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2023-03-31-accounts

Company Number: 3216897 Charity Number: 1058580 Scottish Charity Number: SC43518

JUSTICE

Report and financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2023

JUSTICE

Contents

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Reference and administrative information ....................................................................................... 1 Trustees’ annual report ................................................................................................................... 3 An introduction from our Chair of the JUSTICE Board, Peter Binning ................................................ 3 Objectives and activities .................................................................................................................. 5 Achievements and performance .................................................................................................... 11 Plans for the future from JUSTICE Chief Executive, Fiona Rutherford ............................................. 41 Structure, governance and management ....................................................................................... 43 Independent auditor’s report ........................................................................................................ 49 Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) .................... 54 Balance sheet ................................................................................................................................ 55 Statement of cash flows ................................................................................................................ 56 Notes to the financial statements .................................................................................................. 57

JUSTICE

Reference and administrative information

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Company Number 3216897
Country of incorporation
United Kingdom
Charity Number 1058580
Country of registration
England and Wales
Scottish Charity Number
SC43518 registered in Scotland
Registered office and 2nd Floor, Lincoln House
Operational address
296-302 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7JH
Board members Board members, who are also directors under company law and the charity
trustees as defined by section 177 of the Charities Act 2011, who served
during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:
Peter Binning Chair from 10 November 2020
Rachel Sexton
I. Stephanie Boyce (from 19 October 2022)
Alexandra Carr
Patrick Corr
Professor Naomi Creutzfeldt
N. Lynn Hiestand (to 19 October 2022)
Christina Liciaga (to 19 October 2022)
Alastair Livesey
Jennifer MacLeod
Sara Mansoori KC (from 19 October 2022)
Kate Saunders
Dame Alison Saunders DCB
Alice Smith (from 19 October 2022)
Sir Michael Tugendhat (to 19 October 2022)
Christian Weaver (from 19 October 2022)
Key management Fiona Rutherford Chief Executive
personnel Samantha Burridge Director of Operations
Amanda Miller Director of Development
Stephanie Needleman Legal Director
Jane Collier Interim Director of Development (to Oct 2022)

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Reference and administrative information

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Bankers Lloyds Bank plc 222 Strand London WC2R 1BB CAFCash Ltd PO Box 289 West Malling Kent, ME19 4TA Investment BlackRock managers 33 King William St London EC4R 9AS CCLA Investment Management Ltd 80 Cheapside London EC2V 6DZ Auditor Sayer Vincent LLP Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor Invicta House 108-114 Golden Lane London EC1Y 0TL

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Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 March 2023

An introduction from our Chair of the JUSTICE Board, Peter Binning

Welcome to JUSTICE’s Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial statements. I hope this provides you with an overview of our achievements and the challenges we have faced across the past year.

In October we sold our freehold property and now have the challenge of deciding how best to use the proceeds from the sale. We have learnt over the past year the importance of having space for our staff to work together and we have been lucky to be able to rent some temporary desk space whilst we decide our next steps. As the building was purchased as part of an appeal, we feel it’s right to fully consider all options, and this is not a decision the Board is taking lightly. We are commissioning a number of experts to advise us and the Senior Management Team on this. Please bear this in mind when looking at the income on our statement of financial activities and the endowment fund on our balance sheet and remember these contain the proceeds from the sale of Carter Lane.

The work at JUSTICE has continued apace and in the last year we have produced one report and launched two working parties; Improving Access to Justice for Separating Families; The function and operation of Hybrid Orders; and Outsourcing. These working parties have engaged our membership and the wider legal community to identify issues and solutions and have led to recommendations which we are working to implement. These working parties are in addition to a range of projects we are undertaking for example to create guidance for practitioners to raise issues of racism at inquests (in partnership with INQUEST) and gathering unique data on how magistrates make decisions about remand in the magistrates’ court.

There has also been an unprecedented amount of time spent researching, drafting, and delivering briefings to Parliamentarians in both houses. This work has been extensive, due to the heavy Parliamentary legislative programme, with the team working on the Public Order Act 2023, the Bill of Rights Bill, the Retained EU Law Bill, and the Illegal Migration Bill, all of which have significant implications for the UK constitution, human rights, and rule of law. As a result, we have seen numerous achievements, from the preservation of the Human Rights Act 1998, to Parliamentarians having considered dozens of JUSTICE-drafted amendments. For example, in the context of the Public Order Act 2023, JUSTICE was instrumental in the adoption of an amendment – now section 17 of the Act - to prevent the police from exercising their powers to prevent journalists and legal observers from monitoring protests. They also responded to consultations covering a range of access to justice, rule of law and human rights issues.

I was pleased that we were able to return to in-person events this year and really enjoyed attending the Rule of Law fundraising events (part of our programme of work on the rule of law), the 65[th] anniversary, travelling to Manchester and Leeds and meeting local contacts at our regional events. Our Human Rights Conference in October was also a huge success doubling our income from last year.

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Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 March 2023

We have been very successful at raising funds this year, increasing our income by 22% through the team’s hard work increasing support from Trust and Foundations, Corporates, membership and from the fantastic fundraising events. When we exclude income and expenditure related to the sale of the property which sits in our endowment, we have ended the financial year with a small surplus, we had expected to end the year with a deficit of £38k so this is a positive end to the year but our reserves are below our reserves policy, for another year. We are aware that this is not sustainable, and the Senior Management Team are working on a five-to-ten-year plan and business model to ensure JUSTICE’s sustainability and growth.

The Finance Committee and Board are monitoring the finances closely, but we are optimistic that the fundraising plans for the year ahead are achievable, and we are willing to support the staff to achieve these targets.

I hope that you enjoy reading this report. There is a great deal for us to do in the next few years and so much that JUSTICE can achieve, and I urge you to support us in any way you can.

I am so grateful to all who work on behalf of JUSTICE and to you, our supporters.

Thank you.

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JUSTICE

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 March 2023

The JUSTICE Board present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.

Reference and administrative information, set out on pages 1 and 2, forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum, articles of association, and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

Objectives and activities

Purposes and aims

JUSTICE is an all-party membership organisation, drawn primarily from the legal profession with a common commitment to the rule of law and the fair administration of justice.

As reflected in our governing documents:

JUSTICE was established to promote the sound development and administration of the law for the benefit of the public in the following ways:

(a) By promoting education and conducting research into the law, including current and proposed practice and administration and reform of the law, as the JUSTICE Board thinks fit, and by publishing the useful results of such research;

(b) By providing specialist legal advice in relation to the law and legal procedures particularly in cases where it is apprehended that a miscarriage of justice has taken place;

(c) By providing legal representation for those who are unable to obtain legal representation from their own resources, particularly in cases where it is apprehended that a miscarriage of justice has taken place;

(d) and for such other purposes for the benefit of the community as shall be exclusively charitable.

Our primary focus is on overcoming institutional and procedural barriers to access to justice and fairness for people using the system. We put their experiences at the heart of our work, and we recognise that many aspects of the existing structure and practises within the justice system compound exclusion for disadvantaged people.

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Across all our work we address:

Institutional weakness: considering ways to strengthen the operation of key institutions and frameworks in the justice system, testing them for fairness, accessibility, and efficiency. Procedural deficiency: identifying and challenging unfair, inaccessible, and inefficient legal procedures. We will examine the potential of technology and innovation in delivering justice – including alternatives to traditional justice processes – and consider its emerging impact on the system.

Biases in the justice system: exploring and confronting the ways in which the justice system adversely treats and impacts upon individuals and groups based on their status and/or protected characteristics including race, gender, disability and/or socio-economic status.

In recent years, JUSTICE has moved away from providing legal advice and representation. In part, this has been the assumption of JUSTICE’s previous work on miscarriages of justice by the establishment of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). We continue to be involved in how miscarriages of justice are handled, both in the courts and by the CCRC.

The focus of our work

JUSTICE’s strategic plan for 2021-24 continues to see our work span administrative, civil, family and criminal justice in the United Kingdom.

We have four intersecting core areas of activity:

JUSTICE also provides the Secretariat for the Administrative Justice Council (the AJC), which will continue into 2023-24 with some changes planned into 2024-25. Both through the Secretariat and

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Fiona Rutherford’s membership of the Council and the team’s involvement in AJC projects, we continue and foresee continuing to work closely with the AJC.

Public benefit

Since its formation in 1957, JUSTICE has been at the cutting edge of the debate on legal reform and is widely respected for the breadth, depth and quality of its analysis. Today, more than ever, JUSTICE is involved in the issues that will shape the future legal landscape.

Direct beneficiaries of our work include practising lawyers, judges, law students and policymakers interested in the development and protection of the rule of law and human rights, in addition to the public at large, who benefit from a robust justice system that protects their rights.

The benefit of our work is demonstrated through: the adoption of our recommendations in government law reform initiatives; the referencing of our contributions to government consultations; the adoption by parliamentarians of our suggested amendments to legislation; and the acceptance of our arguments in third-party interventions in court judgments. Our third-party interventions in the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court and in the European Court of Human Rights are submitted ‘in the interests of justice’ and not on behalf of particular parties. When adopted, our arguments strengthen legal protection for all people beyond those directly involved in the proceedings.

The Board has referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the Board considers how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set. While some activities are available only to members, these are in the minority and the vast majority of our work is available to the public free of charge. The JUSTICE website provides accessible information on our work to the public at large.

The Trustees confirm that they have paid due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission in deciding the aims, objectives and activities of the charity.

The Board considers that JUSTICE’s activities are of public benefit in at least the following ways:

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Principal Activities

Policy

More than ever, during this strategy period, we will strive to tackle urgent and important issues within the constraints of the social, economic and political climate indicated above. To achieve this, our working parties, briefings and interventions will focus on the following themes.

Reform of courts and the impact of COVID-19:

We will continue to monitor the HMCTS Reform Programme, urging that it increase access and fairness in the courts and tribunals. We will explore and evaluate ways in which the integrity of the courts and justice process can be maintained as they adapt to the impact of COVID-19. We will lead thinking on which aspects of the COVID-19 response should remain, be revised or be discarded as courts ‘return to normal’.

User-centred justice:

The justice system must be comprehensible to all its users so that they can effectively participate and have confidence in it. Building on our 2019 Working Party Report, Understanding Courts, we will focus on improving the experience and involvement of specific cohorts of users, such as children, victims of crime and vulnerable people to enable fair outcomes.

In 2021, our Working Party ‘Improving Access to Justice for Separating Families’ undertook a childcentred review of what families need from the Family Court when they seek help with child arrangements, with particular emphasis on domestic abuse victims and unrepresented litigants.

Effective routes of redress:

Routes of redress are becoming increasingly uncertain or unavailable as a result of shifting State powers and responsibilities.

We will focus on ensuring privatisation, automation, and civil orders with criminal consequences do not inhibit effective challenge to decision-making through courts, tribunals and other complaints mechanisms.

Challenges to the courts and Constitution:

Independent and impartial courts are a central feature of the UK constitution. Safeguarding their integrity and remit amidst proposed reforms is crucial to the rule of law and ensuring access to justice.

We will pursue projects addressing proposed reforms to the operation of the Supreme Court, the role of judicial review and amendment of the Human Rights Act. We will continue to examine judicial appointments, with a view to increasing judicial diversity.

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Non-judicial decision-making:

At the start and end of court and tribunal processes, many public bodies and officials make significant decisions concerning individual rights and freedoms. Given the impact of these decisions on people’s lives, these require careful scrutiny.

In the first part of the strategy period, we will consider the processes for release from imprisonment through the Parole Board and Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Other work:

We will continue to follow up on past reports and policy work by capturing whether our activities and interventions have paved the way for desired outcomes.

We will continue to collaborate and establish constructive relationships with diverse stakeholders within the justice system as we evidence, elaborate, and implement our work.

We will seek opportunities to expand our work in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales in line with our above priorities, as relevant to those jurisdictions.

We will look to engage more closely with the International Commission of Jurists, using its network to strengthen our work, and supporting it as appropriate.

Development

The key to successful fundraising is multifaceted and meaningful relationships, especially given the political and economic climate outlined at the beginning of this strategy. To this end, developing even stronger and deeper bonds with our donors, supporters and members through thoughtful engagement opportunities will be the foundation of the Development team’s work over this strategy period. The Development priorities from our strategic plan are detailed below.

Membership

JUSTICE is a membership organisation, and our members are among our greatest assets. Our members span law students, through the ranks of the profession, to retired lawyers and judges. They include practitioners of all different types of law and all branches of the profession. While our members cover the spectrum of politics, they share a common concern in maintaining the integrity of the justice system in the United Kingdom.

Strengthening and increasing our membership programme

Membership plays a crucial role in shaping our work, as well as a source of unrestricted and sustainable funding. We plan to develop and create lasting relationships and multifaceted journeys for our members, especially those in the highest-level categories and corporate members, to ensure better acquisition and retention.

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We will improve our engagement communications through segmentation and strategic messaging and streamline our administrative communications to make the membership experience easier. Events are the cornerstone of our membership programme. We will continue to provide thoughtprovoking and topical events to our current members and to attract new members.

We will maximise our reach through virtual events, allowing us to expand our membership beyond England by attracting new members from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Fundraising

Broadening our current income streams and attracting new funders:

We plan to attract new funders and increase support from existing donors by developing opportunities for them to support us beyond a single project and investing in our longer-term growth, especially Trusts and Foundations. We will focus on unrestricted, multi-year funding and increasing our network of donors of all sizes and from varied industries.

We will continue to improve the experience of our JUSTICE60, Friends and major donors by working with the Development Board to ensure this transformational group remains engaged in our work and invested in our impacts. We are committed to providing bespoke events and networking opportunities and will look to diversify its growth by increasing corporate donors and approaching lawyers and leaders of industry from a wider audience.

We will enhance our external communications and cement our reputation as sector leaders, by focusing on more accessible content, targeted events, demonstrating our impact and encouraging wider audiences to engage with and support our work.

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Achievements and performance

The charity's main activities and beneficiaries for 2022-23 are described below. All its charitable activities focus on strengthening the justice system and are undertaken to further JUSTICE’S charitable purposes for the public benefit.

Policy

Working Parties

Over the past year, we have published one report and launched two new working parties which have engaged our membership and the wider legal community. Two further working parties are due to commence shortly. Our reports are produced through working parties of our membership and invited experts, meeting in committees over the life of the project to identify problems, issues and solutions and taking evidence from relevant sources. We make a series of recommendations relating to each area of the justice system, which we are working to implement. This work sits alongside the continuing implementation work on our previously reported work and working parties that are still in progress or in the scoping and evidence gathering stage.

Reports published in 2022-23

Improving Access to Justice for Separating Families (Strategy theme: user-centred justice) In January 2021, JUSTICE launched its Improving Access to Justice for Separating Families Working Party, the aim of the Working Party was to consider how access to justice can be improved for separating families in private family proceedings.

Separation is often a distressing and traumatic event, particularly when children are involved. Most families resolve disagreements about children (e.g., where they live, how often then will see other family members) privately. However, some cannot and need additional help; they may not be emotionally or practically ready to negotiate, or there may be imbalanced power dynamics, for example domestic abuse, which would make unassisted negotiation unfair or unsafe.

