## **REAL DPO LTD** (Limited by Guarantee) Company Number: 03213172 Charity Number: 1061671 ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 **Myrus Smith** Chartered Accountants Norman House 8 Burnell Road Sutton, Surrey SM1 4BW ## **REAL DPO LTD** (Limited by Guarantee) Company Number: 03213172 Charity Number: 1061671 ## FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 |**CONTENTS**|**PAGES**| |---|---| |Trustees’ Annual Report|1 - 37| |Independent Auditors’ Report|38 - 40| |Statement of Financial Activities|41| |Balance Sheet|42| |Cash Flow Statement|43| |Notes forming part of the Financial Statements|44 - 52| ## **Real DPO Ltd** ## **Trustees Report 2020-2021** |1|Chair and Trustees’ statement......................................................................3|Chair and Trustees’ statement......................................................................3| |---|---|---| |2|Introduction from our CEO.............................................................................3|| |3|Name, registered office and constitution.....................................................4|| |4|About Real.....................................................................................................4|| ||4.1|Our vision..................................................................................................4| ||4.2|Our mission...............................................................................................5| ||4.3|Our values.................................................................................................5| ||4.4|Our strategic objectives............................................................................5| ||4.5|Our organisational objectives...................................................................7| |5|Public benefit provided by the charity..........................................................9|| ||5.1|Information, Advice and Advocacy (Local Link).........................................9| ||5.2|Local Link: Real’s Information service.....................................................10| ||5.3|Local Link: Real’s Advocacyservice.........................................................11| ||5.4|Local Link: Real’s Care Act Advocacy........................................................14| ||5.5|CATCH: hate crime advocacy..................................................................16| ||5.6|THEN and NOW.......................................................................................16| ||5.7|Taking Control of Your Life.......................................................................18| ||5.8|Local Voices............................................................................................21| ||5.9|Covid-19 Outreach and Messaging Project (COMP-D).............................23| ||5.10|Storytelling Project...............................................................................26| ||5.11|Digital Inclusion Project........................................................................27| ||5.12|Driving change through collaboration..................................................29| |6|Plans for future periods...............................................................................29|| |7|Signifcant events after the year-end..........................................................29|| 1 |8
Administration.............................................................................................30|8
Administration.............................................................................................30| |---|---| |8.1|Trustees..................................................................................................30| |8.2|Statutory Auditors...................................................................................30| |8.3|Bankers...................................................................................................30| |9
Structure, governance and management...................................................31|| |9.1|Management pay....................................................................................31| |10
Risks............................................................................................................32|| |10.1|Approach to risk management.............................................................32| |10.2|Risk analysis........................................................................................32| |10.3|Wider economicenvironment..............................................................35| |11
Financial information..................................................................................35|| |11.1|Share capital........................................................................................35| |11.2|Financial review....................................................................................35| |11.3|Financial reservespolicy.....................................................................36| |11.4|Statement as to disclosure of information to auditors.........................36| |11.5|Directors and Trustees’ responsibilities................................................36| |11.6|Methods of preparation ofaccounts....................................................37| 2 ## **1 Chair and Trustees’ statement** - 2 The Board of Trustees present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021. The Board is satisfied with Real DPO Ltd’s performance during the year and the position at 31 March 2021. - 3 The trustees would like to acknowledge the hard work of Real’s management team and staff. They continue to evolve and expand the organisation’s work to meet the needs of the disabled people of Tower Hamlets in line with its aims and objectives. The board is always impressed with the dedication, imagination, creativity, competencies and skills of our staff in dealing with the challenges and opportunities that come our way. It is clear that together they make a real difference to the lives of disabled people in Tower Hamlets. - 4 I would also like to thank the rest of the trustees for their time and support throughout the year. - 5 The Board commends to you the annual report. - 6 Henry Stone - 7 Chair ## **8 Introduction from our CEO** - 9 What a year! Just before the beginning of the year, we had all moved to offsite working because of the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Somehow, we all managed to keep on working, keep on delivering, and we met all of our substantive project targets. It was a major achievement and I’m very proud of the staff for doing so well. A full description of all of our funded work is set out in section 5. We explain our projects, their reach and impact, and give case studies of how they have worked in practice. - 10 We’ve also been able to turn a crisis into an opportunity. New funding streams became available and we were successful in securing grants under some of them. Disabled people were disproportionately affected by the pandemic and it’s great that we were able to do work which enabled us to demonstrate this. - 11 As a user-led organisation of disabled people, we know and understand that we are the legitimate voice of disabled people in Tower Hamlets. It’s pleasing that this was recognised by many key staff in Tower Hamlets Council (THC), and its statutory partners within Tower Hamlets Together (THT). We were able to act in an agile way and support them to address disabled people’s concerns and needs in a way that they would never have been able to do otherwise. This included: 3 - Building a mini site within the Real website (www.real.org.uk/coronavirus) on behalf of THC and CCG to get accessible and relevant information out to disabled people quickly and effectively. - Working with THC to build their response to the pandemic, including adjustments to the direct payments policy, an enhanced direct payments offer, and development of PPE schemes. - Supporting officers in writing accessible communications to send out to direct payment recipients. - Supporting the CCG and THC to develop and implement their approach to vaccination of disabled people and, in particular, paid carers eligible for vaccination in priority group 2 who were employed by direct payments uses. - Building a bespoke vaccination booking system on our infrastructure and providing a backend portal for CCG staff to administer them. - Support for developing accessible vaccine-related communications. - 12 The work above was unfunded but it was the right thing to do in terms of meeting the needs of our constituency. Crucially, we know it was valued, with the Director of Social Services championing much of our joint work at the Social Care Futures conference. - 13 The year has given us the opportunity to reflect and learn on how we work with people differently. New technology and ways of working have enabled us to be more effective and reach people in different ways. But we also remain very concerned that significant proportions of our constituency remain digitally excluded and it’s important these people do not get left behind. We want to move back into real-world working as soon as it is safe to do so. 14 Mike Smith 15 Chief Executive ## **16 Name, registered** ## **office and** ## **constitution** 17 The full name of the charity is Real DPO Ltd, and is a company limited by guarantee. The charity is known as Real, which is a working name registered with the Charity Commission. 18 19 The charity changed its name from Disability Coalition – Tower Hamlets on 16 August 2012. 20 - 21 Date of Incorporation: 12th June 1996 - 22 Date of Registration: 4th April 1997 23 4 24 The Registered Office is Jack Dash House, 2 Lawn House Close, London E14 9YQ 25 ## **26 About Real** ## **26.1 Our vision** - 27 Real’s vision is of an equal and diverse society free from the barriers that stop disabled people from living their lives the way they want. ## **27.1 Our mission** - 28 Real’s mission is to protect and uphold the human rights of disabled people in Tower Hamlets, and overcome discrimination, to enable disabled people to live as equal citizens. - 29 We aim to help disabled people to live independently - where they choose, how they want, with all the support they need, and with the money and resources they need to do it. - 30 The name “ **Real** ” is not an acronym, but it does stand for the **real** jobs, **real** education, **real** incomes, **real** choices, and **real** participation in society that all disabled people deserve. - 31 Real does not exist to give disabled people jobs at Real, but we do recognise that having disabled employees and volunteers is one of our strengths because we are more likely to connect and have empathy with the people that we are supporting through shared experience. ## **31.1 Our values** - 32 Our ethos is based on clear values of independence, user involvement, peer support and co-production. The following principles underpin our approach to everything we do: 1. **Human Rights-based** : we support people to achieve their human rights. Disabled people have the same rights as everyone else and should not have to rely on conventional concepts of charity to achieve equality. 2. **Empowering** : we are a people-based organisation. We build relationships based on mutual trust; creating a safe and empowering environment which is encouraging, and collaborative. We believe in supporting people to make choices and live their lives the way that they want, and not making decisions for them. Wherever possible, interactions with our constituents will seek to impart skills and confidence that support them to take control of their own future. 3. **Inclusive, diverse and respectful** : we respect people and are committed to equality. We value and celebrate diversity, equality and freedom of expression throughout all our activities. 5 4. **Person-centred and accessible** : we recognise that people have different communication and access needs, and preferences for ways of working, and we seek to work with people their way whenever we can. 5. **User-led** : at all levels of our organisation we are led and controlled by disabled people, and influenced by their views. 6. **Accountable** : we aim to be accountable to and representative of the communities we work within. We strive to be open and transparent. 7. **Democratic** : we are run by and democratically accountable to our membership; consisting of disabled people and non-disabled allies. ## **32.1 Our strategic objectives** - 33 Real’s four overarching strategic objectives for the next five years are all focussed on the changes we want to make for, and with, our disabled constituents. All of our projects and activities will be set up so that they can work towards achieving one or more of these objectives. ## **34Disabled people have increased income and an improved standard of living** - 35 Our research shows that disabled people are more likely to be in poverty and less likely to be in work than the non-disabled population. Even if they are in work, disabled people tend to have lower incomes. This is compounded because many disabled people experience higher costs of living due to their impairments. - 36 Digital exclusion is also a real issue for many disabled people, limiting access to jobs, resources and benefits. Digital exclusion also makes some disabled people financially excluded, or worse off, because they can’t access the best deals. - 37 Sometimes access to money can help overcome some of the barriers disabled people experience. This could be achieved through getting jobs, or better-paid jobs, through to obtaining the benefits to which people are entitled. ## **38 This objective is about providing access to money and addressing the higher costs of disability, both of which are essential for creating economic equality with others.** - **39Disabled people are more able to live independently, express their views, and participate in their communities** - 40 Real’s constituents need access to good, meaningful social care and support, delivered in ways that they want. 6 - 41 There is a lack of access to affordable, accessible housing, especially in Tower Hamlets where land values, house prices and rents are high. - 42 Added to this is the issue of representation; disabled people often aren’t heard or cannot influence decisions about their lives and neighbourhoods in the ways that they want. - 43 Young disabled people feel particularly excluded from meaningful participation in society. They don’t feel understood or given the right support so feel isolated and overly-reliant on families. ## **44 This objective is about giving disabled people the voice and means to participate in society as equal citizens.** ## **45Disabled people are more able to access services, facilities and activities that meet their needs** - 46 Our research found that providers do not make enough reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act, with barriers to inclusion across private and public provision of services. This ranges from the services of the local authority and other providers of public services through to shops and businesses. - 47 Transport, and the environment we live in, are not nearly as accessible as they should be for a wide range of impairments. - 48 People who are not able to access modern technology are getting left behind in a world where more and more things are being done online. They might not be able to get online due to lack of income, knowledge, access to accessible equipment, or confidence. ## **49 This objective is about removing the barriers that wider society creates.** ## **50There is attitudinal change around disability** - 51 People’s attitudes are often the biggest barriers to inclusion, with stigma and negative attitudes causing discrimination, lack of aspiration for disabled people, and hate crime and hate incidents. - 52 Negative reporting and valuing of disabled people, especially in some parts of the press, can have a real negative impact and can increase disabled peoples’ fear of judgement. Family and other people’s expectations of our abilities can make things worse. Some disabled people from minority ethnic groups have reported feeling doubly disadvantaged, especially where there are negative perceptions of disability, or lack of aspiration, from a cultural perspective. 7 ## **53 This objective is about addressing the root causes of disadvantage experienced by disabled people by seeking to change perceptions of disability itself.** ## **53.1 Our organisational objectives** - 54 Real already has a good reputation amongst key stakeholders. But we also know there is more that we could do, as an organisation, to maximise our chances of achieving our strategic objectives. We want to be recognised by others as an example of best practice as a user-led organisation of disabled people, and a leading not-for-profit organisation. - 55 Therefore, in parallel with our programmes of work to achieve our strategic objectives, we will also work towards the following five organisational objectives. - **56Being an effective, efficient, independent, user-led, expert on disability in Tower Hamlets** - 57 As well as maintaining our existing quality assurance standards, over the course of this strategy, everything we do will be underpinned by sound quality assurance frameworks. - 58 We want to establish our credentials as the “go to” organisation for facilitating genuine co-production with disabled people. We will do this by using our skill and expertise in supporting disabled people to participate equally in consultations and co-production initiatives by others. We will develop others’ knowledge and understanding of the social model of disability and of disability rights, and how best they should meet the access needs of different impairment types. - 59 We will ensure that the collective voice of local disabled people underpins the legitimacy of the representative roles we may have. ## **60Improved reach and connections with our members, constituents and stakeholders** - 61 As a user-led organisation of disabled people, seeking to represent the collective voice of our constituency, we want to develop and maintain our ability to connect with a wide group of people and to influence local society for their benefit. - 62 We want to grow our organisational membership and the reach of our projects, implement a new communications strategy and plan to achieve this. In summary we want to be more relevant to more people. - 63 We also want to develop even stronger working links with other voluntary organisations, council and NHS services, housing providers, local colleges and other education providers, and local businesses. 