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2024-03-31-accounts

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 03171880 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1054154

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

FOR

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

Bevan Buckland LLP (Statutory Auditors) Ground Floor Cardigan House Castle Court Swansea Enterprise Park Swansea SA7 9LA

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Page
Report of the Trustees 1 to 21
Report of the Independent Auditors 22 to 24
Statement of Financial Activities 25
Balance Sheet 26
Cash Flow Statement 27
Notes to the Cash Flow Statement 28
Notes to the Financial Statements 29 to 47

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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).

The last year has been yet another strong year for Women's Aid, as the organisation has worked towards its goal of ending domestic abuse.

The trustees of Women's Aid Federation of England, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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).

Reference and administrative information set out on pages one and two form part of this report. The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard 102. The board members including the chair and treasurer are appointed by the board. Each appointment is in accordance with the Women's Aid Memorandum and Articles of Association. Women's Aid is required to have a minimum of three board members and a maximum of 12.

Board members are required to act in the best interests of Women's Aid Federation of England and for the benefit of the members as a whole. The board is ultimately responsible for all that Women's Aid does. In order for Women's Aid to perform effectively, day-to-day operational management of the charity is delegated to the Chief Executive.

The board has added a system of committees, to its structures for strategic input. The committees' membership includes board members and relevant staff, as well as appointed external Associate Trustees from member organisations and other external experts. These Associate Trustees act in an advisory capacity only, but support and strengthen the ability of the board.

The board retains the following duties to:

In fulfilling these duties, the board pays particular attention to:

Board appointments, induction and training

The board appoints new trustees through a transparent and inclusive recruitment and selection process where board members must be aged over 16 years, meet the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of Women's Aid and commit to upholding the organisation's mission and values. The board has undertaken a governance review this year, see governance.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

On appointment, new board members receive an induction to their role with Women's Aid. Information supplied includes a copy of Women's Aid's Memorandum and Articles of Association, a copy of Women's Aid's latest reports and statement of accounts and an induction pack. The board recognises a new trustee needs ongoing support to be effective and will follow the six key principles of good governance, as set out in the Women's Aid's Governance Framework. In order to ensure all trustees receive ongoing support the board will, where realistic: - undertake training; - take part in trustee or specialist networks; - have appraisals; - review their performance; and - undertake benchmarking.

Trustees can expect to learn, develop, and be able to take on different responsibilities within the board. The board will be continuing its governance effectiveness review over the next year to ensure it is following good governance practice appropriate to the size, scale and nature of the charity's operations.

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Women's Aid will invite all full members and board members to the AGM. Copies of the annual report and accounts will be sent to the board members and made available to all other members at the meeting venue. The notice calling an AGM will be sent to all members 21 days before the meeting date.

The notice will set out:

Introductions from our Chief executive, chair and patron

Farah Nazeer, Chief executive, Women's Aid

Reflecting on the past year, I am proud of everything Women's Aid has been able to accomplish. While I recognise that there is a still a lot of work to do before our work is done, we have worked tirelessly over the last year with our members to lobby government, raise life-saving funds and campaign for change. We thank every person and organisation that has come together with us to make this progress possible.

Over the last year, we've achieved important successes, which need to be celebrated. Our Emergency Fund pilot with the Home Office resulted in the introduction of the Flexible Fund, which provides an avenue for survivors to access the financial means to escape abuse. This fund provides survivors with deposits on accommodation, laptops so they can go back to work, the money they need to buy white goods and other key necessities which can make all the difference.

I am incredibly proud of the work we did in shining a light on the financial hardships faced by specialist domestic abuse services. We have continued to advocate for our members and spoken out about the difficulties they face when it comes to obtaining funding - including developing a briefing on the impact of local government finances on domestic abuse services and survivors, which has been disseminated to key government stakeholders and raised in the national press.

For Women's Aid, this year is particularly special, as it marks the 50th anniversary of the organisation. Over half of a century, our federation has flourished into a sisterhood of 180 organisations, and our impact has been significant and indisputable. I am incredibly proud of our many milestones, such as the introduction of the landmark Domestic Abuse Act in 2021(in spite of some critical shortcomings) and am deeply grateful for every woman in our federation - your dedication, commitment and passion make life-changing improvements to the lives of countless survivors of domestic abuse, helping them rebuild their lives and fight for justice.

Looking forward to the future, I am of course hopeful that in 50 years there will not be a need for us as an organisation in our current form and that domestic abuse will no longer be the most serious and prevalent crime committed against women and children in this country. Our campaigning efforts, our ongoing dedication to putting survivors at the heart of everything we do, as well as the invaluable work done by our members mean that more people are becoming aware of the horrors of domestic abuse.

I want to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the whole team at Women's Aid, our members, our board who volunteer so much of themselves and their time, to our Treasurer Lindsey Wishart for wisdom, expertise and support, and to our Chair Sarah Hill, for her kindness, guidance and leadership. Working together we can eradicate this gender-based abuse.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Seeing our collective successes over the last year, I am more hopeful than ever that our mission will be achieved soon, and that a world where women and children will finally be safe is in reach.

Sarah Hill, Chair

As the Chair of the Board of Trustees at Women's Aid, I would like to thank the team for their hard work over the last year, and our CEO Farah for her insightful and brave leadership. Despite continued challenges, Women's Aid achieved so much. The cost-of-living crisis still presents a significant obstacle for our work, as the federation has to support a membership of local domestic abuse services that have faced increased costs, at a time of decreased donation, but we have continued to provide survivors with the support they need and work tirelessly to make meaningful change.

Our federation brings specialist domestic abuse charities together, allowing for the sharing of knowledge and expertise, and a supportive network of like-minded campaigners who are striving to ensure that the needs of survivor are met. We are grateful and would like to thank those who have helped us and made our lifesaving work possible - from Live Chat and No Woman Turned Away project, to our campaigns and training, and preventative work with children and young people. Together, as a strong and effective network, we can create a world where survivors get the support they need, and where domestic abuse is no longer tolerated.

Melanie Brown MBE, Patron

On behalf of Women's Aid, I would like to thank every single person who makes our work possible. If it wasn't for our supporters, funders, and fundraisers, we would not be able to provide survivors of domestic abuse with the support that they need to heal from the trauma they have experienced.

It takes survivors like me so much courage to come forward and reach out for support, so we desperately need people like the dedicated team at Women's Aid, who will believe and support women living with abuse from their partner or ex-partner, and the children who are living in fear of domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is widespread and happening right now in every part of society. For a long time, it has been seen as a private issue, that happens behind closed doors, but thanks to the work of charities like Women's Aid and survivors speaking out - which is how I try to help other women - we are finally talking about it and making it the public issue it needs to be.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Impact and priorities

Cultural Shift

As Women's Aid enters our 50th year, domestic abuse is still highly prevalent within our society and remains a gendered crime that disproportionately affects women and girls. This is even truer for those from marginalised backgrounds, who face additional inequality and discrimination. We know that 1 in 4 women have experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16..

Women's Aid want to see a cultural shift which makes domestic abuse something that is no longer tolerated in our society. Women's Aid research[2] showed us that a big part of this can only come through challenging and changing attitudes towards domestic abuse and the behaviours that underpin abusive relationships.

Our Come Together to End Domestic Abuse campaign seeks to engage key audiences to challenge myths and reinforces Women's Aid key messages

We used our voice in the media to amplify the voices of survivors and raise public awareness of our work to reduce tolerance of domestic abuse In the last year:

We engaged policy makers with our Come Together messaging

To engage policy makers with our ambition to make domestic abuse intolerable, we took our Come Together messaging to party conferences. Here, we highlighted the needs of 'by and for' services for Black and minoritised women, and how our work needs to always consider the barriers facing the most marginalised survivors in accessing specialist support.

We used our expertise to align reporting on domestic abuse in the media with our messaging and address poor quality reporting

We delivered media guidance workshops to journalists and media organisations to improve how domestic abuse is reported and spoken about in the press.

"Informative and educational session. It was particularly interesting to hear you remind us of the sensitives around photo use and reporting of roles within a family unit and avoiding a certain framing." Media guidance workshop attendee"

We influenced a change in the Independent Press Standard's Organisation's Domestic Abuse and Homicide clause, directly impacting how domestic abuse is reported and spoken about in the press. This means that the culture of 'victim-blaming' is no longer acceptable, and survivors have a greater right to privacy by avoiding disclosures of location.

Our patrons, ambassadors and supporters used their influence to support us to change attitudes by raising awareness of our work across society

Our patrons, ambassadors and supporters worked tirelessly with us to help end domestic abuse, sharing their experiences, expertise and voice across events, social media and the news.

We held a Come Together to End Domestic Abuse themed gala with Tina - The Tina Turner Musical. Our ambassador, Michelle Griffith-Robinson, spoke to just under 1000 people in the audience about the lifesaving work of Women's Aid, our 50th anniversary, Come Together and the importance of the event in helping to #EndAbuseTogether.

Brutally Honest

We worked with our patron Melanie Brown MBE on her Brutally Honest book launch as part of our International Women's Day campaign, also called Brutally Honest. Our campaign received over 200 pieces of news coverage, highlighting significant achievements from the last 50 years, and calling for continued change.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Our press coverage reached 2.4 billion people during the month of March and increased our social engagement across our platforms, including a 345% increase on Twitter.

"My story was so impactful and it's not just my story it's every other woman's story, ours are all exactly the same, abuse is abuse, we're all surrounded by it, so we need to do something about it, it just shows how much we are needing Women's Aid." Melanie Brown MBE Women's Aid Patron"

We worked with leading employers to improve awareness and understanding of the impact of domestic abuse as well as the support available in the workplace

We worked with employers to train their leadership and staff to improve understanding of domestic abuse and the impact of domestic abuse in the workplace through our corporate training offer which reached over 200 people through 6 organisations this year.

We reached children and young people in education and online settings to improve their understanding of what makes a healthy relationship.

We added to our evidence base on creating effective education about relationships for children and young people (CYP) with the launch of our Influencers and Attitudes[3] report in October 2023. This research explores CYP attitudes towards relationships and considered what influences these attitudes, particularly the digital space and social media. Key findings include:

We put our learning into practice by:

Coming together to provide lifesaving support

Women's Aid want to see survivors able to access the right support for them, at the right time. To work towards this, we provided a range of support to the domestic abuse sector, our membership and survivors.

We shared knowledge and resources with the domestic abuse sector to transform the future for survivors of domestic abuse

Our 2023 national conference 'Transforming the future for survivors together' provided a space to bring the sector together to learn and influence on responses for survivors

We welcomed 277 people from across the sector to our national conference in July. We were joined by Women's Aid members, representatives from the wider women's sector, local government, commissioners, corporates, and academics. We provided spaces to strengthen the sector through networking, learning from each other and hearing from policy makers and other stakeholders - and, of course, to question and challenge decision makers!

"This was my first time attending the conference and it was inspired to be around so many people willing to stand up and use their voices and actions to better the lives of women and girls" - Women's Aid Federation Member

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

"Meeting fellow colleagues within the sector really reignited passion for working within the sector." - Women's Aid Federation Member

We created new ways to share knowledge across the sector

In November we launched our new Research Bulletin. We now have over 300 subscribers receiving timely information on the latest research across the sector. Supporting people from across the sector including Women's Aid members, local and national domestic abuse and VAWG organisations, academics, commissioners, researchers and government. Want to subscribe? Email us at researchandpolicy@womensaid.org.uk

We upskilled the sector through the work of our Training and Education Team

Nationally recognised qualifications to ensure quality responses for survivors using domestic abuse services

"I am better able to understand how to support my clients and what they are entitled to"- Training attendee

"I am now able to work in a more informed way, having the historical knowledge of domestic violence and the patriarchy helps to understand the way various statutory organisations currently work, and why this is problematic".- Training attendee

Bursaries to increase access to training and reach

Targeted training to improve responses for marginalised groups of survivors

Facilitator training models to increase capacity

LINK: https://www.womensaid.org.uk/what-we-do/training/

We maintained and improved the Routes to Support directory and referrals database to enable survivors to find the right service for them

Routes to Support (RtS) is the UK violence against women and girls service directory which we run in partnership with our UK-wide Women's Aid sister federations. The online directory allows users to locate the right support for survivors they are supporting throughout the UK, whether that be outreach, pet fostering or an up-to-date refuge vacancy. It also provides a UK wide dataset on the scope and nature of domestic abuse provision giving vital insight into the sector.

This year we reached a huge milestone, celebrating 20 years of Routes to Support (RtS) providing a lifeline for survivors.

"[Routes to Support] is absolutely crucial to what we do now. I mean, when it first came along we thought all of our Christmases had come at once. And it's our primary tool to enable us to deliver our services " - Lisa Johnson, Head of Direct services at Women's Aid

Routes to Support continues to be a vital resource for the sector:

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

We continually update and improve Routes to Support to make sure it is meeting the needs of the sector.

This year, we launched our RtS Referral Manager which enables frontline organisations to instantly create and send referrals to services and refuges listed in RtS and track the status of that referral within On Track in a matter of minutes. Services receive external referrals directly to their On Track system, ready for processing and follow-up all in one place. The aim of the Referral Manager is to make life in frontline services easier and more efficient - leading to better support and outcomes for survivors.

Want to know more? Visit: https://www.womensaid.org.uk/what-we-do/i-work-with-survivors/routes-to-support/

We used data to strengthen domestic abuse services through the development and promotion of On Track, Women's Aid's case management and outcomes measurement system

On Track offers:

In October, we reached the milestone of having over 100 local domestic abuse organisations using On Track. Ongoing development of the On Track database to allow support workers to collect the information they need to support survivors.

We continue to improve our On Track user and Impact training offer to build capacity in the sector on talking about the impact of our work

Want to know more? Visit: https://www.womensaid.org.uk/what-we-do/ontrack/

We supported our members to improve quality and capacity in their services

We are proud to be a strong and diverse federation of 187 organisations, with 8 new members welcomed over the last year. This includes 32 'by and for' Black and minoritised member services. Over the last year, we have supported our membership in many ways.

We created a strong support network to increase resilience

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Our National Quality Standards support the domestic abuse and violence against women and girls (VAWG) sector to ensure the long-term safety and recovery of survivors, as well as the prevention of further harm.

The NQS support the effectiveness and sustainability of the sector, are survivor centred and focus on the expertise, knowledge, and effectiveness of specialist domestic abuse services ability to evidence, maintain and promote survivor led outcomes and demonstrate the quality of their service. Our NQS are referenced in government's statutory guidance from The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 as best practice.

This year, 28 members have achieved National Quality Standard accreditation. An additional 7 members have been supported prior to undertaking NQS accreditation. This has ensured members are delivering safe survivor-centred and needs-led services.

We facilitated distribution of donations to local services to support their work with survivors

Thank you to Avon who donated pyjamas, jewellery, toiletries, makeup, slippers and more made to 40 Women's Aid members.

"I just want to say a big thank you to you all at Women's Aid for your generous Avon donation. Your contribution of loungewear, pyjamas, and bras for the women we support is so helpful and will make a significant impact on their lives. Thank you once again for your ongoing generosity and support." Women's Aid member service

We have continued to fight for fair funding for our member services.

We have continued to fight for fair funding for our member services and challenge conventional approaches to procurement and commissioning which are harmful for specialist domestic abuse services, particularly smaller or specialist 'by and for' services for Black and minoritised women.

We worked with local government and commissioners to demonstrate the value of using flexible commissioning practices for funding domestic abuse support

Provided expert support to members facing funding and commissioning challenges to mitigate the impact on their services

Used our voice to increase awareness of financial pressures on the sector

We supported survivors through our range of online and telephone support services, to ensure that they receive the right support, at the right time, for their needs.

Our Survivors Handbook provided practical support and information for women experiencing domestic abuse, with simple guidance on every aspect of seeking support. Last year it was viewed 195,053 times.

Survivors' Forum provided a safe, anonymous, space for women who have been affected by domestic abuse to come together, share their experiences and give one another practical and emotional support on their recovery journey.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Our Live Chat connected survivors of domestic abuse to a specialist support worker for advice and support.

Our Professionals Service supported those working with survivors to provide an improved response to the survivors they support

Our No Woman Turned Away (NWTA) project offers support to the most marginalised women to find safe outcomes in spite of the barriers they face

The practitioners within NWTA provide advocacy and support to women who have not been able to find refuge space due to one or more barrier.

We received a total of 330 referrals in the reporting period. Of these, 230 (70%) went on to receive support. A total of 211 women with 207 children completed their period of support during the year.

The practitioners found safe housing for many of the women they supported

Practitioners increased safety for many women in vulnerable positions

We can see the difference our NWTA project can make in our Nowhere to Turn report series and through Imani's story:

Imani* experienced further abuse from the perpetrator while waiting for safe accommodation, including a physical assault which required a hospital visit. Imani slept rough at a police station and on a bus and stayed at a stranger's house. When Imani asked the police for help, they said they were unable to do anything as she had no recourse to public funds. Imani only had £5 left when she was referred to NWTA and had very limited mobile phone credit to make calls. The NWTA project supported Imani to understand her options and applied for a Destitution Domestic Violence Concession (DDVC), which was successful. Imani initially stayed in a hostel before accessing refuge after extensive support from the NWTA practitioners including safety planning, referring to immigration support, asking local domestic abuse services to provide support on the ground, and making referrals to refuges.

*The name and other identifying information from this survivor has been changed to protect her anonymity

Emergency Fund and Flexible fund

We piloted a new approach

On 10th May 2023, Women's Aid launched a pilot Emergency Fund to support survivors of domestic abuse in England and Wales by offering one-off payments. Designed to address financial barriers and support them to flee an abuser and to remain independent. The Home Office awarded a fund of £300,000 to deliver flexible grants for survivors of domestic abuse as part of the previously announced Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan[5] .

The evaluation[6] of the pilot gave us valuable insight into the difference this funding had made to survivors. The pilot demonstrated the demand and need there was for this type of funding, we saw:

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

The most notable impact seen by referrers was on the mental health and wellbeing of women they support. The funding was able to alleviate pressures and worries, relieve economic stress and made survivors feel valued.

We launched a new iteration with learning from the pilot

In January, Women's Aid announced the launch of the Flexible Fund in partnership with the Home Office. This is an additional £2 million to support survivors and for the first time, survivors could also apply for a further one-off payment of up to £2,500 to help secure a sustainable independent future. The fund opened in February and will continue until March 2025, one recipient talked about the difference it made to her:

"Today, I have received a message saying I have been awarded £1,500 by Women's Aid fund. I am really over the moon. .... Your award hasn't only provided me with financial aid, but it has also reminded me of the importance of kindness and compassion in this world! Your willingness to go above and beyond to help me during my difficult situation means more to me than words can express. .....I hope I, Insha'Allah, one day have the opportunity to pay it forward and make a difference in someone else's life, just as you have done for me! " - survivor who received funding from the Flexible Fund

We provided support to survivors with the cost of travel to refuge through our Travel to Refuge schemes Last year we launched the Road to Refuge scheme to add to our existing Rail to Refuge scheme. This new scheme supports survivors fleeing to refuge to access free travel by coach and is delivered in partnership with National Express.

We also continued to support with the delivery of Rail to refuge, this year:

" I was very stressed. My daughters were getting ill. There was nowhere for them to play. We were stuck in the hotel, I had no friends and was getting depressed. I contacted [Women's Aid member service]. They help me with the coach ticket. I had no money. I was told I do not need to pay to travel. The ticket was booked and I travelled the next day. "- Rail to Refuge user

Coming together to put survivor needs at the heart of policy

We engaged with decision makers to ensure that survivors' needs are at the heart of national policy

We successfully campaigned for an amendment to the Victim and Prisoners Bill to recognise that survivors should have access to a breadth of services depending on their need.

Clause 15 had originally named only Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) and Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVAs) on the face of the Victim and Prisoners bill. This did not recognise advocacy roles that did not fit this model, such as those provided 'by and for' Black and minoritised services, and also failed to recognise the broader work of community-based support services, The government ultimately agreed with Women's Aid that this could lead to the unintended consequence of a hierarchy of support services and replaced the clause to more broadly name 'specified victim roles', which reflects the wide range of services survivors rely on and ensures that the specialist 'by and for' sector were recognised and included.

Our General Election 2024 manifesto called for all political parties to commit to three pillars to improve outcomes and responses for survivors and services:

We coordinated and collaborated on joint work across the sector to ensure a strong VAWG voice in public affairs Collaborations such as our VAWG sector monthly calls, which we jointly chair with the End Violence Against Women Coalition, and the General Election and Victims and Prisoners Bill sub-groups, are vital to ensure breadth of voice across the full spectrum of VAWG services, with true regional and local expertise feeding into public affairs. These have extended our influence by:

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

By supporting organisations to undertake joint work, we can ensure the sector stands together with a strong voice and share our expertise and knowledge which informs our priorities. This includes advocating for the needs of, and specific support needed for, criminalised survivors and removing the many additional barriers faced by migrant survivors.

We have campaigned for legislation to protect survivors of domestic abuse from poor practice

Influencing change in policy and practise plays a vital role in reducing barriers to fleeing and ensuring survivors get the support they need.

We responded to 18 consultations and inquiries, representing survivors' and members' needs to Parliamentary committees, government departments and other agencies.

We have worked with members of the House of Lords and other VAWG sector organisations to table amendments on:

We have advocated about our concerns of survivors and services on failings in the family courts and worked with decision makers to ensure the family justice system is safe for survivors and their children.

It has been almost four years since the publication of the Ministry of Justice's pivotal 'Harm Panel' report, which found systemic failures in how the family courts responded to domestic abuse. The panel made a number of urgent recommendations - but the pace of change remains slow.

We campaigned on the harmful potential impact on survivors of plans for compulsory mediation in the family courts. In February 2024, the Government reversed these plans.

In June 2023, we coordinated an open letter from our patron Mel B and signed by almost 3,000 people, calling for the Panel's recommendations to be implemented urgently and in full to improve the safety of the family courts.

