2021-06-30-accounts

It was heartening to see that, in spite of the Covid pandemic, which brought many systems to a halt, the work of Crisis did not stop... having a home provides a secure base from which other problems, such as lack of confidence, unemployment and health issues, can be tackled. Claire Brady, Crisis Volunteer

Annual report 2020-21 Trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 30 June 2021

About Crisis

We are the national charity for homeless people. We help people out of homelessness and campaign for the changes needed to solve it altogether. Through our services, we support people out of homelessness for good. We do this through education, training and support with housing, employment and health. We carry out pioneering research into the causes and consequences of homelessness and campaign for the changes needed to end it for everyone, for good.

8,947

people used one or more of our services.

3

Contents

2 About Crisis

• 6 Chief Executive’s statement 8 Chair of Trustees’ statement

13 Our year

• 14 Rhyss’ story

• 22 Our Strategy: Goal 1

• 29 Our Strategy: Goal 2

• 35 Our Strategy: Goal 3

• 41 Our Strategy: Goal 4

• 47 Our Strategy: Goal 5

• 50 Tackling homelessness and health inequalities together: Crisis and Pathway

• 52 Laurie’s story

• 56 Facing Covid-19 together: Supporting great work locally

• 60 Facing Covid-19 together: Volunteering

• 63 Charlie’s story 68 How Christmas happened... differently

• 74 Laura’s story

79 Fundraising

80 Facing Covid-19 together: Our amazing supporters

• 82

• Keeping our members connected - with support from Tesco Mobile

85 Valuing people and technology, sparking innovation and sustainability

• 86

• Our people

• 88 Ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion

• 90 Inspiring enterprise and innovation

• 92 Sustainability

• 92 Harnessing data, digital and technology to end homelessness

• 97 Chris’ story 98 Thank you

103 The future

• 104 Strategic goals 1-5

• 108 Our people

• 108 Equality, diversity and inclusion

• 110 Enterprise and innovation

• 110 Data, digital and technology

• 111 Sustainability

• 111 Volunteering

• 112 Christmas

• 112 Fundraising

113 Structure, governance and management

• 114 Structure, governance and management

• 122 Financial review

• 123 Future viability consideration

• 123 Our plans for future periods

• 124 Crisis’ reserves policy

• 125 Investment management

• 127 Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

129 Accounts

• 130 Independent auditor’s report to the members of Crisis

• 133 Trustees, senior management and advisors

• 135 Consolidated statement of financial activities

• 136 Balance sheets

• 137 Consolidated statement of cash flows

• 138 Notes to financial statements

• 125 Socially responsible investment

• 126 Risk management

4 Contents

5

Chief Executive’s and Chair of Trustees’ statement

Chief Executive’s statement

Needless to say, it has been an extraordinary twelve months. We’ve spent an entire year absorbing, responding to and learning from the effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic. The deep connections between our health and a safe home have never been clearer.

almost 1,000 more than we expected. Of these people, we’ve linked 6,773 with a Crisis lead worker and helped 1,820 members end their homelessness sustainably.

The pandemic has tested and challenged us in so many ways. I’m continually amazed by the response of our members, and by the resilience, determination and commitment of our employees, volunteers, supporters and partners. During such difficult times for us all, Crisis has carried out remarkable work towards our mission of ending homelessness. The £3.2 million we gave in grants to organisations tackling homelessness amidst the pandemic in their communities helped make a huge local difference throughout Great Britain.

While many of us could not have the Christmas we hoped for, the pandemic also brought big changes to Crisis’ Christmas services. Our priority was to keep everyone – our guests, employees, and volunteers – safe, while providing the invaluable experience of a Crisis Christmas and opening the gateway to year-round support.

As the year progressed, we ensured our services were adapted to support our members. We had to protect everyone’s safety by restricting the opening of our buildings and face-to-face contact, but this didn’t stop us. We helped our members by providing our services online, on the telephone and in person when this support was clearly necessary.

So, we provided hotel accommodation, delivered food and gifts to guests in their rooms, and offered onsite health and wellbeing services. We also provided support and counseling, befriending services and entertainments online.

We learned a lot from having to adapt our Christmas services that we will take forward from now on, including the power of technology to connect people to the services they need, and the need for self-contained accommodation.

We adapted our services to ensure we could reach our members virtually. Digital connectivity enabled us to provide life-changing helped to 8,946 people,

Self-contained accommodation has been key in keeping people safe from the pandemic and has been central to our Covid-19 campaigning work. When the public health emergency began we called for radical government action to ensure everyone was protected in safe accommodation. In England Everyone In was the result. And as the winter wave of the pandemic approached, we campaigned for the continuation of Everyone In scheme to keep people safe. We supported the Welsh and Scottish Governments with the implementation of their far-reaching plans and campaigned for people facing homelessness to be a made a priority for Covid-19 vaccination.

Sadly, Everyone In provision in England is rapidly falling away. So, as we move into the autumn 2021 we’ll be stepping-up our urgent calls for the UK Government to make good its commitment to end rough sleeping in England. We will also press them to support those with the most complex needs with permanent homes through Housing First. Housing First is the most important innovation in tackling homelessness of the last few decades. The Housing First model prioritises getting people quickly into stable homes and has proven to be extremely successful.

We have been part of extraordinary efforts to support people who are experiencing homelessness this year, however, we must be clear – the job is not done. The lifting of eviction bans in some places across Great Britain and the ending of the UK-wide furlough scheme will mean more and more people pushed to the financial brink and into homelessness.

The links between health and homelessness were at the heart of our 2021 merger with Pathway – the leading homelessness healthcare charity. The pandemic has highlighted the stark health inequalities faced by people without a safe and secure home. In joining forces with Pathway, we will be able to powerfully advocate for both policy change on health and social care and much improved NHS services across Great Britain.

The energy and commitment of our incredible staff, supporters, and partners keeps us strong and focused on our belief and mission that everyone should have a safe and stable home.

The Scottish and Welsh parliamentary elections in May 2021 presented critical opportunities for us to campaign for political parties to prioritise and to nationally commit to preventing and ending homelessness. Through our efforts all main parties in Wales (Welsh Conservatives, Welsh Labour, Welsh Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru) and in Scotland (Scottish National Party, Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour) included these commitments in their manifestos. We also urged them to build on the huge strides taken by the previous Welsh and Scottish Governments to end homelessness.

Together we will end homelessness.

Jon Sparkes Chief Executive

6 Chief Executive’s and Chair of Trustees’ statement

7

Crisis annual report 2020-21

Chair of the Trustees’ statement

I was delighted to take up the position of Chair of Trustees for Crisis in September 2020. Thank you to everyone for the hugely warm welcome I received. It was fantastic to see hundreds of faces when I introduced myself to our staff on Zoom at the beginning of the year.

I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of people who are experiencing homelessness. There is no doubt in my mind that everyone should have a safe and settled place to call home and that by working together homelessness can be ended for good.

Despite these challenges we have pressed ahead with new and exciting innovations, all made possible by the generosity of our supporters and our strong fundraising performance. We’ve conducted new, groundbreaking research; we’ve achieved policy successes, especially in Scotland and Wales where Crisis goes from strength to strength; we’ve launched the Crisis Venture Studio; and we’ve pursued our work in best practice and working to end homelessness in local areas. And now that our Crisis Skylights, shops and cafes, and offices are opening up again, I am really looking forward to meeting many more Crisis members and employees. I want to hear about their work and understand how I and the rest of the Board of Trustees can support it.

Reflecting on the year we’ve been through feels like a daunting task – so much has happened and changed. Our lives at home and at work have been altered in so many ways. But Crisis’ commitment to supporting its members, our campaigning for the changes needed to end homelessness, and raising enough money to fund to our work have remained constant.

Throughout the last 12 months, I’ve been inspired by everyone I have met at Crisis, and by our dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers and supporters. This year’s restrictions have meant tough challenges, and frustrations for our Crisis team. Our shops and café employees haven’t been able to do the work they had hoped this year, and much of our face to face work with members has had to change.

