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2023-03-31-accounts

ESCAPE Familysupport Annual Report 2022/23 S￿l0t￿rI￿￿E1￿ Investors in People Health & Wellbeing Award WINNER ESCAPE INVESTORS IN PEOPLE ung heToe5

Table of Contents

Page 1 - Chair’s Report

Page 2 - Our Mission, Vision and Aims & Objectives

Page 3 - The Need for Our Services

Page 7 - CRAFT Training & Teen Triple P

Page 10 - Family Champions, Volunteering & Peer Mentoring

Page 12 - Activities Calendar (continued) & Partnership Work & The Future Page 13 - The Future Continued & Thanks to our Volunteers

Page 14 - Thanks to our Funders

ESCAPE Family Support

Susan Kennedy Centre

63 South View

Ashington

NE63 0SF

Charity No. 1063500

Registered in England No. 3256554

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CHAIRS REPORT
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The last year has passed so fast I can hardly believe it is time to present our Annual Report for 2022/2023 - such a lot has happened! 2022/2023 has been a momentous year for ESCAPE in more ways than one. This Report tells the story of our work serving our beneficiaries – the families, carers, adults, children and young people, and the communities of Northumberland who have all been adversely affected one way or another by the addictive behaviours of their loved ones.

Our third major cause for celebration in 2022 was ESCAPE’s 25[th] Anniversary. We celebrated the event in September 2022 at our headquarters and invited colleagues old and new; public and private, local and regional partner organisations; and funders to share reminiscences and congratulations for the joint effort in reaching this milestone event and to look forward to a future working together. We have come a very long way over the years and are proud to still be a vital source of support for so many people in the County. Long may it continue.

The number of people supported by ESCAPE in 2022/2023 outstripped the number supported in 2021/2022, beyond our expectations. The need for the support we provide in its various ways never goes away. ESCAPE continues to be the only specialist provider of support services to people in Northumberland adversely affected by the addictive behaviour of their loved ones and we are committed to continuing to provide this service. We listen to what our beneficiaries tell us about their experiences of using our services and their hopes for the future and we respond to their feedback to the best of our ability. We keep in close contact with our commissioners and funders to ensure we are responding to their needs. Without their support, we would not be able to function and I thank them.

Our work has been recognised in some special ways in 2022/2023. We were enormously honoured and totally bowled over to win the North-East Small Charity of the Year Award 2022. The finalists presented us with extremely stiff competition and our congratulations go to them for their achievements. Following our award of the Platinum level of Investors in People, we were shortlisted in the category for the National Winner at Platinum level; another level of achievement we had not expected. All of this was only possible due to the unfailing dedication and excellent work of every member of staff, our army of willing volunteers, and the leadership and guidance of the board of trustees and notably, our Founder and Chief Executive.

As we look forward to 2023/2024, we know we face increasing demands on our service which is unfortunately matched by reducing funding sources with ever- stricter funding criteria. This presents us with an increasingly difficult challenge to manage, which we are tackling with determination and imagination. We are immensely grateful to our current funders, many of which have supported us over the years, and to our more recent funders with whom we hope to develop ongoing relationships.

I do hope you enjoy reading this Annual Report and find it both informative and uplifting.

J Axelby

Jackie L M Axelby

Chair, ESCAPE Family Support Ltd

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VISION
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ESCAPE’s focus for the future is on ensuring we continue to be a sustainable organisation capable of ensuring our unique service offer is available to those people who need it, when they need it.

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VALUES
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As an organisation, and as individuals who are involved with ESCAPE in any capacity, we all uphold the Values below:

WE STRIVE TO BE THE BEST WE CAN BE

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MISSION STATEMENT
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Empowering families, carers, adults, young people and children and the communities of Northumberland to improve their mental and physical health and well-being to reduce the impact of addictions, social and lifestyle pressures, and risky behaviours.

WE ARE RESPECTFUL

~~AIMS & OBJECTIVES~~

 We are tolerant and understanding of people’s different needs.

To provide services and support, counselling, mediation, education and training to improve the mental and physical health and well-being of children, adults, families and communities in Northumberland, and elsewhere as the Association may determine.

CARE

 We care about the health and well-being of families, including adults, young people, children, and communities.

Services will be provided to those individuals, families and communities who are vulnerable due to poverty and hardship or are affected by their own or others’ misuse of substances detrimental to health and well-being, or who are impacted by their own or others’ risky behaviours.

 We recognise the important role that families and carers play in their loved one’s recovery journey.

 We recognise and promote the families and carers need for support in their own right.

Services will be of consistently high quality and tailored to meet the needs of the individuals, families and communities served.

To work in partnership with statutory and non-statutory organisations in Northumberland and elsewhere as the Association may determine in the furtherance of developing strategic relationships and service delivery routes and mechanisms to promote and sustain service delivery.

WE INNOVATE AND LEARN

KEY PRIORITIES FOR 2023/24

 We search out best practice to guide our improvements in service delivery.

WE WORK TOGETHER

 We embrace working in partnership with other organisations to improve service delivery.

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Additionally, children experience Hidden Harm within family settings when impacted by chaotic behaviours. We work with children by raising awareness of risks and increasing protective factors through training.

ESCAPE’s confidential support services are low threshold, person centred, tailored to needs of individuals. Through comprehensive assessment and personalised care planning we help beneficiaries identify their priorities, achieve their goals and improve their lives. The Family Team’s work is aligned with Adfam's ‘We Count Too: Good Practice Guide and Quality Standards’ we deliver 24/7 helpline, crisis support, advice, information, advocacy, 1-1 support, counselling, bereavement support, befriending, peer support, family therapy, support groups, help family members work together and support people with a family member going through the court system or in prison. Respite provision includes, arts/crafts, coffee mornings, gardening, caravan breaks, family fun days and wellbeing activities.

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THE NEED FOR OUR SERVICES
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Information taken from Northumberland Substance Misuse Health Needs Assessment, 2020 unless otherwise stated.

Therapeutic trauma informed interventions we use are evidence based: Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) including maintenance groups, Adult and Young People Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) training, Health and Wellbeing Workshops, Drug and Alcohol Awareness, Overdose Prevention training. Parenting programmes include Teen Triple P and Supporting Parents & Children Emotionally (SPACE trauma).

Mortality related to substance misuse has been increasing in Northumberland. From 2008 to 2018 there was an average of 166 alcohol related deaths every year in the county. In 2018, there were 180 alcohol related deaths, this equates to a rate of 51.2 deaths per 100,000 population and is the highest annual rate of alcohol related deaths since 2012. Since 2008, the rate of alcohol related deaths has remained relatively stable and has not been significantly higher than England. New ONS data shows that the North East has seen an increase in alcohol related deaths (from 16.6 to 20.0 deaths per 100,000 people, an increase of 20.5%, 2020).

Mandatory training for Volunteers, Peer Mentors, Family Champions is accredited. ESCAPE is a NOCN & AIM registered training centre providing personal learning, accredited training including:

Level 1: Befriending,

Level 2: Peer Mentoring, Support Skills, Supporting Families Affected by Addiction, Family Dynamics. Soft Skills Training (motivation, boundaries etc.).

Drug related mortality is the third most common cause of death among people aged 15-49 in the UK. Drug related deaths are significantly higher in the North East than all other English regions. New ONS figures (2020) show there were 36 drug-related deaths recorded in the area in 2020 – up from 28 the year before and a further 37 deaths in 2021 (2021).

ESCAPE deliver impartial, stand-alone services but work in partnership with statutory & voluntary agencies/groups engaging in multi-agency work, developing pathways, sustainable approaches. We also sign-post and make onward referrals to other relevant organisations. As a community led organisation, our provision is shaped and informed by our involvement in multi-agency partnership working and intelligence, referral, and analysis of own data/information.

Substance misuse is associated with many social impacts including crime, domestic abuse and adverse childhood experiences.

ESCAPE Family Support is Northumberland’s community led ESCAPE recognise the need for equity of access and fairness response to drug and alcohol use, founded 1995 in Blyth by in the standard of service delivery for all. ESCAPE values Janet Murphy MBE, after her 16-year-old daughter died from cultural diversity: people have different needs, beliefs, values, drug poisoning. The charity is a well-established service abilities and diversity needs to be respected and promoted. delivering support across the county to families and carers of We have an Equality and Diversity Policy which is the substance users through our Family Team, Young People (YP) foundation of our services. Our team is trained to ensure through our YP Team, volunteering, peer mentoring and no-one will be discriminated against on grounds of gender, befriending opportunities through our Training Projects. age, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or any ESCAPE has developed services filling gaps in local provision other characteristic. and adding value to commissioned services.

ESCAPE seeks to improve negative impacts experienced by integrates individuals from diverse backgrounds, works to families including shame, guilt, psychological distress, reduce stigma including black, ethnic minority, lesbian, gay, ill-health, social isolation, reduced quality of life, damaged/ bisexual, and transgender communities, refugees, and those difficult family relationships, financial impacts, caring for children of substance users. affected by mental or emotional health.

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RECOGNITION
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ESCAPE’S most recent accolades include winning Small Charity of the Year at the prestigious NorthEast Charity Awards in October 2022. “The Annual Northeast Charity Awards celebrate charities, the voluntary sector and the people and companies that support them”. They celebrate, showcase, and shine a light on the region’s top charities, as well as charity leaders and individual fundraisers. ESCAPE was up against some outstanding organisations in the final and winning this award is a testament to the dedication of our staff, volunteers, trustees, and stakeholders.

Our strength lies in our people and our team; we invest in their training and development. We have worked with the Investor in People standard since 2003, gaining Investor in People Gold in January 2010 and we are especially proud to have achieved Investor in People Platinum Standard in March 2022. Our Investor in People Insights Report highlighted that we should be proud of:

Your people are passionate about the work they do and the communities they serve

You are constantly exploring and introducing improvements to your people practices. We saw new activities such as peer support meetings and the development of services in response to the pandemic, that indicated your dedication to continually improve

We were shortlisted from the Top 20 Investor in People Platinum organisations in the UK to the Top 10 and were delighted to be a finalist in the Investor in People Platinum UK Employer of the Year Awards 2022.

Inspirational leadership that is influencing how people behave with the organisation (role modelling) as well as motivating them to perform at their best

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25 YEARS IN SERVICE
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We held a 25[th] Anniversary event in September 2022 to celebrate 25 years of being a registered charity. We invited a wide range of stakeholders including funders, statutory and VCSE partner agencies, carers, young people. We showcased an exhibition of our history and work and Professor Chris Hartworth gave a presentation on the work we have undertaken on the YP and Family Champions projects and the findings of his evaluation ensuring that we have disseminated the results widely. Copies of the evaluation were placed within the information packs for the day for people to take away.

(Burying the time capsule)

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~~ESCAPE IMPACT~~

Beneficiaries of the service

Level of
Intensity
Service Descripton
Tier One
Advice, informaton, newsleter, art groups,
cofee morning
Tier Two
One-to-one support, advocacy, befriending,
structured mutual aid groups such as
Bereavement,
Kinship
or
CRAFT
Maintenance,
Health
and
Wellbeing
workshops and Respite
Tier Three
Keyworker Crisis support, Counselling and
CRAFT, Adverse Childhood Experiences and
Parentng Programmes
INTENSITY OF SERVICE
& DESCRIPTION		 Level of
Intensity
Service Descripton
Tier One
Advice, informaton, newsleter, art groups,
cofee morning
Tier Two
One-to-one support, advocacy, befriending,
structured mutual aid groups such as
Bereavement,
Kinship
or
CRAFT
Maintenance,
Health
and
Wellbeing
workshops and Respite
Tier Three
Keyworker Crisis support, Counselling and
CRAFT, Adverse Childhood Experiences and
Parentng Programmes
INTENSITY OF SERVICE
& DESCRIPTION
Level of
Intensity		 Service Descripton
Tier One Advice, informaton, newsleter, art groups,
cofee morning
Tier Two One-to-one support, advocacy, befriending,
structured mutual aid groups such as
Bereavement,
Kinship
or
CRAFT
Maintenance,
Health
and
Wellbeing
workshops and Respite
Tier Three Keyworker Crisis support, Counselling and
CRAFT, Adverse Childhood Experiences and
Parentng Programmes

Of the 390 total individuals, 266 have been closed as follows:

ESCAPE worked with 390 individuals, adults and young people (YP) across the reporting period. The year started with 162 cases carried over from the previous year, 74 of these open cases were Tier 3 with intensive needs. An Increase of 94.74% on 31/03/21.

We received a total of 228 new referrals (22/23) which is a 10.14 % increase on the previous year (21/22 - 207 individuals), which was also a 57.24% increase in caseload from 20/21.

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Support completed successfully with mutually
agreed planned exit
Dropped out
Treatment declined by client
Deceased (carer-old age)
Moved out of area
Inappropriate referrals
Other
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NEW REFERRALS

This resulted in 78.57% (209) of the 266 closed cases having reported positive outcomes with improvements in their health and wellbeing and lives. We capture improvement and transitional success for beneficiaries using a range of tools: Carer Support Outcome Profile/CSOP, ACE’s Tools, Rosenberg Questionnaires, Outcome Action Plans, focus groups and service questionnaires.

SUCCESS MEASURE: Reduction in isolation and improvement in social integration

292 beneficiaries reported improved social isolation

64 accessed respite provision

278 attended group work (including training)

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CRAFT TRAINING
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herself and hopefully enable her to motivate her daughter to seek support for their recovery. The client began CRAFT in a group setting with 8 other members, quite quickly there was a mutual understanding and supportive atmosphere, mum met others who were going through something similar and felt relaxed enough to listen to and put into place the techniques encouraged in CRAFT. Mum became confident in her ability to change the way she coped with the situation and was able to use her communication skills daily to change the atmosphere in the home. The impact of this was huge, the family were able to communicate regularly without things ending in arguments, both dad and sibling came into service with ESCAPE too, and this allowed the whole family to approach the situation in a similar manner.

ESCAPE provide a number of training opportunities for carers, from accredited courses such as befriending and mentoring, to general non-accredited training such as relaxation or well-being. A cornerstone of the training program is delivering the community reinforcement and family training, or CRAFT., which is an 8 week course intended to improve outcomes for all family members. CRAFT is taken by most service users and is reported to have had a significantly beneficial impact on relationships across the family.

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[All courses and especially ]
CRAFT helped me to under-
stand my son and his ac-
tions. I volunteer now be-
cause I wanted to give back
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psychologist support, the drug use stopped. Several changes have been reported including, less aggression, positive communication, improved mental wellbeing, self-care, and family relationships.