We have also responded to consultations by the Ministry of Justice, Family Justice Council and Review of Civil Legal Aid, advocating for policy and decision making in the family courts to be designed around survivors' needs.

Beyond political audiences, our Experts by Experience shared powerful quotes about their family court experiences on social media to mark Time to Talk day in February and Mothers' Day in March. These reached around 40,000 people and compellingly demonstrated the need for urgent reform.

We also stepped up our influencing work with local decision makers to ensure they prioritise survivors and the lifesaving specialist support services they need.

We connected and supported local stakeholders so that best practice to end domestic abuse can be shared.

We engaged key health stakeholders to secure domestic abuse, and specifically survivors' mental health, as a strategic priority within the health sector.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Our Experts by Experience network strengthened survivor voice in our own work and the national agenda Our Experts by Experience network of survivors has gone from strength to strength, welcoming five new members last year. Through speaking at different events, the diverse community of survivors has collectively reached over 70 family lawyers, 30 health professionals, 20 councillors and many more decision makers and professionals, sharing their expertise to improve policy and practice.

"An inspiring group of strong women [..]. I just wanted to say thank you again and reinforce how important the work you do is and reflect on the impact and strength you provide" Survivor who attended our IWD survivor event

Our Survivor engagement guide supports others to better centre survivors' voices meaningfully across all sectors We worked with Imkaan and Women's Aid sister federations in the devolved nations to develop our guide to meaningful survivor engagement. This was published in March and has already been viewed downloaded over 4,000 times and will help professionals across sectors to better centre survivors' voices.

We led the way in evidence and data on domestic abuse to ensure responses to domestic abuse are grounded in evidence and the voices of survivors and services

Over 21,000 people have downloaded our reports and publications from our website. We published three reports this year: Nowhere to Turn 2023 shines a light on the perilous and difficult journeys that many survivors who face structural barriers or inequalities in accessing refuge must undertake to escape abuse;

Influencers and Attitudes gives new insight into children and young people's perceptions of domestic abuse; and The Domestic Abuse Report 2024: Annual Audit brings together the most comprehensive set of data on domestic abuse in the country, including both Women's Aid datasets and findings from our Annual Survey and FOIs.

The Domestic Abuse Report 2024: Annual Audit

Our annual publication used data from On Track, Routes to Support and the Annual Survey, and shows that 49% of domestic abuse organisations had been running an area of their domestic abuse service without any dedicated funding; and 63% of services reported that survivors couldn't afford to leave the perpetrator.

Provision in London was explored as an example of how good commissioning can work in practice, using findings from the London Refuges Data Collection Project.

The report was launched this year through an exclusive with Channel 4 News. As part of this, Channel 4 filmed at a Sheffield Women's Aid refuge with their CEO Hollie Venn, to demonstrate the effect of local funding cuts. Our CEO, Farah Nazeer, also appeared in studio, and spoke more about the Audit's findings and what they mean.

Findings were disseminated to 129 policymakers and practitioners through a webinar in March and shared by Dawn Butler MP in the House of Commons, highlighting the value of specialist services, need for good practices in commissioning and greater funding for specialist domestic abuse services.

https://www.womensaid.org.uk/what-we-do/research/

Our campaigning and awareness raising has kept our key messages in the news and public awareness, both nationally and internationally

Our 2023 16 Days of Activism campaign called for the national prioritisation of domestic abuse Over 1,700 people signed our open letter calling on the leaders of all political parties to commit to invest in specialist domestic abuse services and pledge support to the 'Invest to Save' pillar of our general election manifesto.

We coordinated, along with End Violence Against Women (EVAW), substantial sector reports to help international bodies effectively monitor the UK's performance on tackling VAWG.

Our report to GREVIO, the Council of Europe body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Istanbul Convention (the landmark international treaty on violence against women), was endorsed by 58 VAWG sector organisations and comprehensively set out issues facing women in England and Wales - particularly marginalised women. GREVIO will make recommendations based on the evidence they receive, so our report will help ensure that key gaps are identified and the Government is held to account when it comes to supporting survivors.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

We built on the success of our short film "He's Coming Home" to establish the footballing community's valuable role in ending domestic abuse during International Women's Day.

We held our cross-party parliamentary football match while receiving a £3,000 donation from the team, which helped support 300 survivors through the Women's Aid Live Chat. We also collaborated with Fulham FC with an International Women's Day feature on Women's Aid in their match day program for the Fulham v Brighton game.

We looked to inspire inclusion during our International Women's Day (IWD) celebrations and called for action to invest in services.

During this period Airbnb showcased how businesses can contribute to ending domestic abuse through training, staff support, and fostering a culture intolerance of abuse. With representatives from companies like Netflix and Spotify in attendance, Airbnb took the lead in demonstrating the significant impact businesses can have in standing against abuse.

Coming Together to create a sustainable organisation

In honour of our 50th anniversary, we've delved deep into our vaults to transform art and posters from the beginning of the federation into a new range of merchandise. The 'Archive Collection' features bold messaging that's underpinned Women's Aid's campaigning over the years and is designed to start conversations. The way we talk about domestic abuse may have changed, but the sentiment behind it has not; and this collection looks back at some of the statements that have resonated most powerfully with audiences to date. We have been delighted by the reception to our collection so far!

Archive project

As we come into our 50th we've been able to look back at how far we have come. The Women's Aid Federation of England Archive has been compiled by the University of Leeds Special Collections Team and documents the history of the organisation, from its origins as the National Women's Aid Federation in 1974 through to present day. The Archive is a major resource for understanding the formation, development and running of the organisation, its contribution to health and society, changes in the law, and cultural shifts in attitudes towards domestic abuse.

Explore Women's Aid's archive:

https://library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections/collection/2963/womens_aid_federation_of_england_archive

As we move into our 50th year, we worked on creating a sustainable organisation. This was possible thanks to the support of our fantastic donors, fundraisers and corporate partners.

Finally, we are so grateful for the generous donations we received this year from supporters who left us a gift in their will.

We are grateful for all companies who choose to support Women's Aid in whatever way. We would love to mention you all, but a couple of highlights this year include...

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

[1] Office for National Statistics (ONS). (2023). Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales: year ending March 2023. Published online: ONS Domestic abuse victim characteristics. England and Wales- Office of National Statistics. (ons.gov.uk)

[2] Women's Aid. (2022). Come Together to End Domestic Abuse: a survey of UK attitudes to domestic abuse 2022. Bristol: Women's Aid

[3] Women's Aid. (2023). Influencers and Attitudes: How will the next generation understand domestic abuse? Bristol: Women's Aid.

[4] Specialist 'by and for' services are run by and for the communities they serve, such as for Black and minoritised women, Deaf and disabled women and LGBT+ survivors. In doing so they offer a uniquely empowering experience to the communities they support, as the client group is reflected in staffing, management, and governance structures of these organisations.

[5] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-domestic-abuse-plan

[6] Women's Aid. (2024) Emergency fund evaluation report. Bristol: Women's Aid

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial position

The charity's total income amounted to £7,174,969 (2023: £5,397,522). This includes a valuation for generously donated services and facilities of £144,590 (2023: £181,144) - see note 2 of the accounts for more information. Underlying income excluding donated services and facilities was £7,030,379 (2023: £5,318,032).

Total expenditure for the year amounted to £8,395,842 (2023: £6,786,963). Underlying expenditure excluding the value of donated services was £8,251,252 (2023: £6,707,473).

The charity's assets are available and adequate to fulfil its obligations on a fund by fund basis.

The charity's performance during the year resulted in an actual net deficit of £1,220,873 (2023: deficit of £1,389,441) made up of restricted funds deficit of £94,711 (2023: deficit of £436,072) and unrestricted funds deficit of £1,126,162 (2023: deficit of £953,369). The reason for the deficit on the unrestricted funds was due to the planned spending of designated reserves.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Principal funding sources

Women's Aid continued to benefit from a wide range of funding sources during 2023-24 and we want to thank all our funders for their continued support.

Fundraising performance

We are enormously grateful to all those organisations and individuals who have supported our work over the course of the year, and remain committed to working with our existing funders to deliver effective solutions to domestic abuse.

We would like to thank the large numbers of individuals who have continued to loyally support our work through making regular donations, responding to appeals, taking part in sponsored challenges, organising events, and speaking out on their own social media and within their networks about the importance of challenging domestic abuse.

We would also like to thank the loyal and committed full and associate members of our federation whose subscriptions enable us to develop our member support activities.

Community

This year our amazing community fundraisers raised over £200,000. They raised funds for Women's Aid in all sorts of inspirational ways - by running, cycling across the country, jumping out of planes, or hiking… even to Everest Base Camp. By holding art exhibitions, raffles, or book club parties and many more ways! We have also seen fantastic displays of advocacy from university students, and we have created strong and impactful Charity of the Year partnerships with schools across England who have taken part in fundraising events for us.

Corporate

We are very grateful to Women's Aid's corporate supporters, who are an integral part of our movement to end domestic abuse. This year we have been generously supported by our Corporate Partners:

We have also received generous donations this year from the below companies, whose generosity has enabled us to continue our vital work:

This year we were very fortunate in being selected by a number of companies to be their 'charity of the year' (including Lee & Thompson, Bravissimo, City Group Security, MV Kelly) We supported their fundraising efforts which were undertaken throughout the year, and very much enjoyed seeing the creative ways in which they used their platforms and work forces; and through events such as comedy nights, cycle challenges and quizzes. We also saw corporates engage in training, as well as sharing their skills and expertise with our staff. We are tremendously grateful for the positive difference that all our corporates have made.

We would also like to recognise those corporate supporters who wish their contributions to remain anonymous, and those we have not been able to name here. We are grateful for all your support.

This year, we have also been delighted to work with more smaller businesses, using the Work for Good platform. 10 businesses raised funds for Women's Aid through their sales and in total raised nearly £7,000.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Trust and Statutory

Women's Aid are very grateful to receive the support of Trusts, Foundations and Statutory organisations. We are proud to work in partnership with the following funders to achieve our mission:

We are grateful to the Tula Trust, CH Foundation (UK), Marsh Charitable Trust, Edward S Smyth Trust, Simon Gibson Charitable Trust, Sara Charlton Foundation, Cobalt Trust, R G Hills Charitable Trust, Roy Proctor Foundation, Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust, Charity of the Order of the Marist Sisters Province of England, TK Maxx and Homesense Foundation, Firebird Foundation, Allfunds Charity Foundation, David Family Foundation, Thomas Sivewright Catto Charitable Settlement, John and Ruth Howard Charitable Trust, Zennor Trust, Keeble Charitable Trust, CBRE UK Charitable Trust, JD Foundation, Clarke Charitable Settlement, GAP Giving, Ian Mactaggart Trust for their support of our work, enabling us to continue our lifesaving work supporting women and children experiencing domestic abuse.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Individual Giving and Appeals

Our Winter Appeal was centred around the difficulties of being trapped with an abuser through the festive period - with the tagline 'When home isn't safe, we're here.' Our generous supporters raised over £62,000 in unrestricted funding between November to January - nearly £33,000 of this came directly through our Winter Appeal donate page.

We continue to see strong support from our community of regular donors- raising over £510,000 from 4,437 supporters this year.

Legacies

We are fortunate to have been the recipient of some incredibly generous Legacy gifts over this past financial year, which have brought in over £673,000 in unrestricted funds. Legacy gifts have a long-lasting impact and help us to build a future where domestic abuse is no longer tolerated.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

This year we have also seen a high number of 'in memory' gifts - raising over £27,302 from supporters choosing to honour the memory of their loved ones in this way.

Investment performance

Under the terms of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the charity may invest monies of Women's Aid not immediately required for its own purposes in or upon such investments, securities or property as may be thought fit. The level of the charity's reserves is such that investment is limited to short-term markets rather than any long-term strategy, although other options continue to be explored. Over the past year we have continued to take a prudent view in terms of the security of the charity's reserves rather than pursuing the highest return. The investment policy is being kept under review to take account of investment opportunities whilst maintaining a low-risk strategy.

Reserves policy

The reserves policy has been reviewed and updated during this financial year.

The board recognises that the charity serves many beneficiaries with an ongoing need and, as such, the organisation's reserves policy has been set with the long-term financial viability of the charity as a critical factor and within the context of the short-term nature of funding contracts.

Trustees have determined that free reserves should be set at an amount sufficient to support core operating and wind down costs for a minimum period of three months and a maximum of six months.

The total balance of funds at 31st March 2024 amounts to £4,065,200 (2023: £5,286,072). This includes restricted funds of £576,553 (2023: £800,431). The balance of unrestricted funds at 31st March 2024 was £3,488,647) (2023 £4,485,642). Of these unrestricted funds, free reserves (calculated as total unrestricted funds, less designated funds and tangible fixed assets) amounted to £1,717,431 (2023: £2,097,277).

Designated reserves totalling £2,383,869 was set aside at the beginning of the year to further our work around four priority areas: -Membership development & sustainability

The remaining balance on these designated funds is £1,771,216. The organisation will be reconsidering the use of these funds over the course of the next year, alongside the development of the new organisational strategy.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

How the Board of Trustees has been evaluated this year

Following the review conducted by Campbell Tickell last year, we have made good progress in implementing the resulting recommendations across the following areas:

Following a review, three new committees have been established to replace the previous committee structure:

The Board has agreed the framework for the recruitment and induction of new Trustees and a Chair of Trustees, who will be appointed in readiness for the ending of current terms in the Autumn/Winter of 2024.

Women's Aid's Scheme of Delegation and Governance Framework have been updated and will be approved at the June and November Board meetings, respectively.

An overhaul of the administration and processes which support the Board has been undertaken, including improving the quality of meeting facilitation. We have also established a new performance monitoring framework, which will enable clearer reporting on progress against key initiatives and impact measurement from the organisation to the Board.

Finally, we have made headway with the careful planning of the Culture and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) work. This includes developing a 'Ways of Working' workshop for new Trustees, refreshing the anti-racism training, developing broader EDI training, and committing to an externally facilitated Board discussion on gender identity and inclusion - all of which will commence in the new financial year.

Governing framework

The Women's Aid Board of Trustees is responsible for overseeing the management of the charity and delegates this responsibility on a day-to-day basis to the Chief Executive. At present, there is a headcount of 112 full and part-time staff.

Financial and operational policies, agreed by the board, are also in place, which govern the management of the charity. The charity's annual business plan is produced as part of an annual planning, consultation and budgeting cycle. Annual work plans enable the delivery of the core and development objectives, which are approved by the board, and monitoring against these plans forms the basis of quarterly reports to the trustee meetings.

Risk management

The Board of Trustees holds responsibility for strategic risk management within the charity. Responsibility for compiling and updating the Board Assurance Framework (BAF) is delegated to the CEO. Responsibility for detailed review of the BAF is delegated to the Finance, Risk and Governance (FRG) committee, which undertakes this review at each meeting and reports on this process to each full Board meeting.

The BAF is comprised of the highest rated risks identified in functional risk registers at an operational level and takes account of risks identified with significant partnership initiatives, reflected in dedicated risk registers for those projects. These risks are reviewed and validated by the Executive Leadership Team and Senior Leadership Team before submission to FRG.

Organisational risks are assessed according to both likelihood and impact. Each risk is assigned a senior responsible lead. The BAF sets out a narrative on the nature of each risk and its likely impact, the mitigating actions already underway, and next steps.

This year the most significant risks identified were:

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Website

Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

People, Inclusion and Equity

Work has been focused on building a robust infrastructure, recruiting a dedicated permanent team and developing training. The organisation is reviewing all processes, policies and programmes from an equity lens and ensuring equity impact assessments are integrated into our ways of working. Working with the Race Equality Strategy Group, the Leadership Team, Anti-Racism Taskforce and the Board of Trustees we are developing our anti-racism agenda and Equity Diversity and Inclusion ambitions. We are proud to be a disability confident employer and are reviewing Women's Aid structures internally and externally from an accessibility lens to ensure to include all vulnerable and marginalised groups. We continue to work on ensuring a positive working environment with the aim of having a diversified, happy workforce. Women's Aid also continues to meet the standards set as a Living Wage Employer.

Pay policy for staff

The board considers that the Executive Leadership Team at Women's Aid Federation of England comprises the key management team of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the charity on a day-to-day basis. All trustees give up their time freely and no trustee received remuneration in the year. However, we pay a nominal honorarium to member organisations represented by a trustee. Details of trustees' expenses and related transactions are disclosed in the accounts.

Following on from our extensive Job Evaluation Scheme which we carried out in October 2023 we now have a graded system which allows us the evaluate roles cross functionally to ensure fairness, transparency and equity. Our annual salary review will now take place in October each year. The commitment is dedicated to a review of the salary bandings, which may or may not lead to an increase in salary depending on affordability.

In recognition that there is an annual increase in the cost of living we also consider an award to compensate for increased costs again, depending on affordability.

Connections to wider network

Women's Aid is a federation of approximately 180 organisations providing around 300 lifesaving local services to women and children across England. Our network also includes a further 90 organisations run by non-members who are engaged with us through the Routes to Support database of services. The charity works in partnership with a range of statutory, voluntary, corporate and other bodies to deliver its mission and achieve its objectives. Membership is based on signing an agreement to support the charity's mission, aims and objectives. There are two membership categories: 1. Full Members: 2. Associate Members: Full member organisations provide direct domestic abuse services through a range of refuge and community-based services to women and child survivors of domestic abuse in England. Associate Members: Organisations who provide direct services for, or adjacent services to, women and child survivors of domestic abuse as part of their service delivery, where it may be that they don't fulfil criteria for full membership, or their organisations primary focus is not domestic abuse. Members work to national standards for service delivery, including the Women's Aid National Quality Standards which cover all aspects of service delivery, as well as using model policies and procedures developed by Women's Aid.

Reference and administrative details Registered Company number 03171880 (England and Wales) Registered Charity number 1054154 Registered office PO Box 3245 Bristol England BS2 2EH

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

03171880 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1054154

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Registered office C/O Bevan Buckland LLP Ground Floor, Cardigan House Swansea SA7 9LA

Trustees

Chief Executive Chief Executive Farah Nazeer
Trustees Dickie James
Jo Gough - Vice Chair
Lindsey Wishart - Treasurer
Madi Turpin
Sarah Hill - Chair
Zlakha Ahmed
Caroline Chang
Peri Thomas
Subcommittee members Amanda Elwen
Angie Stewart
Claire Lambon
Patrons Julie Walters DBE
Melanie Brown MBE
Ambassadors Alice Liveing
Bill Ward
Charlie Webster
Jahmene
Lucy Gaskell
Michelle Griffith-Robinson OLY
Toby-Alexander Smith
Will Young
Rachel Khoo
Love Respect Ambassadors Holly Bourne
Maddy Anholt
Solicitors Freeths LLP,101 Victoria Street,Bristol,BS1 6PU
Bank Co-Operative Retail Bank,16 St Stephen Street,Bristol,BS1 1JR

Auditors

Bevan Buckland LLP (Statutory Auditors) Ground Floor Cardigan House Castle Court Swansea Enterprise Park Swansea SA7 9LA

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

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

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

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper 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 Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

AUDITORS

The auditors, Bevan Buckland LLP (Statutory Auditors), will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

17.10.2024

Approved by order of the board of trustees on ............................................. and signed on its behalf by:

........................................................................ Sarah Hill - Trustee

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REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Womens Aid Federation of England (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement 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 Accounting Standards (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 Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

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

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

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors 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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

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

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:

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REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, 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.

Our 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 a Report of the Independent Auditors 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.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the Financial Statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.We discussed our audit independence complying with the Revised Ethical Standard 2019 with the engagement team members whilst planning the audit and continually monitored our independence throughout the process.

Identifying and assessing potential risks related to irregularities

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

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REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

Audit response to risks identified

In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:

We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

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 Report of the Independent Auditors.

Use of our report

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

Alison Vickers (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Bevan Buckland LLP (Statutory Auditors) Ground Floor Cardigan House Castle Court Swansea Enterprise Park Swansea SA7 9LA 17/10/2024 Date: .............................................

