2023-03-31-accounts

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Annual report and financial accounts 2022/23

The Connection at St Martin-inthe-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 2023

Registered charity number: 1078201 Company number: 3852519

Contents
Who we are	4
Welcome	6
Why we're here, what we do and who we help	8
The importance of relationships	10
2022/23 Achievements	12
Reaching out	14
Welcoming people into The Connection	16
Finding somewhere to call home	18
Helping people into further support	20
Women's homelessness	22
Improving our infrastructure	26
Equality, diversity and inclusion	27
Communications and advocacy	28
Finance, facilities and human resources	28
Looking back, looking ahead	30
Fundraising and our valued supporters	34

How we managed our money and resources	38
Structure, governance and management	40
Independent auditor’s report to the members
of The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields	48
Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March 2023
	52

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

 Mohammed talks to SujhayiniPhoto: Marc Gascoigne

Who we are

We are The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields.

We support people sleeping rough in the heart of London, helping them to recover and find their way off the streets.

We get to know every person we work with, going the extra mile to understand their needs and hopes for the future, and being creative about finding help and solutions.

The journey can be long, and it’s not an easy path. But we take heart, we stick with people and we don’t give up, supporting them to find their own way home.

The Connection at St Martin’s is led by our trustees, a dedicated team of volunteers who oversee the work that we do. Every year our trustees review the aims, objectives and activities of our charity.

This annual report looks at what we have achieved and the outcomes of our work for 2022/23. It shows how your support enabled people to move away from living on the streets and towards a place to call home.

Thank you to everyone who has been involved with our work this year. We hope you enjoy reading this report.

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At The Connection we offer a wide range of services.

Photos: Marc Gascoigne and Martyna Przybysz

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Whilst being incredibly busy, 2022/23 has felt like a return to normality for us here at The Connection at St Martin’s. After the enormous upheaval of the previous two years, we are now back to ‘business as usual’ mode.

However, ‘business as usual’ looks very different. Our post-pandemic service model has a clear focus on people experiencing severe and multiple disadvantages. We have been working hard to embed our new structure and approach this year. You can read about our success in this report.

We have also taken time to consider our approach, leading to a new Theory of Change based on working “with, not for”. The Theory of Change has relationships at its heart - building trust and connection, supporting people to overcome trauma and encouraging them to make a positive change at their own pace. You can find out more on page 28.

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Our post-pandemic service model has a clear focus on people experiencing severe and multiple disadvantages.

Tim Jones, Chair of Trustees

Great progress has also been made in our work on women’s homelessness. Our Women’s Development Unit was instrumental in delivering the first women’s rough sleeping census in October 2022. The results indicate a higher number of women sleeping rough in London than previously realised, and the accompanying report sets out clear calls to Government to improve its response to the issue. Our plans for a new women’s accommodation project continue at pace and our women-only group is going from strength to strength. You can read more on page 22.

Of course the cost of living crisis has started to bite. Rising rents, bills and food prices mean that we are seeing more and more people come to us for help. This means it’s becoming more and more challenging to be there with everyone who needs us. But we are still achieving incredible things – you can read all about these on page 12.

2022/23 also represents the last year of our 2018 – 2023 organisational strategy. We have been working hard to develop our strategy for the next five years. Our Chief Executive Officer Pam Orchard looks back on what we have achieved, and where we’re going next, on page 30.

Whilst the amount of change in all our lives over the last five years has been unprecedented, the one thing that hasn’t changed is that is that we will still be here with those that need us, whatever it takes.

Welcome

As always, we couldn’t do what we do without our supporters, partners and friends. These are difficult times and we appreciate your support more than ever. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you on behalf of everyone at The Connection. We hope you enjoy reading this report.

Tim Jones, Chair of Trustees

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023 7

Why we're here, what we do and who we help

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Why we’re here

 We believe that no one should have to sleep rough, and that everyone should get the support they need to find a place to call home.

The impact of life on the streets is devastating – it puts people at risk of crime and violence, causes physical and mental health problems and seriously damages wellbeing.
The average age of death for people living on the streets in England and Wales is 46 for men and 43 for women.[1]
85% of people sleeping rough have experienced abuse or trauma as children.[2] Life on the streets is a trauma in itself, meaning that many people continue a vicious cycle. People become isolated and can feel as though they don’t matter. They do matter.
At The Connection, we’re at the heart of this crisis: just off the Strand in Westminster, the most concentrated area of rough sleeping in the UK.
According to official figures, 2,050 people[3] were estimated to be sleeping rough in Westminster in 2022/23 – although the real number is likely to be higher.
Rough sleeping is not inevitable – the Everyone In programme, which helped thousands of people into safe accommodation during the pandemic, has shown that it is possible to end homelessness in this country.
London can be a city where no one needs to sleep rough on our streets, and we won’t stop until it is.

That is why we’re here.

What we do

Get to know people, help them identify what support they would like and how we can best work together to meet their goals;
Offer practical services like showers and laundry facilities, hot meals, medical appointments and access to telephones and computers;
Provide support, advice and case management to help people access accommodation;

46 /43

the average age of death for homeless men and women respectively

85%

of people sleeping rough have experienced abuse or trauma as children

2050

people were sleeping rough in Westminster, in 2022/23

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We’re at the heart of this crisis: just off the Strand in Westminster, the most concentrated area of rough sleeping in the UK

Support people to access the full range of support services delivered on and off site – like nurses, psychologists and treatment for substance misuse;
Work intensively with clients – supporting them to recognise their own strengths, recover from crisis and move away from the streets for good;
Provide onward referrals or supported reconnection to anyone whose needs can be better met elsewhere;
Provide support where clients have issues with their migration status and make onward referrals when needed;
Offer activities and groups that help people to build the skills, confidence and resilience to recover from homelessness.

Who we help

In 2022/23, we helped 1,451 people to move away from, and stay off, the streets of London.

The people we support are:

83% male.
17% female.  < 1% non-binary.

The people we support come from:

UK 52%.
European Economic Area 30%.
Rest of the world 18%
Not known 1%.

Our clients’ ages are:

18-25 5%
26-65 91%
65+ 3%

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We work intensively with clients – supporting them to recognise their own strengths, recover from crisis and move away from the streets for good

151

people attended our groups, including the art room, gardening group and others

1451

people were helped to move away from, and stay off, the streets of London

52%

of the people we support come from the UK

Not known < 1%.
Deaths of homeless people in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) [statistics from 2019]
Hard Edges: Mapping severe and multiple disadvantage – Lankelly Chase Foundation
Rough sleeping in London (CHAIN reports) - London Datastore

We also help people to rediscover their unique skills, passions, hopes and dreams – the things that make us all feel human, and help us find our path through life. So that ultimately people can find their own way off the streets, towards a place to call home.

We’ve known Joe since he was a teenager. Joe and his mother JOE's were both homeless for a significant period and used our day centre regularly. Before this, Joe had experienced violence at the hands of story his mother’s partner.

Joe had trouble sustaining his accommodation, and often used drugs and alcohol to cope with his anxiety. During one conversation with Joe, he told us that he felt ‘stuck’ in a negative cycle. He recognised the continuity and stability we’d offered through our relationship with him over the years but didn’t know how to proceed.

Because we knew him well, we were able to identify moments of hope in our work where Joe had made some real changes to his life at different points – often linked to his relationship with his daughter. Joe was offered time with our in-house psychologist James to work through the trauma he’d experienced together.

The importance of relationships

James says, “We see lots of people like Joe who reject help as a form of self-preservation. And they aren’t wrong – it makes sense that they see the world as dangerous if it has been dangerous for them previously.”

Joe was given the time and support he needed to start thinking about different ways to cope with his anxiety and to envisage the future he wanted away from the streets.

He eventually moved into our supported accommodation at St Martin’s House, and from there has moved into his own flat, where he is flourishing.

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Finding a home is a physical and mental journey. So that’s how we approach homelessness – by providing the physical means to make a change, and the motivation and support to maintain it.

It often starts with a chat, a cup of tea and perhaps a hot meal or shower - simple things that aren’t easy when you’re living on the streets.

It often starts with a chat, a cup of tea and perhaps a hot meal or shower; the chance to use a washing machine, a computer, or to charge a phone - simple things that aren’t easy when you’re living on the streets.

Then it’s about listening to people, building up trust and understanding, so we can work out together what they need next.

At The Connection, we get to know each person we work with, so we can tailor our support to their unique needs and hopes for a better future. When they’re ready to make a change, we connect people to specialist services – from mental health support to accommodation. Going with them on their journey, we help them build the skills to keep going with their goals.

This can take years, but now, with our support, they gain the belief that change is possible. And if they need support in the future, they know exactly where to find us.

The Connection Model – working ‘with, not for’

We support everyone we work with based on our Theory of Change – this is based on 3 principles:

Building relationships of trust and connection with people who have lost faith in services, working with people experiencing homelessness to create the change they want;
Recruiting, supporting and developing staff and volunteers who have the attitude, skills and expertise to build relationships of trust and connection with people experiencing homelessness;
Using evidence from people experiencing homelessness as well as research and our own data to work together to influence the systems which are designed to help people to move away from the streets successfully.

You can see our Theory of Change in action and hear Mary and Rick’s stories by watching our animation here.

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

What we have achieved in 2022 / 2023

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

2022 / 2023 Achievements:

  21/22 185 178 1475 people moved into contacts with 309 21/22 new accommodation people on the streets with 356 people 1390 with our support. during outreach shifts.

21/22  people welcomed into our centre to use our 1125 1162 essential services.

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21/22

172
204
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151

people helped with their migration status.

people enabled to take part 21/22 in group activities as part 131 of our Recovery Programme.

21/22 28 28 people supported into work and volunteering opportunities.

Reaching out

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

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Reaching out

Both day-time and night-time outreach is vital, because it allows us to engage with people who might not otherwise have support

Our Street Engagement Team (SET) is a daytime outreach team in Westminster. We work very closely with local night-time outreach teams and other sector partners like health and treatment services.

Having both day-time and night-time outreach is vital, because it allows us to engage with people who might not otherwise have support; people who bed down in hidden areas overnight can be missed by traditional night-time outreach.

It is important to be able to deliver a multi-disciplinary service on the street because a significant part of supporting people is helping them to stabilise their health needs so that they can sustainably manage longer-term accommodation.

The Street Engagement Team runs regular shifts with the Homeless Health Service, which can offer prescriptions, make referrals to specialist services, and deliver on-the-street care.

We also partner with the Dr Hickey Surgery and Turning Point to get people into drug and alcohol treatment from the street as and when needed. Together, we also offer an on-the-street prescribing service for those who are at high risk of harm, but haven’t made it into the Wednesday clinic.

This year, the team made

In total (including non-street contacts like in the Clinic) the team supported

1,475 401

people with 78 people supported into accommodation, and 92 to attend our Outreach Prescribing Clinic for flexible support with drug and alcohol treatment, as well as other health interventions

street contacts with 309 people on the streets during outreach shifts

Lauren had been sleeping on the streets around the West End Lauren's for a number of years. She has experienced serious physical and

mental health difficulties and uses drugs and alcohol. We also story work with her partner, and have had concerns about her safety due to the coercive and abusive nature of their relationship.

Lauren is very mistrustful of services and often moves locations. The team have worked hard to maintain a relationship with her and will travel frequently to find her.

We have supported Lauren in a number of ways; helping her to access benefits, supporting her with her substance use, and linking her up with street-based health services.

 Outreach is an essential part of what we doPhoto: Marc Gascoigne

We have also supported her to make police reports of abuse within her relationship, or madethese for her with her consent when she has not been able to.

We have made multiple accommodation referrals for Lauren, although these have not worked out as she has repeatedly left to return to her partner. Most recently Lauren has been accepted into a specialist housing project for women experiencing abuse.

