Annual Report 2024-25
THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
Charity Number 1040482
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Alastair Wilson
Company Number 02699839
Elected Trustees
Andrew Ward Louise Ann Joseph Leona Kaye McDermid
Principal Address
The Foyer Federation Non-elected Trustees Work.Life Core Building Sabira Mohamed Kanji (resigned 23rd April 2024) 30 Brown Street Joanne Rich Manchester Fiona Jia-Ying Lin M2 1DH Hannah Oluwadamilaara Adeyemi Nathalie Alison Tolmie-Thomson Independent Examiner Alieu Fofanah Cathy Hood FCA DChA Lynette Barlow, Treasurer (appointed 30th April 2024)
Independent Examiner Cathy Hood FCA DChA 137 Barlows Lane Liverpool L9 9HZ
Secretary
Rachel Middleton
Chief Executive
Bankers
Unity Trust Bank Nine Brindley place Birmingham B1 2HB
Joel Lewis
Head of Programmes and Network
Kate Russell-Ellis
Head of Development and Partnerships
NatWest 135 Bishopsgate London EC2M 3UR
Siobhan Cunningham
Head of Communications
A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
The Trustees (also referred to as Directors per the Companies Act 2006) are pleased to present their annual Trustees’ report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ending 31st March 2025, which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and 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 (FRS102).
The structure, governance and management section include a reference to related party transactions in note 18 and all Trustees give of their time freely and no Trustee remuneration was paid in the year. Details of Trustee expenses are disclosed in note 7 to the accounts. Trustees are required to disclose all relevant interests and register them with the Company Secretary and in accordance with the Foyer Federation Charity policy, and to withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises.
Jenny Liversidge-Wright (appointed 14th Ocober 2024)
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
Contents
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT
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Chair’s report Over the last year, it is undeniable that both the We are extremely grateful to our funders, network, youth supported housing sector and the Foyer and supporters for sharing our vision and working Federation itself have gone through a period of with the Foyer Federation to develop truly rapid change. It has been hugely encouraging transformational living and learning communities to see our dedicated CEO and his excellent team so that young people who can’t live at home can working so effectively with both our members and move on with the power and agency they need to our committed trustees, to rise to this challenge and thrive. take the charity from strength to strength. I am incredibly proud to Chair such an impactful The entire team has lived our values: authentically charity and community. As we move into 2025sticking to our mission, by focussing on impact; 26 our clear plan will guide progress against the bravely standing strong in a complex and delivery of the next phase of our ‘impact-first’ unpredictable funding landscape; lovingly approach, to best meet the needs of both the youth delivering trauma-informed support to our network supported housing sector and the young people FOYERY staff; building on our maverick approach to sharing they exist to serve. power with young people; and remaining savvy to land opportunities that have arisen in a complex Alastair Wilson operating environment. Chair of the Trustee Board As ever, the Foyer Federation is a small but mighty team, going above and beyond expectations with limited resources. This report shows clearly how Joel and the team have deftly balanced working with the network to support very clear immediate needs alongside advancing the charity’s long-term vision and strategic positioning.
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Chief Executive’s summary
2024-25 has been a real ‘build the car as you’re driving it’ kind of year - and I couldn’t be more proud of the team for their hard work and resilience throughout this period.
Officially ‘year zero’ leading to our 2025-30 strategy, our goal for the year was to strengthen the foundations of the Foyer Federation to set ourselves up for ambitious growth and influence over the next five years. With the launch of the strategy coinciding with the end of a number of our funded programmes and an increasingly challenging funding environment, we knew that 2024-25 was never going to be a smooth journey - and we were right!
At the beginning of 2025, I embarked on a national tour of our Youth Foyers and was equally encouraged and concerned. The commitment, passion and quality that many services are delivering in the face of huge challenges was humbling and it was exciting to see some of the creative solutions that staff and young people have developed to overcome barriers to moving out, accessing learning, improving wellbeing and gaining employment. The positive impact of the approach was clear to see, but even in the most resilient of services the need for future investment to build capacity and improve quality is evident.
Despite the clear commitment and vision of Youth Foyers, our network has been under immense, mounting pressure in recent years, and 2024-25 really felt like the year where it all came to a head. With the roll out of new regulation and the prospect of more on the horizon, planning for rising service delivery costs (especially the National Insurance increase) alongside local authorities stripping back their support funding, the Youth Foyers in our network have been feeling the strain. On top of these challenges, young people have been grappling with increased mental health needs, a reduction in employment opportunities and the ongoing impact of the cost of living crisis.
In light of these challenges, it became increasingly clear throughout the year that many of our Youth Foyers are in trauma - and we need to respond accordingly.
We’ve put a great deal of time and energy into really understanding how we work at the Foyer Federation so that we can better meet the needs of our network - and reading through this report, it’s clear how far we have come.
We’ve developed a new Theory of Change, launched a new website, established our identity and unique
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position in the sector, developed a new Youth Foyer brand, grown our staff team, crafted a new case for support, embedded youth voice at all levels of the charity - and all of this alongside delivering 30 training sessions, four Community of Practice events, 15 Talent Bond grants and much, much more.
Looking back on how we started the year to where we are now, it’s clear that we’ve come a long way towards achieving our goal. The Foyer Federation is in a much stronger position with a much clearer understanding of our unique role and impact in ensuring that young people who can’t live at home can realise their power and purpose - and as we move into 2025-26 we’re more focussed than ever on this mission.
As a small team with limited resources, we’ve achieved a huge amount in what has been an incredibly tough year - and I’d like to take this opportunity to genuinely thank our staff team, our Trustees, our network and our supporters who share our vision, and continue to weather the storm to make meaningful impact in the lives of young people in Youth Foyers across the UK.
Joel Lewis Chief Executive
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Our Values & Mission
VISION
All young people who can’t live at home can realise their power and purpose.
MISSION
Support the development of transformational living and learning communities for young people experiencing homelessness.
VALUES
Authentic: We are unwavering in our purpose.
Brave: We stand up for what matters.
Loving: We care about each other and the world around us.
Maverick: We shake things up to make them better.
Savvy: We keep one eye on the now and one at the end of the game.
Young people who experience homelessness are more likely to experience it later in life too. Our purpose is to break this cycle.
We work with our national network of Youth Foyers to provide transformative opportunities to young people who can’t live at home.
Rather than focussing purely on addressing immediate circumstances, we work with services to centre young people’s long term goals and potential.
By building on young people’s strengths, talents and aspirations, Youth Foyers offer a holistic living and learning opportunity for young people to realise their power and purpose, and move on equipped to thrive as independent adults.
The Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, in accordance with section 17 of the Charities’ Act 2011, sets out two key principles:
1. The organisation must have an identifiable benefit and 2. The benefit must be to the public or a section of the public.
Trustees have reviewed the vision and mission of the charity in the light of this guidance and have been mindful of it when setting the aims and objectives for the coming year. They believe the activities of the Charity and the achievements detailed in this report clearly demonstrate that the Charity meets both these requirements.