Page 24

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Notes
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable activities
5
Direct Services
Campaigning
Training and support for Members
Other Activities
Covid related support
Accessibility
Children and young people
Research and evaluation
Other trading activities
3
Investment income
4
Total
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds
Raising donations and legacies
6
Other trading activities
7
Charitable activities
8
Change That Last
Direct Services
Campaigning
Training and support for Members
Other Activities
Covid related support
Accessibility
Children and young people
Research and evaluation
Culture Change
Transformation
Membership Development & Sustainability
Total
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
Transfers between funds
19
Net movement in funds
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
17.		 Unrestricted
funds
£
2,029,830
-
-
-
739,108
-
-
-
-
631,707
48,864
3,449,509
584,122
608,442
1,192,564
-
-
-
-
2,770,014
-
-
-
-
6,496
273,063
333,534
4,575,671
(1,126,162)
129,167
(996,995)
4,485,642
3,488,647		 Restricted
funds
£
53,063
1,627,293
22,000
-
26,006
780,565
-
732,257
456,354
27,922
-
3,725,460
-
-
-
19,093
1,635,781
43,887
44,629
83,512
785,927
1,776
668,324
537,242
-
-
-
3,820,171
(94,711)
(129,167)
(223,878)
800,431
576,553		 2024
Total
funds
£
2,082,893
1,627,293
22,000
-
765,114
780,565
-
732,257
456,354
659,629
48,864
7,174,969
584,122
608,442
1,192,564
19,093
1,635,781
43,887
44,629
2,853,526
785,927
1,776
668,324
537,242
6,496
273,063
333,534
8,395,842
(1,220,873)
-
(1,220,873)
5,286,073
4,065,200		 2023
Total
funds
£
1,878,382
324,106
241,717
42,866
479,013
1,035,748
22,300
333,418
499,982
536,580
3,410
5,397,522
562,713
447,615
1,010,328
118,155
864,004
761,682
241,080
1,780,902
946,025
87,119
319,164
658,504
-
-
-
6,786,963
(1,389,441)
-
(1,389,441)
6,675,514
5,286,073

The notes form part of these financial statements

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

BALANCE SHEET 31 MARCH 2024

2024 2023
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
funds funds funds funds
Notes £ £ £ £
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets 15 4,497 - 4,497 6,847
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 16 1,709,539 - 1,709,539 758,842
Cash at bank 2,750,203 576,553 3,326,756 6,120,102
4,459,742 576,553 5,036,295 6,878,944
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year 17 (975,592) - (975,592) (1,599,718)
NET CURRENT ASSETS 3,484,150 576,553 4,060,703 5,279,226
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 3,488,647 576,553 4,065,200 5,286,073
NET ASSETS 3,488,647 576,553 4,065,200 5,286,073
FUNDS 19
Unrestricted funds 3,488,647 4,485,642
Restricted funds 576,553 800,431
TOTAL FUNDS 4,065,200 5,286,073

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on ............................................. and were signed on its behalf by: 17/10/2024

............................................. Sarah Hill - Trustee

............................................. 4, a VSS Lindsey Wishart - Trustee

The notes form part of these financial statements

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations
1
Net cash used in operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Sale of tangible fixed assets
Interest received
Net cash provided by investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in
the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of
the reporting period		 2024
£
(2,842,210)
(2,842,210)
-
48,864
48,864
(2,793,346)
6,120,102
3,326,756		 2023
£
(2,696,114)
(2,696,114)
5,460
3,410
8,870
(2,687,244)
8,807,346
6,120,102

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 27

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. RECONCILIATION OF NET EXPENDITURE TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES RECONCILIATION OF NET EXPENDITURE TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES RECONCILIATION OF NET EXPENDITURE TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
2024 2023
£ £
Net expenditure for the reporting period (as per the Statement of
Financial Activities) (1,220,873) (1,389,441)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges 2,351 2,351
Interest received (48,864) (3,410)
Increase in debtors (950,698) (134,612)
Decrease in creditors (624,126) (1,171,002)
Net cash used in operations (2,842,210) (2,696,114)

2. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS

Net cash
Cash at bank
Total		 At 1.4.23
£
6,120,102
6,120,102
6,120,102		 Cash flow
£
(2,793,346)
(2,793,346)
(2,793,346)		 At 31.3.24
£
3,326,756
3,326,756
3,326,756

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 28

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Going Concern

The trustees are confident that the charity remains financially strong, the deficits are resultant of planned reserve spend over the last 2 years. This does not impact the going concern of the charity and the trustees are confident of a positive position moving forward.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Donations are recognised when the Charity has been notified in writing of both the amount and settlement date. In the event that a donation is subject to conditions that require a level of performance by the Charity before the Charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions are fully met, or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the Charity and it is probable that these conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period.

Legacy gifts are recognised on a case by case basis following the grant of probate when the administrator/executor for the estate has communicated in writing both the amount and settlement date. In the event that the gift is in the form of an asset other than cash or a financial asset traded on a recognised stock exchange, recognition is subject to the value of the gift being reliably measurable with a degree of reasonable accuracy and the title to the asset having been transferred to the Charity.

Deferred income represents amount received for future periods and is released to incoming resources in the period for which, it has been received. Such income is only deferred when: - The donor specifies that the grant or donation must only be used in future accounting periods; or - The donor has imposed conditions which must be met before the Charity has unconditional entitlement.

Where services or facilities are provided to the Charity as a donation that would normally be purchased from our suppliers this benefit is included in the financial statements at it's fair value unless it's fair value cannot be reliably measured, then at the cost to the donor ot the resale value of goods that are to be sold.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.

Governance costs

These include the costs attributable to the Charity's compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements, including audit, strategic management and Trustee's meetings and reimbursed expenses.

Allocation and apportionment of costs

Support costs include central functions and have been allocated the activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of the resources, for example, allocating property costs by floor area, or per capita, staff costs by the time spent and other costs by their usage.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Office refurbishment - 5 years straight line Computer equipment - 3 years straight line

Taxation

The Charity is considered to pass the test set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the Charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Trade debtors

Trade debtors are amounts due from customers for merchandise sold or services performed in the ordinary course of business.

Trade debtors are recognised initially at the transaction price. They are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less provision for impairment. A provision for the impairment of trade debtors is established when there is objective evidence that the Charity will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents 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.

Trade creditors

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Accounts payable are classified as current liabilities if the Charity does not have an unconditional right, at the end of the reporting period, to defer settlement of the creditor for at least twelve months after the reporting date. If there is an unconditional right to defer settlement for at least twelve months after the reporting date, they are presented as non-current liabilities.

Trade creditors are recognised initially at the transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective method.

Financial Instruments

Classification

Financial assets and financial liabilities are recogniseed when the charity becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the Charity after deducting all of its liabilities.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

Trade debtors

Recognition and measurement

All financial assets and liabilities are initially measures at transaction price (including transactions costs), except for those financial assets classified as at fair value though profit or loss, which are initially measured at fair value (which is normally the transaction price excluding transaction costs), unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction. If an arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, the financial asset or financial liability is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are only offset in the statement of financial position when, and only when there exists a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and the Charity intends either to settle on a net basis, or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Financial assets are derecognised when and only when a) the contractual rights to the the cash flows from the financial asset expire or are settled, b) the Charity transfers to another party substantially all of the risks and rewards of ownership of the financial asset, or c) the Charity, despite having retained some, but not all, significant risks and rewards of ownership, has transferred control of the asset to another party.

Financial liabilities are derecognised only when the obligation specified in the contract is discharged, cancelled or expires.

2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
Donations
Legacies
Donated services and facilities		 2024
£
1,265,303
673,000
144,590
2,082,893		 2023
£
1,587,387
109,851
181,144
1,878,382

Legacy income has been accrued where the Charity has been notified that it is entitled to a reasonable estimate of monies. However, the timing of these monies is uncertain as the legacies are subject to the realisation of assets within the legacy estate, which from past experience can take more than a year to be realised.

In addition to the generous financial support receive from all of our supporters over the last 12 months, we would also like to extend our gratitude to those individuals and organisations who donated products and services to Women's Aid.

Donated services during the year are:

2024 2023
£ £
Legal pro-bono for Marketing
House 337 98,630 101,654
Legal pro-bono for Other Activities
Goodwin Law 40,800 -
Goldsmiths Chambers - 45,000
Deighton Pearce Glynn 3,840 -
Consultancy for Research & Evaluation
ORB International - 8,500
MGM General Services Ltd - 25,990
IT Programming Support
Merkle 1,320 -
144,590 181,144

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

3. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

Membership
Publications
Consultancy & Speakers' fees
National Training Centre
Other conference and events
Advertising and merchandise
INVESTMENT INCOME
Deposit account interest
INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Activity
Grants
Direct Services
Grants
Campaigning
Grants
Training and support for Members
Grants
Other Activities
Grants
Covid related support
Grants
Accessibility
Grants
Children and young people
Grants
Research and evaluation
Grants received, included in the above, are as follows:
Home Office
London Councils
Comic Relief
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Avon Cosmetics UK Ltd
Restricted donations
Kering
YSL
Ballys
The Sisters Trust
CAF
MOPAC Lot 3
Home Office Flexible Fund
L'Occitane		 2024
£
182,340
451
31,933
307,837
103,208
33,860
659,629
2024
£
48,864
2024
£
1,627,293
22,000
-
765,114
780,565
-
732,257
456,354
4,383,583
2024
£
732,257
25,000
-
390,477
44,078
819,611
-
-
-
-
780,565
181,595
1,350,000
60,000
4,383,583		 2023
£
110,666
88
5,764
317,541
53,645
48,876
536,580
2023
£
3,410
2023
£
324,106
241,717
42,866
479,013
1,035,748
22,300
333,418
499,982
2,979,150
2023
£
263,416
24,999
(12,500)
387,148
76,840
568,783
42,866
70,002
241,717
64,602
1,056,048
195,229
-
-
2,979,150

4. INVESTMENT INCOME

5. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

In the year 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024 grant aid of £25,000 was received from London Councils for the data collection project under Priority 2, Service area 2.3. The grant has been used to fund London Refuges Data Collection Project which includes collecting and analysing data from Routes to Support to provide an evidence base on the demand and use of refuges in London.

The following table illustrates how the money has been spent by Women's Aid Federation of England and that it has been used for the purposes outlined in the funding agreement.

Grant Grant Spent

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

5. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES - continued

Staff £16,538 £16,429
Beneficiary - -
Other Direct Project £3,711 £3,532
Overheads £4,751 £5,039
£25,000 £25,000

6.

RAISING DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

Unrestricted
funds		 Total Total
General 2024 2023
£ £ £
Employment costs 378,078 378,078 350,940
Other costs 91,335 101,522 117,892
Direct Costs 469,414 479,601 468,832
Allocated support costs 104,590 104,522 93,881
574,004 584,123 562,713

Allocated Support Costs (note 10)

7. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

Purchases
Staff costs		 2024
£
51,688
556,754
608,442		 2023
£
94,435
353,180
447,615
2024 2023
£ £
National Training Centre 431,089 337,602
Membership 177,353 110,013
608,442 447,615

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

8. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS

Direct
Costs
£
Change That Last
14,868
Direct Services
397,393
Campaigning
35,493
Training and support for Members
41,933
Other Activities
2,801,204
Covid related support
187,366
Accessibility
-
Children and young people
548,579
Research and evaluation
437,886
Culture Change
5,059
Transformation
214,249
Membership Development &
Sustainability
262,393
4,946,423
9.
GRANTS PAYABLE
Direct Services
Covid related support
Research and evaluation
The total grants paid to institutions during the year was as follows:
Refuge
IMKAAN
Welsh Women's Aid
Northern Ireland Women's Aid
Scottish Women's Aid
Panahghar
Grants paid to institutions individually under £25,000
The First Step		 Grant
funding of
activities
(see note
9)
£
-
1,144,000
-
-
-
573,585
-
-
350
-
-
-
1,717,935		 Support
costs (see
note 10)
£
4,225
94,388
8,394
2,696
52,322
24,976
1,776
119,745
99,006
1,437
58,814
71,141
538,920
2024
£
1,144,000
573,585
350
1,717,935
2024
£
11,950
182,648
163,725
114,100
144,675
37,250
1,024,787
38,800
1,717,935		 Totals
£
19,093
1,635,781
43,887
44,629
2,853,526
785,927
1,776
668,324
537,242
6,496
273,063
333,534
7,203,278
2023
£
-
732,881
24,782
757,663
2023
£
-
221,157
173,113
151,738
186,875
-
24,780
-
757,663

The above is a list of the largest grants in aggregation to institutions (no grants were made to individuals):

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

10. SUPPORT COSTS

Staff Admin Other Total Total
costs costs support 2024 2023
costs
£ £ £ £ £
Charitable activities 290,091 76,995 45,518 412,904 1,062,780
Cost of generating
donations and legacies		 90,176 23,934 11,906 126,016 127,519
380,266 100,929 57,725 538,920 1,190,299

Basis of allocation

Support costs are apportioned across the main activates of the charity on the basis of total staff time spent on each of these during the year.

11. NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):

12.

Auditors' remuneration
Depreciation - owned assets
TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS		 2024
£
24,721
2,350		 2023
£
19,353
2,351
2024 2023
£ £
Trustees' Honorarium payments 3,195 250

Trustees' expenses

During the year Trustees were reimbursed expenses of £1,182 (2023: £749). Trustees' expenses related to reimbursement of travel and other sundry costs.

There was an additional £3,195 of honorarium payments (2023 £250), which are further detailed in note 20.

During the year £1,912 (2023: £1,819) was paid in respect of Trustees' indemnity insurance.

13. STAFF COSTS

STAFF COSTS
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs		 2024
£
4,010,488
417,172
248,943
4,676,603		 2023
£
3,448,478
360,839
212,955
4,022,272

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

13. STAFF COSTS - continued

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

Charitable activities
Fundraising
Support		 2024
77
10
11
98		 2023
93
10
6
109

The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:

£60,001 - £70,000
£80,001 - £90,000
£90,001 - £100,000
£120,001 - £130,000		 2024
3
1
-
1
5		 2023
-
-
1
-
1

The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the Charity were £391,810 (2023: £120,647)

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

14.
COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
Unrestricted
funds
£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies
1,584,665
Charitable activities
Direct Services
(12,500)
Campaigning
-
Training and support for Members
-
Other Activities
400,914
Covid related support
-
Accessibility
-
Children and young people
-
Research and evaluation
-
Other trading activities
516,827
Investment income
3,410
Total
2,493,316
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds
Raising donations and legacies
562,713
Other trading activities
447,615
1,010,328
Charitable activities
Change That Last
11,413
Direct Services
-
Campaigning
556,768
Training and support for Members
-
Other Activities
1,725,110
Covid related support
-
Accessibility
-
Children and young people
-
Research and evaluation
143,066
Total
3,446,685
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
(953,369)
Transfers between funds
63,102
Net movement in funds
(890,267)
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
5,375,909
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
4,485,642		 Restricted
funds
£
293,717
336,606
241,717
42,866
78,099
1,035,748
22,300
333,418
499,982
19,753
-
2,904,206
-
-
-
106,742
864,004
204,914
241,080
55,792
946,025
87,119
319,164
515,438
3,340,278
(436,072)
(63,102)
(499,174)
1,299,605
800,431		 Total
funds
£
1,878,382
324,106
241,717
42,866
479,013
1,035,748
22,300
333,418
499,982
536,580
3,410
5,397,522
562,713
447,615
1,010,328
118,155
864,004
761,682
241,080
1,780,902
946,025
87,119
319,164
658,504
6,786,963
(1,389,441)
-
(1,389,441)
6,675,514
5,286,073

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

15.
TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Improvements
to
Computer
property
equipment
£
£
COST
At 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024
19,086
2,128
DEPRECIATION
At 1 April 2023
13,067
1,300
Charge for year
1,641
709
At 31 March 2024
14,708
2,009
NET BOOK VALUE
At 31 March 2024
4,378
119
At 31 March 2023
6,019
828
16.
DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
2024
£
Trade debtors
76,929
Other debtors
5,152
VAT
-
Accrued income
1,508,594
Prepayments
118,864
1,709,539
17.
CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
2024
£
Trade creditors
360,357
Social security and other taxes
126,694
VAT
7,749
Other creditors
924
Deferred income
129,896
Accrued expenses
349,972
Deferred grants
-
975,592
18.
LEASING AGREEMENTS
Minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases fall due as follows:
2024
£
Within one year
111,599
Between one and five years
115,055
In more than five years
864
227,518		 Totals
£
21,214
14,367
2,350
16,717
4,497
6,847
2023
£
104,883
8,742
842
596,966
47,409		 Totals
£
21,214
14,367
2,350
16,717
4,497
6,847
2023
£
104,883
8,742
842
596,966
47,409		 Totals
£
21,214
14,367
2,350
16,717
4,497
6,847
758,842
2023
£
300,222
103,220
-
1,100
241,847
172,764
780,565
1,599,718
2023
£
81,588
195,779
1,728
279,095

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Designated Fund - Membership
development and sustainability
Designated Fund - Sector wide initiatives
Designated Fund - Culture Change
Designated Fund - Transformation
Restricted funds
Home Office
Avon Cosmetics Uk Ltd
RTS & Membership
People's Postcode Trust
Women's Aid Members Contribution to
Apprenticeship
Restricted donations
Kering
YSL
Refinitiv
Restricted Campaigns & Policy
Ballys
Hiscox
JJ Charitable Trust
The Sisters Trust
Bloom Ask Me Trainer
CAF Covid Support
CVC Foundation
MOPAC Lot 3
Office Insurance Claim
Bally's Foundation Year 2
NWTA Sara Charlton
Family Courts Project
Home Office Flexible Fund
L'Occitane
Routes to Support (MHCLG)
TOTAL FUNDS		 At 1.4.23
£
2,101,773
1,464,226
374,998
284,979
259,666
4,485,642
(2,171)
222,885
74,977
1,840
14,100
87,195
1,000
14,130
54,723
2,113
72,822
6,233
19,612
64,602
19,093
56,845
22,666
42,473
25,293
-
-
-
-
-
-
800,431
5,286,073		 Net
movement
in funds
£
(513,509)
(333,334)
-
(272,823)
(6,496)
(1,126,162)
64,001
(87,428)
13,548
-
-
(34,895)
(1,000)
(2)
(4,354)
-
(72,822)
(5,136)
(14,969)
(64,602)
(19,093)
(4,915)
(19,169)
5,682
(9,886)
6,483
-
21,358
65,208
60,000
7,280
(94,711)
(1,220,873)		 Transfers
between
funds
£
129,167
-
-
(12,156)
12,156
129,167
(61,830)
-
(3,720)
-
-
(9,000)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(51,930)
-
-
(15,407)
-
20,000
-
-
-
(7,280)
(129,167)
-		 At
31.3.24
£
1,717,431
1,130,892
374,998
-
265,326
3,488,647
-
135,457
84,805
1,840
14,100
43,300
-
14,128
50,369
2,113
-
1,097
4,643
-
-
-
3,497
48,155
-
6,483
20,000
21,358
65,208
60,000
-
576,553
4,065,200

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Designated Fund - Membership
development and sustainability
Designated Fund - Culture Change
Designated Fund - Transformation
Restricted funds
Home Office
London Councils
DHLUC
Avon Cosmetics Uk Ltd
RTS & Membership
Restricted donations
Kering
YSL
Refinitiv
Ballys
Hiscox
JJ Charitable Trust
The Sisters Trust
Bloom Ask Me Trainer
CAF Covid Support
CVC Foundation
MOPAC Lot 3
Office Insurance Claim
Bally's Foundation Year 2
Family Courts Project
Home Office Flexible Fund
L'Occitane
Routes to Support (MHCLG)
TOTAL FUNDS		 Incoming
resources
£
3,449,309
200
-
-
3,449,509
732,325
25,000
184,796
44,078
13,749
128,891
-
-
-
(29,577)
-
-
-
-
781,012
-
181,595
(9,886)
29,574
22,000
1,350,000
60,000
211,903
3,725,460
7,174,969		 Resources
expended
£
(3,962,818)
(333,534)
(272,823)
(6,496)
(4,575,671)
(668,324)
(25,000)
(184,796)
(131,506)
(201)
(163,786)
(1,000)
(2)
(4,354)
(43,245)
(5,136)
(14,969)
(64,602)
(19,093)
(785,927)
(19,169)
(175,913)
-
(23,091)
(642)
(1,284,792)
-
(204,623)
(3,820,171)
(8,395,842)		 Movement
in funds
£
(513,509)
(333,334)
(272,823)
(6,496)
(1,126,162)
64,001
-
-
(87,428)
13,548
(34,895)
(1,000)
(2)
(4,354)
(72,822)
(5,136)
(14,969)
(64,602)
(19,093)
(4,915)
(19,169)
5,682
(9,886)
6,483
21,358
65,208
60,000
7,280
(94,711)
(1,220,873)

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continued...

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Comparatives for movement in funds

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Designated Fund - Membership
development and sustainability
Designated Fund - Sector wide initiatives
Designated Fund - Culture Change
Designated Fund - Transformation
Restricted funds
Home Office
The National Lottery Community Fund
DHLUC
Avon Cosmetics Uk Ltd
Oak Foundation & Others
RTS & Membership
Big Potential Social Investment
People's Postcode Trust
Women's Aid Members Contribution to
Apprenticeship
Restricted donations
Kering
YSL
Black Rock
Barclays
Refinitiv
Ask Me Fundraising
Restricted Campaigns & Policy
Bristol University Justice
Ballys
Hiscox
JJ Charitable Trust
Tableau
The Sisters Trust
Bloom Ask Me Trainer
CAF Covid Support
MOJ IDVA Training
CVC Foundation
MOPAC Lot 3
Office Insurance Claim
TOTAL FUNDS		 At 1.4.22
£
1,870,311
1,728,542
435,200
968,861
372,995
5,375,909
3
62,040
-
180,635
48,558
58,819
2,668
1,840
14,100
405,781
13,700
17,501
16,346
86,660
54,862
32,252
1,913
4,331
36,119
31,644
20,000
2,038
-
20,000
28,273
45,025
114,497
-
-
1,299,605
6,675,514		 Net
movement
in funds
£
170,429
(264,316)
(60,202)
(685,951)
(113,329)
(953,369)
(2,174)
(62,101)
(377)
42,250
(48,558)
16,158
(2,668)
-
-
(318,586)
(12,700)
(3,371)
(16,346)
(87,035)
(139)
(4,217)
200
(4,331)
36,703
(25,411)
(388)
(2,038)
64,602
(907)
64,452
(45,025)
(91,831)
42,473
25,293
(436,072)
(1,389,441)		 Transfers
between
funds
£
61,033
-
-
2,069
-
63,102
-
61
377
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
375
-
(28,035)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(35,880)
-
-
-
-
(63,102)
-		 At
31.3.23
£
2,101,773
1,464,226
374,998
284,979
259,666
4,485,642
(2,171)
-
-
222,885
-
74,977
-
1,840
14,100
87,195
1,000
14,130
-
-
54,723
-
2,113
-
72,822
6,233
19,612
-
64,602
19,093
56,845
-
22,666
42,473
25,293
800,431
5,286,073

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continued...

