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← Waterloo Community Counselling

2025-03-31-accounts

Waterloo Community Counselling (A company limited by guarantee)

Annual Report and Unaudited Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2025

Charity number 1045444 Company number 03034938 (England & Wales)

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Contents For the Year Ended 31 March 2025

Page
Legal and Administrative Information 2
Report of the Directors (Trustees) 3 to 16
Independent Examiners’ Report 17
Statement of Financial Activities 18
Statement of Cashflows 19
Balance Sheet 20
Notes forming part of the Financial Statements 21 to 30

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WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Legal and Administrative Information Year ended 31 March 2025

Charity Legal Name: Waterloo Community Counselling Charity registration number: 1045444 Company registration number: 03034938 (England & Wales) Trustees Hazel Flynn – Chair Chris Wong – resigned 22 April 2025 Emma Nicholls – resigned 14 October 2025 Graham Stilwell John Davis Lynne Brown Nadine Smith – resigned 21 January 2025 Tarrance Ryder-Downes Laura Phillips Steve Rattray

Bankers Registered office & operational address: Independent Examiners:

CAF Bank Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ

Barley Mow Clinic Frazier Street London SE1 7BD Simpson Wreford LLP Chartered Accountants Wellesley House Duke of Wellington Avenue Royal Arsenal London SE18 6SS

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WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING Report of the Directors (Trustees) Year ended 31 March 2025

The Trustees, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025, which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting policies set out in the notes to the accounts and comply with the charity’s governing document, the Charities Act 2011 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 or Ireland (FRS102)” (effective 1 January 2019).

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

Waterloo Community Counselling is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 20 March 1995. The Company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association (amended by Special Resolutions passed on 6 December 2021, 15 March 2022 and 24 May 2022 and 8 November 2023).

In the event of the Company being wound up each of the Members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £10.

The charity is managed by its trustees who constitute the board of directors and have been appointed in accordance with the charity’s Articles of Association. The directors in office during the year ended 31 March 2025 were as follows:-

Hazel Flynn – Chair Chris Wong – resigned 22 April 2025 Emma Nicholls – resigned 14 October 2025 Graham Stilwell John Davis Lynne Brown Nadine Smith – resigned 21 January 2025 Tarrance Ryder-Downes Laura Phillips Steve Rattray

The day-to-day management is carried out by Miriam Philip – CEO. The registered office is disclosed on the information page.

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Structure, Governance and Management

The Directors of the Company are also Charity Trustees for the purposes of charity law.

The Trustees according to the Articles of Association are elected by the members of the charity attending the Annual General Meeting. Under the Articles of Association, one third of the trustees retire by rotation at each Annual General Meeting. The trustees may co-opt any person duly qualified to be appointed as trustee and that person will hold office until the next Annual General Meeting.

Once appointed, new trustees undergo an induction and are supported to undertake any training needed depending on their existing experience. All trustees are encouraged and supported to attend appropriate external training events where these will facilitate the undertaking of their role.

The trustees meet quarterly to ensure the operation of the charity delivers its public benefit and complies with the objects, Memorandum and Articles, and policies of Waterloo Community Counselling and relevant legislation. There are two sub-committees covering Finance and Operations, and Clinical matters which also meet quarterly. The Charity Governing document allows the trustees to meet and conduct meetings virtually. The day-to-day operation within the policies, forward plan and budgets are delegated to the CEO.

CHAIR’S REPORT

As I reflect on the past year, it strikes me that WCC has faced significant challenges with skill, bravery, and openness.

We are operating in an increasingly troubling external environment, with the riots of summer 2024, the hardening of attitudes towards asylum seekers and refugees, and growing divisions in our society as responsibility for economic difficulties is too often placed on the most vulnerable. This climate is affecting people’s mental health, and the need for organisations that listen to communities and offer individuals the right help is greater than ever. At WCC, we remain committed to meeting that demand despite the myriad challenges facing smaller charities.

While WCC has had a very successful year, delivering a large volume of high-quality counselling and securing significant, diverse income for our activities, we, like many small charities, are greatly affected by external forces. Our Board and senior leadership are mindful of significant financial challenges ahead. The fundraising landscape is in flux, with many trusts and foundations facing huge demand and pausing or closing to new applications. Managing these risks has been a major focus and we have introduced a new dynamic risk management matrix and strengthened our financial planning processes, as well as looking where we can diversify our income sources.

We are in active discussions with several of our longstanding funders about extending our successful partnerships. We have submitted a strong application to the National Lottery Community Fund to build on our current Reaching Communities funding beyond May 25, are in renewal discussions with the Henry Smith Foundation (formerly the Henry Smith Charity) following their valuable multi-year investment, and are working closely with NHS commissioners regarding our Talking Therapies contracts. These conversations reflect the quality of our work and the relationships we have built with funders who understand the vital impact of our services.

Despite these pressures, WCC achieved a great deal this year, including:

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The WCC Team

This year we said farewell to Kathryn O’Byrne, Trust Fundraising Manager, and Abigail Rutherford, Finance Manager, and are grateful for their contributions. We welcomed Susan Jones as our new Finance Manager and from October we increased the hours of our Development & Communications Officer Lucian Dee to focus on shaping our community fundraising programme, working closely with Nova Fundraising & Associates to deliver ambitious yet realistic fundraising plans.

WCC is fortunate to have an impressive Operations Team. Marisa Matos, Lucian Dee, Eric Tang, and Matthew Bennett bring such commitment and dedication to the administration and coordination of our services and activities, finance and fundraising support, community groups and partnerships. Working closely with our highly experienced Clinical Services Managers, Priya Commander and Margaret Mykura, the team fosters a positive culture throughout the organisation. This benefits everyone, from trainees to the most experienced counsellors and supervisors, and creates a sense of warmth and belonging for those we support.

We are also grateful for the dedicated support and skills contributed this year by our administration volunteers, Edi Ekpe and Nisha Kohli, our social media volunteers Jade Dai and Shayo Three, and our regular group volunteers Malcolm Nichols and Christopher Costain.

