OpenCharities

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

2021-03-31-accounts

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

Annual Report and Financial Statements

31 March 2021

Company Limited by Guarantee Registration Number 3050826 (England and Wales)

Charity Registration Number 1046207

Contents

Reports

Reports
Reference and administrative details 1
Report of the Trustees 2
Independent auditor’s report 15
Financial statements
Statement of financial activities 20
Balance sheet 21
Statement of cash flows 22
Principal accounting policies 23
Notes to the financial statements 28
Appendix
Comparative statement of
financial activities 35
Comparative notes to the
financial statements 36

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

Reference and administrative details

Trustees Pui-Ling Li (Chair)
Roger Black
Daisy Boehm Ryan
Jenny Coles
Richard Fass
Jonny Hoyle
Sharon Reid
Tim Sharp
Nia Thomas
Kevin Venosi
Secretary Dr Carol Homden CBE
Managing Director Brigid Robinson
Company Registration Number 3050826 (England and Wales)
Charity Registration Number 1046207
Registered office 41 Brunswick Square
London
WC1N 1AZ
Auditor Buzzacott LLP
130 Wood Street
London
EC2V 6DL
Bankers HSBC Bank plc
The Angel Branch
25 Islington High Street
London
N1 9LJ
Investment Managers Rathbone Investment Management Limited
8 Finsbury Circus
LondonEC2M 7AZ

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

1

Chair’s statement Year to 31 March 2021

Chair’s statement

Over the last year Coram Voice has seen significant growth in the number of children and young people helped, rising to the challenges of the pandemic and the pressures on local authority services, on which an increasing number depend.

There were 15,303 digital and direct engagements with children from 124 English local authorities by means of the Always Heard service provided for the Department for Education, with 7,602 young people being directly supported, an increase of 22%.

Additionally, we made 8,917 referrals to local advocacy services to ensure children received the advocacy support they needed (6% increase from 2019-20) with 6,306 users of the Find My Advocate searchable online tool to find their local advocacy service themselves (4.5% increase from 2019-20).

With the support of the Hadley Trust and in partnership with the Rees Centre at the University of Oxford, we continued the Bright Spots surveys of the subjective wellbeing of children in care and analysed the results of Your Life Beyond Care , providing vital guidance on What Makes Life Good to inform the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.

This work has been complemented by the New Belongings programme, which puts care experienced young people at the heart of improving leaving care services and by expansion of our homeless outreach model in the North West.

Coram Voice is an essential centre for young people's impact on the care system and 364 young people have been involved as interns, staff, consultants, volunteers, trainees and coproduction activities, an increase of 24%. A further 350 young people made submissions to the Voices creative writing competition, again supported by Cadenze Innova.

Whilst the full impact of the pandemic on young people’s wellbeing and chances in life is yet to be seen, our sincere thanks to all those who stand by them and, above all, to our staff and volunteers who every day work to get young voices heard and ensure they can shape the future.

Dr Pui-Ling Li Chair

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

2

Report of the Trustees Year to 31 March 2021

The Trustees, who are the directors for company law purposes, present their report and financial statements of Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) for the year ended 31 March 2021.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on pages 23 to 27 and comply with the charity’s constitution, applicable law and requirements of the 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 United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

This report has been prepared in accordance with Part VIII of the Charities Act 2011.

Scope of the financial statements

The annual report and financial statements are in respect to Coram Voice as a stand-alone charity only.

Coram Voice is part of the Coram group and its ultimate controlling party, The Thomas Coram Foundation for Children (Coram), Registered Charity No. 312278, consolidates the financial statements of Coram Voice with its own and those of other group members. Coram is the sole member of Coram Voice.

Core purpose, vision and mission

Coram Voice champions the rights of children in and leaving care. We get young voices heard in decisions that matter to them and work to improve their lives, holding the system to account and challenging and supporting it to do its job properly.

Coram Voice strives to ensure children know their rights and supports them to navigate the system, challenge decisions and make sure their rights and wellbeing are protected. We empower children to be central in decision-making processes about their lives and, with them in the driving seat, improve the system

We do this because we believe in a society which recognises and willingly accepts its responsibilities to children and young people, where the inequalities and discrimination they currently face have been eradicated, where they are fully engaged in all decisions made about their lives and where their views, needs and feelings are at the core of those decisions.

We believe children are the experts in their lives. They know what the problems are.

We get results by listening to children and young people’s individual and collective experiences and working alongside them to address the issues that are important to them.

We are passionate about challenging negative stereotypes and stigma associated with being in care, by working with children in care and care leavers to increase understanding of their lives and promote their ambitions and achievements and providing a platform for their stories.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

3

Report of the Trustees Year to 31 March 2021

Why we are needed

In England today there are more than 107,630[1] children and young people reliant on the state for their care and wellbeing and the number is rising with thousands more needing some level of support from children’s services.

The care system exists to improve lives and should be a positive experience; for many it is, but for an increasing number the very system that has been put there to protect them lets them down. Unaware of their rights and unsure who to turn to, the complexities and inconsistencies of the system mean many struggle to access support they are legally entitled to, such as safe housing, benefits, education or advice.

What we do

We lead by example and continue to provide excellent, innovative social care children’s rights services that make sure children know their rights; and that their voices are heard and inform decisions that are made about their care regardless of their age, understanding, status or geography.