The central question for the Working Party was how to better secure access to justice for these families. The challenge is not a small one. Families face a confusing and disaggregated landscape of advice and support. Affordable and trustworthy legal advice is scarce (families in court are disproportionately economically deprived) and there is a lack of coordination of the support families need. Those who do go to court often do so unrepresented since legal aid was significantly cut in 2013 (only one in five cases has a lawyer on both sides). These litigants in person experience a system still designed for lawyers, which is marginalising, confusing and stressful. Additional vulnerabilities, such as domestic abuse, mental health difficulties, and substance abuse, are prevalent amongst court users and can intersect, whilst courts with limited resources struggle to cope with families’ complex problems. Meanwhile, the children who are at the centre of the dispute, but in the vast majority of cases not a party to the legal proceedings, too often feel unheard and

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unsupported, like the object of an adult dispute rather than an individual with their own perspective about their future – and a right to be heard.

The Working Party consulted widely with professionals and experts in the family justice system; individuals (adults and children) with experience of using the system; and those outside it, from other jurisdictions and from other child-related disciplines. The report was published in October 2022 and makes 43 ambitious but realistic recommendations related to child arrangements problems and their resolution in England and Wales. They build upon reforms in private family law already underway, including the commencement of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and the ‘pathfinder courts’ being piloted currently in Dorset and North Wales.

Recommendations include:

Beyond court: the wider family justice system

Going to court: a problem-solving approach

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Mishcon de Reya LLP, the Treebeard Trust, The Clifford Chance Foundation and The Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust are supporting our Working Party on Improving Access to Justice for Separating Families. With the Treebeard Trust providing a two-year grant of £50,000 with £25,000 received in this financial year (£25,000 in 2021-22); The Clifford Chance Foundation with a donation of £4,328 in 2021-22; The Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust with a grant of £2,000 in 2020-21; and Mishcon de Reya LLP through their JUSTICE60 membership donation of £10,000 in this financial year, as well as providing pro bono support and hosting the launch. The rest of staff time spent on this project was funded by designated funds.

Working Parties in progress 2022-23

The function and operation of Hybrid Orders (Strategy themes: effective routes of redress; usercentred justice)

The function and operation of Hybrid Orders Working Party is chaired by George Lubega, who was a Partner at CMS and is now a District Judge. Launched on 21 June 2022, this Working Party is looking at Hybrid Orders, defined as orders obtained by a civil procedure, that seek to restrict a person’s behaviour and have criminal consequences if breached. The Working Party is examining the way hybrid orders operate in practice, in particular whether they are issued and enforced in a fair and consistent manner that respects human rights and whether they are effective in achieving their specified purposes. The Working Party plans to report in Autumn 2023. King & Spalding LLP are supporting this Working Party with a £10,000 donation and Paul Hastings LLP supported it with pro bono research. The rest of staff time spent on this project was funded by designated funds.

Outsourcing (Strategy themes: non-judicial decision making; effective routes of redress)

The Outsourcing Working Party launched in February 2023. The Working Party is chaired by Sir Gary Hickinbottom, and we have a number of senior lawyers, commercial experts and academics from

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across the UK on its panel. The Working Party is looking to make a series of practical recommendations for how outsourcing across all sectors can be done in a way that better upholds the public law principles at the heart of administrative justice. It is particularly interested in the outsourcing of decisions and assessments that impact individuals’ access to public services or have a particular impact on individual rights. The Working Party aims to ensure outsourced decisions and assessments are of good quality and fully engage and respect the individuals involved. Where decisions are disputed, the Working Party seeks to ensure there are sufficient protection for individuals with vulnerabilities and that there are clear, accessible ways to challenge those decisions. The Working Party is expected to sit for the remainder of the year, with the aim of launching the report in March 2024.

Simmons & Simmons are supporting this work with a £10,000 donation in 2021-22 and pro bono support. The rest of staff time spent on this project was funded by designated funds.

Working Parties due to start in 2022-23

Administrative decision-making in prisons (Strategy themes: non-judicial decision-making; effective routes of redress)

The Administrative decision-making in prisons Working Party is still in its scoping stage as we have prioritised the State of the Rule of Law Project and because of staff changes. While an individual is in prison, they remain subject to a number of rules and processes that can serve to unduly delay their release. The Working Party will examine these rules and processes to ensure that individuals do not remain in prison unlawfully or any longer than is necessary. Sidley Austin LLP are supporting this work through pro bono support and a £10,000 donation. The work is also supported by the Golden Bottle Trust who donated £1,000 and The Bromley Trust who have given a two-year grant of £30,000, with £15,000 received in this financial year.

Transparency and a Modern Justice System (Strategy themes: reform of courts and the impact of COVID-19; user-centred justice)

We are currently scoping for a new project that will look at transparency within a modern justice system. This is likely to the form of at least two working parties over the coming years. Recent changes in technology and the way in which the justice system operates have thrown up a number of issues to consider to ensure that our justice system remains open and transparent. Whilst technology has the potential to democratise the justice system, from virtual hearings, to the use of the single justice procedure, its use can also inhibit transparency if not properly considered in the design and implementation of modern justice processes. Current areas of interest include:

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In addition, Fiona Rutherford has been appointed as an Expert Member of the Ministry of Justice’s Senior Data Governance Panel, which advises the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice in relation to data issues.

Working Party implementation work in 2022-23

Securing access to justice: reviewing the Windrush compensation, EU Settlement and Afghan Resettlement and Relocation Schemes ( Strategy themes: non-judicial decision-making; effective routes of redress)

On 15 November 2021, JUSTICE published its ‘Reforming the Windrush Compensation Scheme’ Working Party report. This report made 27 recommendations to improve the administrative and procedural aspects of the Compensation Scheme. The aim of the Working Party, which included those with lived experience and lawyers who acted for Windrush victims, was to make the Windrush Compensation Scheme more accessible, fair and efficient for those who need it and to improve trust amongst those who suffered loss and hardship.

Key recommendations in the report included the need for greater independence and accountability, the availability of funded legal representation, training for caseworkers, improved communication with applicants, a targeted publicity campaign to raise awareness and an improved appeals system.

Following the publication of our report, JUSTICE has been engaging with the Home Office on these recommendations and advising the Independent Person with the assistance of Dechert LLP and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP.

Many of the issues we identified with the Windrush Compensation Scheme are also applicable to other recent bespoke Home Office schemes. This new project uses our Windrush report as a starting point to identify problems with, and potential solutions in respect of, the Afghanistan relocation schemes (the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS)) and the EU Settlement Scheme.

We have set up working groups to examine these schemes. These groups will be comprised of experts, those with lived experience of these schemes, and those who represent and support them. The working groups will identify the issues with these schemes and make recommendations for reform, drawing on our recommendations from the Windrush Compensation Scheme Report. The aim of the project is to identify common issues and solutions to improve the existing schemes and ensure that lessons are learnt for any future Home Office schemes. This work is supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation with a three-year grant of £120,000, £38,815 of this was received in this financial year. Dechert LLP are also supporting the work with a £750 donation and pro bono support.

A Parole System Fit for Purpose (Strategy theme: non-judicial decision-making) In April 2021, JUSTICE launched its a Parole System fit for Purpose Working Party, which examined the role, powers, and procedures of the Parole Board and wider system. The report makes 22

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practical, achievable, and well-evidenced recommendations which explore and show how the parole system could be truly fit for purpose for those in prison, victims, and the general public. We have been working on implementing these recommendations.

Following the publication of the Government’s Root and Branch review of the parole system in March 2022, JUSTICE prepared a written response to the review’s key proposals prepared with the benefit of our Report’s evidence base and recommendations, and in consultation with members of the Working Party. We subsequently met with senior Ministry of Justice officials to discuss our concerns and submitted our response to the Justice Select Committee. Its evidence was subsequently used in questioning the Lord Chancellor on this subject.

The Victims and Prisoners Bill was introduced at the end of March 2023 and seeks to implement a number of the proposals from the Root and Branch review including a ministerial veto power over the release of prisoners. We had pre-emptively instructed Jude Bunting KC and Stephanie Davin (Doughty Street Chambers) to prepare pro-bono advice to analyse the compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights of the Government’s proposed reforms regarding increased Secretary of State involvement in release decisions. This will assist our briefing efforts on the Bill. We have also been engaging with victims’ groups and representatives in relation to the Bill, including the London Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman OBE.

Hogan Lovells International LLP and Doughty Street Chambers supported this work with pro bono support. The implementation work on this Working Party was funded by JUSTICE’s designated funds.

- Reforming Benefits Decision Making (Strategy theme: non-judicial decision-making)

Reforming Benefits Decision-Making is our joint Working Party with the Administrative Justice Council, chaired by Lord Low of Dalston CBE. The Working Party was launched in April 2020 and the report was published in July 2021. It makes recommendations aimed at creating a benefits system that prioritises dignity and respect and places the user at its heart.

Since the launch of our report, we have worked towards implementing its recommendations. Some of our recommendations have already been implemented (either in part or in full). For example, the DWP began work in November 2021 to make all the forms they publish fully accessible, introduced BSL telephone calls and audio recording of PIP assessments is now allowed (though it is not automatic).

In June 2022 we met with civil servants at the DWP to discuss our response to the Government’s Health and Disability Green paper consultation, which provided a key opportunity to further advance a number of the report’s recommendations. There is a considerable amount of overlap between our Working Party report and the issues set out by the DWP in their green paper.

We have also spoken to the Head of Administrative Justice Policy at HMCTS about the Tribunal recommendations, held a meeting with President of the Social Security Tribunal Judge Kate Markus

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KC to discuss the appeals procedure and briefed the Social Security Advisory Committee on the contents of our report.

Finally, we provided detailed responses to the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum on social security policy, which included several of our recommendations which are not within present Government thinking including the extension of legal aid, the end to outsourcing of benefits assessments and the creation of an independent regulator for benefits. This was an important opportunity for us to engage with the Labour Party in key policy development areas.

We are picking up the issue of outsourced health assessments for benefits in more detail as part of our Outsourcing Working Party.

BlackRock, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and abrdn Financial Fairness Trust (formerly known as Standard Life Foundation) are supporting our Working Party on Reforming Benefits Decision-Making, with BlackRock donating £4,799, in 2021-22 as well as providing pro bono support; abrdn with a three-year grant of £70,000, with £5,000 received in this financial year; and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP through their JUSTICE60 membership donation of £10,000 in this financial year and by providing pro bono support.

Tackling Racial Injustice: Children and the Youth Justice System

In February 2021 we published Tackling Racial Injustice, chaired by Sandra Paul and with the assistance of Travers Smith LLP. At most stages of the youth justice system – from arrest to custody – the proportion of Black and Minority Ethnic young people is higher than the proportion of white young people. This Working Party examined the causes of racial disproportionality in the Youth Justice System (YJS) of England and Wales and made recommendations to ensure that children are not needlessly criminalised by improving the attitudes, processes and procedures in the YJS.

JUSTICE sat on an expert group providing advice, support and expertise to the Criminal Justice Alliance regarding its project ‘Tackling Race Injustice’ project concerning the public sector equality duty. This concluded in January 2023 and a series of resources to assist civil society and community groups in developing and making public sector equality duty claims have been published.

In August, JUSTICE gave evidence to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services in respect of the Criminal Justice Alliance’s super complaint regarding section 60 suspicionless stop and search powers. We raised concerns regarding the use of these powers, particularly considering their negative and discriminatory impact on ethnic minorities, who are disproportionately affected.

Throughout the year we have been briefing on the now-passed Public Order Act 2023 which introduces a range of new protest offences, increased stop and search powers and a new form of hybrid order ‘Serious Disruption Prevention Orders’. We are concerned the powers in this Bill will disproportionately impact racialised individuals and communities. We gave evidence to the Commons' Bill Committee and helped to defeat a series of controversial late-stage Government amendments which would have empowered police to restrict protests pre-emptively, as well as limits

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on the ‘reasonable excuse’ defence for protest-related offences. We were also instrumental in the adoption of an amendment to prevent the police from exercising their powers to prevent journalists and legal observers from monitoring protests.

JUSTICE coordinated a group of organisations to call on the Greater Manchester Police, Manchester City Council, and the Independent Advisory Group to retract their discriminatory policy which banned numerous individuals, including children and young adults, from attending the Caribbean Carnival of Manchester on the basis of spurious criteria including “perceived by others to be associated with a street gang”.

JUSTICE’s Criminal Lawyer spoke at the Centre for Justice Innovation, ‘Securing Equal Diversion’ workshop in March 2023 on ‘Raising solicitors’ awareness of youth diversion’. This was an opportunity to address practitioners, diversion experts, and police officers responsible for out of court disposals on the report’s recommendations regarding the use of diversion.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) commissioned a study which found that defendants from ethnic minority backgrounds were significantly more likely to be charged for a comparable offence than White British defendants. The CPS created an independent Disproportionality Advisory Group to help identify the factors causing the disparity and determine what action to take as a result. JUSTICE’s Chief Executive was invited to sit as a member of this group.

We have also been engaging Travers Smith LLP to conduct pro bono research to support a followup piece of work looking at the experiences of ethnic minority girls and young women in the criminal justice system.

We have been engaging in the Labour Party’s manifesto process to advance the report’s recommendations including participating in roundtables and making submissions to the National Policy Forum consultation. We held meetings with the Liberal Democrat’s Home Affairs advisor with a view to contributing to their manifesto committee and hope to hold similar meetings with Conservative Party representatives in due course.

In this financial year, the Barrow Cadbury Trust has contributed £8,350 of a three-year grant totalling £46,350 (£14,000 in 2021-22 and 2020-21; £10,000 in 2019-20) and The Blagrave Trust has contributed a £30,000 grant (£7,500 in 2021-22 and 2020-21; £15,000 in 2019-20) over the same period to support the Working Party and its implementation. Travers Smith LLP contributed £10,000 in 2019-20 and are also providing pro bono assistance to support the Working Party. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP have also provide pro bono assistance. The rest of the implementation work on this Working Party was funded by JUSTICE’s designated funds.

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When Things Go Wrong

The When Things Go Wrong Working Party was chaired by Sir Robert Owen and published in August 2020. It made recommendations aimed at addressing the erosion of public trust in the response of the justice system to deaths giving rise to public concern.

We continue to work on implementing the recommendations from the report. We engaged with the consultation on the Covid-19 inquiry’s terms of reference. Baroness Hallett’s recommendations to the Prime Minister, included several recommendations put forward by us in our consultation response. These recommendations were accepted by the Prime Minister.

We have been asked to provide assistance to Hillsborough Law Now with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (“APPG”) on Public Accountability, which they chair. We plan to support the work of the APPG by suggesting future topics for meetings, providing position statements, and inviting Working Party members to attend these meetings. Our suggestions and position statements will reflect the recommendations put forward in When Things Go Wrong.

This implementation work on this Working Party was funded by JUSTICE’s designated funds.

