OpenCharities

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

2022-03-31-accounts

Every day well lived

WCS Care Group Limited Annual report and consolidated financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2022

WCS Care Group Limited

Contents

Page number

Reference and administration details 1
Welcome from the Chair of the Board and Chief Executive 2
Report of the Trustees including the strategic report 4
Financial review 14
Independent auditor’s report 22
Consolidated and company statement of financial activities 26
Consolidated and company balance sheet 27
Consolidated statement of cash flows 28
Notes to the financial statements 29

WCS Care Group Limited

Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors

Registered name: WCS Care Group Limited Also known as: WCS Care Registered company: 02713150 Registered charity: 1012788 Registered office Newlands Head Office Whites Row Kenilworth CV8 1HW Trustees: A F Levett - Chairman B C Cressey L E Middleburgh A J Last J A Matthews S E Dobinson R L Merchant M R Andrews R L Warwick T M Banks N Weatherburn E J Basten (appointed on 27[th] September 2021) Executive Team: E J Russell – Chief Executive P C Parekh – Director of Finance and Company Secretary K Salt – Director of Quality and Compliance J Cheshire – Director of Communications and Marketing J Rose – (Co-opted) Head of People and Support Services Independent Auditor: Crowe U.K. LLP Statutory Auditor Black Country House Rounds Green Road Oldbury B69 2DG Solicitors: Wright Hassall LLP Olympus Avenue Leamington Spa Warwickshire CV34 6BF Bankers: The Royal Bank of Scotland Sheffield Branch 5 Church Street Sheffield S1 1HF

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

1

WCS Care Group Limited

Welcome from the Chair of the Board

As a charity providing residential care to those who pay their own fees and those who receive help, we pride ourselves on making sure the quality of that care is not dependant on the way we are paid. Further we aim to delivery high quality care, conscious that every day is important for those we look after.

Pursuing this aspiration, we make our strategic plans against the backdrop of major changes in the Government’s aspiration for the sector. Integrated care commissioning, a care costs cap, fair funding for social places and the right of anyone to ask the local authority to commission their care will mean contract and costs might well overshadow the critical matter of quality. We hope not.

As the impact of the pandemic slowly recedes our attention has turned to kick-starting our refurbishment programme, implementing investment programmes and ensuring that our smaller homes can be scaled up to remain financially viable. High numbers of people have trusted us which has been reflected in our exceptional occupancy rates. We are delighted to be valued by local commissioners and private citizens alike to deliver care as we believe it should be – person-focussed.

It has been more important than ever for WCS to be an employer people want to work for and stay with. This, coupled with effective and efficient delivery processes underpin our focus on quality and the achievement of our goals. Utilising technology and commissioning research, where necessary, to support care delivery, and data collection have helped tremendously.

In September the Board revisited the 5-year strategic plan at the two-year point making small changes to the direction and terminology to reflect emerging trends. It has served the company well, coupled with the COVID response strategy.

The foresight of the Board and the sound, pragmatic oversight by the non-executive directors (all unpaid) has kept plans in sharp focus. Driven by an exceptionally talented Executive I anticipate further strong progress this year. I thank them all for their commitment and diligence.

We welcome Elizabeth Basten who joined the Board during the year.

Adrian Levett - Chair of the Board

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

2

WCS Care Group Limited

And a word from our Chief Executive

Behind our ambition for Every Day Well Lived, we hold a deep belief - it is the intersection of the powerful forces of recognising we need to continually make the care homes we operate for our residents and families better than the alternatives, alongside having great staff and great accommodation, that will allow us to continue to innovate the future of care and of our charity.

Thanks to the power of centuries-old values paired with cutting-edge technologies, WCS is shaping the new face of care home provision. In 2021, in line with its drive to continuously improve its understanding of consumer aspirations, our charity installed the first wireless acoustic monitoring innovations in the UK, and began setting up academic studies into circadian rhythm lighting, providing a glimpse into the future of care.

2021 was a historic year for WCS. Thanks to the expertise, passion, and engagement of our 800 employees, WCS achieved the coveted Investors in People Gold award and won the Local Authority Building Design Award for Woodside Care Village. We went on to achieve record occupancy levels giving us the financial foundation to reinvest and enable the launch of our five-year investment programme to refurbish all of our homes, and continue to invest in our staff, ultimately delivering on our social commitments to continually improve the quality of life in WCS care homes, partly through our new activity and music programmes, and influence the wider sector via our innovation outreach.

2021 has not been without its challenges for WCS as both workforce availability and rising inflationary and utility costs have challenged the sector and these will remain on WCS’s watch list for innovation and stress testing in the year ahead.

Today, choosing a care home enabling a quality of life is no longer a dream. It is already possible. But as private care becomes less affordable for more and more people, the challenge moves to local authorities, who need to step up and pay for individuals whose savings have been used up and can no longer afford to pay for their own care. It remains to be seen whether the new Social Care Levy will be able to meet the shortfall in funding which currently exists and looks set to become worse.

I’d like to note some steadfast principles that are worth repeating. The first is that I am proud of our continuing social impact support and that approximately 250 socially funded people benefit from WCS Care's charitable support every year - leading to a significant annual charitable contribution to Warwickshire residents. Second, while we don’t run our charity worrying about dividends for shareholders, in the long run our financial strength through turbulent times is a measure of the progress we have made over the years to deliver on our ambitions under the stewardship of strong governance from a dedicated board of trustees and an amazing workforce that continually outperform the sector.

It remains for me to express my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of our support staff and carers. We are so grateful. Being a social care worker is more than a job; it is a calling. We are also truly grateful for the continued support behind the scenes from all of our customers. We are so grateful for the pleasure in serving you.

Ed Russell – Chief Executive

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

3

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report

Introduction

The Trustees, who are also the directors of the company, present their report and the audited, consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Who we are: our story

WCS Care is a Warwickshire-based charity established in 1992. We operate 13 residential care homes, providing accommodation, 24-hour personal care, and support to nearly 600 older people and people of working age who may find it difficult to manage daily life at home, many of whom are socially funded through our long-established partnership with Warwickshire County Council.

Residential homes provide residents with a safe place where they are looked after according to their needs, such as help with washing, dressing, toileting, administering medication and mobility. The word ‘resident’ means that people can treat the setting as their home and live there with access to the services available on site.

Our ambition is that every day is well lived for our residents: every day we invite people to choose the things they want to do and try new opportunities.

Our care model outlines how we achieve a day well lived; this is developed around our values and the individual character of each of our 13 care homes.

Our values are that every day we play , make someone’s day , be there and choose our attitude . The standard we walk past is the standard we accept.

Four essential building blocks to deliver a day well lived are:

Our principles

Enabling environments

High quality care

Financial sustainability

Key behaviours to support and enable this are:

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

4

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

Objectives for the year

We have an ambitious strategy which focuses on providing environments and staff that deliver quality of life for the people who choose to live with us. Our strategy has seven key threads:

  1. Consistently articulating a model of who we are

  2. Engaging with key partners and decision makers

  3. Differentiating our village and residential offerings

  4. Continuing to offer a range of options for customers, including those who are socially funded

  5. Refurbishing older buildings and planning new developments

  6. Developing future design based on the village concept

  7. Reviewing assets for reinvestment into our homes and people

Achievements and performance

What our customers told us

We’re delighted our customers continue to rate us highly and as a learning organisation we’re committed to continual improvement.

of customers are satisfied with, or would recommend, our homes to others

WCS’s customers also continue to independently review us on carehome.co.uk giving:

WCS a rating of 9.5 out of 10

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

5

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

Investors in People – Gold

WCS Care have been accredited through Investors in People for 26 years since 1996 and in December, WCS Care’s accreditation level improved from Silver to Gold level.