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Designated Fund - Membership
development and sustainability
Designated Fund - Sector wide initiatives
Designated Fund - Culture Change
Designated Fund - Transformation
Restricted funds
Home Office
London Councils
The National Lottery Community Fund
DHLUC
Avon Cosmetics Uk Ltd
Oak Foundation & Others
RTS & Membership
Big Potential Social Investment
Restricted donations
Kering
YSL
Black Rock
Barclays
Refinitiv
Ask Me Fundraising
Restricted Campaigns & Policy
Bristol University Justice
Ballys
Hiscox
JJ Charitable Trust
Tableau
The Sisters Trust
Bloom Ask Me Trainer
CAF Covid Support
MOJ IDVA Training
CVC Foundation
MOPAC Lot 3
Office Insurance Claim
TOTAL FUNDS		 Incoming
resources
£
2,493,316
-
-
-
-
2,493,316
263,416
24,999
11,316
387,148
76,840
-
21,037
-
373,579
42,866
70,002
-
-
-
27,762
100
-
241,717
-
-
-
64,602
-
1,035,748
-
-
195,229
67,845
2,904,206
5,397,522		 Resources
expended
£
(2,322,887)
(264,316)
(60,202)
(685,951)
(113,329)
(3,446,685)
(265,590)
(24,999)
(73,417)
(387,525)
(34,590)
(48,558)
(4,879)
(2,668)
(692,165)
(55,566)
(73,373)
(16,346)
(87,035)
(139)
(31,979)
100
(4,331)
(205,014)
(25,411)
(388)
(2,038)
-
(907)
(971,296)
(45,025)
(91,831)
(152,756)
(42,552)
(3,340,278)
(6,786,963)		 Movement
in funds
£
170,429
(264,316)
(60,202)
(685,951)
(113,329)
(953,369)
(2,174)
-
(62,101)
(377)
42,250
(48,558)
16,158
(2,668)
(318,586)
(12,700)
(3,371)
(16,346)
(87,035)
(139)
(4,217)
200
(4,331)
36,703
(25,411)
(388)
(2,038)
64,602
(907)
64,452
(45,025)
(91,831)
42,473
25,293
(436,072)
(1,389,441)

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continued...

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Designated Funds

Fund Description
Membership
Development & This money has been set aside to support members in the challenges associated
Sustainability with local commissioning.
Sector wide This designated fund is for work across a number of key projects which will have
initiatives sector wide impact
An internal investment pot for investment in our infrastructure that will ensure the
Transformation long term viability of the organisation
Culture Change

Restricted Funds

Further description of each material fund which includes the source of funding and nature of restriction:

Project Description Funders
Children & Young The 'What Works in Preventing VAWG and Supporting The Home Office
People What Works Children' fund focusses on interventions for children
Fund with
the
purpose
of
preventing
VAWG.
Our
key
deliverables
are:Delivering
training
to children
and
young people in schools
and educational
settings;
specifically
exploring
domestic
abuse
and
healthy
relationships.Developing
online resources for children
and young people through microsites and social media
offerings.Expanding
training
to
domestic
abuse
practitioners and professionals who work with children
and
young
people.Carrying
out
research
and
evaluation
activities
to
evidence
what
works
in
preventing VAWG.
Flexible Fund This fund was set up to deliver funding to survivors via The Home Office
our membership, organisations listed on the Routes to
Support directory and specialist delivery partners. This
fund was to support survivors to leave their abusers or
remain safely in their own home and to help secure a
sustainable independent future.
On Track On
Track,
our
outcomes
monitoring
and
case		 Avon Cosmetics
management is used by nearly 80 organisations to
facilitate their casework and evidence their impact. The
national data it provides is used to inform and support
our campaigning
and advocacy work on behalf of
members and survivors.
Routes to support The project provides a referral database of VAWG Ministry of Housing,
services and refuge vacancies to national helplines and Levelling Up and
local services.
It further
provides
a public
service		 Communities/ London
directory
on
the
Women's
Aid
website
and
the		 Councils
Goldbook Online directory which is available at cost to
other agencies
No Woman Turned The No Woman Turned Away (NWTA) project provides Ministry of Housing,
Away dedicated
support
to women who face barriers
in		 Levelling Up and
accessing
a
refuge
space.
A
team
of
specialist		 Communities
domestic abuse practitioners receive referrals and we
are continuing
to conduct
detailed
monitoring
and
analysis of survivors' experiences alongside this.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

19. MOVEMENT IN FUN DS - continued
Mental Health The objective of this project is to develop a flagship Bally's Foundation
Campaign new public policy campaign that will shape debates
around domestic abuse and mental health and use
momentum of the Domestic Abuse Bill to drive change
forward.
The campaign
will run for 3 years.
This
campaign will be: driven by the priorities and voices of
survivors; rooted in the expertise and views of our
members;
and
will
not
mean
that
we
speak
for
marginalised
groups,
but
will
enable
us
to
build
partnerships to ensure the voices and experiences of
marginalised survivors are central to the campaign. We
will be building on the lessons and learning of engaging
a diverse group of survivors as 'experts by experience'
in our Law in the Making project during 2019-20.
Covid - 19 Support Project
aiming
to
strengthen
the
UK
network
of		 CAF, managed by ABI
domestic abuse services emerging from the Covid-19
crisis. The grant is provided to the "VAWG Partnership"
which is made up of the four Women's Aid federations
(England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland) and
Imkaan.
The
VAWG
Partnership
will
work
collaboratively to support the specialist domestic abuse
(DA) sector to recover from the devastating effects of
Covid19
and
potential
further
devastation
from
a
second wave and recession. The partnership will build
resilience within the DA sector, building upon new ways
of
engaging
digitally
that
are
emerging
through
Covid19, future proofing us for a digital world, and
utilising
these
to remove
the
barriers
to
support,
learning and resources that are required by services
now more than ever. The Grantee (WAFE) will be the
lead organisation in this project. WAFE will be the
recipient
of the grant and will be accountable
for
managing the onward payments, overall programme
management and the delivery and outcomes of the
WAFE
elements
of
the
project.
Imkaan,
Welsh
Women's Aid, Scottish Women's Aid and Women's Aid
Federation of Northern Ireland will be recipients of the
onward grants and will each be accountable for the
delivery.
Expansion of Routes The MOPAC Lot 3 funding focuses on the expansion of Mayor's Office for
to Support and On our Routes to Support and On Track programs. The policing and crime
Track programmes key targets are:++On Track:- The expansions of the On
Track
workshop
program-
Develop
e-learning
resources, so organisations can access training more
easily, at a time that suits them- Helping services build
dynamic
reports
by means
of looking
at bespoke
reporting to help them demonstrate the impact of their
work using On Track++Routes to support:- Improve
accessibility & reach of the online directory- Improved
data collection- An in-built referral form on RtS for
organisations using On Track
Central Accessibility To ensure that the voices of disabled women are heard Various
Fund in our ongoing work to represent all women who are
affected
by
domestic
abuse
and
challenge
the
circumstances that enable violence against women to
continue.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued
Family Courts Women's Aid continues to campaign for reforms to the Firebird Foundation,
Project family court to make survivors and children safer. We David Family
work with the Ministry of Justice, Cafcass, the National Foundation
Association of Child Contact Centres, Family Mediation
Council and other agencies to advise them on their
approach to domestic abuse, and we also convene a
sector working group on the family courts which meets
regularly
to share
insights,
plan
joint
activity
and
discuss emerging issues.Key impacts in the last year
include:The
Ministry
of
Justice
reversing
plans
to
introduce compulsory pre-court mediation, which would
have been harmful to survivors, following a joint letter
we organised which was signed by 30 partners and our
consultation
response.Delivering
a
webinar
on
domestic abuse to 70+ family lawyers for International
Women's
Day,
after
which
93%
said
they
better
understood
how
to
support
survivors.Through
the
family courts working group, supported the tabling of
amendments to the Victims and Prisoners Bill which led
to the Government agreeing to take forward the issue
of dangerous unregulated 'experts' in the family court
through the Family Justice Council.
Children and Young YSL supported the Safer Futures project, which will YSL
People enable
us to relaunch
our
nationwide
network
of
Schools
Advocates,
consisting
of
domestic
abuse
professionals who champion prevention work in their
region and support schools to address domestic abuse.
encourage
widespread
engagement
with
schools
across England to improve education for children and
young people about domestic violence. The project
aims to ensure that healthy relationships education is
delivered responsibly and effectively across the country
Survivors Forum The
Survivors'
Forum
is
an
online
peer-to-peer		 L'Occitane
platform, in a safe and anonymous space, monitored
by professionals,
for women affected
by domestic
abuse to share their experiences and support one
another.
An
online
community
built
on
female
empowerment, it has survivors' voices at its heart.
Trained
women's
aid staff moderate
the forum
to
ensure
that
women
are
safe
and
not
disclosing
information
that could put them at risk, and
also
signpost
where
appropriate.Through
this
Project,
L'OCCITANE
will
provide
financial
support
for the
empowerment of 16,700 women. There are currently
14,700 registered users on the Survivors' Forum who
will continue to be supported, and over the course of a
year, we would aim to see 2,000 new users registered
on the Survivors' Forum because of this funding.
Training Portal The donation was made with specific reference to the Hiscox, JJ Charitable
current Covid-19 pandemic. It was decided to use Trust, Refinitiv
these
funds
towards
the
training
portal
so
that
Women's Aid could continue to carry out training online
during the Covid-19 restrictions and beyond.

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continued...

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued Leadership We were awarded a donation towards the salary costs The Sister's Trust of our Chief Executive for 3 years. As this is such a pivotal role in the domestic abuse sector it is crucial that our new Chief Executive is given time to develop and nurture relationships with funders, both statutory and trusts, as well as supporters, sister organisations, sector partners and government members. By the end of the 3 year funding period our new Chief Executive will have led the development and implementation of our new organisational strategy.

Transfers between funds

The transfers between funds between 1st April 2023 and 31st March 2024 were as follows:

£
Description		 From fund To fund
15,047
Returning the balance of monies		 Office Insurance Claim Unrestricted
received from insurers to unrestricted
funds
51,930
The transferred element is bursary		 CAF Covid Support Unrestricted
income received which is supported by
training, therefore this has been
reallocated to training within the
general fund.
61,830
The transferred element is bursary		 Home Office Unrestricted
income received which is supported by
training, therefore this has been
reallocated to training within the
general fund.
20,000
Transfer to repurpose a grant received		 Restricted Donations NWTA Sara
for Accessibility to cover a new post in Charlton
NWTA as agreed with Trust
11,000
Transfer to cover Vacancy monitoring		 Routes to Support Restricted
for Routes To Support by Direct (MHCLG) Donations
Services team
3,720
Transfer to cover costs between funds		 RTS - Invoice Income Routes to Support
as both funds cover Routes to Support (MHCLG)
and costs are allocated between both
funds

During the year there was a reallocation of funding between unrestricted funds, this is noted below:

£ Description From Fund To Fund
Transfer to cover overspend on
Internal Investments linked to overall
12,156 transformation project Transformation Culture Change

Included within restricted funds, the fund Home Office has a negative balance at the year end due to timing of the invoices submitted to the grant provider. It has been agreed with the provider that due to this being an ongoing project, the invoices can be claimed in the next claim in the next financial year.

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continued...

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

20. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

Women's Aid worked with Refuge, the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre, and the Women and Girls Network to deliver Domestic and Sexual Violence Helpline Services to London.

Six Full or Associate Trustees hold senior positions with member services where there is a small possibility of "Conflict of Interest". The board follows the Women's Aid Conflict of Interest Policy at all times to mitigate the risk from possible conflicts of interest.

Some of the Board of Trustees and Associate Trustees' were drawn from member organisations running services to address violence against women and children. Honorarium payments were made to these member organisations in recognition of their support for the work of the Boad, as detailed below:

2024
2024
2024		 2023
Associate
Trustees
Trustees
Total		 Total
£
£
£		 £
Apna Haq 1,895
1,895		 -
Rise -
-		 250
Staffordshire Women's Aid 800
800		 -
Cambridge Women's Aid 500
-
500		 -
500
2,695
3,195		 250

Reimbursement of expenses/sundry were made to the following organisations/individuals on behalf of Board Members:

Reimbursement of expenses/sundry were
Members:		 made to the following organisations/individuals
on		 behalf of Board
2024
2024
2024		 2023
Associate
Trustees
Trustees
Total		 Total
£
£
£		 £
Apna Haq -
-
-		 555
Independent -
-
-		 1,182
IDAS -
1,043
1,043		 -
Staffordshire -
57
57		 -
Cambridge WA -
-
-		 43
-
1,100
1,100		 1,780

Sales relating to conference places, publications, on track, training courses and job adverts on the charity website were made to the following organisations:

2024
2024		 2024 2023
Associate
Trustees
Trustees'		 Total Total
£
£		 £ £
IDAS -
33,310		 33,310 34,280
Stop Domestic 3,002
-		 3,002 9,450
Rise -
1,675		 1,675 6,710
Cambridge Women's Aid 6,316
-		 6,316 7,730
Staffordshire Women's Aid -
2,741		 2,741 3,950
Harv Domestic Abuse 946
-		 946 3,214
Jewish Women's Aid -
-		 - 4,515
Apna Haq -
580		 580 400
10,264
38,306		 48,570 70,249

Page 47

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 03171880 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1054154

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

FOR

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

Bevan Buckland LLP (Statutory Auditors) Ground Floor Cardigan House Castle Court Swansea Enterprise Park Swansea SA7 9LA

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Page
Report of the Trustees 1 to 21
Report of the Independent Auditors 22 to 24
Statement of Financial Activities 25
Balance Sheet 26
Cash Flow Statement 27
Notes to the Cash Flow Statement 28
Notes to the Financial Statements 29 to 47

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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).

The last year has been yet another strong year for Women's Aid, as the organisation has worked towards its goal of ending domestic abuse.

The trustees of Women's Aid Federation of England, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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).

Reference and administrative information set out on pages one and two form part of this report. The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard 102. The board members including the chair and treasurer are appointed by the board. Each appointment is in accordance with the Women's Aid Memorandum and Articles of Association. Women's Aid is required to have a minimum of three board members and a maximum of 12.

Board members are required to act in the best interests of Women's Aid Federation of England and for the benefit of the members as a whole. The board is ultimately responsible for all that Women's Aid does. In order for Women's Aid to perform effectively, day-to-day operational management of the charity is delegated to the Chief Executive.

The board has added a system of committees, to its structures for strategic input. The committees' membership includes board members and relevant staff, as well as appointed external Associate Trustees from member organisations and other external experts. These Associate Trustees act in an advisory capacity only, but support and strengthen the ability of the board.

The board retains the following duties to:

In fulfilling these duties, the board pays particular attention to:

Board appointments, induction and training

The board appoints new trustees through a transparent and inclusive recruitment and selection process where board members must be aged over 16 years, meet the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of Women's Aid and commit to upholding the organisation's mission and values. The board has undertaken a governance review this year, see governance.

Page 1

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

On appointment, new board members receive an induction to their role with Women's Aid. Information supplied includes a copy of Women's Aid's Memorandum and Articles of Association, a copy of Women's Aid's latest reports and statement of accounts and an induction pack. The board recognises a new trustee needs ongoing support to be effective and will follow the six key principles of good governance, as set out in the Women's Aid's Governance Framework. In order to ensure all trustees receive ongoing support the board will, where realistic: - undertake training; - take part in trustee or specialist networks; - have appraisals; - review their performance; and - undertake benchmarking.

Trustees can expect to learn, develop, and be able to take on different responsibilities within the board. The board will be continuing its governance effectiveness review over the next year to ensure it is following good governance practice appropriate to the size, scale and nature of the charity's operations.

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Women's Aid will invite all full members and board members to the AGM. Copies of the annual report and accounts will be sent to the board members and made available to all other members at the meeting venue. The notice calling an AGM will be sent to all members 21 days before the meeting date.

The notice will set out:

Introductions from our Chief executive, chair and patron

Farah Nazeer, Chief executive, Women's Aid

Reflecting on the past year, I am proud of everything Women's Aid has been able to accomplish. While I recognise that there is a still a lot of work to do before our work is done, we have worked tirelessly over the last year with our members to lobby government, raise life-saving funds and campaign for change. We thank every person and organisation that has come together with us to make this progress possible.

Over the last year, we've achieved important successes, which need to be celebrated. Our Emergency Fund pilot with the Home Office resulted in the introduction of the Flexible Fund, which provides an avenue for survivors to access the financial means to escape abuse. This fund provides survivors with deposits on accommodation, laptops so they can go back to work, the money they need to buy white goods and other key necessities which can make all the difference.

I am incredibly proud of the work we did in shining a light on the financial hardships faced by specialist domestic abuse services. We have continued to advocate for our members and spoken out about the difficulties they face when it comes to obtaining funding - including developing a briefing on the impact of local government finances on domestic abuse services and survivors, which has been disseminated to key government stakeholders and raised in the national press.

For Women's Aid, this year is particularly special, as it marks the 50th anniversary of the organisation. Over half of a century, our federation has flourished into a sisterhood of 180 organisations, and our impact has been significant and indisputable. I am incredibly proud of our many milestones, such as the introduction of the landmark Domestic Abuse Act in 2021(in spite of some critical shortcomings) and am deeply grateful for every woman in our federation - your dedication, commitment and passion make life-changing improvements to the lives of countless survivors of domestic abuse, helping them rebuild their lives and fight for justice.

Looking forward to the future, I am of course hopeful that in 50 years there will not be a need for us as an organisation in our current form and that domestic abuse will no longer be the most serious and prevalent crime committed against women and children in this country. Our campaigning efforts, our ongoing dedication to putting survivors at the heart of everything we do, as well as the invaluable work done by our members mean that more people are becoming aware of the horrors of domestic abuse.

I want to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the whole team at Women's Aid, our members, our board who volunteer so much of themselves and their time, to our Treasurer Lindsey Wishart for wisdom, expertise and support, and to our Chair Sarah Hill, for her kindness, guidance and leadership. Working together we can eradicate this gender-based abuse.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Seeing our collective successes over the last year, I am more hopeful than ever that our mission will be achieved soon, and that a world where women and children will finally be safe is in reach.

Sarah Hill, Chair

As the Chair of the Board of Trustees at Women's Aid, I would like to thank the team for their hard work over the last year, and our CEO Farah for her insightful and brave leadership. Despite continued challenges, Women's Aid achieved so much. The cost-of-living crisis still presents a significant obstacle for our work, as the federation has to support a membership of local domestic abuse services that have faced increased costs, at a time of decreased donation, but we have continued to provide survivors with the support they need and work tirelessly to make meaningful change.

Our federation brings specialist domestic abuse charities together, allowing for the sharing of knowledge and expertise, and a supportive network of like-minded campaigners who are striving to ensure that the needs of survivor are met. We are grateful and would like to thank those who have helped us and made our lifesaving work possible - from Live Chat and No Woman Turned Away project, to our campaigns and training, and preventative work with children and young people. Together, as a strong and effective network, we can create a world where survivors get the support they need, and where domestic abuse is no longer tolerated.

Melanie Brown MBE, Patron

On behalf of Women's Aid, I would like to thank every single person who makes our work possible. If it wasn't for our supporters, funders, and fundraisers, we would not be able to provide survivors of domestic abuse with the support that they need to heal from the trauma they have experienced.

It takes survivors like me so much courage to come forward and reach out for support, so we desperately need people like the dedicated team at Women's Aid, who will believe and support women living with abuse from their partner or ex-partner, and the children who are living in fear of domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is widespread and happening right now in every part of society. For a long time, it has been seen as a private issue, that happens behind closed doors, but thanks to the work of charities like Women's Aid and survivors speaking out - which is how I try to help other women - we are finally talking about it and making it the public issue it needs to be.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Impact and priorities

Cultural Shift

As Women's Aid enters our 50th year, domestic abuse is still highly prevalent within our society and remains a gendered crime that disproportionately affects women and girls. This is even truer for those from marginalised backgrounds, who face additional inequality and discrimination. We know that 1 in 4 women have experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16..

Women's Aid want to see a cultural shift which makes domestic abuse something that is no longer tolerated in our society. Women's Aid research[2] showed us that a big part of this can only come through challenging and changing attitudes towards domestic abuse and the behaviours that underpin abusive relationships.

Our Come Together to End Domestic Abuse campaign seeks to engage key audiences to challenge myths and reinforces Women's Aid key messages

We used our voice in the media to amplify the voices of survivors and raise public awareness of our work to reduce tolerance of domestic abuse In the last year:

We engaged policy makers with our Come Together messaging

To engage policy makers with our ambition to make domestic abuse intolerable, we took our Come Together messaging to party conferences. Here, we highlighted the needs of 'by and for' services for Black and minoritised women, and how our work needs to always consider the barriers facing the most marginalised survivors in accessing specialist support.

We used our expertise to align reporting on domestic abuse in the media with our messaging and address poor quality reporting

We delivered media guidance workshops to journalists and media organisations to improve how domestic abuse is reported and spoken about in the press.

"Informative and educational session. It was particularly interesting to hear you remind us of the sensitives around photo use and reporting of roles within a family unit and avoiding a certain framing." Media guidance workshop attendee"

We influenced a change in the Independent Press Standard's Organisation's Domestic Abuse and Homicide clause, directly impacting how domestic abuse is reported and spoken about in the press. This means that the culture of 'victim-blaming' is no longer acceptable, and survivors have a greater right to privacy by avoiding disclosures of location.

Our patrons, ambassadors and supporters used their influence to support us to change attitudes by raising awareness of our work across society

Our patrons, ambassadors and supporters worked tirelessly with us to help end domestic abuse, sharing their experiences, expertise and voice across events, social media and the news.

We held a Come Together to End Domestic Abuse themed gala with Tina - The Tina Turner Musical. Our ambassador, Michelle Griffith-Robinson, spoke to just under 1000 people in the audience about the lifesaving work of Women's Aid, our 50th anniversary, Come Together and the importance of the event in helping to #EndAbuseTogether.

Brutally Honest

We worked with our patron Melanie Brown MBE on her Brutally Honest book launch as part of our International Women's Day campaign, also called Brutally Honest. Our campaign received over 200 pieces of news coverage, highlighting significant achievements from the last 50 years, and calling for continued change.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Our press coverage reached 2.4 billion people during the month of March and increased our social engagement across our platforms, including a 345% increase on Twitter.