We also run shifts with the NHS Joint Homelessness Team, which can assess mental health needs, offer support, and arrange for mental health assessments to take place when the person is severely unwell. The team can also act as the person’s care coordinator if needed, providing support and consistency through what can be a distressing time.

The team runs the innovative Outreach Prescribing Clinic on Wednesday afternoons. This is a flexible drop-in service that offers rapid opiate substitution prescriptions. Having this flexible approach removes two major barriers – timekeeping and remembering appointments – and means we can work with people in an environment in which they feel comfortable. This is often a first step to supporting people to access other services too.

Alongside this, we continue to support her partner; we believe that supporting him to stabilize will reduce harm to her. It is important to remember that her partner is also vulnerable, and is experiencing multiple barriers to services. Whilst we do not believe these unmet needs excuse the violence, they definitely contribute to it.

The work of the team is often about utilising small windows of opportunity, and being there on the ground to support people when the time is right. The amount of time and effort that has gone into supporting Lauren has meant that she is both still alive, and moving forward with her life.

Welcoming people into The Connection

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Welcoming people into The Connection

1162

people came into our centre to use our essential services this year

At The Connection we know how important it is to feel welcome and safe. The wide range of practical services at our Adelaide Street centre supports immediate health and wellbeing needs. It also acts as a platform to strengthen relationships, deepen engagement and support longerterm recovery.

The team gets to know people informally - when they hand over towels and toiletries, set someone up in front of a computer or perhaps escort someone to the nurse. Over time, these small actions of practical support and kindness help to foster trust. This means people are much more likely to approach staff when they need or want additional support.

“All the hope finished; my money had finished. I had to come to the streets. And when I came to the streets, I got in touch with The Connection. The hope, the life change… at that moment, I was so happy”

The team also conducts welcome assessments, which allow us to discuss what people’s priorities are and what support they would like to help achieve these. People’s priorities are hugely varied, which is why we work hard to ensure we get to know everyone as an individual.

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Over time, these small actions of practical support and kindness help to foster trust

We support people to:

find accommodation;
access onward referrals or supported reconnection if their needs can be better met elsewhere;
resolve issues with their migration status and to make onward referrals when needed;
link in with other support services to help people to move away from the streets – like nurses, psychologists and treatment for substance use;
access activities and groups that help them to build the skills, confidence and resilience to recover from homelessness;
search for and get into work.

Sometimes, people have less complicated needs that can be resolved with the help of our Triage and Brief Intervention (TBI) service.

This year, the TBI team helped:

people move into people reconnect back accommodation to their home area 34 56

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 Food is often the first step on someone's journey with us! Photo: Marc Gascoigne
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Aleksander came to us at the start of 2023 after being Aleksander's evicted from his accommodation project in south London for persistent drinking on the premises. During our welcome story meeting, Aleksander agreed to a referral to our partners Turning Point for help with his alcohol use. He also started attending mutual aid community groups for additional support.

This support encouraged Aleksander to commit to abstaining from alcohol, which meant he could concentrate fully on finding somewhere to live. We were able to help him to find a room in shared flat in west London. We also linked him up with AA meetings in that area and supported him to find a sponsor who continues to support his abstinence. This has changed Aleksander’s life enormously, and he is feeling hopeful about his future.

Finding somewhere to call home

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Finding somewhere to call home

Helping people to find accommodation is of course a vital part of what we do. Our Housing and Resettlement team works intensively with people in the most complex situations, to support them into housing as well as help with other needs they may have.

Homelessness and poor mental health often go hand in hand - over two thirds of people experiencing homelessness are impacted and common conditions include depression, anxiety and paranoia. Poor mental health can be a cause of someone’s homelessness, or it can develop from the trauma of sleeping rough. The Housing and Resettlement team has two specialist mental health advisors who provide added specialism and support to clients who are experiencing more complex and enduring mental health needs.

185

people moved into new accommodation with our support this year

263

people were supported by our Housing and Resettlement team

St Martin’s House

St Martin’s House supports people who need some extra help maintaining a enancy, and provides accommodation for up to two years as a stepping-stone to a more permanent housing solution. Residents have their own studio flats alongside communal areas.

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I’m lucky with the support and the services that I’ve had, because there’s a lot of people out there for whom it’s very different. I’ve been able to pull myself out of that dark place.”

people were accommodated as residents at St Martin’s House this year

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Our computers are always popular Photo: Marc Gascoigne

Omer is a Sudanese national with serious health issues. He is a OMER’s journalist andworked for the UN for some time in Sudan, before needing to leave the country and claim asylum in the UK for his safety. story

He was granted refugee status in 2015, and needed to apply for further

204 Migration

people were helped with their migration status this year

Our dedicated migration team supports people who need help with their migration status. This service is vital because around half of all people rough sleeping in London are non-UK nationals – which can act as a barrier to accessing accommodation. Often, these people face additional challenges when recovering from homelessness, from lack of documentation to complex legal issues. These processes can be lengthy and require intensive support from our specialists along the way.

The team can support people by

helping them understand their entitlements and routes to legal status in the UK;
supporting them to obtain ID;
advocating for their rights and supporting them through the immigration system; working with them if they seek to return to their country of origin.

Leave to Remain by 2020. Lockdown restrictions meant that he was not able to find legal representation to do this and missed the deadline, becoming an overstayer and losing his rights to work or receive benefits. This left him unable to pay his rent and he stayed on friends’ sofas for a few months before becoming street homeless.

This was an extremely difficult time for Omer. Not only was his chronic pain and physical disability worsening, his mental health was deteriorating with increasingly low mood and poor memory.

The Migration team helped Omer by submitting an out of time application for Indefinite Leave to Remain, which was successful. He now has the right to work and claim welfare benefits, and he is in accommodation. The Migration team also helped Omer with applying for a Home Office travel document, which he has now received. He plans to visit Saudi Arabia with his daughter to be reunited with his family. After a very stressful time, Omer is in good spirits and is very happy to be able to travel and see his family. He is also looking for volunteering opportunities to put his skills to good use. He is very glad he found The Connection, and feels we have helped him to get his life back on track.

Helping people into further support

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023



Helping people into further support

Our individual skills, passions and interests are often the very things that make us feel human and resilient. But these may be the first parts of someone’s life that are forgotten when they become homeless, and we know that this can contribute to feelings of isolation and poor mental health.

Our recovery programme encourages people to develop essential skills and express themselves through art, music and discussion.

People can work with our therapist and volunteers in our art room. Photo: Marc Gascoigne

151

people attended our groups, including the art room, gardening group and others

23

Often this is a great way of helping people who have experienced trauma. Having access to these creative outlets can have a really positive effect on their recovery. It also gives people the chance to build confidence and skills in a safe environment that they can take forward into the future.

people attended employment training or workshops

28

We began the year with no Recovery Programme Coordinator in place and with a skeleton offer of groups and activities. Our new Coordinator took up the role at the beginning of summer and quickly implemented an extensive programme of groups and activities at both St Martin’s House and Adelaide Street.

people were supported into work and volunteering opportunities

By the end of the year, there were nine established, regular activities and groups ranging from spiritual space and other support and discussion groups, to art therapy and Streetwise Opera. This also includes the Women’s Space which have had different activities each week. A monthly feature at Women’s Space has been the provision of bodywork sessions; realignment, muscle release and energy healing to providean immediate change in state.

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The past year has shown an increase in demand for our Skills and Opportunities service

“If you cross that door, they’re going to help you. They ask you if you want to talk. They ask if you want to take part in the activities. You have plenty of time to think about yourself, about everything…"

Our Gardening Tutor Julia first met Bob when inviting him to an indoor gardening session where we were decorating terracotta pots for plants. He didn't have an interest in gardening but decided to give it a go. Since then he has discovered his green fingers and been involved in lots of different tasks in the garden from planting and pruning bay trees to clearing out the garden for the winter.

BOB’s story

Most importantly, Bob has told us that the garden has become a very important space for him to express himself and feel comfortable. He said “the garden brings out something in me, which gives me the space to think and say things out loud”. This is exactly the aim of our recovery programme and illustrates the wonderful potential of a garden to be a reflective space as well as a practical one.

The past year has shown an increase in demand for our Skills and Opportunities service with the number of referrals steadily climbing. The number of people wanting to access employment and training support seems to have jumped up considerably from January 2023 - a common trend at the beginning of each year when people decide to start afresh and many found themselves in London and needing support in their job searches. There is of course the postpandemic return to ‘normality’ to consider too, as well as the significant differences that Brexit and changes in legislation have meant for the people we support.

We also saw the launch of the gardening project. The scaffolding structure was installed in the church courtyard and the planting of a range of fruit, vegetables and herbs began in the spring. Alongside the installation, our Gardening Coordinator has run a variety of activities with clients, including replanting some of the bay trees and creating some fantastic terrariums. Throughout the spring and summer months the garden continued to flourish, and we were able to harvest a range of produce that was used in the kitchen. During the winter months our Gardening Tutor continued running sessions indoors and has been able to replant a variety of fruits and vegetables ready for next year.

Women's homelessness

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Women’s homelessness

We know through the growing evidence base that women are present in the homeless population in much greater numbers than is generally assumed. There is increasing recognition that men and women experience homelessness differently, both in terms of routes into homelessness and their experience of homelessness itself - particularly regarding the relationship between women’s homelessness and gender-based violence.

111

people attended our women-only group this year

We have found that women with lived experience of homelessness and rough sleeping routinely indicate that they frequently feel unsafe in mixed-sex, male-dominated homelessness services and are at heightened risk of exploitation and violence during periods of homelessness.

We know that an increased focus on gender and a culturally informed lens needs to be applied throughout services to ensure we are responding better to women’s needs across services.

“By now, I have almost forgotten everything. It’s just like I had a bad dream. There is so much I am excited about now. I’m getting back on my feet with the help of and The Connection, they’ve been really great for me.”

 Our women-only morning provides a safe spacePhoto: Marc Gascoigne

We responded to the crisis of women's homelessness by opening our Adelaide Street centre to women only each Wednesday morning, providing a space to feel secure and safe while seeking help. As we enter our second year, we have started to strengthen how we co-design and codevelop this space so that it continues to meet the needs of the current women using the service.

22%

The Women’s Development Unit

The Women’s Development Unit finished its second and final year at the end of March 2023. The Unit was set up to advocate for and enhance the voice and experiences of women experiencing street homelessness to improve services available to them.

of women surveyed had slept rough for more than 30 nights in the last 3 months

The Unit has achieved a great deal in its two years, including publishing the London-wide Strategy for Ending Women’s Homelessness. The Strategy brings together recommendations about the specialist services we need to expand, the different ways we can offer support,and how we should all be thinking more about women’s homelessness.

33%

of women surveyed slept rough the previous night

The Women’s Development Unit was instrumental in delivering the first women’s rough sleeping census in October 2022. The report, Making Women Count , was published in March 2023 and sets out the key findings of this pioneering approach.

The census found 154 women rough sleeping in London in a week. This indicates a higher number of women sleeping roughin London than previously believed. It also emphasises that women’s rough sleeping is often transient, intermittent and hidden – which means that women are often not represented in official statistics and, crucially, are often precluded from accessing support and housing.

The report makes specific calls to action on the Government for system change in the way that women’s rough sleeping is recognised, counted and responded to:

Local authorities should be required to deliver an annual Women’s Rough Sleeping Census and report on their findings.
The Government should produce guidance to help local authorities to improve access to rough sleeping services for women, including:
Reducing barriers to support and accommodation services for women, including the need to be a verified rough sleeper;
Ensuring outreach practices encompass women’s experiences.

154

women were found to be rough sleeping in London in a week



Women's rough sleeping is often transient, intermittent and hidden

Women's homelessness

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

One of the final outputs of the Women Development Unit is the development of the Gender Informed Audit toolkit, co-created with women with lived experience of homelessness. It is designed to set out the fundamental principles of a gender-informed approach and identify the essential elements that underpin gender-informed service delivery and organisational practice.

