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2023-03-31-accounts

CHOICE IN HACKNEY

(Company Limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES REPORT

AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

COMPANY NO: 03423122 CHARITY NO : 1077287

CHOICE IN HACKNEY

TRUSTEES REPORT

AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

CONTENTS
Page
Report of the Trustees 1 - 38
Independent Examiners' report 39
Statement of Financial Activities 40
Balance Sheet 41
Notes to the Financial Statements 42 - 49

Page 1

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

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

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Trustees

Andrew Price Vice-Chair
Malcolm Aickin Treasurer
Thomas Brayford
Patricia Charlesworth
Susan E Childs (resigned 28 November 2022)
Mary Julian
Debra Schiman
Bharat Siyani
Matthew Baxter (appointed 18 September 2023)
Company Secretary and
Executive Director Caroline Nelson
Company reg.no. 03423122
Charity reg.no. 1077287
Registered Office CHOICE IN HACKNEY
Defoe Block, Ground Floor
50 Hoxton Street
London
N1 6LP
Independent Examiner Knox Cropper LLP
65 Leadenhall Street
London
EC3A 2AD
Bankers Barclays Bank PLC
3-5 Kingsland High Street
London
E8 2JT

Page 2

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

The Trustees, who are also the Directors of the charitable company for the purposes of the Companies Act present their combined directors’ report and trustees’ report, as required by company law, together with the financial statements of CHOICE IN HACKNEY (“CHOICE” or “the Charity”) for the year ended 31[st] March 2023. The Trustees confirm that the trustees report and the financial statements of the Charity comply with current statutory requirements, the requirements of the Charity’s governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (“FRS 1020”).

Administration Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisors

Administration details relating to CHOICE are set out under Legal and Administrative Information, on page 1.

Structure, Governance and Management

The Charity is a company limited by guarantee and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Trustees are recruited from members of the Charity, ex-employees and from the wider community. They are elected and co-opted under the terms of the company’s Articles of Association. Users are represented on the Board of Trustees. At the Annual General Meeting, the Board of Trustees is elected by the members of the Charity and serve from the close of that meeting until the close of the succeeding Annual General Meeting. The Board of Trustees consists of not less than 3 members and until otherwise determined by a General Meeting, not more than 12 members.

Trustees were given an induction to the work of CHOICE by the Executive Director and introduced to all staff members. The formal policies and procedures are reviewed annually.

The Management of the Charity is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. Operational decisions are taken by the Executive Director and staff. Strategic decisions are made by the Board of Trustees in consultation with the Executive Director. The Board of Trustees meets at least 4 times a year and the Executive Director attends all meetings.

The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and in particular, to those related to its operations and finances of the Charity, and are satisfied that systems and procedures are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks. A review of the risk assessment was carried out by members of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Director during the year.

Public Benefit

In reviewing the Charity’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities, the Trustees refer to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit.

Objectives and Activities

CHOICE has the charitable objectives of working with disabled, Greater London residents by providing Independent Living Services including, but not limited to: Active Lifestyle, Advocacy, Befriending Plus / Volunteering, Disability Hate Crime and Training & Employment.

Page 3

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

The objectives of the Charity are:

The Charity Commission granted CHOICE permission to operate across Greater London, which is reflected in CHOICE’ Memorandum.

A selection of CHOICE IN HACKNEY staff members - from left to right

Front: Advocate, Paula Smith and Chief Executive Officer, Caroline Nelson Back: Advocate & Trainer, Lucia Bellini ; Advocacy Training & Employment Coordinator , Haq Ismail ; Administrator and Volunteer Coordinator, Paul Salt ; Hate Crime Advocate, Felicia Tay and Information Guidance & Advocacy Officer, Colin Finch

Page 4

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance:

In the period under review, CHOICE promoted the following services to disabled Greater London residents aged 18 plus and their networks:

CHOICE’s Active Lifestyle service supports local disabled people in wellbeing activities to improve their overall physical and mental health whilst also reducing social isolation.

Starting its life in 2012, it has organised a variety of events over the years including: Boccia, golf workshops, kayaking at Hackney Reservoir, women’s boxing, squash, tennis and Leyton Orient Football Club’s Community Day.

The project’s main activities include:

Unfortunately, the project was unfunded during the period and CHOICE was unable to offer any activities. CHOICE is hopeful that with a concerted fundraising effort and the cooperation of local businesses, CHOICE, will be able to continue the work of this valuable project.

Last year, the Active Lifestyle project supported 40 disabled service users.

Page 5

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

b) Advocacy :

CHOICE advocates support our disabled service users to obtain the services needed to live an independent and dignified lifestyle in the community. The Advocate works in partnership with the disabled user to obtain his/her rights.

Community advocacy service:

CHOICE’s community advocacy service is in two parts:

Examples include: support in obtaining accessible housing, making complaints, carrying out assessments, meeting educational needs and child protection matters for disabled parents etc.

During the year under review, Hackney Council started its tender process for its Advocacy services contract (both statutory and non-statutory elements), which was due to expire on 31[st] March 2023. Existing lead provider, The Advocacy Project (TAP) and other organisations were invited to compete to head-up the Advocacy Service consortium for a period of up to five-years. TAP had been the lead provider of this service since the financial year 2018-19, with CHOICE as a sub-contractor. Although TAP had placed a bid, Hackney Council’s Cabinet Procurement and Insourcing Committee had met and awarded the Advocacy Services contract to a different provider in February 2023.

As the decision date and contract expiry were very close together, the committee decided to extend TAP’s contract for a period of two-months (April-May 2023) to enable the newly appointed bidder to mobilise effectively, without disruption to service delivery. This gave CHOICE some time to finalise work on any of TAP’s existing cases, which saw CHOICE advocates working around the clock in order to meet that deadline. However, this was not always possible as some advocacy matters (child protection, housing in particular) need several months, if not years to be brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

Page 6

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

b) Advocacy continued :

This also had implications for the organisation in terms of CHOICE staffing and finances. Firstly, CHOICE advocates could be transferred over to the new provider to undertake Hackney’s Advocacy Services under the provisions of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (“TUPE”). Should this be the case, there were all types of considerations to be borne in mind especially whether the new provider’s services would be “disability-friendly” and fully accessible for CHOICE staff and service users.