Looking ahead, I’m delighted that the Crisis Board will be doing lots more to work directly with Crisis members. Making sure the voices of people with lived experience of homelessness are heard through every level of the organisation, is absolutely essential. As is working to make sure Crisis is as diverse as the people that we support. Supporting Crisis to keep developing and improving as an inclusive employer is one of my biggest priorities for the year – and I can’t wait to get involved.

As always, Crisis has an ambitious programme of work planned for the coming year. I look forward to writing this statement in 12 months’ time and looking back on the incredible things we’ve achieved together to help end homelessness.

Tristia Harrison, Chair of the Trustees

8 Chief Executive’s and Chair of Trustees’ statement

Crisis annual report 2020-21 9

Our support helped

The pandemic has been an unprecedented event which presented so many challenges but it is wonderful how everyone has been so adaptable and motivated to continue supporting our members and each other through this time. Eleanor Scarfe, Administrator, Crisis Skylight Croydon

people end their homelessness sustainably. This means we closed 39% of our cases.

Our year

This report for 2020 – 2021 highlights our progress against our 2018 – 2023 strategic goals and reviews our successes and challenges over the last financial year.

We hope it will inspire many more people to join us in ending homelessness in Great Britain for good.

Rhyss’ story Rhyss Mackay, Crisis member, Newcastle

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My Crisis coach supported me throughout and encouraged me to successfully apply for a Crisis traineeship

But when I was 18, my mum needed full-time care because of her liver cirrhosis. I went home and helped her get better. But when she started drinking again, she kicked me out.

I was quite well looked after until I was about 14; I was even a county level runner. Then my mum split with her partner. I stopped going to school because I didn’t have money for the bus. Also, I couldn’t read, write and didn’t really want to learn, so eventually school kicked me out.

I was placed in a hostel in Newcastle, but then lost all my possessions in a fire. The next hostel, where I was housed by the council, was a violent place. Instead, I started sleeping on the streets. I became seriously addicted to drugs and then shoplifted for things to sell to buy them.

Scared of being taken into care I went to Edinburgh with some money my grandmother gave me.

I went to prison for the first time in 2015 for shoplifting. On release, my living-on-thestreets, shoplifting and drug cycle re-started. Within six months I was back inside, but this time I wanted to change. I learned to read in about nine weeks and mentored other people.

I stayed in a youth hostel, lied about my age to get a cash-in-hand coffee shop job and rented the room above it. When I was 16, I finally told my boss the truth. He said how brave I was and gave me a pay rise. This was a good time in my life.

My next stop was a hostel in Newcastle for vulnerable people. I started to settle, but one of my friends there killed himself because of bullying. Devastated, I punched one of the bullies and was thrown out.

On Christmas Day, 2016 I woke in a doorway and felt like killing myself. But a Crisis at Christmas volunteer offered me a free Christmas dinner. The atmosphere at Crisis Skylight Newcastle was lovely.

Crisis helped me to get back into the hostel. I started running through a running charity. Soon I could run seven miles without stopping. I also passed my NVQ in English.

But I had another setback – back to court, then prison for hitting a security guard many months previously during my shoplifting days. I suffered psychosis and was hospitalised after I found my friend hanging dead in our cell.

When I finished my sentence, I returned to the hostel, started college two days a week and contacted Crisis for support. They helped me volunteer in the Crisis café. I also started running again.

Crisis helped me get housed by the council. I volunteered for four different charities for 16 months and won awards for volunteering.

My Crisis coach supported me throughout and encouraged me to successfully apply for a Crisis traineeship. He helped me with the application, interview techniques and even interview clothes.

A week after getting the job, I went to Downing Street with Crisis CEO, Jon Sparkes. I talked about homelessness in Newcastle and the causes. I also told my life story to MPs in Parliament.

I’ve had so many amazing experiences with Crisis – meeting supporters, fundraising, and even talking to Sainsbury’s employees about the importance of treating shoplifters as human beings. Sometimes I can’t recognise the person I’ve become.

I’m a Crisis Health Now peer coordinator; I became a dad in October 2020, and my partner and I are buying a three-bedroom house through the Right to Buy scheme.

I’m helping my mum – caring for her three hours a day. And I’m still running… marathons, half marathons and more than 100 5k races so far.

16 Rhyss’ story

17

We gave grants of

My coach worked with me to agree shared goals. Priority was ending my homelessness so I could have stability. I openly discussed my needs and my coach made me feel less isolated. Celia, Crisis Member

to local organisations tackling homelessness amidst the pandemic.

Our strategic goals 21

Our strategy: Goal 1

Ensure that the policy changes needed to end homelessness are adopted

What we said we’d do in the financial year 2020–2021

• Achieve significant changes across Great Britain in government policy on homelessness.

• Challenge the government in England to adopt better policies and build on the gains of the Everyone In scheme.

What we did

• Everyone In, the scheme launched to protect people living on the streets from Covid-19, resulted in around 37,000 people in England being helped into emergency accommodation. This included unprecedented measures to support all people sleeping rough or in precarious living situations, like sofa surfing, into emergency accommodation comprising of a single room with washing facilities, so they could self-isolate and be protected from the virus.

The UK Government’s response to the pandemic also included measures to prevent people from being evicted from their homes. Changes to Local Housing Allowance rates, also known as Housing Benefit, meant people could access the cheapest third of local private rents. Government was also an uplift in the Universal Credit standard allowance of £20 per week to help cover the cost of living as the economic impact of the pandemic hit home.

23

Crisis annual report 2020-21

• Ensured the Westminster Government gave Covid-19 vaccinations to people who are homeless. We brought together leading health and homelessness practitioners within the NHS and homelessness charities to demand access to vaccinations for people in England at dire risk of the virus. We had to fight hard to get attention for a change in policy, but were delighted when local areas were instructed to ensure people were registered with GPs and given priority access to a lifesaving vaccination.

• Rallied the homelessness sector alongside leaders in healthcare to secure government commitment and funding from Westminster Government to continue Everyone In through the pandemic winter wave.

• Ran an inquiry into Housing First via the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ending Homelessness. Housing First is one of the most important innovations in tackling homelessness of the last few decades. It is for people with a range of support needs, including mental health, substance or alcohol use, who have a history of homelessness. It’s proven to end homelessness for around 80% of people who it is targeted at. It provides somewhere permanent to live and tailored, unconditional support, so people have a much stronger chance of keeping their home and rebuilding a life away from homelessness, especially rough sleeping. Through the inquiry, we heard from leading world authorities of Housing First, including Dr Sam Tsemberis, the founder of the programme, the metro mayors of the city-region pilot areas on the impact of the scheme, and over 25 organisations delivering Housing First services across the country. More importantly, the thoughts and experiences of 65 people with first-hand experience of Housing First were collected during the APPG inquiry.

This unique evidence base was used to inform two reports: It’s like a dream come true: An inquiry into scaling up Housing First in England , which made the case for the national roll out of Housing First across England, and Voices of Housing First: Identifying the keys to success, which brought to life the testimonies of those who participated in the inquiry.

Developed a national Housing First campaign for launch when the UK Parliament returns in September 2021. We will be calling for Housing First to become an integral part of government policy in England.

Began our comprehensive research project into the problems of homelessness faced by European Economic Area (EEA) Nationals in Britain. This research forms the basis of our policy work and campaigning activity on the support needed for EEA nationals, and shows the specific barriers faced by this group. A programme of support for EEA nationals is essential to help the Government meet its commitment to end rough sleeping by 2024.

• Campaigned against new immigration rules that targeted non UK nationals sleeping rough for deportation. Over 44,500 people signed our petition and 75 organisations joined our call to the UK Government to drop these cruel plans to punish people experiencing homelessness. While we didn’t manage to prevent these rules from coming into force, public pressure played an important role in ensuring that the rules were not implemented before the Home Office provided guidance that the policy should only be used in limited circumstances.

