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2022-03-31-accounts

ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2022 NOAH ENTERPRISE

Registered charity no: 1059672 Registered company no: 03248392

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Contents

Message from David Morris

Trustees Report for the year ended 31st March 2022

Overview of 2021 – 2022

The Welfare Centre

The NOAH Academy

Fundraising & Community Engagement

Support Operations

Finance

Reference & administrative details

Trustees Responsibility Statement

Independent auditors report to the members of the NOAH Enterprise

Statement of financial activities

Balance sheet as at 31st March 2022

Statement of cash flows for the year ended 31st March 2022 Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2022

NOAH Enterprise 141 Park Street Luton LU1 3HG Tel: 01582 728416

Registered charity no: 1059672 Registered company no: 03248392

To protect people’s identities, some photographs used in this report are stock images. Front cover photography: Mike Stone Photographer.

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Message from David Morris, Chief Executive Officer

Welcome to NOAH’s Trustees Annual Report for 2021-2022.

Founded in 1987, NOAH is a charity that helps people experiencing homelessness, extreme poverty, and other disadvantages to make positive changes in their lives. We do this by providing care and advice services, training and wellbeing workshops, and opportunities for employment. I am incredibly proud of our staff and volunteers, and humbled by the patient and compassionate support they offer people who have fallen on tough times.

For example, Lorraine approached NOAH’s Working Solutions service in Bedford, having lost her job during the pandemic and fallen into a cycle of deepening poverty and isolation. Lorraine’s selfesteem and confidence was shaken, and she had turned to drinking. Lorraine found the courage to join NOAH’s Progressing into Work course, and over the following months bonded with her work coach at NOAH, subsequently deciding on a new career path and securing a job with a successful local business.

Siobhan is another person we are extremely glad to have supported. Siobhan had an exceedingly difficult childhood, repeatedly experiencing abuse in her formative years. Siobhan became very angry, and found herself stuck in a cycle of homelessness, drinking, violence, and court appearances. Things got so bad that NOAH took the very unusual step of banning Siobhan from our Luton Welfare Centre for a brief period. Siobhan eventually decided that the time was right to go into rehabilitation. Many moons later, Siobhan visited NOAH again, now living a stable life and working as a rehabilitation support worker. Siobhan explained that the boundaried compassion and patience that she found at NOAH was crucial in her journey out of the destructive cycle she was in, saying that the time she was banned from NOAH was a wake-up call, and that she now feels at peace.

On behalf of NOAH’s Trustees, I would like to say a huge thank you, to all those who make it possible for NOAH to support people like Lorraine and Siobhan. This includes those who generously fund our services, those who give their time to volunteer with us, and those who take an interest in NOAH by reading our

newsletter or following our social media. Without you, we could not do the work that we do. Because of you, NOAH supported almost 2,600 individuals this year - with 570 people moving into more stable housing, 1,250 people receiving training or advice, and 190 people securing employment. This is just a small snapshot of the change you have enabled our service users to make, and you can find more details within the following pages.

During the past few years, rough sleeping has received much media attention, and has been a priority for central government. This political will, coupled with extraordinary partnership working among local services, has resulted in rough sleeping in Bedfordshire decreasing by 93% since 2017. It is a privilege to have played a part in this work that has changed so many lives.

However, there are challenges ahead. Wages and benefits have not increased with the cost of living, putting severe pressure on household budgets. Analysis from Crisis projects that homelessness is set to sharply increase during the next two to three years, outstripping the high watermark seen in the latter years of the 2010’s and reversing the recent progress that has been made. It is more important than ever that NOAH works with our partners to prevent people from becoming homeless, and to aid those who have experienced homelessness to take positive and sustainable steps in their lives.

During the year ahead, NOAH will be developing new services for people with complex needs, especially young people and those from minority ethnic communities. We will respond to the needs of refugees by providing more English language training, and launching new immigration advice services. We will also establish a new social enterprise, providing in-depth training for people seeking careers in skilled trades.

We hope that you continue to take an interest in NOAH over the coming year, as we aim to amplify the voices of those we support and raise awareness of the issues they face.

Thank you for your interest in NOAH, and I hope that you enjoy reading this report.

David Morris, Chief Executive

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Mike Stone Photographer
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TRUSTEES REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2022

The trustees are pleased to present their annual trustees’ report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ending 31st March 2022 which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to Charities preparing their Accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102).

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Structure, governance, & management

Constitution

As the charitable company (“charity”) is limited by guarantee, no shares are held in the charity. The governing document of the charity is the Memorandum and Articles of Association. The charity was incorporated on 11 September 1996. Charity registration was given on 12 December 1996, charity number 1059672.

Members’ liability

Each member of the charitable company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the charitable company in the event of it being wound up while they are a member, or within one year after they cease to be a member, such amount as may be required, not exceeding £1, for the debts and liabilities contracted before they ceased to be a member.

Trustees’ indemnities

Trustees benefit from indemnity insurance to cover the liability of the Trustees which by virtue of any rule of law would otherwise attach to them in respect of any negligence, default or breach of charitable company or breach of duty of which they may be guilty in relation to the charitable company.

Organisational structure and decision making

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the strategic management of the organisation and may co-opt new Members between General Meetings at which time their appointment is ratified.

The Board has reviewed the nature of its governance in the context of NOAH Enterprise’s growth and relatively rapid expansion. As a result, the Trustees now hold ‘business’ meetings four times per annum and have added 2 further meetings solely dedicated to strategic development. In addition, the Chair meets with the Chief Executive frequently to discuss longer-range agenda items as well as strategic implementation and short-term issues or constraints. There are four Board Committees which meet regularly prior to each Board meeting to scrutinise respectively welfare operations, finance, social enterprise and safeguarding.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic trustee meetings and Board Committees have been conducted via video conference as well as in person, in accordance with NOAH’s governing document.

Method of appointment or election of trustees

The management of the company is the responsibility of the Trustees who are elected and coopted under the terms of the Trust deed. Trustees are recruited via an open recruitment process, and trustees receive a prescribed, structured induction.

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Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees who served during the year and up to the date of signing these financial statements were as follows:

Dr P J Ward - Chair (until 03/11/2022) Lloyd Conaway - Chair (from 03/11/2022, appointed 20/10/2022). Lord McKenzie - Treasurer (deceased 02/12/2021) O Bloor P Christmas (appointed 24/06/2021) A McDonald (resigned 23/09/2021) P Mills (appointed 23/09/2021) S Guyon (resigned 31/03/2022) S Mohammed (resigned 10/2021- had not yet been confirmed) T Spence (resigned 21/07/2022)

Pay policy for senior staff

Salaries for members of the senior management team are set and agreed by the Board. The salaries are benchmarked against local authority NJC salary scales adjusted to the affordability of the charity.

