OpenCharities

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

2021-03-31-accounts

Company number: 2958336 Charity Number: 1040407

Yorkshire MESMAC

Group report and financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2021

Yorkshire MESMAC

Reference and administrative information

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Company number 2958336

Charity number 1040407

Registered office and operational address 22/23 Blayds Yard Leeds LS1 4AD

Board of 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:

Stephen Bridge Chair Stephen Hopker Chair Governance Committee Kenneth Leigh Chair HR Committee Susan Pascoe Treasurer & Chair Finance & Business Development Committee Andrew Goodchild Colin Lea Eric Smith Craig Hassall Penny Brown Kirsten Foster appointed August 2020 Adam Best appointed August 2020 Chris Kelly appointed August 2020 Adam Paver appointed February 2021 Richard Holder appointed February 2021 Mike Eakins appointed February 2021

Company secretary Liz Carey Key management Tom Doyle Chief Executive personnel Ellen Hill Operations Manager - HR Paul Storey Operations Manager - Technical Liz Carey Finance & Administration Manager

Auditors Slade & Cooper Limited Beehive Mill, Jersey St., Ancoats, Manchester, M4 6JG Bankers Yorkshire Bank plc 94 – 96 Briggate, Leeds, LS1 6NP

1

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

The trustees present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2021 Included within the trustees’ report is the directors’ report as required by company law.

Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 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

Our Charity’s purposes as set out in the objects contained in the Company’s memorandum and articles of association are to:

To preserve and protect health, physical and mental and in particular good sexual health for the benefit of the community in general with an emphasis on those communities that shoulder the highest burden of poor health, including but not limited to; men who have sex with men, LGBT+ young people and adults, women, people of colour and other people marginalised because of their race, ethnicity or nationality, people using drugs and sex workers. To support and develop strong communities which create the environment for better health outcomes and the reduction of health inequalities.[ 1]

VISION

Building communities that have the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to make choices about our lives free from exploitation, stigma and fear.

MISSION

Working with most at risk communities to eliminate health and social inequalities.

We AIM to

Build an HIV and STI aware population that has knowledge, skills, and resources and access to a range of high quality, timely services.

Eliminate stigma and prejudice faced by People living with HIV (PLWH) and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI’s).

Eliminate Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

Improve the mental health of our target populations

Our OBJECTIVES are to:

Work with service users, service providers and funders to develop; safe, responsive, accessible, inclusive, timely and appropriate services.

Where appropriate and possible, directly provide such services.

1 [1] Within this report the following term will be used

LGBTQ+ this is used to describe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer or Questioning people or communities. The + denotes the multiple communities who make up LGBT+ people.

2

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Develop mechanisms and forums which ensure that service users and other community members are central to and participate in the planning and delivery of services.

Work in partnership with other groups, individuals and organisations to benefit our target communities.

Ensure that all workers in the organisation, are supported and valued and have access to personal and professional development.

Our VALUES in everything we do

We are Inclusive; we respect people, value diversity and are committed to equity

We aim for Quality, Excellence and Continuous Improvement, based on the views of our service users, effective use of technology, resources and our people.

We know services are better when people are able to participate in their Development and Delivery - as service users, volunteers, staff and partners. We recognise and value the contribution of volunteers, service users and staff in our organisation and in their communities.

We - service users, volunteers, partners and staff - are Proud to be part of Yorkshire MESMAC Group of Services.

We ensure Value for Money. Each pound that we receive can only be spent once, we will ensure that we use each one to maximise the value to our communities.

Chair’s introduction

We have had an exciting, and at times, challenging year. I am proud of the leadership and resilience shown by our staff and volunteers, meeting challenges head-on with openness, honesty and creativity.

Leading up to and through the various Government Covid-19 restrictions, the staff planned and delivered the majority of our services online. The one notable area where this was not always possible was communitybased HIV testing and sexual health screening. In this case, we have used our digital reach to promote local and national postal schemes. A major concern was that Covid-19 would cement in health inequalities that exist and increase social isolation. Following a successful trial with equipment donated by a local company, we secured funding and supplied tablets for our most vulnerable beneficiaries, allowing us to keep in touch and for them to be able to access our and others’ online services. The community testing services were brought back whenever restrictions allowed.

A key feature of how Yorkshire MESMAC operates is ‘generous leadership’, working with and sharing key resources with others, in order to improve the lives of our beneficiaries. Over the past year, this has taken many forms, from open source digital innovations to training and mentoring. We have also volunteered our expertise in developing community-based testing services in the planning of local test and treat services, as well as offering members of staff as vaccination volunteers.

As the shape of the HIV epidemic changes and how it affects people individually also changes, it is important that our services keep pace with developments and help shape other services to meet the new realities. We recommit ourselves to contributing to reaching the goal of eliminating HIV transmission by 2030. We have seen our social support services championing the needs of people living with HIV and dealing with the crisis,

3

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

with compassionate professionalism. Key to this is the close relationship staff have built with clinical HIV services across our patch and wider afield.

Our mental health services continue to innovate. In addition to our in house counselling service and therapeutic group work, we are able to offer access to psychological services through Leeds IAPT services. All of these services have gone online during the Covid-19 epidemic. Indeed we were awarded funds by Comic Relief, to run a project to improve beneficiaries’ Mental Health and Wellbeing and reduce social isolation in Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield Local Authorities.

We continue to work with seldom heard, marginalised and underserved populations to develop services. We do this across the life course from tackling LGBTQ+ bullying in schools to The Sage Project working with older LGBTQ+ people and training for care home staff.

We work in partnership with other organisations who work with marginalised groups; to further our aims, for example we are partners in The Leeds Solidarity Network with 3 other charities: Basis Yorkshire, Leeds Asylum Seekers Support Network, and Leeds GATE who work with Sex Workers, Asylum Seekers and Refugees and Gypsy and Travellers respectively. The network, has been successful in winning a grant from The Kings Fund and Comic Relief to explore how statutory and voluntary sector organisations can better work together to benefit in particular, the most marginalised.

This year saw us nominated for a National Diversity Awards in the LGBT Community Organisation Category, which we are incredibly proud of. We have since been shortlisted for the award which will be presented to the winner in 2022.

Volunteers play a key role in helping us increase the scope and quality of our work, and we look forward to our activities being enriched by their perspective, insights and time over the coming year.

During the last twelve months, trustees have been working on the planning and implementation of a stronger Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy, reaching out to similar organisations and our own staff members to help develop it. Part of the work included a training session on the role of the Board, given to staff members by the Chair which was part of the work being done to improve staff/Board communications. This work is being very well received.

As we look forward we are keen to develop new partnerships both nationally and locally, we believe that there needs to be a better offer for young people and people with mental health issues. The care and treatment of Trans+ people have suffered through lack of research, particularly research that puts Trans individuals front and centre. We want to change this and together with the Open University, we have been successful in securing funding for a major national research project and we want to do more. The trustees will be meeting with the Senior Management Team later in the year to discuss these in our next five year plan.

We are concerned about the national dialogue towards LGBTQ+ people at the movement, in particular towards members the transgender and gender non-conforming community. It is having a noticeable impact on service users and their wellbeing. We would like to see debates based on facts not fear and misinformation. We will continue to do our part in helping to see that LGBTQ+ people are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.

In setting objectives and planning the charity’s activities, the Trustees have paid due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission.

4

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

OUR SERVICES

Our work is focused around 3 main areas against on which we will later report our activities.

HIV & SEXUAL HEALTH

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

MENTAL HEALTH

Over the period of this report each area of activity has been impacted on by the Covid-19 epidemic. For example, face-to-face sexual health testing and screening has had to be halted, in those areas, where available, we facilitated and promoted online offers. We were able to maintain our online condom offer and supported the Leeds Local Authority C-Card Scheme.

Through the negotiation of a contract variation in Wakefield, we were also able to support some of Wakefield’s most vulnerable residents to self-isolate when they received a positive Covid-19 test. This has meant our team has been using its skills and its reach to support people enduring multiple health inequalities and exclusion from other more mainstream services.

The Hull team was featured twice in PHE’s Covid-19 best practice report for its work with MSM and CSW during the early stages of the pandemic.

New Approaches

Covid-19 brought into even starker relief the mental health issues faced by many of the communities we work with. Through a range of grants from Comic Relief, Leeds and Bradford Local Authorities and donations from and disadvantaged services users.

Case Study 1

Service user B is a single mother of two older teenage sons, and who is living with HIV. She was confined to a residential home after her discharge from hospital for nearly 8 months up to January 2021. Due to Covid 19 restrictions, her sons were not allowed to visit her, which caused many challenges for her especially that nobody was taking care of her sons. The tablet helped her to keep inconstant communication with her sons as well as remotely managing their welfare. She is also using it as a language translation tool as English is not her first language. She said that constant communication with her sons is what kept her alive during the trying time.

Case Study 2

Service user G is a young LGBT person who joined our services at the onset of lockdown. He was faced with many social and emotional challenges because of his sexuality that were causing him to contemplate taking his life. He also was hooked in by some older people who were taking advantage of his vulnerability. The tablet completely changed his life as he was able to join the online youth peer support group meetings where he got support from staff and other service users. He is currently doing well and has regained his confidence and is continuing with online group meetings.

5

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Through this grant from Comic Relief we were also able to increase our online counselling offer both in terms of number of sessions and widening the criteria for counselling. We delivered over 340 counselling sessions during the pandemic through this funding stream. We are particularly proud that, with agreed investment from the Board of Trustees, we were able to extend the SAGE worker’s contract beyond March 2021; their work during the pandemic has been essential in ensuring that older LGBTQ+ folk in Leeds were kept in touch with, were linked into services and had access to online services via our free tablets and data packages. Through the support of a National Lottery Awards for All Grant scheme we were able to support some of our most vulnerable PLWHIV in Wakefield and Bradford who were experiencing Covid-19 related financial hardship, digital exclusion, or destitution through the implementation of a voucher scheme for those in need.

