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2023-03-31-accounts

Company number: 2835637 Charity Number: 1048788

Women’s Health Matters

Report and financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2023

Women’s Health Matters

Reference and administrative information

for the year ended 31 March 2023

Charity name Women’s Health Matters Company number 2835637 Charity number 1048788

Registered office and operational address

44a-48 The Refinery, Sugar Mill Business Park, Oakhurst Avenue, Leeds, LS11 7DF

Trustees

Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:

Alison Cater Chair of Trustees Emma Dickens Vice Chair of Trustees Amita Fearon Treasurer Lillian Ayala appointed April 2022 Tracy Bridgett resigned July 2022 Tracey Glanville resigned January 2023 Tessa Johnson Jones Hannah Jones Shirley-Anne Paul appointed May 2023 Nicola Rhodes appointed January 2023 Sarah Salahuddin Amie Tolson resigned January 2023 Aimee Ward appointed May 2023

No trustees are related or live at the same address.

Key management personnel Rachel Kelly Chief Executive Bridget Walker Finance & Office Manager

Bankers

Unity Trust Bank plc 4 Brindley Place, Birmingham, B1 2HB

Independent examiner

Catherine Hall FCCA, Slade & Cooper Limited Beehive Mill, Jersey Street, Manchester M4 6JG

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Women’s Health Matters

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2023

The Trustees present their report and the unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.

Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

Objectives and activities

Objects (as set out in the company’s memorandum of association on the Charity Commission)

To preserve and protect the good health, both physical and mental, of women in Leeds and the surrounding area and, in particular, to educate such women about health-related matters.

Aims To work with women and girls across Leeds so that they can take control of their lives and their health.

Objectives Our objects define the services we provide for women and girls resident or working in Leeds and the surrounding areas. Leeds is a large city with a population of 413,900 women and girls. Women’s Health Matters (WHM) reduces health inequalities experienced by women from disadvantaged communities across Leeds. We work with women who have unequal access to health and support services due to poverty, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or traumatic personal experience.

Trustees reviewed our objects and Articles in 2022 and these were submitted to Companies House and Charity Commission for approval. The Articles were accepted by Companies House. Talks are ongoing with the Charity Commission regarding the updated Articles. Our legal name was changed from Womens Health Matters to Women’s Health Matters.

From our 2022/23 survey of women and girls we intensively support, over half live in the top 3% most deprived wards in England and almost all live in the 20% most deprived wards. The women we work with face significant health inequalities. The State of Women’s Health in Leeds report noted 23% of women (98,556) live in the most deprived areas of Leeds, with only 8% in the wealthiest. In addition that deprivation has a major impact on the health of the population with the mortality rate in women in the more deprived areas of Leeds 40% higher than that in the wealthiest areas. 21,826 incidents of Domestic Violence were reported in Leeds last year. It is estimated that only 18% of incidents are reported to police, suggesting that the actual number of incidents in Leeds is above 121,000. 60% of women who experience DV also experience mental health problems.

We specialise in group work, peer support, and providing one to one support. We work intensively with women and girls who are most at risk, including those experiencing domestic violence, sexual and emotional abuse; those with children in care or at risk of being removed; young mums and disadvantaged parents and their children; women seeking asylum; women with learning disabilities; and women with complex needs or

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mental health and wellbeing needs. We take a woman-centred holistic approach, creating a safe, nurturing environment to help women recover their confidence, explore their own needs, and regain control over their lives. Where capacity allows, we undertake outreach work that enables us to broaden our reach to a wide range of women who have often found it more difficult to work with statutory services.

Our funding limits the number of women we can help. For some services we hold waiting lists when necessary. We ensure that women have information about other services available in the city and are referred appropriately when additional support is required or is not within our remit.

Our aim is to make our services accessible. All are provided free of charge. We work in ways that help overcome barriers to participation, for example specific services working with women with learning disabilities, women seeking asylum with interpretation support and young women. We build in costs (where funding permits) for crèche, interpreters, and access costs travel into our services and use safe and accessible venues from which to run services and events.

We undertake equal opportunities monitoring to try to ensure women from multiple backgrounds are accessing our services. Women’s Health Matters (WHM) has an Equal Opportunities Policy that supports recruitment, monitoring, induction, training and all the services we deliver. We recognise that there are disadvantaged groups in our society and affirm that the charity has a responsibility for combating the causes of these disadvantages. We strive to ensure that all women have full access to employment, voluntary work, services provided and Board of Trustees membership. It is fundamental that no one is treated less favourably by WHM on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, religion, disability, age, marital status, class, sexual orientation, or responsibility for dependants.

We ensure that staff members are experienced, trained and supervised to carry out the work of the charity and we strive not to embark on areas of work that will cause detriment or harm. Volunteers support some services to achieve their aims and objectives. They receive induction and ongoing support as well as out of pocket expenses.

The Trustees review the aims, objectives, and activities of the charity each year. They support staff to identify new areas of work, influence policy externally and increase understanding and knowledge of the services of the organisation, sustain funding of our activities, assess impact of our work, and maintain good quality management.

This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period. The Trustees report the success of key activities and the benefits the charity has brought to those groups of people that it is set up to help. The review also helps the Trustees ensure the charity’s aims, objectives and activities remained focused on its stated purposes. The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

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Achievements and performance

The charity's main activities and who it tries to help are described below. All its charitable activities focus on women and girls in disadvantaged areas of Leeds and surrounding areas, and with groups of women and girls who experience additional disadvantage. Activities are undertaken to further Women’s Health Matters charitable purposes for the public benefit.

In 2022/23, we worked directly with 2517 women and girls; 1214 women and girls accessed intensive group and 1 to 1 support and 1303 were reached through lighter touch outreach contact. In addition, we supported 303 children. We ran 869 group sessions and 1728 1 to 1 sessions.

We delivered our work across 27 services during the year: Bluebirds Breastfeeding Peer Support Breathe Free Create and Connect Digital Support and Inclusion Emergency Fund, Household Support Fund, and Product Bank Energise and Empower Family Canvas Feel Good Growing Together Inside Out Leeds Domestic Violence Service LDVS Sanctuary Support Maternity Voices Partnership Pregnancy Choices Advocacy Service Rainbow Hearts Rosebuds Snowdrops Sunflowers The Key Change Women’s Lives Leeds – Empowering Systems Change Women’s Health Matters Drop In Women’s Health Matters external training for professionals Women’s Health Matters Volunteering Programme and Student Placements Wow! Young Snowdrops Your Space

During the year, we recruited two new trustees to the board and a further two trustees in the first quarter of 2023/24. Our trustee board currently numbers ten, and is representative of the women we support, with trustees from a range of personal and professional backgrounds and experiences, nationalities and ethnicities, sexual orientation and disabilities. 50% of our trustees and 70% of our staff team have declared lived experiences of Domestic Abuse and Violence.

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This year we engaged with 69 volunteers across our services and 12 external workers, seconded to us, to provide support in our groups, plus hosting student placements. These areas continue to be part of our future growth plans.

WHM have continued to implement our new social media strategy to ensure a social media presence across all platforms, raising awareness of the work we do and to encourage donations to support our services. Creating content can be time-consuming, even with support from volunteers. This can affect our presence on social media over short periods of time. Once additional volunteers have been recruited focus will look at more consistent social media content with an emphasis being placed on WHM’s campaigning voice.

Followers: Twitter: 2593 / Instagram: 634 / Facebook: 932 / MVP closed Facebook group: 1,100 / Facebook MVP: 185 / Linked In: 165 - Total 5609 Post Reach in 2022/23: Twitter: 45404 / Instagram: 3493 (+162%) / Facebook: 11553 (+46.1%).

We developed, trialled and delivered our new Domestic Violence Awareness training for professionals.

We delivered an event with all our service users funded by The Arts Council called See Me, Hear Me. There is a page dedicated to this, along with a film from the event and messages from our women on our website here: https://www.womenshealthmatters.org.uk/see-me-hear-me

With the support of the Lloyds Foundation Enhance consultants, we started working on a new 3-year strategy and business plan.

We have updated our Memorandum and Articles, and this is currently going through approval with the Charity Commission.

The Playworker role has proved to be invaluable and the creche provision continues to flourish.

We ran a successful match funded campaign in September 2022 called Walk for Wellbeing https://www.womenshealthmatters.org.uk/whm-walk-for-wellbeing Over 3 days, 5 members of the staff team walked 100km and raised over £9,500.

Beneficiaries of our services

As of 31 March 2023, 70% of women supported by WHM were aged 26-50, with 15% aged under 26, and 10% aged over 50 (5% unanswered).

52% of women do not identify as British. 8% chose not to disclose this information. 27 different languages are spoken, and 34 different nationalities are represented in the women we support.

36% of women identify as having no religion, 26% as Christian, 18% as Muslim, 3% as another religion including Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, and Jehovah’s Witness. 17% chose not to disclose this information.

Our 2023 survey of beneficiaries ran between January and February 2023

102 women responded to the survey, 30% of those in service at the time. 14% are seeking asylum or are refugees.

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73% (2022: 78%) have at least one child (or are currently pregnant)

30% have 3 or more children.

41% (2022: 38%) are single mums. 23% (2022: 19%) have had a pregnancy terminated. 28% (2022: 30%) of parents have had at least one child removed into care. 65% (2022: 64%) of women receive welfare benefits. Being unable to afford basic things and worrying about money is an experience that has affected 60% (2022: 67%) of women and 51% have accessed foodbanks, and 30% have received food / products / emergency funds from Women’s Health Matters. 16% (2022: 15%) have had their benefits stopped or sanctioned.

25% have been homeless.

30% have been vulnerably housed. 78% (2022: 82%) are currently unemployed. 36% left school without qualifications.

24% (2022: 27%) have social care involvement of some form. 10% have been in care.

37% would have been unable to attend the service if travel costs and/or childcare were not paid for.

37% have a physical health condition or disability.

20% have a learning disability.

76% (2022: 75%) of women currently have, or have previously experienced, mental illhealth.

71% (2022: 62%) are currently or have previously taken anti-depressants or other medication for mental health problems.

8% currently or have previously self-harmed.

41% (2022: 65%) report feeling lonely.

57% (2022: 69%) lack self-confidence.

63% (2022: 45%) have or have had suicidal thoughts.

73% (2022: 71%) of women who completed the survey have experienced domestic, emotional and/or sexual abuse

71% (2022: 53%) having been the victim of violence.

22% have been arrested, 9% charged with a criminal offence, and 3% have been to prison.

78% (2022: 75%) recognise themselves as having a problem with unhealthy relationships.

28% (2022: 27%) of women were sexually assaulted or raped as a child, and 36%

(2022: 35%) as an adult.

19% (2022: 18%) of women who completed the survey have been trafficked or sexually exploited.

73% (2022: 53%) worry about what people would think of them if they knew about the personal experiences and challenges they have faced.

When asked how the support they’ve received from Women’s Health Matters has helped them to improve their lives:

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A significant 95% (2022: 100%) of women who completed the survey better understand what abuse is.

93% (2022: 84%) feel better able to respond to an abusive relationship.

95% (2022: 87%) feel able to leave or change an abusive relationship.

When asked how the support they’ve received from Women’s Health Matters has directly or indirectly helped their children:

94% (2022: 87%) of parents say the support from Women’s Health Matters has

increased their confidence about parenting.

90% (2022: 89%) have improved parenting skills.

84% feel that any children they have in the future are less likely to be removed from their care.

Feedback:

It's helped me talk to people. Not on my own now. If I have a problem, I have someone to talk to.

I’m less isolated. I feel I am listened to and heard, being heard is new and valued one. More confident to go to groups and feel safe.

I now feel far less anxiety. I used to be constantly hyper-vigilant unable to sleep for days for fear of my ex-partner finding me. I now have strategies to deal with these feelings and feel far more calm and I sleep better.

It has given me a safe place to get my confidence up and be more myself.

It has helped me to be a stronger woman and feel more confident.

To identify ways of overcoming situations that I will have to deal with, to feel stronger and better equipped.

I know the signs of abuse and know it isn't my fault. Saved my life.

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Further information about each of our services and examples of key activities are included below with case studies.