It was noted that the charity had made significant improvements in most of the themes, despite the distraction of the pandemic and its impact on the care sector, and that this achievement is testimony to the resilience of our performance culture.

It was also noted that our team members have real pride and passion for the work they do, feel that they are trusted in their roles and enabled to make changes and challenge when needed.

Only 19% of Investors in People accredited organisations achieve the gold level, and of those just 11% are health and care settings.

Regulatory requirements

Under Covid conditions WCS passed all of our CQC and local authority inspections against stringent infection control requirements, thanks to the management of our homes.

During the past 12 months WCS has had one full inspection at Four Ways, in Leamington Spa, which achieved an overall rating of Good with Good in all areas.

Our two homes that were rated Requires Improvement over two years ago may be inspected soon as the CQC starts to conduct inspections more frequently again.

Building design award

In November Woodside Care Village in Warwick won the Regional Local Authority Building Control (LABC) People and Place Award for New Housing – Best Purpose-Built Accommodation. This was followed shortly after in January with a win at the national final.

Woodside Care Village features cutting edge circadian lighting and night-time acoustic monitoring technology, along with its own spa, hair salon, cinema, shop, launderette, and gardens with a bike

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

6

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

track, outdoor gym equipment and water features, all arranged around an outdoor plaza that’s like a typical village square.

Statement by the directors in performance of their statutory duties in accordance with s172 (1) Companies Act 2006

Stakeholder engagement

The Charities stakeholders are:

Structure, management and governance

WCS Care Limited is an independent charity, formed in 1992. The charity is registered with 12 trustees (Board of Directors), during the year there were 12 active members.

The Board of Directors has a wide portfolio of expertise and experience in health care, human resources, finance, property and other disciplines.

In accordance with the Charity’s Articles of Association, members of the Management Committee retire every 3-year cycle, serving a maximum of 9 years. Those offering themselves for re-election are those who have served the longest since their election or re-election.

Jayne Matthews and Alison Last retired by rotation and will offer themselves for re-election at the annual general meeting.

Trustee induction and training

Induction includes a Trustees Handbook; comprehensive sessions with each member of the Executive Leadership Team; and an in-depth tour of the organisation. Training is also carried out both with external agencies and via in-house training.

The Board provide support and leadership to the Executive Team on the direction and strategy of the Charity and in fulfilling its role has established the following system of management:

Management of organisation

The body responsible for the management of the charity is the Board of Directors / Trustees - (Management Committee). The Board has five scheduled meetings each year with other meetings arranged as necessary. Members are elected every three years and serve a maximum term of nine years, unless otherwise agreed. The maximum number of members that can be elected to the Board is 12. The Board elects the Chairman at the November Board Meeting.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

7

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

The Board receives reports from four formally constituted committees which are reviewed annually:

Each committee has specific terms of reference and functions delegated by the Board.

The Chief Executive and the Executive Team attend meetings of the Board. The Chief Executive attends the Committee meetings and is accompanied by members of the Executive Team as appropriate.

The Board has overall responsibility for ensuring the charity has an appropriate system of internal financial and managerial controls across the entire organisation.

The Executive Team meets monthly, the focus being on strategy, and financial and operational issues.

The Director of Finance is responsible for corporate governance as well as WCS’s overall financial strategy including statutory accounts and business performance. The Director of Quality and Compliance is responsible for ensuring that WCS meets the quality and operational performance of WCS’s care management system. The Director of Marketing and Communications is responsible for maintaining our brand and reputation, WCS’s communication strategy and occupancy management. The Head of People and Support Services is responsible for delivery of WCS’s human resources functions including the development of our culture.

The members of the Executive Team are supported by the three service managers in the management and development of the service. Service managers line manage a designated group of care homes and are responsible for the day-to-day operational management of the homes, with support from two support managers and our Quality Manager who is responsible for monitoring quality as part of our policy of continual improvement.

WCS is registered with the Care Quality Commission who monitor, inspect and regulate residential care services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality, and the charity complies with the Commission’s Fundamental Standards.

Review of 2021/2022

The last year has once again been influenced by Covid, the virus variants which have emerged as the year progressed and the government’s response and guidance for the sector. Like everyone, we looked forward to returning to the level of normality we’re used to, however we also recognise that we’re supporting some of the most vulnerable people in society and anticipated a lag between the lifting of restrictions in the wider community and those in care homes.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

8

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

Residents and their families

Visiting

We believe visiting is an integral part of care home life.

In response to this, WCS has been able to safely provide a range of visiting options in our homes throughout the pandemic, including garden and window visits as well as visiting rooms and pods. We introduced the key role of Visitor Facilitator in each home, so visitors had a single point of contact to support their visits and ensure they were managed as safely as possible. Our online booking system has been used to book over 350 out-of-home visits and nearly 5,000 in-home visits.

As the government reviewed its approach to visiting and testing in care homes over the year, we responded pragmatically, making sure we met required guidelines, whilst also ensuring people were able to maintain their important connections with loved ones. For the second year, we held ‘Christmas every day’ throughout December and early January, inviting relatives to celebrate with their loved ones in our visiting rooms and enjoy a Christmas meal together.

----- Start of picture text -----
Outdoor and visiting pod options available for
loved ones at The Limes
----- End of picture text -----

Our continued use of spray gates, personal protective equipment (PPE), room fogging, temperature checks and regular testing alongside high vaccination take-up amongst residents and staff, all contributed to keeping infection rates in the homes low. And our dynamic risk assessments, supported by our colleagues in public health, helped us to minimise the impact on visiting where outbreaks did occur.

We would also thank Warwickshire County Council for the provision of high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters for each of the homes which we deploy in areas that are harder to ventilate.

Daily life

Refurbishments and improvements

We kick started our ambitious refurbishment plans in October with plans to refurbish all of our older buildings over the next five years, undertaking one home every three months. Work is planned to enhance not only internal spaces, but also improve the external appearance and maintenance of the homes.

Work has been completed at Sycamores in Leamington Spa and Drayton Court in Nuneaton.

Refurbished lounge in the classic lifestyle at Sycamores

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

9

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

Daily activities

Last year WCS invested in a Social Activity Manager to support our Lifestyle Coaches, musicians and social activity gurus to enhance our existing activities.

Mealtime experience

In most traditional care homes, residents are given an either-or choice at mealtimes. When we opened Woodside Care Village in 2019, we introduced an approach that gives residents over 40 main meals to choose from every day as well as soup, vegetable and pudding options, working with our long-standing innovation partner, apetito.

This means residents enjoy more variety and choice, it helps us Nutritionally balanced menu range to ensure meals are nutritiously balanced, and it provides a better, consistent mealtime experience for residents. The range also helps us to identify allergens and includes texture modified options which can help people with swallowing difficulties to enjoy tasty food.

This year we’ve brought apetito’s food range to Attleborough Grange, in Nuneaton, and Mill Green in Rugby.