"My story was so impactful and it's not just my story it's every other woman's story, ours are all exactly the same, abuse is abuse, we're all surrounded by it, so we need to do something about it, it just shows how much we are needing Women's Aid." Melanie Brown MBE Women's Aid Patron"

We worked with leading employers to improve awareness and understanding of the impact of domestic abuse as well as the support available in the workplace

We worked with employers to train their leadership and staff to improve understanding of domestic abuse and the impact of domestic abuse in the workplace through our corporate training offer which reached over 200 people through 6 organisations this year.

We reached children and young people in education and online settings to improve their understanding of what makes a healthy relationship.

We added to our evidence base on creating effective education about relationships for children and young people (CYP) with the launch of our Influencers and Attitudes[3] report in October 2023. This research explores CYP attitudes towards relationships and considered what influences these attitudes, particularly the digital space and social media. Key findings include:

We put our learning into practice by:

Coming together to provide lifesaving support

Women's Aid want to see survivors able to access the right support for them, at the right time. To work towards this, we provided a range of support to the domestic abuse sector, our membership and survivors.

We shared knowledge and resources with the domestic abuse sector to transform the future for survivors of domestic abuse

Our 2023 national conference 'Transforming the future for survivors together' provided a space to bring the sector together to learn and influence on responses for survivors

We welcomed 277 people from across the sector to our national conference in July. We were joined by Women's Aid members, representatives from the wider women's sector, local government, commissioners, corporates, and academics. We provided spaces to strengthen the sector through networking, learning from each other and hearing from policy makers and other stakeholders - and, of course, to question and challenge decision makers!

"This was my first time attending the conference and it was inspired to be around so many people willing to stand up and use their voices and actions to better the lives of women and girls" - Women's Aid Federation Member

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

"Meeting fellow colleagues within the sector really reignited passion for working within the sector." - Women's Aid Federation Member

We created new ways to share knowledge across the sector

In November we launched our new Research Bulletin. We now have over 300 subscribers receiving timely information on the latest research across the sector. Supporting people from across the sector including Women's Aid members, local and national domestic abuse and VAWG organisations, academics, commissioners, researchers and government. Want to subscribe? Email us at researchandpolicy@womensaid.org.uk

We upskilled the sector through the work of our Training and Education Team

Nationally recognised qualifications to ensure quality responses for survivors using domestic abuse services

"I am better able to understand how to support my clients and what they are entitled to"- Training attendee

"I am now able to work in a more informed way, having the historical knowledge of domestic violence and the patriarchy helps to understand the way various statutory organisations currently work, and why this is problematic".- Training attendee

Bursaries to increase access to training and reach

Targeted training to improve responses for marginalised groups of survivors

Facilitator training models to increase capacity

LINK: https://www.womensaid.org.uk/what-we-do/training/

We maintained and improved the Routes to Support directory and referrals database to enable survivors to find the right service for them

Routes to Support (RtS) is the UK violence against women and girls service directory which we run in partnership with our UK-wide Women's Aid sister federations. The online directory allows users to locate the right support for survivors they are supporting throughout the UK, whether that be outreach, pet fostering or an up-to-date refuge vacancy. It also provides a UK wide dataset on the scope and nature of domestic abuse provision giving vital insight into the sector.

This year we reached a huge milestone, celebrating 20 years of Routes to Support (RtS) providing a lifeline for survivors.

"[Routes to Support] is absolutely crucial to what we do now. I mean, when it first came along we thought all of our Christmases had come at once. And it's our primary tool to enable us to deliver our services " - Lisa Johnson, Head of Direct services at Women's Aid

Routes to Support continues to be a vital resource for the sector:

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

We continually update and improve Routes to Support to make sure it is meeting the needs of the sector.

This year, we launched our RtS Referral Manager which enables frontline organisations to instantly create and send referrals to services and refuges listed in RtS and track the status of that referral within On Track in a matter of minutes. Services receive external referrals directly to their On Track system, ready for processing and follow-up all in one place. The aim of the Referral Manager is to make life in frontline services easier and more efficient - leading to better support and outcomes for survivors.

Want to know more? Visit: https://www.womensaid.org.uk/what-we-do/i-work-with-survivors/routes-to-support/

We used data to strengthen domestic abuse services through the development and promotion of On Track, Women's Aid's case management and outcomes measurement system

On Track offers:

In October, we reached the milestone of having over 100 local domestic abuse organisations using On Track. Ongoing development of the On Track database to allow support workers to collect the information they need to support survivors.

We continue to improve our On Track user and Impact training offer to build capacity in the sector on talking about the impact of our work

Want to know more? Visit: https://www.womensaid.org.uk/what-we-do/ontrack/

We supported our members to improve quality and capacity in their services

We are proud to be a strong and diverse federation of 187 organisations, with 8 new members welcomed over the last year. This includes 32 'by and for' Black and minoritised member services. Over the last year, we have supported our membership in many ways.

We created a strong support network to increase resilience

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Our National Quality Standards support the domestic abuse and violence against women and girls (VAWG) sector to ensure the long-term safety and recovery of survivors, as well as the prevention of further harm.

The NQS support the effectiveness and sustainability of the sector, are survivor centred and focus on the expertise, knowledge, and effectiveness of specialist domestic abuse services ability to evidence, maintain and promote survivor led outcomes and demonstrate the quality of their service. Our NQS are referenced in government's statutory guidance from The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 as best practice.

This year, 28 members have achieved National Quality Standard accreditation. An additional 7 members have been supported prior to undertaking NQS accreditation. This has ensured members are delivering safe survivor-centred and needs-led services.

We facilitated distribution of donations to local services to support their work with survivors

Thank you to Avon who donated pyjamas, jewellery, toiletries, makeup, slippers and more made to 40 Women's Aid members.

"I just want to say a big thank you to you all at Women's Aid for your generous Avon donation. Your contribution of loungewear, pyjamas, and bras for the women we support is so helpful and will make a significant impact on their lives. Thank you once again for your ongoing generosity and support." Women's Aid member service

We have continued to fight for fair funding for our member services.

We have continued to fight for fair funding for our member services and challenge conventional approaches to procurement and commissioning which are harmful for specialist domestic abuse services, particularly smaller or specialist 'by and for' services for Black and minoritised women.

We worked with local government and commissioners to demonstrate the value of using flexible commissioning practices for funding domestic abuse support

Provided expert support to members facing funding and commissioning challenges to mitigate the impact on their services

Used our voice to increase awareness of financial pressures on the sector

We supported survivors through our range of online and telephone support services, to ensure that they receive the right support, at the right time, for their needs.

Our Survivors Handbook provided practical support and information for women experiencing domestic abuse, with simple guidance on every aspect of seeking support. Last year it was viewed 195,053 times.

Survivors' Forum provided a safe, anonymous, space for women who have been affected by domestic abuse to come together, share their experiences and give one another practical and emotional support on their recovery journey.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Our Live Chat connected survivors of domestic abuse to a specialist support worker for advice and support.

Our Professionals Service supported those working with survivors to provide an improved response to the survivors they support

Our No Woman Turned Away (NWTA) project offers support to the most marginalised women to find safe outcomes in spite of the barriers they face

The practitioners within NWTA provide advocacy and support to women who have not been able to find refuge space due to one or more barrier.

We received a total of 330 referrals in the reporting period. Of these, 230 (70%) went on to receive support. A total of 211 women with 207 children completed their period of support during the year.

The practitioners found safe housing for many of the women they supported

Practitioners increased safety for many women in vulnerable positions

We can see the difference our NWTA project can make in our Nowhere to Turn report series and through Imani's story:

Imani* experienced further abuse from the perpetrator while waiting for safe accommodation, including a physical assault which required a hospital visit. Imani slept rough at a police station and on a bus and stayed at a stranger's house. When Imani asked the police for help, they said they were unable to do anything as she had no recourse to public funds. Imani only had £5 left when she was referred to NWTA and had very limited mobile phone credit to make calls. The NWTA project supported Imani to understand her options and applied for a Destitution Domestic Violence Concession (DDVC), which was successful. Imani initially stayed in a hostel before accessing refuge after extensive support from the NWTA practitioners including safety planning, referring to immigration support, asking local domestic abuse services to provide support on the ground, and making referrals to refuges.

*The name and other identifying information from this survivor has been changed to protect her anonymity

Emergency Fund and Flexible fund

We piloted a new approach

On 10th May 2023, Women's Aid launched a pilot Emergency Fund to support survivors of domestic abuse in England and Wales by offering one-off payments. Designed to address financial barriers and support them to flee an abuser and to remain independent. The Home Office awarded a fund of £300,000 to deliver flexible grants for survivors of domestic abuse as part of the previously announced Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan[5] .

The evaluation[6] of the pilot gave us valuable insight into the difference this funding had made to survivors. The pilot demonstrated the demand and need there was for this type of funding, we saw:

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

The most notable impact seen by referrers was on the mental health and wellbeing of women they support. The funding was able to alleviate pressures and worries, relieve economic stress and made survivors feel valued.

We launched a new iteration with learning from the pilot

In January, Women's Aid announced the launch of the Flexible Fund in partnership with the Home Office. This is an additional £2 million to support survivors and for the first time, survivors could also apply for a further one-off payment of up to £2,500 to help secure a sustainable independent future. The fund opened in February and will continue until March 2025, one recipient talked about the difference it made to her:

"Today, I have received a message saying I have been awarded £1,500 by Women's Aid fund. I am really over the moon. .... Your award hasn't only provided me with financial aid, but it has also reminded me of the importance of kindness and compassion in this world! Your willingness to go above and beyond to help me during my difficult situation means more to me than words can express. .....I hope I, Insha'Allah, one day have the opportunity to pay it forward and make a difference in someone else's life, just as you have done for me! " - survivor who received funding from the Flexible Fund

We provided support to survivors with the cost of travel to refuge through our Travel to Refuge schemes Last year we launched the Road to Refuge scheme to add to our existing Rail to Refuge scheme. This new scheme supports survivors fleeing to refuge to access free travel by coach and is delivered in partnership with National Express.

We also continued to support with the delivery of Rail to refuge, this year:

" I was very stressed. My daughters were getting ill. There was nowhere for them to play. We were stuck in the hotel, I had no friends and was getting depressed. I contacted [Women's Aid member service]. They help me with the coach ticket. I had no money. I was told I do not need to pay to travel. The ticket was booked and I travelled the next day. "- Rail to Refuge user

Coming together to put survivor needs at the heart of policy

We engaged with decision makers to ensure that survivors' needs are at the heart of national policy

We successfully campaigned for an amendment to the Victim and Prisoners Bill to recognise that survivors should have access to a breadth of services depending on their need.

Clause 15 had originally named only Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) and Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVAs) on the face of the Victim and Prisoners bill. This did not recognise advocacy roles that did not fit this model, such as those provided 'by and for' Black and minoritised services, and also failed to recognise the broader work of community-based support services, The government ultimately agreed with Women's Aid that this could lead to the unintended consequence of a hierarchy of support services and replaced the clause to more broadly name 'specified victim roles', which reflects the wide range of services survivors rely on and ensures that the specialist 'by and for' sector were recognised and included.

Our General Election 2024 manifesto called for all political parties to commit to three pillars to improve outcomes and responses for survivors and services:

We coordinated and collaborated on joint work across the sector to ensure a strong VAWG voice in public affairs Collaborations such as our VAWG sector monthly calls, which we jointly chair with the End Violence Against Women Coalition, and the General Election and Victims and Prisoners Bill sub-groups, are vital to ensure breadth of voice across the full spectrum of VAWG services, with true regional and local expertise feeding into public affairs. These have extended our influence by:

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

By supporting organisations to undertake joint work, we can ensure the sector stands together with a strong voice and share our expertise and knowledge which informs our priorities. This includes advocating for the needs of, and specific support needed for, criminalised survivors and removing the many additional barriers faced by migrant survivors.

We have campaigned for legislation to protect survivors of domestic abuse from poor practice

Influencing change in policy and practise plays a vital role in reducing barriers to fleeing and ensuring survivors get the support they need.

We responded to 18 consultations and inquiries, representing survivors' and members' needs to Parliamentary committees, government departments and other agencies.

We have worked with members of the House of Lords and other VAWG sector organisations to table amendments on:

We have advocated about our concerns of survivors and services on failings in the family courts and worked with decision makers to ensure the family justice system is safe for survivors and their children.

It has been almost four years since the publication of the Ministry of Justice's pivotal 'Harm Panel' report, which found systemic failures in how the family courts responded to domestic abuse. The panel made a number of urgent recommendations - but the pace of change remains slow.

We campaigned on the harmful potential impact on survivors of plans for compulsory mediation in the family courts. In February 2024, the Government reversed these plans.

In June 2023, we coordinated an open letter from our patron Mel B and signed by almost 3,000 people, calling for the Panel's recommendations to be implemented urgently and in full to improve the safety of the family courts.

We have also responded to consultations by the Ministry of Justice, Family Justice Council and Review of Civil Legal Aid, advocating for policy and decision making in the family courts to be designed around survivors' needs.

Beyond political audiences, our Experts by Experience shared powerful quotes about their family court experiences on social media to mark Time to Talk day in February and Mothers' Day in March. These reached around 40,000 people and compellingly demonstrated the need for urgent reform.

We also stepped up our influencing work with local decision makers to ensure they prioritise survivors and the lifesaving specialist support services they need.

We connected and supported local stakeholders so that best practice to end domestic abuse can be shared.

We engaged key health stakeholders to secure domestic abuse, and specifically survivors' mental health, as a strategic priority within the health sector.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Our Experts by Experience network strengthened survivor voice in our own work and the national agenda Our Experts by Experience network of survivors has gone from strength to strength, welcoming five new members last year. Through speaking at different events, the diverse community of survivors has collectively reached over 70 family lawyers, 30 health professionals, 20 councillors and many more decision makers and professionals, sharing their expertise to improve policy and practice.

"An inspiring group of strong women [..]. I just wanted to say thank you again and reinforce how important the work you do is and reflect on the impact and strength you provide" Survivor who attended our IWD survivor event

Our Survivor engagement guide supports others to better centre survivors' voices meaningfully across all sectors We worked with Imkaan and Women's Aid sister federations in the devolved nations to develop our guide to meaningful survivor engagement. This was published in March and has already been viewed downloaded over 4,000 times and will help professionals across sectors to better centre survivors' voices.

We led the way in evidence and data on domestic abuse to ensure responses to domestic abuse are grounded in evidence and the voices of survivors and services

Over 21,000 people have downloaded our reports and publications from our website. We published three reports this year: Nowhere to Turn 2023 shines a light on the perilous and difficult journeys that many survivors who face structural barriers or inequalities in accessing refuge must undertake to escape abuse;

Influencers and Attitudes gives new insight into children and young people's perceptions of domestic abuse; and The Domestic Abuse Report 2024: Annual Audit brings together the most comprehensive set of data on domestic abuse in the country, including both Women's Aid datasets and findings from our Annual Survey and FOIs.

The Domestic Abuse Report 2024: Annual Audit

Our annual publication used data from On Track, Routes to Support and the Annual Survey, and shows that 49% of domestic abuse organisations had been running an area of their domestic abuse service without any dedicated funding; and 63% of services reported that survivors couldn't afford to leave the perpetrator.

Provision in London was explored as an example of how good commissioning can work in practice, using findings from the London Refuges Data Collection Project.

The report was launched this year through an exclusive with Channel 4 News. As part of this, Channel 4 filmed at a Sheffield Women's Aid refuge with their CEO Hollie Venn, to demonstrate the effect of local funding cuts. Our CEO, Farah Nazeer, also appeared in studio, and spoke more about the Audit's findings and what they mean.

Findings were disseminated to 129 policymakers and practitioners through a webinar in March and shared by Dawn Butler MP in the House of Commons, highlighting the value of specialist services, need for good practices in commissioning and greater funding for specialist domestic abuse services.

https://www.womensaid.org.uk/what-we-do/research/

Our campaigning and awareness raising has kept our key messages in the news and public awareness, both nationally and internationally

Our 2023 16 Days of Activism campaign called for the national prioritisation of domestic abuse Over 1,700 people signed our open letter calling on the leaders of all political parties to commit to invest in specialist domestic abuse services and pledge support to the 'Invest to Save' pillar of our general election manifesto.

We coordinated, along with End Violence Against Women (EVAW), substantial sector reports to help international bodies effectively monitor the UK's performance on tackling VAWG.

Our report to GREVIO, the Council of Europe body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Istanbul Convention (the landmark international treaty on violence against women), was endorsed by 58 VAWG sector organisations and comprehensively set out issues facing women in England and Wales - particularly marginalised women. GREVIO will make recommendations based on the evidence they receive, so our report will help ensure that key gaps are identified and the Government is held to account when it comes to supporting survivors.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

We built on the success of our short film "He's Coming Home" to establish the footballing community's valuable role in ending domestic abuse during International Women's Day.

We held our cross-party parliamentary football match while receiving a £3,000 donation from the team, which helped support 300 survivors through the Women's Aid Live Chat. We also collaborated with Fulham FC with an International Women's Day feature on Women's Aid in their match day program for the Fulham v Brighton game.

We looked to inspire inclusion during our International Women's Day (IWD) celebrations and called for action to invest in services.

During this period Airbnb showcased how businesses can contribute to ending domestic abuse through training, staff support, and fostering a culture intolerance of abuse. With representatives from companies like Netflix and Spotify in attendance, Airbnb took the lead in demonstrating the significant impact businesses can have in standing against abuse.

Coming Together to create a sustainable organisation

In honour of our 50th anniversary, we've delved deep into our vaults to transform art and posters from the beginning of the federation into a new range of merchandise. The 'Archive Collection' features bold messaging that's underpinned Women's Aid's campaigning over the years and is designed to start conversations. The way we talk about domestic abuse may have changed, but the sentiment behind it has not; and this collection looks back at some of the statements that have resonated most powerfully with audiences to date. We have been delighted by the reception to our collection so far!

Archive project

As we come into our 50th we've been able to look back at how far we have come. The Women's Aid Federation of England Archive has been compiled by the University of Leeds Special Collections Team and documents the history of the organisation, from its origins as the National Women's Aid Federation in 1974 through to present day. The Archive is a major resource for understanding the formation, development and running of the organisation, its contribution to health and society, changes in the law, and cultural shifts in attitudes towards domestic abuse.

Explore Women's Aid's archive:

https://library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections/collection/2963/womens_aid_federation_of_england_archive

As we move into our 50th year, we worked on creating a sustainable organisation. This was possible thanks to the support of our fantastic donors, fundraisers and corporate partners.

Finally, we are so grateful for the generous donations we received this year from supporters who left us a gift in their will.

We are grateful for all companies who choose to support Women's Aid in whatever way. We would love to mention you all, but a couple of highlights this year include...

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

[1] Office for National Statistics (ONS). (2023). Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales: year ending March 2023. Published online: ONS Domestic abuse victim characteristics. England and Wales- Office of National Statistics. (ons.gov.uk)

[2] Women's Aid. (2022). Come Together to End Domestic Abuse: a survey of UK attitudes to domestic abuse 2022. Bristol: Women's Aid

[3] Women's Aid. (2023). Influencers and Attitudes: How will the next generation understand domestic abuse? Bristol: Women's Aid.

[4] Specialist 'by and for' services are run by and for the communities they serve, such as for Black and minoritised women, Deaf and disabled women and LGBT+ survivors. In doing so they offer a uniquely empowering experience to the communities they support, as the client group is reflected in staffing, management, and governance structures of these organisations.

[5] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-domestic-abuse-plan

[6] Women's Aid. (2024) Emergency fund evaluation report. Bristol: Women's Aid

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial position

The charity's total income amounted to £7,174,969 (2023: £5,397,522). This includes a valuation for generously donated services and facilities of £144,590 (2023: £181,144) - see note 2 of the accounts for more information. Underlying income excluding donated services and facilities was £7,030,379 (2023: £5,318,032).

Total expenditure for the year amounted to £8,395,842 (2023: £6,786,963). Underlying expenditure excluding the value of donated services was £8,251,252 (2023: £6,707,473).

The charity's assets are available and adequate to fulfil its obligations on a fund by fund basis.

The charity's performance during the year resulted in an actual net deficit of £1,220,873 (2023: deficit of £1,389,441) made up of restricted funds deficit of £94,711 (2023: deficit of £436,072) and unrestricted funds deficit of £1,126,162 (2023: deficit of £953,369). The reason for the deficit on the unrestricted funds was due to the planned spending of designated reserves.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Principal funding sources

Women's Aid continued to benefit from a wide range of funding sources during 2023-24 and we want to thank all our funders for their continued support.

Fundraising performance

We are enormously grateful to all those organisations and individuals who have supported our work over the course of the year, and remain committed to working with our existing funders to deliver effective solutions to domestic abuse.

We would like to thank the large numbers of individuals who have continued to loyally support our work through making regular donations, responding to appeals, taking part in sponsored challenges, organising events, and speaking out on their own social media and within their networks about the importance of challenging domestic abuse.

We would also like to thank the loyal and committed full and associate members of our federation whose subscriptions enable us to develop our member support activities.

Community

This year our amazing community fundraisers raised over £200,000. They raised funds for Women's Aid in all sorts of inspirational ways - by running, cycling across the country, jumping out of planes, or hiking… even to Everest Base Camp. By holding art exhibitions, raffles, or book club parties and many more ways! We have also seen fantastic displays of advocacy from university students, and we have created strong and impactful Charity of the Year partnerships with schools across England who have taken part in fundraising events for us.

Corporate

We are very grateful to Women's Aid's corporate supporters, who are an integral part of our movement to end domestic abuse. This year we have been generously supported by our Corporate Partners:

We have also received generous donations this year from the below companies, whose generosity has enabled us to continue our vital work:

This year we were very fortunate in being selected by a number of companies to be their 'charity of the year' (including Lee & Thompson, Bravissimo, City Group Security, MV Kelly) We supported their fundraising efforts which were undertaken throughout the year, and very much enjoyed seeing the creative ways in which they used their platforms and work forces; and through events such as comedy nights, cycle challenges and quizzes. We also saw corporates engage in training, as well as sharing their skills and expertise with our staff. We are tremendously grateful for the positive difference that all our corporates have made.

