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2023-03-31-accounts

Registered Charity Number 1079574 Registered Company Number 03512914

Report and Accounts Year Ended 31 March 2023

Prepared by Chartered Accountants 66 Earl Street Maidstone Kent ME14 1PS

2023 REPORT & ACCOUNTS CONTENTS

Company information ............................................................................................................................... 3 Message from our Chair ........................................................................................................................... 4 Message from our CEO ............................................................................................................................ 5 Trustees’ Report ......................................................................................................................................... 7 Programmes and Homecare ................................................................................................................... 9 Statement of Trustees Responsibilities ................................................................................................ 17 Auditors' report ....................................................................................................................................... 18 Statement of financial activities ............................................................................................................. 22 Balance sheet ........................................................................................................................................... 23 Cash flow statement ................................................................................................................................ 24

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COMPANY INFORMATION

Directors Simran Chawla Bharvi Hadani Vidhu Sood-Nicholls Olivia Spruce Wupya Nandap Ria Brookes Chief Executive Benaifer Bhandari Auditors Hamilton Coopers Chartered Accountants 66 Earl Street Maidstone Kent ME14 1PS Bankers HSBC 176 Camden High Street London NW1 8QL Registered office 50-52 Hampstead Road London NW1 2PT Solicitors Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP 110 Fetter Lane London EC4A 1AY Registered charity number 1079574 Registered company number 03512914

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– MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES SIMRAN CHAWLA

In a year where we have seen a huge increase in the complex problems which we have needed to address for those most vulnerable, we have consolidated our services nonetheless and been able to respond from a position of strength.

This is thanks to the focus of our incredible team and those who support us. Hopscotch was supported by our friend and champion Councillor Nasim (Nash) Ali OBE, who in his year as Mayor of Camden worked tirelessly to champion Hopscotch Women’s Centre. At our most recent Board meeting, I was reflecting on how anticlimactic it felt for Trustees to be going through a regular meeting agenda after a year of coming together at incredible fundraising events.

It was special to be around our brilliant and inspiring staff who, on top of their day jobs, worked relentlessly behind the scenes so that the rest of us could just show up and do our bit. A highlight of that fundraising year was a wonderful event at the House of Commons with a room full to bursting, arranged by the Mayor and Tulip Siddiq MP. It was overwhelming how much support there was for the vital work of protecting women from harm and the unique way that Hopscotch does this. Hearing Jess Phillips and other MPs from across the political spectrum, who fight for the rights of women and girls, speak about our organisation with so much passion, made this event memorable and left my fellow trustees and I feeling hopeful for the future.

And at each of those events, our CEO Benaifer Bhandari time and again reminded our supporters of the literally lifesaving work we do at Hopscotch. As she says in her update - it’s been a year of dichotomies, of contrasts, of triumphs but also tribulations as our service users, partners and staff have felt the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and the very real consequences of decisions made by our political masters. Decisions that are seldom made with the most vulnerable in mind and yet these are the very individuals and families we work with.

I’m proud to say that unlike many other organisations, not only have we been mindful about providing health and wellbeing support for our staff, we have also given two tranches of cost-ofliving payments to enhance salaries. We felt this was important at a time when those working front-line and hardest, were struggling the most with in-work poverty – with a government administration that simply doesn’t care. We walk the talk and being person centred and trauma informed means that we apply this commitment to our staff as much as we do to the women and the families we work with. And now here we are, planning an exciting phase of growth which includes organisations across London asking us for support and insights into best practice. Our senior leadership team do us proud with their foresight, wisdom, and commitment.

And all of this, thanks to staff who bring their very best to their jobs and each one being ably led and supported by the Senior Leadership Team and Benaifer at the helm. She sees and holds and values every member of the Hopscotch family and I learn so much about empathetic leadership from her, constantly. It is a privilege to be part of this incredible team and I’m excited to see what the coming year brings us.

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– MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO BENAIFER BHANDARI

What a year of dichotomies.

The struggle of those accessing our services in our Women’s Centre has been painful to witness as more and more have come face to face with poverty, homelessness, and violence.

We have found it difficult to witness and work on repeat, with cases which have multiple needs and clear human rights violations. Our teams across the organisation have been strongly guided by management to engage in external clinical supervision, just to cope. This is in addition to the reflective support they have from their line managers, as exposure to case after case of abject deprivation can affect the strongest amongst us.