Domestic violence and abuse work

Bluebirds (1/9/22 until 31/3/23)

Overview: Funded by the Mayor’s Safer Communities fund, Bluebirds is a project for women and girls aged 11+ who have experienced gender-based crimes, such as domestic abuse, violence, and sexual assault, and as a result, are experiencing mental ill-health. Bluebirds offers one-to-one practical and emotional support for up to three months, with workers taking a trauma-informed approach to support women to address worries and develop coping strategies to manage anxiety.

Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women/girls: 42

1 to 1 sessions: 141

Highlights: 100% of the women asked reported increases in feelings of self-confidence and feeling good about themselves after completing work through Bluebirds. We were also able to refer most of the women supported through one-to-one into group work at WHM. Using our evaluation tool, we were able to see the project had made positive changes to CSA and CSE; domestic abuse; mental health; support for victims and witnesses; rape and sexual offences; and stalking and harassment.

Challenges: Difficulties we found were engaging service users, particularly the girls due to school hours. Another issue was engagement of those women who worked, due to the hours they were available, or those who required childcare. There were also 27 safeguarding incidents raised over the course of the project. These took up time and resources. There were far more complex cases than anticipated for this project. Looking to the future: The project will continue due to funding from the Ministry of Justice via West Yorkshire Combined Authority. We are hoping to set up trauma recovery groups in person and online to run alongside our one-to-one work.

Case Study: L was referred for support as she was selectively mute and was on the waiting list for CAHMs. The referrer was looking for ‘help promoting and building selfesteem and confidence’ in the client. There were concerns she had experienced CSE/A as her father was arrested for possession of indecent images of children. Around this time, she withdrew from school, started self-harming, and stopped speaking. Whilst there has not been a disclosure of abuse, she continues to work with us and build professional relationships, which is something she did not do before. The case is complex, but through trauma informed practice and patience she is engaging with us has moved from this one-to-one support into our art therapy programme to continue to progress.

Breathe Free

Breathe Free started in April 2021 and is supported by the players of The National Lottery. Breathe Free is a 24-week course for women (those who identify as women, aged 16+) living in Leeds who have experienced domestic abuse and complex trauma. The course is currently run three times per week with three different cohorts. The group sessions last two hours and travel costs and onsite creche with a qualified playworker are provided. Once women have completed the course there is an opportunity for them to become Breathe Free volunteers.

Numbers supported in 2022/23: Women: 117

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Group sessions: 133 1 to 1 sessions: 201 Volunteers in the project: 14

Children supported in creche: 23

Highlights: There have been 5 cohorts of the Breathe Free group in this year of the project and excellent feedback from women who completed the course:

What is the best thing I have learnt about myself from this group?

Continued multi-agency working and partnership work provides opportunities for women both in groups and as volunteers:

The Advisory Board of Breathe Free members has met four times this year. They meet with current Breathe Free cohorts in session 16 to conduct peer research. Board

members have been provided with interviewing and research training skills from external evaluators from the University of Birmingham.

Challenges: There is an enormous amount of time spent with women who for a range of reasons are not able to commit to attending the weekly group sessions and do not complete the course. Changes in year 3 will help with this and ‘soft breaks’ are going to be incorporated.

Looking to the future: Breathe Free will run as 24 weeks with 3 ‘soft breaks’ (after every 8 sessions) where we can collate data/evaluation forms from women, this will mean we will be better able to count the women who aren’t able to complete the full 24week course. As the course is 24 weeks in duration, we will be unable to start any cohorts from December 2023 onwards due to having insufficient time to complete the course (unless funding is extended past the end of March 2024 and then new cohorts will begin). If there is no continuation funding secured, the time from January – March 2024 will be focused on finishing the remaining cohorts and working with Breathe Free Advisory Board and Breathe Free volunteers on developing a resource tool. Information and ideas are currently being collected by the Advisory Board with the aim to develop the resource in the last few months of the project. In addition, in the January – March 2024 period, Breathe Free would like to be able to provide practical workshops for anyone who has been involved in the Breathe Free course over the three years. Feedback from women has been that they struggle to feel relaxed in their homes after experiencing Domestic Abuse. We currently encourage women to ‘reclaim their space’, redecorate rooms, move bedrooms to lounge, etc., but are constantly receiving feedback that women don’t have the skills or experience to do this. Breathe Free would like to investigate the possibility of offering DIY / decorating workshops to women so that they

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learn new skills and can feel safe, secure, and happy in their homes. Breathe Free will be looking to find local agencies to partner with on this project.

Case Study: S engaged extremely well in the group, she was keen to learn about all forms of DVA and contributed actively to the group discussion. She felt able to relate the learning to her own life experiences and talked openly about her struggles with alcohol and that she is active in her recovery attending AA meetings. Early on, S expressed a desire to volunteer with Forward Leeds when she finished Breathe Free.

S completed the full 24-week course, (she was referred to Smart Works on session 23), and from this had career coaching which included writing her curriculum vitae, advice on job searching and was able to choose an interview outfit that she felt confident in. S was successful at gaining a volunteer placement at Forward Leeds supporting people in recovery. S remains a Breathe Free volunteer and delivered training to Leeds Beckett Social Work Students in April 2023. S is now an ambassador for Smart Works, talking about her experiences to women in community settings who might be potential referrals to Smart Works.

Leeds Domestic Violence Service (LDVS)

Overview: The LDVS Domestic Abuse Education and Support Groups run by Women’s Health Matters consist of five separate groups, each offering a rolling 14-week course facilitated by Project Workers with experience of working with victims/survivors including the dynamics of running groups, and a thorough knowledge of the effects of gendered domestic violence and abuse on women and children. Groups run at different times on different days to promote access; one of the groups runs during the evening in order to ensure that women who work or cannot access daytime provision are able to receive support. Creche is provided in 4 of the 5 groups, along with transport where barriers such as safety, finances or mental health prevent attendance.

The aim of the groups is to offer practical and emotional support to victims/survivors of domestic abuse. This is achieved through peer support and education within a formal 14week course which works to promote healing, build a positive sense of identity selfesteem, confidence, support women to gain a better understanding of the impact of domestic abuse, reduce trauma, and challenge victim blaming.

The work is funded by Leeds City Council Public Health funding with support from other funders and core costs.

Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women: 130

Group sessions: 190 1 to 1 sessions: 142 Light touch support: 11 Volunteers in the project: 1

External workers in the project: 3 Children supported in creche: 47

Highlights: One of the biggest highlights of the year was receiving additional funding which allowed for the delivery of an evening group, and an additional day group along with creche provision. This has meant that women who work, or not able to attend during the day are able to access support. Many women who have experienced domestic abuse are left with the sole responsibility of childcare, therefore without creche provision accessing support for domestic abuse would be a near impossible task.

The groups have received excellent feedback from women attending and have reported an increase in confidence, self-esteem, and strategies to support recovery from trauma.

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Four women from the groups have joined the Women’s Lives Leeds Advisory Board – Women Speak Group.

Challenges: Access, transport costs and creche provision are essential in ensuring that women can attend and don’t incur additional financial hardship, and the provision of taxis means that women struggling with mental health, or where safety is an issue can are included, however these are not always deemed essential within funding. Looking to the future: The Domestic Abuse Education and Support Groups will go out to tender in 2024. We are hopeful that the continued level of hard work, commitment and dedication shown by WHM in delivery and facilitation of the groups will mean that we are successful in our application.

Case Study: F had been in abusive relationship with her partner, the father of her five children. Social Care became involved when the police attended their home due to the criminal activity her partner was involved in. F and her partner were arrested and their children were placed into foster care. All charges against F were dropped and the police recognised that she had no involvement, or knowledge of his criminal activity. F disclosed that she experienced controlling behaviour and violence from him for a number of years. She was extremely isolated and had no support outside of the home. F attended the LDVS Domestic Abuse Education and Support Group. Within the group F was supported to understand both her own and the children’s experiences of domestic abuse, the impact of abuse, and to learn strategies to support healing. F also received support to manage her relationship with social care and the assessment process, together with strengthening her communication skills and managing boundaries with people in her life. Through the group, F was also referred to a WHM parenting course.

Leeds Domestic Violence Service – Sanctuary Support Scheme

Overview: The Sanctuary Support Scheme currently works across seven partner organisations and has eight Domestic Violence Practitioners with a variety of specialisms. The scheme is funded by Public Health and overseen by Leeds Domestic Violence Service. Team members work in the community offering ongoing safety planning, emotional and practical support to victim/survivors. The scheme works in partnership with the Leeds Housing Options Sanctuary Scheme, which offers security measures to make accommodations safer. Two posts are held by Women’s Health Matters; the disability specialism which offers tailored support to women with physical and/or mental health disabilities, or who are neurodiverse; and the pregnancy and maternity specialism for those who are pregnant or have young children up to 2 years old.

Numbers supported in 2022/23: Women: 22

1 to 1 sessions: 624

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Light touch support: 168

Highlights: A highlight of the year has been watching the service evolve from its infancy into a service with eight team members and a steady stream of referrals. We also received news the service had been commissioned until 2025. As a new service, we have identified gaps in current DVA provisions and have the flexibility to support women across many areas, including family court, child social work services, solicitors, schools and housing. Having a Creche worker within Women’s Health Matters has had a huge positive impact for supporting with pregnancy & maternity.

Challenges:

Challenges have been navigating mental health services that are often at capacity. This includes difficulties contacting the Crisis Mental Health Team, long waitlists for NHS and third-sector counselling and psychotherapy services, and the Community Mental Health Service. I have found women are often referred into Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service as an alternative, which is insufficient to meet high mental health needs such as C-PTSD. As a result, it can be difficult for women to engage fully with DVA support, when they have an immediate mental health support need. In addition, housing repairs are taking a long period of time for ongoing issues to be fixed.

Looking to the future:

In the coming year, the service will expand further with a new post at Age UK, specialising in working with those aged fifty-five plus. Along with support from The Women’s Centre Cornwall we are co-producing accessible forms and support tools and training to support people with learning disabilities who experience domestic abuse and hope to implement these in Leeds. The service will continue supporting victims-survivors and building relationships with other professionals so we can ensure all needs are being met and provide the best outcomes.

Case Studies: J is being supported by our Pregnancy & Maternity DVA Support Worker, following a referral from Leeds Housing Options. J was pregnant when she came into service, the suspect and father to the child was serving a custodial sentence for the domestic abuse perpetrated against her. J shared with us her baby would be due for an operation fairly quickly after birth because of complications that had arisen, in part due to the physical abuse from the suspect. J was also currently staying with family and was keen to secure more suitable housing. J was supported throughout the months leading up to the birth. Our support worker has provided emotional support in regards to the DVA and pregnancy, support around housing including following up with them and making recommendations for an additional priority banding, providing practical support around the baby’s birth including financial assistance for important items like bath equipment and tiny baby clothes and looking into groups for additional support and social inclusion. Following the support with J, she has now been offered a property due to her current circumstances. She has now moved in and was supported to access further sanctuary measures and to get furniture for her new home. Her baby has been born and is doing really well, J reports she is laughing and smiling – she feels she is a very happy baby and is making great progress! Furthermore, her support worker has referred her into groups both for DVA and another group that has been set up by parents who have children with additional needs and disabilities. When J first came into support, she was at very high risk of further DV & A. After working with her support worker she has been able to safeguard herself and her child and is feeling more confident and optimistic about the future. She now feels that she has the skills to deal with any problems that could come up and make her own mind up on what is best for her moving forward. J has provided feedback to her support worker, advising how grateful she feels

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for the support she has received so far and what a difference this has made for her and her daughter.

When we first met M , she had recently split up with her ex-partner and father of her daughter, who had perpetrated sexual and physical abuse and controlling and coercive behaviour against her. She had a MARAC flag and was experiencing ongoing stalking and harassment from her ex-partner, who was now living the road behind her. Through the sanctuary scheme, M had security measures installed on the property and safety planning for keeping safe at home and in public. M was supported through the police reporting process and put into contact with a solicitor for legal advice on injunctions. Her ex-partner was remanded on stalking and harassment charges and M now has a restraining order in place. M was supported through this process by Sanctuary advocating on her behalf and liaising with her ISAC, West Yorkshire Police and MARAC. M said one of her priorities for support was help with housing. M was reassessed as a Band-A through the safeguarding team at LHO. Additionally, M was referred for a housing assessment with the health and housing team, as her property is medically unsuitable for her due to her physical disability, particularly now her able-bodied expartner is no longer at the property to assist. M was also supported to consider temporary housing options such as refuge space and applied to Latch housing. M has now secured a new property in a different area of Leeds. Sanctuary is currently supporting her to move and furnish the new property. Sanctuary will continue to support her through family court child arrangement hearings, and with reporting ongoing restraining order breaches.

