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2022-03-31-accounts

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau (A Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee)

Trading as Citizens Advice South Somerset

Annual Report and Financial Statements

For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Company Number: 03173414 Charity Registered in England and Wales Number: 1054134

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Contents For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Page
Reference and Administrative Details 2
Trustee Directors’ Report 3 – 17
Independent Auditors’ Report 18 – 21
Statement of Financial Activities 22
Balance Sheet 23
Cash flow statement 24
Notes to the Financial Statements 25 – 41

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Reference and Administrative Details For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Charity Name South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau
Other Names Citizens Advice South Somerset
Trustee Directors L Cousins (Chair)
M Mercer (Treasurer)
E Blake
C Counsell
A Ferneyhough
J Humble
P Hunter
C McDonald
Company Secretary A Kerr
Chief Executive A Kerr
Registered Office Petters House
Petters Way
Yeovil
Somerset
BA20 1SH
Auditors Albert Goodman LLP
Goodwood House
Blackbrook Park Avenue
Taunton
Somerset
TA1 2PX
Bankers CAF Bank Virgin Money
25 Kings Hill Avenue Jubilee House
Kings Hill Gosforth
West Malling Newcastle Upon Tyne
Kent, ME19 4TA NE3 4PL
Nationwide Building Society
Kings Park Road
Moulton Park
Northampton, NN3 6NW
Solicitors Porter Dodson
Telford House
The Park
Yeovil
Somerset
BA20 1DY

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

The Trustees (who are also the Directors for the purpose of Company Law) have pleasure in presenting their annual report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022. The provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (SORP FRS 102- implemented 1 January 2019) have been adopted in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing Document

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau is a registered charity, charity number 1054134, and a company limited by guarantee, company number 03173414. The charity’s registered office is Petters House, Petters Way, Yeovil, Somerset, BA20 1SH. The maximum liability of each member is limited to £1. At 31 March 2021 the company had 8 members. South Somerset CAB is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association as amended in 2013.

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee on 15[th] March 1996.

Recruitment, Appointment of Trustees

A Governance Committee, made up of Trustees and chaired by the Chair is established to oversee the elections process for Board appointments. A separate process agreed by the Trustee Board is followed for the appointment of the Chair. The Reference and Administrative Details above identifies the constituencies that elected each of the current trustees. No other persons or bodies external to the charity were entitled to appoint persons to the Trustee Board.

The following people were directors/trustees of the charity during the year: L Cousins (Chair) M Mercer (Treasurer) E Blake C Counsell P Colyer (resigned 24 May 2021) A Ferneyhough J Humble P Hunter (appointed 20 September 2021) C McDonald

Induction of Trustees

Newly appointed Trustees are provided with a comprehensive induction to South Somerset Citizens Bureau through the provision of training courses and mentoring by established trustees.

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Organisational Structure

Citizens Advice South Somerset is governed by its Trustee Board which is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organisation and the policy of the charity. The Trustee Board has set up a Finance, People and HR and Governance and Leadership Self-Assessment Sub Committees that report back to the full Board. The Trustees carry the ultimate responsibility for the conduct of Citizens Advice South Somerset and for ensuring that the charity satisfies its legal and contractual obligations. Trustees meet at least quarterly as a full Board and delegate the day-to-day operation of the organisation to their Chief Executive, A Kerr. The Trustee Board is independent from the management team. A register of members’ interests is maintained at the registered office, and is available to the public.

The pay for senior staff, including the key management, is reviewed annually, and normally increased in line with local wage inflation. The directors benchmark salaries against pay levels at other local bureaux as a guide for salary levels.

Related Parties

Citizens Advice South Somerset is a member of Citizens Advice, the operating name of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, which provides a framework for standards of advice and casework management as well as monitoring progress against these standards. Operating policies are independently determined by the Trustee Board of Citizens Advice South Somerset in order to fulfil its charitable objects and comply with the national membership requirements.

The charity also co-operates and liaises with a number of other advisory services, local charities and social services departments on behalf of clients. Where one of the trustees holds the position of trustee/director of another charity they may be involved in discussions regarding that other charity but not in the ultimate decision-making process.

Major risks

Citizens Advice South Somerset undertakes a regular Risk Management exercise. A risk management action plan and risk register are annually reviewed and agreed by the Trustee Board. 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. To that end Citizens Advice South Somerset is continually monitoring and managing its risk, reviewing the risk register and ensuring action plans are in place to mitigate its key risks.

Included in external risks is that of the loss of funding. The effects of this have been minimised by the procedures in place, which have resulted in funding being secured from a variety of sources. The charity continues to seek to diversify its funding sources. Internal risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all transactions and projects and to ensure consistent quality of delivery for all operational aspects of the charitable company. These procedures are periodically reviewed to ensure that they still meet the needs of the charity.

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Chair’s Report – Lin Cousins

2021/22 was another year of challenge for so many people across South Somerset. It began as the country was in a phased exit from lockdown and the economy had started to open up, and it ended with the beginnings of a surge in the cost of living. This has led to increased pressure on our organisation, as more and more people in South Somerset face economic hardship, with many unable to afford even the basics.

To tackle these issues, we have continued to develop a network of projects that meet the needs of our community, including those of people facing unemployment, severe mental illness and other limiting health conditions. Our work with our clients brings enormous benefits to them as individuals and a total gain in income for the area of over £3.5m. This is a great achievement for an organisation of our size.

2021/22 was also marked by an increase in joint working with the other Citizens Advice serving Somerset. This has made us a more resilient service, able to offer a wider range of specialist services while also improving the way we provide our general advice. This puts us in a strong position for the future as we plan for the move to a single unitary council that happens next year.

We are very grateful to our funders, both those who have been long-term supporters of our work, including the District Council, and new funders that we have started working with and are looking forward to a long-term relationship.

Kim Watts, Client Services Manager, receiving the High Sheriff of Somerset Award for services to the community

As always, none of what we have achieved would have been possible without the fantastic work of our staff and volunteers. The team has met the challenges of the Pandemic and all the changes to work patterns and demands on them with enormous energy and ability.

Thank you.

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

CEO’s Report – Angela Kerr

I closed last year’s annual report by reflecting on our team’s positivity and drive, noting how much we’d achieved for our clients despite all the challenges we faced. It is with great pride that I present yet another exceptional year, where we increased the number of clients helped by 31%, having advised over 10,000 people and secured income gains for them in excess of £3.5 million.