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2. Activate our Community
Our 2025-30 Strategy Community The Foyer network is a thriving Our strategic plan centres around the following community. Let’s equip our four aims: people to do more. 1. Power our Foyers Our Foyers are transformational places. Let’s give them the tools they need to thrive. oes 3. Grow our 4. Strengthen the Movement Foyer Federation Foyers proactively help The Foyer Federation break the cycle of youth safeguards and develops the homelessness. Let’s broaden Foyer approach in the UK. the impact of Foyers and Let’s ensure it has the right reach more young people. foundation to build on.
THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
Our 2024-25 Successes
2024-25 has been a year of learning and honest reflection at the Foyer Federation, with some great successes and opportunities for development.
Throughout the year, we have:
Maintained a network of 65 Youth Foyers .
Delivered a total of 30 training sessions , reaching 378 people and receiving an average feedback rating of 4.75/5.
Delivered four Community of Practice
events with 39 members of staff from 22 Youth Foyers, and 55 from outside of our network.
Completed our Youth Power Fund
programme , working with 17 young people and reaching 148 more throughout the year to challenge power structures in youth supported housing services, and developing meaningful opportunities for young people to lead and influence in their Youth Foyers.
Completed the ReRooted programme with
58 members of staff and 66 young people from 20 Youth Foyers this year, building staff knowledge, confidence and skills to better support young people with their mental health.
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Awarded £4200 in Talent Bond grants , providing the opportunity for 15 young people to build a skill, talent or aspiration.
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Partnered with the National Survivor Users
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- Network to plan, deliver and co-create two consultation workshops and interviews with 4 Youth Foyers and 22 young people, ‘Reimagining Safety’ to explore how to develop safeguarding approaches with lived experience in mind.
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4 experience in mind. Gathered and shared insights from 141 young people from 25 Youth Foyers via our May 2024 Big Questions Survey, providing opportunity for the network to feed youth voice into their practice.
Launched a new Foyer Federation website , strengthening our ability to communicate our work and purpose to key stakeholders.
- Developed strategic relationships in the homelessness sector, including joining the steering group of the Youth Chapter Collective and the APPG for Ending Homelessness , setting us up to begin influencing on a wider strategic scale.
Developed a new Youth Foyer brand to define and celebrate high quality youth supported housing.
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Crafted a new case for support , drawing on insights from the sector and building a compelling narrative around the current supported housing landscape and our role within it.
Developed a new Foyer Federation Theory of Change to better understand, articulate and evaluate our impact on youth supported housing services and young people who can’t live at home.
Our Chief Executive toured our network as part of launching our new strategy visiting 10 locations across all regions and engaging staff, young people, and commissioners representing 34 Youth Foyers.
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
Our 2024-25 Challenges
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Despite our successes, during this period several sectoral and wider societal challenges came to a head. From the continuing fall out from the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis to new regulatory context, our network is feeling the strain.
The introduction of Ofsted’s Supported
Accommodation Regulations has placed an additional financial, administrative and operational burden on the Youth Foyers who provide housing for care experienced young people aged 16-17, and the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 will add more cost and capacity pressures will add more cost and capacity pressures across the network.
additional financial, administrative and operational burden on the Youth Foyers who provide housing ~~Y~~ for care experienced young people aged 16-17, and the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 will add more cost and capacity pressures will add more cost and capacity pressures across the network. Alongside this, staff capacity and service budgets continue to be stretched at a time when ~~a~~ young ’ ~~j~~ people s mental health needs are increasing, leading to a sense of burnout and trauma in the network and wider sector.
What we are hearing consistently is that the sector is under immense pressure, with a real sense of stress around funding and staffing, and a growing fear that the sector is drifting away from a personcentred, youth work approach in favour of a more compliance driven model. And we are feeling this pressure ourselves.
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We entered 2024-25 with a clear ambition to grow our network. We built a strong pipeline and held over 40 meetings with prospective members. However, while many showed genuine interest, shared our vision and expressed a real desire to work with us, the challenges in the sector have acted as a barrier to meaningful engagement.
We have also seen a widening gap between members that have an established accreditation record and commitment to Youth Foyer and Advantaged Thinking, and those who have not engaged previously.
With less resilience and capacity to deliver a holistic offer, and with added economic and regulatory challenges in the wider sector and society, the message from our network and the wider sector then was clear: they need us to evolve .
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Our 2024-25 Priorities
For 2024-25, our priority was on aim 4 of our 2025-30 strategy, ‘Strengthen the Foyer Federation’, and adapting our work and approach to meet services where they are. This included building:
1. The right systems:
Implementing and improving systems, processes and central operations to maximise the effectiveness of our activities and demonstrate the breadth and depth of our impact. Key activities included:
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a. Developing more robust ways to track the impact of our work and sharing it with others.
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b. Expanding the reach and effectiveness of our communications.
2. The right people:
Nurturing and growing the staff and trustee team to effectively deliver the strategic aims in line with our values. Key activities included:
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a. Ensuring young people continue to share power at all levels of the organisation.
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b. Building the diversity, skills and experience of the staff team; and creating and shaping new and existing staff roles to deliver the strategy effectively.
3. The right income:
Building a diverse and sustainable income base to deliver the strategy in line with the mission. Key activities included:
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a. Growing the amount and percentage mix of our earned income, including membership, training and the strategic partner offer.
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b. Effectively communicating a compelling case for investment in the Foyer Federation to future funders.
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c. Developing better internal systems for relationship management of our member network.
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1. The Right Systems Implementing and improving systems, processes and central operations to maximise the effectiveness of our activities and demonstrate the breadth and depth of our impact. ~~a~~ 15 THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25 ©
1. The right systems
a) Developing more robust ways to track the impact of our work and sharing it with others.
The Foyer Federation’s purpose is to increase the quality of youth supported housing services so that young people who can’t live at home can move on with the power and agency to thrive.
Through our Youth Foyer Theory of Change, developed in 2016 with the University of Cumbria and young people in Youth Foyers, we know the impact that Youth Foyers make and, through our 2021-24 strategy, we know how important the Advantaged Thinking approach is in achieving this impact. This high quality provision remains our goal.
However, the sector faces an increasingly complex regulatory landscape, a ruthless funding environment and deepening challenges felt by young people. In 2024-25, the network saw young people moving into Youth Foyers facing a number of intersecting challenges (see graph to the right).
Since 2018, the needs of the young people they work with have grown, including an increase in the number of young people who: have experience of the care system; speak English as an additional language; have disabilities; are refugees, asylum seekers or unaccompanied minors; face mental health challenges (see p17).
% of young people moving into a Youth Foyer in 2024-25 who...*
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...have a mental health challenge 40.0% 33.7%
( diagnosed / non-diagnosed )
...have an identified issue with 39.8%
substance or alcohol misuse
...have a disability 37.9%
...have experience of
35.8%
the care system
...have experience of
15.0%
the justice system
...speak English as an 14.3%
additional language
...identify as LGBTQ+ 12.2%
...are refugees, asylum seekers
or unaccompanied minors 10.8%
5.9
...are parents
%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
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*Based on 427 young people who moved into 19 Youth Foyers between April 2024 and March 2025.