Risk Management

The Board of Trustees has examined the major strategic, business and operational risks which the charity faces and confirms that systems have been established to enable regular reports to be produced so that the necessary steps can be taken to lessen these risks. The Board of Trustees continues to seek to establish the creation of adequate reserves to ensure that the work of the Charity can continue, and to avoid disruption of the service to beneficiaries which could happen as a result of the volatile and uncertain nature of charity income.

Objectives and activities

Policies and Objectives

NOAH Enterprise seeks to help homeless and disadvantaged people to improve their lives by providing emotional and physical care, training in employable skills and work experience opportunities in our charitable businesses.

NOAH was founded by Sister Eileen O’Mahony, a Daughter of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, to relieve poverty and distress. Today, we remain truly driven by our values of Care, Compassion, and Commitment, which have their roots in the teachings of Saint Vincent de Paul, whose life was the inspiration behind the founding of NOAH.

Saint Vincent de Paul looked to help those in the most acute need, and NOAH have always acted likewise. During the 1980s and 1990s we focussed on the Luton community, providing food

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and provisions for people struggling to pay the bills, helping people experiencing homelessness to access housing, and coaching people with histories of trauma to develop new skills. In recent years, we have expanded our horizons to work across Bedfordshire, becoming nationally recognised for our success in supporting homeless EU migrants, and developing new and innovative projects to help people into employment.

Most of our clients have experienced abuse or other traumatic events in their lives. These traumas often repeat themselves across the generations, leading to a vicious circle of addiction, poverty, and mental health issues. There is no magic wand to fix these issues, but NOAH are one of many specialist organisations working in close partnership with each individual who seeks help, working through their challenges at their own pace, and always utilising their own individual strengths, interests, and talents.

Strategies for achieving objectives

Whilst we at NOAH are proud of our past achievements, we understand the magnitude of the changes affecting society at present, and the need to adapt.

The changing migration landscape:

According to the World Economic Forum, the number of international migrants has grown from 221 million people in 2010 to 281 million in 2020. This huge and sustained global increase, in combination with Brexit and restricted eligibility for UK state support, creates a potentially dangerous environment for migrants in the UK.

The changing economy:

Covid-19 has had a pronounced effect on employment, with the Centre for Homelessness Impact noting that nearly 50% of jobs at greatest risk have been in occupations earning less than £10 per hour. This presents significant challenges for young people. The pandemic has permanently affected shopping behaviour, with the proportion of sales conducted online increasing by 37%. Having offered employability training through our retail outlets for three decades, NOAH must now adapt with the rest of the industry.

NOAH’s 2021 – 2026 strategic plan sets out five key development areas for our organisation, based on the ever-evolving needs of the community, the support on offer through our partners, and our own growing expertise:

  1. Broaden our support for non-UK nationals, including those from outside the EU, and refugees.

  2. Introduce tailored training and employment services for young people.

  3. Diversify our social enterprises, offering a broader range of training opportunities for our clients, and generating more revenue for our services.

  4. Offer services in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire when un-met needs are identified.

  5. Replace our Luton welfare centre, to provide an open door and a psychologically informed environment for people who are in danger of falling through the cracks in the system.

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Activities for achieving objectives

The positive changes that NOAH makes within society can be summarised into five key outcomes:

NOAH’s portfolio of services is designed to add value to local and central government strategies for addressing poverty, and to complement the valuable services available from partner organisations:

NOAH’s Trustees have complied with the duty in Part 1, Chapter 1, Section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. The Trustees believe that the projects listed above, and the achievements and outcomes recorded in this report, demonstrate that NOAH Enterprise prevents and relieves poverty, and advances education, health, community development, human rights, and environmental protection through its holistic approach to meeting the needs of disadvantaged members of society in

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Overview of 2021 – 2022 Safeguarding

NOAH recognises that as an organisation serving vulnerable people in Luton we must have a resilient and robust approach to safeguarding. This means all internal decision making and processes are seen through this lens and our reputation and trust from the community is imperative.

We have developed and adjusted the following policies within these timeframes.

Policy Last edit Most recent review date Next review date
Safeguarding
Vulnerable Adults
Policyv 5		 09/07/2020 01/04/2021 01/04/2023
Safeguarding
Vulnerable Adults
Procedure v3		 16/02/2021 01/04/2021 01/04/2023
Safeguarding Children
Pro-cedure v1		 27/05/2021 27/05/2021 01/04/2023

NOAH follows best practice recruitment guidance which carefully integrates DBS uptake with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. This ensure that we get the best calibre candidates, preferably those with lived experience. They are thoroughly vetted so that we understand the relevant risks involved and can carefully manage these.

NOAH’s designated Safeguarding Lead for training, policy and compliance is Paul Prosser. The designated Safeguarding Trustee is Dr Peter Ward. NOAH has a comprehensive safeguarding training programme. This means that incoming staff complete a safeguarding practice qualification as part of their induction. All parts of the organisation receive an annual safeguarding update from the Safeguarding Lead. The Designated and Deputy Safeguarding Leads have all completed a Leading in Safeguarding Qualification.

NOAH regularly take part in multi-agency forums to ensure a high level of communication across organisations supporting vulnerable people experiencing difficulties. This is in accordance with GDPR compliance and bespoke information sharing protocols. We have been invited to take part in a new partnership initiative together with the Luton Safeguarding Adults Board. This means we will be using our organisation’s experience, expertise and knowledge to co-produce local best practice guidance.

Safeguarding is of paramount importance for the board of trustees, who oversee a quarterly safeguarding subcommittee which reviews current cases, policy changes and other information in line with NCVO best practice.

In the 12 month period of this report NOAH logged 171 items of safeguarding related correspondence. These notes relate to 55 different individuals. Of these, 23 were Luton Borough Council Adult Social Services making NOAH aware of ongoing social services involvement with

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clients, seven were raised by NOAH in relation to concerns of self-neglect, and 22 were in relation to exploitation of a client by a friend. None progressed to a Section 42 investigation although two did lead to a Section 9 assessment for the addition of social care support.

