OpenCharities

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

2024-03-31-accounts

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau, trading as Citizens Advice North Somerset

(A Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee)

Annual Report and Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024 Company number 02906303 Charity Registered in England and Wales number 1052967

Page 1

Contents – Financial Reserves Policy & Financial Summary 20
Risk Management 21
Trustees’ Report 3 - 25 Funding Sources 22
Introduction and About Citizens Advice North
Somerset		 3 Future Plans 23
Who we are and What we do 10 Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities 25
Our Impact in 2023-24 14
Equity & Diversity 15 Financial Statements 26 - 46
Research & Campaigns 16 Independent Auditor’s Report 26
Our structure, governance and management 17 Statement of Financial Activities 30
Reference and Administrative details 19 Balance Sheet 31
Statement of Cash Flows 32
Notes to the Financial Statements 33
Page 2 Page 2

Welcome and Introduction

A message from our Chair of Trustees and Chief Officer

Citizens Advice North Somerset (CANS) provides free, independent advice and help to the residents of North Somerset. This report highlights the significant strides we have made over the past year, adapting and expanding our services to meet the community's needs.

In the last 12 months, we have strategically and actively increased our Generalist in-person advice offerings, working closely with many community and statutory partners to ensure people get the advice they need, where and when they need it. This commitment is exemplified by the expansion of our Advice Shop in Weston-super-Mare and the 18 inperson outreaches across North Somerset.

As has been the case across the sector, we have struggled to recruit to technical roles and instead turned our attention to ‘growing our own’ by investing in entry-level recruitment. This has been hugely successful with many of our Generalist and Outreach Advisers coming through the programme, with many progressing into caseworker, supervisor and management roles. This investment in our team's growth is crucial to maintaining and enhancing the quality of our services.

Our volunteers continue to the backbone of our charity, contributing over 13,000 volunteer hours, to the value of £449,356. This is an incredible contribution to our North Somerset community.

We extend our deepest gratitude and thanks to all our volunteers and paid staff for their unwavering dedication in using their skills and knowledge for the benefit of local residents. What a tremendous difference they make in improving the life chances of so many people.

Page 3

Over the last year we have looked for opportunities to strengthen and develop our specialist services: expanding our Macmillan funded support service to 2.5 FTE Advisers. In partnership with North Somerset Council (NSC) we have developed the Litigant in Person Service, supporting those fleeing domestic abuse. We continue to be only one of 8 Local CAs in England delivering Legal Aid contracts, providing housing advice and running the Court Duty Desk. This year we expanded the service having been awarded the Housing Loss Prevent Advice Service (HLPAS) contract, and through our continuing . partnership with North Somerset Council, we supported even more local residents to keep their homes and prevent homelessness.

Our client base has grown considerably over the last year, from 9,500 clients to almost 13,000 clients. The value of the support we provide amounts to £19,082,499, with a public value of £23,962,396. This means that for every £1 invested in CANS, we return £13.14 to the local community.

13,000 clients

45,442 advice issues

15 In-Person Locations

47 Volunteers

54 Paid Staff

£23.9m Public Value

We value all our partnerships, knowing that we are stronger together, and that together we can help many more people facing hardship and uncertainties. A flagship for partnership working is the North Somerset Together Virtual Hub, a proof of concept multi agency service providing a social welfare navigation service that helps local residents access the support they need. This service brings together NSC, The North Somerset Wellbeing Collective, Woodspring and One Weston Locality Partnerships, Alliance Homes, Curo Housing Association and Sirona care and health.

£19m value to clients

13,000 volunteer hours

As we look to the future, with the continuing cost-of-living crisis, we anticipate the demand for our services will continue to grow. We remain committed to increasing our capacity within the available funding and exploring new sources of income to support our crucial work.

Thank you to our partners, funders, and the entire team for your incredible contributions and support. Together, we make a profound impact on the lives of North Somerset residents.

Farid Saada Fiona Cope Chair of Trustees Chief Officer

Page 4

Our Purpose:

To provide free, confidential, impartial and non-judgmental advice to help people overcome their problems.

To improve the policies and practices that affects people’s lives by becoming a voice for our clients and consumers on the issues that matter to them.

Our vision:

To improve the wellbeing and health of everyone living or working in North Somerset who needs our help and support, by providing accessible, effective and tailored information and advice that is free, independent, confidential and impartial.

ADVICE – CHANGING AND SAVING LIVES

Page 5

Strategic Business Plan 2024-2026

In designing our Strategic Business Plan, Trustees and Managers seek to maintain, build upon, and transform our high quality services. In doing this we have set ourselves 5 ambitions, to:

Page 6

Advice Strategy 2024-26

Access Community Needs

Enhance Accessibility

Ensure that advice services are accessible to everyone in the community

Improve Service Delivery

Enhancing the quality of advice provided is essential for effective service delivery

Increase Awareness and Outreach

Raise Awareness of the services offered and reach out underrepresented groups

Leverage Technology

Use technology to enhance service efficiency and effectiveness

Monitor and Evaluate

Continuous monitoring and evaluation help in adapting the strategy to meet evolving needs

Secure Funding and Resources

Cross reference with the Funding Strategy to ensure sustainable funding and resource allocation to maintain and expand services

Page 7

Standing up for Equality

At Citizens Advice North Somerset we believe that our common humanity makes us equal in worth, discrimination. dignity and rights. We value diversity , promote equality and challenge

Our service is available to everyone living, working, or travelling through North Somerset, regardless of race or nationality, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or marital status. We want to make sure everyone has access to our services. We are constantly reviewing how we can improve what we do and how we do it, to reach all those people who need our help. We will be a stronger champion for equality by: • challenging discrimination through advice • championing equality through research and campaigns • valuing diversity as an employer and volunteer agency

Confidence in our Service

Our aim is to provide a quality service for everyone: • Our clients and their communities

We are proud to be a member of Citizens Advice. Our membership sets out the detailed requirements all Citizens Advice local offices must meet in order to be part of the service. These include:

We will deliver this through:

We are proud of our Quality Marks that demonstrate we are organised, easily accessible, effectively managed and we employ staff with the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of our clients.