Having worked front line during lockdown, our Homecare team too have been exhausted, and they also have been supported with extra safe spaces where they can talk about how hard that period has been for them.

And then this year, quietly, we have had stability and growth. The Mayor of Camden, Cllr Nasim Ali, chose Hopscotch as his Charity of the Year. A true feminist, he lived our values his whole year in office and wanted to give back to an organisation that supported his family decades ago. His phenomenal energy went into fundraising for us and speaking to everyone, not only about Hopscotch Women’s Centre and Homecare service, but also about the incredible voluntary sector in Camden that Hopscotch is a part of.

As a trustee with Camden Community Centre’s Consortium (C4), Global Generation, Naz and Matt Foundation and especially Voluntary Action Camden, I have continued to receive insight and inspiration into the sector in the borough which has helped us at Hopscotch to really understand our unique position – not only in Camden, but beyond, as an organisation that defends the human rights of those most marginalised in our society.

I am incredibly proud of our Homecare service which has withstood a national recruitment crisis under the steady hand of Lucie Gourdin – who in 2023 sees five years with Hopscotch. The level of challenge in getting care workers on board with enough skills to be part of a professional service, has been huge. However, the team kept our compliance levels high, and we took a strategic decision to look inwards and strengthen our office team. We added a recruitment expert and doubled our coordinator and supervisor teams. Finally, we added a deputy manager and more recently an administrative manager to complete the team. What a good call that was, as now recruitment has picked up, we are ready for an increased service! Throughout, Olivia Spruce our Homecare Trustee, has been on hand to support and encourage our work and our team.

This year, once more, Isabelle Terrisson (who completes 8 years with us in 2023) has led our charitable programmatic work with a flourish. Thanks to her we have had an extension of the Refugee work with Afghan evacuees that we were tasked to hold on behalf of the Council. We look forward now to working with those isolated in contingency hotels too. Isabelle has tripled her team dealing with Violence Against Women and Girls, to be able to meet demand and doubled her Welfare Advisors too – which has such a high demand. It’s a difficult fact that despite this we still have waiting lists for some services.

The team were instrumental in our Mental Health services being strengthened with three grants from statutory services to be able to reach women at risk of poor mental health. It’s been a relief to have a space for staff, care workers and all service users to be able to share and find a way forwards from all the pressure that is being felt.

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Our incredibly supportive Chair, Simran Chawla and Trustee Ria Brookes have supported the growth of our programmes into new areas for our future, including:

For another year, our accounts were prepared and audited smoothly thanks to the insight and expertise of Girish Popat who heads up our finance department and has completed four year with us in 2023. For the first time in recent history, Hopscotch is financially secure with investments in our IT and building, which have allowed us to meet the needs of more service users. Girish’s constant vigilance around any anomalies – which often led to a refining of processes – has meant we are more resilient, future proof and transparent than ever before. Bharvi Hadani is our Treasurer working with Girish and I in the Finance subgroup, bringing her vast industry overview to our charity and its financial workings.

With Vidhu Sood-Nicholls, our Fundraising Trustee’s oversight, I’ve led a small fundraising team this year to continue exploring avenues of income for essential projects. We have needed all our work to run with agility, to meet current needs and be able to adapt to change. Finding funders who understand the challenges of operating in an ever-evolving landscape hasn’t been easy. We are obviously very grateful to all our amazing funders, and especially so to:

Being awarded this unrestricted income has meant we have been able to shore up our essential services – to a point - especially around the rise in violence against women and the cost-of-living crisis.

This year, with the help of Wupya Nandap, our Legal Trustee, we created a Hopscotch Team Domestic Abuse Policy. This gives support and time off to staff who are going through abuse or living through the aftermath of abuse. This policy helps us stand in solidarity with all those who suffer and must turn up to work, day after day.

Every member of the Hopscotch team is totally inspiring. They are full of enthusiasm, resilience, passion, and compassion – whether working with vulnerable women and girls, or housebound service users needing care. They turn up day after day and delivery from the heart. I could not ask for more.

Our team of over 100 are focussed hard on the support and care for over 1400 … and growing … vulnerable Londoners every year, working sensitively with trauma and holding up high the human rights of everyone.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT

INTRODUCTION

The trustees present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 31st March 2023.

The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and Accounting and reporting for Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and ROI (FRS 102)

Hopscotch was established as an independent voluntary organization on 1 June 1998 from Save the Children. It is a company limited by guarantee and became a registered charity on 28 February 2000.

DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES WITH RESPONSIBILITIES Simran Chawla – Chair Bharvi Hadani – Treasurer Vidhu Sood-Nicholls – Fundraising Olivia Spruce – Homecare Wupya Nandap – Legal and Governance Ria Brookes – Programmes

STRUCTURE

The Trustees, who are also the Directors for the purpose of company law, do not have any beneficial interest in the company. All Trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.

Trustees are interviewed and selected by other Trustees and the Senior Management Team. They are representative of the community in which Hopscotch delivers its services and/or are professionals and advisors with specialist skills that are essential in the sustainability and development of the organisation.

There is an induction process that all Trustees go through which is carried out by the CEO and Chair and includes the organisation's policies and procedures and forms that need to be filled in from Companies House and the Charity Commission.

The Senior Leadership Team agrees upon all decisions which must come to the main Board of Trustees - this is then delegated in the form of action points via the minutes to the CEO.

THE PAY POLICY OF SENIOR STAFF

The Board of Trustees and Senior Leadership Team of Hopscotch comprise the key management personnel of the charity, directing, controlling, and running the charity on day-today basis. No Trustee/Director received remuneration during the year. The Senior Leadership Team includes the CEO, Head of Programmes, Head of Homecare and Head of Finance.

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HOPSCOTCH’S VISION

Our vision is a society where all women are empowered, connected, well and safe, so they can achieve their full potential.

HOPSCOTCH’S MISSION

Hopscotch seeks to address racial and gender inequality and empowers women facing this injustice and disadvantage in a culturally sensitive way, so they can be included and equal in society

We are responsive to changing needs. We aspire to maximize opportunities for women so they feel confident in achieving their aspirations

We are agile in the face of societal pressures and advocate for individuals and communities, through influencing mainstream policy, to adopt good practice

HOPSCOTCH’S AIMS

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

Homecare

We have managed to be steady in our service, with a doubling in the number of clients that we deliver care to in their own homes. 120 clients are looked after in a person-centred way, with dignity and agency over their own care.

There has been a national crisis in recruitment of care workers. We have used this time to reinforce the office team, ready for the inevitable growth we expected when recruitment picked up.

This strategy has meant that Homecare is now stronger than it ever was with 12 care workers entering our service every six weeks after attending an intense five-day induction training.

Current field and office staff have been focussing on continued training around the essential and specialist areas of health and social care.

The management team has continued to work very closely with Camden Adult Social Care Commissioners, engaging in a pilot putting our clients autonomy right at the centre of their care – offering a more flexible style of care. We’ve also continued our relationship with CQC to ensure the service runs in a way which is fully compliant whilst keeping our strong empathetic quality.

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HOPSCOTCH WOMEN’S CENTRE SERVICE

STRATEGIC WORK
AREA		 SERVICES DETAILS KEY FUNDERS
Health and Wellbeing Homecare Focussed on minoritised communities – ethnic,dementia,LGBTQ+ etc L B Camden
Mental Health Advocacy Culturally aligned to allow access to the service for different Camden
communities. This includes dementia awareness which is culturally accessible;
and the development of a glossary of terms for different community
languages		 Camden Memory Service
NHS
Programmes Donations
Wellbeing Support Across all services to help deal with trauma through focussed wellbeing
activities in a trauma informed way		 Programmes Donations
Older Women’s Services User-led services for those aged 50+ to reduce isolation and foster cohesion
across communities		 The National Lottery
Opportunities for
Success		 Welfare Advice Advice and advocacy provided by multi-lingual, culturally sensitive and
experienced advisers via one-to-one drop ins/referrals and group sessions
around finance management(inperson and online)		 L B Camden
The National Lottery
Employment support Working with those furthest from the job market providing confidence and
skills development workshops, including CV writing and interview skills,
tailored to specific groups and localities. Working closely with corporate
partners so service users experience spaces and professionals they otherwise
wouldn’t have access to		 British Land
Trust for London
Afghan Refugee Advocacy Working specifically with evacuees from Afghanistan in August 2021 who are
still in Camden hotels in central London. Providing tailor made, culturally
specific support to women and families byadvocates with lived experience		 L B Camden
Policy and Advocacy Infrastructure support Non-delivery service supporting the charitable infrastructure of smaller
organisations who run olderpeople’s services		 The National Lottery
Safety Against Violence Violence Against Women
and Girls Support		 Working with cases via referrals and drop-ins. Exploring understanding
around abuse through peer support groups, whilst supporting women who
are suffering – bringing them to safety and building up their confidence and
independence,whatever their decision.		 Treebeard Trust
City Bridge
Programmes Donations
Multiple, Complex Needs Women in the high-risk category with multiple disadvantages and needing
almost constant support to break out ofpatterns of abuse and self-neglect		 Solace Women’s Aid
Youth Services Working with schools to tackle isolation, cultural challenges and abuse
amongstgirls from ethnicallyminoritised communities and buildingresilience		 BBC Children in Need