Feedback from that enhanced offer included:

‘I am a single mum and I lost my only source of extra income when Covid happened. The additional support saved Christmas in our house. I don’t know what I would have done without it.’

‘I am retired and was visiting family in Africa when Covid happened. It took me a long time and a lot of money I didn’t have to get home because of the first lockdown. The vouchers put food on my table and got me through what would otherwise have been a very bleak period.’

‘I had been unemployed for over 18 months when Covid arrived. I am still suffering with grief from the loss of my father. I am in receipt of JSA although I don’t feel well enough to work. The vouchers allowed me to keep the heating on this winter.’

‘I am a single mum of two children. The youngest is 11 months. I don’t know what I would have done without the additional support.’

‘I tested positive for HIV 12 months before the first lockdown and I remain very anxious about it. I have a number of additional health issues such as COPD and arthritis amongst others, so I have a lot of appointments that I have to attend. I have been turned down for PIP and live alone in my three bedroom house that I have lived in since a child. I have developed social anxiety since my HIV diagnosis and feel unable to work even if there were jobs to go to. My vouchers really helped me to attend all my appointments and keep food on the table.’

In Wakefield we were successful in securing £35,000 to support vaccine roll out to the MARPs we serve, in particular to Black majority Church Leadership and to Asylum Seekers, Refugees, those living with no recourse to public funds, commercial sex workers and PLWHIV. Of particular relevance to our core HIV work, this has meant we have been able to support PLWHIV who will not disclose their HIV status to their GP to access vaccine. We developed a programme of training for all front-line staff in Wakefield who might have a conversation with a vaccine hesitant client, or who might want to learn how to promote Covid-19 vaccination within an atmosphere of acceptance and compassion. In this training we covered the following learning outcomes,

6

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Bradford COVID Prevention

Since October 2020 Bradford staff have been delivering Covid-19 work alongside their day to day work with service users and communities that the project supports. A Making Every Contact Count (MECC) approach was directed mainly towards members of the LGBTQ+ community, PLWHIV and African communities in Bradford. Food parcels, masks, sanitisers and disinfectant wipes were distributed to those in need to help protect them from the virus. Staff have also been involved in online outreach using various tools such as WhatsApp, Facebook, websites and phones to encourage people to test and vaccinate. A Bradford staff member is also part of Bradford Test and Trace Team that meets every fortnight to strategise Covid-19 interventions to most at risk populations such as asylum seekers, commercial sex workers and people using drugs. This work has enabled our Bradford team to establish partnerships with other key organisations that offer services to the people we support, for example; our partnership with Bevan House Healthcare Trust has helped us to establish a referral pathway for individuals who are not registered with GPs (for various reasons) to do so with their trust so that they can also receive vaccinations and other medical support.

HIV AND SEXUAL HEALTH

Yorkshire MESMAC wants people to have the best sex with the least harm, whether that is physical or mental harm. Our HIV and Sexual Health work aims to:

Increase the number of people in North and West Yorkshire, Hull and Rotherham, who are aware of their HIV status through community based HIV testing.

Widen Access to HIV testing/information/reaching more communities.

Make people more confident to negotiate safer sex and reduce risk.

Give more people information about public health issues and where/how to access support.

Help people to have a better understanding of HIV and enable them to manage HIV better.

Help people to be better able to discuss HIV with peer support networks.

Create more HIV awareness in asylum seeker and refugee communities.

We work in the following ways to do this.

One to One Support (1:2:1)

This is offered, either through self-referral or a referral from partnership agencies and services.

Service users attend the 1:2:1 service for a wide range of issues including; STI/HIV transmission and infection issues; living with HIV; safer sex information; sexual exploitation; sexuality; homophobic/biphobic/transphobic incidents; testing; isolation; family problems; immigration; return to work and benefits; mental health issues; housing needs; relationships issues; gender identity; coming out. Motivational Interviewing, a useful tool to support individuals to strengthen their motivations to change, has been incorporated in to the majority of 1:2:1s and post HIV test discussions. All staff delivering HIV and sexual health services receive training in this technique.

7

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Service users accessing one to one support are often successfully signposted/referred to other Yorkshire MESMAC services such as groups and counselling alongside other external local support services/organisations.

Our service users included Gay men, Bisexual males and MSM Communities, African Communities, Migrant Workers, LGBTQ+ Communities, anyone at risk of HIV infection, People Living With and People Affected by HIV and Commercial Sex Workers.

For many of them 1:2:1 support is a stepping stone to engagement in other services either within Yorkshire MESMAC or external services e.g. a dedicated drugs and alcohol project. In 20-21

Community Testing

Includes HIV and STI testing in non- clinical settings at times and places to enable most at-risk populations to take part. Our testing service offers HIV testing and Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea screening in all areas where we work. Service users can also access Syphilis testing in Hull, Rotherham, Wakefield, York, North Yorkshire and Bradford.

The online booking system www.bookatest.com has been a useful means of enabling people to access testing more effectively, despite the limited service we were able to offer during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

This booking system allowed us to reintroduce community testing quicker as we were able to manage service user’s appointments and therefore flows in our buildings. Something that for example, a drop-in would not allow. We were the first community organisation to reintroduce HIV POCT in the country, quickly producing updated risk assessments and protocols and working closely with local Public Health teams.

During times where Covid-19 restrictions have meant we have not been able to deliver face to face testing we have referred into home testing options and supported our service users to continue regular screening.

In 20-21

8

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Yorkshire MESMAC conducted the annual service user survey in Q3 2020-2021. 100% of respondents to the Leeds Prevention service rated the service as very good, and all would recommend us to their friends/family.

Some comments from the survey:

9

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Outreach

We use outreach to raise awareness of the issues and services and in “normal” times we contact people in a variety of settings including places of worship, schools colleges, specialist shops e.g. African barbers, as well as via events such as World AIDS day and health promotion events in the areas we work in.

Outreach staff offer information, support, sexual health promotion, sexual health resources and opportunities to get an HIV test. It is Targeted Outreach to reach people who are distanced or disenfranchised from the usual channels of information and sources of support, focused for example on making contact with men where they meet to socialise and/or have sex, or reaching communities where they gather together e.g. places of worship.

However, during 20-21 and the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic staff have further developed our Virtual Outreach offer to reach people via digital means. This outreach has been a crucial tool in maintaining service delivery throughout lockdown and has enabled us to successfully support MSM, Trans People and Commercial Sex Workers throughout the ongoing crisis.

We have a high profile presence on Facebook, Twitter etc. as well as on specialist sites such as African Singles, Bareback RT, Grindr and Growlr. These sites allow us to target tailored messages tightly and quickly to key populations.

In 20-21

10

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Safer Sex Resources

Covid-19 restrictions meant that our condom and lube distribution was focused on our postal service rather than more traditional methods of through bars, saunas, PSE sites, or in person to service users. In addition to providing condoms and lube to MARPs in all our areas, we have negotiated with commissioners in Hull and Rotherham to extend this service to the wider population during the pandemic. We have also delivered postal condoms to young people in the Leeds area who are registered with the C-Card scheme.

This extended service, plus increased uptake from MARPs due to the closer of offices, bars etc. has seen the number of people accessing postal condoms increase by 67% on last year.

HIV Support Services for people living with and affected by HIV

Are delivered as part of our integrated prevention service in Bradford via the Our project and Begin in Wakefield.

Social Support services aim to move PLWHIV from a cycle of dependency to independence and selfsustainability by improving their emotional wellbeing, and life chances, increasing their ability to make informed choices about their physical health and combat HIV-related stigma. Both projects also support partners and children.

In 20-21

11

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Tailored Services for Young People

Despite Covid-19, we delivered essential support for LGBTQ+ youth in Bradford, York & North Yorkshire to ensure they received safe and appropriate services, using online communications where appropriate We provided emotional support, individually and in groups to help them deal with isolation in school and college, address issues relating to their sexual and gender identities and provided sexual health information and support with relationships. We also worked with other service providers to develop their services for young LGBTQ+ people and were involved in facilitating healthy policies that strategically tackle the barriers faced by LGBTQ+ youth.

During the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic the Hull service was unable to provide its usual young people’s drop-ins or face to face 1:2:1 support. Services were quickly adapted and virtual drop-ins were conducted through Facebook so young people could reach out over messenger services knowing there was someone to respond immediately. Clinical outreach services were seeing a reduction in venues where they could reach young people for contraception. We have worked closely with them over the last year to provide a joint young people’s clinic from our building to reach the most vulnerable young people.

The Youth Activation volunteers were unable attend in-person during this period. We continued to maintain contact online and provide support where needed as many young people were finding the early stages of lockdown very challenging. These young volunteers were kept engaged with focus groups, supporting recruitment and social media campaigns. Our success at keeping young volunteers engaged has meant that they have now started transitioning to adult volunteers, continuing their commitment to the organisation and improving their skills and employability.

12

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

RSE support for schools during restrictions has been challenging, with many schools unable to host sessions. From 20-21 we were able to work with the schools to support with online sessions and plan in a schedule to in person sessions for the following year.

In 20-21

13

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

contraception from the outreach nurse and more holistic support and screening from our workers. This approach has been well received by young people who would never have accessed clinical settings.

Improved Acceptability and Access to Clinical Services

We offered training, advice and support to commissioners and clinical colleagues, and have developed partnerships and consortia with clinical providers to improve services’ referral mechanisms and pathways. This year we are particularly proud to have worked with our clinical partners, YorSexual Health, Leeds Sexual Health Rotherham Integrated Sexual Health Services and Locala to develop tailored community based clinical sexual health services for Trans folk, sex workers and young people delivered from our premises, where possible.