The main focus of implementation over the past year has been through the Practitioners Guide to Raising Race at Inquests. Whilst we did not cover the issue of racial injustice specifically in our Working Party, we are particularly concerned about the disproportionate number of people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, particularly those of African descent, who die in contentious circumstances where the State may have played a role. Despite this, during inquests racial discrimination and bias are rarely, if ever, raised as an issue and are therefore not considered. We are working with INQUEST to produce a guide for practitioners to assist them in making submissions about the role of racism in deaths in State custody. The guide will also provide practical considerations for how to be an anti-racist advocate. We have convened an Advisory Group of inquest and discrimination practitioners, bereaved family members, academics, and race experts to assist with the guide. The Advisory Group is chaired by Professor Leslie Thomas KC. We have also been using Freedom of Information Act requests to obtain further statistical evidence which will form part of the guide.

This work will be funded by the Matrix Causes Fund, who provided a grant of £5,440 in 2021-22. We also received pro bono assistance from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Morrison Foerster LLP. The implementation work on the Working Party in this financial year was funded by JUSTICE’s designated funds.

Solving Housing Disputes

The Solving Housing Disputes Working Party report, was launched in March 2020 and chaired by Andrew Arden KC.

We have continued to work towards the implementation of the report’s recommendations this year. We responded to a number of Government consultations drawing on the report’s recommendations, including the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee’s consultation on reforming the

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private rented sector, the Ministry of Justice’s consultation on increasing the use of Mediation in the Civil Justice System and the Civil Justice Council Cost Consultation. As well as continuing to meet key stakeholders including in the Ministry of Justice, the Housing and Property Redress Group and the President of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). We have also been engaging in the Labour Party’s manifesto process to advance the report’s recommendations.

Our recommendations to remove s.21 no fault evictions has been accepted by the Government and is due to be implemented via a forthcoming Renters Reform Bill. There has also been a move towards increasing use of ADR in housing dispute cases as well as the introduction of early legal support for possession cases as well as improvements to legal aid provision in those cases. Work has continued to increase the use of cross-ticketing for housing disputes via engagement with the Housing and Property Redress Reform Group. In our housing report, we recommended that the process for raising disputes at the Ombudsman and Property Tribunal be streamlined and integrated. This work is now in train, with Judge Siobhan McGrath, President of the First Tier Property Tribunal, leading on this project to create a single point of entry for people to raise such disputes.

The implementation work on the Working Party in this financial year was funded by JUSTICE’s designated funds.

Challenging School Exclusions

The Challenging School Exclusions Working Party was chaired by Professor Richard de Friend and was published in November 2019.

Following our response to the Government's review of its statutory guidance documents on exclusion and behaviour last year, JUSTICE has continued to liaise with stakeholders on the redrafted guidance and its failure to improve the information given to schools about their legal duties.

We met with the Exclusions and Alternative Provision team in the Department for Education. We pressed for the promised renewed exclusions guidance for parents to be published without delay, which was supposed to be released at the same time as the updated guidance for schools (September 2022). We also advocated for a children’s guide to be produced.

We consulted local authorities on their alternative approaches to exclusions which might align with the JUSTICE report, including Kensington and Chelsea, Southwark and Derby City Council about their respective school exclusions pilots which adopt a “trauma-informed” approach to children’s behaviour. We have also developed our relationship the Traveller Movement whose education policy work includes focused work on school exclusions (children of Gypsy, Roma or Irish Traveller heritage are disproportionately excluded, as are Black Caribbean children, children with SEND, and children on free school meals). We have also held meetings with the Exclusions and Alternative Provision APPG secretariat at the Centre for Social Justice, to influence their programme of work which is as yet undecided.

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We responded to the Commission on Young Lives putting forward our recommendations to reform school exclusions practices and processes to be more inclusive, which were reflected in the Commission’s final report and are welcomed.

We made the important link between school exclusions and child criminal exploitation in our briefings to the shadow justice team and their end-to-end review of the criminal justice system. We have also included the recommendations as standalone points in our response to Labour’s National Policy Forum consultation.

We conducted updating research on the training provided to schools on their Equality Act 2010 duties, about which the 2019 report has significant concerns. This included meeting with education and leadership charity, The Difference, who are advising the Government on the training of inclusive school leaders, to share our concerns and the Working Party recommendation for mandatory training.

Matrix Chambers supported our Working Party on Challenging School Exclusions with a £3,000 grant in 2018-19 and provided pro bono support. The Society of the Holy Child Jesus (£7,000 in 201920 and £5,000 in 2021-22); Peter Stebbings Memorial Charity (£2,500 2020-21); and The Schroder Charity Trust (£4,000 in 2021-22) contributed towards implementation of the report’s recommendations. The rest of the implementation work on the Working Party in this financial year was funded by JUSTICE’s designated funds.

Prosecuting Sexual Offences

Work towards implementing recommendations from JUSTICE’s 2019 Prosecuting Sexual Offences report, chaired by His Honour Peter Rook KC, largely took the form of briefing work on the Online Safety Bill. The Online Safety Bill was introduced in March 2022 and sets out a framework for the regulation of online service providers. It responds to the growing concern about online harms, and the need to protect service users, especially children, from harmful and illegal content online. A number of the report’s recommendations are reflected in the Bill including placing a duty on online service providers to act with regard to Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (CSEA) content online and promoting greater accountability by requiring service providers to produce transparency reports. We have been briefing Parliamentarians supporting these measures. We have also been advocating for the inclusion of additional measures that would advance the report’s recommendations including imposing minimum transparency reporting requirements in relation to CSEA content and enhancing OFCOM’s duties with regard to improving media literacy. The Bill is still progressing through the House of Lords.

In addition to the briefing work, JUSTICE gave evidence to the Justice Select Committee on the Draft Victims Bill and its implications drawing on the work of the Working Party. We also responded to the Home Office’s consultation on the Extraction of Information from Electronic Devices: Draft Code of Practice issued pursuant to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Relying on evidence collated pursuant to our Working Party report we highlighted the process of having information extracted from a device can be extremely traumatising for victims of sexual violence and it has been cited by victims of sexual offences as a reason for being unwilling to proceed with police investigations. We therefore made recommendations which would ensure that extractions are always

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strictly necessary, proportionate, and expeditious, and take place in line with the user’s informed choice. JUSTICE subsequently participated in a roundtable event with then Minister, Baroness Williams of Trafford, to further emphasise our concerns and comments regarding the draft Code.

The Dawes Trust is supported the implementation work of our Prosecuting Sexual Offences Working Party, with a two-year grant of £21,275 from October 2020. The rest of the implementation work on the Working Party in this financial year was funded by JUSTICE’s designated funds.

Preventing Digital Exclusion from Online Justice

We continue to work on implementing recommendations from our report Preventing Digital Exclusions which was chaired by Amanda Finlay CBE.

JUSTICE has joined the AJC’s Digitisation Working Group chaired by Caroline Sheppard OBE. The group will be reviewing the progress of HMCTS’s reform programme and identifying areas for improvement for five discrete user groups: lay claimant/appellants, respondents (specifically government departments), judges, court/tribunal staff, and advice and support organisations. JUSTICE’s focus will be on the improvements required for lay users and the advice organisations supporting them, with a focus on the Digital Support service now available from HMCTS for digitally excluded users. JUSTICE consulted with stakeholders including HMCTS lead for the Digital Support service and Support Through Court, one of the delivery partners providing the service. In addition, Fiona Rutherford sat on the recruitment panel for the lay member of the new Online Procedure Rules Committee.

This implementation work was funded by JUSTICE’s designated funds.

Understanding Courts

We continue to promote the principles from our Understanding Courts Working Party, chaired by Sir Nicholas Blake, across all our work streams. JUSTICE lawyers also continued to attend Litigants in Person Engagement Group and to monitor developments by HMCTS.

We have been engaging with the Legal Services Board (LSB) on the issue of training for lawyers. We responded to the LSB’s consultation on ongoing competence, participated in an LSB panel discussion on consumer vulnerability and met with the LSB to discuss JUSTICE’s work on training for lawyers to effectively communicate with lay users.

We have also built on the work of our Working Party in Scotland. For example, we had meetings with the Scottish Court and Tribunal Service and set out our proposals for how they might reform their website to make it more accessible as part of their 2022-2023 review.

This implementation work was funded by JUSTICE’s designated funds.

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Mental Health and Fair Trials

Nearly two thirds of the recommendations from our Mental Health and Fair Trials Working Party, chaired by Sir David Latham, have been put in train.

JUSTICE continued its work with Edmore Masendeke, Early-Stage Researcher and a PhD student on the DARE (Disability Advocacy Research in Europe) Project, based at the University of Leeds. The research project focuses on the communication support that is available to defendants with mental health conditions or learning disabilities during criminal proceedings in England and Ireland, including organising roundtable meetings between communications support professionals in connection with this work. The secondment has now concluded, and we await the findings.

This implementation work was funded by JUSTICE’s designated funds.

Legal Assistance in the Police Station

Our first Working Party report in Scotland was published in June 2018, chaired by the Rt. Hon. Lord Eassie. It looked at the reasons for the high level of suspects waiving the right to a solicitor and the quality of advice and support provided to individuals. Despite a number of the recommendations from this report being adopted, we have since continued low levels of uptake of legal advice by suspects in police custody. Since we were successful in our application for a collaborative PhD with Professor Jacqueline Hodgson of Warwick University which will look at the treatment of suspects in police custody in Scotland last year, we recruited a PhD candidate Aura Bamber. She had to complete a masters in research methods before commencing the PhD so this project has been on pause this year and will recommence when the PhD starts in October 2023.

This implementation work was funded by JUSTICE’s designated funds.

Other projects

The State of the UK: Addressing Challenges to the Rule of Law, Human Rights, and Access to Justice (Strategy themes: challenges to the courts and Constitution; effective routes of redress) Over the past few years, the Government has pursued its legislative agenda at pace, passing a host of new laws which expand the state’s powers whilst limiting its accountability and arguably conflict with the UK's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. Whilst many organisations, including JUSTICE, have been working on analysing and briefing parliamentarians on individual pieces of legislation, we are not aware of anyone who has taken a holistic look at what these changes, and indeed legislation over the last 10-15years, mean for the United Kingdom’s justice system and its adherence to the rule of law. With this work, we seek to offer an overarching analysis of the challenges. In our experience, law and policy makers tend to view individual pieces of legislation and policies in isolation and do not appreciate the context in which they are being made, nor the cumulative impact of the changes.

We are therefore conducting a new advocacy project that will tie together some of the key thematic issues that lie behind this trend, to take stock of the state of the UK, its adherence to the rule of law, including human rights and democratic norms. The report is due to be launched in July 2023.

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This work is supported by grants from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, and The Legal Education Foundation and is aimed at responding to proposed reforms of administrative law including judicial review and immigration and the Human Rights Act. Clifford Chance LLP provided pro bono research for this project.

Linked to this report and with a view to raising awareness of the potential threats to the rule of law from a number of different perspectives, we have held and will continue to hold a number of events (see below in relation to these).

Remand Decision-Making in the Magistrates’ Court

JUSTICE continued its observational research project of remand decision-making in the magistrates’ courts. The aim of this project is to better understand how magistrates and district judges make their decisions and if there are any problematic patterns of decision making in respect of remand issues and possible systemic issues, particularly around racial and gender bias.

We continued to be assisted in data collection by students at University College London, Newcastle University, Nottingham Trent University and Exeter University and lawyers at Reed Smith LLP and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. By December 2022 we had over 700 data points and finished the data collection stage of the project.

The Legal Education Foundation kindly provided funding for a statistician, Dr Abby Kendrick, to analysis the data that we collected. We are now in the process of producing a joint JUSTICE and Legal Education Foundation report of our findings. We anticipate this will be followed by convening of a working party to look at the issues highlighted by the data and find solutions to them.

Reed Smith LLP have supported this work with a donation of £5,000 in this financial year and have provided pro bono research support. The rest of the work in this financial year was funded by JUSTICE’s designated funds.

Delivering Administrative Justice After the Pandemic: What can we learn about digitalisation and vulnerable groups?

Heidi Bancroft, the Secretary to the AJC worked on a separate Nuffield Foundation funded research project with a group of academics from University of Westminster, University College London and London School of Economics. The research team examined the effect of rapid digitalisation on the delivery of justice, identifying the effects on access for marginalised groups and exploring how trust can be built and sustained in parts of the justice system affected by the pandemic. The project focused on Special Educational Needs (SEND) and Disability; and housing and looks at the overlap in ombudsman scheme and tribunals in four institutions: the local government and social care ombudsman and the SEND tribunal; and the housing ombudsman and the property chamber.

The University of Westminster was awarded a grant to administer this project and subcontracted Heidi Bancroft of JUSTICE to support the project through an administrative and research role, as a Research Assistant (RA). The project started in September 2021 and completed in February 2023,

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£20,153 of funding was received in this financial year (£12,681 in 2021-22). Heidi has worked with the research team to produce surveys for users of the institutions, advice service organisations and case handlers at the four institutions; conduct interviews of service users and service providers and produce two user guide videos on the pursing of an appeal/complaint into two specific housing and SEND problems. An interim report was published on the overlap between ombudsman schemes and tribunals in the two jurisdictions and mapping the pathways to justice and the final report entitled “How has the pandemic changed the way people access justice? Digitisation and reform in the areas of housing and SEND” was published in March 2023. The report can be found here.

Briefing on legislation and public consultation

JUSTICE continues to disseminate detailed submissions on relevant legislation and respond to consultations of Government, select committees and the judiciary that are relevant to our priorities. These are reasoned memoranda that include discussion of relevant law. They are designed to assist parliamentarians of all parties in scrutinising legislation and Government and other bodies in their considerations of the reform of their processes. This year has seen JUSTICE engage in a significant amount of briefing and consultation work due to the heavy legislative agenda. These bills included the Public Order Act 2023, the Bill of Rights Bill, the Retained EU Law Bill, and the Illegal Migration Bill, all of which have implications for the UK constitution, human rights and the rule of law. In addition, we responded to ten consultations, also covering a range of access to justice, rule of law and human rights issues.

We continued our briefing on the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022, the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 during their final stages of ‘ping pong’ in April 2022.

In November 2021, the Government introduced over 18 pages of late-stage amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, for which JUSTICE also prepared briefings. The House of Lords rejected all but one of these amendments, but they were subsequently brought back in the form of the Public Order Act 2023. The Act creates a swathe of new criminal offences which are incredibly broad and have the potential to capture a wide range of ordinary peaceful behaviour. It also introduces further stop and search powers and Serious Disruption Prevention Orders – a type of quasi civil, quasi criminal hybrid order which could impose severe restrictions on individuals’ liberty and if breach result in imprisonment.

JUSTICE briefed parliamentarians at all stages of the Act’s passage through Parliament, raising concerns about its compliance with European Convention on Human Rights, in particular Article 10 ECHR (freedom of expression) and Article 11 ECHR (freedom of assembly and association) and the likely discriminatory impact of the measures.