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At our Women’s Centre the team has grown to meet the urgent needs of service users, whose cases are increasingly complex and higher in risk. This enables team members to work with fewer vulnerable people but for longer.

Our human rights lens has been helpful in galvanising the support of statutory bodies, so service users achieve best outcomes. We’ve added to those internal conversations around racial inequity (especially around International Women’s Week). This has given the team more insight into the barriers many Londoners are facing. It also brought out ideas of how to help all professionals that are involved with our service users, to respect what it means to be vulnerable and marginalised across so many intersections. We have been working on helping professionals find a way to be present in cases which can be the hardest to be involved in.

Violence Against Women and Girls

Hopscotch runs a number of projects supporting those facing male violence against women.

Labyrinth was a UK wide project led by Solace, and Hopscotch was their only partner organisation in London. The project was highly recommended at the Charity Awards in the Campaigning and Advocacy category and we:

Hopscotch delivered specific workshops, group-work to service users, embedded mental health support across all its services in Programmes and went on a mission to train staff and professionals from various sectors to become trauma informed, thereby training more than 100 professionals on trauma informed way of work.

Other VAWG services included:

All our work has a Human Rights based approach. We worked with The British Institute of Human Rights to design a "Human Rights Toolkit" for the team so they could:

Welfare/Benefits Advocacy

We expanded into Brent and Westminster with:

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Hopscotch became heavily involved in the cost-of-living crisis work in Camden and across London this year. We engaged with Camden Council, Camden Advice Network and Camden Women's Forum and provided evidence via focus groups and service user interviews to influence and shape the response to the cost-of-living crisis faced by Black and Minoritised and intersectional women at a local level in Camden.

We worked with British Institute of Human Rights in highlighting how the cost-of-living crisis constitutes a breach of the Human Rights Act.

Mental Health Advocacy

This year we continued our work on how different communities’ understanding of mental health are often informed by superstitions and language which is couched in a cultural narrative. This is further compounded as it incorporates a culturally religious understanding of some faiths.

In some communities Mental Health is so taboo that visiting a doctor is understood to only exacerbate and develop simple upsets by introducing medications that in fact induce Mental Health conditions.

The team worked carefully and sensitively to highlight facts as separate as possible from cultural/religious understandings. This allowed for productive group and 1:1 work on Mental Health and Wellbeing as well as Dementia.

We:

Employment Support

This project has worked collaboratively with the law firm Weil where we organised Employment Days which:

Our partnership work has continued in collaboration with Brights Lights Employment programme, connecting service users to employers’ training programmes and local job opportunities.

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We continued our Better Employment project, addressing in-work poverty by supporting those on low income. Hopscotch:

Older Women’s Support

This popular project ran 102 sessions over the year with 120 service users engaging in sessions

on:

We achieved fantastic outcomes including:

Youth Advocacy

This work has been given agility by BBC Children in Need who understood the importance of following an urgent need to support Afghan refugee girls in secondary schools where:

Refugee Advocacy

This essential work has centred around integrating women and their families into the community, whilst strengthening our partnerships with organisations such as Calthorpe Community Garden.

The Hopscotch Afghan Refugee Response Project team have successfully established the first community hub to connect both families that are presently residing in one hotel and those that have received houses under the resettlement programme. It’s a ‘safe space’ for families (mainly women, girls and children) to socialise, share their experiences and stay connected. Despite some challenges, the staff have created a co-produced arrangement of activities and workshops. This is working really well.

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We understood sewing as an area of interest for Afghan women. Workshops were initially offered to improve engagement and reduce the amount of isolating in bedrooms. With little or no English or prior experience of using modern electrical sewing machines the women:

We celebrated Refugee Week with the work of women who had been shown how to apply their sewing and embroidery skills to design buntings to represent the word “Compassion” . An exhibition was curated and it was displayed in the British Library over a week. It was hugely successful and is travelling to other places this coming year.

