
-|
Income and
gains
£
4,041
5,528
100,000
41,974
30,000
60,000
110,310
-
-
243,100
92,000
25,000
60,000
30,000
10,000|
Expenditure
and losses
£
(35,813)
(5,528)
-
(67,956)
(30,000)
(61,196)
(77,012)
(7,500)
(21,688)
(115,920)
(103,872)
-
(9,136)
(30,000)
(10,000)|
Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-|At 31 March
2024
£
-
-
100,000
-
7,500
18,990
33,298
-
-
130,000
-
25,000
50,864
7,500
-|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||136,820|811,953|(575,621)|-|373,152|
||464,391
72,471
82,000|-
-
-|19,901
20,706
(82,000)|-
-
-|484,292
93,177
-|
||618,862|-|(41,393)|-|577,470|
||1,410,484|1,315,378|(1,555,008)|-|1,170,854|
||2,029,347|1,315,378|(1,596,401)|-|1,748,324|
||2,166,167|2,127,331|2,172,022|-|2,121,476|
41
The Public Law Project
Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
- 16c Purposes of restricted funds (continued)
## Casework and legal advice
## Access to Judicial Review in Wales - Baring Foundation
The Barings Foundation has awarded PLP £150,000 over three years to meet the costs of employing a public law specialist based in Wales. The project aims to improve access to judicial review and legal aid in Wales by providing casework and by building networks with organisations who may have capacity to use public law. The project commenced with the appointment of PLP lawyer Matthew Court to the role in January 2021, who has since relocated to be based within a local firm in Cardiff.
## Access to Public Law Remedies - Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation has granted PLP £263,223 over five years towards core costs to improve access to public law remedies for those affected by poverty or disadvantage. Esmeé granted PLP a further unrestricted grant from 2024.
## Improving Lives Through Advice scheme - Access to Justice Foundation
£500,000 has been awarded to Public Law Project for the period from 1 March 2024 to 28 February 2029 as part of the Improving Lives Through Advice (ILTA) funding programme, delivered by The Access to Justice Foundation. ILTA is a new five-year programme designed to support the delivery of free legal advice to marginalised people and communities across England. The funding for this grant has been made possible by the National Lottery Community Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.
## Justice Together Initiative - Justice Collaborations
Justice Collaborations has awarded a grant of £250,347 over 36 months for work on the Justice Together Initiative which seeks a fair, timely and accessible immigration. This funding has enabled PLP to resource the leadership of a team providing specialist public law support to the network of organisations and individuals working challenging unfairness and systemic racism in the immigration system.
## Legal Aid - The Law Society
The ‘Legal Aid Support Project’ started in 2013 seeking to mitigate the effect of the reforms to legal aid contained within the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Ever since, The Law Society and PLP have formed a successful partnership evidenced over the past few years by way of litigation, training and communications building increasing the practical accessibility of legal aid. Further grants in 2023-24 and 2024-25 continued this important work.
## Rule of Law - Unbound Philanthropy
Unbound Philanthropy have provided general support funding to assist PLP work to limit and challenge the inappropriate exercise of executive power and support effective regulatory systems at a time of great constitutional change in the UK. This grant was renewed in August 2024 with a further award of £100,000 over 24 months.
## Together With Migrant Children - Strategic Legal Fund
The Immigration Law Practitioner's Association awarded a Strategic Legal Fund grant of £6,423 to PLP and Together with Migrant Children. The funding allows us to under take prelitigation work, for a proposed judicial review challenging the SSHD's practice of accomodating famlies with children in asylum support accomodation where local authorities cannot meet their duties to provide appropriate education.
42
The Public Law Project
Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
## Purposes of restricted funds (continued)
## Research
## Benefits Deductions - Lloyds Bank Foundation
Lloyds Bank Foundation awarded a grant to assist PLP in identifying the barriers that welfare benefits claimants face in appealing unfair sanctions decisions, and to inform a strategy for tackling those barriers through policy, litigation and/or casework. The work involves collecting up-to-date evidence around sanctions as the basis for an informed debate with government. The research recognises the disproportionate sanctioning that minoritised communities face and we ensure diversity across research participants. Lloyd's has extended its support to enable PLP to develop a longer term research, litigation and casework strategy aimed at ensuring benefit deductions operate in a fair, lawful and non-discriminatory manner, alongside our existing work focused on sanctions.
## CELC Benefit Sanctions Discrimination Project - Lloyds Bank Foundation
LLoyds Bank Foundation awarded Central England Law Centre (CELC) funding to work in partnership with PLP to deliver the Benefit Sanctions Discrimination Project. Together we aim to decrease the likelihood that sanctions are applied in a discriminatory way by improving processes and practices within the benefits system to eliminate discrimination, reduce bias and create increased transparency at a national level on the equality impact of the sanctions system. In particular PLP are carrying out interviews and focus groups with CELC clients and grassroots organisations and are leading work to influence national government.