We organised an in person briefing with Big Brother Watch for Peers in advance of second reading in the House of Lords, which was well attended by Labour, Liberal Democrat and Cross Bench Peers. A number of Peers who had not been planning to speak at second reading did so as a result of the briefing session. At its Lords’ Committee Stage, we have worked with peers on a cross-party basis

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to prepare and endorse several amendments, as well as preparing specific briefings on the impact of the Act on Trade Union activities, as well as on journalists and others who monitor protests and the exercise of police power.

JUSTICE was pleased to see the House of Lords vote eight times in favour of amendments which we supported at Report Stage. This meant that some of the most controversial powers could not be revived, such as the Government amendments which would have empowered the police to restrict protests pre-emptively, as well as limits on the ‘reasonable excuse’ defence for protest-related offences.

In the wake of a number of arrests of journalists covering protests, including LBC reporter Charlotte Lynch, JUSTICE also played a key role in preparing and advocating for an amendment which prevents the police exercising their powers to prevent journalists and legal observers monitoring protests. The Government conceded and accepted the principle of the amendment, tabling a slightly revised alternative during the Common’s consideration of Lords’ amendments.

However, unfortunately the Government rejected JUSTICE’s proposal for a definition of “serious disruption” (core to several of the new offences). While Labour attempted to revive the original definition, this was unsuccessful during Lords’ ‘Ping Pong’ on 14 March, losing by only 11 votes.

JUSTICE will continue to engage with Government and Parliamentarians to assess the new law’s impact, after it received Royal Assent in May 2023. Furthermore, we have engaged Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP for pro bono assistance in monitoring the implementation of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (including its protest restricting provisions).

Our briefing and consultation work has been supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, with a three-year grant of £71,597, of which £28,639 has been received in this financial year, The Legal Education Foundation with a two-year grant of £70,000, with £35,000 received in this financial year and Clifford Chance LLP who donated £2,603. As well as Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, we have also received pro bono research assistance from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP for this work.

Third Party Interventions

Nealon and Hallam v UK

We filed written submissions with the European Court of Human Rights at the end of the 2020/21 financial year, having been given permission to intervene in this long-running case concerning compensation for miscarriage of justice.

We have been notified that the case has been relinquished to the Grand Chamber and that it will be heard on 5 July 2023. We have been given the opportunity to update our submissions and are

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grateful for the assistance of Gibson Dunn LLP for further research and Jodie Blackstock, Garden Court Chambers for acting as pro bono counsel.

Northern Ireland Attorney General Reference re Safe Zones to the UKSC

We intervened in the Supreme Court in the reference by the Northern Ireland Attorney General in respect of the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill. We were represented by Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC, Tim James-Matthews and Robbie Stern (former JUSTICE Senior Legal Research Fellow) of Matrix Chambers, instructed by Raj Chada, Hodge Jones & Allen.

The Bill provides for the creation of buffer zones around abortion clinics and criminalises certain acts within those zones. The NI AG asked the Supreme Court to consider whether the offence of doing an act which influences a protected person (someone accessing treatment/ services, accompanying them or working there) within a safe zone is a proportionate interference with Article 9/10/11 rights in circumstances where the legislation does not provide for a defence of “reasonable excuse”.

JUSTICE’s intervention concerned a narrow matter of statutory construction. Our position was that the lack of an express “reasonable excuse” defence did not make the Bill incompatible with the ECHR. Numerous criminal offences applicable in Northern Ireland – and in the United Kingdom more broadly – are capable of engaging Articles 9, 10, and 11, and do not include an equivalent defence. We argued that when these rights are engaged, criminal courts are obliged under the Human Rights Act to consider whether a conviction would be a proportionate restriction on those rights, regardless of whether the offence has a “reasonable excuse” defence.

The Supreme Court handed down judgement in December 2022. We were disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to find that courts are required to undertake a proportionality exercise when deciding whether to convict in circumstances where Articles 9, 10 and/or 11 are engaged.

This finding has significant implications for the rights to freedom of conscience, expression and assembly across the UK, in circumstances where many criminal provisions engaging Article 9/10/11 rights (including those predating the Human Rights Act) do not contain an express ‘lawful excuse’ or ‘reasonable excuse’ defence.

U3 v SSHD [2022] UKSIAC SC/153/208 and SC/153/2021

JUSTICE was granted permission to intervene in the Court of Appeal in the case of U3. The case concerns deprivation of citizenship for reasons of national security, which are decided by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (“SIAC”) on appeal from the Home Secretary’s decision. JUSTICE’s

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intervention addresses the appellate jurisdiction of SIAC, which has been interpreted differently since the decision of the Supreme Court in Begum [2021] UKSC 7.

SIAC found at first instance that its remit was limited to Wednesbury unreasonableness and errors of law, akin to judicial review. JUSTICE’s intervention argues that there needs to be a meaningful appeal on grounds of fact in these appeals, in particular when the appeal is the first opportunity for the appellant to rebut the national security case against them (as was the case in U3).

This intervention follows on from our intervention in Begum as well as a number of other previous interventions concerning the jurisdiction of SIAC, including the ECHR case, Chahal v UK, which led to the creation of SIAC.

We filed our written submissions in February and were subsequently granted permission to make oral submissions. The case is listed in the Court of Appeal on 26 April for three days.

JUSTICE is extremely grateful for the pro bono assistance in this matter from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Tom Hickman KC, George Molyneaux, and Rayan Fakhoury of Blackstone Chambers.

Administrative Justice Council

The Administrative Justice Council (AJC) was set up to ensure that the administrative justice system is more accessible, fair and effective by improving administrative decision-making, simplifying appeals, complaints procedures and redress mechanisms, and ensuring access to justice for some of the most vulnerable people in society. The AJC is funded by the Ministry of Justice (£58,163 this financial year) and Trust for London (£15,000 this financial year). JUSTICE provides office space, line management and covers any costs not covered by these grants from unrestricted funding.

In July 2021, the Administrative Justice Council appointed a new Chair, the current Senior President of Tribunals, Sir Keith Lindblom, who took over from his predecessor, Sir Ernest Ryder. It also appointed a deputy chair, Rosemary Agnew, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. In addition, the AJC re-elected existing members and recruited new members for the second term.

Details of the work carried out by the Administrative Justice Council can be found on their website.

Events

The pandemic has been much less impactful on our ability to hold ‘in person’ events as the year has gone by. Towards the end of the year (and probably going forward), we made the decision to hold as many ‘hybrid’ events (i.e., events that can be attended either in person or online) to encourage attendance and increase accessibility to our work from across the UK and internationally. We had 1,255 people attend our events during the 2022-23 financial year. Below is a list of the free events we held, the majority of which were open to the public:

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In person:

Online:

Hybrid:

We hosted our Annual Human Rights Law Conference on Friday 4 November 2022 which was held in-person for the first time in two years with hybrid tickets available for those who were not able to attend in-person. This resulted in increased income of £20,387 (£10,126 in 2021-22). This year we heard keynote addresses from Judge Tim Eicke KC, the UK’s judge on the European Court of Human Rights, I. Stephanie Boyce, Past President of the Law Society of England and Wales, and HH Wendy Joseph KC. The engaging cross-party political panel discussed constitutional reform and included Lord Pannick KC, Elaine Motion (Chairman of Balfour and Mason, Edinburgh) Rob Behrens (Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman), Dominic Casciani (BBC Home and Legal correspondent)

The Human Rights Conference attracts professionals from across the legal profession. Managing it in-house means that we are able to charge a much more affordable fee and offer discounted rates to members, which gives us a more diverse audience.

We also hosted our Student Symposium: the future of human rights in the UK online on 21 March 2023. We had a keynote speech from Fiona Rutherford, as well as workshops from the JUSTICE staff on Criminalisation Creep: hybrid orders and human rights; The Bill of Rights Bill; Brexit Bonfires and the Retained EU Law Bill; and The Public Order Bill: What next for protest rights?

In addition to the above, we held member and fundraising events which are detailed in the relevant sections below and JUSTICE staff members attended and spoke at a wide range of virtual conferences and events, across the UK and in Ireland.

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Development

Membership

In the 2022-23 financial year we carried out a review of our membership fees, after feedback from some Corporate members who felt the fee was too low. We have not increased our fees since 2011 so after carrying out a review where we compared existing rates against inflation, we revised our corporate membership fee structure increasing the fees to just below inflation. We also restructured from small and large firms to small, medium and large solicitors and corporates and introduced a banding for barristers’ chambers based on the number of silks. We did not increase the rate for libraries and small NGOs. The new corporates fees started in October 2022, we gave Corporate members the option to delay the increase until their next financial year, recognising that their budgets may have already have been sent, two corporates have taken us up on this and one corporate decided not to renew.

We also looked at individual membership rates and whilst we were wary of increasing the rates given the current economic climate, we decided to put this to our members at our AGM. The members voted to increase the rates for all categories except students, unwaged and paralegals which is a new category that we introduced during this year. We introduced the increase for individuals in January 2023 and so far, haven’t seen a drop in membership due to this.

Despite our efforts detailed below we have seen a decrease in members in 2022-23 and at the end of the financial year JUSTICE had 1,776 members (down 49, from 1,825 in 2022). Whilst the numbers have decreased, due to the new membership fees we haven’t seen a decline in income and instead this has increased to £117,503 (£100,830 for 2021-22).

The decrease in numbers is much lower than in the previous financial year when we had 241 less and the decrease mainly relates to student members, who we have more of a transactional relationship with; they will join to attend an event or apply for an internship but do not always continue to engage or renew.

Our focus for 2022-23 was to continue to look at ways of growing and retaining our members with a focus on recruiting more corporate members and to expand our membership regionally. As well as reviewing our messaging and our website to demonstrate more clearly the benefits of being a JUSTICE member. We planned to hold a member event each quarter to continue our previous years engagement.

Although our overall membership numbers have decreased over the year, we have been successful at increasing the number of corporate members and have recruited three new large, one medium and two small law firms.

We started to work on expanding our membership by holding regional events in November. The first in Manchester was Dominic Grieve KC speaking on Democracy and the rule of law (42 people attended) and the second Human Rights Act reform: a dangerous or welcome change? - a lecture by

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the Rt. Hon. Lord Dyson was held in Leeds (59 people attended). We gained five new individual members and one corporate member from these events. We also held dinners after the events with members of key chambers and firms, the judiciary, universities and law schools, whose connections we will utilise as we continue to increase our presence in these areas. Whilst these events were not as successful in terms of new members and donations as we would have liked, we were able to meet key figures within these legal hubs who we will continue to work with to learn about the issues faced in these regions, increase engagement with JUSTICE’s work and improve membership in these areas long-term. We would like to thank the Ombudsman Association, the University of Law, Leeds and DLA Piper for their support of these events.

Our Annual Human Rights Lecture in Scotland is a way to attract support for our work in Scotland and JUSTICE more generally. We held two Human Right’s Lectures in Scotland within this financial year due to the first being delayed from the year before due to Covid. The first on 4 May 2022, entitled ‘A light in the North? Reflections on the work of the Scottish National Taskforce for Human Rights Leadership”, was delivered by Professor Kate O’Regan (Professor of Human Rights Law and Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, University of Oxford). The second on 2 February 2023 was delivered by Edward Fitzgerald CBE KC and attracted the highest number of in–person attendees we have ever achieved. Both were followed by dinners to re-engage supporters for our work in Scotland. Pinsent Masons LLP very generously supported both the lectures and dinners.

Despite our plan to hold a member event each quarter, we held fewer JUSTICE member events. Whilst these have been good for recruiting and retaining members in the past this does not seem to have been the case more recently, and we have therefore held less of these during 2022-23. We held our first in-person event since before the pandemic on 6 April where members got to hear from our new Chief Executive at an In Conversation with Fiona Rutherford, which 42 members attended. In September we held an In Conversation with HHJ Angela Rafferty KC, which only 22 members attended.

In September 2022, we ran our Careers in Law event again. This was a series of webinars aimed at our student members. Each day saw a new panel of speakers discussing the variety of career paths available within the law, looking at the Bar, solicitors, Government, and NGOs. The panel listed below discussed their different paths into the law and the hiring processes involved. Eighty-three members attended over the four webinars, of these twenty-one joined as new student members to attend.

We held our virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM), in October 2022, over Zoom, ensuring that members across the country could participate. Fifty members joined us to hear reports on our work and fundraising from Peter Binning, Karyl Nairn KC, Chair of the Development Board, and Professor Gillian Douglas, who reported back on our important Working Party report, Improving Access to

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Justice for Separating Families. The members re-elected one Board Member for another term and appointed four new Board members and seven new Council members. The AGM was followed by our annual Tom Sargant Memorial Lecture, delivered by Geoffrey Robertson KC, speaking on “Rhetoric and Reality in Free Speech Reform”.

We have continued to focus on expanding our audience and reach through social and traditional media, strategic communications, and targeted messaging. On social media, we have continued to focus on LinkedIn, as a platform for professionals it is uniquely placed to spread the work of JUSTICE. We have adapted our content and style to encourage organic growth, whilst also including links to our page in our post-event emails. This has resulted in an increase of 3,177 followers over this financial year. We have taken a similar stance with Twitter where we increased our followers by 530 over the year, as well as having started to use more accessible language to encourage engagement and retweets. We had a renewed focus on traditional media this year and have seen an increase in media coverage across the broadsheets and regionally. As well as the legal press we have had articles and mentions in The Times, Guardian, The Independent, The Financial Times, The Irish and Scottish Legal News, The Manchester Word, The Voice, and The Big Issue amongst others. During the year we engaged a communications consultant who developed a communications plan for us, we have started to implement some of these recommendations for our social media and website, including updating our membership pages to make clearer the benefits of membership. We are in the process of recruiting a Head of Communications who will lead on the implementation of this plan.

Fundraising

Our fundraising plan for 2022-23 was to continue to focus on diversification of our income, our membership, our donors, our supporters, and our advocates to ensure our sustainable and continued growth. We have continued to see growth from multi-year and new grant funding from existing Trust and Foundations and as planned we have increased our core funding from Trust and Foundations, which increased by just over £28k from 2021-22.

We have been most successful at increasing our Corporate support both pro bono and financial, which increased by £99,586 in 2022-23 (2023: £174,566; 2022: £74,980), with new donations from Linklaters LLP, King & Spalding LLP and Sidley Austin LLP.

We have continued to work hard to improve the experience of our JUSTICE60, Friends and major donors. Working closely with the Development Board, especially Chair of the Development Board, Karyl Nairn KC and chair of the JUSTICE Board, Peter Binning to ensure that these donors remained engaged with JUSTICE and its impacts and felt confident to recruit others to support JUSTICE.

The hard work detailed above and below has meant that we have seen an increase in our donation income of just over 2% (£472,206 this year up from £461,305 in 2021-22). Whilst we have seen an increase in support from our Corporate supporters through donated services, our individual donations have not been as successful and we have seen a drop in general and Friends donations, as detailed below. We believe that these challenges may be due to the wider economic uncertainty, but as mentioned above we are in the process of recruiting a Head of Communications who we hope

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will be able to assist us with messaging and help us better demonstrate our impact which we hope will lead to an increase in financial support.