During Covid-19 we used our community reach both real world and online to promote online sexual health testing where available.

Improving Reproductive & Sexual Health Outcomes for Gypsy & Traveller Women in York

At the end of 2020, our York service was successful in obtaining funding through PHE’s Innovation Fund for a new 12 month project. The project is a partnership between Yorkshire MESMAC and York Travellers Trust seeking to work with Gypsy and Traveller Women around reproductive and sexual health. It trains up Traveller Trust staff on numerous reproductive/sexual health topics, produces new resources suitable and culturally competent for Gypsy & Traveller Women and runs focus groups and peer support groups to look at where services are currently working and, where they are not.

14

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Group Development and Group Support

Is offered to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans+ community groups (including groups for young LGBTQ+ people). Such groups reduce social isolation, explore common concerns and create forums for people to take collective/mutual action to address these.

In usual times, we provided free meeting space, refreshments, access to computers and photocopiers, help with funding applications, support for management committees/steering groups, etc. However, Covid-19 has seen a reduction in this offer as groups were unable to use our building for face to face meeting, we were able to ensure that the groups we facilitate went online and the additional tablets and data helped particularly isolated people attend online groups.

We chaired the Northern and Midlands Panel Comic Relief - Intermediary Fund, this saw us distributing £191,715.50 Covid-19 relief money to small charities undertaking work with LGBT groups across The Midlands and Northern England.

In 20-21

Training and Consultancy

We offer training and consultancy for professionals wishing to increase the acceptability and accessibility of their services to communities experiencing health inequalities; including training around cultural sensitivity, breaking down barriers to access and understanding stigma. We continue to develop our training strategy across the areas covered by Yorkshire MESMAC.

In 20-21

15

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

West Yorkshire and Harrogate and Humber, Coast and Vale. By the end of the year, all Yorkshire MESMAC staff should be trained in delivering MECC for MH in our work.

Rainbow Badges Project

This work was commissioned by various NHS trust services in Bradford to review the success of the Rainbow Badges initiative in Bradford NHS Trusts. Yorkshire MESMAC and Equity Partnership were asked to create a survey for our service users to fill in and feedback on. The course of this work changed due to Covid-19 and we faced challenges of engagement from service users. We have started our work with The Proud Trust to deliver training for the Rainbow Flag Award Project. This was delayed from 2020 due to Covid-19, but has been monthly online since March.

Love Tank

Long Time No Syphilis, Innovation Fund project. Yorkshire MESMAC developed a 5 part training programme for sexual health professionals to have a greater understanding of Syphilis, with the aim of reducing Syphilis cases among high risk populations. Two cohorts were delivered, followed by a train the trainer session. Despite Covid-19, we delivered these sessions to great success online.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Our community development projects aimed to increase our communities’ collective capacity to deliver services which improve health and wellbeing.

SAGE

Supports older LGBTQ+ people in Leeds who are experiencing social isolation and loneliness through provision of a drop-in service and other events, provision of volunteer support and developing opportunities to volunteer, while building the skills of the professionals who work with them.

April 2020 to March 2021 was the final year in the six-year project entitled SAGE, funded through the Big Lottery’s Ageing Well Programme, Time to Shine, which is administered by Leeds Older People’s Forum. The SAGE programme during this time was delivered in partnership with Age UK Leeds. In this year we continued supporting individuals who are isolated and lonely, strengthening networks within the LGBTQ+ community in Leeds.

In 20-21

16

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

work, SAGE was able to significantly decrease the feeling of isolation for service users and to allow them to raise any issues that the group could support them on.

West Yorkshire Queer Stories

Queer Stories was a 2 year oral history project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and was completed in May 2020. The project celebrated LGBTQ+ cultures and communities in West Yorkshire by collecting Oral History Testimonies and material heritage, creating interactive elements such as artworks, resources, tours and workshops inspired by these materials. The content is now curated by West Yorkshire Archive Service and providing continued engagement through the website.

The West Yorkshire Queer Stories project has raised the visibility of the vibrancy of queer heritage throughout the region that has previously been under appreciated and overlooked, and was supported by 75 volunteers between the ages of 18 to 80 and student placements.

A book containing the stories and photographs has been published as a companion to the website acting to further preserve the project’s legacy.

GOW - Gender Outreach Workers

Are employed by Leeds Gender Identity Service (GIS) and hosted at Yorkshire MESMAC where we provide support and links into local LGBTQ+ communities. Currently the GOW provides one to one and group support to Trans people on the waiting list for Leeds GIS around a number of issues to help manage some of their concerns around transitioning such as access to hormones, name changes, voice training etc. The GOW has been instrumental in meeting a wide variety of Trans people‘s needs including starting mental health groups, sexual health needs, etc. and ensuring all the services they are involved in, whether delivered themselves or referred into, are accessible for Trans people from across Yorkshire and the North of England.

During Covid-19 the GOW was limited to small numbers of online one to one appointments although face to face services are being risk assessed for reopening safely. Due to Covid-19 we have been unable to recruit to the vacant GOW post; again this is under review and we hope to start recruitment soon.

ICTA Open University

This research project is a partnership between the Open University (lead researcher), community expert researchers based in charities, of which Yorkshire MESMAC is one, and a number of Gender Identity services across England and Wales. The research seeks to assess various models of health care for Trans adults especially around the integration of wider health care into any transitioning services the Trans adults involved in the research are engaged in or have been through. The project has been running for a number of years

17

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

and Yorkshire MESMAC’s research and community development team are involved in the analysis of findings and development of dissemination tools for professionals and the public. During 2020-21 significant work was developed around carrying out in-depth interviews with Trans adults and GIS professionals online in ways that meet ethical requirements.

The move to online project meetings, interviews, analysis and more has been a success for this project as has the engagement of Trans people of colour; as expert researchers, staff working on the project have been able to further hear the experiences of Trans people who also experience racism.

Healthy Communities Together:

This first phase of the project (March 2021- November 2021) is a partnership between Leeds Solidarity Network members, Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group and Leeds City Council Public Health Team. The Leeds Solidarity Network comprises Leeds Asylum Seekers Support Network, Yorkshire MESMAC, Leeds GATE and Basis Yorkshire who work for and with asylum seekers and refugees, LGBTQ+ folk, Gypsies and Travellers and Sex Workers, respectively.

Funded by the National Lottery and supported by the King’s Fund, who are providing leadership consultancy and policy environment assistance to the project, we seek to investigate the ways in which Leeds systems create the extreme health inequalities faced by these marginalised communities. We will map these systems, the key players, policies and fulcrums for change with the intention during the next phase of the project (Jan. 2022 – till Dec. 2024) of working collaboratively on developing new ways to commission from the margins. During this first phase our aim is to produce a plan which evidences where and how we might make change in order to secure additional three year funding to aid in the reduction of health inequalities in Leeds.

MENTAL HEALTH

Our mental health support and projects aim to improve acceptability and access to mental health services for those most in need.

Yorkshire MESMAC Counselling Service

We provided counselling to gay, bisexual and homosexually active men; female partners of men who are attracted to men; young lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or questioning people under the age of 25 in Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield districts and people living with or affected by HIV in Bradford and Wakefield areas. In the Bradford and Airedale area, this offer is also extended to lesbians and bisexual women, trans+ individuals aged 25 and over and commercial sex workers (any sexuality/gender expression).

During Covid-19 we quickly set up services with colleagues from the Bradford Counselling Collective staffing a grief and loss line and offering additional remote counselling session to anyone affected by Covid-19. Our team of 11 qualified freelance counsellors and 1 seconded IAPT specialist counsellor, are all experienced in working with our particular target groups. The pandemic has created many challenges in work and business situations but we are proud of the way in which our counsellors rose to the challenges of providing much needed support during this time. From the very first day of lockdown we supported our counsellors in setting up and using on-line video/telephone platforms so our service could continue to be provided as members of the communities we serve struggled with adapting to loss, anxiety and isolation experienced during lockdown and the ongoing changing restrictions throughout the year. There was no break in the service we provided,

18

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

support has been consistent and although initially there were a few clients who wanted to wait until face-toface support returned, after the initial 3 months of lockdown , most of these took up the offer of remote support. The counselling service continues on a remote support basis, with all clients taking up remote support.

We used CORE IMS to provide an objective measure of the effectiveness of counselling on the wider aspects of an individual’s mental and physical health. During this period service users brought a very wide range of issues to their counselling sessions, usually presenting with multiple issues augmented in relation to the effect of the pandemic including depression/anxiety (re: Covid-19), relationship problems and domestic violence (intensified during lockdown), anxiety relating to sexuality and/or sexual health and an increase in gender dysphoria (as gender identity clinic waiting lists/surgery dates were cancelled/rescheduled during lockdown), living with HIV and low self-esteem. Clients are allocated between 6 - 8 sessions and generally there are no waiting lists so clients were, on average, assessed and allocated a counsellor within 2 weeks. There were a few weeks during this period when although allocated a counsellor, some clients had to wait slightly longer for their first appointment due to their counsellor being busy with private clients. Availability of counselling slots was monitored every month during this period and continues to be monitored so clients are aware of the demand for our services.

We also continue to have a social media presence on Facebook and other platforms where we promote our support groups and therapeutic workshops and highlight topics of mental health interest. During the pandemic topics have mainly related to building resilience and coping mechanisms during these difficult and ever changing times with signposting to self-help guidance/tools and other helping agencies.

In 20 - 21

Let’s Get Better Together

This project offers therapeutic interventions around mental health in individual or group sessions, particularly supporting lesbians and trans+ people to access psychological therapies.