ADVICE – CHANGING AND SAVING LIVES

Page 9

Who we are and what we do

In 2023-24 CANS helped a total of 12,990 clients with 45,442 issues. Broadly we categorise our work into Generalist Advice, Specialist Debt Advice, Housing and Legal Aid, and Social Prescribing.

15 locations: In-person advice services are available in

Generalist Advice Service (advice via telephone, email and in-person) is delivered by our team of Volunteer and paid Generalist Advisers, supported by a team of paid Advice Session Supervisors. They deal with the spectrum of advice issues including money advice, welfare rights, housing, family and relationships, fuel and utilities, charitable support.

In 2023-24 the Generalist Team helped 5,014 unique clients with over 22,524 issues.

CANS delivers In-reach Services which are dedicated services delivered by paid Advisers to service users of partner organisations.

Specialist Debt Advice, Housing and Legal Aid, and Social Prescribing are delivered through dedicated projects listed in the following pages.

Page 10

Who we are and what we do

Dedicated Projects – we work in partnership with a number of local and national partners to deliver the following services:

Page 11

Who we are and what we do

Dedicated Projects – continued

Page 12

Who we are and what we do

Dedicated Projects – continued

• North Somerset Together Virtual Hub is a proof of concept collaboration between CANS, North Somerset Together, Curo Housing Association, Alliance Homes, North Somerset Wellbeing Collective, North Somerset Council, Woodspring Locality Partnership, One Weston Locality Partnership and Sirona with Citizens Advice North Somerset acting as lead agency. The service aims to provide a one-stop connector service for a wide range of community related support with an emphasis on loneliness and social isolation, and on the wider determinants of health, particularly low income, employment, learning, support, housing, financial management and domestic abuse. In 2023-24 we supported 394 local residents find a way forward.

Page 13

The Impact of Citizens Advice North Somerset – Advice Service

----- Start of picture text -----
We create VALUE through
everything we do and the way
we do it. Through delivering Fiscal Benefit Public Value Value to Clients Wellbeing Value Savings to the
advice to individuals who need it, NHS
we benefit them their
communities and society at £3.6 million £31.3 million £23 million £24.3 million £732k
large. We also create benefits
and impact through our
campaigning and advocacy,
which attempt to address the £2.7 £19.5 £13 £14.6 £457k in
root causes of problems million in million in million in million in 2022/23
2022/23 2022/23 2022/23 2022/23
experienced by individuals and
communities. pie
Savings to the Savings to North Savings to the
It’s impossible to put a financial Criminal Justice Somerset Council DWP
value on everything we do – but System
where we can we have.
£1.5 million
£40k £364k
We’ve used a Treasury approved
model to do this.
£1.1 £0.3
£33k in £316k in million in million in
2022/23 2022/23 2022/232022/23
----- End of picture text -----

From our robust management information, we’ve also separately considered the financial benefits to the people we help.

Page 14

The Value of Volunteering ~~a~~ Research conducted by Sonnet Advisory & Impact and The Centre for Charity Effectiveness allows us to measure the value of activities and improved outcomes for our volunteers. In 2023/24 this totaled £355,072:

Health and wellbeing £71,186

Skill development Time donated & employability £276,759 £7,188

Page 14

Some feedback from our clients …

I am extremely grateful that this organisation is there for people in need. I have an appeal against a decision from DWP. The help and support I have received from CA has been immense and I cannot express my gratitude strongly enough.

Thank you for sending all the volunteering ideas that are available locally, that might . appeal to me

The help that I received was more than I expected. I really liked that I was met in person, for a person with anxiety and low confidence this is very helpful.

I just want to say how professional and understanding the staff were from phone call to consultation, they managed to rectify my problem but even if they hadn't the effort and dedication the staff have to try to help is more than anyone could ask. Thank you CAB

There is nowhere I would go than the Citizens Advice as they are very knowledgeable and extremely helpful.

Everyone with whom I had contact with were amazing-very helpful and explained everything in great detail with very complicated issues. Has helped my mental health immensely and has given me the impetus to carry on sorting my life out. Well done CAB and thankyou very much for all the ongoing and previous help.

Helping people today; stopping problems tomorrow. Whoever you are, whatever your problem

Page 15

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)

Together with national Citizens Advice, the charity believes that our common humanity makes us equal in worth, dignity and rights. The charity continues to implement the Citizens Advice Stand Up for Equality Strategy.

CANS continues to provide access to advice through the provision of translation services including British Sign Language interpreters and Language Line. EDI campaigner provided a stopgap text and support facility to tide Deaf community over until North Somerset Council appoint replacement support worker. Member of Reception Team attends Communication Café for BSL users regularly with EDI Campaigner, and has passed the first part of his Level 1 BSL course.

In November 2023, our EDI campaigner was instrumental in organising an event with the Soroptimists, North Somerset Council, Next Link, MP and Mayor to mark United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls.

CANS is proud to be involved with many of the EDI groups across North Somerset that include: Gypsy & Traveller Liaison Group, LGBT+ Forum, Communication Café, Domestic Abuse Strategy Group, Suicide and Self-harm Steering Group.

In July 2023 CANS re-launched as a Hate Crime Reporting Centre, providing refresher training for all staff, and is an active member of RHINS (Responding to Hate Crimes in North Somerset). SARI provide monthly drop in sessions within the Advice Shop.

The charity is an active participant in the following local events:

Page 16

Research & Campaigns (R&C)

Campaigning for change and advocacy are integral to the work carried out in the organisation. As a national and local service, we hold a huge amount of insight and data about the problems faced by our clients and their wider communities. We use this insight and data to do several things including to:

Over the last year the charity has been involved in:

Our campaigning within this year has been dominated by the Cost-of-Living Crisis and using local and national data to provide insight into the impact on North Somerset communities.

Other notable activity in the year has been:

Page 17

Our structure, governance and management

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau is a

registered charity and a company limited by guarantee and operates under the name of Citizens Advice North Somerset. The Directors, who are also the Trustees for the purpose of charity law, present their report, together with the audited financial statements of the charitable company for the year ended 31 March 2024, which have been prepared in accordance with the current statutory requirements, its governing documents and Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP FRS 102implemented 1 January 2019).

