2022-03-31-accounts

Annual Report: Welcome from our Chair and Chief Executive

Family Lives

Annual Report

Annual Report and Accounts

2021-22

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report

Family Lives

Contents

Annual report

Annual report
Introduction 3 Our impact - Summary 4 What we do and why 6 Our fnances 7 How did we perform against our strategic aims 2019-2021 9 Our impact 2021-2022 13 National Services Helpline, chat and email services 14 Website, forums, online courses 15 Early Years Services ParentChild+ 16 Support for newparents 17 Early intervention outreach service 18 Children and Family Services Befriending0-5 19 Befriending- Families 5-16 20 Earlyhelpservices 21 Familycoaching 22 Mental health and wellbeing 23 Supporting youngcarers 24 Reducingviolence 25 Supporting children with special educational needs(SEND) 27 Supporting families living in recovery 27	Supporting family learning and befriending
	Family Learning and Support 28
	Energise families 30
	Afghan familysupport 32
	Our volunteers 33
	Diversity, equality and inclusion 34
	Our strategy 2022-2025 36
	Accounts
	Thisyear’s fnancial results 38
	Legal and administrative information 40
	Governance and Management 41
	Risk management 43
	Independent auditors’ report 44
	Statement of Financial Activities 47
	Balance Sheet 48
	Statement of cash fows 49
	Accounting policies 50

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report

Family Lives

Introduction

The last year has continued to see an increase in demand for our services, along with more complexity and challenges for the individuals and families we supported. We continued to be flexible and responsive to the changing rules around Covid-19 and are pleased that for another year we were able to continue delivering all of our services without interruption, moving to online support when needed.

Changes to the way we train and support our volunteers has meant that we can now recruit people from anywhere in the UK, creating a larger potential pool of volunteers to work with us. However, the impact of the pandemic has meant that maintaining and increasing the number of volunteers needed to respond to demand from families remains challenging.

We are pleased to showcase our performance against our strategic aims for 2019-2021 (see page 9) and to set out our strategic aims for the next three years (see page 36).

Our strategic aims for this coming period include a focus on the early years and acknowledging the role of the community.

There will always be a need for family support, and the Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly had a significant impact. There have been reported increases in young people and adults’ mental health issues, child-on-parent violence, and family poverty; and young children’s language, physical development and educational outcomes, are issues of increasing concern.

We recognise that the future remains uncertain as we emerge from the pandemic, but we also know that we have the determination and commitment to do whatever it takes to support the families who need us.

We look forward to working with you to continue this vital support.

Anastasia de Waal, Chair and Jeremy Todd, Chief Executive

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report

Family Lives

Summary Our impact 2021-2022

Last year (2020-21)

website 2.4 million + users

calls, chats and emails 44,000+ answered

of helpline callers felt more able to deal with the issues 87% concerning them after talking to us

people supported through our 7,600 community services

hours donated by 27,000 our volunteers

This year (2021-22)

website 2.3 million + users

calls, chats and emails answered

41,500+

of helpline callers felt more able to deal with the issues 96% concerning them after talking to us

people supported through our 6,463 community services

hours donated by 23,878 our volunteers

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Summary

Family Lives

Last year (2020-21)

This year (2021-22)

52%

of helpline callers are single parents

48%

of helpline callers are single parents

of helpline callers are satisfied with 98% the service

99%

of helpline callers are satisfied with the service

of helpline callers over 37% last 2 years on family income of less than £15,599 per annum

32%

of helpline callers over last 2 years on family income of less than £15,599 per annum

of callers were from minority ethnic 19% communities

21%

of callers were from minority ethnic communities

It has been difficult to provide an exact comparison of impact over the two years due to the lockdowns and restrictions our service users, staff and volunteers “ faced in delivery. It should also be noted that during these lockdown periods it was harder for people to contact us on the helpline due to the sensitive nature of issues being discussed, as people could not share issues of teen to parent violence or domestic violence and abuse whilst the perpetrators were in the home.

When I called I felt there was no light at the end of the tunnel and I was going to have another mental breakdown. But after speaking to you I feel totally differently and I now have hope again. ”

A consequence for those we did speak with was that there was a significant increase in the caller being able to address the issues they had called us about and an increase in caller satisfaction. We also saw greater diversity amongst our service user group.

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Welcome from our Chair and Chief Executive

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Family Lives
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What we do and why

Family Lives was formed over forty years ago by volunteers, with the aim of ensuring that all parents and families had somewhere to turn before they reached crisis point. We know that the right support at the right time makes all the difference, and this has been made all the more vital as a result of the pandemic and the impact it has had on families.

We’re here to support families, with whatever they’re going through. We believe all families should have access to active support and understanding. We provide vital support to tens of thousands of families every year through our national helpline, online via email, live chat and our website, as well as working directly with families through our wide range of services in areas across England.

We support families experiencing a wide range of issues. These include aggression and violence from their teenager, supporting couples in conflict, befriending for vulnerable families, as well as the home-learning programme, ParentChild+, which aims to reduce the school readiness gap.

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report

Family Lives

Our finances Summary

Funding received 2022: £2,634,000

Source of income (£’000):

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1,000
£925
£801
800
£642
600
400
£251
200
£15
0
Central Local Trusts and National Lottery Others
Government Government Foundations Community Fund
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Funding received 2021: £3,006,000

Source of income (£’000):

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£999
1,000
£813
£799
800
600
400 £378
200
£17
0
Central Local Trusts and National Lottery Others
Government Government Foundations Community Fund
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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our finances

Family Lives

Summary of expenditure 2022: £2,760,000

What we spent the funding on (£’000):

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2,000
£1,827
1,500
1,000 £900
500
£31 £2
0
National services Face to Face Raising funds Professional
services development
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Summary of expenditure 2021: £2,861,000

What we spent the funding on (£’000):

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2,000 £1,894
1,500
£923
1,000
500
£29 £15
0
National services Face to Face Raising funds Professional
services development
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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report

Family Lives

How we did against our strategic aims 2019-2021

Our three-year strategic aims were to:

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Provide targeted early intervention and crisis support for more parents and carers who are struggling and are in need.

Work together with volunteers to support more families.

Make sure families can access help in the way that they need it at the right time (through digital development).

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: How we did against our strategic aims 2019-2021

Family Lives

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Aim 1: Provide targeted early intervention and crisis support for more parents and carers who are struggling and are in need.

Increasing our pilot ParentChild+ programme from 60 families to 300+ across the UK

This year alone we supported 300 families with over 9,400 sessions; up from 224 families in 2019-20. We are now delivering the programme in several areas in England, including some with the lowest school readiness rates in the country. We are also awaiting the results of a randomised control trial (RCT) to measure the programme’s effectiveness.

Supporting more families with intensive 1:1 support by securing more grants and contracts

We have continued to secure funding for our services, expanding some into new geographical areas, despite the challenges faced as a result of the pandemic.

Helping parents and carers cope by providing a listening ear and emotional support, information & advice

We have continued to provide our helpline service throughout the pandemic. We were able to reintroduce a live chat service in July 2020 to help even more families access support under incredibly challenging circumstances.

Ensuring parents can find information whenever they need it, through our website and wider digital resources

We have redesigned our website completely with improved navigational tools to help our users access information and advice more easily. The website also gives live updates on the availability of our helpline, online chat and email support services.

Aiming to answer 20% more callers to our helpline

While we have been able to maintain our helpline service with no downtime and reintroduce our online chat, as a result of the pandemic and fluctuating numbers of volunteers, we have not yet been able to achieve this target.

We will work in partnership with commissioners and funders to provide the right support to families

We continued to build on our relationships with commissioners in local areas, and actively engaged with funders which helps ensure that projects are expanded and/or recommissioned.

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: How we did against our strategic aims 2019-2021

Family Lives

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Aim 2: Work together with volunteers to support more families.

We will increase our volunteer base by 33% from 300 to 400+

Our volunteers are crucial to the way we support families, but of course their availability was affected by the pandemic with many unable to give their time. Despite these challenges, we have been able to maintain a steady body of around 300 volunteers. We have also made changes in the way we train and support volunteers so they can now work from home which means we can now recruit from all over the UK.

We will give our volunteers a better experience – enhancing the way we engage with, train and support them

We now recruit volunteers for our national services from all across the country, offering easily accessible online training and support. We have improved how we engage with volunteers through a shared online space for staff and volunteers featuring news and updates from across the organisation.

We will broaden and expand our staff and volunteers’ contributions, roles and representation across the organisation

We have introduced a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion group and for the first time in several years held a virtual conference which enabled many more staff and volunteers to attend to meet their colleagues and hear about all the different projects we run.

We will improve how we use technology to support our volunteers and make their work easier

We have invested in a new helpline platform, making it much easier and quicker to use by our helpline volunteers (as well as reducing the time to train them).

We also embedded Microsoft Teams for the whole organisation improving communication and inclusiveness.

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: How we did against our strategic aims 2019-2021

Family Lives

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Aim 3: Make sure families can access help in the way they need at the right time.

We will benchmark how effectively we are using digital technology to support our work – and how we can do better

We have used the NCVO Digital Maturity Matrix to assess our digital strengths and weaknesses and review annual progress.

We have improved our score against this measure by 33 percentage points in the 3 years from August 2019 (from 41% to 74%).