The Board and Trustees

In 2024/25, we saw two of our long-standing trustees, Nadine Smith and Chris Wong, stand down from the Board. Nadine had been on the Board for over four years and had significant charitable and organisational expertise. She used this to contribute so much to the Board, to WCC’s strategy and organisational resilience, she will be sorely missed. Chris steps down from the Board and as Chair of our Finance and Operations subcommittee. We will really miss Chris, his insights and knowledge of all things financial, his calm approach and confidence in the team and the Board. We thank him so much for all he has done for WCC. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to all the trustees on the WCC Board, your dedication and commitment over the past year have been inspiring.

On behalf of the trustees, I would also like to extend heartfelt thanks to all the dedicated staff, volunteers, counsellors, supervisors, and partners who have made WCC’s work possible this year. In particular, the trustees are very appreciative of the leadership, expertise and dedication shown by Miriam Philip, our wonderful CEO, who is an exemplary leader and manager, a champion of those in need and a great fundraiser!

Looking Ahead: WCC’s emerging 2025–26 Strategy

In October 2024, we held a Strategic Away Day for trustees and staff to explore emerging themes for our next strategy. As we move into the new strategic period, we are realistic about the challenges we face, yet we do not shy away from them. We are determined to meet our goals and continue providing the accessible, high-quality mental health support that our communities so urgently need.

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Our Funders and Supporters

We express our deepest gratitude to our funders and supporters, whose generosity makes our work possible. Particular thanks go to the National Lottery Community Fund, the Henry Smith Charity, the J+H Orlander Charitable Trust, the Orange Tree Trust, the Saintbury Trust, the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust’s Ann Rylands Programme, and the Swan Mountain Trust for their continued support.

We are also hugely grateful to the London Borough of Lambeth’s Changing Lives Social Value Fund, the BACP’s Third Sector EDI Grants Scheme, the Clothworkers’ Foundation, the Mrs Smith and Mount Trust, the Schreier Foundation, the St James’s Place Charitable Foundation, and all individuals who have donated to our work this year.

A special thank you to our newest supporter, Rachel Lewis, and the David and Ruth Lewis Family Charitable Trust, for their generous grant of £30,000 towards the end of the year, a gift that will make a profound difference to our clients as we head into a more uncertain period.

Our Community

Last but not least, a major highlight of the year has been the continued development of WCC’s community groups and partnerships, including our collaboration with a range of local community organisations such as our fantastic gardening club with Bankside Open Spaces Trust who worked with our group members to transform WCC’s outdoor space.

WCC’s strength lies in its deep connection with the communities we serve. As we move into the year ahead, we will continue to build on these relationships – listening to local voices, responding to need, and working in partnership to meet the mental health needs of diverse individuals who need us. Inspired by the courage and resilience of our clients, even in the face of great adversity, we will continue working tirelessly to create spaces of understanding, safety, and hope in a world of uncertainty and challenges.

Hazel Flynn

Chair, WCC

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OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Waterloo Community Counselling's charitable purpose is to relieve the mental suffering and distress of persons in need by reason of illness or emotional distress in the London Boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark and their environs, through the provision of counselling, psychotherapy, and support.

The mission that shapes our annual activities is to deliver life-changing counselling and mental health support for Londoners that is affordable and accessible. We aim to remove the barriers to accessing highquality counselling by delivering services that are open to all regardless of income or immigration status, and are uniquely responsive to individual differences (language, culture, race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, and ability).

Our work is guided by the following values/objectives:

In shaping our objectives and planning our activities, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. The main therapeutic services we deliver are:

Low-Cost Counselling Service: we provide a professional counselling service for adults who otherwise might not be able to access talking therapy because of the cost of private counselling/psychotherapy or the very limited availability within the NHS. We provide longer-term sessions on a low fee/sliding scale basis according to the individual’s income and financial circumstances. We reach adults from diverse backgrounds who are struggling with anxiety, depression, panic attacks and other symptoms (chronic pain or illness), many of whom have experienced loss, abuse and trauma. Currently our fees range from £20 - £85 a session with the most frequent contribution being our minimum of £20 per session. We offer an initial 18 weeks of sessions with the possibility of extending up to a maximum of 2 years. Since 2022, we also offer a free service to people on the lowest incomes with exceptional needs (e.g. students and people surviving on Universal Credit or Zero-Hour Contracts.)

Multilingual Counselling Service: we provide free, culturally sensitive counselling to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in over 23 different languages and dialects. It addresses the needs of people fleeing political and economic turmoil to establish new lives yet bringing with them the trauma and psychological distress of migration and persecution. Many of our referrals have survived war, exile, torture, violence and multiple losses. It is one of only a handful of counselling services open to survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery, many of whom have no recourse to public funds and are therefore unable to access statutory care. Most of our clients suffer from extreme isolation and loneliness, alone in a strange country and unable to speak the language. Being able to express themselves and to discuss their pain and despair out loud in their own language, with a counsellor from their own cultural background where desired, helps people feel less desperate and alone. We provide between 6 to 36 sessions of counselling based on an assessment of need.

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All our counsellors are BACP or UKCP registered, qualified by an accredited training provider, or are supervised trainees working towards their qualification on a voluntary basis. They are all required to be in personal therapy themselves, to attend regular clinical supervision with an experienced clinician, and have completed level 2 Safeguarding training. We offer both face-to-face counselling sessions or online/telephone sessions for individuals who can’t travel due to constraints of work, childcare, finances, health, or disability.

We have a reputation for providing high quality, supportive placements to the next generation of counsellors ensuring that, despite the growing cost of living, people from diverse backgrounds can train in the profession. We provide a programme of professional development workshops throughout the year for counsellors to gain further skills in working with clients from diverse marginalised communities and more complex clinical histories.

Counselling plus: Alongside counselling, we refer clients to our extensive network of pan-London partner organisations to address practical challenges which may be negatively impacting their mental health, such as accessing immigration or housing advice, English classes, or foodbanks.

Group support: The people we support are also invited to attend our monthly “Meet-ups” group for refugees and asylum seekers, particularly the most isolated who are often housed in hotels and digitally excluded. The group is invaluable, facilitating new social opportunities, increasing confidence in accessing public spaces and providing a safe space to practice English. We also offer a refugee women’s Craft Club and gardening club in partnership with Bankside Open Spaces Trust.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Demand for our services remained consistently high throughout 2024-25. Once again, we were able to deliver a substantial amount in response to the need, supporting 659 individuals through our accessible counselling services and community mental health initiatives. Our diverse counsellors delivered 7,967 individual counselling sessions across our services, including a record 3,360 sessions provided entirely free of charge.