Women’s voices and participation have been core to our mission in this project. Due to culturally sensitivities and patriarchal systems, it’s not seen as women’s role to participate in decision making or publicly voicing their opinions. The Hopscotch staff have:

Camden Council have sought our support for outreach and to promote/encourage women to attend Council meetings. ‘Women’s only’ meetings are now becoming a norm, which is a fantastic achievement.

More recently, twenty women attended a visit by Felicity Buchan MP, together with Camden’s Cllr Gould – Leader of Camden, Jenny Rowlands – Chief Exec of Camden and Gillian Marston – Executive Director Supporting Communities. Hopscotch outreached for a women’s only meeting and supported with translation. It was a great success and our work has raised interest at ministerial level.

Fundraising

We had an incredible year as Cllr Nasim Ali’s Mayoral Charity of the Year. We raised £75,000 during his appointment which is going towards keeping our services agile in the face of the different crisis our service users are yet to face.

Cllr Ali supported us with so many events including hearing from supportive MPs at the House of Commons and celebrating Chinese New Year with delegates from around the country and world. We also had:

We found so many supporters of our work with minoritised Global Majority women over this past year. which has raised our profile and spread the word about our essential work.

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This has included links with local Councillors, art institutions, businesses and community groups, as well as MPs such as Tulip Siddiq and Jess Phillips.

We will be launching a corporate fundraising pack to share with business who connect with our values.

Local Authority

Our relationship with LB Camden keeps strengthening as we have found new ways to work together in the past year.

Our collaboration with supporting Afghan evacuees has been as successful as it has been challenging. Both the council and Hopscotch support each other to keep the standards of this work high, and in keeping the residents in the hotels safe.

Our role as founding members of Camden’s VAWG Board, has really helped our Women’s Service to be recognised by different departments in Camden and in some cases, offered us a fast-track so that those at risk do not face more harm by being engaged in slow processes.

PRIORITIES AND THE FUTURE

To develop even stronger relationships with local authorities across London, funders and other VCS to be very efficient in the face of any crisis in London and to be able to be financially agile to meet needs of the moment. We would like to achieve this through: -

VOLUNTEERS

Hopscotch continues to limit the number of volunteers we work with given the high-risk nature of our work. In addition to our trustees, in the coming year we are recruiting a volunteer counsellor to support our care workers and office-based staff.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Year End Income Expenditure Surplus/Deficit
31 March 2023 £2,433,634 £2,390,601 £43,033
31 March 2022 £2,365,362 £2,217,382 £147,980

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

Risks are analysed by the Board as a whole quarterly and key working groups meet regularly for:

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Some of the main risks identified for Hopscotch:

ACCREDITATIONS

Hopscotch holds AQS at the Advice with Casework Level and the Matrix Quality Standard for Information Advice and Guidance services accreditations.

INVESTMENT POLICY

Aside from retaining a prudent amount in reserves each year, a high proportion of the charity's funds are to be spent in the short term so there are no funds for long term investment. The Trustees currently retain unrestricted funds in a deposit account, which ensures that the funds can be accessed immediately and are not susceptible to financial market risk.

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RESERVES POLICY

The Trustees have considered the charity's requirements for reserves, taking account of the main risks to the organisation, and they feel that significant reserves should be held because:

A policy has been established by the Trustees whereby the unrestricted reserves not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets (free reserves) and is targeted at a minimum of 3 months of the anticipated expenditure. At 31 March 2023 the free unrestricted funds including the redundancy funds is £373,785. In the uncertain economic times, Trustees feel it is essential to achieve and retain the targeted level of unrestricted reserves. Trustees plan to increase the level of reserves to the minimum requirement by organising fundraising activities for the charity and seeking opportunities for individual and corporate donors.

The Trustees will maintain as a prudent approach with the intention to retain reserves sufficient to cover salaries of key personnel and running costs for a minimum of three months. Other nonessential personnel will be covered by the redundancy provision.

PUBLIC BENEFIT

Trustees of a charity have a duty to report in their Annual Report on their charity's public benefit. The Trustees of Hopscotch have considered the requirements which are explained on the Charity Commission website.