Mum has returned to work and reports she feels relaxed in her own home and is able to approach situations in a calm supportive and positive manner. Mum is now part of monthly CRAFT maintenance group and active in our CRAFT WhatsApp support group both environments where mutual learning and experience is shared.

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CRAFT had a huge difference in the
way I communicated with my son and
has had an enormous benefit to us
both
Client Success
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Cath (not real name) 19 years, had been misusing cocaine regularly, lost her job and relationships with family and friends were broken. In denial about the substance use, and the wider impacts on the family Cath refused to access treatment services. Her behaviours were very unpredictable, and her parents and siblings were struggling to cope with the chaos of home life.

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TEEN TRIPLE P
TRAINING
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Mum was referred to ESCAPE via GP. At this point mum, a medical professional who loved her job, had become so worried and overwhelmed she had to take time off. At the beginning of ESCAPE’s involvement, the mother presented as exhausted, frustrated, angry, unsure of what to do or say and desperate for guidance and understanding. At first assessment her emotional and physical wellbeing was low.

Delivery of Teen Triple P parenting programmes x 2 resulted in 8 successful completions.

It was agreed weekly 1-2-1 support calls, and the Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) approach would enable this client to develop the skills she needed to manage her daughter’s chaotic behaviours, help her to look after

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TESTIMONIALS
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ESCAPE Family Support, and in particular their lead practitioner Elaine Toopchizadagan, have been invaluable as a support for a number of our higher need students at Bede. Everyday we see the consequences of ACEs for too many of the students we teach. Their access to learning and therefore their future life chances are significantly impacted by both past and on-going harms in their home lives. Schools require access to expertise in these areas to enable and promote the well-being, learning and opportunities for these students. Without ESCAPE and Elaine, many of our students would not be managing and making the progress they are. We see Elaine go above and beyond in her work with our young people, from meetings in school, holiday activities and emergency out-reach. She is highly respected by our Welfare Team and we are grateful not only for the guidance and support she gives to our students, but also for the support she is to us as a Welfare Team who need to be able to link with experts in order to provide the best opportunities to children in greatest need.

I have had the pleasure of working with the team at ESCAPE Family Support on a number of occasions recently. I have referred 3 young people to ESCAPE over the past 18 months from our service as during our work with them, it was apparent their emotional health was impacted by complex and challenging experiences. The referral process was easy and the support offered to these young people was swift and flexible to meet the needs of each young person. I received feedback from the team at ESCAPE around each case following their input and they have always been helpful when needing to seek information about their service. I have also had positive feedback from parents who have reported that they can see the impact the 1-1 sessions and group sessions have had on their children. ESCAPE is a valued partner to our service (Growing Healthy 0-19 Northumberland Service).

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ESCAPE is a much needed
organisation and the only one
supporting families living
with the chaos of addiction in
their families that I know in
the area
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Ginelle Clough, Northumberland Community Anchor, Growing Healthy 0-19 Northumberland Service

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Only one who ever
listened to me or tried
to help before. Only one
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YOUNG PEOPLE PILOT
PROJECT (ACE’S)
The experiences we have early in our
lives and particularly in our early childhoods
have a huge impact on how we grow and
develop, our physical and mental health, and
our thoughts, feelings and
behaviour
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Client Success

ESCAPE Young People (YP) service was promoted to Jen’s (not real name) mother after she came to an appointment with her worker for bereavement support after recently losing her husband. Mum stated her daughter was really struggling as well. ESCAPE YP worker gave advice and offer of support was extended, mum agreed to discuss offer of support from ESCAPE with her daughter on her return home.

Shortly after this conversation mum responded confirming her daughter Jen would like support so a meeting was set up shortly afterwards and a combination of bereavement counselling as well as ACE intervention was agreed. At the beginning of her support Jen was struggling in all aspects of her functioning and self-care, she often neglected her needs and lacked motivation. Her education was suffering, and she had taken time off her college course, was isolating herself and couldn’t see a way forward.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are:

“highly stressful, and potentially traumatic, events or situations that occur during childhood and/or adolescence.

They can be a single event, or prolonged threats to, and breaches of, the young person’s safety, security, trust or bodily integrity.” (Young Minds, 2018).

After 4 weeks of support Jen’s presentation began to improve, she was actively practicing self-care and had returned to college. Gradually her confidence began to increase as the sessions continued and Jen learned more coping strategies. Her engagement at ESCAPE attendance at college was excellent, never missing an appointment. As she gained more confidence, she joined an after-school activity where she volunteered weekly.

Examples of ACEs:

Jen recently discharged from ESCAPE and completed a Rosenberg self-esteem scale before and after support ALL scores had improved positively. Jen was asked to complete

a young person’s feedback form during her last session. Her feedback is below (0 = the lowest, 10 = the highest).

For the past three years ESCAPE have been funded by the Lottery to run a pilot Young People ACEs Project (Adverse Childhood Experience Recovery Toolkit) .

Please rate your wellbeing from 0=10 before support at ESCAPE and explain in a few words why. Jen rated herself 0 stating ‘I just couldn’t pick myself up.’

Most of these children and young people have multiple vulnerabilities and are traumatised due to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) because of their family circumstances. Our project offers often marginalised and overlooked children and young people vital support and a pathway to improving their mental health and realising their potential by developing, resilience, confidence, self-esteem, and independence.

Please rate your wellbeing from 0=10 afer support at ESCAPE and explain in a few words why. Jen rated herself 9 stating ‘I use my coping strategies and I’ve learnt to love myself more’.

On discharge Jen left achieving in her education, managing the impact of losing a parent and with hopes and dreams for her future.

This year 50 Young People were supported this year through the YP programme. This brings the total number supported to date across 3-year Lottery funded pilot to 111 in total to March 31, as we supported 19 in Year 1 and 42 in Year 2. Our external evaluation report evidenced that all YP completing ACEs programme have reported improvements to mental health and wellbeing and self-esteem.

“These skills have given me coping strategies with my personal life, to safeguard my opinions of others, to be assertive and understand the needs of others and difficulties that can affect them”

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FAMILY CHAMPIONS, ~~VOLUNTEERING & PEER~~ MENTORING

(Excerpt from external evaluation Barefoot Research 2022 )

The Family Champions and befriending service increases access and ensures interventions are appropriate and engaging to families: service users responded to support from people who understood what they were going through. These experts by experience, backed up by training and support, have been able to provide support in an accessible way to other vulnerable groups. For example, service users reported the following:

Family Champions our “experts by experience” – During this

period we trained 13 individuals and across the three-year pilot, 34 were trained in total. We delivered 2 Programmes of Level 2 Peer Mentoring with 10 individuals achieving this qualification; 1 programme of Level 3 Family Dynamics delivered with 3 individuals gaining this qualification; Level 1 Support Skills was delivered twice with 10 successfully achieving the qualification. The befriending programme was completed by 10 individuals. Running alongside accredited training soft skill training sessions included Health & Safety, Safeguarding, lone working, professional boundaries and Trauma Informed Education (ACE’s).

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Befrienders simply
understand because they have been through it all.
They are friends who understand, they listen. You
can offload all your crap and you aren’t judged and
it never goes further.
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This year, 26 carers with Tier 2/1 needs which have lower-level needs were supported by our Family Champions who delivered 312 hours of voluntary support. Of the 34 trained during the 3-year pilot, 12 Family Champions are active within service delivery at ESCAPE and 22 have moved on with positive outcomes including:

We have learned that training Family Champions supports the work of our paid staff team but also contributes significantly to the positive onward journey of beneficiaries with 33% of those trained moving on into paid employment. Family Champions will therefore be transient, and we will need to be perpetually identifying and training new Champions to benefit from their support.

Client Success

Charley [not real name] came into our service as a carer when her son was taking drugs and self-harming. Charley felt like they were all walking on eggshells within their own home. Through working one to one with a family Support worker then accessing the CRAFT course this enabled Charley to use different strategies and techniques which helped within her own circumstances. Charley then moved on to do her level 2 in peer mentoring to support others going through what she was going through. After also completing Skills for those Affected by Addiction and Level 3 in Family Dynamics as she progressed through her journey, Charley became a volunteer as she wanted to help others who are going through the same experiences with their loved ones. Charley has supported many carers through her family champion role and has been involved with representing ESCAPE at community events. Charley has also co-supported CRAFT group maintenance groups and is now supporting parenting workshops. Charley gained employment as a peer link worker and is now promoting the work of ESCAPE and the Recovery College.

As well as Family champions ESCAPE benefits from additional peer mentors and volunteers who support a whole range of functions, including administration, telephone support, gardening, maintenance etc.

This year they provided a whopping

We are thankful to the contribution each and every volunteer gives.

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This has been a road I am pleased
I have taken and would do it all
again. I am looking forward to
doing more
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~~AN ACTION PACKED YEAR~~

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ALNWICK ELDERBERRIES FOOD PARCEL DISTRIBUTION

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PARTNERSHIP WORK
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Our CEO attended the Northumberland Inequalities Summit in March 2022 and is now a member of the Inequalities Task Force and involved in strategic planning to address inequalities. We have joined the Thriving Together Network and CARE (Northumberland ACEs) network.

We will continue to work with schools and colleges to raise awareness of our work. In September 2022, 22 staff attended freshers week at Kirkley Hall to raise awareness of our drug/ alcohol service and to educate young people with our toolkit, beer goggles and games aimed at raising awareness in a fun way.

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THE FUTURE
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We continue to work hard to build good relationships with Northumberland County Council Senior Managers and Commissioners and have secured a £55,000 Public Health tender for 3-5 years and a £25,000 non-recurrent grant from Adult Services Carer budget for 2023/24 to support the families and carers of substance users. Public Health have also funded a Blyth Family Support Worker post from 01/07/2023 – 31/03/2025 through new Drug Strategy funding. Children’s Services have also commissioned parenting courses from ESCAPE for 2023/24 to be delivered within the family hubs. This demonstrates that we have built relationships and secured funds from a difficult to engage statutory funder and are making progress to sustainability via contracts which we hope to build upon in the next three years.

The charity will continue work to consolidate, maintain, and expand its existing service provision for carers and families in Northumberland. The focus of our work will continue to be to relieve the poverty, sickness and distress of carers and families affected by substance use including children and young people and to advance education and training within communities.

The skills I have learnt will benefit me in the future because I am aware of how to approach addiction and what support to offer

1 1 2

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THE FUTURE
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A new Drug and Alcohol Treatment System Tender was issued by Northumberland County Council in May/June 2023 which started on 1st October 2023. ESCAPE will actively promote YP ACEs programme to bidding providers and develop referral routes into YP Project for the Children/YP of drug and alcohol users on treatment system caseload to address Hidden Harm.

We will continue to promote Peer Mentoring Training & other accredited training to families of those in treatment to increase input of Family Champions throughout the treatment system building on a recent development in yr. 3 of year Lottery funded YP pilot project when we trained 3 recovering drug/alcohol users as Peer Mentors and Family Champions to support others in the treatment system.

We will continue to utilise and embed a mutual aid approach that provides training, opportunities and support to develop a bank of Family Champions who are ‘experts by experience’ and who have expressed their desire to give something back and help others to achieve positive change.

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THANKS TO OUR
VOLUNTEERS
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~~THANKS TO OUR FUNDERS~~

Our grant from National Lottery Reaching Communities for our Inspiring Communities project has again been instrumental in year 3, enabling ESCAPE to sustain, adapt, and enhance its services during 2022/23. This grant provided 27.5% of the costs of the whole organisation throughout the past year, providing stability and continuity of our specialist service provision

14

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2023

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

Annual Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Contents Page

Contents Page
Trustees’ Annual Report 1 to 13
Independent Examiner’s Report 14
Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure account) 15
Balance Sheet 16
Notes to the financial statements 17 to 31

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)

Report of the Management Committee for the year ended 31 March 2023

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective October 2019).

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Company number

03256554 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1063500

Registered office

Susan Kennedy Centre 63 Southview Ashington Northumberland NE63 0SF

Trustees

J L M Axelby Chair T Devine Vice chair H Madin Treasurer J Murphy S J Murphy A Park N Furno

Company Secretary

T Devine

Independent examiner

Connected Voice Business Services Ltd One Strawberry Lane Newcastle upon Tyne Tyne and Wear NE1 4BX

Bank:

Lloyds Bank

Solicitors:- Employment Law

Solicitors:- Employment Law Solicitors:- Property Helen Kay Cuthbertsons HMK Legal Ltd 3 Stanley Street Clavering House Blyth Clavering Place Northumberland Newcastle upon Tyne NE24 2BS NE1 3NG

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

OUR AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Purposes and Aims

Our aims and objectives as set out in the objects contained in the company's memorandum of association are:

i. to provide support, counselling, mediation to relieve the poverty, sickness and distress to drug, alcohol and solvent users’ and their families who are or have been suffering from the misuse of substances, being any substance which is misused to the detriment of the health of the individual in the community of Northumberland and elsewhere as the Association may determine;

ii. to advance education and training of the community of Northumberland and elsewhere as the Association may determine in the problems resulting from non-medical use and abuse of drugs and associated problems; and

iii. to provide support, counselling, and mediation to relieve the poverty, sickness and distress of vulnerable adults in the community of Northumberland and elsewhere as the Association may determine.

Ensuring our work delivers our aims

Our aims, objectives and activities are reviewed annually. This involves evaluating what we have achieved and the outputs and outcomes of our work in the aforementioned 12 months. The success of key activities and benefits these bring to our beneficiaries are appraised. This ensures that that our aims, objectives and activities continue to focus on our specified purposes, facilitates continuous service improvement and prevents mission drift. We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aim and objectives and in planning our future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.

The focus of our work

Our main objectives for the year were to maintain high-quality service delivery to vulnerable families, carers and young people in Northumberland, particularly those who are affected by a loved one’s addiction; to continue the review and strengthening of systems and to increase funds raised to ensure long term sustainability of our work.

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

How our activities deliver public benefit:

Our main activities and people we try to assist are outlined below. All our charitable activities are focused on relieving poverty, sickness and distress, the provision of support to vulnerable families, particularly those affected by substance misuse, and the provision of education and training to advance our charitable purposes for the public benefit of Northumberland.

Who needs, used, and benefited from our services?

Our funding and resources continue to focus our main service provision to residents of Northumberland. Northumberland has a population of over 320,000 people, many scattered thinly in relatively isolated towns and settlements across expanses of countryside, whilst a significant concentration live in the south east of the county in declining economic communities. The county of Northumberland is a unitary authority. People in parts of Northumberland suffer extremes of poverty with low average incomes in three of the county's previous six district areas, with demonstrable inequalities of income across the county. In common with other areas of the U.K., Northumberland continues to experience drug taking along with an increase in alcohol use amongst its population.