We reach out to children who are unheard and face additional disadvantage to ensure they know their rights - for example homeless young people, children with disabilities; children in mental health settings, younger children and migrant children and young people

We ensure our services are accessible and relevant to children and young people. We develop new products and approaches that meet the changing ways that children and young people access information and support in the various settings they live.

We aim to improve the capacity of organisations to learn from children’s experiences. We will work with Governmental bodies, Local Authorities, social care organisations and health services to ensure children’s voices are at the heart of service delivery and that service development, improvement and delivery is informed by children’s knowledge and experience.

We use the views and experiences of children and young people gathered through our direct advocacy work, training, and consultancy research and co-production activities to inform and influence policy and practice nationally.

We work with the Coram group and sector partners to ensure that high quality advocacy and children’s rights services are available for all children and young people in England and that national policy and practice development is led by what is important to children and young people.

We innovate to ensure that children and young people’s lived experience is at the centre of the work we do and their experiences shape practice improvement and policy development.

We work with children and young people to champion a change in attitudes to children in care, leaving care and on the edges of care, challenging the stigma they face and promoting their ambitions and achievements and providing a platform for their stories.

1 Figures for children looked after and care leavers ages 19,20 and 21: Children Looked After in England 2019 LA tables, DFE 2020

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

4

Report of the Trustees Year to 31 March 2021

Delivery achievements

In 2020-21, Coram Voice directly supported over 7,602 children and young people a 22% increase on 2019-20 and substantially exceeding our annual target. We successfully moved all functions and staff to remote working at the start of the pandemic, continuing to provide face to face support where needed with COVID-safe risk-assessed practices as well as developing new services and approaches to support children and young people during this crisis.

We were delighted the Minister for Children and Families recognised the need and continued funding for Always Heard , the only national advocacy advice line and safety net for children in and leaving care. As a result we provided a vital service with 15,303 digital and direct engagements to children from 124 English local authorities in 2020-2021 (82% of authorities).

Additionally, we made 8,917 referrals to local advocacy services to ensure children received the advocacy support they needed (6% increase from 2019-20) with 6,306 users of the Find My Advocate searchable online tool to find their local advocacy service themselves (4.5% increase from 2019-20). Our unique offer of “no child turned away” means that every child or young person who contacts us gets advocacy support. The numbers of young people accessing Always Heard shows the importance of support for children and young people unable to access local advocacy.

Thank you very much for all your help. I hit a lot of barriers this whole time but you really helped me and you kept trying until social gave what I needed. I'm doing well now.” ‘

Tyrone’, 15 year old provided with time critical support by the Always Heard service

The pandemic has presented a huge challenge to the children and young people we work with. This has included children who have lost family to Covid-19, had much needed placement moves delayed, or were experiencing disruption to contact with family. The crisis fuelled family breakdowns and homelessness. Young people also reported the toll the pandemic had on their well-being which saw children raising a lack of support to address mental health difficulties become a top 10 advocacy issue this year.

“I haven’t seen anyone. It feels like no one cares.” “Suzi”, looked after child

In April 2020 we launched: Care leavers’ well-being during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Key Messages for Leaving Care Workers calling for services to not only to keep our children and young people safe and supported, but to make their lives as positive as possible at this time.

In January 2020 we undertook a mapping exercise of the barriers children and young people experience when accessing advocacy. The barriers identified included:

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

5

Report of the Trustees Year to 31 March 2021

Delivery achievements (continued)

https://coramvoice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Always-Heard-Report-2020.pdf

We will continue to work with local authorities, Ofsted and advocacy organisations to improve children and young peoples’ access to advocacy.

To help support practice in advocacy we launched our new Specialist Advocacy Service in October developed to share our best practice approach for advocacy and children’s rights work in a number of specialist areas. The new service provides vital consultancy, training and resources (including on line practice information) to advocates, professionals and organisations working with care leavers, young people who are homeless, have disabilities or younger children. In the last year 843 professionals attended our specialist training on children’s rights and engagement and Bright Spots.

Drawing on our years of experience of providing homeless outreach advocacy in London, in June we launched our Homeless outreach program in Greater Manchester. Our Homeless Outreach Advocates help young people move off the streets and into safe housing. By continuing to support them beyond this process, we help them to re-engage with the system and access the financial, housing and educational benefits to which they are entitled. In the coming year, thanks to funding from Comic Relief, we will build on this work by embedding our new Leaving Care with Confidence programme supporting young care leavers and homeless young people.

Following the tragic death of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter (BLM), Coram Voice has ensured all staff undertake unconscious bias training and, as part of the Coram Group, Coram Voice has undertaken an action plan and “name-blind recruitment”. We currently ensure equality of access to services through mapping of the demographics of the children and young people we work with and over the next year will undertake deep dives examining equality of access to services and on the inequalities and discrimination experienced by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic young people.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

6

Report of the Trustees Year to 31 March 2021

Delivery achievements (continued)

We start from the position of the strengths, skills, abilities and expertise of children and young people and have adopted an Asset Based Approach to underpin our work. To reflect this we reviewed our website to align with this approach; and to help inform our work increased the engagement of young people as interns, staff, consultants, volunteers, trainees and coproduction activities across our work by 24% from 293 in 2019-20 to 364 young people in 2020-21.

On 8 April 2020 A National Voice launched @CoramVoice a virtual community for care experienced children and young people using the #ANationalVoice. This responded to young people’s needs during the pandemic creating a space to talk about the things that are important to children in care and care leavers.

Drawing on our Bright Spots “Challenging Stigma in the Care System”, A National Voice launched an online campaign for children in and leaving care looking at challenging the stigma around care #change the label in June 2020. ..