The Key Change

Overview: Funded by Children in Need and starting in April 2021, The Key Change offers group support within a school setting, outside of core hours, to young women and girls who have witnessed, experienced or are at risk of experiencing unhealthy or abusive relationships. Over the course of six to eight weeks, The Key Change offers a flexible, tailored programme of support covering topics such as healthy and unhealthy relationships, domestic violence, consent, CSE, assertiveness, confidence building and self-esteem.

Numbers supported in 2022/23: Girls: 55

Group sessions: 63

1 to 1 sessions: 12

Highlights: For our second year on the project, a highlight is the enthusiasm of the schools we work with. The uptake has been encouraging and the feedback we have received from both girls and school staff alike has been very rewarding.

Challenges: A challenge this year has been the number of safeguarding concerns faced. Looking to the future: As we enter our final year of this funding, we are looking to expand the number of schools we deliver to. We are also looking into using some of our funding for an evaluation for the project. This will help us re-apply for funding and offer an even better course to the schools and girls.

Case Study: A was referred into group by her school due to low self-esteem and confidence, due to experiencing unhealthy relationships herself and witnessing abuse at home. Children's Social Work Services were already involved but A's engagement with them was sporadic due to her and her parents' feelings about statutory services. She began The Key Change with us and reported feeling unsafe, lonely, and anxious. After getting to know our workers better she was able to tell us she was feeling suicidal. One-

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to-one support was offered and gave A the chance to get some feelings "off her chest" about how boys at the school had treated her during their relationships and how isolated she felt at home. A mental health support plan was completed (including telling school and social care about her suicidal ideation), and A was able to come up with a wider support network plan during our resource creation final session (including reaching out to CAHMS through her GP). When asked at the end of the course, A reported being able to identify and avoid unhealthy relationships moving forward. She also said she would know what to do if she found herself in an unhealthy relationship in the future. Her support network has increased, meaning her feelings of isolation have decreased and she said her mental wellbeing has improved due to intervention and she has learnt techniques to support herself.

Young Snowdrops (until 30/9/22)

Overview: Young Snowdrops was a face-to-face project funded by Awards for All. The project aimed to reach 11–18-year-olds affected by domestic abuse. We took a preventative approach to abuse, helping girls understand consent, what a healthy relationship looks like and how to recognize abusive relationships.

Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Girls: 51

Group sessions: 24

1 to 1 sessions: 18

Highlights: A highlight from the year was working with Leeds City Council to provide sessions for teenage girls who were refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan across temporary accommodation in Leeds.

Challenges: A struggle was staff timing and resources for the project as well as cultural sensitivities when discussing relationships with teenage Muslim girls.

Looking to the future: As Young Snowdrops came to an end, we looked for more ways to incorporate the service users into new projects. Some of the girls from Young Snowdrops were able to be supported through our new Bluebirds project. We also continue the work started in Young Snowdrops through all our young peoples’ work.

Pregnancy, parenting, and support for women whose children are being cared for by someone else

Breastfeeding Peer Support

Overview: Delivered in partnership with Health for All, and funded by Leeds City Council Public Health, Bosom Buddies provides mum-to-mum breastfeeding support to new mums and families. The weekly groups around the city offer peer support and information from specialist and trained advisers within warm friendly family spaces and children’s centres. Bosom Buddies provide guidance face-to-face, on the telephone or through social media to other new mums. Women’s Health Matters are involved to try and engage with more women under the age of 25.

Numbers supported in 2022/23 (WHM element):

Women: 146

Group sessions: 79

Volunteers in the project: 10

Case Study: Supported a Romanian 23-year-old mum and gave reassurance to exclusively breast feed and signposted and referred to local children’s centre and welfare rights organisations. Supported an 18-year-old mum and chatted about groups and her

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apprehension about attending as she felt she wouldn’t have anything in common with the older mums. Once there she felt welcomed and part of the group.

Growing Together 1-1 Family Project (started 1/11/22)

Overview: Growing Together 1:1 is funded from Leeds Community Foundation; Volition; Forum Central, and Leeds Community Healthcare.

Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women: 14

Children: 27

Family sessions: 29

Highlights: We have worked with fourteen families since the start of the Growing Together 1:1 project and we have a steady waiting list, plus we are expecting to identify potential candidates from the new Growing Together group starting in 2023. The agerange of children who we have worked with on the project has so far been 0-12, and we have helped with parenting, attachment, behaviour and various other concerns, usually stemming from domestic abuse and/or trauma. We have had a combination of external referrals, e.g., from schools or from MindMate, and internal ones, from our existing support groups. We have worked with professionals from local schools and have made onward referrals or signposted women to other services. Meetings with the families have taken place either in our on-site creche or at the homes of the families.

Challenges: We have had some complex referrals and have had to be clear about the boundaries and limitations of the project. On our first visit with each family, we decided it was safest and most appropriate to meet at the creche at WHM, and this can be expensive when we pay for taxis, but we have stayed in budget. We are finding some gaps in available materials that would be very useful e.g., children’s books about domestic abuse; meaningful training about children using YouTube.

Looking to the future: We are gradually collecting materials and expertise which will enhance our service as the project grows, and we would like to produce more of our own materials – we have produced a trauma-informed, sensitively written leaflet about behaviour and similar materials geared towards children will be very useful. Case Study: P and her child, Q, came to Growing Together 1:1 as an internal referral from an LDVS group. P had expressed concerns to the leader of the group about how Q’s behaviour might change when he started his unsupervised visits with his dad, who was P’s abuser. The Project Worker had an initial conversation with P over the phone, and she told me her concerns, and we arranged a home visit. In total, I did four home visits with P and usually also phoned her each week and saw her on her own after her group. There was a lot of emotional support with P, as she really struggled with the decision of the court to allow the unsupervised contact between Q and his dad. At each visit, the Project Worker brought various resources for Q – the first time, he stayed mostly in his room, but as they got to know each other, he would sit with P and the worker. He especially like drawing and magnets, so a lot of the resources provided were around this, and we used letters and envelopes for communication also.

In her evaluation of the project, P said that she felt that ‘all of Growing Together worked really well’ and that she felt more confident and positive. She has now started the HENRY parenting course, she is finishing her LDVS group soon, and has started with the Digital Support group at Women’s Health Matters.

Inside Out

Overview: Inside Out is a 20-week parenting programme for women who have had children removed from their care or are at risk of Social Care involvement, it is funded

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by the Charles Haywood Foundation. It delivers 20 weeks of weekly activity and discussion-based learning.

Numbers supported in 2022/23: Women: 30

Group sessions: 41

1 to 1 sessions: 44

Highlights: We completed two courses over this year, plus finished another which had already started. We had really good course completion from the women, with a very high retention rate across all of the courses. Several women had children returned to their care or passed parenting assessments.

Challenges: Bringing together women who have experienced multiple traumas, culminating with the removal of their children was at times very difficult. Once course was particularly difficult to manage the conflicting needs and personalities of the women. We did a lot of one-to-one support outside of group and delicate managing of dynamics within the group. Through this work, all the women managed to complete the course, and learnt how to manage difficult situations and improve their communication skills. Looking to the future: This funding has now come to an end. We have secured more funding through The Albert Gubay Foundation to continue to course, though the format, structure and number of sessions will change.

Case Study: G had 8 children removed from her care due to neglect and not being able to meet their needs. They were placed in foster care and with family members. Over the 20 weeks of the course G gained a greater understanding of the needs for routine, boundaries, and better communication for the children. She shared that she hadn’t previously realised the importance of these. She was also supported to better manage her relationship with her children’s social worker and started to realise the need for openness and honesty; she stopped being worried about telling them about her concerns and worries about the children returning to her care.

When she was able to change this, she saw a big improvement with her feedback from Social Care, and their relationship changed completely. She passed her assessment and at the end of the course, the plans were being put in place for all eight children to be returned to her care.

Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP)

Overview: The MVP is a patient consultation project funded by the NHS. Women's Health Matters chairs the Leeds Maternity Voices Partnership, a city-wide forum which brings health professionals and funders for maternity services and third sector organisations together with those who have used maternity services in Leeds. The forum enables professionals to listen to those who have recently been pregnant and given birth, and their partners, to help improve services across the city. Through outreach work and our inclusive approach, we can support a wide range of people to speak directly to service providers and commissioners and for their experiences to influence how maternity services develop.

Numbers supported in 2022/23: Women volunteers: 32

Light touch support: 1285

Highlights: We have been working hard to ensure that we are engaging with more of the wider communities in Leeds to better reflect the diversity of people accessing maternity services and making sure their voices are heard.

Challenges: As the world started opening up again after the restrictions of the past couple of years, we have been busy trying to maintain our connections with those

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parents who felt more comfortable engaging with us online, while offering opportunities for women to once again meet face-to-face.

Looking to the future: We have some exciting plans for this year. We are planning having monthly drop-ins in different libraries around the city. This will be an opportunity for our parent reps to meet in person and online in a hybrid set up, and for pregnant people and new parents to pop along for a cup of tea and a chat. There will be opportunities to find out about what services and support is on offer across the city for new parents and pregnant people in a friendly and informal setting.

Pregnancy Choices Advocacy Service (started 1/9/2023)

Overview: The Pregnancy Choices Advocacy Service (PCAS) provides unbiased information and support for people in Leeds who are unsure if they wish to continue with a pregnancy. The project supports women, girls, and pregnant people of any age and at any stage of pregnancy, whether they choose to end or continue a pregnancy. The project is funded by Leeds NHS Integrated Care Board, through funds made available to address health inequality in the city. The funder seeks to close gaps identified in health outcomes for the poorest people living in Leeds, with maternity identified as one of the core focuses. PCAS is able to offer 1 to 1 sessions at a women’s location and time of choice, support attending appointments/ liaising with other professionals, and financial support for transport. The length women work with the service is dependent on their needs and follow up care is offered to all.

Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women/girls: 12

1 to 1 sessions: 54

Highlights: The highlight of the PCAS project so far has been the largely very positive feedback women have given about how the service has supported them at a very challenging time. One woman wrote “The support has definitely had a positive impact on my mental health. I could have felt very alone, but the support I received at Women’s Health Matters really helped. I could have been isolated”

Challenges: A challenge that was to be expected in the first 6 months of a new project was that of ensuring that the service was known through the city and that enough referrals have been generated. This work is ongoing. What we have found a greater challenge has been the less anticipated high levels of safeguarding intervention needed within the project, especially regarding disclosures of domestic abuse and suicidal intent. Looking to the future: We hope that the project will continue to establish a positive reputation within the city and increase numbers of referrals. Plans have been made for partnership work with Leeds City Council to deliver group work to school aged children around pregnancy choices and expanding the remit of the work has been discussed with NHS partners.

Case Study: V is a woman from Leeds in her late thirties. V is mum to ten children and a full-time mum, with the youngest of the children under one. In 2021 Children’s Social Work Services (CSWS) became involved with V’s family after she had raised concerns that her partner was abusing the children using physical chastisement and threats. During this time, V was referred to a Women’s Health Matters group for women experiencing domestic abuse. In a one to one with V, she disclosed that she was pregnant with her eleventh child with her partner and unsure what to do next. We have been able to support V in a range of ways. Initially, this meant conversations with V about how she was feeling, visiting the house, and discussing how her life would look when continuing with the pregnancy as a single parent. When V decided to continue

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the pregnancy, we referred her to external agencies, such as Home Start, the Baby Bank, Baby Basics and Kidz Klub.

All of the above work has had direct and practical consequences for V, which have kept her and her family safe throughout a difficult time. V has not had to move homes, she manages her finances, the children’s Early Help Plan was extended (now closed), and V’s midwife was changed after she was not informed that her original midwife had left, leaving her without a point of contact at an overwhelming time.

More than this, we feel it is the emotional support and consistent point of contact that has been of importance to Amy in her decision making and future planning. V and the Project Worker have had many emotionally open and vulnerable conversations, in which she has been able to speak about her loneliness and the effect of ending her relationship. V has spoken about missing her relationship, and we have been able to work through these complicated feelings with her and try to establish support that will outlast our involvement.