We will develop a clear plan to use digital technology to help us provide better integrated services and support to more families

We will make digital technology a major part of our charity and how we work, by developing new training and support for our staff and volunteers

As a result of the pandemic, our transition to becoming a fully digital organisation was much quicker than expected - but we were well positioned to do this. We fasttracked our roll-out of Microsoft Teams across the organisation through online guidance and workshops so that it rapidly became our primary communications tool for both staff and volunteers.

In 2019, we received a three-year grant from the National Lottery Community Fund for an ambitious programme of digital innovation. We have a clear project plan which has included a new website featuring service-level indicators to help manage supply and demand for our services, and using digital to increase our network of virtual volunteers and match availability and demand more effectively.

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Support
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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Our impact 2021-22

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22

Family Lives

National Services

Helpline, chat and email services

It has been yet another busy year for our national services. We have answered over 41,500 calls, chats and emails providing advice and support on parenting and family issues. We achieved this thanks to our staff and the contribution and commitment of our dedicated volunteers across the country, who donated over 14,000 hours of their time answering helpline calls.

Parents and family members contact us at times when they are most in need of a listening ear to support and guide them, often in highly distressing situations with nowhere else to turn. Our staff and volunteers use a guided process to enable the parent or family member to open up and explore the reasons for their own or their child’s difficulties and consider further actions they could take to improve their situation. We receive calls about all sorts of issues that families are dealing with, from parents who are unsure how to deal with their “ child’s violence, to supporting couples going through divorce or separation.

Thank you so much for all your support, you’ve been great and the most helpful person I’ve spoken to about all of this.

As demand continues to increase, we are actively looking for ways to continue increasing our volunteer numbers. Our live chat service, reintroduced in 2020, has gone from strength to strength and we have recruited more staff so that we can expand our opening hours to support more people.

”

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

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Annual Report: Welcome from our Chair and Chief Executive
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Family Lives
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Website, forums, online courses

Our website provides hundreds of pages of online advice and videos for families, covering a wide range of issues such as aggression from teenagers, understanding why play matters, bullying and issues at school, and what to do if you are thinking about getting divorced or separating from a partner. We support all members of the family and those caring for children, from parents and partners, grandparents, stepfamilies and foster parents to aunts and uncles, and members of the wider family.

Our key development over the last year has been launching a new website to provide a more friendly and intuitive experience for families to access much needed advice, whether they are accessing it on a laptop or their mobile. The new website showcases the wide range of content available to users. It also displays real-time information about the availability of our helpline, chat and email services. This means anyone using the website can immediately see what services are available and choose the most suitable form of support for them.

We have continued to refresh the format of much of the existing content to make it more engaging, for example in the form of short videos.

Feedback from our most recent website user survey shows:

• 93% would use the website again

• 91% were satisfied or very satisfied with the website

• 87% felt more confident to deal with their situation as a result of using our website

• 52% of visitors said that using the website meant they no longer needed to contact another service

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22

Family Lives

Early Years Services

This year: We supported 300 families providing over 9,400 sessions

ParentChild+

ParentChild+ is an early intervention programme for families with children providing over 9,000 sessions aged 18 months to 4 years. It is designed to improve the home-learning environment so that children are more ready for school. Our home visitors work with the parent and child together over 15 months through regular sessions. The programme helps to develop strong parent-child relationships, improve family collaboration, build on families’ strengths and provide strong foundations for life-long learning.

Last year: We supported 275 families, providing over 9,000 sessions

Since Family Lives introduced the programme from the United States in 2018, with a pilot in Nottingham, Ealing and Newcastle, we have expanded delivery. We now work in Westminster, Tower Hamlets, Kensington and Chelsea, and South Yorkshire, as well as continuing in Newcastle. We are awaiting the results of a Randomised Control Trial across four areas of South Yorkshire which ended in August 2021 to assess the effectiveness of the programme.

When we originally launched the programme we only offered face to face visits, but we had to adapt as a result of the pandemic. As a result we’ve developed a more flexible model which not only offers sessions in the home but also online or at a local children’s centre. This flexibility helps reduce the costs of delivering the service and can often be more convenient for the family.

The sessions can have a significant impact on both the parent and child taking part. We see children who had previously never picked up “ a book now ask for a story before bed every evening, and they engage in play for longer periods of time as their concentration and engagement improve. Parents adopt calmer behaviours and learn how to praise children for their efforts in persevering; we see the bond between parent and child growing.

The last year has been invaluable to myself and my little girl. Her confidence has improved more than I thought possible and I believe taking part in this has helped her settle so well into nursery. She adores L (Home visitor) and engages so well in the sessions and has learned so much. Her development is much further along than it would have been if we didn’t do this, especially due to the pandemic. The sessions have been vital in having a routine over the last year and provided me with a lot of support and shown me different ways to help her development.

We are also seeing the impact on the wider family: the main child being supported is often seen emulating the home visitor role to younger siblings, and older siblings also adopt behaviours which they’ve seen used by the home visitor. This can include sharing a book on the sofa, or being more patient while waiting for a younger sibling to reply. Parents often develop a better understanding of the value of education and some return to college to develop their literacy and numeracy skills or take GCSEs so that they can better support their children.

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22 - Early Years Services

Family Lives

Supporting new parents

Our service in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, supports new parents and kinship carers who may be experiencing isolation and low emotional wellbeing. We are now in the third year of this vital service and have focused particularly on fostering social and emotional connections.

This year: We supported 39 new mums through 370 befriending sessions

Last year: We supported 32 new mums through 444 befriending sessions

Most of the parents and carers we support are experiencing mental health issues

ranging from mild to moderate anxiety and depression, often caused by postnatal depression, domestic abuse and isolation. Many are from other parts of the world including Greece, Poland, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Egypt, Kosovo, Russia, Syria, and South and West Africa. For most, the pandemic has exacerbated the difficulties they were already experiencing.

Our drive to improve community connections is in addition to the core support provided by our volunteers of home, community and virtual befriending visits, as well as telephone support. This has led to a community within a community, as families develop a real sense of belonging.

During lockdowns, volunteers and staff facilitated conversations between parents online who then met at our small gatherings in coffee shops and playgroups and, for example, at the Christmas and ‘Marvellous March’ social events. In this safe space they shared experiences about being a parent and moving to, and living in, Barnsley.

Many continue to consolidate their new friendships and go on to support other mums. Witnessing their increased confidence, happiness and the developing friendships has been heart-warming for our staff and volunteers. Friendships are also forged between volunteers which in turn increases their motivation for continued engagement. We believe this provides the best sort of impact for families and a real legacy in the community. We were delighted to recruit one of our volunteers as an Outreach Worker and her experience and knowledge of the locality have been invaluable.

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22 - Early Years Services

Family Lives

Early intervention outreach service

In Westminster we provide a universal early intervention service, based mainly at children’s centres and family hubs, working with families who have at least one child under the age of five or a pregnant mother. The families, who are usually isolated and struggling to access community services, are referred to us via Social Services, Early Help and Home Visiting teams.

Depending on each family’s needs, we offer a wide range of support such as parenting support, housing, access to the benefits’ system, nursery/school admissions, liaison with children’s centre activities, registering with GPs/dentists, and food bank or financial grant applications. We try to understand the underlying causes of a specific behaviour giving children and their families the space and time to process “ what has happened to them without being judged, and then exploring together the best possible ways of support.

This year: 2,355 families supported

Last year: 2,991 families supported

Thank you so much for your support, without you in my life, I would have been still homeless moving from one friend’s house to another.

We understand the importance of families being able to express themselves freely and without language barriers. Therefore, we try to ensure that our Outreach Workers speak the main community languages, and when needed we also engage our volunteers to help us with interpreting.

”

Over the last two years, Covid-19 restrictions have made our work much more challenging. But we have adapted to make sure we reach families and offer the support needed – be it online or over the phone. For the most complex cases, we continued to arrange face to face meetings at Family Hubs whilst ensuring we followed all safety guidelines.

During this time we have also seen a sharp rise in demand for food bank support and financial grant applications, a higher number of families experiencing mental health conditions and an increase in safeguarding cases involving sexual abuse.

Supporting Afghan refugee families

Over the last year, with the help of volunteer workers, our Outreach Team in the north east of the borough took an essential role in supporting Afghan refugee families and connecting them with local services. We registered 650 refugee families to enable them to get the support they needed.

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Welcome from our Chair and Chief Executive

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Family Lives
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Children and Family Services

Befriending 0-5 years

The families who were referred to our befriending service for those with children aged 0-5 engaged well; matching them with a volunteer and providing support has been positive and there have been good outcomes for the families.

The pandemic brought an additional level of stress for a lot of the families we worked with. Some parents had been made redundant and needed referrals to food banks, grants and other services. We delivered bespoke Family Lives’ parenting modules to parents to help them deal with home-schooling, parenting and couple relationships. This helped the parents to build on their own resilience.

We have continued to work with refugee families from Afghanistan and Ukraine, linking them to community services which helps families to become more integrated in the borough.

Parents have become more confident in using virtual platforms, as well as attending children’s centres and community activities in person. It’s a positive move forward for parents to have a choice in how they engage with befriending and other services.