8 ## **64Financial sustainability** - 65 Real aims to achieve and sustain a strong financial position, ensuring all projects achieve full cost recovery, and we can build and enhance our reserves. We intend to broaden our overall number and range of funding sources and, in the medium term, develop our capacity to generate trading income. - 66 To achieve this, we will finalise a new fundraising strategy, supported by annual action plans, with targets for income generation and careful tracking of our financial position. ## **67Understanding the impact of everything we do** - 68 We will evaluate the impact of all of our projects and activities, against the outcomes required by funders, and how they meet our own strategic objectives. We will implement a new organisation-wide client management system to drive better communications and connections, and which helps us record our impact across projects. - 69 We will develop, in the first year of this strategy, new key performance indicators to help us track progress towards our key objectives. These will form the basis of board oversight of our work and be reported on in our annual reports going forward. ## **70Contributing to strategic change at local, London and national level** - 71 We will establish ways of working that support the gathering of evidence to influence policy and practice. We will do this through user involvement and co-production, and developing a new framework for campaigning and influencing. We want to create system change as well as solve the problems of individuals. - 72 During the life of this strategy we aim to work with Tower Hamlets Council and others on the production of a new Disability Strategy, co-produced with local disabled people. - 73 We will contribute to local strategic partnerships such as the Tower Hamlets Together Promoting Independence Board, the Safeguarding Adults Board, and other relevant channels such as the Pan Providers Forum, the Health and Well-being Forum, and the Tower Community Advice Network. Where relevant to specific projects we will also work within alliances such as the No Place for Hate Forum. - 74 Our charitable objects are to work “in Tower Hamlets and beyond”. Whilst our primary focus will be to support disabled people in Tower Hamlets, we will continue our existing track record of successful collaboration with other organisations in nearby boroughs where that fits with our strategic and operational goals. 9 - 75 We will also continue to network and collaborate with other London DDPOs and infrastructure organisations to influence nationally where appropriate, and amplify our effectiveness and learn from others. ## **76** ## **77 Public benefit provided by the charity** - 78 In forming our objectives the Trustees have given due regard to the Charity Commission’s published guidance on public benefit. Real provides the following services in furtherance of its charitable objectives: 1. IAA - Information, Advice and Advocacy service (known as Local link) 2. Real’s Information Service 3. Real’s Advocacy Service 4. Real’s Care Act Advocacy Service 5. CATCH: hate crime advocacy 6. THEN and NOW 7. Taking Control of Your Life 8. Local Voices 9. Covid-19 outreach and messaging project 10. Storytelling project 11. Digital Inclusion project 12. Driving change through collaboration. ## **78.1 Information, Advice and Advocacy (Local Link)** - 79 The Local Link service is managed by Real and delivered by 6 other consortium partners in the borough: Age UK, APASEN, Bromley by Bow Centre, deafPLUS, Positive East and Tower Hamlets Law Centre. We work together to deliver an Information, Advice and Advocacy service, funded by Tower Hamlets Council, to anyone in Tower Hamlets who could benefit from adult social care services, has a disability or an impairment or who is a young person in transition from children’s to adult’s services aged 14 and up. The project year runs from 1 August until 31 July and the project started in 2013. The original contract was for three years extendable for plus one year plus one year. This financial year we delivered the end of project year 7 and the start of project year 8. - 80 Real are funded to both manage the contract and deliver part of it. We provide Advocacy under this contract and we also run an Information service for the main Local Link contact number. Real, as the lead partner in the consortium, manages the overall contract and the performance and quality of the six partner organisations. The total contract value of the service is £485,000 per annum, from which Real receives money for both service delivery and for managing and running the whole project. 10 - 81 In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the government guidance, Local Link closed its hubs, which would have usually been used for drop-in, faceto-face appointments. Services continued remotely via phone, email and video-call. - 82 Tower Hamlets Council has concluded the commissioning process for a replacement to Local Link. The project specification continues Information, Advice and Advocacy services in the borough, with a focus on more delivery through online and phone-based support, and incorporates the front-door for Adult Care, which is currently delivered by the Assessment and Intervention Team. The council have chosen to separately commission Care Act Advocacy as part of an Integrated Statutory Advocacy Service. - 83 The replacement service is a new consortium of organisations, led by Age UK East London, and includes Real and the other Local Link partner organisations, as well as Island Advice and The Limehouse Project. Real will continue to deliver Advocacy as part of the new service. ## **83.1 Local Link: Real’s Information service** - 84 Real services the Local Link main contact telephone line and email address, which is answered throughout the week by our Information Officer role and our Advocates. We are able to offer Information on any area of a person’s life and we offer Advocacy in Benefits, Employment, Financial Advice, Health, Housing, Leisure, Social Care, Travel and Volunteering. - 85 The Local Link drop-in hub has been closed since late March 2020, but through its phoneline and email we have continued to respond to queries and referrals in the normal opening times of 10am-4pm, Monday-Friday. Across Local Link partners, the increase in access through phone and email has not equalled the decrease in access through drop-in services. This was highlighted to commissioners and monitoring officers at the council. - 86 Over the last year, Local Link, through its phone-line and email, has provided information on almost 500 issues, half of which have been dealt with by Real. Advice cases dealt with through the consortium have exceeded 1300. Both these figures show a decrease on the year before. This is a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, service adaptation to remote working and changes in client need and how services are accessed. - 87 Local Link supported people with information about coronavirus and the government’s response; helped people isolating to access food deliveries; and introduced regular calls to clients to check on their wellbeing and whether they needed any support. - 88 There was a fall in benefit queries as pandemic response measures put a hold on benefit sanctions and assessments. The same is true of housing advice as landlords were restricted from evicting tenants. 11 89 90 ## **90.1 Local Link: Real’s Advocacy service** 91 Real had a team of 3 Advocates (2.2 full-time equivalent) and one Advocacy Coordinator (0.8 full-time equivalent) during this financial year who provide Independent Advocacy under the Local Link contract. Our Advocacy Service provides advocacy and support to people with physical, sensory and neuro-impairments (including older people and young people in transition). The aims of the service are: - to empower disabled people to access services and challenge discrimination - to provide information and support, and - to enable people to make informed choices and support them to be heard on specific issues. 92 - 93 We deliver this service in line with the Advocacy Charter, a nationally recognised set of operational standards. Real also holds the Advocacy Quality Performance Mark, originally awarded in 2017. It lasts three years and Real went through successful renewal of the accreditation in late 2020. - 94 The areas in which we provide support most often include: - social care - housing - legal issues - health. - 95 - 96 We support people to have fair access to: - financial advice - employment support services - education and training opportunities - volunteering opportunities - leisure opportunities. - 97 - 98 We support people to access other services to help them with:  benefits - debt. ## 99 - 100 This service works with people from all disability impairment groups supporting them on a range of issues. Advocates support their clients to make informed choices, ensure they are being heard and to uphold their rights. 101 We don’t tell people what to do. Instead, we support them to make their own choices and access appropriate services to ensure they can fully 12 engage and have control over decisions and circumstances affecting their daily lives. ## **102 Case study 1** **----- Start of picture text -----**
104 62 year old male with physical disability.
103 About
the
client
106 The client sought support with showering,
105 Issue( cooking, cleaning and shopping. He was unable to
s) do this because he has many health conditions and
impairments which leave him feeling dizzy and
weak. He cannot lift any weight, cannot bend and
feels tired all the time and is unable to stand up for
long.
107
108 His mobility is impaired, and he becomes tired
if he walks more than the distance of a bus stop; he
takes many breaks and rests in between. The client
is unable to go out and take part in social life. The
client also needed help with shopping while in self-
isolation due to high risk category of COVID-19.
109
110 The client was unaware of any help or support
he could access. He was receiving help from his
friends, however, they could not offer help in the
long-term.
112 The advocate and client could not meet during
111 Action lockdown but worked together remotely. They
s taken discussed options of private social care, Adult Social
Care provision and friends and family with client
over the phone.
113
114 The client decided to request care through the
Adult Care as he could not afford private care and
did not have friends or family who could help. The
advocate gave him information on the Care Act
legislation and self-assessment procedures and
supported the client to complete a self-assessment.
115
116 The client was feeling lonely during the
lockdown as he is living alone and does not have
internet access or know how to use a computer. The
advocate referred the client to a befriending service
and called him at regular intervals to check on him.
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13 **----- Start of picture text -----**
118 The client was able to have an assessment
117 Outco with a social worker by himself and felt confident as
mes he was given information about the assessment
process and his rights.
119
120 The client now receives care twice a day for
personal care and food preparation; and cleaning,
shopping and laundry once a week. The client is
very happy with the help he is receiving. He feels
healthier, less isolated and less anxious.
**----- End of picture text -----**
121 ## **122 Case study 2** **----- Start of picture text -----**
123 About 124 25 year old female with learning disability.
client
126 The client has learning difficulties and finds it
125 Issue( difficult to understand complex issues. She finds it
s) difficult to express herself before people she is not
familiar with. The client had recently given birth and
Children’s Services had concerns for the child’s
wellbeing as the client’s home environment was not
safe. Child protection proceedings were undertaken.
127
128 The client has anxiety and depression and
struggles to express herself. She needed support to
understand and take part in the various meetings
involved in child protection proceedings so that her
voice and concerns were heard.
129
130 The client did not engage with professionals
including the social worker, and had lost contact
with her immediate family.
132 At first, the client was difficult to contact: she
131 Action did not answer her phone and/or would become
s taken frustrated. The advocate explained her role and how
she could support the client in meetings. They met
several times, so the client became comfortable
with the advocate and the advocate understood her
needs, views and wishes.
133
134 The advocate explained the procedures for the
care proceedings and the roles of different
professionals involved. This involved meetings and
court dates with the client to make sure she
understood what has been discussed during
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14 **----- Start of picture text -----**
meetings and feeding back to her, so that she was
clear on the outcomes and actions.
135
136 The advocate supported the client to express
her views and clarified questions from professionals
involved. The client became less concerned and
worried once she understood proceedings and felt
listened to. The client engaged in meetings and
gave answers when she felt able. When the client
did not wish to answer, the advocate checked
whether it was okay to give responses on her behalf.
139 Initially, the client did not engage and did not
137 Outco attend some of the core meetings, but with the
mes advocate’s support, she started to attend all the
meetings and liaised with professionals involved.
138
140
141 The client became more confident and was
able to express views during the meetings; she
became assertive in challenging some of the things
raised during the meetings.
142
143 The client felt empowered as her rights were
upheld. Contacts between the client and her child
were arranged adjusting to the client’s needs and
availability. The client was also referred to Housing
support to apply for her own accommodation. A
further referral was made for benefits advice as the
client was struggling with bills and finances.
**----- End of picture text -----**
144 ## **144.1 Local Link: Real’s Care Act Advocacy** - 145 Care Act advocacy is a statutory right for people involved in a care needs assessment, a review of their care plan or a safeguarding enquiry, and who meet the following criteria. They must be deemed to have substantial difficulty to engage in the process and to have no one else appropriate to support them. The purpose of Care Act advocacy is to ensure people have support or representation through these processes that is independent of health and social care professionals. It is health and social care professionals who have the responsibility for making these referrals. - 146 Our advocates who work on Care Act cases apply the same principles as in non-statutory advocacy, aiming to empower the client, uphold their rights and ensure their views are listened to by other professionals, yet also ensuring that statutory processes have been followed appropriately. 15 - 147 During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government put in measures to ease Local Authority duties relating to care. Tower Hamlets Council prioritised urgent care assessments, reviews and safeguarding enquiries, and delayed more regular reviews. This meant a drop in referrals for Care Act Advocacy over the year. ## **148 Case study** - **149 About the** 150 65 year old female with a learning disability. **client** - **151 Issue(s)** 152 Annual review of care plan. **153 Actions** 155 Due to the pandemic, the meetings were **taken** carried out by video call. This method was difficult for the client due to her learning - **154** disability, and she found it challenging to engage. At first she would not speak on video calls. - 156 The client remembered the advocate from previous support and the advocate helped her increase in comfort and confidence with video calls. They spoke several times before the review. The advocate had a good understanding of the client’s access needs. - 157 The advocate talked about what would happen during the review and the sort of things that would be covered — where she lives, the day centre she attended and her care provider. The client understands questions but needs time to think them through before responding. The advocate made note of the client’s feelings and wishes about her support-plan: she wanted to remain in the current home and continue to receive support from the carers. - 158 The client said she would enjoy attending a day centre or participating in activities like gardening. The advocate explained to the client that she could help her present her views at the meeting and could prompt her if she forgot anything or could speak on her behalf. - 159 During the meeting, the advocate made sure the client’s views, wishes and concerns were considered before decisions were made. The advocate supported the client to understand 16 **----- Start of picture text -----**
questions asked by the social worker by using
different methods, e.g., rephrasing the questions
or translating into Bengali so she could give more
complete or detailed answers. This method
benefited the client as the social worker was able
to understand her needs better. The advocate
helped the client raise her wish to take part in
gardening.