We delivered 5,020 low-cost counselling sessions in 2024-25, reaching 261 people who might otherwise have been unable to access talking therapy to address their mental health needs. Managing waiting times for low-cost counselling was a key priority this year due to ongoing high demand from clients in our local boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark and across London. In August alone, we received 62 referrals – a 34% increase over our previous monthly record of 46. During peak periods, we temporarily closed to new referrals to keep the waiting list manageable and avoid over-promising on availability.

Our culturally sensitive, multilingual service delivered sessions in 23 languages for 394 refugees, asylum seekers, and vulnerable migrants – including survivors of war, exile, torture, trafficking, and modern slavery. Our holistic approach to wellbeing meant we also made a record 227 signposts and referrals to partner organisations for clients requiring support to address urgent practical needs impacting their mental health.

We continued expanding our successful group activities and community partnerships this year, providing a record 40 group activity sessions, outings, and events. This enabled us to offer additional support to 42 of our most isolated refugee and asylum seeker clients, providing continuing connection with WCC and the local community after their counselling sessions concluded to help tackle isolation and enable people to make lasting social connections and community links.

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Client Demographics

The diversity of our client base underscores WCC's commitment to inclusive mental health support. We served clients from 75 different countries, with 63% coming from non-white minoritised ethnic backgrounds. We also reached a significant portion of the LGBTQ+ community, with 25% of our clients identifying as such. 42% of our clients were from Lambeth and Southwark, while the remainder came from a wide range of boroughs across London, reinforcing our role as a vital resource for the broader London community.

Operational Capacity

Our ability to meet the diverse needs of our clients was made possible this year by working with 99 counsellors speaking 23 different languages, including 43 trainees on placement at WCC. These counsellors were supported by 14 supervisors providing weekly or fortnightly group sessions.

With funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, we continued our programme of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) workshops, enabling counsellors to develop their skills in working with diverse client needs. Free workshops this year included 'ADHD – a Psychotherapeutic and Psychodynamic Perspective' delivered by Dr Martina Bilmeyer, 'Anti-Oppressive Care – Working with Eating Disorders' delivered by Romy Wakil, and 'Working with People with Dissociative Disorders' about working with trauma symptoms delivered by Dr Adah Sachs. We also brought together 15 counsellors to complete an in-depth, two-day training delivered by the Complex Trauma Initiative.

Financial Accessibility

Following the decision to implement a small increase in client fees for our low-cost counselling service this year, having kept fees flat for five years, alongside this we introduced additional training for our assessors to help them sensitively explore clients' income and personal circumstances, ensuring counselling fees are set at an appropriate level.

We were also pleased to continue providing 18 sessions of free counselling for people unable to afford our lowest fee through our National Lottery-funded "No-Cost" project, reaching 23 adults in exceptional circumstances, such as students, people with disabilities, and those surviving on welfare benefits, such as Universal Credit or Zero-Hour Contracts. This project has been accessed by 62 people over the three years of our current Reaching Communities grant, which ends in May, with 55 completing the full course of 18 counselling sessions and 3 people receiving an additional 18-session extension to address complex needs and ensure lasting, positive outcomes. We will be working hard to secure further funding to continue this impactful work, as evidenced by client feedback:

“I can share all the anxieties, frustrations, annoyances and painful emotions that I can't really share elsewhere in my life - due to a limited social circle and support network. It's also nice to have a validating voice, that even if the therapist disagrees with me, or challenges my take on things, I can still express what I need to without judgement or dismissal” (‘no-cost’ client feedback)

“Learnt that confronting difficult feelings isn't as hard when you have a trusted therapist. Reminded me of the agency that I hold and that I deserve to be kind to myself.” (‘no-cost’ client feedback)

We remain committed to delivering a low-cost service that is accessible and inclusive. 38% of clients who received low-cost counselling were from non-white minoritised ethnic backgrounds, and 32% identified as LGBTQ+. Clients ranged in age from 18 to 82, with young people aged 18-25 comprising 14% of service users. 37% had a disability or long-term health condition. Financial insecurity was prevalent among low-

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cost service clients, with 23% currently unemployed and 45% accessing counselling at the minimum fee rate due to their low annual income from welfare benefits or work. It was striking to note that 18% of clients had experienced domestic or sexual abuse.

Refugee and Migrant Support

The increasing number of conflicts across the world, the cost-of-living crisis, and the ever-hostile environment for migrants continued to drive unprecedented demand for our culturally sensitive, multilingual counselling service among marginalised asylum-seeking and refugee communities. Once again, we were compelled to temporarily close our waiting list during especially busy periods and reopen it as soon as counsellor availability allowed, particularly for languages in high demand.

Several newly qualified counsellors who had completed their placements with us moved on, so we worked carefully to balance our resources with community needs and demand while keeping waiting times as low as possible. To achieve this, we focused on retaining paid sessional counsellors who speak the most sought-after languages (Arabic, Farsi, Turkish/Kurdish), which meant the total number of languages we offered decreased to 23. We continued working hard to recruit new trainee counsellors with valuable refugee languages and experience, and were pleased to welcome new trainees fluent in Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic and Portuguese. We will consider adding further paid counsellors in future in languages not offered as funding allows.

Despite these challenges, we were pleased to offer 17 clients with exceptional needs an extension beyond our standard 12-18 sessions of counselling. This was made possible by our continued multi-year funding from the Henry Smith Charity in particular.

In November, we were delighted to be awarded one of six national Equality, Diversity and Inclusion grants by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, recognizing our exceptional work with people from racialised communities. We have been pioneers in developing a diverse workforce and recruiting counsellors who are refugees or migrants themselves, able to support our clients directly in their mothertongues while understanding first-hand the challenges of trauma, displacement, and rebuilding life in a new country. We continue to work on diversifying our board of trustees and in the coming year will be establishing an ‘Experts by Experience’ group to ensure the voices of the refugee/asylum-seeker community we serve are represented at leadership and strategic levels.