In 20-21

19

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

48 weekly remote LGBQT+ wellbeing support group sessions have been run through Zoom with a total of 282 attendances. Facilitated by a trained therapist, supported by a sessional worker, these have included elements of co-counselling and peer support. Previously these face-to-face support groups were run monthly in Bradford and Skipton venues but weekly sessions have been necessary to support the mental health of LGBQT+ people during the ever-changing situation of the lockdown restrictions. Many of our regular attendees have struggled with their mental health due to the isolation and anxiety of the pandemic.

As with our counselling service, support groups and therapeutic workshops ran consistently, even over the Christmas period which was very difficult for some people as new lockdown measures were introduced.

Men’s Total Health Project

The Men’s Total Health project was started in 2018 funded by Comic Relief to help support the mental health of anyone identifying as GBT+ (masculine some or most of the time).

We aim to look at breaking down barriers to support with mental health for young GBT+ people through SEA (Self-Esteem Awareness) sessions aimed at addressing common issues they face e.g. dealing with emotions, low self-esteem, managing anxiety and stress. From these workshops, we aim to identify suitable young people with the necessary lived life experiences to train as peer mentors through accredited certificated training. We also aim to support sports and leisure facilities to break down barriers to GBT+ people engaging with and participating in their sports and leisure facilities. This is achieved through Sports Buddy training in general LGBTQ+ awareness/good practice working with and supporting LGBTQ+ people.

Early attendance and participation was good, however, as with much of our face-to-face work, the project was hit by Covid-19. In particular affecting, recruitment via schools and colleges which used their limited learner contact to focus on core curricular activity.

We reduced weekly worker time and thanks to the flexibility and understanding of Comic Relief have extended the project, which will now run until December 2021 with further focus on running SEA courses and engaging young people into sports activities through the trained Sports Buddies and the organisations/activities they run.

20

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Living Well Project

Supports people to access psychological services through online outreach and resources developed by LGBTQ+ young people, and adapted the delivery methods of our work to online where face to face delivery was not possible

In 20-21

Suicide and Self-harm Prevention

Older LGBTQ+ Adults Project

This project has been working to achieve the independence and sustainability of 2 older people’s groups in Bradford throughout the year.

Digital Meetings - Throughout the pandemic it has been challenging to engage older people using digital technologies. The women have engaged better than men and have managed to access online platforms independently and become established as a digital group. The men have a wide range of complex needs, some wanting to get online and others either being disenfranchised or apathetic towards digital meetings. This is reflected in the numbers attending the groups, with men averaging 1-3 people a session and women 10+. There is a large difference between the average age of the men’s group and women’s group and this could be potentially be contributing to the issue.

Heightened 1-1 support - There has been an increase in the support being offered to the men’s group, specifically through a number of complex cases that have been referred in by Adult Social Services. The CDW has been having weekly catch ups with these service users and liaising with the Adult Social Services team, the police, hospitals and Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN) teams alongside other services to best help support these people around issues including sexual assault, suicide attempts, sextortion and homelessness.

21

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Reopening face to face group services – More recently there has been work ongoing to reintroduce some face to face provision for the groups, especially considering the social isolation and loneliness that these communities face, alongside the poor digital take up from the men. The groups are now risk assessed and approved to be meeting up in person. The risk assessment is for both the men’s and women’s groups to meet in groups of up to 8 people.

BEHIND THE SCENES

We deliver web-based services through our website www.mesmac.co.uk and develop health promotion materials in line with the Information Standard principles which means that the information we produce is high quality, evidence-based, balanced, user-led, clear and accurate.

This year 45,854 people have used our website.

Yorkshire MESMAC has continued to meet the requirements of the Investors in People Standard.

VOLUNTEERING

We offer volunteering opportunities within most of our services and are committed to involving and engaging members of LGBTQ+ communities, people who are most at risk of HIV transmission and PLWH. We also value the time that people within the communities that we serve put aside to better support the sexual health of their communities. We are happy to say 85 volunteers have retained their volunteer status with us during 2021.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Income in 2020-21 was £1,842,209, slightly down on the previous year which was reflected across all income streams but in particular from trading activities which were adversely affected by Covid-19. Our unrestricted net income was £176,909 in part due to a reduction in expenditure costs as direct result of Covid-19 restrictions. We also made further unrealised gains on investment of £188,234 resulting from a changed emphasis in our portfolio of investments and the economic environment.

We continue to secure short term funds from a variety of none recurrent funding sources, across all areas of our work, but with a particular emphasis this year on addressing the impact of Covid-19 on our most vulnerable service users. Our income from donations has continued to rise over this period.

This year we have continued to manage some small grants for emerging community groups particularly serving the Trans community. Donations remain small but growing with a significant legacy gifted to us and disclosed in note 26. The income from our Trading Company allows trading income generated to be entirely ring fenced from grant funding.

Our Senior Management and Finance Team need congratulating managing our finances through this difficult period.

Reserves

The Board of Trustees (BOT) regularly reviews the charity’s reserves requirement. Based on this our policy is to aim to maintain at minimum three months of budgeted expenditure as net current assets in reserves with the aim of reaching 6 months and to include monies to cover 100% outstanding commitments on our

22

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

leasehold properties, calculating a minimum commitment on all leases of 5 years and including the cost of any required dilapidations and reparation works to the buildings.

The overall target this year using our budgeted expenditure is £1,209,408 the present level of net current assets and fixed asset investments available to the charity mainly in cash is £1,612,374 which means we have exceeded our overall target this year.

The Trustees aim to use funds from these cash balances to support the organisation’s development in particular our Mental Health and Wellbeing offer and to expand our geographical footprint, where feasible.

In the current economic climate we feel it is essential that we maintain a strong reserve position and ensure the most appropriate use of funds. Our focus is on ensuring that investment in long term operational and financial sustainability has the highest impact on the needs of our service users.

Review of Reserves

Review of Reserves
The charity had total reserves at the end of the reporting period of
 £ 2,137,720
Amount of that total that was restricted to specific use by funders was
 £ 219,400
Leaving unrestricted amounts of
 £ 1,918,320
Within unrestricted funds are amounts designated of
 £ 211,520
The only material amounts are £ 200,737
Which represents the net book value of property and leasehold improvements
and will reduce in line with the charity’s depreciation policy
And £ 90,000
To increase the capacity of the Senior Management team and appoint a
Coordinator, to drive forward our Mental Health services by early 2022.
Both to be self-financing by March 2023.
The general fund remaining after designations is £ 1,613,536
Of which £ 1,162
Would only be realisable by disposing of tangible fixed assets leaving £ 1,612,374
Of free reserves

Going Concern

As Trustees we consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern. We have formed this view based on the following factors:-

23

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Remuneration policy for key management personnel

The overall goal of Yorkshire MESMAC’s pay policy is always to offer fair pay to attract and keep appropriately qualified staff to lead, manage, support and/or deliver the charity’s aims.

Trustees are ultimately responsible for setting remuneration levels for the charity’s senior staff.

In deciding levels of pay and rewards Trustees consider:

Yorkshire MESMAC senior management team (currently Operations Managers, Finance/Administration Manager and CEO) are linked to the appropriate point on the NJC pay scale, decided by the criteria above. Trustees review of senior pay at regular intervals to ensure we offer fair pay to attract and retain staff.

Principal sources of funding

Principal sources of Funding continue to be from government grants for example HIV prevention and social support work in Bradford, Hull, Leeds, are provided through local authorities.

In Rotherham and North Yorkshire & York we have partnerships with the local sexual health services Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust and YorSexual Health.

The psychological therapies part of our mental health work in Bradford is commissioned by Bradford District Care Trust. Bradford Districts Clinical Commissioning Group supported online outreach and resources developed by LGBTQ+ young people to improve mental health and wellbeing.

Bradford local authority funds the Older People’s Day Opportunities Project and working to prevent suicide in LGBTQI+ communities.

Time to Shine LGBTQ+ Community Development Programme in Leeds continued to be funded by the Big Lottery until March 2021.

The Heritage Lottery Fund provided 95% of the income for Queer Stories an LGBTQ+ Oral History project which finished in May 2020. Comic Relief continued to fund the Men’s Total Health Project.

24

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Alongside the short-term projects funded by, the Erasmus Programme and partnership work via the PHE Innovations fund, we received a number of interim grants to support our response to the Covid-19 pandemic to mitigate the impact this had on our most vulnerable service users facing mental health, financial and digital challenges. Further work was also funded in Bradford and latterly Wakefield to encourage marginalised communities with vaccine take-up.

Investment policy

Investment Objective

To hold sufficient unrestricted reserves to meet the reserves policy designed to maintain the charity through difficult financial periods and to maintain the real value of those reserves and to generate income from those reserves to supplement the costs of providing the range of services provided by Yorkshire MESMAC.

To maintain sufficient liquidity in the form of bank deposits to cover any short term liquidity requirements.

To invest any additional reserves above a liquidity requirement with a total return investment objective seeking income generation with an additional aim of at least maintaining the value of those reserves over time after adjusting for RPI inflation.

Risk Profile

The Investments are to be managed at a medium level of risk. This means that there will be moderate risk to the invested capital but increased opportunities for longer-term growth in both capital and income. The prospects of short-term volatility are consequentially greater.

The investment portfolio will be broadly balanced between equities and non-equities by the use of cash deposits and collective investments exposed to a diversified spread of equities and fixed interest investments. There may be some exposure to other asset classes within such funds.

Investment Restrictions

There are to be no specific investment restrictions.

Investment Management

The trustees have decided not to appoint a discretionary investment manager at this stage but to utilise collective investment funds to achieve diversification. It is felt that at this stage the likely overall value invested does not justify the costs of an external discretionary investment manager.

The investments will be monitored by the Finance Administration Manager, the CEO and the Finance Business Development Committee (FBDC) on a regular basis.

Asset Collective Allocation (excluding cash deposits)

Charitable Investment Funds – 100%

Communication and Review Process

Investment held will be monitored by the Finance Administration Manager and periodically reviewed by the CEO and the FBDC at their meetings 4 times a year.

