2023-03-31-accounts - FearFree Charity

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Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 Company Registration Number 03360057 Charity Number 1064764

Pages OPENING STATEMENT FROM THE CHAIR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE ..............................................4-5 LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION ........................................................................................6 VISION, MISSION, VALUES ...............................................................................................................................8 PUBLIC BENEFIT ....................................................................................................................................................9 OUR SERVICES .......................................................................................................................................................9 OUR STAFF ............................................................................................................................................................14 OUR VOLUNTEERS.............................................................................................................................................14 ACTIVITY IN 2022-23 ........................................................................................................................................20 LOOKING FORWARD ........................................................................................................................................22 FINANCIAL REVIEW ...........................................................................................................................................24 GOVERNANCE .....................................................................................................................................................25 TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES.........................................................................................................................31 INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT ...........................................................................................................33 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES ....................................................................................................37 BALANCE SHEETS ..............................................................................................................................................38 STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS AND NOTES TO THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT .........................39 NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS ............................................................................................................................40

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

The last year marked a huge transition year for the charity, with virtually all service contracts being re-tendered and new services beginning. This meant significant change for our wonderful team of staff and volunteers who managed the upheaval whilst maintaining their

utter dedication to the most important people in our charity, our clients. We are grateful to everyone for their commitment and, in particular, to our team of volunteers who give their time and expertise freely and willingly.

Thank you too to all our commissioners, contractors and partners, it is only together we serve so many thousands of clients and their families and continue to strive to break the cycle of abuse.

During the year, there has also been changes on the Board of Trustees as we said goodbye to both Fiona Carter and Steve Offord and thank them for their dedicated service to the charity. Looking forward, we wish a warm welcome to two new Trustees with Tim Jackson and Nigel Stevens joining us this year, both of whom have an array of expertise to offer FearFree.

The charity finances continue to be carefully managed and we ended the year 22/23 with a deficit which was a carefully managed investment budget to allowed us to launch the charity’s new three year strategy, a new brand and a new fundraising strategy which in turn will bring greater sustainability for the charity for years to come.

Sadly my term of office completes this year and I will be leaving FearFree in December at the AGM. Thank you to all the wonderful Trustees I have served with past and present; it has been an honour and pleasure working with you. And thank you to the Leadership Team for their dedication and sheer determination during a time of significant change. Whilst my time at FearFree has come to an end, I will be excited to be hand over to the new Chair an organisation utterly transformed and thriving as it stretches itself into a bright new future.

Ann Cornelius Chair

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Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

A difficult reality of our work is the constantly changing contracting arena. We are fortunate to hold contracts with Regional Councils, Police and Crime Commissioners the NHS as well as partners in the charity sector. This last year meant that virtually every contract and was re-tendered

and the difficulties of additional workload and staffing changes meant the year was our most challenging ever.

A huge thank you is required to all the staff and volunteers who were affected by these changes and for their complete dedication to our clients throughout. An extra special thank you is needed to my heroic Leadership Team who weathered a stormy year with aplomb, and we are now a better charity because of it.

The last year has meant the start of our fundraising strategy, the recruitment of our Head of Fundraising, Jessica Gay and the start of her burgeoning team of professional fundraisers for the first time in the charity’s history. We’ve had a great beginning with a committed group of new corporate partners to support us and we have ambitious plans to expand a number of income streams this next year, the start of our marketing strategy and an exciting start to charity retail, making 2023/34 a pivotal but exciting year ahead for the charity.

This year, we marked our 30th anniversary as a registered charity. We celebrated three decades of service and told the stories of some of the thousands of clients whose lives have been changed through our work.

This year, has marked the last year of office of our Chair, Ann Cornelius, after many years’ service as a Trustee and latterly as Chair. Ann’s leadership of the Board both before and since my appointment has been exemplary and she will be very much missed.

We don’t operate in isolation but in a huge wider team, our extraordinary staff work with wonderful commissioners and partners across councils, social care, the police and criminal justice teams, probation services, the military, GP’s and hospitals, academia and our charity sector colleagues. It’s been both a pleasure and privilege working with you this last year and working together to break the cycle of abuse.

Claire Marshall Chief Executive

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Legal and Administrative Information

Charity Name FearFree Charity Limited Charity Registration 1064764 Incorporation Company Limited by Guarantee registered number 3360057 Registered Office Oak House Epsom Square White Horse Business Park Trowbridge BA14 0XG Our Board of Trustees Chair Ann Cornelius BSc Econ (Hons) , CIHCM Resigned 18 December 2023 Vice Chair Annette Foster BA (Hons) Resigned 20 October 2022 Rebecca Ayres BSc MA Dipsw Cindy Ervine LLB (Hons) Steve Offord BA (Hons) Resigned 8 February 2023 Fiona Carter ACA Resigned 8 February 2023 Clare Fielden MCIPD Adrian Long Nigel Stevens Appointed 24 May 2023 Tim Jackson BSC FCA Appointed 24 May 2023 Our Senior Management Team Chief Executive Officer Claire A Marshall MA, MCIoF, MIoD Director of Service Emily Denne BA (Hons) Appointed 1 April 2022 Head of People Sarah-Jane-King MCIPD Head of Finance Rodger Pressland Appointed 1 June 2023 Head of Fundraising Jessica Gay Appointed 1 April 2022 Principal Bankers CAF Bank Limited Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ Auditor Burton Sweet Limited The Clock Tower 5 Farleigh Court Old Weston Road Flax Bourton Bristol BS48 1UR

Quote from a client:

“They have never judged my comments, never made by guilty, ashamed, stupid or embarrassed – all the feelings I have lived with for years.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

FearFree is breaking the cycle of domestic abuse, sexual violence and stalking through a comprehensive range of services operating across the South West.

From awareness and prevention, through safety and support, to empowerment and recovery, we are here to support our clients’ every step of their journey, to build a life free from fear.

Our clients’ needs are as diverse as they are unique, we are a provider of trauma informed services personalised to each individual. As a well-loved charity, we provide support completely free of charge and for all sexes, backgrounds and beliefs. We work with victims and their children to understand what is happening to them, to help them feel safe and supported and ultimately take control of their lives and eventual recovery.

We are also specialists in behaviour change programmes for perpetrators or abusers who are willing to work with us to understand and ultimately change their behaviour for the better.

We all know someone who has experienced domestic abuse, sexual violence or stalking but we may not realise it. One in four women have experienced domestic abuse or sexual violence. One in 20 men have experienced sexual violence.

On average, domestic abuse victims experience 50 incidents of abuse before they get effective help – often living in fear for years, as they suffer repeated harassment, coercion, financial control, verbal abuse and physical, sometimes sexual violence.

Just 1 in 6 sexual violence victims ever seek help. Many victims of abuse don’t report their abuser for fear of reprisals, or in the belief that they’ll change. They may have low self-esteem, feel helpless, trapped and economically dependent. And they can be scared that law enforcement and social services won’t take their situation seriously.

With 80% of abusers having suffered an abusive past themselves, it’s easy to see how domestic abuse and sexual violence becomes a cyclical pattern of behaviour that ruins lives. Through this holistic approach we can change lives, provide hope for the future and give people the opportunity and skills to flourish in their future relationships.

Not just for the short term, not just until the next time. But permanently.

Together, we can break the cycle.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Vision:

Working for a future where those trapped in a cycle of domestic abuse, sexual violence and stalking can break free and live a life free from fear.

Purpose:

We will break the cycle of abuse and sexual violence because we will:

Help build public awareness and support those affected by abuse to recognise the signs and symptoms of unhealthy behaviours and relationships.
Give people the confidence to change or leave abusive experiences or relationships behind and help them to find opportunities to rebuild their lives.
Help abusers and survivors recognise the causes and impacts of their behaviour and support them in their efforts to change for the better

Values

We are:

Kind (generous of spirit)
Receptive (believing, empathetic)
Open (welcoming, friendly)
Expert (applying deep knowledge and know-how)
Pragmatic (practical, solution-focused)
Robust (strong, solid, reliable)

Quote from professional partner and client:

This service is fantastic. I have no doubt it has saved and changed lives.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Our Purposes and Activities

Our charity’s purposes are set out in the objects contained in the company’s Articles of Association. The main objects include:

Support adults and children who are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse, sexual violence and stalking.

The aims of our charity are to work with victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse, sexual violence and stalking and provide support the families of those affected and work to encourage healthy relationships. Our aims fully reflect the purposes that the charity was set up to further.

We review our aims, objectives and activities each year. This review looks at what we achieved and the outcomes of our work in the previous 12 months and assesses the success of each key activity and the benefits they have brought to those groups of people we are established to help. The review also helps us ensure our aims, objectives and activities remained focused on our stated purposes. We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims 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. To enhance this review we produce an Equality Monitoring report showing demographic and biographical details of the team and service users.