There were some noticeable changes for our clients over the year with increased numbers of people living on very low incomes (under £999 a month) and needing help with money problems, rent arrears and making benefit claims. Over the course of the year the “cost of living crisis” began to unfold and we saw many more people turning to us for advice as they were struggling to afford their heating and food bills.

Our business plan commits us to a set of service objectives aimed at meeting the diverse needs of our community. These ensure that we focus on providing accessible advice for everyone alongside targeted interventions for the most vulnerable.

An important aspect of our community service is the provision of general advice (covering a wide range of topics) that is easily accessed by phone, email or in person. It is vital that everyone can engage with help when they need it because if people’s problems are not resolved their health, wellbeing and finances suffer. What is especially important about this service is the fact that we offer immediate assistance when needed and follow-on specialist help for those with complex problems including financial distress. We are extremely thankful to our general advice service funders including the Corton Hill Trust, South Somerset District Council (SSDC), Crewkerne Town Council, Somerset Community Foundation and Public Health Somerset as their support has enabled us to scale up operations and help more clients. The funding allowed us to increase the number of volunteer advisers supported (training and supervision capacity), expand our phone and email services and reopen face-to-face appointments in communities of highest need.

Often clients present in the general advice service with several interlinked problems (employment dispute leading to loss of income causing rent arrears). We offer these clients additional help through our specialist caseworkers. In the last year we secured increased funding through Talking Money (Money and Pension Service) and SSDC that allowed us to expand our debt and housing teams. As a result we helped many more clients than in previous years who were in debt, at risk of homelessness or in need of essential assistance (food, fuel costs and the Household Support Fund).

The range and number of discrete projects we ran last year enabled us to engage record numbers of vulnerable clients. This work would not have been possible without the generosity of our funders, and we would like to thank the Henry Smith Foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support, Open Mental Health Somerset and the MS Society. These grants covered the costs of specialist caseworkers who offered individualised services that were responsive to clients’ circumstances and support needs (long term health conditions, physical disabilities, life limiting illness, mental ill health).

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

An area of particular growth over the last year was the Open Mental Health programme – a Somerset wide multi-agency initiative. Our membership of this alliance has enabled us to bring access to advice into acute and community mental health provision. As a result, people living with severe mental illness have benefitted from a more tailored service and this has greatly improved their health and advice outcomes.

Our greatest asset is our people (staff, volunteers and trustees) and the team grew over the year welcoming three new advisers, eight volunteer trainee advisers and one new trustee.

During the year we introduced new measures in order to ensure that our teams were:

The Annual Away Day in November 2021 was our biggest and most successful yet, providing valued training and skills sharing workshops alongside celebrations of individual and collective achievements.

We continued our commitment to partnerships and collaboration over the last year and were delighted to host an agencies’ Winter Wellbeing event aimed at connecting up our respective support for people struggling with their finances. In addition to our other established partnerships, we joined the Thriving Communities Social Prescribing Project led by Spark Somerset which enabled us to develop closer connections with GP pracitces. These relationships have helped us to improve access to advice and we have seen increased numbers of health coaches using the Citizens Advice in Somerset referral portal to seek help for their patients.

One of our longer term collaborations has been an initiative to improve the sustainability of advice services in Somerset. Over the last two years we have worked with the other local Citizens Advice and our respective District and County Councils’ funders to produce a core service specification. This has enabled us to scale-up joint working and as a result we now co-produce Adviceline in Somerset. It has been hugely helpful to streamline the general advice service as this ensures that clients are offered the same level of service and a smoother transfer into specialist help wherever they live in the County. Other benefits from this work relate to opportunities for centralised volunteer recruitment and adviser training, shared supervision and rota planning and joint impact reporting.

Towards the end of 2021, Citizens Advice in Somerset were approached by the County Council to help distribute the Household Support fund. Although the contract was held by us at South Somerset, we worked together to design and launch a Somerset application portal and between the 5 local Citizens Advice distributed £1,493,180 to 5,947 housholds who needed help with essential costs. The work we did in Somerset has been held as a model of best practice and several other Citizens Advice organisations are now using the online portal in their own areas to distribute funds.

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Treasurer’s Report – Margaret Mercer

For many years we have achieved a steady and modest growth in our income. However, for the past two years, we have reported a significant rise with income in excess of £800,000. In 2021/22 our total income rose again and was £1,040,480, an increase over the previous year of £159,201. The increased income was due to additional projects - most notably the distribution of the Household Support Fund on behalf of Somerset County Council. (The Household Support fund was a government scheme to provide help for households struggling to manage their essential costs). Other new income secured during the year related to discrete projects intended to boost our capacity to help increased numbers of clients needing advice due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. These projects included a Somerset-wide initiative, Sustaining Advice Services (increasing capacity on Adviceline), and additional resource in our housing and debt service funded by the District Council.

Staff Costs

There have not been any major changes to the expenditure profile of the organisation and, as usual, staff costs are our biggest expense, amounting this year to 74% of expenditure. For the first few months of the financial year, most of our staff and volunteers worked remotely. As a result of the pandemic and, in common with other charities, we reviewed our contractual terms to enable our staff to enjoy flexible working so that a percentage of the working week does not have to be office-based.

Premises and Resources

Expenses during the year included the licence fees for the use of cloud-based office systems and VOIP phones and additional investments in IT upgrades. These are aligned to our Business Plan and are vital to ensure that we adhere to best practice in cyber security. Other costs in the year reflect our gradual move back out into community and the resumption of face-to-face advice interviews. We are committed to offering our clients a fully accessible service and recognise that in order to do so we must allocate funds across all advice channels (telephone, digital and face-to-face). As a result, our overall costs increased compared with 2020/21.

Assets

At year-end our fixed assets were valued at £2,606 and it remains our policy not to capitalise expenditure on small items of office equipment. At the end of the year, we held cash of £474,134 and reserves of £406,120. Reserves are made up of designated funds of £169,692 and unrestricted funds of £236,428.

Reserves and Reserves Policy

We maintain a level of reserves to enable us to manage uncertainty. The retained reserves are intended to provide a buffer against funding cuts and a contingency to meet unforeseen expenditure.

The move to a single Unitary Authority for Somerset may mean we will incur significant changes to some of our funded programmes. In order to sustain our activities over the next 2-3 years we reviewed our reserves policy, and the Trustees approved an increase in the designated provision from £138,000 to £169,692. This is for contractual liabilities and provision for moving at the end of the current lease on Petters House.