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

7

Report of the Trustees Year to 31 March 2021

Delivery achievements (continued)

Over the year A National Voice has gone from strength to strength establishing itself as the National Children in Care Council with the recruitment of 24 care experienced young ambassadors representing their regions and specialist issues for young people (such as university).

In March 2021 is was announced that A National Voice, the National Children in Care Council will be working with the Care Review to ensure care experienced children and young people across England have their say on the review.

More than 13,500 children and young people in and leaving care across 50 local authority areas have now completed our Bright Spots surveys delivered in conjunction with the Rees Centre, making it the largest data base of the views of children in and leaving care in England.

An extensive analysis of the views and experiences of nearly 2,000 care leavers in England was published in October 2000. What Makes Life Good? Care leavers views on their wellbeing identified recommendations for improvements to the experience of young people in care.

In November 2020 we launched The Voices of Children in Care and Care Leavers on What Makes Life Good focusing on what care-experienced children and young people have said about their wellbeing, drawing on our ongoing work with thousands of care-experience children and young people to inform the care review.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

8

Report of the Trustees Year to 31 March 2021

Delivery achievements (continued)

This was followed in March by a presentation to the Care Review team of the views of 13,500 children in care and care leavers on how they feel about their lives and what works and does not work bout the care system.

This year saw the 5[th] Voices writing competition go online, achieving more than 2,000 views. Hosted by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi, this is the only competition dedicated for children and young people in and leaving care and had a record response rate of over 350 entries submitted from across the country on the subject of Dreams .

The creativity of children and young people is compelling and a vital narrative challenging the - perceived deficits of care can be viewed on line at https://coramvoice.org.uk/get involved/voices-writing-competition/voices-2021-the-national-writing-competition-forchildren-in-and-leaving-care/

The difference the competition makes to children and young people is immense as highlighted by a letter received from Ryan, aged 10 and winner of the Primary Category:

To Say I’m grateful is not enough

What can I say accept my heart is filled with joy Sitting with my family, YouTube glowing, me feeling such a proud boy Sounds of Coram Voices bouncing round our living room Lots of happy cheers, absolutely no traces of gloom Hearing the Primary age category read out, Knowing that Piers, Lauren and Olivia had never given me a doubt. I really would have been happy just getting in the top five, When hearing I was the winner my nerves took a power dive My world went into slow motion as proudness shone in my families faces, With the comfort of their arms giving loving embraces, We watched the other winners, as in my eyes everyone was one, My heart went out to them as I imagined their celebration had begun This competition is so special because it gives us kids a chance, to speak. A brilliant idea by Muna as poetry is a wonderful powerful technique.

Future plans

In the coming year and notwithstanding the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on charity fundraising generally, Coram Voice will seek to expand access to service through digital and outreach services, especially in relation to our Leaving Care with Confidence Service in Greater Manchester.

We will work in partnership across the sector and continue to provide the Always Heard Safetynet as well as contracted advocacy and independent visitor services and champion the voice of children and young people in policy and in practice, including by informing and conducting consultation for the Independent Review in Children’s Social Care.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

9

Report of the Trustees Year to 31 March 2021

Financial review

During the year total income amounted to £2,263,223 (2020 – £2,492,190) and expenditure totalled £2,202,879 (2020 – £2,458,592). The decrease in income and associated expenditure year on year reflects the reduced costs of delivering services virtually during the pandemic and has not impacted the stability and growth in advocacy service and policy contracts.

Net gains on investments in the year totalled £34,497 (2020 – loss of £24,005). Details of movements in the investments can be found in note 7.

Net unrestricted funds of the charity increased by £105,750 (2020 - £28,887) and restricted funds decreased by £10,909 (2020 – £19,294). Details of movements in the restricted funds can be found in note 11.

All Coram Voice expenditure supports the objectives of the charity as described above.

Reserves policy

Coram Voice aims to hold a reserve of six months budgeted income as its general reserve. This will:

At the end of the 2020-21 financial year our total funds stood at £983,640 (2020: £888,799) which included restricted funds of £89,126 (2020: £100,035) for expenditure on specific projects and funds representing the charity’s tangible fixed assets of £48,914 (2020: £50,986).

General reserves currently stand at £845,600, compared to a target of £1,387,262.

Trustees recognise the need to review reserves during 2021-22 to ensure an adequate level of reserves is maintained. Progress continues to be made towards achieving the targeted level of reserves.

This policy is reviewed annually alongside the production of the annual accounts in order to:

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 10

Report of the Trustees Year to 31 March 2021

Volunteers

Coram Voice volunteers contribute in many different but important ways to our achievements with and for children and young people. During 2020-21, 293 volunteers (145 in 2019-20) including young people, independent visitors, helpline workers, trustees, and judges, organisers and contributors to our Voices competition, donated over 6,345 hours of their time (10,741 in 2019-20). We are very grateful for their vital support.

Governance

Coram Voice is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. It was founded as ‘Voice for the Child in Care’. On 1 October 2013 we adopted a new governing instrument in the form of revised Memorandum and Articles of Association. 'Voice for the Child in Care’ became part of the Coram group, our name changed to ‘Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)’, and our trading name became ‘Coram Voice’.

Our governing body is a Board of Trustees. Candidates for appointment as Trustees are nominated by the Coram Nominations and Governance Committee for approval by the Boards of both Coram and Coram Voice.

