## **DEVON LINK-UP**
**REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2024**
**(REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1052687)**
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **CHARITY INFORMATION For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2024**
|**ADDRESS:**|Heathfield Farm||
|---|---|---|
||Station Road||
||Broadclyst||
||Exeter||
||EX5 3AR||
|**CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER:**|1052687||
|**TRUSTEES:**|Mrs J A Cornwell|Chair|
||Mrs J E Miller|Treasurer|
||Mr P Gilpin||
||Mr A Fox||
|**SECRETARY:**|Mrs J E Miller||
|**MANAGER:**|Ms Jo Morgan||
|**ACCOUNTANTS:**|Geraldine Coates|Accounting|
||Robson House||
||Chapel Street||
||Honiton||
||Devon||
||EX14 1EU||
|**BANKERS:**|Lloyds TSB||
||84 High Street||
||Honiton||
||Devon||
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **INDEX TO THE ACCOUNTS For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2024**
||**Page**|
|---|---|
|Trustees’ Annual Report|1 – 4|
|Accountants Report|5|
|Statement of Financial Activities|6 – 8|
|Balance Sheet|9 – 10|
|Notes to the Accounts|11 – 14|
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2024**
The Trustees herein present their report along with the financial statements for the charity for the year ended 31[st] March 2024. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out the accounts and comply with the charity’s constitution, the Charities Act 1993, and the statement of Recommended Practise: Accounting and Reporting by Charities 2008.
## **STRUCTURE, MANAGEMENT & GOVERNANCE**
Devon Link-Up is an unincorporated charity, established in 1991 and registered under its current charity number in 1996. It is an independent, User-Led, voluntary organisation, working in Devon, currently supporting approximately two hundred and fifty people with learning disabilities.
Devon Link-Up is dedicated to supporting people to have a voice and choice about their lives so that they have active and fulfilled lives within their community. Our main areas of work delivered through various projects have continued throughout the year and focus on social activities, having a voice and being supported to speak up about issues that are important.
We have continued to develop our projects, so they offer increased independence and inclusion for our members.
The Trustees are elected annually by members at the Annual General Meeting. The constitution provides for no more than 9 Trustees who must include a Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and any other officers as the Trustees shall from time to time determine.
The day-to-day operation of the charity is delegated to the charity Chief Officer by a Management Committee which meets 8 times each year.
An essential part of the governance of the charity is that it is user led with a service user being supported by volunteers who also sit on the Management Committee, as a consequence the organisation is co-chaired.
## **RISK MANAGEMENT**
The Trustees of Devon Link-Up, with a Chief Officer and other members of staff, have considered the major risks to which the charity and its users are exposed and established systems and procedures to manage those risks. 35 major policies, including for example, those relating to Health and Safety, Equal Opportunities, Safeguarding Adults and Children and financial management continue to be reviewed and updated as part of an on-going policy review programme.
## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES**
The objectives of the Charity:
To promote any charitable purpose for the benefit of persons with learning disabilities and in particular but not by limitation (a) promote the involvement of the community in the care and welfare of such persons and (b) promote and assist in the integration of such persons into the community.
Page 1
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2024**
The charity trustees have compiled with their duty as detailed in section 17(5) of the 2011 Charities Act by preparing a Public Benefit Statements (see below).
## **Public Benefit Statement**
There are an estimated sixteen thousand people with learning disabilities, living in Devon, many of whom are socially isolated and have limited opportunities for integrating into their community. During the last year Devon Link-Up has maintained is dedication to helping people enjoy their lives by giving them a voice and choice about the things they do. It is our aim to encourage new skills and when experience in the anticipation that people will build confidence, self-esteem and greater independence.
With the limited opportunities provided by statutory services and ever decreasing access to support, Devon Link-Up works increasingly hard to act as a safe and integral part of the life of many people with learning disabilities in Devon. Moreover, it is well respected by and complimentary to the other service providers in the area from both statutory and voluntary sectors.
Devon Link-Up aims to ensure that people have access to an independent service where they can make real choices and have a voice about all aspects of their life. The reduction of isolation and the creation of real friendships and access to the local community are key drivers for the organisation.
Our budget is used to:
- Promote the rights of people with a learning disability
- Support people in building links and networks in their community
- Support people to speak up about things that are important to them
- Maintain and support social networks
- Recruit, train and support volunteers in various roles within Devon Link-Up
Devon Link-Up also has a small team of volunteers who assist the organisation in a variety of ways, their valuable time is greatly appreciated.
The work of Devon Link-Up benefits not just the members but also the wider community when awareness and understanding is increased. We are proud of our achievements in helping overcome some of the inequalities learning disables people face in Devon.
## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE**
The achievements and performance of the charity are closely monitored by the Trustees and are summarised in the annual report.
## **MONITORING ACHIEVEMENT**
The Trustees recognise the importance of monitoring and evaluating services against the organisation’s aims to ensure proper governance and continued progress and development.
Page 2
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2024**
The Trustees receive a report of, and talk about, the achievements of each of the projects at each meeting. Feedback from service users, carers, staff members and volunteers is an important component of the monitoring process. The Trustees also consider formal evaluation which is carried out regularly in the form of a user-friendly questionnaire sent to all stakeholders.
## **FINANCIAL REVIEW**
The charity is reliant on charitable grants from donors together with income from working via local authority contracts as identified in the examined accounts. Due to the economic state of austerity measures the amount of income has decreased which places greater challenges on the organisation to ensure stability for the future.
## **PLANS FOR THE FUTURE**
It can be seen from the Annual Report that Devon Link-Up continued to be a dynamic organisation, always seeking to devote its resources to meeting the need of people with learning disabilities living in Devon. As resources become more restricted our skills and values continue to guide the future direction of the organisation.
## **RESERVES**
The Charity reserves are set at an agreed level and the Trustees regularly monitor the levels to ensure all needs can be met as agreed in the Reserves Policy.
## **TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES IN RELATION TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charity’s financial activities during the year and of its financial position at the end of the year. In preparing financial statements giving true and fair view, the Trustees should follow best practise and:
- Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
-
- Make judgements and estimated that are reasonable and prudent
- State of whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practise have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements and;
- Prepare the financial statements on the going concerns basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
Page 3
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2024**
The Trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records which disclose, with reasonable accuracy, the financial position of the charity with which to ascertain the financial position of the charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations and the provisions of the trust deed. The Trustees are responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
## **BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES**
**……………………………….. Mrs J A Cornwell CHAIR**
Page 4
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF**
## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2024**
We report on the financial statements of Devon Link-Up for the year ended 31[st] March 2024 which are set out on pages six to fourteen.
## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner**
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The Charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is our responsibility to:
- Examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act:
- To follow the procedures laid down in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners (under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act) and;
- To state whether particular matter have come to our attention.
## **Basis of independent examiner’s report**
Our examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of unusual items or disclosure in the accounts, and the seeking of explanations form your as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and, consequently, I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. We conducted audit in accordance with United Kingdom Auditing Standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board.
## **Independent examiners’ statement**
In connection with our examination, no matter has come to our attention:
- (1) Which gives us reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements:
- To keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act and:
- To prepared accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act
……………………………………………………………..
Geraldine Coates Accounting Robson House, Chapel Street Honiton, Devon EX14 1EU
**Dated:** …………………………………………………
Page 5
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCOME AND EXPENDITURE For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2024**
|||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total Funds**|**Total Funds**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Note**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2024**|**2023**|
|||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Income Resources**||||||
|**Activities for Generating funds:**||||||
|Heathfield Farm||116,519**)**|24,458**)**|140,977**)**|175,818**)**|