• Gained confirmation from the Secretary of State for Housing that he supports the repeal of the Vagrancy Act (1824), something we have long campaigned

• for. The antiquated law makes it a crime just to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales. We’re working with Westminster Government and MPs and Lords in Parliament to make sure the Act is repealed and that any changes to other laws ensure people on the street can be helped rather than penalised.

• Achieved a commitment from the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the run-up to the Scottish elections in May that ending homelessness and rough sleeping would be a national priority, alongside introducing legislation to prevent homelessness. The prevention legislation commitment came after the successful completion of the Crisis-run ‘Prevention Review Group’, an independent review into how changes in law across the public sector in Scotland could stop people losing their home or from leaving prisons, hospitals or care with nowhere to live. After the election the Scottish Government also announced that they would set up a £50m Ending Homelessness Together Fund.

Nearly 45,000 people signed our petition and over 75 organisations joined our call against new immigration rules that targeted people sleeping rough for deportation

• Launched our first Wales-focused campaign – No One Left Out / Neb Heb Help – to change the law so that people do not miss out on vital homelessness support. It was based on research which revealed that three in 10 people seeking homelessness help were turned away because of local authority tests used to assess them. Before the Welsh Parliament elections in May, Crisis supporters sent an incredible 18,740 emails to Senedd candidates, in every constituency and region in Wales, as part of our No One Left Out campaign. Our campaigners called on the next Welsh Government to make sure no one is missed who is in need of homelessness support .

The Welsh Government Minister responsible for homelessness suspended some of the tests during the pandemic to ensure more people could be helped. The Minister has also indicated her preference for the abolition of legal tests that deny people housing and support, and we expect landmark progress to be made in the coming year.

The Welsh Government has committed to building 20,000 new social homes for rent. These will help ease the housing shortage for people on low incomes or those facing homelessness.

24 Our strategy: Goal 1

Crisis annual report 2020-21 25

We also…

Collaborated with the Department for Work

and Pensions (DWP) to launch a Homeless Prevention toolkit. This kit is aimed at all Jobcentre staff to better understand how to support people who are homeless or at risk to stabilise their housing situation. The toolkit is based on the experiences of what works through local pilots with Jobcentres, local authorities, our Skylight staff, and our policy and best practice teams working together in Newcastle and Birmingham to test how we integrate housing and employment support to prevent and end homelessness. We have also continued to lobby for specialist Housing and Homelessness Regional Managers, which we are calling for the Government to fund in the upcoming spending review, which has also come from the local pilot work and has the support of the Minister for Welfare Delivery, Will Quince MP.

What challenged us

Influencing Westminster Government

We are proud that players of People’s Postcode Lottery support Crisis. The charity has demonstrated courage by using its voice and leadership within the sector to put forward recommendations such as temporary accommodation, pandemic recovery and homelessness prevention.

Lisa Belletty, Health and Wellbeing Advisor, People’s Postcode Lottery

long term policy on homelessness was particularly challenging this year due to the reactive nature of the Government’s pandemic response. We decided our best approach was to powerfully raise awareness of the impact of homelessness on people’s wellbeing and health needs and to ask the Government to respond to them. Our work created a new understanding of the impact homelessness can have on people’s health and highlighted the importance of having a safe place to call home. This is something we can all relate to now more than ever before.

26 Our strategy: Goal 1

Our strategy: Goal 2 Ensure that governments in England, Scotland and Wales adopt national plans to end homelessness

What we said we’d do in the financial year 2019-2020

What we did

• Welcomed the life-changing commitments made by the Scottish Government regarding their national plan to end homelessness. These commitments are the strongest by any UK government and follow the recommendations of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group (HARSAG), chaired by Crisis CEO Jon Sparkes.

• Work with the Scottish Government to implement their action plan to end homelessness.

• Support Welsh ministers in producing a plan for ending homelessness.

• Work with the Westminster Government to help them achieve their target to end rough sleeping.

Commitments include phasing out communal night shelters, a rapid roll out of Housing First, and looking at innovative ways to reduce migrant homelessness. The Scottish Government published their revised plan to end homelessness in October 2020.

• Delivered the final report of the Homelessness Action Group to the Welsh Government in July 2020. The group was chaired by Jon Sparkes. The report proposes major reforms to the way homelessness is both prevented and tackled, and recommends a shift to a ‘rapid-rehousing’ approach where people are provided a home of their own as soon as possible. In order to prevent homelessness, the report recommends agencies across the public sector, including the NHS, care leaving, prisons and others, do much more to ensure nobody is left without somewhere to live.

• Advised the Welsh Government on

how to best support people in temporary accommodation during lockdowns to get into longer term, more stable housing. More than 5,400 people benefited and the advice featured in the government guidance that went to councils who were implementing this work. Working with other housing organisations we also advised on emergency measures to reduce evictions during lockdowns and to support people who were struggling to pay rent.

We also…

• Supported the Scottish Government’s creation of a Social Renewal Advisory Board (SRAB). The board focused on pandemic recovery and placed reducing poverty, disadvantage and advancing equality at its core. Crisis CEO Jon Sparkes was a key member of SRAB and instrumental in producing the If Not Now, When? report , which contained 20 calls to action. These included recommendations regarding the right to an adequate home and making the prevention and ending of homelessness a national priority for the next parliamentary term.

• Published a number of influential pieces of research. These included the Homelessness Monitor series, Project TILI: Modern Slavery and Homelessness, Tackling Multiple Disadvantage and Homelessness Monitor England 2020: Covid-19

What challenged us

The pandemic brought unique challenges to governments and homelessness services, first of all to provide life-saving help to people at immediate risk of the virus, but also to ‘build back better’, taking the opportunity to accelerate progress towards ending homelessness. This has been a particular challenge in England, where government policies have a mixed and sometimes contradictory nature. Many of the drivers of homelessness have remained untouched, and some have got worse. We will continue to push for the changes necessary, and to demonstrate through progress elsewhere what is possible.

30 Our strategy: Goal 2

Crisis annual report 2020-21 31

Crisis has worked tirelessly and with great passion to help people in desperate circumstances. Despite the difficulties faced during Covid they have continued to find ways to ensure that crucial support has been available and accessible. The outstanding results achieved are seen throughout the services offered, and the positive impact is no doubt immeasurable to those that benefit.

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We helped
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1,569
people find housing.
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Emma Rule, Musicians Against Homelessness founder

Our strategy: Goal 3 Demonstrate that homelessness can be ended in local areas

What we said we would do during 2020–2021

What we did

• Conducted the most comprehensive evidence review ever taken of the systems tackling homelessness in Newcastle. This review was completed in July 2021, It will help us better understand the scale and nature of homelessness within the city, the effectiveness of existing services and what can be done differently.

• Carry out a full review of homelessness in Newcastle, including the causes, impact, and the views of people experiencing it in the city.

• Start to develop a 10-year plan for ending homelessness in Newcastle.

As a local authority, Newcastle has a good reputation for its approach to preventing and tackling homelessness. There is a genuine belief that homelessness must be everyone’s business, and ending it is an ambition with strong political support. We expect that our collaborative work with Newcastle City Council, and others across the city, will help us end homelessness there within the next 10 years.

• Identify a second area to join Newcastle as a place with a long term plan to end homelessness.

• Set up and funded a Newcastle-wide Housing First service which started taking referrals in March 2021. We will fund and run the service through Crisis Skylight Newcastle for three years. We hope that Newcastle City Council will then be able to fund the service.

Over these three years we expect to help between 40 and 80 people into private and socially rented homes and get them the support they need to maintain their health, wellbeing and tenancies.

• Supported Crisis Skylight Brent in their partnership with the Berkeley Foundation that is supporting the redesigning of services tackling homelessness in the borough. Funding from the partnership has been critical during the coronavirus pandemic. It ensured the whole borough stayed connected and focused on the needs of people experiencing homelessness in Brent and prompted opportunities for more local collaboration among organisations and individuals.