Public Benefit

In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the trustees have considered Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, including the guidance ‘public benefit: running a charity. Our main objectives for the year continued to be promoting healthy relationships, preventing family crises and relieving the needs of those affected. The strategies we use to meet these objectives include:

Providing a range of services that promote healthy relationships and prevent family crises.
Focusing on encouraging healthy relationships, and the impact on family, friends and the wider community.
Applying national standards of service delivery.
Working in partnership with other agencies to ensure the widest range of services is available to best match the needs of the community.
Promoting awareness of healthy relationships, to reduce the likelihood of young people engaging in harmful behaviour.

Our main activities and the groups we aim to help are described below. Our main charitable activities consist of the services we provide and are demonstrably undertaken purely for public benefit.

Putting these strategies into action we have four major areas of activity which are: domestic abuse outreach work; support for children and young people affected by domestic abuse; programmes for perpetrators to help them change their abusive behaviour; and mentoring/ befriending services to help people move on. Our services described below focus very much on the safety of those affected by domestic abuse.

Our service offer:

FearFree are proud to offer Domestic Abuse, Sexual Violence and Stalking services across the South-West. We recognise that whilst all three forms of abuse have distinct characteristics and risks, they remain intrinsically interlinked. Statistics demonstrate that approximately 50% of Sexual Violence is domestic in nature (committed by someone that the victim has [or had] an intimate or familial relationship with) and stalking behaviour remains a highly significant risk for domestic homicide. Research tells us that stalking had been a factor in approximately 94% of domestic homicides. FearFree therefore offers a truly unique service through our expertise in all three forms of abuse.

Our ethos is to offer an inclusive and trauma-informed service to anyone who needs it. We are proud to work with victims, survivors, perpetrators, and children / young people impacted by abuse, with the aim of breaking the cycle of abuse. We will work with victims and survivors regardless of when the abuse occurred, or whether it was reported to the Police.

FearFree are strong advocates for multi-agency practice, and we are proud to work in a multi- agency framework, recognising that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. We work closely with statutory and voluntary partners across the South-West and are grateful for their insights and support. Our service receives regular feedback from professional partners highlighting our strong working relationships:

“You have changed her life and enabled her to be resilient and confident and that she feels safe.”

Social Worker describing our impact on a service user.

Domestic Abuse Services:

FearFree offer Domestic Abuse Services across Wiltshire and Devon, providing support to victims / survivors and children and young people impacted by abuse. Over the last financial year, the services again saw an ongoing high referral numbers, and an increased complexity in case presentation, requiring

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

us to adapt our practice to meet demand. Across our victim Domestic Abuse services, FearFree received a total of 10,231 referrals in the year.

Our dedicated, skilled and passionate teams provide trauma-informed services, designed to meet the individual needs of each service user. This means support can look different to each individual – and might involve group work, one-to-one support or a brief intervention.

Whilst the Domestic Abuse Services across Wiltshire and Devon are funded differently, they offer broadly similar services – incorporating triage and referral services, high risk intervention, and support for children and young people. The primary aim for the support is to reduce risk and increase safety, enabling individuals to live a life free from fear.

To ensure each individual receives the right support for them, we complete a risk assessment (Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment – DASH) with each adult victim/survivor at the earliest opportunity. This enables us to greater understand their needs and ensure we put in a place a tailored safety plan for each person. In line with national best practice, the DASH is continually monitored throughout support, and we are delighted that typically we see a reduction in risk as cases progress through our provisions.

We are very proud to have developed our groupwork provision over this year and in Wiltshire are now running two successful groups for victims and survivors: Rediscovering You and Hope 2 Recovery. Both groups are designed to increase understanding and awareness around abuse, utilising a trauma-informed approach to help participants move forwards towards empowerment and recovery. One service user who completed Rediscovering You described it as:

“An in-person group full of wonderful facilitators and participants. The group captured a lot of what we experience on the other side of trauma and used that knowledge to help us pursue our personal growth.”

FearFree are strong believers in a whole family approach to addressing Domestic Abuse and therefore we additionally offer support to young people effected by Domestic Abuse in their own intimate relationships and to children impacted by abuse in their family homes. This support is tailored to the individual child – utilising creative and play based activities to engage children and young people. For example, our staff have used superheroes to talk through feelings and emotions, noting how the ‘Hulk’ responds when he becomes angry.

This picture shows our children’s recovery mentors ‘Incredible Hulk-O-Meter” which enables children to identify different stages of anger and how their body responds:

DEVON

We continue to manage and deliver the Devon commissioned domestic abuse and sexual violence services, on behalf of Devon County Council, operating under the banner of the LEESAR Partnership (the LEESAR Partnership includes subcontracting arrangements with three specialist organisations providing sexual violence recovery, court IDVAs and therapeutic recovery for domestic abuse).

Our Devon Service additionally includes a Health IDVA and Mental Health IDVAs – specialist workers integrated with Devon Partnership Trust and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. We have been highly proud of the specialist work completed by these staff and the impact it has had on particularly complex cases. One professional working with our mental health IDVA team provided this feedback:

“The ongoing support has been crucial in service user recognising her value as a person, and for her to consider living a life without being abused emotionally and sexually by people who pose a risk to her. Really wanted to say to you well done as this is tough work, and the huge strides service user has been able to make through this safeguarding process have largely been as a result of your tenacious and candid approach.”

2022-2023 has also seen FearFree continue to offer the IRIS Service, which is the Domestic Abuse Advocate Educator pilot scheme in GP surgeries. We are delighted to report that this small pilot has led to a much wider service being commissioned, which FearFree have been running since April 2023.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

WILTSHIRE

In Wiltshire, alongside adult Domestic Abuse support, we additionally provide accommodation services. FearFree were commissioned to deliver these services, known collectively as the Phoenix Service, partnering with GreenSquare Accord and Salisbury Refuge. The Phoenix service supports men and women, children and families at all risk levels across Wiltshire and adult and child victims of sexual abuse across Wiltshire and Swindon (see further information below).

Our Wiltshire Service was accredited by Leading Lights this year for its delivery of exceptional Domestic Abuse Services. Leading Lights is the national standard for best practice in this sector – this accreditation therefore is testament to the phenomenal service being delivered in the area.

STALKING SERVICES

FearFree are proud to have been at the forefront of delivering stalking services for a number of years and this year we were delighted to have maintained our contract to deliver the Gloucestershire Independent Stalking Advocacy Caseworker (ISAC) following a competitive tendering process, which also saw the contract double in size. The ISAC Service provides a key link between the victim, the Police, Stalking Clinic and the wider Criminal Justice Process – and we know that victims who have an ISAC typically receive a better outcome at Court.

This year additionally saw the introduction of an ISAC post in Wiltshire for victims of domestic abuse related stalking. This additional funding has enabled us to increase our specialist support across the county and develop new working relationships with the Police to tackle this important issue.

Domestic Violence Perpetrator Work

We continue to advocate for the importance of perpetrator interventions – recognising that breaking the cycle requires us to work with everyone impacted by Domestic Abuse. Our innovative and trauma-informed perpetrator services, offer a range of interventions, including:

Integrated Offender Management (IOM) model services, for high risk perpetrators.
A 25 week extended Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programme (DVPP) for men who have been abusive in a heterosexual relationship.
One to one behaviour change support – offering inclusive and accessible services for men and women, alongside younger perpetrators.
An eight week, perpetrator programme for low-medium risk perpetrators called Choosing Positive Relationships (CPR).

FearFree recognise that approximately 80% of perpetrators of Domestic Abuse witnessed abuse as children – and that whilst we never excuse abuse, we can seek to understand it and support people to make changes. Our passionate staff provide education, awareness, and practical techniques and strategies to help people change their behaviour.

Following completion of perpetrator interventions, completers are invited to join a Relapse Prevention Group (RPG). Our facilitated groups provide ongoing peer support and challenge, to help perpetrators maintain the changes they have made. Participants are given the opportunity to discuss challenges they have experienced and practice using the tools and techniques they have been taught.

As part of our commitment to a whole family approach to addressing domestic abuse, all Behaviour Change Services additionally offer integrated partner support. The victim, and any new partner or relevant family member, is provided risk focused support to ensure their safety and help measure the impact of our Behaviour Change Services. In Bristol, this Service is provided by the commissioned service, Next Link, through a secondment arrangement.

FearFree are proud to run perpetrator services across Wiltshire, Devon and Gloucestershire and we also continue to run our specialist DVPPs in Wiltshire and Bristol as part of the Reprovide pilot in partnership with Bristol University and look forward to seeing the results of their study in the near future.

Sexual Violence Services

This year has seen us continue to provide our high quality, and trauma focused support to victims and survivors of sexual violence through our Wiltshire and Swindon Independent Sexual Violence (ISVA) Service. Our ISVA provision is highly inclusive, supporting children and adults, no matter when the abuse occurred and those who report their experience of sexual violence and those who do not. This year saw us receive a total of 921 referrals for adult and child victims.

