2021-03-31-accounts - The Ipswich Disabled Advice Bureau

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ANNUAL REPORT
2020 – 2021
Room 11, 19 Tower Street, Ipswich IP1 3BE Telephone 01473 217313
Website: www. ipswichdab.org.uk
Email: bureau@ipswichdab.org.uk
Registered company 3174876
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Vice President: David Robinson

The mission and purpose of Ipswich DAB

To support people with any form of disability, their carers and families and
others in related fields, who live in Ipswich and the surrounding areas, with

free and confidential advice, information, advocacy and services.

To provide advice and information to organisations and agencies serving disabled people.
To work to improve statutory services.
To educate public opinion.
To promote appropriate research.
To co-operate and liaise with other similar bodies concerned with the welfare of people with disabilities.
To raise funds for the work of Ipswich DAB.

PERSONNEL – April 2019 to March 2020

VICE PRESIDENT: David Robinson

Trustees Kelvin Cracknell - Chairman (ceased December 2020) - Sandy Martin (Co-opted July 2020, ceased December 2020) Shayra Begum - Member Karen Cook - Member Sarah Adams - Member (ceased December 2020) - Alex Heywood Member (co-opted September 2020, ceased

December 2020 Staf - Pat Ramsey - Albert Daley Appeal

Bureau Manager Senior Advice Worker/ DART(Disability

Representative at Tribunals) Olunfunmilola (Jemima) Oyelahan - Solicitor/Reader - Marion George Advice Worker/ DART Worker Paul (Przemyslaw) Firlej - Advice Worker - Abigail Harid Advice Worker (Maternity Leave/Furlough) Vicki Markham - Receptionist/Admin (Furlough) Debbie Smith - Telephone Advice Worker (joined July 2020) David Davies - Funds Manager

Volunteers

David Davies - IT/Website - Darren Page Advice Worker/IT Trainer David Stannard - Advice Worker Sue Butler - Advice Worker Andrew Stewart - Admin/Website Julia Davey - Admin - Sarah Youngman Reception/Admin

Please note:- Due to the coronavirus epidemic and associated restrictions on activities, the following Trustees were co- opted at an EGM on 16 April 2021

George Leech Folasade Babalola Saskia Moses Catherine Obulodun Caroline Kumu

The 2020 AGM was postponed until 13 May 2021 when, in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles (Article 31) all existing Trustees stood down. The following Trustees were elected:

George Leech Folasade Babalola (Treasurer) Saskia Moses Catherine Obulodun Caroline Kumu

Karen Cook and Shayra Begum did not seek re-election.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

It is customary in a chairman’s report for me to thank the staff of the Ipswich Disabled Advice Bureau for their work over the last year. This work has always been dedicated, and executed to the highest possible standard, and this year has absolutely been no exception. Throughout this year the management and the staff of the Disabled Advice Bureau is had to cope with unprecedented change at very short notice, it is to the credit of both staff and management that the DAB has been able to continue to offer a vital service to clients throughout the current pandemic.

The DAB was forced to close its doors at the start of the first national lockdown, but within a few short weeks the management was able to develop a system of remote working for the advisors to be able to work with clients over the telephone.

I would like to thank all of the staff who have worked so hard and had been so willing to adapt to a new way of working to ensure that the DAB can continue to offer its services to the most vulnerable in society. This has been an exceedingly difficult logistical exercise, and I must give special notice of thanks to the Bureau Manager Pat Ramsey for arranging the technical services with BT to allow our vital service to continue, and for her work in supporting and delivering paperwork to our advice team during this time.

When considering the future working arrangements of the DAB, the decision was taken very early on to focus our efforts on ensuring the safety of our staff and the continuation of the services that can be offered by the DAB during the pandemic. To this effect the decision was taken for all advice staff to work from home until the end of March 2021. We do not know precisely how the pandemic will continue to affect the operation of the DAB going into the New Year, but I am certain that the need for the DAB to support our clients in the best way we can in the uncertain times ahead will only increase.

I can only once again, thank the board of directors, management, staff and volunteers of the DAB for the dedicated work and commitment they have shown during the year.

I look forward to seeing all of you in the New Year.

Kelvin Cracknell 1 December 2020 Chair of the Board of Trustees.