Related Parties :

CANS is a member of Citizens Advice, the operating name of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, which monitors standards against a Performance Quality Framework (PQF) of key performance indicators as follows:

Page 18

Operating policies are independently determined by the Trustee Board of Citizens Advice North Somerset in order to fulfil its charitable objects and comply with the national membership requirements.

Constitution

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

CANS is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. The maximum liability of each member is limited to £10. At 31 March 2024 the company had 24 members of whom 9 are Directors of the company. CANS is governed by its Articles of Association dated 3rd November 2022.

The registered name of the charity is North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau and from 6 November 2015 the charity has used the operating name of Citizens Advice North Somerset (CANS). The charity was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee on 9 March

  1. The charity commenced operations on

10 March 1994 at which date the assets and liabilities of the unincorporated North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau were acquired.

Appointment of Members and Directors

The maximum number of Trustees shall be fifteen and the minimum shall be three. Trustees, who are also Directors of the organisation, are recruited based on their skill and knowledge and how they will contribute to the strategic direction of the charity. The Board of Trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting (of which there are no more than ten) or are co-opted by the Trustee Board (of which there are no more than one third of the total number of Trustees). Following the Annual General Meeting the Trustee Board may elect from its number a Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer. The Reference and

Administrative Details identifies the constituencies that elected each of the current Trustees. No other persons or bodies external to the charity are entitled to appoint persons to the Trustee Board.

Our structure, governance and management

Newly appointed Trustees spend time in the offices observing interviews (with client’s permission), meeting staff (paid and volunteer) and observing current operational procedures in practice. In addition, they have a full briefing session with the Chair of Trustees and Chief Officer and Deputy Chief Officer which includes:

Guarantee

CANS does not have a share capital. Each member has guaranteed to contribute the sum of £10 in the event of the charity needing to close.

: Organisational Structure

The Trustee Board provides strategic direction and vision for Citizens Advice North Somerset. The board currently has 9 members, who are trustees under charitable law and Directors of the charitable company. There are 5 Board meetings each year, plus quarterly Governance & Strategy and Finance & Resource Committee meetings. In addition, Trustees hold working parties and additional workshops to shape the

organisation’s strategic direction and develop as a team. The Chief Executive Officer, working with the senior management team, is responsible for delivering the strategy and day-to-day operations.

The Trustees carry the ultimate responsibility for the conduct of CANS and for ensuring that the charity satisfies its legal and contractual obligations within the requirements of the Articles of Association, Company and Charitable law. The Trustee Board is independent from management. A register of members' interests is maintained at the registered office and is available to the public.

Our senior management team is responsible for delivering the Trustee Board’s vision and for the day-to-day operation of Citizens Advice North Somerset.

Management Salaries:

Senior Management pay and remuneration, along with all staff salaries, are reviewed every two years.

These have been reviewed in 2023/24 and set following a benchmarking exercise organised across the Citizens Advice local office network, using salary levels from comparable local offices.

Senior Management changes:

Fiona Cope, Chief Officer, left the employment of CANS on 31[st] July 2024, after leading the organisation for 9 years.

Amy Jones, our new Chief Executive joined on 1[st] October 2024.

Page 19

Reference and Administrative Details

Public benefit:

The Charity’s objects are to promote any charitable purpose for the public benefit by the advancement of education, the protection and preservation of health and the relief of poverty, sickness and distress in particular, but without limitation, for the benefit of the community in North Somerset and surrounding areas.

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission of England and Wales.

Charity Details

Registered name North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau (trading as Citizens Advice North Somerset) Charity number 1052967 Company Number 02906303 Registered Office 39 Oxford Street, Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, BS23 1TN

Trustees (at the date of approval of the report)

Farid Saada Chair of Trustees Philippa Clark Vice Chair of Trustees Andrew Hatherell Treasurer (appointed 21[st] September 2023 John Reeve Trustee Elizabeth Fothergill Trustee Peter Bray Trustee Jackie Smith Trustee James Childs-Evans Trustee Sara Turner Trustee (appointed 21[st] September 2023)

Senior Management Team

Fiona Cope Chief Officer Rich Penska Deputy Chief Officer Rhys Leece Finance & Resources Manager Sara Leeroth Advice Services Manager Sam Olliffe Advice Services Manager Beverley Wadley Social Prescribing Operations Manager

Bankers CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4JQ

Auditors Albert Goodman LLP, Goodwood House, Blackbrook Park Avenue, Taunton, TA1 2PX

Directors

Mr F Saada (Chair) Ms P Clark (Vice Chair) Mr J Reeve Mrs E Fothergill Mr P Bray Mrs J Smith Mr J Childs-Evans Mr A Hatherell (appointed 21[st] September 2023) Mrs S Turner (appointed 21[st] September 2023) Each Director is a member of North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau.

Page 20

Financial Reserves Policy and Financial Summary

Financial Reserves Policy

Financial Summary

CANS is required to ensure that free monies are available in each financial year to meet any reasonably foreseeable contingency. The charity maintains a projection of income for at least 3 years ahead and will ensure that this continues to be derived from as wide a variety of sources possible. As far as possible, we take steps to ensure that the cessation of one or more funding streams would not present so serious a challenge to the future of the charity as to jeopardise the delivery of services.

The Trustees believe that CANS should hold financial reserves in addition to Restricted Reserves and Designated Reserves in order to ensure that the charity can continue to operate and meet the needs of clients in the event of unforeseen and potentially financially damaging circumstances arising. These are referred to as Unrestricted Reserves.

CANS has consolidated it’s financial position following a number of years of significant growth.

Income for the year of £1.230m is comparable to the previous year’s income of £1.273m, expenditure has risen significantly from £1.028m last year to £1.465m, as we have utilised restricted reserves and deferred income relating to this year’s projects.

In 2022/23 a significant proportion of our funding received year related to the medium to long term delivery of specific projects and these were reflected within an increase in the restricted funds balances within our overall Reserves position. This year we have seen a reduction in the overall reserves position as these funds have been expended: it has now decreased from £715,456 to £480,298.