The audit and toolkit aim to support organisations, step-by-step, in their journey toward becoming gender-informed. It provides examples of evidence-based best practice and concrete, practical solutions that can be enacted and embedded within organisations. It is hoped that this toolkit will support the sector to develop consistent gender-informed practices, responsive to the needs of women experiencing different levels of multiple disadvantages.

We are currently piloting the audit and looking forward to sharing the learning across the sectors.



Homelessness services engage with women less frequently as they are often not set up to be women specific, tend to be overwhelmingly male attended and do not meet the needs of women



18 Keys Project

Specific methods, tools, and processes are required to understand and establish a more accurate picture of how women experience rough sleeping

The Women's Development Unit research work has shown that one of the biggest barriers is not having any safe accommodation to refer women to – particularly those who have experiences of street homelessness and interconnecting needs. There are very few womenonly specialist accommodation services for women in London.

We have responded to this by developing the 18 Keys project, in partnership with the St Martin’s Trust. This exciting project will transform St Martin’s House into a dedicated space with 18 self-contained studio flats for those who identify as women. Our plans for the redevelopment include a communal space for people to come together. Intensive support will be available on site.

For more information, please visit www.18keys.org.

After spending most of her life living in foster care, Jade had a baby JADE’s and was living with her partner’s family. After the relationship broke down, Jade was confronted with the choice to give up her child to story foster care or leave their home. She chose the latter.

Jade came to London to live with her mother, but it didn’t work out. At just 19, she started sleeping rough. Her mental health deteriorated and she started using drugs to cope.

Jade got in touch with The Connection at St Martin’s. She initially used The Connection for basic services – showers, laundry, a hot meal.

She soon built a very strong relationship with her key worker Hannah, who helped her to get support for her substance misuse and encouraged her to take care of her mental health.

Hannah also helped Jade get a flat, and start to rebuild her relationship with her family. Their relationship has been a real turning point in Jade’s life.

Jade is now settled and working hard to be the best mother she can be to her daughter and her younger son. She is also busy turning her flat into a home.

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Jade is thriving in her new flat Photo: Gary Manhine

“It’s just your home, isn’t it? You can do what you want with it. You can have who you want in it. Have it decorated how you want. If you don’t want someone in there, tell them to get out. It is safe. I always wanted a home, and now I have a home and it’s mine. It’s got my name on it. No one can take that away from me”

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improving our
infrastructure
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Equality, diversity and inclusion

We have continued to improve our work around equality, diversity and inclusion this year, following the appointment of an external consultant last year who helped us to develop an EDI plan.



Progress has been made across all areas of the plan, and particularly in relation to our recruitment systems. We have also reviewed the role of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group to ensure that their activity is aligned to the strategy. The EDI Group select events each year to celebrate with staff and clients through a range of activities. This year, these included LGBTQ+ History Month, International Women’s Day, Pride, Eid and Black History Month.

The EDI Group select events to celebrate with staff and clients… this year, these included LGBTQ+ History Month, International Women’s Day, Pride, Eid and Black History Month

Our annual conference, which is attended by all staff, dedicated half a day to equality, diversity and inclusion, and this has been supported with ongoing e-learning modules.

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 Debby hard at work in the kitchen!Photo: Marc Gascoigne
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The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

This year we have also recruited and trained four Experts by Experience, who all have lived experience of homelessness and accessing homelessness services across the UK. The Experts by Experience will be able to use their lived experience to add muchvalued perspective to governance discussions with our Board of Trustees. We are currently working through the next stages of implementation and very much look forward to creating the opportunities for our Experts by Experience to contribute their views to the development of the organisation.



This year we have also recruited and trained four Experts by Experience, who all have lived experience of homelessness

Communications and advocacy



This year we have been bedding in the step change in our communications work; updating our website, social media and other communication materials to ensure that everyone who needs help can easily find it. We have introduced language translation and accessibility tools on our website to support this.

Our advocacy work around treatment has continued to gain momentum, with staff coming together to start testing new drug and alcohol support options

We have also laid strong foundations for communicating about our new Theory of Change as a key part of our new organisational strategy, investing in an animation and other supporting materials.

Our advocacy work around treatment has continued to gain momentum, with staff across the whole organisation coming together to start testing new drug and alcohol support options which we believe will work better for our clients. We are gathering evidence to enable us to present these options and make them a reality in Westminster and beyond.

Finance, facilities and human resources

The Finance team has continued to strengthen internal controls this year – implementing a more rigorous approach to budget management and forecasting, and continuing to bed in our procurement approach across all purchasing.



Our annual staff survey showed that satisfaction was up almost 9 percentage points across the board from 76.9% to 85.5%.

The Facilities and IT team has continued to seek out environmentally friendly activities, replacing all lighting with low consumption LEDs, and replacing cleaning products and office supplies with eco-friendly alternatives wherever possible. As part of our drive towards more flexible working, we upgraded the WiFi provision throughout our office, and invested in new equipment.

The HR team launched an online recruitment platform to improve every aspect of the recruitment process for both recruiter and applicant. The new system has streamlined the process, improving candidate experience and saving recruiting managers’ time. We have also reviewed and renewed our e-learning modules and, as part of our training plan, staff are set mandatory training to complete quarterly.

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PUBLIC 6
HOME
Re-established
relationship between
self and wider
community
5
ACCOMMODATION
PROVIDERS
Stabilisation in
new environment
4
ONGOING SERVICES
Supported transition
OUR
CENTRE The
3
Positive, supportive
relationship with Connection
The Connection model
With, Not For
Relationships are at the centre of our Theory of Change 
OUTREACH
2 Initial engagement
with The Connection’s
1 staff
Mistrust, social
marginalisation
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The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

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LOOKING BACK,
LOOKING AHEAD
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Looking back over the last five years…

When I arrived at The Connection in 2017, I wanted to make sure I built on its strong foundations; we had a lot of expertise in working with people sleeping rough in central London, our wellresourced centre was a fantastic base from which to run services and we had an incredibly valuable supported accommodation service, St Martin’s House in Clapham. As a key part of the St Martin’s family, we enjoyed a high profile, great support and financial stability as well as use of the building. We were experiencing rising rough sleeping and impending Brexit.

We agreed a strategy for 2018 – 2023 and over the course of those five years, we have made a lot of changes. These were partly planned, and partly as a result of the huge disruption of the pandemic which changed our operating environment very significantly for two years.

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 Pam Orchard, CEOPhoto: Marc Gascoigne
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

The most important development has been to think through in some depth what makes us, us. This has included considering what we bring that can really make a difference for people sleeping rough in central London.

The most important development has been to think through in some depth what makes us, us

We have worked with the South London and Maudesley NHS Trust, putting their award-winning psychological expertise to the test. As a result, we have now got a ‘Connection model’ which puts relationships at the heart of our work. We have aligned our services around this and now have a clear focus on people facing the most significant barriers to moving on to a home.

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023 31

Looking back, looking ahead

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023



Alongside this, we have created a vision for St Martin’s House. We have worked with partners to understand more about women’s homelessness and are now developing a ground-breaking women’s accommodation service. At time of writing, we are awaiting planning permission for a capital development to create a psychologically informed communal space and two additional self-contained flats on the site. The building will house a new service we are creating for women who have slept rough and have not had their needs met within existing services in South London.

We have worked with partners to understand more about women’s homelessness and are now developing a ground-breaking women’s accommodation service

We have worked hard on our behind-the-scenes systems such as IT, HR, finance and governance so that we can be the absolute best charity possible within the resources available. We have also increased our fundraising and developed our working relationships with the St Martin’s Trust and the St Martin’s Charity. Finally, we have made significant

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 We design services alongside the people we work withPhoto: Marc Gascoigne
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improvements to our messaging and communications work so that we can build the support and change we all need to address rough sleeping in central London.

Looking ahead to the next five…

We land in 2023 with rough sleeping at very similar levels to 2018, and growing. Many of the people who sleep rough around us have experienced serious trauma, with resulting mental ill-health and addiction. This means that they have many barriers to overcome to find a place to call home.

Half of the rough sleepers in Westminster are not from the UK. This does not mean they are not entitled to be here - however, they may have ‘no recourse to public funds’, which means they are

not entitled to benefits, accommodation or healthcare beyond A+E. This creates a very narrow set of options for people and as a result many of our non-UK clients continue to live on the streets for long periods of time. The obvious deterioration in their wellbeing is compounded by issues of trafficking, exploitation and modern slavery.

About 20% of people sleeping rough in Westminster are women. Our extensive research through the Women’s Development Unit has highlighted that women experiencing homelessness need a different response. They have almost always been a victim of sexual violence, particularly during their time on the streets. All the evidence shows the need for women-only spaces to enable them to heal, regroup and move into a stable home.



Our new strategy has relationships at its heart. We need to build trust with people who feel let down by services. This takes time. However, even with positive, trusting relationships, we can’t get people off the streets unless there are homes to offer them. People who have slept rough need affordable, suitable and secure accommodation.

Our new strategy has relationships at its heart. We need to build trust with people who feel let down by services.

At The Connection we see homelessness as a societal problem, rather than a decision someone has taken. We have a collective responsibility as a society to care for those who are vulnerable, isolated and unwell. We will beworking with accommodation providers to unlock new routes to tenancies, with accompanying long-term support so that people can thrive in a secure tenancy.

Alongside this, we will be advocating for additional responses for women who are homeless and for people who have no recourse to public funds. These two groups must be catered for better if we are to see a significant reduction in numbers of people sleeping rough in London. We also want to see better and more flexible treatment offers to help people to overcome mental ill-health and addiction. Our St Martin’s House development is already underway, with the building extension planned for 2024. We intend to open up more accommodation options in the remaining years of the strategy.

Achieving these changes alongside our existing service provision will require an increase in our fundraising and other income-generating activities. We are investing in our team to ensure income and service growth over the coming years – particularly strengthening digital marketing and our capacity to win statutory contracts.

To help us to build relationships of trust with our clients and extend our support in new ways, we will need to invest in our team. We are developing our working culture and building the skills, knowledge and expertise of our workforce. Alongside this, we will redevelop our volunteering offer and increase opportunities for people with lived experience of homelessness to work for, influence, volunteer with and govern our charity.

Finally, we will provide excellent governance oversight, financial acumen and legal compliance in all areas. We are determined that The Connection will do the best job it can for the people that need us.

Fundraising

We are incredibly grateful for the support we received from a wide range of companies, foundations, trusts, groups and individuals this year.

Our approach to fundraising is to be transparent, honest and respectful, meeting the needs of our donors and our service users. We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and adhere tothe Code of Fundraising Practice. During 2022/23, we reviewed our policies and procedures in line with all legal and best practice standards, and have updated our Ethical Fundraising and Supporter Safeguarding policies.

When we work with partner organisations who carry out fundraising activities on our behalf, we set their work through formal agreements, and monitor their activity regularly.

All fundraisers in our team of 10 follow the requirements set out in the Code of Fundraising practice, including those that relate to interactions with vulnerable individuals. Fundraising team members completed an adult safeguarding course and a data protection course in 2022/23, and all new starters complete this same training as part of their induction. We didn’t receive any complaints about our fundraising this year.

2022/23 was the final year of a 4-year Fundraising Strategy, directly linked to the 5-year organisational strategy, which has resulted in a clear roadmap for fundraising actions, and has laid the foundations for greater collaboration with our wonderful supporters. We have developed a new 5-year Fundraising Sub-strategy to guide our work from 2023/24-2028/29.

Our supporters are incredibly important to helping us deliver our services as we rely on donations. Here are just some of the people and organisations who supported us to change lives this year.