In addition to the designated reserves the Trustees have determined a target range of between £100,000 to £125,000 of general free reserve to cover the implications of a significant reduction in income and representing approximately 3 months of running costs.

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Operations Report, Client Services Manager, Kim Watts

Once again, this year was dominated by the Covid Pandemic and moving in and out of lockdowns. This continued to impact services locally and nationwide with staff, volunteers and clients being cautious and adapting to a new way of accessing advice. We committed a considerable resource to the telephone advice service so that were able to manage increased demand for advice by phone and in order to ensure that clients who used the service received full advice on first contact (no need for call backs) wherever possible. Those clients that required additional, follow-on advice or specialist casework were transferred into further help, much of which was also delivered by phone.

Our commitment to equity and inclusion informed our decisions on access to advice options for clients, and we extended our email advice service so that clients were able to access 24/7 and receive timely responses (full advice by email) or move into phone or in-person advice where needed.

There was a cautious but steady return to face-to-face advice by clients. The traditional drop-in service was closed at the beginning of the pandemic and, much to our surprise, most clients have managed the channel shift, using phone and email very successfully. We recognise that there will always be a need to offer face-to-face advice and we will continue to expand the number of in-person appointments available over 2022, including at outreach locations in Wincanton, Chard, Crewkerne and Martock.

2021/22 also saw the recommissioning of debt advice by MaPS (Money and Pension Service). The timing and service specification originally planned by the commissioners caused some concerns among the debt agencies and after a number of meetings MaPS decided to pause the recommissioning to allow for further consultation. Despite the uncertainty about funding within the debt advice sector, we were pleased to have been able to keep our experienced team together and continued to offer a bespoke debt advice service to our clients throughout the year.

We saw a high demand for help with housing problems, homelessness and benefit appeals and thanks to the perseverance of our staff we achieved a great many successfully overturned decisions that ensured our clients received the income or housing they were entitled to. Being able to join an appeal via video link proved to be very helpful and enabled us to support clients where previously we were unable to help (due to the need to attend appeal hearings in person). Other common issues among clients included help to complete online applications. This is an increasing problem and a significant number of clients told us they felt embarrassed when faced with digital content that they did not understand and could not use.

On a personal note, I was extremely honoured to receive an award from the High Sheriff of Somerset for services to the community. I feel very strongly that this reflects the great service and commitment that all the staff and volunteers give to Citizens Advice South Somerset to ensure that our community receives the best possible advice at a time when they need it.

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Charitable Activities

Objective 1 – increase the capacity and effectiveness of the general advice service

In total over the year, we supported 10,252 clients with advice (general advice service) and specialist casework (projects). This represented a 31% increase in volume of work compared with 2020/21.

The majority of our clients’ initial engagement with us was through the general advice service and last year saw our highest ever number of contacts where 7,152 clients accessed this service. Those that presented with multiple and complex advice needs were transferred into specialist casework following an initial advice appointment.

The general advice service is delivered by a team of paid and volunteer advisers. Our volunteer team advised 3,618 clients (50% of total clients helped by the general advice service) a remarkable achievement given the increased complexity of the clients’ advice needs and circumstances.

Most of our services were delivered by phone, however we were able to increase the number of faceto-face appointments available and saw about 6% of clients in person over the year. We expect to continue to expand our advice channels and increase client choice, but do not anticipate a return to pre-covid face-to-face drop-in as most clients prefer to access advice by phone or email telling us this is more convenient for them.

The advice needs presented by our clients continued to reflect the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Of most significance was the huge increase in demand for benefits advice (making and maintaining a claim) compared with 2020/21. There were a number of factors that drove the rise in demand, and these included lengthy delays in processing claims, the resumption of benefit eligibility re-assessment (Personal Independence Payments) and the end of the Settled Status arrangements made for EU nationals continuing to live and work in the UK after Brexit.

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

In response we increased the number of advisers trained to offer follow-on help with benefits issues to ensure that we had the capacity to meet this need. The training for staff and volunteers included specialist sessions run by the Child Poverty Action Group (Personal Independence Payments Claims to Decisions) and Mental Health and Benefits.

Objective 2 improve routes into face-to-face advice for clients whose health and support needs prevent them from using the phones or online channels

We were very pleased to be able to return to work from a number of our partners’ premises and began to see clients by appointment at the Westfield Community Centre in Yeovil, the Balsam Centre in Wincanton and Forefront in Chard. These plans will continue over 2022 and will include reopening sessions in Crewkerne and Martock.

In response to feedback from our referral partners, we invested in a Somerset-wide agencies’ referral portal during 2020. This is hosted on the Citizens Advice in Somerset Website and our own CASS site. The aim of the portal was to make it simpler for agencies’ staff, so that they did not need to direct a referral to the nearest Citizens Advice (the portal does that work for them). Over the year we have made a number of modifications to the referral process. These have improved our efficiency with the referral portal now including provision for uploading clients’ documents. The outcome of these changes has been that it is now easier for clients to be introduced to our service, provided with access to face-to-face advice appointments and we now offer a better, simpler process, for our referral partners.

Objective 3 - Expand the specialist services for clients who are most at risk of financial distress, crisis or enduring disadvantage

Our data from last year demonstrated that clients’ monthly incomes fell during the year. This was especially so for households that had benefitted from the furlough scheme or the £20 a week Universal Credit uplift awarded during 2020. Both schemes ended in October 2021 and as a result we saw increased numbers of people seeking advice for rent arears, affordable housing and debt.

Over the winter months, issues in the energy markets (price cap and supplier closures) also increased the need for advice, and specifically money advice, and we expect this will continue throughout 2022.

Talking Money, Debt Free South West – 662 clients helped

During 2020 we secured additional funding from Talking Money to recruit and host trainee debt caseworkers and welcomed three people into the scheme. All three trainees graduated last year and have been moved into permanent roles with one joining our money advice team and two joining our debt and mental health services. The overall benefit to the organisation has been to boost our capacity to provide debt casework including offering full resolution (Debt Relief Order).

Over the last year we provided specialist debt casework to 662 clients (increased by 69% compared with the previous year).

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

£739,279 of client debt was managed and written off

£81,657 of client debt was managed within repayment schedules.

34 clients were supported to access the Mental Health Breathing Space, a scheme introduced in 2021 to take the pressure off people with debt issues while they are receiving crisis treatment.