Rosebuds (Labyrinth until 31/8/22)

Overview: Rosebuds was part of the Labyrinth project, funded via Leeds Women’s Aid and Solace to support women who have been affected by having children removed from their care. Funded by a grant from the Department for Digital, Culture, Music and Sport, the Labyrinth Project is contributing to system change for women by building capacity and forging stronger networks of support and shared learning locally and nationally. It focused on education and training, awareness raising, building self-

confidence, expansion of choices, increased access to and control over resources, actions to transform the structures and institutions that reinforce and perpetuate gender discrimination and inequality. The project also improved access to help with finances, debt, and legal rights. This piece of work ended in August 2022 and aimed to support women to think about the future and make plans as well as to engage with confidence with other services across the city.

Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women: 24

Group sessions: 23

1 to 1 sessions: 68

Volunteers in the project: 1

Highlights: We had really good engagement from the women attending group. We had a number of guest speakers; The Green Gym, Empower to Employ, St Vincent’s, Your Space and Smart Works, who delivered sessions on their services and what support is available for the women through their services. We also completed the Live Your Life to the Fullest sessions over this period.

Challenges: With the end of this funding, a number of women who had been attending group for over a year had to finish attending. This caused much upset within the group from the women leaving and the other cohorts.

Looking to the future: This funding ended in August 2022, and we were able to secure another year of funding from a different funder, so are able to continue to offer support to this very vulnerable and under supported group of women.

Case Study: B has had children removed from her care and in addition has health issues that stem from a car accident when she was really young, leaving her with chronic back pain. Over a number of years her mobility became worse and worse, resulting in her gaining a huge amount of weight which then impacted further on her issues with moving around and back and leg pain. B was supported to join an exercise and self-

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confidence group outside of Rosebuds. This started a big change in how she felt about her body and what it was capable of.

B decided that she wanted to walk and move more, including walking to group. Due to mental health issues, the other women in group arranged to meet her in town to support her walking to group. Then when she got to group, she needed to have plenty of water ready for her and a chair near the door. With this support from the women in group and encouragement from the facilitators, B built up her capacity for movement and exercise. She lost a lot of weight, and she was able to feel the difference that this had on her pain levels. It also improved her feelings of confidence and self-esteem, as well as her mental health.

Rosebuds (Jimbo’s Fund from 1/9/22)

Overview: Rosebuds is a project funded by Jimbo’s Fund and is a weekly support group for women whose children live elsewhere. The group delivers 12 sessions that looks at topics such as ‘Effective Communication’, ‘Coping with change’ and ‘Defining Abuse’. Amidst these sessions some weeks are kept for guest speakers or coproduced sessions, responding to the needs and requests of that group at the time. This means women can expect to engage with group for 4-6 months. Whilst the group is structured, the peer-topeer support that women provide for each other is an important element of what makes Rosebuds a successful group, and time is given in sessions for women to talk about their weeks and reflect on how they are feeling.

Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women: 52

Group sessions: 27

1 to 1 sessions: 65

Highlights: A highlight of Rosebuds this year has been welcoming new women into group and watching the women who have been involved with group for a longer time step in to an ‘elder’ role as they have welcomed newcomers and sought to comfort them when nervous. Women who have been in group for longer are able to offer their lived experience insight to others in the group and share their experiences when safe and appropriate to do so. As a rolling group where new women regularly join, this helps to keep Rosebuds a safe and welcoming group.

Challenges: The challenge of this has been saying goodbye to many women who had been attending the group for a significant period of time. Changes to funding meant a more structured approach to group work was taken, and women who had become ingrained in the group were encouraged to move on. This meant a change in the group dynamic, but also provided a positive opportunity for the women who left to reflect on their time in group and go on to form their own, weekly peer support group. Looking to the future: The current funding for Rosebuds ends at the end of August 2023 and we are delighted to have secured 2 years of funding from The Charles Plater Trust.

Case Study: C had been referred with anxiety and agoraphobia so was nervous before meeting and being around people in the group. C was quiet at first but made friends quickly. Her attendance has been consistent and she has been a reliable person contributing within the group, being a figure of support for other women too. C did not have any other professional involvement until receiving counselling in October 2022. She felt the group had helped her identify that she required counselling and has been able to successfully implement her learning from this into the Rosebuds group with enlightening

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results. C can see just how far she has come in terms of isolation and confidence; for example catching buses and coming out in public would not have been possible a year ago. C has had physical challenges with her gallbladder being removed and has recovered quickly being aware of her limitations and capacity to set boundaries for herself. Likewise within emotional times she has recognised who to seek for support and practise coping methods effectively. The group has been a focal point of the week for C helping her to give structure to the week and living her life the best way possible.

Specialist support for women seeking asylum and refugees

Create and Connect (Summer 2022)

Overview: Create and Connect offered creative workshops to Afghani women and girls registered as refugees in Leeds. Sessions were hosted at a Leeds hotel, where upwards of 150 refugee families were being housed in temporary accommodation. Leeds City Council funded us to deliver workshops to the women and girls staying at the hotel, offering them a separate space where we could open conversations about healthy relationships, services in Leeds, and above all provide an environment encouraging relaxation and fun.

Numbers supported in 2022/23: Women/girls: 73

Group sessions: 6

External workers: 2

Highlights: A highlight of this work was building trust with the women and girls week by week. As English language was limited (especially for the older women), we relied heavily on the creative process to allow women to communicate and reflect. One session that particularly stands out is a week in which women made collages, communicating a little about their hopes and dreams for the future. Many women chose to reflect on their homeland, producing work with images of Afghanistan and their hometowns. Challenges: The most challenging elements of the work came from language barriers, overcrowding, and high levels of need from the women and girls. Initially, we created ‘sign up’ sheets for the group, hoping that each week we would have a rough idea of how many people we would work with. It soon became clear that in the chaotic environment of the hotel, where families arrived and departed regularly, this would not be possible. This meant that it could be hard to regulate numbers in the room and challenging to ensure that all who attended the workshop had the correct materials. Looking to the future: This was a summer holiday project. The feedback was that our workshops were consistently some of the busiest, and we were asked back to deliver a one-off workshop over a half-term. The project began a lasting relationship between ourselves and the Leeds City Council resettlement team, and we continue to work together.

Energise and Empower (started 1/1/23)

Overview: Funded by Yorkshire Sport to provide physical activity sessions for Afghan women living in hotels across Leeds. We support women by providing active sessions where women can get fit, have time away from responsibilities, and improve their mental wellbeing.

Numbers supported in 2022/23: Women/girls: 18

Group sessions: 10

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Highlights: A highlight of this year has been seeing women coming back each week. Living in the hotels brings many challenges but the women are committing to the sessions and making the effort to attend each week.

Challenges: Offering active sessions over Ramadan was a challenge as women were tired from lack of sleep and fasting. We spoke to the women before Ramadan started and we talked about what they would like to do. We then offered gentle stretch and relaxation sessions throughout the month and started the sessions slightly later, giving women time to sleep later in the morning before coming and taking part. This worked really well and had a good response from the women who took part.

Looking to the future: Energise and Empower funding ends in August 2023. However, the Afghan families have now been served eviction notices from the hotels. In liaison with the funder, we are now offering Energise and empower sessions to other refugees and asylum seekers in Leeds.

Case Study: One of the staff members at the hotel recently approached our Project Worker to ask how one of the women ( N ) was getting on as they had been worried about her but noticed she had been attending the group. They disclosed that N had lost a child since arriving in the UK and had been struggling with her grief.

The Project Worker explained that N had attended every session and is always first to arrive, she is excited to start and always has a smile on her face when she leaves. The staff were pleased that she has been involved, is spending time with the other women, and showing such positivity to the sessions.

Rainbow Hearts

Overview: Rainbow Hearts is a social group for women seeking asylum or newly granted refugees funded by Leeds City Council with additional support funding from Evan Cornish. We run informative and social sessions where women can help to build friendships, become more familiar with their city and build connections with other organisations supporting refugees and people seeking asylum in Leeds.

Numbers supported in 2022/23: Women: 92

Group sessions: 60

1 to 1 sessions: 25

Volunteers in the project: 1

Highlights: We have been able to re-start delivering ESOL/conversation classes within Rainbow Hearts this year, one of our Project Workers is a qualified teacher and former asylum seeker and runs a 30-minute class at the beginning of each session which is open to any woman who would like to improve their English skills. This has been well received by the women and we have seen a huge improvement in confidence for women attending when speaking English in the wider group.

Challenges: The increasing negative media reports and challenges and changes from the government to people seeking asylum have had an impact on the women we support. Women are worried about the changes coming in and how this might impact them, their families, and their communities. We have open conversations in Rainbow Hearts about how women are feeling about these changes and offer space for women to speak to us in private to discuss any worries they have. The women have built strong friendships and are able to offer peer support as well as share good news with each other.

Looking to the future: From our regular conversations with women at Rainbow Hearts about what they would like to do in the group we are able to offer a wider variety of sessions over the coming year. We are offering art and crafts, sessions involving local

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history, and building links with the museums in Leeds alongside information sessions around local services.

Case Study: T is 76 and has attended Rainbow Hearts for two years, she has recently moved into her own house after previously being supported by a church in a large, shared home with lots of support. T has lots of health needs and struggles with walking and standing due to pain in her legs. T had stopped attending Rainbow Hearts regularly and staff were concerned for her welfare when she did come as she had lost a lot of weight and seemed to be getting confused about appointments. Staff linked in with T’s support worker at Pafras, her solicitor, and her GP, and all shared concerns about how T was managing on her own, staff then ensured a referral was made to adult social care in order to make sure T receives the right support that she needs. We also made sure that T can attend Rainbow Hearts regularly by providing taxis for her to get to group, helping her see her friends, and reducing the isolation that was impacting her mental health. We continue to link with Pafras, the solicitor, and the GP to make sure T is well-supported.

Sunflowers (until 31/8/22)

Overview: Sunflowers was funded by Lloyds Bank Foundation and provided 1-1 support for women who are in the asylum process. We supported women who were feeling isolated, lonely, and struggling with their mental health by providing both short term and longer-term support. We supported women with attending groups, getting to know their local community, gaining confidence in accessing other services and offered a safe, supportive place for women to share their worries and concerns without judgement. Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women: 36

Group sessions: 4

1 to 1 sessions: 62

Highlights: The final focus group was a great success and being able to hear the impact the Sunflowers Project had on the women over the course of the project. The Sunflowers group ended with a celebration meal where the women came together and shared stories of hope and support with each other. The women were all encouraged to keep these friendships going after the project ended and they have continued to meet up with each other.

Challenges: A challenge has been supporting women with the Sunflowers project coming to an end. Women who have received longer term support have felt this loss the most, however, we have supported them through this process and all women have been moved on to other relevant support such as other groups. All women have come to an end knowing that they have within them the strength to continue on this journey and that they have gained tools and techniques to manage their own wellbeing as well as knowing where to turn to if they need additional support.

Looking to the future: As Sunflowers finished, we were able to offer some additional 1-1 support through Rainbow Hearts, this was helpful for some women and offered a smooth transition.

Case Study: D attended Sunflowers Project and accessed both the 1-1 support as well as the group work. D disclosed that she had been diagnosed with cancer and was very unwell, D was worried about not being able to attend future groups and sessions due to her health. The Project Worker was able to provide support to D through the Sunflowers project by visiting her at home rather than meeting in the WHM office and was also able to support D with food and toiletries parcels and ensure that she remained linked up with the other women in Sunflowers through the WhatsApp group.

Wow! (until 30/4/22)

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Overview: Wow! supported women seeking asylum with improving their access to physical activities and in improving their mental health and wellbeing. Wow! received funding from Leeds City Council Public Health in this year for equipment, and through Women’s Health Matters core funding for staff hours and transport costs.

Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women: 26

Group sessions: 1

External workers in the project: 1

Looking to the future: There is no current ongoing funding for Wow! however as we now have some exercise equipment that is ours, we have been able to offer some weekly circuits classes at Women’s Health Matters premises in the short term. We have also incorporated this work into Energise and Empower.

Support for women with learning disabilities

Feel Good

Overview: Feel Good is funded by Leeds City Council and supported by People in Action. Feel Good is a group for women with learning disabilities to learn about healthy bodies and healthy relationships. We cover topics around friendships, relationships, consent, and assertiveness as well as look at contraception, breast health, and cervical smear tests. Part of this work is to inform and work with carers. Many carers, parents and support workers do not see the women they support as adults who could benefit from fulfilling intimate relationships. We are aware that women with Learning Disabilities are four times as likely to be sexually abused, and most people with LD do not get any sex education at school and so most of their information around sex and relationships is gleaned from the media. This lack of information and, for many, a history of not having autonomy around who they spend time with, we identified as contributary factors to those risks.

Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women: 18

Group sessions: 35

1 to 1 sessions: 8

Volunteers in the project: 1

External workers in the project: 1

Highlights: Over this year Feel Good has built further links with other organisations across the city including Mencap and Connect in the North as well as building stronger links with other Women’s Health Matters projects through a 6-week Breathe Free minicourse. We had a set of 3 sessions with Mentally Healthy Leeds which were well attended and enjoyed by the women. Women were given the opportunity to feed into what they would cover in the sessions and were able to tailor them to our needs as a group. We then took part in a series of 3 sessions covering assertiveness, and stress and made our own self-soothing packs.

Challenges: Numbers attending Feel Good have been lower towards the end of this year which has created some challenges when delivering sessions. We are working with People in Action to improve numbers and get more women to attend the sessions. Looking to the future: We are focusing on improving numbers to Feel Good as we know that there are women with learning disabilities in Leeds who would benefit from attending the group. We are working with People in Action to get more women attending and we are hopeful numbers will pick up again very soon. We are also hoping to do some work with Leeds Teaching Hospitals around self-neglect, and they are keen to come

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along to Feel Good and talk about how the women can feed into some work that is being done.

Case Study: K has attended Feel Good for 18 months and is a regular member, she always gets involved in discussions and has made friends with the other women in the group. K recently disclosed that she was raped when she was younger, she has had support with this and although she is doing well sometimes struggles with feelings of guilt around her body. K has attended sessions where we have discussed consent, our bodies, sex, and being sexual; K has found these open conversations helpful in understanding her body and being able to separate what happened to her from how she feels about herself. K also disclosed that being able to have conversations about sex in a safe place is helpful to her as she cannot speak about these things with her family. K feels safe having these conversations and discussing personal things within the group.

Support for women with complex needs, mental health, and wellbeing needs

Family Canvas

Overview: Family Canvas is funded by Women’s Health Matters core funding, including the Kelly Family Trust. As such, we have been able to be responsive to the needs of the women accessing the project when defining its offering and core aims. For the majority of the year, the project has delivered short-term work for women and their children together, using creativity as a means of expression and reflection. The project has also been used to support in facilitating the annual celebration event, which in 2022 was part-funded by the Arts Council England, entitled ‘See Me, Hear Me’. There have also been small amounts of 1 to 1 work, where it has been recognised that a woman living in a complex family situation may benefit from therapeutic art sessions.

Numbers supported in 2022/23: Women and their families: 12

Family sessions: 37

Highlights: A highlight of this year has been watching women and their children enjoy spending time together outside of the pressures of home. For many women who access Family Canvas, the family has undergone significant stressors such as periods of separation, or relocation due to fleeing domestic abuse. In the sessions, women and children are invited to delight in their imaginations and using materials, and the best moments are those of sharing and bonding.

Challenges: The most challenging part of the work is also a strength; in that it has been an adaptive and responsive project. This has meant an element of assessing referrals on a ‘case by case’ basis – which can be more time consuming and harder to assess regarding outcomes. This will be changing in the coming year, as described below. Looking to the future: 2023/24 will be an exciting year for Family Canvas, as for the first time it will receive external funding (D’Oyly Carte). This will support the continuation of dyadic art therapy, in which 3 sessions will be offered to women and their children together by the project lead. The funding will also support delivery of up to 12 one-to-one art therapy sessions for women whose children live elsewhere. These oneto-one sessions will be facilitated by a student art therapist on placement at Women’s Health Matters.

Case Study: R was referred to Family Canvas after she rung the office to see if any project we deliver could support her. Her fiancée had recently been arrested after her younger daughter disclosed that he had been sexually abusing her. We discussed how Family Canvas could support her in a one-to-one capacity, as her daughter had decided

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to live with another family member. R was wracked with guilt and self-blame, repeating “I didn’t know, I didn’t know”. At the end of our work, R was asked for feedback, and she sent the following:

“I would like to express how truly grateful I am for all the help and support I have gained from my sessions. I can honestly say I was at my lowest point in my life before. The sessions helped me to speak through my emotions and feelings in safe space and to find a way of working through my issues to help put my life back together and rebuild the broken relationship with my daughter. I feel that it would have been nice to possibly have a few more sessions, I am lucky that I was offered other groups and future ongoing support. Thank you for everything”

Snowdrops (until 30/9/22)

Overview: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased need for support, we set up the Snowdrops project. Initially funded by emergency funding from several different funders, and then The Postcode Neighbourhood Trust, the project offered online wellbeing groups for women to feel connected, as well as one-to-one practical and emotional support for those who needed it most. Snowdrops was open to any woman across Leeds who had experienced trauma and been affected by the pandemic.

Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women: 40

Group sessions: 15

1 to 1 sessions: 99

Volunteers in the project: 1

Highlights: Something to celebrate this year was even though this funding ended we were able to refer on for further support from other WHM projects. Challenges: A difficulty of the year has been service users asking for face-to-face groups but not having funding within this project to hire a venue.

Looking to the future: Our one-to-one work and trauma informed groupwork will continue to support those women in greatest need across Women’s Health Matters through other projects.

Case Study: E is a twenty-three-year-old woman who self-referred into group to gain support due to the ending of her abusive relationship and her mental health. She attended our online Snowdrops group in order to stabilise, due to the significant trauma she had experienced.

The differences E recorded, included an increase in her confidence, self-esteem, feelings of closeness to other people, ability to deal with her problems and make up her own mind about things, and, as you can read below, her optimism about the future. “This group was my only saving grace after what happened. I am so thankful for WHM. It was really difficult to feel believed and to feel that what had happened was wrong. For the first time I felt listened to. I am feeling that bit lighter after group, although it is difficult to acknowledge it is necessary. The support I have gained and the strength of the women in the group is so valuable and empowering. I know the future is that little bit brighter. In the future I would like to come back to the group if possible because I find it really hard sometimes to put what I have learnt into practice. I still put myself down and hold a lot of blame, but I am optimistic about the future and that is down to Snowdrops. Thank you so so much!”

Your Space

Overview: Your Space is a service delivered in partnership by Women’s Health Matters, Touchstone and Holbeck Together, and funded by Leeds City Council. The project

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Women’s Health Matters

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supports communities in South and East Leeds to develop groups and activities that promote wellbeing through connection, participation, and conversation. Your Space activities are developed using the strengths of the community, whether this is using their ideas, co-producing activities or helping members to develop their own groups. The project fosters a preventative and protective approach, focusing on healthy living and improved futures. Your Space also offers training to local groups and organisations on a variety of wellbeing subjects. The aim of these is to provide an understanding of the signs of mental health issues, learn coping skills and build resilience. Numbers supported in 2022/23: Women: 109

Group sessions: 102 1 to 1 sessions: 99 Light touch support: 639 Volunteers in the project: 4

Highlights: A highlight of Your Space this year has been forming new partnerships with organisations such as the Yorkshire Dales Authority, Leeds Museums and Galleries, Opera North and CECOS College. This has enabled us to increase our offer to service users. We have organised trips to Malham, Temple Newsam and Thwaite Mills, given out free tickets to Opera North performances and co-delivered wellbeing training. We received positive feedback from participants, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to access these places/opportunities. “Really great trip to somewhere I can’t get to myself. Would have liked to stay longer and would love to go again!” – Feedback from our visit to Malham.

Challenges: A big challenge has been staff moving on at various points this year due to the end of the project. Your Space have struggled to recruit for the vacancies, which has impacted existing groups and forced us to pass on several new opportunities that would require two members of staff (due to our out-of-hours remit and lone-working measures). Actions have been taken to tackle this in the last quarter to ensure we’re delivering enough groups in all of our postcode areas.

Looking to the future: In July 2023, Your Space will be replaced by a new community health service, Being You Leeds, commissioned by Public Health. The service will be provided by a consortium of third sector organisations: Touchstone, Barca, Hamara, Health for All, Holbeck Together, LS14 Trust and Women's Health Matters. The service will continue to focus on preventative mental health, providing a mixture of social and activity-based groups, training (for individuals and organisations) and anti-stigma work. Case Study: W was introduced to Your Space through Women’s Health Matters ‘Breathe Free’ project. Your Space staff attended the group to deliver a taster session in the Spring of 2022 and W expressed an interest in joining the Women’s Walking Group. W told Your Space staff that due to the trauma she has experienced, she suffers from anxiety and is prone to isolating herself. She felt that accessing a women’s only space would be beneficial to her and would enable her to socialise in a safe environment. The first walk that W joined, she was very nervous and withdrawn. Your Space staff included her in conversation and supported her to feel comfortable in the group. At the next walk, W was visibly more relaxed and at ease within the group. She chatted with different people and fed back to staff that she had “really enjoyed the walk”. She has attended most sessions since and has recently become an informal volunteer in the group, leading walks and helping create the walk timetables. Your Space has had a big impact on W at a really difficult time in her life. W had become isolated and had lost relationships. Through the Your Space Women’s Walking Group, she has formed new friendships and meets regularly with another participant outside of the group. She told

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Women’s Health Matters

Trustees’ annual report

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Your Space staff that participating in the group helped rebuild her confidence. She feels that her life is moving in a positive direction, having secured a part-time admin job, and moved house in the past 6 months.

Support across Women’s Health Matters and beyond

Digital Support and Inclusion

Overview: Digital Support provides loans of Chromebook/tablets/phones to women on a minimum 3-month basis to reduce digital exclusion. Additional support has been secured through Vodafone which has provided pre-loaded sim cards. Community Calling has also provided iPhones, with unlimited calls and texts and 6GB of data. Good Things Foundation have provided funding for staff hours and access to online training. Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women: 142

Looking to the future: External funding for staff hours means that we can offer ongoing support, regular check ins, focused digital support drop ins and reviews of needs.

Case Study: H currently has a Chromebook for a 3-month loan period through our Digital Support Project. She has enrolled on a Children and Young Person’s university course. She fed back that she’s found the Chromebook extremely useful for her university work. Her organisational skills have been boosted through accessing this project, as well as developing her research and self-education which has positively impacted her progress within the University course. As well as finding the Chromebook useful for her own personal circumstances, H’s children have also positively benefitted from the Chromebook loan / Good Things Foundation funded project. This is because she has been able to introduce her children to the ‘Learn My Way’ site to help navigate them through learning about internet safety. As a parent, navigating online safety can often be a difficult challenge to overcome as not many parents feel well equipped with the information to protect their children online. However, the Learn My Way site provides an accessible resource for children (and adults!) to educate themselves on Internet Safety and other relevant programmes. The Good Things Foundation project has been highly beneficial to service users of Women’s Health Matters.

WHM Drop In (started October 2022)

Overview: The Women’s Health Matters weekly drop-in is a space for women who have previously attended a Women’s Health Matters or LDVS project to have ongoing contact with WHM, access light-touch support and be signposted into additional services. It is funded through WHM’s core funding with support from the National Lottery Community Fund and Warm Spaces funding. Our monthly legal drop-in, in partnership with Ramsden Solicitors, also takes place at the drop-in. Women from all services can attend to access legal advice on issues such as obtaining injunctions, care proceedings, family, and divorce law. We also offer a digital drop-in, where women can access digital support and online training.

Numbers supported in 2022/23: Women: 32 Children: 12 Group sessions: 50 1 to 1 sessions: 25

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Women’s Health Matters

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Highlights: A highlight of this year has been seeing women from across different services having the opportunity to connect and support each other. Drop-in is unique to other Women’s Health Matters services, as it allows women to connect socially. It has also been great to get an insight into what women do after leaving our service. These have included therapeutic writing courses, employment in hospitality and charity sectors and volunteering in Women’s Lives Leeds organisations. A particular highlight this year was our drop-in Christmas party, where women brought in snacks, and we did some Christmas crafts and a quiz.

Challenges: A challenge of the year has been establishing drop-in as a new group. This includes identifying the role of drop-in, adjacent to well-being and craft groups offered through Your Space, and issue-based groups at Women’s Health Matters. An initial challenge was building numbers and consistent attendance from the pool of women who no longer attend a WHM group, and therefore had lost touch. This has been addressed by making a drop-in referral a standard procedure when someone is closed to a service. Hosting legal and digital Drop-ins alongside weekly Drop-in has also made current service users aware of weekly drop-in so that they feel more able to attend when they leave the service they currently attend.