We had planned to recruit ten individual and two new corporate JUSTICE60 members to our giving group (a special group of supporters who individually pledge to donate £6,000 or corporately £10,000 a year for three years to JUSTICE), we are pleased to say that we hit the Corporate target with two new members joining, unfortunately we also lost three individual and one corporate member during the year who decide not to renew their support. Though we only recruited seven new individuals this is still a large increase compared to 2022 when we only had two new members overall. This sees us end the 2022-23 financial year with 50 JUSTICE60 members and an increase in donations (£313,430 2021-22 up from £287,430 2021-22).

We were pleased to be able to meet with our JUSTICE60 supporters in-person this year and held several events including a Supper Club on 18 May 2022 with The Rt Hon Robert Buckland KC as speaker. We arranged a series of meetings with JUSTICE60 prospects around the Human Rights Lecture in Scotland on 4 May. This resulted in a new member signing up. JUSTICE60 members were also invited to our 65[th] Anniversary Dinner (October) and Rule of Law Panel Events (January to March). Unfortunately, COVID struck again in the Spring and our last supper club of the year, scheduled for March with Julia Gillard, was cancelled, we have rescheduled this for June 2023. This was also the case for our first Major Donor dinner with Lady Hale scheduled for March which will now take place in November.

We are extremely grateful to all our JUSTICE60 members, past and present, for their continued support during one of the most difficult fundraising years in history and especially, to our loyal and hardworking Development Board Chair, Karyl Nairn KC.

JUSTICE ended the 2022-23 financial year with 117 (123 in 2021-22) Friends of JUSTICE; these are our regular donors who donate at least £240 per year and provided us with £34,592 (£36,912 for 2021-22) of unrestricted income. We held a Friends Recruitment event on ‘Introducing 'Ubuntu' into Public International Law’ on 10 May at Lincoln’s Inn. Chaired by the Rt Honourable Lady Justice Ingrid Simler, our panel included Professor Sandra Fredman KC (Hon), Guglielmo Verdirame KC, and Dr Ndjodi Ndeunyema. Sixty-three guests attended, and though no Friends were recruited, the event generated ten individual members and donations of £145. We also held a Friends Appreciation in December where Fiona elaborated on our plans for the future, sadly only four Friends attended. We are currently considering how to engage and recruit Friends better and are planning a recruitment drive.

In October we celebrated our 65[th] anniversary with a fundraising dinner at The Honourable Society of Inner Temple. This bought together seventy of our supporters who purchased tickets for the dinner and made donations on the night. This resulted in £28,150 of donations.

We also hosted a series of fundraising events discussing the current threats to human rights and the rule of law in the UK. We were joined by senior retired judges, leading practitioners, parliamentarians, and academics for three evenings of debate and discussion - Human Rights Act

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Reform: A dangerous or welcome change?, 12 January 2023; Current Threats to the Rule of Law in the UK, 8 February 2023; Parliamentary and media attacks on lawyers – a threat to the Rule of Law, 8 March 2023. Ticket sales and donations from this event raised £9,625 of income.

JUSTICE’s Development Board, chaired by Karyl Nairn KC, continued to focus on growing our fundraising pipeline for; the JUSTICE60, major and corporate donors.

We are grateful to the JUSTICE Board, Council, Development Board, JUSTICE60, Friends, Members and partners that supported us with donations and introductions throughout the year. We would not have been able to do it without their support.

Trusts and foundations and corporate support

Our income from Trusts and Foundations and corporate support has increased this year, by 37% (£431,223 up from £315,730 in 2021-22).

This year, we submitted thirty applications, which resulted in twelve new grants. We focused on repeat funding from existing funders, which resulted in us being awards grants totalling £335,103 (with £153,918 received in this financial year) and converting restricted funding to core through improved stewardship, this increased our unrestricted funding by 47% (£100,500, up from £68,400 in 2021-22). The Development team also continued to focus on maintaining our relationships with Corporates and increasing the support we receive either in the form of monetary donations or pro bono support, this led to increased research requests from corporates than in previous years, including help with our briefings on the Bill of Rights, the Online Safety Bill and for research for our Hybrid Orders Working Party.

The work above resulted in us being awarded new grants totalling £30,000 (£15,000 received in this financial year from Trust and Foundations), as well as £90,500 in new income from Corporate supporters. Considering the continuing competitive environment, this is a significant achievement.

The grants from Trusts and Foundations and donations from Corporates are detailed below.

Restricted income increased by just over 33% to £330,723. We received new restricted grants or donations from:

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The Barrow Cadbury Trust, Dechert LLP, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Reed Smith LLP, abrdn Financial Fairness Trust (formerly Standard Life Foundation), the Treebeard Trust, Trust for London and the Ministry of Justice continued to support us with restricted multi-year grants on existing projects, details of which can be found in the policy section of this report (page 8).

Unrestricted support increased by just over 47% to £100,500 (£68,400 in 2021-22). We have received new unrestricted grants or donations from:

We are very grateful to the Trust and Foundations and Corporations who have supported our work during this difficult year.

Approach to fundraising

JUSTICE employs a Director of Development who oversees our Deputy Director of Development, Engagement and Communications Executive, Development Administrator and Trust and Foundation Fundraiser and takes the lead on our fundraising activities. Our main focus for fundraising is around major donors, Corporate support and grants from Trust and Foundations. We host small events throughout the year to attract potential donors. Any fundraising events are organised by our Development team. JUSTICE does not use professional fundraisers or involve commercial participators. There have been no complaints about fundraising activity this year.

Beneficiaries of our services

Our system-change approach benefits all those involved in the justice system include practising lawyers, judges, students of law and policymakers interested in the development and protection of the rule of law and human rights, and the public at large, who benefit from a robust justice system that protects their rights.

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Trustees’ annual report

Financial review

For the year ended 31 March 2023, JUSTICE recorded a net surplus, before other recognised gains and losses, of £1,739,858 (March 2022: £84,180 deficit). Our investments did not perform as well as in 2022 and this year they made losses of £8,520 reducing our surplus to £1,731,388 (March 2022: £79,525 deficit). When we exclude income and expenditure related to the endowment, we made a surplus of £7,317 before the loss on investments. We had expected to end the year with a deficit of £38k so this is a positive position to end the year in.

Income

Income received in 2022-23 increased by 22% to £1,098,529 without the proceeds from the sale (and 218% to £2,865,780 with) (2022: £900,273). Details of how this has arisen are shown below.

Donations and legacies

The level of donations and legacies saw an increase in 2022-23 to £472,206 (2022: £461,305), this is mainly due to an increase in JUSTICE60 donations and donated services from Corporates, which is the result of the hard work of our Development team, supported by the Development Board and the generosity of our supporters.

Charitable activities

Income towards our Research and Education activities has increased for 2022-23 (2023: £451,797, 2022: £326,047), this down to the hard work of our Deputy Director of Development, Trust and Foundation Fundraiser and Development Administrator who have focused on obtaining repeat funding from existing funders and converting restricted funding to core through improved stewardship, this increased our unrestricted funding by 47%.

Membership income has increased by 17% this year to £117,503 (2022: £100,830), this is due to an increase in membership fees as detailed above under membership.

Trading activities

Income for our trading activities has increased by over 1215%. This is due to the fundraising events we have held in the year, with our 65[th] anniversary, the series of Rule of Law events and other major donor fundraising events.

Investments

Investment income was £9,248 (2022: £8,386). We have sought advice on our investments, and these are performing well against benchmarks. We are in the process of developing a formal investment policy and will be completing another review of these as part of this process.

Expenditure

Total expenditure in 2022-23 showed an increase of 11% without the expenditure related to sale of Carter Lane and 14% with (2023: £1,091,212 / £1,125,922 v 2022: £984,453).

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Staff costs

Staff costs account for 84% of the total costs of the organisation and have increased by 12% from 2021-22. This increase relates to increases in staff training and consultancy costs related to communications consultancy and media training as well as salary increases related to inflation and reflect the saving we made on Chief Executive costs last year, where we had a gap of three months during recruitment. During the year the total average FTE headcount decreased to 15.9 (2022: 16.1), and the employed number remained at 19. Further details of staff costs and staffing levels can be found in notes 7 & 8 to the accounts and the staffing and volunteers section of this report.

Costs of generating funds

The cost of generating funds which makes up 13% of our overall expenditure, has increased this year from £107,973 to £150,378, some of this increase relates to the fundraising events held this year and our expansion of the team to increase our fundraising capabilities. These costs include fundraising salary costs, costs associated with fundraising materials and publicity expenditure plus an allocation of salary and overhead costs based on staff time attributable to the fundraising function, more details can be found in note 1 (j) of the accounts.

Endowment Fund

JUSTICE sold the freehold property in October 2022, this property in Carter Lane, was purchased as part on an appeal back in the 1990’s. The sale proceeds less the related expenditure and some listed investments (Charishare) are held both as part of this expendable endowment fund. These investments form part of our reserves.

Designated Fund

Designated funds have been set aside by the Trustees to fund staff time spent on our working parties, which are not always attractive to funders but form an essential part of JUSTICE’s work and the Administrative Justice Council. We have decided not to designate any funds for 2023-24, as we are hoping the working parties will be funded by Trust and Foundations or Corporate support. The costs of the AJC will be covered in full by the Ministry of Justice for 2023-24.

The charity has sufficient resources to settle its liabilities as they fall due in the foreseeable future.

The Finance Committee reviews our investments at every meeting. We have not needed to draw down on these during the year. This year our investments made a loss: the value at 31 March 2023 was £282,028, down from £290,548 at 31 March 2022.

Principal risks and uncertainties

JUSTICE’s risk management strategy includes a Strategic risk register which details the external risks to JUSTICE which are identified as important but outside of our control, with the effects mitigated through response plans and management actions. Risks associated with our operations and projects continue to be managed through our operational risk register. See below for a summary of the risks covered in the Strategic risk register.

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These risks are overseen by the relevant staff members and the Finance Committee. Our Finance Committee develop assurance frameworks to test that internal controls are working properly and provide regular updates to the Board on the outcome of these.

The main strategic risks for JUSTICE are as follows.

  1. External influences: A decline in funding and donations due to external influences such as Covid19, Brexit or resultant economic downturn , which increases our risk of financial instability and could impact the security of our funding streams.

  2. This risk is mitigated through: A diverse funding base which includes members, Trusts and Foundations, Corporates, JUSTICE60 donors, Friends of JUSTICE and other regular donors, which is in line with our fundraising and organisational strategy. An engaged Development Board and Chair who are focused on identifying new sources of funding. A strong reserves position to ensure sustainability, with the added security of owning the building should we need to access additional funds in the event of financial uncertainty. A regular review of our reserves policy. Further management actions have been agreed which include: development of longer financial projections, so we are more aware of funding needs for future years in addition to the current financial year; and drawing up contingency plans to handle a cut in funding at various levels.

  3. Data breach: Loss of data through data breach, cyber-attack, server failure or human error. Cyber-attack is now one of the largest concerns for businesses. Despite adoption of all recommended protections and processes, the changing nature of cyber-attack means that there will still be a risk, which we will be unable to completely mitigate or manage. A data breach or cyber security incident could result in legal, contractual and/or regulatory consequences, as well as reputational damage.

  4. This risk is mitigated through: having a dedicated IT supplier who ensure that we have strong IT systems in place, Firewall and antivirus software installed, software and operating systems regularly updated with security patches, and our database and email are hosted securely in the cloud. In March 2021 we upgraded our network to SharePoint so the whole network is located offsite and hosted by Microsoft Azure. We have clear Data Protection, Data Breach and IT policies which staff are regularly reminded of, and all staff received online GDPR and cyber security training annually. We have a Cyber Essentials Plus certificate which renews annually and sees our network, policies and procedures independently audited and tested. We also have cyber security insurance in place, to insure us against an unfortunate breach.

Further management actions have been agreed which include: Develop an assurance process to ensure compliance with policies.

  1. Demonstrating impact: As a law reform organisation working to strengthen the justice system through practical proposals for reform, it can sometimes be difficult for JUSTICE to demonstrate impact. This could lead to key funders withdrawing or significantly reducing funding, because they perceive that JUSTICE is not being effective, demonstrating impact, or is not undertaking activities that fit their funding priorities. This would increase our risk of financial instability, could impact our staff numbers and lead to a reduction in work output, with knock-on effects

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for management and administrative overheads. Cutting management and administration staff would reduce the charity’s capacity to regrow.

This risk is mitigated through: close liaison with key funders to ensure that we understand their expectations, share and invest them in our vision and regularly update them on our work and impact; ongoing research of alternative funding sources and; monitoring the impact of our work. We have developed a Theory of Change based on our 2021-24 Strategy, which provides detailed monitoring and evaluation methods to capture evidence of our impact.

Further management actions have been agreed which include: A review of our monitoring and evaluation indicators outlined in the Theory of Change to ensure we are accurately capturing the impact of our working party recommendations and collecting evidence for funding reports and applications; continued research into alternative forms of funding for charitable activities and; development of contingency plans to handle a cut in funding at various levels.

  1. Reputational: Media or other organisations publish highly critical, slanderous and/or inflammatory opinions on our work, which could result in a loss of reputation for excellence and impartiality; confidence of Council members and/or members and/or donors of JUSTICE. This risk is mitigated through: policy initiatives grounded in and supported by JUSTICE working party reports or external research findings and aligned with strategic aims; ongoing discussions with the Chief Executive, Board and other expert stakeholders for the duration of the project, with risk considered as part of these discussions; wherever possible evaluation, or at a minimum engagement, by academic partners; a communications plan in place around the operation of the project including the nature of the questions being tested and the release of any report; and a response plan has been developed which staff can follow plan to manage any reputational risk following negative media commentary.

Further management actions have been agreed which include: Maintain and develop relationships with academic partners and other experts and keep response plan under review.

Reserves policy and going concern

Both the Board and JUSTICE's supporters recognise that the organisation operates in a policy environment that requires a long-term commitment if it is to achieve its mission. Being a research and educational organisation, it is the work undertaken by JUSTICE's staff that forms JUSTICE's charitable activities. Therefore, it is the view of the Board that JUSTICE needs a reserves level that will enable it to continue to attract the highest level of legal expertise and, in so doing, meet its long-term commitments to its supporters and beneficiaries.

Each year the Board reviews the reserves policy, taking into consideration any major risks and the impact these could have on planned income and expenditure. Our current policy is that unrestricted reserves, on average are equivalent to at least six months’ of running costs (c£696,000 based on our 2023-24 budget), are needed if JUSTICE is to deliver on its commitments, meet the long-term expectations of its supporters and beneficiaries, and continue to attract the highest level of legal expertise with which to do so.

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At the close of 31 March 2023, JUSTICE had £604,600 (£501,136 2021-22) in general reserves which falls short of the Board’s reserves policy. JUSTICE’s reserve funds are held in a mix of deposit accounts and fixed interest and equity-based common investment funds, with the aim of achieving a combination of income and capital growth.