MANAGER’S REPORT

In common with many other people, I am, this year, writing an annual report about a year unlike any other in living memory. The last worldwide pandemic was ‘Spanish flu’ in 1918 and with the advances in medicine since then, it was not until February 2020, that anyone expected that that there would ever be another one.

It was mid-February 2020 when the first person contacted us as a result of coronavirus pandemic. He ‘dropped-in’ for advice because he had been laid-off from his job until June 2020. He had been employed by a contractor at the Port of Felixstowe and, due to his disabilities, worked part-time hours. His employer had ‘laid off’ nearly all his staff as there was no work for them because ‘there were no ships coming from China’. Hence, he had no income. Five weeks later, Lockdown 1.0 was announced but initially for just three weeks, along with the ‘furlough’ scheme which had to continue for 18 months.

However, prior to the Prime Minister announcing Lockdown 1.0 on 23 March 2020, our volunteers and almost all staff had been directed to shield for thirteen weeks by the NHS due to being clinically vulnerable, or extremely vulnerable themselves, or a member of their household being clinically vulnerable or extremely vulnerable; and likewise the vast majority of our clients had to shield. Face-to-face interactions with clients had been suspended from early March, as we closed to people ‘dropping-in’ and began giving all advice and carrying out appointments by phone.

I remember a conversation at the beginning of Lockdown 1.0 with staff from another organisation, who wondered how we were going to cope with our staff having to work from home for such a long period of time! Nobody could imagine the arrangements lasting for a whole year…..and beyond. As a result of working from home one person was furloughed in March 2020 and a second person, returning from maternity leave, furloughed from December 2020.

During the first two weeks of the lockdown I had to continue to go into the office each day to set up the new working arrangements. I was sure that the police would stop me as it meant journeying outside of my local area of Woodbridge. This was enhanced by the fact that I was driving along deserted roads and into a silent town centre. I was relieved when I found out that I would not be getting a criminal record, as I could be termed an ‘essential worker’ as I was looking after the running of the organisation. However, I wrote a daily diary to the then Trustees, detailing what I was putting in place, in case I succumbed to the Covid19 virus. As an essential worker, I could provide a courier service to distribute incoming post, stationery, stamps and printer cartridges etc. to people working at home.

The epidemic changed our working practices completely and we amazed ourselves with how quickly and smoothly, we switched to providing a one-to-one remote service, with all staff working from home. Central to this was the new Cloud Voice telephone system that was installed in July 2019, when our previous Norstar system became obsolete. Adding an App to the system enabled staff, working from home with a smart phone powered by Android, to access the system directly with all calls going through the Cloud Voice portal.

Clients also adapted well to the new situation with many becoming very adept at photographing paperwork and sending it us, using their smart phones. They also, gained in confidence, as they followed directions, given by phone, to obtain medical evidence to support their benefit claims, or to contact another agency that we had signposted them to when needing specialist input e.g. additional care support.

It soon became apparent that staff working from home needed to share more information and documents quickly and securely – a major one being the client appointment diary. Therefore, under the guidance of our IT volunteer, we totally changed to running on a Google platform, rather than a Microsoft platform, which also gave us a free video link.

Working from home and all the associated arrangements have continued uninterrupted, throughout the year under review whether there were national lockdowns in place, or not, in order to keep vulnerable staff, volunteers and clients as safe as possible, as the levels of Covid-19 infection, locally, continued to fluctuate greatly.

However, throughout the year a further problem remained unsolved as our case recording system, a database running on Access, was only designed to run on an internal network (intranet) in the office. Hence, not directly available to people working from home. It could be accessed using other software but this was very unreliable. As time passed it was no longer practical, nor accurate, to manually produce date for funders and a case recording system that operated in ‘the cloud’ had to be the way forward, with our aim being to install this the following year.

Fundraising also changed with Lockdown 1.0. Most funders froze new applications and focussed on raising funds to distribute to grass root organisations at local level to help them cope with the pandemic as well as supporting changes to projects that were already underway. Hence, during Lockdown 1.00, and immediately afterwards, we successfully applied for short term funding relating to the coronavirus epidemic, to support the changes and additional expenses incurred; and we also were given rent holidays equivalent to three months’ rent by our landlords. This assisted in safeguarding our reserves.