The Board of Trustees meets several times a year to ensure that Coram Voice has a clear vision, mission and strategic direction, and to monitor that activities are focused on achieving them. The Board has oversight of our finances, plans and policies, risk management and legal and regulatory compliance.

Day-to-day management of Coram Voice is delegated to the Managing Director who reports to the Coram Chief Executive and is accountable to the Coram Voice Board of Trustees.

Trustees regularly review the membership of the Board to ensure that the necessary skills and experiences are in place to allow effective governance, aiming to reflect the diversity of the UK population. The Governance was further reviewed as part of the amalgamation process during 2013, resulting in the arrangements described above.

Trustees are also directors for the purposes of company law. The Trustees who served during the year and up to the date on which this report was approved were as follows:

Trustees Appointed/Resigned
Pui-Ling Li (Chair)
Simon Greenhalgh (Treasurer) Resigned 14 December 2020
Roger Black
Daisy Boehm Ryan Appointed 14 December 2020
Jenny Coles
Richard Fass (Treasurer) Appointed 14 December 2020
Jonny Hoyle
Rosemary Mayes Resigned 14 December 2020
Sharon Reid
Tim Sharp
Nia Thomas Appointed 14 December 2020
Kevin Venosi

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

11

Report of the Trustees Year to 31 March 2021

Governance (continued)

The Trustees met four times in the 2019-20 financial year.

Key management personnel

The Trustees consider that they, together with the Group CEO and Coram Voice Managing Director, are the key management of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the charity on a day to day basis.

The remuneration of key management personnel is based on an internal assessment of the scope of the individual role and an individual’s performance within that role. Internal benchmarking is conducted to ensure that remuneration levels within the Coram group are consistent for the level of responsibilities. Remuneration is agreed by the Coram Group Senior Management Team consisting of the Chief Executive, Chief Finance Officer and the Director of Operations.

None of the Trustees received any remuneration in connection with their duties as Trustees or key management of the charity.

Public benefit

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission on determining the activities undertaken by the Charity.

Risk management

The Board of Trustees has adopted a risk management protocol to assess and mitigate the major risks to which the charity is exposed. It reviews the risk register annually to assess recorded risks and any new ones, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the charity, and ensures that systems are in place to mitigate the charity’s exposure to the major risks.

The risks which are considered to have the highest potential impact, taking into account controls and mitigation plans we have in place, are:

The risks were satisfactorily managed and no significant operational problems were encountered during the year.

Risk is mitigated through the following regular actions:

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

12

Report of the Trustees Year to 31 March 2021

Fundraising policy

Coram Voice is part of the Coram charitable group, and fundraising activities are undertaken and assured by the central fundraising department. As the parent charity, Coram is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and adheres to the Fundraising Code of Practice. Our Privacy Policy can be found on our website at www.coram.org.uk/privacy. There were no complaints made to Coram Voice in the year. If you have any comments or concern, please contact fundraising@coram.org.uk.

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of Coram Voice for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of 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 proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable 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.

Each of the Trustees confirms that:

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

13

Report of the Trustees Year to 31 March 2021

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities (continued)

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.

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of s418 of the Companies Act 2006.

Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Dr Pui-Ling Li Chair

Date of approval: 8 December 2021

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

14

Independent auditor’s report Year to 31 March 2021

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Coram Voice

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Coram Voice (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows, the principal accounting policies and the notes to the financial statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

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

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

Other information

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

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

15

Independent auditor’s report Year to 31 March 2021

Other information (continued)

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ report including the strategic report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 16

Independent auditor’s report Year to 31 March 2021

Responsibilities of Trustees (continued)

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 17

Independent auditor’s report Year to 31 March 2021

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements (continued)

We assessed the susceptibility of the charitable company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

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

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 18

Independent auditor’s report Year to 31 March 2021

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Amanda Francis (Senior Statutory Auditor) 17 December 2021 For and on behalf of Buzzacott LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

19

Statement of financial activities Year to 31 March 2021

(Incorporating the income and expenditure account)

Notes Unrestricted
funds
£		 Restricted
funds
£		 Total
funds
2021
£		 Total
funds
2020
£
Income from:
Donations and grants
1
Investment income and bank
interest
Charitable activities
. Advocacy services
2
. Policy and campaigning
Other sources
. Coronavirus Job Retention
Scheme
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
. Fundraising
Charitable activities
. Advocacy services
3
. Policy and campaigning
3
Total expenditure
Net income (expenditure) before
investment gains (losses)
Net gains (losses) on investments
Net income (expenditure) and net
movement in funds
5
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward at
1 April 2020
Total funds carried forward at
31 March 2021		 28,183
6,834
1,690,603
79,079
17,101		 441,423
—
—
—
—		 469,606
6,834
1,690,603
79,079
17,101		 447,216
3,961
1,875,306
165,707
—
1,821,800 441,423 2,263,223 2,492,190
40,491
1,573,552
136,504		 —
163,663
288,669		 40,491
1,737,215
425,173		 15,494
2,023,778
419,320
1,750,547 452,332 2,202,879 2,458,592
71,253
34,497		 (10,909)
—		 60,344
34,497		 33,598
(24,005)
105,750
788,764		 (10,909)
100,035		 94,841
888,799		 9,593
879,206
894,514 89,126 983,640 888,799

All of the charity’s activities derived from continuing operations during the above two financial years.

The charity has no recognised gains and losses other than those shown above.