Music for dementia

Following the successful recruitment of our first Community Musician we now have three musicians employed across the group. We’ve also installed Alexas on every household in every home so residents can request their favourite music – and carers, who may not know the words to some of the older songs, can sing along with the words that appear on the screen.

We often hear about the power of music and for people living with dementia, when language understanding and verbal communication becomes harder, music can unlock the brain and people who can no longer speak or follow a conversation can often still sing and even recall lyrics.

Docobo

Having first been introduced to Docobo in our Innovation Hub several years ago, we were pleased to be part of a trial of the Doc@Home integrated care system at several of our homes in 2020. This successful trial has led to the system being introduced across Warwickshire’s care homes with nine of WCS’s homes now benefitting from this care system and implementation about to start at the tenth.

When a resident starts to become unwell, this digital platform allows carers to record a resident’s observations and symptoms by answering a range of structured questions. This data is then transmitted to a secure clinical database ready for triage, contributing to faster, more appropriate treatment for residents.

Designed specifically for residential care the system has contributed to a reduction in unnecessary hospital admissions which can cause emotional and physical upset for residents, and the upskilling of carers.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

10

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

Dechoker

Over the last year dechokers have been successfully used four times in WCS Care’s homes. Introduced to all of the homes in 2021, the dechoker is an anti-choking device which is lightweight, easy to use and helps to remove food blockages which might be creating a choking hazard.

Staff members

Thanks to our dedicated staff, all of our services have remained open with all beds available despite covid variants and staffing shortages across the sector. Our quality of care has remained high, and visiting has remained open.

Care heroes 2021

Workwear

In the summer we introduced a range of brightly coloured workwear tops giving staff the opportunity to put a bit of personality into their workday by choosing what colour to wear to

work. This change has also had a positive impact for residents who like to see the bright colours in the home.

We also celebrated each team member by presenting them personally with a fleece and individual gift tag, bearing the Care Hero 2021 strapline – something we continue to do for all new starters and have updated for 2022.

Pay awards

In October we thanked our frontline team members for their dedication to WCS with an interim pay award, introducing new additional payments that recognise qualifications, including sign language for those who work with our deaf residents, and responsibility for medication administration. Together with our weekend and overtime rates, we’ve focused on valuing experience and retention.

At the end of the financial year, we were pleased to let our colleagues know that their hourly pay would increase from the 1[st] April, with all staff paid above the national living wage and 50% of frontline carers paid the real living wage.

Vaccination uptake

We achieved over 98% vaccination uptake amongst staff members. This meant that when the time came for remaining staff to choose whether to be vaccinated or leave our employment, as required by law, we said goodbye to just 10 colleagues out of over 800 staff.

Successful team integration

February 2022 was the two-year anniversary of the transfer of local charity Deafinitely Independent’s residents and staff to Woodside Care Village in Warwick. Feedback from residents, relatives and staff on the transition is positive.

70% of DI’s original staff continue to work for the service and the team have not only maintained their original terms and conditions, but benefited from being part of a larger organisation with annual pay increases (two in the last financial year), access to Perkbox benefit platform for discounts on shopping and days out, and Health Assured for wellbeing advice and support.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

11

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

The Potting Shed

Introduced in 2020, The Potting Shed is run by a team of staff volunteers who give their time to arrange events for staff and support them with their health and wellbeing. Linked to this support is our provision of Perkbox, a benefits platform with hundreds of shopping discounts, and access to Health Assured for free, confidential advice and support.

In December eight members of the team completed their Mental Health First Aiders course, creating a team of people who have been trained to provide staff with initial support and advice on where to seek further help and advice.

Other stakeholders

Suppliers: New ways of working

WCS Care is known in the care sector for our use of technology and embedding new, innovative ways of working. Our experience of thinking outside the box, trialling new approaches, learning fast and applying change held us in good stead during 2021/2022.

Improving sleep

If you’ve not heard of acoustic monitoring, it’s a non-intrusive technology that listens to sleeping residents and is triggered by unusual sounds beyond a set level for each person’s specific needs. If there’s no sound from a resident’s room, they’re left to sleep in peace, rather than being disturbed by hourly door-checks throughout the night.

WCS Care have championed the use of acoustic monitoring in the sector since we first retro-fit it in one of our newer homes in 2015. Within a year we experienced a 34% reduction in night-time falls and, after installing it in two further new-builds, were able to evidence a 55% reduction in falls across days and nights. In 2020 we installed a new Wi-Fi version of the acoustic system into The Limes, one of our older buildings, and became the first provider in the UK to monitor two sites from one location, using remote monitoring to support the night carers at this small

https://youtu.be/5HOeiupuo6o

residential home. This strategy has provided oversight and staff support for the night carers at The Limes, enhanced care quality and reduced night staff costs by 17%.

Having shared our acoustic story with the sector, Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Ministers of State for Care, we are pleased that this technology is now being supported via funding made available through the NHS Transformation Directorate and hope to benefit from this so that we can introduce this system to the rest of WCS’s homes.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

12

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

Human centric lighting

Over the last year we’ve been investigating how we can install a circadian system into our older buildings without causing disruption for residents and staff. We’ve also been working closely with Dr Shelley James of Age of Light Innovations who facilitated a Lighting Forum for us, hosting international organisations who have also installed human centric lighting, where we were able to share our experience and learn from that of others. And we’ve established a relationship with Oxford University who we’re developing a PhD study with.

https://youtu.be/ZX2xpsSGrqE

Whilst this moves forward, we’re building circadian lighting into plans for our new extensions at Fairfield in Bedworth.

Circadian lighting imitates nature’s cycles of light and dark, as well as the changes in colour we experience from dawn to dusk. 80% of residents living in a WCS Care home for older people live with dementia. 1 in 5 people with Alzheimer’s disease experience sundowning syndrome, sometimes called late-day confusion, but it can also happen generally to older people. 1 in 15 people in the UK suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (known as SAD syndrome) which, because we live in the northern hemisphere, tends to impact people more between September and April.

The conditions above, as well as a lack of sleep, can lead to depression, over-eating, poor concentration, memory problems, a lack of energy, confusion, loss of day orientation and changes in mood.

Exposure to natural light for as little as 10 to 15 minutes a day, can help to reduce or stop these symptoms.

During the day, circadian rhythm lighting replaces the sun indoors, and at night stops you being exposed to inappropriate blue/white light which can delay or disturb sleep patterns.

Circadian lighting at Woodside Care Village providing a soft, warm light in the evening

We installed circadian lighting into our latest home, Woodside

Care Village in Warwick, and having seen the positive impacts it has for residents in this home and at Drovers House in Rugby where it’s installed in communal areas and on one household, we’re keen to bring its health and wellbeing benefits to residents across the group.

Small household design

Woodside Care Village is our first new-build home that includes small households, designed for one to seven residents, with their own kitchen, lounge and dining area. These smaller, domestic households help residents to get involved in daily activities from washing up and cleaning to cooking meals and preparing drinks, delivering physical and mental wellbeing benefits. Since opening, this familiar-scale living design has demonstrated advantages beyond those that were first considered, helping with the management of Covid and limiting the risk of infections spreading in the home beyond a small group of people on any affected household.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

13

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

These design principles are being taken forward in our plans for the new extensions at Fairfield which will create an additional 16 ensuite rooms and two living areas at the home.

Partnership working

Warwickshire County Council

We’re proud that approximately 250 socially funded people benefit from WCS's charitable support every year leading to a significant annual charitable contribution via our main social care contract with Warwickshire County Council.

