THE BRIDGE COUNSELLING SERVICE, WORCESTER
TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT 2022
Reference and Administrative Details
Charity Name: The Bridge Counselling Service – Worcester Charity Number: 1079216 Address: The Angel Centre, Angel Place, Worcester, WR1 3QN
Trustees
Linda Watson (Chair) Sarah Stansfield (Treasurer) Wendy Platt Stuart Currie Neil Carey Anthony Russell-Pattison
Structure, Governance and Management
The Bridge is governed by a Declaration of Trust dated 1 October 1999 as amended by deed of amendment dated 20 December 1999. Under this document the Trustees have power to appoint new Trustees as required. A deed of rectification dated 24 May 2019 has corrected the original trust and deed of amendment to correct some anomalies which had been identified.
Financial Review
Total income for the year amounted to £26,917 and total expenditure was £28,197 giving rise to a deficit of £1,280. There was some very generous funding from some local churches and the year was aided by receiving a grant of £5,520 from Lasletts towards the cost of the Clinical Lead and £4,250 from Worcester CC to assist in re-opening after Covid, purchase new computers and hold a 21[st] Celebration. The largest expenses were payments to the Clinical Lead and Administrator, which in total amounted to £12,781. The rent for the office and counselling rooms was £3,554 this year, which remains a very competitive rent for these facilities in the city centre. As the Centre reopened following Covid the rent reductions have been withdrawn. Supervision costs were £5,660, and it remains the trustees’ view that this is an essential investment to enable The Bridge to provide a fully professional service and support the work of the counsellors. The income from client donations increased by £3,834 to £5,046, as more face-to-face counselling could take place and also clients are starting to take up alternative methods of making a donation. Other Donations were £17,234 including grants of £9,770. The Gift Aid of £434 was for the 9 months to 31 December 2021. A further claim to 31 December 2022 which was submitted in January 2023 is shown in debtors.
1
The Trustees maintained the policy of holding approximately 3 months operating costs in reserve. Based on budgeted costs for 2023 this would require a reserve of £7,302. Reserves are currently higher than this, which is helpful as a deficit is currently budgeted for 2023 but our reserves will still exceed £7,302 if this deficit arises.
Objectives and Activities
The Charitable Objects are: a] the relief of people within the city of Worcester who are in conditions of need, hardship or distress in particular by the provision of advice and counselling, and b] the advancement of education within the said city by the provision of counselling training.
The trustees have considered the Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
During 2022 the Bridge continued to provide counselling sessions for people with a wide range of emotional, relational and personal difficulties. Following the successful introduction of telephone counselling and online counselling during the height of the pandemic, the decision was taken to move to a Blended Service for the future, offering counselling via telephone, online or in-person. To facilitate this, COVID safety measures were introduced in the counselling rooms and internet speed and connectivity were improved to allow online counselling from the counselling rooms at the Angel Centre.
The service depends on the support of a committed team of professionally-trained counsellors who give their time voluntarily to the Bridge and other volunteers who assist as receptionists and provide administrative support. The day-to-day running of the service is led by an Administrator, who is employed for 9 hours per week. A Clinical Lead, who is self-employed and works for up to 3 hours per week, oversees the clinical aspects of the work. All clients self-refer. usually following recommendation from a wide range of sources, including GPs, statutory and voluntary bodies in Worcestershire, and churches, but there are also many self-referrals as a result of advertising. The Bridge is particularly committed to making counselling available to people from lower socioeconomic groups through its ‘pay what you can’ policy. All such payments are entirely voluntary.
Achievements and Performance
The number of counsellors working at the Bridge fluctuated slightly during the year, but replacement counsellors continue to volunteer. We decided to offer placements to an increased number of student counsellors in their second year of training, which not only supports the student counsellors but also serves to increase our counselling capacity. During 2022 1024 counselling sessions were offered and 165 counselling assessments. To celebrate the fact that the Bridge has been offering counselling since the start of 2000, we decided to hold a Celebratory Event in October to mark 21 years (delayed because of COVID).
In order to continue to encourage clients to make a donation if they could, and to make this as user-friendly as possible, in 2022 we introduced a card machine.
This report was approved by the Trustees on 24/04/2023 and signed on its behalf by
LINDA WATSON Chair of Trustees
2
The Bridge Counselling Service - Worcester
Charity Number 1079216
Receipts and Payments Accounts For the year ending 31 December 2022
| Income: Voluntary Sources - Gifts and Donations Client Donations Other Donations incl Grants Voluntary Sources - Gift Aid Tax Refund Job Retention Scheme Grants Fundraising Bank Interest Total Income Expenditure: Charitable Activity direct expenditure Clinical Lead Co-ordinator Administrator Supervision Training Rent Telephone, Postage, Stationery Computer Equiment Publicity Electricity Insurance Books & Subscriptions Legal Fees Covid Measures Miscellaneous Total Expenditure Net (Deficit)/Surplus for year Cash Funds last year end Cash Funds this year end Other Income |
2022 General Restricted Total 5,046 5,046 9,464 7,770 17,234 434 434 0 0 0 0 4,170 4,170 33 33 19,147 7,770 26,917 360 5,520 5,880 0 0 6,901 6,901 5,660 5,660 105 105 3,554 3,554 1,199 1,199 347 2,000 2,347 58 250 308 464 464 1,227 1,227 250 250 0 0 0 0 302 302 20,427 7,770 28,197 (1,280) 0 (1,280) 13,509 0 13,509 12,229 0 12,229 |
2021 1,122 13,579 322 0 83 815 1 15,922 3,280 1,019 5,948 2,360 0 1,872 772 0 0 99 1,096 300 0 310 508 17,564 (1,642) 15,151 13,509 |
|---|---|---|
Page 3
The Bridge Counselling Service - Worcester
Charity Number 1079216
Statement of Assets and Liabilities For the year ended 31 December 2022
| Cash funds Petty Cash Cash Account Gold Account Gold Reserve Account Other monetary assets Gift Aid refund - 6 April 2021 to 31 Dec 2021 Gift Aid refund - 1 Jan 2022 to 31 Dec 2022 Assets retained for the charity's own use Computer Equipment Liabilities Creditors Rent for 3m as this is the notice period |
2022 2021 £ £ 38 43 4,842 6,145 4,731 4,713 2,618 2,608 12,229 13,509 434 1,219 1,219 434 2,347 0 0 540 936 702 936 1,242 Unrestricted Funds |
|---|---|
Restricted Fund
All restricted income in 2022 of £7,770(Nil in 2021) was fully expended in that year
Notes
Accounting Policy. These accounts have been prepared on the receipts and payments basis and therefore the assets and liabilities above are not reflected in the accounts on page 3
Payments to Trustees . During the year Wendy Platt received £3,480 (2021 £2,280) for providing Supervision for Counsellors and no expenses.
No other trustee received any payments or expenses
Signed on behalf of the trustees
Linda Watson
Date
24 April 2023
Linda Watson, Chair
Page 4
Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts to the Trustees of The Bridge Counselling Service - Worcester for the year ended 31 December 2022
set out on pages 1 to 4
Respective responsibilites of trustees and examiners
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
it is my responsibility to:
-
examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
-
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act), and
-
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention
Basis of independent examiner's statement
My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair' view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
-
(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements:
-
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act;
-
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charites Act have not been met, or
-
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Douglas Dale Date 17th May 2023
D Dale Thorneloe 14 Stephenson Road Worcester WR1 3JE
Page 5