Suffice to say this decision affected CHOICE at all levels of the organisation: strategically, as emergency meetings were held by the Board of Trustees and Chief Executive Officer to discuss the implications of contract change, including forward planning. Also, meetings were held amongst other stakeholders including potential providers and new/existing network members to place a bid.

Current staff employed may be eligible for transfer to the new provider under TUPE. Many challenging conversations and ongoing concerns were held in relation to CHOICE’s service users, who were accustomed to working with existing staff and programmes. All stakeholders have been informed of the change and some questioned the availability of existing service elements with the future provider.

In early April 2023, many of these concerns and questions were answered when CHOICE was contacted by the new Advocacy provider, Rethink Advocacy (Rethink) - a separate operating part of the national organisation: Rethink Mental Illness, which delivers advocacy services across England to people from all walks of life. Rethink informed us that as of 5[th] June 2023, it will take over the delivery of advocacy services from The Advocacy Project. The new model and service will:

CHOICE is pleased to report that following various communications / meetings and in particular with representatives from CHOICE’s Board of Trustees and the Chief Executive Officer meeting with Rethink’s Associate Director of Advocacy Services, CHOICE is now sub-contracted to Rethink to provide community-based Advocacy Support Services within Hackney. This is for an initial period of one-year with the option to extend for a further period of one-year, up to a maximum of five-years. CHOICE looks forward to working with Rethink now and in future.

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CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

b) Advocacy continued:

Health Advocacy:

CHOICE has now adjusted to working within a three-year contract, which commenced in November 2021, after many years of working within an annual service level agreement thanks to funding from Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust . This adjusted arrangement supports CHOICE to better manage its forward planning and allows the Trust to ensure they are making the best use of public funds.

Their funding goes towards CHOICE’s health advocacy service, which has formed a vital part of CHOICE’s service provision for many years. CHOICE is very pleased to continue to support local disabled people in the City of London and Hackney who have physical and/or sensory impairments with their health advocacy needs. The fundamental emphasis and focus of health advocacy is seeing things from the user’s perspective, aiming to empower users to access and use health services on an informed and equitable basis. Thus shifting the unbalanced relationship between service users (particularly those from different impairment, ethnic and cultural backgrounds). CHOICE’s advocacy role is to elicit the views, needs, expectations and concerns of its service users and to actively pursue and act in their best interests.

An advertising campaign for CHOICE’s Health Advocacy service has started in the City of London and Hackney. CHOICE Advocates have been offered outreach opportunities within St Bartholomew’s and St Leonard’s Hospitals. The leaflet below is also displayed in community centres, General Practitioners, Local Authority offices, Housing Associations etc:

Page 8

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

b) Advocacy continued:

During the year, CHOICE supported service users using a variety of methods including: telephone contacts, emails, face-to-face and online engagements.

Funding during this period allowed us to support a total of 154-disabled people (168 in 2021-2022), with their non-statutory, statutory and health advocacy matters – some of whom had multiple issues which included:

The following bar chart presents statistical data for the Advocacy Project:

----- Start of picture text -----
Advocacy Service Users 2022-2023
120
100
101
80
74
60
52 52 53
40
20 26 26
16 17
1 12 12 7 2 2 1 1 7
0
----- End of picture text -----

Page 9

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

c) Befriending Plus / Volunteer Project:

• Office volunteers:

Disabled and non-disabled volunteers gain office experience whilst supporting CHOICE in its core functions including CHOICE’S social media platforms / website, meeting fundraising aims, administration, design and marketing.

• Befriending :

• Gardening :

Transforming disabled people’s inaccessible green spaces into places they can conveniently take in the fresh air, exercise and enjoy time outdoors with friends and families.

Following the Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, the project was expanded, enabling disabled people to benefit from the following services thanks to the dedication of CHOICE volunteers:

• A walking friends service:

Volunteers encourage service users to leave their homes, take in some exercise and enjoy the fresh air whilst maintaining social-distancing practices.

It is always heartening to read about the successes that this project has experienced and the relationships that have been built upon. Here are just two quotes from CHOICE volunteers:

Page 10

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

Looking ahead, it’s obvious that CHOICE has many challenges: with access to continued long-term funding for this project being one such challenge. CHOICE’s Community Volunteer Officer role shall have an important part to play in managing this. Whilst CHOICE will do what it can to help procure funding for the project, we shall continue to deliver much-needed services to isolated disabled people in London on a smaller scale due to it being funded from CHOICE’s shrinking reserves. As long as CHOICE has volunteers willing and able to contribute their time and energy, we will do what we can to make the most of that goodwill.

The Befriending Plus / Volunteer project supported the following people during the period: service users 91 (184 in 2021-22); and volunteers 93 (138 in 2021-22).

The following bar charts shows the statistical data for the project:

BefriendingPlus Service Users 2022-2023

----- Start of picture text -----
80
70
60 68
50
40
41
30 37
20
23 24
10 13 8 19 9 10 16 1 4
0
----- End of picture text -----

Page 11

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

c) Befriending Plus / Volunteer Project continued:

BefriendingPlus Volunteers 2022-2023

----- Start of picture text -----
80
70
73
60
50 56 58
40
30 37
20
21
10
3 9 8 1 7 6
0
----- End of picture text -----

Page 12

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

The organisation continues its role within a consortium funded by the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC) entitled “Communities Against Hate” (“CATCH”). Thanks to the high standard of work delivered within the consortium, it is now in its seventh-year and has widened its network membership. Lead provider, “Galop” has successfully bid for a 2-year contract with the potential for an additional 2-year extension (4-years total).

The consortium works in partnership with a network of community organisations specialising in supporting people who have experienced a hate crime due to their protected characteristics i.e.: race / ethnicity, faith / religion, sexual orientation (including attacks based on homophobia and transphobia) and/or disability.

CATCH partners work to tackle hate crime, discrimination and abuse within their protected characteristic equality strands. Whilst we all have our own individual specialisms, network partners often come together to work inter-sectionally or make referrals to network organisations within the partnership. We also work very closely with the Metropolitan Police Service - the source of many referrals during the period.

There was an increased demand for the service during the period and thanks to funding from London Community Response Fund (“Wave 5”), we were pleased to be able employ another part-time Hate Crime Advocate to meet that demand for a limited period within the year.