The North East has had the highest rate of drug misuse for the past ten consecutive years (between 2013 and 2022), before this Wales had a higher rate than all English regions (between 2010 and 2012). The North East continues to be statistically significantly higher than all other regions of England as well as Wales. (ONS 3 August 2022).

The statistics for deaths by drug misuse and figures for death by drug poisoning both show that the North East region has the highest death rate in England and Wales, at almost twice the national average. There were 1,123 deaths linked to drug misuse in the North East between 2019 and 2021, which works out at an average annual rate of 204.1 per 1,000,000 people, almost twice as high as England's average rate of 102.8 for the same period (ONS 3 August 2022).

The North East also has the highest rate of deaths for drug poisoning, which include the misuse figures along with statistics for deaths caused by complications such as deep vein thrombosis or septicaemia from intravenous drug use, drug-induced suicides and deaths caused by prescription and over the counter medicines, obtained illegally or legally (ONS 3 August 2022).

Figures released in December 2021 by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that alcoholspecific deaths in the North-East rose by more than 20.5%.

Public Benefit Statement

The trustees/directors have paid due regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit and are confident that the organisation’s aims, objectives and activities are in accordance with the guidance on public benefit. Our activities and achievements as outlined demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that the organisation’s resources and activities maximise the potential benefit to our local community.

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

Since 1995, ESCAPE Family Support has been supporting people in Northumberland who have been affected by substance use. We support parents, partners, grandparents, children, and wider family members who are affected and struggling to cope. ESCAPE continues to provide Northumberland’s

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

only specialist support services for families and carers of substance users, without which beneficiaries are left isolated and unsupported.

ESCAPE worked with 390 individuals, adults and young people (YP) across the reporting period. The year started with 162 cases carried over from the previous year, almost 50% of these open cases were Tier 3 with intensive needs. We received a total of 228 new referrals (22/23) which is a 10.14 % increase on the previous year (21/22 - 207 individuals), which was also a 57.24% increase in caseload from 20/21.

Of the 390 total individuals, 266 have been closed as follows:

This resulted in 78.57% (209) of the 266 closed cases having reported positive outcomes with

improvements in their health and wellbeing and lives. We capture improvement and transitional success for beneficiaries using a range of tools: Carer Support Outcome Profile/CSOP, ACE’s Tools, Rosenberg Questionnaires, Outcome Action Plans, focus groups and service questionnaires.

ESCAPE’s confidential support services are person centred, evidence based, and tailored to the needs of each individual to help them identify their priorities, achieve their goals and improve their own lives. Wherever possible and appropriate, we mediate between the family and substance user to reduce conflict and alleviate the problems experienced and distress caused by drug and alcohol use. We deliver impartial and stand-alone services but also work in partnership with statutory and voluntary agencies and groups. Some examples of our evidence-based service delivery are outlined below.

Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT)

Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) is a significant part of the work we undertake with families; it is an evidence-based, motivational programme of support for family members who have frequent contact with a loved one (i.e. partner or adult son / daughter) who is using alcohol or drugs problematically but who refuse to enter treatment. It is also proven to be very effective with families whose loved ones are in treatment. The three main aims of CRAFT are to: improve the life of the "Concerned Significant Other", reduce the user’s substance misuse and encourage a loved one into treatment. Family members who have participated in CRAFT report significant benefits for themselves and the substance user.

Teen Triple P Programmes

Teen Triple P is an initiative of the Parenting and Family Support centre at the University of Queensland. This programme is designed to support parents/carers in their parenting role.

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

All parents raising teenagers find it easier when they get support, as raising teenagers can be challenging and this can be made less stressful if parents don’t have to do it on their own. Throughout the programme, parents learn strategies to promote positive behaviour and strategies to manage misbehaviour, and also the importance of looking after themselves building their selfesteem, confidence and belief in themselves.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

ACEs entails work with Young People or Adults who are living with, or have lived within, households and communities where there are significant events that mean they are experiencing high levels of emotional trauma. ACEs is an intervention that will provide a foundation that aims to develop practical skills, build self-esteem and self-confidence. By providing interventions in a group setting, it also provides people with an environment that reduces social isolation and encourages the building up of social skills. This enables the development of resilience through meaningful participation however some people that attend may need further interventions to recover from their trauma. The programme runs for eight weeks and has a range of techniques and self-help ideas, the programme provides the person with the skills needed to take part in more indepth therapy concentration and understanding emotional regulation.

People can be helped and supported: -

GOVERNANCE

ESCAPE is led by a strong board including people who have relevant personal experience and have encountered problems similar to our client group. ESCAPE employs dedicated staff, supported by volunteers, peer mentors and befrienders throughout Northumberland, who are all committed to supporting people who are suffering because of substance use.

Our strength lies in our people and our team; we invest in their training and development. We have worked with the Investor in People standard since 2004, first achieving Investor in People Gold in January 2010. We are proud to have retained the Gold standard until March 2022 when we achieved a rare Platinum Investor in People standard, a remarkable achievement for any small organisation.

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

Our Investor in People Insights Report dated March 2022 highlighted that we should be proud of:

We are delighted and proud to achieve this award and to have been benchmarked so highly against other organisations delivering social work activities with a score of 861 out of 900 in comparison with an average industry benchmark score of 748 out of 900; with average IIP benchmark scores being 727.

Investor in People Insights Assessment and Health and Wellbeing Review Report March 2022.

The service is supported through grants from National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund; Sir James Knott Trust; Barbour Foundation, Freemasons of Northumberland, Arnold Clark Foundation, Santander Foundation, J H Burn Charity Trust, Coalfields Regeneration Trust, Greggs Foundation, National Lottery Awards for All, Joicey Trust, Percy Hedley 1990 Trust, Hadrian Trust, Draeger, Public Health at Northumberland County Council, Northumbria Healthcare Trust, Mental Health Concern, Blyth Town Council, and Northumberland County Council. The Trustees are grateful to all of the funders who supported the work of the charity during 2021/22. Trustees would also like to thank individuals who have made personal donations this year.

Our staff adapted services during Covid and as restrictions have lifted, we are delivering more services face to face. However, we have retained digital service delivery as this had given far more reach into rural areas and some people prefer to access online.

Thanks to our funders, ESCAPE has been able to sustain, adapt, and enhance its services during 2021/22. The charity continues to embed a stronger mutual aid approach to supporting carers and families and the new support programme and interventions for young people whose lives are affected by the drug or alcohol dependency of others.

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

The difference our work has made this year:

We believe our support to families is much more holistic and accessible due to the new hybrid methods of working, service delivery and the ACE’s programmes of support.

Partnership Work

We regularly attend meetings and participate in partnership work within the Northumberland Carers Strategic Partnership, Northumberland Drug and Alcohol Steering Group, Wansbeck and Cramlington Hospitals Alcohol Development Group, and Regional Carers of Substance Users Forum. We are a valued partner in these settings. These meetings have all taken place online during this difficult period.

We have continued to work in partnership with other organisations to deliver group sessions, 1-1 support and mutual aid groups in community setting

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The charity, through sound financial management and the support of staff and volunteers generated a very positive financial outcome for this period and ended this financial year with a deficit of £5,120 after allowing for depreciation, which was covered by funds carried forward from the previous year 2021/22.

Principal Funding Sources

Principal funding sources for the charity during 2022/23 were National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund, R W Mann Trust, Santander Foundation, The Shears Foundation, National Lottery Awards for All, Joicey Trust, Percy Hedley 1990 Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, Public Health at Northumberland

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

County Council, Northumbria Healthcare Trust, Mental Health Concern, Blyth Town Council, Ashington Town Council, Blyth Harbour Commission, Asda Foundation, and Northumberland County Council.

The Charity was able to improve and maintain the Susan Kennedy Centre facilities with funding from The Clothworkers Foundation, Albert Hunt, Screwfix, Bernard Sunley and the B&Q Foundation.

The Trustees are grateful to all funders who supported and sustained the work of the charity during 2022/23.

Trustees would also like to thank individuals who have made personal donations this year.

Investment Policy

Aside from retaining a prudent amount in reserves each year most of the charity’s funds are to be spent in the short term so there are few funds for long term investment.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees have considered the charity's requirements for reserves in relation to the principal risks to the organisation. Whilst most of the charity's funds are spent in-year, it has always held a contingency reserve on deposit. The charity aims to hold between 4 and 6 months of operating costs in unrestricted reserves.

The reserves policy is reviewed annually. Risk management is ongoing within the charity and a risk register is held; unrestricted reserves are included within this and are monitored quarterly at board meetings.

We hold these reserves for the following reasons

  1. The need to fund a deficit in the operational budget should insufficient grant funding be raised within the current financial year.

  2. To give the trustees time to raise funds for the forthcoming financial year.

  3. Emergency funding is available should we need it i.e. unexpected large repair bills etc.

  4. To cover any unforeseen day-to-day operational costs, e.g. employing temporary staff to cover a long-term sickness absence.

  5. We have no planned commitments that will not be met by future income. Any matched income ESCAPE needs to provide would be minimal and has never previously exceeded £2,000.

  6. The need to fund short-term deficits in a cash budget, e.g. money may need to be spent before a funding grant is received.

  7. To prevent cash flow problems.

The amount of reserves we hold is reported to the board each quarter within the Current Accounts summary and is also regularly reviewed within the risk register.

The staffing for the organisation and the operational budget is set and agreed by the board each year in Quarter 4 for the forthcoming financial year.

Annually, we review the budget against income already secured and keep enough unrestricted reserves to cover the projected deficit for the forthcoming financial year.

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

Uncertainty over future income is and always has been our greatest risk so we try to hold between four and six months of reserves. Funding bids submitted can take six months for results to be known and we may need time to downsize should insufficient funding be raised.

The Charity Commission recommends small charities hold between four to six months unrestricted reserves. We are presently holding 5.3 months operating costs.

Our annual budget is currently £266,749 for 2023/24. We had secured £226,357 towards this leaving us with a starting deficit of £40,392. Therefore, our current reserves more than cover the projected deficit should we fail to raise any funds in 2023/24 which is unlikely. Trustees are confident that this is a realistic, achievable target for the charity.

Keeping appropriate reserve levels in line with funder expectations can be a fine balancing act. Some funders will not make grants if you have less than three months reserves.

The budget for 2023/24 is £266,749 and therefore the minimum unrestricted cash reserves target is £88,917 to £133,375 to be retained in reserves plus tangible fixed assets. Unrestricted cash reserves funds of £118,530; designated unrestricted funds of £25,243 and £17,599 of restricted cash funds apply at 31st March 2023. The charity also has £312,308 of fixed assets. The Trustees believe that COVD-19 has not had a significant impact on the levels of reserves held by ESCAPE.

The charity continues to work in an area of limited resources and insecurities over funding and is working hard to secure its core funding until 31st March 2024. To sustain essential services for beneficiaries and retain the optimum skilled paid staff team to undertake the work of the charity, it is imperative to secure significant funds.

Going Concern

The Trustees have performed a robust analysis of budget, forecasts, reserve levels and cash flows taking into consideration potential scenarios and the impact of COVID-19 could have on the charity. After making appropriate enquiries, the Board of Trustees has a reasonable expectation that ESCAPE has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, it continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

FUTURE PLANS

The charity will continue to work to consolidate, maintain and expand its existing service provision in Northumberland. The focus of our work will continue to be to relieve the poverty, sickness and distress of carers and families affected by substance use including children and young people and to advance education and training within communities. Our Family Champions Programme delivers more mutual aid for carers and our work to address the needs of Young People will continue thanks to funding from National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund until 30/06/2023. All of our activity will contribute towards the work outlined within the aforementioned National Drug and Alcohol Strategies.

Strategies we utilise to fulfil these objectives include:

All plans have been shaped and formulated by carers, peer mentors, volunteers, staff and trustees. Our plans are based around the two key priorities that have been identified:

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

  1. introducing and embedding a new, stronger mutual aid approach that provides training, opportunities and support to develop a bank of Family Champions who are ‘experts by experience’ and who have expressed their desire to give something back and help others to achieve positive change.

  2. piloting and introducing a new intervention support programme specifically designed and targeted at children and young people whose lives are blighted by the drug or alcohol dependency of others.

  3. A focus on our two priority areas, as identified above, will enable us to:

  4. reach and support more families including children and young people

  5. build a stronger and connected network of support across the county

  6. support people, including young people, to ‘give back’ and ‘help others in similar situations’

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE and MANAGEMENT

Governing document

ESCAPE Family Support Ltd is a charitable company controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, and complies with the Companies Act 2006 and SORP. Incorporated on September 30[th] 1996, and registered as a Charity on July 18th 1997, the Company was established under a Memorandum of Association, which established the objectives and powers of the Charitable Company and is governed under its Articles of Association. In the event of the company being wound up, members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.

Recruitment and Appointment of Management Committee

The directors of the company are also charity trustees for the purposes of Charity law and under the company's Articles are known as Members of the Management Committee, usually referred to as the Board of Trustees. Members of the Management Committee are elected to serve for a period of three years after which they must be re-elected at the next Annual General Meeting.

All members of the Management Committee gave their time voluntarily and received no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 16 to the accounts. The more traditional business, social work and nursing skills are well represented on the Management Committee. In the event of particular skills being lost due to retirements, Trustee positions are advertised; and individuals may also be approached to offer themselves for election to the Management Committee.

Trustee Induction and Training

New Trustees receive a comprehensive Induction Manual and are supported and familiarised with the work of the charity by the Chair and Chief Executive. The obligations of Management Committee members; the main documents which set out the operational framework for the charity including the Memorandum and Articles, resourcing and the current financial position as set out in the latest published accounts and future plans and objectives are all contained within the Induction Manual. Trustees are given a tour of the charity’s headquarters – Susan Kennedy Centre from which most services are delivered. New trustees are also signposted to the Charity Commission’s guide “The Essential Trustee”.

The Management Committee (the Board) seeks to ensure that it has the requisite skills available to it and that the groups which the Charity serves are reflected in the make-up of the trustee body. An annual skills audit is undertaken and training is provided as necessary to existing and all new trustees covering:

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

RISK MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

Governance

Following a trustee skills audit and analysis, further recruitment of at least one more trustee will take place.

Operational

Trustees have considered local need, sustainability of existing service provision and staffing levels; it was agreed that the current highly skilled team needed to be retained during 2023/24 and beyond.

Financial

Sustainability of the charity is a high priority. Securing National Lottery funding commencing 1[st] April 2023 and lasting until 30[th] June 2023 covers 9% of our organisational budget for 2023/24.