Looking to the future: In the coming year, we are looking forward to using Drop-in to promote other services and invite other professionals to do sessions. These include Being You Leeds and Linking Leeds. We look forward to further growing Drop-in attendance and co-producing sessions with / inviting guests suggested by Drop-in attendees. Case Study: Y started attending drop-in having previously attended Breathe Free and engaged with PCAS. She has several children, so found getting out of the house difficult. Y feels she has really benefited from a space she can go and connect with other women, who have had similar experiences to her. The creche has also been invaluable, as has Drop-in running in school holidays, as it means she is able to access Drop-in outside of term time. Through attending Drop-in, she has been signposted to Engage Housing service and Kidzclub. She has accessed a Chromebook through digital support and has been shown how to use it to manage her Universal Credit account. She has been referred to the Growing Together project. Y has also been supported with finances, including obtaining a discretionary housing payment through LHO, and getting advice from Welfare Rights and food and fuel support through the Household Support Fund.

WHM Emergency Fund, Household Support Fund, and Product Bank

Overview: WHM have an Emergency Fund to support women in crisis. Emergency funding has been used to support women with, for example, purchasing food, paying bills, transport to and from appointments, moving from a violent home. The funding comes from WHM core funding. In addition, we secured funding from Leeds City Council’s Household Support Fund.

Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women: 186

Highlights: Being able to support women financially as well as with food parcels addressing a higher level of need than we would normally be able to do. Challenges: The short-term nature of this funding means that it cannot be offered to women as a regular offer.

Looking to the future: WHM will continue to apply for funding to supplement this fund. Case Study: During one group check in a woman mentioned how she was struggling to pay her bills for the first time in ten years. This was significantly adding to her stress levels, and there was a sense she felt personally responsible for her current situation. We discussed this as a group, and many women opened up about how much the current

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Women’s Health Matters

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2023

cost of living crisis is affecting their lives and mental health. We were able to speak with the women who reported struggling financially, offering them support from the Household Support Fund. They were incredibly grateful and we received numerous “thank you” messages and expressions of relief.

WHM External training for professionals

Overview: WHM has developed a full-day, in-person training course that has been coproduced and is co-delivered with victims/survivors of Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA). The training is designed to share our knowledge built from years of specialist work in the field of DVA.

Numbers supported in 2022/23: Attendees: 32

Training sessions: 3 Volunteers: 1

Feedback:

“I feel more confident about having conversations about DV” “I am more aware of specific vulnerabilities and barriers for marginalised groups and what more I can do to support”

“It was really impactful to hear about T’s experience”

“It is amazing to have lived experience on this training”

“It brings the ‘paper story’ that I read all the time to life and fights compassion fatigue”

“Really powerful to hear from service users”

”So much relevant information”

WHM Volunteering Programme, Student Placements, and External Workers

Overview: Women's Health Matters reintroduced its volunteer project in 2022, providing various different volunteering roles for women we work with, and those wishing to gain more experience in the field. Volunteering opportunities have included social media communication ambassadors, administration support workers, one off pieces of work and group support facilitators. We hold the Volunteering Quality Kitemark. We have also hosted students on placements in Art Therapy, Nursing and Creche and have welcomed 12 external workers who help with facilitation of our groups.

Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women/girls: 69 External workers: 12

Women’s Lives Leeds – Empowering Systems Change

Overview: The Empowering Systems Change project runs the Women’s Lives Leeds Advisory Board named Women Speak. This is a group is made up of women who have used the services of the organisations in the Women’s Lives Leeds alliance, and work together to advise the alliance on their work and strategy. The project is funded by the National Lottery Fund.

Numbers supported in 2022/23:

Women: 20

Group sessions: 4

Highlights: After recruitment in December 22 and January 023, there is now almost full representation on the group from the whole alliance. The group have met twice in 2023 and have advised the alliance on their new values, as well as getting involved in wider Leeds opportunities such as the Women of the World Festival Leeds.

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Women’s Health Matters

Trustees’ annual report

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Challenges: At the beginning of the year there was a challenge with recruiting women from the different organisations on to the group. The staff member working on the project also left meaning there was a time when the group was unengaged before another worker was recruited.

Looking to the future: There are semi-regular group meetings now booked in throughout 2023/24 which coincide with alliance meetings, meaning the group can feed into the alliance as much as possible. The group will receive relevant training and take part in opportunities which strengthen them as a team and peer support network. Case Study: Two women from Women’s Health Matters signed up to join the group. One has used Women’s Health Matters domestic abuse group, and the other has attended the asylum seeker support group. Both have attended meetings and a group trip to the theatre. Feedback so far has been that although they weren’t sure of what to expect, they have really enjoyed the sessions and the sense of community the group provides.

Women’s Lives Leeds – Women Friendly Leeds

The successful Women’s Lives Leeds consortium of 12 Women and Girls’ organisations. The Chief Executive of WHM was Chair of the Alliance until April 2023. The alliance delivers a range of services for vulnerable women and girls in Leeds (funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and Comic Relief). We continue to be part of WLL Voices Project, Women Friendly Leeds, which is working towards making Leeds a woman friendly city. A city that is better for women, is better for everyone.

Further information about any of our projects can be sought by requesting the quarterly or annual reports for each specific programme.

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Women’s Health Matters

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2023

Financial review

WHM continued to raise sufficient funds to continue its main areas of activity. The inflationary increases required to maintain salaries, overheads, and running costs continued not to be met in full by some funders. We continued our strategy to secure the long-term future of our work by diversifying and securing multi-year income.

Our total income for the year was £813,032 (£528,678 in 2021/22; £506,388 in 2020/21; £489,480 in 2019/20; £442,484 in 2018/19 and £373,453 in 2017/18). Our total expenditure was £655,528 (£526,306 in 2021/22; £442,478 in 2020/21; £491,524 in 2019/20; £399,792 in 2018/19 and £393,477 in 2017/18).

Reserves policy

Our Reserves policy was reviewed and approved in January 2023 as below: Women’s Health Matters believes that for the Board of Trustees to act prudently they must maintain a reserve of funds principally to allow for any unexpected or unforeseen events that cannot be met from current funds.

Reserve funds will be built up from two sources:

Reserves will be available for the following purposes:

The Trustees have agreed to a target level of Reserves of:

This policy and calculations are updated annually. Trustees monitor actual and forecast expenditure of reserves quarterly. Reserves are invested in a high interest account to maximise earnings. In making this policy the Trustees have taken into consideration the costings involved with a planned closure including staff redundancies.

At the end of the 2022/23 year, the level of reserves was £453,881 (2022: £296,377); £194,774 (2022: £134,750) in restricted income funds, £80,679 (2022: £79,459) in designated reserves, and £178,428 (2022: £82,168) in free reserves. This equates to 3.26 months of running costs.

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Women’s Health Matters

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2023

Plans for the future

The Trustees’ plan for the charity’s services activity in 2023/24 remains focused on supporting vulnerable women, their families, and girls in and around Leeds through our Domestic Violence work, support for young women and girls at risk of violence and abuse, women whose children are at risk of or have been taken into care, women seeking asylum, women with learning disabilities, maternity and parenting, and women with complex and wellbeing needs. Each service has an agreed set of targets with funders. Our themes of effective service delivery, increasing our reputation and reach, and ensuring a robust and sustainable organisation remain integral to our plans. We continue to look for and develop partnerships and collaborative working with other organisations.

We will:

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Women’s Health Matters

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2023

Structure, governance, and management

Structure and governance

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 13 July 1993, and registered as a charity on 22 August 1995.

The company was established under a memorandum of association that established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its articles of association.

The memorandum of association and articles are currently under review. Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees as of 31 March 2023 was 43 (2022:43).

The Trustees are members of the charity, but this entitles them only to voting rights. The Trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

All Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 12 to the accounts.

Recruitment and appointment of Trustees

Board of Trustees members are recruited through advertising and via networking, interviewed by the Chair and Chief Executive and attend a Board meeting and complete relevant paperwork before joining. The processes for this recruitment were reviewed and strengthened in 2022/23 and includes specific guidance when recruiting former service users as trustees.

Induction and training of Trustees

New Board of Trustees members complete a skills audit and receive a comprehensive induction session with the Chief Executive, as well as receiving good practice guidelines such as the Good Trustee Guide (NCVO) and additional Trustee guidance from the Charity Commission. Trustees are offered training in areas where there are gaps in skills e.g., governance and financial management. Trustees are also offered the support of a Buddy trustee.

Organisational direction

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the direction of the organisation and ensuring that effective plans supporting the achievement of the strategic direction are in place and being met. They review policy and are responsible for ensuring effective governance including the financial management of the organisation. The Chair of Trustees line manages the Chief Executive who has day-to-day operational management responsibility. The Board meets at least six times a year and has an Away Day for strategic planning and an Away Day with staff once a year.

Operational management

Rachel Kelly was appointed as Chief Executive in 2019. The Finance and Office Manager and the Operations Manager, along with Project Leads, support the Chief Executive in the day-to-day management of the organisation.

Related parties and relationships with other organisations

WHM retains good relationships with its funders and delivers multiple services in partnership with other agencies, under partnership agreements and protocols. There is a breadth of referrals into services from statutory and charitable sector agencies. We are an alliance partner of Women’s Lives Leeds, a partner in LDVS and LDVS Sanctuary Support, in Your Space, and in the Breastfeeding Peer Support Service.

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Women’s Health Matters

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2023

In addition, we are active members of a range of Leeds strategic networks, including chairing both the Leeds Maternity Voices Partnership and Women’s Lives Leeds, and attending the 3P Network, Leeds Domestic Abuse Voice and Accountability Forum, the Domestic Abuse & Violence Strategy Working Group, West Yorkshire Improving Women’s Lives, EVAWG (Ending Violence Against Women and Girls), Third Sector Safeguarding Group, Forum Central Networks (Mental Health and Third Sector Health and Care Leaders), Leeds Migration Partnership, and Young Lives Leeds, and a member of NCVO. Our Chief Executive is a member of ACEVO and the national GSK Impact Awards Network and is the Third Sector representative on the Maternity population board for the NHS in Leeds.

Remuneration policy for key management personnel

When appointing a Chief Executive of WHM, the Trustees benchmark the salary with other similar positions within Leeds and surrounding areas. All senior and junior staff are appointed in line with similar positions within Leeds. Key management personnel receive the same annual cost of living increment as applied across all the staff.

Risk management

WHM has a risk register and management plan, which is reviewed at every board meeting. Organisational risks are assessed. Risks are categorised such as People, Operational, Financial, Governance, etc. and a scale of probability and impact and steps taken to mitigate are agreed and monitored with a RAG rating.

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Women’s Health Matters

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31 March 2023

Statement of responsibilities of the Trustees

The Trustees (who are also directors of Women’s Health Matters for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable 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 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.

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

The Trustees’ annual report has been approved by the Trustees on _____ 2023 and signed on their behalf by

Alison Cater Chair of Trustees

35

Independent examiner’s report

to the members of

Women’s Health Matters

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2023 which are set out on pages 37 to 60.