Help to Claim Universal Credit - 399 clients helped

This programme was a national scheme hosted by National Citizens Advice. We provided one fulltime adviser who was available by phone and webchat to assist clients that needed help to make an initial claim. Although many clients found the claim process straightforward, this provision offered vital assistance for clients that found the digital process too complex to manage alone.

Local Assistance Scheme and the Household Support Fund

Somerset County Council Local Assistance Scheme: We supported 253 individuals with access to food parcels and 95 clients with access to fuel vouchers or other emergency help (bedding, cooking equipment) through the Local Assistance Scheme. This is a Somerset County Council scheme for those experiencing financial hardship due to a crisis (benefits delayed or stopped, fleeing violence, made homeless, accidents etc)

Household Support Fund: 2021 saw the introduction of a new government scheme, which aimed to provide short term financial assistance to households struggling with their essential costs (food, energy, water etc). We supported 1,628 South Somerset households distributing £414,511 among them.

Abri Fresh Start – 177 clients helped

2021/22 saw a change in approach to Abri’s funding for CASS with a focus on specific local communities. We secured funding for a Fresh Start programme in the Chard area. This was partially related to the level of need in the area and to the closure of Oscar Mayer, Chard’s largest employer. This project not only enabled CASS to re-start a face-to-face offer in Chard, something that was very much needed after the pandemic, but also to offer full casework, not just advice. CASS worked with partners in Chard, in particular with the Forefront Centre and Lords Larder Food Bank, and started seeing clients face-to-face in May 2021. General advice and specialist debt casework were provided, by appointment, three days per week. The positive results of this project became apparent almost immediately, both in terms of the number of clients helped and the depth of the help provided. Clients were seen from Chard and the surrounding area, including the larger towns of Ilminster and, to a lesser extent, Crewkerne who’s outreaches had yet to re-open. Abri and non-Abri tenants alike were seen and helped.

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Assist Pathway – The Henry Smith Foundation – 105 clients helped

This was the second year of the service which was designed to support the needs of clients living with severe mental ill health, in order to provide a blend of advice, coaching and peer support (Confidence Clubs) in order to address clients’ problems and the underlying causes. The Pathway allows us to provide clients with the support they need to maintain engagement with their adviser as we work through what are often long-term and complex debt and money issues. Further assistance on confidence building and financial capability skills are provided through the coaching and peer support aspects of the programme.

Over the year the complexity of clients’ cases increased and this meant that it took longer for the team to assist each client to achieve their goals and outcomes. One of the major successes from the Assist Pathway has been the refinement of our team- around-the-client approach where the Assist Pathway caseworker supports her clients to engage with the specialists in the money advice team – acting as an intermediary and advocate for her client. This model has meant that we’ve been able to support and reassure clients throughout their debt resolution and where appropriate secure a “mental health Breathing Space” application – giving us longer to resolve the client’s issues.

Open Mental Health – Wider Determinants 299 clients helped (South Somerset)

Open Mental Health is a Somerset alliance of voluntary organisations and the NHS that work together to support people living in the community who experience mild to moderate mental ill health. As the lead for the Wider Determinants of Health programme, we co-ordinate the contributions from the four other Citizens Advice offices in Somerset. Our wider determinants service has been designed so that our team are dispersed across the County but work seamlessly together to address the needs of clients who access Open Mental Health. Each local Citizens Advice hosts a specialist caseworker offering holistic advice and, where needed, ongoing casework.

The service became more established during the 2021/22 year – having been launched in 2020 – and as a result the number of clients introduced to the Wider Determinants team increased considerably. The South Somerset team supported 299 clients over the year.

One of the key objectives for Open Mental Health is the concept of “no wrong door” ensuring that clients are offered all the support they need regardless of the first agency they engage with. Over the year the number of introductions to the Wider Determinants team increased with 389 coming via Somerset Foundation Trust and 147 coming via Mindline and other Open Mental Health partners.

£125,451 of benefits income was secured for clients supported by the South Somerset Wider Determinants team.

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Open Mental Health – Next Steps – 66 clients helped

During the year the Open Mental Health partnership received confirmation of continuation funding for a project that began with Winter Pressures funding. The Next Steps Service supports patients as they complete their recovery from acute mental ill health. Two part-time caseworkers from Citizens Advice attend the acute wards in Taunton and Yeovil on a weekly basis and work alongside recovery navigators to assist clients with outstanding or long-term problems.

66 clients were supported in the year and £38,895 of benefits income was secured for them as they moved out of hospital and back into independent living.

Homelessness Reduction Support – SSDC – 143 clients helped

We have worked closely with the housing officers’ team at South Somerset District Council for many years. The 2017 Homelessness Reduction Action places duties on local authorities to prevent homelessness, reduce rough sleeping and to address specific needs of those at risk of homelessness.

SSDC funded a dedicated caseworker who provided in-depth support to clients at risk of homelessness in order to help them sustain their tenancies wherever possible. Other support included making applications to Homefinder, seeking alternative accommodation and providing advice on all presenting issues including debts.

31 clients referred via SSDC Housing Team

11 clients referred via other agencies (Social Services, MP, Village Agents)

87 clients presented directly to CASS

Macmillan Cancer Support – 887 clients helped

The Citizens Advice South Somerset Macmillan Service offers advice, including specialist welfare benefits casework, and assistance with grants for people living with cancer and their families and carers.

The service has been running for many years and we have very established relationships with the cancer teams at the hospitals and at St Margaret’s hospice. Prior to the Covid pandemic clients were seen in person at different treatment centres across the district. Due to the health vulnerabilities of those receiving cancer treatments, many clients opted to use the telephone service for their initial advice during the first year of the pandemic. As the Covid Pandemic rules were relaxed last year, the Macmillan Advice team were able to offer increased numbers of face-to-face appointments from their base at the Yeovil Foyer, and this was very well received by those clients who struggled with phone advice.

£2,424,007 of benefits income was secured for clients of this service.

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Objective 4 – Strengthen the sustainability of our organisation

Over the last year we continued to progress with improvements to our business systems and use of technology. These included switching to MS365 accounts and beginning the necessary preparation ahead of our move to a cloud-based server in 2022. The biggest change for staff and volunteers during 2021 was our move to MS365 telephony. The advantage to the organisation stems from the versatility of the system allowing staff and volunteers to make and receive calls over the internet using their laptops, chrome books or PCs. As a result of this investment, it has become much easier for staff working remotely to host 3-way calls (bringing DWP into a call during a client’s advice).