We would also like to recognise those corporate supporters who wish their contributions to remain anonymous, and those we have not been able to name here. We are grateful for all your support.

This year, we have also been delighted to work with more smaller businesses, using the Work for Good platform. 10 businesses raised funds for Women's Aid through their sales and in total raised nearly £7,000.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Trust and Statutory

Women's Aid are very grateful to receive the support of Trusts, Foundations and Statutory organisations. We are proud to work in partnership with the following funders to achieve our mission:

We are grateful to the Tula Trust, CH Foundation (UK), Marsh Charitable Trust, Edward S Smyth Trust, Simon Gibson Charitable Trust, Sara Charlton Foundation, Cobalt Trust, R G Hills Charitable Trust, Roy Proctor Foundation, Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust, Charity of the Order of the Marist Sisters Province of England, TK Maxx and Homesense Foundation, Firebird Foundation, Allfunds Charity Foundation, David Family Foundation, Thomas Sivewright Catto Charitable Settlement, John and Ruth Howard Charitable Trust, Zennor Trust, Keeble Charitable Trust, CBRE UK Charitable Trust, JD Foundation, Clarke Charitable Settlement, GAP Giving, Ian Mactaggart Trust for their support of our work, enabling us to continue our lifesaving work supporting women and children experiencing domestic abuse.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Individual Giving and Appeals

Our Winter Appeal was centred around the difficulties of being trapped with an abuser through the festive period - with the tagline 'When home isn't safe, we're here.' Our generous supporters raised over £62,000 in unrestricted funding between November to January - nearly £33,000 of this came directly through our Winter Appeal donate page.

We continue to see strong support from our community of regular donors- raising over £510,000 from 4,437 supporters this year.

Legacies

We are fortunate to have been the recipient of some incredibly generous Legacy gifts over this past financial year, which have brought in over £673,000 in unrestricted funds. Legacy gifts have a long-lasting impact and help us to build a future where domestic abuse is no longer tolerated.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

This year we have also seen a high number of 'in memory' gifts - raising over £27,302 from supporters choosing to honour the memory of their loved ones in this way.

Investment performance

Under the terms of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the charity may invest monies of Women's Aid not immediately required for its own purposes in or upon such investments, securities or property as may be thought fit. The level of the charity's reserves is such that investment is limited to short-term markets rather than any long-term strategy, although other options continue to be explored. Over the past year we have continued to take a prudent view in terms of the security of the charity's reserves rather than pursuing the highest return. The investment policy is being kept under review to take account of investment opportunities whilst maintaining a low-risk strategy.

Reserves policy

The reserves policy has been reviewed and updated during this financial year.

The board recognises that the charity serves many beneficiaries with an ongoing need and, as such, the organisation's reserves policy has been set with the long-term financial viability of the charity as a critical factor and within the context of the short-term nature of funding contracts.

Trustees have determined that free reserves should be set at an amount sufficient to support core operating and wind down costs for a minimum period of three months and a maximum of six months.

The total balance of funds at 31st March 2024 amounts to £4,065,200 (2023: £5,286,072). This includes restricted funds of £576,553 (2023: £800,431). The balance of unrestricted funds at 31st March 2024 was £3,488,647) (2023 £4,485,642). Of these unrestricted funds, free reserves (calculated as total unrestricted funds, less designated funds and tangible fixed assets) amounted to £1,717,431 (2023: £2,097,277).

Designated reserves totalling £2,383,869 was set aside at the beginning of the year to further our work around four priority areas: -Membership development & sustainability

The remaining balance on these designated funds is £1,771,216. The organisation will be reconsidering the use of these funds over the course of the next year, alongside the development of the new organisational strategy.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

How the Board of Trustees has been evaluated this year

Following the review conducted by Campbell Tickell last year, we have made good progress in implementing the resulting recommendations across the following areas:

Following a review, three new committees have been established to replace the previous committee structure:

The Board has agreed the framework for the recruitment and induction of new Trustees and a Chair of Trustees, who will be appointed in readiness for the ending of current terms in the Autumn/Winter of 2024.

Women's Aid's Scheme of Delegation and Governance Framework have been updated and will be approved at the June and November Board meetings, respectively.

An overhaul of the administration and processes which support the Board has been undertaken, including improving the quality of meeting facilitation. We have also established a new performance monitoring framework, which will enable clearer reporting on progress against key initiatives and impact measurement from the organisation to the Board.

Finally, we have made headway with the careful planning of the Culture and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) work. This includes developing a 'Ways of Working' workshop for new Trustees, refreshing the anti-racism training, developing broader EDI training, and committing to an externally facilitated Board discussion on gender identity and inclusion - all of which will commence in the new financial year.

Governing framework

The Women's Aid Board of Trustees is responsible for overseeing the management of the charity and delegates this responsibility on a day-to-day basis to the Chief Executive. At present, there is a headcount of 112 full and part-time staff.

Financial and operational policies, agreed by the board, are also in place, which govern the management of the charity. The charity's annual business plan is produced as part of an annual planning, consultation and budgeting cycle. Annual work plans enable the delivery of the core and development objectives, which are approved by the board, and monitoring against these plans forms the basis of quarterly reports to the trustee meetings.

Risk management

The Board of Trustees holds responsibility for strategic risk management within the charity. Responsibility for compiling and updating the Board Assurance Framework (BAF) is delegated to the CEO. Responsibility for detailed review of the BAF is delegated to the Finance, Risk and Governance (FRG) committee, which undertakes this review at each meeting and reports on this process to each full Board meeting.

The BAF is comprised of the highest rated risks identified in functional risk registers at an operational level and takes account of risks identified with significant partnership initiatives, reflected in dedicated risk registers for those projects. These risks are reviewed and validated by the Executive Leadership Team and Senior Leadership Team before submission to FRG.

Organisational risks are assessed according to both likelihood and impact. Each risk is assigned a senior responsible lead. The BAF sets out a narrative on the nature of each risk and its likely impact, the mitigating actions already underway, and next steps.

This year the most significant risks identified were:

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Website

Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

People, Inclusion and Equity

Work has been focused on building a robust infrastructure, recruiting a dedicated permanent team and developing training. The organisation is reviewing all processes, policies and programmes from an equity lens and ensuring equity impact assessments are integrated into our ways of working. Working with the Race Equality Strategy Group, the Leadership Team, Anti-Racism Taskforce and the Board of Trustees we are developing our anti-racism agenda and Equity Diversity and Inclusion ambitions. We are proud to be a disability confident employer and are reviewing Women's Aid structures internally and externally from an accessibility lens to ensure to include all vulnerable and marginalised groups. We continue to work on ensuring a positive working environment with the aim of having a diversified, happy workforce. Women's Aid also continues to meet the standards set as a Living Wage Employer.

Pay policy for staff

The board considers that the Executive Leadership Team at Women's Aid Federation of England comprises the key management team of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the charity on a day-to-day basis. All trustees give up their time freely and no trustee received remuneration in the year. However, we pay a nominal honorarium to member organisations represented by a trustee. Details of trustees' expenses and related transactions are disclosed in the accounts.

Following on from our extensive Job Evaluation Scheme which we carried out in October 2023 we now have a graded system which allows us the evaluate roles cross functionally to ensure fairness, transparency and equity. Our annual salary review will now take place in October each year. The commitment is dedicated to a review of the salary bandings, which may or may not lead to an increase in salary depending on affordability.

In recognition that there is an annual increase in the cost of living we also consider an award to compensate for increased costs again, depending on affordability.

Connections to wider network

Women's Aid is a federation of approximately 180 organisations providing around 300 lifesaving local services to women and children across England. Our network also includes a further 90 organisations run by non-members who are engaged with us through the Routes to Support database of services. The charity works in partnership with a range of statutory, voluntary, corporate and other bodies to deliver its mission and achieve its objectives. Membership is based on signing an agreement to support the charity's mission, aims and objectives. There are two membership categories: 1. Full Members: 2. Associate Members: Full member organisations provide direct domestic abuse services through a range of refuge and community-based services to women and child survivors of domestic abuse in England. Associate Members: Organisations who provide direct services for, or adjacent services to, women and child survivors of domestic abuse as part of their service delivery, where it may be that they don't fulfil criteria for full membership, or their organisations primary focus is not domestic abuse. Members work to national standards for service delivery, including the Women's Aid National Quality Standards which cover all aspects of service delivery, as well as using model policies and procedures developed by Women's Aid.

Reference and administrative details Registered Company number 03171880 (England and Wales) Registered Charity number 1054154 Registered office PO Box 3245 Bristol England BS2 2EH

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

03171880 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1054154

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Registered office C/O Bevan Buckland LLP Ground Floor, Cardigan House Swansea SA7 9LA

Trustees

Chief Executive Chief Executive Farah Nazeer
Trustees Dickie James
Jo Gough - Vice Chair
Lindsey Wishart - Treasurer
Madi Turpin
Sarah Hill - Chair
Zlakha Ahmed
Caroline Chang
Peri Thomas
Subcommittee members Amanda Elwen
Angie Stewart
Claire Lambon
Patrons Julie Walters DBE
Melanie Brown MBE
Ambassadors Alice Liveing
Bill Ward
Charlie Webster
Jahmene
Lucy Gaskell
Michelle Griffith-Robinson OLY
Toby-Alexander Smith
Will Young
Rachel Khoo
Love Respect Ambassadors Holly Bourne
Maddy Anholt
Solicitors Freeths LLP,101 Victoria Street,Bristol,BS1 6PU
Bank Co-Operative Retail Bank,16 St Stephen Street,Bristol,BS1 1JR

Auditors

Bevan Buckland LLP (Statutory Auditors) Ground Floor Cardigan House Castle Court Swansea Enterprise Park Swansea SA7 9LA

Page 20

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

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

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

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper 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 Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

AUDITORS

The auditors, Bevan Buckland LLP (Statutory Auditors), will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

17.10.2024

Approved by order of the board of trustees on ............................................. and signed on its behalf by:

........................................................................ Sarah Hill - Trustee

Page 21

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Womens Aid Federation of England (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement 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 Accounting Standards (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 Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

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

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

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors 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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

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

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:

Page 22

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, 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.

Our 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 a Report of the Independent Auditors 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.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the Financial Statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.We discussed our audit independence complying with the Revised Ethical Standard 2019 with the engagement team members whilst planning the audit and continually monitored our independence throughout the process.

Identifying and assessing potential risks related to irregularities

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

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REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS TO THE MEMBERS OF WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

Audit response to risks identified

In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:

We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

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 Report of the Independent Auditors.

Use of our report

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

Alison Vickers (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Bevan Buckland LLP (Statutory Auditors) Ground Floor Cardigan House Castle Court Swansea Enterprise Park Swansea SA7 9LA 17/10/2024 Date: .............................................

Page 24

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Notes
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable activities
5
Direct Services
Campaigning
Training and support for Members
Other Activities
Covid related support
Accessibility
Children and young people
Research and evaluation
Other trading activities
3
Investment income
4
Total
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds
Raising donations and legacies
6
Other trading activities
7
Charitable activities
8
Change That Last
Direct Services
Campaigning
Training and support for Members
Other Activities
Covid related support
Accessibility
Children and young people
Research and evaluation
Culture Change
Transformation
Membership Development & Sustainability
Total
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
Transfers between funds
19
Net movement in funds
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
17.		 Unrestricted
funds
£
2,029,830
-
-
-
739,108
-
-
-
-
631,707
48,864
3,449,509
584,122
608,442
1,192,564
-
-
-
-
2,770,014
-
-
-
-
6,496
273,063
333,534
4,575,671
(1,126,162)
129,167
(996,995)
4,485,642
3,488,647		 Restricted
funds
£
53,063
1,627,293
22,000
-
26,006
780,565
-
732,257
456,354
27,922
-
3,725,460
-
-
-
19,093
1,635,781
43,887
44,629
83,512
785,927
1,776
668,324
537,242
-
-
-
3,820,171
(94,711)
(129,167)
(223,878)
800,431
576,553		 2024
Total
funds
£
2,082,893
1,627,293
22,000
-
765,114
780,565
-
732,257
456,354
659,629
48,864
7,174,969
584,122
608,442
1,192,564
19,093
1,635,781
43,887
44,629
2,853,526
785,927
1,776
668,324
537,242
6,496
273,063
333,534
8,395,842
(1,220,873)
-
(1,220,873)
5,286,073
4,065,200		 2023
Total
funds
£
1,878,382
324,106
241,717
42,866
479,013
1,035,748
22,300
333,418
499,982
536,580
3,410
5,397,522
562,713
447,615
1,010,328
118,155
864,004
761,682
241,080
1,780,902
946,025
87,119
319,164
658,504
-
-
-
6,786,963
(1,389,441)
-
(1,389,441)
6,675,514
5,286,073

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 25

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

BALANCE SHEET 31 MARCH 2024

2024 2023
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
funds funds funds funds
Notes £ £ £ £
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets 15 4,497 - 4,497 6,847
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 16 1,709,539 - 1,709,539 758,842
Cash at bank 2,750,203 576,553 3,326,756 6,120,102
4,459,742 576,553 5,036,295 6,878,944
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year 17 (975,592) - (975,592) (1,599,718)
NET CURRENT ASSETS 3,484,150 576,553 4,060,703 5,279,226
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 3,488,647 576,553 4,065,200 5,286,073
NET ASSETS 3,488,647 576,553 4,065,200 5,286,073
FUNDS 19
Unrestricted funds 3,488,647 4,485,642
Restricted funds 576,553 800,431
TOTAL FUNDS 4,065,200 5,286,073

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on ............................................. and were signed on its behalf by: 17/10/2024

............................................. Sarah Hill - Trustee

............................................. 4, a VSS Lindsey Wishart - Trustee

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 26

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations
1
Net cash used in operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Sale of tangible fixed assets
Interest received
Net cash provided by investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in
the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of
the reporting period		 2024
£
(2,842,210)
(2,842,210)
-
48,864
48,864
(2,793,346)
6,120,102
3,326,756		 2023
£
(2,696,114)
(2,696,114)
5,460
3,410
8,870
(2,687,244)
8,807,346
6,120,102

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 27

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. RECONCILIATION OF NET EXPENDITURE TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES RECONCILIATION OF NET EXPENDITURE TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES RECONCILIATION OF NET EXPENDITURE TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
2024 2023
£ £
Net expenditure for the reporting period (as per the Statement of
Financial Activities) (1,220,873) (1,389,441)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges 2,351 2,351
Interest received (48,864) (3,410)
Increase in debtors (950,698) (134,612)
Decrease in creditors (624,126) (1,171,002)
Net cash used in operations (2,842,210) (2,696,114)

2. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS

Net cash
Cash at bank
Total		 At 1.4.23
£
6,120,102
6,120,102
6,120,102		 Cash flow
£
(2,793,346)
(2,793,346)
(2,793,346)		 At 31.3.24
£
3,326,756
3,326,756
3,326,756

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 28

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Going Concern

The trustees are confident that the charity remains financially strong, the deficits are resultant of planned reserve spend over the last 2 years. This does not impact the going concern of the charity and the trustees are confident of a positive position moving forward.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Donations are recognised when the Charity has been notified in writing of both the amount and settlement date. In the event that a donation is subject to conditions that require a level of performance by the Charity before the Charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions are fully met, or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the Charity and it is probable that these conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period.

Legacy gifts are recognised on a case by case basis following the grant of probate when the administrator/executor for the estate has communicated in writing both the amount and settlement date. In the event that the gift is in the form of an asset other than cash or a financial asset traded on a recognised stock exchange, recognition is subject to the value of the gift being reliably measurable with a degree of reasonable accuracy and the title to the asset having been transferred to the Charity.

Deferred income represents amount received for future periods and is released to incoming resources in the period for which, it has been received. Such income is only deferred when: - The donor specifies that the grant or donation must only be used in future accounting periods; or - The donor has imposed conditions which must be met before the Charity has unconditional entitlement.

Where services or facilities are provided to the Charity as a donation that would normally be purchased from our suppliers this benefit is included in the financial statements at it's fair value unless it's fair value cannot be reliably measured, then at the cost to the donor ot the resale value of goods that are to be sold.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.

Governance costs

These include the costs attributable to the Charity's compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements, including audit, strategic management and Trustee's meetings and reimbursed expenses.

Allocation and apportionment of costs

Support costs include central functions and have been allocated the activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of the resources, for example, allocating property costs by floor area, or per capita, staff costs by the time spent and other costs by their usage.

Page 29

continued...

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Office refurbishment - 5 years straight line Computer equipment - 3 years straight line

Taxation

The Charity is considered to pass the test set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the Charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Trade debtors

Trade debtors are amounts due from customers for merchandise sold or services performed in the ordinary course of business.

Trade debtors are recognised initially at the transaction price. They are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less provision for impairment. A provision for the impairment of trade debtors is established when there is objective evidence that the Charity will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents 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.

Trade creditors

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Accounts payable are classified as current liabilities if the Charity does not have an unconditional right, at the end of the reporting period, to defer settlement of the creditor for at least twelve months after the reporting date. If there is an unconditional right to defer settlement for at least twelve months after the reporting date, they are presented as non-current liabilities.

Trade creditors are recognised initially at the transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective method.

Financial Instruments

Classification

Financial assets and financial liabilities are recogniseed when the charity becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the Charity after deducting all of its liabilities.

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

Trade debtors

Recognition and measurement

All financial assets and liabilities are initially measures at transaction price (including transactions costs), except for those financial assets classified as at fair value though profit or loss, which are initially measured at fair value (which is normally the transaction price excluding transaction costs), unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction. If an arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, the financial asset or financial liability is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are only offset in the statement of financial position when, and only when there exists a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and the Charity intends either to settle on a net basis, or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Financial assets are derecognised when and only when a) the contractual rights to the the cash flows from the financial asset expire or are settled, b) the Charity transfers to another party substantially all of the risks and rewards of ownership of the financial asset, or c) the Charity, despite having retained some, but not all, significant risks and rewards of ownership, has transferred control of the asset to another party.

Financial liabilities are derecognised only when the obligation specified in the contract is discharged, cancelled or expires.

2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
Donations
Legacies
Donated services and facilities		 2024
£
1,265,303
673,000
144,590
2,082,893		 2023
£
1,587,387
109,851
181,144
1,878,382

Legacy income has been accrued where the Charity has been notified that it is entitled to a reasonable estimate of monies. However, the timing of these monies is uncertain as the legacies are subject to the realisation of assets within the legacy estate, which from past experience can take more than a year to be realised.

In addition to the generous financial support receive from all of our supporters over the last 12 months, we would also like to extend our gratitude to those individuals and organisations who donated products and services to Women's Aid.

Donated services during the year are:

2024 2023
£ £
Legal pro-bono for Marketing
House 337 98,630 101,654
Legal pro-bono for Other Activities
Goodwin Law 40,800 -
Goldsmiths Chambers - 45,000
Deighton Pearce Glynn 3,840 -
Consultancy for Research & Evaluation
ORB International - 8,500
MGM General Services Ltd - 25,990
IT Programming Support
Merkle 1,320 -
144,590 181,144

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

3. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

Membership
Publications
Consultancy & Speakers' fees
National Training Centre
Other conference and events
Advertising and merchandise
INVESTMENT INCOME
Deposit account interest
INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Activity
Grants
Direct Services
Grants
Campaigning
Grants
Training and support for Members
Grants
Other Activities
Grants
Covid related support
Grants
Accessibility
Grants
Children and young people
Grants
Research and evaluation
Grants received, included in the above, are as follows:
Home Office
London Councils
Comic Relief
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Avon Cosmetics UK Ltd
Restricted donations
Kering
YSL
Ballys
The Sisters Trust
CAF
MOPAC Lot 3
Home Office Flexible Fund
L'Occitane		 2024
£
182,340
451
31,933
307,837
103,208
33,860
659,629
2024
£
48,864
2024
£
1,627,293
22,000
-
765,114
780,565
-
732,257
456,354
4,383,583
2024
£
732,257
25,000
-
390,477
44,078
819,611
-
-
-
-
780,565
181,595
1,350,000
60,000
4,383,583		 2023
£
110,666
88
5,764
317,541
53,645
48,876
536,580
2023
£
3,410
2023
£
324,106
241,717
42,866
479,013
1,035,748
22,300
333,418
499,982
2,979,150
2023
£
263,416
24,999
(12,500)
387,148
76,840
568,783
42,866
70,002
241,717
64,602
1,056,048
195,229
-
-
2,979,150

4. INVESTMENT INCOME

5. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

In the year 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024 grant aid of £25,000 was received from London Councils for the data collection project under Priority 2, Service area 2.3. The grant has been used to fund London Refuges Data Collection Project which includes collecting and analysing data from Routes to Support to provide an evidence base on the demand and use of refuges in London.

The following table illustrates how the money has been spent by Women's Aid Federation of England and that it has been used for the purposes outlined in the funding agreement.

Grant Grant Spent

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

5. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES - continued

Staff £16,538 £16,429
Beneficiary - -
Other Direct Project £3,711 £3,532
Overheads £4,751 £5,039
£25,000 £25,000

6.