In addition, we have helped our volunteers to further develop their skills through our Practice Development Groups, and a number have gone on to successfully find paid work, while also continuing to support the families in this service.

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22 - Children and Family Services

Family Lives

Befriending 5-16 years

Our project for befriending families with children age 5-16 in Westminster restarted This year: 19 families referred in September 2021 and has already (September 2021 to March 2022) worked with 18 families over the past 6 months. Many families have emerged from lockdown with increased financial, social and relationship strains that have had an impact on home, work and school patterns. Teenagers’ learning and exams have been disrupted, causing increased social anxiety which has in some cases resulted in self-harm and referral to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services).

This year: 19 families referred (September 2021 to March 2022)

Our service has been able to reassure and provide emotional support, which helps the parent navigate the various agencies supporting the family. The families are involved in the initial assessment of support, and this is reviewed to ensure they are making progress and becoming more resilient and confident. We often become the lead professional and can coordinate Professional Team Meetings with the family to help communicate and follow up on action plans. We are able to help support families with parenting strategies leading to more empathetic parenting.

We have been able to support families dealing with housing and eviction issues or facing difficulties linked to low incomes or self-employment vulnerability due to economic uncertainties. We help by signposting to benefits advice, as well as by applying for grant funding for household appliances and helping make referrals to food banks. If a family is facing eviction, we provide support helping with housing assessments and talking to schools during an incredibly

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22 - Children and Family Services

Family Lives

Early Help

This service is based in Westminster and works in partnership with the local Early Help service to support parents to transition from their service to access community provision independently. Transition allows parents to feel less anxious when withdrawing support from Early Help, as parents feel empowered by the befriender and are more likely to engage with their “ wider community. Some parents have also felt sufficiently encouraged and empowered to start volunteering with Family Lives.

This year: 41 families supported

Last year: 43 families supported

I am very impressed with the support I received! I had a very difficult time during the pandemic but with Family Lives’ support I was able to cope with my children! ”

Joint work with Early Help practitioners is effective and impacts positively on the my children! families, with joint visits regularly taking place with the Early Help practitioners, both virtually and face to face. One of our key successes has been the ability to support the families during very challenging times. We have focused on engaging families in activities that allow the family to build better bonds and healthier relationships. Families have benefitted from being matched with a suitable volunteer, who, where possible, speaks the same language as them.

As a result, our volunteers have had more opportunities to become involved with other professionals. For example, they have been invited to the Team Around Families meetings alongside the Volunteer Development Officer, because they have been active and engaging well with the parents.

We also provide parents with sharing space sessions, in which various issues are discussed. The team are able to then provide support and guidance and reflect on Family Lives’ models and tools that can be of help. Befrienders have a good relationship with their given families and are able to explore the families’ feelings about difficult issues, such as domestic abuse.

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

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Annual Report: Welcome from our Chair and Chief Executive
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Family Lives
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Family Coaching

Think Families Plus commissioned Family Lives to deliver family coaching for identified families in Ealing. Our remit is to support families with their parenting when they face complex needs and challenges – including domestic abuse, poor mental health, conflict management, relationship support, special needs and isolation. Our aim is to improve children’s potential and their life chances, and outcomes for the whole family.

This year: 120 families supported

We support families through a range of activities including individual support which enhances parenting skills, implementing mood and stress management strategies with the aim to improve family functioning and parenting capacity. We also run family coaching sessions which helps to strengthen self-esteem and family communication, reduce isolation and build community networks. In addition, we run online and face to face facilitated parenting programmes tailored to the needs of the parents, as well as signposting to appropriate local voluntary and statutory agencies and to other Family Lives’ services.

We have noticed an increased need for support around child-to-adult aggression, children and young people’s mental health, and poor mental health of the parent or carer. The latter results in reduced parental capacity, and can sometimes see increased parental conflict.

We have seen a significant rise in the skills and knowledge of our volunteers meeting the challenges of the complexity of the work at SAFE thresholds. Our current pool of volunteers is able to offer support in 11 different community languages.

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22 - Children and Family Services

Family Lives

City of London mental health and wellbeing project

This is a new project for Family Lives, working in an area of London where we have not previously been established. In September 2021 we were commissioned by the Early Help group for the Aldgate School and Children’s Centre.

This year: 16 families supported (since starting in September 2021)

Our impact so far has been to support families to navigate the challenges of being new parents and help them appreciate the importance of having a supportive network made up of wider family and friends where possible, to call on to share the workload. We support families to work together with their differing parenting styles across different generations. They are each encouraged to communicate positively and work through their differences, approaching it from a child-centred perspective and working with the idea that ‘it takes a village to raise a positive child’.

Part of our role is listening to parents who are going through challenging health issues, supporting them by encouraging them to focus on what’s going well, their children and the small steps they can take towards improving their health.

We have also been able to support parents whose children have additional needs, signposting families to relevant support that will give further advice on coping with specific issues. We support families to implement routines that work for each individual in the family, and to understand the changing developmental needs of their children in order to establish appropriate behaviour management strategies. Parents tell us that this has made a positive difference in their children, and therefore also in their home, and this has helped them manage their own expectations.

As the project begins to become established in the Aldgate School and Children’s Centre and the City of London area, we will continue to run workshops every term to help improve the knowledge and skills of parents who visit the centre.

Small steps toward improving wellbeing

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22 - Children and Family Services

Family Lives

Supporting young carers

This year we supported 42 young carers

This project was highly successful but unfortunately the funding came to an end in September 2021. We supported 42 young carers and 25 parents with oneto-one support, by visiting them regularly and building strong relationships with the children and their parents. This can help parents understand their children’s needs including when they have physical or mental health issues.

We provided children with activities designed to help them alleviate stress and enable them to spend quality time with other peers. During the school holidays, we provided them with trips and workshops. For example, Mouse Trap, a theatre organisation, provided exciting drama sessions for young people within our service. These sessions were aimed at increasing emotional and social skills and encouraging them to express their feelings. They eagerly attended every week after school. The children created their own scripts and then performed at the Palace Theatre in Victoria, London in front of an audience, including their proud parents.

We supported parents to engage with other services, in order for them to build their confidence in parenting. We invited them to sharing space sessions and included them in trips. Young carers who attended faceto-face and virtual sessions also used these opportunities to express their feelings and share their experiences of being young carers. We successfully engaged with the young carers’ schools in order to ensure that their education was on target and helped parents with supporting their children with homework.

We also provided parents with sharing space sessions to discuss various topics related to parenting and empower them in their ability to support their own children and be part of a community.

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22 - Children and Family Services

Family Lives

Reducing violence

Westminster

We delivered 21 group information sessions across a range of different venues, including schools and community spaces.

This year: We supported 123 families and 342 children.

This year, the Violence Reduction Unit project successfully trained 15 parent volunteers who support local parents. Volunteers speak several languages including Arabic, Kurdish Sorani, Farsi, Bengali, Turkish, Urdu, Tigrine, French, Russian, Czech, Dutch and Amharic. We have five male volunteers, one of whom speaks Kurdish which was one of our aims for the project.

The project works in partnership with the Community Engagement, Integrated Gangs and Exploitation Unit. Together, we delivered a number of workshops which focussed on current issues experienced by families in the area. This included topics such as keeping children safe from exploitation and violence, drug awareness workshops, and sessions on stop and search. Parents shared that, for many of them, this was their first experience of this type of workshop, and they gained a great deal of knowledge that would help them to support their children.

An exciting, innovative workshop we tried out was the ‘IGXU Virtual Reality Pilot’, which focused on relaxation and wellbeing using virtual reality equipment. Parents fed back that they benefitted from the sessions. The workshops were delivered face-to-face at the Portman Centre every week for four months. Parent Navigators attended the sessions with parents to support them with language or for support.

Volunteers on the project were able to benefit from a schedule of relevant workshops and professional development offered by Family Lives and our partner Westminster Adult Education. Examples of workshops included: ‘Online Grooming & Exploitation Training’; ‘Building Resilience Against Violence and Extremism (BRAVE)’, from St Giles Trust and Connect Futures; and ‘Awareness of Knife Crime and Domestic Violence’.

“

‘As a serious youth lead for Westminster City Council I love spending time and working with the Family Lives team. They are always supportive of our work, they have a wide network to the local community and work very hard to make sure our workshops and opportunities are fully promoted in the community so that the local community can gain the most from the experiences that we are providing. They work in partnership and always very consistent in responding to opportunities.’

”

25

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22 - Children and Family Services

Family Lives

Lewisham

The project began in October 2021, and we are now receiving referrals from schools and Early Help. Part of our role is to listen to families who often do not know where to turn to when their young person is beginning to get into trouble with school, at home or with the local law enforcement teams. We provide strategies for families to start making the changes needed, build relationships with the schools and understand what support the school has to offer if the child has a plan or is excluded.

This year: We supported 31 families from October 2021 to March 2022

We provide advice on how to work with police liaison officers and youth offending teams to support young people who have got into trouble. We signpost families for support with their children’s mental health, support with finding advice online and now the beginning of face-to-face support for their health education and wellbeing. We support families with how to improve communication with their children, how to understand and manage young people, including behaviour management strategies that work for the young person who is on the verge of criminal or disruptive behaviour.