25

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Current Cash Assets

Current cash assets continued to be distributed across a number of unconnected banks to ensure the funds are secure and by managing these deposits carefully we have increased income modestly while managing risk.

PLANS FOR FUTURE PERIODS (2021-22)

In order to meet our aims it is essential that Yorkshire MESMAC Group of Services protects current sources of funding and attracts additional and sustainable funding revenues. We know that local authorities’ Public Health Budgets are under continuing strain and will continue to be so as a result of Covid-19, taken together with competitive tendering we will need to continue to identify and develop new ways of working and new strategic partnerships/joint ventures local, regionally and nationally.

Covid-19 will continue to have a disproportionate impact on the communities we work with for years to come. Mental health and Wellbeing issues, in particular, have been thrown into stark relief. The Board of Trustees has taken the decision to invest in a strategic role in the organisation that will drive forward our mental health and wellbeing offer and ensure that mental health enjoys a parity of esteem with sexual health across the organisation.

In order to improve the sexual health offer across our area we are committed to working in partnership with clinical colleagues, to improve their offer and widen our own to Most at Risk Populations (MARPS). We know that HIV and STIs are not a static or stable epidemic; as it changes we must react in order to ensure that those at most risk and those in most need are properly served. As new technologies emerge and become financially viable we need to harness them.

Following the success of the IMPACT trial PrEP and effective lobbying PrEP is now routinely available on the NHS. However, not everyone who needs it are accessing PrEP Therefore, we are committed to taking action that lowers institutional and knowledge barriers to access PrEP and we will redouble our efforts to ensure that women and Black African people in particular have equal access to PrEP.

We are delighted to host workers from the Leeds Gender Identity clinic; we know we can and must do more. Including better training for our people on Trans+ issues. We will continue to work with Trans+ groups across our footprint to increase access and capacity and appropriateness of local services. We look forward to publishing our joint research with The Open University on access to adult gender identity clinical services in England

By maintaining the principles set out in the Information Standard, we are demonstrating our continued commitment to trustworthy health and social care information and we are providing an assurance that our internal processes are ‘fit for purpose.’

We have over 30 years’ experience working with Most at Risk and marginalised populations. This means we have developed an enormous amount of skill and knowledge working with these communities. We have committed to converting this knowledge and these skills into a programme of training, consultancy and organisational development that will increase the appropriateness, accessibility and acceptability of Sexual Health, Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol services. This work is supported by a dedicated member of staff initially funded through reserves, with the longer-term aspiration of it becoming self-financing and income generating.

26

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

As well as expanding our geographical footprint we will increase the scope and depth of the offer across our present patch. Including improving our mental health offer for Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Trans+ communities. Underpinning our growth is a commitment to using technology to communicate with and educate our target communities as well as making our services as barrier free as possible for users and potential service users. We will continue to invest in technology and share our learning with other organisations across the sector; including what we have learned from Covid-19 in terms of blended delivery and staff work life balance.

As trustees we are confident that the Charity is an ongoing concern and we look forward to another year, marked by dedication, creativity and high quality delivery.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing Document

2

Yorkshire MESMAC is a company limited by guarantee, first registered on 12[th] August 1994, number 2958336 and was registered as a charity on 24[th] August 1994, number 1040407. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association. In the event of the company being wound up members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1

Recruitment, Appointment and Induction of Trustees

The Directors of the Company are also Charity Trustees for the purposes of charity law and under the company’s Articles are known as members of the Board of Trustees (BOT). Potential trustees are recruited via our website, through word of mouth and recommendations, the local voluntary sector volunteer units and recruitment via interested individuals and users of our service plus local relevant press. Health, finance, legal, administrative, personnel, training, strategic planning, safeguarding, local health commissioning and social care skills are represented on the Board of Trustees. The trustees wish to ensure that the makeup of the BOT fully represents the breadth of the communities we serve and is actively recruiting to address this issue. The BOT have also reviewed the skills mix on the board and continue to develop a supportive and effective induction process for new trustees.

Under the requirements of the Memorandum and Articles of Association trustees are formally appointed at the Annual General Meeting, also at every Annual General Meeting one-third of the trustees retire by rotation. The trustees who retire by rotation are those who have been longest in office since their last appointment or reappointment. Other trustees can be appointed throughout the year and have their appointment formalised at the Annual General Meeting.

Our process of trustee appointment and induction is.

Potential new trustees are asked to complete an Expression of Interest form along with our skills mix profile, which are sent to the chair.

The chair then has a discussion with the interested person to explain what the role involves in terms of time and commitment and the skills they can bring to the organisation, and can benefit from in return. This meeting is also to give a potential trustee the tools they need to contribute to the BOT (e.g. explanation of jargon, acronyms), and to discuss any needs they may have to allow them to participate fully in BOT (e.g. childcare, sign language interpreter).

27

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Potential BOT members receive an information pack and are invited to attend three meetings as observers, this gives them a chance to ask questions and gain an overview of the organisation and their potential role within it.

If a trustee is a returning with less than a gap of three years, they observe at one meeting.

All trustees introduce themselves at the beginning of meetings when there are new people in attendance.

Following attendance at three meetings the BOT make a decision whether to invite the potential trustee to join the BOT, in the case of a returning trustee (see above) the decision can be made after one meeting.

The chair contacts the potential trustee to get their feedback, address any concerns expressed by them or the BOT, clarify the role of the BOT within the organisation and establish if they are still happy to join the BOT.

When new trustees want to visit any projects they make arrangements themselves via contact information given by Senior Management.

Enhanced DBS checks are carried out all trustees, before they are registered as a director at Companies House.

Within one month of joining as a trustee there is a requirement to complete an online Level 1 Safeguarding course, for both Adults and Children.

The trustees are kept up to date with the practical work of the charity through their individual involvement in the work of the charity and their committee work. Yorkshire MESMAC has seven regional offices in Bradford, Hull, Rotherham, Leeds, Wakefield, York and Northallerton.

Organisational Structure

Yorkshire MESMAC currently has a Board of Trustees (BOT) of 15 members from a variety of professional and personal backgrounds relevant to the work of the charity. They meet four times a year as a full board and attend a further 4 committee meetings. They are responsible for the strategic direction, policy monitoring and development, employment procedures and proper fiscal oversight of the charity. They review strategic plans for the organisation in line with negotiated contracts in order to ensure that the highest quality services are provided for our target groups. Further aims of the BOT are to maintain an overview of the organisation, to safeguard the values and principles of the organisation.

The Board appoints a Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer and there is a Lead Safeguarding trustee. The Finance/Administration Manager sits on the BOT as Company Secretary but has no voting rights.

The trustees can appoint one or more committees of three or more trustees to perform any function or duty, which the trustees agree would be better carried out by a committee. At present the three core committees are Finance and Business Development (FBD) Governance (G) and Human Resources (HR). All Committees have a minimum membership of three trustees and one senior staff member.

28

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Each trustee is member of one committee and the committees report back, via their chair, to the main BOT meetings which are 4 times a year, including the AGM. This allows trustees to have a greater chance to contribute to the governance of the charity.

The Governance Committee leads on the policy review of the organisation, with input from the HR and FBD committees (where appropriate); reviews the organisational Risk Register and is responsible for maintaining the skills audit of the Trustees. The HR Committee has continued to streamline the procedures for recruitment of staff, volunteers and trustees and the Finance and Business Development Committee has continued its work overseeing the financial procedures and funding developments within the organisation.

Annually the BOT has an Away Day to discuss the progress of the Business Development and Strategic plan for the organisation. The Senior Management team are invited join them for the latter part of the meeting.

A scheme of delegation is in place within the organisation and day to day responsibility for the provision of the service rests essentially with the Chief Executive, who has regular 121s with the Chair of the BOT.

The Chief Executive takes responsibility for negotiating contracts, ensuring that contract obligations are met and works closely with the Operations Manager-Human Resources (OM –HR) and the Operations Manager - Technical (OM-T) with relation to staff workload and implementation of agreed work plans and with the Finance/Administration Manager (FAM) on financial management. This group of staff constitutes the Senior Management Team and meets regularly to plan and implement the work of the organisation as a whole.

The two Operations Managers have responsibility for the day to day operational management of Yorkshire MESMAC and the overall management of staff supervision. The OM-HR ensures that the team continues to develop their skills and working practices in line with good practice and the OM-T takes the lead on systems including property and IT infrastructure. The FAM has responsibility for the day to day financial management of organisation and manages the Admin/Finance team.

Given the ongoing development of Yorkshire MESMAC group of services, the trustees in partnership with staff continue to review our aims ensuring that they reflect the needs of our expanding service user groups.

Risk Management

The major risks, to which the charity is exposed, as identified by the Trustees and staff, are managed through the remit of the Committee system which regularly updates the Organisational Risk Register in partnership with the Senior Management Team.

Areas of risk assessed and mitigations put in place include:

Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with Health and Safety of staff, volunteers, service users and visitors to the Yorkshire MESMAC buildings.

29

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

The Serious Incident Policy ensures that any risks are managed effectively, in a timely manner and with the involvement of all senior management, trustees and governing bodies.

The Governance Committee is the main driver of the review of all policies and procedures and ensure that they continue to meet the needs of the charity.

All BOT members and senior staff annually update their declaration of interest forms and all BOT meetings have this as a standing item on the agenda to ensure all potential clashes of interest are highlighted and acted upon.

Fundraising

Yorkshire MESMAC receives donations from members of the public and organisations, as well as legacies and sponsorship. It does not however, employ the services of a professional fundraiser or solicit donations from particular individuals or groups of people at large. Individuals can choose to donate to Yorkshire MESMAC using a donations button on the organisation’s websites.