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...had experience of the care system
% of young people moving into Youth Foyers who...
40%
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30%
20%
10%
0%
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
25.7% 28.0% 27.4% 20.9% 29.7% 30.3% 35.8%
...spoke English as an additional language
20%
10%
0%
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
8.6% 12.8% 12.3% 15.1% 16.9% 37.9% 14.3%
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...were facing mental health challenges
Diagnosed condition Non-diagnosed challenge
80%
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70% 10%
60% 0%
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
25.7% 28.0% 27.4% 20.9% 29.7% 30.3% 35.8%
50%
...spoke English as an additional language
20%
40%
30%
10%
20%
10%
alt] 0%
0%
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
8.6% 12.8% 12.3% 15.1% 16.9% 37.9% 14.3%
38.9% 45.8% 49.6% 38.0% 27.5% 31.7% 33.7%
- - - 35.4% 38.1% 38.7% 40.1%
...were refeguees, asylum seekers or
...had a disability unaccompanied minors
40% 20%
30%
20% 10%
10%
0% a 0% Ha
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
- - - 17.4% 27.1% 24.6% 37.9% 8.4% 11.3% 6.7% 7.9% 14.6% 14.0% 10.8%
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
Alongside this growth in need, the capacity of Youth Foyers to support young people has trended downwards: the average number of staff per Youth Foyer employed to work with young people and the average number of hours of support a young person receives per week have decreased.
However, despite this increase in challenge and decrease in capacity, Youth Foyers continue to have a strong and meaningful impact on the lives of young people.
Average Youth Foyer staff caseload vs. hours of
support per young person
% of young people who moved on from a Youth Foyer in 2024-25 having made progress in...*
Average number of young people per staff member’s caseload
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Average hours of support each young person receives
20
15
10
5
0
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
15.1 10.4 9.3 10.1 8.9 9.4 8.5
4.3 3.4 4.2 4.0 5.0 3.8 2.9
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Education 64.4%
Finance 82.3%
Health & Wellbeing 79.5%
Personal Development 84.4%
Social Skills 86.3%
Employment 63.8%
Housing 84.6%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
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*Based on 409 young people who moved on from 19 Youth Foyers between April 2024 to March 2025.
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% of young people who moved out having made progress in ‘employment’
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70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
37.7% 47.4% 49.5% 65.4% 66.4% 57.4% 63.8%
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Since 2018, the percentage of young people moving on from Youth Foyers having made progress in employment outcomes has trended steadily upwards, increasing from 37.7% in 18-19 to 63.8% in 24-25. However the difference between the number of young people in employment on departure vs. arrival has been narrowing since its peak in 21-22 (see graphs to the left).
In addition to this, while progress in education has trended gently upwards and health and wellbeing and housing outcomes have remained constant (see p20), we are seeing a downward trend in outcomes relating to personal development and - to a lesser degree - social skills and finance (see p21).
% of young people in employment
On arrival When moving out
40%
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30%
20%
10%
0%
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
11.9% 12.0% 11.5% 17.5% 16.6% 18.8% 17.1%
17.8% 23.1% 29.2% 37.3% 37.3% 32.3% 29.8%
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% of young people who moved out having made progress in...
Education
Health & Wellbeing
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2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
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Housing
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% of young people who moved out having made progress in...
Finance
Personal Development
| 100% | 100% | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20% 40% 60% 80% 10% 30% 50% 70% 0% 90% |
2018-19 98.1 % |
2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 89.8 % 93.2 % 95.3 % 92.7 % 86.4 % =. |
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2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
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Our goal for 2024-25 then was to develop a stronger understanding of the key characteristics of a Youth Foyer and reevaluate how we can meaningfully work with services so that the hallmark holistic impact of a Youth Foyer can be maintained in the face of rising contextual challenges.
To that end, we developed the Youth Foyer Quality Standards to describe fundamental principles of a high quality service, and we developed a Foyer Federation Theory of Change (see p23) to articulate how we support services to embed these Quality Standards and deliver impactful work with young people who can’t live at home.
This Theory of Change allows us to reframe and reprioritise our work with the network to address contextual challenges and develop services’:
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Resilience to external challenges.
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Capacity to work holistically with young people.
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High quality provision that centres youth voice.
With a firmer understanding of both our impact and Youth Foyers’ impact, we are now in a stronger position to tailor, monitor and evaluate our work to meet the needs of the network; develop agile approaches to external challenges; and strengthen our own resilience and capacity as a membership charity.
As we move into 2025-26, our focus in this area is to develop a robust impact framework to allow us to effectively measure and report not just on young people’s long term outcomes but on the journeys and development of Youth Foyers themselves.
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
The Foyer Federation Theory of Change
| CONTEXT | THE FOYER | YOUTH SUPPORTED | YOUNG PEOPLE | IMPACT | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young people experiencing homelessness are more likely to experience it later in life too. Youth supported housing services enable young people to manage short term circumstances. Many youth supported housing services prioritise short term contractual obligations over young people’s long term outcomes. Prioritising young people’s long term outcomes earlier reduces the chances of repeat homelessness. Strengths-based approaches to working with young people achieve better long term outcomes. CONTEXT |
…works with youth supported housing services to build resilience, capacity and quality, prioritising young people’s long term outcomes. The Foyer Federation works with youth supported housing services to: develop high quality infrastructure; embed strengths-based and youth-led approaches; provide training and opportunities for staff to connect, share learning and co-create resources; fill gaps in provision with programmes for young people. FEDERATION |
…become safe, stable and nurturing communities that provide holistic support to set and achieve their goals. Youth supported housing services build: resilience to external challenges; capacity to work holistically with young people; high quality provision that centres youth voice. HOUSING SERVICES |
…move on from youth supported housing with greater agency and power in their lives, equipped to thrive as independent adults. More young people move on from supported housing with: a route towards employment; skills for living independently; positive health and wellbeing; a sense of purpose and connection to the wider world and society; power and agency to set and achieve their goals. YOUNG PEOPLE |
Young people who can’t live at home can realise their power and purpose. IMPACT |
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
b) Expanding the reach and effectiveness of our communications.
The Foyer Federation has a rich history and track record of working nationally to build quality in youth supported housing services. Most recently, through the 2021-24 ‘A Home for Advantaged Thinking’ strategy, we have established a reputation as pioneers in strengths-based approaches in the sector.
As the supported housing landscape has evolved over the last 30+ years and as services and young people face new and developing challenges, the 2025-30 strategy sets out ambitious goals to reestablish Youth Foyer as the contemporary gold standard in high quality provision for young people who can’t live at home. Our identity and brand are therefore central to achieving this strategy and, in October 2024, we invested in a new head of communications to shape this.