|Other Projects||36,830**)**|-**)**|36,830**)**|77,580**)**|
|**Investment Income**||||||
|Interest Received||-**)**|-**)**|-**)**|-**)**|
|**TOTAL INCOMING**||||||
|**RESOURCES**|**1b**|**153,349)**|**24,458)**|**177,808)**|**253,398)**|
|**RESOURCES EXPENSES**||||||
|**Costs of generating funds**||||||
|Charitable Activities:||||||
|Activities undertaken Directly|**2**|11,767**)**|1,916**)**|13,682**)**|30,351**)**|
|Charitable Activities|**3**|133,311**)**|21,702**)**|155,013**)**|262,690**)**|
|Governance Costs|**4**|1,099**)**|-**)**|-**)**|-**)**|
|**TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED**||**146,177)**|**23,618)**|**168,696)**|**293,041**|
|**NET RESOURCES EXPENDED FOR**||||||
|**THE YEAR**|**4**|**8,271)**|**840)**|**9,113)**|**(39,643)**|
|**JRS Grant Received**||**-)**|--------**-**-|**-)**|**-)**|
|**Net Movements in Fund**||**7,172)**|**840)**|**8,014)**|**(39,643)**|
|**Balance at 1st April 2023**||**(142,747)**|**186,100)**|**43,354)**|**67,214)**|
|**Prior year adjustments**||**1,100)**|**-)**|**1,100)**|**15,783)**|
|**Balance at 31st March 2024**|**5**|**(134,475)**|**186,940)**|**52,466)**|**43,354)**|
Page 6
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCOME AND EXPENDITURE CONTINUED… For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2024**
|Sales Income
Sale of Produce
Donation Income
Grant Income
Other Income
**Total Income**
**Expenditure**
Salaries
Rent
Travel & Subsistence
Vehicle Expenses
Insurance
Advertising
Bookkeeping
Kitchen Expenses
Sundries & Refreshments
Repairs & Renewals
Staff Training
PPE Expenses
Plant Purchases
Equipment & Materials
Room Hire
Subscriptions
Office Costs
Utilities
Recruitment
Other Salaries
**Net Profit for the Year (2024):**
**Add Profits/(Losses):**
**Deprecation Charge:**
**Total Net Profit for the Year (2024):**|**Heathfield Farm**
**£**
**£**
105,122
557
7,040
17,418
10,840
**140,977**
113,564
-
230
197
2,607
60
612
2,217
7
196
-
9
106
685
-
9
350
6,761
410
6,306
134,327
**6,650**
|**Other Projects**
**£**
**£**
36,830
-
-
-
-
**36,830**
24,031
120
566
-
-
-
-
156
9
-
-
-
-
514
260
-
-
366
-
8,346
34,368
**2,462**
**9,113**
( 1,099)
**8,014**|
|---|---|---|
Page 7
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES PREVIOUS YEAR INCOME AND EXPENDITURE For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2023**
|**Heathfield Farm**
**£**
**£**
Sales Income
80,647
Donation Income
95,120
Other Income
51
**Total Income**
**1 75,818**
**Expenditure**
Salaries
1 43,597
Rent
-
Travel & Subsistence
7,144
Insurance
630
Advertising
-
Bookkeeping
-
Sundries & Refreshments
5,961
Repairs & Renewals
4,940
Staff Training
425
Telephone
567
Postage
53
Stationery
290
Equipment
3,847
Fundraising Costs
-
External Agent Costs
6,804
Room Hire
-
Subscriptions
36
Office Costs
2,315
Computer Charges
269
Printing
-
Recruitment
132
Developments
337
1 77,347
**Net Profit for the Year (2023):**
**( 1,529)**
**Add Profits/(Losses):**
**Deprecation Charge:**
**Total Net Profit for the Year (2023):**
Page 8|**Other Projects**
**£**
**£**
44,268
31,812
1,500
**77,580**
68,689
1,440
2,213
-
832
1,111
381
-
130
167
142
949
-
15,840
2,239
2,079
618
-
432
2,154
-
14,782
1 14,198
**( 36,618)**
**( 38,147)**
( 1,373)
**( 39,520)**|
|---|---|
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **BALANCE SHEET As at 31[st] March 2024**
|**Note**
**FIXED ASSETS**
**6**
Tangible Assets
**CURRENT ASSETS**
Debtors
Cash at Bank & in hand
**CURRENT LIABILITIES**
Creditors and Accruals
**NET CURRENT ASSETS**
**Creditors: amounts falling**
**due after more than one year**
**NET ASSETS**
**FUNDS**
Unrestricted
Restricted
Transferred restriction to un-
restricted
**TOTAL FUNDS**|**31/03/2024**
**£**
**£**
**4,394)**
25,234**)**
33,207**)**
58,441**)**
(10,370)
(10,370)
48,070**)**
-**)**
**52,466)**
52,465**)**
-**)**
**52,466)**|**31/03/2023**
**£**
**£**
**5,493) **
-**)**
37,861**)**
37,861**)**
-**)**
-**)**
37,861**)**
-**)**
**43,354)**
43,354**)**
-**)**
-**)**
**43,354**|
|---|---|---|
Page 9
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31[ST] MARCH 2024**
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees have taken advantage of special exemptions applicable to small charities. The trustees have done so on the grounds that, in their opinion, the charity is entitled to the benefits of those exemptions because it meets with the qualifying condition for small charities as stated in Section 130 of the Charities Act 2011.
**……………………………………………………….. Mrs J A Cornwell (CHAIRPERSON)**
**…………………………………………………………. Mrs J E Miller (SECRETARY & TREASURER)**
Approved by the Committee on …………………………………………………
Page 10
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2024**
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES**
## a) Historical Cost Convention
The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention, and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practise (SORP 2008).
## b) Incoming Resources
Income is received by way of funding and donations and is included in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable.
Income from investments is included in the year in which it is receivable.
## c) Resources Expended
Resources expended are recognised in the year in which they are incurred.