Statutory funding from Public Health Northumberland has been secured for the 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years following ESCAPE winning a contract to carryout work on their behalf, there is also a provision for the funding to continue for a further two years following this, but is not guaranteed at this time, which will also contribute significantly to sustainability. The charity will work to build on this for 2023/24 onwards.

The board has two working groups to strengthen its governance and aid sustainability – a Fundraising and Marketing Group and a Finance Group. Their work is ongoing.

External Risks

Trustees recognise that the last ten years of austerity and central government cuts to local authority and public health budgets have negatively impacted on opportunities for the charity to obtain statutory funding. This situation is expected to continue. The charity has responded by reassessing its priorities and activities to ensure funds are targeted at the highest areas of need and by seeking funds to March 2024 and beyond.

Potential external risks to information and cyber security have been mitigated by the engagement of an ISO 27001:2013 accredited ICT Maintenance and Information Security provider that provides quality antivirus and malware protection with systems maintained by highly skilled Information Security engineers through both onsite and remote support.

Compliance with Law and Regulation

The charity utilises the services of an employment law solicitor to ensure compliance with employment law. The work of the Finance Group includes self-assessment against Charity Commission guidelines and models of best practice.

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)

Organisational Structure

The Management Committee (the board) has seven members who meet six times a year for formal board meetings and who are responsible for the strategic direction, policy and governance of the charity. The Management Committee has members from a variety of backgrounds relevant to the work of the charity.

A scheme of delegation is in place and day-to-day responsibility for the provision of the services rests with the Voluntary Chief Executive. The voluntary Chief Executive is responsible for ensuring that the charity delivers the services specified and that key performance indicators are met. In so far as it is complementary to the charity's objects, the charity is guided by both local and national policy.

Monthly full team meetings inform the future planning and strategic thinking of the management committee (the board) and are open to staff, volunteers and peer mentors.

In addition, user and carer involvement groups and surveys of stakeholders inform the work of the charity.

The charity is committed to working in partnership with other organisations and works closely with, and is represented on, Northumberland's Drug and Alcohol Steering Group; Carers Partnership Board and Young Carer Steering Group. More widely it works closely with bodies that impact on recovery from substance misuse and provide mutual aid to support recovery. Representatives regularly attend steering and special interest groups which impact on health and crime-related programmes and strategies are discussed, analysed, and learning disseminated. We share knowledge, experience and best practice, assisting communities and organisations with identified need, which have heard of our work and wish to replicate it in some form. We circulate external evaluations of our work to partners and funders to share findings and knowledge.

Close working partnerships have been developed with Northumberland Communities Thriving Together, Community Mental Health Teams, Adult and Children's Social Services, Carers Northumberland, Northumberland Recovery Partnership, Relate, Cygnus, Northumberland CVA, Northumberland CAB, Northumberland Domestic Abuse Service, Mental Health Concern, Northumberland Recovery College, Briardale House and other Community Groups. The charity initially achieved the Investors in People Gold Standard and retained this until March 2022 when a rare Investor in People Platinum standard was achieved which the charity continues to hold.

Related Parties

In so far as it is complementary to the charity’s objects, the charity is guided by both local and national policies including Drug and Alcohol and Carer Strategies. The local Drug and Alcohol Steering Group, Carer Partnership Board and Young Carer Steering Group are the local partnerships charged with responsibility for delivering these strategies at our local level and includes representatives from amongst others, the local authority, health, and voluntary sector agencies. ESCAPE Family Support is a member of these partnership groups, and its representatives regularly attend the meetings.

Trustees Janet Murphy and Stephen Murphy are related (mother and son).

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES IN RELATION TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT

The charity trustees are responsible for preparing a trustees’ annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires the charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and the group and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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

Members of the Management Committee

Members of the Management Committee, who are directors for the purpose of company law and trustees for the purpose of charity law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report are set out on page 1. In accordance with company law, as the company’s directors, we certify that: so far as we are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the company’s Independent Examiners are unaware; and as the directors of the company we have taken all the steps that we ought to have taken in order to make ourselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity’s Independent Examiners are aware of that information.

Independent Examiners

Connected Voice Business Services Ltd were re-appointed as the charity’s Independent Examiners during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 18[th] October 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

H Madin - Treasurer

13

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES

For the year ended 31 March 2023

I report on the financial statements of ESCAPE Family Support Limited for the year ended 31 March 2023, which are set out on pages 15 to 31.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees (who are also directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner's statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Lilian Hetherington FCA Connected Voice Business Services Ltd One Strawberry Lane Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4BX

Date: 22 November 2023

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (SoFA)

(Including Summary Income and Expenditure Account )

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Income From Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Funds Funds 2023 2022
Donations and Legacies Notes
6		 £
6,226		 £
-		 £
6,226		 £
2,850
Charitable Activities
Grants and Statutory Funding 7 5,000 300,293 305,293 217,967
Other Trading Activities 8 3,638 - 3,638 -
Investments 9 125 - 125 7
Total Income 14,989 300,293 315,282 220,824
Expenditure on Unrestricted Restricted Total 2023 Total
Funds Funds 2022
£ £ £ £
Raising Funds 10
5,110		 2,430 7,540 6,063
Charitable Activities
Operations of the charity 11
8,187		 304,675 312,862 238,385
Total Expenditure 13,297 307,105 **320,402 ** 244,448
Net Income/(Expenditure) and 1,692 (6,812) (5,120) (23.624)
net movement of funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total Funds Brought forward 237,372 241,427 478,799 502,423
Total Funds Carried Forward 239,064 234,615 473,679 478,799

The Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) includes all grants and losses recognised during the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The notes on pages 17 to 31 form an integral part of these financial statements.

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Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)

BALANCE SHEET

As at 31 March 2023

Notes
Fixed Assets
Tangible Assets
18
Intangible Assets
19
Total Fixed Assets
Current Assets
Debtors
20
Cash at bank and in
hand
21
Total current assets
Current Liabilities
Creditors:
Due within one year
22
Current Liabilities
Net Current Assets
Total net assets
Funds of the charity
Unrestricted Funds
Restricted Funds
Total Funds of the
charity		 2023
£
306,308
6,000		 2023
£
312,308
161,371		 2022
£
322,483
-		 2022
£
322,483
156,316
1,665
177,382		 280
179,430
179,047
(17,676)		 179,710
(23,394)
(17,676) (23,394)
473,679 478,799
239,064
234,615		 237,372
241,427
473,679 478,799

The company was entitled to an exemption from audit under s477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of the accounts. These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to small companies subject to the small companies regime and in accordance with FRS102 SORP.

The notes on pages 17 to 31 form an integral part of these financial statements.

These accounts were approved by the Board on: 18[th] October 2023

Signed on behalf of the Board by: H Madin

Treasurer

16

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2023

1. Accounting Policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

2. Basis of Accounting

2.1 Basis of preparation

These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.

The accounts 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) (effective 1 January 2019) – Charities SORP (FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

ESCAPE Family Support Limited meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

2.2 Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. In making their assessment the trustees have reviewed and considered relevant information, including their annual budget and future cash flows. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the trustees have revised their forecasts to take into account measures that they can take with the current resources available to mitigate the impact of the current adverse conditions. The trustees are of the view that the immediate future of the charity is secure and that there are no material uncertainties around the fact that ESCAPE can continue to operate for the next twelve months and on that basis the charity is a going concern.

3. Income

3.1 Recognition of Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the resources, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is more likely than not that the resources will be received, and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.

3.2 Offsetting

There has been no offsetting of assets and liabilities, or income or expenses, unless required or permitted by FRS 102 SORP or FRS 102.

3.3 Grants and Donations

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

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

17

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

3.4 Donated Goods and Services

Donated goods are measured at fair value (the amount for which the asset could be exchanged) unless impractical to do so.

Donated services and facilities are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when received at the value of the gift to the charity provided that the value of the gift can be measured reliably. Donated services and facilities that are consumed immediately are recognised as income with the equivalent amount recognised as an expense under the appropriate heading in the SoFA.

3.5 Volunteer Help

The value of volunteer help is not included within the accounts but is described within the Trustees Report.

3.6 Interest Receivable

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

3.7 Income from membership subscriptions

Membership subscriptions received in the nature of a gift are recognised in donations and legacies.

Membership subscriptions which gives a member the right to buy services or other benefits are recognised as income earned from the provision of goods and services as income from charitable activities.

3.8 Investment gains and losses

This includes any realised or unrealised gains or losses on the sale of investments and any gain or loss resulting from revaluing investments to market value at the end of the year.

3.9 Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose.

Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.

4. Expenditure and Liabilities

4.1 Liability Recognition

Liabilities are recognised when it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.

18

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

4.2 Charitable Activities

All expenditure is accounted for on an accrual basis. Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of work and other activities undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs.

4.3 Governance and Support Costs

Support costs have been allocated between governance cost and other support. Governance costs comprise all costs involving public accountability of the charity and its compliance with regulation and good practice.

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

4.4 Irrecoverable VAT

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

4.5 Creditors

The charity has creditors that are measured at settlement amounts less any trade discounts available.

4.6 Provision for Liabilities

A liability is measured on recognition at its historical cost and then subsequently measured at the best estimate of the amount required to settle the obligation at the reporting date.

4.7 Pensions

The pension costs charged in the financial statements represent the contribution payable by the charity during the year.

5. Assets

5.1 Tangible fixed assets used by the charity

Individual fixed assets costing £1,000 or more are capitalised at cost and are depreciated over their estimated useful life on a reducing value basis as follows:

Asset Type Depreciation basis
Property improvement costs 5% straight line
Office and computer equipment 25% straight line
Caravan 10% straight line
Other 25% straight line

5.2 Intangible fixed assets used by the charity

Development costs that are directly attributable to the design and testing of identifiable and unique software products controlled by the charity are recognised as intangible assets when the following criteria are met:

19

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

Development costs are not amortised until the software is brought into use.

5.3 Debtors

Debtors are measured at their receivable amounts, being the amount, the charity anticipates it will receive in settlement of the debt.

20

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Analysis of income

6
7		 Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Grant income
RW Mann
The Asda Foundation
The Percy Hedley Trust
Northumberland County
Council Jubilee Fund
Arnold Clark Foundation
JH Burn Charity Trust
Statutory income
Northumberland County
Council - Carers' Grant
Mental Health Concern
Ashington Town Council
Amounts c/f
The Ballinger Trust
The Barbour Foundation
Freemasons of Northumberland
Northumberland County Council
Blyth Town Council
Donations and grants
National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund
Big Lottery Awards for All
The Shears Foundation
Santander Foundation
The Screwfix Foundation
Release of retained cash
Bernard Sunley Foundation
The Clothworkers' Foundation
Sir James Knott Foundation
The B&Q Foundation
The Joicey Trust
Albert Hunt
Garfield Weston
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Public Health at Northumberland County Council
Public Health Covid-19 Funding		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
6,226
6,226
Unrestricted
Funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
-
-
Restricted
Funds
£
85,170
27,500
25,000
9,996
9,984
5,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
3,400
1,500
998
700
500
500
-
-
-
-
-
55,000
25,000
12,935
6,650
6,000
-
-
-
295,833		 Total
2023
£
6,226
-
6,226
Total
2023
£
85,170
27,500
25,000
9,996
9,984
5,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
3,400
1,500
998
700
500
500
-
-
-
-
-
55,000
25,000
12,935
6,650
6,000
-
-
-
295,833		 Total
2022
£
2,808
42
2,850
Total
2022
£
81,170
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
998
-
-
-
10,000
5,000
1,000
1,000
200
55,000
-
15,185
4,000
-
25,000
9,000
4,794
212,347

21

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

8
9		 Analysis of incomecontinued
Other income
Amounts b/f
Other income
NI Employment allowance
Sponsorship Blyth Harbour
Commission
Other trading activities
Other sales
Carers' Feedback Survey
Income from investments
Room hire
Bank interest		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
-
-
5,000
-
5,000
2,745
773
120
3,638
Unrestricted
Funds
£
125
125		 Restricted
Funds
£
295,833
3,960
-
500
300,293
-
-
-
-
Restricted
Funds
£
-
-		 Total
2023
£
295,833
3,960
5,000
500
305,293
2,745
773
120
3,638
Total
2023
£
125
125		 Total
2022
£
212,347
5,620
-
-
217,967
-
-
-
-
Total
2022
£
7
7

Income was £315,282 (2022: £220,824) of which £14,989 was unrestricted or designated (2022: £2,695) and £300,293 was restricted (2022: £218,129)

Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

10 Raising funds
Fundraising costs		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
5,110
5,110		 Restricted
Funds
£
2,430
2,430		 Total
2023
£
7,540
7,540		 Total
2022
£
6,063
6,063

22

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

11 Charitable activities
Direct costs
Staff costs
Training costs
Respite costs (caravan)
Travel costs
Client costs
Helpline and outreach
Support costs
Staff costs
Utilities
General running costs
Insurance
Repairs and renewals
Cleaning
Telephone
Internet and ICT costs
Stationery and printing
Sundry
Refreshments
Room Hire
Professional fees
Bank charges
Furniture replacement costs
Building maintenance costs
Small equipment hire
Evaluation fees
C/fwd balance
Governance costs
Independent examiner's fees for reporting on the
accounts
Depreciation
Volunteer costs including travel
Small equipment
B/fwd balance		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
3,657
-
-
-
-
-
-
419
-
63
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,153
222
-
673
-
-
-
-
8,187
8,187
-
8,187		 Restricted
Funds
£
140,307
2,498
6,617
2
2,759
-
3,453
51,254
5,498
1,710
-
930
216
-
6,953
4,388
-
385
6,105
5,064
-
10,838
19,299
8,325
22,332
288
4,500
303,721
303,721
954
304,675		 Total
2023
£
143,964
2,498
6,617
2
2,759
-
3,453
51,673
5,498
1,773
-
930
216
-
6,953
4,388
-
385
6,105
8,217
222
10,838
19,972
8,325
22,332
288
4,500
311,908
311,908
954
312,862		 Total
2022
£
141,408
2,986
5,727
109
1,293
1,403
1,951
21,822
4,893
117
11,072
1,625
-
482
8,446
2,654
163
250
-
4,220
164
6,790
19,815
-
-
-
-
237,390
237,390
995
238,385

Expenditure on charitable activities was £320,402 (2022: £244,448) of which £13,297 was unrestricted or designated (2022: £1,365) and £307,105 was restricted (2022: £243,083)

23

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

12 Fees for examination of the accounts

es for examination of the accounts
Independent examiner's fees for reporting on the accounts 2023
£
954		 2022
£
995

There were no other fees paid to the examiner (2022: £nil)

13
Other employee benefits
Pension costs (defined contribution pension plan)
Analysis of staff costs and the cost of key management personnel
Salaries and wages
Social security costs		 2023
£
172,905
13,727
7,863
1,141
195,636		 2022
£
150,781
10,878
6,787
846
169,292

No employee received remuneration above £60,000 (2022: nil)

The key management personnel of the charity, comprise the trustees and the Chief Executive. The total benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £0. (2021: £0)

14 Staff numbers

The average monthly head count was 9 staff (2022: 6 staff) and the average monthly number of full-time equivalent employees during the year were as follows:

15 Defined contribution pension scheme
The parts of the charity in which the employees work
Charitable activities		 2023
Number
5.6		 2022
Number
5.6

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.