The project recruits volunteer parent champions from the local communities and we are now beginning to use their networks to reach more families. We have worked with Youth Offending Services to reach families who have successfully completed their programme to support young people and their families. We have also been able to allocate resources to assist in positively improving the relationship within families as well as keeping young people engaged in hobbies such as biking, knitting and cake baking.

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Signposting
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26

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22 - Children and Family Services

Family Lives

Supporting children with Special Educational Needs (SEND)

This year: We held 11 groups, through 68 sessions and 153 attendees

Last year: We held 10 group sessions with 128 attendees

For many parents whose child has Special Educational Needs, their child’s behaviour and social skills continued to regress following the introduction of social distancing restrictions and school closures. The restrictions also meant delayed or cancelled assessments, and little access to specialist educational provision.

Disruptions to daily routines caused significant impact on the mental health and behaviour of children with additional needs, affecting the whole family. We were able to support parents in Hertfordshire and Essex through access to our ‘Bringing Up Confident SEN Children’ programmes. These were often seen as a lifeline in supporting parents’ ability to cope and manage more successfully, as well as giving them the strategies and mechanisms to understand and manage their child’s behaviour more effectively.

Supporting families living in recovery

This year: We supported 28 parents through individual support and ran 42 groups/workshops

Last year: We supported 36 parents through individual support and ran 4 groups with 14 attendees attending each session

Our Families Living in Recovery Project in Hertfordshire, in partnership with The Living Room and Relate, adapted swiftly to online delivery from the start of the pandemic. It was widely recognised that the impact of Covid-19 would cause significant difficulties for people relying on services to continue their recovery from addiction. This, in turn, would risk having a detrimental impact on their families and carers.

Feelings of fear and anxiety can hold people back from seeking or continuing addiction treatment, when that treatment may be life-saving. While the Living Room centres in Stevenage, St Albans and Watford were closed, our partnership consortium continued with a package of online support. This meant that service users in the recovery programme, and their partners and carers, were able to maintain contact and receive the support they needed through our online individual and facilitated group sessions.

27

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

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Annual Report: Welcome from our Chair and Chief Executive Family Lives
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Supporting family learning and befriending

Family learning and support, and befriending project

• 22 families in total received either befriending or individual support

• 58 families currently registered with family learning and support (FLS) and they receive engagement / information on FLS activities / communications via phone, email or online at least once a week

One of our key successes for this project in Westminster has been our ability to remain flexible and responsive to families’ needs during this difficult time of uncertainty. From July 2021, we were able to offer an increased number of faceto-face opportunities. We were also able to offer a limited holiday programme and this was invaluable to many families who found themselves feeling stuck over the holidays in terms of organising activities for their children.

The activities and small trips we offered during the holidays resulted in extremely rewarding and unique experiences for vulnerable families. In most cases, they provided opportunities to families which would have otherwise been unavailable or unattainable due to financial constraints, and other challenges they faced.

28

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22 - Family learning and befriending

Family Lives

Our adapted services were critical in maintaining engagement, reducing isolation and building resilience. Families said these groups were like a lifeline, allowing them to get out of the house and connect with other families, and feel less alone during some challenging times.

The majority of families supported through befriending and individual support on the project, also attend and benefit from family learning and support sessions. This has provided an effective model for introducing parents to other parents, building connections and reducing isolation.

Befriending

Building connections and reducing isolation

Introduced to Parents other parents

During Covid-19 restrictions, we provided continuity of our befriending support by switching to online and telephone support. We were able to offer face-toface visits in the Children’s Centre or in the home, where this was needed. As restrictions were gradually reduced, common issues emerged for families, including parenting difficulties, challenging behaviour, relationship distress, mental health issues and housing and finance difficulties. We adapted to also incorporate shorter periods of support for particular families, where there was a need for specific signposting or one particular area of focus.

Many of our volunteers speak Arabic or an additional language, such as Bengali, Farsi or French. In addition to this, many of them understand some of the cultural sensitivities within the local community and are able to work effectively with families to break down barriers and work towards improving outcomes. Parents’ feedback about their befrienders has been extremely positive in most cases, and they have often expressed that their befriender has been their sole form of support.

Three of the parents using this service have gone on to become volunteers themselves or have attended volunteer befriending training. This is a very positive outcome in itself, and also helpful in the local community in developing ambassadors who can identify and reach out to other families who may need support.

29

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

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Annual Report: Welcome from our Chair and Chief Executive Family Lives
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Energise Families – helping families be more active

Our Energise Families projects in Nottingham and Ealing help families to become more active together while encouraging behavioural change. Physical and mental health has worsened during the pandemic, and high levels of anxiety mean that already isolated families may rarely go out, if at all. The problems of one child can impact on the whole family.

This year: 72 families supported through 492 befriending sessions and 27 groups/workshops

Last year: 47 families attended online activity sessions in Ealing, and 36 families were supported in Nottingham

Over the three years of the project, we have built on what we know works, and

what makes the biggest difference in order to provide a truly personalised service. Our volunteer befrienders and staff provide a listening ear for parents struggling in isolation, support to build routines, explore solutions for family issues, demonstrate activities for engaging with their children and explore ideas to get fitter. Our focus is on fun and games rather than formal sport or exercise, which is often a positive by-product of the engagement.

At one-to-one befriending sessions, parents can offload. ‘Walk and Talk’ is a simple, free and highly effective way to build a trusting relationship. A takeaway coffee sitting on a park bench is a treat; the physical activity to get there is both a physical and emotional step towards better health and wellbeing.

30

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22 - Family learning and befriending

Family Lives

Having safe and stable accommodation is a fundamental need and without this a family is unlikely to be emotionally able to make other changes. So, helping families to find suitable housing is part of what we do. We also know that poverty is crippling and affects every aspect of family life. Our befrienders help parents in practical ways, by ensuring they understand their entitlements or helping them to make phone calls and complete forms. They accompany parents to what’s most needed at the time – to the shops for school equipment, to an appointment with a paediatrician or to move out of a women’s refuge.

These sessions are alternated with activities for the whole family in the home, garden or local park. They help the family connect better, to share and communicate effectively. Items of equipment for the family are the practical tools to back up the emotional support and enrich the home environment.

Organised drop-in activity sessions in local parks and schools have enabled families to build friendships. Run by Family Lives staff and volunteers, the choice has included Drum Fun, Reggearobics, Superhero HITT, Clip and Climb, hula hooping, yoga and football. Families have realised how being active together helps them bond and build good relationships. We have done a lot of work to upskill parents with ideas for things to do long-term, which do not need much kit or skill. Activities such as yoga for adults and children, which have lots of accessible and free videos online, have proved very popular.

We have seen more resilient, informed and competent parents who are better able to carry out daily tasks, establish routines and manage family life. We believe that the shifts in mind-set, confidence and parenting, and the positive relationships and new social networks, have created sustained change and a lasting difference.

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Advice on
Support
completing
families
forms
moving out
of a women’s
refuge
Our
befrienders
Accompany
parents to shops
for school
And much
supplies
more
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31

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our impact 2021-22 - Family learning and befriending

Family Lives

Afghan family support

This year: 62 families supported, through 554 befriending sessions

Last year: We supported parents through 505 befriending calls.

The Afghan Family Project was already in place when thousands of Afghans were airlifted through the UK government scheme in August 2021. The project had a surge of referrals, doubling within a month. Thankfully, with the support of Family Lives staff stepping in, and the support of volunteers, we were able to make a huge difference.

Overall, the project has been a success over the last three years. The Afghan community is comprised of members from the Sikh, Muslim and Hindu faiths, and the Afghan community being supported saw Family Lives as neutral territory, providing an equally accessible service to all. Families felt they could trust Family Lives and made huge progress, leaving the project feeling empowered and positive.

The project benefitted from donations of food, new clothing and housing items. The project also donated sewing machines to Afghan families and had the opportunity to run parenting and sewing classes. The project held other workshops as well, including pampering/relaxation sessions, and screen-time management via Teams. The screen-time management was especially helpful for parents whose children became used to excessive screen-time during the pandemic.

As ethnic minority communities were hit particularly hard with deaths from Covid, the project provided additional support around bereavement and loss to the Afghan families. The supported families found the project beneficial in providing listening support, online activities, and educational sessions about the vaccine and Covid-19. We also ran a workshop with a GP present, and the GP was able to answer many questions which the volunteers were able to translate for the families.

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Managing
screen-time
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32

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report

Family Lives

Our volunteers

2021-2022

23,878

hours donated by volunteers through the helpline and face-to-face services

2020-2021

27,019 hours donated by volunteers through helpline and face to face services

2021-2022

427

administration hours for helpline services equated to £5,709

2020-2021

171 admin hours for helpline services equated to £2,252

2021-2022

2021-2022

14,309

8,090

helpline services hours equated to £211,630

face-to-face services hours equated to £151,849

2020-2021

2020-2021

16,032 helpline services hours equated to £233,586

10,899 face to face services hours equated to £201,523

2021-2022

1,052

administration hours for face-to-face services equated to £13,664

2020-2021

34 admin hours for face to face services equated to £448

“

Volunteering has been a wonderful experience. It’s helped me further my skills and knowledge in a work environment, I feel more confident and ready for bigger steps and all this is due to the amazing staff that has always been ready to help.