Our staff are ISVA or CHISVA (Children’s ISVA) qualified, and all referrals are risk assessed utilising a bespoke risk assessment, which enables us to co-produce a safety and support plan with the service user. Like our Domestic Abuse Services, the Sexual Violence service has seen a rise in referral numbers and the complexity of cases, with a significant proportion of service users additionally experiencing mental health difficulties. We are pleased therefore that from October 2023 we will be running the new Wiltshire and Swindon Sexual Violence Therapeutic Service providing trauma- informed and holistic therapeutic services for victims.

Situational violence in relationships one to one support.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

This year has seen us introduce group work to the ISVA Service, with our new programme ‘Courage to Heal’ launching. Courage to heal is a psychoeducational group for standard to medium risk service users, with a focus on supporting individuals understand what has happened to them, the impact of trauma on the brain and empower them to develop coping strategies to manage trauma symptoms. Courage to Heal has proved popular with service users and we look forward to expanding this provision in the coming year.

Mentoring and Befriending Services

As strong advocates for the importance of peer support and in recognition of the additional resources, skills and knowledge that volunteers can offer, FearFree are delighted to offer a volunteer befriending service. This year has seen that service expand beyond Wiltshire, and into Devon. We look forward to extending it across our wider geographical patch in the next year.

Our befrienders offer a listening ear, typically through weekly or fortnightly phone calls. Once a relationship has been developed, the sessions gradually shift focus to look at goal setting and moving forward. Our mentoring service is designed to empower individuals and help them move forward in their recovery journey – and is often used as a ‘transition’ service from the intensive support of an IDVA for example, towards closure.

One of our service users talked to us about their “buddy”, telling us:

“My buddy supported me through the toughest times for me. She empowered me, she has become a part of this healing journey I will never forget. A key part of me becoming my true self. I cannot thank her enough.”

All of our volunteers are provided with comprehensive training and support, including supervision. FearFree are particularly proud that many of our volunteers have lived experience, and a significant number are previous service users.

Quote from a client:

”She is nice, she is helpful, she is funny, she is fun, she is cool and she is good.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Perpetrator programmes

At FearFree we believe we can’t break the cycle of abuse without addressing the huge challenge perpetrator behaviour. Whilst the majority the FearFree’s work is with victims of abuse, we are also committed to the whole family approach and our programmes to help abusers understand, address and ultimately change their behaviour for the better. The abuser’s story is less often told but here our client, Pete, tells his story and that of his family.

PETE’S STORY

Pete had been with his partner for over 20 years, and they had two children together. He came to FearFree after reading about domestic abuse and recognising that he was displaying some of these behaviours himself.

He was struggling with anxiety and the pressure of feeling that he had to ensure his family were provided for had led to him becoming controlling around finances. As well as this he had belittled his partner and used sexual pressuring and intimidating behaviour. He was ashamed and although he was worried about his relationship breaking down, he knew the time had come to get help.

“Admitting I needed help was one of the lowest points I had, but looking back it’s one of the best things I have done.”

Pete came to FearFree for support and took part in group sessions which led him to realise that his behaviour was scaring his family. Through a mixture of role plays, breathing techniques and mindfulness tools he learnt to recognise and react to the signs of anger in his body.

“I’ve learnt techniques to deal with my feelings, to avoid ‘taking them out’ on others. It’s changed how I react to everything.”

As the course progressed, Pete become aware of his reactions at home and was able to remain calm in difficult situations. He also went to his GP and was given anti-anxiety medication which helped him feel more relaxed. He spoke to family members about the abuse, and we supported him to have an open, age-appropriate conversation with his children.

Near the end date of the course, Pete and his wife decided to separate, and he decided to stay on the course for longer. Pete has now moved into his own house and has arranged to see his children regularly.

“I relate to my ex-partner better and my relationship with my children is the best it’s ever been - we communicate more openly than we’ve ever done, and it’s drawn us closely together. I’m happier in myself than I think I’ve ever been because I’ve learnt to be open and honest about what’s going on with me.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Our People and Our Organisation

We are very proud of the way our dedicated staff and volunteers work together to support clients at a time of need. People are at the heart of our work, the clients we are here to support, and our staff and volunteers who make our impact possible. On average we employed 133 staff in 2022/23 and were supported by over 60 volunteers. We want people’s experience of FearFree to be a great one – whether they work for us, volunteer with us or support us.

At 31 March 2023, the number of paid staff and volunteers assisting the paid staff was as follows:

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Paid staff Volunteers
Full time Part time Total
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	Full time	Paid staff Part time	Total	Volunteers
FearFree Charity Limited
Directors (Trustees)	-	-	-	7

Services and education	53	71	124	53
Fundraisingand marketing	5	-	5	-
Support Services	5	3	8	1
	63	74	137	61

Quote from a client:

“The support we received from the service was exceptional. We felt reassured, understood, heard, and empowered”.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Supporting New Ways of Working

We learned during the pandemic that much of our work can be undertaken at home just as effectively, and for many colleagues at FearFree we’ve moved to a hybrid way of working. In early 2022, we introduced a series of principles to explain what the spirit of hybrid working means at FearFree. We are focussed primarily on our outcomes and impact for our clients, so work at FearFree is about what you do, and not where you do it. Hybrid working requires trust and give and take on all sides, and we believe we have the dedication as an organisation to manage that well.

This year we developed a hybrid working policy to further enhance our use, benefits and understanding of hybrid working. We know that to work efficiently in a hybrid way, our staff need reliable, secure, and effective IT equipment and software, so we have continued to build on the big strides made during the pandemic.

Looking After the Wellbeing of Our People

We know there is a well-researched link between employee wellbeing and productivity in the workplace and we strive to have a learning organisational culture which values wellbeing and is open and supportive of mental health. To acknowledge the often, challenging nature of the work our staff deal with, we have increased the annual leave entitlement from 25 days per annum (plus public holidays) to 28 days per annum (plus public holidays), with incremental increases based on levels of service, to enable greater focus on wellbeing.

We have trained 5 Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs) within Wiltshire, from funding from Wiltshire Council. Our MHFAs are the first point of contact for any colleagues who would appreciate someone to talk to, whether they’re having a bad day, week, month or are in crisis; they also act as advocates for mental health in the workplace, helping to reduce stigma and enact positive change.

In December 2022, FearFree launched our Menopause Policy and signed the Wellbeing of Women Menopause Workplace Pledge to take positive action to make sure everyone going through the menopause is supported and to raise organisational awareness of menopause, support managers to make reasonable adjustments and have inclusive conversations about menopause, and support staff experiencing difficult menopause symptoms to stay in the workplace. We have further developed a Menopause Support Group for staff to network, to share resources and information and to engage, inspire and empower.

Looking After our People’s Learning and Development

We are continuously working to build organisational skills and capabilities which support us to deliver our work for our clients who need us the most; alongside learning and development programmes that positively impact talent attraction, staff retention and productivity. We respond to gaps in skills whether they are identified at an organisational, individual or team level and have worked to address these through training or other alternative options. Our frontline service staff had identified a need for training on clients experiencing suicidal thoughts, so we supported colleagues to receive training on Suicide Awareness through Zero Suicide Awareness. We have supported our Team Managers in developing their managerial skills through quarterly Managers Development Days to upskill in relation to Performance Management, Communication including Challenging Conversations, Change Management as well as operational matters including data management, service design and budget management. We continue to support FearFree managers with the tools they need to manage their people in line with FearFree’s culture and expectations and we have developed policies and procedures to enable this change. It is planned for the coming year to offer Level 3 Apprenticeships to Team Managers. This year, we have relaunched the Annual Performance Development Reviews, which has been integrated within our HR System and requires assessment against objectives as well as FearFree values.

Feedback from Social Worker:

The client has said ‘you’re her lifeline, you don’t judge her, and she finds it therapeutic just talking to you – she feels supported by FearFree’.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Professional partner quote:

“I very much appreciate your work. In my view your service is a necessary presence in the Emergency Department. On this recent patient for example, it was the first time she had disclosed her experience of domestic violence and she expressed a relief in doing so.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Supporting Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is deeply important to FearFree. We champion equality and fairness for our clients and in turn we are committed to being an inclusive employer and valuing the diversity of our people. We continue to ensure all of our staff receive EDI mandatory training and supporting our staff in enhancing EDI knowledge through events and conferences e.g. our Engagement Advisor attending a national conference – Future Voices by the Traveller Movement to bring about positive changes in our policies, practices, and culture. Our Leadership Team are EDI Champions and are also our ambassadors, accountable for making it happen. We’ve focused on how our recruitment can attract a more diverse range of candidates, looking at the language we use in job descriptions to make them more inclusive, being clearer about what is and isn’t essential experience for roles. We have relaunched our Recruitment & Selection Policy and Procedure to incorporate values-based recruitment and testing knowledge of EDI at every interview. FearFree is a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer supporting colleagues with disabilities and ensuring all candidates are guaranteed an interview if they have disclosed a disability and meet our minimum requirements for the role they are applying for. We offer adjustments at all stages of the selection process, including more time for assessments, sharing interview questions in advance, as well as other ways that can help candidates to overcome barriers their disability may present them with.

