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2021-03-31-accounts

Company registration number: 03047967

Charity registration number: 1046115

North East Lincolnshire Carelink

(A company limited by guarantee)

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021

North East Lincolnshire Carelink

Contents

Year Ended 31 March 2021

North East Lincolnshire Carelink
Contents
Year Ended 31 March 2021
CONTENTS PAGE
Charity Reference and Administrative Details 1
Trustees' Annual Report 2-5
Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities 6
Independent Examiner's Report 7
Statement of Financial Activities 8
Statement of Financial Position 9
Notes to the Financial Statements 10 - 16

North East Lincolnshire Carelink Charity Reference and Administrative Details Year Ended 31 March 2021

Year Ended 31 March 2021
Charity registration number 1046115
Company registration number 03047967
Trustees M Cracknell
L Lee
S Wakefield
S Leary
D Batty
J Rigby
Principal office Centre4
17A Wootton Road
Grimsby
North East Lincolnshire
DN33 1HE
Registered office Centre4
17A Wootton Road
Grimsby
North East Lincolnshire
DN33 1HE
Independent Examiner A G Smith & Co Ltd
Chartered Certified Accountants
Unit 8 Laceby Business Park
Grimsby Road
Laceby
North East Lincolnshire
DN37 7DP

1

North East Lincolnshire Carelink Trustees' Annual Report Year Ended 31 March 2021

The trustees present their report and the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

Objectives, strategies and activities

Our main objective and activity is to provide 24-hour telephone based support to anyone who is vulnerable by provision of alarm equipment and associated peripherals via a computerised telephonic system. The aim of the charity is to provide this service and liase with other organisations to provide the appropriate response to any situation and to keep the cost of the service as low as possible while still providing a quality service.

Our objective is to provide a robust and cost effective telephonic response service for our clients and we have been providing telecare installation and monitoring in North East Lincolnshire for 25 years.

We send out a survey annually to 10% of our clients to get feedback on the quality of the service they have received in terms of speed of response and action taken and also, if they self-fund, whether they feel they got "value for money".

Any formal or informal complaints are investigated and dealt with in a timely manner but fortunately these are very few which also reflects on the success of our service and the professionalism of our staff.

We also value feedback on how we could improve what we do and how we do it. The views of those who use our service are invaluable and much appreciated and suggestions will always be looked at in respect of changes to service provision.

We continue to have an excellent reputation with others working in Health & Adult Social Care and work closely with them to support those who are most vulnerable in the community.

All our services are currently provided by paid staff however as the demands on the telecare operators increase we are looking at what volunteers could do to help us continue providing the "extras" that are so appreciated by our clients e.g. calls on birthdays and weekly calls to check on their welfare as well as the annual checks we make on our clients to ensure their information is current and accurate.

Public Benefit

The governing document of our organisation allows us to provide our service to anyone in the community who feels vulnerable for whatever reason. Though the majority of our service users are older people we have continued to support those who have been victims of crime including domestic abuse and those who are at risk of becoming isolated. We know from feedback that it is not only the service users who benefit from the reassurance gained by having the service installed; family, friends and carers also get some peace of mind and respite, knowing that help can be summoned quickly and simply around the clock.

2

North East Lincolnshire Carelink

Trustees' Annual Report Year Ended 31 March 2021

The lack of eligibility criteria for self funded equipment means that our service can be accessed by anyone who feels they would benefit and we are endeavouring to keep our charges as low as possible to make Carelink accessible to all.

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England & Wales.

Achievements and performance - progress report

Like all organisations, Carelink’s focus altered within this financial year as the COVID pandemic began in March 2020 and it has dominated everything that has occurred since. We are proud that we successfully maintained our service for the vulnerable people we support throughout this difficult year whilst still being able to achieve many of the objectives we had set ourself. Key to this was the commitment of our staff who continued to go out fitting units and ensure our control centre continued to run effectively whilst maintaining strict infection controls.

Impact of COVID

Carelink was very lucky compared to other organisations managing the financial impact of COVID. It cost Carelink around £40K in loss of income and extra costs incurred but was managed through support from £35K in generous grants.