I would like to thank you and everyone else for being excellent and coming all together to help these amazing mums. ”

Drande, Peer Support Volunteer, Barnsley Support Service for New Parents

33

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Diversity, equality and inclusion

Family Lives

Diversity, equality and inclusion

Family Lives believes that discrimination of any kind for any reason is an affront to our values and beliefs. We recognise that many of our colleagues, service users and friends within the wider community experience disadvantage and discrimination, and acknowledge that we all have a part to play to bring about systemic change. We will continue to work together to ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are not simply three words but are experiences shared by all – and we are committed to the personal, organisational and community work that must take place to make this happen.

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Gender
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Male Female Prefer to self-describe Prefer not to say Unknown
Staff Volunteer
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----- Start of picture text -----
25% Age
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
16-19 20-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 61-65 66-70 70+ Prefer Unknown
not to say
Staff Volunteer
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34

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Diversity, equality and inclusion

Family Lives

----- Start of picture text -----
Disability
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----- Start of picture text -----
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Yes No Unknown
Staff Volunteer
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3%
3%
7%
7%
Leadership
group
17%
63%
----- End of picture text -----*

White: English, Welsh, Scottish, Asian or Asian British: Indian Northern Irish or British

Asian or Asian British: Any other Black, African, Caribbean Asian background or Black British: African Black, African, Caribbean or Black White: Any other white British: Caribbean background

*The Leadership Group is made up of any managers and senior leaders

35

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report

Family Lives

Our Strategy 2022-25

Since our beginnings more than 45 years ago, Family Lives has supported families from the very first days of becoming a parent through to the teenage years and beyond. We are proud to offer support across the age range so that families can turn to us whenever they need us.

To reach as many families as possible, and respond to increasing areas of need, we have chosen to focus in on three specific objectives:

1

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2
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3

Building stronger families

Raising children’s aspirations and potential

Connecting families and communities

We’re working to ensure more families have access to a range of family support when and how they need it.

We’re working to support families in the early years to help more children be ready for school and have the same chances as their peers.

We’re working to support families to feel part of their community and access local resources.

36

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Our strategy 2022-2025

Family Lives

Our priority areas for action

Underpinning our work to support the families who need us is our internal efficiency and productivity, and of course our staff and volunteers. Alongside our income diversification aims, we will also focus on ensuring we continue to use the learning from how we adapted to support families during national lockdowns, and how we can further innovate and grow our range of products and services.

Our strategic goals give us a long-term focus. We expect our priorities and activities to flex over time as we adapt to seize opportunities in the changing external environment and as we respond to the needs of families.

From April 2022, we will focus on:

----- Start of picture text -----
1
Our products
and services
2 3
£
Our Income
people generation
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37

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Family Lives

Accounts

This Year’s Financial Results

Summary

During the year, the charity raised £2,634k (2021: £3,006k) and spent £2,760k (2021: £2,861k). After allocation of the appropriate expenditure in the year against restricted funds, a surplus of £25k (2021: surplus of £8k) was added to the free reserves in line with the charity’s policy.

The free reserves of the charity, after allowing for fixed assets of £3k (2021: £5k) and designated funds of £nil (2021: £nil), stand at £945k (2021: £918k). These funds represent free reserves available to the charity, which can be used for any purpose within its charitable objects.

Unrestricted funds

The charity raised £1,501k (2021: £1,533k) of general or unrestricted income. Expenditure of £1,476k (2021: £1,525k) was set against this, leaving a surplus of £25k (2021: £8k). The general reserves carried forward were £948k (2021: £923k).

Designated funds

There were no designated funds carried forward at 31 March 2022. No new designations were made in the year.

Restricted funds

A total of £1,133k (2021: £1,473k) of restricted income was received in the year and a balance of £356k (2021: £219k) brought forward from the previous year. Expenditure of £1,284k (2021: £1,336k) was set against this leaving a balance of £205k (2021: £356k) to carry forward to fund restricted activities next year.

Sources of income

£801k (2021: £799k) was received from Central Government sources, £925k (2021: £999k) was from Local Authority sources, £642k (2021: £813k) was from Trusts and Foundations, £251k (2021: £378k) was from National Lottery Community Fund and £15k (2021: £17k) from individuals, schools and corporate bodies.

Expenditure

Expenditure on National Services reduced to £900k (2021: £923k) as emergency Covid Response funding ended last year. However, a new grant was secured during the year.

Expenditure on Face to Face services reduced to £1,827k (2021: £1,894k). This was largely due to the ParentChild+ project in South Yorkshire and Bexley’s Home Visiting Service coming to an end half way through the year.

Expenditure on Professional Development reduced to £2k (2021: £15k) with the end of the DWP Challenge fund.

Investment in fundraising increased to £31k (2021: £29k) due to an increase in activities.

Reserves Policy

The Board of Trustees has agreed a reserves policy whereby the unrestricted funds not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets, (‘the free reserves’), held by the charity should provide sufficient funds for an orderly wind down of the charity, if necessary at some future date. At 31 March 2022, this equates to £587k, leaving a buffer of £358k out of total free reserve of £945k.

The Trustees are mindful of the potential need to use the charity’s unrestricted reserve as a buffer against the volatile funding environment.

38

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Accounts: This year’s financial results

Family Lives

Investment Policy

In today’s uncertain climate, volatile equity markets and a recognition that the current reserves are not long term in nature, the Board of Trustees has decided to take a cautious approach to the investment of its liquid funds. Accordingly, these funds have been invested in a high interest COIF Deposit Fund account.

The pooled assets of the Deposit Fund are placed on short-term money market deposits in accordance with a careful management policy. The Fund can make deposits only to rigorously selected financial institutions approved by the Fund’s trustees. For each counterparty, there are agreed individual deposit limits. This ensures that the Fund’s assets are diversified across a range of institutions: the credit status of these is monitored daily.

Fundraising Policy

We always strive for best practice in fundraising to ensure our donors feel safe, valued and well supported – adhering to the Fundraising Regulator and other professional fundraising bodies.

We never buy or sell people’s personal information. We work hard to respect people’s wishes about how they want us to communicate with them, and we are confident that Family Lives data practices are compliant with the UK General Data Protection Regulation.

Most of Family Lives’ income derives from statutory and Trusts funding with small donations coming from various sources. We undertake very little public fund raising activities and do not use professional fundraisers or commercial participators.

We have never ‘cold mailed’ or ‘cold called’ the public to raise funds. We did not employ external companies to carry out fundraising on our behalf. We meet the regulations and codes set by the Fundraising Regulator and monitor any complaints received by the charity about fundraising. During the year, there was no non-compliance of these regulations and codes and we received no complaints.

Donors, funders and fundraisers

The Trustees would like to thank all trusts, organisations, schools and individuals who generously supported the work of Family Lives. With your contributions, we have been able to make a real difference to children and families across the UK at a time when they needed us most. Principal funders are listed below.

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Armithea Charitable Trust

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council BBC Children in Need Bedfordshire County Council Brilliant Parents Burghley Charitable Trust Bushey Mead School Car Takeback City of London City of Westminster Charitable Trust Department for Education Department for Work and Pensions Education Endowment Foundation Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Essex County Council Fidelity UK Foundation Greater London Authority Green Lanes Primary School Hertfordshire County Council Herts and West Essex Integrated Care System Hyde Park Place Estate Charity John Lyon’s Charity London Borough of Bexley London Borough of Ealing London Borough of Lewisham London Metropolitan University Mantra Jewellery (Jo Stroud) National Lottery Community Fund

OneYMCA Royal Borough of Kensington of Chelsea Southfields School, Hatfield Sport England St Giles & St George St Mark’s Church, Woodcote The Brook Trust The Cathedral & Abbey Church of St Alban The Dulverton Trust The Fifty Fund The Living Room The Monday Charitable Trust The Rayne Foundation The Simon Gibson Charitable Trust Welsh Government Welwyn Garden City Schools Partnership Westminster Almshouses Foundation Westminster City Council

39

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Family Lives

Accounts

Legal and administrative information

Status

Family Lives is a registered company limited by guarantee; company number 3817762. It is also a registered charity, charity number 1077722, registered in England and Wales.

The charity was established under a Memorandum of Association, which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association. These will be treated as if they are in the new form of a single set of Articles as specified under the Companies Act 2006.

Sub-Committees:

Policy & Finance Sub-Committee:

A de Waal, W Jones, S Bayliss, A Montgomery, N Rupani

Remuneration Sub-Committee:

S Bayliss, A Montgomery, N Rupani

President:

Deidre Sanders

Chief Executive and Company Secretary:

J Todd

Registered Office

Trustee Board

The members of the Board during the year were: A de Waal Chair S Bayliss J Coleman Re-appointed 05/11/2021 W Jones Treasurer S Hayman A Holt Re-appointed 05/11/2021 A Montgomery N Rupani Re-appointed 05/11/2021 K Summers

15-17 The Broadway, Hatfield, Herts, AL9 5HZ

Auditors

Price Bailey LLP, Causeway House, 1 Dane Street, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts, CM23 3BT

Solicitors

Farrer and Co, 66 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3LH

Objectives

The objectives of the Company are:

1. To promote, protect and preserve the good health, both mental and physical, of family members and families.

2. To advance public education in, and promote research into the psychological, legal, medical and other experiences of family members and families and to disseminate the useful results of such research.

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.