In December 2024, we launched our new Foyer Federation website, which offers greater accessibility and better communicates our work and purpose to key stakeholders and, building on the successful addition of the Advantaged Thinking brand through our 2021-24 strategy, we developed a clear brand hierarchy, identifying:
- ‘The Foyer Federation’ as a parent brand, with a distinct position and voice in the sector and a unique value proposition to drive investment towards our core work;
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
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‘Advantaged Thinking’ as a sub-brand, acting as our innovation arm and mechanism for reach and mobility beyond the homelessness sector;
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and a new ‘Youth Foyer’ sub-brand to define our vision for the youth supported housing sector, encompassing the rich history of the Foyer approach and adding credibility to the Foyer Federation parent brand.
Through these brands, we have developed clearer avenues for reach and, combined with our new Theory of Change, we are able to create compelling messaging and stories to drive engagement and investment across our work.
As we move into 2025-26, our focus will be on developing strategies to grow our reach of these brands through partnerships with young people and organisations in the wider sector, securing meaningful engagement and support that is key to our 2025-30 strategy.
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
c) Developing better internal systems for the relationship management of our member network.
i) CRM: As we develop our understanding of the impact of the challenges that our network is facing and solidify our unique position in supporting services to build their resilience, capacity and quality, it is important that we have strong systems to monitor engagement and impact.
In 2024-25, we began testing the Totara platform with the network to learn more about the user experience, as well as the platform’s limitations and opportunities for development. During testing, we learned of significant barriers to developing the system further.
In 2024-25, we began development of our CRM system to allow for more nimble approaches to relationship management, and for stronger insights on both the short and long term impact of our work on services and young people.
This work is ongoing and will continue into 202526, with a focus on tailoring the CRM around our impact framework and embedding best practice across the team.
ii) Advantaged Thinking Hub: A strong focus for 2024-25 was on building and rolling out the Advantaged Thinking Hub (ATHub) to the network.
The ATHub was intended to be a dynamic learning and development environment. Shaped and maintained by the Youth Foyer community, the purpose of the online learning management system was to provide a space for young people and staff in Youth Foyers to develop a rich ‘living curriculum’, with accessible and engaging learning materials crafted and curated by the people who use them.
These barriers undermined a key strategic aim of the platform to support independent learning, which means that, as we move into 2025-26, we will be shifting our focus to building a legacy of the ATHub and transferring learning resources to more accessible systems.
The original motivation behind the ATHub remains, however. Throughout 2025-26, our priority will be to work with young people to develop a practical learning framework, directly answering the question, ‘What learning should young people experience in Youth Foyers?’ so that the network is able to confidently deliver high quality learning with young people who can’t live at home; and we will continue to build and share a bank of curated and accessible learning materials to accompany it.
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2. THE RIGHT PEOPLE Nurturing and growing the staff and trustee team to effectively deliver the strategic aims in line with our values. ~~a~~ 27 THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25 CO
2. The right people
a) Ensuring young people continue to share power at all levels of the organisation.
In 2024-25, we developed a refreshed Youth Involvement & Influencing Policy and methodology to test and implement meaningful ways of partnering with young people throughout the Foyer Federation. This work creates a clear pathway for youth engagement and offers staff a roadmap to guide young people consistently and supportively throughout their involvement journey.
Through this work, we have been able to build a roster of Young Consultants - young people with lived experience of Youth Foyer - who are paid for their insights and expertise in youth supported housing. Young Consultants have played a vital role in our work throughout 2024-25, including actively contributing on programme steering groups, developing learning resources and making decisions on funding. We have also begun developing a Young Trainers programme to grow our training capacity and offer meaningful paid opportunities to young people.
In 2024-25, we also successfully drew our Youth Power Fund to a close. The Youth Power Fund gave Youth Foyers in our network access to pots of funding to support innovation and creativity around youth leadership and empowerment. Our goal was to champion new thinking, long-term change and youth-led approaches, and challenge existing power structures, providing a catalyst for young people to lead in their local community and beyond. You can read our final impact report here.
Moving into 2025-26, we will continue to build on this strong foundation of youth involvement, aiming to recruit Young Trustees to our board and facilitate meaningful opportunities for young people to shape our future programmes; research and actively understand best practice in youth supported housing; and amplify their voices to strengthen wider systems that affect young people’s lives.
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b) Building the diversity, skills and experience of the staff team; and creating and shaping new and existing staff roles to deliver the strategy effectively.
i) New roles: In 2024-25, we created four new roles to build our capacity and resilience, and strengthen the Foyer Federation across operations, development and delivery.
Finance Manager, whose focus has been
-
on transitioning our financial management inhouse from an external agency, which has ensured that we are able to have stronger understanding and oversight of our financial position, and become more resilient and nimble to financial challenges.
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Business Development Officer, whose focus on outreach within the sector has built our knowledge and understanding of the barriers that youth supported housing services face in engaging with the Foyer Federation, which in turn enables us to evolve our core work to better support services to build resilience, capacity and quality in the face of sectoral challenges.
Digital Projects & Learning Coordinator,
who has focussed on digital operations in the Foyer Federation and who has been instrumental in developing the accessibility of our learning resources and developing our CRM, which enables us to increase our agility in relationship building, stakeholder management and impact monitoring.
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Head of Communications, who has
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developed our brand identity and Theory of Change, enabling us to to create a compelling case for support and strategically demonstrate the value of the Foyer Federation and our work to key stakeholders.
These additions to the team have also brought a welcome diversity of experience and perspective, increasing representation of global majority backgrounds, neurodivergence and lived experience of homelessness. This diversity will enable us to draw on a rich and diverse knowledge base and build the accessibility of our work and approach.
ii) Policies, procedures and responsibilities: The following policies and procedures were drafted, reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees during the period: Compliments, Complaints & Comments Policy, Ethical Fundraising Policy, Expenses Policy, Fixed Asset Policy, Flexible Working Policy, Gifts and Hospitality Policy, Menopause Policy, Reserves Policy, Safeguarding Policy & Procedure, and Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy.
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3. THE RIGHT INCOME
Building a diverse and sustainable income base to deliver the strategy in line with the mission.
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3. The right income
a) Growing the amount and percentage mix of our earned income, including membership, training and the strategic partner offer.
In 2024-25, we delivered a total of 30 training sessions, reaching 378 people, with an average feedback rating of 4.75/5.
With a consistent income stream from our training packages, we have identified opportunities to scale this up. As we move into 2025-26, we are exploring opportunities to extend our training offer both beyond the youth supported housing sector in order to strategically embed the Advantaged Thinking approach into wider systems that young people encounter; and within the network by creating new training packages that further build Youth Foyers’ resilience, capacity and quality, such as Advantaged Thinking in Communications & Fundraising.