CHOICE’s Hate Crime Advocates will identify support needs of individuals and enable them to access other services and also:

Our Hate Crime Advocates supported disabled people deal with the diverse negative impacts of being targets of disability hate crime. This includes coping mechanisms to deal with emotional stress / trauma, feeling socially excluded or isolated, having their homes taken over by criminal gangs (commonly known as “cuckooing”), and/or being financially or physically abused. The positive impact the service had on the individuals who accessed it is very encouraging; of those CHOICE received feedback from over the year:

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CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

c) Disability Hate Crime continued:

Working in partnership with the disabled survivor, CHOICE’s Hate Crime Advocates accompany them through the process of decision-making, safety planning, reporting, investigation and court. When such incidents were reported to the police they would work with CHOICE’s service users to identify their needs, vulnerabilities and understand how they wished for the incident to be resolved. Where any additional support is identified (for example through social services), this was put into place and the worker could also provide accessible information about support from other agencies, including making internal referrals to CHOICE’s Befriending service if social isolation was an issue.

It is concerning that the Home Office Official Statistics on Hate Crime in England & Wales during the year 2022-2023, notes there were approx. 40,000 hate crimes recorded in 2012-2013 however by 2022-2023 this had increased to just over 140,000. Disability Hate crimes recorded by the police in 2018-2019 amounted to 8,052 and by 2022-2023, it had jumped to 13,777[1] . This is a very worrying trend, which may be as a result of improvements made to supporting disabled survivors of hate crime due to organisations such as CHOICE working in partnership with the Metropolitan Police Service to facilitate better reporting or more chillingly that there is a general increase in hate crimes being directed towards disabled people.

During the year, CHOICE met the needs of 45 disabled people with their disability hate crime matters (39 in 2021-2022). The following bar chart presents data for the Hate Crime Project:

Disability Hate Crime Service Users 2022-2023

----- Start of picture text -----
30
25 28
20 23
15 17
15
14
10
11
5
2 5 6 6 3 4 1
0
----- End of picture text -----

1 Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2020-to-2021/hate-crimeengland-and-wales-2020-to-2021

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CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

d) Training & Employment Dept:

The Training & Employment Dept (“TED”) provides disabled people with a fully accredited suite of training programmes made up of:

Trainees from the above programmes can also engage in supplementary sessions of:

Further details of the above training programmes and supplementary sessions are shown below.

At the time of writing, Trustees are pleased to report that CHOICE’s TED has been awarded threeyear’s funding from Henry Smith Charity – Improving Lives, which guarantees that CHOICE will be able to provide disabled people in Greater London the full complement of TED’s training offer.

Choices into Work training:

This training programme is fully accredited and upon successful completion of all components (classroom-based element and the work placement), trainees are awarded a nationally recognised qualification (some for the first time) from CHOICE’s accrediting body, Open College Network Credit 4 Learning.

CHOICE reverted back to delivering the training on a face-to-face venue-basis with the option of attending online via Zoom Video Conferencing for the few trainees who were unable to join in person. This facilitated direct and better engagement between peers (trainees and trainer), whilst also greatly reducing frustrations arising from technical issues.

Thanks to 26-weeks funding from South Hackney Parochial Charity in December 2022 CHOICE was able to enrol disabled residents of the South Hackney catchment area with a unique long-term opportunity to engage in peer-delivered general advocacy. Once enrolled, participants received a good working knowledge of the welfare/benefits system, the rights and entitlements of disabled people, advocacy and casework skills, and a work experience programme supported by extensive work coaching and mentoring support by disabled staff.

Page 15

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

d) Training & Employment Dept continued:

Choices into Work training continued:

CHOICE continues to offer a range of awards starting at Level 1 to Diploma Level 4, giving trainees real credibility and opening up new pathways for them as they embark on their new careers or takeup further education.

CHOICE is encouraged by trainee outcomes, which remained strong for the 34 trainees enrolled:

These figures represent an improvement on CHOICE’s statistics, as there is 5% increase on average for facilitating trainees into work. When compared to the government’s Restart Programme, which was launched in 2021 aimed at providing the long-term unemployed with 12-months of support at a cost £2.9 bn, CHOICE’s success rates are much higher. The Restart Programme had a disappointingly low success rate of 7%[2] , whereas CHOICE’s Choices into Work programmes had a 38% success rate of securing jobs for unemployed disabled people over a significantly shorter period of time and for much less funding.

The remaining 31% of trainees are considering their options whilst also dealing with long-term illness, caring responsibilities or other urgent needs. CHOICE continues to engage with those unable to take up employment, education or volunteering.

In June 2022, CHOICE benefitted from an independent project evaluation report prepared by Consultant, Fiona Baird. This was a substantial piece of work that culminated in a glowing report of the Choices into Work programme that stated:

At the time of writing, CHOICE is are pleased to have secured three-year’s funding from Henry Smith Charity.

2 Jayanetti, Chaminda “UK government’s £2.9bn job search scheme has put only 7% of participants in work to date“ The Guardian online, 5[th] June 2022) https://amp.theguardian.com/society/2022/jun/05/uk-governments-restart-scheme-fails-to-find-work-for-93per-cent-of-people

Page 16

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

d) Training & Employment Dept continued:

Choices into Work training continued:

During the period under review 34 people undertook the course (32 in 2021-2022).

Job Club:

This supplementary area of the Choices into Work project was funded from CHOICE reserves and South Hackney Parochial Charity.

Delivery model:

The sessions take the form of a seminar style presentation with discussion and role plays. Attendees were set assessments and received a great deal of feedback regarding their ongoing employment and self-development journeys.

Most of the delegates attended multiple online sessions and benefitted greatly from the sessions on a wide range of employment-related topics, delivered in an innovative and person-centred way. The sessions were guided by the attendees who requested specific sessions on networking, volunteering and self-employment opportunities. CHOICE encouraged its trainees to be involved in the sessions, reserving space specifically for trainee discussions of issues they have experienced. The opportunity to meet each other and benefit from each other's experiences was invaluable.

Topics:

These sessions benefited attendees immensely in an already deflated jobs market. In engaging and challenging sessions CHOICE has been able to deliver sessions on:

A total of 14 disabled people (32 in 2021-2022) engaged in Job Club sessions.