RAISING DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

Unrestricted
funds		 Total Total
General 2024 2023
£ £ £
Employment costs 378,078 378,078 350,940
Other costs 91,335 101,522 117,892
Direct Costs 469,414 479,601 468,832
Allocated support costs 104,590 104,522 93,881
574,004 584,123 562,713

Allocated Support Costs (note 10)

7. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

Purchases
Staff costs		 2024
£
51,688
556,754
608,442		 2023
£
94,435
353,180
447,615
2024 2023
£ £
National Training Centre 431,089 337,602
Membership 177,353 110,013
608,442 447,615

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

8. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS

Direct
Costs
£
Change That Last
14,868
Direct Services
397,393
Campaigning
35,493
Training and support for Members
41,933
Other Activities
2,801,204
Covid related support
187,366
Accessibility
-
Children and young people
548,579
Research and evaluation
437,886
Culture Change
5,059
Transformation
214,249
Membership Development &
Sustainability
262,393
4,946,423
9.
GRANTS PAYABLE
Direct Services
Covid related support
Research and evaluation
The total grants paid to institutions during the year was as follows:
Refuge
IMKAAN
Welsh Women's Aid
Northern Ireland Women's Aid
Scottish Women's Aid
Panahghar
Grants paid to institutions individually under £25,000
The First Step		 Grant
funding of
activities
(see note
9)
£
-
1,144,000
-
-
-
573,585
-
-
350
-
-
-
1,717,935		 Support
costs (see
note 10)
£
4,225
94,388
8,394
2,696
52,322
24,976
1,776
119,745
99,006
1,437
58,814
71,141
538,920
2024
£
1,144,000
573,585
350
1,717,935
2024
£
11,950
182,648
163,725
114,100
144,675
37,250
1,024,787
38,800
1,717,935		 Totals
£
19,093
1,635,781
43,887
44,629
2,853,526
785,927
1,776
668,324
537,242
6,496
273,063
333,534
7,203,278
2023
£
-
732,881
24,782
757,663
2023
£
-
221,157
173,113
151,738
186,875
-
24,780
-
757,663

The above is a list of the largest grants in aggregation to institutions (no grants were made to individuals):

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

10. SUPPORT COSTS

Staff Admin Other Total Total
costs costs support 2024 2023
costs
£ £ £ £ £
Charitable activities 290,091 76,995 45,518 412,904 1,062,780
Cost of generating
donations and legacies		 90,176 23,934 11,906 126,016 127,519
380,266 100,929 57,725 538,920 1,190,299

Basis of allocation

Support costs are apportioned across the main activates of the charity on the basis of total staff time spent on each of these during the year.

11. NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):

12.

Auditors' remuneration
Depreciation - owned assets
TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS		 2024
£
24,721
2,350		 2023
£
19,353
2,351
2024 2023
£ £
Trustees' Honorarium payments 3,195 250

Trustees' expenses

During the year Trustees were reimbursed expenses of £1,182 (2023: £749). Trustees' expenses related to reimbursement of travel and other sundry costs.

There was an additional £3,195 of honorarium payments (2023 £250), which are further detailed in note 20.

During the year £1,912 (2023: £1,819) was paid in respect of Trustees' indemnity insurance.

13. STAFF COSTS

STAFF COSTS
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs		 2024
£
4,010,488
417,172
248,943
4,676,603		 2023
£
3,448,478
360,839
212,955
4,022,272

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

13. STAFF COSTS - continued

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

Charitable activities
Fundraising
Support		 2024
77
10
11
98		 2023
93
10
6
109

The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:

£60,001 - £70,000
£80,001 - £90,000
£90,001 - £100,000
£120,001 - £130,000		 2024
3
1
-
1
5		 2023
-
-
1
-
1

The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the Charity were £391,810 (2023: £120,647)

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

14.
COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
Unrestricted
funds
£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies
1,584,665
Charitable activities
Direct Services
(12,500)
Campaigning
-
Training and support for Members
-
Other Activities
400,914
Covid related support
-
Accessibility
-
Children and young people
-
Research and evaluation
-
Other trading activities
516,827
Investment income
3,410
Total
2,493,316
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds
Raising donations and legacies
562,713
Other trading activities
447,615
1,010,328
Charitable activities
Change That Last
11,413
Direct Services
-
Campaigning
556,768
Training and support for Members
-
Other Activities
1,725,110
Covid related support
-
Accessibility
-
Children and young people
-
Research and evaluation
143,066
Total
3,446,685
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
(953,369)
Transfers between funds
63,102
Net movement in funds
(890,267)
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
5,375,909
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
4,485,642		 Restricted
funds
£
293,717
336,606
241,717
42,866
78,099
1,035,748
22,300
333,418
499,982
19,753
-
2,904,206
-
-
-
106,742
864,004
204,914
241,080
55,792
946,025
87,119
319,164
515,438
3,340,278
(436,072)
(63,102)
(499,174)
1,299,605
800,431		 Total
funds
£
1,878,382
324,106
241,717
42,866
479,013
1,035,748
22,300
333,418
499,982
536,580
3,410
5,397,522
562,713
447,615
1,010,328
118,155
864,004
761,682
241,080
1,780,902
946,025
87,119
319,164
658,504
6,786,963
(1,389,441)
-
(1,389,441)
6,675,514
5,286,073

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

15.
TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Improvements
to
Computer
property
equipment
£
£
COST
At 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024
19,086
2,128
DEPRECIATION
At 1 April 2023
13,067
1,300
Charge for year
1,641
709
At 31 March 2024
14,708
2,009
NET BOOK VALUE
At 31 March 2024
4,378
119
At 31 March 2023
6,019
828
16.
DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
2024
£
Trade debtors
76,929
Other debtors
5,152
VAT
-
Accrued income
1,508,594
Prepayments
118,864
1,709,539
17.
CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
2024
£
Trade creditors
360,357
Social security and other taxes
126,694
VAT
7,749
Other creditors
924
Deferred income
129,896
Accrued expenses
349,972
Deferred grants
-
975,592
18.
LEASING AGREEMENTS
Minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases fall due as follows:
2024
£
Within one year
111,599
Between one and five years
115,055
In more than five years
864
227,518		 Totals
£
21,214
14,367
2,350
16,717
4,497
6,847
2023
£
104,883
8,742
842
596,966
47,409		 Totals
£
21,214
14,367
2,350
16,717
4,497
6,847
2023
£
104,883
8,742
842
596,966
47,409		 Totals
£
21,214
14,367
2,350
16,717
4,497
6,847
758,842
2023
£
300,222
103,220
-
1,100
241,847
172,764
780,565
1,599,718
2023
£
81,588
195,779
1,728
279,095

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Designated Fund - Membership
development and sustainability
Designated Fund - Sector wide initiatives
Designated Fund - Culture Change
Designated Fund - Transformation
Restricted funds
Home Office
Avon Cosmetics Uk Ltd
RTS & Membership
People's Postcode Trust
Women's Aid Members Contribution to
Apprenticeship
Restricted donations
Kering
YSL
Refinitiv
Restricted Campaigns & Policy
Ballys
Hiscox
JJ Charitable Trust
The Sisters Trust
Bloom Ask Me Trainer
CAF Covid Support
CVC Foundation
MOPAC Lot 3
Office Insurance Claim
Bally's Foundation Year 2
NWTA Sara Charlton
Family Courts Project
Home Office Flexible Fund
L'Occitane
Routes to Support (MHCLG)
TOTAL FUNDS		 At 1.4.23
£
2,101,773
1,464,226
374,998
284,979
259,666
4,485,642
(2,171)
222,885
74,977
1,840
14,100
87,195
1,000
14,130
54,723
2,113
72,822
6,233
19,612
64,602
19,093
56,845
22,666
42,473
25,293
-
-
-
-
-
-
800,431
5,286,073		 Net
movement
in funds
£
(513,509)
(333,334)
-
(272,823)
(6,496)
(1,126,162)
64,001
(87,428)
13,548
-
-
(34,895)
(1,000)
(2)
(4,354)
-
(72,822)
(5,136)
(14,969)
(64,602)
(19,093)
(4,915)
(19,169)
5,682
(9,886)
6,483
-
21,358
65,208
60,000
7,280
(94,711)
(1,220,873)		 Transfers
between
funds
£
129,167
-
-
(12,156)
12,156
129,167
(61,830)
-
(3,720)
-
-
(9,000)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(51,930)
-
-
(15,407)
-
20,000
-
-
-
(7,280)
(129,167)
-		 At
31.3.24
£
1,717,431
1,130,892
374,998
-
265,326
3,488,647
-
135,457
84,805
1,840
14,100
43,300
-
14,128
50,369
2,113
-
1,097
4,643
-
-
-
3,497
48,155
-
6,483
20,000
21,358
65,208
60,000
-
576,553
4,065,200

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continued...

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Designated Fund - Membership
development and sustainability
Designated Fund - Culture Change
Designated Fund - Transformation
Restricted funds
Home Office
London Councils
DHLUC
Avon Cosmetics Uk Ltd
RTS & Membership
Restricted donations
Kering
YSL
Refinitiv
Ballys
Hiscox
JJ Charitable Trust
The Sisters Trust
Bloom Ask Me Trainer
CAF Covid Support
CVC Foundation
MOPAC Lot 3
Office Insurance Claim
Bally's Foundation Year 2
Family Courts Project
Home Office Flexible Fund
L'Occitane
Routes to Support (MHCLG)
TOTAL FUNDS		 Incoming
resources
£
3,449,309
200
-
-
3,449,509
732,325
25,000
184,796
44,078
13,749
128,891
-
-
-
(29,577)
-
-
-
-
781,012
-
181,595
(9,886)
29,574
22,000
1,350,000
60,000
211,903
3,725,460
7,174,969		 Resources
expended
£
(3,962,818)
(333,534)
(272,823)
(6,496)
(4,575,671)
(668,324)
(25,000)
(184,796)
(131,506)
(201)
(163,786)
(1,000)
(2)
(4,354)
(43,245)
(5,136)
(14,969)
(64,602)
(19,093)
(785,927)
(19,169)
(175,913)
-
(23,091)
(642)
(1,284,792)
-
(204,623)
(3,820,171)
(8,395,842)		 Movement
in funds
£
(513,509)
(333,334)
(272,823)
(6,496)
(1,126,162)
64,001
-
-
(87,428)
13,548
(34,895)
(1,000)
(2)
(4,354)
(72,822)
(5,136)
(14,969)
(64,602)
(19,093)
(4,915)
(19,169)
5,682
(9,886)
6,483
21,358
65,208
60,000
7,280
(94,711)
(1,220,873)

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WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Comparatives for movement in funds

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Designated Fund - Membership
development and sustainability
Designated Fund - Sector wide initiatives
Designated Fund - Culture Change
Designated Fund - Transformation
Restricted funds
Home Office
The National Lottery Community Fund
DHLUC
Avon Cosmetics Uk Ltd
Oak Foundation & Others
RTS & Membership
Big Potential Social Investment
People's Postcode Trust
Women's Aid Members Contribution to
Apprenticeship
Restricted donations
Kering
YSL
Black Rock
Barclays
Refinitiv
Ask Me Fundraising
Restricted Campaigns & Policy
Bristol University Justice
Ballys
Hiscox
JJ Charitable Trust
Tableau
The Sisters Trust
Bloom Ask Me Trainer
CAF Covid Support
MOJ IDVA Training
CVC Foundation
MOPAC Lot 3
Office Insurance Claim
TOTAL FUNDS		 At 1.4.22
£
1,870,311
1,728,542
435,200
968,861
372,995
5,375,909
3
62,040
-
180,635
48,558
58,819
2,668
1,840
14,100
405,781
13,700
17,501
16,346
86,660
54,862
32,252
1,913
4,331
36,119
31,644
20,000
2,038
-
20,000
28,273
45,025
114,497
-
-
1,299,605
6,675,514		 Net
movement
in funds
£
170,429
(264,316)
(60,202)
(685,951)
(113,329)
(953,369)
(2,174)
(62,101)
(377)
42,250
(48,558)
16,158
(2,668)
-
-
(318,586)
(12,700)
(3,371)
(16,346)
(87,035)
(139)
(4,217)
200
(4,331)
36,703
(25,411)
(388)
(2,038)
64,602
(907)
64,452
(45,025)
(91,831)
42,473
25,293
(436,072)
(1,389,441)		 Transfers
between
funds
£
61,033
-
-
2,069
-
63,102
-
61
377
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
375
-
(28,035)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(35,880)
-
-
-
-
(63,102)
-		 At
31.3.23
£
2,101,773
1,464,226
374,998
284,979
259,666
4,485,642
(2,171)
-
-
222,885
-
74,977
-
1,840
14,100
87,195
1,000
14,130
-
-
54,723
-
2,113
-
72,822
6,233
19,612
-
64,602
19,093
56,845
-
22,666
42,473
25,293
800,431
5,286,073

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continued...

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Designated Fund - Membership
development and sustainability
Designated Fund - Sector wide initiatives
Designated Fund - Culture Change
Designated Fund - Transformation
Restricted funds
Home Office
London Councils
The National Lottery Community Fund
DHLUC
Avon Cosmetics Uk Ltd
Oak Foundation & Others
RTS & Membership
Big Potential Social Investment
Restricted donations
Kering
YSL
Black Rock
Barclays
Refinitiv
Ask Me Fundraising
Restricted Campaigns & Policy
Bristol University Justice
Ballys
Hiscox
JJ Charitable Trust
Tableau
The Sisters Trust
Bloom Ask Me Trainer
CAF Covid Support
MOJ IDVA Training
CVC Foundation
MOPAC Lot 3
Office Insurance Claim
TOTAL FUNDS		 Incoming
resources
£
2,493,316
-
-
-
-
2,493,316
263,416
24,999
11,316
387,148
76,840
-
21,037
-
373,579
42,866
70,002
-
-
-
27,762
100
-
241,717
-
-
-
64,602
-
1,035,748
-
-
195,229
67,845
2,904,206
5,397,522		 Resources
expended
£
(2,322,887)
(264,316)
(60,202)
(685,951)
(113,329)
(3,446,685)
(265,590)
(24,999)
(73,417)
(387,525)
(34,590)
(48,558)
(4,879)
(2,668)
(692,165)
(55,566)
(73,373)
(16,346)
(87,035)
(139)
(31,979)
100
(4,331)
(205,014)
(25,411)
(388)
(2,038)
-
(907)
(971,296)
(45,025)
(91,831)
(152,756)
(42,552)
(3,340,278)
(6,786,963)		 Movement
in funds
£
170,429
(264,316)
(60,202)
(685,951)
(113,329)
(953,369)
(2,174)
-
(62,101)
(377)
42,250
(48,558)
16,158
(2,668)
(318,586)
(12,700)
(3,371)
(16,346)
(87,035)
(139)
(4,217)
200
(4,331)
36,703
(25,411)
(388)
(2,038)
64,602
(907)
64,452
(45,025)
(91,831)
42,473
25,293
(436,072)
(1,389,441)

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continued...

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Designated Funds

Fund Description
Membership
Development & This money has been set aside to support members in the challenges associated
Sustainability with local commissioning.
Sector wide This designated fund is for work across a number of key projects which will have
initiatives sector wide impact
An internal investment pot for investment in our infrastructure that will ensure the
Transformation long term viability of the organisation
Culture Change

Restricted Funds

Further description of each material fund which includes the source of funding and nature of restriction:

Project Description Funders
Children & Young The 'What Works in Preventing VAWG and Supporting The Home Office
People What Works Children' fund focusses on interventions for children
Fund with
the
purpose
of
preventing
VAWG.
Our
key
deliverables
are:Delivering
training
to children
and
young people in schools
and educational
settings;
specifically
exploring
domestic
abuse
and
healthy
relationships.Developing
online resources for children
and young people through microsites and social media
offerings.Expanding
training
to
domestic
abuse
practitioners and professionals who work with children
and
young
people.Carrying
out
research
and
evaluation
activities
to
evidence
what
works
in
preventing VAWG.
Flexible Fund This fund was set up to deliver funding to survivors via The Home Office
our membership, organisations listed on the Routes to
Support directory and specialist delivery partners. This
fund was to support survivors to leave their abusers or
remain safely in their own home and to help secure a
sustainable independent future.
On Track On
Track,
our
outcomes
monitoring
and
case		 Avon Cosmetics
management is used by nearly 80 organisations to
facilitate their casework and evidence their impact. The
national data it provides is used to inform and support
our campaigning
and advocacy work on behalf of
members and survivors.
Routes to support The project provides a referral database of VAWG Ministry of Housing,
services and refuge vacancies to national helplines and Levelling Up and
local services.
It further
provides
a public
service		 Communities/ London
directory
on
the
Women's
Aid
website
and
the		 Councils
Goldbook Online directory which is available at cost to
other agencies
No Woman Turned The No Woman Turned Away (NWTA) project provides Ministry of Housing,
Away dedicated
support
to women who face barriers
in		 Levelling Up and
accessing
a
refuge
space.
A
team
of
specialist		 Communities
domestic abuse practitioners receive referrals and we
are continuing
to conduct
detailed
monitoring
and
analysis of survivors' experiences alongside this.

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continued...

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

19. MOVEMENT IN FUN DS - continued
Mental Health The objective of this project is to develop a flagship Bally's Foundation
Campaign new public policy campaign that will shape debates
around domestic abuse and mental health and use
momentum of the Domestic Abuse Bill to drive change
forward.
The campaign
will run for 3 years.
This
campaign will be: driven by the priorities and voices of
survivors; rooted in the expertise and views of our
members;
and
will
not
mean
that
we
speak
for
marginalised
groups,
but
will
enable
us
to
build
partnerships to ensure the voices and experiences of
marginalised survivors are central to the campaign. We
will be building on the lessons and learning of engaging
a diverse group of survivors as 'experts by experience'
in our Law in the Making project during 2019-20.
Covid - 19 Support Project
aiming
to
strengthen
the
UK
network
of		 CAF, managed by ABI
domestic abuse services emerging from the Covid-19
crisis. The grant is provided to the "VAWG Partnership"
which is made up of the four Women's Aid federations
(England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland) and
Imkaan.
The
VAWG
Partnership
will
work
collaboratively to support the specialist domestic abuse
(DA) sector to recover from the devastating effects of
Covid19
and
potential
further
devastation
from
a
second wave and recession. The partnership will build
resilience within the DA sector, building upon new ways
of
engaging
digitally
that
are
emerging
through
Covid19, future proofing us for a digital world, and
utilising
these
to remove
the
barriers
to
support,
learning and resources that are required by services
now more than ever. The Grantee (WAFE) will be the
lead organisation in this project. WAFE will be the
recipient
of the grant and will be accountable
for
managing the onward payments, overall programme
management and the delivery and outcomes of the
WAFE
elements
of
the
project.
Imkaan,
Welsh
Women's Aid, Scottish Women's Aid and Women's Aid
Federation of Northern Ireland will be recipients of the
onward grants and will each be accountable for the
delivery.
Expansion of Routes The MOPAC Lot 3 funding focuses on the expansion of Mayor's Office for
to Support and On our Routes to Support and On Track programs. The policing and crime
Track programmes key targets are:++On Track:- The expansions of the On
Track
workshop
program-
Develop
e-learning
resources, so organisations can access training more
easily, at a time that suits them- Helping services build
dynamic
reports
by means
of looking
at bespoke
reporting to help them demonstrate the impact of their
work using On Track++Routes to support:- Improve
accessibility & reach of the online directory- Improved
data collection- An in-built referral form on RtS for
organisations using On Track
Central Accessibility To ensure that the voices of disabled women are heard Various
Fund in our ongoing work to represent all women who are
affected
by
domestic
abuse
and
challenge
the
circumstances that enable violence against women to
continue.

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continued...

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued
Family Courts Women's Aid continues to campaign for reforms to the Firebird Foundation,
Project family court to make survivors and children safer. We David Family
work with the Ministry of Justice, Cafcass, the National Foundation
Association of Child Contact Centres, Family Mediation
Council and other agencies to advise them on their
approach to domestic abuse, and we also convene a
sector working group on the family courts which meets
regularly
to share
insights,
plan
joint
activity
and
discuss emerging issues.Key impacts in the last year
include:The
Ministry
of
Justice
reversing
plans
to
introduce compulsory pre-court mediation, which would
have been harmful to survivors, following a joint letter
we organised which was signed by 30 partners and our
consultation
response.Delivering
a
webinar
on
domestic abuse to 70+ family lawyers for International
Women's
Day,
after
which
93%
said
they
better
understood
how
to
support
survivors.Through
the
family courts working group, supported the tabling of
amendments to the Victims and Prisoners Bill which led
to the Government agreeing to take forward the issue
of dangerous unregulated 'experts' in the family court
through the Family Justice Council.
Children and Young YSL supported the Safer Futures project, which will YSL
People enable
us to relaunch
our
nationwide
network
of
Schools
Advocates,
consisting
of
domestic
abuse
professionals who champion prevention work in their
region and support schools to address domestic abuse.
encourage
widespread
engagement
with
schools
across England to improve education for children and
young people about domestic violence. The project
aims to ensure that healthy relationships education is
delivered responsibly and effectively across the country
Survivors Forum The
Survivors'
Forum
is
an
online
peer-to-peer		 L'Occitane
platform, in a safe and anonymous space, monitored
by professionals,
for women affected
by domestic
abuse to share their experiences and support one
another.
An
online
community
built
on
female
empowerment, it has survivors' voices at its heart.
Trained
women's
aid staff moderate
the forum
to
ensure
that
women
are
safe
and
not
disclosing
information
that could put them at risk, and
also
signpost
where
appropriate.Through
this
Project,
L'OCCITANE
will
provide
financial
support
for the
empowerment of 16,700 women. There are currently
14,700 registered users on the Survivors' Forum who
will continue to be supported, and over the course of a
year, we would aim to see 2,000 new users registered
on the Survivors' Forum because of this funding.
Training Portal The donation was made with specific reference to the Hiscox, JJ Charitable
current Covid-19 pandemic. It was decided to use Trust, Refinitiv
these
funds
towards
the
training
portal
so
that
Women's Aid could continue to carry out training online
during the Covid-19 restrictions and beyond.

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continued...

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

19. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued Leadership We were awarded a donation towards the salary costs The Sister's Trust of our Chief Executive for 3 years. As this is such a pivotal role in the domestic abuse sector it is crucial that our new Chief Executive is given time to develop and nurture relationships with funders, both statutory and trusts, as well as supporters, sister organisations, sector partners and government members. By the end of the 3 year funding period our new Chief Executive will have led the development and implementation of our new organisational strategy.