The sections of this report entitled "Hopscotch Mission" onward set out Hopscotch's objectives and reports on the activity and successes in the year to 31 March 2023 as well as explaining the plans for the current financial year.

The Trustees have considered this matter and concluded that: -

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STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees are aware that Company law requires Trustees to prepare financial statements to:-

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

STATEMENT AS TO DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION TO THE AUDITORS

So far as the Trustees are aware, there is no relevant information of which the charitable company’s independent examiners are unaware, and each trustee has taken all the steps that he or she ought to have taken as a trustee in order to make himself or herself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity’s auditors are of that information.

A resolution proposing the reappointment of Hamilton Coopers as auditors will be put to the AGM.

METHOD OF PREPARATION OF ACCOUNTS

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the charity’s Memorandum and Articles of Association and comply with the Companies Act 2006 and the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), “Accounting and Reporting by Charities Act 2011.

This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 8 September 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

Bharvi Hadani Treasurer and Trustee

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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE HOPSCOTCH WOMEN’S CENTRE

We have audited the financial statements of Hopscotch Women’s Centre for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise of the statement of financial activities, the balance sheets 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 Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis of 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 financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the 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' (who are also the directors of the company for company law purposes) 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 entity'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 trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

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

We have nothing to report in this regard.

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Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees' responsibilities statement [set out on page 8], the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with regulations made under section 154 of that Act.

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 is detailed below:

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities, including fraud

The objectives of our audit are to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud or error; to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud or error; and to respond appropriately to those risks.

Based on our understanding of the company and industry, and through discussion with the management (as required by auditing standards), we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to their FCA permissions and requirements. We considered the extent to which noncompliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006 and taxation. We communicated identified laws and regulations throughout our team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit. We evaluated management's incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks were related to posting inappropriate journal entries to increase revenue or reduce expenditure and management bias in accounting estimates and judgmental areas of the financial statements such as accrued income.

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Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the further removed noncompliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:

Obtain an understanding of

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

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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. The risk increases more when 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 for the audit of the financial statements is located 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

This report is made solely to the Charity's trustees, as a body, in accordance with section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and the regulations made under section 154 of that Act. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Charity's trustees 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 Charity's trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Asim Malik, FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) 66 Earl Street for and on behalf of Maidstone Hamilton Coopers Kent ME14 1PS Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors

Date: 19 September 2023

Hamilton Coopers is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Including consolidated income and expenditure account for the year ended 31 March 2023

Unrestricted **Designated ** **Designated ** Restricted Total Last Year
Funds Funds Funds Funds Total Funds
Notes 2023 2023 2023 2023 2022
£ £ £ £ £
Incoming resources:
Incoming resources from generating funds
Grants, contracts and donations 30,254 - - 30,254 59,915
Investment income 131 - - 131 2
Incoming resources from charitable activitie 1,661,819 707,172 2,368,991 2,287,295
Other Incoming Resources 34,258 - - 34,258 18,150
Total incoming resources 4 1,726,462 - 707,172 2,433,634 2,365,362
Resources expended
Charitable activities 5 1,689,017 701,584 2,390,601 2,217,382
Total resources expended 1,689,017 - 701,584 2,390,601 2,217,382
Net Incoming/(expenditure) 37,445 - 5,588 43,033 147,980
Transfers between funds - - -
Net movement in the funds 37,445 - 5,588 43,033 147,980
Net movement in funds 37,445 - 5,588 43,033 147,980
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward 11 319,706 16,634 342 336,682 188,702
Total Funds carried forward 11 357,151 16,634 5,930 379,715 336,682

The net movement in funds referred to above is the net incoming resources as defined in the Statement of Recommended Practice for Accounting and Reporting issued by the Charity Commission for England & Wales and is reconciled to the total funds as shown in the Balance Sheet on page 13 as required by the said statement.

The notes on pages 23 to 28 form an integral part of these accounts.

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BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2023

Company Number - 03512914

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
8
Current assets
Debtors
9
Cash at bank and in hand
Total current assets
Creditors:-
amounts due within one year
10
Net current assets/liabilities
Total assets less current liabilities
Net assets
The funds of the charity :
Unrestricted funds
11
Designated funds
11
Restricted funds
11
Total charity funds		 £
£
£
£
8,369
9,387
332,015
339,914
570,382
364,006
902,397
703,920
(531,051)
(376,625)
371,346
327,295
379,715
336,682
379,715
336,682
357,151
319,706
16,634
16,634
5,930
342
379,715
336,682
2023
2022
902,397
(531,051)

The directors are satisfied that the company is entitled to exemption from the requirement to obtain an audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 and that no members have required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Act.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

Approved by the trustees and authorised for issue on 8 September 2023

Bharvi Hadani Chair of Finance Committee and Trustee

The notes on pages 24 to 29 form an integral part of these accounts.