Alongside our system changes we were also very focused on our information security and were delighted to receive our Cyber Essentials Certificate of Assurance in September 2021.

Other developments included an overhaul of our website (appearance and function) in order to present a more welcoming site and to improve ease of use for clients and referral partners. The upgrades made proved invaluable later in the year as we were able to use the site as the first point of access for clients applying to the Household Support Fund.

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Objective 5 – Maintaining a culture of excellence and inclusivity investing in our people and supporting everyone

The high workload and the increased complexity of clients’ issues can impact on our staff and volunteers’ wellbeing. Fortunately, our membership of the Open Mental Health Alliance meant that we were able to share best practice among partners and this led to our introduction of Wellness Action Plans and the offer of monthly clinical supervision for anyone on the team. Each year National Citizens Advice invite staff and volunteers to take part in an anonymous satisfaction survey. We were very reassured by the results as our team reported feeling valued, listened to, well equipped and trained. 95% of our staff and volunteers “would recommend working for CASS”.

Alongside the emotional wellbeing programme, we were able to introduce a Hybrid Working policy allowing staff to split their working time between our offices and home. This was well received, and staff quickly settled into their new routines.

Staff and volunteer training ran throughout the year and included a mixture of online learning and tutor led (in person) sessions. In addition to the ongoing training programme, we held the annual Away Day in person during November 2021. It had been several years since we’d been able to get together and for some staff and volunteers it was the first time they had met colleagues in person. The day was a huge success, and we were very grateful to our external guest speakers and trainers:

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South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee Directors’ Report For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Approach to fundraising

Citizens Advice South Somerset does not undertake any community fundraising or any individual giving campaigns and do not use any professional fundraiser or commercial participator. As such Citizens Advice South Somerset are not members of any voluntary fundraising schemes. Citizens Advice South Somerset does undertake trust and grant fundraising and the Trustees monitor all such activities having given delegated authority to the CEO to seek funds for programmes outlined in the Business Plan. The Trustees abide by other relevant codes of practice and regulation and the Charity is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority among others. Citizens Advice South Somerset has a vulnerable clients policy and ensures that all the charity’s activities are undertaken safely and appropriately. There have not been any complaints received in relation to fundraising activities.

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The trustees (who are also directors of South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees Directors’ Report (incorporating the directors’ report) and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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

The directors are also responsible for keeping adequate accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Acts 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.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice – Accounting and reporting by Charities and in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

Approved by the board and signed on their behalf by:

L Cousins Chair

Date: 11 July 2022

Page 17

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Independent Auditors' Report to the Members and Trustees For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2022 , which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet 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 Trustees’ Report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s 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.

Page 18

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Independent Auditors' Report to the Members and Trustees For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

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 10, 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:

Page 19

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Independent Auditors' Report to the Members and Trustees For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

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.

Page 20

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Independent Auditors' Report to the Members and Trustees For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

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.

Other matters

In forming our opinion on the financial statements, which is not modified, we note the prior period financial statements were not audited. Consequently, International Standards on Auditing (UK & Ireland) require the auditor to state that the corresponding figures contained within these financial statements are unaudited.

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 Goodwood House Chartered Accountants Blackbrook Park Avenue Statutory Auditor Taunton Somerset TA1 2PX Date: 22 August 2022

Page 21

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Statement of Financial Activities (including an Income and Expenditure account) For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Unrest-
ricted
Notes
Funds
£
Income from:
Donations and general grants
2
193,592
Charitable activities
3
102,187
Other trading activities
-
Investment income
4
433
Total income
296,212
Expenditure on:
Charitable expenditure
5
207,233
Total expenditure
207,233
Net income/(expenditure) before
transfers
88,979
Transfer between funds
11
-
Net movement in funds
88,979
Reconciliation of funds
Fund balances at 01 April 2021
317,141
Fund balances at 31 March 2022
11
406,120		 Unrest-
ricted
Notes
Funds
£
Income from:
Donations and general grants
2
193,592
Charitable activities
3
102,187
Other trading activities
-
Investment income
4
433
Total income
296,212
Expenditure on:
Charitable expenditure
5
207,233
Total expenditure
207,233
Net income/(expenditure) before
transfers
88,979
Transfer between funds
11
-
Net movement in funds
88,979
Reconciliation of funds
Fund balances at 01 April 2021
317,141
Fund balances at 31 March 2022
11
406,120		 Rest-
ricted
Funds
£
30,000
714,268
-
-
744,268
744,268
744,268
-
-
-
-
-		 Total
2022
£
223,592
816,455
-
433		 Unrest-
ricted
Funds
£
207,482
68,221
-
444		 Rest-
ricted
Funds

£
30,000
575,132
-
-		 Total
2021

£
237,482
643,353
-
444
296,212 1,040,480 276,147 605,132 881,279
207,233 951,501 191,698 605,132 796,830
207,233 951,501 191,698 605,132 796,830
88,979
-		 88,979
-		 84,449
1,757		 -
(1,757)		 84,449
-
88,979 88,979 86,206 (1,757) 84,449
317,141 317,141 230,935 1,757 232,692
406,120 406,120 317,141 - 317,141

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.

Page 22

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau- Company Registration Number: 03173414 Balance Sheet As at 31 March 2022

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets
7
Current assets
Debtors
8
Cash at bank and in hand
9
Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year
10
Net current assets
Net assets
Funds
Unrestricted funds
General funds
11
Designated funds
11
Restricted funds
11
Total charity funds		 60,109
474,134
534,243
(130,729)		 2022
£
2,606
44,634
319,509
364,143
(50,477)
403,514
406,120
236,428
169,692
406,120
-
406,120		 2021
£
3,475
313,666
317,141
179,141
138,000
317,141
-
317,141

These accounts 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 Trustees for issue on 11 July 2022 and signed on their behalf by:

L Cousins Chair

M Mercer Treasurer

Page 23

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Cash flow statement For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Net movements in funds for the year
Adjustments to cash flows from non-cash items
Depreciation and amortisation
7
Finance income
4
Working capital adjustments
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
8
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
10
Net cash flow from operations
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received
4
Acquisitions of tangible assets
8
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Reconciliation of net debt
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of
the reporting period
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the
reporting period		 Total
2022
£
88,979
869
(433)
89,415
(15,475)
80,252
154,192
433
-
154,625
319,509
154,625
474,134		 Total
2021
£
84,449
869
(444)
84,874
29,621
14,881
129,376
444
(4,344)
125,476
194,033
125,476
319,509

Page 24

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

1 Accounting Policies

1.1 General information and basis of accounting

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau is a company limited by guarantee incorporated in the United Kingdom under the Companies Act. The maximum liability of each member is limited to £1. The address of the registered office is given on page 2. The nature of the charity’s operations and its principal activities are set out in the Trustees report on pages 3-25.