The Trustees, following independent advice, consider that it would be prudent to set aside an amount equivalent to 3 – 4 months direct unrestricted costs (2024/25 this has created a range of £205k -£270k). However, the Trustees recognise that it may be desirable to hold extra reserves particularly where CANS is faced with high levels of uncertainty. Where this is appropriate the Trustees will retain additional reserves.

Page 21

Risk Management

The Board of Trustees has in place a Risk Management Strategy and carry out an annual risk review which covers all areas of the organisation including financial and operational risks. The Trustees recognise that any major risks to which the charity is exposed need to be reviewed and systems put in place to mitigate those risks.

The most significant service delivery risk relates to the demand for advice services through 2023/24 and beyond:

If client demand and complexity increases, then there will be detrimental impact on CANS clients and staff. This may lead to: staff working under increased stress, with less time to support complex cases; clients presenting in more desperate circumstances; reduction in services; and a potential failure to follow safeguarding procedures, presenting safety risks to staff and/or clients .

The impact of this risk for a staff welfare perspective has been minimised by: demand management procedures in place; a management focus on staff wellbeing and support; Staff Wellbeing group in place, promoting initiatives such as Mental Health First Aid and Mental Health awareness training for managers; and Employee Assistance Programmes in place.

The most significant resources risk in 2023/24 relates to the affordability and availability of premises to operate from:

If CANS do not invest appropriate funds into its’ main office this may become unviable and unplanned maintenance may prove to be unaffordable, and if the Advice Shop within The Sovereign shopping centre was no longer available, along with other outreach locations, this would cause service delivery issues.

The impact of the risk in respect of 39 Oxford Street has been minimised by: the development of a Premises Maintenance plan and Premises Working Group in place, reviewing works required and estimated costs; financial monitor developed providing regular reporting to the senior management and trustees.

The impact of the risk in relation to the continued availability of the Advice Shop has been minimised by continued support from the North Somerset Council and Weston-super-Mare Town Council, with more long-term arrangements and support being sought by CANS. At other outreach locations this risk is mitigated by continued support and engagement with the local Town and Parish Councils.

The impact of this risk from a client welfare perspective has been minimised by: promotion of self-help, signposting and on-line channels in order to target f2f contact and telephony for the more complex and vulnerable customers; additional funding for services being sought, along with Client Crisis funding; robust safeguarding training, policies and reporting procedures in place.

Page 22

Funding Sources

The Trustees extend their continued gratitude to NSC, the Town Councils of Weston-super-Mare, Nailsea and Portishead and to the Parish Councils of Pill, Banwell and Winscombe who continue to support the operating capacity of the charity.

Additionally project-specific funding was received from:

The Trustees are also grateful for those funders who were able to provide clients with access to crisis funds:

Fundraising

CANS undertakes limited public fundraising, our approach is to allow donations by means of ensuring that we have donation boxes at our Advice locations and also when we hold networking or engagement events. Clients receiving advice are never asked for a donation for the assistance provided.

CANS voluntarily complies with the Code of Fundraising Practice, published by the Fundraising Regulator and developed by the Institute of Fundraising (IoF) and the Public Fundraising Association (PFRA). We have received no complaints about our fundraising activities.

CANS always strives to protect our clients, as well as members of the general public from any unreasonable intrusion or unacceptable behaviour due to fundraising activities.

Page 23

Future Plans

In the previous few years, our strategic plans have been shaped by the immediacy of our response to COVID and the Cost of Living Crisis pushing up demand for advice services and crisis support. Whilst this demand is still with us, we have now mobilised to deal with this. The strategic focus for 2024/25 is much more about shaping our plans to align with the strategic plans of our key funders and partners to ensure that CANS and its services remain relevant and are focused within a broader regional strategic framework, promoted by the local councils or health partners.

We will continue to develop and improve our knowledge and understanding of data trends to direct and inform our advice services, and our social prescribing and virtual hub services. This data analysis which has significantly sharpened our reporting in 2023/24, will help us better understand the cohorts of unmet need and target advice provision to those groups who do not readily access our services.

As in 2023/24, our strategy to open up our services to more face to face contact has been proved to be correctly targeted with many more vulnerable clients accessing our services. We will continue to seek to increase our outreach and “pop up” locations during 2024/25, to better connect with rural communities and also to support the ambitions of some of our funders. We will continue to engage with Parish Councils and other local organisations.

With the assistance of both NSC and Weston-super-Mare Town Council we will continue to operate the Advice Shop in the Sovereign Centre and seek to establish a more long term future for this much needed facility. In 2024/25 we will continue to look to increase our in-reach services, and our recent piloting of advice provision within Weston Hospital may result in a more permanent established provision.

Page 24

During the year we intend to further develop and test the effectiveness of our triage web form, the Adviceline telephony platform and participate in national citizen advice initiatives such as AI and web chat functionality to meet the current unmet demand.

Whilst we consider that the charity is managed and operated to a high standard, we will continue to be open to scrutiny in by National Citizens Advice in all leadership areas: Governance; Strategy and Planning; Financial Governance; People Management; Risk Management and Compliance; Operational Performance; Research & Campaigning; and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.

The Trustees are committed to supporting the continued success of CANS and in ensuring that the charity achieves its stated objectives and aims. During the year, we have plans to better connect the roles of Trustees to service areas, through the further development of link trustees oversight of the charity’s operational service planning and delivery.

We expect that funding for services will remain a challenge within 2024/25 and we will endeavour to ensure that, where it is possible, medium term financial arrangements are established that fully recover the costs of service delivery.

This report has been approved by the Trustees on 19 September 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

F Saada - Chair

Advice – changing and saving lives

www.nscab.org.uk

Citizens Advice North Somerset is the operating name of North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Registered Office: 39 Oxford Street, Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, BS23 1TN Charity Registration: 1052967 Company limited by guarantee: 02906303

Citizens Advice North Somerset is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN: 617686.