A full comparative statement of financial activities is included in the appendix to these financial statements.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 20

Balance sheet 31 March 2021

Notes 2021
£		 2021
£		 2020
£		 2020
£
Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets
6
Investments
7
Current assets
Debtors
8
Cash at bank and in hand
Current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year
9
Net current assets
Total net assets
The funds of the charity:
Restricted funds
11
Unrestricted funds:
. Tangible fixed assets fund
12
. General funds
Total funds
13		 230,117
810,390		 48,914
337,761		 858,260
158,438		 50,986
298,741
386,675
596,965		 349,727
539,072
1,040,507
(443,542)		 1,016,698
(477,626)
983,640 888,799
89,126
48,914
845,600		 100,035
50,986
737,778
983,640 888,799

Approved and authorised by the Trustees of Coram Voice, Company Registration Number 3050826 (England and Wales), and signed on their behalf by:

Dr Pui-Ling Li

Chair

Date of approval: 8 December 2021

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 21

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2021

Notes
2021
£		 2020
£
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities
A
Cash flows from investing activities:
Investment income and interest received
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Purchase of investments
Proceeds from the disposal of investments
Net cash used in investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April 2020
B
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2021
B
670,041		 72,373
6,834
(20,400)
(51,772)
26,211		 3,961
(34,934)
(180,635)
54,258
**(39,127) ** (157,350)
630,914

196,478		 (84,977)
281,455

827,392		 196,478

Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 31 March 2021.

A Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash provided by operating activities

2021
£		 2020
£
Net movement in funds (as per the statement of financial activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charge
(Gains) losses on investments
Investment income and interest receivable
Decrease (increase in debtors
(Decrease) increase in creditors
Net cashprovided by operating activities		 94,841
22,472
(34,497)
(6,834)
628,143
(34,084)		 9,593
15,376
24,439
(3,961)
(189,803)
218,729
670,041 72,373

B Analysis of cash and cash equivalents

Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
2021
£		 2020
£
Cash at bank and in hand
Cash held by investment managers
Total cash and cash equivalents		 810,390
17,002		 158,438
38,040
827,392 196,478

C Analysis of net debt

Analysis of net debt
At 1 April
2020
£		 Cash
flows
£		 Other
non-cash
flows
£		 At 31
March
2021
£
Total cash and cash equivalents:Cash at bank
and in hand		 196,478 630,914 — 827,392

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

22

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2021

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are laid out below.

Basis of preparation

These financial statements have been prepared for the year to 31 March 2021 with comparative information provided in respect to the year to 31 March 2020.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policies below or the notes to these financial statements.

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 United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (Charities SORP FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

The financial statements are presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest pound.

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

Preparation of the financial statements requires the Trustees and management to make significant judgements and estimates.

The items in the financial statements where these judgements and estimates have been made include:

Assessment of going concern

The Trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing these financial statements. The Trustees have made this assessment in respect to a period of one year from the date of approval of these financial statements.

The Trustees acknowledge and recognise the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the charity, its stakeholders and on wider society. In the coming year and notwithstanding the significant impact of the pandemic on charity fundraising generally, Coram Voice will seek to expand access to service through digital and outreach services. Whilst the pandemic will continue to present challenges to the charity, the Trustees believe that any impact on the charity’s income and expenditure flows will not affect its financial stability although they will continue to keep both income and expenditure under review.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 23

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2021

Assessment of going concern (continued)

Therefore, the Trustees of the charity have concluded that there are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The Trustees are of the opinion that the charity will have sufficient resources to meet its liabilities as they fall due.

Basis of consolidation

Coram Voice is part of a larger group and its ultimate controlling party, Coram, consolidates the financial statements of Coram Voice with its own and those of other group members.

Income recognition

Income is recognised in the period in which the charity has entitlement to the income and the amount can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received. Income is deferred only when the charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor or funder has specified that the income is to be expended in a future accounting period.

Income comprises donations, grants, interest receivable and investment income, income from fundraising, contractual income, and miscellaneous income.

Donations are included in full in the statement of financial activities in the period in which the charity has entitlement to the income and the amount of income can be measured reliably and it is probable the income will be received.

Gifts and services received in kind are included within donations and charged to the respective expenditure heading within the statement of financial activities at their fair value being the best estimate of their value to the charity or they are capitalised at this value as a fixed asset if appropriate.

In accordance with the Charities SORP FRS 102 volunteer time is not recognised.

Grants are recognised in full in the statement of financial activities in the year in which they are receivable, and conditions for receipt have been met. Income is deferred only when the charity has to fulfil certain conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor or funder has specified that the income is to be expended in a future accounting period.

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

Dividends are recognised once the dividend has been declared and notification has been received of the dividend due.

Contractual income is recognised to the extent that it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the charity and the revenue can be measured reliably. Income is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable.

Income from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is credited to the statement of financial activities once the charity is entitled to the funding and when the amount receivable has been quantified.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

24

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2021

Income recognition (continued)

Other income, including income from fundraising, is recognised to the extent that it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the charity and the revenue can be reliably measured.

Expenditure recognition

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. Expenditure comprises direct costs and support costs. All expenses, including support costs, are allocated or apportioned to the applicable expenditure headings. The classification between activities is as follows:

All expenditure is stated inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

Allocation of support and governance costs

Support costs represent indirect charitable expenditure. In order to carry out the primary purposes of the charity it is necessary to provide support in the form of personnel development, financial procedures, provision of office services and equipment and a suitable working environment.