These reserves are comprised of general unrestricted funds and endowment funds that are not the proceeds from the sale of Carter Lane (general unrestricted funds of £495,519 less tangible fixed assets of £4,245 plus our expendable endowment investments of £113,386). See note 16a of the accounts for more details.

As with most small charities the past few years have been difficult for JUSTICE, and we have been operating at a deficit leading to a decline in reserves. We are predicting another deficit budget for 2023-24 but have plans in place to increase our fundraising efforts and our reach, through a major gifts campaign, renewed focus on Trust and Foundations and recruitment of a Head of Communications. The SMT are in the process of pulling together a five-to-ten-year plan for the charity and some financial modelling to determine what we need to ensure future financial sustainability of JUSTICE.

As always, the Finance Committee and Board are monitoring our finances closely and are optimistic that we have the plans in place to meet the fundraising targets set in 2023-24 budget.

JUSTICE’s Board will continue to review its reserves policy on an annual basis and will keep its investment and treasury management policy under regular review.

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Plans for the future from JUSTICE Chief Executive, Fiona Rutherford

JUSTICE has another exciting but challenging year ahead.

Over the next year, we plan to cautiously seek out opportunities to invest in our capabilities with a view to being able to tackle and improve more aspects of the justice system to ensure more people are able to access justice when and where needed. Over the next five years, we are eager and are planning to become a more sustainable and impactful organisation. There is no shortage of areas where the justice system is failing individuals and where JUSTICE could and should make a positive difference.

The team and I are preparing a draft strategy for the future of JUSTICE and we look forward to engaging with a wide range of people in the development of this. In addition, we will develop our financial profiling to build awareness and confidence in what is required to deliver this strategy.

Following the sale of the building on Carter Lane, we must make a decision on office space for the JUSTICE team. We have and intend to use this as an opportunity to consider how we can best deliver the aims of the charity by having the right workforce and the right operational model. We want to become more sustainable, financially and environmentally. As mentioned last year, we are also investigating whether we can create a JUSTICE Hub, to foster innovation and encourage collaboration across the justice sector and beyond.

As such, we do not want to rush into a decision to purchase a new building, which may restrict future growth without considering all of our options. We have therefore initiated a feasibility study to understand our requirements and analyse the market. We are also interested in understanding whether we would be better of sharing space with other like-minded charities. Our Board will be considering this study, the options and our recommendation at the July meeting. We anticipate our workspace needs changing over the coming years, which is another reason for not rushing into a long-term property commitment at this stage.

For 2023-24 (and beyond) we have further diversified our planned income streams to include a major fundraising programme and we plan to: reinvigorate our JUSTICE60 (including supper clubs) and Friends; continue our events programme; introduce major donor dinners; increase income from Trust and Foundations; start up a legacy programme; and increase financial support from law firms, chambers and corporate organisations. In order to do this, we have expanded our development team, promoting Jane Collier to Deputy Director of Development, Maddy Breen to Engagement and Communications Executive and have permanently recruited Riikka Andersson and increased her hours as Trust and Foundation Fundraiser. This is in addition to Amanda Miller (our Development Director) returning to work from maternity leave last October. We are also in the process of recruiting a Head of Communications.

As mentioned in the relevant sections above two of our working parties will report in the 2023-24 financial year, The function and operation of Hybrid Orders, in Autumn 2023 and Outsourcing in

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Spring 2024 and we will be launching a further two working parties that are currently in scoping stage: Administrative decision-making in prisons, which is due to launch in June 2023 and Transparency and a Modern Justice System, which is due to launch in May 2023. Work will continue on our other programmes and projects to address institutional weakness, procedural deficiency and biases in the justice system. And we will continue our legislative analysis and briefing and consider if and how we might add value to legal understanding by making third party interventions. Alongside the above we will continue to follow up on past reports and policy work by capturing whether our activities and interventions have paved the way for desired outcomes.

We will use events to raise awareness and educate ourselves and others in relation to important topics and will speak and attend events hosted by others to do the same. We already have several of these events confirmed, with JUSTICE60 Supper Clubs planned with Robert Spano and Julia Gillard; a major donor dinner with Lady Hale; another series of our Rule of Law fundraising events; and the related report (The State of the Rule of Law, Human Rights, and Access to Justice in the UK) to these events due to launch in July; The Windrush Compensation Scheme (to coincide with Windrush day), launch events for our Remand Decision Making Statistical Analysis Report and A Practitioner’s Guide to Racism and State Related Deaths; our Human Rights Conference and the Tom Sargant Memorial Lecture, alongside many more that are still in the planning stages.

After much careful consideration, the Board has decided that we can no longer continue to fund the secretariat function to the Administrative Justice Council (AJC). In parallel, the Ministry of Justice has decided that the AJC should align more closely with the Civil Justice Council and the Family Justice Council and be delivered through the Judicial Office. The Ministry of Justice (together with Judicial Office) are leading on this transition, and we have offered support where possible.

Our regional expansion work continues and alongside plans to strengthen ties across the UK, we have events planned in Cardiff and Northern Ireland, alongside our Annual Human Rights Lecture in Edinburgh.

Finally, I would like to thank our members, Friends, donors, funders, Development Board (particularly our Chair), Council, Board and, of course, the fabulous team that makes up the JUSTICE staff, for all of their support, without which none of the work in this report would be possible. I very much look forward to working with you all in the year ahead as JUSTICE continues to evolve, to further improve the justice system and the many millions we seek to help.

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Structure, governance and management

Staffing and volunteers

JUSTICE has a small permanent staff team, which is supported throughout the year by interns and fellows. We have benefited this financial year from funding from Linklaters LLP to support two fulltime six-month legal fellowships and from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation who provided funding for six-month fellowships for our immigration work.

Our permanent staff complement at the end of March 2022 was 17 with eleven full-time and six part-time employees, this full-time equivalent (Note 8) is 19 when we include staff who have left within the year and our Legal Interns. We are proud to pay all our three-month interns the London Living Wage and to be a registered London Living Wage Employer. All our six-month fellows are recruited on our salary scale to reflect the impact of inflation.

The volume of work detailed above would not be possible without all those who volunteered their services to JUSTICE. We would like to extend our thanks to the many eminent lawyers, judges, academics, NGOs, Parliamentarians, officials, politicians and individuals with lived experience, who have contributed to our reports, our conferences and seminars, and helped us to raise the profile of JUSTICE’s purpose and work over the last year.

Governance

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 26 June 1996 and registered as a charity on 10 October 1996.

The company was established under a memorandum of association, which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its articles of association. In 2015, we amended our memorandum of association and regulations so that members of JUSTICE are members of the Company of JUSTICE, and are able to be elected, directly to the JUSTICE Board.

JUSTICE Council

The JUSTICE Council is an advisory body to the Board and is asked to:

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JUSTICE Board

JUSTICE Board Members are elected from individual members of JUSTICE and are Directors of the Charity for the purposes of the Companies Act and the charity trustees as defined by section 177 of the Charities Act and are referred to as Board members throughout this report.

All Board Members give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity.

The present Board Members and any previous Board Members for this financial year are listed on page 1 of this report.

The JUSTICE Board is responsible for the overall governance of JUSTICE. There must be a minimum of three members and a maximum of fifteen, we currently have thirteen in post. The Board meet at least four times per year, where they consider overall strategy, operational performance, and the financial situation.

The Chief Executive of JUSTICE, Fiona Rutherford, works closely with the Board, meeting regularly with the Chair of the Board, Peter Binning, and consulting other Board members as required.

JUSTICE is managed on a daily basis by the Senior Management Team, comprised during this year of Stephanie Needleman, Legal Director; Samantha Burridge, Director of Operations; and Amanda Miller, Director of Development, maternity cover provided by Jane Collier, Interim Director of Development and is headed up by the Chief Executive, Fiona Rutherford. Samantha Burridge meets regularly with the Treasurer, Rachel Sexton, to review and discuss financial reports.

Appointment of Board Members

JUSTICE generally recruits Board members from within our membership. In order to be appointed to the Board, you need to be a JUSTICE member and be nominated by two members of JUSTICE, nominations being made in writing to the Chief Executive at least seven days before the Annual General Meeting. Board members have the power to appoint any person at any time to the Board to fill a vacancy, although this person will stand down and be re-elected at the next Annual General Meeting.

The Chair of the Board is nominated by the Board and subject to the approval of the members at the AGM.

In line with the recommendations of the UK Charity Governance Review 2016. Board members can only serve for two three-year terms and the Chair for one term, of four years.

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Board Members induction and training

All new Board Members are inducted by the JUSTICE Chief Executive, invited to meet with JUSTICE staff, and are provided with an induction pack which includes the Charity Commission guidance on the responsibilities of Trustees, the Charity Governance Code and copies of JUSTICE’s Articles of Association, Regulations, latest strategy, annual review, accounts and organisational structure.

All staff and Board members are offered the opportunity to pair up, with the Board member providing mentoring to the staff member. This has proved valuable to both the staff and Board member.

All Board Members are encouraged to attend training sessions offered by our Auditor on the roles and responsibilities of Trustees and the dates of these training sessions are circulated on a regular basis.

Finance Committee

JUSTICE’S Finance Committee is usually made up of JUSTICE Board Members, although membership of the Committee is also open to members of JUSTICE. The members in 2022-23 were:

Rachel Sexton (Treasurer), Peter Binning (Chair of the JUSTICE Board), Nick Benson, Manu Duggal (until July 2022) and Christina Liciaga (until October 2022), Alastair Livesey, Kate Saunders and David Stern.

The Finance Committee met four times in 2022-23. Meetings were also attended by the JUSTICE Chief Executive and Director of Operations.

The Finance Committee’s role is to:

45

JUSTICE

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Remuneration policy for key management personnel

JUSTICE is committed to ensuring a proper balance between: (i) paying our staff and others who work for us fairly so that we attract and retain the best people for the job, and (ii) careful management of our charity funds. In so doing, we will ensure the greatest effectiveness in delivering our charitable objectives and meeting the needs of our beneficiaries.

JUSTICE’s Remuneration Committee is a Committee of the Board of trustees and reports directly to the Board, it comprises of the Chair, Treasurer and the Senior Independent Director of JUSTICE.

Formal consideration of remuneration matters takes place annually, usually ahead of the Finance Committee’s February/March meeting. However, remuneration matters may also be considered at other meetings if ad hoc issues arise during the year. The Chief Executive attends Committee meetings but leaves when his/her remuneration is discussed.

The annual formal considerations of the Finance Committee are to:

The Remuneration Committee does not have fully delegated authority in these matters and any recommendations or decisions must be ratified by the Board prior to implementation.

46

JUSTICE

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Statement of responsibilities of Board Members

JUSTICE Board Members (who are also directors of JUSTICE for the purposes of company law and the charity trustees as defined by section 177 of the Charities Act 2011) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ annual report and the financial statements, in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Board 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 these financial statements, the Board are required to:

Board Members are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). 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 Board are aware:

The Board 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.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at March 2023 was 1,776 (2022: 1,825). The Board are members of the charity, but this entitles them only to voting rights. The Board have no beneficial interest in the charity.

47

JUSTICE

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Auditor

Sayer Vincent LLP was re-appointed as the charitable company's auditor during the year and has expressed its willingness to continue in that capacity.

The Trustees’ annual report has been approved by the Board on 12 July 2023 and signed on their behalf by

Rachel Sexton Board Member and Treasurer

48

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

JUSTICE

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of JUSTICE (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

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

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the 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 JUSTICE'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.

49

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

JUSTICE

Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. 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. 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 course of 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 trustees’ annual report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

50

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

JUSTICE

Responsibilities of trustees

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

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and under the Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with regulations made under those Acts.

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

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

Capability of the audit in detecting 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:

51

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

JUSTICE

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

52

Independent auditor’s report

To the members of

JUSTICE

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 and section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. 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 auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Joanna Pittman (Senior statutory auditor)

19 July 2023

for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor Invicta House, 108-114 Golden Lane, LONDON, EC1Y 0TL

Sayer Vincent LLP is eligible to act as auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006

53

JUSTICE

Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 March 2023

For theyear ended 31 March 2023 For theyear ended 31 March 2023
Endowment
Fund
Note
£
Income from:
2
-
3
-
3
-
Fundraising
-
Rental income
-
-
4
1,767,251
1,767,251
7,220
25,415
2,075
5a
34,710
(1,204)
6
1,731,337
-
1,731,337
Reconciliation of funds:
420,939
2,152,276
Total funds carried forward
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Net gain / (loss) on investments
1,732,541
Research and education
Membership
Raising funds
Net income / (expenditure) for
the year
Total expenditure
Net (expenditure) / income
before investments
Charitable activities
Research and education
Membership
Investments
Total income
Expenditure on:
Other trading activities
Profit on disposal of building
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
330,723
-
-
-
-
-		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
472,206
121,074
117,503
47,775
-
9,248
-		 2023
Total
£
472,206
451,797
117,503
47,775
-
9,248
1,767,251		 Endowment
Fund
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Restricted
Funds
£
15,000
247,330
-
-
-
-
-		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
446,305
78,717
100,830
3,632
73
8,386
-		 2022
Total
£
461,305
326,047
100,830
3,632
73
8,386
-
1,767,251 330,723 767,806 2,865,780 - 262,330 637,943 900,273
7,220
25,415
2,075		 -
334,062
-		 143,158
577,531
36,461		 150,378
937,008
38,536		 698
2,903
378		 -
337,976
-		 107,275
478,518
56,705		 107,973
819,397
57,083
34,710 334,062 757,150 1,125,922 3,979 337,976 642,498 984,453
(1,204)
1,732,541		 -
(3,339)		 (7,316)
10,656		 (8,520)
1,739,858		 8,065
(3,979)		 -
(75,646)		 (3,410)
(4,555)		 4,655
(84,180)
1,731,337
-		 (3,339)
791		 3,340
(791)		 1,731,338
-		 4,086
-		 (75,646)
59,898		 (7,965)
(59,898)		 (79,525)
-
1,731,337
420,939		 (2,548)
1,900		 2,549
492,970		 1,731,338
915,809		 4,086
416,853		 (15,748)
17,648		 (67,863)
560,833		 (79,525)
995,334
2,152,276 (648) 495,519 2,647,147 420,939 1,900 492,970 915,809

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 15 to the financial statements.