Because of this, the charity has not seen it necessary to undertake to be bound by any voluntary scheme for regulating fundraising or voluntary standard for fundraising in respect of activities on behalf of the charity. Therefore, there have been no failures to comply with such a standard.

Fundraising activities are carried out by persons and organisations on behalf of, but not commissioned by, Yorkshire MESMAC. Generally, these take the form of sponsored activities, charity of the year collections, small scale events etc. Yorkshire MESMAC does not currently monitor these, prior to the funds being handed over.

No complaints have been received by the charity concerning fundraising activities or as far as Yorkshire MESMAC is aware, by any person or organisation contributing funds.

30

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees (who are also directors of Yorkshire MESMAC 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 group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable group 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:

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.

31

Yorkshire MESMAC

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2021

Auditors

Slade & Cooper Ltd were re-appointed as the charitable company's auditors during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees’ annual report has been approved by the trustees on _______2021 and signed on their behalf by

Steve Bridge

Chair

32

Independent auditors’ report

to the Members and Trustees of

Yorkshire MESMAC

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Yorkshire MESMAC (the ‘parent charitable company’) and its subsidiary for the year ended 31 March 2021, which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities (including the income and expenditure account), the Balance Sheets of the group and the parent charitable company, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and the related notes. 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 and 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

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

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

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

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ 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.

33

Independent Auditor’s Report (continued)

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:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the group and parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011 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 31, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the group’s and parent charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the group or parent charitable company or to cease operations or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

34

Independent Auditor’s Report (continued)

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee

that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect

of irregularities, including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

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

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/Our-Work/Audit/Audit-and-assurance/Standards-and-guidance/Standards-andguidance-for-auditors/Auditors-responsibilities-for-audit/Description-of-auditors-responsibilities-foraudit.aspx. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and to the charitable company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members and its trustees 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.

35

Independent Auditor’s Report (continued)

Catherine Hall FCCA DChA Senior Statutory Auditor for and on behalf of Slade & Cooper Limited Statutory Auditors Beehive Mill Jersey Street Manchester M4 6JG Date: ______

Slade & Cooper Limited is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006

36

Yorkshire MESMAC

Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure account) for the year ended 31 March 2021

Unrestricted
funds
Note
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
12,294
Charitable activities:
4
1,451,818
5
20,740
Investments
6
958
Total income
1,485,810
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
7
9,913
Charitable activities:
8
1,298,988
Total expenditure
1,308,901
176,909
188,234
10
365,143
Transfer between funds
-
Net movement in funds for the year
365,143
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
1,553,177
Total funds carried forward
1,918,320
Other trading activities
Net income/
(expenditure) before net
gains/(losses) on investments
Unrealised gains/(losses) on investments
Net income/(expenditure) for
the year		 Restricted
funds
£
1,980
354,419
-
-
356,399
-
236,056
236,056
120,343
-
120,343
-
120,343
99,057
219,400		 Total funds
2021
£
14,274
1,806,237
20,740
958
1,842,209
9,913
1,535,044
1,544,957
297,252
188,234
485,486
-
485,486
1,652,234
2,137,720		 Total funds
2020
£
9,940
1,870,593
43,503
1,251
1,925,287
16,892
1,752,271
1,769,163
156,124
(72,763)
83,361
-
83,361
1,568,873
1,652,234

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

37

Yorkshire MESMAC Company number 02958336

Balance Sheets

as at 31 March 2021

Note
2021
2020
£
£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
15
201,899
213,588
Investments
16
1,034,923
696,689
Total fixed assets
1,236,822
910,277
Current assets
Debtors
19
114,322
125,078
Cash at bank and in hand
852,464
677,715
Total current assets
966,786
802,793
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling
due in less than one year
20
(65,888)
(60,836)
Net current assets
900,898
741,957
Total assets less current liabilities
2,137,720
1,652,234
Net assets
2,137,720
1,652,234
The funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds
22
219,400
99,057
Unrestricted income funds
23
1,918,320
1,553,177
Total charity funds
2,137,720
1,652,234
The Group		 2021
2020
£
£
201,899
213,588
1,034,923
696,689
1,236,822
910,277
114,322
132,048
847,338
666,901
961,660
798,949
(64,988)
(61,828)
896,672
737,121
2,133,494
1,647,398
2,133,494
1,647,398
219,400
99,057
1,918,320
1,548,341
2,133,494
1,647,398
The Charity		 2021
2020
£
£
201,899
213,588
1,034,923
696,689
1,236,822
910,277
114,322
132,048
847,338
666,901
961,660
798,949
(64,988)
(61,828)
896,672
737,121
2,133,494
1,647,398
2,133,494
1,647,398
219,400
99,057
1,918,320
1,548,341
2,133,494
1,647,398
The Charity
910,277
132,048
666,901
798,949
(61,828)
737,121
1,647,398
1,647,398
99,057
1,548,341
1,647,398

These accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies and constitute the annual accounts required by the Companies Act 2006 and are for circulation to members of the company.

The notes on pages 40 to 58 form part of these accounts.

Approved by the trustees on _____ and signed on their behalf by:

Sue Pascoe (Treasurer)

38

Yorkshire MESMAC

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the year ending 31 March 2021

Note
2021
£
Cash provided by/(used in) operating activities
27
323,791
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest, and rents from investments
958
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
-
Purchase of investments
(150,000)
Cash provided by/(used in) investing activities
(149,042)
174,749
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
677,715
Total cash equivalents at the end of the year
852,464
Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash
equivalents in the year		 2020
£
226,476
1,251
(1,029)
(50,000)
(49,778)
176,698
501,017
677,715

39

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021

1 Accounting policies

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

a 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), second edition - October 2019 (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

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

b Group financial statements

These financial statements consolidate the results of the charitable company and its wholly-owned subsidiary Yorkshire MESMAC Trading Ltd. on a line by line basis. A separate Statement of Financial Activities and Income and Expenditure account are not presented for the charity itself following exemptions afforded by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006.

c Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern.

There are no key judgments which the trustees have made which have a significant effect on the accounts.

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 amount of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

40

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

d Income

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

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.

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is a treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

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

e Donated services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item 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), the general time of volunteers is not recognised and refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated 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.

f 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.

g Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of charity.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose.

Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity’s work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.

41

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

h 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:

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

i Allocation of support costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the charity's programmes and activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities. The bases on which support costs have been allocated are set out in note 9.

j Operating leases

Operating leases are leases in which the title to the assets, and the risks and rewards of ownership, remain with the lessor . Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

k Tangible fixed assets

Individual fixed assets costing £1,000 or more are capitalised at cost and are depreciated over their estimated useful economic lives on a straight line basis as follows:

Freehold building 2%
Fixtures and Fittings 25%
Computer Equipment 33%
Leasehold improvements over the lease period

At the date of first time transition to FRS102 (1st April 2014) the trustees have chosen to use an estimate of fair value as the deemed cost of the freehold building. There is no obligation to periodically revalue.

l Fixed asset investments

Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted market price. The statement of financial activities includes the net gains and losses arising on revaluation and disposals throughout the year.

The Charity does not acquire put options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments.

The main form of financial risk faced by the charity is that of volatility in equity markets and investment markets due to wider economic conditions, the attitude of investors to investment risk, and changes in sentiment concerning equities and within particular sectors or sub sectors.

m 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.

42

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

n 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.

o 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.

p 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 with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

q Pensions

Employees of the charity are entitled to join a defined contribution ‘money purchase’ scheme. The charity’s contribution is restricted to the contributions disclosed in note 11. There were no outstanding contributions at the year end. The costs of the defined contribution scheme are included within support and governance costs and allocated to the funds of the charity using the methodology set out in note 9.

The money purchase plan is managed by Legal and General and the plan invests the contributions made by the employee and employer in an investment fund to build up over the term of the plan a pension fund which is then converted into a pension upon the employee’s normal retirement year age when eligible for a state pension. The total expense ratio of the plan is 0.50% and this is deducted from the investment fund annually. The charity has no liability beyond making its contributions and paying across the deductions for the employee’s contributions. There were no contributions outstanding at the year-end.

2 Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales and has no share capital. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. The registered office address is disclosed on page 1.

3 Income from donations and legacies

Donations
Legacies
Total
Previous reporting period
Donations
Total		 Unrestricted
£
12,194
100
12,294
Unrestricted
£
3,260
3,260		 Restricted
£
1,980
-
1,980
Restricted
£
6,680
6,680		 Total 2021
£
14,174
100
14,274
Total 2020
£
9,940
9,940

43

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

4 Income from charitable activities

Grants and Service Level Agreements
HIV & Sexual Health
Bradford MDC
Hull City Council
Leeds City Council
York Teaching Hospital NHS
Foundation Trust
Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust
Wakefield MDC
Public Health England
Other Sundry Grants (below £10k)
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Bradford District CCG
Bradford MDC
Bradford District NHS Foundation Tst
Comic Relief
Other Sundry Grants (below £10k)
Community Development
Leeds Older People's Forum
Big Lottery
Bradford MDC
Comic Relief
Heritage Lottery Fund
Open University
Other Sundry Grants (below £10k)
Subtotal for Grants and SLAs
Fees and Other Income
Training, consultancy & other
Total		 Unrestricted
£
219,996
450,000
161,600
250,956
150,000
156,810
-
100
-
-
24,284
-
6,635
-
-
-
-
-
-
12,000
1,432,381
19,437
1,451,818		 Restricted
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
33,423
6,000
25,644
14,000
-
42,595
-
27,691
60,000
29,895
25,637
55,947
29,439
4,148
354,419
-
354,419		 Total 2021
£
219,996
450,000
161,600
250,956
150,000
156,810
33,423
6,100
25,644
14,000
24,284
42,595
6,635
27,691
60,000
29,895
25,637
55,947
29,439
16,148
1,786,800
19,437
1,806,237