In November 2021 NOAH decided to voluntarily commission a new independent audit with an NVCO approved safeguarding consultant firm SAFE CIC in order to examine our own practice. After a three day audit we received a report published in January 2022. This confirmed that we have fully achieved best practice compliance in three areas, and partially achieved best practice in a further four areas. We developed a high level action plan in conjunction with SAFE CIC to embed further improvements into NOAH’s approach. This has culminated in a recommendations log of 28 minor actions which are targeted for completion within the course of the year 2022 - 2023.

Our robust whistleblowing policy means that anyone inside or outside of NOAH can confidentially contact us to raise a concern about our practices.

As an organisation we take a considered approach to fundraising and have voluntarily registered with the Fundraising Regulator. Our ethics policy guides how we raise funding in order to be considered and avoid putting any party under undue duress.

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Patrick’s story Outreach team

December 2021

Patrick was found in his tent near a lake in Leighton Buzzard by the NOAH Outreach Team after a StreetLink referral was investigated on early morning outreach on 23rd October 2021. Upon approaching Patrick, he was very polite and his dog was even nicer, a big fluffy thing. Patrick had been sleeping rough for ten days due to trauma-induced stress. He explained that he had gone through childhood sexual abuse and confronted the family members who were accountable and he was denied any recognition, causing a family relationship breakdown. This resulting in him undergoing stress, not paying rent on his property, being evicted, which then led to him sleeping rough.

Patrick told us he has been engaging with mental health services and he was an ex-soldier, having served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It was clear that he had mental health issues due to trauma, he also mentioned conspiracy theories about various topics. We provided Patrick with a phone to keep in touch. He said

he would like to be referred to Kevin our mental health outreach worker. Patrick was quite specific about where he could stay as having his dog with him was extremely important, and not many places would take him with a pet. He was already registered with the CBC Let’s Rent scheme.

We started the conversation with CBC to try to find a home locally where he could be offered a self-contained flat due to his dog. NOAH outreach visited regularly to maintain the link between Patrick and CBC, and to check on his wellbeing. On 24th November he spoke to housing officers who told him they had a selfcontained flat for him and his dog. Patrick was overjoyed by this, the housing officer arranged when and where to meet, to do the sign up and get the keys to his new flat in Dunstable

The next day, he missed the appointment to get to the flat as the first taxi wouldn’t take him and his dog. This deflated Patrick and he didn’t go, he stayed with his friend that evening. On the 26th November, Patrick had the keys to his new flat and was all moved in thanks to the support of Kevin from ELFT, who helped transport him to the sign up appointment and his flat with his van. Patrick was overwhelmed by this all and continued to thank all staff involved.

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The Welfare Centre

Achievements and Performance

The last year has seen a restoration to the bustling operation of the welfare services activities. Our team of support workers have welcomed people to the centre at Park Street every day and through the rapid triage service we are able to offer every person one-to-one appointments either the same or the next day.

In January 2020 the centre was used by around 250 different people every month, this dropped suddenly to 120 people during the May 2020 lockdown as our service access tightened. It has since risen gradually month on month as confidence has steadily returned, and January 2022 saw usage back up at 250 people each month. This is within our new service delivery approach which welcomes attendance on the basis of progress rather than on the basis of passivity. This thought process contributed to the ending of our evening soup kitchen. Numbers were very low and our clients were telling us that there was a lot of free food available through other faith group giveaways in the town centre which were more accessible for them. We do not wish to offer services when the need has reduced, and when duplicate assistance is found elsewhere. We continue to offer free hot food at midday 365 days per year for those who are hungry and in need.

NOAH is highly valued throughout Luton for its responsive access to support at point of need, and this is evidenced by the 297 people that our welfare team assisted into accommodation over the course of the year.

This year we started new meaningful social activities – sewing, art, woodwork, and English. These four groups take place at different times during the week. They have allowed us to bring people into the building who were suffering social isolation and had mental health needs. Over time we have seen inspiring progress as people have become more confident through expressing their creativity. In March the art group took some of their work to Ampthill market to sell to the general public, this greatly encouraged them and has reiterated the value of a strength-based approach which develops the core potential in each person.

Central government commitment to ending rough sleeping through the Rough Sleeper Initiative Fund (RSI) has meant continued investment in our critical services. The Luton Outreach Team, Housing First Team, and Mi Job Project have all been extended through until 2025 which gives us some space to invest in the staff and the service quality.

The Central Bedfordshire Rough Sleeper Service, European Union Settled Status (EUSS) Advice Service, and Luton Street Drinkers Outreach Project are all continuing.

Our Winter Nightshelter Provision has been very different since the advent of the pandemic. For 12 years from 2008 to 2020, NOAH had delivered a service through the rental of local church halls involving emergency dormitory accommodation. For the last two years we have rented a large house from Squared Housing Association to enable us to provide each resident with a private self-contained Covid-safe bedroom. This has been a dramatic and pleasing upshift in quality and trauma-informed care for our residents which was possible through the Winter Transformation

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Fund, however it is a significant project to launch and then close in the space of four months each year.

We have invested in supporting the Luton City of Sanctuary Movement which seeks to bring together community organisations who want to make Luton a place where people from every background and circumstance can feel safe and thrive.

Key Stats

SERVICE DELIVERY

469 new referrals accepted of people needing our Help

752 different people came to the Luton welfare centre for support (over 13,884 distinct visits with an average of 62 people per day)

6,229 lunches were eaten, 229 laundry cycles, 249 showers, 175 nights in hotel beds provided, 403 items of clothing given away, 81 free mobile phones provided, 26 NOAH Food Parcels and 113 dentist appointments.

ACHIEVEMENTS

297 people into accommodation with 58 people helped to avoid Eviction

35 people into Employment, 161 people supported to engage with meaningful occupation / training / work and 92 people supported with their EUSS claim

232 people supported with their mental health and 340 calls to the DWP

156 people supported with addiction and 34 people to speak to their family

SUPPORT WORK

23,102 different activities attended, and 23,741 detailed client notes recorded

76 people visited our nurse

55 people safguarded from abuse

51 people improved their healthy eating

35 people gained employment.

418 people were offered advice and support on the streets of Bedfordshire

Future Plans

An exciting new project is the launch of our new Befriender and Psychological Intervention Project which is funded by the NHS through Compass Wellbeing. This has enabled NOAH to employ our own inhouse Therapist and Befriender. Between them they are reaching out to marginalised people who are underrepresented in therapeutic services to help them process their experiences, overcome mental health challenges and restore hope and confidence; what could be more in line with NOAH’s mission!