The financial statements have been prepared in £ sterling 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

All income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income. The valuation of donated services is not quantified within the Statement of Financial Activities.

Donation income is received by way of general grants, donations and gifts and is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable.

Income from grants, relating to specifically the provision of goods or services as part of charitable activities or services to clients are included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable and in the period in which they relate to. Grants are deferred when the monies have been received in advance of the period in which they relate to.

Other trading activities income includes income relating to fundraising and is included in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable.

Investment income is included when receivable.

Other income is recognised in the accounts when receivable and relates to staff secondment income, various expenditure reimbursements and training delivery.

1.3

Government grants

Government grants are accounted for when unconditionally due and reasonable assurance can be gained that it will be received. Where funds are received in advance, for a specified period, these funds are deferred and recognised in the period to which they relate. Where funds have not been received in a specified period, these funds will be accrued in debtors and recognised in the period to which they relate. Not all grants received have conditions and performance indicators attached, where this is the case, the income is included within donations. Performance related grants are included within Charitable Activities income.

Page 25

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

1.4 Donated services

In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), unpaid volunteer time is not recognised in the financial statements. Please refer to the Trustee Directors’ Report and note 6 for more information about their contribution.

1.5 Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. All expenditure is gross of VAT which cannot be recovered and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates.

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services to its clients. Direct costs are allocated to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them are shown as contributions to core expenditure.

Other support costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity.

1.6 Fixed assets

Depreciation is calculated to write off the cost of fixed assets over their estimated useful lives at the following rate:- Leasehold improvements – to break clause (5 years straight line) Office equipment – 20% per annum straight line basis

Fixed assets are valued at cost less depreciation. No assets are capitalised under £1,000. Fixed assets are reviewed annually for impairment.

1.7 Debtors

Accrued income comprises amounts due from funders and is recognised when the charity is entitled to the grant, receipt is probable and the amount can be measured reliably. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid.

1.8 Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value.

1.9 Creditors

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.

1.10 Taxation

The company is a registered charity and is therefore not liable to corporation tax to the extent that income and gains are applied to the charitable objectives of the charity.

Page 26

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

1.11 Pension contributions

The Bureau operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The scheme and its assets are held by independent managers. 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

A pre-determined amount of overhead expenditure on each project is calculated and transferred from the project to overheads as a contribution.

1.13 Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds receivable or generated for the objects of the Bureau without further specified purpose and are available as general funds.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the Trustees 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

Leases in which substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership are retained by the lessor are classified as operating leases. Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities as incurred over the term of the lease. The charity has an operating lease for the premises in which they operate, as well as photocopier and telephone leases. The title of the leased premises and equipment remains with the lessor.

1.15 VAT

The Bureau is not VAT registered and therefore all costs are inclusive of VAT.

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 and other creditors 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 deemed 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.

Page 27

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

2 Donations and general grants

----- Start of picture text -----
Unre- Rest- Unre- Rest-
stricted ricted Total stricted ricted Total
funds funds 2022 funds funds 2021
Grants received £ £ £ £ £ £
South Somerset District Council 133,065 - 133,065 145,035 - 145,035
Public Health 34,249 - 34,249 34,249 - 34,249
Wessex Water 17,400 - 17,400 17,400 - 17,400
- -
184,714 184,714 196,684 196,684
Donations
- -
Local town & parish councils 7,975 7,975 6,075 6,075
Donations & gifts 903 30,000 30,903 4,723 30,000 34,723
193,592 30,000 223,592 207,482 30,000 237,482
The income above is made up of:
- -
Received in year 193,592 193,592 207,482 207,482
- - - - - -
Deferred income brought forward
Deferred income carried forward - - - - - -
- - - - - -
Accrued income brought forward
Accrued income carried forward - - - - - -
193,592 30,000 223,592 207,482 30,000 237,482
----- 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.

Page 28

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

3 Incoming resources from charitable activities

Macmillan
Abri
Universal Credit - Help to Claim
Assist Mental Health
Homeless reduction - SSDC
Local Assistance Scheme
Talking Money
Talking Money - Trainees
Western Power Distribution
Chard Town Council Caseworker
Wessex Water - Hard to Reach
Citizens Advice - other
Somerset Activity & Sports
Older Persons Advice Pathway
SSDC extra homelessness/Foyer
Additional Capacity
Household Support Fund
Yeovil PCN
Taunton Citizens Advice
- recharge
Sedgemoor Citizens Advice
- recharge
Warm Homes Collaboration
BEIS remote working funding
Covid Lottery
Energy Best Deal
Balance carried forward		 Unre-
stricted
funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
6,480
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
34,000
20,790
-
-
7,856
20,342
11,458
-
-
-
100,926		 Rest-
ricted
funds
£
109,293
37,971
39,556
42,475
22,065
-
184,059
-
3,200
-
-
-
3,500
-
19,000
-
60,460
6,723
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Total
2022
£
109,293
37,971
39,556
42,475
22,065
6,480
184,059
-
3,200
-
-
-
3,500
-
53,000
20,790
60,460
6,723
7,856
20,342
11,458
-
-
-
629,228		 Unre-
stricted
funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
6,480
-
-
-
1,557
14,938
-
-
-
-
-
-
8,494
22,710
13,542
-
-
-
Rest-
ricted
Total
funds
2021
£
£
107,740
107,740
51,809
51,809
43,460
43,460
41,700
41,700
22,065
22,065
-
6,480
81,623
81,623
33,323
33,323
2,700
2,700
5,921
5,921
-
1,557
-
14,938
-
-
6,370
6,370
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
8,494
-
-
22,710
-
13,542
9,490
9,490
34,334
34,334
5,280
5,280
445,815
513,536
528,302 67,721

Page 29

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

3 Incoming resources from charitable activities (continued)

----- Start of picture text -----
Unre- Rest- Unre- Rest-
stricted ricted Total stricted ricted Total
funds funds 2022 funds funds 2021
£ £ £ £ £ £
Balance brought forward 100,926 528,302 629,228 67,721 445,815 513,536
Mental Health Alliance - 162,906 162,906 - 113,931 113,931
SCF Covid PPE - - - - 3,550 3,550
SCF Media (Covid) - - - - 9,000 9,000
Sustaining Advice Services - 22,500 22,500 - 2,500 2,500
Under £1k 1,261 560 1,821 500 336 836
102,187 714,268 816,455 68,221 575,132 643,353
The income is made up of:
Received in year 96,184 704,435 800,619 54,679 626,071 680,750
Deferred income brought forward - 29,798 29,798 - 21,262 21,262
Deferred income carried forward - (29,750) (29,750) - (29,798) (29,798)
Accrued income brought forward (13,542) (26,807) (40,349) - (69,210) (69,210)
Accrued income carried forward 19,545 36,592 56,137 13,542 26,807 40,349
102,187 714,268 816,455 68,221 575,132 643,353
----- 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.