However, in the longer term we have had to continue to pay rent and service charges for our premises, financially recognise that there is a cost for staff and volunteers when they work from home, the increase in printing costs and the increase in costs for outgoing post and the time it takes to distribute the incoming post. The Cloud Voice digital phone system was always going to have higher running costs that an ISDN system, but with the latter being phased out we had no choice.

A list of our funders is provided in the annual accounts. However, they are often overlooked and always in the background. What was different during the year under review, was that they were often administering funding that other funders were raising, examples include that The National Lottery Covid-19 Community Fund grant that we received, was in turn, made possible by funding secured by them from the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport, part of the government Office for Civil Society.

Part of this grant enabled us to undertake a pilot project with a Partnership Working Agreement with IHAG (Ipswich Housing Action Group) to train a Debt and Money Adviser. There appears to be a shortage of Debt and Money Advisers qualified as intermediaries for Debt Relief Orders and we had previously had difficulties trying to recruit one. IHAG could provide the training but are located on the first floor of their building and we had clients who needed the help of a trained adviser and are situated on the ground floor (when Covid-19 allows for this). Despite running the project during Lockdowns 2.0 and 3.0, it ran without a hitch and everyone involved really enjoyed the experience. Both organisations are keen to set a longer, similar project in the future.

Our successful application for the Community Justice Fund grant and the associated Funder Plus was the most pleasing. The funding was from The National Lottery Community Fund and it was administered by the Access to Justice Foundation. The funding focused on advice services that undertake legal work – in our case when clients appeal decisions of the Department for Work and Pensions and the representation we provide when their appeal goes to Tribunal. Hence, it gave recognition to the quantity and quality of an area of our work that had been ongoing since 1992. Each appeal that goes to a Tribunal hearing involves about ten hours of work.

The manner in which Tribunal hearings were held also changed due to Lockdown 1.0. They went from being face-to-face and with a small number of judges allocated to a certain area, to being held by a telephone conference call. These have worked incredibly well as hearings can take place at many different venues across the southeast of England, but are much less stressful for clients as they can remain at home, and less costly for the public purse. It is hoped that the arrangement will become permanent in the future, except for a very few cases each year for which it is unsuitable.

It was not only the coronavirus pandemic that significantly affected our activities as there was also a three month period when there was not a quorate Board of Trustees. During the Autumn of 2020, the Trustees moved away from the Senior Management Team model, of governance, and all fundraising had to stop on 21 December 2020 when all of our Trustees resigned en masse. In accordance with our Memorandum and Articles, the resignation of the last two Trustees to do so could not be accepted (Article 39.3). The continuing Trustees were without quorum and their remit was constrained under Article 44 to acting ‘only for the purposes of filling vacancies or of calling a general meeting.’

As nobody was, subsequently, recruited to fill the vacancies, the continuing Trustees remained without quorum and so decisions could not be taken and a full Board of five Trustees is required for fundraising. Hence, this was paused for a total of 23 weeks, i.e. for the remainder of the year under review and into the following year. This impacted significantly on our reserves. In addition, as the 2020 AGM could not held until 13 May 2021, the ratified accounts were late in being lodged with both the Charity Commission and, for the first time ever as a registered company, with Companies House. Companies House imposed a fine.

Due to the lack of action by the continuing Trustees to fill the vacancies, a longstanding Member called a meeting on 29 March 2021. Attendees, comprised existing Members and people who had signed up to become Members and five people who had volunteered to join as Members and serve as new co-opted Trustees. This meeting requested the continuing Trustees to call an

Extraordinary General Meeting on 16 April 2021 to co-opt the five people who had volunteered to become new Trustees. This was to provide, not only, a quorum to facilitate decision making, but also a minimum Board of five Trustees that would also enable further fundraising to take place. The request was refused, and subsequently the Member called the Extraordinary General Meeting themselves under Article 47 and S174 Companies Act 2006. (The new Trustees were duly elected when the 2020 AGM was held on 13 May 2021 which was also called by the same Member under S302 Companies Act 2006.)