Page 17

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

d) Training & Employment Dept continued:

Coaching and confidence building:

CHOICE also delivered online one-to-one coaching sessions, which focussed on personal development and confidence building. This included preparing service users mentally and spiritually for finding and undertaking work. This involved challenging their own beliefs about themselves, and their capabilities. CHOICE was able to encourage self-reflection, a skills audit, and visualisation techniques to enable service users to plan for a future they wanted.

CHOICE’s growing waiting list indicates that coaching is clearly a service disabled people want in their lives as the prospect of job hunting is very daunting when faced alone and without encouragement.

A total of 13 disabled people (22 in 2021-2022) engaged in coaching sessions during the period.

Outcomes:

The Choices into work suite of training programmes and supplementary sessions garnered some very impressive outcomes. In particular, over the 3-year period funded by Henry Smith Charity to June 2022:

Page 18

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

d) Training & Employment Dept continued:

A total of 61 trainees benefitted from the Choices into Work training programme, Job Club and Coaching sessions during the year as follows:

The bar chart below shows trainee demographics:

----- Start of picture text -----
Choices into Work training including Job Club and Coaching
2022-2023
50
45
47
40
35
30 33
25
20
22
15
10 13 12 14
5 1 3 3 9 7 1 8 2 7 1
0
----- End of picture text -----

Mentoring:

Thanks to funding secured during the year, CHOICE was able to offer trainees who successfully completed the classroom-based elements of the Choices into Work, Disability & Domestic Violence or Disability Hate Crime training courses the opportunity to take part in CHOICE’s mentoring scheme. This is when they have the opportunity to put everything they learnt into practice as they familiarise themselves with the actual work of an Advocate during their work placement at CHOICE or one of CHOICE’s host organisations.

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CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

d) Training & Employment Dept continued:

Mentoring continued:

Trainees who undertook their work placement at CHOICE shadowed a fellow disabled Advocate who was employed as an experienced professional. They viewed the advocate’s varied casework, understood how to apply the classroom-based elements of the course(s) to actual “live” cases and adopted the many difference approaches and disciplines that come with advocacy practice.

As with all areas of CHOICE’s work, it continually evolves to meet the needs of CHOICE’s service users; and the mentoring scheme is no exception. In addition to the work placement and shadowing, the Mentor also organised short online training sessions during the year on a number of issues that arose as part of their casework such as: Housing; The Care Act; Welfare Benefits; and client management.

All of the above was greatly received as it allowed trainees to enhance their learning and advocacy practice. At the time of writing, Trustees are pleased to confirm the mentoring scheme will continue into the next financial year, thanks to 3-year’s funding from Henry Smith Charity.

7 trainees benefited from this work placement during the period (19 in 2021-2022) as shown by the bar chart below:

----- Start of picture text -----
Mentoring 2022-2023
6
5
5
4
4
3
3 3
2
2 2
1
1 1
0
----- End of picture text -----

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CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

d) Training & Employment Dept continued:

Disability & Domestic Violence training:

Funding from Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales allowed us to run specialist training programmes during the year.

The course allowed disabled people to undertake specialist advocacy training accredited by the Open College Network Credit4Learning. The training is specialist because trainees are expected to come with some relevant experience or academic qualification (as the course is intensive).

Course content:

Each programme has 6-sessions designed to train a group of disabled people to become professional advocates, specialising in domestic violence. Training topics include:

The disability element made the course much more specialist as it is very rarely addressed – even within the disabled movement. This training therefore equipped trainees with the skills needed to better manage situations, bridge the gap within domestic violence and disability and examined in detail how the two can be related.

Availability of disability-related support services:

Over recent years, incidents of domestic violence had increased and so too had the demand for support services, particularly within mainstream organisations (which are often inaccessible for disabled people). As the disabled people CHOICE works with continue to face multiple barriers of discrimination in their lives, having these additional skills and knowledge assisted them to grow in confidence as they are now able to compete in the jobs market against non-disabled candidates.

Disabled trainees gained a great deal of experiences throughout the programme including:

This also included making them aware that asking for support and making use of it is not a weakness.

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CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

Disability & Domestic Violence training continued:

Successes during the year included:

12 people undertook the Disability & Domestic Violence course in the year over 2-programmes (16 in 2021-2022). The following bar charts presents statistical data for the Disability & Domestic Violence trainees:

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CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

d) Training & Employment Dept continued:

Disability Hate Crime training programme:

This specialist training programme was also funded by Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales. It allowed us to recruit and engage disabled people to undertake accredited disability-related training not carried out anywhere else in the UK. Trainees gained knowledge and experience firstly through 6-hybrid training sessions (with some being delivered on a face-to-face basis and others online via Zoom Video Conferencing). This was followed by a minimum of 12-weeks work placement at CHOICE and other host organisations, to advocate for themselves and disabled survivors of hate crime.

Casework:

This specialist knowledge was used to carry out casework, which included the following areas from the course:

Successes:

There were many breakthroughs and successes for CHOICE our trainees during the year including:

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CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

d) Training & Employment Dept continued:

Disability Hate Crime training programme continued:

Successes continued:

At least 75% of all trainees across both specialist training programmes (Disability & Domestic Violence and Disability Hate Crime) expressed they felt more confident working with disabled survivors of hate crime or domestic violence as a direct result of undertaking either of the training programmes and a work placement.

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CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

d) Training & Employment Dept continued:

Disability Hate Crime training programme continued:

The following bar chart presents the statistical data for CHOICE’s second intake of 7 Disability Hate Crime trainees (8 in 2021-2022):

----- Start of picture text -----
Disability Hate Crime
Trainees 2022-2023
7
6
6
5
5
4
3
3
2
2 2
1
1 1 1
0
----- End of picture text -----

Page 25

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

d) Training & Employment Dept continued:

During the period under review the Training & Employment Dept carried out the following:

A total of 87 individuals benefited from the services available within the Training & Employment Dept (147 in 2021-2022). Trainees’ statistical data is shown below:

----- Start of picture text -----
All Training & Employment Department attendees
2022-2023
80
70
70
60
50
51
40
30
28
20
10 16 16 17
1 5 3 13 13 1 14 2 9 2
0
----- End of picture text -----

Page 26

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

e) New developments:

CHOICE is continually developing and introducing new ways to enhance its service offer. Trustees are pleased to report the following achievements, which lay testimony to this:

1. Effective data capture:

The CRM allows us to:

The above areas supports us with:

Page 27

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

e) New developments continued:

1. Effective data capture continued:

As information is saved in one location, data is securely stored and actioned appropriately. Reports can also be created to analyse service delivery, satisfaction and identify unmet needs. This will allow CHOICE to accurately record and target donors who can support us grow and become more sustainable.