We were pleased to build on the excellent working relationship we have with our local commissioners during 2021/2022 by providing additional bed capacity to support with local hospital pressures, enabling people who were medically fit, but needed additional support before being able to go home to spend time in a residential setting while they regained important independent living skills.

South Warwickshire Foundation Trust (SWFT)

Our partnership with SWFT was extended with additional capacity in 2021/2022 at Castle Brook in Kenilworth and Drovers House in Rugby, and continued to deliver successful outcomes for hospital patients who are discharged to us for support with their ongoing reablement after experiencing a fall or having surgery.

Financial review

Taxation status

As a charity, WCS Care Group Limited is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Insurance of directors and trustees

The charity maintains insurance for the directors and trustees of WCS Care Group Limited in respect of their duties for the organisation.

Reserves policy and going concern

It is the policy of the charity to target free reserves at a level which will support the operation of the business for a minimum of three months (approximately £4m). Reserves are also held to provide funds for the future development of its property portfolio, continual improvement of services and growth within the charity. The reserves policy is reviewed on an annual basis.

At the year end, free reserves represent unrestricted reserves of £21.4m, less fixed assets of £29.1m, plus debt used to finance assets of £15.8m, which equals £8.1m (2021: £5.9m), which is approximately 5-6 months expenditure. The free reserves over £4m are planned to be invested in maintenance of existing care homes and the development of new care services over the coming years, as explained throughout in the report.

The directors have considered it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements. The trustees are of the view that adequate resources are available to the organisation to continue to operate as a going concern over the foreseeable future from the date of approval of the financial statements.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

14

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

The Charity has revisited its going concern assessment following the outbreaks of Covid-19 during 2021-22. It has reviewed the re-worked cash flows up to March 2024 including scenario planning for another wave of Covid and impact on self-funder income. Although there has been some impact, this has been minimal in 2021-22 and has had no material impact on the financial viability of the charity in the foreseeable future.

Work is continuing to identify the longer-term effects of Covid-19 on the Care sector. However, we have seen the investment sentiment remaining strong and without an alternative safe and viable option for the care of older people, residential care sector will continue to play a vital role. This work will be closely monitored and updated including consideration of the financial impact in the 22/23 year and beyond. A continuity plan was put to the test during the Coronavirus pandemic and the Charity has shown to be resilient and able to operate and provide good levels of care in very challenging of circumstances.

Statement of disclosure of information to auditor

The directors at the time when the Report of the Trustees was approved confirm that:

Strengthening the financial position

The charity has made surpluses in the year, building on the reserves generated in previous years.

Financial results

The Charity generated an overall surplus of £2.46m (2021: £1.98m) in the financial year ended 31 March 2022. This year’s financial performance has had a positive impact on the Charity’s balance sheet, shows net assets of £21.4m (2021 - £18.9m). More information on the application of reserves is provided on page 14. Whilst substantial net assets are not the prime business objective, a strong balance sheet is important in providing the resources to support the Charity’s development. The Charity remains in a position to be able to pay its debts as and when they fall due and it continues to provide quality care to its service users.

The Parent Charity, WCS Care, saw overall income increase by 3.7%, mainly due to new admissions from Woodside Care Village which opened at the end of November 2019, the annual inflationary increase and overall higher occupancy across all the homes.

Care operating expenditure continues to absorb relatively high property maintenance costs and additional depreciation from fixture and fitting replacements and from the new care home. The Executive Team is charged with maintaining a tight control over operating and administrative expenditure whilst still recognising the need to undertake major maintenance works at some homes so that the high level of service to our service users is maintained.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

15

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

Payroll costs have increased this year substantially due to additional staff deployed to combat the infection risk from Covid-19 and staffing Woodside Care Village. While the homes make every effort to minimise the use of agency staff, costs in this area have increased by £1,359,000 to £2,406,000

(2021: £1,047,000). The Government grants of £1,288,000 to support the additional infection control costs have absorbed the additional staffing costs during the year.

The cost of all refurbishment and capital works has been depreciated since the completion of each individual scheme. The Charity has undertaken the refurbishment of all its Homes and combined with plant replacements and the new homes. Depreciation costs have decreased this year to £1,313,000 (2021 - £1,560,000) due to some of the older homes being fully depreciated. Further information on depreciation costs can be found in note 8 to the Financial Statements.

The expenditure on property maintenance continues to be a priority for the charity spending £1,015,000 (2021 - £1,060,000). Smaller items of furnishings and equipment purchased by the Homes which, in accordance with the Charity’s accounting policies has not been capitalised, decreased to £52,000 (2021 - £92,000). This expenditure reflects the Charity’s continuing commitment to maintain a high level of décor and furniture within the Homes for the benefit of our service users.

Cost increases were experienced in care and management staff, through the deployment of additional resources in care, pension contributions and Head Office support services, social activities for residents, residential expenses and professional services.

Although the charity operates on a ‘not-for-profit’ basis, the financial future of the business can only be secured through the delivery of an efficient and effective service that provides operating surpluses to finance even higher standards and future developments. The Charity is required to generate sufficient surpluses in order to repay debt financing, raise finances from the bank to invest in existing and new homes.

Despite the continuing underlying financial success of the charity a number of significant financial pressures remain and these include:

i) Staffing costs

Despite staff vacancies during the year, annual direct care staffing expenditure increased year-onyear by 5.9% (£813,000) mainly due to additional costs for agency staff for Covid pressures and Infection control measures. These costs were mitigated via the government grants received in year. With the roll out of the vaccination programme, the care homes have seen a dramatic reduction in infections and this has led to a reducing demand on additional staffing. Early in the year, the Charity furloughed eligible staff for instances of self-isolation and pregnancy, this resulted to a small claim of £13,000 for the year.

Over many years now the real cost of employing direct care staff in our residential homes has been increasing by significantly more than the rate of inflation. The increase in cost has resulted from meeting the needs of ever frailer residents, specific requirements to meet Dementia Care standards, enhancing service quality in areas such as social activities and laundry. Changes in legislation this year has resulted in over 5.9% increase in direct care staff wages due to increases in the National Living Wage (2.2%) and the continuing professionalisation of the workforce continues to maintain the upwards pressure on staffing costs.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

16

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

In recent years, the tightening financial position of the charity and the economy in general has led to relatively small increases in pay-grade rates. It has been essential for pay awards to be kept to a minimum, in line with many employers in the sector, other than to recognise the increase in the National Living Wage each year. However, during the year, to ensure the charity retained and recruited staff in an inflationary environment an additional mid-year pay award of 2.6% was made in October. The Charity sees inflationary pressures continuing in 2022-23 and therefore pressure on the organisation to generate the income is essential to meet its major costs.

ii) Property maintenance costs, ICT and environment expenditure

The charity’s previous refurbishment programme did not address all property aspects and certain equipment, such as boilers, lifts and catering equipment. A programme of replacements has been established and the charity will work through the remainder of this over the next few years. Further resources have also been earmarked to roll out enhanced technology supporting electronic care planning and acoustic night-time monitoring within the homes. There is also an ongoing programme to purchase new furniture, flooring and curtains.

The Charity has begun a 5-year capital programme of investing in our older residential homes to bring the environment to modern standards. During the year £655,000 was invested, (2021: 146k).

iii) Other costs

PPE has continued to be provided via the Government portal and the Charity has estimated an expenditure in-kind of £125,000 (2021: £85,000).