Given the diversity of barriers faced by colleagues, we encourage managers to work with individuals on a case-by-case basis to help determine how we can better support colleagues with disabilities and ensure that leaders make adjustments and break down barriers for colleagues.

Keeping our People Safe

We have a legal and moral responsibility to protect from harm everyone who encounters our organisation, including service users, but also our staff and volunteers. Regular reports on safeguarding concerns are shared with our Designated Safeguarding with further discussions and actions taking place if necessary. We have revised our Safeguarding Policy and Procedures to capture the requirements needed for both Adults and Children. We have introduced a Duty Manager system with SMT availability to ensure our staff working out of normal office hours, have a point of contact and to check on safety. We have updated our Lone Working Policy to maintain a continued focus on staff safety.

Supporting our Volunteers

Volunteers contribute greatly to the work of FearFree, enabling us to support those who need us the most. In the past year over 60 volunteers in a range of roles, including as part of our Befriender Service, Events and core functions e.g. Administration. This number will increase further with the move to open retail Charity Shops. In the last year we have worked hard to improve the coordination of the volunteering development activity being undertaken across FearFree. Significant work has begun on the development of a digital platform within Sharepoint to improve the volunteer experience, communication and manage volunteering data more efficiently across the organisation. Work continues to develop improved marketing, recruitment, induction and training of our Volunteers.

Employment Policy and Pay

Recruiting, retaining, and motivating employees are critical to FearFree’s sustainability and success. FearFree has undertaken a review of staff salaries, together with developing a job evaluation scheme to be implemented to support salary increases when budgets allow. The job evaluation scheme has reviewed salaries with comparators in the Charity, Public and Private Sectors. However, to support staff during difficult financial cost of living crisis, FearFree has this year increased salary levels by 2%.

Quote from a volunteer:

“By volunteering in a befriending role, I can help others get back on track and regain their lives. It feels good to be useful.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Our Plans for 2023/24 – The Year of Our People:

We will continue to make FearFree a Charity of Choice as a great organisation to work and volunteer. We will continue our plans to drive diversity and break down barriers at FearFree identifying areas of improvement through a self assessment toolkit. To ensure people at FearFree have a great experience from day one, we will continue to review our induction and onboarding procedures to remain effective, we will review our pay and reward levels helping us to attract talent to FearFree and meet the demand for our services and support for our clients. We are working to improve the consistency of the experience of our volunteers across all areas of our organisation, including how we recruit, and train volunteers and we’ll be promoting the role of volunteering across FearFree to support volunteer recruitment. We’ll also introduce and embed our new standards of ethics and conduct across our staff and volunteers.

Professional partner quote:

“The training was interesting and informative, and I know that it will have made a real difference to a really large number of staff.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Although FearFree is approaching its 30th year as a charity, 2022/23 marked its first year with a professional fundraising operation and a full- spectrum strategy to create new income streams and partnerships. Head of Fundraising, Jessica Gay reports on the first year’s progress:

Reflecting on my first year in post, I see how much our charity has changed and developed in a short space of time. Joining in April 2022, I came into an organisation which was reliant on statutory funds, had little history of fundraising, no database, no newsletter, or existing relationships.

While somewhat daunting starting from scratch in a post pandemic world, I was greeted by incredibly passionate and skilled colleagues who were going above and beyond every day for the adults, children and families we support. I knew if we could share and tell this story, our amazing communities would rally around us and support our vital work.

Over the next few months, I began putting in place some of the infrastructure we needed to begin our brand-new fundraising strategy. By the July, I was joined by my new colleague and teammate: Peter Clarke, as the Senior Trusts and Foundations Fundraiser.

While it has only been a short time, I am proud of the growth we have seen over this last year; launching new events, developing our fundraising friendly website, securing new grant funding, our first ever official Christmas Appeal and laying the foundations for 2023.

The start of 2023 saw us build brand new relationships with our corporate partners Stonewood Group and Hargreaves Lansdown who saw and understood the importance of our work and the impact they could make. This continued with Goughs Solicitors and Michelmores joining as partners by April 2023.

Alongside this, we have made great strides with funders building relationships with The Covenant Fund, The National Lottery Community Fund and Nationwide, to name a few, who have supported us to launch innovative and life changing services to further support our clients to break free from abuse.

I’m thrilled that since these developments, our team of two has become three as we continue to showcase FearFree’s work in the communities in which we serve and show the difference our supporters can and do make on the lives of our clients.

We have a long way to go in our mission and it is a journey we can only make with the community’s support. I want to thank each and every supporter who stayed with us, joined us and helped us this year – whether that’s been a share on social media, a £5 donation, giving your time to volunteer with us at an event, or a six-figure sum.

I know times are challenging, and the fact you’ve shown up and chosen to make a difference with us means all the more to my team, our front-line team and our clients.

Together, with your support, we can continue to make a difference and ensure adults, children and families can break free from abuse and rebuild their lives free from fear… not just until the next time, but permanently.

Thank you

Jessica Gay Head of Fundraising

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We’d like to thank everyone who has supported us this year. A special thanks to:

Stonewood Group Hargreaves Lansdown Goughs Solicitors Michelmores The Covenant Fund The National Lottery Community Fund Nationwide Community Grants

Quote from a corporate partner

“There is a clear culture of ingenuity and drive - they deeply care about stopping the cycle of abuse and this comes across in the partnership.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Activity in 2022-2023

Whilst referral numbers across the service plateaued during this year, they continue to remain significantly above pre-pandemic numbers. We have additionally noted a significant increase in the complexity of cases, with many service users presenting with multiple additional needs. This has included a rise in cases with mental health difficulties and/or suicidal ideation.

During this year, FearFree recorded the following referral numbers:

----- Start of picture text -----
Area 21-22 22-23
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Victims referrals(Domestic abuse and sexual violence)	13,384	11,152
Gloucestershire stalkingreferrals	187	156
Perpetrator referrals	308	393

FearFree continue to note that perpetrator referral numbers, despite increasing this year, remain a small proportion of our overall case numbers. It is a strategic priority for our service to increase perpetrator referral numbers.

Quote from a client:

“I cannot express in words the positive impact the teams support has had on my life. One of my children commented a few weeks ago that I laugh again. Your support has given us the realistic chance of a bright and happy future.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Strategic review of 2022/23

The following indicates the priorities set for the year and how the charity met those objectives:

The Domestic Abuse bill has shone a light on the importance of our work and the charity will be supporting commissioners in its implementation and campaigning for its share of funding in order to work at greater scale.

FearFree worked with commissioners to consult on community and client needs analysis and has gratefully received funding from the bill through regional commissioners to manage the increasing scale of referrals. FearFree service staff also sit on regional domestic abuse and sexual violence boards and consultation committees to provide an expert view on regional service needs and provide service user insights.

The charity will be making a significant step change in its income generation capabilities through building greater networks, diversifying its voluntary income streams and having a stronger presence in all its communities and through more effective marketing.

The year marked the beginning of professional fundraising within FearFree with the recruitment of its first Head of Fundraising who in turn has now developed a strategy to deploy the key voluntary income streams; grants and trusts, corporate partnerships, community fundraising, events and individual giving. The year also saw recruitment of FearFree first marketeer to focus on digital presence and service marketing.

The volunteer workforce will be expanded to support the organisations fundraising and community engagement plans.

The organisation’s new volunteering strategy was implemented during the year with the central departments seeing volunteers and a successful internship programme was started by our Finance department.

As the charity and its services have grown over the last year, its central infrastructure is currently under development and further investment will be deployed to ensure, estate, systems, and IT are all fit for purpose as the charity expands.

A new post of Estates and Administration Manager was recruited to and whole estate’s structure was reviewed during the year. The IT, IG and cyber security has been radically upgraded and moved to cloud-based facility and the client’s management systems have been upgraded.

For years the charity has wanted to review its brand and name to better reflect its current and future service offer and consultation will soon begin to get that process underway.

As reported elsewhere in this document, a full stakeholder consultation was carried out to determine the organisations new brand, vision, purpose values and long-term strategy and the new brand and strategy are now being implemented.

Quote from a client:

“Words can’t explain how much help FearFree were. They broke down everything I needed to know or do. I could text anytime, and they would reassure me and give me support. They became like my family.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Looking Forward to 2023/24

This year saw the launch of our new four year strategy. Whilst that in itself was an objective for the year, the two main priorities were managing the array of contract tender process that occurred during the year and the rebranding of the charity. In addition to that work, this year’s priorities will be:

Implement the new brand, vision, purpose, values including the new website and communications strategy.
Implement the charity’s ambitious new four year strategy.
Manage the significant challenge of key service contracts and the related tender processes.
Development and implementation of the organisations new People and Well-being strategy.
Continue to upgrade the organisations technology and security systems in line with statutory requirements and to create the most flexible working systems for our staff.