Community Engagement and Partnerships

" The staff work so hard to involve us, creating meaningful networks we wouldn't otherwise have. There's a feeling of trust that some of us need in life." — 'Joseph', from our 'Meet-Ups' group

This year, we delivered 11 monthly 'Meet-ups' group sessions, with our Development & Communications Officer, Lucian, building partnerships and securing free or discounted tickets and hosting through Community Access schemes. These efforts enabled us to offer an exceptional programme of diverse and enriching visits that included the Tower of London, the Horniman Museum, Kew Gardens, the British Museum, the Migration Museum, The Old Vic theatre to see a performance of The Real Thing , the Saatchi Gallery (combined with a walking tour of London), Bees & Refugees farm in Kent, London Zoo, and a Refugee Week Picnic in Geraldine Harmsworth Park. We were able to take group members on a coach trip to the seaside at Broadstairs in partnership with Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers. Five volunteers supported Lucian in facilitating these activities.

The 'Meet-ups' group has evolved into a genuine source of support for our asylum-seeker and refugee clients, offering community, cultural engagement, and emotional wellbeing. Amid rising demand for our multilingual counselling service, they also enable us to offer support to people waiting for counselling or provide a place of belonging and ongoing connection for those whose sessions have finished. In May, we

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ran a co-production session to engage group members in reflecting on past experiences and shaping a shared vision for the group's future after the project ends.

Over the past three years, WCC has developed a hub of relationships with 213 organisations across Waterloo and neighbouring boroughs, positioning us strongly to build connections and work as a collective community to support people experiencing mental health challenges, especially where they intersect with poverty, disadvantage, and discrimination.

This year we continued our partnership with The Bridge At Waterloo (TBAW), supporting refugees and asylum seekers to seamlessly access both organisations' support through the direct pathway we've established at the referral stage. TBAW also invited us to participate in the 'Waterloo Festival' in July, where we had a stall to raise awareness of our services in the local community and raised £333 through donations from local supporters.

Once again, we were grateful to receive Christmas gifts for our refugee and asylum seeker clients through our partnership with the We Are Waterloo Business Improvement District's Together at Christmas campaign, which connects local businesses donating gifts with charities.

A further 33 clients affected by poverty and digital exclusion were supported this year with data packages, mobile phones, and laptops through our partnerships with the Good Things Foundation and Community TechAid.

In response to group members' feedback requesting more frequent activities, we established a new partnership this year with Bankside Open Spaces Trust (BOST), an environmental and volunteering charity. BOST has been running a regular Gardening Club in the outdoor space at our premises, helping beneficiaries transform what was once an overgrown, littered area into a thriving eco-garden. The club has been a deeply uplifting experience for participants—many of whom live in poor-quality housing with little or no access to green space—giving them the opportunity to connect with nature and witness the tangible results of their efforts over time.

In response to group members' feedback requesting more frequent activities, we established a new partnership this year with Bankside Open Spaces Trust (BOST), an environmental and volunteering charity. BOST has been running a regular Gardening Club in the outdoor space at our premises, helping beneficiaries transform what was once an overgrown, littered area into a thriving eco-garden. The club has been a deeply uplifting experience for participants—many of whom live in poor-quality housing with little or no access to green space—giving them the opportunity to connect with nature and witness the tangible results of their efforts over time. The impact has extended beyond individual participants, contributing to a positive transformation of the wider Tanswell Estate community.

We plan to continue and expand our impactful community partnerships work in the future. As this project comes to an end, we have already secured London Eye Community Chest funding to deliver six free local walking tours for refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants over the summer in partnership with Lambeth Tour Guides Association.

Impact and outcomes

All our clients are given an Evaluation Questionnaire at the end of their sessions to gather vital feedback about their experience of WCC's counselling and the difference it has made to their lives. In 2024-25:

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Feedback forms from clients whose counselling has ended consistently reported how much their lives have improved due to WCC's support, for example:

"I wouldn't overestimate if I said that counselling saved my life. The counsellor held a safe space for me to heal, she made me feel heard and understood, probably for the first time in my life." (low/no cost counselling feedback)

"Counselling has helped me to understand myself more deeply, acknowledge the root causes of issues both past and present and changed my perspective on many things. This motivated me to make many changes over the two years of sessions I had and improve my mental state, whilst implementing changes that have outlined a clearer ideal future for my life that I am now working towards. It has improved my relationships with family and friends, helped improve my finances and created more long-term achievable goals. I completed a short course and am currently now studying a degree full-time." (low/no cost counselling feedback)

"I've stopped overthinking and developed a more positive mindset about handling life's challenges." (low/no cost counselling feedback)

"Counselling helped me to turn my life back. You came into my life when I was severely hopeless, and it made me build my hope and understand my pain. I was so happy to find WCC." (multilingual service feedback)

" I realized that I had been talking about my traumas, pains, and sorrows for years and had the same experiences. It gave me the opportunity to develop myself by getting to the source of these and to find myself by getting out of learned helplessness. I started therapy at a time when I thought I was surviving. Now I embrace life completely. The breath I take is more meaningful now." (multilingual service feedback)

"Before therapy, I was lonely, fearful, and hopeless and struggled daily with suicidal [feelings]. I couldn't sleep or eat and cried most of the days. As a result of therapy, I understand that killing myself is not a way out. Exploring and understanding my problems from the roots, seeing things differently, building my confidence, and establishing relationships with others have made many differences in my life. I learned how to make things better for myself and do things to find my son and husband [...] before, I hid from everyone and cried. Knowing help is available has made me hopeful for the future." (multilingual service feedback)

Our 2024-25 Impact Statement can be found on our website with further insights into the significant differences made to the hundreds of Londoners who turned to us for help this year.

Further valuable exploration of the difference we make can also be found in the Insight Research carried out by Dr Helen Ainley, which highlighted the transformative impact of WCC's counselling, the centrality of

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the therapeutic relationship to achieving positive outcomes, the crucial value of our distinctive multilingual counselling, and the impact of our holistic community approach. In response, our trustees and senior leadership produced a list of actionable recommendations for strengthening and refining WCC's services that will feed into our new Strategy for 2025 onwards.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The attached financial statements show the current state of the charity's finances for the year ended 31 March 2025.