The partnership also enabled muchneeded research into the health issues caused by homelessness. The research identified major problems for local people who are homeless such as accessing a GP and mental health support. Other difficulties include leaving hospital with no home to go to, and the need for funding for some services to be shared with other departments like health. These issues will be a firm focus for Crisis in Brent and our partners there in the near future.

• We launched our new Consultancy Scheme, providing professional services to ambitious local authorities wanting to improve their practice locally. Crucially this exists to end homelessness, not manage it, as until now many consultancy services have focused their offers on service improvement or training. Projects are now underway in Bournemouth Christchurch

and Poole helping to model a more housing-led approach to their service and with five councils in Wales. Both are making good progress with understanding the local context and supplying solutions that work. A longer-term piece of work with Islington Council is also about to start.

• We established our Local Authority Practice Network, which facilitates shared learning and best practice with 22 current members. Network members attend monthly practice exchange events, test and use our tools and resources, and use Crisis to sense-check their work to tackle homelessness. We expect the network to evolve over time, and to foster a productive and ambitious agenda for ending homelessness amongst the group.

We also...

• Continued to develop a UK version of the By-Name List (BNL) approach in Newcastle and Oxfordshire. BNL is a highly successful tool developed in the USA which involves establishing a comprehensive list of all people experiencing homelessness in an area. Its purpose is to ensure that each person’s homelessness situation is considered and dealt with individually and that responsibility is not shifted between different organisations.

We expect to have our version of the BNL up and running in Oxfordshire this year and contributing to ending the homelessness of people experiencing it there.

What challenged us

We had hoped to expand our place-based programmes throughout the year, but for many of the local areas we have considered, the emergency priority of the pandemic has held back progress. We have also learned many lessons from our work in Newcastle about how realistic the timelines for progress can be.

36 Our strategy: Goal 3

Crisis annual report 2020-21 37

Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, to date

My Crisis coach put me in touch with the housing team. They met with me once a week, helped me search for a house, and attended viewings with me. There were times where I could have given up, but my Crisis coach wouldn’t let me. Emma, Crisis member

people, supported by 230 local organisations, benefited from Crisis funding.

Our strategy: Goal 4 End the homelessness of more people through our direct services

What we said we would do during 2020–2021

What we did

• Provided our life-changing support to 8,946 Crisis Skylight members; this is 947 more people than we predicted in our targets for the year. And we did this despite the pandemic affecting the way we delivered our services and restrictions on opening of our buildings. To adapt, we changed the ways we contacted and supported our members.

• Help at least 2,500 people end their homelessness for good, including people who were placed in emergency accommodation during lockdown.

• Give people the help they need even more quickly. We said we would restructure our services to support this and are recruiting specialists in benefits, housing procurement, homelessness and housing law. We also planned to have a clinical psychologist at every Crisis Skylight.

• We offered activities such as outdoor walking groups; we also met some members safely and face-to-face when necessary for their wellbeing. We also asked members to choose how to contact us – online or over the phone. We provided mobile phones, tablets, laptops and data allowance to enable our members to access our services.

• Ensure our guests have a safe Christmas. We said we would offer accommodation and advice services for hundreds of people. We also said we would make sure thousands, who would otherwise face homelessness at Christmas alone, can benefit from well-being support, food, gifts and entertainment.

• Linked 6,773 (75%) of our members with a lead worker, 1,573 more than we hoped. Lead workers are a member’s main and named point of contact with Crisis. Their focus is on supporting members to end their homelessness sustainably.

• Lead workers encourage members on their journey through our services and activities and track their progress. When a member’s homelessness has ended sustainably it means they have achieved: a reliable and secure Income; good health and wellbeing; positive relationships and social networks, and secure housing.

• Supported 1,820 members to end their homelessness sustainably. Our new specialists in benefits, housing procurement, homelessness and housing law helped acieve this great success by working closely with our Crisis Skylights, lead workers and other services.

• Helped 1,569 members find safe and secure accommodation and leave temporary situations ranging from B&Bs to sofa surfing behind them. This was 80% of the target we set ourselves.

• Employed clinical psychologists in all our Crisis Skylights. Their work is focused on providing specialist psychological assessment and therapy for Skylight members; improved mental health is key in helping people end their homelessness.

• Influenced and supported homelessness initiatives locally through our Crisis Skylight Directors’ involvement in homelessness forums. Their presence and expertise mean that statutory services are increasingly open to our role in helping them achieve their strategic plans. And our hands-on approach and response to the pandemic gave local authorities and statutory services a very positive perception of Crisis.

• Made radical changes to Crisis at Christmas in response to Covid-19. When necessary we still gave safe faceto-face support, but most of our work was done online. However, we ensured our impact wasn’t diluted: 475 people who would otherwise be rough sleeping had somewhere safe to stay in hotel accommodation. We gave 597 people one-to-one advice sessions on specialist issues including housing, benefits and immigration.

• And our generous supporters ensured that we could give 2,004 people a Crisis wellbeing pack. These featured Christmas cards with supporter messages, information and advice, toiletries, phone credit, face masks, creative activities, sweet treats, socks, gloves and other clothing.

What challenged us

Many factors that prevented us helping even more people end their homelessness for good were Covid-related. The face-to-face delivery and group work usually central to our approach were not possible and our teams had to adapt quickly to address the new context. Tutors rose to the challenge – adapting group learning to Zoom calls or arranging to meet members outside when and where appropriate.

The generous support of Tesco Mobile helped us provide and distribute digital devices to our members to enable us to continue to connect with them. But this then presented a new challenge in supporting our members to use the technology and ensure they had access to data or wi-fi.

Slowly returning to increased use of our buildings continues to be challenging – we must continually monitor government guidance and adapt our work and access accordingly.

42 Our strategy: Goal 4

Crisis annual report 2020-21 43

We worked intensively with

I needed to know how to survive in case we had to leave where we were living. Crisis taught me tools of how to manage my budget and other useful information - life skills; employment skills. Babacar, Crisis Member

6,773

people this year.

Our strategy: Goal 5 End homelessness for more people who are excluded from help or who have complex needs

What we said we would do What we did during 2019–2020 •

• Recruited a lead clinical psychologist, to develop a psychologically informed environment strategy for our services. We also employed clinical psychologists in all of our Crisis Skylights.

• Focus on developing ‘psychologically informed environment’ approaches throughout our Crisis Skylights including recruiting clinical psychologist support.

They are providing:

• Launch our Housing First project in London for up to 20 members in the first phase and including some Christmas guests.

• specialist psychological assessment and therapy for Crisis Skylight members

• training, advice and consultation for colleagues

• Evaluate our projects for migrants experiencing homelessness and use our successes to try to develop similar projects elsewhere.

• expertise regarding research and evaluation of our services.

• Started our leadership of Project Tili (Train – Identify – Learn – Intelligence), funded by the Tampon Tax Fund. This initiative brings together partners from Northern Ireland, Wales and England to investigate and understand the links between modern day slavery and women who are homeless. The group published its first report in May 2021 revealing strong links as expected.

During 2021–2022 more than 400 of our client services employees will benefit from modern day slavery training. This is so they can better identify, support and refer members who may be suffering or have suffered in this horrific crime.

• Established two Housing First teams in London and one in Newcastle. Housing First is a key service for people who are often the most excluded and marginalised and have complex needs. We want to be at the forefront in demonstrating and advocating for the effectiveness of Housing First in ending homelessness across all three nations.

• Joined the #HealthNow partnership, led by Groundswell. Groundswell is a national organisation working with people with experience of homelessness. It offers opportunities to contribute to society and create solutions to homelessness.

Part of Groundswell’s work also

• includes tackling health inequalities. #HealthNow is identifying and combating health inequalities faced by people experiencing homelessness. Our co-ordinators in Birmingham and Newcastle are collaborating with local health providers to find solutions.

What challenged us

We continue to seek solutions for people who are homeless who don’t have access to public funds. Employment is often the only way forward to support these members to ensure that they have sustainable income to cover the cost of accommodation.