Quote from a client:

“At the scariest time when I didn’t know what to do next and how to survive, you helped me and my children back to safety.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Alongside our new vision, purpose and brand, the charity has a new four-year strategy developed from the consultation process.

The long-term strategy is summarised below with key priorities for the four-year period:

----- Start of picture text -----
Vision : Working for a future where those trapped in a cycle of domestic abuse and sexual violence can break free
and flourish.
Mission : From prevention and awareness, through safety and support, to empowerment and recovery.
Core 1) Provider of trauma informed 2) Investing in people 3) Independent, sustainable
objectives: and evidence- based services supporting people, experts in charity and company present its
personalised to clients’ needs our field many communities
STRATEGIES PRIORITIES MEASUREMENT
----- End of picture text -----

STRATEGIES	PRIORITIES	MEASUREMENT

Service offer Quality and standards	• Integrated services for domestic abuse, sexual violence and stalking • Personalised needs based services for victims perpetrators and children • Volunteer led therapeutic and recovery services	• Full offer across the South West • Bespoke offer • Expanded service offer
Reach Improve access to services	• Diverse and open services for all our communities • Physical presence in all our communities and localities • Easy access via all digital and physical media	• Refect our communities • Service, volunteering and fundraising presence • Full suite of digital media
People Supporting people to fourish	• High performing and fexible workforce of trained experts in our feld • Resilient, well-being focused culture and environment • The place to work; reward and recognition, development, careerpathways	• Multi-skilled diverse workforce • Low sickness and turnover Recruitment – charity of choice
Sustainability Diversifcation and investment	• Full range of voluntary income streams • Invest in commercial presence and opportunities • Capacity to expand current services and pilot new initiatives	• All charity income streams • Trading presence and commercial partnerships • Self-funded contract expansion and pilots
Education and Research Development and innovation	• Support sector colleagues through fexible education packages • Awareness campaigns and support through schools, colleges and workplaces • Research division to demonstrate service vale and evidence base	• Education subsidiary training packages • Targeted exposure to key awareness messages • Evidence effectiveness, value and new initiatives
Infuence Brand, reputation and visibility	• Create a brand that speaks to all audiences • Invest in marketing to provide a platform for income generation • Reputation as sector experts and thought leaders	• Spontaneous brand recognition • Brand recognition supporting donor conversion • Go to voice of the sector

The year 2022/23 is the first year of the strategy and presents an additional challenge of it being the year that the majority of FearFree’s statutory contracts are being tendered.

FearFree Service User

“ I thought of myself as a victim, now I think of myself as a survivor.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Financial Review

Overview

Total income for the year ended 31 March 2023 was £4,134,996. A detailed analysis of income is shown in the Statements of Financial Activity (SOFA) on notes 2 to 3 of the financial statements.

Total spending on charitable activities was £4,297,041.

Overall, expenditure exceeded income resulting in a deficit of £165,038.

The amount spent on salaries and staff costs including NI and pension was £3,051,608 and showed and increase on the previous year of £681,092. Staff costs are 71% (2022: 67%) of the organisation’s charitable spend.

Further analysis of charitable expenditure showing the operational activities undertaken by FearFree Charity are given in the SOFA and in notes 4 to 7 of the financial statements.

Income for the year of £4,134,996 included £473,390 of restricted funds. Of the £425,401 of funds retained at the year end, £60,458 were restricted and none were designated.

Further analysis of restricted and designated funds is shown in the SOFA and notes 14 and 16 of the financial statements.

Income and expenditure are managed through stringent financial controls. Income has continued to grow with new contracts and contract variations. As such, we hold an appropriate amount of deferred income which is used to generate a small amount in interest. Movements are shown in note 14 of the financial statements.

Accreditation

FearFree Charity has maintained national recognition for the quality of its governance, management and service delivery. Accreditation includes: Cyber Essentials Plus, Data Security Protection Toolkit, Safe Lives – Leading Lights, Respect perpetrator programme standard, NCVO Investing in Volunteers and Lime Culture Male ISVA Sexual Violence accreditation. We are also Living Wage Employers and an Accredited Disability Confident employer.

Investment Power and Policy

Investments are made in accordance with the charity’s Articles of Association and Investment Policy. Having considered the available options the Trustees decided to invest in commercial common investments funds (high interest bank accounts and short term deposit accounts). The Trustees consider the overall return on investments and deposits to be disappointing.

Reserves Policy and Going Concern

Reserves are needed to cover unforeseen costs like redundancy payments should a service not be funded or temporary funding of services while new funds are sought, and to cover unplanned emergencies and other unforeseen expenditure. The trustees consider the ideal level of reserves to be £250,000 and review this on a regular basis. The charity held free* reserves of £263,110 on 31 March 2023.

*Free reserves = unrestricted reserves, less any designated reserves, less the net book value of any fixed assets.

Fundraising

During the year no funds raised are paid in commission to any person or organisation. All funds raised are for the sole use of FearFree Charity in delivering its charitable benefit. We may allocate the funds to a specific project or piece of work with the agreement of the donor. Unsolicited donations or small donations with no restricted purpose will be allocated to our general funds.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Structure, Governance and Management

Governing Document

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 25 April 1997 and reregistered as a charity on 9 October 1997, having previously been registered as the Single Parent Family Association in 1993. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association that established the objects and powers of the charitable company, and is governed under its Articles of Association. The memorandum and Articles of Association were reviewed in 2013 and redrawn to conform to the Charity Commission template. The trustees undertook a review of the charity’s Objects and recommended a minor amendment, which was approved in January 2017. The Articles and constitution were reviewed and have been submitted to the Charity Commission in October 2022 under the charities new name FearFree.

Appointment of Trustees

Trustees are appointed by the members at the Annual General Meeting of the Charity. Under the Articles, Trustees who have completed their term of office must retire at the Annual General Meeting unless an extension is agreed by the full Board of Trustees.

Potential new Trustees are identified from a variety of sources including external recruitment, personal recommendations by members or the current Trustees. Selection for appointment is based solely on the contribution it is believed the individual is likely to make to the development and delivery of the Charity’s objectives. Regular skills audits inform the recruitment of new trustees to ensure the broadest possible range of specialist skills are represented at the Board.

The Board embraces diversity in its broadest sense, believing that a wide range of experience, background, perspective, skills and knowledge combine to contribute towards a high performing, effective Board, which is better able to support and direct the Charity.

In addition, the Board ensure a proportion of Trustees have lived experience of domestic abuse and sexual violence to provide context to Board decision making and best represent the views of service users.

Prospective Trustees are interviewed by the Chair and CEO before their appointment is ratified by the Board of Trustees. Pre-appointment vetting checks are conducted against the Disqualified Directors Register and the Individual Insolvency Register, plus a vetting process is carried out.

New Trustees are provided with a comprehensive induction including; details of the management structure, financial performance and the constitution and governance framework for the charity. Trustees are expected to undertake statutory and mandatory training, Board development training and encouraged to attend internal and external events and spend time with staff delivering front line services.

The Charity’s Trustees are also directors of the company for the purposes of company law. Trustee indemnity insurance is provided for the benefit of the Trustees.

Board Effectiveness

The Board of Trustees review its own effectiveness through a bi-annual review in accordance with the Charity Commission Governance Code. The Board also undertakes development reviews at annual Board away days and the Chair conducts annual reviews with each individual Trustee.

Trustee Remuneration

None of our trustees receive remuneration or other benefit from their work with the charity. Any connection between a trustee or senior manager of the charity, with a production company, contracted actor, performer or exhibitor must be disclosed to the full board of trustees in the same way as any other contractual relationship with a related party. In the current year no such related party transactions were reported.

The board of trustees, and the senior management team comprise the key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the charity on a day-to- day basis. All trustees give of their time freely and no director received remuneration in the year.

Details of trustees’ expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in the accounts.

Quote from a client:

“I hope that I never have to! But if it was ever needed, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend FearFree to anyone that needs them.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Corporate Governance and Internal Control

The Charity is governed by the Board of Trustees which is responsible for agreeing the strategic direction of the organisation, establishing policy and agreeing the annual financial budget, operations plan and monitoring progress against the budget. The Board meets regularly throughout the year. Overall responsibility for the day to day management of the organisation is delegated by the Board to Claire Marshall, the Chief Executive.

Charity Governance

Responsibility for the governance structure of the organisation is split between the Board of Trustees, four committees and the Senior Management Team. The make-up and responsibilities of these committees are described below. Trustees are encouraged to attend meetings of any of these committees and working groups where appropriate to their roles and interests.

Board of Trustees

The Board holds a quarterly reporting meeting and also holds specific meetings to review and develop strategy, for Governance and Board development and holds responsibility for reviewing organisational and service effectiveness.