44

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

Previous reporting period

Grants and Service Level Agreements
HIV & Sexual Health
Comic Relief
Bradford MDC
City of York Council
Hull City Council
Leeds City Council
York Teaching Hospital NHS
Foundation Trust
Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust
Preventx
Wakefield MDC
Other Sundry Grants (below £10k)
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Bradford District CCG
Bradford MDC
Bradford District NHS Foundation Tst
Comic Relief
Community Development
Leeds Older People's Forum
British Council
Garfield Weston
Heritage Lottery Fund
Open University
The Love Tank CIC
Other Sundry Grants (below £10k)
Subtotal for Grants and SLAs
Fees and Other Income
Training, consultancy & other
Total		 Unrestricted
£
-
219,996
-
500,000
161,600
254,704
125,000
15,000
156,810
8,503
-
-
24,284
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
16,633
1,482,530
24,773
1,507,303		 Restricted
£
6,877
-
2,500
-
-
-
-
-
-
8,310
25,644
19,896
-
46,637
24,537
40,706
12,000
135,693
23,300
12,500
4,690
363,290
-
363,290		 Total 2020
£
6,877
219,996
2,500
500,000
161,600
254,704
125,000
15,000
156,810
16,813
25,644
19,896
24,284
46,637
24,537
40,706
12,000
135,693
23,300
12,500
21,323
1,845,820
24,773
1,870,593

45

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

5 Income from other trading activities

Income from other trading activities
Rental Income
Commercial Trading Operations
Yorkshire MESMAC Trading Ltd.		 2021
£
740
20,000
20,740		 2020
£
3,045
40,458
43,503

All income from other trading activities is unrestricted.

6 Investment income

All of the charity's investment income arises from money held in interest bearing deposit accounts. All investment income is unrestricted.

7 Cost of raising funds

Cost of raising funds
Commercial Trading Operations
Trading Subsidiary Direct Costs		 2021
£
9,913
9,913		 2020
£
16,892
16,892

All expenditure on cost of raising funds is unrestricted.

46

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

8 Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

Community
Development
£
Staff costs
90,750
Overheads
27,785
Bad Debts
-
Project costs
34,962
Depreciation
11,689
Volunteers
6,704
Governance
costs (see note
9)
6,024
Support costs
(see note 9)
22,931
Total
200,845
Restricted expenditure
Unrestricted expenditure		 HIV & Sexual
Health
£
806,651
154,644
-
95,962
-
61
42,217
131,735
1,231,270
2021
£
236,056
1,298,988
1,535,044		 Mental
Health
£
55,371
10,019
-
16,749
-
-
3,749
11,169
97,057
2020
£
330,619
1,421,652
1,752,271		 PASH
£
5,872
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5,872		 Total 2021
£
958,644
192,448
-
147,673
11,689
6,765
51,990
165,835
1,535,044

Previous reporting period

Staff costs
Overheads
Bad Debts
Project costs
Depreciation
Volunteers
Governance
costs (see note
9)
Support costs
(see note 9)
Total		 Community
Developmen
t
£
151,453
39,883
-
13,484
11,689
12,187
20,938
24,192
273,826		 HIV & Sexual
Health
£
850,791
160,491
-
168,313
-
979
40,578
137,437
1,358,589		 Mental
Health
£
66,621
10,560
-
10,932
-
-
2,604
10,420
101,137		 PASH
£
11,928
3,274
-
28
-
-
749
2,740
18,719		 Total 2020
£
1,080,793
214,208
-
192,757
11,689
13,166
64,869
174,789
1,752,271

47

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

9 Analysis of governance and support costs

Basis of
apportionment
Staff costs
Time spent
or by floor
area
Office costs
Floor area
Audit fees
Governance
Accountancy services
Governance
Previous reporting period
Basis of
apportionment
Staff costs
Time spent
Office costs
Floor area
Audit fees
Governance
Accountancy services
Governance
10
Net income/(expenditure) for the year
This is stated after charging/(crediting):
Depreciation
Operating lease rentals:
Property
Other
Auditor's remuneration - audit fees
Auditor's remuneration - accountancy fees		 Support
£
139,030
26,805
-
-
165,835
Support
£
165,377
9,412
-
-
174,789
2021
£
11,689
14,901
5,760
4,100
3,100		 Governance
£
43,350
-
4,920
3,720
51,990
Governance
£
38,898
-
4,920
3,720
47,538
2020
£
11,689
31,500
5,976
4,100
3,100		 Total 2021
£
182,380
26,805
4,920
3,720
217,825
Total 2020
£
204,275
9,412
4,920
3,720
222,327

48

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

11 Staff costs

Staff costs during the year were as follows:

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs
Staff related costs
Allocated as follows:
Charitable activities
Support costs
Governance costs
Holiday Pay		 2021
£
996,989
75,671
46,992
12,503
8,869
1,141,024
958,644
139,030
43,350
1,141,024		 2020
£
1,073,489
81,447
47,657
61,794
20,681
1,285,068
1,080,793
165,377
38,898
1,285,068

No employees have employee benefits in excess of £60,000 (2020: Nil).

The average number of staff employed by the group during the period was 52 (2020: 59). The average full time equivalent number of staff employed by the group during the period was 36 (2020: 38).

The average number of staff employed by the charity during the period was 52 (2020: 59). The average full time equivalent number of staff employed by the charity during the period was 36 (2020: 38).

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the trustees, the Chief Executive Officer, both Technical & HR Operations Managers and the Finance Manager. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £169,586 (2020: £188,617).

12 Trustee remuneration and expenses, and related party transactions

Neither the management committee nor any persons connected with them received any remuneration or during the year (2020: Nil).

(2020: 4) Members of the management committee received travel and subsistence expenses during the year of £Nil (2020: £1,940).

There are no donations from related parties which are outside the normal course of business and no restricted donations from related parties.

No trustee or other person related to the charity had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the charity, including guarantees, during the year (2020: nil).

49

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

13 Government grants

The government grants recognised in the accounts were as follows:

NHS Bradford Districts CCG
Bradford District NHS Foundation Tst
Bradford Metropolitan District Council
City of York Council
York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation
Hull City Council
Leeds City Council
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust
Public Health England		 2021
£
25,644
24,284
263,891
-
250,956
450,000
161,600
156,810
150,000
33,423
1,516,608		 2020
£
25,644
24,284
239,892
2,500
254,704
500,000
161,600
156,810
125,000
-
1,490,434

There were no unfulfilled conditions and contingencies attaching to the grants.

14 Corporation tax

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within Chapter 3 of Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. No tax charges have arisen in the charity.

The charity's trading subsidiary Yorkshire MESMAC Trading Ltd. gift aids available profits to the parent charity. Its charge to corporation tax in the year was:

2021 2020
£ £
UK corporation tax at 19% (2020: 19%) - -

50

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

15 Fixed assets: tangible assets

The charity

Freehold
Leasehold
Fixtures &
Property
improvements
Fittings
Cost
£
£
230,341
128,847
41,203
Additions
-
-
-
Disposals
-
-
-
230,341
128,847
41,203
Depreciation
46,845
100,823
39,135
Charge for the year
5,087
5,696
906
Disposals
-
-
-
51,932
106,519
40,041
Net book value
178,409
22,328
1,162
183,496
28,024
2,068
There are no fixed assets held by the subsidiary company
Investments
2021
2020
£
£
696,689
719,452
Additions to investments at cost
150,000
50,000
Disposals at carrying value
-
-
Add net gain/(loss) on revaluation
188,234
(72,763)
1,034,923
696,689
-
-
1,034,923
696,689
Investments comprised:
Listed investments
1,034,923
696,689
-
-
1,034,923
696,689
At 1 April 2020
Market value at the end of the year
The group
At 31 March 2021
At 31 March 2021
At 31 March 2020
At 31 March 2021
At 1 April 2020
Cash held by investment broker
pending reinvestment
Cash held in the investment portfolio
Market value at the start of the year		 Computer
equipment
£
£
5,468
405,859
-
-
-
-
5,468
405,859
5,468
192,271
-
11,689
-
-
5,468
203,960
-
201,899
-
213,588
2021
2020
£
£
696,689
719,452
150,000
50,000
-
-
188,234
(72,763)
1,034,923
696,689
-
-
1,034,923
696,689
1,034,923
696,689
-
-
1,034,923
696,689
Total
The charity		 £
405,859
-
-
Total
405,859
192,271
11,689
-
203,960
201,899
213,588
696,689
-
696,689
696,689
-
696,689

16 Investments

Investments are all carried at fair value and are all traded in quoted public markets. They are accumulation units in funds where investment income within the fund is reinvested in the fund. The increase in value is not shown separately as investment income but becomes part of the net unrealised gains or losses in overall market values of the funds at year end.

51

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

17 Subsidiary undertaking

The Charitable company owns UK subsidiary company Yorkshire MESMAC Trading Ltd., a company registered in England, Co. No. 08432642. The company has no share capital and is limited by guarantee. It has one single member which is the charity Yorkshire MESMAC. The subsidiary is used for non-primary purpose trading activities.