The pandemic has created a difficult employment market for our members, who will often seek jobs in retail, security and construction.

48 Our strategy: Goal 5

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Tackling homelessness and health inequalities together: Crisis and Pathway

Opportunities to resolve and prevent homelessness through the healthcare system are routinely missed throughout Britain. Alarmingly, from 2021-21 show that over 3,000 people were discharged from general or psychiatric

Our exciting partnership aims to…

• Increase the number of dedicated

• hospital teams working with patients who are homeless across the country. This will ensure they receive better quality care and are not discharged from hospital into homelessness.

hospitals with no homes to go to. The pandemic has also highlighted the stark health inequalities experienced by people without a safe home of their own.

• Work with the NHS and wider health and social care services to help them prevent homelessness through evidence-based programmes such as Housing First and Critical Time Intervention (CTI). These will enable people to get the support they need to leave homelessness behind for good.

To address this unacceptable situation, we have planned a unique and powerful merger with Pathway, the leading homeless health care charity. The merger took effect on 1 July 2021. Together, we will tackle the inequalities affecting people who are homeless and ensure the health care system can play its part in ending homelessness across Great Britain.

• Campaign for the changes needed to save

• lives and show how immediate access to good quality emergency accommodation positively affects people’s health.

• Conduct research and fill in knowledge gaps regarding health and homelessness. We’ll research how to improve services and narrow health inequalities, assess the impact of government policies and research and assess the solutions needed to end homelessness for good.

The merger has been approved by

both boards of trustees. Crisis and Pathway will maintain their own operations and existing identities whilst collaborating across a range of projects.

In my volunteering role, I have seen first-hand the additional hurdles faced by members trying to move out of homelessness if they have complex medical needs. By combining expertise and resources, Crisis and Pathway should be able to improve outcomes for many.

The services we each provide will continue unchanged for the time being. But in the longer-term, we expect to enrich the services we both offer by combining our expertise – for instance, Pathway teams at Crisis Skylight centres.

Lou Whittle, Crisis Housing Volunteer

Having worked together successfully for many years, this merger is an exciting opportunity for both charities to combine our expertise, resources and voices at a time when people experiencing homelessness need us more than ever.

Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive, Crisis

Pathway was founded on the belief that the NHS has a huge part to play in preventing and ending homelessness. By joining with Crisis, we will be able to do even more to support front-line NHS colleagues, build the skills and knowledge of NHS staff, and show how health, housing and care services working together is the best response to homelessness. Alex Bax, Chief Executive, Pathway

50 Tackling homelessness and health inequalities together: Crisis and Pathway

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Laurie’s story Laurie Charlesworth, volunteer, London.

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I decided to pursue my passion of helping others by volunteering. Crisis at Christmas seemed like the perfect place to start.

My first experience of homelessness was when I was about 12 and I questioned my mother about why my friends had things that I didn’t. So, she took me and my sister to help at a soup kitchen for homeless people in our area. Mum wanted to try and teach us to appreciate our lives and what we had.

I’m really good at, and like speaking to people, so I usually set myself up around the eating area and chat to guests as they have something to eat or drink.

Some Crisis at Christmas guests have really stayed in my thoughts. They include David from Manchester – I chatted with him in the Christmas centre for two years in a row but not since. When you don’t see a guest again, it can be worrying. I always wonder what has happened to someone when you don’t see them again.

I can’t remember if her plan worked, but I do remember loving the whole experience of interacting with the guests and wanted to go back again the next day.

I also often think of a very quiet guest who I had lunch with on my first year at Crisis at Christmas. Three years later, I saw him on the Docklands Light Railway in London. He was dressed up and obviously commuting to work. It shook me up in a good way to see that his life had moved on so much.

This experience stuck with me over the years and when I was about 20, I decided to pursue my passion of helping others by volunteering. Crisis at Christmas seemed like the perfect place to start

During the first lockdown, being freelance meant my work essentially stopped so I started covering shifts at a night shelter in East London when people started to isolate.

I have volunteered with Crisis for about six years – sometimes in the Christmas day centres in South London, but mostly in the centre for people with issues around substances.

Crisis also contacted me as a usual Christmas volunteer to see if I could help at some of the hotels accommodating people as part of the government’s Everyone In initiative.

I volunteered about three days a week at one of the hotels in Limehouse, East London. The work really varied. I took forms to GP surgeries to get guests registered with a local doctor, I popped out to get their phone credit topped up so they could contact loved ones. And I worked with the St Mungo’s shift leaders to check on the guests’ wellbeing and bring them food.

We gave help for the long term too. This meant helping people apply for Universal Credit – a very difficult and timeconsuming process for many. We also supported people to move into more longterm accommodation, like rented flats. Such a move means people can really start rebuilding their lives.

I noticed that when it was sunny, lockdown was easier for the guests. They could socially distance and sit outside enjoying the sunshine. Bad weather meant more questions and concerns about how long they could stay in in the hotels and what would happen. There was always the fear that they could end up back on the streets.

I felt that lockdown provided the government with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to really resolve homelessness across the country. I hoped they would extend the support provided through hotel and temporary accommodation. Such support is vital – it leads to people finding permanent accommodation and stops them returning to the streets.

We also supported people to move into more long-term accommodation, like rented flats. Such a move means they can really start rebuilding their lives.

54 Laurie’s story

55

Facing Covid-19 together: Supporting great work locally

Our supporters’ amazing generosity ensured the continuation of our grants scheme. Our grants were started last year, to support local, frontline organisations tackling homelessness and the pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 we granted more than £3.2m to over 230* organisations in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid

Crisis funding of £34,000 gave women at

risk of domestic abuse a vital lifeline.

Our grant helped create a web chat facility for Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid enabling women to ask for help easily and safely. Domestic abuse is one of the most common causes of homelessness and rough sleeping for women in the area; access to support was needed more than ever during the pandemic. Hundreds of women have used the service since its inception.

Sums from £5,000 to £105,000 were awarded to address a diverse and critical range of emergency and long-term needs. These included: stopping people going hungry; supplying workers with PPE; setting up communication links for people experiencing domestic abuse and ending the homelessness of refugees and asylum seekers.

Caring in Bristol

When Bristol’s most vulnerable people were going hungry in lockdown, local charity Caring for Bristol stepped in to help. In March 2020 they set up Cheers Drive a food service offering people experiencing homelessness a hot evening meal and breakfast and lunch packages. To support their lifesaving work we gave a £5,000 grant. Caring in Bristol also secured other funding, food donations from local suppliers, worked with local independent restaurants by offering contracts to prepare meals, and set up a volunteer driver network. When the project ends in July, they will have offered around 166,000 meals to more than 850 people living in hotels and temporary emergency accommodation.

Here are just some examples of what our grants made possible…

Home 4U, Wales

Our £68,000 grant to Cardiff-based Home 4U is enabling them to support destitute asylum seekers in finding safe homes in the area while their claims for asylum are processed. Home 4U provides asylum seekers with essentials such as food, informal advice, encouragement, and volunteer support workers. They also provide accommodation, but their options have been limited. However, the Crisis grant has opened doors to partnerships with local housing associations who will offer homes while claims are processed.

Stonepillow, West Sussex

Implementing Housing First for vulnerable people at risk of homelessness is a priority for West Sussex charity Stonepillow. A £95,228 Crisis grant is helping them achieve their long-term goal. They are setting up Housing First homes across the county for people who are coming out of hotels after lockdown and who require long-term support. The grant adds to the support from The National Lottery Community Fund ensuring that the long-term help and stable accommodation so vital for Housing First tenants can be provided.

St Petroc’s, Cornwall

St Petroc’s is a homeless charity which works across the whole of Cornwall.The pandemic brought about unprecedented demand for their services; people who had been previously rough sleeping and sofa surfing needed secure accommodation and affordable properties were hard to find. A grant of more than £40,000 from Our In This Together fund, helped St Petroc’s appoint a ‘Crisis Worker’ who helped people find caravan accommodation and kept them supported and safe.