160 Outcomes 162 The client engaged well in the review and gave
answers when she felt able. As the client was
161
happy with her care provider and current
supported living there was no change to her
support plan. The social worker looked for
gardening provision to add to the client’s support
plan.
163 The review was conducted in a professional
and friendly manner and the support-plan was
agreed with the client.
**----- End of picture text -----**
164 ## **165 Feedback on Real’s Local Link services** - 166 “[Advocate] was helpful and explained things well.” - 167 “The advocates engage with the client on a level which other professionals often find difficult to do. Their relationship is often more trusting and in many ways more practically based than those of social workers." 168 - 169 “I would like to say thank you very much to [Advocate] for the support I received from her.” - 170 “I have experience of working with Real Advocates on multiple cases and feel that it has always been positive, both for the clients and myself as a professional. The advocates have always been timely with their interventions with clear and open lines of communication being established to facilitate information sharing to promote positive outcomes for the clients. Furthermore, the advocates have always demonstrated the means to represent the views of their clients whilst also ensuring the clients are fully aware of their options in a given scenario which enables realistic goals to be made and expectations to be managed. The advocates also demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and versatility well by readily being able to engage clients with different needs and presenting circumstances which enables a truly person-centred approach to practice to be achieved.” 17 ## **171 Take up of our Advocacy services** - 172 During the year, Real’s advocates have supported people with 130 issues: 65 independent advocacy and 65 Care Act advocacy. These range across all the areas we provide support on, the largest areas of support have been with social care, benefits and housing. ## **172.1 CATCH: hate crime advocacy** - 173 Real is part of the Communities Against Hate (CATCH) Partnership. CATCH is a London wide group of organisations that support people who have experienced Hate Crime. The partnership consists of Galop, The Monitoring Group, The Community Security Trust, TellMAMA, Choice in Hackney, Stay Safe East and Real. The organisations specialise in different forms on Hate Crime, with the latter three being DPOs that support people who have experienced Disability Hate Crime. - 174 Real joined the partnership with a focus on support for people in Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Greenwich and Lewisham. As the partnership covers the whole of London, Real has supported people from other boroughs also. The Hate Crime Advocacy service gives people a safe space to talk about their experience, informs them of their rights, explores options available to them and can provide practical support to report to police and access other services such as housing or counselling. - 175 Real is funded for 14 hours per week (0.4 full-time equivalent). The contract has been extended by one year and was due to end October 2021. Over the last year, Real has supported 34 people who have experienced Disability Hate Crime. ## **175.1 THEN and NOW** - 176 The THEN and NOW project engages with employers in Tower Hamlets to address the barriers that disabled jobseekers and employees face in employment. It is a three-year project funded by Tower Hamlets Council under their Local Community Fund. - 177 This project embodies a unique holistic approach to improving access to employment for disabled people. The project delivers a variety of activities, all of which are underpinned by coproduction. The core aims of the project are to support Tower Hamlets companies develop the confidence and capacity to be excellent employers of disabled people, and to increase levels of employment amongst them. We achieved these objectives by creating communities of current and potential workers, and employers, to drive positive change through a range of activities. These two networks, called THEN and NOW, are explained more below. - 178 There are multiple data sources that highlight the employment gap, the earnings gap and the poverty gap between disabled and non-disabled 18 people, as set out in Real’s strategy and the funding criteria. Many government initiatives to get disabled people into work are not effective because they focus on the individual and not the barriers individuals face. Businesses don’t have the time, resources or confidence to address disability in the workplace effectively, and need trusted advisers who can help them change. - 179 Funding commenced in April 2020, with a full staff complement in place by September 2020 and interim cover up until that point. We set up an effective system for triaging and understanding different employers' needs. Activities delivered included one-to-one meetings and workshops with disabled employees and jobseekers on the one hand and employers on the other, as well as the production of useful materials such as how-to guides and checklists. - 180 Over the past year, we delivered the following headline points: - Training sessions with Evenbreak – Three two-hour workshops - Three how-to guides - Two Promotional drop-ins - resulted in 1 new member so far. - One-to-one advice sessions – Seven hours delivered to two employers and - The “Purplespace” members zone - Two employers signed up - 181 In this first year, we further created an online directory of support that employers and employees can access, collated by Real and Evenbreak. The directory includes local and national resources and training opportunities available to businesses and employers. ## 182 - **183** On top of the aforementioned activities, we worked with the Legal Advice Centre, which delivered advice to employers, individual jobseekers and employed disabled people alike. ## **184 THEN – Tower Hamlets Employers Network** - 185 We launched and maintained a group of Tower Hamlets businesses, who wanted to become disability confident employers and/or who faced uncertainties around how best to address the different needs of current or potential disabled employees. Thirteen employers were actively involved with THEN in the first year. They attended training sessions, fed information back to us through surveys and engaged with one-to-one advice. The group performed well and delivered essential insights into the issues that need to be addressed in order to improve employment of disabled people in Tower Hamlets. These insights helped deliver solutions to assist businesses 19 address the identified issues and to support Tower Hamlets companies to work together to address the issues disabled people face. ## **186 NOW – Network of Workers** - 187 We established and maintained the NOW coproduction group, which has worked well. They have provided feedback on the contexts and barriers many disabled people face when navigating the job market. We held a total of four NOW coproduction sessions. We also developed materials to broaden the membership in the second year. - 188 The Network of Workers coproduction group was comprised of nine members, seven of whom were regularly at meetings, and two who attended 3 out of 4 meetings. Around half were new to Real. - 189 The group included a diverse range of genders, faiths, racial backgrounds, ages, professional backgrounds and employment statuses. In particular, we are glad the group represented both jobseekers and employed individuals. The group was broadly representative of the Tower Hamlets population. ## **190 Challenges related to the Covid-19 pandemic** - 191 The THEN & NOW project was conceived prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 meant that engagement with employers was a challenge, from a number of reasons: - Many employers were working remotely, and with staff on furlough, especially staff that may undertake work that employers don’t consider “essential” during a period of crisis. - Many businesses were focusing on more “business critical” issues around managing during the pandemic. - Additionally, the combined economic pressures of the pandemic and Brexit meant that many businesses were in “survival mode”, and therefore expressed interest in the project, but were unable to engage. - 192 As such, Covid-19 restrictions disproportionately impacted on the ability of THEN employers to engage with the project. - 193 COVID 19 also delayed recruitment to the project. Full staff resource was in place in September 2020, weeks before our first annual monitoring (although there were interim staff resources in place delivering activities before then). ## **194 Expectations for next year** - 195 This was the first year of delivery, with some delays in starting exacerbated by some of the challenges arising from Covid 19. The project has significantly extended its impact and reach in the second year of delivery, which will be covered in next year’s report. 20 ## **195.1 Taking Control of Your Life** - 196 Real’s Taking Control of Your Life (TCOYL) project empowers disabled people in Tower Hamlets to have more choice and control in their care. We work to ensure health and social care services are accessible and inclusive of the needs of our diverse community. This project is also a three-year project funded by Tower Hamlets Council under their Local Community Fund. - 197 In addition to our support service, our TCOYL steering group meets every two months to identify the barriers local disabled people face in health and social care. We then explore creative solutions to dismantle these, so our services work for all. - 198 Funding commenced in April 2020, with a full staff complement in place by September 2020, with interim cover up until that point. We set up an effective system for triaging and understanding disabled people’s needs, including developing several tools and resources to support clients: - Client journey map to streamline services - Checklist of resources - Zoom guide - Multitude of support plan templates - Good and bad days - Creative options - Three options - Timetable - Dossier of grants - Key questions guide. - 199 We also created a monitoring system for our work that included: - Itemised account of how advisor and coordinator time is spent - Recording of time spent on each stage of the case. - Baseline surveys at the start and end of client relationship - Collection of support plans - Evaluation survey. - 200 Covid-19 had an impact on our work, making it harder to mobilise the project. This resulted initially in a lack of drop-ins and footfall through our service, and we had limited avenues for providing marketing materials accessible to people who were shielding or avoiding unnecessary exposure to the public realm. In addition, while we worked hard to form links with other organisations which may have provided referrals, those organisations were also struggling with Covid-19 related issues and had capacity issues which may impact on referrals. - 201 We established and maintained a coproduction group which has performed well, including through providing feedback on health and social care contexts and barriers which may not be easily overcome without 21 further work by Tower Hamlets Council and Real. We developed materials to broaden the membership in the second year, including looking at issues affecting LGBT+ service users, as well as BAME and people of faith who are disabled. - 202 We held three steering group meetings which were received very positively and led to other professionals seeking to work together. We received a 100% satisfaction rating on session relevance, facilitation and usefulness. Our sessions have covered topics such as social care charging, clarity of charging guidelines, lack of information from councils, interaction with social services and communication, partnership working and working with other impairment groups. - 203 As the project effectively started late, we were a little behind on our targets for supporting people to develop action plans. By 31 March 2021 we had completed 10 support plans covering areas such as: - accessing massage therapy, - childcare and respite services, - support with arranging daily care, - preparing for employment, - learning to start up their business - arranging personal care and medication management - travelling to access the community - arranging daily care - arranging for carer to attend hospital appointments. - 204 One client was supported to access treatments such as holistic massage therapy, allowing them to recuperate, which means they were able to perform tasks which they otherwise would not be able to do and prevented their condition from worsening. - 205 Financial independence is a major goal for some of our clients. We have supported our clients to be financially independent by supporting them to improve their employability skills and enhancing their skill base in preparation for entering paid work. We have helped clients maximise their income by finding them grants, and services which are free or at low cost. - 206 One client was supported to access childcare services to help look after her children, which gave the client and her partner time to “enjoy family relationships” and helped the client access the community. - 207 We found a large proportion of our clients were unaware of services available to them in the borough of Tower Hamlets. This is where we have seen the value of support planning and support planners being skilled in knowing what’s available and to what services users are entitled. A client noted it was ‘empowering’ to be supported by a user-led organisation with a variety of streams of work and support. 22 - 208 As per our client feedback: - 100% reported information provided was clear, useful and easy to understand - 100% reported they had been given information about other services - 100% was treated with respect by the Advisor - 100% views were listened to and acted upon - 100% felt access and communication needs were taken into account. - 209 We conducted a review of the first year’s delivery in June 2021, and with the agreement of commissioners made some revisions to the project’s approach. The project is going very well in 2021/22. ## **209.1 Local Voices** - 210 Tower Hamlets Council have funded Real to deliver the Local Voices Project since 2012. This was the eighth year of the project; the latest contract started in April 2017 and was due to end March 2020. However, Tower Hamlets Council extended the funding due to the coronavirus pandemic. - 211 Real’s essential role was to recruit, support and develop a steering group of disabled people who live, work, study or socialise within the borough of Tower Hamlets. The Local Voices Steering Group are responsible for the overall direction of the project and ensure that disabled people have a voice, and are genuinely able to influence, and change, statutory and other services for disabled people. - 212 Real managed the relationship between the Steering Group and Tower Hamlets Council. We managed the project’s budget, supported the Steering Group to meet regularly and discuss issues relevant to the disabled communities. We helped draft and develop the project’s strategy, assisted with administration, and supported the Local Voices Steering Group to deliver its work plans. - 213 In the year 2020-2021, Local Voices members participated in the following consultations **:** Tower Hamlets Council Vaccine and Trust Project; Health Messaging for All; Ross Atkins Associates Access Audit for Liverpool Street; Food poverty in Tower Hamlets; and Greenwich Park Redevelopment Work - 214 We provided training on storytelling skills, Zoom training, Safeguarding training, and Mental Health training. - 215 Work was carried out on the following core themes: Access & Transport; Social/Digital Inclusion; Covid-19 issues; Parking Permits and Cuts; Health Messaging; and Community Safety. 