Our plans to deliver immigration support are well developed but are taking time to come to fruition, there are many clients experiencing uncertainty in this area and this is a growing and recognised need across the town.

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Nuno’s story Welfare Centre

Four years ago, when he was 42, Nuno’s life collapsed. He had moved to the UK from Portugal in the early 2000’s, and had worked for 16 years for a company making desserts for a major supermarket. His job role was a senior operator.

“I would beg, sitting on the streets, asking ‘can you spare any change?’ Some people gave me a pound. Some people gave me more. They helped keep me alive. Once, another homeless guy put a knife to my throat and stole all the money I had: £8.”

He was hit by a bout of depression, and he had been absent from work without informing his employer. He missed four days of work. Nuno recalls: “I came back to work, and the big boss said, ‘We need to have a meeting’. Then he sacked me.”

If Nuno had been made redundant, he would have received a month’s pay for each year he had worked for the company: 16 x £2,000 = £32,000. But Nuno received nothing, because he had been dismissed for cause.

Nuno had separated from his wife, and was renting a bedsit. He had to give this up when he ran out of money. Then, without an address, he couldn’t get benefits or a new job. He was forced to live on the streets.

He remembers: “I think for many people, if they had been through what I’ve been through, they would have died already. I was sleeping on ice in a sleeping bag, still shaking, waking up five, six times a night, from the cold. I would go a couple of days at a time with no food or a hot drink.”

Nuno was homeless in London for three years, before sneaking on to a train to Luton, to go to a funeral there. He stayed on in Luton, sleeping rough.

It was here that he was found by NOAH’s outreach service. He said “They found me on the streets. Gave me a hot drink, gave me some food. Gave me a roof to sleep under. And then they’ve been trying to sort out my status and everything.”

As Nuno is from an EU country, and has lived here for more than 5 years, he is entitled to apply for settled status. NOAH is helping him complete the paperwork.

NOAH are helping Nuno see some light at the end of the tunnel. This wasn’t always the case.

He said: “I tried to kill myself four times, by taking an overdose. I didn’t see any point being alive. I had suffered that much. I thought, ‘what’s the point of my life? Now, I’m glad I didn’t succeed.”

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The NOAH Academy

Achievements and Performance

It has been a year of great change at the Academy, with several new team members, restructuring of the activities, and a new base in Bedford. Fortunately the numbers of people we were able to reach, as the restrictions of Covid eased, has returned to pre-pandemic levels.

As is the nature of funding one large funding stream, Building Better Opportunities which is an EU supported fund, is ending in June 2022, which meant a restructure of the team in preparation. As well as several team members leaving us as part of this, Warren Edwards who had headed up the Academy since its inception, took early retirement. The restructure gave us an opportunity to split the team geographically which gives us a better base for growth.

Working Solutions, our drop-in job club, was launched in the spring of 2021 and took about three months to start seeing good visitor numbers, and building a presence. This has now gone from strength to strength, with as many as 40 job seekers a week using the three centres. We were offering the service in Luton, Bedford, Biggleswade, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard at the beginning of the year, but this was reduced to Luton, Bedford and Biggleswade due to funding.

In January 2021 NOAH was accepted as a Kickstart Employer by the DWP and the Academy supported 11 Kick-starters working across NOAH, with two being offered permanent roles.

The Academy received referrals from various community partners and Job Centre Plus, but also saw a move away from the Job Centre and towards Jobs22, a government-funded employment service, so building those relationships have been key to our success.

We have seen an increase in demand for ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses as people have come out of the pandemic. Funding has been challenging to maintain this provision however we have received Community Led Local Development funding to keep this in place until November. Other demands have been for Digital Skills courses as more and more forms and processes move online, which has also been accelerated by the pandemic.

The Academy launched our first ESOL course delivered at a school in Bedford, which saw huge success. This will be a model that we will continue to develop and subsequently be rolled out to a school in Luton.

Key Stats

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Future Plans

Our strategic plans for the year ahead will focus on the following aspects:

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Raja’s Story Academy

I have lived in the UK for 16 years but have struggled to learn English. I did not get much practice as I stayed at home and talked in my own language with friends and family.

watch English TV shows and understand them much better than I used to. My children also force me to talk English as well and encourage me to practice. I feel much more confident!

Over the years, I took many courses to try and learn but my English was not very good and I was unconfident. I heard about the NOAH Academy ESOL course from the Job Centre in Luton so decided to go along.

The course has been amazing! My teacher Rosanna has been wonderful, I really like the way she teaches. In other courses that I have done, there is a lot of writing, but Rosanna lets us talk lots and do the practice.

Before this course, I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life, but now I can picture it. I would like to get a job if I can, maybe as a pharmacy assistant or in childcare.

I have had an appointment with Nicky at NOAH Job Club, but now I have my ESOL attendance certificate we can start job searching together! If I cannot find a job, I would like to keep improving my English and maybe study at a higher level.

We start the class by telling everyone what we’ve been doing outside of class, so we can speak and learn to listen in English too. My English has really improved and I can now

I would encourage anyone who needs to help with their English to attend an ESOL course at NOAH. I have been telling all my neighbours and friends!”

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Fundraising & Community Engagement

In January 2022 we amalgamated the areas of Fundraising, Marketing and Communications, and Retail, to become the new Community Engagement department. This area will also work closely on Social Enterprise along with the Training and Employment teams. The aim behind this is to grow our awareness across all of these areas and maximise the outcomes with a more combined approach.

Fundraising

Achievements and Performance

We are registered members of the Fundraising Regulator, to reassure our supporters that we abide legally and take our fundraising seriously.

Achievements and performance within Fundraising are still very much in embryonic stages of growth, as we recognised last year we needed to diversify and grow new segments of fundraising income.

Our brand awareness in the community is growing tenfold, which will aid our profile raising throughout. We are now able to attend activities in person as lockdown has lifted, and get to know our stakeholders and groups that work so tirelessly in the community to achieve outcomes like NOAH. We are measuring on reports of this work.

Achievements

Last year we raised £83,000 with the addition of some legacy income. We are still in a very volatile and unpredictable year of fundraising due to the influences of Covid-19 and its impact on funding and third party business and individuals’ situations. This is now coupled with the warning of an imminent recession, with rises to inflation and cost of living being threatened for many months now to coming to fruition. 2021 – 2022 did not also offer the plentiful Covid funding emergency pots, which we enjoyed the previous year on 2020 – 2021.