The employer's pension costs represent contributions payable by the charity to the fund and amount to £7,863 (2022: £6,787). There was £0 outstanding as at 31 March 2023 (2022: £0).

None of the trustees have been paid any remuneration or received any other benefits from an employment with their charity or a related entity.

Trustees' expenses

The following details the expenses incurred by the trustees.

Two trustees acting as volunteers were reimbursed travel expenses.
Tom Devine
Janet Murphy		 2023
£
1,627
84
1,711		 2022
£
1,148
-
1,148

24

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Transactions with related parties

As at 31 March 2023

There were no related party tranactions for the year ended 31 March 2023.

As at 31 March 2022

Name of the trustee or related Relationship to charity Description of the party transaction £ Trustee Stephen Murphy Worked for a supplier to the IT support contract and 7,856 charity, Vital Services North supply of computer East Limited but has now equipment resigned.

17 Corporation Taxation

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objectives.

18 Tangible fixed assets
Cost
At 1 April 2022
Additions
Disposals
At 31 March 2023
Depreciation
Basis
Rate
At 1 April 2022
Depreciation charge for year
Disposals
At 31 March 2023
Net book value
At 31 March 2022
At 31 March 2023		 Freehold
property
£
341,147
-
-
341,147
SL
5%
50,857
12,714
-
63,571
290,290
277,576		 Office and
computer
equipment
£
21,818
3,797
(1,954)
23,661
SL
25%
15,137
2,913
(1,954)
16,096
6,681
7,565		 Caravan
£
32,035
-
-
32,035
SL
10%
9,612
3,204
-
12,816
22,423
19,219		 Other
equipment
£
4,561
-
-
4,561
SL
25%
1,472
1,141
-
2,613
3,089
1,948		 Total
£
399,561
3,797
( 1,954 )
401,404
77,078
19,972
( 1,954 )
95,096
322,483
306,308

25

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For theyear ended 31 March 2023
19 Intangible fixed assets
Cost
At 1 April 2022
Additions
At 31 March 2023
Amortisation
At 1 April 2022
Amortisation charge for year
At 31 March 2023
Net book value
At 31 March 2022
At 31 March 2023		 Software
Development
£
-
6,000
6,000
-
-
-
-
6,000		 Total
£
-
6,000
6,000
-
-
-
-
6,000
20 Debtors and prepayments (receivable within 1 year)
21
Short term deposits
Cash at bank
Cash in hand
22
Debtors
Creditors and accruals (payable within 1 year)
Deferred income
Independent examination of accounts
Cash at bank and in hand
Accruals
Other creditors		 2023
£
1,665
1,665
2023
£
65,930
111,426
26
177,382
2023
£
1,267
954
15,455
17,676		 2022
£
280
280
2022
£
65,805
113,549
76
179,430
2022
£
528
2,483
20,384
23,395

26

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

23 Deferred income

Deferred income comprises of advance payments from grants that relate to future periods

Amount deferred in year
Amount released to income earned from
charitable activities
Balance carried forward
Balance brought forward		 2023
£
20,384
( 20,384 )
15,455
15,455		 2022
£
65,000
( 65,000 )
20,384
20,384

24 Events after the end of the reporting period

No events (not requiring adjustment to the accounts) have occurred after the end of the reporting period but before the accounts are authorised which relate to conditions that arose after the end of the reporting period.

25 Analysis of charitable funds

Analysis of movements in unrestricted funds As at 31 March 2023

As at 31 March 2023
Unrestricted funds
General unrestricted fund
Designated funds
Unrestricted fixed assets
Contingency
System upgrade
Totals		 Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
116,165
89,964
10,618
20,625
237,372		 Incoming
resources
£
14,989
-
-
-
14,989		 Resources
expended
£
( 12,624 )
( 673 )
-
-
(13,297)		 Transfers
£
-
6,000
-
( 6,000 )
-		 Fund
balances
carried
forward
£
118,530
95,291
10,618
14,625
239,064

27

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

As at 31 March 2022

As at 31 March 2022
Unrestricted funds
General unrestricted fund
Designated funds
Unrestricted fixed assets
Contingency
System upgrade
Totals		 Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
119,787
130,058
10,618
15,000
275,463		 Incoming
resources
£
2,695
-
-
-
2,695		 Resources
expended
£
( 692 )
( 673 )
-
-
(1,365)		 Transfers
£
( 5,625 )
( 39,421 )
-
5,625
(39,421)		 Fund
balances
carried
forward
£
116,165
89,964
10,618
20,625
237,372

Purpose of unrestricted funds

General unrestricted fund Unrestricted fixed assets Contingency System upgrade

The 'free reserves' after allowing for designated funds. The current value of unrestricted fixed assets. Contingency to cover one off costs and potential redundancies. For new IT infrastructure including new software and processes.

Analysis of movement in restricted funds

As at 31 March 2023

As at 31 March 2023
Analysis of movement in restricted funds
Fund
balances
brought
forward
Restricted fixed assets
£
Susan Kennedy Centre
refurbishment
203,420
Restricted office, computer and
other equipment
9,148
Caravan upgrade
19,950
Restricted funds
Susan Kennedy Centre
1,315
Respite project
1,133
Centre running costs
725
National lottery Reaching
Communities
2,161
Public Health
601
Mental Health concern
2,768
Small equipment
206
Santander Foundation
-
Blyth Town Council
-
Awards for all
-
RW Mann
-
The Joicey Trust
-
The Shears Foundation
-
The Percy Hedley Trust
-
Garfield Weston
-
Northumberland County Council
Carers' Grant
-
Northumberland County Council
Jubilee Fund
-
Ashington Town Council
-
Asda Foundation
-
Port of Blyth Commissioners
-
Ballinger Trust
-
Susan Kennedy Centre refurbishment
The Cloth Workers Foundation
-
Albert Hunt
-
Bernard Sunley Foundation
-
B&Q Foundation
-
Screwfix Foundation
-
Totals
241,427		 Incoming
resources
£
-
-
-
-
3,960
-
85,170
55,000
12,935
-
998
6,650
9,984
1,500
3,400
5,000
500
25,000
25,000
500
6,000
700
500
9,996
27,500
5,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
300,293		 Resources
expended
£
( 12,714 )
( 3,735 )
( 2,850 )
-
( 6,617 )
( 6 )
( 87,221 )
( 55,601 )
( 15,512 )
-
( 998 )
( 6,650 )
( 8,820 )
( 465 )
( 13 )
( 4,362 )
( 40 )
( 23,082 )
( 25,000 )
( 500 )
( 6,000 )
( 367 )
( 500 )
( 6,376 )
( 19,676 )
( 5,000 )
( 5,000 )
( 5,000 )
( 5,000 )
(307,105)		 Transfers
£
-
3,797
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
( 3,797 )
-
-
-
-
-		 Fund
balances
carried
forward
£
190,706
9,210
17,100
1,315
( 1,524 )
719
110
-
191
206
-
-
1,164
1,035
3,387
638
460
1,918
-
-
-
333
-
3,620
4,027
-
-
-
-
234,615

28

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

As at 31 March 2022

As at 31 March 2022
Restricted fixed assets
Susan Kennedy Centre
refurbishment
Restricted office, computer and
other equipment
Caravan upgrade
Restricted funds
Client activities
Susan Kennedy Centre
Peer mentor coordinator
Family Support
Training officer salary
Helpline /Outreach
Volunteer costs
Respite project
Senior practitioner salary
Centre running costs
Centre management costs
National lottery Reaching
Communities
Sir James Knott Foundation
The Barbour Foundation
Freemasons of Northumberland
Arnold Clark Foundation
Santander Foundation
J H Burn Charity Trust
Public Health
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust
Mental Health Concern
Public Health COVID 19 Funding
Northumberland County Council
Blyth Town Council
Small equipment
Totals		 Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
176,714
12,725
22,800
( 1,365 )
( 1,647 )
71
4,649
2,461
352
2,831
1,549
500
2,377
2,943
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
226,960		 Incoming
resources
£
-
-
-
-
167
-
-
-
-
-
5,620
-
-
-
81,170
10,000
5,000
1,000
832
998
200
55,000
25,000
15,185
9,000
4,794
4,000
163
218,129		 Resources
expended
£
( 12,715 )
( 3,577 )
( 2,850 )
-
2,416
-
-
( 1,255 )
-
-
( 5,727 )
-
( 1,624 )
-
( 84,454 )
( 10,967 )
( 5,000 )
( 1,000 )
( 832 )
( 998 )
( 200 )
( 55,573 )
( 25,000 )
( 15,933 )
( 9,000 )
( 4,794 )
( 4,000 )
-
(243,083)		 Transfers
£
39,421
-
-
1,365
379
( 71 )
( 4,649 )
( 1,206 )
( 352 )
( 2,831 )
( 309 )
( 500 )
( 28 )
( 2,943 )
5,445
967
-
-
-
-
-
1,174
-
3,516
-
-
-
43
39,421		 Fund
balances
carried
forward
£
203,420
9,148
19,950
-
1,315
-
-
-
-
-
1,133
-
725
-
2,161
-
-
-
-
-
-
601
-
2,768
-
-
-
206
241,427

29

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Purpose of restricted funds

Restricted Funds represent income resources used for a specific purpose by the charity in line with requirements set down by the donor. These have been bought together into other restricted balances in total because there should only be a small amount of funds carried forward between financial years and will only be spend on areas specified by the donor in the financial year of the initial grant.

The balance of restricted funds that paid for the refurbishment of the Susan Kennedy Centre.

Susan Kennedy Centre assets

The balance of the restricted funds that paid for restricted office, computer and other equipment. Restricted for the caravan upgrade. Restricted for the Susan Kennedy Centre running costs. Restricted to salary of Peer Mentor coordinators post. Restricted for the respite project. Restricted to centre running costs.

Restricted office and computer equipment Caravan upgrade Susan Kennedy Centre Peer Monitor Co-ordinator Respite Project Centre Running Costs National Lottery Reaching Communities Santander Foundation Public Health Northumbria NHS Health Trust Mental Health Concern Blyth Town Council

Restricted to reaching communities Restricted to intern’s salary costs Restricted to running costs Restricted to Service Manager salary costs Restricted to Family Support Worker salary costs Restricted to running costs Restricted to the purchase of small equipment or contributions towards the purchase of larger items Restricted to running costs Restricted to running costs

Small equipment Awards for all RW Mann The Joicey Trust

Restricted to running costs Restricted to running costs Restricted to running costs Restricted to running costs Restricted to costs associated with the Jubilee event Restricted to running costs Restricted to items to support the work done with young people Restricted to running costs Restricted to Family Support Worker salary costs Restricted to the building maintenance project and purchase of equipment for the same Restricted to building maintenance/refurbishment costs Restricted to building maintenance/refurbishment costs Restricted to building maintenance/refurbishment costs Restricted to building maintenance/refurbishment costs

The Shears Foundation The Percy Hedley Foundation Garfield Weston Northumberland County Council Ashington Town Council Asda Foundation Port of Blyth Commissioners Ballinger Trust

The Clothworkers Foundation Albert Hunt Screwfix Foundation Bernard Sunley Foundation B&Q Foundation

Transfers between funds As at 31 March 2023

Transfers between funds
As at 31 March 2023
Transfer between The
Clothworkers' Foundation and
fixed assets
As at 31 March 2022
Between un-restricted fixed
assets and The Susan Kennedy
Centre
Reason for transfer
Amount to cover the depreciation of items bought as part
of the refurbishment.
Reason for transfer
Correction of funding received to the correct restricted
fund.		 Amount
£
3,797
Amount
£
39,421

30

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

26 Capital commitments

As at 31 March 2023, the charity had capital commitments of £4,027 relating to the refurbishment of the Susan Kennedy Centre (2022 - £nil)

Analysis of net assets between funds
Funds
£
Tangible fixed assets
-
Cash at bank and in hand
134,540
( 13,636 )
120,904
Other net current assets/(liabilities)
Unrestricted		 Designated
Funds
£
95,291
25,243
-
120,534		 Restricted
Funds
£
217,017
17,599
( 2,375 )
232,241		 Total
2023
£
312,308
177,382
( 16,011 )
473,679		 Total
2022
£
322,483
179,430
( 23,114 )
478,799

31

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2023

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

Annual Report and Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Contents Page

Contents Page
Trustees’ Annual Report 1 to 13
Independent Examiner’s Report 14
Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure account) 15
Balance Sheet 16
Notes to the financial statements 17 to 31

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)

Report of the Management Committee for the year ended 31 March 2023

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective October 2019).

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Company number

03256554 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1063500

Registered office

Susan Kennedy Centre 63 Southview Ashington Northumberland NE63 0SF

Trustees

J L M Axelby Chair T Devine Vice chair H Madin Treasurer J Murphy S J Murphy A Park N Furno

Company Secretary

T Devine

Independent examiner

Connected Voice Business Services Ltd One Strawberry Lane Newcastle upon Tyne Tyne and Wear NE1 4BX

Bank:

Lloyds Bank

Solicitors:- Employment Law

Solicitors:- Employment Law Solicitors:- Property Helen Kay Cuthbertsons HMK Legal Ltd 3 Stanley Street Clavering House Blyth Clavering Place Northumberland Newcastle upon Tyne NE24 2BS NE1 3NG

1

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

OUR AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Purposes and Aims

Our aims and objectives as set out in the objects contained in the company's memorandum of association are:

i. to provide support, counselling, mediation to relieve the poverty, sickness and distress to drug, alcohol and solvent users’ and their families who are or have been suffering from the misuse of substances, being any substance which is misused to the detriment of the health of the individual in the community of Northumberland and elsewhere as the Association may determine;

ii. to advance education and training of the community of Northumberland and elsewhere as the Association may determine in the problems resulting from non-medical use and abuse of drugs and associated problems; and

iii. to provide support, counselling, and mediation to relieve the poverty, sickness and distress of vulnerable adults in the community of Northumberland and elsewhere as the Association may determine.