Advantaged Thinking Sessions Delivered: 13 People Reached: 204 Average Rating (out of 5): 4.76
Coaching
| Coaching | |
|---|---|
| Sessions Delivered: | 12 |
| People Reached: | 129 |
| Average Rating (out of 5): | 4.69 |
Restorative Practice Sessions Delivered: 3 People Reached: 34 Average Rating (out of 5): 4.87
| Trauma Informed Practice | |
|---|---|
| Sessions Delivered: | 2 |
| People Reached: | 11 |
| Average Rating (out of 5): | 5 |
TOTAL
Sessions Delivered: 30 People Reached: 378 Average Rating (out of 5): 4.75
THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
b) Effectively communicating a compelling case for investment in the Foyer Federation to future funders.
Throughout 2024-25, we have evolved our approach to income generation, with the goal of reducing our reliance on programme funding in the long term and developing more varied income streams to support our core charitable work.
The development of our Theory of Change and evaluation from previous programmes has enabled us to narrow down our programme asks to areas in which we are able to evidence meaningful impact, aligned with our mission. With a clearer understanding of our impact and identity, we have also developed a new case for support that draws on insights from the sector and builds a compelling narrative around the current supported housing landscape and our role within it.
As we move into 2025-26, our strategic priority will be to develop partnerships and programmes that work with the network to develop young people’s long term outcomes in Employment & Enterprise, and Housing & Move On, alongside using our case for support to drive investment into the Foyer Federation’s core purpose.
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
Our 2025-26 Priorities
Our work throughout 2024-25 has built a solid foundation for the Foyer Federation in the face of significant contextual challenges, and our purpose moving forward remains the same: to support the development of transformational living and learning communities so that young people who can’t live at home can realise their power and purpose.
Our priorities for 2025-26 are to continue building on this foundation - staying true to our purpose - to further strengthen the Foyer Federation, create agility in our work to better meet the needs of our network, and build resilience and sustainability across the charity.
Our goals for 2025-26 are therefore to:
Continue developing our impact framework, aligned with our new Theory of Change, to better monitor and evaluate the impact of our work on youth supported housing services and the young people they work with.
- Continue developing the Foyer Federation brand to drive investment in our core purpose; and the Youth Foyer brand to reestablish Youth Foyer as the gold standard in youth supported housing.
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
Develop a robust and sustainable core menu of opportunities for youth supported housing services to build their resilience, capacity and quality, in line with our new Youth Foyer Quality Standards and framed by our new Foyer Federation Theory of Change.
Continue developing our CRM system and embed data management best practice across our team to create agility in relationship management and impact measurement.
Launch a Youth Foyer Learning Framework with accompanying resources to support the network to deliver high quality learning opportunities with young people.
Build on our strong foundation of youth involvement by recruiting Young Trustees and creating opportunities for young people to shape our programmes; research best practice in youth supported housing; and influence systems that affect their lives.
Build partnerships and programmes that support young people’s long term outcomes in ‘Employment & Enterprise’ and ‘Housing & Move On’.
Expand our training offer beyond and within the network.
Continue developing our case for support to drive investment into the Foyer Federation’s core purpose.
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Fundraising statement
The Foyer Federation recognises that, in accepting funding from statutory bodies, it must consider the policy implications and obligations that might be tied to it and ensure that these do not contravene the aims of The Foyer Federation. The Foyer Federation can seek to raise funds from a series of charitable Trusts and Foundations, but recognises that, simply because these have been registered with the Charity Commission does not mean that they are ethical givers. The Foyer Federation therefore does not accept money from any charitable Trust if it is a requirement of grant receipt to advertise any company or organisation whose activities run contrary to the Foyer Federation’s aims.
The Foyer Federation will maintain accountability and open and honest relationships with all its partners, by regularly monitoring and evaluating its work. This statement of policy is meant as a working guide for the Foyer Federation. Any final decisions will be governed by the Board of Trustees. It is the duty of the Board to advise of any potential conflicts of interest with regards to funding or partnerships, and for the Board to act in the best interests of the Foyer Federation at all times.
The Foyer Federation adopted an Ethical Fundraising Policy during the period.
Pay policy for senior staff
The salaries of the Chief Executive and other members of the Senior Leadership Team are reviewed, along with those of all staff employed by the Charity, on an annual basis as the Charity sets its budget for the coming year. Salaries are benchmarked against equivalent roles in the sector, and Trustees agree the salaries of senior staff. Trustees also take an annual view as to whether to instigate a cost of living increase for all staff.
Reserves policy
As part of financial management and forward planning, we do not wish to hold levels of reserves which may tie up money unnecessarily, and limit the amount spent on the potential benefits we provide. We wish to strike a balance to protect our solvency and future activities.
We have an established agreement amongst Trustees to hold between three and six months’ operating costs in
reserve. In addition, the Trustees may choose to set aside designated funds for a specific project or purpose for the next financial year.
We have a risk management policy and process which enables Trustees to monitor financial risk to the organisation in relation to achieving our strategic plan and operating our core offer to members and young people. Quarterly Finance, Audit & Risk Committee meetings and at least four Board meetings a year provide opportunity to scrutinise risk.
The strategic plan contains activities that cannot be met from a single year’s funding, and we are developing an income generation strategy to ensure funds are there to deliver the plan. We are also alert to the possibility of unexpected risks to the charity which are monitored through the risk register.
It is the intention of Trustees to build reserves from unrestricted income. Trustees believe this to be prudent and necessary for a number of purposes:
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To enable the organisation to continue to operate while finalising future income streams;
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To support innovative projects which need a period of testing and development and whose outcome may support future funding bids;
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To support the strategic direction of the charity and, where necessary, to underwrite the costs of strategic change;
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To cover support costs and unplanned expenditure in periods when these are not covered by generated income.
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To give Trustees time to take appropriate action if income falls below expectations;
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To fund short-term deficits in a cash budget i.e. before a funding grant is received
Risk management
The Foyer Federation has a formal risk management process through which the major risks to which the organisation may be exposed are ranked by likelihood and impact, culminating in a risk control document
which is updated on a regular basis. The Trustees review all significant risks together with current mitigation and control actions regularly throughout the year. The Trustees are satisfied that systems have been developed and are in place to mitigate identified risks to an acceptable level.
The principal risk facing the charity is the ability to secure a stable and diverse funding base to achieve the long term strategy; increasing generated income is central to the charity’s future success as well as securing corporate support and growing a donation base. A number of core and programme grants have reached the end of their 3 year period and the charity will need to replace these with new grants or broaden the income streams. In 2024-25, the charity invested in a new Business Development Coordinator role to support traded income growth.
Governing document
The Foyer Federation is a company limited by guarantee governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association, adopted 29th January 1992 and amended by special resolutions passed 17th August 1994, 14th July 1998, and 19th January 2015. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission. Members of the Company are the Trustees of the organisation, each of whom agrees to contribute £1 towards the costs of dissolution in the event of the Charity winding up.
Trustees
The Chair is appointed by unanimous agreement of the Board of Trustees. Trustees have the power to appoint other Trustees, three of whom are elected from the membership of the UK Foyer network (as distinct from membership of the Company). Trustees also have the power to co-opt additional members to fill specialist roles.