Vineyard Compassion, Northern Ireland

Vineyard Compassion (VC), based in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, dedicated itself throughout the pandemic to giving emergency help to people who needed it most and so prevent their homelessness. Our grant of £5,000 helped them distribute food through the Causeway Food Bank to 990 people and they distributed 15.3 tonnes of food to 163 households through their social supermarket. Vineyard Compassion also offered counseling – more than 803 sessions in just six months – and debt management. Our support also helped them switch their debt centre – money management courses – online.

Positive Steps, Scotland

A Crisis grant of £47,201 helped Dundeebased Positive Steps improve the lives of their clients during lockdown. Positive Steps, which has helped more than 166,000 vulnerable people since 1989 with accommodation and other support, noted the lack of ace-toface contact was really taking its toll on their service users. Our grant funded two parttime posts for one year for their Housing Support Plus support team. The post holders regularly visited clients – around two halfday visits a week – giving all important social contact, health and wellbeing support. They also offered assistance with the practical skills needed for independent living such as opening bank accounts, organising online shopping and making appointments.

*This relates to grants issued since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 rather than this financial year. As such this does not agree with note 6

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Facing Covid-19 together: Supporting great work locally

It {the Crisis grant} allowed us to continue as close to normal as possible in the face of a dramatic loss of income.

Wirral Churches Ark Project

The generous grant from Crisis not only allowed us to send support packages immediately we received the funds, but it also gave us confidence as an organisation to continue with the emergency relief work. It became easier to ask for similar funding form other organisations once we could say that we had been supported by Crisis.

Since the start of the pandemic to date Crisis small grant of up to

Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants

This funding from Crisis has supported us to maintain, adapt and enhance our provision for vulnerable young people, women and families, ensuring consistent delivery of support with our 34 supported accommodation and refuge services in South Wales.

helped more than

Llamau

people

58 Facing Covid-19 together: Supporting great work locally

Facing Covid-19 together: Volunteering

Thousands of dedicated volunteers achieved remarkable things this year. Their adaptability, enthusiasm and commitment supported our members throughout the pandemic. They delivered food and wellbeing packages, helped run wellbeing sessions, delivered an extraordinary Crisis at Christmas and worked in our shops.

informed approaches and how they can ensure they create the right environment for support and progress.

Many of our volunteers are keen to give their time raising funds for us and so we worked throughout the year on planning and implementing volunteer fundraising groups. We expect that these groups will be a vital resource, raising money for Crisis while helping to build the understanding of how to end homelessness in local communities

What challenged us

Volunteers also encouraged our members to make the most of online opportunities for support, learning and fun. They did this by ensuring that staff could focus on delivering sessions while they provided technical support and expertise.

To support and best equip our volunteers to effectively help our members in these challenging times, we launched our Crisis Learn e-learning platform. This interactively covered subjects ranging from Data Protection to Safeguarding.

We also created our first Client Services Volunteer Advisory Panel which met for the first time in July 2021. The panel involves 11 experienced and passionate volunteer representatives from our Skylights across the UK, who meet every 6 weeks. The purpose of the panel is to inform and advise on key projects within Client Services that affect our members, using their experience as both volunteers and those who support our members to provide feedback on the policies and processes involved.

This group is developing guidance for volunteers on taking a psychologically informed approach. This guidance will help us to ensure that all volunteers working with members understand psychologically

Despite our many successes it was a difficult year for volunteering. We couldn’t run our typical volunteering activities such as classroom assistants or employment support. And many of our volunteers were not in a position to take up the virtual volunteering opportunities or activities that involved faceto-face delivery.

Our shop volunteers faced many challenges. Throughout the different stages of lockdown, they had to be ready to mobilise at short notice, with changing guidance and detailed risk assessments. All of which while still ensuring excellent customer service and that shops were a welcoming and fun environment. That there were queues outside some of our shops when they reopened is testament to the way volunteers supported and complemented our staff teams to deliver an amazing shopping experience.

Staying in touch with those volunteers who could not actively support us was difficult, but we delivered a range of virtual engagement activities. These included a Volunteers’ Wellbeing Week and Volunteers’ Week celebrations.

Charlie’s story Café from Crisis manager, and volunteer, London

60 Facing Covid-19 together: Volunteering

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We shared a special experience and we both know that our friendship will last a lifetime.

At the hotel I managed bed space, incident reporting, prescriptions and appointments. It was comforting to know I could rely on Charlotte, who thought on her feet. The work was intense, but she made every 12-hour shift we did together enjoyable, and we kept up our morale with coffee and bad jokes.

Before lockdown, I was managing Café from Crisis, our community coffee shop in Spitalfields, London. We train people in hospitality and life skills, to help them end their homelessness and secure jobs.

Working with people who are experiencing homelessness can be complex, but with a quick look, Charlotte and I could read each other’s minds. This helped us resolve situations before they escalated. Charlotte made me feel connected when the world felt disconnected and the situations we found ourselves in deepened our friendship.

But sadly Covid-19, forced Crisis to close all of our hospitality venues; keeping everyone safe had to be our top priority.

I knew one consequence of Covid-19’s economic fallout would be more

homelessness. I quickly started volunteering at one of the emergency hotels set up by charities to accommodate people who were homeless during lockdown. These included many that Crisis supports.

The hotel closed to people experiencing homelessness in August 2020 and I’m back at the café, but Charlotte comes by when restrictions allow. We shared a special experience and we both know that our friendship will last a lifetime.

I still remember the first lunch Charlotte Beckett, another volunteer, and I ran together. As we pushed a trolley of hot food around to each room, I knew instantly that we matched energetically. She’s no nonsense and gung-ho, with an attitude that gets things done.

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For the first time we provided

people somewhere safe to stay over Christmas in hotel accommodation [475] 64

It was amazing to have a bed to sleep in, people around me who were helpful and kind, and to be put in touch with other services who could help me. Crisis at Christmas guest

Crisis at Christmas 2020

How Christmas happened… differently

What we said we’d do – 2020–2021

• Ensure our guests have a safe Christmas. We said we would offer accommodation and advice services for hundreds of people. We also aimed to ensure thousands, who would otherwise face homelessness at Christmas alone, can benefit from wellbeing support, food, gifts and entertainment.

What we did

• Decided that Crisis at Christmas 2020 had to be very different from previous years. Our priority was to ensure guests, members, volunteers and staff were in Covid-safe environments with Covid-safe ways of working.

• Considered the experiences and success of our Crisis year-round services, including our Crisis Skylights, Housing First and the Christmas case management team, in adapting to Covid-19. They had already developed their remote capacities and ability offering one-to-one support and learning activities. They had also introduced safety protocols to ensure faceto-face support could be provided safely to those members who needed it.

• Agreed to distill the key essence of our Christmases past; we wanted it to shine through the pandemic. This meant our continued firm focus on practical support and companionship at a time of year when these things are in short supply for people experiencing homelessness.

Made these vital elements our priority:

• accommodation for people rough sleeping in London

• food, clothing and toiletries

• connection with others through befriending and informal support

• information, guidance and counseling

• health and wellbeing support

• entertainment, fun and gifts.

• Planned quickly and innovatively to accommodate people who would otherwise be sleeping rough. And decided that using technology to connect with and involve our guests and volunteers was key.

• Booked 500 hotel spaces in four hotels across London to provide self-contained, Covid-secure accommodation for Christmas guests. This improved on the use of hotels for accommodation during the Government’s Everyone In initiative earlier in the year.

Our GB-wide Christmas health and wellbeing offer supported

people

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Crisis annual report 2020-21

• Arranged food delivery for our guests to their rooms and offered some on-site advice and health services. We also provided smart phones and an app designed to connect them with Crisis services and entertainment.

• Distributed food, gifts, activity and welfare packs locally through all Crisis Skylights as we could not open them or any day centres in London for the Christmas period.

• Provided a befriending and advice service through a pop-up Crisis at Christmas call centre and offered many on-line activities and events.