We were however, supported by several community group initiatives from supporters such as Sandra’s Winter Warmer Appeal which raised £1,065 and Terry Gilmartin’s personal Ultra marathon challenge in the Moroccan Sahara desert raising £4,684.

We were supported by our local Catenian Group, under the leadership of Dennis Cooper who supported us with a superb night of opera raising £2,228.75. We started to work with several schools such as Woodlands Secondary School, who created a fundraising enterprise raising funds for the charity, whilst creating relevant work experience for the students.

We are adding centrally organised events in to the 2022 – 2023 year such as an afternoon tea, skydive, the Big Sleep Out, and an overseas trek to Madagascar, to grow this income line.

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Our Trusts and Grant income streams, totalled £345,189 last year. We received funds from Luton Rising, Big Lottery, BLCF, The Irish Government, Garfield Weston, Wixam Tree, Charlotte Marshall, Nationwide, Awards for All, Beatrice Laing, Souter, Albert Hunt, 29th May 1961, Austin and Hope Pilkington, Scott Bader, Harold Hood and Sainsburys and several other funders. Our statutory income totalled £1,643,527 across the Welfare and Academy areas.

We still need to replace our Welfare Centre as the condition is poor and not lending itself to growing our Welfare Services and supporting our clients in a dignified environment they deserve. To do this, we still need to secure £5m of funding, and then to apply for grant funding we need to have 50 - 70% of this in place. This equates to £3.3m, which allows us to apply for grant funding and also launch a community appeal to secure the remainder.

In order to achieve this, we wrote a capital income strategy to enable us to plan to raise £5m for our new build project, and a very informative and compelling Case for Support for the new build project, to enable us with our funding requests. We have commenced relationship building to inform supporters and enablers of our project, to gain support.

Key Stats

Future Plans

Fundraising has five main objectives in the year 2022 - 2023:

We are underway with our five-year strategic plan to grow our voluntary income, so we will be growing our fundraising team and portfolio of activity to deliver increasing income targets.

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Woodland’s School Community Fundraising

We were delighted to be supported by the Woodlands School, Luton, as part of their Social Enterprise studies in 2021.

The 6th Form students created a small local business called ‘The Better Lives Task Force’ and made festive products to sell to raise vital funds for NOAH. The Woodlands School works to provide education for students with a range of learning difficulties.

Our Head of Fundraising and Community Engagement supported the students in their project delivery and discussed how their efforts can make a big difference to those facing severe poverty and homelessness.

The students voted to make Christmas wreaths, hot chocolate kits and a lucky dip, which were sold on a community stall in The Mall Shopping Centre, Luton. They invited school teams, NOAH staff, friends and supporters to visit the stall, which was placed in The Mall, in December.

The students were informed about the project by their lead tutor Lee. They also met Lisa from NOAH and heard lots about the charity and how their help would make a big difference to those facing severe poverty and homelessness in Luton.

The Students created ideas for a project group name, they wrote all their notes on a huge sheet of paper, and discussed ideas for what to make and sell. The group talked about cookies, cupcakes, calendars, burgers, cards and all sorts. The energy levels were high and everyone was really buzzing and excited for the project to begin!

With nine weeks to go, the students chose the name, ‘The Better Lives Task Force’ , for the project group. They also decided they needed to create a senior management-style team, with roles such as CEO, marketing, resources, and sales. They allocated who would be doing what. The students trialled a taster of various roles and seemed to be settling into roles that best matched their interests and skills sets. Press releases were written and project timelines were created. It was a busy session as the team also created lots of ideas for what the students would create to sell.

The students all managed to get the roles they were hoping for, so were very happy. They created a logo for the group, and voted on the smart screen for what colour background it would have. They also chose what we would be selling which was hot chocolate kits, mini wreaths and a lucky dip.

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Lisa (Head of Fundraising at NOAH), was tasked with homework – sourcing 50 mugs and cups for the stall for the hot chocolate kits. She had no budget, but achieved this.

The student CEO of the group created a project plan with his team and the resources team took a full stocktake of all raw materials. This was so they could monitor if items were running out or needed to be replenished during production. The marketing team made a marketing plan which was very in depth! It detailed press releases and digital campaigns to promote the event.

Lisa arrived with the mugs and cups and the students were particularly pleased with how they were all so different. We had cups galore – Disney characters, comic books, floral, funny, and plain too! The most striking one was a Yoda, it was his body! Lisa also bought in a large bag of pompoms which had been hand made by a local supporter.

The Better Lives Task Force were busy with six weeks to go, as the group student CEO supervised the group session. He updated the project plan, making sure the group were all on target. The

marketing team completed the marketing plan timeline and the sales team designed price labels, which looked very professional. The sales team made price labels ready to be used the following week, and the resources team updated the stock list and liaised with the teams that were creating the items. Things were really taking shape.

With just one month to go, the group student CEO once again supervised the group session with great success. He updated the project plan, making sure the group were all on target. The marketing team collated samples of the products created, and photographed them – this was going to be used on NOAH’s website. The sales team made price labels to be used the following week, and the resources team updated the stock list and liaised with the teams that were creating the projects.

Things were really starting to gather momentum, and the

big day arrived. The students set out the stall in the Mall, and it looked great. They interacted with the public, they told them about NOAH and why they were helping. The students raised some funds, but also gained valuable work experience, data for their CVs, and important life skills. We hope to work with Woodlands School again this year.

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Retail

Achievements and Performance

Retail underwent a complete transformation this year with the closure of Church Street and Sundon Park to make way for two new viable income generators for the charity, the restructure of the staff teams, the relocation of the remaining operations and warehousing, and later, the absorption into the now more appropriate department of Fundraising and Community Engagement. The Lewsey Farm and Hightown shops themselves improved immensely following the change to the shop leadership, creating management responsibility at shop level, supported by individual store development plans, driven by the Retail Operations Manager. Sales increased, with both shops exceeding targets by miles and shop managers motivated by their opportunity to shine, now unshadowed by furniture sales.

The hunt for the new sites well and truly began, with much leg work and strategic area searches taking place, all the time determining that, although under much pressure to get these new shops launched as soon as possible, mistakes of the past would not be repeated by opening a nice looking shop, in a great area, but position that would hinder direct drift footfall.