2. Monitoring & Evaluation of services:

The Board of Trustees had requested improvements be made to how CHOICE monitors and evaluates services, particularly in light of the recent purchase of the CRM database, Charity Log, which will be utilised to support us with this task.

The consultant, Jason Pollard of Community Impact CIC was engaged to work in partnership with us to develop:

The three types of data CHOICE will get from its services are:

Page 28

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

e) New developments continued:

2. Monitoring & Evaluation of services continued:

The approach developed here is to align impact reporting to a set of outcome measures and bring all three data types into a single reporting framework. Jason found CHOICE’s existing seven outcomes are as outlined within the draft Outcomes Framework he prepared below:

All of CHOICE’s services can 'fit' into one or more of the above seven outcomes reflecting the areas services expect to have an impact. These are described below as impact outcomes for each of CHOICE’s services:

Advocacy :

Increased ‘Awareness/rights’ of services available as service users are informed/guided to make decisions and obtain their rights.

‘Voice and empowerment’: to speak up/challenge decisions.

‘(being part of a) Community’: having equality to access support/services.

‘Independent Living’: as service user remains safely in their home, making decisions and taking control of their day-to-day lives including accessing financial support.

Page 29

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

e) New developments continued:

2. Monitoring & Evaluation of services continued:

Befriending Plus / Volunteer & Active Lifestyle :

‘Reduced Isolation’ through ‘Community Participation’: attending social events and forming new relationships.

‘Improved Wellbeing’ will occur as service users manage anxiety/stress, improve their quality of life/physical fitness and self-reflect to overcome beliefs about themselves.

Training & Employment Dept:

Employability & Skills: results in ‘Increased Confidence’ to enter the workforce as mentoring and coaching offered provides confidence to use workplace skills in practice. This will also result in increased job-retention.

Good progress has been made in finalising this work to ensure the CRM, Charity Log and all engagement data aligns with CHOICE’s aim of capturing the impact its services are having on service users. This has involved Jason, Trustees, the Chief Executive Officer and the wider staff team joining workshops.

CHOICE looks forward to providing an update on this work in the next financial year’s report.

3. Business Planning :

Thanks to funder, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales’ Enhance programme, CHOICE received consultancy support to develop CHOICE’s Strategic Plan with consultant, Hilary Barnard.

As a Disabled People’s User-Led Organisation, CHOICE welcomes user involvement from amongst the disabled people it supports at every level of the organisation. CHOICE was very pleased to have engaged the Board, Chief Executive Officer, staff, volunteers, service users and other stakeholders in a series of workshops where they could add their valuable contributions to the development of CHOICE’s strategic plan for the next 5-years.

Some of the areas stakeholders worked on included:

Page 30

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

e) New developments continued:

3. Business Planning continued:

4. New premises:

CHOICE has been located at its existing premises within New City College’s Hackney Campus (NCC) since 2010-11, having previously occupied office space within St Leonard’s Hospital courtesy of Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (The Trust).

The Trust however surrendered its Lease with NCC on 31[st] August 2017 to re-locate elsewhere.

As with many organisations, COVID-19 negatively impacted CHOICE’s finances to the extent that the Charity was forced to reduce our office space by giving up a meeting room to cut down on costs. This was particularly difficult and forced us to limit staff teams to only attending the office on specific days in order to accommodate social-distancing and client-confidentiality.

As a disability-related organisation, CHOICE prides itself on meeting the access needs of its disabled service users, staff, Trustees and volunteers. However, NCC came to the decision postpandemic that it could no longer allow us access through the Hoxton Street entrance. This meant CHOICE staff and visitors had to enter and exit the campus via the Falkirk Street entrance (along NCC’s staff and student population). This included a signing in and out process that was inaccessible for those who are visually impaired; there was also a long walk (about 100 metres) from the entrance to the CHOICE office across a busy courtyard, which was often teaming with students and difficult for disabled people to navigate. These were only some of the issues.

Unfortunately, despite negotiations, CHOICE had to accept the only way to resolve this situation was to move premises.

Page 31

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

e) New developments continued:

  1. New premises continued: After years of talks and negotiations, Trustees are pleased to announce CHOICE has secured new accessible offices within the London Borough of Hackney that meets its needs. CHOICE will be joining other voluntary and community sector organisations in January 2024 within a newly refurbished hub based on the ground floor of the Marie Lloyd Day Centre on Queensbridge Road. The new venue is well served by public transport with Overground stations and buses stopping nearby.

Photo of the Marie Lloyd Day Centre at 329 Queensbridge Road, E8 3LA on the corner of Jacaranda Grove.

Page 32

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

e) New developments continued:

5. New Project:

Thanks to funding received from City Bridge Trust, the funding arm of The City of London Corporation’s charity, Bridge House Estates (1035628), CHOICE was awarded 5-year’s funding towards its Information, Guidance & Advocacy (IGA) service .

CHOICE’s experienced IGA Officer has been in post since June 2023 and trains volunteers to jointly provide the service virtually/in person through partnership working with disabled people supporting with:

The IGA project will allow us to meet CHOICE’s aim of supporting disabled people in a holistic way and complement existing service provision. For example, supporting a disabled person to maximise their income with a successful welfare benefit claim or making an application for accessible transport with its form-filling service.

Page 33

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

f) Funders:

In the year under review, CHOICE received funding from:

  1. Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – to provide health advocacy to disabled residents of Hackney and the City of London aged 18 plus.