Costs were impacted by:

Income was affected by:

3

North East Lincolnshire Carelink Trustees' Annual Report Year Ended 31 March 2021

Digital Transformation Plans – Phase 1 IT Platform tender

We began the first phase of our digital transformation which was the replacement of our current IT platform. Initial plans to upgrade our existing equipment were changed half way through the year after seeking advice from our regulator the TSA. It was agreed to undertake a formal tender exercise to purchase an IT platform which would meet Carelink’s needs for many years to come. This tender process was time consuming (3 months) but involved a positive partnership between ourselves, Lincare and Chesterfield Council’s telecare provision in choosing a new provider. This extra activity increased the costs of our consultant. We chose a new IT platform – Appello. This digital transformation was due to be funded through the use of our reserves at a cost of £75/80K but due to COVID, we were lucky enough to be able to access two thirds of our required funding through the Lottery managed Government COVID digital transformation programme. This funding allowed us to update IT equipment PCs/Laptops, begin the implementation of the platform and prepare for the digital upgrade through new phone lines and MPLS internet connections including staff time.

Increased Partnership working

Part of the restructure of Carelink was recognising the need to make stronger links with local strategic partners and embed the charity’s work within the community. We continued to embed our links with local partners including:

COVID also enabled us to offer our resource to support the vulnerable within NEL, working closely with the Council in offering wellbeing calls to sheilders / extremely vulnerable.

TSA Audit completion

Carelink successfully completed the tri-annual TSA regulator audit. This was a time consuming and indepth process as the TSA had redesigned its audit process compared with previous years. Completion of a complex self-assessment and a 3-day formal audit with interviews of managers, staff, trustees, contracts and partners to show Carelink met the high standards required to be part of the TSA accreditation.

Operational support and development

We trialled Team Leader roles and have developed a new structure to support the Carelink Manager with becoming more strategic in their role whilst ensuring day to day operational activity is maintained. A Team Leader is focusing upon staff support, performance and rota management with project officers providing data processing, collation and analysis. The consultant continues to provide support in the development of the charity, supporting the Manager with strategic activities.

4

North East Lincolnshire Carelink

Trustees' Annual Report Year Ended 31 March 2021

We have embedded formal Trustee governance processes including a Risk log, Managers Report, KPI report and quality assurance which has enabled Trustees to be more effective in providing robust governance.

We continue to focus in supporting our staff, recognising that COVID and lockdown had a serious impact on everyone’s mental health. We have implemented formal bi-monthly supervisions with all staff which enables us to provide individualised support whilst monitoring performance, and offering counselling support to those who need it.

Activities unable to focus upon this year

COVID affected the following activities we had planned to focus on this year:

Challenges for 2021-22 and beyond

Our accounts show that our telecare units which are the capital backbone of our service are becoming old and the number requiring replacing our increasing. We spent £17K more than we had budgeted. Half of this was due to having to purchase digital units but much more than previous years, we spent more funds on replacing old analogue units. A big challenge for us in the coming 2 years is the need to replace old equipment which was installed in 2011/12 and accounts for a third of our current stock.

We require the time and staff resource to manage the successful implementation of our new IT platform, moving from an analogue to fully digital (platform and phone line) system. Once this is achieved, we can then focus on our telecare equipment becoming digital which has massive financial implications and a 2025 deadline.

We have significant pressure on a number of our established income streams which could be further reduced in the coming year and so need to focus upon finding ways to reduce our costs whilst increasing our income. We have plans to:

Approved by the trustees of the charity on ………………………………………………….. 2021 and signed on its behalf

S Wakefield Trustee

5

North East Lincolnshire Carelink Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities Year Ended 31 March 2021

The trustees (who are also the directors of North East Lincolnshire Carelink for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with the applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the chartiable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Approved by the trustees of the charity on……………………………………………. 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

S Wakefield

Trustee

6

North East Lincolnshire Carelink Independent Examiner's Report Year Ended 31 March 2021

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2021 which are set out on pages 8 to 16.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the North East Lincolnshire Carelink (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 company’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 ACCA, 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.

Andrew Smith FCCA A G Smith & Co Ltd Unit 8 Laceby Business Park Grimsby Road Laceby North East Lincolnshire DN37 7DP

Date: ………………………………………………………... 2021.