Key Stats

Lewsey Farm High Town Full Year Target £61,186 £66,525 YTD Target - period 11 £55,056 £60,525 YTD Actual - period 12 £84,278 £88,279

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Future plans

Retail has have five main objectives in the coming year:

We are underway with our five-year strategic plan to grow our retail income, so we will be growing our portfolio of shops and relocating our store support centre to deliver increasing income targets.

Adam’s story Retail

Some time ago, Adam sadly lost his wife and two other close family members in a year and fell into a deep depression, losing his job. He found himself coming into the shop from something to do and it became his daily routine. Adam described it as if he “was going to the office”. He would often be in tears, and often wouldn’t know what he was doing whilst there, but the way he was treated by the staff and volunteers made him feel human and like a respectable person. They would instigate conversation with him and helped him get his confidence back. He remembers how they remembered his name and notes that no other shop would welcome him with it. He began buying nice clothes to make him feel better and the team encouraged him into believing he was capable of rebuilding his life.

With his daily visits and conversations, and his confidence rebuilt by his chats with the team over several years, Adam applied to study law. Always proud of his clothes, he would tell people about NOAH whenever asked about them.

This week, he qualified as a solicitor, and graduated wearing some of his NOAH clothes under his gown. He told us that it is more than a shop, it is a community service, and he believes he owes where he is now to his daily routine visit to the NOAH High town shop.

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Community Engagement

Achievements and Performance

Social Media

A social media audit and strategy was developed for NOAH’s social media presence this year across welfare and academy. Since the implementation of the Digital, Marketing & Training Officer role in September, the social following has grown impressively across all channels. Facebook (+25%), Twitter (+22%), Instagram (+60%), LinkedIn (+176%)

PR

Over the year, we have had some great coverage in local and national press due to researching and developing a media contact list. NOAH was featured on BBC London & East News at Six, showing how TFL Rail lost property is used to help clients at NOAH, being sold into shops to raise funds. This was a high profile opportunity to increase brand awareness throughout London and East region; this is especially important as we seek to grow our presence in Herts, Beds & Bucks.

The marketing team have produced regular press releases, of which many were published in local press, including key campaigns like the winter appeal 2021 and urgent retail appeal for donations.

Newsletter

Our quarterly NOAH Newsletter has gone from strength to strength, improving with each edition, growing with content and distribution. Our print production has increased by +900%. We have also secured key distribution hubs throughout Bedfordshire, including churches, community centres, libraries and volunteers.

Digital

In November 2021, we created an online application form on our website, for volunteers to apply for volunteering opportunities at NOAH. This has improved application efficiency, quality of data collection, and has resulted in an increased number of applications. From November 2021 to April 2022, 70 online applications were submitted.

Google business listings were created and existing ones were improved with new photography and accurate information. One example includes adding a missing business profile for our Lewsey Farm shop. This profile went from being non-discoverable on Google searches and maps, to having almost 8,000 discoveries in the last four months.

Our email database has increased by +425% by the use of strategically enhanced copy in web forms and event sign-up forms to actively encourage mailing list sign-ups.

Communications

A quarterly Marketing Round-Up was launched to keep staff up to date with all marketing activity and the results of those efforts. It has been key for the staff to increase their understanding around the new role of the Digital, Marketing & Training Officer in order to gain their input.

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Key Stats

Google Business

This profile went from being non-discoverable on Google searches and maps, to having almost 8,000 discoveries in the last four months.

Volunteer applications

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Support Operations

Achievements and Performance

The position of Business Operations Manager was reviewed and it became clear that the scope of the role needed to be wider than originally envisaged, and that the post holder should play a leadership role in SMT. The job title was changed to Senior Operations Manager and the role redefined, covering multiple operational functions including HR, IT services, marketing and communications including digital, facilities management, health and safety, business assurance, compliance, and business continuity planning.

A new post of Operations Administrator was also created in this year, to support the Senior Operations Manager in the smooth running of NOAH’s business functions.

In HR, we continued with our commitment to make NOAH an inclusive, caring, and safe place for all staff. Some of the ways in which we did this are as follows:

Accreditation for Investors in People and the Living Wage Foundation were held for another year, and we reached the next level in the government’s Disability Confident scheme. Our ISO9001 certification was also maintained.

In IT, improvements and updates were made to systems to improve efficiency and day-today working processes. The recruitment in August of a Digital, Marketing & Training Officer allowed NOAH to begin to meet its digital needs in-house, providing social media and website management and support to all aspects of NOAH’s external digital presence. The new post made a great start, assessing all our digital platforms and creating strategy plans. They have already made a great impact on NOAH’s social media channels, with regular targeted posts and increased community engagement. In January 2022, this post moved to the new Fundraising and Community Engagement Department.

Future Plans

The general operations of NOAH will continue to be reviewed and improved, with processes, procedures and policies continually updated to ensure they are fit for purpose and provide NOAH with efficiency and compliance.

In HR, plans were made to implement an online system in April 2022. The new system will allow NOAH to overhaul and streamline its HR processes, becoming more efficient and robustly compliant. It will be of great benefit to staff members and line managers alike, providing easy access to change details, request and log absences and more, replacing inefficient paper-based processes.

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Finance

Review

The year ended with a deficit of £156,609 (2021 ended on a £211,181 surplus) which included £87,463 of grants received and not yet spent. Restricted funds increased by £10,915 (2021: decreased by £7,526) and unrestricted funds decreased by £167,524 (2021: increased by £218,707). Reserves total £1,205,683 (2021: £1,362,292), of which £87,463 (2021: £76,548) is restricted. Of the £1,118,220 unrestricted funds, £384,154 is represented by fixed assets, leaving £734,066 of free reserves.

The deficit for the year was a result of a number of factors. Due to the changing retail landscape (accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic), the Church Street furniture store and the Sundon Park shop became commercially unviable, and the closure of these outlets incurred certain one-time costs. In addition, after an in-depth review of the redevelopment project at Park Street, it was decided to put this development on hold until such a time that there is more certainty of capital funding, with expenditure to date written off.

In summary: 2022 2021
£ £
Income 2,459,606 2,626,352
Expenditure 2,616,215 2,415,171
Net (defcit)/income for the year (156,609) 211,181
Total funds 1,205,683 1,362,292

Budgets are set annually. Actual results are measured against budget on a monthly basis, analysed and reported on. Such reports are tabled to the Board of Trustees at each of the four business meetings per annum and the Board away days. Prior to tabling to the Board, financial reports are scrutinised by the Board’s Finance Committee.