Ensuring our work delivers our aims

Our aims, objectives and activities are reviewed annually. This involves evaluating what we have achieved and the outputs and outcomes of our work in the aforementioned 12 months. The success of key activities and benefits these bring to our beneficiaries are appraised. This ensures that that our aims, objectives and activities continue to focus on our specified purposes, facilitates continuous service improvement and prevents mission drift. We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aim and objectives and in planning our future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.

The focus of our work

Our main objectives for the year were to maintain high-quality service delivery to vulnerable families, carers and young people in Northumberland, particularly those who are affected by a loved one’s addiction; to continue the review and strengthening of systems and to increase funds raised to ensure long term sustainability of our work.

2

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

How our activities deliver public benefit:

Our main activities and people we try to assist are outlined below. All our charitable activities are focused on relieving poverty, sickness and distress, the provision of support to vulnerable families, particularly those affected by substance misuse, and the provision of education and training to advance our charitable purposes for the public benefit of Northumberland.

Who needs, used, and benefited from our services?

Our funding and resources continue to focus our main service provision to residents of Northumberland. Northumberland has a population of over 320,000 people, many scattered thinly in relatively isolated towns and settlements across expanses of countryside, whilst a significant concentration live in the south east of the county in declining economic communities. The county of Northumberland is a unitary authority. People in parts of Northumberland suffer extremes of poverty with low average incomes in three of the county's previous six district areas, with demonstrable inequalities of income across the county. In common with other areas of the U.K., Northumberland continues to experience drug taking along with an increase in alcohol use amongst its population.

The North East has had the highest rate of drug misuse for the past ten consecutive years (between 2013 and 2022), before this Wales had a higher rate than all English regions (between 2010 and 2012). The North East continues to be statistically significantly higher than all other regions of England as well as Wales. (ONS 3 August 2022).

The statistics for deaths by drug misuse and figures for death by drug poisoning both show that the North East region has the highest death rate in England and Wales, at almost twice the national average. There were 1,123 deaths linked to drug misuse in the North East between 2019 and 2021, which works out at an average annual rate of 204.1 per 1,000,000 people, almost twice as high as England's average rate of 102.8 for the same period (ONS 3 August 2022).

The North East also has the highest rate of deaths for drug poisoning, which include the misuse figures along with statistics for deaths caused by complications such as deep vein thrombosis or septicaemia from intravenous drug use, drug-induced suicides and deaths caused by prescription and over the counter medicines, obtained illegally or legally (ONS 3 August 2022).

Figures released in December 2021 by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that alcoholspecific deaths in the North-East rose by more than 20.5%.

Public Benefit Statement

The trustees/directors have paid due regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit and are confident that the organisation’s aims, objectives and activities are in accordance with the guidance on public benefit. Our activities and achievements as outlined demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that the organisation’s resources and activities maximise the potential benefit to our local community.

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

Since 1995, ESCAPE Family Support has been supporting people in Northumberland who have been affected by substance use. We support parents, partners, grandparents, children, and wider family members who are affected and struggling to cope. ESCAPE continues to provide Northumberland’s

3

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

only specialist support services for families and carers of substance users, without which beneficiaries are left isolated and unsupported.

ESCAPE worked with 390 individuals, adults and young people (YP) across the reporting period. The year started with 162 cases carried over from the previous year, almost 50% of these open cases were Tier 3 with intensive needs. We received a total of 228 new referrals (22/23) which is a 10.14 % increase on the previous year (21/22 - 207 individuals), which was also a 57.24% increase in caseload from 20/21.

Of the 390 total individuals, 266 have been closed as follows:

This resulted in 78.57% (209) of the 266 closed cases having reported positive outcomes with

improvements in their health and wellbeing and lives. We capture improvement and transitional success for beneficiaries using a range of tools: Carer Support Outcome Profile/CSOP, ACE’s Tools, Rosenberg Questionnaires, Outcome Action Plans, focus groups and service questionnaires.

ESCAPE’s confidential support services are person centred, evidence based, and tailored to the needs of each individual to help them identify their priorities, achieve their goals and improve their own lives. Wherever possible and appropriate, we mediate between the family and substance user to reduce conflict and alleviate the problems experienced and distress caused by drug and alcohol use. We deliver impartial and stand-alone services but also work in partnership with statutory and voluntary agencies and groups. Some examples of our evidence-based service delivery are outlined below.

Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT)

Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) is a significant part of the work we undertake with families; it is an evidence-based, motivational programme of support for family members who have frequent contact with a loved one (i.e. partner or adult son / daughter) who is using alcohol or drugs problematically but who refuse to enter treatment. It is also proven to be very effective with families whose loved ones are in treatment. The three main aims of CRAFT are to: improve the life of the "Concerned Significant Other", reduce the user’s substance misuse and encourage a loved one into treatment. Family members who have participated in CRAFT report significant benefits for themselves and the substance user.

Teen Triple P Programmes

Teen Triple P is an initiative of the Parenting and Family Support centre at the University of Queensland. This programme is designed to support parents/carers in their parenting role.

4

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

All parents raising teenagers find it easier when they get support, as raising teenagers can be challenging and this can be made less stressful if parents don’t have to do it on their own. Throughout the programme, parents learn strategies to promote positive behaviour and strategies to manage misbehaviour, and also the importance of looking after themselves building their selfesteem, confidence and belief in themselves.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

ACEs entails work with Young People or Adults who are living with, or have lived within, households and communities where there are significant events that mean they are experiencing high levels of emotional trauma. ACEs is an intervention that will provide a foundation that aims to develop practical skills, build self-esteem and self-confidence. By providing interventions in a group setting, it also provides people with an environment that reduces social isolation and encourages the building up of social skills. This enables the development of resilience through meaningful participation however some people that attend may need further interventions to recover from their trauma. The programme runs for eight weeks and has a range of techniques and self-help ideas, the programme provides the person with the skills needed to take part in more indepth therapy concentration and understanding emotional regulation.

People can be helped and supported: -

GOVERNANCE

ESCAPE is led by a strong board including people who have relevant personal experience and have encountered problems similar to our client group. ESCAPE employs dedicated staff, supported by volunteers, peer mentors and befrienders throughout Northumberland, who are all committed to supporting people who are suffering because of substance use.

Our strength lies in our people and our team; we invest in their training and development. We have worked with the Investor in People standard since 2004, first achieving Investor in People Gold in January 2010. We are proud to have retained the Gold standard until March 2022 when we achieved a rare Platinum Investor in People standard, a remarkable achievement for any small organisation.

5

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

Our Investor in People Insights Report dated March 2022 highlighted that we should be proud of:

We are delighted and proud to achieve this award and to have been benchmarked so highly against other organisations delivering social work activities with a score of 861 out of 900 in comparison with an average industry benchmark score of 748 out of 900; with average IIP benchmark scores being 727.

Investor in People Insights Assessment and Health and Wellbeing Review Report March 2022.

The service is supported through grants from National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund; Sir James Knott Trust; Barbour Foundation, Freemasons of Northumberland, Arnold Clark Foundation, Santander Foundation, J H Burn Charity Trust, Coalfields Regeneration Trust, Greggs Foundation, National Lottery Awards for All, Joicey Trust, Percy Hedley 1990 Trust, Hadrian Trust, Draeger, Public Health at Northumberland County Council, Northumbria Healthcare Trust, Mental Health Concern, Blyth Town Council, and Northumberland County Council. The Trustees are grateful to all of the funders who supported the work of the charity during 2021/22. Trustees would also like to thank individuals who have made personal donations this year.

Our staff adapted services during Covid and as restrictions have lifted, we are delivering more services face to face. However, we have retained digital service delivery as this had given far more reach into rural areas and some people prefer to access online.

Thanks to our funders, ESCAPE has been able to sustain, adapt, and enhance its services during 2021/22. The charity continues to embed a stronger mutual aid approach to supporting carers and families and the new support programme and interventions for young people whose lives are affected by the drug or alcohol dependency of others.

6

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

The difference our work has made this year:

We believe our support to families is much more holistic and accessible due to the new hybrid methods of working, service delivery and the ACE’s programmes of support.

Partnership Work

We regularly attend meetings and participate in partnership work within the Northumberland Carers Strategic Partnership, Northumberland Drug and Alcohol Steering Group, Wansbeck and Cramlington Hospitals Alcohol Development Group, and Regional Carers of Substance Users Forum. We are a valued partner in these settings. These meetings have all taken place online during this difficult period.

We have continued to work in partnership with other organisations to deliver group sessions, 1-1 support and mutual aid groups in community setting

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The charity, through sound financial management and the support of staff and volunteers generated a very positive financial outcome for this period and ended this financial year with a deficit of £5,120 after allowing for depreciation, which was covered by funds carried forward from the previous year 2021/22.

Principal Funding Sources

Principal funding sources for the charity during 2022/23 were National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund, R W Mann Trust, Santander Foundation, The Shears Foundation, National Lottery Awards for All, Joicey Trust, Percy Hedley 1990 Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, Public Health at Northumberland

7

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

County Council, Northumbria Healthcare Trust, Mental Health Concern, Blyth Town Council, Ashington Town Council, Blyth Harbour Commission, Asda Foundation, and Northumberland County Council.

The Charity was able to improve and maintain the Susan Kennedy Centre facilities with funding from The Clothworkers Foundation, Albert Hunt, Screwfix, Bernard Sunley and the B&Q Foundation.

The Trustees are grateful to all funders who supported and sustained the work of the charity during 2022/23.

Trustees would also like to thank individuals who have made personal donations this year.

Investment Policy

Aside from retaining a prudent amount in reserves each year most of the charity’s funds are to be spent in the short term so there are few funds for long term investment.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees have considered the charity's requirements for reserves in relation to the principal risks to the organisation. Whilst most of the charity's funds are spent in-year, it has always held a contingency reserve on deposit. The charity aims to hold between 4 and 6 months of operating costs in unrestricted reserves.

The reserves policy is reviewed annually. Risk management is ongoing within the charity and a risk register is held; unrestricted reserves are included within this and are monitored quarterly at board meetings.

We hold these reserves for the following reasons

  1. The need to fund a deficit in the operational budget should insufficient grant funding be raised within the current financial year.

  2. To give the trustees time to raise funds for the forthcoming financial year.

  3. Emergency funding is available should we need it i.e. unexpected large repair bills etc.

  4. To cover any unforeseen day-to-day operational costs, e.g. employing temporary staff to cover a long-term sickness absence.

  5. We have no planned commitments that will not be met by future income. Any matched income ESCAPE needs to provide would be minimal and has never previously exceeded £2,000.

  6. The need to fund short-term deficits in a cash budget, e.g. money may need to be spent before a funding grant is received.

  7. To prevent cash flow problems.

The amount of reserves we hold is reported to the board each quarter within the Current Accounts summary and is also regularly reviewed within the risk register.

The staffing for the organisation and the operational budget is set and agreed by the board each year in Quarter 4 for the forthcoming financial year.

Annually, we review the budget against income already secured and keep enough unrestricted reserves to cover the projected deficit for the forthcoming financial year.

8

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

Uncertainty over future income is and always has been our greatest risk so we try to hold between four and six months of reserves. Funding bids submitted can take six months for results to be known and we may need time to downsize should insufficient funding be raised.

The Charity Commission recommends small charities hold between four to six months unrestricted reserves. We are presently holding 5.3 months operating costs.

Our annual budget is currently £266,749 for 2023/24. We had secured £226,357 towards this leaving us with a starting deficit of £40,392. Therefore, our current reserves more than cover the projected deficit should we fail to raise any funds in 2023/24 which is unlikely. Trustees are confident that this is a realistic, achievable target for the charity.

Keeping appropriate reserve levels in line with funder expectations can be a fine balancing act. Some funders will not make grants if you have less than three months reserves.

The budget for 2023/24 is £266,749 and therefore the minimum unrestricted cash reserves target is £88,917 to £133,375 to be retained in reserves plus tangible fixed assets. Unrestricted cash reserves funds of £118,530; designated unrestricted funds of £25,243 and £17,599 of restricted cash funds apply at 31st March 2023. The charity also has £312,308 of fixed assets. The Trustees believe that COVD-19 has not had a significant impact on the levels of reserves held by ESCAPE.

The charity continues to work in an area of limited resources and insecurities over funding and is working hard to secure its core funding until 31st March 2024. To sustain essential services for beneficiaries and retain the optimum skilled paid staff team to undertake the work of the charity, it is imperative to secure significant funds.

Going Concern

The Trustees have performed a robust analysis of budget, forecasts, reserve levels and cash flows taking into consideration potential scenarios and the impact of COVID-19 could have on the charity. After making appropriate enquiries, the Board of Trustees has a reasonable expectation that ESCAPE has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, it continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

FUTURE PLANS

The charity will continue to work to consolidate, maintain and expand its existing service provision in Northumberland. The focus of our work will continue to be to relieve the poverty, sickness and distress of carers and families affected by substance use including children and young people and to advance education and training within communities. Our Family Champions Programme delivers more mutual aid for carers and our work to address the needs of Young People will continue thanks to funding from National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund until 30/06/2023. All of our activity will contribute towards the work outlined within the aforementioned National Drug and Alcohol Strategies.

Strategies we utilise to fulfil these objectives include:

All plans have been shaped and formulated by carers, peer mentors, volunteers, staff and trustees. Our plans are based around the two key priorities that have been identified:

9

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

  1. introducing and embedding a new, stronger mutual aid approach that provides training, opportunities and support to develop a bank of Family Champions who are ‘experts by experience’ and who have expressed their desire to give something back and help others to achieve positive change.

  2. piloting and introducing a new intervention support programme specifically designed and targeted at children and young people whose lives are blighted by the drug or alcohol dependency of others.

  3. A focus on our two priority areas, as identified above, will enable us to:

  4. reach and support more families including children and young people

  5. build a stronger and connected network of support across the county

  6. support people, including young people, to ‘give back’ and ‘help others in similar situations’

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE and MANAGEMENT

Governing document

ESCAPE Family Support Ltd is a charitable company controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, and complies with the Companies Act 2006 and SORP. Incorporated on September 30[th] 1996, and registered as a Charity on July 18th 1997, the Company was established under a Memorandum of Association, which established the objectives and powers of the Charitable Company and is governed under its Articles of Association. In the event of the company being wound up, members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.

Recruitment and Appointment of Management Committee

The directors of the company are also charity trustees for the purposes of Charity law and under the company's Articles are known as Members of the Management Committee, usually referred to as the Board of Trustees. Members of the Management Committee are elected to serve for a period of three years after which they must be re-elected at the next Annual General Meeting.