23 ## **216 Theme-based reports** - 217 Local Voices developed a library of useful reference material on events and activities we delivered over the past year. - 218 We produced four topic based written reports this year. They provide details of our engagement activities and the outcomes, including experiences, views and opinions of disabled people in the community. This year’s report covered: 1. The Pandemic 2. Liveable Streets 3. Social Care Charging 4. Storytelling ## **219 Social Care Charging** - 220 Social care is a key issue for a number of disabled people, including those who do and those who do not currently receive social care support. Social care comes in a variety of guises, funded and provided by local councils, including Tower Hamlets Council. - 221 Social care is potentially all forms of personal care and assistance that disabled children and adults may need. This can be any of the following: - Practical assistance in the home or workplace from a paid carer - Recreational equipment. - 222 Access to: - Travel - Home adaptations and disabled facilities - Delivered meals - Communication equipment, from telephones through to personal alarms. - 223 Our aims were to understand what kind of conversations and conceptions people had around social care. We undertook an open session asking questions around what people’s feelings were on social care and whether they felt that there had been changes or a direction of travel, understanding that this would not constitute an objective analysis of whether people were better or worse off following any changes. - 224 We identified the following areas of interest : - Social exclusion - Attitudinal barriers - Resource barriers  Transparency. 24 - 225 The work undertaken within a coproduction context demonstrated that there is significant anxiety around social care provision. ## **226 Storytelling** - 227 Part of the success of this storytelling project was that it was user-led. It started off in an informal manner with the group deciding themselves how they wanted to share their stories. Most of the information around Covid is incredibly heavy, so it was important for these sessions to be fun and inviting, as well as accessible. By beginning these sessions in a casual way, the members felt there was less pressure to have to perform or capture a medium perfectly. Instead, they developed friendships in the group, and built confidence over time as they steered their own storytelling pathway. - 228 The second success of this project was exploring different mediums. Every person has a preferred way of expressing themselves, but sometimes lack the skills or knowledge to be able to articulate themselves in the way that they want. This project started with oral storytelling which evolved into the use of prose. From here, the group decided to explore poetry, at first in an informal manner, and later with professional instruction as to how to develop poetry structure and content. The group then explored art therapy, and drama as a means of exploring their emotional journey. Each medium offered the members a different platform, and an alternate way to view and share their own experience. The group was also shown other techniques they could use to express themselves including animation and music. Each week the same members returned to the session which is testament to their thirst to explore new, and varied techniques. ## **229 Understanding Local Voices’ Legacy Work** - 230 In addition to the work carried out this year, we wanted to highlight some of the fantastic work achieved by the Local Voices in the last 8 years. Over the project’s lifespan, the network achieved considerable success in engaging local disabled residents, and influencing local decision making. Below, we provide a summary of some of the key achievements, including information about the reach of our projects and the ways in which we contributed to affecting change within the local community - **231** In the last 4 years alone, Local Voices Active Members took part in 376 engagement activities, including consultations, professional forums, training sessions and workshops. - 232 At the end of the project, we ran a legacy workshop with the Steering Group and active members to reflect on what Local Voices had achieved in the last 8 years. The session provided an opportunity for members to come together and celebrate the successes, and share which activities had given them the most personal satisfaction. Activities ranking highest in this context included lobbying DLR to make specific changes facilitating easier 25 access and wellbeing sessions on topics such as art therapy and storytelling techniques. - 233 When asked which activities made a real difference for the disabled community, members responses focused on Real Voices’ work to improve Westfield shopping centre access, improvements in public toilet access and formal council consultations hosted by Real. ## **234 Quotes from workshop attendees** - 235 “We have set into the mind set of people who are designing things that they have to design them with in the acceptable measurements for disabled people.” - 236 “A massive achievement was the fact that we were able to get into the heart of the council, in terms of the consultations, and we were able to shape the councils thinking.” - 237 To read the Local Voices annual reports, and more about what we have achieved over the last 8 years, please visit our website. ## **237.1 Covid-19 Outreach and Messaging Project (COMP-D)** - 238 The Covid-19 Outreach and Messaging Project commenced in January 2021. With growing evidence that disabled people, and people with long term health conditions were being disproportionately affected by the pandemic, combined with the apparent lack of accessible Covid-19 health messages for different impairment groups, Tower Hamlets Council and Public Health commissioned Real, ICM Foundation, deafPLUS and Healthwatch to undertake an outreach project to local disabled residents. The scope of the project was different for each participating partner but was collectively focused towards identifying the following: - The experience of disabled people during the pandemic in accessing health and social care services - The barriers to understanding and accessing Covid-19 information - How Covid-19 information could be improved and tailored to meet the needs of different impairment groups - How and why the flow of Covid-19 information does not reach intended recipients - What Covid-19 information has been unclear and what needs to be done to change this. - 239 Before we began the engagement stage of this project, we analysed Real’s and Local Link’s membership to assess where there were gaps in our representation. It was important for us to ensure equal access to this project, and engage groups of people that we don’t necessarily have an 26 existing relationship with. Furthermore, we wanted to extend the reach of the project, and use it as an opportunity to engage new people with Real’s services. 240 The next stage before we began our engagement activities was to identify organisations in the Borough that had impairment specific experience of the groups under-represented by Real that we could partner with to deliver the project. There are a number of reasons we decided to gather insights through partner organisations: 1. Partner organisations have easier access to their members, and structures in place to facilitate a workshop; 2. Partner organisations have already established a trusting relationship with their members, which is important for discussing these themes; and 3. Partner organisations have specific experience working with their members and have an in depth knowledge of their access and communication needs which again was crucial to this project’s success. ## 241 - 242 In order to ensure wide participation in this project, we created an engagement model that allowed us to connect with and involve people in different ways. ## **243 Workshops** - 244 Workshops were an important source of information for this project and allowed us to collect qualitative data from participants. They allowed individuals to come together in a safe environment, and share their experiences of accessing Covid-19 information and services. By discussing their own experiences, participants identified commonalities and helped us recognise trends and differences amongst people’s experiences. For each workshop, we designed a set of questions to capture the information we wanted to analyse. These workshops were then adapted and tailored to meet the needs of project participants. Working with partner organisations to deliver the workshops allowed us to utlise the knowledge and skillset of staff to make the sessions accessible for their members. ## **245 Telephone Surveys** - 246 As part of our engagement strategy and to ensure all our members had the opportunity to contribute to the project, we called each of our members to ask a series of questions relating to accessible Covid health messages. A number of our members are digitally excluded and do not have access to technology or the digital literacy skills to attend one of our workshops. This also means they are more likely to find Covid health messages harder to access than someone with digital skills. We collected insights from a total of 43 members. These insights were turned into weekly insights reports and submitted to Tower Hamlets Council. 27 ## **247 Priority 1-1s** - 248 We recognised that not every person would feel comfortable attending an online workshop, or would have the digital literacy skills to be able to participate, so we allocated time each month to gather insights from 5 individuals who fit within this category. These conversations were more in depth that our telephone calls and allowed us to gather detailed insight specific to that person’s experience. So far, we carried out seven priority 1- 1s, and produced one insights report which was submitted to Tower Hamlets Council. - 249 The model for this project was designed in such a way, that information and insights gathered from workshops, 1-1s and priority interviews are fed back regularly to Public Health. In order to ensure Public Health could capture the latest insights from the community in a fast-changing Covid landscape and integrate them into their Covid strategy, feeding back qualitative data regularly from our participants was crucial. ## **250 Findings** - 251 We achieved considerable success. In the first 3 months of the project, Real produced 9 insights reports based on the findings from the workshops, 1-1s and telephone surveys. These insights came from a diverse group of people with varying needs but there were some common themes, including: 1. The need for more easy-read resources; 2. Confusion over booking vaccines, especially for people who are not digitally literate; 3. The lack of process in place to book interpreters for vaccine appointments; and 4. The high level of anxiety people have about reintegrating into society after shielding for a long time. - 252 As a result of these insights, Real submitted a further report to the Council outlining 8 recommendations. These are: 1. A visual map of testing sites in the Borough including accessibility information 2. Clear guidance on how to book BSL interpreters for vaccine appointments 3. A roadmap out of lockdown and how people shielding can deal with anxiety 4. Clear information on the safety of vaccines 5. Clarity of which impairments are categorised in priority group 6 6. A dedicated council webpage with Covid-19 easy read guides 7. A hotline for disabled people to obtain Covid-specific information 8. Clarification on who is eligible for home vaccines and how to book them. 253 ## **253.1 Storytelling Project** 254 The storytelling project was funded by the London Community Response Wave 3 funding. There were various elements to the funding application. 28 One key aspect of the funding was updated equipment and training to help our staff, board and volunteers to safely work from home while engaging disabled clients more effectively. Another aspect of the work was running online connection sessions with disabled people in Tower Hamlets detailing people’s experience of the lockdown. - 255 While it has not been the direct focus of the work with our clients, digital exclusion of disabled people has become a heightened challenge during Covid-19. We wanted to encourage people to talk to us about the challenges they are facing during the pandemic, and to enable new ways of telling their stories. The entire project was undertaken through various states of lockdown and social distancing, and we engaged disabled people to talk to us and one another through digital and telephone methods. The data from this will feed into future projects undertaken by Real. - 256 Evidence of key areas of need for disabled people were tracked through the project. The areas included isolation and loneliness, and barriers disabled people experienced around access to services, especially around health and social care. Poverty was also highlighted, and noted where it was exacerbated by the pandemic, including in key areas such as food and digital technologies that enable use of other services. The mental health of our members was a key area of investigation throughout the project, and we developed good understanding of the wellbeing needs not addressed through formal support systems. - 257 Disabled people and people with long term health conditions have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The Office of National Statistics estimates that disabled people make up almost 6 in 10 (59%) of all deaths involving Covid-19[1] . We also know, that people in the ‘vulnerable’ group have been asked to take additional measures to stay safe during the pandemic, including long-term shielding. These additional pressures coupled with existing fears around contracting Covid have meant many disabled people have experienced the pandemic differently to non-disabled people. This project allowed groups of disabled people to come together and share their personal experience of life in lockdown, finding commonality and comfort in each other’s words. - 258 The principal aim of this project was to create a safe space where disabled people could explore their emotions and share what they were experiencing during the pandemic. In order to maximise the reach of this project, we decided to diversify the workshop themes and use different mediums to explore these personal experiences. ## **259 Outputs** - 260 Real ran a total of eight storytelling workshops, including: informal storytelling, poetry, art therapy, animation and drama. These workshops achieved four principal outcomes: 1. Improved health and wellbeing; 2. A record of disabled people’s history throughout the pandemic; 29 3. An opportunity to flag safeguarding issues; and 4. An opportunity to identify themes/issues that could inform practice and policy. ## **261 Recommendations and learning** - 262 The project raised the following recommendations. - Future projects supporting disabled people in coproduction