Expenditure on insurance was higher than the normal inflationary increase, reflecting the care sector’s higher risk profile due to Covid-19 during the year: £172k (2021: £154k). Other utilities costs, food, waste disposal and CQC registration fees remain at significant risk of rising during 202223 with increases of between 5 and 15%.

Brexit uncertainties will add further cost pressures in the areas of food supplies and energy costs, depending on the relative strength of sterling and potential additional tariffs being applied in any future settlement. Although WCS Care does not employ many staff from mainland Europe (less than 5%), the indirect effects of staffing movement at the minimum wage level could see staff shortages in the care sector as a whole.

In seeking to meet the increasing operational costs faced by the charity, the business strategy is geared towards improving income streams whilst being as efficient as possible in the deployment and management of staff and in contracting for services.

Places within our homes are purchased either by people with independent means or those supported through public expenditure to meet the specific care needs of very frail older people and adults with disabilities. The charity remains committed to ensuring that places will be available at support prices throughout Warwickshire to meet its commitment to operating for the public benefit.

WCC support prices rose in line with inflation in 2021/22, however, this did not entirely cover the wage increase resulting from the statutory National Living Wage.

The need to balance rising care standards and costs with income generation has driven the Charity’s business strategy since inception. However, to secure the charity’s future position as the leading independent care provider in Warwickshire, directors are committed to the generation of higher

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

17

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

operating surpluses with the aim being to continue to strengthen the charity’s Balance Sheet and to invest in new residential care homes. The directors have a long-term aim of building unrestricted reserves to a level that would support the operation of the charity for a minimum of six months. This objective has not been achieved, but as explained on page 14, the charity will strive to increase the level of free reserves over the coming years.

On the basis that WCC support rates rise in line with expectations and National Living Wage increases, directors remain confident the charity will be able to maintain care standards and develop its core services, as envisaged in the Business Plan.

Plans for future periods

The strategy adopted focuses on ensuring the Charity has the capacity and capability to develop and deliver future-proofed services. This strategy is predicated on a programme of ensuring sustainability or redevelopment of all its care homes across the county.

The key element of the strategy is to develop WCS older people’s services over a 5–10-year period based on a mix of successful existing homes operated by WCS; expansion, redevelopment and new build extensions.

Development programme

The charity has developed three new residential care homes. The first home was opened in 2013 in Rugby, providing specialist dementia care for 75 people and the second opened in 2016 in Kenilworth, housing 84 residents and the latest development in Warwick opened in November 2019 with 72 beds. All three care homes were developed with a mix of internally generated funds and bank lending. The current focus is on bringing Warwick to full maturity and developing extensions to existing homes.

Principal risks and uncertainties

General risk management

On a continuous basis, specific risks are identified and rated high, medium or low in a matrix format. Controls are then designed to minimise or mitigate the risk through quality measures, indicating action required and by whom. The Business Risk Assessment forms an integral part of our board meetings.

The directors have examined the principal areas of the charity’s operations and considered the major risks faced in each of these areas. The Executive Team reviews key organisational risks on a bimonthly basis and these are assessed for their likelihood and potential impact on the charity. Action is taken to mitigate any significant risks and the outcome is reported to the board. In the opinion of the directors, the charity has established resources and review systems which, under normal conditions, should allow these risks to be mitigated to an acceptable level in its day-to-day operations.

Covid-19, service failures, the threat from competitors and higher wage costs due to statutory National Living Wage increases are the most significant risks faced by the charity.

Due to the significant potential harm posed by Covid-19 on the care sector and WCS Care, the Trustees and the Executive Team set up a Covid specific risk review, which focused on the following:

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

18

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

For all of the risks above, the Charity has strong mitigations and monitoring systems in place and is confident in being able to contain them.

The charity’s operations expose it to a variety of financial risks that include credit risk, liquidity risk and interest rate risk. The charity has in place a risk management programme that seeks to limit any adverse effects on the financial performance of the charity by fixing majority of its’ loans to avoid interest rate fluctuations.

The charity does not use derivative financial instruments to manage interest rate risks and as such, no hedge accounting is applied.

Given the size of the charity, the directors have not delegated the responsibility of monitoring financial risk management to a sub group of the board. The policies set by the board of directors are implemented by the charity’s finance department.

Energy and emissions report

The following table summarises WCS Care’s reporting requirements under the Government’s Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR).

2022 2021
UK energyuse(1)kWh 5,158,775 6,955,744
Associated Greenhouse gas
emissions (2) Tonnes CO2
equivalent		 1,037 1,538
Intensity ratio (3) Tonnes CO2
equivalent emissionsper FTE		 2.06 2.77

Energy efficiency measures

Our ESOS (Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme) energy audit was undertaken in 2019 in accordance with the principles of the ISO 50002 and the British Standards Institution energy audits requirements. The Summary findings recommended to replace high energy lighting with LED equivalent. WCS has replaced florescent lights in two additional Home’s receptions and corridors and where existing florescent lights fail these are upgraded to LED as a matter of course.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

19

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

In 2021-22, as part of the work we are taking forward in relation to our Asset Management Strategy we will put mechanisms in place to monitor and improve our energy consumption and carbon footprint where it is feasible to do so.

Related parties

The organisation has one wholly owned subsidiary, which was active during the year: Common Lane Developments Limited (CLDL). The charity acquired the entire share capital of CLDL in May 2013 and developed the site it owns in Kenilworth into an 84-bed specialist residential dementia care home which completed in December 2016. CLDL will continue to operate as a development company for WCS Group Limited. It developed Woodside Care Village during 2019.

Significant contracts

The charity has a care contract with Warwickshire County Council (WCC) which has been extended for a further 5 years from 2021. The contract involves delivering residential care services to older people and people with disabilities and provides the charity with around half of its income with the remainder generated from sales to private individuals or other public authorities.

Key performance indicators

Each home within the residential care operation prepares a monthly Management Report which includes key performance indicators to ensure each part of the business is compliant with the following standards which are internally audited. The KPI standards include overall care quality; safety; effectiveness of operations; responsiveness; and the homes being well led.

Public benefit

The charity trustees have complied with the requirement contained in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their duties.

Service users who are not able to fund their place entirely from their own resources are normally subsidised by their local authority, predominately Warwickshire County Council, following an assessment of care needs. In this way, the charity is able to ensure that individuals across the whole community are able to benefit from the high-quality services WCS offers.

Fees charged to service users are commensurate with maintaining the financial viability of the organisation.

Statement of Directors' responsibilities

The directors are responsible for preparing the report of the trustees incorporating the strategic report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the group and charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the group and charity for the year. In preparing those financial statements the directors are required to:

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

20

WCS Care Group Limited

Report of the Trustees including the strategic report (Continued)

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Independent auditor

A resolution to reappoint CROWE U.K. LLP as auditor to the charity will be proposed at the annual general meeting.

People management

An extensive programme of training on organisational values and aspirations continued to be delivered to staff across the organisation to ensure values are shared and cascaded into all areas of care and practice. Evidence that this was successful is apparent in recent reports from CQC which recognise the strong culture, leadership and innovation at all levels of WCS Care and individual homes.