What challenged us

Covid-19 presented us with a constantly changing scenario and unclear government guidance. So, our biggest challenge was planning for three types of Crisis at Christmas. These were: a full ‘face-to-face’ Christmas; a hybrid solution with reduced face-to-face contact; and a completely remote service with no contact.

Once we clarified our approach, the challenge was delivering a completely new service and organising the processes, training and adaptations involved within a short time frame. We were continually adapting our response into late November.

people improved their accommodation situation with our support.

70 How Christmas happened... differently

Laura’s story Laura, Crisis member, Birmingham

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I had no base, never my own bed, not a nice feeling at all. Quite heart-breaking.

I mostly sofa surfed for around a year; this made me really anxious and quite depressed. I worried a lot about what the next day would bring.

I really loved art and music when I was young and was really excited to follow my dream and study fine art at university. Sadly, I experienced mental health difficulties and didn’t get any support with them from the uni. I just tried to keep busy and go out.

A lot of people looked after me, offering a space in their house and a roof over my head. I was lucky, but it always felt so temporary. I had no base, never my own bed, not a nice feeling at all. Quite heart-breaking, I’d say.

Finally, I moved to Stafford, to a bedsit. But I was so dependent on alcohol that once, when I didn’t drink for a few hours, I had a seizure and was rushed to hospital.

When you’re 19 or 20 you can get swept away in all the fun and excitement, nightclubs and bar work and everything. Then my mum sadly passed away from cancer. She was my best friend – and I drank to cope. When I moved to another city my alcohol addiction escalated and I was in a really bad place.

One of the doctors recommended rehab. This is where I finally got support and counseling to help with my anxiety, depression and the alcoholism. The rehab team also recommended I live in a ‘dry house’ for women.

This is where I heard about Crisis – the best thing that ever happened. It was lovely to have their courses in the dry house.

I saw people’s lives change in the dry house – warmth, support and an internet connection made it possible to sort a lot of things out.

You can have a shower in the morning and go to the Job Centre, sort out Universal Credit - things you can’t do without a home.

My Crisis coaches have been incredible. They’ve understood everything about my background. Their one-to-one support is hugely amazing.

It’s now more than two and a half years since I’ve had a drink and I’m very proud of this. I’m in my own place – a lovely onebedroom flat thanks to the Bourneville Village Trust, Crisis and the dry house.

Crisis also helped pay for my moving costs and arranged a moving-in pack of furniture from the City Mission. This included a bed, mattress, cabinet and table, and also a washing machine, fridge freezer and cooker.

Crisis has also awarded me a £2,500 selfemployment grant. This is helping me work on my illustration business to design gift cards and wall art. I’ve used the money to buy materials and do courses. I would also like to have a part time job while I build up my business.

My coaches at Crisis have been absolute angels; they helped me to sort everything out and remind me ‘we’re always here for you’.

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In these tough coronavirus times, we helped

I feel that Crisis have been incredibly successful and have maintained a massive level of support throughout. Some of the fundraising initiatives have allowed staff and others to participate from their own homes!

Hannah W-Probert Smart Skills Tutor, Crisis Skylight South Wales

people find jobs.

Fundraising 79

Facing Covid-19 together: Our amazing supporters

In a year like no other, our generous and passionate supporters worked hard with us to minimise the effects of the economic downturn caused by Covid-19. Together, they ensured we could be there for people affected by homelessness.

In a time when charities expected incomes to spiral downwards, these dedicated people and organisations gave to our campaigns at record levels. Thanks to them we surpassed our 2020–2021 target by more than £4million.

Corporate supporters, Trusts and Foundations wholeheartedly demonstrated their commitment to us throughout the pandemic. They donated cash and formed partnerships with other organisations to end homelessness. They also proudly declared their support for us and ensured others knew about and supported our work.

Philanthropists gave larger than normal gifts and some very special people remembered us in their wills. Individuals, community groups and local supporters were incredibly generous and gave us an important local voice.

Supporter events have always been a mainstay of the Crisis community and lockdown didn’t stop them. People of all ages responded enthusiastically to events including Crisis Virtual Square Mile Run, Sit-up Facebook Challenge and Step Forward to End Homelessness. They joined in virtually from all around the UK.

The different ways people choose to support us increased during the year. This is so encouraging; it makes us a stronger organisation not reliant on any one income source and so helps secure our future in ending homelessness.

What challenged us

The uncertainty caused by the impact of the pandemic on our supporters and on our fundraising team was a major challenge to our efforts this year. We were all worried about different lockdown levels, the direct effects on their income, job certainty and the effects of Covid-19 on their family members and local communities.

The pandemic also radically affected the way Crisis delivered its traditional face-to-face services. So we worked closely with our service teams to make sure our supporters understood how we were using their money and were informed of any changes.

Direct and straightforward contact with our supporters is crucial, so we quickly ensured our digital approach was adapted to cope with the pandemic. Consequently, our supporters were able to communicate, donate and participate in ways that worked for them.

With our support

people started education courses outside of Crisis.

80 Facing Covid-19 together: Our amazing supporters

Keeping our members connected with support from Tesco Mobile

Our two-year partnership with Tesco Mobile ensured thousands of our members connected with critical services and people who could support them throughout the pandemic.

In 2020-21 Tesco Mobile agreed a two year partnership and provided £700,000 worth of phones, laptops, tablets and connectivity (data, minutes and texts) to Crisis members across Great Britain.

Since its inception the partnership has focused on two core objectives:

• helping more people experiencing homelessness to reconnect with

• society by providing them with devices and connectivity

Generous Tesco Mobile customers and staff also raised an additional £37,613 to help provide devices and connectivity for Crisis’ Christmas guests. This was then match-funded by Tesco Mobile, reaching a total donation of £75,227.

• educating Tesco Mobile staff and customers by building public awareness

around the importance of digital inclusion and connection for people experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness.

Digital connection has been vital in enabling our members to access Crisis services and support throughout the pandemic. Almost (91%) of our support was provided digitally over the last year. Consequently, the devices and connectivity packs provided by Tesco Mobile ensured that Crisis employees and members could continue to work together.

Crisis Skylight Newcastle has previously digitally included its members through the provision of basic mobile phones. To have a corporate-backed partnership, that enhances this provision to include smartphones and tablets with data has been invaluable.

Jamie McWilliams, Crisis Facilities Manager

Without the partnership, many Crisis members would have missed out on the virtual support services delivered by our Crisis Skylight centres. These include employment, housing and wellbeing coaching, and group learning activities.

82 Keeping our members connected with support from Tesco Mobile

Valuing people and technology, sparking innovation, and sustainability

Our people

What we said we’d do – 2020-2021

• Protect our people by continuing to focus on our organisational response to Covid-19 and the ramifications for our employees, members and volunteers.

• Increase the peer support we offer our members and ensure that we continue to increase their involvement in Crisis’ future direction.

What challenged us

Over the last year, our employees have continued to tackle many unprecedented situations. Some faced furlough, most worked at home; many had to find different ways of working and support each other in completely new ways. All this while additionally living with the uncertainty, worry and fear caused by the pandemic. Throughout these challenges, our employees’ resilience and positivity has been outstanding.

What we did

• Involved our whole organisation in making far-reaching changes to our working environment. Input from the coronavirus project team, wellbeing steering group, directorate management teams, staff networks and peer support were critical.

• Prioritised the wellbeing of colleagues when making decisions and providing support. We wanted to foster resilience, flexibility and opportunity while delivering our services, campaigning and raising funds against the Covid-19 backdrop. So, we ran training events, issued guidance, invested in staff and wellbeing events and emphasised wellbeing conversations as part of management supervision.

• Surveyed our employees and were delighted when 88% responded positively to the statement ‘I would recommend Crisis as a good place to work’. 84% also said Crisis values and promotes the wellbeing of its employees.