Transfers between funds

The transfers between funds between 1st April 2023 and 31st March 2024 were as follows:

£
Description		 From fund To fund
15,047
Returning the balance of monies		 Office Insurance Claim Unrestricted
received from insurers to unrestricted
funds
51,930
The transferred element is bursary		 CAF Covid Support Unrestricted
income received which is supported by
training, therefore this has been
reallocated to training within the
general fund.
61,830
The transferred element is bursary		 Home Office Unrestricted
income received which is supported by
training, therefore this has been
reallocated to training within the
general fund.
20,000
Transfer to repurpose a grant received		 Restricted Donations NWTA Sara
for Accessibility to cover a new post in Charlton
NWTA as agreed with Trust
11,000
Transfer to cover Vacancy monitoring		 Routes to Support Restricted
for Routes To Support by Direct (MHCLG) Donations
Services team
3,720
Transfer to cover costs between funds		 RTS - Invoice Income Routes to Support
as both funds cover Routes to Support (MHCLG)
and costs are allocated between both
funds

During the year there was a reallocation of funding between unrestricted funds, this is noted below:

£ Description From Fund To Fund
Transfer to cover overspend on
Internal Investments linked to overall
12,156 transformation project Transformation Culture Change

Included within restricted funds, the fund Home Office has a negative balance at the year end due to timing of the invoices submitted to the grant provider. It has been agreed with the provider that due to this being an ongoing project, the invoices can be claimed in the next claim in the next financial year.

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continued...

WOMENS AID FEDERATION OF ENGLAND

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

20. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

Women's Aid worked with Refuge, the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre, and the Women and Girls Network to deliver Domestic and Sexual Violence Helpline Services to London.

Six Full or Associate Trustees hold senior positions with member services where there is a small possibility of "Conflict of Interest". The board follows the Women's Aid Conflict of Interest Policy at all times to mitigate the risk from possible conflicts of interest.

Some of the Board of Trustees and Associate Trustees' were drawn from member organisations running services to address violence against women and children. Honorarium payments were made to these member organisations in recognition of their support for the work of the Boad, as detailed below:

2024
2024
2024		 2023
Associate
Trustees
Trustees
Total		 Total
£
£
£		 £
Apna Haq 1,895
1,895		 -
Rise -
-		 250
Staffordshire Women's Aid 800
800		 -
Cambridge Women's Aid 500
-
500		 -
500
2,695
3,195		 250

Reimbursement of expenses/sundry were made to the following organisations/individuals on behalf of Board Members:

Reimbursement of expenses/sundry were
Members:		 made to the following organisations/individuals
on		 behalf of Board
2024
2024
2024		 2023
Associate
Trustees
Trustees
Total		 Total
£
£
£		 £
Apna Haq -
-
-		 555
Independent -
-
-		 1,182
IDAS -
1,043
1,043		 -
Staffordshire -
57
57		 -
Cambridge WA -
-
-		 43
-
1,100
1,100		 1,780

Sales relating to conference places, publications, on track, training courses and job adverts on the charity website were made to the following organisations:

2024
2024		 2024 2023
Associate
Trustees
Trustees'		 Total Total
£
£		 £ £
IDAS -
33,310		 33,310 34,280
Stop Domestic 3,002
-		 3,002 9,450
Rise -
1,675		 1,675 6,710
Cambridge Women's Aid 6,316
-		 6,316 7,730
Staffordshire Women's Aid -
2,741		 2,741 3,950
Harv Domestic Abuse 946
-		 946 3,214
Jewish Women's Aid -
-		 - 4,515
Apna Haq -
580		 580 400
10,264
38,306		 48,570 70,249

Page 47

Audit Findings Report for the year ended 31[st] March 2024

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................... 1 Audit approach ..................................................................................................................... 2 Areas of significant risk ......................................................................................................... 3 Additional areas of audit focus ............................................................................................. 4 Accounting estimates and judgements ................................................................................. 5 Internal Controls ................................................................................................................... 6 Adjusted misstatements ....................................................................................................... 9 Unadjusted misstatements ................................................................................................... 9 Other Matters ..................................................................................................................... 10 Appendix 1 – Auditor independence and objectivity.......................................................... 11 Appendix 2 - Strategic, Financial & Governance Health Check ........................................... 12

The contents of this report relate only to those matters which came to our attention during the conduct of our normal audit procedures which are designed primarily for the purpose of expressing our opinion on the financial statements and giving a value for money conclusion. Our audit is not designed to test all internal controls or identify all areas of control weakness. The terms and conditions, under which our audit will be performed, including our roles and responsibilities and auditors, are set out in our letters of engagement. These have been issued separately.

However, where, as part of our testing, we identify any control weaknesses, we will report these to you. In consequence, our work cannot be relied upon to disclose defalcations or other irregularities, or to include all possible improvements in internal control that a more extensive special examination might identify. We do not accept any responsibility for any loss occasioned to any third party acting, or refraining from acting on the basis of the content of this report, as this report was not prepared for, nor intended for, any other purpose.

Executive Summary

This report highlights the key issues affecting the results of the charity and the preparation of the financial statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2024. It is also used to report our audit findings to management and those charged with governance in accordance with the requirements of International Standard on Auditing (UK) 260.

We are required to report whether, in our opinion, the charity’s financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of the charity and its income and expenditure for the year and whether they have been properly prepared in accordance with the Charity SORP.

Status of our audit We have completed all of our audit work. The only issues outstanding are: Board approval of financial statements Signed letter of representation Audit opinion On the completion of the audit we expect to issue an unmodified opinion. Materiality Final materiality has been set at £144,000, using a benchmark of 2% of turnover. A level of £7,200 has been set as our clearly trivial level. Audit risks & other We have no significant items to highlight regarding significant audit risks and other areas of audit focus. areas of focus

Accounting estimate We have highlighted 4 key estimates and judgements. We have no issues to report in this area and considered the process of estimation to be appropriate and key and judgements assumptions to be well balanced for these items. Internal controls Our audit is not designed to test all internal controls or identify all areas of control weakness. However, where, as part of our testing, we identified any control weaknesses, we report these. Our work has not identified any new control weakness which we wish to highlight for your attention.

Our follow up to prior year and interim recommendations highlighted 4 internal control weaknesses which we have re-visited. Out of the 4 weaknesses identified, there has been progress shown for 2 of these matters.

Executive Summary

1

Going Concern As part of our audit work, we report on the going concern of the charity. The charity has strong unrestricted reserves. The charity incurred a large unrestricted
deficit during the year and there are planned deficits for both 2025 and 2026. We have considered these deficits and are satisfied that they do not impact the
going concern of the charity. However, whilst we are satisfied with the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, we would like to highlight to the Trustees
the challenges that the charity will face in the event of continuing deficits.
Adjusted
misstatements		 As a result of our audit work, we identified 2 misstatements that have been adjusted by management.
Unadjusted
misstatements		 We did not identify any unadjusted misstatements above triviality to bring to your attention.
Independence We are not aware of any relationships between Bevan Buckland LLP and the Charity, that in our professional judgement, may reasonably be thought to bear on
our integrity, independence and objectivity in performing our duties as auditors.

Acknowledgement

We would like to take this opportunity to record our appreciation for the assistance provided by the finance team and other staff during our audit.

Executive Summary

2

Audit approach

The auditing findings report presents the observations arising from the audit that are significant to the responsibility of those charged with governance to oversee the financial reporting process, as required by International Standard on Auditing (UK) 260.

As auditor we are responsible for performing the audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK), which is directed towards forming and expressing an opinion on the financial statements that have been prepared by management with the oversight of those charged with governance. The audit of the financial statements does not relieve management or those charged with governance their responsibilities for the preparation of the financial statements.

Materiality

In performing our audit, we apply the concept of materiality, following the requirements of International Standard on Auditing (UK) (ISA) 320: Materiality in planning and performing an audit. The standard states that 'misstatements, including omissions, are considered to be material if they, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial statements.

In our audit plan presented to you in February 2024 we reported our planning materiality used in planning our overall audit strategy. In line with ISA (UK) 450, prior to the evaluation of uncorrected misstatements, we have considered whether it necessary to revise materiality.

As planning materiality was based on the prior year turnover we have revisited our actual materiality to consider actual result for the period. Our audit work has been carried out using the revised materiality so has had no impact on our audit testing.

Area
Planning
materiality
Final
materiality		 Area
Planning
materiality
Final
materiality		 Area
Planning
materiality
Final
materiality
Overall £112,250 £144,000

We are obliged to report uncorrected omissions or misstatements other than those which are ‘clearly trivial’ to those charged with governance. We have applied the de minimis level of 5% of overall materiality reported in our audit planning report to the final materiality.

Audit approach

3

Areas of significant risk

We raised a number of significant risks in our audit plan where we detailed work we would be carrying out as part of our audit procedures. We performed procedures during the audit to address each of these risks and ensure the financial statements are free from a material misstatement.

Risk
Overall Risk
Factor
Work completed, issues & assurance gained		 Risk
Overall Risk
Factor
Work completed, issues & assurance gained		 Risk
Overall Risk
Factor
Work completed, issues & assurance gained
Revenue recognition
There is a presumption that
revenue recognition is a
significant risk on every audit
engagement (ISA (UK) 240)
High
We examined and tested the process through which management had identified and quantified any income that needs to be accrued at
the year-end and traced this through to source documentation to ensure inclusion within the correct financial year.
We also reviewed platform giving sites to ensure appropriate accruals were in place for pre year end donations.
Finally, we performed substantive testing on a sample of income transactions.
There are no issues we wish to bring to your attention arising from the procedures undertaken.
Management
Override
of
Controls
Management override of
controls should be considered a
risk on every engagement (ISA
(UK&I) 240.74)
High
During the course of our audit, we have undertaken the following procedures:
Considered indication of management bias in accounting estimates and their overall appropriateness; and
Reviewed journal entries and other adjustments made at the end of the accounting period.
There are no issues we wish to bring to your attention arising from the procedures undertaken.
Income / debtor cut off High We reviewed all material income streams and traced through to source documentation to ensure completeness of income within the
financial statements.
We also extensively reviewed post year end receipts and post year-end sales invoices to ensure items were included within the correct
financial year.
There are no issues we wish to bring to your attention arising from the procedures undertaken.

Areas of significant risk

4

Additional areas of audit focus

Although not considered to be significant risks, we raised a number of additional areas/risks given specific consideration due to the nature of the area and the risk of material misstatement in our audit plan. We performed procedures during the audit to address each of these areas/risks and ensure the financial statements are free from a material misstatement.

Risk
Overall Risk
Factor
Work completed, issues & assurance gained		 Risk
Overall Risk
Factor
Work completed, issues & assurance gained		 Risk
Overall Risk
Factor
Work completed, issues & assurance gained
Creditor cut off
Medium
We reviewed year end creditors and deferred income balances to ensure correct cut off has been applied and the amounts included within
the financial year are accurate and complete.
We found no misstatements above triviality within this area.
Year end fund balances and
transfers between funds
Medium
Reviewed grant documentation for any year-end fund with balances and confirmed entitlement to carry funds forward to 2024/25.
We have no issues to note regarding our testing in this area.
Staff changes and gaps within
Finance Team
Medium
We have performed a review of control areas to ensure gaps within the finance team have not negatively impacted existing documented
controls. We are now aware a new and experienced Head of Finance has been appointed and have no issues to report in this area.
Going Concern Medium We acknowledge that the charity has strong reserves, so we have therefore monitored future budgets in order to see how those reserve
levels are affected and the impact on going concern.

Additional areas of audit focus

6

Accounting estimates and judgements

Accounting estimates vary widely in nature and are required to be made by management when the monetary amounts cannot be directly observed. The measurement of these monetary amounts is subject to estimation uncertainty, which reflects inherent limitations in knowledge or data. The process of making accounting estimates involves selecting and applying a method using assumptions and data, which requires judgement by management and can give rise to complexity in measurement. We have outlined below a summary and how we assess the key accounting judgements applied by management.

Assessment

Key Estimate 2024
Value		 2023
Value		 Assessment Explanation
Deferred income 129,897 241,847 @ Deferred income is calculated based on actual training income to defer.
Deferred grants
-
780,565
This balance related to grant monies received in advance for CAF grant. The final
annual release of the grant monies received in advance was completed in 2024.
Legacies – accrued income
3,000
55,257
Accrued income for legacies is recognised when the income is both probable and
measurable. Upon review of legacy income in the year this is deemed sufficient.
Accrued Income
1,512,978
541,699
Accrued income is accrued grant monies for grants relating to 2023/24. Significant
@
~~a ae~~
~~ee~~
~~ee a~~
variance this year due to a new £1.3m grant awarded in the year.

As part of the requirements of ISA (UK) 540 we will require written representations whether the methods, significant assumptions and the data used in making the accounting estimates and the related party disclosures are appropriate to achieve recognition, measurement or disclosure that is in accordance with applicable reporting framework and as such has been included on the draft letter of representation provided.

Accounting estimates and judgements

6

Internal Controls

The purpose of an audit is to express an opinion on the financial statements. The matters reported here are limited to those deficiencies we have identified during the course of the audit and that we have concluded are of sufficient importance to merit being reported to you.

Our audit included consideration of internal controls relevant to the preparation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of internal control. We considered and walked through the internal controls for year ended 31[st] March 2024.

There were no new control issues which were identified during the audit.

Internal Controls

7

Follow up of prior year audit and interim audit recommendations

Number of recommendations that were:
Included in report
Implemented
Ongoing
~~a~~
~~eee~~		 Number of recommendations that were:
Included in report
Implemented
Ongoing
~~a~~
~~eee~~		 Number of recommendations that were:
Included in report
Implemented
Ongoing
~~a~~
~~eee~~		 Number of recommendations that were:
Included in report
Implemented
Ongoing
~~a~~
~~eee~~
Final Audit Findings Report 22/23
4
2
2
~~eee~~
~~Pd~~
Total
~~Lo~~		 4 2 2

 – Implemented by year-end  – Ongoing at year-end

Prior year audit findings

Area of control Issue in prior year Follow up in current year
VAT returns are
submitted direct
from Xero with
no prior review
process		 Prior year finding
VAT returns are not undergoing a final review and approval process prior to being
submitted to HMRC. This increases the risk of error in the VAT returns.
Prior year recommendation
We recommend that a review by a senior staff member is completed on the VAT return
and documented prior to the final return being submitted.		 During the year, VAT returns were still not under going a final review prior
to submission.
Management Response
Due to the change in finance personnel the recommended process was
not implemented until Kate was in post, this has now been implemented
and can be see in action for 2024/25 year end.
Recommendation ongoing and will be reviewed in 2024/25
De minimis Prior year findings No de-minimis calculations have been prepared in 2023/24.
calculations During our VAT testing, we identified that de minimis calculations are not being
(used as basis performed. Whilst this is not a requirement it is recommended as best practice and to Management Response
for not ensure that any potential reclaimed amounts are not being missed. Due to the change in finance personnel the recommended process has
performing not yet been implemented, however will be carried out by Kate in the
partial Prior year recommendation 2024/25 year end.
exemption Upon discussion with the management team, we recognise that the cost in relation to
adjustments to performing the calculations outweighs the benefit received from the amount reclaimed. Recommendation ongoing and will be reviewed in 2024/25
VAT return) are Therefore, we recommend that going forward the potential amount to be reclaimed is
not performed reviewed periodically to ensure that this is still the case.
and retained in
line with HMRC
guidance.

Internal Controls

9

Area of control Issue in prior year Follow up in current year
Finance IT
controls such as
the onboarding
and offboarding
process is not
monitored by the
IT manager.		 Prior Year Findings
Upon discussion with the IT manager, it was noted that IT finance controls, specifically
the onboarding and offboarding process for new staters and leaver is not regularly
monitored by herself. This increases the risk that the current controls could become
inefficient and not meet the level of requirement needed without anyone being aware.
Prior year recommendation
We recommend that there is a regular review of IT finance controls to ensure they are
operating effectively, such as reviewing user access and removing users when they leave
the charity.		 Upon discussion with Kate, it was confirmed that the off boarding and on
boarding process is currently under review with P&C and IT team. We are
satisfied that the recommendation has been put in place and that this
weakness is no longer ongoing.
Inconsistency Prior Year Findings There have not been any instances to note this year, therefore no further
between
legacy		 During our legacy testing, we identified Thank You report showing the stage of the recommendation to carry forward.
income recorded legacies is not being kept up to date. This could result in an omission of legacy income
on Xero and the being recorded in the financial statements.
stage
recorded
on ThankQ. Prior year recommendation
We recommend that Thank You is maintained for the legacy income being received and
closing down active legacy cases when they are completed.

Internal Controls

9

Adjusted misstatements

We are required to report all items above our trivial threshold to those charged with governance, whether or not the financial statements have been adjusted by management. Below is a summary of the adjustments made from the initial trial balance received to the financial statements along with the impact on the primary statements. All of these adjustments have been agreed with management before adjusting.

2
13,634
-
-
13,634
Over accrual of Accrued Income
~~ee eee~~
~~ee~~ 13,634
~~ee~~		 6,250
~~ee~~		 6,250
~~ee~~		 13,634
~~ee~~
~~ee eee~~		 Accumulated affect of adjustments
~~ee~~
~~eee~~

The net affect of adjustments is a reduction in profit of £7,384.

Unadjusted misstatements

Below is a summary of any unadjusted misstatements identified during the course of our audit except for those deemed trivial. In line with ISA (UK) 450 ‘Evaluation of misstatements identified during the audit’ we will require a written representation confirming the reasoning for not making these adjustments.

~~ee eee~~
-
~~ee~~		 -
~~ee~~		 -
~~ee~~		 -
~~ee~~		 -
~~ee~~
~~ee eee~~		 Accumulated affect of adjustments
~~ee~~
~~eee~~

Adjusted misstatements

11

Other Matters

----- Start of picture text -----
||||||||||||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Fraud| |in the period and no other issues have been identified during the course of our audit.| |•You have not made us aware of any significant incidences of non-compliance with relevant laws and regulations and|we have| |Laws & Regulations|not identified any incidences from our audit work.| |•In|forming|an|opinion|on|the|financial|statements,|we|are|required|to|evaluate|whether|identified|related|party|relationships| |Related parties| |and transactions have been appropriately accounted for and disclosed. We have no issues to report in this area.| |•A|letter|of|representation|has|been|requested|from|the|board,|including|specific|representations.|This|has|been|provided| |Written representations| |externally to this report.| |Disclosures|•Our review found no material ommissions in the financial statements| |•The accounting policies used to prepare the financial statements are considered to be appropriate and are in accordance with| |Accounting policies|

----- End of picture text -----

Other Matters

12

Appendix 1 – Auditor independence and objectivity

Bevan Buckland LLP is required to maintain independence from Women’s Aid Federation of England in line with the Ethical Standard (2019) issued by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and the ethical pronouncements established by the auditor's relevant professional body, in our case the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. In addition, our reputation and continued success as a firm depends on us maintaining auditor independence. We have procedures in place to ensure that any conflicts of interest of which we are aware are communicated to directors and appropriate action taken. This includes all relationships between Bevan Buckland LLP and Women’s Aid Federation of England that, in our professional judgement, may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence and objectivity of the audit engagement partner and the audit staff.

However, there may be factors known by the trustees of which we are not aware. Our letter of engagement requires the trustees to notify us if it becomes aware that any person becomes connected with Bevan Buckland LLP and we will be asking the board to give us written representations that there are no such matters at the conclusion of the audit.

Maintaining and assessing our independence is a continual process throughout the audit cycle. However, we will formally confirm our independence and any significant matters we have considered in assessing any threats to our independence and objectivity in our Report to the board.

We have made enquires of all Bevan Buckland LLP teams providing services to you for compliance matters to ensure our independence is maintained.

In our judgement we have complied with the UK regulatory and professional requirements including the Ethical Standard (2019) issued by the FRC. We are not aware of any relationships between Bevan Buckland LLP and the charity, that in our professional judgement, may reasonably be thought to bear on our integrity, independence and objectivity at the date of the audit plan. As a result we are able to express an objective opinion on the financial statements.

Safeguards

As part of the firms safeguards, all audits are subject to a review by a second partner or independent reviewing officer. The review undertook all high risk areas, significant judgements, financial statements, audit plan and audit findings reports.

Appendix 1 – Auditor independence and objectivity

13

Appendix 2 - Strategic, Financial & Governance Health Check
Risk
Current year
Prior year		 Appendix 2 - Strategic, Financial & Governance Health Check
Risk
Current year
Prior year
Strategic
Current year
Prior year
Charity has stated strategic objectives in trustees
report
Charity reports progress against these objectives
Risk register in place
Risk Register regularly reviewed
Have all appropriate risks been identified?
~~ee~~
~~—~~
~~e~~
~~e~~
~~@~~
~~@~~
~~e~~
e
@
@
Are the activities of the Charity in line with the Charity
objects?		 Appropriate actions taken in response to risks
identified
~~e~~
~~e~~
~~@~~
~~@~~
Charity has a long term strategy/plan? ~~@~~
@
Charity produces an annual budget? Governance
Current year
Prior year
~~SE~~
Charity reports against budget/strategy? Have the board held sufficient meetings in the year?
@
@
@
@
Financial
Current year
Prior year
Unrestricted deficit/surplus
Is the financial reporting to the board clear,
transparent, readily understood by all board members
at each meeting?
Have the board reviewed their internal controls
recently?
~~ee~~
~~—~~
@
@
@
@
Net current assets Have the board carried out a skills audit?
@
@
@
@
Positive “free reserves” Are minutes of all board meetings kept?
@
@
@
@
Reserves policy in place
Reserves level in line with policy		 Do you have procedures in place to deal with conflicts
of interest?
@
@
@
@
~~@@~~
What level of reserves are required?
Charityhas budgets inplace for at least 12 months		 ~~@~~@
~~@@~~
Documented financial controls? ~~@~~@

Appendix 2 - Strategic, Financial & Governance Health Check

Appendix 2 - Strategic, Financial & Governance Health Check

14

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