7

North East Lincolnshire Carelink

Statement of Financial Activities Year Ended 31 March 2021

NOTE
2
3
4
5
14
Other
Charitable activities
Expenditure on:
Total income and endowments
Investments
Charitable activities
Donations, legacies and grants
Income and endowments from:
Total funds carried forward
Total funds brought forward
Reconciliation of funds:
Net movement in funds
Net income / (expenditure)
Total expenditure
UNRESTRICTED
£
34,863
654,720
2,739
692,322
(636,298)
-
(636,298)
56,024
56,024
337,058
393,082
RESTRICTED
£
-
-
-
-
(2,800)
-
(2,800)
(2,800)
(2,800)
28,300
25,500
TOTAL
£
34,863
654,720
2,739
692,322
(639,098)
-
(639,098)
53,224
53,224
365,358
418,582
2021
2020
TOTAL
£
135
601,590
866
602,591
(598,823)
-
(598,823)
3,768
3,768
361,590
365,358

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

8

North East Lincolnshire Carelink Statement of Financial Position Year Ended 31 March 2021

NOTE
10
11
12
13
15
Net assets
Charity Funds
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Total charity funds
Fixed assets
Tangible Assets
Current assets
Stocks
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
2021
£
126,792
126,792
8,869
60,714
243,106
312,689
(20,899)
291,790
418,582
418,582
25,500
393,082
418,582
2020
£
101,726
101,726
14,352
24,299
248,621
287,272
(23,640)
263,632
365,358
365,358
28,300
337,058
365,358

For the financial year ending 31 March 2021 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors’ responsibilities:

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements on pages 8 to 16 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on

………………………………………………………… 2021 and signed on their behalf by:

S Wakefield

Trustee

9

North East Lincolnshire Carelink Notes to the Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2021

GENERAL INFORMATION AND BASIS OF PREPERATION

North East Lincolnshire Carelink is a charity limited by guarantee in England and does not have any share capital. In the event of the charity being wound up, each of the trustees is liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £10 towards the assets of the charity. The address of the registered office is Centre 4, 17A Wooton Road, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire DN33 1HE. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are to provide support to the vunerable at low cost.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated.

FUNDS

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes. Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes.

INCOME RECOGNITION

All income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.

For donations to be recognised the charity will have been notified of the amounts and the settlement date in writing. If there are conditions attached to the donation and this requires a level of performance before entitlement can be obtained then income is deferred until those conditions are fully met or the fulfilment of those conditions is within the control of the charity and it is probable that they will be fulfilled.

For legacies, entitlement is the earlier of the charity being notified of an impending distribution or the legacy being received. At this point income is recognised. On occasion legacies will be notified to the charity however it is not possible to measure the amount expected to be distributed. On these occasions, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed.

10

North East Lincolnshire Carelink Notes to the Financial Statements Year Ended 31 March 2021

Income from government and other grants are recognised at fair value when the charity has entitlement after any performance conditions have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. If entitlement is not met then these amounts are

Investment income is earned through holding assets for investment purposes such as shares and property. It includes dividends, interest and rent. It is included when the amount can be measured reliably.

EXPENDITURE RECOGNITION

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

SUPPORT COSTS ALLOCATION

Support costs are those that assist the work of the charity but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office costs, governance costs, administrative payroll costs. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources.

TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost (or deemed cost) or valuation less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Cost includes costs directly attributable to making the asset capable of operating as intended.

Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets, at rates calculated to write off the cost, less estimated residual value, of each asset on a systematic basis over its expected useful life as follows:

Leasehold land and buildings 10 years straight line Fixtures and fittings & equipment Between 3-7 years straight line

STOCKS

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost includes all costs of purchase, costs of conversion and other costs incurred in bringing stock to its present location and condition. Cost is calculated using the first-in, first-out formula. Provision is made for damaged, obsolete and slow-moving stock where appropriate.

DEBTORS AND CREDITORS RECEIVABLE / PAYABLE WITHIN ONE YEAR

Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price.

11

North East Lincolnshire Carelink Notes to the Financial Statements

Year Ended 31 March 2021

Donations from individuals
Grants
2021
£
34,763
100
34,863
2020
£
-
135
135

Income from donations, legacies and grants was £34,863 (2020: £135) of which £0 (2020: £0) was attributable to restricted and £34,863 (2020: £135) was attributable to unrestricted funds.

Grants received relate to monies to assist with the impact of COVID19 on the charity.

Equipment rental and monitoring service
Sale of equipment
2021
£
564,012
90,708
654,720
2020
£
533,654
67,936
601,590

Income from charitable activities was £654,720 (2020: £601,590) of which £0 (2020: £0) was attributable to restricted and £654,720 (2020: £601,659) was attributable to unrestricted funds.

4 Income from investments

Interest - bank deposits 2021
£
2,739
2,739
2020
£
866
866

Income from investments was £2,739 (2020: £866) of which £0 (2020: £ 0) was attributable to restricted and £2,739 (2020: £866) was attributable to unrestricted funds.