WCC came through the challenges of the year in good financial health. Our focus on securing diverse income – through maximising self-generated income, fostering strong relationships with trusts and foundations, and building new community and corporate fundraising streams – enabled us to provide a substantial volume of counselling services while growing our community partnerships and group support, to deliver significant impact for our beneficiaries and value for our funders.

Our income in 2024/25 was £641,903 compared to £562,609 in 2023/24; a 14% increase. We were pleased that restricted funds represented 55% of our total income in 2024/25, while unrestricted funds were 45% - a significant improvement to 2023/24 (37%).

We saw a 46% increase in income from charitable trusts and foundations to £405,343 (from £277,779 in 2023/24), largely due to a £43,816 ‘uplift’ to our main three-year National Lottery Community Fund Reaching Communities grant in response to cost-of-living pressures experienced by so many charities and our beneficiaries. This allowed us to maintain high levels of service delivery and increase staff pay for the first time since 2022.

Our other main source of trusts income continued to be our three-year grant from the Henry Smith Charity that began in January 2023, which has instrumental to the delivery of our multilingual service for refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants.

We worked hard this year to map our connections and foster relationships with new donors, while continuing to nurture positive relationships with valued funders who repeatedly support our work such as the Swan Mountain Trust, the J+H Orlander Trust, the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust’s Ann Rylands small grants, and the Saintbury Trust. We were delighted to be awarded a £30,000 unrestricted grant from the Ruth and David Lewis Trust in March 2025, underscoring the effectiveness of our work and the confidence placed in us by funders who recognise the importance of what we do and the significant outcomes we achieve. We also received a grant of £19,800 from the National Lottery Community Fund Awards for All to cover two years of reprieves for counsellors' supervision costs, allowing counsellors from minoritised-ethnic groups and those on lower incomes to complete their training and gain valuable experience with us.

Another new focus has been more local grant income sources. We were awarded £24,765 from the Lambeth Changing Lives Social Value Fund in October 2024, our first significant funding from the local authority for many years, and were awarded £10,000 by Lambeth’s Community Connections Fund in March 2025 for our community partnerships work.

From October our Development & Communications Officer’s hours were increased to focus on growing our income from community and corporate fundraising, with regular mentoring and advice from small charity experts, Nova Fundraising. We were pleased to see income from donations increase by 588% from 2023/24 and expect to see this steadily increase next year.

We continued to raise significant self-generated income for our activities from fees paid towards counselling and supervision. Fee income from our low-cost service decreased marginally by 6% (£135,573 compared to £143,971 in 2023/24) but this represented a stabilisation following improvements to our invoicing system

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and payment options introduced in 2023/24. Earned income from bank interest improved as higher rates of interest became available on deposits.

Our income from NHS contracts reduced by £37,593 from 2023/24 as our contract with Lambeth Talking Therapies to deliver secondary care services ended in January 2025. While financial constraints facing the South London and Maudsley Trust meant that Lambeth Talking Therapies (LTT) and Talking Therapies Southwark (TTS) were unable to automatically renew our contracts to provide language counselling for a further two years, we welcomed their commitment to a 12-month extension up until the end of December 2025.

On the expenditure side, we continued to face significant budgetary pressures in 2024/25. Our overall expenditure was £601,176, an increase of 11% from £543,604 in 2023/24. Of this increase, half (51%) was staff costs, which rose 14% – albeit at a lower rate of increase than in 2023-24 (20%) – as staff were awarded a 4% pay increase in April and we saw the full-year effect of two new part-time roles created last year (Assistant Clinical Services Manager and Trusts Fundraising Manager).

Direct costs of counselling, assessments, and supervision were up 10% as we strived to meet the high demand for our services – with 7,967 sessions delivered compared to 7,533 in 23/24. The increase also reflected a long-overdue increase in the rate of pay for clinical supervisors and experienced sessional counsellors in March 2024, plus a number of newly-qualified trainees being offered freelance roles at a post-graduate rate to help us meet client needs.

We ended the year with a surplus of £40,727 and restricted funds carried forward of £67,019; an extremely welcome position that allows us to enter 2025-26 with confidence as we await the outcome of our strong application to the National Lottery Community Fund for continuation of our Reaching Communities funding beyond May 25. While our income went up this year, we are observing the trends in trusts fundraising which is becoming increasingly competitive, and are aware that income generation is likely to be more difficult in the year ahead.

We are already looking closely at how we can control costs more tightly in the coming year, reduce some areas of expenditure, further diversify our income, and reforecast regularly to stay agile. Having kept fees for our low-cost counselling service flat for five years, in January we made the difficult decision to increase our sliding scale by £5 per band to support the service’s sustainability. While we continue to allocate clients to trainee or qualified counsellors on the basis of clinical need first-and-foremost, we undertook an exercise in reviewing the proportion of trainee/volunteer counsellors versus paid sessional counsellors in the team beginning in early 2025. We expect this review to reduce the cost of providing our services in 2025-26, enabling us to maintain a balance of experience across our services while increasing financial resilience.

Reserves policy

The trustees' policy is to target holding a level of free reserves equivalent to 6 months' essential running costs, a target of £180,022 in 2024-25. Our free reserves position at the end of the year is £150,977, with restricted reserves of £67,019, totalling £217,996. While this free reserves position is slightly higher than last year’s (£149,075), it is £37,555 less than our ideal target. It equates to approximately 4.8 months of essential running costs in free reserves alone and the trustees are satisfied that this provides sufficient stability to mitigate the financial uncertainties of the coming year and ensure continuity of support for our clients. Available funds are invested in diversified interest-bearing accounts with the best financial return within an acceptable level of risk and the liquidity requirements of the service.

14

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Report of the Directors (Trustees) Year ended 31 March 2025

Risk management

The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charitable company is exposed and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to major risks. The principal external risk to the continued provision of WCC’s services remains financial sustainability in a challenging climate of rising costs and unprecedented competition for charitable funds. Key elements in the management of financial risk are a monthly review of the financial performance of the charity against the annual budget, a projection of available liquid funds to settle debts as they fall due, and active management of debtors. Internal financial risks are managed by the established procedures for the authorisation of all transactions as well as a detailed system of financial and budgetary control, all of which are reviewed regularly by the senior management team and trustees. Attention has also been focussed on non-financial risks arising from the nature of our clinical work with adults at risk and the operation of our premises. These risks are managed by having robust policies and procedures in place including a Clinical Risk Management Policy and Procedure, Safeguarding Policy, regular review of health and safety and fire safety in relation to the premises, and ensuring sufficient support and clinical supervision for counsellors and staff.