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CASH FLOW STATEMENT

for the year ended 31 March 2023

Cash generated from operations
Net operating funds
Reconciliation to cash generated from operations:
Depreciation
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
Increase in creditors
Cash from other sources
Application of cash
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Net increase in cash
Cash at bank and in hand less overdrafts at 1 April
Cash at bank and in hand less overdrafts at 31 March
Consisting of:
Cash at bank and in hand
Overdrafts		 2023
2022
£
£
43,033
147,980
3,502
4,419
7,899
49,842
154,426
(197,793)
208,860
4,448
-
-
(2,484)
(15,757)
(2,484)
(15,757)
206,376
(11,309)
364,006
375,315
570,382
364,006
570,382
364,006
-
-
570,382
364,006

Major non-cash transactions

Capital value of new finance lease arrangements

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1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the financial statements are setout below and have remained unchanged from the previous year and have also been consistently applied within the same accounts.

Accounting convention

Basis of preparation and assessment of going concern:

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - Charities SORP (FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006. The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the Association's ability to continue as a going concern.

The company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

Reconciliation with previous Generally Accepted Accounting Practice

In preparing the accounts, the trustees have considered whether in applying the accounting policies required by FRS 102 and the Charities SORP FRS 102 the restatement of comparative items was required. No restatements were required.

Incoming Resources

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants

It 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.

Income from charitable activities includes primary purpose trading

Income from charitable activities includes primary purpose trading, income earned both from the supply of goods or services under contractual arrangements or grant agreements, which have conditions that specify the provision of particular goods or services to be provided and undertaken for the charitable purposes of the charity.

Interest receivable

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.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the Association's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the Association.

Expenditure recognition

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. All expenses including support costs and governance costs are allocated or apportioned to the applicable expenditure headings.

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Allocation of support costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back-office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support QCCA's programmes and activities. The basis, on which support costs have been allocated are set out in note 11.

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 comprise the costs of other trading activities, in which the Association does not yet engage.

Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of providing services and activities for our beneficiaries and the local community 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.

Fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are stated as costs less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:

Equipment Office Equipment & furniture 3 years, IT equipment 2 years Building refurbishment Over 3 years

Debtors

Debtors are recognised at the settlement recoverable amount due. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes is held to meet short-term cash commitments as they fall due rather than for investment purposes and may include short-term deposits.

Creditors, deferrals and provisions

Creditors and provisions are liabilities where we have a present obligation to a third party that we shall normally pay by cash. Provisions are measured or estimated as reliably as possible.

Where performance-related conditions are specified in a grant, the income will only be recognised to the extent that the charity has provided the facility or service. Any income received in advance of the conditions being met are deferred and shown under creditors.

2 LEGAL STATUS OF THE SOCIETY

The Association 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 £10. Names of its directors and registered office is mentioned on page 1.

3 STATEMENT THAT NO EXPENSES WERE PAID TO TRUSTEES OR CONNECTED PERSONS

No expenses were paid to trustees or persons connected with them.

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4 RAISING FUNDS

Unrestricted
Funds
2023
£
Incoming resources
Grants, contracts and donations
Donations
30,254

Charitable activities
1,661,819
Other income
34,258
Interest income
131
1,726,462
HOPSCOTCH FUND RAISING COSTS
Fund Raising staff costs
Fund Raising expenditure
Total Fund raising costs
Funds raised		 Restricted
Funds
2023
£
-
707,172
-
-
707,172		 Total
Total
Funds
Funds
2023
2022
£
£
30,254
59,915

2,368,991
2,287,295
34,258
18,150
131
2
2,433,634
2,365,362
2023
2022
£
£
23,219
38,990
1,578
-
24,797
38,990
380,699
983,714
Costs/Funds raised ratio 6.51%
3.96%

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5 ANALYSIS OF CHARITABLE EXPENDITURE