The specific duties of the Board of Trustees are:

Ensure that the organisational strategy is delivered;
Have overview responsibility for the service elements of the organisational strategy, agree priorities and monitor progress against key quality indicators;
Review primary reports, escalations and risks escalated from the Board sub committees;
Received assurance that all FearFree services are performing effectively.

Senior Management Team

The Senior Management Team meets twice a month and is chaired by the Chief Executive. The Team is responsible for strategic leadership, organisational development, external relationships and environment, change leadership, organisational communication and risk management.

People Committee

This is responsible for all matters relating to human resources including regulation and compliance, the charities staffing structure and policies, volunteering strategies and trustee selection and development. The committee meets four times a year with additional meetings as required by the Board.

The specific duties of the Committee are to:

Maintain a strong awareness of the latest employment legislation and ensure the organisations policies reflect contemporary practice and manage organisational risk.
Review matters affecting staff performance or satisfaction including the charities biannual staff survey results and make recommendations as to remedial actions.
Review the development of staffing structures.
Ensure new organisational development strategies and interventions are well planned and support the development of a positive organisational culture.
Use monitoring systems to evaluate progress and regular agreed intervals and recommend actions.

Remuneration Committee

This committee is responsible for ensuring the remuneration arrangements support the strategic aims of the organisation. The committee has the same membership as the People Committee and meets once or twice a year. The main responsibilities of the Committee are to:

Formulate and monitor the organisation’s Remuneration Policy.
Review the organisation’s salary banding process and related remuneration and reward packages against agreed independent market benchmarking tools and ensure FearFree salary and reward packages are equitable, fair and remain competitive.
Approve the annual cost of living salary increase for all staff considering rates of inflation and known social care, charity sector and commercial benchmarking in the given year.
Approve any non-consolidated pay awards (bonus) as recommended by the Chief Executive which relates to the organisational policy in this matter.
Determine the remuneration and reward package of the Chief Executive.

Quote from a client:

“Becky is the greatest person in the history of persons.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Finance and Income Generation Committee

The Finance Committee is responsible for ensuring the financial viability of the Charity, stewardship of the charitable assets and the financial audit. It is also responsible for monitoring and developing the income generation functions of the charity and to provide assurance to the Board of Trustees that all structures, processes and controls are fully compliant with regulators and commissioners. The committee meets four times a year and on other occasions as required to deal with specific matters raised by the Board.

The specific duties of the Committee are to:

Recommend the Reserves policy to the Board of Trustees and reviewing the use of reserves;
Review the financial position and performance of FearFree;
Recommend approval of the annual financial plan;
Review the quarterly forecast to ensure projections are reasonable and fall within the Trustees reserves policy;
Approve all banking arrangements and reviewing performance;
Appoint external auditors and financial advisors and reviewing performance;
Liaise with the external auditors before, during and after the annual statutory audit, ensuring all key issues identified are satisfactorily resolved;
Ensure expenditure budget allocation is appropriate and fit for purpose and that excellence and effectiveness is the overriding motivator in decision making;
Receive audit results of above responsibilities.

Risk and Audit Committee

This committee meets quarterly and is responsible for regulation and compliance, the charities risk management, health and safety, estates and environment, quality and audit management.

The specific duties of the Committee are to:

Maintain a strong awareness of the latest legislation and practices affecting or related to our work, environment and workforce and report to the Trustee Board;
Identify areas of risk and/or development and agree priorities and monitoring mechanisms;
Utilise monitoring systems to evaluate progress and regular agreed intervals and recommend actions to mitigate risk as appropriate;
Ensure that all systems and process are integrated across all support functions and that a service culture is embedded across all support services;
Ensure all practice is evidence based and audit policies to ensure compliance;
Receive audit results of above responsibilities.
Receive audit results of above responsibilities.
Review internal audit reports, ensuring all key issues identified are satisfactorily resolved.
Maintain a strong awareness of the latest legislation and practices affecting or related to income generation and report to the Committee;
Maintain an awareness of regulatory obligations and requirements including the latest Fundraising regulation and Gambling Commission obligations and report to the Committee;
Identify areas of risk and/or development opportunity and agree monitoring mechanisms;
Utilise monitoring systems to evaluate progress against the Income Generation Strategy at regular agreed intervals and recommend actions to mitigate risk as appropriate;
Ensure budget achievement is realistic and proportionate to investment;

Quote from a professional partner:

“Thank you, your work to support people making negative choices in their relationships has such an impact on their families.”

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Risk Management

FearFree has a comprehensive structure of controls to co-ordinate and manage risk within the organisation. This consists of lines of accountability through which issues of risk can be debated and the effectiveness of the organisations risk management arrangements assured.

The CEO, SMT and Trustees use a risk register to regularly assess the risks and uncertainties that the Charity is exposed to which helps the SMT to identify, monitor, record, and manage risk on an operational and strategic basis. The risk register is a live document that is regularly reviewed and updated by the CEO and SMT. All risks have a risk owner from the SMT who report on their areas of responsibility to the Risk and Audit Committee at quarterly intervals. Significant risks are escalated to the Trustees for review. Sub-committees of the Board of Trustees have delegated responsibility to keep those risks specific to them under review and escalate to the Board where necessary.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

In 2022/23, the three most significant risks are identified as follows and the manner in which we seek to address the issues:

RISK ONE	RISK TWO	RISK THREE
RISK OF INSUFFICIENT FUNDS TO MEET STRATEGIC INTENTIONS AND DELIVERQUALITY SERVICES	POOR ORGANISATIONAL CAPACITY AND PERFORMANCE	CYBER-ATTACK OR OTHER IT SYSTEM BREACH OR FAILURE
• Overreliance on contract funding which offers ever depreciating core contribution for infrastructure, HR, IT etc • Short term contract funding providing little long-term security • Insuffcient growth of unrestricted voluntary income and project funding	• Structure is inadequate to deal with the demands made on the service • Key personnel, SMT and specialists are absent for lengthy periods • Failure to recruit in a diffcult marketplace • Staff sickness and turnover increases because of workload • Staff leaving due to temporary contracts • Staff non-compliant with contracts, regulatory standards and organisational policies and procedures	• IT system/website/database becomes inaccessible, outdated, and unavailable or are costly to rectify. • Staff are unable to access case notes or other records • System is subject to a cyber-attack
MITIGATION	MITIGATION	MITIGATION
• Testing of contract parameters to ensure the contracts are sustainable without supplementary funding • An initial fundraising strategy is now in place and a fundraising team is being recruited. The strategy will be reviewed annually and subject to quarterly performance reviews3 • All proposed projects that may be reliant on long term voluntary funding must comply with the charity’s objects, have agreed outcomes and budgets	• Regularly review the organisational structure to ensure it remains appropriate. • Use service reviews and staff appraisals to analyse capacity • Ensure all staff have clear Job Descriptions and work plans. • Regular review of structure in light of post pandemic challenges and longer-term strategy • Regularly report on staff sickness rate, holiday uptake and staff turnover • Ensure the succession Plan is reviewed, updated and accessible	• The charity is Cyber Essentials Plus accredited and subject to annual re-certifcation which includes penetration testing • Specialist contractors manage ICT systems • Maintain rolling programme to monitor and update hardware • Ensure ICT systems remain effective and relevant through a programme of updates and scoping of new systems • DSP Toolkit qualifed

Quote from a professional partner:

“ Brilliant webinar. So lovely to see so many amazing women sharing some really important information. I will continue to use this information in not only my professional but also my personal life.”

FEARFREE CHARttY LIMttED Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023 /* /A 30

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Trustees’ Responsibilities

The Trustees, who are also directors of FearFree Charity Limited for the purposes of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year 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 these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
Make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
State whether applicable UK Accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.

In so far as each of the Trustees is aware at the time the report is approved:

There is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware, and;
The Trustees have taken all steps that they should have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

The Charity arranges insurance to protect the Charity from loss arising from neglect or default of its Trustees or Officers and to indemnify the Trustees and Officers from the consequences of any neglect or default on their part.

This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 24th January 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

By Order of the Trustees

Tim Jackson Chair of Finance and Income Generation Committee

Date

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

FEARFREE CHARttY LIMttED Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023 32

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of FearFree Charity Limited (the “Charity”) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Give a true and fair view of the state of the Charity’s affairs as at 31 March 2023 and of its income and expenditure for the year then ended;
Have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice;
Have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

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

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

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

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

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and out auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If based, on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report the fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

The information given in the trustees’ report (incorporating the directors’ report) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
The directors’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable law requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us;
The financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns;
Certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
We have not obtained all the information and explanations necessary for the purposes of our audit; or
The trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies’ regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the directors’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

We identified the laws and regulations applicable to the charity through discussions with those charged with governance and other management, and from our knowledge and experience of the sector;
We focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements of the operations of the company, including the Companies Act 2006, taxation legislation and data protection, anti-bribery, employment, pensions, environmental and health and safety legislation; and
We assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management, inspecting legal correspondence and remaining alert during the audit for any indications of non-compliance.