The Charity appointed a new Treasurer during the period following the resignation of the previous role holder.
All new Trustees undergo an induction process which includes briefings on their legal obligations under charity law, the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, and informs them of the content of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the committee and decision making processes, the business plan and recent financial performance of the charity. During the induction they meet key employees and other Trustees. Trustees are
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
encouraged to attend appropriate training events where these will facilitate the undertaking of their role.
The Board of Trustees administers the charity. The Board normally meets quarterly and there are sub-committees covering Finance, Audit & Risk and Nominations. A Chief Executive is appointed by the Trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the Charity. The Chief Executive has delegated authority, within terms of delegation approved by Trustees, for operational matters including finance, employment, and the delivery of services to members and partners.
No Trustee receives remuneration or other benefit from their work with the charity, aside from the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses.
Any connection between a Trustee or senior manager of the charity and any supplier of services to the charity must be disclosed to the full Board of Trustees, as with any other contractual relationship with a related party. A formal Register of Interests is maintained and managed by the Company Secretary and is updated annually and as new interests arise. Trustees are prompted to declare interests in agenda items at the start of every committee and Board meeting. The Board of Trustees has an agreed process whereby supply contracts over a certain value must be tendered openly. In the current year related party transactions have been disclosed in note 17.
Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements
The charity Trustees (who are also the directors of the Foyer Federation for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing a Trustees’ annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the charity Trustees to prepare financial statements for each year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, for that period. In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
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Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
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Make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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State whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial 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.
Financial review
2024-25 was a year of consolidation for the charity, with continued pressure on costs and salaries. The charity finished with a deficit of £106k for the year (overall surplus in 2024 £84k))
Income in 2024-25 decreased from £832k to £518k with £214k of this restricted funding. Restricted expenditure was greater than funds received, and the charity expended most of the restricted funds brought forward from the previous financial year, this explains the shift from large surplus in 23-24 to deficit in 24-25 – the receipt of restricted funds in 23-24 but with the related spend in 24-25.
On 31 March 2025 The Foyer Federation had Restricted Reserves of £17k. Unrestricted Reserves stood at £293k.
Going concern
The Board of Trustees has reviewed the financial position and consequently believes there are sufficient resources to manage any foreseeable operational or financial risks. The board therefore considers there is a reasonable expectation that Foyer Federation has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for at least a year from the date of signing this Trustees’ Report and Accounts and for the foreseeable future. For this reason the board of Trustees continues to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the accounts.
Statement as to disclosure to our Independent Examiner
In so far as the Trustees are aware at the time of approving our Trustees’ annual report:
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There is no relevant information, being information needed by the Independent Examiner in connection with preparing their report, of which the charity’s Independent Examiner is unaware, and
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The Trustees, having made enquiries of fellow directors and the charity’s auditor that they ought to have individually taken, have each taken all steps that he/she is obliged to take as a director in order to make themselves aware of any relevant information and to establish that the Independent Examiner is aware of that information
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The Trustees have prepared the report in accordance with the special provisions relating to companies subject to the small companies’ regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.
The Trustees’ report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Alastair Wilson Trustee Date: 20th November 2025
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT PERIOD ENDING 31 MARCH 2025 TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE FOYER FEDERATION
I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of The Foyer Federation (the Charitable Company) for the year ended 31 March 2025.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the Trustees of the Charitable Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the Charitable Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the Charitable Company’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent Examiner’s Statement
Since the Charitable Company’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I can confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the ICAEW, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charitable Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
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the financial statements do not comply with the applicable requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of the independent examination; or
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the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
Use of my report
This report is made solely to the Board, in accordance with section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. My independent examination has been undertaken so that I might state to the Board those matters I am required to state to them in an Independent Examiner’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Board, for my independent examination or for this report.
Signed:
Cathy Hood FCA DChA ICAEW 137 Barlows Lane Liverpool L9 9HZ Date: 19th November 2025
- the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | Funds | 2025 | Funds | Funds | 2024 | ||
| 2025 | 2025 | 2024 | 2024 | ||||
| Notes | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Income from: | |||||||
| Donations and legacies | 4 | 1,629 | - | 1,629 | 12,151 | - | 12,151 |
| Charitable activities | 5 | 369,014 | 214,081 | 515,416 | 369,014 | 451,628 | 820,642 |
| Investments (interest) | 1,092 | - | 1,092 | - | - | - | |
| Total income | 304,056 | 214,081 | 518,137 | 381,165 | 451,628 | 832,793 | |
| Expenditure on: | 6 | ||||||
| Charitable activities | 304,574 | 320,103 | 624,677 | 300,932 | 447,367 | 748,299 | |
| Net income for the year / Net movement in funds | (518) | (106,022) | (106,540) | 80,233 | 4,261 | 84,494 | |
| Fund balances at 1 April 2024 | 294,250 | 123,486 | 417,736 | 294,250 | 123,486 | 417,736 | |
| Fund balances at 31 March 2025 | 293,732 | 17,464 | 311,196 |
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies act 2006.
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2025
| Notes | £ £ 2024 £ £ 2025 SECCSTSCSCS—SCSCSC‘(‘CCts |
£ £ 2024 £ £ 2025 SECCSTSCSCS—SCSCSC‘(‘CCts |
£ £ 2024 £ £ 2025 SECCSTSCSCS—SCSCSC‘(‘CCts |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed assets | ||||
| Intangible assets | 9 | 28,079 | 22,413 | |
| Tangible assets | 10 | 1,975 | 2,070 | |
| 30,054 | 24,483 | |||
| Current assets | ||||
| Debtors and Prepayments | 11 | 20,839 | 18,289 | |
| Cash at bank and in hand | 338,455 | 448,343 | ||
| 359,294 | 466,632 | |||
| Creditors: amounts falling due | 12 | |||
| within one year | (78,152) | (73,379) | ||
| Net current assets | 281,142 | 393,253 | ||
| Total assets less current liabilities | 311,196 | 417,736 | ||
| 13 | ||||
| Creditors: amounts falling due | - | - | ||
| after more than one year | ||||
| Net assets | 311,196 | 417,736 | ||
| Income funds | ||||
| Restricted funds | 123,486 | 123,486 | ||
| Unrestricted funds | ||||
| 16 | ||||
| Designated funds | 30,000 | 30.000 | ||
| 17 | ||||
| General unrestricted funds | 157,709 | 264,250 | ||
| 311,196 | 417,736 |
The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 March 2025. The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.
The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 7th October 2025.
Alastair Wilson Trustee Company registration number 02699839
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024
1. Accounting policies
Charity information
The Foyer Federation is a company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office can be found on the legal and administrative page. At 31 March 2025 there were 10 members, all of whom have undertaken to contribute £1 to the company’s assets in the event of the company being wound up.