  2. London Borough of Hackney via The Advocacy Project (TAP) to provide:

  3. i) non-statutory advocacy service to disabled and vulnerable Hackney adults who are known to Adult Social Care teams, un-befriended, unable to speak up for themselves and require support with a specific advocacy issue; and

  4. ii) statutory advocacy service to disabled Hackney residents who have care/support needs, substantial difficulty in being involved in the relevant processes and have no appropriate unpaid individual to support them.

  5. Henry Smith Charity Improving Lives – part-funding towards the Choices into Work project (part of the Training & Employment Dept), which provides classroom-based advocacy training, work placements and job search skills. Additional coaching support is also funded.

  6. South Hackney Parochial Charity – towards the Choices into Work project which provides classroom-based advocacy training, work placements, job search skills and coaching for disabled people within the funder’s catchment area.

  7. Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales - to provide specialist accredited training in hate crime and/or disability and domestic violence with extended work placements allowing trainees to gain in-depth knowledge of their chosen specialism.

  8. Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime – to provide disability hate crime advocacy to disabled people who live or work in Hackney and surrounding boroughs as part of the Communities Against Hate (CATCH) consortium.

  9. London Community Response Fund (Wave 5) – for a contribution towards core costs and the provision of Hate Crime services.

  10. G&E Pollitzer Charitable Settlement – as a contribution towards CHOICE’s core costs.

Page 34

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

g) Funders continued:

The level of funding in the year allowed CHOICE to support a total of 470 people (716 in 2021-2022). This is lower than in the previous financial year due some projects (Active Lifestyle, Befriending Plus / Volunteer, Choices into Work) being unfunded for some or all of the year under review. As a consequence, only a limited service was offered and funded through CHOICE reserves in order to continue to support disabled people who are in the most need. Service user demographics for all projects is as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
All Projects 2022-2023
350
323
300
250
234
200
150
152
145
141
100
73 75 75
50
48
44
26
2 22 5 18 4 4 19
0
----- End of picture text -----

Page 35

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Review of Activities, Achievements and Performance continued:

Page 36

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Financial Review:

The COVID-19 pandemic seems to be over and the charity’s operations are returning to a more typical cycle of activity. For all the challenges it brought, it has left us a stronger and better positioned organisation. The results of the year’s operations are set out in the attached Financial Statements.

Total incoming resources amounted to £341,417 (2022: £271,871) and total resources expended were £229,753 (2022: £220,111). This resulted in a surplus on the year of £111,664 (2022: £51,760). There was a deficit for the year on the unrestricted funds of £46,042 (2022: surplus £53,217). The majority of the Restricted Funds held at the end of the previous year were expended on the projects for which they were intended as set out in Note 12 of the financial statements. Further restricted funds have been raised for ongoing activities and there was a surplus on the year of £157,706 (2022: deficit £1,457).

Risk:

Last year, CHOICE reported that over-reliance on the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) was the most significant risk the charity faced. Steps have been taken to reduce this reliance and to provide administrative support to the CEO. These have been successful and CHOICE is looking to develop and recruit staff to take on the management of specific day-to-day operations in order to allow the CEO to concentrate on the management of the whole organisation.

In past years CHOICE also noted the dependence on securing income for the short-term support of activities was a significant challenge. In the year under review CHOICE, as noted above, secured some multi-year funding for projects. Thus there has been successful mitigation of these two risks.

The Board of Trustees are continuing to make use of grant-funded consultants to identify structural changes to increase the capacity for organisational and service growth so the charity can maintain sufficient funding to provide for the needs of its service users.

The charity was successful through the pandemic in part through the increased use of Information Communications Technology, which enabled work to continue. Many of these changes are here to stay: CHOICE is for example moving away from paper records. In consequence, the risks of cyber-attack and the need for electronic data security have increased. The Trustees believe that reasonable data security measures are in place but continue to examine further steps to enhance protections.

CHOICE remains committed to the ideals of a Disabled People’s User-Led Organisation (“DPULO”). As noted previously, this presents its own risks in a period of financial austerity. CHOICE continues to adapt business models and funding bids to articulate the added value created by employment of disabled staff. CHOICE will work with others such as Inclusion London, to campaign for Access to Work to cover full costs.

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CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2023

Reserves Policy:

The Charity sets aside funds, as unrestricted reserves, to meet future anticipated or contingent expenditure, in particular to cover staffing costs such as sickness, redundancy, to develop new activities and to ensure the continuity of services through difficult financial periods. The Board of Trustees, after review, decided that the Charity should aim for a level of the “free reserves”, of between 3 and 9 months recurrent expenditure, which equates to approximately £58,000 - £175,000.

As in previous years CHOICE made use of Reserves to maintain existing and to develop new services. CHOICE continued to develop new services and, as described elsewhere in the report, attracted new long term funding to support these activities. As a result, the tangible assets (“free reserves”) have decreased and at the year-end were marginally below the desired level and amounted to £47,615 (2022: £93,657).

GOING CONCERN

The Trustees actively foster relations with existing funders and seek additional funding sources emphasising the value for money in terms of historic costs per service user outcome. Although the level of ‘free reserves’ has fallen over the year as noted above some multi-year funding has been secured and as a result the restricted reserve has significantly increased. In consequence, the Trustees are of the opinion that the Charity will be able to continue as a going concern into 2026 and beyond.

Page 38

CHOICE IN HACKNEY REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (who are also the directors of Choice in Hackney for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland".

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 of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to

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

In so far as the trustees are aware:

The independent examiner, Knox Cropper LLP, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

APPROVAL

This report was approved by the Board of Directors and Trustees on 13[th] December 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

…………………………………………… Andrew Price (Vice Chair)

Page 39

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

TO THE MEMBERS OF CHOICE IN HACKNEY

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Choice in Hackney for the period ended 31 March 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charitable company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’). You are satisfied that the accounts of the Company are not required by charity or company law to be audited and have chosen instead to have an independent examination.