Page 25

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Independent Auditors' Report to the Trustees and Members For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2024, which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities (including an Income and Expenditure Account), Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows and Notes to the Financial Statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

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

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

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

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Trustee Directors’ Report, other than the financial statements and our auditors’ report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

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

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 26

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Independent Auditors' Report to the Trustees and Members For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Opinion on other matter prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Directors' Report included within the Trustees’ Report.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities set out on page 25, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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

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

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 27

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Independent Auditors' Report to the Trustees and Members For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

The extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities including fraud Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

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

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

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

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

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

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 28

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Independent Auditors' Report to the Trustees and Members For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

Use of our report

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

Michelle Ferris BSc (Hons) FCA DChA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of Albert Goodman LLP, Statutory Auditor Goodwood House Blackbrook Park Avenue Taunton TA1 2PX

Date: 27 September 2024

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 29

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Statement of Financial Activities (including an Income and Expenditure account) For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

----- Start of picture text -----
Unre- Unre- Re-
stricted Re-stricted Total 2024 stricted stricted Total 2023
Notes £ £ £ £ £ £
Income:
Donations and legacies 2 221,488 5,500 226,988 206,798 - 206,798
Investments 3 9,742 - 9,742 2,654 - 2,654
Charitable activities 4 150,820 842,880 993,700 138,557 925,896 1,064,453
Total income 382,050 848,380 1,230,430 348,009 925,896 1,273,905
Expenditure:
Charitable activities 5 515,780 944,883 1,460,663 293,584 729,721 1,023,305
- -
Interest payable 4,935 4,935 5,262 5,262
Total expenditure 520,715 944,883 1,465,598 298,846 729,721 1,028,567
Net income / (expenditure)
for the year (138,665) (96,503) (235,168) 49,163 196,175 245,338
Transfers between funds 16 (43,807) 43,807 - (28,623) 28,623 -
Net movement in
funds for the year (182,472) (52,696) (235,168) 20,540 224,798 245,338
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward 470,351 245,115 715,466 449,811 20,317 470,128
Total funds carried forward 287,879 192,419 480,298 470,351 245,115 715,466
----- End of picture text -----

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

The statement of financial activities incorporates the income and expenditure account.

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 30

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau - Company Registration Number: 02906303 Balance Sheet As at 31 March 2024

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets
8
Current assets
Stock
11
Debtors
12
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities:
Creditors falling due within one year
13
Net current assets
Creditors falling due in more than one year
14
Total net assets
The funds of the charity:
Restricted funds
16
Unrestricted funds
16
Total charity funds		 2024
2023
£
£
212,977
212,719
212,977
212,719
15,392
4,333
141,958
320,662
420,896
457,407
578,246
782,402
(212,372)
(173,348)
365,874
609,054
(98,553)
(106,307)
480,298
715,466
192,419
245,115
287,879
470,351
480,298
715,466

The financial statements have been prepared and delivered in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

Approved by the Board of Directors for issue on 19 September 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

F Saada Chair

A Hatherell Trustee

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 31

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Statement of Cash Flows For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Net movements in funds for the year
Adjustments to cash flows from non-cash items
Depreciation and amortisation
8
Loss on disposal of fixed assets
8
Finance income
3
Working capital adjustments
(Increase)/decrease in stock
11
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
12
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
13
Net cash flow from operations
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received
3
Purchase of fixed assets
8
Cash flows from financing activities
Repayments of long term loans
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of
the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the
reporting period
Cash & Cash equivalents reconciliation:
Cash at bank
Total cash & cash equivalents at the end of the
reporting period		 £
(235,168)
24,062
-
(9,742)
(220,848)
(11,059)
178,704
39,024
(14,179)
9,742
(24,320)
(14,578)
(7,754)
(7,754)
(36,511)
457,407
420,896
420,896
420,896
Total 2024		 £
245,338
24,157
-
(2,654)
266,841
2,261
(263,380)
82,922
88,644
2,654
(27,141)
(24,487)
(7,427)
(7,427)
56,730
400,677
457,407
457,407
457,407
Total 2023

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 32

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

1 Accounting Policies

1.1 General information and basis of accounting

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau is a company limited by guarantee incorporated in the United Kingdom under the Companies Act. Each member of the charity undertakes to contribute a maximum of £1 to the charity’s assets if it should be wound up while they are a member or within one year after they cease to be a member. The address of the registered office is given on page 1. The nature of the charity’s operations and its principal activities are set out in the Trustee Directors’ Report on pages 3 – 25.

The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis and 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) (effective 1 January 2019)- (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and the Companies Act 2006.

The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.

1.2

Income

Income from donations is recognised in the accounts when receivable and the amount can be reliably measured.

Income from grants is accounted for when unconditionally due and reasonable assurance can be gained that it will be received. Income from charitable activities is recognised when either unconditionally due or when the service is completed depending on the nature of funding. Where funds are received in advance, for a specified period, these funds are deferred and recognised in the period to which they relate.

Income from investments is recognised in the accounts when receivable.

1.3

Government grants

Government grants are recognised when unconditionally due and reasonable assurance can be gained that they will be received. Where funds are received in advance, for a specified period, these funds are deferred in creditors and then recognised in the period to which they relate. Where funds are due but not yet received, they are accrued in debtors in the current period.

1.4

Donated services

In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), the unpaid volunteer time is not recognised in the financial statements. Refer to the Trustee Directors’ Report for more information about their contribution.

Donated goods, facilities and services are recognised as income and an equal expense when the charity is entitled, it is probable and fair value can be measured reliably.

1.5

Expenditure

Resources expended are accounted for on the accruals basis. Liabilities are recognised in the accounting period to which they relate.

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 33

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

1.6 Fixed assets

Fixed assets are valued at cost or valuation less depreciation. Depreciation is calculated to write off the cost of fixed assets, less their residual value, over their estimated useful lives at the following rates:

Furniture and Fittings – 3 years straight line Computer Equipment – 3 years straight line Land and buildings – 50 years straight line

Land and buildings are subject to the revaluation model with assets held at fair value less subsequent depreciation and impairment losses. Gains and losses on revaluation are charged or credited to the Statement of Financial Activities. Where revaluation exceeds the original cost, the excess will be recognised in the revaluation reserve.

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due and prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. Debtors relating to accrued income are recognised when unconditionally due and reasonable assurance can be gained they will be received.