54

JUSTICE

Balance sheet

Company no. 3216897

As at 31 March 2023

Restricted
£
-
-		 Unrestricted
£
4,245
168,642		 2023
£
4,245
282,028		 Endowment
£
306,349
114,590		 Restricted
£
-
-		 Unrestricted
£
7,121
175,958		 2022
£
313,470
290,548
113,386
-
238,880
1,800,010		 -
-
(648)
-		 172,887
71,050
332,420
-		 286,273
71,050
570,652
1,800,010		 420,939
-
-
-		 -
-
1,900
-		 183,079
53,996
326,076
-		 604,018
53,996
327,976
-
2,038,890
-		 (648)
-		 403,470
80,838		 2,441,712
80,838		 -
-		 1,900
-		 380,072
70,181		 381,972
70,181
2,038,890 (648) 322,632 2,360,874 - 1,900 309,891 311,791
2,152,276 (648) 495,519 2,647,147 420,939 1,900 492,970 915,809
2,152,276
-
-		 -
34,371
(35,019)		 -
-
-		 2,152,276
34,371
(35,019)		 420,939
-
-		 -
27,605
(25,705)		 -
-
-		 420,939
27,605
(25,705)
- (648) - (648) - 1,900 - 1,900
-
-		 -
-		 -
495,519		 -
495,519		 -
-		 -
-		 90,304
402,666		 90,304
402,666
- - 495,519 495,519 - - 492,970 492,970
(648) 495,519 2,647,147 420,939 1,900 492,970 915,809

Approved by the trustees on 12 July 2023 and signed on their behalf by

Rachel Sexton Peter Binning Treasurer Chair of the JUSTICE Board

55

JUSTICE

Statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Reconciliation of net income / (expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities

Net income / (expenditure) for the reporting period
(as per the statement of financial activities)
Depreciation charges
(Gains)/losses on investments
Dividends, interest and rent from investments
Loss/(profit) on the sale of fixed assets
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash provided by investing activities
Net cash provided by operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Purchase of fixed assets
Proceeds from the sale of fixed assets
Transfers to short term deposit accounts
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year		 £
£
(32,358)
(1,800,010)
9,248
(7,804)
2,073,600
275,034
242,676
327,976
570,652
2023		 £
£
(32,358)
(1,800,010)
9,248
(7,804)
2,073,600
275,034
242,676
327,976
570,652
2023		 2023
£
1,731,338
10,680
8,520
(9,248)
(1,767,251)
(17,054)
10,657		 2022
£
(79,525)
14,659
(4,655)
(8,386)
-
(23,773)
(8,907)
(32,358) (110,587)
242,676
327,976		 (105,441)
433,417
570,652 327,976

56

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

1 Accounting policies

a) Statutory information

JUSTICE is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in United Kingdom.

The registered office address is 2nd Floor Lincoln House, 296-302 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7JH

b) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) - (Charities SORP FRS 102), The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

In applying the financial reporting framework, the trustees have made a number of subjective judgements, for example in respect of significant accounting estimates. Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The nature of the estimation means the actual outcomes could differ from those estimates. Any significant estimates and judgements affecting these financial statements are detailed within the relevant accounting policy below.

c) Public benefit entity

The charitable company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

d) Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern.

The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

e) Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably. Tax recoverable under the gift aid scheme is recognised when receivable to align with the original donation.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is a treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

Income received in advance of the provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

Income received for seminars and other similar events, including income received to sponsor events, is recognised in the statement of financial activities in the period the event takes place.

Subscription income from members is credited to the statement of financial activities when received.

Rental income is credited to the statement of financial activities in the period in which it is related to.

57

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

1 Accounting policies (continued)

f) Donations of gifts, services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item or received the service, any conditions associated with the donation have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised so refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated gifts, professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

h) Fund accounting

Endowment funds are amounts raised through an appeal for charitable purposes which may be retained to produce an income for the charity or may be spent on premises, equipment and development at the discretion of the Board of Trustees.

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other income received or generated for the charitable purposes.

i) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

58

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

1 Accounting policies (continued)

j) Allocation of support costs

Expenditure is allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. However, the cost of overall direction and administration of each activity, comprising the salary and overhead costs of the central function, is apportioned on the following basis which is an estimate, based on staff time, of the amount attributable to each activity.

Where information about the aims, objectives and projects of the charity is provided to potential beneficiaries, the costs associated with this publicity are allocated to charitable expenditure.

Where such information about the aims, objectives and projects of the charity is also provided to potential donors, activity costs are apportioned between fundraising and charitable activities on the basis of area of literature occupied by each activity.

2023 2022
Research and education 63% 62%
Membership 5% 8%
Support costs 11% 12%
Governance costs 3% 3%
Fundraising 18% 15%

Support and governance costs are re-allocated to each of the activities on the following basis which is an estimate, based on staff time, of the amount attributable to each activity

Research and education 73%
Membership 7%
Fundraising 20%

Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity. These costs are associated with constitutional and statutory requirements and include any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities.

Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

k) Tangible fixed assets

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £500. Depreciation costs are allocated to activities on the basis of the use of the related assets in those activities. Assets are reviewed for impairment if circumstances indicate their carrying value may exceed their net realisable value and value in use.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

The useful economic life of the freehold buildings is in excess of 50 years but as the value of the building is not impaired below its carrying amount, no adjustments have been made. The value of land is not known and it is not separately accounted for; instead, the freehold property, including land, is depreciated over 100 years.

l) Listed investments

Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted market price. Any change in fair value will be recognised in the statement of financial activities. Investment gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, are combined and shown in the heading “Net gains/(losses) on investments” in the statement of financial activities. The charity does not acquire put options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments.

59

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

1 Accounting policies (continued)

m) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

n) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

o) Short term deposits

Short term deposits includes cash balances that are invested in accounts with a maturity date of between 3 and 12 months.

p) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

q) Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

60

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Donations and legacies
General Donations
Legacies
Donated services
Friends
JUSTICE60 Donations		 Restricted
£
-
-
-
-
-		 Unrestricted
£
95,455
34,592
313,430
2,500
26,229		 2023
Total
£
95,455
34,592
313,430
2,500
26,229		 Restricted
£
15,000
-
-
-
-		 Unrestricted
£
102,292
36,912
287,430
1,000
18,671		 2022
Total
£
117,292
36,912
287,430
1,000
18,671
- 472,206 472,206 15,000 446,305 461,305

61

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

3 Income from charitable activities

Income from charitable activities
The Clifford Chance Foundation
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Sub-total for membership
Membership
The Jolanta and Max Neufeld Charitable Trust
Simmons and Simmons Charitable Foundation
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
Sub-total for research and education
The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust
Blackrock
New funders:
New funders:
Matrix Causes Fund
Sidley Austin LLP
Linklaters LLP
The Bromley Trust
University of Westminster
Trust for London
King & Spalding LLP
Education:
Other
Laura Kinsella Foundation
Total income from charitable activities
Conferences
Publications
Society of the Holy Child Jesus
Ministry of Justice
Trust and Foundations
The Alexander Mosley Charitable Trust
The Leri Charitable Trust
Legal Education Foundation
The Barrow Cadbury Trust
The Evan Cornish Foundation
The Blagrave Trust
Existing / previous funders:
Doughty Street Chambers Supported Causes Fund
The Golden Bottle Trust
The Dulverton Trust
The Dawes Trust
University of Kent
abrdn Financial Fairness Trust
Simmons & Simmons LLP
Existing / previous funders
Treebeard Trust
The Stewarts Foundation
Therium Access
Dechert LLP
Hogan Lovells International LLP
Reed Smith LLP
The Schroder Charity Trust
Other:
Paul Hamlyn
Allen and Overy Foundation		 Restricted
£
-
8,350
-
2,603
-
-
-
-
1,000
-
28,639
-
35,000
-
-
38,815
-
-
5,000
-
-
25,000
15,750
-
15000
-
-
750
-
-
58,163
5,000
-
-
9,737
10,416
51500
10000
10000
-
-
-		 Unrestricted
£
-
-
-
-
-
5,000
35,000
10,000
-
5,000
-
1,000
-
15,000
-
-
-
4,500
-
6,000
-
-
-
-
-
10,000
-
-
3,000
-
-
-
-
5,000
-
-
1,000
-
-
20,387
187
-		 2023
Total
£
-
8,350
-
2,603
-
5,000
35,000
10,000
1,000
5,000
28,639
1,000
35,000
15,000
-
38,815
-
4,500
5,000
6,000
-
25,000
15,750
-
15,000
10,000
-
750
3,000
-
58,163
5,000
-
5,000
9,737
10,416
52,500
10,000
10,000
20,387
187
-		 Restricted
£
-
14,000
7,500
4,328
8,218
-
-
-
-
-
23,864
-
-
-
5,440
-
4,000
-
45,000
-
30,000
25,000
15,000
5,000
-
-
4,799
5,000
-
2,500
20,000
-
10,000
5,000
-
12,681
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Unrestricted
£
25,000
-
400
-
-
5,000
-
-
1,000
5,000
-
1,000
-
10,000
-
-
-
-
-
6,000
-
-
-
-
-
10,000
-
-
-
-
-
5,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
10,126
191
-		 2022
Total
£
25,000
14,000
7,900
4,328
8,218
5,000
-
-
1,000
5,000
23,864
1,000
-
10,000
5,440
-
4,000
-
45,000
6,000
30,000
25,000
15,000
5,000
-
10,000
4,799
5,000
-
2,500
20,000
5,000
10,000
5,000
-
12,681
-
-
-
10,126
191
-
330,723
-		 121,074
117,503		 451,797
117,503		 247,330
-		 78,717
100,830		 326,047
100,830
-
330,723		 117,503
238,577		 117,503
569,300		 -
247,330		 100,830
179,547		 100,830
426,877

62

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

4 Other income

Other income
the year ended 31 March 2023
2023 2022
Endowment Endowment
Fund Restricted Unrestricted Total Fund Restricted Unrestricted Total
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
Gain on disposal of property 1767251 - - 1,767,251 - - -
1,767,251 - - 1,767,251 - - -

JUSTICE sold its freehold property in Carter Lane, in October 2022. This property was purchased as part on an appeal back in the 1990’s and was held as part of our endowment fund. Since the building was sold, we have been renting a few temporary desks from another charity whilst we decide how best to use the proceeds from the sale. During this time we have learnt the importance of having space for our staff to work together whilst maintaining flexible working so we know we do need some form of office space.

As the building was purchased as part of an appeal, we feel its right to fully consider all options and this is not a decision the Board is taking lightly. We are commissioning a number of experts to advise us and the senior management team on our options and we hope to have a decision on this by the summer. In the meantime, the funds have been deposited in high interest accounts so that we can receive some income on these.

63

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

5a Analysis of expenditure (current year)

Analysis of expenditure (current year)
the year ended 31 March 2023
Staff costs (Note 7)
Costs associated with sale of premises*
Premises costs
Office costs
Publications/printing/design
Training, seminars and conferences
Fundraising costs
Professional fees
Depreciation
Other costs
Support costs
Governance costs
Total expenditure 2023
Total expenditure 2022		 Cost of
raising funds
£
90,295
8,713
2,822
8,448
-
-
18,046
-
1,922
-
130,246
13,713
6,419
150,378
98,223		 Research &
education
Membership
£
£
757,639
25,082
30,494
2,420
9,876
784
56,349
2,347
-
-
2,441
-
-
322
-
-
6,729
534
-
-
863,528
31,489
50,053
4,800
23,427
2,247
937,008
38,536
794,299
57,083
Charitable activities		 Governance
costs
£
15,049
1,452
470
1,408
-
-
-
9,828
320
3,566
32,093
-
(32,093)
-
-		 Support
costs
£
55,180
5,324
1,724
5,163
-
-
-
-
1,175
-
68,566
(68,566)
-
-
-		 2023
Total
£
943,245
48,403
15,676
73,715
-
2,441
18,368
9,828
10,680
3,566
1,125,922
-
-
1,125,922		 2022
Total
£
843,769
-
39,190
73,275
-
39
3,371
8,550
14,659
1,600
Research &
education
£
757,639
30,494
9,876
56,349
-
2,441
-
-
6,729
-
863,528
50,053
23,427
937,008
794,299
984,453
-
-
984,453

*Costs associated with the sale is made up of £34,710 of direct costs and £13,693 of donated services related to legal advice.

64

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

5b Analysis of expenditure (prior year)

Analysis of expenditure (prior year)
Staff costs (Note 7)
Premises costs
Office costs
Publications/printing/design
Training, seminars and conferences
Fundraising costs
Professional fees
Depreciation
Other costs
Support costs
Governance costs
Total expenditure 2022		 Cost of
raising funds
£
73,586
5,878
6,543
-
-
3,071
-
2,199
-
91,277
11,976
4,720
98,223		 Research &
education
Membership
£
£
657,350
39,246
24,297
3,135
56,930
3,409
-
-
39
-
-
300
-
-
9,089
1,172
-
-
747,705
47,262
51,426
7,045
20,266
2,776
794,299
57,083
Charitable activities		 Governance
costs
£
14,717
1,176
1,279
-
-
-
8,550
440
1,600
27,762
-
(27,762)
-		 Support costs
£
58,870
4,704
5,114
-
-
-
-
1,759
-
70,447
(70,447)
-
-		 2022
Total
£
843,769
39,190
73,275
-
39
3,371
8,550
14,659
1,600
Research &
education
£
657,350
24,297
56,930
-
39
-
-
9,089
-
747,705
51,426
20,266
794,299
984,453
-
-
984,453

65

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

6 Net income / (expenditure) for the year

This is stated after charging / crediting:

This is stated after charging / crediting:
2023 2022
£ £
Depreciation charge for the year 10,680 14,659
Auditor's remuneration (excluding VAT):
Audit services 8,190 7,125

Staff costs were as follows:

Staff costs were as follows:
Staff recruitment
Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Salary Admin (re: childcare vouchers)
Staff training/practising certificate
Redundancy and termination costs
Employer’s contribution to defined contribution pension schemes
Consultancy		 2023
£
780,512
82,072
73,538
-
-
3,870
2,058
1,195		 2022
£
678,376
67,136
65,253
-
-
2,301
1,950
28,753
943,245 843,769

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs and employer's national insurance) during the year between:


national insurance) during the year between:
2023 2022
No. No.
£60,000 - £69,999 2 1
£80,000 - £89,999 - -
£90,000 - £99,999 - -
£100,000 - £109,999 - -
£110,000 - £119,999 1 -

The total employee benefits including pension contributions and employer's national insurance of the key management personnel were £395,270 (2022: £282,945).

The charity Board members were not paid nor received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2022: £nil). No Board member received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2022: £nil).

66

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

8 Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was as follows:

Raising funds
Research and education
Membership
Support
Governance		 2023
Employed
No.
3.4
11.9
1.1
2.1
0.5		 2023
FTE
No.
2.9
9.9
0.9
1.7
0.5		 2022
Employed
No.
2.8
11.7
1.6
2.2
0.7		 2022
FTE
No.
2.4
9.9
1.3
1.9
0.6
19.0 15.9 19.0 16.1

9 Related party transactions

Aggregate unrestricted donations from related parties were £77,365 (2022: £30,675).

There are no other related party transactions to disclose for either year.

10 Taxation

The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

11 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets
Depreciation
At the start of the year
Charge for the year
At the end of the year
Disposals
At the start of the year
At the end of the year
At the start of the year
Additions in year
Disposals
Cost or valuation
At the end of the year
Net book value		 Freehold
property
£
397,862
-
(397,862)		 Database
£
25,180
-
-		 IT
Equipment
£
49,716
7,804
(10,548)		 Total
£
472,758
7,804
(408,410)
- 25,180 46,972 72,152
91,513
-
(91,513)		 25,180
-
-		 42,595
10,680
(10,548)		 159,288
10,680
(102,061)
- 25,180 42,727 67,907
- - 4,245 4,245
306,349 - 7,121 313,470

All of the above assets are used for charitable purposes.