should include development of a broad range of facilitation skills, including where appropriate supporting specialist creative facilitators and community groups. - Coproduction spaces should include a wide variety of methodologies used by skilled facilitators to uncover a wide breadth of disabling barriers people experience. - Agile smaller organisations are suited towards building peer communities of support and should be funded to do so. - Coordination of support given by smaller, community and voluntary organisations can enable seamless support of disabled people in and around statutory health and social care support. - Tower Hamlets Together’s personalisation strategy is key to addressing wellbeing issues and should be resourced to fully realise its aims. - 263 There was significant evidence of need understood through the project in the following areas: - Digital exclusion, and the need for a range of approaches to address it - Isolation and loneliness, and welfare and wellbeing - Access to services on health and social care in changing contexts - Poverty, especially on food and technology. - 264 Key areas of development for Real included: - Creative approaches to coproduction - Methods for addressing digital access issues - Understanding our membership in the Covid-19 context. ## **264.1 Digital Inclusion Project** - 265 Real’s digital inclusion project, funded by the Wakefield and Tetley Trust ran from January-June 2021. The project was focused towards reaching out to and connecting with isolated disabled residents during the pandemic. The initial scope of the project was quite wide, which has allowed us to develop our own, tailored approach to engaging with and digitally connecting to some of our members. Part of the funding allocated for this project also 30 involved purchasing 5 tablets, which were distributed to our members to help them get online, and connect with our services. - 266 To fully understand the needs of our members, and how we could best support them to get online, we telephoned them and asked a series of questions. We wanted to understand how many of our members feel confident online, which platforms they are comfortable using, and whether any of them need additional support to develop their digital skills and get online. The themes that emerged helped us to steer the direction of the project. The bullet points below highlight some of the common responses we received to each question: ## 267 268 - 269 We asked our members.... ## **270 1. What makes it difficult to get online?** - Expensive (cost of device, Wifi connection, data) - Lack of knowledge and skills - Impairment (e.g. epilepsy, visually impaired, mobility issues) - No device - Availability (Wifi signal, other household using it) - Preference (in person, seems intrusive, too much online, banking) - Language barriers - Fear of the unknown. ## **271 2. How does it make you feel?** - "Hard to know what's happening, which makes me feel uncomfortable" - "Inadequate, vulnerable and insecure and not confident. It's scary, all of a sudden I am supposed to know everything" - "Frustrated and makes me feel as though others are smarter" - "Feel so bad" - "Being online may not always be something people want to do. It should be a choice". - **272 3. What type of things would make it easier to get online within the next year?** - Access to technology - More training and support: specific to impairment, face-to-face, patience 31 - Bitesize information. - 273 The outcomes of these calls demonstrated that while a device will help some people get online, and access our services, they also require additional training to help build their digital literacy skills and confidence. As a result, we partnered with Community Fibre, who offered our members free 1-1 digital training. Based on the responses from the phone calls, we identified 4 individuals who we believe will benefit the most from receiving a device and/or additional support from the 1-1 sessions. - 274 **Project successes so far** - 3 participants connected to zoom for the first time - 3 participants are attending 1-1s digital skills training - 4 participants are using Real tablets to attend our services - Using new skills, some members have recorded poems/stories for our online storytelling video - Digital resource page created on our website. - 275 **Key challenges** - High level of 1-1 support required to help members attend 1-1 training sessions - Technological set up (some members easily forget instructions to login/passwords) - Different levels of experience in classes - Some members have connection issues - Trainers from Community Fibre do not fully understand different access needs - Content of the digital training course is not very dynamic - Participants need 2 devices to attend training course as they use screenshare mechanism. ## **275.1 Driving change through collaboration** 276 Real worked with and supported several statutory sector initiatives and other not-for-profit organisations to create environmental and structural change for the benefit of local disabled people. We were involved in a range of working groups and forums that influence the environment in which we operate, including: - Accessible Transport Forum - Advice Providers Forum - Community Safety Partnership - Covid 19 Local Engagement Board 32 - Health and Wellbeing Forum (and its Steering Group) - Healthy Island Alliance - HEAR Charities Against Hate Crime Network - Inclusion London CEO Network - No Place For Hate Forum - Pan Providers Forum - Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB) - SAB community engagement working group - SAB quality and performance working group - Tower Hamlets Community Advice Network (THCAN) - Tower Hamlets Council of Voluntary Services (THCVS) - Tower Hamlets LGBT Community Network - Tower Hamlets Together Promoting Independence Board - Transport for All - Voluntary Sector Children and Young People's Forum. ## **277 Plans for future periods** - 278 The main development to be implemented within 2021/22 is the new fundraising strategy and action plan to continue the regrowth of the organisation. We will also be starting a new two-year project, funded by Trust for London, which brings Real together with four other London-based Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations to understand better and therefore challenge more effectively the impact of charging young disabled people for social care. ## **279 Significant events after the year-** ## **end** 280 There are no reportable significant events after the year end. 281 282 ## **283 Administration** ## **283.1 Trustees** **----- Start of picture text -----**
284 Real currently has 5 trustees:
285
286 Name 287 Position 288 Dat 289 Dat
e e
290 John Per 291 Vice-chair 292 16/0 293 19/
7/2013 06/20
21
294 Anthony 295 Treasurer 296 03/1 297 19/
Chatzifotiou 2/2013 06/20
21
298 Henry Stone 299 Chair 300 02/1 301
**----- End of picture text -----**
33 **----- Start of picture text -----**
286 Name 287 Position 288 Dat 289 Dat
e e
2/2015
302 Mahendra 303 304 13/0 305
Rastogi 5/2017
306 Martha Stafford 307 308 13/0 309
5/2017
310 John Sharp 311 312 10/0 313
5/2019
314 Owais Niaz 316 317 19/0 318
315 6/2021
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319 - 320 At the board meeting on 19 June 2021 a sixth person was elected onto the board following submitting an application and being vetted using the standard process. After the AGM several attempts were made to connect with the individual. Eventually the individual said that they needed to stand down due to personal reasons. This is why that individual was never registered at Companies House or with the Charity Commission, and why there are currently 5 instead of 6 trustees. The board believe they have identified someone who will be co-opted onto the board, and plan for new appointments early in 2022. 321 The day-to-day management of the organisation and its services has been delegated to a Chief Executive Officer. The current post holder, Michael Smith, has been in post since 20 May 2010. ## **321.1 Statutory Auditors** - 322 Myrus Smith Chartered Accountants 323 Norman House - 324 8 Burnell Road 325 Sutton 326 Surrey 327 SM1 4BW ## **327.1 Bankers** 328 CAF Bank Ltd - 329 25 King’s Hill Avenue 330 West Malling 331 Kent - 332 ME19 4JQ **333** ## **334 Structure,** ## **and governance** ## **management** 335 Real’s legal name is Real DPO Ltd. It is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. Real was previously called “Disability 34 Coalition - Tower Hamlets and changed its name to Real DPO Ltd on 16 August 2012. - 336 Its governing documents are the Articles of Association which were last reviewed and revised at the time of the name change. The Articles of Association make reference to a supplementary document referred to as the Charity Protocol which is reviewed annually by the board and covers practical issues such as the arrangements for general meetings and board meetings, the role description and person specifications for trustees and key officers, and the trustees’ code of conduct and conflicts of interest policies. - 337 The Articles of Association state that Real must have at least 6 trustees. Trustees are elected at the AGM, serve for a maximum period of 3 years but can be re-elected for a further period thereafter. The longest-serving third of trustees retire at each AGM. Trustees may also be co-opted until the next AGM. - 338 Newly elected trustees undertake an induction programme that comprises an initial discussion with the Chair, followed by a half day group session with the Chief Executive on Trustee’s role, duties and responsibilities, organisational policies and procedures, finance and funding, risks, reserves, legal liabilities and contracts and any other issues of importance to the Board of Trustees, currently and for the immediate future. - 339 Prior to the meeting an induction pack is given to each new Trustee containing the Charity Commission’s ‘The Essential Trustee: what you need to know’, the last two sets of Board of Trustees’ papers and minutes, a paper on the social model of disability, last year’s annual report and accounts, the Charity Protocol and the organisation’s key policies including the Equal Opportunities policy. - 340 Normally the board would meet every 2 months (6 times a year). Several of the board members have struggled to engage in board meetings due to digital exclusion, and the difficulties of holding board meetings in the real world with a group of individuals who are all at greater risk due to Covid-19. - 341 Instead, there has been much greater connection between the CEO and the Chair during the year, with regular supervision and discussions. The CEO has delivered briefing emails to board members and the Chair has also had a series of connection telephone calls. - 342 One board member has been provided with a tablet to enable future, better online access to board meetings. There is a recognition that more regular board meetings need to recommence during 2022. 35 ## **342.1 Management pay** - 343 The CEO’s level of pay was set by the board at the time of the creation of the role in 2010. At the time they did this by reference to local pay rate comparisons. Since that point in time there have usually been annual increases determined by the board, although in some years there was no increase. Any percentage increases have applied to all staff in the organisation equally, and have been decided by the board in private session. To inform the board a paper would be prepared referencing the available resources and a range of inflation measures. - 344 During 2019/20 we conducted a salary review of all roles in the organisation. Junior grades received a pay rise. Middle level staff had a pay freeze. The CEO declined to request a pay rise until such time as the organisation’s finances were balanced. Since then, due to the financial situation of the organisation, there have been no further rises. However a review of pay rates will happen in early 2022. ## **345 Risks** ## **345.1 Approach to risk management** 346 The trustees have examined major risks to which the organisation was exposed, reviewed them and put in place systems and procedures to manage them. Two years ago the board developed a new approach to identifying and managing risk, creating a risk register and reviewing it at every other board meeting (so quarterly). 347 348 The risk register takes into account the edits and amendments proposed at the last board meeting and categorises them into the following 5 areas: - governance - reputation - services - finance - HR. - 349 It then orders them, within each section, in order of residual risk, high to low. ## **349.1 Risk analysis** 350 The full risk register currently contains 23 risks, their impact and probability assessments, mitigating actions, and residual risk to the organisation. The following table includes the top 4 risks, in terms of residual risk. 36 **----- Start of picture text -----**
351 Risk 352 I 353 P 354 Assessment and 355 R
m ro action esid
pa b ual
ct risk
1. Finance - Risk 356 H 357 H 358 This has been an 360 Hi
of being overly igh igh issue which the board gh
dependent on have been aware of
current/ specific for some time, and we
funding sources. were overly
dependent on the
DPSS contract and
the Local Link
contract.
359 The strategic plan
has set a new
direction of travel for
the organisation, and
the new draft
fundraising strategy
has been considered
by the board with a
final draft due at the
end of the year.
2. Operational - 361 H 362 M 363 We have been 364 M
Risk of not igh edi working with Tower ediu
having an um Hamlets Council to m
affordable address our medium-
building to term premises
operate from. security given that
our current premises
are secured only
under a tenancy at
will, and there are
medium-term plans to
redevelop the site. We
will need to move to a
market rent, although
hope to offset some
of that through
qualifying for the local
authority’s
community rent
reduction scheme
**----- End of picture text -----**
37 **----- Start of picture text -----**
351 Risk 352 I 353 P 354 Assessment and 355 R
m ro action esid
pa b ual
ct risk
3. Operational - 365 M 366 M 367 We have a 368 M
Risk of losing edi edi relatively low level of ediu
key members of um um staff turnover m
staff resulting in compared to other
disruption of organisations. We
service and loss have clear job
of critical descriptions and
knowledge. business plans which
someone else could
follow should a staff
member disappear.
The board’s
involvement in the
strategic review and
business planning will
also help mitigate.
The operational
review is also
considering ways that
we can build
resilience into the
organisation
**----- End of picture text -----**
38 **----- Start of picture text -----**
351 Risk 352 I 353 P 354 Assessment and 355 R
m ro action esid
pa b ual
ct risk
4. Reputation - 369 H 370 L 371 This is potentially 372 M
Risk of igh ow complicated given our ediu
compromising role both as a service m
our reputation provider and as an
with the council. advocate for disabled
people. We manage
ethical walls between
our services and in
the past the council
has endorsed our
processes for this.
Controversial
decisions are taken at
board meetings
and/or discussed with
the chair/vice-chair.
We have not
appeared to suffer as
a result of our
criticism of the
council’s conduct over
the introduction of
charging for social
care so this needs
careful ongoing
management. Other
issues relating to
concerns over the
approach to
commissioning will be
done via CVS-led
forums.