Achievements and benefits to families, parents, children and other services users which cover public benefit are detailed on pages 13-33

1. To help relieve poverty among family members and families, in particular by the provision of an advice and information service for those unable to access such resources.

For the purpose of the above, ‘family members’ includes parents, children and others forming part of the wider or extended family, including grandparents and step relatives.

40

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Family Lives

Accounts

Governance and Management

Board of Trustees

Members of the Trustee Board, who are directors for the purpose of Company Law and Trustees for the purpose of Charity Law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report, are set out on page 40. Members of the charitable company guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £10 to the assets of the charitable company in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31 March 2022 was nine (2021: nine).

The Board is responsible and accountable for Family Lives’ policies and activities to the Charity Commission, to Funders and Stakeholders, and for compliance with Charitable and Company Law. It is responsible for the financial and strategic affairs of the charity, for the Annual Budget and the Annual Report and Accounts. The Chief Executive is accountable to the Board of Trustees and presents an Accountability Report against the organisation’s agreed strategic objectives.

The Board is committed to diversity across the organisation in all areas of its activities. The organisation is continuing to monitor our service reach and workforce so as to move forward continuously on our diversity targets. We publish diversity data within this annual report.

The Board has been chaired by Anastasia de Waal since November 2009. Anastasia de Waal is Director of I Can Be, a charity working to help break down barriers to opportunity for disadvantaged children and young people.

Over the year, the Board has continued to review and consider term lengths and contributions for officer roles, in particular the Chair role, as well as for trusteeship more broadly. Board discussion has been informed by guidance from Family Lives’ auditors, as well as the Charity Governance Code, to help ensure that the Board’s approach to decisionmaking on officer and trustee terms and contributions is appropriately rigorous

Ongoing review of the Board’s current make-up and contribution to the organisation has continued to identify a valuable mix of expertise and background, alongside active engagement and strong commitment from serving Trustees. However, the Trustees also continue to be committed to refreshing and replenishing the Board, specifically through new trustee appointments over the course of 2022-23.

The Board of Trustees, the Chief Executive, volunteers and staff work to engage with existing service users, while exploring ways to attract and engage with hard to reach parents and adults, who find themselves in a parenting or carer role in the UK. We expect to continue to see increased levels of engagement in the coming year, which will benefit from the introduction of our new helpline platform, new website and broader digital services.

Board Recruitment

One third of Trustees are required to retire annually and there is no limit to the number of times a Trustee may be re-appointed. Appointment to the Board continues to be via an open and formal recruitment process. Appointments made during the year are

Board Induction and Training

An Induction Programme is in place for new Trustees. Any training needs may be identified for both new and established Trustees via the trustee appraisal/ review process.

Board Meetings

The Trustees meet as a full Board six times a year including for Annual General Meeting. The Trustees hold an Annual Away Day which includes the Senior Management Team.

41

Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Accounts: Governance and management

Family Lives

Board Sub-Committees

There are two Sub-Committees: Policy & Finance and Remuneration, which make recommendations to the Board for approval. In addition, there is a Risk of Harm Advisory Group which meets four times a year and has Trustee representation. There is also a Digital Advisory Group that also has Trustee representation.

Senior Leadership Team

The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) meets eleven times a year and addresses crossorganisational issues. The Directors hold principal responsibility for the budget and key strategic decisions. All Senior Managers work across the whole organisation and are accountable to the Board of Trustees via the Chief Executive.

Remuneration

Pay and remuneration of Key Management Personnel (with the exception of the Chief Executive) is undertaken as an independent process by the Head of HR and a member of the SLT. The process assesses current roles and activities against the existing job description and we have a ‘marking system’ for any additional responsibility. Once the independent process occurs HR send a letter to the employee informing them of any outcome.

The Board Remuneration Sub-Committee meets on average once a year to discuss remuneration for a cost of living rise for all staff, including the Chief Executive. This is a non-obligatory process and does not assume an award. The Chair of the Remuneration Sub-Committee then reports back to the Board with a recommendation.

Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement

The Trustees (who are also directors of Family Lives for the purposes of Company Law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the Trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom

Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities FRS102 SORP;

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charitable Company will continue in operation.

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

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

• There is no relevant audit information of which the Charitable Company’s auditor is unaware.

• The Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

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Risk management

Trustees reviewed the risks to which the charity could be exposed in 2022/23 and are satisfied that the charity has taken all reasonable steps to minimise risk, and that it has policies and procedures in place to manage risk effectively in all areas of the charity’s work. The key risks

Principal risks	Steps to mitigate risks
Financial Solvency	Ensure suffcient reserves to cover orderly wind down.
	Quarterly review of management accounts and forecasts.
	Plans in place for continued diversifcation of funding.
	Ongoing liaison with current and potential funders.
Failure to meet	£10million Public Liability Insurance in place.
quality standards	£5million Professional Liability Insurance in place.
	Accreditation for frontline staff.
	The Helplines Partnership Quality Standard maintained.
	Risk of Harm Policy procedures implemented.
	All frontline staff and volunteers DBS checked.
	Complaints procedure in place.
Organisational Risk	Robust Human Resources policies & procedures in place.
	Robust Financial Management policies & procedures in place.
	IT infrastructure disaster recovery plan in place.
	Media policy in place.
	Periodic review of public beneft.

In preparing this report, the Trustees have taken advantage of the small companies exemptions provided by section 415A of the Companies Act 2016.

Approved by the Board of Trustees on 21 July 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

A.de Waal

Anastasia de Waal (Aug 23, 2022, 6:53am) Anastasia de Waal (Chair)

Warwick Jones (Aug 22, 2022, 7:38pm)

Warwick Jones (Treasurer)

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Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of Family Lives

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Family Lives (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2022 which comprises the Statement of Financial Activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cashflow and notes to the financial statements, including 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 charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2022, and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we

have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

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

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

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to

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statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

with the small companies’ regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemption from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of trustees

We have nothing to report in this regard.

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 legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the 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; or

• the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

• the trustees were not entitled to prepare

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

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

Auditor responsibilities for the audit of the

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.

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

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to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

• enquiry of management regarding laws and regulations applicable to the charitable company, actual and potential litigation and claims, and any known instances of non-compliance;

• review of minutes of Trustee meetings;

• performing audit work over the risk of management override and controls, such as reviewing journal entries and reviewing investment valuation; and

other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this re p ort , or for the opinions we have formed.

Helena Wilkinson (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of Price Bailey LLP, Statutory Auditor

Causeway House, 1 Dane Street, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM23 3BT

Date: 23 August 2022

• reviewing our work throughout the audit file for evidence of non-compliance.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the FRC’s website at: https:// - www.frc.org.uk/auditors/audit assurance/ auditor-s-responsibilities-for-the-audit-of-thef/description-of-the-auditor%E2%80%99sresponsibilities-for This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

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

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Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating Income and Expenditure Account) for the year ended 31 March 2022

note Income and endowments: Income from: Donations and legacies 2 Charitable activities 3 Other trading activities 4 Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds 6 Charitable activities: National Services 7 Face to Face services 8 Professional development 9 24/26 Total expenditure Net income/(expenditure) Funds at 1 April 202� Funds at 31 March 202� 24/26	Unrestricted funds £’000 12 1,486 3 1,501 31 671 772 2 1,476 25 923 948	Restricted funds £’000 1,133 - - 1,133 - 229 1055 - 1,284 (15�) 356 205	2022 Total £’000 1,145 1,486 3 2,634 31 900 1,827 2 2,760 (12�) 1,279 1,15�	2021 Total £’000 1,483 1,519 4
				3,006
				29 923 1,894 15
				2,861
				145 1,134
				1,279

The notes on pages 50 to 63 form part of these financial statements

The statement of financial activities include all gains and losses recognised during the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

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Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2022

note Fixed assets Tangible assets 17 Current assets Debtors 18 Cash on deposit Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year 19 Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due after one year Social Investment loan 20 Provision for liabilities 21 Total net assets Unrestricted funds 24 Restricted funds 26 Total funds		2022 £’000 3 1,156 1,159 - (6) 1,153 948 205 1,153	£’000 228 600 955 1,783 (453)	2021 £’000 5 1,330
	£’000
	194
	600
	726
	1,520
	(364)
				1,335 (50) (6)
				1,279
				923 356
				1,279

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to companies subject to the small companies regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements were approved by members of the Board on 21 July 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

A.de Waal

Anastasia de Waal (Aug 23, 2022, Anastasia de Waal (Chair) 6:53am)

Warwick Jones (Aug 22, 2022, 7:38pm) Warwick Jones (Treasurer)

Company Registration Number: 03817762

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Statement of cash flows for the year ended 31 March 2022

Reconciliation of net income/(expenditure) to net cash infow from operating activities Net income as per the statement of fnancial activities Depreciation charges (Increase)/decrease in debtors (Decrease)/increase in creditors Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities Cash fows from investing activities: Purchase of property, plant and equipment Net cash used in investing activities Cash fows from fnancing activities: Social Investment Bond bank loan Net cash used in fnancing activities Change in cash in the reporting period Cash at the beginning of the reporting period Cash at the end of the reporting period Analysis of cash: Cash at bank and in hand Cash at COIF deposit Total cash Analysis of changes to net debt: Cash at bank and in hand Debt: Social Investment loan due after one year Total	2022	2022	2022	2021 £’000 145 5 188 (175)	2021 £’000 163 - (50)
	£’000		£’000
	(126)
	4
	34
	(89)
			�177� -
	(2)
			(2)	(50)
	(50)
			(50)	Cash fows £’000 (229) -
			(229)		113 1,442
			1,555
			1,326		1,555
			1 April 2021 £’000 955 600
					31 March 2022
					£’000
					726
					600
			1,555	(229)	1,326
			1 April 2021 £’000 1,555	Cash fows £’000 (229)
					31 March 2022
					£’000
					1,326
			1,555 (50)	(229) 50	1,326
					-
			1,505	(179)	1,326

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

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1 Accounting policies

Family Lives is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is registered in England and Wales.