Available profits are gift aided to the charitable company. A summary of the results of the subsidiary is shown below:

Profit and loss account
Turnover
Cost of sales
Administration costs
Taxation
Donation to parent charity
Net profit
Balance sheet
Fixed assets
Current assets
Creditors due in less than one year
Called up share capital
Profit and loss account		 2021
£
20,000
(14,861)
(913)
-
(4,836)
£ (610)
2021
£
-
5,126
(900)
£4,226
-
4,226
£4,226		 2020
£
40,458
(34,136)
(1,486)
-
(2,917)
£ 1,919
2020
£
-
10,826
(5,990)
£4,836
-
4,836
£4,836

18 Parent charity

The parent charity's gross income and the results for the year are disclosed as follow:

2021 2020
£ £
Gross income 1,832,907 1,906,476
Result for the year 486,097 81,442

52

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

19 Debtors

19
Debtors
2021
2020
£
£
Grants receivable
-
-
Trade debtors
57,844
56,674
Other debtors
12,500
36,704
Prepayments and accrued income
43,978
31,688
VAT
-
12
Amts due from group undertakings
-
-
114,322
125,078
20
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
2021
2020
£
£
29,550
20,682
Other creditors and accruals
36,338
33,054
Deferred income
-
7,100
65,888
60,836
21
Deferred income
2021
2020
£
£
Deferred income brought forward
7,100
50,000
Released to income
(7,100)
(50,000)
Deferred in the current year
-
7,100
Deferred income carried forward
-
7,100
The group
The group
Short term compensated absences
(holiday pay)
The group		 2021
2020
£
£
-
-
57,844
56,674
12,500
36,704
43,978
31,688
-
-
-
6,982
114,322
132,048
2021
2020
£
£
29,550
20,682
35,438
32,154
-
8,992
64,988
61,828
2021
2020
£
£
8,992
50,000
(8,992)
(50,000)
-
8,992
-
8,992
The charity
The charity
The charity
8,992

Income has been deferred due to money being received for consultancy in advance of delivery.

53

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

22 Analysis of movements in restricted funds

Charitable Activities
HIV & Sexual Health
P Easy
Gypsy Traveller Work
York LGBTQ Youth
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Living Well
Counselling Donations
CR - Men's Total Health
Bradford Suicide Prevention
Community Development
All Covid
Bradford Covid Prevention
Bradford OPDG
Erasmus 19-20
Comic Relief Recovery Fund
Healthy Communities
Leeds Older People's
Forum - Time to Shine
Time to Shine donations
Love Tank
Nova - Wakefield
Open University
Heritage Lottery Fund
Queer Stories Donations
Sundry small grants
Total		 Balance at 1
April 2020
£
-
-
1,677
14,302
10,588
25,465
-
-
-
8,104
30,324
-
-
15,006
-
10,227
-
-
(24,985)
8,349
-
99,057		 Income
£
6,000
33,423
-
25,644
600
42,595
14,000
10,000
10,000
19,895
-
25,637
50,000
27,691
1,305
-
1,198
29,439
55,947
75
2,950
356,399		 Expenditure
£
-
(3,155)
(1,677)
(23,465)
-
(37,302)
(14,000)
(10,000)
(2,689)
(19,723)
6,420
(19,817)
(220)
(31,322)
-
(10,227)
(1,198)
(29,295)
(30,962)
(7,024)
(400)
(236,056)		 Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Balance at 31
March 2021
£
6,000
30,268
-
16,481
11,188
30,758
-
-
7,311
8,276
36,744
5,820
49,780
11,375
1,305
-
-
144
-
1,400
2,550
219,400

54

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

22 Analysis of movements in restricted funds cont.

Previous reporting period

Previous reporting period
Balance at 1
April 2019
£
Charitable Activities
HIV & Sexual Health
HIV in the UK Digital
2,788
Wakefield MDC
- Trans engagement
760
PrEPster
-
York LGBTQ Youth
-
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Living Well
14,006
Counselling Donations
9,276
CR - Men's Total Health
19,967
Bradford OPDG
-
Community Development
Erasmus 18-19
9,398
Erasmus 19-20
-
GEO Advonet
-
Leeds Older People's
Forum
16,023
Love Tank
-
Open University
-
Heritage Lottery Fund
(8,292)
Queer Stories Donations
(4,220)
Total
59,706		 Income
£
6,877
-
8,310
2,500
25,644
6,111
46,637
19,896
1,855
38,851
4,690
24,537
12,500
23,300
135,693
12,569
369,970		 Expenditure
£
(9,665)
(760)
(8,310)
(823)
(25,348)
(4,799)
(41,139)
(11,792)
(11,253)
(8,527)
(4,690)
(25,554)
(2,273)
(23,300)
(152,386)
-
(330,619)		 Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Balance at 31
March 2020
£
-
-
-
-
1,677
14,302
10,588
25,465
8,104
-
30,324
-
-
15,006
10,227
-
(24,985)
8,349
99,057

55

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

22 Analysis of movements in restricted funds cont.

Name of Description, nature and purposes of the fund
restricted fund
HIV & Sexual Health
P Easy To address high rates of gonorrhoea in Black Caribbean men across London and
Hull.
Gypsy Traveller Work To improve sexual health outcomes for Gypsy and Traveller women within the City
and Vale of York.
York LGBTQ Youth To support LGBTQ* youth in York through the provision of peer support groups and
121 sessions
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Living Well Project Bradford CCG grant funding for promoting social wellbeing for LGBT+ people living
in the Bradford District.
Counselling donations Individual donations made to the counselling service.
CR - Men's Total Health 3 year project for GBT+ young men to boost self esteem and confidence through
workshops encouraging physical activity.
Bradford Suicide NHSE Preventing Suicide: LGBTQI+ communities living in the Bradford District.
Prevention
Community Development
All Covid For the alleviation of financial hardships faced by PLWH in Bradford and Wakefield
due to COVID.
Bradford Covid COVID test and trace in vulnerable populations of Bradford.
Prevention
Bradford OPDG Day opportunities for older people in Bradford.
Erasmus Grant provided through the Erasmus higher education exchange
programme for
staff and organisational development.
Comic Relief Recovery To address increased isolation as a result of COVID through digital engagement and
Fund counselling.
Healthy Communities To reduce early deaths among marginalised communities by addressing causal
structural inequalities.
Leeds Older People’s Grant from the Ageing Well programme and administered by Leeds Older People’s
Forum Forum
to
develop
opportunities
for
older
LGB&T*
people
in
Leeds
who		 are
experiencing social isolation.
Love Tank PHE Reproductive Health, Sexual Health and HIV Innovation Fund 2019-20 title
Long Time No Syphilis Phase 11
Nova - Wakefield Live Well Wakefield - Coronavirus Resilience Grant
Open University The Integrating Care for Trans Adults (ICTA) project aims to improve NHS health
care for trans (including non-binary) adults.
HLF Heritage Lottery will celebrate LGBTQ+ cultures and communities in West Yorkshire by collecting
Fund – Queer Stories Oral History Testimonies and material heritage, creating interactive elements like
artworks, resources, tours and workshops inspired by these materials.
Deficits on funds are to be met by future income from the funder. Transfers out have been made to fund work
that is covered by the original agreement or where the funder has agreed that it can be utilised elsewhere.

56

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

23 Analysis of movement in unrestricted funds

Balance at 1
April 2020
£
1,320,611
211,520
21,046
-
1,553,177
Previous reporting period
Balance at 1
April 2019
£
1,242,107
222,303
Systems Manager
2,938
29,319
Safeguarding audit
12,500
1,509,167
Designated property
General fund
General fund
Designated property
Mental Health &
Training & comms
coordinator
Training & comms
coordinator		 Income
£
1,674,044
-
-
-
1,674,044
Income
£
1,482,554
-
-
-
-
1,482,554		 Expenditure
£
(1,308,901)
-
-
-
(1,308,901)
Expenditure
£
(1,414,833)
-
(2,938)
(8,273)
(12,500)
(1,438,544)		 Transfers
£
(72,218)
(10,783)
(6,999)
90,000
-
Transfers
£
10,783
(10,783)
-
-
-
-		 As at 31 March
2021
£
1,613,536
200,737
14,047
90,000
1,918,320
As at 31 March
2020
£
1,320,611
211,520
-
21,046
-
1,553,177

Name of

Description, nature and purposes of the fund

General fund The free reserves after allowing for all designated funds Designated property The current book value of property and leasehold improvements. Systems Manager To support the employment of a part time senior manager responsible for systems for a period of 2 years.

Training & comms To ensure that all Yorkshire MESMAC's contracted training obligations are met, coordinator widen the training offer, increase the reputation of Yorkshire MESMAC in the sector and in the longer term generate income.

Safeguarding audit

Mental Health & Wellbeing

To commission an external review of safeguarding practices and policies throught the organisation to ensure all are robust and fit for purpose.

To fund a Mental Health & Wellbeing post to develop our Mental Health and Wellbeing services starting April 2021 onwards.

57

Yorkshire MESMAC

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 (continued)

24 Analysis of group net assets between funds

Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investments
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Total
Previous reporting period
Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investments
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Total		 General
fund
£
1,162
1,034,923
577,451
1,613,536
2,068
696,689
621,854
1,320,611		 Designated
funds
£
200,737
-
104,047
304,784
211,520
-
21,046
232,566		 Restricted
funds
£
-
-
219,400
219,400
-
-
99,057
99,057		 Total
£
201,899
1,034,923
900,898
2,137,720
213,588
696,689
741,957
1,652,234

25 Operating lease commitments

The charity's total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows for

Less than one year
One to five years		 2021
2020
£
£
36,651
14,901
42,901
23,302
79,552
38,203
Property		 2021
2020
£
£
5,760
5,760
3,600
9,360
9,360
15,120
Equipment		 2021
2020
£
£
5,760
5,760
3,600
9,360
9,360
15,120
Equipment
15,120

There are no leases held by the subsidiary company.

26 Contingent assets

As at the year end the charity has been notified of a legacy the value of which is uncertain but is unlikely to exceed £25,000. The legacy has not been recognised in the accounts.

27 Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash flow from operating activities

Net income/(expenditure) for the year
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charge
Loss/(profit) on sale of fixed assets
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating
activities		 2021
£
297,252
11,689
-
(958)
10,756
5,052
323,791		 2020
£
156,124
11,689
-
(1,251)
104,654
(44,740)
226,476

58