## d) Tangible Fixed Assets and Depreciation
Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off less residual value of each asset over their expected useful life, as follows:
|Office Equipment|-|20% Reducing Balance|
|---|---|---|
|Fixtures & Fittings|-|20% Reducing Balance|
|Farm Equipment|-|20% Reducing Balance|
## **2. ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN DIRECTLY**
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Funds**|**Funds**||**2024**|**2023**|
||**£**|**£**||**£**|**£**|
|Utilities/Telephone and Postage|6,129||998|7,127|929|
|Kitchen Expenses|2,041||332|2,373||
|Stationery|-||-|-|1,239|
|Advertising|51||8|60|833|
|Rent|103||17|120|1,440|
|Repair & Maintenance|169||27|196|20,060|
|Insurance|2,242||365|2,607|630|
|Equipment & Materials|1,031||168|1,199|3,847|
||11,767||1,916|13,682|30,351|
Page 11
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2024**
## **3. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES**
|**3.**|**CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES**|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**||**Total**||**Total**|||
|||**Funds**|**Funds**||**2024**||**2023**|||
|||**£**|**£**||**£**||**£**|||
||Staff Costs|118,332|19,263||137,595|||212,286||
||Bookkeeping|527||86||612|||1,111|
||Travel|854||139||993|||9,357|
||Office Costs|309||50||359|||5,824|
||Staff Training|-||-||-|||687|
||HR Support|-||-||-|||120|
||Room Hire|224||36||260|||2,079|
||Social Expenditure|112||18||131|||6,342|
||Volunteer Expenses|353||57||410|||-|
||Other Expenses/Petty Cash|12,601||2,051|14,652|||24,884||
|||133,311|21,702||155,013|||262,690||
|**4.**|**GOVERNANCE COSTS**|||||||||
||**NET RESOURCES EXPENDED**|||||||||
||Net resources expended is|||||||||
||stated|||||||||
||after charging|||||||||
|||**2024**||**2023**||||||
|||**£**||**£**||||||
||Depreciation – owned assets|1,099|
|1,373||||||
|**5.**|**NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS**|||||||||
||||**Unrestricted**||**Restricted**||||**Total**|
|||||||||**Funds**||
||||||||||**2024**|
|||||**£**||**£**|||**£**|
||**a) Heathfield Farm**|||||||||
||Balance b/fwd||**( 82,849)**||**56,308**)||**( 26,541)**|||
||Other incoming Resources||116,519)||24,458)|||140,436)||
||||**33,670**)||**80,766**)|||**114,436**)||
||Less: Activities Undertaken Directly||( 10,183)||(|1,658)||( 11,841)||
||Governance Costs|||-)||-)|||-)|
||Support Costs||(105,338)||(17,148)||(122,486)|||
||**Balance c/fwd**||**( 81,851)**||**61,960**)||**( 19,891)**|||
Page 12
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2024**
## **5.**
|**NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS**
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**£**
**£**
**b) Other Projects**
Balance b/fwd
**( 78,104)**
**5,440**.
**(**
Other Incoming Resources
36,830)
-)
**( 41,274)**
**5,440**)
**(**
Less: Activities Undertaken Directly
552)
90)
Governance Costs
-
-)
Support Costs
29,004)
4,722)
**Balance c/fwd**
**( 70,830) **
**628**)
**(**
**C) Previous Project Areas Combined (Not Used)**
Balance b/fwd
18,206.
124,352.
Other Incoming Resources
-.
-.
**18,206.**
**124,352.**
Less: Activities Undertaken Directly
-.
-.
Governance Costs
-.
-.
Support Costs
-.
-.
**Balance c/fwd**
**18,206.**
**124,352.**|**Total**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**72,664)**
36,830)
**35,834)**
642)
-)
33,726)
**70,202)**
142,559.
-.
**142,559.**
-.
-.
-.
**142,559.**|
|---|---|
Page 13
## **DEVON LINK-UP**
## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2024**
## **6. Fixed Assets**
||**Farm**|**Large Tools**|**Office**|**Fixtures**|
**&**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Equipment**||**Equipment**|**Fittings**|||
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**||**£**|
|**Cost**|||||||
|As at 1stApril 2023|1,290|876|10,250|4,211||16,627|
|Additions|-|-|-||-|-|
|Disposals|-|-|-||-|-|
|As at 31stMarch 2024|1,290|876|10,250|4,211||16,627|
|**DEPRECATION**|||||||
|As at 1stApril 2023|386|175|6,691|3,882||11,134|
|Charge for the Year|**181**|**140**|**712**||**66**|**1,099**|
|As at 31stMarch 2024|567|315|7,403|3,948||12,233|
|**NET BOOK VALUES**|||||||
|31stMarch 2024|**723**|**561**|**2,847**||**263**|**4,394**|
|**================================================================================**|||||||
|31stMarch 2023|904|701|3,559||329|5,493|
|================================================================================|||||||
Page 14