The registered office is 15-17 The Broadway, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL9 5HZ.

Basis of preparation of financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

The Charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

The Presentation currency used is British Pounds Sterling

Going concern

The Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about Family Lives’ ability to continue as a going concern.

The Board of Trustees regularly consider Family Lives’ financial position and future funding position. At the time of writing this report, most of the income required for the year ending March 2023 has been secured.

Income

Income is recognised in the period in which the charity is entitled to receipt and the amount can be measured with reasonable certainty.

Grants are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the entitlement to the grant is probable. Grants made for specific purposes are classified as restricted income.

Income is deferred only when the charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor or funder has specified that the income is to be expended in a future accounting period.

Donations

Donations organised directly by the charity are included gross together with related fundraising expenditure. Donations organised by external parties are shown on the basis of the amounts received.

Donations in kind such as services or facilities provided free of charges are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities on the open market. Equivalent amount of expenditure is recognised in the period of receipt of the donations. Volunteers donated services have not been included in the Statement of Financial Activities.

The Trustees believe that the forecasted results and strong level of reserves together with the measures taken to date will enable the charity to continue as a going concern.

Tax status

The Company is a registered charity and no liability to UK corporation tax arose on ordinary activities for the year ended 31 March 2022.

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Accounting policies (continued)

Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty. All expenditure is allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity.

Irrecoverable VAT is included within expenditure items to which they relate.

Allocation of support costs

The costs of staff employed directly in connection with particular projects are allocated directly to the projects concerned together with all directly incurred expenditure.

Support costs are apportioned to projects on the basis of gross expenditure of that project.

Management and admin costs relate to Management Team’s time spent on the overall management, development and direction of the organisation.

Operating lease agreements

Rentals applicable to operating leases where substantially all of the benefits and risks of ownership remain with the lessor are charged against income and expenditure as incurred.

Depreciation

Fixed assets costing less than £1,000 are written off in full in the year of purchase. Other fixed assets are depreciated in equal instalments so as to write off their costs over their estimated useful lives as follows:

Office fittings Shorter of 7 years and remaining period of lease Office furniture 5 years Office equipment 4 years & software

Pensions

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity.

The annual contributions payable are charged to the statement of financial activities. The charity also makes contributions into individual’s own personal pension arrangements.

Redundancy policy

Employees at Family Lives who are being made redundant are entitled to receive a statutory redundancy payment provided that they have two or more years’ continuous service.

Cash at bank and in hand

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

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due. Accrued income and tax recoverable are included at the best estimate of the amount receivable at the balance sheet date.

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is a present obligation at Balance Sheet date as a result of past event resulting in the transfer of economic benefit to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably.

Creditors and provisions are recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

Depreciation policy of office equipment and software have been revised and estimated useful lives changed from 3 years to 4 years.

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Accounting policies (continued)

Fund Accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general activities of the charity and which have not been designated for any other purpose.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes.

Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised and measured at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of:

• Fixed assets are measured at cost less depreciation.

• Social investment loan initially recognised and measured at the amount received, with the carrying amount adjusted in subsequent years to reflect repayments.

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

Critical accounting estimates

and assumptions

The Trustees make estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates and assumptions will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. There are no estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year.

2a Donations and grants (current year)

General donations Restricted grants: National Services Face to Face Services Professional Development Total	Unrestricted funds £’000 12 - - -	Restricted funds £’000 - 188 945 -	2022 Total
			£’000
			12
			188
			945
			-
	12	1,133	1,145

Funding from Central Government was £nil (2021: £nil) and Local Government £260k (2021: £301k). Funding conditions attached to the income have been met and objectives as set out on funding agreements have been achieved.

Funding from Local Government was for the Westminster SIB project and Greater London Authority’s Violence reduction projects

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2b Donations and grants (prior year)

General donations Restricted grants: Helpline Services Face to Face Services Total	Unrestricted funds £’000 10 - -	Restricted funds £’000 - 387 1,086	2021 Total
			£’000
			10
			387
			1,086
	10	1,473	1,483

The charity is indebted to its volunteers for the time spent providing services to the charity. Based on 23,878 hours spent (2021: 27,019 hours), this equates to £382,852 (2021: £435,645). The Financial statements do not include donated volunteers’ hours and dedicated time of Trustees of the charity.

There have been no other donations in kind during the year.

3 Income from charitable activities

Helpline Services Face to Face Services Professional Development Total	2022 Total	2021 Total £’000 682 822 15
	£’000
	668
	816
	2
	1,486	1,519

Income from charitable activities was unrestricted. Amount received from Central government was £801k (2021: £799k) and Local Government £661k (£2021: £698k). Funding conditions attached to the income have been met and objectives as set out in funding agreements have been achieved.

4 Other trading activities

Other trading activities
Sales of wristbands Other income Total	2022 Total	2021 Total £’000 3 1
	£’000
	3
	-
	3	4

Income from other trading activities was unrestricted.

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5 Investment income

Investment income received during the year was below £1,000 and was unrestricted.

6 Cost of raising funds

Staff costs Events and fundraising Support cost (Note 10) Total	2022 Total	2021 Total £’000 21 4 4
	£’000
	23
	3
	5
	31	29

Cost of raising funds in 2022 and 2021 were unrestricted.

7a National Services expenditure (current year)

National Services expenditure (current year)	year)
Unrestricted funds £’000 Direct costs 558 Support costs (Note 10a) 113 Total 671 National Services expenditure (prior year) Unrestricted funds £’000 Direct costs 572 Support costs (Note 10b) 121 Total 693 Face to Face Services expenditure (current year) Unrestricted funds £’000 Direct costs 606 Support costs (Note 10a) 166 Total 772	Unrestricted funds £’000 558 113	Restricted funds £’000 205 24	2022 Total
			£’000
			763
			137
	671	229	900
		Restricted funds £’000 217 13	2021 Total £’000 789 134
	693	230	923
		Restricted funds £’000 942 113
			2022 Total
			£’000
			1,548
			279
	772	1,055	1,827

7b National Services expenditure (prior year)

8a Face to Face Services expenditure (current year)

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8b Face to Face Services expenditure (prior year)

Direct costs Support costs (Note 10b) Total	Unrestricted funds £’000 628 160	Restricted funds £’000 991 115	2021 Total £’000 1,619 275
	788	1,106	1,894

9 Professional Development expenditure Direct costs Support costs (Note 10) Total		2021 Unrestricted funds £’000 13 2
	2022
	Unrestricted funds
	£’000
	2
	-
	2	15

10a Analysis of support costs (current year)

Management & admin Human Resources Finance Information Technology Governance (Note 12) Depreciation Premises, offce and other costs Total	Raising Funds Helpline services Face to Face services Professional Development £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 1 37 76 - 1 22 45 - 1 20 41 - 1 35 70 - 1 17 33 - - 1 3 - - 5 11 -	2022 Total
		£’000
		114
		68
		62
		106
		51
		4
		16
	5 137 279 -	421

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10b Analysis of support costs (prior year)

Management & admin Human Resources Finance Information Technology Governance (Note 12) Depreciation Premises, offce and other costs Total	Raising Funds Helpline services Face to Face services Professional Development £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 1 41 85 1 1 19 40 - 1 20 40 - 1 33 66 1 - 15 32 - - 2 3 - - 4 9 -	2021 Total £’000 128 60 61 101 47 5 13
	4 134 275 2	415

The costs of staff employed directly in connection with particular projects are allocated directly to the projects concerned together with all directly incurred expenditure.

Support costs are apportioned to projects on the basis of gross expenditure of that project. Management and admin costs relate to the Management Team’s time spent on the overall management, development and direction of the organisation.

11 Net income for the year

This is stated after charging: Depreciation Operating leases for land and buildings Audit fee 12 Governance costs Governance costs are made up of: Staff salaries Staff travel & meetings Trustees' expenses Audit fee Insurance and professional fees	2022	2021 £’000 5 50 13
	£’000
	4
	44
	15
		2021 £’000 24 - - 13 10
	2022
	£’000
	23
	-
	-
	15
	12
	50	47

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13 Staff costs and numbers

Staff costs were as follows: Salaries Social security costs Pension contributions Redundancy payments The number of employees employed by the charity whose emoluments exceeded £60,000 were: £70,001 - £80,000 £80,001 - £90,000 Average weekly number of employees during the year, calculated based on full time equivalents: Charitable activities Governance Average number of staff employed during the year:	2022	2021 £’000 2,165 172 85 2
	£’000
	2,003
	156
	80
	73
	2,312	2,424
		No 1 1
	No
	1
	1
	2	2
		No 68 1
	No
	61
	1
	62	69
	119	128

Total employee benefits received by key management personnel, including, pension and employer’s national insurance contributions were £181,402 (2021: £184,352). Key management personnel include Trustees, Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive.