**----- End of picture text -----**
373 ## **373.1 Wider economic environment** 374 As with all charities, we are concerned at the potential impact of the wider financial situation that the UK faces, and the possible impact this may have upon us. - 375 We’re still very concerned about the wider economic situation, and the resultant austerity measures being placed upon public sector bodies, which are our primary current funders. 39 - 376 These austerity measures will also have a severe and likely disproportionate impact upon our main constituency. According to national statistics, you're more likely to be in poverty if you are disabled, and more likely to be disabled if you live in poverty. These numbers increase for particular ethnic groups, such as Bangladeshi. - 377 Given the demography of Tower Hamlets, we hope that we can use this information to encourage more funders to address the particular challenges our constituency faces. ## **378 Financial information** ## **378.1 Share capital** 379 Our organisation is a company limited by guarantee and therefore has no share capital. ## **379.1 Financial review** - 380 Financially it was quite a good year. - 381 We had total income of £811,206, up from £573,642 last year. We had corresponding total expenditure of £746,120, compared to £667,277 last year. In the previous year we had a loss of £93,636, whereas this year we had an operating surplus of £65,086. £29,297 of this surplus related to restricted funds which will be spent over the next two years throughout the remaining life of those projects. This means that the operating surplus in year relating to unrestricted funds was £35,789. - 382 This has meant that our total reserves now stand at £197,614 comprising £156,106 of unrestricted reserves and £41,508 of restricted reserves. - 383 In the year ended 31 March 2021, we benefited from some Covid 19specific funding streams which allowed us to deliver some crucial new projects. Whilst we know we will be changing some rowing constrained next year - for example we know we will no longer be the lead partner in the replacement to the Local Link service - we have other projects and activities coming on stream. - 384 Going forward we have more work to do to stabilise the organisation in terms of funding streams following the change to our bigger projects. The budget for the year ended 31 March shows an anticipated loss of £45,386. Some of that is using up some of the restricted reserves, which will leave anticipated unrestricted reserves at 31 March 2022 of £116,389. We have also done projections up until 31 March 2023. We need to generate significant new income streams to protect our remaining unrestricted reserves, but we have a fundraising strategy and action plan in place to address that, and it remains the number one risk for the organisation to monitor. 40 ## **384.1 Financial reserves policy** - 385 When considering the risks to the organisation, the trustees looked at the reserves policy. Total reserves at the year end represent 3.17 months of inyear total operating costs. It has previously been policy to maintain at least 3 months total operating costs for some years although the aspiration has been to grow this towards the level of 6 months’ operating costs. - 386 If any expenditure is to be incurred outside of the agreed budget for the year, that expenditure has to be agreed by the full board if it would involve a call on reserves during the year. The board would then consider the impact on reserves by incurring the additional expenditure. - 387 The board has already considered the contribution towards central costs made by each separate project and established that there are adequate reserves to maintain services and operations across the organisation should any significant income stream not continue, pending any appropriate action or restructuring. - 388 The board is planning to conduct another review of its reserves policy alongside its monitoring of the new fundraising strategy. The objective will be to have a clear understanding of how reserves are developed, and what they are kept for. A key part of this will be understanding where expenditure is avoidable and unavoidable, when different income streams start and finish, to have a more sophisticated model than just in relation to total operating costs. ## **388.1 Statement as to disclosure of information to auditors** - 389 The trustees, in their capacity as directors, state that in so far as each of the directors at the time this report was approved are aware:- - 390 a) There is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware, and - 391 b) The trustees have taken all steps to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information. ## **391.1 Directors and Trustees’ responsibilities** - 392 The trustees (who are also directors of Real DPO Ltd for the purposes of company law) 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). - 393 Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of 41 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: - select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; - observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019 (FRS 102); - make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; - state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; - prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation. - 394 The trustees 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. 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. ## **394.1 Methods of preparation of accounts** - 395 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 (FRS 102). 396 - 397 This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. 398 399 Approved by the trustees on Friday, 17 December 2021 and signed on their behalf by: 400 401 402 403 404 ……………………………………. 405 Henry Stone 406 Chair 42 407 408 43 411 (Limited by Guarantee) 412 **413Opinion 414** ## 409 INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF: **410REAL DPO LTD** 415 We have audited the financial statements of Real DPO Ltd (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). 416 417 In our opinion the financial statements: 418  give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2021, and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;  have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and - have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006. 419 ## **420** ## **Basis for opinion** **421** 422 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. 423 ## **424** ## **Conclusions relating to going concern** **425** 426 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. 427 428 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. 429 430 Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. 431 **432 Other information** **433** 434 The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Trustees’ Annual Report. The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 435 44 ## 436 INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF: **437REAL DPO LTD** 438 (Limited by Guarantee) 439 440 In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. 441 442 We have nothing to report in this regard. 443 ## **444 Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006** 445 446 In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit: 447  the information given in the trustees’ annual report (incorporating the directors’ report) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and  the directors’ annual report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements. 448 ## **449 Matters on which we are required to report by exception** 450 451 In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ annual report. 452 453 We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion: 454  adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or  the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or  certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or  we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or  the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies’ regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the directors’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report. 455 ## **456 Responsibilities of trustees** 457 458 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. 459 460 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. 461 45 462 INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF: **463REAL DPO LTD** 464 (Limited by Guarantee) /contd… ## **465 466 Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements** 467 468 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. 469 470 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 specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below: 471 472 • Enquiry of management and those charged with governance about actual and potential litigation or claims and the identification of non-compliance with laws and regulations. 473 • Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance. 474 • Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations. 475 • Auditing the risk of management override of controls, including testing journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness. 476 • Performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud. 477 • Professional scepticism in course of the audit and with audit sampling in material audit areas. 478 479 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 involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. 480 481 A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report. 482 ## **483 Use of our report** 484 485 This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an 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. 486 487 488 46 489 Kevin Fisher BA FCA CTA (Senior Statutory Auditor) 490 For and on behalf of Myrus Smith 491 Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors 492 Norman House 493 8 Burnell Road 494 Sutton, Surrey 495 SM1 4BW 496 497 30 March 2022 47 ## **498REAL DPO LTD** ## **499** |**498REAL DPO LTD**
**499**|**498REAL DPO LTD**
**499**|**498REAL DPO LTD**
**499**|**498REAL DPO LTD**
**499**|**498REAL DPO LTD**
**499**|**498REAL DPO LTD**
**499**||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |500 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES|||||||||| ||501||||||||| |502 (Incorporating Income and Expenditure Account)|||||||||| ||503||||||||| |**504**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021|||||||||| |505|||||||||| |506|507 N|508|Unrest|509|Restr|510|Total|511|Total| ||o||ricted||icted||||| ||t||||||||| ||e||||||||| ||s||||||||| |512|513|514 Funds||515|Fund|516|202|517|2020| ||||||s||1||| |**518**|519|520 £||521 £||522 £||523 £|| |524|525|526||527||528||529|| |**530Income**|531||532||533||534||535| |536 Donations and legacies|537 2|538|25,855|539|2,605|540
0|28,46|541|3,837| |542 Charitable activities|543 3|544|563,031|545
69|219,1|546
00|782,2|547
94|569,5| |548 Investments|549 4|550|38|551|-|552|38|553|212| |554 Other|555|556|508|557|-|558|508|559|-| |560|561|562──────||563─────||564─────||565─────|| |||||─||──||──|| |**566Total**|567|568|589,432|569
74|221,7|570
06|811,2|571
43|573,6| |572|573|574──────||575─────||576─────||577─────|| |||||─||──||──|| |**578Expenditure**|579|580||581||582||583|| |**584**|585|586||587||588||589|| |590 Charitable activities|591 5|592|553,862|593
58|192,2|594
20|746,1|595
77|667,2| |596|597|598──────||599─────||600─────||601─────|| |||||─||──||──|| |**602Total**|603|604|553,862|605
58|192,2|606
20|746,1|607
77|667,2| |**608**|609|610──────||611─────||612─────||613─────|| |||||─||──||──|| |**614**|615|616||617||618||619|| |**620Net income/(expenditure)**|621 9|622|35,570|623
6|29,51|624
6|65,08|625(93,63
4)|| |626|627|628||629||630||631|| |632 Transfers between funds|633 1
5|634|219|635|(219)|636|-|637|-| |638|639|640──────||641─────||642─────||643─────|| |||||─||──||──|| |**644Net movement in funds**|645|646|35,789|647
7|29,29|648
6|65,08|649(93,63
4)|| |**650**|651|652||653||654||655|| |**656Reconciliation of funds**|657|658||659||660||661|| |662 Total funds brought forward|663 1
5|664|120,317|665
1|12,21|666
28|132,5|667
62|226,1| |**668**|669|670──────||671─────||672─────||673─────|| |||||─||──||──|| |**674Total funds carried forward**|675 1
5|676£156,10
6||677
08|£41,5|678£197,
614||679£132,
528|| |680|681|682══════||683═════||684═════||685═════|| |||||═||══||══|| |686|||||||||| |687|||||||||| |688 The Statement of Financial Activities includes||all recognised gains and||||losses.|||| 48 689 690 All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 The notes form part of these Financial Statements. 49 ||||**710REAL DPO LTD**|**710REAL DPO LTD**|**710REAL DPO LTD**|**710REAL DPO LTD**||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||**711**||||||| ||||712 BALANCE||SHEET|||||| |||||713||||||| ||||**714**AS AT 31 MARCH|||2021||||| |||||715||||||| |||||716||||||| |717||||718 Note||719 2021|||720 2020|| |||||s||||||| |721||||722||723|||724|| |**725FIXED ASSETS**||||726|727 £||728 £|729 £||730 £| |**731**||||732|733||734|735||736| |737|Tangible fxed assets|||738 12|739||740 14,34
3|741||742 5,237| |**743**||||744|745||746|747||748| |**749CURRENT ASSETS**||||750|751||752|753||754| |755||||756|757||758|759||760| |761|Debtors|||762 13|763
67|163,3|764|765
34|172,8|766| |767|Cash at bank and in hand|||768|769
53|173,1|770|771
2|70,25|772| |773||||774|775─────||776|777─────||778| ||||||─|||─||| |779||||780|781
20|336,5|782|783
86|243,0|784| |785||||786|787||788|789||790| |**791CREDITORS:**||Amounts|falling|792|793||794|795||796| ||due|||||||||| |797|within one year|||798 14|799
49|153,2|800|801
95|115,7|802| |803||||804|805─────||806|807─────||808| ||||||─|||─||| |**809NET CURRENT**||**ASSETS**||810|811||812 183,2
71|813||814 127,2
91| |**815**||||816|817||818─────|819||820─────| ||||||||─|||─| |**821NET ASSETS**||||822 16|823||824£197,