12

North East Lincolnshire Carelink Notes to the Financial Statements

Year Ended 31 March 2021

6
7
Premises costs
CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES 2021
Sale of equipment
Equipment rental and monitoring
Depreciation
Staff Costs
Allocated support costs
Governance costs
CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES 2020
Equipment rental and monitoring
Sale of equipment
Depreciation
Staff Costs
Allocated support costs
Governance costs
Allocation of support costs
Professional fees
Administration
Independent examiner fees
Governance costs
UNRESTRICTED
£
37,161
88,549
25,496
378,520
66,023
40,549
636,298
RESTRICTED
£
-
-
2,800
-
-
-
2,800
TOTAL
£
37,161
88,549
28,296
378,520
66,023
40,549
639,098
UNRESTRICTED
£
33,772
67,315
27,351
363,072
65,579
38,934
596,023
RESTRICTED
£
-
-
2,800
-
-
-
2,800
TOTAL
£
33,772
67,315
30,151
363,072
65,579
38,934
598,823
2021
£
38,925
27,098
66,023
2021
£
2,000
38,549
40,549
2020
£
35,576
30,003
65,579
2020
£
2,000
36,934
38,934

The Independent examiners remuneration amounts to an independent examination fee of £2,000 (2020: £2,000).

13

North East Lincolnshire Carelink Notes to the Financial Statements

Year Ended 31 March 2021

9 Staff costs and employee benefits

The average monthly number of employees and full time equivalent (FTE) during the year was as

10
At 31 March 2021
At 31 March 2021
At 31 March 2021
At 31 March 2020
Short leasehold
Charitable activities
Administration
The total staff costs and employee benefits were as follows:
Wages and salaries
Tangible fixed assets
Additions
Disposals
DEPRECIATION
At 1 April 2020
Charge for the year
NET BOOK VALUE
The net book value of land and buildings comprised:
COST
At 1 April 2020
Social security
Pension costs
£
64,175
-
-
64,175
38,506
6,417
44,923
19,252
LEASEHOLD
PROPERTY
2021
16
7
23
2021
£
354,756
18,221
5,543
378,520
£
323,787
53,362
-
377,149
247,730
21,879
269,609
107,540
FURNITURE &
EQUIPMENT
2020
18
5
23
2020
£
338,963
18,654
5,455
363,072
£
387,962
53,362
-
441,324
286,236
28,296
314,532
126,792
TOTAL
25,669 76,057 101,726
2021
£
19,252
19,252
2020
£
25,669
25,669

14

North East Lincolnshire Carelink

Notes to the Financial Statements

Year Ended 31 March 2021

North East Lincolnshire Carelink
Notes to the Financial Statements
Year Ended 31 March 2021
North East Lincolnshire Carelink
Notes to the Financial Statements
Year Ended 31 March 2021
11
12
Other Debtors
13
14
£
337,058
28,300
365,358
£
330,490
31,100
361,590
Unrestricted
Restricted
BALANCE AT 1
APRIL 2019
Trade debtors
Prepayments
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
BALANCE AT 1
APRIL 2020
Other creditors
Other tax and social security
Restricted
Unrestricted
Accruals and deferred income
Stocks
Stocks
Debtors
Fund reconciliation
£
692,322
-
692,322
INCOME
2021
£
8,869
8,869
2021
£
4,835
44,013
11,866
60,714
2021
£
8,887
6,286
1,326
4,400
20,899
£
(636,298)
(2,800)
(639,098)
EXPENDITURE
200
£
14,352
14,352
2020
£
17,031
7,268
-
24,299
2020
£
3,420
14,470
-
5,750
23,640
£
393,082
25,500
418,582
BALANCE AT 31
MARCH 2021
£
330,490
31,100
361,590
BALANCE AT 1
APRIL 2019
£
602,591
-
602,591

INCOME
£
(596,023)
(2,800)
(598,823)
EXPENDITURE
£
337,058
28,300
365,358
BALANCE AT 31
MARCH 2020

15

North East Lincolnshire Carelink Notes to the Financial Statements

Year Ended 31 March 2021

15 Analysis of net assets between funds

Current liabilities
Current assets
Fixed assets
UNRESTRICTED
£
117,992
312,689
(20,899)
409,782
RESTRICTED
£
8,800
-
-
8,800
TOTAL
£
126,792
312,689
(20,899)
418,582

16 Related party transactions

There are no related party transactions during the period.

16