The Friends of The Connection – We are grateful for the ongoing support of our sister charity The Friends of the Connection. The Friends raise funds towards our work through their membership subscription, general donations, periodic appeals, legacies and fundraising events, including in particular the annual Queen Eleanor Cycle Ride.

The Friends had a particularly successful fundraising year in 22/23, raising in excess of £400,000 on behalf of The Connection. Their longstanding support for our work is extremely appreciated and we’d like to thank them all.

St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity – Within the St Martin-in-the-Fields family is the St Martinin-the-Fields Charity, who run the wonderful BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal every December. Its Making a Difference programme shares the powerful stories of some of the people that they support, including our clients.

In 2022/23, St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity made an £800,000 grant towards our Street Engagement Team, Housing and Resettlement Team and Recovery and Opportunities activities. We are very grateful for its fantastic ongoing support.

St Martin-in-the-Fields Trust – St Martin-in-the-Fields Trust is also part of the family of charities at St Martin-in-the-Fields, and is supporting us by raising funds for the 18 Keys project, a redevelopment project to provide supported accommodation to women experiencing homelessness.

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

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Fundraising and our valued supporters The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023
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We are working together to develop and expand facilities that will enable these women to find the space and support they need to recover.

Jay Flynn – Our ambassador Jay was once a client of The Connection, and during the pandemic was awarded an MBE for raising over £1.3 million for charities in his virtual quiz events. In 2022 he ran the London Marathon for us for the second time.

He also held our first in person live quiz night event which was a huge success and will be coming back in 2023.

STASCO provided much needed financial support during a year of uncertainty. As well as their usual annual donation, they responded to our ‘Cost of Living Crisis’ appeal with a generous extra grant to help us cover the cost of rising bills.
Our friends at Intercontinental Exchange continued to fund our Recovery and Opportunities programme of activities in 2022/23 with an incredibly generous donation of £75,000. We are extremely grateful for this funding, which helps the people we support to rediscover their passions and recognise their strengths.
We’d like to thank all the businesses who have supported their local community by funding our Street Engagement Team. We are grateful for the grants we received from Coutts Foundation, Heart of London Business Alliance, Shaftesbury Plc and Network Rail.

Duncan MacPherson – Duncan works for one of our corporate partners and ran in the 2022 London Marathon on behalf of The Connection. Duncan did fantastically well and managed to raise over £10,000 for The Connection, more than 5 times the target amount.

For the first time since before the pandemic, we ran a 4-day Pilgrimage to Canterbury. It was fantastic to see the return of this wonderful community-based event, raising funds on behalf of The Connection!

After the London Marathon, every year we open up our doors for other charities and their runners to join us at a post-race reception, where their runners can use our shower facilities, enjoy a massage and have a hot meal together. In 2022 we had a total of 4 charities join us for our post-race reception.

The London Walk was back for its second year. This time we were able to recruit a total of 18 Connection walkers. They did an incredible job and managed to raise over £12,600 for us.

We are incredibly grateful for the continued support we received from our corporate partners in 2022/23. They provide vital help through corporate donations, employee fundraising, gifts in kind, volunteering hours and pro bono projects. Thank you to all in the business community who are helping us make London a better city for everyone.

Thank you to all our longstanding partners for your support over the last year, including Prudential Plc, Generation Investment Management, Deckers, DAC Beachcroft, Pulse, IK Partners and JSS Search. We also welcomed new partners; Olayan Europe Limited, FRP Advisory Trading Limited and Professional Mortgage Services – we are excited to continue working with you in 2023.

Thank you so much to all of our incredible volunteers. From supporting us to run our weekly women’s space, facilitating our volunteer-led art group, supporting the photography group, serving food, assisting the work of our data team and much more. You really make an enormous difference to the work we do in building relationships with the people we support and empowering people to make positive changes in their lives.

We remain incredibly thankful for the support of some 50+ charitable trusts and foundations who have supported our work during the year. We are fortunate to work with some wonderful funders who have supported us for a long time, and often with unrestricted funding. We are also grateful to our newcomers who have funded more specific services. All donations small and large have made a real difference to the work we do with people as they recover from street homelessness.

We would like to highlight the Coco Joelle Foundation, which has been instrumental in enabling us learn more about women and homelessness. Their substantial 2-year support towards the work of the Women’s Development Unit has resulted in key learning and insights, which will benefit our work with women in years to come.

Highlights

Coutts & Co and The Coutts Foundation continued their longstanding support for The Connection by providing us with generous grants for both our core services and our Street Engagement Team. We were also thrilled to be the focus of the iconic Coutts ‘Christmas window’ in December 2022 – a beautiful display which raised awareness of our work and also had a fundraising mechanism. We are also a beneficiary of the Thank You from Coutts reward programme, through which Coutts clients very generously donated in excess of £100,000to support people experiencing homelessness.

Thank you to all of our supporters, staff, clients, volunteers and all the organisations we have worked with this year. Because of you, The Connection is still a place for people to turn when they have nowhere else. Together, we can make London a city where nobody needs to sleep rough.

How we manage our money and resources

All of the work you can read about in this report was made possible by the commitment and generosity of individuals, organisations, grant funders and companies who share our determination to end rough sleeping. We can’t thank you all enough for your support.

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A
E
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D
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Where B the money comes from

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C
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D
A
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Where we spend C the money B

Our resources

We raised £4.9m in 2022/23 (2022: £5.4m) from the following sources:

Statutory: £277K (2022: £1.175m)

Corporates, Groups, Trusts and earned £1.461m (2022: £1.572m)

Individuals and Events (inc. legacies): £1.896m (2022: £1.615m)

St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity: £800k (2022: £800k)

The Friends of The Connection of St Martin’s: £418k (2022: £213k)

We spent £5.3m in 2022/23 (2022: £5.6m) to improve the lives of people who are homeless and sleeping rough:

Fundraising costs: £780k (2022: £701k)

A B C D

Charitable activites

Engagement & Assessment: £2.163m (2022: £2.871m)

Recovery: £2.101m (2022: £1.764m)

I mpact and Evidence: £246k (2022: £252k)

Enterprise:

£47k (2022: £43k)

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

How we manage our money and resources / Principal risks and uncertainties

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Though our service delivery was able to take place broadly uninterrupted throughout the year, unlike in previous years, our financial performance in the 2022/23 year was affected by the impact of the cost of living crisis, with inflationary pressures on costs compounded by a reduction in income compared to the previous year and budget. The budget adopted in March 2022 had predicted a total deficit of £419k (2022: £261k), with a drawdown of £419k from designated funds to further invest in service delivery and infrastructure. The reported deficit of £485k (2022: £256k) is larger than expected, due to a combination of unforeseen factors.

£1.5M

Total income of £4.9m (2022: £5.4m) was £221k below budget, largely due to lower levels of voluntary income being received than expected, with income from individuals (£204k below budget); corporates (£343k); trusts & foundations (£324k); and events (£53k) all below budgeted levels. Due to a planned funded initiative not commencing as planned in the year, statutory funding was also £160k below expected levels. Offsetting this to an extent was the receipt of more income than was anticipated from legacies (£570k above budget); the Friends of the Connection (£164k); and major donors (£82k) – the latter showing positive results from increased investment in resourcing. We did receive some statutory income in the final quarter of the year, providing personalized budgets for rough sleepers who were exposed to severe weather conditions. Additional smaller sums were received to coordinate the response to rough sleeping in Westminster during the Queen’s funeral.

came from corporate, community trusts and earned income

Expenditure in total was £5.3m (2022: £5.6m), £117k below budget. Of this total, £3.4m related to staffing costs, and £2.0m to non-pay costs. Staffing costs were £377k lower than budgeted, due to a number of posts being vacant during the year. The annual inflationary uplift as determined by the National Joint Council of unions was marginally higher than anticipated, offsetting savings in this area to an extent. Non-pay costs were £260k higher than budgeted. The key driver of this underperformance was the unexpected surge in energy prices in the second half of the year, causing tilities costs to exceed budget by 43%. Though this was the most severe example, inflationary pressures were felt throughout the organisation, with other premises costs exceeding budget by 5%. In addition to this, client related costs exceeded budget by 12% due to the funded emergency provision in the final quarter of the year.

As at 31 March 2023, the charity’s net assets were £3.1m (2022: £3.6m), reflecting the deficit incurred in the year. Further details are given in the discussion of our reserves.

As the inflationary forces experienced during the 2022/23 financial year look set to continue for the medium-term, we are expecting a challenging financial year in 2023/24. The trustees have agreed a ‘worst-case’ budget for the coming financial year which would return an unrestricted deficit of £766k, whilst continuing to spend down reserves designated for investment in service delivery and infrastructure. The management team will spend the year seeking both efficiencies in the charity’s cost base and additional funding to reduce the impact of the wider economic environment on the organisation’s general funds. Further consideration of the outlook for the coming year can be found in the section on Going Concern.

Principal sources of income

The Connection at St Martin’s has a diverse range of income sources, which break down into five broad categories:

Income received from statutory sources totalling £0.3m (£1.2m 2022), which was significantly lower than anticipated due to a planned project not commencing in the year. We would expect this figure to return to previous years’ levels in 2023/24. Further details of statutory income are provided in note 3B to the Financial Statements.
A
B A grant of £0.8m (£0.8m 2022) from St Martin’s Charity related to monies raised from the BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal. We continue to work closely with St Martin’s Charity to use the funds raised by them to support our beneficiaries.
C Income from The Friends of The Connection of St Martin’s totaling £418k (£213k 2022).
D Income from individuals and event income totalling £1.9m (£1.6m 2022). Included in this figure are the generous legacies referred to above of £1.1m (£898k 2022) which have again been higher than expected.
E Corporate, community, trusts and earned income of £1.5m (£1.6m 2022). After an exceptionally high level of income in 2020/21, funding from these sources has remained relatively consistent with the prior year, indicating a return to pre-pandemic levels.

Expenditure

Of our expenditure 85% was on charitable activities, with the rest expended on raising funds to support the organisation in delivering its mission. Fundraising costs have increased in the year as we invested in the resourcing within the team. We expect that this investment will result in greater income generation in the coming years, though we accept that it will take time for momentum to gather. Of total expenditure, 63% was on staffing, with the remainder mainly being on building costs and support (administration, IT and training), as well as goods and services provided in support of our clients. Expenditure has decreased by £0.3m from last year largely due to not having significant commitments under statutory contracts as was the case in previous years.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The Board of Trustees reviews its exposure to risk and maintains a risk register, identifying the level of exposure to any material risks with a constant view to improve systems and procedures which will mitigate them. This register is overseen by the Director of Finance and Resources. The Connection at St Martin’s additionally has a more detailed register of operational risks, which addresses the exposure of our staff and volunteers to risk through the nature of our work with clients.