However, despite everything that happened during an ‘eventful’ year, we our clients remained our main focus. We provided at least 1,380 client appointments during the year and processed 120 appeals with 15 being successful prior to a Tribunal hearing. We represented at 60 Tribunal hearings, which were heard by telephone conference calls with a success rate of 82 percent. Our combined activities during the year assisted clients to access their entitlement to benefits well in excess of £1.5m.

The year under review would not have ended successfully without the fantastic contribution of the staff and volunteers, the steadfastness of the Members, and the new Trustees who came forward to take on an onerous task….Thank you to you all.

Finally, I would like to mention a further stalwart and that is our Vice-President, David Robinson. I have worked with David since 2005 when I first became a Trustee. He was a fellow Trustee, who subsequently took on the roles of Treasurer and Chairman at different times. He appointed me to my present post in 2010 and we worked together for four years until he stepped down from being Chairman in 2014. He continued his association with us as our Vice –President, but will be retiring at this AGM after 25 years with Ipswich Disabled Advice Bureau. I know that a lot of people will join me in saying ‘thank you’ and wishing him and Doreen all the very best going forward.

Pat Ramsey Bureau Manager

5 November 2021

CONTENTS	Pages
Company information	1
TrusteesAnnualReport	2-6
lndependent Examiner's Report on the unaudited accounts	7
StalementofFinancial Activities(lncorporatingan
lncome and ExpenditureAccount)	8
Balance Sheet	9-10
Notes to the Financial Statements	11- 21

Registeredcharityname	Thelpswich DisabledAdviceBureau
Charity number	1054802
Company registration number	03't74876
Registeredoffice	19TowerStreet
	lpswich
	Suffolk
	IP1 3BE
Trustees (appointed after
31March2021)	Ms Folasade Balalola (Treasurer) appointed16 Aptil2021
	Ms Caroline Kumuappointed 16Aptil?021
	Mr George Leechappointed16Ap(i!2021
	iilsSaskia Moses appointed16 Aptil2021
	Ms Catherine Olubodunappointed'16April2021
Trustees	Mr Kelvin Cracknell (Chairman) resigned21December 2020
	Mr Sandy Martin (Actingtreasurer)co-optedbyTrustees
	19April 2020 ceased appointment21December 2020
	Ms Shayra Begum resignedIJune 2021
	MsKaren Cookresigned1June2021
	Ms SarahAdamsresigned21December 2020
Manager	MsPat Ramsey
lndependent Examiner	MrJamesHaddow FCCA
	GMSFC Limited
	1London Road
	lpswich
	IP,IzHA
Bankers	TheCo-operative Bank

	Note	UnrestrictedRestricted	UnrestrictedRestricted	Total	Total
		Funds Funds		Funds	Funds
				(as	restated)
				2021	2020
		t	t	E	r
INCOME
lncome resources from generated
funds:-
Donations and grants	2	12,896	82,903	95,799	18,456
lncoming resources from charitable
activities	3
Corefunders	3	45,529		45,529	47,332
lnvestment lncome	4				42
TOTALINCOME		58,425	82,903	141,328	65,830
EXPENDITURE
Fund Raising Costs	5	108		108
Charitable Activities	6	38,080	67,718	105,798	99,191
Governance Costs	7	2,342		2,342	5,003
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED		40,530	67,718	108,248	104,194
NET OUTGOING RESOURCES
FOR THEYEAR		17,895	15,185	33,080	(38,364)
Transfers	14
Totalfundsbrought forward		(30,204)	20.276	(9,928)	26,s17
Priorperiodadiustment TotalfundsbroughtfoMardas restated	22	(1,919) (32,1231	20,276	(1,919) (11,8471	26,517
TOTALFUNDS CARRIED
FORWARD		(14,228)	35,461	21,233	(11,847)

		2021		2020
	Note	€	t	(asrestated) E€
FIXEDASSETS
Tangible Fixed Assets	10		1,563	1,970
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors	11	s,905		5,71 5
Bank and cash	12	31,290		3,835
		'17IOA		9,550
CREDITORS:
Amounts falling due within one year	13	(16,445)		(22,0s6)
NET CURRENTASSETS(LIABILITIES)			20,750	(12,506)
TOTAL ASSETSLESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES			22,313	(10,536)
CAPITAL GRANTRESERVE	18		(1,080)	(1,311)
LONGTERM LIABILITIES
NETASSETS(LIABILITIES)			21,233	(11,847)
FUNDS
Restricted funds	14		35,461	20	276
Unrestrictedfunds	15		(14,228)	(32,123)
			21,233	_111,u?)