4 Investment income

Bank interest Unre-
stricted
funds
£
433		 Rest-
ricted
funds
£
-		 Total
2022
£
433		 Unre-
stricted
funds
£
444
Rest-
ricted
funds
£
-		 Total
2021
£
444

Page 30

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
5 Charitable expenditure
Unres- Res- Total Unres- Res- Total
tricted tricted 2022 tricted tricted 2021
Staff costs £ £ £ £ £ £
Staff salaries 170,056 517,841 687,897 160,826 411,562 572,388
Recruitment expenses 816 - 816 315 922 1,237
Subsistence & refeshments 485 1,525 2,010 1,278 1,177 2,455
Staff development & training 5,949 2,020 7,969 1,371 2,674 4,045
Travel 1,340 3,300 4,640 566 183 749
Other staff costs 2,428 703 3,131 25 - 25
Advice giving services
Reference material &
subscriptions 11,010 324 11,334 10,290 372 10,662
Partner payments - 85,909 85,909 - 71,548 71,548
Direct project costs - 23,950 23,950 - - -
Office services
Computer maintenance &
support 13,922 - 13,922 17,923 - 17,923
Office equipment & supplies 9,546 862 10,408 12,931 25,608 38,539
Stationery & office
consumables 5,914 36 5,950 2,862 1,036 3,898
Telephone call charges 17,302 2,376 19,678 13,921 9,994 23,915
Premises & buildings
Rent and rates 41,173 120 41,293 20,862 - 20,862
Repairs & maintenance 1,307 - 1,307 1,049 - 1,049
Electricity & gas 10,000 - 10,000 10,556 - 10,556
Office insurances 3,545 - 3,545 2,998 - 2,998
Other support charges
Bank charges 101 - 101 69 - 69
Depreciation 869 - 869 869 - 869
Accountancy fees 1,920 - 1,920 1,360 - 1,360
Audit fees 6,000 - 6,000 - - -
Independent Examination fees - - - 2,000 - 2,000
Professional fees 3,652 - 3,652 4,302 4,108 8,410
Governance costs 5,200 - 5,200 1,273 - 1,273
312,535 638,966 951,501 267,646 529,184 796,830
Contributions to core
(105,302) 105,302 - (75,948) 75,948 -
expenditure
207,233 744,268 951,501 191,698 605,132 796,830
----- End of picture text -----

Page 31

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

5 Charitable expenditure (continued)

Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities - 2022

Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Abri
MacMillan
Corton Hill
Household Support Fund
MS Society
Talking Money - Trainees
Assist Mental Health
SSDC Private Renters
Older Persons Advice Pathway
Talking Money
Universal Credit - Help to Claim
Western Power Distribution
Somerset Activity & Sports
Anonymous donation
Covid Lottery
Homelessness Reduction
Mental Health Alliance
SCF Covid PPE
SCF Media (Covid)
Sustaining Advice Services
Total restricted funds
Total funds		 186,042
31,789
79,901
26,417
57,870
560
63,119
34,463
16,777
5,641
92,682
33,744
3,200
3,500
-
-
17,829
148,974
-
-
22,500
638,966
825,008
Activities
undertaken
directly		 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Grant
funding
activities		 21,191
6,182
29,392
3,583
2,590
-
11,620
8,012
2,223
1,082
16,638
5,812
-
-
-
-
4,236
13,932
-
-
-
105,302
126,493
Support
costs
(including
contribution
to core
costs)		 207,233
Total
37,971
109,293
30,000
60,460
560
74,739
42,475
19,000
6,723
109,320
39,556
3,200
3,500
-
-
22,065
162,906
-
-
22,500
744,268
951,501

Page 32

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

5 Charitable expenditure (continued)

Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities – 2021

Support
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Abri
MacMillan
Energy Best Deal
MS Society
Talking Money - Trainees
Assist Mental Health
Chard Town Council Caseworker
Older Persons Advice Pathway
Talking Money
Universal Credit - Help to Claim
Western Power Distribution
BEIS remote working funding
Anonymous donation
Covid Lottery
Homelessness Reduction
Mental Health Alliance
SCF Covid PPE
SCF Media (Covid)
Sustaining Advice Services		 178,510
44,307
81,937
4,749
336
26,878
37,591
5,085
5,596
72,268
38,232
1,243
9,490
29,280
34,334
19,148
103,660
3,550
9,000
2,500
Activities
undertaken
directly		 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Grant
funding
activities		 13,188
7,502
25,803
531
-
6,445
4,109
836
774
9,355
5,228
1,457
-
720
-
2,917
10,271
-
-
-

costs
(including
contribution
to core
costs)		 191,698
Total
51,809
107,740
5,280
336
33,323
41,700
5,921
6,370
81,623
43,460
2,700
9,490
30,000
34,334
22,065
113,931
3,550
9,000
2,500
Total restricted funds
Total funds		 529,184
707,694		 -
-		 75,948
89,136		 605,132
796,830

Page 33

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

6
Employees and employment costs

Wages and salaries
Employer’s NI
Pension contributions		 2022
£
626,539
48,891
12,467
687,897		 2021
£
524,576
37,072
10,740
572,388

6 Employees and employment costs (continued)

Defined contribution pension scheme

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The pension cost charge for the year represents contributions payable by the company to the scheme and amounted to £12,467 (2021: £10,740).

There were no contributions payable to the scheme at the end of the year (2021: £311).

No individual employee was paid over £60,000 (2021: none).

No remuneration was paid to any Trustees during the year (2021: none). No expenses were reimbursed to the Trustees by the Bureau during the year (2021: none).