614|825||826£132,
528| |827||||828|829||830═════|831||832═════| ||||||||═|||═| |833||||834|835||836|837||838| |839|Represented by:|||840|841||842|843||844| |**845**||||846|847||848|849||850| |**851FUNDS**||||852|853||854|855||856| |857|Unrestricted Funds|||858 15|859||860 156,1
06|861||862 120,3
17| |863|Restricted Funds|||864 15|865||866 41,50
8|867||868 12,21
1| |869||||870|871||872─────|873||874─────| ||||||||─|||─| |875||||876|877||878£197,
614|879||880£132,
528| |881||||882|883||884═════|885||886═════| ||||||||═|||═| 887 888 These Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. 889 890 891 892 Approved by the Board of Trustees on 17 December 2021 and signed on its behalf by: 893 894 50 895 896 897 ...................................................... 898 899 Henry Stone 900 Trustee / Director 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 The notes form part of these Financial Statements 51 ## **908REAL DPO LTD 909** 910 CASH FLOW STATEMENT |||911|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||**912**FOR THE YEAR|ENDED 31 MARCH 2021|||||||| |||**913**|||||||| ||**914**|915 No|916||||917 2020||| |||tes||2021|||||| ||**918**|919|920||||921||| ||||||£||||£| |**922**||923|924||||925||| |**926Cash fows from operating activities**||927|928||||929||| |930 Net movement in funds||931|932|65,086|||933|(93,634)|| |934 Adjustments for:||935|936||||937||| |938|Depreciation|939 12|940|5,408|||941|6,140|| |942|Bank interest receivable|943 4|944|(38)|||945|(212)|| |946|(Increase) / decrease in debtors|947|948|9,467|||949|130,530|| |950|Increase / (decrease) in creditors|951|952|37,454|||953|(104,155)|| |**954**||955|956|──────|||957|──────|| |**958Net cash used in operating activities**||959|960|117,377|||961|(61,331)|| |**962**||963|964|──────|||965|──────|| |**966Cash fows from investing activities**||967|**968**||||**969**||| |970 Bank interest received||971|972|38|||973|212|| |974 Purchase of tangible fxed assets||975 12|976|(14,514)|||977|(518)|| |**978**||979|980|──────|||981|──────|| |**982Net cash used in investing activities**||983|984|(14,476)|||985|(306)|| |**986**||987|988|──────|||989|──────|| |**990Increase / (decrease) in cash**||991|992|102,901|||993|(61,637)|| |**994**||995|**996**||||**997**||| |998 Cash brought forward||999|1000|||70,252|1001||131,889| |**1002**||1003|1004||──────||1005 ──────||| |**1006**|**Cash carried forward**|1007|1008||£173,153||1009||£70,252| |**1010**||1011|1012||══════||1013 ══════||| |**1014**||1015|**1016**||||**1017**||| |**1018**||1019|**1020**||||**1021**||| |**1022**||1023||1024||||1025|| ||||||2021||||2020| |**1026**|**Analysis of cash**|1027|1028||||1029||| |1030|Cash at bank and in hand|1031|1032||£173,153||1033||£70,252| |**1034**||1035|1036||══════||1037 ══════||| |1038|||||||||| |1039|||||||||| |1040|||||||||| |1041|||||||||| |1042|||||||||| |1043|||||||||| |1044|||||||||| |1045|||||||||| |1046|||||||||| |1047|||||||||| |1048|||||||||| |1049|||||||||| |1050|||||||||| |1051|||||||||| |1052|||||||||| |1053|||||||||| |1054|||||||||| |1055|||||||||| |1056|||||||||| |1057|||||||||| |1058|||||||||| |1059|||||||||| |1060|||||||||| 52 1061 1062 The notes form part of these Financial Statements 53 ## **1063 REAL DPO LTD 1064** 1065 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1066 **1067** FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 **1068** ## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES** 1069 **1070 accounting** 1071 ## **General information and basis of** Real DPO Ltd is a registered charity (no. 1061671) and private company limited by guarantee (no. 03213172) registered in England and Wales. The liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member. The registered office is given in the Reference and Administrative Details in the Trustees’ Annual Report. 1072 The charity constitutes a public benefit 1073 The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. 1074 1075 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) issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. 1076 1077 The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis and under the historical cost convention. The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated. 1078 **1079 Income recognition** 1080 Items of income are recognised in the financial statements when all of the following criteria are met: - The charity has entitlement to the funds; - any performance conditions have been met or are fully within the control of the charity; - there is sufficient certainty that receipt of the income is considered probable; and - the amount can be measured reliably. 1081 1082 Grants and donations are only recognised when the charity has unconditional entitlement to the resources. In the case of performance–related grants and contracts, the income is only recognised once the related services have been delivered. Where grants are awarded with specified or implied timeframes the income is recognised on a straight line basis over the grant period. 1083 1084 The value of any voluntary help received is not included in the accounts but is described in the Trustees’ Annual Report. 1085 1086 **Gifts in kind** 1087 Gifts in kind are accounted for at a reasonable estimate of their value to the charity or the amount actually realised. 1088 1089 Gifts in kind for sale of distribution are included in the accounts as gifts only when sold or distributed by the charity. 1090 1091 Gifts in kind for use by the charity are included in the SOFA as incoming resources when receivable. 1092 1093 **Donated services and facilities** 1094 These are only included in incoming resources (with an equivalent amount in resources expended) where the benefit to the charity is reasonably quantifiable, measurable and material. The value placed on these resources is the estimated value of the charity of the service or facility received. 54 1095 ## **1096 Debtors and creditors receivable/payable within one year** 1097 Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and which are receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised as expenditure. 55 **1098** **REAL DPO LTD** **1099** 1100 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1101 **1102** FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 **1103 1104 1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES / cont. 1105 1106 Expenditure recognition** 1107 Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount can be measured reliably. 1108 1109 Expenditure includes those costs of a direct nature which can be allocated to a specific activity. It also includes indirect costs, including governance costs that do not relate to a specific activity but are necessary to support those activities. Support costs are apportioned to each activity on the basis of staff time. 1110 1111 Governance costs include the preparation and audit of statutory accounts, trustee meetings and any legal advice obtained on governance or constitutional matters. 1112 **1113 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation** 1114 Fixed assets costing more than £500 are capitalised and depreciation over their estimated useful life at the following rates: 1115 1116 Office equipment and furniture 3 years straight line 1117 Computer equipment2 years straight line 1118 **1119 Pensions** 1120 The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable under the scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the year to which they relate. 1121 **1122 Fund accounting** 1123 Unrestricted general funds are freely available for use in furtherance of the objects of the charity and which have not been designated for specific purposes. 1124 1125 Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside by the trustees for specific purposes. 1126 1127 Restricted funds are those funds which can only be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by the donor or which have been raised for a particular purpose. 1128 **1129 Leases** 1130 Operating lease rentals are recognised on a straight line basis over the period of the lease term. 1131 1132 **Taxation** 1133 As a registered charity, the company is exempt from income and corporation tax to the extent that its income and gains are applicable to charitable purposes only. Value Added Tax is not recoverable by the company, and is therefore included in the relevant costs in the Statement of Financial Activities. 1134 1135 **11361137 DONATIONS AND LEGACIES** 1138 1139 1140 1141 **2.** Unrestricted Restricted Total Total 1142 1143 1144 1145 1146 1147 56 ||||funds|funds|Funds||2021
2020| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |1148|**1149**||1150||1151||1152 £
1153 £| |||||£|£||| |1154|1155 Donations||1156|112|1157|-|1158 112
1159 540| |1160|1161 Grants||1162|-|1163 2,6051164
2,6051165
2,597||| |1166|1167 Other grants||1168|25,7431169||-|1170 25,7431171 700| |1172|1173||1174──────||1175─────1176──────1177──────||| |1178|1179||1180|£25,8551181 £2,60
1182 £28,46
1183 £3,837|||| ||||||5||0| |1184|1185||1186══════||1187═════1188══════1189══════||| ||1190||||||| ||1191|Of the £3,837 recognised in 2020 £1,240 related|||to unrestricted funds and £2,579||| ||related to restricted funds.||||||| ||1192||||||| 1193 57 ## 1194 **REAL DPO LTD 1195** ||1196|NOTES TO THE|FINANCIAL STATEMENTS|FINANCIAL STATEMENTS|FINANCIAL STATEMENTS|FINANCIAL STATEMENTS|FINANCIAL STATEMENTS||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||1197|||||||||| ||**1198**|FOR THE YEAR|ENDED 31 MARCH 2021||||||||| |||1199|||||||||| |||1200|/contd…||||||||| |1201|||||||||||| |1202|||||||||||| |1203
1204**INCOME FROM **||**CHARITABLE**|1205|||1206||1207||1208|| |**3.**
**ACTIVITIES**|||Unrestrict|||Restricte||Total||Total|| |||||ed||d|||||| |**12091210**|||1211|||1212||1213||1214|| ||||funds|||funds||2021||2020|| |12151216|||1217|||1218||1219 £||1220 £|| ||||£|||£|||||| |1221**1222**|**Grants and contracts**||1223|||1224||1225||1226|| |12271228|IAA Local Link||1229485,00
0|||1230|-|1231 485,0
00||1232 485,0
00|| |12331234|IAA Hate Crime||123518,531|||1236|-|1237 18,53
1||1238 22,13
6|| |12391240|IAA Edith||1241|-||1242|-|1243|-|1244 1,413|| |12451246|Engagement||124759,500|||1248|-|1249 59,50
0||1250 61,04
5|| |12511252|LCF - TCOYL||1253|-||1254 72,9
05||1255 72,90
5||1256|-| |12571258|LCRF||1259|-||1260 5,52
1||1261 5,521||1262|-| |12631264|WTT||1265|-||1266 5,50
0||1267 5,500||1268|-| |12691270|LCF – Then & Now||1271|-||1272135,
243||1273 135,2
43||1274|-| |12751276|||1277─────|||1278────||1279─────||1280─────|| ||||─|||──||───||──|| |12811282|||1283£563,0|||1284£219
1285 £782,20
1286 £569,59|||||| ||||31|||,169|0||4||| |12871288|||1289═════|||1290════||1291═════||1292═════|| ||||═|||══||═══||══|| |1293|||||||||||| |1294|||||All|of the £569,594 recognised in 2020|||||| |related to unrestricted funds.|||||||||||| |1295|||||||||||| |1296
1297|**INVESTMENT INCOME**||1298|||1299||1300|1301||| |**4.**|||Unrestrict|||Restricte||Total||Total|| |||||ed||d|||||| |**13021303**|||1304|||1305||1306|1307||| ||||funds|||funds||2021||2020|| |13081309|||1310|||1311||1312||1313|| |13141315|Bank interest||1316£38|||1317£Nil||1318£38|1319£21
2||| |13201321|||1322═════|||1323════||1324════|1325════||| |||||||═||═|═||| |1326|||||||||||| |1327|||||All|of the|£212 recognised in 2020||||| |related to unrestricted funds.|||||||||||| |1328|||||||||||| |1329
1330|**EXPENDITURE**|**ON**|1331|||1332||1333||1334|| |**5.**
**CHARITABLE**|||Direct|||Support||Total||Total|| |**13351336 **|**ACTIVITIES**||1337|||1338||1339||1340|| ||||costs|||costs||2021||2020|| |**13411342**|||1343|||1344||1345||1346|| ||||£|||£||£||£|| |13471348|||1349|||1350||1351||1352|| 58 |13531354|IAA Local Link|1355379,4
08|1356 53,2
85|1357 432,6
93|1358
91|464,9| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |13591360|IAA Hate Crime|136118,427|1362 5,67
2|1363 24,09
9|1364
4|24,33| |13651366|IAA Edith|1367
-|1368
-|1369
-|1370|3,405| |13711372|Engagement|137336,733|1374 9,59
0|1375 46,32
3|1376
5|89,27| |13771378|LCF - TCOYL|137940,368|1380 27,4
63|1381 67,83
1|1382|-| |13831384|LCRF|1385 5,059|1386239|1387 5,298|1388|-| |13891390|WTT|1391 2,784|1392
-|1393 2,784|1394|-| |13951396|LCF – Then & Now|139778,959|1398 34,7
77|1399 113,7
36|1400|| |14011402|ATW|1403
-|1404 2,60
9|1405 2,609|1406|2,585| |14071408|Core|1409
-|1410 50,7
47|1411 50,74
7|1412
7|82,68| |14131414||1415─────|1416────|1417─────|1418─────|| |||─|──|──|──|| |14191420||1421£561,
738|1422£184
,382
1423 £746,1
20
1424 £667,2
77|||| |14251426||1427═════|1428════|1429═════|1430═════|| |||═|══|═══|══|| |1431||||||| |1432||Of|the £746,120 (2020: £667,277)|||| |expenditure recognised in 2021, £553,862 (2020 : £664,692) was charged to|||||unrestricted|| |funds|and £192,258 (2020: £2,585) was charged to restricted funds.|||||| 59 ||||**1433**|**REAL DPO LTD**|**REAL DPO LTD**||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||1434|||| |||1435|NOTES TO THE||FINANCIAL STATEMENTS||| |||||1436|||| |||**1437**|FOR THE YEAR||ENDED 31 MARCH 2021||| |||||1438|||| ||||1439||/contd…||| |1440|||||||| |1441|||||||| |**1442**|**1443**|**ANALYSIS OF DIRECT COSTS**||||1444
20|1445
20| |**6.**||||||21|20| |1446|1447|||||1448
£|1449
£| |1450|1451|||||1452|1453| |1454|1455|Salaries and pension||||1456260,1|1457201,5| |||||||46|94| |1458|1459|Freelance and temporary staf||||1460 4,972|1461
-| |1462|1463|Staf costs||||1464 3,758|1465 1,149| |1466|1467|Volunteers expenses||||1468
-|1469329| |1470|1471|External meetings||||1472250|1473 1,164| |1474|1475|Membership and subscriptions||||1476 2,677|1477 1,178| |1478|1479|Marketing||||1480505|1481359| |1482|1483|Project partner costs||||1484286,3|1485264,6| |||||||25|73| |1486|1487|Other project costs||||1488 3,105|1489 5,370| |1490|1491|||||1492─────|1493─────| |||||||─|─| |1494|||||1495|1496£561,|1497£475,| |||||||738|816| |1498|||||1499|1500═════|1501═════| |||||||═|═| |1502|||||||| |**1503**|**1504**|**ANALYSIS OF SUPPORT COSTS**||||1505
20|1506