Our audit procedures in relation to fraud included but were not limited to:

Making enquiries of those charged with governance and other management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud;

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Discussing amongst the engagement team the risks of fraud;
Gaining an understanding of the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations;
Testing journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
Assessing whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in the accounting policies were indicative of potential bias; and

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the Charity’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Charity’s members those matters we are required to state in them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Charity’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Investigating the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

Joshua Kingston ACA (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Burton Sweet Limited Statutory Auditor The Clock Tower 5 Farleigh Court Old Weston Road Flax Bourton Bristol BS48 1UR

Date: ………………………………………….. 24 January 2024

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditors/ audit-assurance-ethics/auditors-responsibilities-for-theaudit. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

FEARFREE CHARttY LIMttED Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023 36

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Total Funds
Funds Funds 2023 2022
£ £ £ £
Note (Restated)
----- End of picture text -----

Income from:
Donations andgrants	2	56,177	240,857	297,034	298,632
Charitable activities	3	3,598,069	232,533	3,830,602	3,194,431
Investments		7,360	-	7,360	7,999

Total income		3,661,606	473,390	4,134,996	3,501,062

Expenditure on:
Raisingfunds		2,993	-	2,993	-
Charitable activities	4	3,777,435	519,606	4,297,041	3,541,818

Total expenditure		3,780,428	519,606	4,300,034	3,541,818

Net income/(expenditure)	6	(118,822)	(46,216)	(165,038)	(40,756)

Transfers between funds	14	(41,875)	41,875	-	-

Net movement in funds		(160,697)	(4,341)	(165,038)	(40,756)

Total funds at start ofyear	14	525,640	64,799	590,439	631,195

Total funds at end ofyear	14	364,943	60,458	425,401	590,439

The charity has no recognised gains or losses other than the results for the year as set out above.

All of the activities of the charity are classed as continuing.

See note 15 for fund-accounting comparative figures.

The notes on pages 40 to 49 form part of these financial statements.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

Company number: 03360057

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
Note £ £
----- End of picture text -----

Fixed assets
Intangible assets 8	41,220	-
Tangible assets 9	60,613	60,968
	101,833	60,968
Current assets
Debtors 10	650,138	438,883
Cash at bank and in hand	64,584	741,132
Short-term investments	137,895	347,823
	852,617	1,527,838
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts fallingdue within oneyear 11	(509,049)	(990,581)

Net current assets	343,568	537,257

Provisions for liabilities 12	(20,000)	(7,786)

Net assets	425,401	590,439

Funds
Restricted funds 16	60,458	64,799
Unrestricted funds 16	364,943	525,640
	425,401	590,439

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provision for small companies under Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the Financial Reporting Standard 102 (FRS102).

The financial statements were approve by the Trustees on 24 January 2024 and are signed on their behalf:

Tim Jackson

Chair of Finance and Income Generation Committee

The notes on pages 40 to 49 form part of these financial statements.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
Note £ £
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities 19 (822,154) 266,469
----- End of picture text -----

Net cash(outfow)/infow from operating activities	19	(822,154)	266,469

Non-operational cash fows:
Payments for intangible fxed assets		(43,200)	-
Payments for tangible fxed assets		(28,482)	(65,924)
Investment income		7,360	7,999
		(64,322)	(57,925)

Net cash(outfow)/infow for theyear	20	(886,476)	208,544

Cashflow Restrictions

Charity law prohibits the use of net cash inflows of any endowed or other restricted fund to offset net cash outflows on any fund outside its own objects, except on special authority. In practice, this restriction has not had any effect on cash flows for the year.

The notes on pages 40 to 49 form part of these financial statements.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

1 Accounting policies

BASIS OF PREPARATION

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the historical cost convention (except where otherwise stated in the accounting policy note) and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued in October 2019, and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), and the Companies Act 2006.

FearFree Charity meets the definition of a public entity under FRS102.

The Trustees have considered all available information to ensure that the charity is a going concern. Particular attention has been paid to the reserves and cash position of the charity along with regular monitoring of the financial reports, budgets and future forecasting. The Trustees conclude that the charity is a going concern.

Raising funds expenditure include those costs incurred in seeking voluntary contributions costs of goods sold and other costs which include the costs of running a participating in fundraising events and collections and cost of goods purchased for resale.

Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include the audit fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity. Governance costs are included within support costs.

ALLOCATION AND APPORTIONMENT COSTS

Certain expenditure is directly attributable to specific activities and this has been included in those cost categories. Other costs, which are attributable to more than one category, are apportioned across cost categories on the basis of an assessment of workload carried out from time to time. Overhead support costs have been apportioned between charitable activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

PENSION

INCOME

Income from donations is included in come when these are receivable, except as follows:

I. When donors specify that donations given to the charity must be used in future accounting periods, the income is deferred until those periods;

II. When donors impose conditions which have to be fulfilled before the charity becomes entitled to use such income, the income is deferred until the pre-condition have been met.

Legacies are included on a receivable basis where the charity is entitled to the income, it can be measure reliably and receipt is probable. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is not included in income but is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

Investment income is included on a receivable basis.

Donations in kind comprise of donated goods and services where the costs are measurable and the services would otherwise have to be paid for to maintain operational effectiveness.

EXPENDITURE

Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis in the period in which it is incurred. Expenditure includes attributable VAT which cannot be recovered.

The charity contributes to defined contribution pension schemes. Contribution payable to the charity’s pension schemes are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Amortisation is provided on intangible assets so as o write off the cost, less any estimated residual value, over their useful life as follows:

Amortisation is provided on the following basis: Website development - straight line over 5 years

TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Tangible fixed assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses. All costs incurred to bring a tangible asset into its intended working condition should be included in the measurement cost. Capital items with purchase price of more than £1,000 are included within fixed assets.

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

Depreciation is provided on the following basis: Fixtures and fittings - straight line over 5 years Computer equipment - straight line over 3 years

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

1 Accounting policies (Continued)

DEBTORS

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

Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the provision is based on the present value of those amounts, discounted and the pre- tax discount rate that reflects the risks specific to the liability. The unwinding of the discount is recognised within interest payable and similar charges.

CASH AT BANK AND IN HAND

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

CREDITORS

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

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

FUND ACCOUNTING

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Designated funds form part of unrestricted funds and have been identified as being for particular purposes by the Trustees. They are not restricted and can be transferred to general funds at any time at the discretion of the Trustees.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in note 14 of the financial statements.

2 Income from: donations and grants

	Unrestricted Funds £	Restricted Funds £	Total Funds 2023 £
Donations andgrants 56,177 240,857 297,034

56,177 240,857 297,034

Prior year comparatives	Unrestricted Funds £	Restricted Funds £ (Restated)	Total Funds 2022 £ (Restated)
Donations andgrants 32,618 232,495 265,113
Donations in kind 33,519 - 33,519

66,137 232,495 298,632

The charity benefits greatly from the involvement and enthusiastic support of its many volunteers, details of which are given in our annual report. In accordance with FRS102 and the Charities SORP (FRS102), the economic contribution of general volunteers is not recognised in the accounts.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

3 Income from: charitable activities

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds
Funds Funds 2023
£ £ £
Public sector funding - core service delivery 3,598,069 232,533 3,830,602
3,598,069 232,533 3,830,602
Prior year comparatives Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds
Funds Funds 2022
£ £ £
(Restated) (Restated)
Public sector funding - core service delivery 2,965,067 229,364 3,194,431
2,965,067 229,364 3,194,431
----- End of picture text -----

Income from public sector funding comprises of performance related grants and service level agreements made by local authorities to fund the charity’s activities.

4 Expenditure on: charitable activities

	Activities undertaken directly £	Support costs (Note 5) £	Total 2023 £
Provision of contracted services 3,718,549 578,492 4,297,041

3,718,549 578,492 4,297,041

Prior year comparatives	Activities undertaken directly £	Support costs (Note 5) £	Total 2022 £
Provision of contracted services 3,120,122 421,696 3,541,818

3,120,122 421,696 3,541,818

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

5 Support costs

----- Start of picture text -----
Total Funds Total Funds
2023 2022
£ £
----- End of picture text -----

Staff and volunteer costs	250,118	146,052
Offce costs	143,154	149,867
Premises costs	140,054	111,297
Finance costs	651	124
Marketingand advertising	7,557	-
Governance costs	25,269	14,356
Loss on disposal of fxed assets	1,969	-
Bad debt	9,720	-

	578,492	421,696

6 Net income/ (expenditure) for the year

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£ £
----- End of picture text -----

Statutory audit fee:
- Current year	16,092	12,420
- Prioryear over/underprovision	(725)	(725)
Depreciation	26,868	15,660
Amortisation	1,980	-
Trustees remuneration	-	-
Reimbursement of 1 Trustee’s travel expenses(2022: 2)	123	255

7 Staff costs and numbers

The aggregate payroll costs were:

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£ £
----- End of picture text -----

Wages and salaries	2,713,676	2,129,932
Social securitycosts	228,321	172,295
Contribution to defned contributionpension scheme Redundancycosts	88,371 21,240 3,051,608	61,560 6,729 2,370,516

The average number of persons employed by the company (headcount) during the year was 133 (2022: 105).