The principal risks identified are:

Risk

Response

Our Theory of Change is not effective in people moving away from the streets and there is no evidence to support this

Strong system for monitoring, evaluation & learning which demonstrates impact; Investment in qualitative external evaluation to provide in-depth evidence

Principal risks and uncertainties / Reserves policy and going concern

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

The principal risks identified (continued):

Risk	Response
Safeguarding concerns and service	Training and development for service teams; Clear policies, processes and
delivery incidents occur as a result	reporting of incidents; Strong governance oversight of incidents and their
of our change in approach	causes; Build strong relationships with adult social care in local authorities
	to bring credibility to requests
It is not possible to access	Strong ofer of support; Good relationship with local authority;
additional accommodation due to	Flexibility around location of property
shortages of housing stock, high
rents and/or insufcient funding
A rise in rough sleeping	Partnership working with other services; Good, proactive assessment
signifcantly increases need for our services	system and close monitoring of clients; Clear signposting of what we are here for and what we can and can't ofer.
Income from statutory and/or	Ensure a diverse funding portfolio across a range of funding streams;
voluntary sources doesn't meet	Produce fundraising projections over the medium/long term to plan income;
budget	Create detailed fundraising strategy; communications strategy in place;
	Increased use of analytics to assist forecasting; Increased in-year
	forecasting to predict outcomes.
The 18 Keys project fails and we	Worst-case planning of adapting existing service model to a women's
don't meet the income target for	only space, emphasising community space and psychological support
the capital development

Inability to recruit and retain a staff Strong recruitment process with applicant tracking system in place; team with the right relationship Emphasis on CSTM as a great place to work; Increase support for staff development skills to deliver our with lived experience; Continue to develop organisational culture; Develop theory of change volunteering to build a pipeline of potential new staff

Issues with the lease prevent our Lease negotiations progressed and reviewed; Participation in cross-site ability to deliver services from the initiatives covering back-office functions; Offer flexibility on use of space building, and we overspend on in ways which don't negatively impact CSTM operations services which could be shared with cross-site partners

The principal risks identified (continued):

Risk	Response
Financial fraud	Strong fnancial procedures and controls; Good audit in
	place; Further segregation of duties
Signifcantly increased operating	Regular oversight of fnancial performance and forecasts
costs resulting from the cost of	at the Finance Subcommittee; Procurement approach
living crisis and prevailing high	embedded to seek value for money; Regular budget
infation rates.	meetings with staf team; Emergency fundraising appeal
	to cover exceptional costs

Reserves policy and going concern

Going concern

The Charity has sufficient reserves in place for the medium term. Given the highly uncertain fundraising environment, the adopted 2022/23 budget has been prepared with ‘worst-case’ assumptions around fundraised income, and indicates a significant deficit. The full impact of the cost of living crisis on the Charity’s finances is not yet clear, but we expect that income will be lower than in previous years, and costs will increase in line with inflationary forces. A target for the minimum level of reserves to be at least £1.7m has been set. The leadership team have been tasked with identifying and implementing cost saving measures to ensure this target is met at the 2023/24 and 2024/25 year ends. The trustees are keeping the situation under review through regular review of financial data and forecasts, and are confident that the charity’s reserves are adequate to meet the needs of the coming year.

The charity’s reserves policy has been reviewed in light of the results of the 2022/23 year, with some small movements between designated funds. A more detailed assessment of the reserves policy will be undertaken once there is more certainty around current year performance. Trustees have also reviewed forecasts covering the next three years that are predicated on steep inflationary pressures, and have noted the impact this would have on reserve balances at the end of the period. This has provided comfort over the use of the going concern basis in the preparation of the financial statements.

Reserves

Cyber risks, including IT systems failure resulting in loss of data or business functionality

Major Health and Safety Incident

Independent review of IT provision; Audit of IT hardware and infrastructure; Good policies and procedures covering GDPR and use of IT; Update IT system (incl back up); Put strong IT provider in place; Put in place IT disaster recovery plan; Provide staff training in new system; Longer term IT strategy in place; Business continuity plans including communications protocols

Compliance with law and regulation; H&S induction with all staff; Update health and safety policy and procedures; Quality, Policy and Compliance Sub Committee in place; Relaunch staff reps forum to raise issues and concerns; Incident management policy and regular incident review; Biennial H&S Audits & Fire Risk Assessments; Enact changes based on reports from H&S Audit and Fire Risk Assessment

The Board regularly monitors the level of unrestricted reserves on the charity’s balance sheet. This is done in order to ensure the continuation of The Connection’s services for the foreseeable future. The Charity’s reserves policy was reviewed at the 2022/23 year end.

Total funds amount to £3.1m (2022: £3.6m) of which £103k is restricted: £28k for service delivery projects, £43k for improvement works to our showers at Adelaide Street, and £33k for the development project at St Martin’s House.

The Connection’s total unrestricted reserves excluding tangible fixed assets amount to £3.1m (2022: £3.5m) and include both the general funds and those funds designated by the Board to develop specific areas of charitable work and to meet potential future obligations. As part of the

Reserves policy and going concern / Structure, governance and management

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

review of the reserves policy, new designations were made to ensure that all identified risks are adequately covered.

Included in the unrestricted funds are the following funds that the Board has designated for specific purposes:

Revd Dr Sam Wells Maeve Walsh Catherine Cherry Luc Leclercq Kunal Krishna Alicia Walker

Frances Stainer

Melvene Adams Appointed 18/04/2023 Anna Payton Appointed 11/07/2023 Jakes Ferguson Appointed 11/07/2023 Olivia Blaney Appointed 11/07/2023

a Capital Replacement Reserve (2023: £849k 2022: £866k), designated to cover the cost of maintaining the infrastructure at Adelaide Street over the medium term.

Key management personnel

a Risk Reserve (2023: £912k 2022: £910k), designated for the purposes of covering the cost of winding down the operations of the charity in the event of a sudden and irreparable drop in income. The cost includes the value of onerous contracts and obligated payments to staff and is recalculated at each year-end to ensure that the estimates remain valid
Funding for new projects to innovate services including changes to our accommodation models (2023: £546k 2022: £986k). At the year end, these include:
£20k (2022: £121k) for development work at St Martin’s House in anticipation of implementation of the new service model;
£80k (2022: £140k) to cover the roles of additional staff in our Resource Centre team;
£161k (2022: £222k) to invest in the resourcing within our fundraising team;
£94k (2022: £149k) to invest in our communications and advocacy work;

Pam Orchard Chief Executive Sarah Makhlouf Director of Services Elizabeth Charles

Director of Fundraising & Communications (maternity leave from August 2023 onwards)

Director of Fundraising (maternity cover, August 2023 onwards) Director of Finance and Resources

Lanner Feltham Tony Wells Director of Finance and Resources Auditors Sayer Vincent LLP, Invicta House, 108 – 114 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TL Bankers Coutts, 440 Strand, London, WC2R 0QS

Bankers Coutts, 440 Strand, London, WC2R 0QS Investment advisors CCLA, Senator House, 85 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4ET Solicitors Russell Cooke, 2 Putney Hill, London, SW15 6AB

£58k (2022: £150k) to develop our corporate services team and IT infrastructure;
121k (2022: £203k) to increase the number of roles within our outreach team.

Appointment of Trustees

Full detail of reserves and designations are given in notes 19 and 20.

There is an open recruitment process for new trustees, which takes place on a cyclical basis. A Nominations Committee comprising existing board members selects and proposes new trustees to the main board. No new trustees were added to the board in the financial year.

Structure, governance and management

Trustee induction & training

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 4 October 1999 and registered as a charity on 12 November 1999.

The company 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.

All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 7 to the accounts.

The Trustees came together as a group for a one-day programme at The Connection and have followed up with individual meetings with the Leadership Team and other staff.

Related parties and relationships with other organisations

Transactions we have with the St Martin-in-the-Fields organisations include:

paying an annual license fee for use of the building
payments for our share of utilities and other cross-site costs
receiving a grant from St Martin’s Charity related to the BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal
receiving a grant from St Martin’s Development Trust related to the 18 Keys Building Project

Our trustees

Our Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:

Tim Jones Chair Simon Rawson Jill Kyne Treasurer Keith Starling Chandra McGowan Resigned: 19/09/2022 Peter Warren

The related party who is able to exert influence over these is:

Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin’s, who has a governance role in each organisation on site, including as a Trustee of The Connection.
Melvene Adams, who is a trustee of The Connection and the St Martin’s Development Trust, and a Church Warden of the St Martin’s Parochial Church Council.

Structure, governance and management

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Remuneration policy for key management personnel

The remuneration of the CEO is set on a National Joint Council (NJC) related scale so tied into other staff pay increases. The National Joint Council is the negotiating body which determines pay and conditions for local government services.

Pay for other key management personnel has been reviewed by the Remuneration and Nominations Committee. All are set on NJC-related pay scales, so are subject to the same cost of living increases as staff.

Public benefit statement

The trustees review the aims, objectives and activities of the charity each year. This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period. The trustees report the success of each key activity and the benefits the charity has brought to those groups of people that it is set up to help. The review also helps the trustees ensure that the charity’s aims, objectives and activities remain focused on our stated purposes.

When carrying out this review of the charity’s aims, objectives and future plans, the trustees refer to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set. The trustees are satisfied that the charity is operating for the public benefit.

Statement of responsibilities of the Trustees

The trustees (who are also directors of The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently

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.

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

Members of the charity guarantee are liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31 March 2022 was 12 (2022: 13). The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Auditors

Sayer Vincent LLP have expressed their willingness to continue as the charity’s auditors and are deemed to be reappointed in this capacity.

The Trustees’ annual report has been approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by

Tim Jones, Chair of Trustees

observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards and statements of recommended practice 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 charity will continue in operation.

Independent auditor’s report to the members of The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Independent auditor’s report to the members of The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields (the ‘parent charitable company’) and its subsidiary (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the consolidated statement of financial activities, the group and parent charitable company balance sheets, the consolidated statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 T he 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 group’s and of the parent charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2023 and of the group’s 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
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011.

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’s responsibilities for the audit of the group financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group and parent 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 Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields'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 group 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 group 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 group 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 a material misstatement in the group financial 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.

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’ annual report, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements
the Trustees’ annual 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 group and the parent charitable company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ annual report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and Charities Act 2011 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 parent charitable company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of Trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

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

the directors were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the trustees’ annual report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Independent auditor’s report to the members of The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities set out in the trustees’ annual report, the trustees (who are also the directors of the parent 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.

financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the charity/group from our professional and sector experience.

We communicated applicable laws and regulations throughout the audit team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We reviewed any reports made to regulators.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the group’s and the parent 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 group or the parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed auditor under the Companies Act 2006 and section 151 of the Charites Act 2011 and report in accordance with those Acts.

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 to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are set out below.

We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and tested these to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud.
In addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, we tested the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments, assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias and tested significant transactions that are unusual or those outside the normal course of business.

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 Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

We enquired of management, which included obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation, concerning the charity’s/ group’s policies and procedures relating to:
Identifying, evaluating, and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;

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 and section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and regulations made under section 154 of that Act. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected, or alleged fraud;
The internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations.
We inspected the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity/ group operates in, focusing on those laws and regulations that had a material effect on the

Judith Miller (Senior statutory auditor)

19/09/2023

for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor Invicta House, 108-114 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TL

Sayer Vincent LLP is eligible to act as auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006

Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) For the year ended 31 March 2023

Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March 2023


Income from: Note Donations and legacies 2 Charitable activities Engagement & Assessment 3 Recovery 3 Impact & Evidence 3 Enterprise 3 Other trading activities 4 Interest receivable and Investments	Unrestricted £ Restricted £ 2023 Total £ 3,624,249 42,670 3,666,919 - 492,253 492,253 199,755 294,630 494,385 - - - 2,094 60,000 62,094 119,581 - 119,581 17,041 - 17,041	Unrestricted £ Restricted £ 2022 Total £ 3,122,959 116,690 3,239,649 - 1,248,421 1,248,421 218,474 218,474 665,756 - 12,500 12,500 1,309 64,500 65,809 123,733 - 123,733 19,985 - 19,985
Total income	3,962,720 889,553 4,852,273	3,486,460 1,889,393 5,375,853
Expenditure on: Raising funds 5a Charitable activities Engagement & Assessment 5a Recovery 5a Impact & Evidence 5a Employment 5a Enterprise 5a	779,610 - 779,610 1,660,718 502,253 2,162,971 1,734,761 366,170 2,100,931 246,417 - 246,417 - - - - 47,279 47,279	698,789 - 698,789 1,530,701 1,322,365 2,853,066 1,375,891 382,794 1,758,685 226,399 25,000 251,399 - - - 5,019 64,500 69,519
Total expenditure	4,421,506 915,702 5,337,208	3,836,799 1,794,659 5,631,458
Net income/(expenditure) for the year and net movement in funds 6 Net gains/(losses) on investments Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward	(458,786) (26,149) (484,935) (16,877) - (16,877) 3,514,705 129,239 3,643,944	(350,339) 94,734 (255,605) 42,844 - 42,844 3,822,200 34,505 3,856,705
Total funds carried forward	3,039,042 103,090 3,142,132	3,514,705 129,239 3,643,944

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above.