VOLUNTARY INCOME
			Total	Total
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Funds	Funds
				(as restated)
	Funds	Funds	202'l	2020
	I	€		e
Fundraisingand Donations
Fundraisingand grants:
The National Lottery Fund-Covid19funding		40,000	40,000
Access to Justice	2.500	28,903	31,403
UC Digital Support internet caf6				3,308
Sutfolk Community Fundl
Coronavirus Community Fund		5,000	5,000
Sutfolk Coronavirus Community Fund Core		5,000	5,000
Suffolk Hardship Fund		4,000	4,000
Suffolk Community Foundation:
Bluebell Fund				'1,400
Ganzoni				2,000
Scarfe Trust				1,000
LDRopes Settlement				1,704
The lpswich Social Prescribing Fund				3,201
General donations and otherincome:
Other fund raising and donations	3,094		3,094	5,275
HMRC Coronavirusjobretention scheme	5,771		5,771
Bank Switch	'!,250		1,250
lncome from wheelchair hire				282
Capitalgrantreleased	231		231	231
Miscellaneous income	50		50
	12,896	82,903	95,799	'18,456

INCOMING RESOURCES FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
			Total	Total
	Unrest.ictedRestricted		Funds	Funds
				(asrestated)
	Funds	Funds	2021	2020
	€	E	e	E
SCC-FIAS	28,000		28,000	30,000
lpswich Borough Councilgrantaid	17,250		17,250	17,250
Supported workprogramme	279		279	82
	45,529		45,529	47,332
INVESTMENT INCOME
			Total	Total
	UnrestrictedRestricted		Funds	Funds
				(asrestated)
	Funds	Funds	2021	2020
	t	t		€
Bank & COIF interest receivable				42
TOTAL INCOME	58,42582,903		141,328	65,830

FUND RAISINGEXPENSES BYFUNDTYPE
	Note			Total	Total
		Unrestricted	Restricted	Funds	Funds
					(asrestated)
		Funds	Funds	202'l	2020
		e	E	€	€
Fundraisingconsultancy		108		108
Supportcosts	't7
		108		108

COSTOF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES BYFUNDTYPE
				Total	Total
		Unrestricted	Restricted	Funds	Funds
					(asrestated)
		Funds	Funds	2021	2020
		t	€	f	€
Wages,salaries&Employers Nl		15,334	26,081	41,415	49,417
Stafftraining		670	1,700	2,370	2,890
Consultancyfees			1,200	1,200
Room hire		2,043	3,881	5,924	4,658
Travelcosts		122		122	282
Support costs	'17	19,911	34,8s6	54,767	41,944
		38,08067,7',tg		105,798	99,191

GOVERNANCECOSTS
				Total	Total
		UnrestrictedRestricted		Funds	Funds
					(asrestated)
		Funds	Funds	2021	2020
		E	e	C	c
lndependent examiners&
accountancyfees	8	990		990	960
Payrollprocessingcosts					768
Bankcharges					140
Legalfees		1,352		1,352
Supportcosts	17				3,135
		2,342		2,342	5,003
TOTAL EXPENDITURE		40,53067,718		108,248	104,194

Thisisstated after charging
	2021	2020
		(as restated)
	€	€
lndependentExaminer'sfees	960	960
Depreciation	407	873
STAFFCOSTS&EMOLUMENTS
	2021	2020
	E	€
wages &salaries	76,903	77,249
Socialsecuritycosts	3,437	3,854
Employment allowance	(3,437)	(3,000)
Employer pension contributions	1,796	1,850
	78,699	79,953

The averagenumber of employees during theyearcalcul equivalents,wasasfollows:	atedonthebasisof fulltim	e
	2021	2020
	No.	No.
Charitableactivities	6	6
Management & Administration of charity		2
	8	B