Responsibilities and basis of report

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

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your 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 Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, 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:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Catherine Hall FCCA DChA

Slade & Cooper Limited Beehive Mill, Jersey Street Manchester, M4 6JG

36

Women's Health Matters

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure account) for the year ended 31 March 2023

Unrestricted
funds
Note
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
42,221
Charitable activities:
4
36,597
5
5,097
Investments
6
377
Total income
84,292
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
8
10,772
Charitable activities:
7
(3,400)
Total expenditure
7,372
10
76,920
Transfer between funds
20,560
Net movement in funds for the year
97,480
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
161,627
Total funds carried forward
259,107
Other trading activities
Net income/(expenditure) for the
year		 Restricted
funds
£
115,000
613,740
-
-
728,740
-
648,156
648,156
80,584
(20,560)
60,024
134,750
194,774		 Total funds
2023
£
157,221
650,337
5,097
377
813,032
10,772
644,756
655,528
157,504
-
157,504
296,377
453,881		 Total funds
2022
£
80,010
440,812
7,591
265
528,678
13,380
512,926
526,306
2,372
-
2,372
294,005
296,377

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

37

Women's Health Matters Company number 2835637

Balance sheet as at 31 March 2023

Note
£
£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
15
5,375
Total fixed assets
5,375
Current assets
Debtors
16
17,696
Cash at bank and in hand
17
499,982
Total current assets
517,678
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling
due in less than one year
18
(69,172)
Net current assets
448,506
Total assets less current liabilities
453,881
Net assets
453,881
The funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds
20
194,774
Unrestricted income funds
21
259,107
Total charity funds
453,881
2023		 £
£
6,294
6,294
8,670
294,633
303,303
(13,220)
290,083
296,377
296,377
134,750
161,627
-
296,377
2022		 £
£
6,294
6,294
8,670
294,633
303,303
(13,220)
290,083
296,377
296,377
134,750
161,627
-
296,377
2022
6,294
290,083
296,377
296,377
134,750
161,627
296,377

For the year in question, the company was entitled to exemption from an audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors' responsibilities:

These accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies and in accordance with FRS102 SORP, and constitute the annual accounts required by the Companies Act 2006 and are for circulation to members of the company.

The notes on pages 40 to 60 form part of these accounts.

Approved by the trustees on ___2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Alison Cater (Chair)

Amita Fearon (Treasurer)

38

Women's Health Matters

Statement of Cash Flows for the year ending 31 March 2023

Note
2023
£
Cash provided by/(used in) operating activities
23
206,700
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest, and rents from investments
377
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
(1,728)
Cash provided by/(used in) investing activities
(1,351)
205,349
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
294,633
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
499,982
Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash
equivalents in the year		 2022
£
9,102
265
(7,453)
(7,188)
1,914
292,719
294,633

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Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023

1 Accounting policies

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

a Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), second edition - October 2019 (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

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

b Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern. The trustees have made no key judgments which have a significant effect on the accounts. The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

c Income

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

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

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

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

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Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

d Donated services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised; refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

e Interest receivable

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

f Fund accounting

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

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

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

g Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

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

h Allocation of support costs

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

41

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

i Operating leases

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

j Tangible fixed assets

Individual fixed assets costing £500 or more are capitalised at cost and are depreciated over their estimated useful economic lives on a straight line basis as follows:

Furniture & equipment 4 years

k Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

l Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

m Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

n Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

o Pensions

Employees of the charity are entitled to join a defined contribution ‘money purchase’ scheme. The charity’s contribution is restricted to the contributions disclosed in note 10. There were no outstanding contributions at the year end.

The money purchase plan is with The People's Pension managed by B&CE Holdings Ltd plc and the plan invests the contributions made by the employee and employer in an investment fund to build up over the term of the plan a pension fund which is then converted into a pension upon the employee’s normal retirement year age when eligible for a state pension. The total expense ratio of the plan is 1% and this is deducted from the investment fund annually. The trust has no liability beyond making its contributions and paying across the deductions for the employee’s contributions.

42

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

2 Legal status of the charity

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

3 Income from donations and legacies

Current reporting period
Donations
Core funding
The Henry Smith Charity
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation
The Edward Gostling Foundation
Garfield Weston Foundation
Sir George Martin Trust
Lloyds Bank Foundation
Other grants < £5k
Total
Previous reporting period
Donations
Core funding
Kelly Family Charitable Trust
The Henry Smith Charity
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation
Evan Cornish Foundation
Other grants < £5k
Total		 Unrestricted
£
13,073
-
-
-
-
3,500
25,000
648
42,221
Unrestricted
£
6,188
-
-
-
-
-
6,188		 Restricted
£
-
40,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
-
-
-
115,000
Restricted
£
-
3,622
40,000
20,000
5,000
5,200
73,822		 Total 2023
£
13,073
40,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
3,500
25,000
648
157,221
Total 2022
£
6,188
3,622
40,000
20,000
5,000
5,200
80,010

43

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

4 Income from charitable activities

Current reporting period
Women's Health Matters
Other
Domestic Violence
Breathe Free - National Lottery Community Fund
Breathe Free Impact Activities - University of Birmingham
LDVS - Leeds City Council Public Health
LDVS Access - Leeds City Council Public Health
LDVS - DHLUC Funding
LDVS - Sanctuary Support - Pregnancy post
LDVS - Sanctuary Support - Disability post
Women's Lives Leeds
WLL ESC post via LWA
Voices - Comic Relief
Other projects
Breastfeeding Peer Support via Health for All
Maternity Voices Partnership - NHS West Yorkshire ICB
Rosebuds - Jimbo's Fund
The Key Change - Children In Need
Rainbow Hearts - Evan Cornish Foundation
Inside Out - Charles Hayward Foundation
Growing Together - Awards for All
Growing Together - Leeds Community Foundation
Jubilee fund - Leeds Community Foundation
Digital Inclusion - Good Things Foundation
Energise & Empower - Yorkshire Sport Foundation
Household Support Fund - Forum Central
Your Space via Touchstone
Total
West Yorkshire Combined Authority - Local Victim
Services
Bluebirds - West Yorkshire Combined Authority - Mayor's
Safer Communities
Rainbow Hearts & Feel Good - Leeds City Council Public
Health
Pregnancy Choices Advocacy Service - NHS West
Yorkshire ICB		 Unrestricted
£
15,773
-
-
-
2,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
18,280
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
544
36,597		 Restricted
£
-
50,784
5,936
98,371
-
19,863
8,000
87,820
21,277
21,277
18,072
1,700
8,516
2,000
57,747
56,000
9,219
31,961
10,000
25,000
9,998
10,000
10,000
2,000
9,454
4,991
33,754
613,740		 Total 2023
£
15,773
50,784
5,936
98,371
2,000
19,863
8,000
87,820
21,277
21,277
18,072
1,700
8,516
20,280
57,747
56,000
9,219
31,961
10,000
25,000
9,998
10,000
10,000
2,000
9,454
4,991
34,298
650,337

44

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

Income from charitable activities continued

Previous reporting period
Women's Health Matters
Pilgrim Trust
WYCA
Domestic Violence
LDVS - Leeds City Council Public Health
LDVS Access - Leeds City Council Public Health
LDVS - Sanctuary Support - Pregnancy post
LDVS - Sanctuary Support - Disability post
Noel Buxton
WOW
Leeds City Council
SNOWDROPS
Awards For All
Postcode Neighbourhood Trust
WYCA - Snowdrops
Kelly Trust
Women's Lives Leeds
NLCF
Other projects
Health For All - BFPS
National Lottery - Breathe Free
Lloyds Bank Foundation
NHS Leeds CCG
Leeds City Council
Jimbos - Rosebuds
Labyrinyth - Rosebuds
Children in Need - Key Change
Touchstone - Your Space
Total		 Unrestricted
£
-
-
-
19,863
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
57,609
-
-
-
-
77,472
77,472		 Restricted
£
5,000
20,222
25,222
-
13,366
14,333
14,333
4,000
10,000
10,000
20,000
7,794
1,378
5,318
4,258
101,773
24,879
17,974
6,770
19,650
12,906
31,403
17,983
338,118
363,340		 Total 2022
£
5,000
20,222
25,222
19,863
13,366
14,333
14,333
4,000
10,000
10,000
20,000
7,794
1,378
5,318
4,258
101,773
24,879
17,974
64,379
19,650
12,906
31,403
17,983
415,590
440,812

45

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

5 Income from other trading activities

Fees, Charges and other income
All income from other trading activities is unrestricted.
Investment income
Current reporting period
Income from bank deposits
Previous reporting period
Income from bank deposits		 2023
£
5,097
5,097
Unrestricted
£
377
377
Unrestricted
£
265
265		 2022
£
7,591
7,591
Restricted
£
-
-
Restricted
£
-
-		 2023
£
377
377
2022
£
265
265

6 Investment income Current reporting period

46

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

7 Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

Core
Women's Health Matters
Domestic Violence
Snowdrops
The Key Change
Women's Lives Leeds
Other projects
Total		 Staff
costs
£
85,877
(86)
205,866
19,812
26,427
16,600
159,937
514,433		 Admin
costs
£
(13,362)
(1,028)
15,741
461
1,231
445
13,121
16,609		 Premises
£
(4,636)
-
18,859
318
3,460
622
18,806
37,429		 £
-
2,647
-
-
-
-
-
2,647
Depreciation		 Other
project
costs
£
£
(2,321)
(257)
(11,477)
1,080
47,530
764
647
460
836
-
585
-
35,260
531
71,060
2,578
Restricted expenditure
Unrestricted expenditure
Governance
costs
(see note 9)		 Total
2023
£
65,301
(8,864)
288,760
21,698
31,954
18,252
227,655
644,756
648,156
(3,400)
644,756

47

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities continued

Previous reporting period

Core
Women's Health Matters
Domestic Violence
Wow
Covid 19
Snowdrops
The Key
WLL
Other projects
Total		 Staff
costs
£
72,288
13,060
23,924
60,379
2,267
21,363
28,966
4,400
166,373
393,020		 Admin
costs
£
(112)
816
1,638
9,284
8
173
78
10
10,785
22,680		 Premises
£
998
1,743
2,775
5,695
-
60
1,259
113
18,593
31,236		 £
-
725
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,863
2,588
Depreciation		 Other
project
costs
£
£
1,342
-
(7,168)
-
12,278
192
11,528
-
6,705
-
374
-
194
-
5
-
35,900
2,052
61,158
2,244
Restricted expenditure
Unrestricted expenditure
Governance
costs
(see note 9)		 Total
2022
£
74,516
9,176
40,807
86,886
8,980
21,970
30,497
4,528
235,566
512,926
405,208
107,718
512,926

48

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

8 Cost of raising funds

Staff costs
Fundraiser's fees
Restricted expenditure
Unrestricted expenditure
9
Analysis of governance and support costs
Current reporting period
Basis of
apportionment
Independent examiner fees
Governance
Board costs
Governance
Previous reporting period
Basis of
apportionment
Independent examiner fees
Governance
Board costs
Governance
10
Net income/(expenditure) for the year
This is stated after charging/(crediting):
Depreciation
Independent examiner's fee - accountancy
Independent examiner's fee		 2023
£
-
10,772
10,772
-
10,772
10,772
Support
£
-
-
-
Support
£
-
-
-
2023
£
2,647
1,978
600		 2022
£
13,380
-
13,380
4,920
8,460
13,380
Governance
£
2,578
-
2,578
Governance
£
1,200
-
1,200
2022
£
2,588
-
1,200		 Total 2023
£
2,578
-
2,578
Total 2022
£
1,200
-
1,200

49

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

11 Staff costs

Staff costs during the year were as follows:

costs during the year were as follows:
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs
Consultancy & HR fees
Recruitment & staff expenses
Volunteers' expenses and training
Holiday pay accrual
Redundancy
Allocated as follows:
Cost of raising funds
Charitable activities		 2023
£
447,290
36,247
14,599
5,943
8,386
1,053
915
-
514,433
-
514,433
514,433		 2022
£
334,485
24,404
9,377
19,052
9,315
1,147
1,724
6,500
406,004
13,380
392,624
406,004

No employees has employee benefits in excess of £60,000 (2022: Nil).

The average number of staff employed during the period was 18 (2022: 15.4). The average full time equivalent number of staff employed during the period was 13.2 (2022: 11).

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the trustees and the Chief Executive Officer and the Finance and Office Manager (2022: Chief Executive Officer). The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £81,509 (2022: £46,011).

50

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

12 Trustee remuneration and expenses, and related party transactions

No (2022: Zero ) trustees, were paid paid in the year (2022: £Nil).

No (2022:Zero) member of the management committee received travel and subsistence expenses during the year (2022:£nil).

Aggregate donations from related parties were £Nil (2022: £Nil).

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

No trustee or other person related to the charity had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the charity, including guarantees, during the year (2022: nil).