Where funds are due but have not yet been received, they are accrued in debtors and recognised in the period to which they relate.

1.8 Cash at bank and in hand

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 recognised at their settlement amount.

Where grants are received in advance, for a specified period, these funds are deferred and recognised in the period to which they relate.

1.10 Taxation

The charity is a registered charity and is therefore not liable to corporation tax on its charitable activities to the extent that income and gains are applied to charitable purposes.

1.11 Pension contributions

For qualifying employees, they are auto enrolled into a defined contribution pension scheme, unless they have exercised their right to opt out of scheme membership, and the charity contributes into this scheme. Contributions are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities in the period in which they become payable in accordance with the rules of the scheme.

1.12 Allocation of costs

Costs incurred by projects include amounts of pre-determined overhead expenditure.

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 34

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

1.13 Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds receivable or generated for the objects of the charity without further specified purpose and are available as general funds. Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the directors for particular purposes.

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

1.14 Operating leases

The charity has a number of equipment operating leases. The title to the leased equipment remains with the lessor. Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities as incurred over the term of the lease. Lease incentives are recognised over the lease term on a straight line basis.

1.15 VAT

The charity deregistered for VAT during the prior year. Prior to deregistration, all income and expenditure is shown net of reclaimable VAT where applicable, and post deregistration, all income and expenditure is shown gross of VAT where applicable.

1.16 Financial instruments

The charity only holds basic financial instruments as defined in FRS 102. The financial assets and liabilities of the charity and their measurements are as follows:

Financial assets – trade and other debtors are basic financial instruments and are debt instruments measured at amortised cost. Prepayments are not financial instruments.

Cash at bank – is classified as a basic financial instrument and is measured at face value.

Financial liabilities – trade creditors, accruals, other creditors and bank loans are financial instruments, and are measured at amortised cost. Taxation and social security are not included in the financial instruments disclosure definition. Deferred income is not seemed to be a financial liability, as the cash settlement has already taken place and there is an obligation to deliver services rather than cash or another financial instrument.

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 35

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

2. Income from donations and legacies

Unre-
stricted
funds
£
Donations and legacies
NSC - Core funding
120,984
Donations
3,327
Legacies
9,412
Miscellaneous income
1,355
Income from town councils;
Weston town council
25,000
Clevedon town council
-
Portishead town council
25,750
Nailsea town council
19,458
Parish councils
16,202
221,488		 Unre-
stricted
funds
£
Donations and legacies
NSC - Core funding
120,984
Donations
3,327
Legacies
9,412
Miscellaneous income
1,355
Income from town councils;
Weston town council
25,000
Clevedon town council
-
Portishead town council
25,750
Nailsea town council
19,458
Parish councils
16,202
221,488		 Re-
stricted
funds
£
5,000
500
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 2024
Total
£
125,984
3,827
9,412
1,355
25,000
-
25,750
19,458
16,202		 Unre-
stricted
funds
£
90,986
12,394
-
402
25,000
15,000
25,000
18,892
19,124		 Re-
stricted
2023
funds
Total
£
£
-
90,986
-
12,394
-
-
-
402
-
25,000
-
15,000
-
25,000
-
18,892
-
19,124
-
206,798
221,488 5,500 226,988 206,798

*Denotes government grant

3. Investment income

Bank interest Unre-
stricted
funds
£
9,742
9,742		 Re-
stricted
funds
£
-
-		 2024
Total
£
9,742
9,742		 Unre-
stricted
funds
£
2,654
2,654		 Re-
stricted
funds
£
-		 2023
Total
£
2,654
- 2,654

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 36

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

4.
Income from charitable activities		 4.
Income from charitable activities		 4.
Income from charitable activities
Legal Services
Commission
Bristol Wessex Water
MacMillan
MAS (Formerly F2F Debt
Advice Project)
Pier Health
Sirona
NSC - Housing Advice
Grant
NSC Energy Debt
NSC Vulnerable People
NSC Virtual Hub		 Unre-
stricted
funds
£
-
-
-

-
-
-
28,802
20,000
57,484
-		 Re-
stricted
funds
£
22,292
22,750
105,556
106,944
230,968
20,000
-
-
-
50,000		 2024
Total
£
22,292
22,750
105,556
106,944
230,968
20,000
28,802
20,000
57,484
50,000		 Unre-
stricted
funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
19,443
-
57,484
-		 Re-
stricted
funds
£
16,679
13,650
67,280
-
106,571
20,000
-
-
-
226,800		 2023
Total
£
16,679
13,650
67,280
-
106,571
20,000
19,443
-
57,484
226,800
NSC Litigants in Person - 42,872 42,872 - - -
Clevedon Foodbank
NSC Healthier together
#First Steps
Foodbank - Weston
Talking Money
Help to Claim
Big Worle
The Access to
Justice Foundation
WHAM
Citizens Advice
Quartet Community
Foundation
Under £5k		 8,990
-
-
26,883
-
-
6,398
-
-
2,263
-
-		 -
-
28,898
-
-
132,059
-
-
21,550
54,999
-
3,992		 8,990
-

28,898
26,883
-
132,059
6,398
-

-
21,550
57,262
-
3,992		 -
-
-
27,128
8,421
-
6,954
14,672
-
-
4,455
138,557		 -
100,000
28,898
-
30,794
140,801
-
-
29,006
92,211
51,206
2,000		 -
100,000
28,898
27,128
39,215
140,801
6,954
-
14,672
29,006
92,211
51,206
6,455
150,820 842,880 993,700 925,896 1,064,453

*Denotes government grant

Where grants are received in advance, for a specified period, these funds are deferred in creditors and recognised in the period to which they relate. Where funds are due but have not yet been received, they are accrued in debtors and recognised in the period to which they relate.