All members of the Management Committee gave their time voluntarily and received no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 16 to the accounts. The more traditional business, social work and nursing skills are well represented on the Management Committee. In the event of particular skills being lost due to retirements, Trustee positions are advertised; and individuals may also be approached to offer themselves for election to the Management Committee.

Trustee Induction and Training

New Trustees receive a comprehensive Induction Manual and are supported and familiarised with the work of the charity by the Chair and Chief Executive. The obligations of Management Committee members; the main documents which set out the operational framework for the charity including the Memorandum and Articles, resourcing and the current financial position as set out in the latest published accounts and future plans and objectives are all contained within the Induction Manual. Trustees are given a tour of the charity’s headquarters – Susan Kennedy Centre from which most services are delivered. New trustees are also signposted to the Charity Commission’s guide “The Essential Trustee”.

The Management Committee (the Board) seeks to ensure that it has the requisite skills available to it and that the groups which the Charity serves are reflected in the make-up of the trustee body. An annual skills audit is undertaken and training is provided as necessary to existing and all new trustees covering:

10

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

RISK MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

Governance

Following a trustee skills audit and analysis, further recruitment of at least one more trustee will take place.

Operational

Trustees have considered local need, sustainability of existing service provision and staffing levels; it was agreed that the current highly skilled team needed to be retained during 2023/24 and beyond.

Financial

Sustainability of the charity is a high priority. Securing National Lottery funding commencing 1[st] April 2023 and lasting until 30[th] June 2023 covers 9% of our organisational budget for 2023/24.

Statutory funding from Public Health Northumberland has been secured for the 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years following ESCAPE winning a contract to carryout work on their behalf, there is also a provision for the funding to continue for a further two years following this, but is not guaranteed at this time, which will also contribute significantly to sustainability. The charity will work to build on this for 2023/24 onwards.

The board has two working groups to strengthen its governance and aid sustainability – a Fundraising and Marketing Group and a Finance Group. Their work is ongoing.

External Risks

Trustees recognise that the last ten years of austerity and central government cuts to local authority and public health budgets have negatively impacted on opportunities for the charity to obtain statutory funding. This situation is expected to continue. The charity has responded by reassessing its priorities and activities to ensure funds are targeted at the highest areas of need and by seeking funds to March 2024 and beyond.

Potential external risks to information and cyber security have been mitigated by the engagement of an ISO 27001:2013 accredited ICT Maintenance and Information Security provider that provides quality antivirus and malware protection with systems maintained by highly skilled Information Security engineers through both onsite and remote support.

Compliance with Law and Regulation

The charity utilises the services of an employment law solicitor to ensure compliance with employment law. The work of the Finance Group includes self-assessment against Charity Commission guidelines and models of best practice.

11

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)

Organisational Structure

The Management Committee (the board) has seven members who meet six times a year for formal board meetings and who are responsible for the strategic direction, policy and governance of the charity. The Management Committee has members from a variety of backgrounds relevant to the work of the charity.

A scheme of delegation is in place and day-to-day responsibility for the provision of the services rests with the Voluntary Chief Executive. The voluntary Chief Executive is responsible for ensuring that the charity delivers the services specified and that key performance indicators are met. In so far as it is complementary to the charity's objects, the charity is guided by both local and national policy.

Monthly full team meetings inform the future planning and strategic thinking of the management committee (the board) and are open to staff, volunteers and peer mentors.

In addition, user and carer involvement groups and surveys of stakeholders inform the work of the charity.

The charity is committed to working in partnership with other organisations and works closely with, and is represented on, Northumberland's Drug and Alcohol Steering Group; Carers Partnership Board and Young Carer Steering Group. More widely it works closely with bodies that impact on recovery from substance misuse and provide mutual aid to support recovery. Representatives regularly attend steering and special interest groups which impact on health and crime-related programmes and strategies are discussed, analysed, and learning disseminated. We share knowledge, experience and best practice, assisting communities and organisations with identified need, which have heard of our work and wish to replicate it in some form. We circulate external evaluations of our work to partners and funders to share findings and knowledge.

Close working partnerships have been developed with Northumberland Communities Thriving Together, Community Mental Health Teams, Adult and Children's Social Services, Carers Northumberland, Northumberland Recovery Partnership, Relate, Cygnus, Northumberland CVA, Northumberland CAB, Northumberland Domestic Abuse Service, Mental Health Concern, Northumberland Recovery College, Briardale House and other Community Groups. The charity initially achieved the Investors in People Gold Standard and retained this until March 2022 when a rare Investor in People Platinum standard was achieved which the charity continues to hold.

Related Parties

In so far as it is complementary to the charity’s objects, the charity is guided by both local and national policies including Drug and Alcohol and Carer Strategies. The local Drug and Alcohol Steering Group, Carer Partnership Board and Young Carer Steering Group are the local partnerships charged with responsibility for delivering these strategies at our local level and includes representatives from amongst others, the local authority, health, and voluntary sector agencies. ESCAPE Family Support is a member of these partnership groups, and its representatives regularly attend the meetings.

Trustees Janet Murphy and Stephen Murphy are related (mother and son).

12

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES IN RELATION TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT

The charity trustees are responsible for preparing a trustees’ annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires the charity trustees to prepare financial statements for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and the group and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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

Members of the Management Committee

Members of the Management Committee, who are directors for the purpose of company law and trustees for the purpose of charity law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report are set out on page 1. In accordance with company law, as the company’s directors, we certify that: so far as we are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the company’s Independent Examiners are unaware; and as the directors of the company we have taken all the steps that we ought to have taken in order to make ourselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity’s Independent Examiners are aware of that information.

Independent Examiners

Connected Voice Business Services Ltd were re-appointed as the charity’s Independent Examiners during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 18[th] October 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

H Madin - Treasurer

13

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES

For the year ended 31 March 2023

I report on the financial statements of ESCAPE Family Support Limited for the year ended 31 March 2023, which are set out on pages 15 to 31.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees (who are also directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 ("the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner's statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Lilian Hetherington FCA Connected Voice Business Services Ltd One Strawberry Lane Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4BX

Date: 22 November 2023

14

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (SoFA)

(Including Summary Income and Expenditure Account )

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Income From Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Funds Funds 2023 2022
Donations and Legacies Notes
6		 £
6,226		 £
-		 £
6,226		 £
2,850
Charitable Activities
Grants and Statutory Funding 7 5,000 300,293 305,293 217,967
Other Trading Activities 8 3,638 - 3,638 -
Investments 9 125 - 125 7
Total Income 14,989 300,293 315,282 220,824
Expenditure on Unrestricted Restricted Total 2023 Total
Funds Funds 2022
£ £ £ £
Raising Funds 10
5,110		 2,430 7,540 6,063
Charitable Activities
Operations of the charity 11
8,187		 304,675 312,862 238,385
Total Expenditure 13,297 307,105 **320,402 ** 244,448
Net Income/(Expenditure) and 1,692 (6,812) (5,120) (23.624)
net movement of funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total Funds Brought forward 237,372 241,427 478,799 502,423
Total Funds Carried Forward 239,064 234,615 473,679 478,799

The Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) includes all grants and losses recognised during the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

The notes on pages 17 to 31 form an integral part of these financial statements.

15

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee)

BALANCE SHEET

As at 31 March 2023

Notes
Fixed Assets
Tangible Assets
18
Intangible Assets
19
Total Fixed Assets
Current Assets
Debtors
20
Cash at bank and in
hand
21
Total current assets
Current Liabilities
Creditors:
Due within one year
22
Current Liabilities
Net Current Assets
Total net assets
Funds of the charity
Unrestricted Funds
Restricted Funds
Total Funds of the
charity		 2023
£
306,308
6,000		 2023
£
312,308
161,371		 2022
£
322,483
-		 2022
£
322,483
156,316
1,665
177,382		 280
179,430
179,047
(17,676)		 179,710
(23,394)
(17,676) (23,394)
473,679 478,799
239,064
234,615		 237,372
241,427
473,679 478,799

The company was entitled to an exemption from audit under s477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of the accounts. These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to small companies subject to the small companies regime and in accordance with FRS102 SORP.

The notes on pages 17 to 31 form an integral part of these financial statements.

These accounts were approved by the Board on: 18[th] October 2023

Signed on behalf of the Board by: H Madin

Treasurer

16

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED (A company limited by guarantee) NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31 March 2023

1. Accounting Policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

2. Basis of Accounting

2.1 Basis of preparation

These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.

The accounts 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) (effective 1 January 2019) – Charities SORP (FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

ESCAPE Family Support Limited meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

2.2 Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. In making their assessment the trustees have reviewed and considered relevant information, including their annual budget and future cash flows. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the trustees have revised their forecasts to take into account measures that they can take with the current resources available to mitigate the impact of the current adverse conditions. The trustees are of the view that the immediate future of the charity is secure and that there are no material uncertainties around the fact that ESCAPE can continue to operate for the next twelve months and on that basis the charity is a going concern.

3. Income

3.1 Recognition of Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the resources, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is more likely than not that the resources will be received, and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.

3.2 Offsetting

There has been no offsetting of assets and liabilities, or income or expenses, unless required or permitted by FRS 102 SORP or FRS 102.

3.3 Grants and Donations

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

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

17

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

3.4 Donated Goods and Services

Donated goods are measured at fair value (the amount for which the asset could be exchanged) unless impractical to do so.

Donated services and facilities are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when received at the value of the gift to the charity provided that the value of the gift can be measured reliably. Donated services and facilities that are consumed immediately are recognised as income with the equivalent amount recognised as an expense under the appropriate heading in the SoFA.

3.5 Volunteer Help

The value of volunteer help is not included within the accounts but is described within the Trustees Report.

3.6 Interest Receivable

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

3.7 Income from membership subscriptions

Membership subscriptions received in the nature of a gift are recognised in donations and legacies.

Membership subscriptions which gives a member the right to buy services or other benefits are recognised as income earned from the provision of goods and services as income from charitable activities.

3.8 Investment gains and losses

This includes any realised or unrealised gains or losses on the sale of investments and any gain or loss resulting from revaluing investments to market value at the end of the year.

3.9 Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose.

Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.

4. Expenditure and Liabilities

4.1 Liability Recognition

Liabilities are recognised when it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.

18

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

4.2 Charitable Activities

All expenditure is accounted for on an accrual basis. Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of work and other activities undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs.

4.3 Governance and Support Costs

Support costs have been allocated between governance cost and other support. Governance costs comprise all costs involving public accountability of the charity and its compliance with regulation and good practice.

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

4.4 Irrecoverable VAT

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

4.5 Creditors

The charity has creditors that are measured at settlement amounts less any trade discounts available.

4.6 Provision for Liabilities

A liability is measured on recognition at its historical cost and then subsequently measured at the best estimate of the amount required to settle the obligation at the reporting date.

4.7 Pensions

The pension costs charged in the financial statements represent the contribution payable by the charity during the year.

5. Assets

5.1 Tangible fixed assets used by the charity

Individual fixed assets costing £1,000 or more are capitalised at cost and are depreciated over their estimated useful life on a reducing value basis as follows:

Asset Type Depreciation basis
Property improvement costs 5% straight line
Office and computer equipment 25% straight line
Caravan 10% straight line
Other 25% straight line

5.2 Intangible fixed assets used by the charity

Development costs that are directly attributable to the design and testing of identifiable and unique software products controlled by the charity are recognised as intangible assets when the following criteria are met:

19

Charity Number 1063500 Company Number 03256554

ESCAPE FAMILY SUPPORT LIMITED

(A company limited by guarantee)

Development costs are not amortised until the software is brought into use.

5.3 Debtors

Debtors are measured at their receivable amounts, being the amount, the charity anticipates it will receive in settlement of the debt.

20

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Analysis of income

6
7		 Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Grant income
RW Mann
The Asda Foundation
The Percy Hedley Trust
Northumberland County
Council Jubilee Fund
Arnold Clark Foundation
JH Burn Charity Trust
Statutory income
Northumberland County
Council - Carers' Grant
Mental Health Concern
Ashington Town Council
Amounts c/f
The Ballinger Trust
The Barbour Foundation
Freemasons of Northumberland
Northumberland County Council
Blyth Town Council
Donations and grants
National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund
Big Lottery Awards for All
The Shears Foundation
Santander Foundation
The Screwfix Foundation
Release of retained cash
Bernard Sunley Foundation
The Clothworkers' Foundation
Sir James Knott Foundation
The B&Q Foundation
The Joicey Trust
Albert Hunt
Garfield Weston
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Public Health at Northumberland County Council
Public Health Covid-19 Funding		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
6,226
6,226
Unrestricted
Funds
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
-
-
Restricted
Funds
£
85,170
27,500
25,000
9,996
9,984
5,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
3,400
1,500
998
700
500
500
-
-
-
-
-
55,000
25,000
12,935
6,650
6,000
-
-
-
295,833		 Total
2023
£
6,226
-
6,226
Total
2023
£
85,170
27,500
25,000
9,996
9,984
5,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
3,400
1,500
998
700
500
500
-
-
-
-
-
55,000
25,000
12,935
6,650
6,000
-
-
-
295,833		 Total
2022
£
2,808
42
2,850
Total
2022
£
81,170
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
998
-
-
-
10,000
5,000
1,000
1,000
200
55,000
-
15,185
4,000
-
25,000
9,000
4,794
212,347

21

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

8
9		 Analysis of incomecontinued
Other income
Amounts b/f
Other income
NI Employment allowance
Sponsorship Blyth Harbour
Commission
Other trading activities
Other sales
Carers' Feedback Survey
Income from investments
Room hire
Bank interest		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
-
-
5,000
-
5,000
2,745
773
120
3,638
Unrestricted
Funds
£
125
125		 Restricted
Funds
£
295,833
3,960
-
500
300,293
-
-
-
-
Restricted
Funds
£
-
-		 Total
2023
£
295,833
3,960
5,000
500
305,293
2,745
773
120
3,638
Total
2023
£
125
125		 Total
2022
£
212,347
5,620
-
-
217,967
-
-
-
-
Total
2022
£
7
7

Income was £315,282 (2022: £220,824) of which £14,989 was unrestricted or designated (2022: £2,695) and £300,293 was restricted (2022: £218,129)

Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

10 Raising funds
Fundraising costs		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
5,110
5,110		 Restricted
Funds
£
2,430
2,430		 Total
2023
£
7,540
7,540		 Total
2022
£
6,063
6,063