Governance costs comprise the costs involving the public accountability of the charity (including audit costs) and costs in respect to its compliance with regulation and good practice. Governance costs are included as a specific category within support costs.

Support costs are allocated to expenditure on charitable activities in the same proportion as the direct costs of each activity.

Tangible fixed assets

Expenditure on the charity’s database and on fixtures, fittings and equipment of £1,000 per item or less is expended in the year of purchase. Items over £1,000 are capitalised and are stated at cost less depreciation. Assets are retired at the end of their useful economic life.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 25

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2021

Tangible fixed assets (continued)

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:

Investments

Listed investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted market price. Unrealised gains and losses are calculated as the difference between the fair value at the year end and their carrying value at that date.

Realised and unrealised gains (or losses) are credited (or debited) to the statement of financial activities in the year in which they arise.

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

Debtors

Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for non-recoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash receipt where such discounting is material.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand represents such accounts and instruments that are available on demand or have a maturity of less than three months from the date of acquisition. Deposits for more than three months but less than one year have been disclosed as short term deposits. Cash placed on deposit for more than one year is disclosed as a fixed asset investment.

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash payment where such discounting is material.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 26

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2021

Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specified purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund, together with a fair allocation of management and support costs.

The tangible fixed assets fund represents the net book value of the tangible fixed assets used for the support of the work of the charity.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other income received or generated for the objects of the charity without further specified purpose and are available as general funds.

Pensions

Contributions to defined contribution pension schemes are charged to the statement of financial activities when they are payable to the plan or scheme. The charity’s contributions are restricted to the contributions disclosed in note 4. The charity has no liability beyond making its contributions and paying across the deductions for the employees’ contributions.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

27

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2021

1 Donations and grants

Donations and grants
Unrestricted
funds
£		 Restricted
funds
£		 2021
Total
funds
£		 2020
Total
funds
£
Donations
Grants		 4,183
24,000		 9,000
432,423		 13,183
456,423		 33,076
414,140
28,183 441,423 469,606 447,216

The classification of grants has been reviewed in the current year to better reflect the nature of the income. The comparative has therefore been restated. Grant income of £337,373, was previously classified as income from charitable activities (note 2).

2 Income from advocacy services

Income from advocacy services
Unrestricted
funds
£
1,279,184
243,095
85,780
82,544
1,690,603
79,079
1,769,682		 Restricted
funds
£

—

—

—

—

—

—
—		 2021
Total
funds
£		 2020
Total
funds
£

1,424,836

221,337

100,634

128,498

1,875,305

165,707

2,041,012
Contractual income
Advocacy service
Visiting advocacy service
Independent person (complaints)
Independent person (reviews)
Total advocacy services
Policy and campaigning
Total charitable activities
1,279,184

243,095

85,780

82,544

1,690,603

79,079

1,769,682

The classification of grants has been reviewed in the current year to better reflect the nature of the income. The comparative has therefore been restated. Grant income of £337,373, which was previously classified as income from charitable activities, has been restated to grant income (note 1).

3 Expenditure

Advocacy service
Visiting advocacy service
Independent person (complaints)
Independent person (reviews)
Total advocacy services
Policy and campaigning
Total charitable activities		 Direct
costs
£

1,291,134
153,101
67,584
51,828
1,563,647
314,616
1,878,263		 Support and
manage-
ment
£
2021
Total
funds
£
56,119
1,347,253
65,876
218,977
25,658
93,242
25,915
77,743
173,568
1,737,215
110,557
425,173
284,125
2,162,388		 2020
Total
funds
£
1,675,259
168,155
87,571
92,794
2,023,778
419,320
2,443,098

Support costs have been allocated in line with the direct expenditure incurred.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

28

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2021

4 Staff costs

Staff costs during the year were as follows:

Staff costs
Staff costs during the year were as follows:
2021
£		 2020
£
Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Pension costs		 1,294,319
109,169
47,420		 1,263,266
95,060
37,763
1,450,908 1,396,089

The average number of employees (based on headcount) during the year was as follows:

2021
number		 2020
number
Advocacy services
Policy and campaigning
Support services		 49
11
3		 47
5
4
63 56

No employees received employee remuneration of £60,000 per annum or more (including taxable benefits but excluding employer pension and national insurance contributions) during the period (2020 – none).

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The annual contribution made by the charity to the Scheme is £47,420 (2020 - £37,763).

Key management personnel are defined as the Trustees and the Managing Director of Coram Voice.

The remuneration of key management personnel is based on an internal assessment of the scope of the individual role and an individual’s performance within that role. Internal benchmarking is conducted to ensure that remuneration levels within the Coram Group are consistent for the level of responsibilities. Remuneration is agreed by the Coram Group Senior Management Team consisting of the Chief Executive, Chief Finance Officer and the Director of Operations

The total remuneration (including taxable benefits and employer's pension and national insurance contributions) of the key management personnel of the charity was £80,232 (£2020 £68,078).