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023 53

Statement of cash flows for the year ended 31 March 2023

Balance sheet as at 31 March 2023 Company registration number: 3852519

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields	The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields	The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields	The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields
The Grou The Charit
Fixed assets: Tangible assets Investments Current assets: Stock Debtors Cash at bank and in hand Liabilities: Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	Note 10 12 11 13	p 2023 £ 2022 £ 76,091 58,781 826,084 842,961 902,175 901,742 10,554 11,273 171,798 481,014 2,373,516 2,638,177 2,555,868 3,130,464 315,911 388,262	y 2023 £ 2022 £ 76,091 58,782 828,084 844,961 904,175 903,742 10,554 11,273 189,388 495,957 2,364,116 2,635,209 2,564,058 3,142,439 315,911 388,262
Net current assets / (liabilities)		2,239,957 2,742,202	2,248,147 2,754,177
Total net assets / (liabilities)		3,142,132 3,643,944	3,152,322 3,657,919
The funds of the charity: Restricted income funds Unrestricted income funds: Designated funds General funds	20	103,090 129,239 2,427,851 2,890,298 611,191 624,407	103,090 129,239 2,427,851 2,890,298 621,381 638,383
Total unrestricted funds		3,039,042 3,514,705	3,049,232 3,528,681
Total charity funds 3,142,132 3,643,944			3,152,322 3,657,920

Approved by the Trustees on 19 September 2023 and signed on their behalf by

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

Reconciliation of net income / (expenditure) to net cash fow from operating activities Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting period (as per the statement of fnancial activities) Depreciation charges Dividends, interest and rent from investments Loss of disposal of fxed assets (Increase)/decrease in stocks (Increase)/decrease in debtors Increase/(decrease) in creditors
	2023 £ (484,935) 17,789 (17,041) - 719 309,216 (72,351)		2022 £ (255,605) 11,164 (19,985) - (3,239) 46,617 (7,777)
Net cash (used in) operating activities	(246,603)		(228,825)


Note Cash fows from operating activities Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities 21 Cash fows from investing activities: Dividends, interest and rents from investments Purchase of fxed assets Purchase of investments Net cash provided by / (used in) investing activities Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year	2023 £ (246,603) 17,041 (35,099) - (18,058) (264,661) 2,638,177 2,373,516		2022 £ (228,825) 19,984 - (250,000) (230,016) (458,841) 3,097,018 2,638,177

		(264,661) 2,638,177		(458,841) 3,097,018
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year		2,373,516		2,638,177

Mr Tim Jones Chair of Trustees

54 The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

1. Accounting policies

a) Statutory information

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in the United Kingdom. The registered office address is 12 Adelaide Street, London, WC2N 4HW.

b) Basis of preparation

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) - (Charities SORP FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

These financial statements consolidate the results of the charity and its wholly-owned subsidiary Show Your Connection Limited on a line by line basis. Transactions and balances between the charity and its subsidiary have been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements. Balances between the two entities are disclosed in the notes of the charity's balance sheet. A separate statement of financial activities, or income and expenditure account, for the charity itself is not presented because the charity has taken advantage of the exemptions afforded by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006.

g) Donations of gifts, services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item or received the service, any conditions associated with the donation have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised so refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated gifts, professional services and donated facilities are recognised 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 of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

h) Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

c) Public benefit entity

The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

d) Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

e) Income

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

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is a treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

Income from sales of goods is recognised once the significant risks and rewards of ownership of the goods has been transferred to the buyer.

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

f) Interest receivable and investment income

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank. Investment income includes realised and unrealised income from investment assets.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.

i) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Costs of raising funds relate to the costs incurred by the charity in inducing third parties to make voluntary contributions to it, as well as the cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose
Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of delivering services undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs

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

j) Allocation of direct support and indirect costs

Resources expended are allocated to the particular activity to which the expenditure directly relates. Support and indirect costs are also apportioned to those activities based on the allocation methodology shown below. Support costs are the costs that can be directly attributed to all areas of the organisation and include essentials such as the building, staff training, utilities, insurance, IT, and telephones. Indirect costs are the costs of HR, Finance and Leadership. Depending on the nature of the expenditure, the most appropriate of the two allocation methodologies below is used to allocate that expenditure to the appropriate activity. The percentages used for these allocations are shown below.

	Headcount FTE	Floor Area
Engagement & Assessment	37%	50%
Recovery	28%	24%
Impact & Evidence	5%	5%
Enterprise	0%	0%
Fundraising & Communications	16%	9%
Finance	3%	2%
Human Resources	4%	4%
Leadership & Governance	6%	5%

56 The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

1. Accounting policies (continued)

k) Operating leases

Rentals payable under operating leases, where substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership remain with the lessor, are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight line basis over the minimum lease term.

l) Tangible fixed assets

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £2,500. Depreciation costs are allocated to activities on the basis of the use of the related assets in those activities. Assets are reviewed for impairment if circumstances indicate their carrying value may exceed their net realisable value and value in use.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

Fixtures, fittings and equipment: 5 years
IT hardware: 3 years.

In all cases depreciation is calculated using the straight line method. The freehold property is not depreciated. See note 10 for depreciation of the leasehold property.

m) Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Stock consists of goods for sale and café food supplies.

2. Income from donations and legacies

. Corporate Community Individuals Trusts St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity Friends of The Connection at St Martin’s St Martin-in-the-Fields Development Trust *Donations in Kind	2023 Unrestricted £ Restricted £ Total £ 524,749 9,500 534,249 17,323 - 17,323 1,751,972 500 1,752,472 103,670 - 103,670 800,000 - 800,000 417,670 - 417,670 - 32,670 32,670 8,865 - 8,865	2022 Unrestricted £ Restricted £ Total £ 469,585 - 469,585 10,547 - 10,547 1,469,949 - 1,469,949 147,176 - 147,176 800,000 - 800,000 212,992 - 212,992 - 116,690 116,690 12,710 - 12,710
	3,624,249 42,670 3,666,919	3,122,959 116,690 3,239,649

*Related parties.

n) 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.

o) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account. This does not include any cash held within the charity’s investment portfolio.

p) Investments

Listed investments are valued at the quoted bid price at the reporting date.

r) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

s) Pensions

Contributions to the Connection at St Martin’s money purchase pension schemes are recognised when the liability is due to be paid to the pension provider.

t) 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 at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

58 The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

3. Income from charitable activities

Engagement & Assessment Corporate Statutory Friends of The Connection Trusts	2023 Unrestricted Restricted Total - 206,690 206,690 - 188,237 188,237 - 54,526 54,526 - 42,800 42,800	2022 Unrestricted Restricted Total - 290,462 290,462 - 889,404 889,404 - 46,472 46,472 - 22,083 22,083
Sub-total for Engagement & Assessment	- 492,253 492,253	- 1,248,421 1,248,421
Recovery Statutory Corporate Charges to residents Trusts	- 88,613 88,613 75,000 75,000 199,755 - 199,755 - 131,017 131,017	- 286,082 286,082 110,000 110,000 218,474 - 218,474 - 51,200 51,200
Sub-total for Recovery	199,755 294,630 494,385	218,474 447,282 665,756
Impact & Evidence (I&E) Trusts	- - 12,500	- 12,500 12,500
Sub-total for I&E	- - -	- 12,500 12,500
Enterprise Corporate Earned	- 60,000 60,000 2,094 - 2,094	- 64,500 64,500 1,309 - 1,309
Sub-total for Enterprise	2,094 60,000 62,094	1,309 64,500 65,809
Total charitable activities	201,849 846,883 1,048,732	219,783 1,772,703 1,992,486

3b. Breakdown of Statutory income sources


		2023	2022
Source	Nature	Amount £	Amount £
Westminster City Council	Westminster Outreach Contract	94,750	94,750
Westminster City Council	Winter Personalisation Fund	100,000	-
Westminster City Council	Severe Weather Emergency Protocol Activation	13,237	-
Westminster City Council	COVID Response	-	262,743
Westminster City Council	Additional Emergency Accommodation Funding	-	579,651
Westminster City Council	Migration services	-	14,667
Wandsworth Council	Supporting People Contract	82,816	82,816
Wandsworth Council	Discretionary COVID support	5,797	27,936
Other Statutory funding	Women’s Development Unit	-	112,923
		276,850	1,175,486

4. Income from other trading activities

4. Income from other trading activities

			2023			2022
	Unrestricted £	Restricted £	Total £	Unrestricted £	Restricted £	Total £
Events	88,783	-	88,783	98,271	-	98,271
Trading income	8,705	-	8,705	4,767	-	4,767
St Martin’s annual pilgrimage	2,147	-	2,147	4,780	-	4,780
Room bookings	19,946	-	19,946	15,915	-	15,915
	119,581	-	119,581	123,733	-	123,733

60 The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023 61

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

of expenditure (current year) Raising funds £ Engagement and Assessment £ Recovery £ Impact and Evidence £ 473,721 1,093,419 901,583 139,118 79,561 150,775 564,709 23,940 4,894 97,564 59,608 2,390 98,182 479,257 249,394 42,012 656,358 1,821,015 1,775,294 207,460 121,100 335,985 319,951 38,277 2,152 5971 5,686 680 Charitable activiti	of expenditure (current year) Raising funds £ Engagement and Assessment £ Recovery £ Impact and Evidence £ 473,721 1,093,419 901,583 139,118 79,561 150,775 564,709 23,940 4,894 97,564 59,608 2,390 98,182 479,257 249,394 42,012 656,358 1,821,015 1,775,294 207,460 121,100 335,985 319,951 38,277 2,152 5971 5,686 680 Charitable activiti	of expenditure (current year) Raising funds £ Engagement and Assessment £ Recovery £ Impact and Evidence £ 473,721 1,093,419 901,583 139,118 79,561 150,775 564,709 23,940 4,894 97,564 59,608 2,390 98,182 479,257 249,394 42,012 656,358 1,821,015 1,775,294 207,460 121,100 335,985 319,951 38,277 2,152 5971 5,686 680 Charitable activiti	of expenditure (current year) Raising funds £ Engagement and Assessment £ Recovery £ Impact and Evidence £ 473,721 1,093,419 901,583 139,118 79,561 150,775 564,709 23,940 4,894 97,564 59,608 2,390 98,182 479,257 249,394 42,012 656,358 1,821,015 1,775,294 207,460 121,100 335,985 319,951 38,277 2,152 5971 5,686 680 Charitable activiti		Enterprise £ Governance costs £ Indirect costs £ 2023 Total £ 2022 Total £ 41,210 - 559,105 3,208,156 3,431,781 6,069 14,489 130,374 969,917 1,162,873 - - 6,782 171,238 195,295 - - 119,052 987,897 841,509	Enterprise £ Governance costs £ Indirect costs £ 2023 Total £ 2022 Total £ 41,210 - 559,105 3,208,156 3,431,781 6,069 14,489 130,374 969,917 1,162,873 - - 6,782 171,238 195,295 - - 119,052 987,897 841,509	Enterprise £ Governance costs £ Indirect costs £ 2023 Total £ 2022 Total £ 41,210 - 559,105 3,208,156 3,431,781 6,069 14,489 130,374 969,917 1,162,873 - - 6,782 171,238 195,295 - - 119,052 987,897 841,509	Enterprise £ Governance costs £ Indirect costs £ 2023 Total £ 2022 Total £ 41,210 - 559,105 3,208,156 3,431,781 6,069 14,489 130,374 969,917 1,162,873 - - 6,782 171,238 195,295 - - 119,052 987,897 841,509	Enterprise £ Governance costs £ Indirect costs £ 2023 Total £ 2022 Total £ 41,210 - 559,105 3,208,156 3,431,781 6,069 14,489 130,374 969,917 1,162,873 - - 6,782 171,238 195,295 - - 119,052 987,897 841,509
	Engagement and Assessment £ 1,093,419 150,775 97,564 479,257	Recovery £ 901,583 564,709 59,608 249,394 Charita	Impact and Evidence £ 139,118 23,940 2,390 42,012 ble activiti	Employment £ - - - - es	Enterprise £ 41,210 6,069 - -
	1,821,015	1,775,294	207,460	-	47,279	14,489	815,313	5,337,208	5,631,458
	335,985 5971	319,951 5,686	38,277 680	- -	- 0	- (14,489)	(815,313) -	- -	- -
779,610	2,162,971	2,100,931	246,417	-	47,279	-	-	5,337,208	-
698,789	2,853,066	1,758,685	251,399	-	69,519	-	-	-	5,631,458