No Trustee received any remuneration during the year (2021: £nil).

14 Board of Trustees

There have been no expenses reimbursed to Trustees for attending the charity’s Trustees’ meetings (2021: £nil).

15 Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions that require disclosure.

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16 Pensions

The charity has a group personal pension scheme to which employees are automatically enrolled; staff may then opt out. In accordance with the scheme the charity contributed 4% of gross salary as determined by a matched contribution of the individual employee. For staff enrolled prior to 1st April 2013 Family Lives’ contribution is 6.5% of gross salary.

Total pension contributions for the year amounted to £80,394 (2021: £85,371). Pension payment outstanding at year end was £14,617 (2021: £16,972).

17 Tangible Assets

Cost At 1 April 2021 Additions Cost of disposals At 31 March 2022 Depreciation At 1 April 2021 Charge for the year On disposals At 31 March 2022 Net book value At 31 March 2022 Net book value At 31 March 2021	Furniture & equipment £’000 66 2 (39)
	29
	61 4 (39)
	26
	3
	5

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18 Debtors

Debts receivable within one year Trade debtors Prepayments and accrued income Debts receivable after more than one year Rent deposit	2022	2021 £’000 65 162
	£’000
	74
	119
	193	227 1
	1
	194	228

19 Creditors

Creditors
Trade Creditors Accruals Deferred income (Note 20) Taxation (inc VAT) and Social Security Other creditors	2022	2021 £’000 17 71 250 98 17
	£’000
	38
	85
	144
	83
	15
	36�	453

Other creditors represents pension contributions outstanding at 31 March 2022.

20 Social Investment loan

The charity has received an unsecured concessionary social investment loan of £100,000 from CAF bank in August 2019 to support upfront service delivery costs of multi-years ParentChild+ programme. Interest on capital drawdown and outstanding amount is charged at fixed rate of 6.5%. The loan was repaid in full in November 2021.

21 Provision for liabilities

Provision for liabilities
Dilapidation of area offces	At 1 Apr 2021 Provision for the year Provision released At 31 Mar 2022 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 6 - - 6
	6 - - 6

The provision relates to our Hatfield Head Office. No funds were utilised and there was no additional provision made during the year.

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22 Movements in deferred income

Movements in deferred income
Balance at the beginning of the year Resources deferred during the year Amount released from previous year Balance at the end of the year	2022	2021 £’000 400 250 (400)
	£’000
	250
	144
	(250)
	144	250

Deferred income represents income received in advance in the year ending 31st March 2022 that relates to next financial year mainly to fund Face to Face services.

23 Obligations under operating leases

23 Obligations under operating leases	23 Obligations under operating leases
2022 2021 £’000 £’000 Operating leases expiring within 1 year 38 37 Operating leases expiring within 2 to 5 years 3 - Total operating leases 41 37 The above leases relate to: Land and buildings 39 37 Photocopiers 2 - Total operating leases 41 37 24a Analysis of net assets between funds (current year) Unrestricted funds Restricted funds 2022 Total £’000 £’000 £’000 Fixed assets 3 - 3 Current assets 1,315 205 1,520 Current liabilities (364) - (364) Long term liabilities (6) - (6) Total net assets 948 205 1,153		2022	2021 £’000 37 -
		£’000
		38
		3
		41	37
			37 -
		39
		2
		41	37
	948 205 1,153

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Family Lives

Accounts

24b Analysis of net assets between funds (prior year)

Fixed assets Current assets Current liabilities Long term liabilities Total net assets	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds 2021 Total £’000 £’000 £’000 5 - 5 1,377 406 1,783 (453) - (453) (6) (50) (56)
	923 356 1,279

25a Movements in unrestricted funds (current year)

Unrestricted funds General unrestricted funds Designated fund Total unrestricted funds	At 1 Apr 2021 Income Expenditure Net Trfs At 31 Mar 2022 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 923 1,501 (1,476) - 948 - - - - -
	923 1,501 (1,476) - 948

25b Movements in unrestricted funds (prior year)

Unrestricted funds General unrestricted funds Designated fund Total unrestricted funds	At 1 Apr 2020 Income Expenditure Net Trfs At 31 Mar 2021 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 915 1,533 (1,525) - 923 - - - - -
	915 1,533 (1,525) - 923

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Family Lives

Accounts

26a Movements in restricted funds (current year)

Funder name Purpose National Services National Lottery Community Fund Digital Development The Monday Charitable Trust Helpline/LiveChat John Armitage Charitable Trust Helpline/LiveChat sub-total Face to Face Services BBC Children in Need Young Carers support The Dulverton Trust Early Years intervention The British Legion/Covenant Fund Supporting Forces families Sport England Active Families project The Rayne Foundation Young Carers support National Lottery Community Fund Family Learning & Support National Lottery Community Fund Afghan Families project Education Endowment Foundation Early Years intervention Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea SIB Early Years intervention John Lyon Trust- CDA Individual & Group support St Giles & St George Befriending service GLA Lewisham and Westminster Parent Champion service Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Early Years intervention Essex County Council Individual & Group support City of Westminster Foundation Tracking Social Isolation The Brook Trust Early Years intervention Fidelity UK Foundation Family Support/ Change Manager The Monday Charitable Trust Family Support/ Change Manager Westminster & RBKC Ukraine Families Welfare Checks Various small grants sub-total Total	At 1 Apr 2021 Income Expenditure At 31 Mar 2022 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 171 127 154 144 65 - 32 33 27 60 43 44
	263 187 229 221
	4 - 4 - 7 35 40 2 5 1 6 - 5 120 120 5 2 13 8 7 19 77 88 8 20 46 55 11 51 133 184 - (61) 221 338 (178) 2 6 8 - - 13 6 7 23 37 60 - 2 64 42 24 9 - 9 - - 16 11 5 - 30 19 11 - 66 25 41 - 50 21 29 - 1 1 - 5 17 9 12
	93 946 1,05� (16)
	356 1,133 1,28� 205

In March 2019, we started a new multi-year project, Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea SIB, whose primary objective is to narrow the gap in school readiness for disadvantaged children. This is a low risk payment by results project. The deficit for the year, £178k (2021: deficit £61k) was the result of timing differences between costs incurred and milestones reached to trigger income recognition. There is a high level of confidence that milestones will be reached in the coming two years and eliminate the short-term deficit created by the funding terms.

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Family Lives

Accounts

26b Movements in restricted funds (prior year)

Movements in restricted funds	(prior year)
Funder name	Purpose	At 1 Apr 2020	Income	Expenditure	At 31 Mar 2021
		£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
National Services
National Lottery Community Fund	Digital Development	99	180	108	171
Simon Gibson and Mazars Charitable Trusts	Helpline training	7	-	7	-
The Monday Charitable Trust		-	100	35	65
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation		-	30	30	-
John Armitage Charitable Trust		-	30	3	27
National Lottery Community Fund	Live Chat services	-	47	47	-
sub-total		106	387	230	263
Face to Face Services
BBC Children in Need	Young Carers support	4	7	7	4
Masonic Charitable Foundation, Westminster Foundation	Befriending service	6	-	6	-
NESTA, The Dulverton Trust, The
Swire Charitable Trust, The Thomas Farr Charity, Unwin Charitable Trust, The Chetwode Foundation, British &	Early Years intervention	10	-	10	-
Foreign School Society
The Dulverton Trust	Early Years intervention	-	35	28	7
The British Legion/Covenant Fund	Supporting Forces families	6	39	40	5
Walcott Foundation	Befriending service	2	-	2	-
Sport England	Active Families project	62	60	117	5
The Rayne Foundation	Young Carers support	4	8	10	2
National Lottery Community Fund	Family Learning and Support	18	95	94	19
National Lottery Community Fund	Afghan Families project	15	56	51	20
Education Endowment Foundation	Early Years intervention	59	442	450	51
Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea SIB	Early Years intervention	(95)	227	193	(61)
The Monday Charitable Trust	Child to Parent Aggression	9	-	9	-
John Lyon Trust- CDA	Individual and Group support	5	7	10	2
St Giles-in-the-Fields & William Shel- tons Educational Charity	Befriending service	8	-	8	-
GLA Lewisham and Westminster	Parent Champion service	-	64	41	23
Esmee Fairbairn Foundation	Early Years intervention	-	11	9	2
Essex County Council	Individual and Group support	-	10	1	9
Various small grants		-	25	20	5
sub-total		113	1,086	1,106	93
Total		219	1,473	1,336	356

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022

Annual Report: Welcome from our Chair and Chief Executive

Family Lives

We build better family lives together

Tel: [phone] www.familylives.org.uk Helpline: 0808 800 2222

Family Lives 15-17 The Broadway Hatfield Hertfordshire AL9 5HZ

Charity Number 1077722 Company Number 3817762 Registered in England and Wales

All images used in this publication are sourced from image libraries and are intended to be representative only. They do not portray any specific individual or service user.

Copyright © Family Lives 2022

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Family Lives Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2022