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 37

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

5. Expenditure on charitable activities

----- Start of picture text -----
Unre- Re- Unre- Re-
stricted stricted 2024 stricted stricted 2023
funds funds Total funds funds Total
£ £ £ £ £ £
Depreciation & loss on
- -
disposal of assets 24,062 24,062 24,157 24,157
Staff costs 462,365 722,510 1,184,875 230,951 605,261 836,212
Allocated support costs 3,733 220,920 224,653 18,874 123,650 142,524
- -
Accountancy fees 12,872 12,872 7,518 7,518
Legal & professional fees 156 1,108 1,264 3,985 724 4,709
Trade subscriptions 12,592 345 12,937 8,099 86 8,185
515,780 944,883 1,460,663 293,584 729,721 1,023,305
----- End of picture text -----

6. Employees and employment costs

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
£ £
Staff costs during the year were:
Wages and salaries 1,083,678 764,322
Social security costs 79,648 56,991
Other pension costs 21,549 14,899
1,184,875 836,212
----- End of picture text -----

Defined contribution pension scheme:

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The pension cost charge for the year represents contributions payable by the charity to the scheme and amounted to £21,549 (2023 - £14,899).

No individual employee was paid over £60,000 (2023 - nil).

No remuneration was paid to any directors during the year (2023 – none).

The charity reimbursed trustee expenses totalling £81 to one trustee during the year (2023 - £181 to one trustee).

The key management personnel of the charity are considered to be those listed under management on page 1. The total costs to the charity of employee benefits for the key management personnel were £214,931 (2023 - £196,745).

The average monthly head count during the year was 53 (2023: 39) and the average full time equivalent was 42 (2023: 25).

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 38

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

7. Net incoming resources/operating surplus


This is stated after charging:
Depreciation
Operating leases- property rent
Operating leases- other
Auditors' remuneration- Audit fee
Auditors' remuneration- Accountancy & other		 2024
2023
£
£
24,062
24,157
26,265
10,773
18,107
18,107
4,800
4,800
8,072
2,718

8. Tangible fixed assets

----- Start of picture text -----
Land Furniture
and and
Buildings Fittings Total
£ £ £
Cost
At 1 April 2023 193,898 78,230 272,128
Additions - 24,320 24,320
At 31 March 2024 193,898 102,550 296,448
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023 10,589 48,820 59,409
Charge for the year 4,023 20,039 24,062
At 31 March 2024 14,612 68,859 83,471
Net book value
At 31 March 2023 183,309 29,410 212,719
At 31 March 2024 179,286 33,691 212,977
----- End of picture text -----

Included in the above is £179,286 (2023: £183,309) of assets pledged as security against borrowings.

The land and buildings class of fixed assets was revalued on 31/03/2021 by the directors. The basis of the valuation was open market value based on existing use.

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 39

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

9 Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).

10 Government grants

Income from government grants comprise grants made by local authorities to fund the principal activities and objectives of the charity via core funding and funding for specific restricted projects. See notes 2 & 4 for more information and to the amount and source of these grants. There are no unfulfilled conditions or other contingencies attached to these grants.

11 Stocks

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
£ £
Work in progress 15,392 4,333
----- End of picture text -----

12
Debtors
Trade debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income		 2024
£
79,212
7,654
55,092
141,958		 2023
£
276,721
12,553
31,388
320,662

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 40

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

13 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

----- Start of picture text -----
2024 2023
£ £
Trade creditors 7,117 4,592
Accruals 47,228 26,900
Deferred income 101,157 94,611
Social security 20,303 20,285
VAT - -
Other creditors 29,767 20,160
Bank loan 6,800 6,800
212,372 173,348
Deferred Income
Deferred income brought forward 94,611 8,421
Released in year (94,611) (8,421)
Deferred income in year 101,157 94,611
Deferred income carried forward 101,157 94,611
----- End of picture text -----

Where grants are received in advance, for a specified period, these funds are deferred and recognised in the period to which they relate.

Grants deferred in the year relate to Access to Justice Foundation and NSC Clevedon Foodbank funding, which specifies the amounts as being for 2024/25.

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 41

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

14 Creditors: Amounts falling due in over one year

14
Creditors: Amounts falling due in over one year
Bank loan
Bank loans
Total amount due
Less due in < 1 year
Due 1-2 years
Due 2-5 years
Due >5 years		 2024
£
98,553
98,553
2024
£
105,353
(6,800)
98,553
6,800
20,400
71,353
98,553		 2023
£
106,307
106,307
2023
£
113,106
(6,800)
106,306
6,800
20,400
79,107
106,307

The above amount relates to one loan from HSBC UK Bank plc with a total balance of £105,353 owing at 31 March 2024, and is due for repayment in March 2035. Interest is charged at a fixed rate of 4.49% per annum. The loan is secured against the freehold property known as 39 Oxford Street, Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset.

15 Financial commitments

At 31 March 2024 the charity was committed to making the following payments under non-cancellable operating leases:

Operating leases which expire:
Within one year
Within two and five years
More than five years		 2024
2023
£
£
18,107
18,107
54,320
57,611
3,291
-
75,718
75,718

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 42

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

16 Funds – current year

Balance at 1
April 2023
£
Unrestricted Funds
General Fund
379,404
Maintenance Fund
13,945
IT Hardware replacements
-
Premises Fund
77,002
Total unrestricted funds
470,351
Restricted Funds
MAS (Formerly F2F Debt
Advice Project)
1,422
Macmillan
-
Help to Claim
12,982		 Balance at 1
April 2023
£
Unrestricted Funds
General Fund
379,404
Maintenance Fund
13,945
IT Hardware replacements
-
Premises Fund
77,002
Total unrestricted funds
470,351
Restricted Funds
MAS (Formerly F2F Debt
Advice Project)
1,422
Macmillan
-
Help to Claim
12,982		 Income Expenditure
£
£
382,050
(476,263)
-
(25,325)
-
(19,127)
-
-
382,050
(520,715)
106,944
(108,522)
105,556
(85,539)
132,059
(145,005)		 Income Expenditure
£
£
382,050
(476,263)
-
(25,325)
-
(19,127)
-
-
382,050
(520,715)
106,944
(108,522)
105,556
(85,539)
132,059
(145,005)		 Balance at
Transfers 31 March 2024
£
£
(96,746)
188,445
23,260
11,880
25,948
6,821
3,731
80,733
(43,807)
287,879
156
-
-
20,017
-
36
#First Steps (Formerly
South Ward Initiative)
Wessex Water
WHAM
Pier Health
CJF
Sirona
Quartet Community
Foundation
Cost of Living
Virtual Hub
Legal Services Commission
Citizens Advice
North Somerset Council
Litigants in person
FAHLC
Total restricted funds
Total funds		 130
-
605
-
4,178
165
-
15,000
210,471
162
-
-
-
-
245,115
715,466		 28,898
22,750
21,550
231,468
-
20,000
-
-
50,000
22,292
54,999
5,000
42,872
3,992
848,380
1,230,430		 (29,028)
(40,306)
(22,155)
(231,468)
(4,178)
(20,165)
(19,999)
(6,118)
(100,783)
(22,454)
(61,095)
(1,204)
(42,872)
(3,992)
(944,883)
(1,465,598)		 -
-
17,556
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
19,999
-
-
8,882
-
159,688
-
-
6,096
-
3,796
-
-
43,807
192,419
-
480,298