## Constitutional Reform - AB Charitable Trust
AB Charitable Trust have awarded PLP a restricted grant of £30,000 per year for two years which, alongside funding from the Barings Foundation, supports our work to promote and evidence-led approach to constitutional reform, particularly in relation to the government's proposed reforms of judicial review. This post ensures that PLP has the capacity to conduct pro-active research and gather evidence that supports evidence-based reform of judicial review, and to react effectively as the details of proposals emerge.
## Constitutional Reform - Baring Foundation
The Barings Foundation awarded PLP a restricted grant of £25,000 ending in 2023/24, following £40,000 over two years which, alongside funding from AB Charitable Trust, supports our work to promote and evidence-led approach to constitutional reform, particularly in relation to reforms of judicial review. This funding ensured that PLP has the capacity to conduct pro-active research and gather evidence that supports evidence-based reform of judicial review, and to react effectively as the details of proposals emerge.
## Fairer Systems - The Legal Education Foundation
TLEF have agreed to provide PLP funding of £393,000 over 3 years to ensure that the UK’s systems for the exercise and control of executive power are fair and effective, amid Brexit and the rise of automated decision-making. PLP's legal and policy experts will monitor these systems, identify systemic problems, and work with others to challenge them in public debate and in the courts.
## Immigration and Welfare - Trust for London
Trust for London awarded PLP £230,000 over three years (£92k in years one and two and £46k in year three) towards core funding for legal work to assist the London sector to take a strategic legal approach to immigration and welfare rights issues.
## Rule of Law Restoration - Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust funded a project to analyse key legislative retrogressions to the rule of law between 2010 and 2024, and produce proposals for strategic legislative reform to restore elements of the rule of law. The project was a partnership between the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law and Public Law Project, with JRCT funding a PLP Research Fellow to work on the project one day a week for seven months. PLP received £8,578.00 in total.
## Influencing (Policy, Training, Events)
## Advocacy, Research and Events - Allen & Overy
Allen & Overy awrded PLP £75,000 over three years (2024-2027) to support PLP's mission for the state to act fairly and lawfully by accelerating the impact of PLP's policy work, training events and research.
## Litigation Strategies - Barings Foundation
Barings awarded PLP a grant to host a residential for civil society organisations in the area of effective litigation strategies to promote better collaboration and focus on putting communities in the driving seat of legal challenges.
Policy and Influencing - The Sam & Bella Sebba Charitable Foundation
The Sebba Foundation have supported PLP with a grant of £27,931 for one year towards your project: to support the establishment of a new policy and influencing post. The new post is designed to develop our policy positions drawing from expertise held across our research, casework and training teams and engage collaboratively with government, Parliamentarians and the media . They have increased this to £30k per year for three years
43
The Public Law Project
Notes to the financial statements
## For the year ended 31 March 2025
## Purposes of restricted funds (continued)
## Civic Power Fund - The Legal Education Foundation
PLP received a grant of £1,000 through the Emergency Action Fund in the context of the 2024 summer riots. The fund was a partnership between Civic Power Fund and Legal Education Foundation as a short term crisis response to far right violence.
## Support costs
## Emergency grant - AB Charitable Trust
PLP received a grant of £4000 towards additional needs deriving from widespread violence across the UK in August 2024.
## IT project - Disrupt Foundation
Disrupt Foundation provided £10k or funding to support PLP transition to new cloud-based IT systems.
## Purposes of designated funds
Designated funds have been set aside by the trustees for a certain purpose. The trustees have set aside two funds (2024: three) as follows:
## Amounts recoverable on casework (Work in Progress)
Purpose: To clearly identify Work in Progress assets in the balance sheet of PLP’s audited accounts so as to distinguish them from PLP’s freely available, unrestricted funds.
## Office relocation fund
Funds set aside over the length of PLP's lease to meet costs, other than dilapidations, required to facilitate a move to new premises towards the end of PLP's lease at Goswell Road.
## Systems change and transition fund
Trustee's set aside funds to support the transition between senior leadership in 2022-23 and the introduction of new core systems by the end of 2023-24 including a cloud-based server and document management system and financial accounting system.
## Operating lease commitments
## 17
The charity's total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows for each of the following periods
|Less than one year
One to Five Years|2025
2024
£
£
91,300
87,242
68,475
159,775
Property|2025
2024
£
£
91,300
87,242
68,475
159,775
Property|
|---|---|---|
||159,775|247,017|
- 18 Legal status of the charity
The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £1.
44