	202',1 E	2020t
CharitysManager	23,348	23,348

TANGIBLEFIXEDASSETS
	Office	Wheel-	Total
	Equipment	chairs
	e	e	r
COST
At1April 2020	27,592	2,144	29,736
Additions
Disposals
At 31Nrarch2021		2,144	29,736
DEPRECIATION
At1April 2019	25,623	2,143	27,766
Chargeforyear	407		407
On disposals
At 31 March 2020	26,030	2,143	28,173
NET BOOK VALUE
At3'1March 2020	1,562	,
At1April 2019	1,969	1	1,970
DEBTORS
	2021	2020
	€	(asrestated) t
Prepayments	1,005	929
Other debtors	4,900	4,786
	5,905	5,715
CASHAT BANK AND IN HAND
	202'l	2020
		(asrestated)
	E	€
Bank current accounts	31,'180	3,725
Cashin hand	1',to	'I10
	31,290	3,835

Amountsfallingduewithinoneyea	r
	2021	2020
		(asrestated)
	f	E
Other creditors	10,965	14,239
Creditors and accruals	5,480	7,817
	16,445	22,056

RESTRICTEDINCOMEFUNDS
	Balance at		lncoming	Outgoing	Transfers	Balance at
	1April	2020	Resources	Resources		3lMarch2021
	E		€	t	€	t
NewWheelchairs		1				1
Dyslexia Prolect		356				356
UniversalCreditsPilot Fund		416				416
lnternet caf6		17,412		(2,935)		14,477
Suffolk Rural Fund		2,065		(1,051)		't,o14
UK Power Networks		26				26
TheNational Lottery Fund (Covid-19funding)			40,000	(34,426)		5,574
Access to Justice			28,903	(19,887)		9,016
SuffolkCommunityFoundation			14,000	(9,419)		4,58r
		20,276	82,903	(67,718)		35,461

UNRESTRICTED INCO	MEFUNDS
	Balance at	lncoming Outgoing	Transfers	Balanceat
	1Aptil2020	Resources Resources		31March2021
	(asrestated)
	€	€ E	e	f
Fixedassets General fund	1,321 (33,444) (32,123	58,425(40,530 58,425(40,530)	(1,313) 1,313	8 ('t4,236], ('t4,228].

ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS B	ETWEENFUNDS
	Tangible	Capital	Netcurrent
	FixedAssetsGrantRes. e€		Assets E	Total €
Restricted lncome
Funds:
NewWheelchairs	I	-		'I
Dyslexia Project			356	356
PilotFund			4't6	4'16
lnternetcafe	474		14,003	14,477
Suffolk RuralFund			1,O't4	1,014
UKPowerNetworks	-		26	26
Heritage LotteryFund
(Covid -19funding)			5,574	5,574
Access to Justice			9,016	9,0'16
Suffolk Community Foundation			4,581	4,581
	475		34,986	35,461
unrestrictedlncome
Funds:
Designated funds	1,088	(1,080)		8
GeneralFunds			(14,236)	(14,236)
	1,088	(1,080)(14,236)		(14,228
Totalfunds	1,563	(1,080) 20,750		21,233

	Fundraising	Charitable	Charitable	Activity	Governance	Total	Total
	Funds	Unrestricted		Restricted		2021	2020
	f	ff			e	€	€
Wages,salaries&Employers Nl		15,618		21,666		37,284	30,537
Rent			875	3,499		4,374	5,543
Utilities and cleaning			196	2,486		2,682	2,702
lnsurance			269	809		1,078	1,012
Telephone, broadband & cloud		1,137		4,686		5,823	2,141
Printing, postage, staty & advertising			782			782	1,398
Depreciation			231	176		407	873
Subscriptions&afflliationfees			283	283		566	365
Computer expenses						77	443
Payroll service			411	549		960
Carparkingpermits			33	52		85
Home working				650		650
Sundry expenses							b5
		19,9't1		34,856		54.767	45,079
Apportionment2020		36	856	5,088	3,135	45,079

financial activity as the assetisdeprecia	ted:
	2021	2020
	ET	{asrestated}
Broughtforward	1,311
Grant advanced		1,542
Releasedinyear	(231)	(231),
Carried forward	1,080	1,311

	2021	2020
		(asrestatedl
	f	E
Loan	6,500	6,500
Salary due	4,465	7,739
	10,965	14,239