Directors (Trustees) Responsibilities

The Trustees, as set out on page 3 (who are also the directors of Waterloo Community Counselling) for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Directors (Trustees) Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

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

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and 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 charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for 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.

Limited liability

Members of the charitable company guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £10 to the assets of the company in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees as at 31 March 2025 was eighty nine.

15

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Report of the Directors (Trustees) Year ended 31 March 2025

Public Benefit Statement

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit, ‘Charities and Public Benefit’.

Waterloo Community Counselling’s charitable purpose is to relieve the mental suffering and distress of persons in need by reason of illness or emotional distress in the London Boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark and their environs, through the provision of counselling, psychotherapy, and support.

Independent examiners

Simpson Wreford LLP., were appointed as Independent Examiners during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

The above report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

19th November 2025

Signed on behalf of the board of directors (trustees) on …………………………….

Hazel Flynn Director (Trustee)

16

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Independent Examiners’ Report

To the Trustees of Waterloo Community Counselling for the Year Ended 31 March 2025

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Waterloo Community Counselling for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity’s trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the 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 your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the ‘2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

Since the 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 confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, 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:

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 accounts to be reached.

Hollie Price BSc ACA

For and on behalf of Simpson Wreford LLP, Chartered Accountants Institute of Chartered Accounts in England and Wales

Wellesley House Duke of Wellington Avenue London, SE18 6SS Dated: 24 November 2025

17

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account) Year ended 31 March 2025

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted
Notes
Funds Funds Total funds Total funds
2025 2024
£ £ £ £
INCOME 4
Donations and legacies 63,379 341,964 405,343 277,779
Charitable activities 211,809 14,560 226,369 277,372
Other trading activities 2,530 - 2,530 2,712
Other income 1,680 - 1,680 -
Investments 5,981 - 5,981 4,746
TOTAL INCOME 285,379 356,524 641,903 562,609
EXPENDITURE ON: 6
Raising funds 29,628 - 29,628 22,703
Charitable activities 253,849 317,699 571,548 520,901
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 283,477 317,699 601,176 543,604
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) 1,902 38,825 40,727 19,005
Transfers between funds - - - -
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS 1,902 38,825 40,727 19,005
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS 10
Total funds brought forward 149,075 28,194 177,269 158,264
Total funds carried forward 150,977 67,019 217,996 177,269
----- End of picture text -----

The results for the year derive from continuing activities, and there are no other gains or losses other than those shown above.

The notes on pages 21 to 30 form part of these financial statements.

18

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Statement of Cashflows Year ended 31 March 2025

Notes 2025
£		 2024
£
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from/(absorbed by) operations
17
Investing activities
Interest income		 28,906
5,981		 (40,482)
4,746
Addition of fixed assets (3,825) -
Net cash used in investing activities
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Total cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year		 2,156
31,062
196,429
227,491
4,746
(35,736)
232,165
196,429

19

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2025

Notes
Fixed Assets
Tangible assets
7		 2025 2,869 2024 -
Current Assets
Debtors
8
Cash at bank and in hand		 28,885
227,491		 2,869 26,809
196,429		 -
256,376 223,238
Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year
9		 (41,249) (45,969)
Net current assets 215,127 177,269
Total net assets 217,996 177,269
The Funds of the Charity
10
Unrestricted Funds
Restricted Funds		 150,977
67,019		 149,075
28,194
217,996 177,269

The company was entitled to exemption from audit under 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 trustees 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 on pages 18 to 30 were approved by the Trustees on …………… and signed on 19 November 2025 their behalf by:

Hazel Flynn Director (Trustee)

Company Number – 03034938 (England &Wales)

20

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Notes to the financial statements – Year ended 31 March 2025

1. Accounting Policies

The principal accounting policies are summarised below. The accounting policies have been applied consistently throughout the year and in the preceding year.

Company information

Waterloo Community Counselling is a company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales and registered as a charity with the Charity Commission. The registered office is Barley Mow Clinic, Frazier Street, London, SE1 7BD.

(a) Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charities memorandum and articles of association, 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 (FRS102)” (effective 1 January 2019), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) and the Companies Act 2006. Waterloo Community Counselling meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in the financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The effects of events relating to the year ended 31 March 2025 which occurred before the date of approval of the financial statements by the Trustees has been included in the financial statements to the extent required to show a true and fair view of the state of affairs at 31 March 2025 and the results for the year ended on that date.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

(b) Going Concern

At the time of approving the accounts, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the accounts.

(c) Fund accounting

(d) Income

Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably and it is probable the income will be received. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:

21

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Notes to the financial statements – Year ended 31 March 2025

1. Accounting Policies continued

(e) Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates:

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Other costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include the independent examination and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity.

All costs are allocated between the expenditure categories of the SOFA on a basis designed to reflect the use of the resource. Costs relating to a particular activity are allocated directly; others are apportioned on the basis of an estimate of the proportion of project size.

(f) Fixed assets

Fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

It is the policy of the company to provide depreciation at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful economic life. The following rates of depreciation have been applied throughout the year.

Computer equipment - 25% on a straight line basis Fixtures and fittings - 25% on a straight line basis

Assets with a cost of £1,000 or more are capitalized.

(g) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid.

(h) Leases

Operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease.

(i) 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.

(j) 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.

(k) Financial instruments

Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability

22

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Notes to the financial statements – Year ended 31 March 2025

1. Accounting Policies continued

simultaneously.

Derecognition of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

(l) Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charities accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

.

(m) Retirement benefits

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

(n) Government grants

Government grants are recognised at the fair value of the asset received or receivable when there is reasonable assurance that the grant conditions will be met and the grants will be received.

2. Related Party Transactions

The spouse of Graham Stilwell, a trustee, was paid £16,623 for their work as a counsellor during the year. The transactions were made on an arms-length basis. During the year two trustees were reimbursed a total of £244 for travel expenses.