The principal funding sources for NOAH Enterprise are statutory funding from central and local government, charitable trust funding, grant from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Irish Government, individual businesses, church and community group donations and contributions from social enterprise activity which also delivers tangible benefits to NOAH’s target beneficiary group.

Details of NOAH’s expenditure showing the amounts expended under different headings against each of the main charitable activities are given in note 8 to the accounts.

Reserves Policy

It is the Board of Trustees’ policy to keep sufficient unrestricted funds in reserve to provide three months of payroll costs and to ensure at least temporary continuity of essential services. This would equate to £448,267 at 31st March 2022. At the year-end the unrestricted fund reserve was £768,220 (2021: £935,744) excluding the revaluation reserve. The restricted fund balance was £87,463 (2021: £76,548. The general funds have been established for the purpose of allowing NOAH to meet its charitable objectives by ensuring the continuous operation of its programme of work and to make provision for unforeseen or uninsurable organisational obligations.

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NOAH also wishes to fulfil its charitable aims by being able to respond quickly to a changing funding environment and in response to the needs of its clients through innovative and development work.

Principal risks and uncertainties

Despite the worldwide impact of coronavirus, there are no imminent risks to the continuing operation of NOAH, however the main challenges that are being addressed include the following.

Our existing Welfare Centre premises, which we own, are in need of replacement. Currently we are evaluating various options including short-term repairs (to increase the lifespan of the existing building), whether to buy or rent premises, or using different locations on different days whilst also evaluating what is actually needed post-Covid.

Another particular challenge is to reduce our dependency on Government and Local Authority contracts for funding our charitable activities. To achieve this, we are investing in our fundraising team who will increase our engagement with our local community (individuals, businesses, educational institutions, and religious groups).

Going concern

After making appropriate enquiries, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

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Reference & administrative details for the year ended 31st March 2022

Registered charity no: 1059672 Registered company no: 03248392

Trustees

Dr P J Ward - Chair (until 03/11/2022) Lloyd Conaway - Chair (from 03/11/2022, appointed 20/10/2022). Lord McKenzie - Treasurer (deceased 02/12/2021) O Bloor P Christmas (appointed 24/06/2021) A McDonald (resigned 23/09/2021) P Mills (appointed 23/09/2021) S Guyon (resigned 31/03/2022) S Mohammed (resigned 10/2021- had not yet been confirmed) T Spence (resigned 21/07/2022)

Company Secretary

S Gill - appointed 04 June 2020

Chief Executive

D Morris - appointed 01 May 2020

Key Management Personnel

A O’Neill B Bell D Morris J Dean L Seccombe P Prosser V Kreisson-White W Edwards

141 Park Street, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 3HG

Company registered number

03248392 (England & Wales)

Independent Auditors

MHA MacIntyre Hudson, Building 4, Foundation Park, Roxborough Way, Maidenhead SL6 3UD

Bankers

The Co-operative Bank, 80 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3NJ

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Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement

The Trustees (who are also directors of NOAH Enterprise for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ 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 Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they 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 Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions and 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. 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.

DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION TO AUDITOR

Insofar as the trustees are aware:

The Trustees’ Annual Report, incorporating a strategic report, was approved by order of the Board of Trustees, as the company directors, on 13th December 2022 and signed on the Board’s behalf by:

LLoyd Conaway Chair of Trustees

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Independent auditors report to the members of the NOAH Enterprise

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The NOAH Enterprise (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31st March 2022 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

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

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

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

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

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Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our Auditors’ 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.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement, 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.

Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

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 Auditors’ 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

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material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

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

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 for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Auditors’ Report. Use of our report

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditors’ Report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and its members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

BIANCA SILVA BA ACA DChA (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of MHA MacIntyre Hudson Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditors Maidenhead, United Kingdom Date:

MHA MacIntyre Hudson are eligible to act as auditors in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

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Statement of financial activities (incorporating income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31st March 2022

The Statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

The notes on pages 37 to 54 form part of these financial statements.

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Balance sheet as at 31st March 2022

Registered Number 03248392

The entity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006. The members have not required the entity to obtain an audit for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

However, an audit is required in accordance with section 144 of the Charities Act 2011.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and preparation of financial statements.

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

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the trustees on 13th December 2022 and are signed on their behalf by:

Lloyd Conaway (Chair of Trustees)

The notes on pages 37 to 54 form part of these financial statements.

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Statement of cash flows for the year ended 31st March 2022

The notes on pages 37 to 54 form part of these financial statements.

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Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2021

1. General information

The charitable company is a company limited by guarantee. The members of the company are the Trustees named on page 29. In the event of the company being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the company. The registered office is as listed on page 29.

2. Accounting policies

2.1 Basis of preparation of fnancial statements

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

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

2.2 Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charitable company and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charitable company for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Investment income, gains and losses are allocated to the appropriate fund.

2.3 Going concern

The Trustees assess whether the use of going concern is appropriate i.e. whether there are any material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability

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of the charitable company to continue as a going concern. The Trustees make this assessment in respect of a period of one year from the date of approval of the financial statements. The Trustees have made this assessment in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and do not consider there to be any material implications on the going concern status of the charitable company.

2.4 Income

All income is recognised once the charitable company has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

The recognition of income from legacies is dependent on establishing entitlement, the probability of receipt and the ability to estimate with sufficient accuracy the amount receivable. Evidence of entitlement to a legacy exists when the charitable company has sufficient evidence that a gift has been left to them (through knowledge of the existence of a valid will and the death of the benefactor) and the executor is satisfied that the property in question will not be required to satisfy claims in the estate. Receipt of a legacy must be recognised when it is probable that it will be received and the fair value of the amount receivable, which will generally be the expected cash amount to be distributed to the charitable company, can be reliably measured.

Grants are included in the Statement of financial activities on a receivable basis. The balance of income received for specific purposes but not expended during the period is shown in the relevant funds on the Balance sheet. Where income is received in advance of entitlement of receipt, its recognition is deferred and included in creditors as deferred income. Where entitlement occurs before income is received, the income is accrued.

Gifts in kind donated for distribution are included at valuation and recognised as income when they are distributed to the projects. Gifts donated for resale are included as income when they are sold.

Where the donated good is a fixed asset, it is measured at fair value, unless it is impractical to measure this reliably, in which case the cost of the item to the donor should be used. The gain is recognised as income from donations and a corresponding amount is included in the appropriate fixed asset class and depreciated over the useful economic life in accordance with the charitable company’s accounting policies.