20| |**7.**||||||21|20| |1507|1508|||||1509
£|1510
£| |1511|1512|||||1513|1514| |1515|1516|Salaries and pension||||1517125,5|1518117,1| |||||||97|70| |1519|1520|Freelance and temporary staf||||152118,08|152222,82| |||||||1|5| |1523|1524|Staf costs||||15253,319|15268,038| |1527|1528|Volunteers expenses||||1529
-|15301,635| |1531|1532|Membership and subscriptions||||1533850|15341,716| |1535|1536|External meetings and events||||1537
-|1538242| |1539|1540|IT support and maintenance||||154111,57|154211,71| |||||||8|9| |1543|1544|Insurance||||15451,500|15461,598| |1547|1548|Rent||||15498,000|15508,000| |1551|1552|Telephone||||15532,637|15544,015| |1555|1556|Ofce expenses||||1557324|15582,052| |1559|1560|HR advice||||15612,514|15622,481| |1563|1564|Depreciation||||15655,408|15665,056| |1567|1568|Bank charges||||1569 97|1570 74| |1571|1572|Health and safety||||1573158|1574354| |1575|1576|Governance costs (see Note 8)||||15774,319|15784,486| |1579|1580|||||1581────|1582─────| |||||||──|─| |1583|||||1584|1585£184,|1586£191,| |||||||382|461| |1587|||||1588|1589════|1590═════| |||||||══|═| |1591|||||||| |1592|||||||| 60 |||||**1593**|**REAL DPO LTD**|**REAL DPO LTD**|**REAL DPO LTD**|||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||||1594|||||| ||||1595|NOTES TO|THE|FINANCIAL STATEMENTS||||| ||||||1596|||||| ||||**1597**|FOR THE YEAR||ENDED 31 MARCH 2021||||| ||||||1598|||||| |||||1599||/contd…||||| |1600||||||||||| |1601||||||||||| |**1602**|**1603 **|**GOVERNANCE COSTS**|||||||1604
20|1605
20| |**8.**|||||||||21|20| |1606|1607||||||||1608
£|1609
£| |1610|1611||||||||1612|1613| |1614|1615|Trustees’ expenses|||||||1616551|1617718| |1618|1619|Audit fees|||||||16203,720|16213,720| |1622|1623|Filing costs|||||||1624 48|1625 48| |1626|1627||||||||1628────|1629─────| ||||||||||─|| |1630|1631||||||||1632£4,31|1633£4,48| ||||||||||9|6| |1634|1635||||||||1636═══|1637════| |1638||||||||||| |1639||||||||||| |**1640**|**1641**|**NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) FOR THE YEAR**|||||||1642
20|1643
20| |**9.**|||||||||21|20| |1644|1645||||||||1646|1647| |1648|1649|This is stated after||charging:|||||1650|1651| |1652|1653||Auditor’s remuneration||||- audit|services|1654£3,12|1655£3,12| ||||||||||0|0| |1656|1657|||-||non-audit||services|1658£600|1659£600| ||(accountancy)|||||||||| |1660|1661|Depreciation|||||||1662£5,40|1663£6,14| ||||||||||8|0| |1664|1665|Operating lease rentals|||||||1666£8,00|1667£8,00| ||||||||||0|0| |1668|1669||||||||1670═══|1671════| |1672||||||||||| |1673||||||||||| |**1674**|**1675**|**STAFF COSTS**|||||||1676
20|1677
20| |**10.**|||||||||21|20| |1678|1679||||||||1680
£|1681
£| |1682|1683||||||||1684|1685| |1686|1687|Salaries|||||||1688350,3|1689288,4| ||||||||||66|46| |1690|1691|Social security costs|||||||169227,22|169322,97| ||||||||||7|6| |1694|1695|Pension costs|||||||16968,150|16977,342| |1698|1699||||||||1700────|1701─────| ||||||||||──|─| |1702||||||||1703|1704£385,|1705£318,| ||||||||||743|764| |1706||||||||1707|1708════|1709═════| ||||||||||══|═| |1710||||||||||| ||1711|No employee received employee benefts (excluding employer pension costs) of||||||||| ||more|than £60,000|in either year.|||||||| 1712 1713 The average number of employees based on full-time equivalents was 10.6 (2020: 8.8). The average monthly number of employees was 14 (2020: 12). 1714 1715 Total employee benefits received by key management personnel amounted to £64,190 (2020: £64,212). 1716 61 1717 Under FRS102, employee benefits include gross salary, benefits in kind, employer’s national insurance contributions and employer’s pension costs. 1718 1719 **172011. TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES** 1721 1722 The trustees received no remuneration during either year. Travel and subsistence costs of £Nil (2020: £59) were reimbursed to Nil (2020: three) trustees. The cost of providing refreshments at Board meetings amounted to £Nil (2020: £71), trustees training £Nil (2020: £282) and trustees insurance of £551 (2020 : £306). 1723 62 |||**1724**|**REAL DPO LTD**|**REAL DPO LTD**|**REAL DPO LTD**|||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||1725|||||| ||1726|NOTES TO|THE|FINANCIAL STATEMENTS||||| ||||1727|||||| ||**1728**|FOR THE YEAR||ENDED 31 MARCH 2021||||| ||||1729|||||| |||1730||/contd…||||| |1731||||||||| |1732||||||||| |1733||||||||| |**173 1735 **|**TANGIBLE FIXED**|**ASSETS**||1736|1737|Furn|1738
Com|1739| |**17401741**||||1742|1743|Fixtu|1744
and|1745
Total| |**17461747**||||1748|1749|Equi|1750
Equi|1751| |**17521753**||||1754|1755|£|1756
£|1757
£| |**1758**1759|Cost:|||1760|1761||1762|1763| |**1764**1765|At 1 April 2020|||1766|1767|5,784|1768 95,485|1769 101,269| |**1770**1771|Additions|||1772|1773|-|1774 14,514|1775
14,514| |**1776**1777|Disposals|||1778|1779|-|1780
-|1781
-| |**1782**1783||||1784|1785──────||1786──────|1787──────| |**1788**1789|At 31 March 2021|||1790|1791|5,784|1792109,99|1793 115,783| |**1794**1795||||1796|1797──────||1798──────|1799──────| |**1800**1801|Depreciation:|||1802|1803||1804|1805| |**1806**1807|At 1 April 2020|||1808|1809|5,784|1810 90,248|1811
96,032| |**1812**1813|Charge for year|||1814|1815|-|1816
5,408|1817
5,408| |**1818**1819|Eliminated on disposal|||1820|1821|-|1822
-|1823
-| |**1824**1825||||1826|1827──────||1828──────|1829──────| |**1830**1831|At 31 March 2021|||1832|1833|5,784|1834 95,656|1835 101,440| |**1836**1837||||1838|1839──────||1840──────|1841──────| |**1842**1843|Net Book Value:|||1844|1845||1846|1847| |**1848**1849|At 31 March 2021|||1850|1851£Nil||1852£14,34|1853 £14,343| |**1854**1855||||1856|1857══════||1858══════|1859══════| |**1860**1861|At 31 March 2020|||1862|1863£Nil||1864 £5,237|1865
£5,237| |**1866**1867||||1868|1869══════||1870══════|1871══════| |1872||||||||| |1873||||||||| |1874||||||||| |1875||||||||| |**187 1877**|**DEBTORS**||||||1878
2021|1879
2020| |18801881|||||||1882
£|1883
£| |18841885|||||||1886|1887| |18881889|Trade debtors||||||1890131,681|1891150,696| |18921893|Accrued income||||||1894 23,975|1895 19,301| |18961897|Prepayments||||||1898
7,684|1899
2,837| |19001901|Other debtors||||||1902
27|1903
-| |19041905|||||||1906──────|1907──────| |19081909|||||||1910£163,36|1911£172,83| |19121913|||||||1914══════|1915══════| |19161917|||||||1918|1919| 63 ## **1920 REAL DPO LTD** 1921 1922 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1923 **1924** FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 1925 1926 /contd… |1927|1927|||||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |19281929|||||||||1930||1931|| |**193 **|**1933**|**CREDITORS: Amounts**|||**falling due**||**within one**||1934
2021||1935
2020|| |19361937|||||||||1938
£||1939
£|| |19401941|||||||||1942|||1943| |19441945Trade creditors|||||||||1946 19,931||1947 12,070|| |19481949Other creditors|||||||||1950
-||1951
1,597|| |19521953Social security and|||other|taxes|||||1954
8,607||1955
5,142|| |19561957Accrued expenses|||||||||1958124,711||1959 96,986|| |19601961|||||||||1962──────||1963──────|| |19641965|||||||||1966£153,24||1967£115,79|| |19681969|||||||||1970══════||1971══════|| |1972||||||||||||| |1973||||||||||||| |1974|**1975 **|**MOVEMENT**|1976|Bala||1977||1978|1979|1980||Balan| |**15**|**IN FUNDS**||nce at|||||||||ce at| |1981|1982||1983||1|1984||1985|1986||1987
31|| |||||April||||||||March| |1988|**1989**||1990|202||1991
Inc||1992
Exp|1993
Tr||1994|2021| |||||0||ome||enditur|ansf|||| |||||||||e|ers|||| |1995|1996||1997||£|1998
£||1999
£|2000
£||2001
£|| |2002|**2003 **|**Unrestricted**|2004|||2005||2006|2007||2008|| ||**funds**|||||||||||| |2009|2010General funds||2011 120,3|||2012 589,||2013 (553,8|2014219|2015||156,10| ||||17|||432||62)|||6|| |2016|2017||2018─────|||2019────||2020─────|2021───|2022──────||| ||||─|||───||──|──|||| |2023|2024||2025 120,3|||2026 589,||2027 (553,8|2028219|2029||156,10| ||||17|||432||62)|||6|| |2030|2031||2032─────|||2033────||2034─────|2035───|2036──────||| ||||─|||───||──|──|||| |2037|**2038 **|**Restricted**|2039|||2040||2041|2042|2043||| ||**funds**|||||||||||| |2044|2045LCF - TCOYL||2046||-|2047 72,9||2048 (67,83|2049
-|2050||5,074| |||||||05||1)||||| |2051|2052LCRF||2053||-|2054 5,52||2055 (5,298|2056(22|2057||-| |||||||1||)|3)|||| |2058|2059WTT||2060||-|2061 5,50||2062 (2,784|2063
-|2064||2,716| |||||||0||)||||| |2065|2066;LCF – Then &||2067||-|2068 135,||2069 (113,7|2070
-|2071||21,507| ||Now|||||243||36)||||| |2072|2073ILS – PHB||2074 551|||2075|-|2076
-|2077
-|2078||551| |2079|2080ILS – SFC||2081|11,66||2082|-|2083
-|2084
-|2085||11,660| ||||0|||||||||| |2086|2087ATW||2088||-|2089 2,60||2090 (2,609|2091 4|2092||-| |||||||5||)||||| |2093|2094||2095─────|||2096────||2097─────|2098───|2099──────||| ||||─|||───||──|──|||| |2100|2101||2102|12,21||2103 221,||2104 (192,2|2105(21|2106||41,508| ||||1|||774||58)|9)|||| |2107|2108||2109─────|||2110────||2111─────|2112───|2113──────||| ||||─|||───||──|──|||| |2114|**2115 **|**Total funds**|2116£132,|||2117£811||2118£(746,|2119£Nil|2120£197,6||| ||||528|||,206||120)|||14|| 64 2121 2122 2123═════ 2124 ════ 2125═════ 2126═══ 2127══════ ═ ═══ ══ ══ 2128 2129 2130 2131 A description of the above funds can be found in the Trustees’ Annual Report. Transfers have been made from restricted funds to general funds as the ATW project is completed. 65 **2132 REAL DPO LTD** 2133 2134 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2135 **2136** FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 2137 2138 /contd… ## 2139 ||2140|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**2141**|**2142 **|**MOVEMENT**|2143|2144|2145|2146|2147|| |**15**|**IN FUNDS**|||||||| |2148|2149contd||2150|2151|2152|2153|2154|| |2155|2156|||||||| ||2157|Comparative information for||the movement|in funds in the previous||fnancial year|| ||is|as follows:||||||| |||||2158||||| |2159|2160||2161
Bala|2162|2163|2164|2165|Balan| ||||nce at|||||ce at| |2166|2167||2168
1|2169|2170|2171|2172
31|| ||||April|||||March| |2173|**2174**||2175
201|2176
Inc|2177
Exp|2178
Tr|2179|2020| ||||9|ome|enditur|ansf||| ||||||e|ers||| |2180|2181||2182 £|2183 £|2184 £|2185 £|2186 £|| |2187|**2188 **|**Unrestricted**|2189|2190|2191|2192|2193|| ||**funds**|||||||| |2194|2195General funds||2196 213,9|2197 571,|2198 (664,6|219912|2200|120,31| ||||51|046|92)||7|| |2201|2202||2203─────|2204────|2205─────|2206───|2207──────|| ||||─|───|──|──||| |2208|2209||2210 213,9|2211 571,|2212 (664,6|221312|2214|120,31| ||||51|046|92)||7|| |2215|2216||2217─────|2218────|2219─────|2220───|2221──────|| ||||─|───|──|──||| |2222|**2223 **|**Restricted**|2224|2225|2226|2227|2228|| ||**funds**|||||||| |2229|2230ILS – PHB||2231 551|2232
-|2233
-|2234
-|2235|551| |2236|2237ILS – SFC||2238 11,66|2239
-|2240
-|2241
-|2242|11,660| ||||0|||||| |2243|2244ATW||2245
-|2246 2,59|2247 (2,585|2248(12|2249|-| |||||7|)|)||| |2250|2251||2252─────|2253────|2254─────|2255───|2256──────|| ||||─|───|──|──||| |2257|2258||2259 12,21|2260 2,59|2261 (2,585|2262
-|2263|12,211| ||||1|7|)|||| |2264|2265||2266─────|2267────|2268─────|2269───|2270──────|| ||||─|───|──|──||| |2271|2272**Total funds**||2273£226,|2274£573|2275£(667,|2276£Nil|2277£132,5|| ||||162|,643|277)||28|| |2278|2279||2280═════|2281════|2282═════|2283═══|2284══════|| ||||═|═══|══|══||| |2285|2286||2287|2288|2289|2290|2291|| |2292|2293|||||||| 2294A description of the above funds can be found in the Trustees’ Annual Report. Transfers have been made from restricted funds to general funds. |2295||||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |2296||||||||||| |2297|2298**NET **|**ASSETS **|**BETWEEN**|2299|2300|Unre|2301|Re|2302|Tot| |**16**|**FUNDS**||||stricted||strict|||al| |||||||||ed||| |2303|2304|||2305|2306|funds|2307|fund|2308|fund| |||||||||s||s| 66 |2309|**2310**|2311|2312 £|2313 £|2313 £|2314 £| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |2315|2316|2317|2318|2319||2320| |2321|2322Fixed assets|2323|2324 14,34|2325|-|2326 14,3| ||||3|||43| |2327|2328Current assets|2329|2330 295,0|2331 41,5||2332336,| ||||12|08||520| |2333|2334Current liabilities|2335|2336(153,2|2337|-|2338(153,| ||||49)|||249)| |2339|2340|2341|2342─────|2343────||2344────| ||||─|──||──| |2345|**2346 As at 31 March 2021**|2347|2348£156,|2349£41,||2350£197| ||||106|508||,614| |2351|2352|2353|2354═════|2355════||2356════| ||||═|══||══| |2357|2358|2359|2360|2361||2362| |2363||||||| |2364||||||| 67 **2365 REAL DPO LTD** 2366 2367 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2368 **2369** FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 2370 2371 /contd… ## 2372 ## 2373 2374 2375 **NET ASSETS BETWEEN 16 FUNDS** contd 2376 2377 2378 2379 2380 2381 2382 Comparative information for the analysis of net assets between funds in the previous financial year is as follows: ||||2383|||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |2384|**2385**||2386|2387 Unrest|2388 Restr|2389 Total| |||||ricted|icted|| |2390|2391||2392|2393 funds|2394 fund|2395 fund| ||||||s|s| |2396|2397||2398|2399 £|2400 £|2401 £| |2402|2403||2404|2405|2406|2407| |2408|2409Fixed assets||2410|2411 5,237|2412
-|2413 5,23| |||||||7| |2414|2415Current assets||2416|2417 230,8|2418 12,2|2419243,| |||||75|11|086| |2420|2421Current liabilities||2422|2423(115,7|2424
-|2425(115,| |||||95)||795)| |2426|2427||2428|2429─────|2430────|2431────| |||||─|──|──| |2432|**2433 **|**As at 31 March 2020**|2434|2435£120,|2436£12,|2437£132| |||||317|211|,528| |2438|2439||2440|2441═════|2442════|2443════| |||||═|══|══| |2444|2445||2446|2447|2448|2449| |2450||||||| |2451||||||| |2452|**17.**|**RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS**||||| |2453||||||| 2454 There have been no transactions with related parties during the year ended 31 March 2021 or the preceding year other than those set out in notes 10 and 11. 2455 2456 2457 **18. CONTINGENT ASSETS** 2458 2459 Total grant funding awarded as at 31 March 2021 but not yet received and recognised as income due to the recognition criteria not being met amounts to £416,296. 68