3. Remuneration and staff costs

----- Start of picture text -----
Remuneration of key management personnel 2025 2024
£ £
Aggregate total 147,951 140,952
----- End of picture text -----

Remuneration of key management personnel
Aggregate total		 2025
2024
£
£
147,951
140,952
Staff costs for the year were as follows:
Salaries and wages
Social Security costs
Staff pension costs
The average number of staff employed during the year, was as follows:
Chief executive
Clinical management and administration
Operations and finance
Fundraising		 2025
2024
£
£
278,211
246,498
20,101
16,088
6,134
5,208
304,446
267,794
2025
2024
1
1
7
7
2
2
1
1
11
11

There were no employees whose annual income exceeded £60,000.

23

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Notes to the financial statements – Year ended 31 March 2025

4 Income
Unrestricted
Restricted
2025 Total
2024 Total
£
£
£
£
4.1 Income from donations and legacies
Donations
13,379
-
13,379
1,942
Contribution to training
1,440
1,440
-
Grant income
Bankside Open Spaces Trust
-
200
200
-
-
10,000
10,000
-
British Humane Association
-
-
-
5,000
Clothworkers' Foundation
-
3,500
3,500
-
David & Ruth Lewis Family Charitable Trust
30,000
-
30,000
-
Edward Gostling Foundation
-
-
-
20,000
VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme
-
2,970
2,970
-
Henry Smith Charity
-
60,000
60,000
60,000
J&H Orlander Charitable Trust
10,000
-
10,000
15,000
-
24,765
24,765
-
Leigh Trust
-
-
-
1,000
Orange Tree Trust
-
5,000
5,000
10,000
Anonymous Foundation
10,000
-
10,000
-
Saintbury Trust
-
3,000
3,000
3,000
St James's Place Charitable Foundation
-
9,506
9,506
2,500
Sir Bernard and Lady Schreier Foundation
-
3,000
3,000
-
-
3,000
3,000
2,500
Swan Mountain Trust
-
5,000
5,000
-
-
-
-
5,000
The London Community Foundation
(Together for London)
British Association for Counselling and
Psychotherapy - EDI Third Sector Grant
Scheme
Lambeth Changing Lives Social Value
Fund
Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust - Ann
Rylands small grants		 4 Income
Unrestricted
Restricted
2025 Total
2024 Total
£
£
£
£
4.1 Income from donations and legacies
Donations
13,379
-
13,379
1,942
Contribution to training
1,440
1,440
-
Grant income
Bankside Open Spaces Trust
-
200
200
-
-
10,000
10,000
-
British Humane Association
-
-
-
5,000
Clothworkers' Foundation
-
3,500
3,500
-
David & Ruth Lewis Family Charitable Trust
30,000
-
30,000
-
Edward Gostling Foundation
-
-
-
20,000
VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme
-
2,970
2,970
-
Henry Smith Charity
-
60,000
60,000
60,000
J&H Orlander Charitable Trust
10,000
-
10,000
15,000
-
24,765
24,765
-
Leigh Trust
-
-
-
1,000
Orange Tree Trust
-
5,000
5,000
10,000
Anonymous Foundation
10,000
-
10,000
-
Saintbury Trust
-
3,000
3,000
3,000
St James's Place Charitable Foundation
-
9,506
9,506
2,500
Sir Bernard and Lady Schreier Foundation
-
3,000
3,000
-
-
3,000
3,000
2,500
Swan Mountain Trust
-
5,000
5,000
-
-
-
-
5,000
The London Community Foundation
(Together for London)
British Association for Counselling and
Psychotherapy - EDI Third Sector Grant
Scheme
Lambeth Changing Lives Social Value
Fund
Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust - Ann
Rylands small grants
Mrs Smith and Mount Trust -
3,000
3,000
-
The National Lottery Community Fund:
Awards for All
Cost of Living Crisis Award
Reaching Communities London and
South East Region
4.2 Income from charitable activities
Grant and contract income
Access to Work Grant
Performance related contracts;
SLaM NHS - Talking Therapy Southwark
SLaM NHS - Lambeth Secondary Care
SLaM NHS - Talking Therapy Lambeth
Counselling fees
Supervision fees
Assessment fees
Other income
4.3 Income from other trading activities
Room rental income
4.4 Investments
Bank interest
4.5 Other income
Insurance claim received		 -
19,800
19,800
-
43,816
43,816
9,997
-
143,967
143,967
141,840
63,379
341,964
405,343
277,779
-
14,560
14,560
13,412
44,002
-
44,002
44,000
9,956
-
9,956
47,551
14,362
-
14,362
14,362
116,552
-
116,552
117,900
20,907
-
20,907
34,277
5,850
-
5,850
5,690
180
-
180
180
211,809
14,560
226,369
277,372
2,530
-
2,530
2,712
5,981
-
5,981
4,746
1,680
-
1,680
-
285,379
356,524
641,903
562,609

24

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Notes to the financial statements – Year ended 31 March 2025

5 Income by activity

----- Start of picture text -----
MECS Low Cost Core 2025 Total 2024 Total
£ £ £ £ £
Donations 14,819 14,819 1,942
Grant income 130,876 32,332 241,876 405,084 289,249
Contract income 58,364 9,956 68,320 105,913
Counselling fees 116,552 116,552 117,900
Supervision fees 7,736 13,171 20,907 34,277
Assessment fees 5,850 5,850 5,690
Other trading activities 2,530 2,530 2,712
Other income 7,841 7,841 4,926
196,976 177,861 267,066 641,903 562,609
----- End of picture text -----

The multilingual counselling service provides free, culturally sensitive, language counselling to refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, plus additional support through signposting, referrals, information and group activities.

The Low/No-Cost Counselling Service provides high-quality, longer-term therapy for adults from diverse backgrounds at reduced fees, or free of charge for people on the lowest incomes with exceptional needs (e.g. students and people surviving on Universal Credit or Zero-Hour Contracts).