Staff turnover increased to 35% during the year (2021 - 23%) above the internal target of 20%. A combination of factors have contributed to the increase which include: care sector low wages failing to attract and retain staff; mandatory vaccinations policy which, was subsequently reversed in March deterred some staff off from working in the sector and the opening up of the economy post covid restrictions has seen demand from all sectors to recruit staff.

WCS has in place Conditions of Service which comply with legislation, are flexible, support the organisation’s values and objectives, and which promote employee satisfaction. They include:

Staff salaries (including KMP) are benchmarked against similar organisations, recruitment guidance and 3[rd] parties’ advice is also taken to ensure that they are reasonable and in line with the sector.

Sickness absence was impacted by Covid-19 in the previous year and has now decreased to 2.4% for the year (2021 – 5.8%) and is below internal target of 5.5%.

Approval of the report of the trustees and the strategic report The Report of the trustees incorporating the strategic report has been approved by the Board of Directors and is signed on behalf of the board by:

A F Levett - Chairman September 2022

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

21

WCS Care Group Limited

Independent auditor’s report to the members of WCS Care Group Limited

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of WCS Care Group Limited (‘the charitable company’) and its subsidiary (‘the group’) for the year ended 31 March 2022 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, Group Balance Sheet, Company Balance Sheet, Statement of Consolidated Cash Flow and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the 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 related to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's or the group’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

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

Other information

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

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

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

22

WCS Care Group Limited

the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

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 our audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and charitable company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Strategic report or the Directors’ report included within the Trustees’ report.

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

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 20, 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

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

23

WCS Care Group Limited

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.

Details of the extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations are set out below.

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

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these between our audit team members. We then designed and performed audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

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

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

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

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

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

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

24

WCS Care Group Limited

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.

Kerry Brown Senior Statutory Auditor For and on behalf of Crowe U.K. LLP Black Country House Rounds Green Road Oldbury B69 2DG

Date: 28 September 2022

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

25

WCS Care Group Limited

Consolidated statement of financial activities (including income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31 March 2022

Notes
Income
Income from Charitable Activities
Provision of care services
2
Other income
2
Donations
2
Investment income
4
Total Income
Expenditure
Charitable expenditure:
Care operating expenses
6
Total charitable expenditure
Interest payable
5
Total Expenditure
Net income before other recognised gains
and losses
7
Corporation tax paid
24
Net income and net movement in funds for
the year
Reconciliation of funds
Fund balances brought forward at 1 April
17
Net movement
Fund balances carried forward at 31 March
17		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total
funds
2022
Total
funds
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
23,405
-
23,405
22,389
13
-
13
185
125
1,288
1,413
1,366
2
-
2
3
23,545
1,288
24,833
23,943
20,605
1,288
21,893
21,475
20,605
1,288
21,893
21,475
474
-
474
483
21,079
1,288
22,367
21,958
2,466
-
2,466
1,985
-
-
-
1
2,466
-
2,466
1,984
18,891
-
18,891
16,910
2,466
-
2,466
1,984
21,357
-
21,357
18,894

The notes on pages 28 to 44 form part of these financial statements.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

26

WCS Care Group Limited

Balance sheet as at 31 March 2022

Notes
Fixed Assets
Tangible Assets
8
Investments
9
Current Assets
Debtors
10
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year
11
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due after
more than one year
12
Net assets
Funds
Unrestricted fund
17
Restricted fund
15
Total funds		 Group
Company
2022
2021
2022
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
29,063
29,701
29,070
29,717
-
-
-
-
29,063
29,701
29,070
29,717
1,423
1,872
1,482
1,872
8,325
5,519
8,280
5,495
9,748
7,391
9,762
7,367
(2,640)
(2,384)
(2,636)
(2,351)
7,108
5,007
7,126
5,016
36,171
34,708
36,196
34,733
(14,814)
(15,814)
(14,814)
(15,814)
21,357
18,894
21,382
18,919
21,357
18,891
21,382
18,916
-
3
-
3
21,357
18,894
21,382
18,919

Company Number: 02713150

The financial statements on pages 26 to 44 were approved and authorised for issue by the board of directors on September 2022 and were signed on its behalf by:

A F Levett - Chair

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

27

WCS Care Group Limited

Statement of Consolidated Cash flow for the year ending 31 March 2022

Notes
Cash provided by operating activities
18
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest income
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Corporation tax
24
Cash used in investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
Cash outflow from repayment of borrowings
Cash inflows from new borrowings
Interest payable
Cash used in financing activities
Increase in cash and cash equivalents in the year
19
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Total Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the
year
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and bank and in hand
Cash and cash equivalents		 2022
2021
£000
£000
4,839
3,058
2
3
(676)
(129)
-
(1)
(674)
(127)
(885)
(355)
-
142
(474)
(483)
(1,359)
(696)
2,806
2,235
5,519
3,284
8,325
5,519
8,325
5,519
8,325
5,519

Note: All cash and cash equivalents are held in instant access deposit accounts.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

28

WCS Care Group Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2022

1. Accounting policies

WCS Care Group Limited is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales with registration number 02713150, and a registered charity, number 1012788. The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

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 Charities SORP (FRS102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Basis of Preparation and Going Concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.

In the current business climate, the Trustees have reviewed WCS Care’s position, post the successful vaccination roll out. The Board acknowledges that there will be ongoing Covid-19 restrictions in the care sector, however it seems the worst of the pandemic to have been contained. In response, the Executive and the Board are monitoring all aspects of the Group’s activities and have implemented the necessary operational changes to mitigate the future financial impact of Covid-19. Actions have included a full reforecast of the financial position and cash flows for the period to March 2024 and stress testing the cash position to assess scenarios relating to reductions in investment values. The cash liquidity has also been considered to ensure that funds are sufficiently accessible should they be called upon.

Given the strength of the balance sheet and availability of cash, the members of the Board believe that, while uncertainty exists, this does not pose a material uncertainty that would cast doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Board, therefore, consider it appropriate for the accounts to be prepared on a going concern basis.

Basis of consolidation

The consolidated statement of financial activities, income and expenditure account, cash flow statement and balance sheet include the financial statements of the charity and its subsidiary undertaking made up to 31 March 2022 on a line-by-line basis. Intra-group sales and surpluses are eliminated fully on consolidation. Uniform accounting policies are applied across the whole group.

The charity has also taken advantage of the exemption available to a qualifying entity in FRS 102 from the requirements to present a charity only Statement of Cash Flows and certain disclosures about the charity’s financial instruments within the consolidated financial statements.

Tangible fixed assets

Property and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment charges.

Freehold land and buildings

Freehold land and buildings are capitalised at cost. Freehold land is not depreciated. New freehold buildings are depreciated on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful economic life of 50 years commencing with the completion of the building or its acquisition. Capital expenditure incurred by the charity on refurbishing or improving older freehold properties acquired is capitalised. Depreciation on these properties is provided on a straight-line basis over the expected

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

29

WCS Care Group Limited

economic life of the improvements, commencing with the period in which the improvement or refurbishment project is concluded. An average economic life of 25 years is used as a basis.

Other tangible fixed assets

Items costing over £1,500 each are capitalised. The cost of fixed assets comprises their purchase cost, together with any incidental costs of acquisition.

Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost of tangible fixed assets less their estimated residual values, on a straight-line basis over the expected useful economic lives of the assets concerned. The principal annual rates used for this purpose are:

%

Equipment, fixtures and fittings

20 – 33%

Leases

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to the income and expenditure account on a straightline basis over the lease term. To note, the risks and rewards stay with the lessor.