No Trustee received any remuneration during the year (2020 - £nil). No Trustee (2020 - £nil) was reimbursed for travel expenses

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 29

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2021

5 Net income (expenditure)and net movement in funds

This is stated after charging:

Net income (expenditure)and net movement in funds
This is stated after charging:
2021
£		 2020
£
Auditor’s remuneration (excluding VAT)
Rental of office equipment
Depreciation		 7,200
2,730
22,472		 8,100
390
15,377

6 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets
Website
£
Database
£		 Fixtures,
fittings and
equipment
£		 Total
£
Cost
At 1 April 2020
Additions
Disposals
At 31 March 2021
Depreciation
At 1 April 2020
Charge for the year
Disposals
At 31 March 2021
Net book values
At 31 March 2021
At 31 March 2020		 34,934
—
—
199,921

20,400

(59,921)		 67,099
—
(63,949)		 301,954
20,400
(123,870)
34,934
160,400		 3,150 198,484
582
6,988
—
183,921

14,850

(59,921)		 66,465
634
(63,949)		 250,968
22,472
(123,870)
7,570
138,850		 3,150 149,570
27,634
21,550		 — 48,914
34,452
16,000		 634 50,986
Investments 2021
£		 2020
£
Listed investments
Market value as at 1 April
Additions at cost
Disposals
Unrealised gains (losses)
Market value as at 31 March
Cash held for reinvestment
Total investments		 260,701
51,772
(26,211)
34,497		 156,763
180,635
(54,258)
(22,439)
320,759
17,002		 260,701
38,040
337,761 298,741

7 Investments

Cost of investments at 31 March 2021 was £295,660 (2020: £275,068).

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 30

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2021

7 Investments (continued)

At 31 March 2021 the following individual investment holdings each represented a material holding (i.e. greater than 5% of the value of the entire portfolio) when compared to the value of the listed investments held at that date:

Market
Value
£		 % of total
listed
investments
FINDLAY PARK FUNDS American Fund Unhedged (GBP)
FIDELITY INVESTMENT SERVICES strategic Bond Net W Inc
LINK FUND SOLUTIONS Trojan S Inc
JUPITER UNIT TRUST MGRS Strategic Bond Z Inc
WISDOMETREE METAL SEC LTD Physical Gold (USD)
ABERDENN STANDARD FUND MGRS Gbl Indec Bond S Instl
RATHBONE UNIT TRUST MGMT High Quality Bond S Dist		 26,197
22,870
16,662
19,584
19,070
17,683
15,848		 8%
7%
6%
6%
6%
5%
5%

8 Debtors

Debtors
2021
£		 2020
£
Fees receivable
Accrued income and prepayments
Amount due from fellow subsidiary undertakings
Amounts due from parent undertaking		 137,197
7,733
845
84,342		 747,566
80,214
390
30,090
230,117 858,260

9 Creditors: amount falling due within one year

Creditors: amount falling due within one year
2021
£		 2020
£
Deferred income (note 10)
Expense creditors
Accruals
Other creditors
Social security and other taxes
Amount due to parent undertaking
Amount due to fellow subsidiaries		 300,681
63,906
9,669
18,581
32,239
—
18,466		 218,033
79,645
35,005
9,045
28,038
89,804
18,056
443,542 477,626

10 Deferred income

Deferred income
2021
£
218,033
(218,033)
300,681
300,681		 2020
£
At 1 April 2020
Released in the year
New deferrals
At 31 March 2021		 105,924
(105,924)
218,033
218,033

Deferred income relates to funding received which is subject to time related conditions.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

31

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2021

11 Restricted funds

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trusts to be applied for specific purpose.

At 1 April
2020
£		 Income
£		 Expenditure
£		 At 31 March
2021
£
Outreach fund
Specialist Advocacy fund
16 Plus Advocacy
Leaving care with confidence
Bright Spots
New Belongings
Voices Writing Competition fund
A National Voice
Peer research		 34,527
6,536
—
—
9,843
39,924
9,205
—
—
51,067

54,852

39,167

15,850

148,692

76,118

7,500

44,583

3,595
(60,354)

(61,175)

(26,916)

(15,219)

(145,425)

(86,440)

(10,735)

(42,474)

(3,595)
25,240

213

12,251

631

13,110

29,602

5,970

2,109
—
100,035
441,424
(452,333)		 89,126

The specific purposes for which the funds are to be applied are as follows:

Outreach fund

Grants received for providing advocacy services to homeless young people.

Specialist Advocacy fund

Grants received for providing general advocacy services to local authorities.

16 Plus Advocacy

For Providing advocacy services and specialist advocacy in relation to care leavers and young people aged 16 and over. (Comic Relief)

Leaving care with confidence

Grants received for providing advocacy support in the Greater Manchester area to young people leaving care to ensure a smoother transition to independence.

Bright Spots

Grant from the Hadley Trust to be used for the Bright Spots project.

New Belongings

Grant from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to be used in supporting local authorities to adapt services on the basis of feedback from care leavers.

Voices Writing Competition fund

Monies received to support the annual Voices writing competition.

A National Voice

Grant was provided by Lawrence Atwell’s Charity to cover the cost of a Skills Development Worker to run a project that provides training opportunities for young people under the age of 26 who are care experienced. This project sits within a wider Coram Voice programme - A National Voice - a care-experienced ambassador programme that champions a change in attitudes to children in care and on the edges of care.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

32

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2021

11 Restricted funds

Peer Research

Grant from NIHR (via NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG) to manage peer researchers involvement in a research project to develop health and wellbeing training for leaving care personal advisers.

12 Tangible fixed assets fund

Tangible fixed assets fund
At
1 April
2020
£		 Movements
in year
£		 At 31
March
2021
£
Tangible fixed assets fund 50,986 (2,072) 48,914

The tangible fixed assets fund represents the net book value of the charity’s tangible fixed assets used for the support of the charity’s work. A decision was made to separate this fund from the general fund in recognition of the fact that the assets are used in the day to day work of the charity, and the fund value would not be realisable easily if needed to meet future contingencies.