25

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Notes to the financial statements – Year ended 31 March 2025

6
Expenditure
6.1 Charitable activities
Staff costs
Counselling, assessment and supervision fees
Other direct costs
Travel expenses reimbursed to clients		 2025
Total
2024
Total
Basis of
support cost
allocation
223,672
194,207
210,724
190,705
5,989
1,774
7,400
6,562
Support costs
Insurance		 3,476
3,479
Direct
Legal and professional
Office building repairs and maintenance
Office cleaning
Office equipment		 129
2,880
Direct
8,935
6,667
Direct
7,024
7,393
Direct
1,719
1,975
Direct
Office rent, rates and utilities
Other support costs
Printing, postage and stationery
Recruitment costs
Software and IT support costs
Staff costs
Staff welfare and general expenses
Telephone
Training and safeguarding costs
Depreciation
Legal and professional
AGM costs
Trustees training and recruitment
Trustee travel and meeting costs
Accountancy
Independent examination fee		 17,114
17,898
Direct
6,810
5,386
Direct
1,415
1,571
Direct
553
2,399
Direct
4,132
4,188
Direct
55,785
57,953
Direct
5,242
4,925
Direct
2,715
2,551
Direct
5,331
3,667
Direct
956
811
Direct
-
975
Governance
-
325
Governance
-
450
Governance
267
-
Governance
1,080
1,080
Governance
1,080
1,080
Governance
6.2
Raising funds
PR, events and fundraising costs
Staff costs
Consultancy fee
Total expenditure		 571,548
520,901
1,339
1,309
24,989
15,634
3,300
5,760
29,628
22,703
601,176
543,604

26

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Notes to the financial statements – Year ended 31 March 2025

7. Tangible Fixed Assets

----- Start of picture text -----
Office
Equipment,
Furniture
and Fixtures
£
Cost
At 1 April 2024 56,382
Additions 3,825
At 31 March 2025 60,207
Depreciation
At 1 April 2024 56,382
Charge for year 956
At 31 March 2025 57,338
Net Book Value
At 31 March 2025 2,869
At 31 March 2024 -
----- End of picture text -----

8. Debtors

----- Start of picture text -----
2025 2024
£ £
Trade debtors 5,919 12,669
Accrued income 18,065 10,227
Prepayments 4,901 3,913
28,885 26,809
----- End of picture text -----

9. Creditors: Amounts Falling Due within One Year

----- Start of picture text -----
2025 2024
£ £
Trade Creditors 17,160 13,025
Accruals 4,291 10,001
Deferred income 17,546 20,957
Other creditors 2,252 1,986
41,249 45,969
----- End of picture text -----

27

WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Notes to the financial statements – Year ended 31 March 2025

10. Movement in Funds

Restricted funds
Access to Work Grant
Awards for All
Contribution to Training
Cost of Living Crisis Award
Reaching Communities London and South East Region
Bankside Open Spaces Trust
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
EDI Third Sector Grant Scheme
Lambeth Changing Lives Social Value Fund
Clothworkers' Foundation
VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme
Henry Smith Charity
Mrs Smith and Mount Trust
Orange Tree Trust
Saintbury Trust
Sir Bernard and Lady Schreier Foundation
Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust - Ann Rylands small
grants
St James's Place Charitable Foundation
Swan Mountain Trust		 As at 1
April 2024
Incoming
Resources
Outgoing
Resources
As at 31
March 2025
-
14,560
(14,560)
-
-
19,800
(9,900)
9,900
1,440
(1,440)
-
43,816
(40,164)
3,652
3,194
143,967
(135,164)
11,997
-
200
(200)
-
-
-
10,000
(5,000)
5,000
-
24,765
(14,893)
9,872
-
3,500
(3,455)
45
-
2,970
(2,837)
133
25,000
60,000
(60,000)
25,000
-
3,000
(3,000)
-
-
5,000
(5,000)
-
-
3,000
(3,000)
-
-
3,000
(3,000)
-
-
3,000
(3,000)
-
-
9,506
(9,506)
-
-
5,000
(3,580)
1,420
28,194
356,524
(317,699)
67,019
Unrestricted funds
Core
NHS Talking Therapies Contracts
Donations and legacies
Grant Income
Investments
Other trading activities
Other income
Total funds		 149,075
143,489
(150,754)
141,810
68,320
(68,320)
-
-
13,379
(13,379)
-
-
50,000
(40,833)
9,167
-
5,981
(5,981)
-
-
2,530
(2,530)
-
1,680
(1,680)
-
149,075
285,379
(283,477)
150,977
177,269
641,903
(601,176)
217,996

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WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Notes to the financial statements – Year ended 31 March 2025

11. Material funds during the year

Fund Purpose NHS Talking Therapies Contracts Multi-Ethnic Counselling Services Henry Smith Charity Multi-Ethnic Counselling Services – this service provides Individual mother-tongue counselling for refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants. National Lottery Community Fund: Reaching Communities London and SE Region “Vital Mental Health Support for Vulnerable Persons” including low/no-cost counselling service, MECS service and social groups. Cost of Living Crisis Award Uplift to existing Reaching Communities grant to cover significant additional demand and costs resulting from the cost of living crisis. Awards for All Employee Resilience Project contributing to the cost of supervision for counsellors from ethnic minorities. DWP, Access to Work grant Personalised support for a disabled member of staff.

12. Share Capital

Under the Company’s Articles of Association, every member of the Company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of the same being wound up while they are a member, or within one year after they cease to be a member, such amount as may be required not exceeding £10.

13. Taxation

The company is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the company is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

14. Pensions

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund. The pension costs and charge shown in Note 3 represents the contributions payable by the company to the fund. The amount owed to the pension fund as at the 31 March 2025 is £1,127 (2024 – £1,083).

15. VAT

The charity is not registered for VAT.

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WATERLOO COMMUNITY COUNSELLING

Notes to the financial statements – Year ended 31 March 2025

16. Operating Lease Commitments

Total future minimum lease payments due under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

Within 1 Year
Between 2-5 Years
Between 5-8 Years
Total		 2025
£6,706
£26,824
£13,412
£46,942		 2024
£6,706
£26,824
£20,118
£53,648

17. Cash generated from operations

----- Start of picture text -----
2025 2024
£ £
Surplus for the period 40,727 19,005
Add back: Depreciation 956 811
Deduct: Interest income (5,981) (4,746)
(Increase)/decrease in debtors (2,076) (6,527)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors (4,720) (49,025)
28,906 (40,482)
----- End of picture text -----

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