Accounting Convention
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charitable Company’s [governing document], the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” (effective 1 January 2019). The Charitable Company is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Charitable Company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
1.1 Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis
In order to comply with the principle of going concern, the trustees have considered at length the Charity’s current and future planned business activities including uncertainty around current and future income, the current level of reserves and the principal risks as set out in the Report of Board of Trustees. The Trustees regularly reviews the Foyer’s financial forecast, adjusting it as appropriate and amending related costs as appropriate.
The trustees are satisfied that the Charity will be able to operate within the level of its existing and forecast funds and reserves for the foreseeable future. As such, the accounts are prepared on a going concern basis.
1.2 Charitable funds
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the direction of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
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 subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
1.3 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. Recognition of income is deferred where condition specify that such income relates to future accounting periods. Where donors specify that funds are for specific purposes such income is included in incoming resources of restricted funds.
Donations and gifts are included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when there is entitlement, probability of receipt and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.
Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred. Income is recognised on a receivable basis once the amounts can be measured reliably.
1.4 Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings.
Cost of raising funds comprise the percentage costs of a designated member of staff whose role contains funding development as well as any direct costs relating to fundraising and their associated support costs.
Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of all activities undertaken to further the purposes of the charity relating to the strategic vision and their associated support costs.
Allocation of support costs
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back-office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the Charity’s activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of resources expended for which it was incurred.
1.5 Intangible fixed assets other than goodwill
Intangible assets acquired separately from a business are recognised at cost and are subsequently measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses. Amortisation is calculated on a straight line basis to write down the value of the assets over their expected useful lives at a rate of 20% per annum.
Intangible assets acquired on business combinations are recognised separately from goodwill at the acquisition date where it is probable that the expected future economic benefits that are attributable to the asset will flow to the entity and the fair value of the asset can be measured reliably; the intangible asset arises from contractual or other legal rights; and the intangible asset is separable from the entity.
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1.6 Tangible fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses. All assets with a life of more than 12 months over £500 are capitalised.
Depreciation is calculated on a straight line basis to write down the value of the assets over their expected useful lives at the following rates:
Leasehold improvements: Over the Lifetime of the Lease Plant and equipment: 20% Per Annum
Fixtures and fittings: 20% Per Annum
Computers: 33.3% Per Annum
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
1.7 Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
1.8 Financial instruments
The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments, including trade and other debtors and creditors are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.
1.9 Employee benefits
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
or to provide termination benefits.
The Foyer Federation operates a defined contribution pension scheme for the benefit of its employees. The assets of the scheme are held independently from those of the Foyer Federation in an independently administered fund. The pension costs charged in the financial statements represent the contributions payable during the year.
1.10 Leases
Rentals payable under operating leases are charged in the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight-line basis over the life of the lease.
1.11 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.
1.12 Creditors and provisions
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity and group has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discount due.
2. Judgement in applying accounting policies and key resources of estimation uncertainty
Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Although these estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of the amount, events or actions, actual results may ultimately differ from those estimates. The trustees consider the following items to be areas subject to estimation and judgement.
3. Depreciation
The usual economic lives of tangible fixed assets are based on management’s judgement and experience. When management identifies that actual useful lives differ materially from the estimates used to calculate depreciation, that charge is adjusted retrospectively. As tangible fixed assets are not significant variances between actual and estimated useful economic lives will not have a material impact on the operating results. Historically no changes have been required.
4. Donations and Legacies
| Restricted | Unrestricted | |
|---|---|---|
| Funds | Funds | |
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Donations and gifts | 1,629 | 12,151 |
| 1,629 | 12,151 |
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the Charitable Company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
5. Charitable activities
| 5. Charitable activities |
||
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | |
| FOR Youth Accreditation programme | 8,691 | 9,961 |
| The Ellis Campbell Foundation | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| Paul Hamlyn Foundation - Core Grant | 52,730 | 36,240 |
| The Listening Fund | - | 25,000 |
| Dulverton Trust - Core Grant | - | 30,000 |
| The Blagrave Trust - Youth Power Fund | - | 110,200 |
| The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| National Lottery Community Fund | 114,581 | 113,254 |
| John Ellerman Foundation - Core Grant | - | 32,000 |
| Network membership fees | 90,300 | 105,725 |
| Training Income | 46,958 | 59,088 |
| Landaid Trust | 5,000 | 85,000 |
| UK Youth - Thriving Minds | 49,500 | 35,000 |
| CHK Foundation | 30,000 | 63,000 |
| Investor membership fees | 54,656 | 51,000 |
| John Coates Charitable Trust | - | 5,000 |
| Garfield Weston Foundation Homeless Link: A Fair Deal - Action Research Fund |
- - |
40,000 5,174 |
| Berkeley Foundation Albert Hunt Trust Analysis by fund Unrestricted funds |
41,000 7,000 515,416 301,335 |
- - 820,642 369,014 |
| Restricted funds | 214,081 | 451,628 |
| 515,416 | 820,642 |
6. Charitable activities
| 6. Charitable activities |
FOYERY | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Staff Costs | 409,698 | 359,990 |
| Activities Undertaken Directly | 136,888 | 279,131 |
| Support Cost | 76,276 | 107,366 |
| Independent Examiner Fees | 1,500 | 1,500 |
| Bank Charges | 315 | 312 |
| 624,677 | 748,299 | |
| Analysis by fund | ||
| Unrestricted funds | 304,574 | 300,932 |
| Restricted funds | 320,103 | 447,367 |
| 624,677 | 748,299 |
7. Trustees
No emoluments were paid to any of the Charity’s Trustees during the financial year (2024: £Nil). No Trustees were paid anything (2024: None) for attending Board meetings throughout the year. Total travel expenses reimbursed to 3 trustees during the financial year were £964 (2024: £895). No other expenses were reimbursed to the Charity’s Trustees during the financial year (2024: None).
8. Employees
| 8. Employees |
||
|---|---|---|
| Employment Costs | 2025 | 2024 |
| £ | £ | |
| Wages and salaries | 355,688 | 313,934 |
| Social Security Costs | 31,629 | 27,220 |
| Other: pension costs | 21,342 | 18,836 |
| Other: redundancy costs | 1,039 | - |
| 409,698 | 359,990 |
The Charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme, whose assets are held separately from those of the Charity in an independently administered group personal pension plan.
Pension contributions payable by the Charity in the twelve months amounted to £21,342 (2024: £18,836); Contributions totalling £8,005 (2024: £5,582) were payable to the scheme at the year-end and are included in creditors.
The key management personnel of the charity as agreed by the trustees are the trustees and Senior Management Team, comprising the Executive Director and Non-Executive Directors. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel were £190,293 (2024 - £172,120). There is one employee who received total employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeding £60,000 (2024: 1). The management team comprises of 4 people. No trustee received any remuneration in respect to their services as a trustee during the year (2024: £nil).