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the Company’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

Since the Company’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I can confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a registered member of ICAEW which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  2. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  3. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

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

Richard Billinghurst Knox Cropper LLP Chartered Accountants 65-68 Leadenhall Street, London, EC3A 2AD

Date:

14/12/2023

Page 40

CHOICE IN HACKNEY

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

(INCORPORATING THE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

Notes
INCOME FROM:
Grants and donations
2(a)
Charitable activities
2(b)
Investments
Other income
Total
EXPENDITURE ON:
Raising funds
3
Charitable activities
3
Total
Net income/(expenditure)
Transfers between funds
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Balances brought forward at 1 April
BALANCES CARRIED FORWARD
AT 31 MARCH		 Restricted
Funds
£
266,313
-
-
-
266,313
-
106,607
106,607
159,706
(2,000)
157,706
39,193
196,899		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
10,806
64,165
118
15
75,104
9,581
113,565
123,146
(48,042)
2,000
(46,042)
93,657
47,615		 Total
2023
£
277,119
64,165
118
15
341,417
9,581
220,172
229,753
111,664
-
111,664
132,850
244,514		 Restricted
Funds
£
140,622
-

-
-
140,622
-
142,079
142,079
(1,457)
-
(1,457)
40,650		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
61,808
68,485
7
949
131,249
6,630
71,402
78,032
53,217
-
53,217
40,440		 Total
2022
£
202,430
68,485
7
949
271,871
6,630
213,481
220,111
51,760
-
51,760
81,090
39,193 93,657 132,850

All income and expenditure has arisen from continuing activities.

Page 41

CHOICE IN HACKNEY

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31[st] MARCH 2023

Notes
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible Assets
7
Intangible Assets
8
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
9
Cash at Bank and in hand
CREDITORS: Amounts
falling due within one year
10
NET CURRENT ASSETS
NET ASSETS
FUNDS
Restricted Funds
12
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds
General Fund
11		 2023
£
£
-
4,170
4,170
188,548
62,512
251,060
(10,716)
240,344
244,514
196,899
-
47,615
244,514		 2022
£
£
-
-
-
60,460
85,933
146,393
(13,543)
132,850
132,850
39,193
-
93,657
132,850		 2022
£
£
-
-
-
60,460
85,933
146,393
(13,543)
132,850
132,850
39,193
-
93,657
132,850
-
132,850
132,850
39,193
-
93,657
132,850

The Company is exempt from the requirements relating to preparing audited accounts in accordance with Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006. The members have not required the Company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for:

a) ensuring that the company keeps accounting records which comply with sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and;

b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of each financial year and of its profit or loss for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the company.

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 13[th] December 2023 and signed on behalf of the board

Vice-Chair: Andrew Price

Treasurer: Malcolm Aickin

Registered Company Number: 03423122 Registered Charity Number: 1077287

Page 42

CHOICE IN HACKNEY

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

The presentation currency of the financial statements is Pound Sterling (£).

b. Company Status

CHOICE IN HACKNEY is a company limited by guarantee. In the event of the Charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the Charity.

c. Fund Accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the objects of the Charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors which have been raised by the Charity for particular purposes. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements. Statutory grants which are given as contributions towards the Charity’s core services are treated as unrestricted.

d. Incoming resources

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

e. Resources expended

f. Tangible and Intangible Fixed Assets and Depreciation

All assets costing more than £1,000 are capitalised.

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the costs of fixed assets, less their estimated residual value, over their expected useful lives on:

Furniture/Fittings: 25% straight line basis Office Equipment: 25% straight line basis

Intangible assets are stated at cost less amortisation. Assets are amortised once brought into use. Amortisation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows: CRM system: 20% straight line basis

Page 43

CHOICE IN HACKNEY

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (Continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

g. Allocation of Overhead and Support Costs

Overhead and support costs have been allocated between charitable activities and other expenditure on the basis of staff time. The allocation of overhead and support costs is analysed in note 3.

h. Operating Leases

Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the statement of financial activities as they fall due over the term of the lease.

2(a). INCOMING RESOURCES FROM GENERATED FUNDS

- Grants received

Restricted
Funds
£
The Henry Smith Charity
209,900
Lloyds Bank Foundation
24,800
CATCH Mobilisation
22,500
South Hackney Parochial
9,113
Hackney Parochial Charities
-
London Community Response Fund
-
City & Hackney Clinical
Commissioning Group
-
Inclusion London
-
Hackney Council FO
-
Alliance for Inclusive Education
Other income and Donations
-
DWP Resource Management
-
266,313		 2023
Un-
Restricted
Funds
£
-
2,250
-
-
-
-
-
2,875
225
300
5,156
-
10,806		 Total
£
209,900
27,050
22,500
9,113
-
-
-
2,875
225
300
5,156
-
277,119		 2022
Total
£
69,100
24,800
22,352
4,000
5,580
49,549
14,787
-
-
3,735
8,527
202,430

2(b). INCOMING RESOURCES FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

- Contracts for services and performance related grants

Homerton University Hospital –
Advocacy
The Advocacy Project – Advocacy
LB of Waltham Forest		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
-

-		 2023
Un-
Restricted
Funds
£
47,431
16,734
64,165		 Total
£
47,431
16,734
64,165		 2022
Total
£
46,481
22,004
68,485

Page 44

CHOICE IN HACKNEY

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (Continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

3. ANALYSIS OF RESOURCES EXPENDED

Unrestricted
Staff costs
Staff training
Accountancy
Independent
examination fee
Rent
Other Costs
Legal & Professional
Fees
Restricted
Staff costs
Staff training
Accountancy
Auditors Remuneration
Rent
Other Costs
Legal & Professional
Fees		 Raising
Funds
Charitable
Activities
Total
2023
Total
2022
£
£
£
£
9,581
86,233
95,814
66,298
-
269
269
-
-
926
926
783
-
1,220
1,220
575
7,193
7,193
4,500
-
15,979
15,979
5,504
-
1,745
1,745
372
9,581
113,565
123,146
78,032
-
82,860
82,860
107,235
-
150
150
90
-
1,630
1,630
1,748
-
1,630
1,630
1,675
-
13,550
13,550
13,811
-
5,442
5,442
14,945
-
1,345
1,345
2,575
-
106,607
106,607
142,079
9,581
220,172
229,753
220,111

Staff costs have been allocated to the above expenditure heads on the basis of estimated staff time spent on the activities. Support costs and governance costs are included in the above analysis. Governance costs amounted to £18,000 (2022: £18,000).