On receipt, donated professional services and facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charitable company which is the amount it 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.

Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Income tax recoverable in relation to investment income is recognised at the time the investment income is receivable.

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2.5 Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use. Expenditure on raising funds includes all expenditure incurred by the charitable company to raise funds for its charitable purposes and includes costs of all fundraising activities events and noncharitable trading.

Expenditure on charitable activities is incurred on directly undertaking the activities which further the charitable company’s objectives, as well as any associated support costs. All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

2.6 Government grants

Government grants relating to tangible fixed assets are treated as deferred income and released to the Statement of financial activities over the expected useful lives of the assets concerned. Other grants are credited to the Statement of financial activities as the related expenditure is incurred.

2.7 Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charitable company; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the institution with whom the funds are deposited.

2.8 Tangible fxed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets costing £1,000 or more are capitalised and recognised when future economic benefits are probable and the cost or value of the asset can be measured reliably.

Tangible fixed assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses. All costs incurred to bring a tangible fixed asset into its intended working condition should be included in the measurement of cost.

Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of tangible fixed assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives, using the straight-line method.

Depreciation is provided on the following bases:

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Freeholdproperty - Not depreciated
Leasehold improvements - 25% to 33% straight line
Motor vehicles - 25% straight line
Furniture and equipment - 25% to 33% straight line
Bespoke computer software - 33% straight line

2.9 Operating leases

Rentals paid under operating leases are charged to the Statement of financial activities on a straight line basis over the lease term.

2.10 Stocks

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value after making due allowance for obsolete and slow-moving stocks. Cost includes all direct costs and an appropriate proportion of fixed and variable overheads.

2.11 Debtors

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

2.12 Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and 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.

2.13 Liabilities and provisions

Liabilities are recognised when there is an obligation at the Balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably.

Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the charitable company anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide.

Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the provision is based on the present value of those amounts, discounted at the pre-tax discount rate that reflects the risks specific to the liability. The unwinding of the discount is recognised in the Statement of financial activities as a finance cost.

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

2.14 Pensions

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the charitable company to the fund in respect of the year.

2.15 Financial instruments

The charitable company 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.

3. Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

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.

Critical accounting estimates and assumptions:

The trustees do not consider there to be any material estimates applied in the preparation of the financial statements.

4. Income from donations and legacies

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

5. Income from charitable activities

6. Investment income

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

7. Expenditure on raising funds

Costs of raising voluntary income

8. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

Summary by fund type

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Summary by expenditure type

9. Analysis of expenditure by activities

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

9. Analysis of expenditure by activities (continued)

Analysis of direct costs

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

9. Analysis of expenditure by activities (continued)

Analysis of support costs

Support costs are allocated to each charitable activity on the following basis: Welfare services - 40% Social enterprise - 40% Training and employment - 20%

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ending 31 March 2022 the trustees changed the method of allocation to be based on the employment costs for each charitable activity:

Welfare services - 50.3% Social enterprise - 19.3% Training and employment - 30.6%

10. Auditors’ remuneration

11. Staff costs

No employee received remuneration amounting to more than £60,000 in either year.

Remuneration and benefits received by key management personnel was £353,237 (2021: £322,161).

12. Trustees’ remuneration and expenses

During the year, no trustees received any remuneration or other benefits (2021 - £NIL).

During the year ended 31 March 2022, expenses totalling £48 were reimbursed or paid directly to 1 trustee (2021 - £171 to 2 trustees) by the charity for costs incurred in carrying out their duties.

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

13. Tangible fixed assets

(

Included in freehold property is freehold land at valuation of £350,000 which is not depreciated.

The freehold property was valued as at 1 April 2015 by an external valuer, Kirkby Diamond, a regulated firm of Chartered Surveyors. The valuation was undertaken on a fair value basis assuming vacant possession.

The charitable company has adopted a policy of revaluation for tangible fixed assets. Had these assets been measured at historic cost, the carrying values would have been as follows:

14. Stocks

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

15. Debtors

16. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

Deferred income relates to grants received in advance of entitlement to the income.

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

17. Statement of funds

Statement of funds - current year

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Statement of funds - prior year

Unrestricted funds represent amounts expendable at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the charity’s objects. Although legally expendable at the discretion of the Trustees, not all unrestricted funds are available for immediate or general expenditure.

Unrestricted funds in excess of the amount required by the reserves policy may also be designated by the Trustees from time to time. Of the £1,118,220 unrestricted funds, £384,154 is represented by fixed assets, leaving £734,066 of free reserves.

The revaluation reserve represents land and buildings held by the charitable company.

Where income is given for a specific purpose, the funds are classified as restricted, and are only expendable for that particular purpose.

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Amounts which are committed to future expenditure, or invested in assets that cannot be realised in the normal course of events, and that are therefore unavailable for other purposes, are designated to distinguish them from general funds. Further information on the purposes for which restricted funds are given:

Luton Borough Council funds NOAH’s Welfare Centre and resettlement programme. Department of Communities and Local Government funds NOAH’s welfare and social enterprise activities. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) acts on behalf of the Government of Ireland: Emigrant Support Programme and distributes funds to organisations involved in the provision of support and advisory services which benefit Irish people in Britain. The restricted revenue grant to NOAH is given for the running of the Welfare Centre while the capital grant was for project costs relating to the redevelopment or replacement of the Welfare Centre building.

The Medical Centre fund relates to the replacement of this facility within the current centre, in order to continue as a key support for homeless people.

18. Analysis of net assets between funds

Analysis of net assets between funds - current year

Analysis of net assets between funds - prior year

19. Pension commitments

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company in an independently administered fund. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable by the group to the fund and amounted to £7,155 (2021 - £6,812) were payable to the fund at the balance sheet date and are included in creditors.

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

20. Operating lease commitments

At 31 March 2022 the charitable company had commitments to make future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

21. Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions during the year (2021 - none), other than those disclosed in note 12.

22. Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash flow from operating activities

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

23. Analysis of cash and cash equivalents

24. Analysis of changes in net debt

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THE NOAH ENTERPRISE 2021 - 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Welfare Centre and General Enquiries NOAH Enterprise, 141 Park Street, Luton LU1 3HG Tel: +44(0)1582 728416

www.noahenterprise.org info@noahenterprise.org noahenterprise noah-enterprise @noah_luton @noah_enterprise_luton

Registered Charity No.1059672 Registered Company No. 3248392