22

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

11 Charitable activities
Direct costs
Staff costs
Training costs
Respite costs (caravan)
Travel costs
Client costs
Helpline and outreach
Support costs
Staff costs
Utilities
General running costs
Insurance
Repairs and renewals
Cleaning
Telephone
Internet and ICT costs
Stationery and printing
Sundry
Refreshments
Room Hire
Professional fees
Bank charges
Furniture replacement costs
Building maintenance costs
Small equipment hire
Evaluation fees
C/fwd balance
Governance costs
Independent examiner's fees for reporting on the
accounts
Depreciation
Volunteer costs including travel
Small equipment
B/fwd balance		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
3,657
-
-
-
-
-
-
419
-
63
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,153
222
-
673
-
-
-
-
8,187
8,187
-
8,187		 Restricted
Funds
£
140,307
2,498
6,617
2
2,759
-
3,453
51,254
5,498
1,710
-
930
216
-
6,953
4,388
-
385
6,105
5,064
-
10,838
19,299
8,325
22,332
288
4,500
303,721
303,721
954
304,675		 Total
2023
£
143,964
2,498
6,617
2
2,759
-
3,453
51,673
5,498
1,773
-
930
216
-
6,953
4,388
-
385
6,105
8,217
222
10,838
19,972
8,325
22,332
288
4,500
311,908
311,908
954
312,862		 Total
2022
£
141,408
2,986
5,727
109
1,293
1,403
1,951
21,822
4,893
117
11,072
1,625
-
482
8,446
2,654
163
250
-
4,220
164
6,790
19,815
-
-
-
-
237,390
237,390
995
238,385

Expenditure on charitable activities was £320,402 (2022: £244,448) of which £13,297 was unrestricted or designated (2022: £1,365) and £307,105 was restricted (2022: £243,083)

23

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

12 Fees for examination of the accounts

es for examination of the accounts
Independent examiner's fees for reporting on the accounts 2023
£
954		 2022
£
995

There were no other fees paid to the examiner (2022: £nil)

13
Other employee benefits
Pension costs (defined contribution pension plan)
Analysis of staff costs and the cost of key management personnel
Salaries and wages
Social security costs		 2023
£
172,905
13,727
7,863
1,141
195,636		 2022
£
150,781
10,878
6,787
846
169,292

No employee received remuneration above £60,000 (2022: nil)

The key management personnel of the charity, comprise the trustees and the Chief Executive. The total benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £0. (2021: £0)

14 Staff numbers

The average monthly head count was 9 staff (2022: 6 staff) and the average monthly number of full-time equivalent employees during the year were as follows:

15 Defined contribution pension scheme
The parts of the charity in which the employees work
Charitable activities		 2023
Number
5.6		 2022
Number
5.6

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.

The employer's pension costs represent contributions payable by the charity to the fund and amount to £7,863 (2022: £6,787). There was £0 outstanding as at 31 March 2023 (2022: £0).

None of the trustees have been paid any remuneration or received any other benefits from an employment with their charity or a related entity.

Trustees' expenses

The following details the expenses incurred by the trustees.

Two trustees acting as volunteers were reimbursed travel expenses.
Tom Devine
Janet Murphy		 2023
£
1,627
84
1,711		 2022
£
1,148
-
1,148

24

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Transactions with related parties

As at 31 March 2023

There were no related party tranactions for the year ended 31 March 2023.

As at 31 March 2022

Name of the trustee or related Relationship to charity Description of the party transaction £ Trustee Stephen Murphy Worked for a supplier to the IT support contract and 7,856 charity, Vital Services North supply of computer East Limited but has now equipment resigned.

17 Corporation Taxation

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objectives.

18 Tangible fixed assets
Cost
At 1 April 2022
Additions
Disposals
At 31 March 2023
Depreciation
Basis
Rate
At 1 April 2022
Depreciation charge for year
Disposals
At 31 March 2023
Net book value
At 31 March 2022
At 31 March 2023		 Freehold
property
£
341,147
-
-
341,147
SL
5%
50,857
12,714
-
63,571
290,290
277,576		 Office and
computer
equipment
£
21,818
3,797
(1,954)
23,661
SL
25%
15,137
2,913
(1,954)
16,096
6,681
7,565		 Caravan
£
32,035
-
-
32,035
SL
10%
9,612
3,204
-
12,816
22,423
19,219		 Other
equipment
£
4,561
-
-
4,561
SL
25%
1,472
1,141
-
2,613
3,089
1,948		 Total
£
399,561
3,797
( 1,954 )
401,404
77,078
19,972
( 1,954 )
95,096
322,483
306,308

25

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For theyear ended 31 March 2023
19 Intangible fixed assets
Cost
At 1 April 2022
Additions
At 31 March 2023
Amortisation
At 1 April 2022
Amortisation charge for year
At 31 March 2023
Net book value
At 31 March 2022
At 31 March 2023		 Software
Development
£
-
6,000
6,000
-
-
-
-
6,000		 Total
£
-
6,000
6,000
-
-
-
-
6,000
20 Debtors and prepayments (receivable within 1 year)
21
Short term deposits
Cash at bank
Cash in hand
22
Debtors
Creditors and accruals (payable within 1 year)
Deferred income
Independent examination of accounts
Cash at bank and in hand
Accruals
Other creditors		 2023
£
1,665
1,665
2023
£
65,930
111,426
26
177,382
2023
£
1,267
954
15,455
17,676		 2022
£
280
280
2022
£
65,805
113,549
76
179,430
2022
£
528
2,483
20,384
23,395

26

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

23 Deferred income

Deferred income comprises of advance payments from grants that relate to future periods

Amount deferred in year
Amount released to income earned from
charitable activities
Balance carried forward
Balance brought forward		 2023
£
20,384
( 20,384 )
15,455
15,455		 2022
£
65,000
( 65,000 )
20,384
20,384

24 Events after the end of the reporting period

No events (not requiring adjustment to the accounts) have occurred after the end of the reporting period but before the accounts are authorised which relate to conditions that arose after the end of the reporting period.

25 Analysis of charitable funds

Analysis of movements in unrestricted funds As at 31 March 2023

As at 31 March 2023
Unrestricted funds
General unrestricted fund
Designated funds
Unrestricted fixed assets
Contingency
System upgrade
Totals		 Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
116,165
89,964
10,618
20,625
237,372		 Incoming
resources
£
14,989
-
-
-
14,989		 Resources
expended
£
( 12,624 )
( 673 )
-
-
(13,297)		 Transfers
£
-
6,000
-
( 6,000 )
-		 Fund
balances
carried
forward
£
118,530
95,291
10,618
14,625
239,064

27

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

As at 31 March 2022

As at 31 March 2022
Unrestricted funds
General unrestricted fund
Designated funds
Unrestricted fixed assets
Contingency
System upgrade
Totals		 Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
119,787
130,058
10,618
15,000
275,463		 Incoming
resources
£
2,695
-
-
-
2,695		 Resources
expended
£
( 692 )
( 673 )
-
-
(1,365)		 Transfers
£
( 5,625 )
( 39,421 )
-
5,625
(39,421)		 Fund
balances
carried
forward
£
116,165
89,964
10,618
20,625
237,372

Purpose of unrestricted funds

General unrestricted fund Unrestricted fixed assets Contingency System upgrade

The 'free reserves' after allowing for designated funds. The current value of unrestricted fixed assets. Contingency to cover one off costs and potential redundancies. For new IT infrastructure including new software and processes.

Analysis of movement in restricted funds

As at 31 March 2023

As at 31 March 2023
Analysis of movement in restricted funds
Fund
balances
brought
forward
Restricted fixed assets
£
Susan Kennedy Centre
refurbishment
203,420
Restricted office, computer and
other equipment
9,148
Caravan upgrade
19,950
Restricted funds
Susan Kennedy Centre
1,315
Respite project
1,133
Centre running costs
725
National lottery Reaching
Communities
2,161
Public Health
601
Mental Health concern
2,768
Small equipment
206
Santander Foundation
-
Blyth Town Council
-
Awards for all
-
RW Mann
-
The Joicey Trust
-
The Shears Foundation
-
The Percy Hedley Trust
-
Garfield Weston
-
Northumberland County Council
Carers' Grant
-
Northumberland County Council
Jubilee Fund
-
Ashington Town Council
-
Asda Foundation
-
Port of Blyth Commissioners
-
Ballinger Trust
-
Susan Kennedy Centre refurbishment
The Cloth Workers Foundation
-
Albert Hunt
-
Bernard Sunley Foundation
-
B&Q Foundation
-
Screwfix Foundation
-
Totals
241,427		 Incoming
resources
£
-
-
-
-
3,960
-
85,170
55,000
12,935
-
998
6,650
9,984
1,500
3,400
5,000
500
25,000
25,000
500
6,000
700
500
9,996
27,500
5,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
300,293		 Resources
expended
£
( 12,714 )
( 3,735 )
( 2,850 )
-
( 6,617 )
( 6 )
( 87,221 )
( 55,601 )
( 15,512 )
-
( 998 )
( 6,650 )
( 8,820 )
( 465 )
( 13 )
( 4,362 )
( 40 )
( 23,082 )
( 25,000 )
( 500 )
( 6,000 )
( 367 )
( 500 )
( 6,376 )
( 19,676 )
( 5,000 )
( 5,000 )
( 5,000 )
( 5,000 )
(307,105)		 Transfers
£
-
3,797
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
( 3,797 )
-
-
-
-
-		 Fund
balances
carried
forward
£
190,706
9,210
17,100
1,315
( 1,524 )
719
110
-
191
206
-
-
1,164
1,035
3,387
638
460
1,918
-
-
-
333
-
3,620
4,027
-
-
-
-
234,615

28

(A company limited by guarantee)

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

As at 31 March 2022

As at 31 March 2022
Restricted fixed assets
Susan Kennedy Centre
refurbishment
Restricted office, computer and
other equipment
Caravan upgrade
Restricted funds
Client activities
Susan Kennedy Centre
Peer mentor coordinator
Family Support
Training officer salary
Helpline /Outreach
Volunteer costs
Respite project
Senior practitioner salary
Centre running costs
Centre management costs
National lottery Reaching
Communities
Sir James Knott Foundation
The Barbour Foundation
Freemasons of Northumberland
Arnold Clark Foundation
Santander Foundation
J H Burn Charity Trust
Public Health
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust
Mental Health Concern
Public Health COVID 19 Funding
Northumberland County Council
Blyth Town Council
Small equipment
Totals		 Fund
balances
brought
forward
£
176,714
12,725
22,800
( 1,365 )
( 1,647 )
71
4,649
2,461
352
2,831
1,549
500
2,377
2,943
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
226,960		 Incoming
resources
£
-
-
-
-
167
-
-
-
-
-
5,620
-
-
-
81,170
10,000
5,000
1,000
832
998
200
55,000
25,000
15,185
9,000
4,794
4,000
163
218,129		 Resources
expended
£
( 12,715 )
( 3,577 )
( 2,850 )
-
2,416
-
-
( 1,255 )
-
-
( 5,727 )
-
( 1,624 )
-
( 84,454 )
( 10,967 )
( 5,000 )
( 1,000 )
( 832 )
( 998 )
( 200 )
( 55,573 )
( 25,000 )
( 15,933 )
( 9,000 )
( 4,794 )
( 4,000 )
-
(243,083)		 Transfers
£
39,421
-
-
1,365
379
( 71 )
( 4,649 )
( 1,206 )
( 352 )
( 2,831 )
( 309 )
( 500 )
( 28 )
( 2,943 )
5,445
967
-
-
-
-
-
1,174
-
3,516
-
-
-
43
39,421		 Fund
balances
carried
forward
£
203,420
9,148
19,950
-
1,315
-
-
-
-
-
1,133
-
725
-
2,161
-
-
-
-
-
-
601
-
2,768
-
-
-
206
241,427

29

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Purpose of restricted funds

Restricted Funds represent income resources used for a specific purpose by the charity in line with requirements set down by the donor. These have been bought together into other restricted balances in total because there should only be a small amount of funds carried forward between financial years and will only be spend on areas specified by the donor in the financial year of the initial grant.

The balance of restricted funds that paid for the refurbishment of the Susan Kennedy Centre.

Susan Kennedy Centre assets

The balance of the restricted funds that paid for restricted office, computer and other equipment. Restricted for the caravan upgrade. Restricted for the Susan Kennedy Centre running costs. Restricted to salary of Peer Mentor coordinators post. Restricted for the respite project. Restricted to centre running costs.

Restricted office and computer equipment Caravan upgrade Susan Kennedy Centre Peer Monitor Co-ordinator Respite Project Centre Running Costs National Lottery Reaching Communities Santander Foundation Public Health Northumbria NHS Health Trust Mental Health Concern Blyth Town Council

Restricted to reaching communities Restricted to intern’s salary costs Restricted to running costs Restricted to Service Manager salary costs Restricted to Family Support Worker salary costs Restricted to running costs Restricted to the purchase of small equipment or contributions towards the purchase of larger items Restricted to running costs Restricted to running costs

Small equipment Awards for all RW Mann The Joicey Trust

Restricted to running costs Restricted to running costs Restricted to running costs Restricted to running costs Restricted to costs associated with the Jubilee event Restricted to running costs Restricted to items to support the work done with young people Restricted to running costs Restricted to Family Support Worker salary costs Restricted to the building maintenance project and purchase of equipment for the same Restricted to building maintenance/refurbishment costs Restricted to building maintenance/refurbishment costs Restricted to building maintenance/refurbishment costs Restricted to building maintenance/refurbishment costs

The Shears Foundation The Percy Hedley Foundation Garfield Weston Northumberland County Council Ashington Town Council Asda Foundation Port of Blyth Commissioners Ballinger Trust

The Clothworkers Foundation Albert Hunt Screwfix Foundation Bernard Sunley Foundation B&Q Foundation

Transfers between funds As at 31 March 2023

Transfers between funds
As at 31 March 2023
Transfer between The
Clothworkers' Foundation and
fixed assets
As at 31 March 2022
Between un-restricted fixed
assets and The Susan Kennedy
Centre
Reason for transfer
Amount to cover the depreciation of items bought as part
of the refurbishment.
Reason for transfer
Correction of funding received to the correct restricted
fund.		 Amount
£
3,797
Amount
£
39,421

30

ESCAPE Family Support Limited

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

26 Capital commitments

As at 31 March 2023, the charity had capital commitments of £4,027 relating to the refurbishment of the Susan Kennedy Centre (2022 - £nil)

Analysis of net assets between funds
Funds
£
Tangible fixed assets
-
Cash at bank and in hand
134,540
( 13,636 )
120,904
Other net current assets/(liabilities)
Unrestricted		 Designated
Funds
£
95,291
25,243
-
120,534		 Restricted
Funds
£
217,017
17,599
( 2,375 )
232,241		 Total
2023
£
312,308
177,382
( 16,011 )
473,679		 Total
2022
£
322,483
179,430
( 23,114 )
478,799

31