5a. Analysis of expenditure (current year)

5b. Analysis of expenditure (prior year)

Raising funds £ Engagement and Assessment £ Recovery £ Impact and Evidence £ Employment £ Enterprise £ 374,435 1,429,627 848,913 145,677 - 38,817 138,155 414,846 430,552 33,122 - 3,837 7,067 152,705 22,085 3,534 - 1,953 70,683 465,651 193,186 31,238 - 8,414 590,340 2,462,829 1,494,736 213,571 - 53,021 Charitable activities	Raising funds £ Engagement and Assessment £ Recovery £ Impact and Evidence £ Employment £ Enterprise £ 374,435 1,429,627 848,913 145,677 - 38,817 138,155 414,846 430,552 33,122 - 3,837 7,067 152,705 22,085 3,534 - 1,953 70,683 465,651 193,186 31,238 - 8,414 590,340 2,462,829 1,494,736 213,571 - 53,021 Charitable activities	Raising funds £ Engagement and Assessment £ Recovery £ Impact and Evidence £ Employment £ Enterprise £ 374,435 1,429,627 848,913 145,677 - 38,817 138,155 414,846 430,552 33,122 - 3,837 7,067 152,705 22,085 3,534 - 1,953 70,683 465,651 193,186 31,238 - 8,414 590,340 2,462,829 1,494,736 213,571 - 53,021 Charitable activities	Raising funds £ Engagement and Assessment £ Recovery £ Impact and Evidence £ Employment £ Enterprise £ 374,435 1,429,627 848,913 145,677 - 38,817 138,155 414,846 430,552 33,122 - 3,837 7,067 152,705 22,085 3,534 - 1,953 70,683 465,651 193,186 31,238 - 8,414 590,340 2,462,829 1,494,736 213,571 - 53,021 Charitable activities	Raising funds £ Engagement and Assessment £ Recovery £ Impact and Evidence £ Employment £ Enterprise £ 374,435 1,429,627 848,913 145,677 - 38,817 138,155 414,846 430,552 33,122 - 3,837 7,067 152,705 22,085 3,534 - 1,953 70,683 465,651 193,186 31,238 - 8,414 590,340 2,462,829 1,494,736 213,571 - 53,021 Charitable activities	Raising funds £ Engagement and Assessment £ Recovery £ Impact and Evidence £ Employment £ Enterprise £ 374,435 1,429,627 848,913 145,677 - 38,817 138,155 414,846 430,552 33,122 - 3,837 7,067 152,705 22,085 3,534 - 1,953 70,683 465,651 193,186 31,238 - 8,414 590,340 2,462,829 1,494,736 213,571 - 53,021 Charitable activities	Governance costs £ - 12,600 - -	Indirect costs £ 594,312 129,761 7,951 72,337	2022 Total £ 3,431,781 1,162,873 195,295 841,509 5,631,458 - -
	Engagement and Assessment £ 1,429,627 414,846 152,705 465,651	Recovery £ 848,913 430,552 22,085 193,186 Charita	Impact and Evidence £ 145,677 33,122 3,534 31,238 ble activiti	Employment £ - - - - es	Enterprise £ 38,817 3,837 1,953 8,414
	2,462,829	1,494,736	213,571	-	53,021	12,600	804,361
106,742 1,707	384,094 6,143	259,794 4,155	37,233 595	- -	16,498 -	- (12,600)	(804,361) -
698,789	2,853,066	1,758,685	251,399	-	69,519	-	-	5,631,458

62 The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

6. Net income / (expenditure) for the year

This is stated after charging / (crediting):

	2023 £	2022 £
Depreciation	17,789	11,164
Operating lease rentals:
Property*	331,097	229,342
Other	13,051	15,402
Auditors’ remuneration (excluding VAT):
Audit	12,075	10,500

A licence fee is paid to St Martin's Church of £130,000 (2022: £125,000). In addition, St Martin's Church was reimbursed £201,097 (2022: £104,342) for costs incurred on behalf of the charity. St Martin's Church is regarded as a related party since one of the St Martin's Church Trustees is also Trustee of The Connection at St Martin's.

7. Analysis of staff costs, Trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

Staff costs were as follows:

Salaries and wages Redundancy and termination costs Social security costs Employer’s contribution to defned contribution pension schemes Agency staff (sickness and holiday cover and third party)	2023 £ 2022 £ 2,858,027 3,012,676 7,500 89,153 309,648 308,072 138,385 155,362 65,834 61,813
	3,379,394 3,627,076

The total employee benefits (including pension contributions and employer's national insurance) of the key management personnel were £323,001 (2022: £326,269).

The charity trustees were neither paid nor received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2022: £nil). No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2022: £nil).

Trustees' expenses represents the payment or reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs totalling £nil (2022: £nil) incurred by no (2022: none) members relating to attendance at meetings of the trustees.

8. Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was 78 (2022: 86). The full time equivalent head count for the year was 72 (2022: 79).

Staff are split across the activities of the charitable company as follows, based on full time equivalents:

Raising funds Engagement & Assessment Recovery Impact & Evidence Employment Enterprise Support staff, including governance	2023 no. 9.1 25.3 18.9 3.2 0.7 15.1 13.7	2022 no. 8.7 31.6 20.5 3.4 - 1.3 13.7
	72.3	79.2

9. Taxation

The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes. The charity's trading subsidiary Show Your Connection Limited distributes under Gift Aid available profits to the parent charity.

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs and employer’s national insurance) during the year between:

		no.	no.
£60,000	- £69,999	2	-
£70,000	- £79,999	-	-
£80,000	- £89,999	1	1

64 The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

10. Tangible fixed assets (group and charity)

Cost or valuation At the start of the year Additions in year At the end of the year Depreciation At the start of the year Charge for the year At the end of the year Net book value At the end of the year At the start of the year	Freehold property & improvements £ Leasehold property £ Fixtures, fttings & equipment £ IT hardware £ Total £ 87,595 1 127,421 257,840 472,857 - - - 35,099 35,099
	87,595 1 127,421 292,939 507,956
	40,382 - 115,854 257,840 414,076 - - 6,089 11,700 17,789
	40,382 - 121,943 269,540 431,865
	47,213 1 5,478 23,399 76,091
	47,213 1 11,567 1 58,782

Property with a value of £87,595 (2022: £87,595) is included in freehold property and no longer depreciated because the directors are confident that the market value exceeds the net book value. The Connection at St Martin's owns the freehold on St Martin's House, which is on a long lease at a peppercorn rent to L&Q Housing. L&Q refurbished and manage the property and lease it back to The Connection at St Martin's.

The Board of Trustees consider that due to restrictive covenants placed on the use of 12 Adelaide Street, the leasehold property has no commercial value, and a nominal amount of £1 is included in the financial statements.

All of the above assets are used for charitable purposes

11. Debtors

Trade debtors Prepayments Accrued income Amounts owed by group undertaking Other Debtors
	The Group 2023 £ 2022 £ 44,381 248,385 92,958 153,817 21,291 72,524 - - 13,168 6,288	The Charity 2023 £ 2022 £ 42,303 248,385 92,958 153,817 21,291 72,524 19,668 14,943 13,168 6,288
	171,798 481,014	189,388 495,957

12. Investments (group and charity)

Market Value at beginning of year Purchases during the year at cost Proceeds of sales during the year Gains / (losses) on re-measurement to fair value Market Value Historical cost	2023 £ 842,961 - - (16,877)	2022 £ 550,117 250,000 - 42,844
	826,084	842,961
	750,000	750,000

All current asset investments are units in shares held in the COIF Charities Investment Fund which is traded on a regular basis. The total loss recognised on these investments in the period was £16,877 (2022: gain of £42,844) representing the fair value re-measurements shown above.

13. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Trade creditors Taxation and social security Accruals Deferred income (note 14) Other creditors
	The Group 2023 £ 2022 £ 45,216 60,741 76,520 87,732 135,394 182,680 35,000 35,000 23,781 22,109	The Charity 2023 £ 2022 £ 45,216 60,741 76,520 87,732 135,394 182,680 35,000 35,000 23,781 22,109
	315,911 388,262	315,911 388,262

14. Deferred income

Deferred income of £35,000 (2022: £35,000) represents grants and donations received in advance of the year end for intended application after 31 March 2023. No income was deferred for more than one year (2022: Nil)

Balance at the beginning of the year Amount released to income in the year Amount deferred in the year Balance at the end of the year	The Group 2023 £ 2022 £ 35,000 81,463 (35,000) (81,463) 35,000 35,000 35,000 35,000
		The Charity 2023 £ 2022 £ 35,000 81,463 (35,000) (81,463) 35,000 35,000
		35,000 35,000

66 The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

15. Creditors: amounts falling due after one year

The charity has no liabilities falling due after one year.

16. Pension scheme

The company operates a defined contribution purchase pension scheme for qualifying employees. There are defined contribution schemes not open to new staff. The schemes are:

18. Parent charity

The parent charity’s gross income and the results for the year are disclosed as follows:

	2023 £	2022 £
Gross income	4,890,650	5,414,757
Result for the year	(505,598)	(209,186)

Peoples Pension (DC). Members at year end date: 73.
Scottish Widows Pension (DC). Members at year end date: 6.
Friends Life#1 & Engage Mutual Insurance. One member each at year end date in these DC schemes (Total 2).

17. Subsidiary undertaking

The charity owns the whole of the issued ordinary share capital of Show Your Connection Limited, a company registered in England. The company number is 12510611. The registered office address is 12 Adelaide Street, London WC2N 4HW.

The subsidiary is used for non-primary purpose trading activities. All activities have been consolidated on a line-by-line basis in the statement of financial activities. Available profits are distributed under Gift Aid to the parent charity.

The Trustee, Keith Starling, together with the Chief Executive and other staff are also directors of the subsidiary.

19a. Analysis of group net assets between funds (current year)

Tangible fxed assets Fixed asset investments Net current assets Net assets at 31 March 2023	General unrestricted £ Designated £ Restricted £ Total funds £ 76,091 - - 76,091 - 826,084 - 826,084 535,100 1,601,767 103,090 2,239,957
	611,191 2,427,851 103,090 3,142,132

A summary of the results of the subsidiary is shown below:

Turnover Other Income Cost of sales Gross proft/(loss) Administrative expenses Management charge payable to parent undertaking Other operating income Proft/(loss) on ordinary activities before interest and taxation Proft / (loss) for the fnancial year Retained earnings Total retained earnings brought forward Proft / (loss) for the fnancial year Distribution under Gift Aid to parent charity Total retained earnings carried forward The aggregate of the assets, liabilities and reserves was: Assets Liabilities Reserves	2023 £ 2022 £ 51,056 47,196 - - - 534
	51,056 46,662
	191 6,567 47,078 43,537 - -
	(47,270) (50,104)
	3,786 (3,442)
	(11,976) (8,534) 3,786 (3,442) - -
	(8,190) (11,976)
	11,478 2,967 19,668 14,943
	(8,190) (11,976)

19b. Analysis of group net assets between funds (prior year)


Tangible fxed assets Fixed asset investments Net current assets Net assets at 31 March 2022	General unrestricted £ Designated £ Restricted £ Total funds £ 58,781 - - 58,781 - 842,961 - 842,961 565,626 2,047,337 129,239 2,742,202
	624,407 2,890,298 129,239 3,643,944

Amounts owed to/from the parent undertaking are shown in note 11.