Investments

Fixed asset investments include investment in subsidiaries which are stated at cost less any impairment.

Investment income

Interest income is accounted for on a receivable basis and is accrued up to the balance sheet date.

Income from provision of care services

Income, which excludes value added tax, represents revenue from residents and local authorities for care services. This revenue is recognised as the services are provided.

Legacies

Legacies are recognised when they are received or, if before receipt, there is sufficient evidence to provide the necessary certainty that the legacy will be received and the value can be measured with sufficient reliability.

Expenditure

Expenditure in relation to charitable activities is included on an accruals basis, inclusive of any value added tax which cannot be recovered.

Support costs

Support costs include all expenditure not directly attributable to the day-to-day operation of providing care services and relate to services provided by head office.

Bad debts

Specific provision is made for those debts which are not considered recoverable.

Government grants

Revenue grants are credited to the statement of financial activities. The grants are recognised in the income statement in line with meeting the criteria of those grants and the occurrence of qualifying expenditure.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

30

WCS Care Group Limited

Pension costs

The charity operates its own Stakeholder Pension Scheme and makes contributions based on length of service. The charity has also implemented an Auto Enrolment Scheme making contributions that follow the requirements of the relevant legislation. The cost of contributions is charged to the statement of financial activities as incurred.

Taxation

Taxation has not been provided on the net income for the year on the grounds that Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 applies (tax exemption for charitable companies).

Funds structure

Unrestricted funds

Fund available to the charity to reinvest in the services it provides.

Restricted fund

In the year, the Charity received revenue grants from the government for Covid-19 infection control. All grants were expended in year and no balances were carried forward.

Judgements in applying accounting policies and key sources of estimation uncertainty

The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the financial statements. If, in the future, such estimates and assumptions, which are based on management’s best judgement at the date of the financial statements, deviate from the actual circumstances, the original estimates and judgements will be modified as appropriate in the year in which the circumstances change.

Impairment of debtors

The group makes an estimate of trade debtors and other debtors. When assessing the impairment of trade debtors and other debtors, management considers factors including ageing profile of debtors and historical experience.

Useful economic lives of tangible assets

The annual depreciation charges for the tangible assets are sensitive to changes in the estimated useful economic lives and residual values of the assets. The useful economic lives and residual values are amended when necessary to reflect current estimates and the physical condition of the assets.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

31

WCS Care Group Limited

2. Income

Provision of care services

The total income of £24,833,000 has arisen entirely within the United Kingdom and includes a total of £9,315,000 which is received from WCC under a contract for the provision of care services (2021 £9,153,000). During the year, other income, grants and donations received in relation to Covid-19 totalled £1,426,000:

Income from charitable activities
Job retention scheme
Other Income
Infection control grants
Government portal PPE
Donations		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total
funds
2022
Total
funds
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
23,405
-
23,405
22,389
13
-
13
185
13
-
13
185
-
1,288
1,288
1,281
125
-
125
85
125
1,288
1,413
1,366

3. Employee information

The members of the Management Committee, who are directors of the charity, receive no remuneration for their services to the charity but are reimbursed for incidental expenses associated with attendance at committee and other meetings. The total of expenses reimbursed in the year of £1,000 (2021: £0).

The cost of indemnity insurance for the trustees was £840 (2021: £840).

The cost of employing staff during the year was:

Staff costs
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs
Total staff costs		 Group
Company
2022
2021
2022
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
14,930
13,895
14,930
13,895
826
822
826
822
325
324
325
324
16,081
15,041
16,081
15,041

Staff costs include expenditure on agency staff of £2,406,000 (2021: £1,047,000).

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

32

WCS Care Group Limited

The average monthly number of persons employed within the charity by business activity was:

Residential care
Support Services		 2022
2021
Number
Number
797
858
29
24
826
882

The following number of employees received remuneration (excluding pension contributions) falling within the following ranges:

2022 2021
Number Number
£70,001 – £80,000 2 1
£80,001 – £90,000 0 1
£90,001 – £100,000 2 1

All of the above 4 (2021: 3) were members of a money purchase scheme for which the employer’s contributions were £56,000 (2021: £45,000).

The key management personnel of the group and the charity comprise of the Chief Executive, Finance Director, Director of Quality and Compliance and Director of Marketing and Communications. The total remuneration was £444,000 (2021: £410,000).

4. Investment income

Interest receivable on short term
deposits and other bank balances		 Group
Company
2022
2021
2022
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

33

WCS Care Group Limited

5. Interest payable

Interest payable on bank loans Group
Company
2022
2021
2022
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
474
483
474
483
474
483
474
483

6. Charitable expenditure

Care operating expenses of £21,893k (2021: £21,475k) include the following support charges:

General office and finance staff
Premises
Training
Information and communications technology
Banking and finance charges
Legal and professional
Governance costs		 Group
Company
2022
2021
2022
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
1,446
1,306
1,446
1,306
128
116
128
116
82
39
82
39
316
340
316
340
57
88
57
88
96
64
96
64
47
51
45
50
2,172
2,004
2,170
2,003

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

34

WCS Care Group Limited

7. Net income for the year

Depreciation charge for the year:
Tangible owned fixed assets
Auditor's remuneration for:
Audit
Other services
Operating lease rentals:
Other leases
Expenditure on furnishings and equipment in
refurbished premises		 Group
Company
2022
2021
2022
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
1,313
1,556
1,313
1,556
29
27
29
27
-
-
13
12
13
12
52
92
52
92
1,407
1,687
1,407
1,687

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

35

WCS Care Group Limited

8. Tangible assets

Group

Cost
At 1 April 2021
Additions
Disposals
At 31 March 2022
Depreciation
At 1 April 2021
Charge for the year
Eliminated in respect of disposals
At 31 March 2022
Net Book Value
At 31 March 2022
At 1 April 2021		 Freehold
Land and
Buildings
£000
42,415
21
-
42,436
13,722
810
-
14,532
27,904
28,694		 Fixtures
Fittings
and
Equipment
£000
3,566
655
-
4,221
2,562
500
-
3,062
1,159
1,004		 Motor
Vehicles
£000
15
-
-
15
12
3
-
15
-
3		 Total
£000
45,996
676
-
46,672		 Total

16,296
1,313
-
17,609

29,063

29,701

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

36

WCS Care Group Limited

8. Tangible assets

Company

Cost
At 1 April 2021
Additions
Disposals
At 31 March 2022
Depreciation
At 1 April 2021
Charge for the year
Eliminated in respect of disposals
At 31 March 2022
Net Book Value
At 31 March 2022
At 1 April 2021		 Freehold
Land and
Buildings
£000
42,431
11
-
42,442
13,721
810
-
14,531
27,911
28,710		 Fixtures
Fittings
and
Equipment
£000
3,566
655
-
4,222
2,562
501
-
3,063
1,159
1,004		 Motor
Vehicles
£000
15
-
-
15
12
3
-
15
-
3		 Total
£000
46,012
666
-
46,678		 Total

16,295
1,313
-
17,608

29,070

29,717

The net book value at 31 March 2022 represents fixed assets used entirely for direct charitable purposes.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

37

WCS Care Group Limited

9. Fixed asset investments

WCS Care owns 100% of the share capital of the following group company:

Company

Principal activity

Common Lane Developments Limited Construction development services Company number: 07582043 Incorporated in England in March 2011

The liability of WCS Care as a member of Common Lane Developments Limited is £799; 100% of the ordinary share capital. The Company did not make a profit or loss for the year: £0 (2021 loss: £1,000). The subsidiary has net assets of £5,000 (2021: net assets of £5,000).