13 Government grants

The government grants recognised in the accounts were as follows:

Leeds City Council
NHS West Yorkshire ICB
Ministry of Justice via WYCA - Safer Communities
West Yorkshire Combined Authority - Ministry of
Justice		 2023
£
85,610
20,280
50,784
(44,848)
111,826		 2022
£
87,745
17,974
-
20,222
125,941

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

14 Corporation tax

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

51

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

15 Fixed assets: tangible assets

Cost
Additions
Disposals
Depreciation
Charge for the year
Disposals
Net book value
16
Debtors
Grants receivable
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
17
Cash at bank and in hand
Short term deposits
Cash at bank and on hand
At 1 April 2022
At 31 March 2023
At 1 April 2022
At 31 March 2023
At 31 March 2023
At 31 March 2022		 Furniture &
equipment
£
12,474
1,728
-
14,202
6,180
2,647
-
8,827
5,375
6,294
2023
£
10,355
2,749
2,569
2,023
17,696
2023
£
70,000
429,982
499,982		 £
12,474
1,728
-
Total
14,202
6,180
2,647
-
8,827
5,375
6,294
2022
£
5,250
-
-
3,420
8,670
2022
£
70,000
224,633
294,633

52

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

18 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Short term compensated absences (holiday pay)
Other creditors and accruals
Deferred income
Taxation and social security costs
Deferred income
Deferred grant brought forward
Grant received
Released to income from charitable activities
Deferred grant carried forward		 2023
£
6,435
5,959
6,992
29,292
20,494
69,172
2023
£
-
29,292
-
29,292		 2022
£
-
5,044
6,635
-
1,541
13,220
2022
£
10,000
-
(10,000)
-

19 Deferred income

Deferred income received in advance of the period to which it relates

53

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

20 Analysis of movements in restricted funds

Current reporting period Balance Balance at
at 1 April 31 March
2022 Income Expenditure Transfers 2023
£ £ £ £ £
Core
The Henry Smith Charity - 40,000 (40,000) - -
Garfield Weston Foundation - 30,000 - - 30,000
The Brelms Trust CIO (4,649) - - 4,649 -
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation 24,082 20,000 (37,238) - 6,844
The Noel Buxton Trust 7,539 - (7,539) - -
The Leigh Trust 914 - (331) (583) -
Kelly Family Charitable Trust 490 - - (490) -
The Edward Gostling Foundation - 25,000 (2,229) - 22,771
Other 24 - - - 24
Women's Health Matters
Small grants 40 - - (40) -
Domestic Violence
Bluebirds - West Yorkshire
Combined Authority - Mayor's
Safer Communities - 5,936 (5,936) - -
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
- Local Victim Services - 50,784 (40,294) (10,490) -
LDVS (includes Access and DLUHC) (4,624) 115,683 (73,849) 37,210
The Brelms Trust CIO (354) - - 354 -
LDVS - Sanctuary Support -
Disability post 8,153 21,277 (25,107) - 4,323
LDVS - Sanctuary Support -
Pregnancy post 8,326 21,277 (24,303) - 5,300
Breathe Free - National Lottery
Community Fund 14,886 98,371 (108,782) (475) 4,000
WOW
Leeds City Council 1,336 - - (1,336) -
Covid 19
Leeds City Council 5,590 - - (5,590) -
Snowdrops
Awards For All 5,264 - (5,264) - -
Postcode Neighbourhood Trust 16,432 - (16,432) - -
The Edward Gostling Foundation 6 - - (6) -
Women's Lives Leeds
Big Lottery Fund (17) - - 17 -
WLL ESC post via LWA 790 18,072 (15,445) - 3,417
Voices - Comic Relief - 1,700 - - 1,700
Other projects
Rosebuds - The Leeds Fund 684 - - (684) -
Inside Out - Charles Hayward
Foundation 1,203 25,000 (26,149) (54) -
Rosebuds - Labyrinth 2,406 9,219 (11,578) (47) -
Rosebuds - Jimbo's 19,650 - (11,987) - 7,663
Sunflowers - Lloyds Bank
Foundation 11,791 - (11,475) (316) -
Maternity Voices Partnership - NHS
West Yorkshire ICB 3,694 2,000 (3,694) - 2,000
Rainbow Hearts & Feel Good -
Leeds City Council Public Health 4,409 57,747 (56,687) (5,469) -
Your Space via Touchstone (759) 33,754 (34,515) - (1,520)

Analysis of movements in restricted funds continues on following page

54

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

Analysis of movements in restricted funds continued

Other
Total
Digital Inclusion - Good Things
Foundation
Energise & Empower - Yorkshire
Sport Foundation
Household Support Fund - Forum
Central
Growing Together - Awards for All
Growing Together - Leeds
Community Foundation
Jubilee fund - Leeds Community
Foundation
The Key Change - Children In Need
Rainbow Hearts - Evan Cornish
Foundation
Breastfeeding Peer Support via
Health for All
Pregnancy Choices Advocacy
Service - NHS West Yorkshire ICB		 905
5,000
48
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,491
134,750		 31,961
10,000
8,516
9,998
10,000
10,000
56,000
2,000
9,454
4,991
-
728,740		 (31,954)
(5,000)
(8,564)
-
(3,740)
(10,000)
(21,867)
(1,403)
(1,803)
(4,991)
-
(648,156)		 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(20,560)		 912
10,000
-
9,998
6,260
-
34,133
597
7,651
-
1,491
194,774

55

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

Analysis of movements in restricted funds continued

Balance
at 1 April
2021
£
Core
Henry Smith Charity
-
Garfield Weston
20,449
Bramall Foundation
580
The Brelms Trust CIO
-
Trusthouse
6,494
Noel Buxton Trust
4,000
Sir George Martin Tst
3,000
Souter Trust
2,000
Trees of Leigh
914
Evan Cornish
-
The Kelly Trust
-
WYCA
-
Other
-
Women's Health Matters
Pilgrim Trust
4,880
Small Grants
40
Domestic Violence
LDVS (Access)
4,955
The Brelms Trust CIO
(354)
LDVS - Sanctuary Support - Disability
LDVS - Sanctuary Support - Pregnancy
Lottery - Breathe Free
WOW
Leeds City Council
8,749
Covid 19
Leeds City Council
14,569
Ministry of Justice LDVS
7,780
Ministry of Justice
1,008
SNOWDROPS
Awards For All
-
Postcode Neighbourhood T
-
Edward Gostling Fndn
4,500
Kelly Trust - Snowdrops
-
WYCA - Snowdrops
-
WLL
Big Lottery Fund
(17)
Other projects
Leeds Fund
9,067
Inside Out
22,724
Labyrinyth - Rosebuds
-
Jimbos - Rosebuds
-
Lloyds Bank Foundation
12,443
MVP
383
YUMS
3,795
Your Space
(1,520)
The Key Change
-
WLL Empowering systems
-
Awards For All - BFPS
-
Other
1,491
Total
131,930
Previous reporting period		 Income
£
40,000
-
-
-
20,000
4,000
-
-
-
5,000
3,622
20,222
5,200
5,000
-
13,366
-
14,333
14,333
101,773
10,000
-
-
-
10,000
20,000
-
1,378
7,794
-
-
-
12,906
19,650
24,879
17,974
6,770
17,983
31,403
5,318
4,258
-
437,162		 £
(40,000)
(20,449)
(580)
(4,649)
(2,412)
(461)
(3,000)
(2,000)
-
-
(3,132)
(20,222)
(5,176)
(9,880)
-
(22,945)
-
(6,180)
(6,007)
(86,887)
(17,413)
(8,979)
(7,780)
(1,008)
(4,736)
(3,568)
(4,494)
(1,378)
(7,794)
-
(8,383)
(21,521)
(10,500)
-
(25,531)
(14,663)
(6,156)
(17,222)
(30,498)
(4,528)
(4,210)
-
(434,342)
Expenditure		 Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Balance at
31 March
2022
£
-
-
-
(4,649)
24,082
7,539
-
-
914
5,000
490
-
24
-
40
(4,624)
(354)
8,153
8,326
14,886
1,336
5,590
-
-
5,264
16,432
6
-
-
(17)
684
1,203
2,406
19,650
11,791
3,694
4,409
(759)
905
790
48
1,491
134,750

56

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

Name of restricted fund Description, nature and purposes of the fund Core This funds the administration and management of the charity as a whole. Women's Health Matters Domestic Violence - Breathe Projects to provide group, 1 to 1, and practical support for women Free, LDVS, LDVS Sanctuary who have experienced Domestic Violence. Support and Bluebirds Snowdrops This project offers one to one support for vulnerable women and girls in Leeds. Women's Lives Leeds Women's Lives Leeds funding to reimbure expenditure of hosting a Project Worker and for engagement activities. Other projects Rosebuds Group work supporting women who's children are being looked after by someone else. Inside Out - Charles Hayward A parenting course for women whose children are being looked after Foundation by somebody else, such as through adoption or a kinship order. Rainbow Hearts & Feel Good - Weekly emotional support group for women seeking asylum. Leeds City Council Public Weekly healthy relationships group for women with learning Health disabilities. Maternity Voices Partnership - A forum bringing together health professionals and women who NHS West Yorkshire ICB access maternity services. Your Space via Touchstone Hosting of a Community Wellbeing Worker. The Key Change - Children In Project to provide early intervention work around domestic violence Need and child sexual exploitation. Breastfeeding Peer Support via Breastfeeding peer support trains experienced mums to peer Health for All support through social media, face to face and on the telephone. Also provides advice and support from specialist, trained advisors. Pregnancy Choices Advocacy The Pregnancy Choices Advocacy Service offers impartial Service - NHS West Yorkshire information on midwifery and termination options and 1-1 support. ICB Growing Together - Leeds Growing Together is a project to provide in-depth whole family Community Foundation support for children and their mums, working with each individual family according to their needs. Digital Inclusion - Good Things Support and families engaged in WHM programmes with a IT Foundation lending library, access to online learning modules and 1-1 support to enhance digital skills. Household Support Fund - Funding enabling WHM to financially support women affected by Forum Central cost of living crisis engagein our services with practical assistance. Other projects Donations to specified projects or groups. Transfers Transfers from unrestricted funds to cover overspends. Transfers out are in respect of support given to projects from unrestricted funds in previous periods.

57

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

21 Analysis of movement in unrestricted funds

General fund
Redundancy and notice period
liability
General fund
Designated funds
Training
Previous reporting period
Current reporting period
Designated funds
Redundancy and notice period
liability		 Balance
at 1 April
2022
£
82,168
79,459
-
161,627
Balance
at 1 April
2021
£
146,942
15,133
162,075		 Income
£
84,292
-
-
84,292
Income
£
91,516
-
91,516		 Expenditure
£
(7,372)
-
-
(7,372)
£
(91,964)
-
(91,964)
Expenditure		 Transfers
£
19,340
-
1,220
20,560
Transfers
£
(64,326)
64,326
-		 As at 31
March 2023
£
178,428
79,459
1,220
259,107
Balance at
31 March
2022
£
82,168
79,459
161,627

Name of unrestricted fund Description, nature and purposes of the fund

General fund Designated funds Training

The free reserves after allowing for all designated funds. Funds designated by the management committee for the support and development of existing work.

This is a fund that ringfences net income from training in order that it can applied to this service.

58

Women's Health Matters

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (continued)

22 Analysis of net assets between funds

Current reporting period
Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Total
Previous reporting period
Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Total		 General
fund
£
5,375
173,053
178,428
General
fund
£
6,294
75,874
82,168		 Designated
funds
£
-
80,679
80,679
Designated
funds
£
-
79,459
79,459		 Restricted
funds
£
-
194,774
194,774
Restricted
funds
£
-
134,750
134,750		 Total
£
5,375
448,506
453,881
Total
£
6,294
290,083
296,377

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

Net income/(expenditure) for the year
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charge
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating		 2023
£
157,504
2,647
(377)
(9,026)
55,952
206,700		 2022
£
2,372
2,588
(265)
13,504
(9,097)
9,102

59

Women's Health Matters

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure account) for the year ended 31 March 2022

Unrestricted
funds
Note
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
6,188
Charitable activities:
77,472
7,591
Investments
265
Total income
91,516
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
8,460
Charitable activities:
83,504
Total expenditure
91,964
(448)
Transfer between funds
20,560
Net movement in funds for the year
20,112
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
162,075
Total funds carried forward
182,187
Net income/(expenditure) for the
year
Other trading activities		 Restricted
funds
£
73,822
363,340
-
-
437,162
4,920
429,422
434,342
2,820
(20,560)
(17,740)
131,930
114,190		 Total funds
2022
£
80,010
440,812
7,591
265
528,678
13,380
512,926
526,306
2,372
-
2,372
294,005
296,377		 Total funds
2021
£
80,414
419,615
5,800
559
506,388
19,406
423,072
442,478
63,910
-
63,910
230,095
294,005

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

60