One (2022: One) employee received benefits (excluding employer’s national insurance contributions and employer pension costs) of between £80,000 and £90,000 (2022: one between £60,000 - £70,000).

The key management personnel of the charity are listed on page 6.

The total amount of employee benefits (including employer’s national insurance contributions and employer pension contributions) received by key management personnel for their services to the charity was £272,053 (2022: £236,562).

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

8 Intangible fixed assets

----- Start of picture text -----
Website
development Total
£ £
----- End of picture text -----

Cost
At 1 April 2022	-	-
Additions	43,200	43,200

At 31 March 2023	43,200	43,200

Depreciation
At 1 April 2022	-	-
Charge for theyear	1,980	1,980

At 31 March 2023	1,980	1,980

Net Book Value
At 31 March 2023	41,220	41,220

9 Tangible fixed assets

----- Start of picture text -----
Fixtures,
fittings &
equipment Total
£ £
----- End of picture text -----

Cost
At 1 April 2022	183,597	183,597
Additions	28,482	28,482
Disposals	(116,209)	(116,209)

At 31 March 2023	95,870	95,870

Depreciation
At 1 April 2022	122,629	122,629
Charge for theyear	26,868	26,868
Eliminated on disposal	(114,240)	(114,240)

At 31 March 2023	35,257	35,257

Net Book Value
At 31 March 2023	60,613	60,613

At 31 March 2022	60,968	60,968

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

10 Debtors

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£ £
----- End of picture text -----

Trade debtors	594,278	379,380
Other debtors	13,517	5,473
Prepayments and accrued income	42,343	54,030

	650,138	438,883

11 Creditors

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£ £
----- End of picture text -----

Trade creditors	148,732	189,589
Taxation and social security	49,502	51,632
Other creditors	16,734	50,437
Accruals and deferred income	294,081	698,923

	509,049	990,581

12 Provisions for liabilities and charges

	2023 £	2022 £
Dilapidations 20,000 7,786

20,000 7,786

13 Operating lease commitments

At 31 March 2023 the company had commitments to make future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£ £
----- End of picture text -----

Amountspayable: Within oneyear Within two and fveyear	67,722 190,688 258,410	47,670 80,010 127,680

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

14 Movement between funds

----- Start of picture text -----
At 1 April At 31 March
2022 Income Expenditure Transfers 2023
£ £ £ £ £
----- End of picture text -----

Restricted funds
Universityof Bristol REPROVIDE	19,560	55,789	(117,224)	41,875	-
StandingTogether Against Domestic Abuse	16,672	36,227	(38,142)	-	14,757
OPCC Gloucestershire	12,957	59,222	(53,778)	-	18,401
CommunityFirst	-	68,379	(64,591)	-	3,788
The Noel Buxton Trust	8,714	-	-	-	8,714
DHSE Best Start	2,644	240,857	(243,164)	-	337
Chippenham Boroughlands	4,252	-	-	-	4,252
Alarms Gloucestershire	-	12,916	(2,707)	-	10,209

	64,799	473,390	(519,606)	41,875	60,458
Unrestricted funds
General funds	464,672	3,661,606	(3,753,560)	(70,357)	302,361
Fixed asset reserve	60,968	-	(26,868)	28,482	62,582

	525,640	3,661,606	(3,780,428)	(41,875)	364,943

Total funds	590,439	4,134,996	(4,300,034)	-	425,401

----- Start of picture text -----
Prior year comparatives At 1 April At 31 March
2021 Income Expenditure Transfers 2022
£ £ £ £ £
----- End of picture text -----

Restricted funds
Universityof Bristol REPROVIDE	40,625	110,304	(131,369)	-	19,560
StandingTogether Against Domestic Abuse	11,231	36,227	(30,786)	-	16,672
OPCC Gloucestershire	10,927	36,000	(33,970)	-	12,957
CommunityFirst	(3,500)	46,833	(48,711)	5,378	-
The Noel Buxton Trust	3,845	4,869	-	-	8,714
DHSE Best Start	-	222,722	(216,911)	(3,167)	2,644
Chippenham Boroughlands	-	4,904	(652)	-	4,252

	63,128	461,859	(462,399)	2,211	64,799
Unrestricted funds
General funds	557,363	3,039,203	(3,063,759)	(68,135)	464,672
Fixed asset reserve	10,704	-	(15,660)	65,924	60,968

	568,067	3,039,203	(3,079,419)	(2,211)	525,640

Total funds	631,195	3,501,062	(3,541,818)	-	590,439

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

14 Movement between funds (continued)

FIXED ASSET RESERVE

The net book value of fixed assets is shown in a separate designated fund. Transfers between this and general funds represent fixed asset additions and disposals.

COMMUNITY FIRST

Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund through Building Better Opportunities funding, the Charity partnered with Community First to deliver Building Bridges to enable clients to get back into employment or training, post recovery.

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

FearFree Charity participation in the Bristol University funded research study entitled Reaching Everyone Programme of Research On Violence in diverse Domestic Environments (REPROVIDE).

STANDING TOGETHER AGAINST DOMESTIC ABUSE

Provision of a full time hospital based IDVA at the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital

THE NOEL BUXTON TRUST

Funding for The Elephant In The Room project for children.

DHSE BEST START

Department of health and Social Care, Health and Wellbeing fund to provide the Best Start project in Devon improving access to perinatal services through the provision of community navigators and community champions.

OPCC GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Employment of one full time Independent Stalking Advocacy Caseworker (ISAC) for Gloucestershire to focus on high risk cases.

CHIPPENHAM BOROUGH LANDS COMMUNITY TRUST

Welfare support for individual clients residing within the parish of Chippenham and have done so for two years.

ALARMS GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Funding, provided from the Safer Streets funding, for the provision of personal safety alarms for victims and potential victims of abuse.

15 Prior year fund comparatives for the Statement of Financial Activities

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds
Funds Funds 2022
£ £ £
----- End of picture text -----

Income from:
Donations andgrants	66,137	232,495	298,632
Charitable activities	2,965,067	229,364	3,194,431
Investments	7,999	-	7,999
Total income	3,039,203	461,859	3,501,062

Expenditure on:
Charitable activities	3,079,419	462,399	3,541,818
Total expenditure	3,079,419	462,399	3,541,818

Net income/(expenditure)	(40,216)	(540)	(40,756)
Transfers between funds	(2,211)	2,211	-

Net movement between funds	(42,427)	1,671	(40,756)
Total funds at start ofyear	568,067	63,128	631,195
Total funds at end ofyear	525,640	64,799	590,439

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

16 Analysis of net assets between funds

	Unrestricted Funds £	Restricted Funds £	Total Funds 2023 £
Intangible fxed assets 41,220 - 41,220
Tangible fxed assets 60,613 - 60,613
Other net current assets 263,110 60,458 323,568

364,943 60,458 425,401

Prior year comparatives	Unrestricted Funds £	Restricted Funds £	Total Funds 2022 £
Tangible fxed assets 60,968 - 60,968
Other net current assets 464,672 64,799 529,471

525,640 64,799 590,439

17 Related party transactions

There are no related party transactions in the current or prior year apart from those already disclosed throughout the report.

18 Control

The Charity is controlled jointly by the Trustees, there is no controlling party.

19 Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash inflow from operating activities

----- Start of picture text -----
2023 2022
£ £
----- End of picture text -----

Statement of Financial Activities: Net movement in funds	(165,038) (40,756)

Investment income	(7,360) (7,999)
Loss on disposal of fxed assets	1,969 -
Amortisation	1,980 -
Depreciation	26,868 15,660
Increase/(decrease)in creditors: current liabilities	(481,532) 324,810
Increase inprovision for liabilities	12,214 -
Decrease /(increase)in debtors	(211,255) (25,246)

Net cash(outfow)/infow from operatingactivities	(822,154) 266,469

Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 March 2023

FEARFREE CHARITY LIMITED

20 Analysis of changes in cash during the year

	2023 £	2022 £	Change £
Cash at bank and in hand 64,584 741,132 (676,548)
Short-term investments 137,895 347,823 (209,928)

202,479 1,088,955 (886,476)

	2022 £	2021 £	Change £
Cash at bank and in hand 741,132 407,911 333,221
Short-term investments 347,823 472,500 (124,677)

1,088,955 880,411 208,544

FEAR BREAKING THE CYCLE OF ABUSE