10. Debtors

Amounts falling due within one year
Trade debtors
Amounts owing from subsidiary undertakings
Taxation recoverable
Prepayments and accrued income		 Group
Company
2022
2021
2022
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
1,242
1,741
1,242
1,741
-
-
61
-
2
-
-
-
179
131
179
131
1,423
1,872
1,482
1,872

11. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Bank loans
Payments received on account
Trade creditors
Amounts owing to subsidiary undertakings
Other taxation and social security
Other creditors
Accruals		 Group
Company
2022
2021
2022
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
961
846
961
846
135
-
135
-
429
276
428
276
-
-
-
78
179
182
179
182
8
16
8
16
928
1,065
925
953
2,640
2,385
2,636
2,351

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

38

WCS Care Group Limited

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

Bank loans Group
Company
2022
2021
2022
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
14,814
15,814
14,814
15,814
14,814
15,814
14,814
15,814

Bank loans are repayable as follows:

In one year or less
Between one and two years
Between two and 5 years
In 5 years or more		 Group
Company
2022
2021
2022
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
960
845
960
845
2,736
967
2,736
967
2,785
4,586
2,785
4,586
9,293
10,261
9,293
10,261
15,774
16,659
15,774
16,659

The charity has four loan facilities, which are fully drawn, their remaining balances are: (1) £1.9m variable loan to 2023. (2) Fixed loan of £3.4m to 2030. (3) Fixed loan of £4.8m to 2028. (4) £5.5m variable loan to 2043.

On 13 May 2013 the charity entered into a debenture with The Royal Bank of Scotland plc to secure loan facilities by way of a fixed charge over all property, plant & machinery, goodwill, investments in subsidiaries and intellectual property. There is a floating charge over its undertaking and all its other property, assets and rights owned now or in the future which are not subject to an effective fixed charge under the debenture.

13. Employee benefit obligations

Defined contribution scheme

The charity participates in a Stakeholder Pension Scheme operated by Aviva which meets the government’s Auto Enrolment requirements. This scheme was closed to new entrants in March 2015. Charity contributions range from 3% to 6% dependent on length of service and the level of contribution made by employees, which is flexible and governed by the Stakeholder Pension Scheme rules. On 1 April 2014 the charity implemented an Auto Enrolment Scheme making contributions that

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

39

WCS Care Group Limited

follow the requirements of the relevant legislation. At present, employee and employer contributions are 3%.

The total pension cost for the charity for the defined contribution schemes in the current year was £325,000 (2021: £324,000).

14. Deferred grants

Deferred grants are included within accruals and deferred income.

15. Restricted funds – Group and Charity

During the year the charity spent all its’ restricted funds (represented by net current assets) received for the benefit of specific care homes. The donations could not be used for any other purpose.

Analysis of restricted fund movements

Donations Fund
Balance
brought
forward
Income
Expenditure
Fund
balance
carried
forward
1 April
2021/22
2021/22
31
March
2021
2022
£000
£000
£000
£000
3
1,288
1,291
0

During the year the charity received £1,288k in infection control grants for Covid 19 related expenditure.

16. Designated fund

The charity does not have any designated funds which have been set aside by the trustees.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

40

WCS Care Group Limited

17. Other charitable fund

The other charitable funds of the charity are represented by the following balances and movements in the year related to operational surpluses.

At 1 April
Net income
At 31 March		 Group
Company
2022
2021
2022
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
18,891
16,907
18,916
16,931
2,466
1,984
2,466
1,985
21,357
18,891
21,382
18,916

18. Reconciliation of changes in resources to net cash inflow from continuing operating activities

Net income for the period
Depreciation on tangible fixed assets
Interest receivable
Interest payable
Decrease in trade debtors
Increase in prepayments and other debtors
Increase in trade creditors
Decrease in accruals and other creditors
Net cash inflow from continuing operating activities		 2022
2021
£000
£000
2,466
1,984
1,313
1,556
(2)
(3)
474
483
499
(167)
(48)
37
153
(179)
(16)
(653)
4,839
3,058

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

41

WCS Care Group Limited

19. Analysis of changes in net debt

Cash at bank
and in hand
Debt due
within 1 year
Debt due after
1 year		 Cash
Financing
flows
charge
1 April
2021/22
2021/22
31
March
2021
2022
£000
£000
£000
£000
5,519
2,806
-
8,325
(845)
885
(1,000)
(960)
(15,814)
-
1,000
(14,814)		 Cash
Financing
flows
charge
1 April
2020/21
2020/21
31
March
2020
2021
£000
£000
£000
£000
3,284
2,235
-
5,519
(965)
423
(304)
(845)
(15,908)
(210)
304
(15,814)

20. Capital commitments

At 31 March

Group Company Company
2022 2021 2022 2021
£000 £000 £000 £000
- - - -

Planning works have commenced for extensions at a number of care homes, as at year-end, no contracts had been entered into forming any legal commitments.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

42

WCS Care Group Limited

21. Financial commitments

At 31 March 2022 the Group and Company had annual commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

Group and company
Expiring within one year
Expiring between two and five years inclusive		 2022
2021
Land and
Buildings
Other
Land
and
Buildings
Other
-
11
-
11
-
13
-
23
-
24
-
34

22. Contingent liabilities

At 31 March 2022 the Group and Company had no contingent liabilities (2021: £nil).

23. Related party transactions

The organisation has one wholly owned subsidiary which was active during the year, Common Lane Developments Limited (CLDL), registered at Newlands, Whites Row, Kenilworth, CV8 1HW. The charity acquired the entire share capital of CLDL in May 2013 and the company is used to redevelop care homes for WCS Care Group limited. During the year CLDL had 3 work-in-progress developments. In year movement of inter-company balance of £17k. Amount owned by CLDL to WCS Care as at 31 March 2022 is £61k (2021: £78k).

24. Taxation

UK Corporation tax 2022
2021
£000
£000
0
1

Tax charged in 2021 to the Statement of Financial Activities represents UK corporation tax payable by WCS’s subsidiary, Common Lane Developments Limited, for the development and sale of Woodside Care Village to WCS Care in 2019.

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

43

WCS Care Group Limited

25. Allocation of Net Assets between funds – Current Year

Tangible Fixed Assets
Net Current Assets /
(Liabilities)
Long-Term Liabilities (> 1
yr)		 Group
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
29,063
-
29,063
7,108
-
7,108
(14,814)
-
(14,814)
21,357
-
21,357		 Company
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
29,070
-
29,070
7,126
-
7,126
(14,814)
-
(14,814)
21,382
-
21,382

Allocation of Net Assets between funds – Prior Year

Tangible Fixed Assets
Net Current Assets /
(Liabilities)
Long-Term Liabilities (> 1
yr)		 Group
Unrestricted Restricted
Total
29,701
29,701
5,004
3
5,007
(15,814)
(15,814)
18,891
3
18,894		 Company
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
29,717
29,717
5,012
3
5,015
(15,814)
(15,814)
18,915
3
18,918

Annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 March 2022

44