4. STAFF NUMBERS AND COSTS

Salaries
Social security costs
Employer pension
Redundancy costs		 2023
£
167,578
7,786
3,310
-
178,674		 2022
£
162,307
8,142
3,084
-
173,533

The average number of employees during the year was 10 (2022:9). No employee earned more than £60,000 during the year under review (2022: none). The remuneration of senior management amounted to £51,379 (2022: £51,063).

Page 45

CHOICE IN HACKNEY

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (Continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

5 . TRUSTEES REMUNERATION

During the year, Trustees received reimbursement of expenses amounting to NIL (2021: NIL).

No trustee received any remuneration other than disclosed in these accounts.

6. TAXATION

CHOICE is a registered charity and is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income and capital gains received to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

7. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Cost
At 1st April 2022
Additions
At 31stMarch 2023
Depreciation
At 1st April 2022
Charged for the year
At 31stMarch 2023
Net Book Value
At 31st March 2023
At 31st March 2022
NTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Cost
At 1stApril 2022
Additions
At 31st March 2023
Depreciation
At 1stApril 2022
Charged for the year
At 31st March 2023
Net Book Value
At 31stMarch 2023
At 31stMarch 2022		 Furniture
£
2,316
-
-
2,316
-
-
-
-		 Office
Equipment
£
23,964
-
-
23,964
-
-
-
-
CRM
System
£
-
4,812
4,812
-
642
642
4,170
-		 Total
£
26,280
-
-
26,280
-
-
-
-

8. INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Page 46

CHOICE IN HACKNEY

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (Continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

9. DEBTORS

Grant debtors
Prepayments and other debtors
Accrued income
10.CREDITORS: Amounts falling due
within this year
PAYE
Accruals and other creditors		 2023
£
10,168
3,480
174,900
188,548
3,160
7,556
10,716		 2022
£
42,082
18,378
-
60,460
4,912
8,631
13,543

11 . UNRESTRICTED FUNDS

General Fund
Total Unrestricted Funds
PRIOR YEAR
General Fund
Total Unrestricted Funds		 Brought
Forward
Incoming
Resources
Resources
Expended
Transfers
Carried
Forward
£
£
£
£
£
93,657
75,104
(123,146)
2,000
47,615
93,657
75,104
(123,146)
2,000
47,615
Brought
Forward
Incoming
Resources
Resources
Expended
Transfers
Carried
Forward
£
£
£
£
£
40,440
131,249
(78,032)
-
93,657
40,440
131,249
(78,032)
-
93,657

Page 47

CHOICE IN HACKNEY

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (Continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

12 . RESTRICTED FUNDS

Disability LIB
Advocacy,
Training
and
Employment
Hate Crime
CRM System Project
Active Lifestyle
Total Restricted Funds
PRIOR YEAR
Disability LIB
Advocacy,
Training
and
Employment
Hate Crime
CRM System Project
Active Lifestyle
Total Restricted Funds		 Brought
Forward
£
499
36,694
-
2,000
-
39,193
Brought
Forward
£
499
40,151
-
-
-
40,650		 Incoming
Resources
£
-
243,813
22,500
-
-
266,313
Incoming
Resources
£
-
93,900
22,352
2,000
22,370

140,622		 Resources
Expended
£
-
(84,107)
(22,500)
-
-
(106,607)
Resources
Expended
£
-
(97,357)
(22,352)
-
(22,370)

(142,079)		 Transfers
£
-
-
-
(2,000)
-
(2,000)
Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-		 Carried
Forward
£
499
196,400
-
-
-
196,899
Carried
Forward
£
499
36,694
-
2,000
-
39,193

Transfer – the transfer to unrestricted fund represents restricted costs capitalised during the financial year.

Disability LIB – this was a one-off grant from Disability LIB towards disabled people’s communication support, such as translation and interpretation costs.

Advocacy, Training and Employment (now known as the Choices into Work) - this represents amounts received towards the Choices into Work Project to train disabled people to enable them to find meaningful employment in advocacy or other related fields. This project also offers coaching, confidence building and mentoring.

Disability Hate Crime Project – this represents funding received from the Mayor’s Office for Policing & Crime (MOPAC). CHOICE operates within the “Community Alliance To Combat Hate” (CATCH) consortium to support disabled survivors of hate crime that take place within London and surrounding boroughs.

Client Relationship Management (CRM) system project – part-funding from The Sylvia Waddilove Foundation UK via Pothecary Witham Weld Solicitors allowed us to purchase the CRM system, Charity Log to efficiently streamline data across all projects and services.

Active Lifestyle – this is funding towards our Active Lifestyle project, which included low-impact exercise sessions as well as group activities all taken out online from the comfort of the service users homes via Zoom Video Conferencing to improve health and wellbeing.

Page 48

CHOICE IN HACKNEY

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (Continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

13. FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS

At the 31[st] March 2023 the Charity had commitments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

Amounts payable:
Within one year
Between two and five years
After five years		 2023
£
1,053
-
-
1,053		 2022
£
948
-
-
948

In addition to the above, the Charity has a licence agreement for its office premises for an annual rent of £21,000. The licence is reviewed every September.

14. CAPITAL COMMITMENTS

There were no capital commitments at 31[st] March 2023 (2022: Nil).

15. CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

There were no contingent liabilities at 31[st] March 2023 (2022: Nil).

16. NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS

Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
PRIOR YEAR
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total		 Fixed
Assets
Cash at Bank
and in Hand
Debtors
Current
Liabilities
Total
£
£
£
£
£
4,170
51,689
2,472
(10,716)
47,615
-
10,823
186,076
-
196,899
4,170
62,512
188,548
(10,716)
244,514
Fixed
Assets
Cash at Bank
and in Hand
Debtors
Current
Liabilities
Total
£
£
£
£
£
-
57,916
49,284
(13,543)
93,657
-
28,017
11,176
-
39,193
-
85,933
60,460
(13,543)
132,850

Page 49

CHOICE IN HACKNEY

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (Continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2023

16. GOING CONCERN

The Trustees actively foster relations with existing funders and seek additional funding sources emphasising the value for money in terms of historic costs per service user outcome. Although the level of ‘free reserves’ has fallen over the year as noted above some multi-year funding has been secured and as a result the restricted reserve has significantly increased. In consequence, the Trustees are of the opinion that the Charity will be able to continue as a going concern into 2026 and beyond.

17. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

There were no related party transaction during the year.