Average number of employees during the year is 10 (2024 - 8)
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
9. Intangible fixed assets
| 9. Intangible fixed assets |
|
|---|---|
| Patents & | |
| licenses | |
| £ | |
| Cost | |
| At 1 April 2024 | 28,967 |
| Additions - separately acquired | 10,626 |
| At 31 March 2025 | 39,593 |
| Amortisation and impairment | |
| At 1 April 2024 | 6,553 |
| Amortisation charged for the year | 4,961 |
| At 31 March 2025 | 11,514 |
| Carrying amount | |
| At 31 March 2025 | 28,079 |
| At 31 March 2024 | 22,414 |
10. Tangible fixed assets
| Fixtures and fittings |
Computers | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Cost | |||
| At 1 April 2024 | 620 | 7,694 | 8,314 |
| Additions | - | 2,004 | 2,004 |
| At March 2025 | 620 | 9,698 | 10,318 |
| Depreciation and | |||
| impairment | |||
| At April 2024 | 320 | 5,924 | 6,244 |
| Depreciation charged | 124 | 1,975 | 2,009 |
| in the year | |||
| At 31 March 2025 | 444 | 7,899 | 8,343 |
| Carrying amount | |||
| At 31 March 2025 | 176 | 1,799 | 1,975 |
| At 31 March 2024 | 300 | 1,770 | 2,070 |
11. Debtors
| 11. Debtors |
FOYERY | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| Amounts falling due within one year | £ | £ |
| Trade debtors | 6,471 | 15,820 |
| Prepayments and accrued income | 10,763 | 2,469 |
| Bike2Work control account | 3,605 | - |
| 20,839 | 18,289 |
12. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
| 2025 | 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | £ | £ | |
| Deferred income | 14 | 45,650 | 42,993 |
| Trade creditors | 12,221 | 13,614 | |
| Taxation & Social Security | 10,777 | 7,690 | |
| Other creditors | 8,004 | 5,582 | |
| Accruals | 1,500 | 3,500 | |
| 78,152 | 73,379 |
13. Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year
| Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year |
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one | Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Bank loans | - | - |
14. Deferred income
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Deferred income included within: | ||
| Current liabilities | 46,650 | 42,993 |
| Movements in the year: | ||
| Deferred income at 1 April 2024 | 42,993 123,490 | 42,993 123,490 |
| Released from previous periods | (42,993) (123,490) | (42,993) (123,490) |
| Resources deferred in the year | 46,650 42,993 | 46,650 42,993 |
| Deferred income at 31 March 2025 | 46,650 | 42,993 |
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
15. Restricted Funds
The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes.
Movement in Funds
| Balance at | Balance at | Incoming | Resources | Transfers | Balance at | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 April 2024 | 1 April 2024 | resources | expended | 31 March | |||||
| 2025 | |||||||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |||||
| The Ellis Campbell Foundation | - | 5,000 | (5,000) | - | - | ||||
| The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust | - | 10,000 | (10,000) | - | - | ||||
| CHK Foundation | 1,500 | 30,000 | (31,500) | - | - | ||||
| National Lottery Community Fund | 61,952 | 114,581 | (159,069) | - | 17,464 | ||||
| The Blagrave Trust & Listening Fund | 56,023 | - | (56,023) | - | - | ||||
| Landaid Trust | - | 5,000 | (5,000) | - | - | ||||
| UK Youth - Thriving Minds | 4,011 | 49,500 | (53,511) | - | - | ||||
| 123,486 | 214,081 | (320,103) | - | 17,464 |
Listening Fund - grant to regularly engage with young people from across the Federation, promote good listening amongst member organisations, and to build and sustain a community of national influencers.
Blagrave Trust - Youth Power Fund: grant to fund innovation in youth power and involvement for 7 local Foyers with learning and good practice sharing between the funded cohort and to the wider network.
National Lottery Community Fund: development of an Advantaged Thinking Learning Community (ATLC) to empower young people to reflect, develop agency and progress in their life journey while contributing to the shape and quality of their service. The aim of the learning community is to increase access to engaging learning content for young people and address gaps in Foyer learning provision.
UK Youth - Thriving Minds: The aim of the funded programme named ‘ReRooted’ is to create the right environment for young people to flourish. Through a programme that combines skill development, practical resources and community learning, Foyer staff have the opportunity to strengthen their practice, deepen their awareness, grow their confidence, and build environments that young people can feel safe in, ready to grow.
CHK Foundation - ReRooted: See UK Youth above. This programme was funded by both CHK and UK Youth with CHK Foundation having a focus on the work with care experienced young people.
LandAid Trust - Moving on Up Fund: The Foyer Federation teamed up with LandAid Trust to provide grants of up to £1000 to young people living in our member services - supporting them to successfully transition from supported accommodation into independent living.
The Ellis Campbell Foundation: supporting the delivery of the Foyer Federation’s youth leadership programme, to ensure young people are represented in positions of power across the Foyer network and support all Foyers to embed youth leadership structures and activities at a local level.
The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust: A contribution to the Foyer Federation’s general activities
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
16. Designated funds
The income funds of the charity include the following designated funds, which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes:
| Balance at | Balance at | Incoming | Resources | Balance at | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 April 2024 | 1 April 2024 | resources | expended | 31 March | |||
| 2025 | |||||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||||
| Enhanced maternity pay | |||||||
| designated fund | 30,000 | - | - | 30,000 |
17. Analysis of net assets between funds
| Unrestricted | Unrestricted | Restricted | Restricted | Total | Unrestricted | Restricted | Restricted | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | Funds | Funds | Funds | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | ||||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | ||||||
| Fund balances at 31 March 2024 are | Fund balances at 31 March 2024 are | ||||||||||
| represented by: | |||||||||||
| Intangible fixed assets | 28,079 | - | 28,079 | 22,413 | - | 22,413 | |||||
| Tangible assets | 1,975 | - | 1,975 | 2,070 | - | 2,070 | |||||
| Current assets/ | 263,587 | 17,464 | 281,051 | 269,767 | 123,486 | 393,253 | |||||
| (liabilities) | |||||||||||
| Long term liabilities | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| 293,641 | 17,464 | 311,105 | 294,250 | 123,486 | 417,736 |
18. Related party transactions
The Foyer Federation used the accountancy services of Social Enterprise Coalition (SEUK) from July 2019 until June 2024 and Sabira Mohamed Kanji from SEUK was a Trustee until 23/04/24. Total charges for this during the year amounted to £7,500 (2024: £30,060).
Aberdeen Foyer – membership fee received £2,500 (2024: £2,400 related via elected trustee, Leona McDermid. Swan Foyer – membership and strategic partner (formerly investor) fees received £10,000 (2024: £9,800) related via elected trustee Louise Joseph. Your Housing Group – membership fee and strategic partner (formerly investor) fees totalling £16,000 (2024: £15,600) via elected trustee, Andrew Ward.
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THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
The Foyer Federation Work.Life, Core Building 30 Brown Street Manchester M2 1DH inbox@foyer.net www.foyer.net
Registered Charity no. 1040482 | Registered in England and Wales no. 2699839
THE FOYER FEDERATION, ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
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