13 Analysis of net assets between funds

General
funds
£		 Tangible
fixed assets
fund
£		 Restricted
funds
£		 Total
funds
£
Tangible fixed assets
Investments
Current assets
Creditors: amounts falling due within one
year		 —
337,761
951,381
(443,542)		 48,914

—

—
—
—

—
89,126

—		 48,914

337,761

1,040,507

(443,542)
845,600
48,914
89,126		 983,640

The total unrealised gains as at 31 March 2021 constitute movements on revaluation and are as follow

2021
£		 2020
£
Unrealised gains (losses) included on investments
Reconciliation of movements in unrealised gains (losses)
Unrealised gains at 1 April 2020
In respect to disposals
Net gains (losses) arising on revaluation in the year
Total unrealisedgains at 31 March 2021		 25,099 (14,367)
(14,367)
4,969
34,497		 9,529
(1,457)
(22,439)
25,099 (14,367)

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 33

Notes to the financial statements 31 March 2021

14 Ultimate parent undertaking

The Thomas Coram Foundation for the Children (‘Coram’), a registered charity with Charity Registration Number 312278, is the sole member of Coram Voice.

The financial statements do not include disclosure of transactions between Coram Voice and Coram. As a 100% controlled subsidiary undertaking, Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) is exempt from the requirement to disclose such transactions under Financial Reporting Standard 102 Section 33.

15 Liability of member

The charity is constituted as a company limited by guarantee. In the event of the charity being wound up, the member is required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.

16 Taxation

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) is a registered charity and, therefore, is not liable to income tax or corporation tax on income derived from its charitable activities, as it falls within the various exemptions available to registered charities.

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

34

Appendix:

Comparative statement of financial activities Year to 31 March 2020 expenditure account)

(incorporating the income and

Notes
Unrestricted
funds
£		 Restricted
funds
£		 Total
funds
2020
£
Income from:
Donations and grants
1
Investment income and bank interest
Charitable activities
. Advocacy services
2
. Policy and campaigning
Other sources
. Miscellaneous income
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
. Fundraising
Charitable activities
. Advocacy services
3
. Policy and campaigning
3
Total expenditure
Net income before investment losses
Net losses on investments
Net income (expenditure) and net movement
in funds
5
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward at
1 April 2019
Total funds carried forward at
31 March 2020
24,758
3,961

1,875,306
165,707
—		 85,085
—
64,204
273,169
—		 109,843
3,961
1,939,510
438,876
—
2,069,732 422,458 2,492,190
829

1,867,699

148,312		 14,665
156,079
271,008		 15,494
2,023,778
419,320
2,016,840 441,752 2,458,592
52,892
(24,005)		 (19,294)
—		 33,598
(24,005)

28,887
759,877		 (19,294)
119,329		 9,593
879,206
788,764 100,035 888,799

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 35

Appendix:

Comparative notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2020

1 Donations and grants

Donations and grants
Donations
Grants		 Unrestricted
funds
£		 Restricted
funds
£		 2020
Total
funds
£
24,758
—		 8,318
76,767		 33,076
76,767
24,758 85,085 109,843

3 Expenditure on charitable activities

Expenditure on charitable activities
Direct
costs
£		 Support and
manage-
ment
£		 2020
Total
funds
£
Advocacy services
. Advocacy service
. Visiting advocacy service
. Visiting advocacy secure service
. Independent persons (complaints)
Independent persons (reviews)
Total advocacy services
Policy and campaigning		 1,255,397
57,090
78,305
66,377
75,890
419,862

13,574

19,187

21,193

16,904
1,675,259

70,664

97,492

87,571

92,794
1,533,059
333,581
490,719

85,739
2,023,778

419,320
1,866,640
576,458
2,443,098

Support costs have been allocated in line with the direct expenditure incurred.

11 Restricted funds

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trusts to be applied for specific purpose.

Outreach fund
Advocacy fund
Bright Spots fund
A National Voice
Learning and development
New Belongings
Voices Writing Competition fund		 At 1 April
2019
£		 Income
£		 Expenditure
£		 At 31 March
2020
£
68,769
—
17,820
9,285
14,250
—
9,205
57,552

76,737

153,336

35,000

—

99,833

—
(91,794)

(70,201)

(161,313)

(44,285)

(14,250

(59,910)

—
34,527

6,536

9,843

—

—

39,924

9,205
119,329
422,458
(441,752)		 100,035

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care) 36

Appendix:

Comparative notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2020

12 Tangible fixed assets fund

Tangible fixed assets fund
At
1 April
2019
£		 Movements
in year
£		 At 31
March
2020
£
Tangible fixed assets fund 31,428 19,558 50,986

The tangible fixed assets fund represents the net book value of the charity’s tangible fixed assets used for the support of the charity’s work. A decision was made to separate this fund from the general fund in recognition of the fact that the assets are used in the day to day work of the charity, and the fund value would not be realisable easily if needed to meet future contingencies.

13 Analysis of net assets between funds

General
funds
£		 Tangible
fixed assets
fund
£		 Restricted
funds
£		 Total
funds
£
Tangible fixed assets
Investments
Current assets
Creditors: amounts falling due within one
year		 —
298,741
916,663
(477,626)		 50,986
—
—
—		 —
—
100,035
—		 50,986
298,741
1,016,698
(477,626)
737,778 50,986 100,035 888,799

Coram Voice (formerly Voice for the Child in Care)

37