67

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

For the year ended 31 March 2023
12
13
14
Fair value at the end of the year
Prepayments
Accrued income
Fair value at the start of the year
UK Common investment funds
Investments comprise:
Rent received in advance
Additions at cost
Listed investments
Charishare Common Investment Fund
Taxation and social security
Debtors
Investments representing over 5% by value of the portfolio comprise:
Pension contributions payable
Net gain / (loss) on change in fair value
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Other debtors
Accruals
Trade creditors
CCLA COIF Fixed Interest Fund		 2023
£
290,548
-
(8,520)		 2022
£
285,893
-
4,655
282,028 290,548
2023
£
282,028		 2022
£
290,548
282,028 290,548
2023
£
102,700
179,328		 2022
£
109,288
181,260
2023
£
49,000
8,606
13,444		 2022
£
32,770
10,304
10,922
71,050 53,996
2023
£
1,981
-
23,031
7,468
48,358		 2022
£
7,586
-
21,278
6,586
34,731
80,838 70,181

68

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

15a Movements in funds (current year)

Movements in funds (current year)
Restricted funds:
Total restricted funds
General funds
Administrative Decision Making Working
Party
Defending the rule of law, access to justice
and human rights
Administrative Justice Council
Endowment fund
Designated fund - Working Parties
The function and operation of Hybrid
Orders Working Party
Remand Decision-Making in the
Magistrates’ Court
Total designated funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds
Windrush Working Group
Unrestricted funds:
Challenging school exclusions Working
Party
Prosecuting Sexual Offences Working Party
Tackling Racial Injustice Working Party
Reforming Benefits Decision-Making
Working Party
Designated funds - Administrative Justice
Council
Race and state related deaths
Delivering Administrative Justice After the
Pandemic: What can we learn about
digitalisation and vulnerable groups?
Outsourcing Working Party
Intern funding
Improving Access to Justice for Separating
Families Working Party		 At 1 April
2022
£
420,939		 Income &
gains
£
1,767,251		 Expenditure
& losses
£
(35,914)		 Transfers
£
-		 At 31 March
2023
£
2,152,276
-
-
4,039
(14,691)
-
-
(1,873)
-
5,583
6,265
5,440
6,278
-
(9,141)
-		 73,913
26,000
-
66,242
20,153
10,000
25,000
51,500
-
-
-
5,000
5,000
8,350
39,565		 (73,610)
(6,303)
(4,039)
(86,570)
(20,153)
(10,000)
(23,127)
(51,500)
(5,583)
(6,265)
(4,973)
(9,088)
(5,000)
-
(27,851)		 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
791
-		 303
19,697
-
(35,019)
-
-
-
-
-
-
467
2,190
-
-
11,714
1,900 330,723 (334,062) 791 (648)
25,000
65,304		 -
-		 -
(127,606)		 (25,000)
62,302		 -
-
90,304 - (127,606) 37,302 -
402,666 760,490 (629,544) (38,093) 495,519
492,970 760,490 (757,150) (791) 495,519
915,809 2,858,464 (1,127,126) - 2,647,147

The narrative to explain the purpose of each fund is given at the foot of the note below.

69

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

15b Movements in funds (prior year)

Movements in funds (prior year)
Restricted funds:
Total restricted funds
Total designated funds
General funds
Windrush Working Group
Endowment fund
Solving Housing Disputes Working Party
Tackling Racial Injustice Working Party
Therium Access grant CJL
Administrative Justice Council
Administrative Justice Council Intern
Capital Campaign
Challenging school exclusions Working
Party
Defending the rule of law, access to justice
and human rights
Immigration and Asylum
Improving Access to Justice for Separating
Families Working Party
Intern funding
Intern funding HB
Reforming Benefits Decision-Making
Working Party
Delivering Administrative Justice After the
Pandemic: What can we learn about
digitalisation and vulnerable groups?
Parole Working Party
Privatisation Working Party
Party
Race and state related deaths
Total funds
Unrestricted funds:
Total unrestricted funds
Designated funds - Administrative Justice
Council
Designated fund - Working Parties		 At 1 April
2021
£
416,853		 Income &
gains
£
8,065		 Expenditure
& losses
£
(3,979)		 Transfers
£
-		 At 31 March
2022
£
420,939
-
283
5,000
-
(9,364)
-
4,916
-
32,914
-
-
-
12,013
-
(3,154)
-
(24,960)
-
-		 35,000
-
-
9,000
23,864
12,681
-
29,328
-
10,000
7,500
10,000
8,218
5,440
49,799
5,000
21,500
30,000
5,000		 (51,342)
(283)
(5,000)
(4,961)
(29,191)
(12,681)
(8,221)
(31,201)
(32,914)
(10,000)
(33,895)
(3,735)
(14,648)
-
(40,367)
(9,937)
(5,681)
(30,000)
(13,919)		 16,342
-
-
-
-
-
3,305
-
-
-
26,395
-
-
-
-
4,937
-
-
8,919		 -
-
-
4,039
(14,691)
-
-
(1,873)
-
-
-
6,265
5,583
5,440
6,278
-
(9,141)
-
-
17,648 262,330 (337,976) 59,898 1,900
25,000
150,000		 -
-		 -
(41,140)		 -
(43,556)		 25,000
65,304
175,000 - (41,140) (43,556) 90,304
385,833 634,533 (601,358) (16,342) 402,666
560,833 634,533 (642,498) (59,898) 492,970
995,334 904,928 (984,453) - 915,809

70

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

15 Movements in funds (continued)

Purposes of endowment funds

Endowment funds are held as part of an expendable endowment fund and is comprised of the freehold property on Carter Lane and some listed investments.

Purposes of restricted funds

Restricted funds represent grants and donations given for specific purposes. Unspent funds at the year end are to be carried forward and spent on that specific project in a future period. The specific purposes are:

Administrative Justice Council

The Administrative Justice Council was set up to ensure that the administrative justice system is more accessible, fair and effective by improving administrative decision-making, simplifying appeals, complaints procedures and redress mechanisms and ensuring access to justice for some of the most vulnerable people in society. The Council is funded by the Ministry of Justice (£58,163) and Trust for London (£15,750).

Administrative Decision-Making Working Party

While an individual is in prison, they remain subject to a number of rules and processes that can serve to unduly delay their release. The Administrative Decision Making Working Party will examine these rules and processes to ensure that individuals do not remain in prison unlawfully or any longer than is necessary. Sidley Austin LLP are supporting this work through pro bono support and a £10,000 donation. The work is also supported by the Golden Bottle Trust (£1,000) and The Bromley Trust £15,000).

Challenging school exclusions Working Party

The Schroder Charity Trust and the Society of the Holy Child Jesus contributed towards implementation of the Challenging School Exclusions Working Party report recommendations, in 2021-22. This report examines the processes used to make and review a decision to exclude permanently a pupil in England and identifies serious weaknesses within the current system. Implementation has included responding to the Department for Education’s Consultation on Revised Behaviour in Schools Guidance and Suspension and Permanent Exclusion Guidance informed by the Working Party report’s recommendations as well as giving evidence to the Children’s Rights Alliance for their reporting to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Defending the rule of law, access to justice and human rights

These grants have supported our work this year responding to proposed reforms of administrative law including judicial review and immigration and the Human Rights Act. This work is supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, with a three-year grant of £71,597, of which £28,639 has been received in this financial year, the Legal Education Foundation with a two-year grant of £70,000, with £35,000 received in this financial year and Cliffird Chance who donated £2,603. This fund is in deficit but future grant payments will be received to bring it back into a positive position.

Delivering Administrative Justice After the Pandemic: What can we learn about digitalisation and vulnerable groups?

This is Nuffield Foundation funded research project with a group of academics from University of Westminster, UCL and LSE. The research team have been examining the effect of rapid digitalisation on the delivery of justice, identifying the effects on access for marginalised groups and exploring how trust can be built and sustained in parts of the justice system affected by the pandemic. The project focuses on Special Educational Needs (SEND) and Disability; and housing and looks at the overlap in ombudsman scheme and tribunals in four institutions: the local government and social care ombudsman and the SEND tribunal; and the housing ombudsman and the property chamber. The University of Westminster was awarded a grant to administer this project and have subcontracted Heidi Bancroft of JUSTICE to support the project through an administrative and research role, as a Research Assistant (RA). This grant was transfered to the University of Kent for the last grant instalment.

The function and operation of Hybrid Orders

In Summer 2022, JUSTICE announced its Working Party, which will examine the function and enforcement of ‘hybrid orders’ in the United Kingdom. These are orders obtained via a civil procedure, that seek to restrict a person’s behaviour for a preventative purpose and that have criminal consequences if breached.

71

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

15 Movements in funds (continued)

Improving Access to Justice for Separating Families Working Party

This Improving Access to Justice for Separating Families working party, which looked at how access to justice can be improved for separating families in private family proceedings, was published in October 2022 and makes 43 ambitious but realistic recommendations related to child arrangements problems and their resolution in England and Wales. The Treebeard Trust and The Clifford Chance Foundation supported this work.

Intern funding

Linklaters LLP has provided a grant of £51,500 to support our internship and fellowship programme.

Prosecuting Sexual Offences Working Party

The Dawes Trust is supporting the implementation work of our Prosecuting Sexual Offences Working Party. Implementation work this year included attending a number of meetings to discuss the report’s findings and recommendations. For example, we are a member of the Organisational Support and Services for Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Meeting, chaired by Chief Constable Simon Bailey (The National Police Chiefs' Council’s lead for Child Protection and Abuse Investigations). JUSTICE continues to interact with the Home Office regarding the Government’s new Child Sexual Abuse strategy launch. During this period, we were also preparing briefing materials for the upcoming Online Safety Bill, which could see a number of JUSTICE’s key recommendations placed into law. We also responded to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation on ‘Delivering Justice for Victims’.

Outsourcing Working Party

Over the last forty years, administrative decisions and the delivery of public services have been increasingly contracted out to private companies. This has led to changes to the way in which public administration is structured and decisions by the State are made in (increasingly) front-line services that affect people’s legal rights and entitlements, including benefits decisions, social care and homelessness decisions. This working party will seek to ensure that regardless of who is delivering public services, individuals receive the services they are entitled to, are able to understand the decisions that are being made about them and, where necessary, challenge those decisions effectively. Simmons & Simmons LLP supported this work.

Race and state related deaths

Matrix Causes Fund are supporting our work on Racism and state related deaths. There is concern about the disproportionate number of people from ethnic minority backgrounds who die in contentious circumstances where the State may have played a role (either due to a positive action, a failure to act, or a discriminatory policy) but despite this, issues of discrimination and bias are rarely given consideration during inquests and inquiries,. We aim to put together a practitioners guide to identifying and raising issues relating to bias and race in the context of inquests.

Reforming Benefits Decision-Making Working Party

BlackRock Gives and abrdn Financial Fairness Trust (previously the Standard Life Foundation) are supporting our working party on Reforming Benefits Decision-Making. The report published in July 2021 makes 44 recommendations aimed at improving the administrative and procedural aspects of the benefits system. It considers initial decision making, through to appeals, to ensure that the system works well for everyone, regardless of their digital capability, their health, their disabilities, or their vulnerabilities. With rising living costs the need for a fair benefits system that is accessible and makes timely and accurate decisions is as important as ever. Implementation work this year has included responding to the DWP’s Health and Disability Green Paper, monitoring the roll out of Adult Disability Payment in Scotland, liaising with other NGOs and meeting with the DWP to discuss the report’s recommendations.

Remand Decision-Making in the Magistrates’ Court

The aim of this project is to better understand how magistrates and district judges make their decisions and if there are any problematic patterns of decision making in respect of remand issues and possible systemic issues, particularly around racial and gender bias. This project is support by Reed Smith LLP, who donated £5,000.

72

JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

15 Movements in funds (continued)

Tackling Racial Injustice: Children and the Youth Justice System

Barrow Cadbury Trust and The Blagrave Trust are supporting our working party on Racial Disparity in Youth Justice. This working party, chaired by Sandra Paul, examined the causes of BAME disproportionality in the Youth Justice System (YJS) of England and Wales. It made practical recommendations with a view to reducing that disproportionality. In addition, it sought to ensure that children are not needlessly criminalised by improving the attitudes, processes and procedures in the YJS.

Windrush Working Party

The ‘Reforming the Windrush Compensation Scheme’ Working Party report was published in November 2021. It makes 27 recommendations to improve the process for those seeking compensation from the Home Office for the losses and hardships they suffered as a result of not being able to demonstrate their lawful immigration status. Many of the issues we identified with the Windrush Compensation Scheme are also applicable to other recent bespoke Home Office schemes. This new project uses our Windrush report as a starting point to identify problems with, and potential solutions in respect of, the Afghanistan relocation schemes (the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS)) and the EU Settlement Scheme. We have set up working groups to examine these schemes. These groups will be comprised of experts, those with lived experience of these schemes, and those who represent and support them. The working groups will identify the issues with these schemes and make recommendations for reform, drawing on our recommendations from the Windrush Compensation Scheme Report. The aim of the project is to identify common issues and solutions to improve the existing schemes, and ensure that lessons are learnt for any future Home Office schemes. This work is supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation with a three-year grant of £120,000, £38,815 of this was received in this financial year. Dechert LLP are also supporting the work with a £750 donation and pro bono support.

Purposes of designated funds

Designated funds have been set aside by the Trustees to fund staff time spent on our Working Parties and the Administrative Justice Council. Funds designated for Working Parties have been spent within this financial year. Designated funds for the Administrative Justice Council have been transferred back to unrestricted as Ministry of Justice cover the short-fall for 2022-23 and will cover the full the costs of the AJC for 2023-24.

16a Analysis of net assets between funds (current year)

Analysis of net assets between funds (current year) ent year)
Endowment
£
-
113,386
2,038,890
2,152,276
Endowment
£
Tangible fixed assets
306,349
Investments
114,590
Net current assets
-
Net assets at the end of the year
420,939
Investments
Net current assets
Net assets at the end of the year
Analysis of net assets between funds (prior year)
Tangible fixed assets		 Endowment
£
-
113,386
2,038,890		 Restricted
£
-
-
(648)		 Designated
£
-
-
-		 General
unrestricted
£
4,245
168,642
322,632		 Total
funds
£
4,245
282,028
2,360,874
2,152,276 (648) - 495,519 2,647,147
Restricted
£
-
-
1,900		 Designated
£
-
-
90,304		 General
unrestricted
£
7,121
175,958
219,587		 Total
funds
£
313,470
290,548
311,791
420,939 1,900 90,304 402,666 915,809

16b Analysis of net assets between funds (prior year)

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JUSTICE

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

17 Operating lease commitments payable as a lessee

The charity's total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows for each of the following periods


the following periods
Less than one year
Over five years
Two to five years
 2023
2022
£
£
1,162
1,162
291
1,452
-
-
1,452
2,614
Equipment
1,452 2,614

18 Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £1.

74