Resources expended
Staff cost
Fund raising cost
Premises and IT
Partners cost
Legal and professional
Other cost
Support cost allocation
Governance cost allocation
Support cost
Staff cost
Supplier and repairs
Consultancy
Premises and IT
Other costs
Audit fee		 Client
Service
2023
£
1,598,050
-
220
-
-
71,938
18,809
-
1,689,017
6,835
3,216
-
58,917
21,525
-
90,493		 Grant based
projects
2023
£
493,247
23,219
11,554
69,173
-
41,554
71,684
14,372
724,803
-
-
8,987
-
-
5,385
14,372		 Total
Funds
2023
£
2,091,297
23,219
11,774
69,173
-
113,492
90,493
14,372
2,413,820
6,835
3,216
8,987
58,917
21,525
5,385
104,865		 Total
Funds
2022
£
1,825,142
38,990
11,651
83,099
8,640
158,360
81,585
9,915
2,217,382
3,082
6,102
6,525
49,679
22,722
3,390
91,500

6 STAFF COSTS AND EMOLUMENTS

Gross Salaries
Employer's National Insurance
Pension Contributions		 2023
£
1,884,616
157,834
32,882
2,075,332		 2022
£
1,647,309
132,737
30,196
1,810,242
Numbers of full-time employees or full time equivalents 2023 2022
84 80

7 TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION

Neither the trustees nor any persons connected with them have received any remuneration, either in the current year or the prior year.

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8 TANGIBLE FUNCTIONAL FIXED ASSETS

Asset cost, valuation or revalued amount
At 1 April 2022
Additions
At 31 March 2023
Accumulated depreciation and impairment provisions
At 1 April 2022
Charge for the year
At 31 March 2023
Net book value
At 31 March 2023
At 31 March 2022
9
DEBTORS
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepaid expenses
Accrued income
Total
10
CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Trade creditors
Accrued expenses
Other taxes
Other Creditors
Deferred income and grants in advance		 Furniture,
fitting and
Office
equipment
Total
£
£
37,396
37,396
2,484
2,484
39,880
39,880
28,009
28,009
3,502
3,502
31,511
31,511
8,369
8,369
9,387
9,387
2023
2022
£
£
294,594
295,991
563
1,560
19,722
11,055
17,136
31,308
332,015
339,914
2023
2022
£
£
22,456
18,405
87,391
86,238
37,986
36,232
1,160
6,585
382,058
229,165
531,051
376,625		 Furniture,
fitting and
Office
equipment
Total
£
£
37,396
37,396
2,484
2,484
39,880
39,880
28,009
28,009
3,502
3,502
31,511
31,511
8,369
8,369
9,387
9,387
2023
2022
£
£
294,594
295,991
563
1,560
19,722
11,055
17,136
31,308
332,015
339,914
2023
2022
£
£
22,456
18,405
87,391
86,238
37,986
36,232
1,160
6,585
382,058
229,165
531,051
376,625

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11 ANALYSIS OF THE NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Balance as at 1st April 2022
Incoming resources
Resources expended
Net transfers between funds
Balance as at 31 March 2023
Opportunity for Success
Safety Against Violence
Health and Wellbeing
Opportunity for Success
Policy and Advocacy
Capacity to Deliver
Safety Against Violence
Total		 Unrestricted Designated
Restricted
funds
funds
funds
£
£
£
319,706
16,634
342
1,726,462
-
707,172
(1,689,017)
-
(701,584)
-
-
-
357,151
16,634
5,930
Opening
Movement
Inter fnnd
Closing
Funds
transfer
funds
£
£
£
£
342
-
342
-
5,588
5,588
342
5,588
-
5,930
Incoming
Resources
Movement
resources
Expended
£
£
£
114,701
114,701
-
348,843
348,843
-
68,805
68,805
-
3,382
3,382
-
171,441
165,853
5,588
707,172
701,584
5,588

12 FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Carrying amount of financial assets 2023 2022
£ £
Financial assets measured at amortized cost 294,594 295,991
Financial liabilities measured at amortized cost 22,456 18,405

13 OTHER INFORMATION

Hopscotch Women’s Centre is a registered charity and incorporated in England. Its registered office is: 50-52 Hampstead Road

London NW1 2PY

14 SHARE CAPITAL

The charity is incorporated under the Companies Acts and is limited by guarantee, each member having undertaken to contribute such amounts not exceeding one pound as may be required in the event of the company being wound up whilst he or she is still a member or within one year thereafter

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