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 43

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

16 Funds – prior year

----- Start of picture text -----
Balance at 1 Balance at
April 2022 Income Expenditure Transfers 31 March 2023
£ £ £ £ £
Unrestricted Funds
General Fund 376,212 348,009 (292,791) (52,026) 379,404
Maintenance Fund - - (6,055) 20,000 13,945
Premises Fund 73,599 - - 3,403 77,002
Total unrestricted funds 449,811 348,009 (298,846) (28,623) 470,351
Restricted Funds
MAS (Formerly F2F Debt
-
Advice Project) 4,377 108,004 (115,042) 2,661
Macmillan - 67,280 (67,338) 58 -
- -
Healthier together 100,000 (101,750) 1,750
- - -
Talking Money 1,422 1,422
-
Help to Claim 3,265 140,801 (131,084) 12,982
-
#First Steps (Formerly
South Ward Initiative) 486 28,898 (29,254) - 130
Wessex Water 829 44,858 (54,229) 8,542 -
WHAM 6,231 29,006 (34,632) - 605
Pier Health (801) 106,571 (121,372) 15,602 -
CJF 4,178 - - - 4,178
Sirona (73) 22,000 - 21,762 - 165
-
Quartet Community
Foundation - 20,000 (20,010) 10 -
- - -
Cost of Living 15,000 15,000
Virtual Hub - 226,800 (16,329) - 210,471
Legal Services Commission 403 16,678 (16,919) - 162
Total restricted funds 20,317 925,896 (729,721) 28,623 245,115
Total funds 470,128 1,273,905 (1,028,567) - 715,466
----- End of picture text -----

Unrestricted Funds

General funds are available for use at the trustees’ discretion in furtherance of the objective of the charity.

Premises fund is the Net Book Value of the premises minus the total loan amount due over one year which is associated with the premises.

Maintenance fund is a fund designated towards the maintenance of the premises.

The IT Hardware replacements fund has been created in the year towards IT Hardware replacements.

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 44

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Restricted funds

Restricted income funds are those donated for use in a particular area or specific purposes, the use of which is restricted to that area or purpose. The material restricted funds are as follows:

MacMillan Cancer Support – A restricted fund provided by MacMillan Cancer Support to fund the provision of an outreach Welfare Benefits Caseworker, to work with individuals affected by cancer to ensure that they receive all the benefits to which they are entitled. This project is funded for 5 years.

MAS (Formerly F2F Debt Advice Project) – A restricted fund, Money West, a partnership funded by the Money Advice Service and led by Talking Money providing free, independent debt advice across Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Stroud and Gloucester.

#FirstSteps (Formerly South Ward Initiative) – A restricted fund. First Steps is a partnership between North Somerset Council, Liberata and Citizens Advice North Somerset. The aim of the project is to help residents across North Somerset who are in receipt of Council Tax Support and in arrears with council tax.

Help to Claim – A restricted fund provided by The Department of Work and Pensions and managed by the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux. The Help to Claim service supports clients in the early stages of their Universal Credit claim, from the application through to first payment. Our trained advisers help with things like how to gather evidence for a client’s application or how to prepare for a first Jobcentre appointment.

WHAM - Warm Homes Advice and Money - a partnership between Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE), Talking Money, We Care Home Improvements, Citizens Advice Bristol, Bristol Energy Network, North Somerset Council and Bristol City Council with the aim of developing a joint programme of support for low income groups in private accommodation who are in or at risk of being in fuel poverty.

Pier Health - a partnership between Pier Health PCN, Citizens Advice North Somerset and Alliance Homes to provide a one-stop connector service for a wide range of community related support with an emphasis on loneliness and isolation. Funds have been received post year end to cover the negative carry forward.

CJF - Community Justice Fund, provided by The Access to Justice fund to assist organisation in adapting to increase technological demands.

Sirona - Funding to provide input and leadership for the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) a key element of the Health and Wellbeing Programme of the local NHS.

Wessex Water – Funding provided by the local water company for the provision of identifying suitable candidates for social tariffs and getting clients with arrears back into the habit of regular bill payment.

Legal Services Commission - For the provision of solicitor level Legal Aid advice to Clients undergoing possession proceedings.

Quartet Community Foundation - Funding provided to provide additional service capacity to assist older people access advice and support.

Cost of Living - Funding provided to support operational cost increases associated with meeting Cost of Living demand for advice services.

Virtual Hub - Funding provided to support the North Somerset Together care navigation pilot.

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 45

North Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

17 Analysis of net assets between funds

----- Start of picture text -----
Unre- Re- Unre- Re-
stricted stricted 2024 stricted stricted 2023
funds funds Total funds funds Total
£ £ £ £ £ £
- -
Tangible fixed assets 212,977 212,977 212,719 212,719
Current assets 291,216 287,030 578,246 442,676 339,726 782,402
Current liabilities (117,761) (94,611) (212,372) (78,737) (94,611) (173,348)
Non current liabilities (98,553) - (98,553) (106,307) - (106,307)
287,879 192,419 480,298 470,351 245,115 715,466
----- End of picture text -----

18 Company limited by guarantee

The company was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The guarantee to the company is £10 per member on winding up of the company. At 31 March 2024 the company had 24 members and the total guaranteed is therefore £240.

Produced by Albert Goodman LLP

Page 46