68 The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

20b. Movements in funds (prior year)

20a. Movements in funds (current year)

Restricted funds: Engagement & Assessment Day Centre Street Engagement Emergency Accommodation Services Recovery Housing & Resettlement St Martin's House Recovery & Opportunities Women’s Development Unit Impact & Evidence Systems Change Project Support Services St Martin's House Development Project Courtyard Garden Project Client Food Service Facilities Enterprise Enterprise Development Total restricted funds Unrestricted funds: Designated funds: Lease fund Capital replacement fund Jenny Joseph Legacy Garden Reserve Risk Reserve St Martin’s House Transition Reserve Additional approved expenditure Total designated funds General funds Total unrestricted funds Total funds	At 1 April 2022 £ Income & gains £ Expenditure & losses £ Transfers £ At 31 March 2023 £ - 83,650 (83,650) - - - 408,603 (408,603) - - - - - - - 10,000 5,000 (15,000) - - - 95,669 (95,669) - - 15,000 118,961 (118,961) - 15,000 26,700 75,000 (101,700) - - - - - - - 34,793 28,685 (30,855) - 32,623 - 3,985 (3,985) - - - 5,000 (5,000) - - 42,746 5,000 (5,000) - 42,746 - 60,000 (47,279) - 12,721
	129,239 889,553 (915,702) - 103,090
	28,500 - - (1,500) 27,000 866,250 - (16,877) 849,373 100,000 - (6,337) 93,663 909,693 - - 2,252 911,945 117,268 - (97,109) 20,159 868,587 - (342,876) 525,711
	2,890,298 - (463,199) 752 2,427,851
	624,407 3,962,720 (3,975,184) (752) 611,191
	3,514,705 3,962,720 (4,438,383) - 3,039,042
	3,643,944 4,852,273 (5,354,085) - 3,142,132

Restricted funds: Engagement & Assessment Day Centre Street Engagement Emergency Accommodation Services Recovery Housing & Resettlement St Martin's House Migrant projects Recovery & Opportunities Women’s Development Unit Impact & Evidence Systems Change Project Support Services St Martin's House Development Project Facilities Enterprise Client Food Service Enterprise Development Total restricted funds Unrestricted funds: Designated funds: Lease fund Capital replacement fund Jenny Joseph Legacy Garden Reserve Future Defcit Reserve Risk Reserve St Martin’s House Transition Reserve Emergency Accommodation Bridging Reserve Additional approved expenditure Total designated funds General funds Total unrestricted funds Total funds	At 1 April 2021 £ Income & gains £ Expenditure & losses £ Transfers £ At 31 March 2022 £ - 116,698 (116,698) - - - 391,238 (391,238) - - - 730,094 (730,094) - - - 76,907 (66,907) - 10,000 115,752 (115,752) - - - - - - - 115,000 (100,000) - 15,000 22,005 139,623 (134,928) - 26,700 12,500 12,500 (25,000) - 12,500 66,690 (31,897) - 34,793 - 60,390 (17,644) - 42,746 - 4,500 (4,500) - - - 60,000 (60,000) - -
	34,505 1,889,392 (1,794,658) - 129,239
	30,000 - - (1,500) 28,500 825,000 41,250 - - 866,250 100,000 - - - 100,000 260,823 3,488,055 (3,694,623) (54,255) - 940,911 - - (31,218) 909,693 117,268 - - - 117,268 300,000 - - (300,000) - 942,841 - (142,177) 67,923 868,587
	3,516,843 3,529,305 (3,836,800) (319,050) 2,890,298
	305,357 - - 319,050 624,407
	3,822,200 3,529,305 (3,836,800) - 3,514,705
	3,856,705 5,418,697 (5,631,458) - 3,643,944

The narrative to explain the purpose of each fund is given at the foot of the note below.

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

20c. Purposes of restricted funds

The majority of restricted funds that the charity receives are restricted to a particular service, and are usually spent within the year of receipt. Where the restriction is more specific, it is identified within the appropriate service.

St Martin’s House Transition Reserve

The reserve is held to cover the anticipated costs of the transition from the old service model at St Martin’s House to the new in the next two financial years. Also included is a contingency for the cost of the garage development on site.

Engagement & Assessment Services received restricted donations for:

Day Centre: Contributions to the running of the Day Centre at Adelaide Street during the COVID-19 outbreak and recovery.
Street Engagement: Contributions to the operations of the outreach team.
Emergency Accommodation: Contributions to the operation of the accommodation provided at The Bridge and hotels in place of the Night Centre at Adelaide Street.

Recovery Services received restricted donations for:

Housing & Resettlement: Donations towards our Housing & Resettlement work.
Migration: Donations towards our work with migrants.
Recovery & Opportunities: Donations towards our recovery programme and employment work.

Emergency Accommodation Bridging Reserve

The reserve is designated to cover the expected additional costs of relocating the emergency accommodation service provided at The Bridge to a new site for a three-year period, after which time the costs will be subsumed into the core budget. Developments have meant that The Bridge service was wound down in the year, and this reserve is therefore no longer required.

Identified Additional Spend Reserve

This reserve is designated to fund additional innovations and projects which will further the charitable purpose of The Connection. In order for a project to be designated as part of this fund, an application must be submitted to and approved by the Board of Trustees.

St Martin's House Development Project: Donations towards the development project on our property at St Martin's House.
Women’s Development Unit: Contributions towards our work with female rough sleepers.

Enterprise received restricted donations for:

Client Food Service: Providing hot food for our night service clients.
Enterprise Development: Donations towards the development of our social enterprise activity."

Purposes of designated Funds:

Lease fund

This reserve is designated from the lease payment received from London & Quadrant Housing Association for St Martin’s House. This is being transferred to general reserves over the remaining life of the lease at a rate of £1,500 per annum.

Jenny Joseph Legacy Garden Fund

This fund was designated to reflect the Charity’s decision to use some of the funds left in a legacy in the creation of a memorial in the courtyard garden, and is intended for use within two years.

21. Operating lease commitments

The charity’s total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows for each of the following periods.

Less than one year One to fve years Over fve years
	Land and buildings 2023 £ 2022 £ 223,028 246,301 951,003 1,026,567 2,429,263 2,565,837	Equipment 2023 £ 2022 £ 10,947 13,052 32,913 42,136 - 1,723
	3,603,294 3,838,705	43,860 56,911

Future Deficit Reserve

This fund is designated to ensure that adequate reserves are held by the Charity to cover the budgeted deficit in the 2021/22 year, and was fully spent in the current year.

22. Capital commitments

At the balance sheet date, the charity had committed to £nil (2022: £nil) capital commitments.

Risk Reserve

This fund is designated to ensure that adequate funds are held to enable the Charity to continue to meet its financial obligations in the event of a sudden and immediate decrease in income.

Capital Replacement Fund

The reserve was initially established to meet costs in the short to middle-term of maintaining the infrastructure at 12 Adelaide St. It has now been 14 years since the 2008 building renewal programme and the likelihood of wear-and-tear increases with time. A maintenance reserve of £750,000 has been established to meet the anticipated future medium / longer term costs related to maintaining the infrastructure at 12 Adelaide Street. The monies supporting this fund are invested with our investment managers and the investment return will be a key component to our funding of these future costs expected to be incurred in years 6 through 15 of our lease on the properties. If donations are received for a portion of these costs the fund will be reduced accordingly. Over the next 5 years the site-wide Buildings Futures fundraising program is designed to cover such expected costs and as such no designated reserve has been put in place to cover the next 5 years.

23. Contingent assets or liabilities

"In August 2022 the charity received notification of a legacy, income from which would be transferred to the charity at a later date. An instalment of £200,000 was received in April 2023. As no estimation of the value was provided at the year-end, the criteria for recognising income were not met and the legacy was therefore not accrued for at the year-end.

There were no contingent liabilities as at the Balance Sheet date.

24. Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £1.

72 The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023

25. Related parties

As disclosed in note 3, the charity received income from the Friends of St Martin's of £413,604 (2022: £212,992).

Show Your Connection Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Charity. One trustee of the Charity is also a director of Show Your Connection Ltd. During the year costs totalling £47,078 (2022: £43,537) were recharged to Show Your Connection Ltd by the Charity, income totalling £42,534 (2022: 42,429) was passed from the Charity to Show Your Connection Ltd, and at the year end amounts totalling £19,667 were owed to the Charity by Show Your Connection Ltd.

As the vicar of St Martin’s Church, Sam Wells is able to directly influence the Parochial Church Council and the St Martin’s group of organisations. As per note 7, the Connection at St Martin’s makes annual licence fee payments to St Martin’s Church of £130,000 (2022: £125,000), made payments of £201,097 (2022: £104,342 ) reimbursing St Martin's Ltd and St Martin's PCC for shared costs, as well as receiving £800,000 (2022:£ 800,000) from St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity in relation to the BBC Christmas Appeal (see note 3), and receiving £28,685 (2022: £66,690) from the St Martin-in-the-Fields Trust in relation to the 18 Keys Project.

As a trustee, Melvene Adams is able to influence decisions made by the St Martin-in-the-Fields Development Trust. During the year, £28,685 was received from the Trust in relation to the 18 Keys Project (2022: £66,690).

There are no donations from related parties which are outside the normal course of business and no restricted donations from related parties.

Thanks to our many staff photographers and to:

Marc Gascoigne

www.marcgascoigne.com Martyna Przybysz www.shotbymartyna.com Gary Manhine www.garymanhine.com

All client names have been changed.

7474 The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields Trustees Report and Financial Statements for the year ended March 31st 2023

www.connection-at-stmartins.org.uk fundraising@cstm.org.uk

The Connection at St Martin’s

12 Adelaide Street London WC2N 4HW

@homelesslondon

Facebook-square TheConnectionAtStMartins INSTAGRAM @connection_homeless

020 7766 5544

Registered charity number: 1078201 Company number: 3852519

Registered with the Office of the Immigration Service Commission No.N201900032

Contents

Who we are





Welcome

Why we’re here

 We believe that no one should have to sleep rough, and that everyone should get the support they need to find a place to call home.

That is why we’re here.

What we do

46 /43

85%

2050



Who we help

The people we support are:

The people we support come from:

Our clients’ ages are:



151

1451

52%

The importance of relationships



The Connection Model – working ‘with, not for’

2022 / 2023 Achievements:



Reaching out

This year, the team made

In total (including non-street contacts like in the Clinic) the team supported

1,475 401

Welcoming people into The Connection

1162



We support people to:

This year, the TBI team helped:

Finding somewhere to call home

185

263

St Martin’s House



204

Migration

The team can support people by

Helping people into further support

151

23

28



Women’s homelessness

111

22%

The Women’s Development Unit

33%

154







18 Keys Project

Equality, diversity and inclusion





Communications and advocacy



Finance, facilities and human resources



Looking back over the last five years…





Looking ahead to the next five…



Fundraising

Highlights

How we manage our money and resources

All of the work you can read about in this report was made possible by the commitment and generosity of individuals, organisations, grant funders and companies who share our determination to end rough sleeping. We can’t thank you all enough for your support.

Where B the money comes from

Our resources

£1.5M

Principal sources of income

Expenditure