The key management personnel of the charity are considered to be the Chief Executive. The total costs to the charity of employee benefits for the key management personnel were £45,190 (2021: £42,215).

The average monthly head count was 32 staff (2020: 30 staff).

Volunteers contribute unpaid time to administration, advice services, reception, grant applications, research campaigns and fundraising activities. The estimated volunteer time for the year has not been included in the financial statements as in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102).

Page 34

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
7 Tangible fixed assets
Leasehold Office
Improvements Equipment Total
£ £ £
Cost
As at 01 April 2021 28,031 8,963 36,994
Additions - - -
As at 31 March 2022 28,031 8,963 36,994
Depreciation
As at 01 April 2021 28,031 5,488 33,519
Charge for year - 869 869
As at 31 March 2022 28,031 6,357 34,388
Net book value
As at 31 March 2022 - 2,606 2,606
As at 31 March 2021 - 3,475 3,475
8 Debtors
2022 2021
£ £
Accrued income and other debtors 56,137 40,349
Prepayments 3,972 4,285
60,109 44,634
----- End of picture text -----

Page 35

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

9 Cash at bank and in hand

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
£ £
Bank balances – Bureau 474,134 319,509
10 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year
2022 2021
£ £
Other creditors 815 5,996
Accruals & deferred income 129,914 44,481
130,729 50,477
Deferred income
2022 2021
£ £
Deferred income at 01 April 2021 29,798 21,262
Released from previous years (29,798) (21,262)
Resources deferred in the year 29,750 29,798
Deferred income at 31 March 2022 29,750 29,798
----- 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 five projects which specified the amounts as being for 2022/23. These were received from Henry Smith Charity and SSDC.

Page 36

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

11 Statement of funds

Designated funds
Contractual liabilities
Non contractual liabilities
IT upgrade & equipment renewal
Moving costs
General unrestricted funds
Total unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Abri
MacMillan
Corton Hill
Household Support Fund
MS Society
Talking Money - Trainees
Assist Mental Health
SSDC Private Renters
Older Persons Advice Pathway
Talking Money
Universal Credit - Help to Claim
Western Power Distribution
Somerset Activity & Sports
Homelessness Reduction
Mental Health Alliance
Sustaining Advice Services
Total restricted funds
Total funds		 Balance
01.04.21
£
96,000
30,000
-
12,000		 Income
£
-
-
-
-
-
296,212
296,212
37,971
109,293
30,000
60,460
560
74,739
42,475
19,000
6,723
109,320
39,556
3,200
3,500
22,065
162,906
22,500
744,268
1,040,480		 Expenditure
£
-
-
-
-		 Transfers
£
24,692
(30,000)
17,000
20,000
31,692
(31,692)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Balance
31.03.22
£
120,692
-
17,000
32,000
138,000
179,141		 -
(207,233)		 169,692
236,428
317,141 (207,233) 406,120
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 (37,971)
(109,293)
(30,000)
(60,460)
(560)
(74,739)
(42,475)
(19,000)
(6,723)
(109,320)
(39,556)
(3,200)
(3,500)
(22,065)
(162,906)
(22,500)		 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- (744,268) -
317,141 (951,501) 406,120

Page 37

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

11 Statement of funds- prior year

----- Start of picture text -----
Balance Balance
01.04.20 Income Expenditure Transfers 31.03.21
£ £ £ £ £
Designated funds
Contractual liabilities 96,000 - - - 96,000
Non contractual liabilities - - - 30,000 30,000
Moving costs 12,000 - - - 12,000
108,000 - - 30,000 138,000
General unrestricted funds 122,935 276,147 (191,698) (28,243) 179,141
Total unrestricted funds 230,935 276,147 (191,698) 1,757 317,141
Restricted funds
Abri - 51,809 (51,809) - -
MacMillan - 107,740 (107,740) - -
Friends of SSCAB 1,757 - - (1,757) -
Energy Best Deal - 5,280 (5,280) - -
MS Society - 336 (336) - -
Talking Money - Trainees - 33,323 (33,323) - -
Assist Mental Health - 41,700 (41,700) - -
Chard Town Council Caseworker - 5,921 (5,921) - -
Older Persons Advice Pathway - 6,370 (6,370) - -
Talking Money - 81,623 (81,623) - -
Universal Credit - Help to Claim - 43,460 (43,460) - -
Western Power Distribution - 2,700 (2,700) - -
BEIS remote working funding - 9,490 (9,490) - -
Anonymous donation - 30,000 (30,000) - -
Covid Lottery - 34,334 (34,334) - -
Homelessness Reduction - 22,065 (22,065) - -
Mental Health Alliance - 113,931 (113,931) - -
SCF Covid PPE - 3,550 (3,550) - -
SCF Media (Covid) - 9,000 (9,000) - -
Sustaining Advice Services - 2,500 (2,500) - -
Total restricted funds 1,757 605,132 (605,132) (1,757) -
Total funds 232,692 881,279 (796,830) - 317,141
----- End of picture text -----

Page 38

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

11 Statement of funds (continued)

Page 39

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

11 Statement of funds (continued)

12 Analysis of net assets between funds

Tangible assets
Current assets
Current liabilities		 Unre-
stricted
funds
£
2,606
429,605
(26,091)
406,120		 Rest-
ricted
funds
£
-
104,638
(104,638)		 Total
2022
£
2,606
534,243
(130,729)
406,120		 Unre-
stricted
funds
£
3,475
334,345
(20,679)
Rest-
ricted
funds
£
-
29,798
(29,798)		 Total
2021
£
3,475
364,143
(50,477)
- 317,141 - 317,141

Page 40

South Somerset Citizens Advice Bureau Notes to the Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2022

13 Financial commitments

At 31 March 2022 the charity was committed to making the following payments under non-cancellable operating leases:

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 2021
Land and Land and
buildings Other buildings Other
£ £ £ £
Less than 1 year 30,425 3,173 30,425 -
1 – 5 years 45,638 4,759 76,063 -
Greater than 5 years - - - -
76,063 7,932 106,488 -
----- End of picture text -----

14 Related parties

There were no related party transactions during the year (2021: none).

15 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. No performance related grants recognised in income have had any unfulfilled conditions or any other contingencies attaching to them. See note 2 and 3 for more information. Government grants received during the year amounted to £248,859 (2021: £213,904).

16 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 £1 per member on the winding up of the company. At 31 March 2022 the company had eight members and the total amount guaranteed is therefore £8.

Page 41