88% of our employees responded positively to the statement ‘I would recommend Crisis as a good place to work’.

qualifications ranging from Barista foundation with the Speciality Coffee Association to ‘Preparation for Work Experience’ were awarded to our members through our businesses

86 Our people

Ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion

What we said we’d do – What we did 2020–2021

• Listened to our employees and teams to understand how employees experience our organisation.

• Challenge institutional racism and other forms of prejudice that cause and sustain homelessness. Homelessness is more prevalent among people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, and also from other groups – including people from the LGBTQ+ community.

• Began developing our diversity and inclusion strategy and engaged an external consultant to help us achieve this. This strategy will ensure we are the best organisation that we can be in ending homelessness – an organisation where everyone can strive to do their best work and thrive.

• Increase the diversity of all staff and make our organisation a place where people who have experienced homelessness thrive.

• Secured two new roles dedicated to equality, diversity and inclusion.

• Spoke out in the media about the unacceptable link between institutional racism and homelessness.

I like that we are holding our hands up and saying we need to do more. It’s important we take ownership of it and we need to hold ourselves accountable now and ensure this happens

Steve Sylvan Progression Coach, Crisis South Yorkshire Skylight

• We also formed the Black, Asian and other Ethnicities staff equality, diversity and inclusion steering group. This group will challenge and support our work in developing as an inclusive employer.

• Approved a ground-breaking disability leave policy to ensure that our employees living with a disability do not suffer greater disadvantage because of it.

• Started scoping our research work to gain better understanding of the relationship between, racism, discrimination, poverty and their impacts on homelessness.

• Began improving the data we gather about our workforce to gain a better understanding of the experiences of our employees and teams.

• Carried out ethnicity pay gap reporting for the first time this year, alongside our gender pay gap reporting. We also took steps to ensure our opportunities are equally accessible and that we are improving representation of the communities we serve across the organisation.

• Developed a reciprocal mentoring programme to support the development of our Black, Asian and ethnic staff to increase the understanding of different experiences and cultures across the organisation. We also conducted engagement activities such as guest speakers to support a greater level of understanding throughout Crisis and to promote equality, diversity and inclusion.

What challenged us

Racism in our broader society and the distressing events that shone a spotlight on it over the last year have had a strong impact on our employees and our members. Our response has been to try to learn from our employees and members and their experiences. We have put ourselves through a powerful and sometimes uncomfortable process of scrutiny and reflection.

We are very proud of our staff and their generosity in continuing to share their experiences. This work and understanding will be vital in achieving our mission ‘together to end homelessness’.

We are very proud of our staff and their generosity in continuing to share their experiences. This work and understanding will be vital in achieving our mission ‘together to end homelessness’.

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Inspiring enterprise and innovation

What we said we’d do 2020–2021

• Establish the charity’s first Venture Studio. The Venture Studio aims to collaborate with business leaders, experts, funders, researchers, and start-ups. Its focus is innovative housing solutions, new pathways to employment, or better provision of housing, healthcare, or financial services.

• Develop innovation networks among our employees to improve the innovation potential of the charity.

• Reopen our shops in July and our cafés in September and explore new training and remote learning opportunities for our members.

What we did

• Supported partners from ‘Liberty Kitchen’ (a social enterprise working with offenders) to deliver over 2,000 meals to intensive care unit doctors and nurses at The Royal Free Hospital.

• Launched the Venture Studio from Crisis. This unique project enables Crisis members to start their own businesses and end their homelessness sustainably. It also leads on Crisis’ investments in external businesses with a product in market that have the potential to tackle the causes or consequences of homelessness. In our first year we invested in Good Giving as well as working with Lanu and Agile Homes with a view of making investments in the next financial year. We have created a network of more than 20 partners who work with us.

Ran a range of entrepreneurship

educational activities. These included a ‘Hackathon’ in collaboration with Deen Developers – a London based tech company dedicated to solving society’s problems creatively. The Hackathon, an event in which people collaboratively find solutions to problems using computer programming, resulted in 10 prototype ideas to end homelessness developed, including a co-produced ‘one-stop App’ to connect information and services for anyone experiencing homelessness.

• Awarded 44 members with Changing Lives grants ranging from £250 to £5,000 which support members to access tools and equipment, start training and pursue qualifications needed to achieve their ambitions. These grants help members to progress into education, employment or to start up small businesses in a range of industries. Members interested in starting up a business idea were introduced to Next Steps - a business education and mentoring programme we delivered in collaboration with Impact Hub King’s Cross – an organisation providing a co-working space, events, programmes and business support for social businesses and entrepreneurs in London.

• Tested new e-commerce activities across retail and furniture with presence on eBay, Vestiare, Depop and Shopify and delivered Crisis’s first Christmas e-commerce offer on the main Crisis website. We are delighted to be welcoming Crisis members and others into ‘E-commerce Retail volunteering’ positions where digital skills can be learnt and shared.

• Trained members virtually through ‘Wellbeing Wednesdays’ a collaboration with like-minded specialists in the hospitality and homelessness sectors from the House of St Barnabas, Hotel School, and Beyond Food Foundation. In the depths of lockdown, with many hospitality staff furloughed or unemployed, we connected through our screens to keep minds and bodies active and ready for reopening.

What challenged us

Our retail and hospitality teams, who normally welcome thousands of people through their doors annually, faced ongoing disruption during lockdown. However, they proved their resilience on re-opening. In Spring 2021 our shops had a record-breaking week of performance with customers queuing to access our sites.

Sadly, we closed our Oxford café in 2021 due to lack of demand and poor commercial performance.

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Sustainability

• Ensured that the paper we use is recycled and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper from sustainable sources.

What we said we’d do 2020–2021

• Commission and respond to an assessment of our environmental impact during the year.

• An independent assessment of Crisis’s environmental impact will be completed in first part of 2021-22. We will use the results to inform our first sustainability strategy including our contribution to achieving science-based targets to tackle climate change.

What we did

• Focused on how we could lessen our use of paper and reduce our carbon footprint by cutting the volume of our fundraising door drops and fundraising inserts by 20%.

What challenged us

We have not made the progress we hoped to in the year, with pandemic disruption affecting us. Sustainability is a significant priority for us going forward, and we will ensure that this also includes the impact of extreme weather on people who are homeless.

• Offset the carbon produced by the printing of our fundraising campaign material by donating to the World Land Trust, through our printer Go Inspire, to protect vulnerable forest land areas.

Harnessing data, digital and technology (DDT) to end homelessness

In 2020 Crisis evaluated it’s digital technology and its role in ending homelessness. To meet the expectations of supporters, members and staff it was recognised that there’s a need to utilise the attitudes, practices and tools of the internet-era to become even more effective at what we do and ensure every second counts towards ending homelessness.

What we did in 2020-21

• Agreed the DDT programme’s vision: To maximise the potential of digital, data and technology to end homelessness.

• Conducted an in-depth discovery phase to understand how digital, data and technology were being used at Crisis.

to secure an income is crucial.

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Chris. story Chris Cook, supporter

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Kindness unlocks things in other people, and in my experience, it’s becoming more instantaneous. Collectively we can make a difference.

Kindness unlocks things in other people, and in my experience, it’s becoming more instantaneous. Collectively we can make a difference.

There was a guy that worked for me, his marriage collapsed, and he ended up on the streets. We didn’t know what had happened to him until someone saw him asleep in a bus shelter. It brought home to me just how short that path can be, between living in a safe, secure and warm home, to literally being on the streets. It really struck a chord.

It isn’t one trigger that pushes people into homelessness. It’s a series of events, and now it feels inevitable that things will get worse before they get better. It’s good to know that organisations like Crisis, with the approach they’re taking, will make a difference to people who are homeless.

During the summer of 2020, Morrisons was donating food to local causes. I was collecting food one day and someone from work saw me coming out of the store with a big bag of pasta. She said, ’You should tell us all how we can help, and if you don’t, you’re preventing us from helping.’ So, I emailed everyone at work and got a great response.

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Thank

Aberdeen Standard, Alex and William De Winton, Anthony Furber, Argus Media Ltd, Artemis, Asda Foundation, Barbara Berry, Benjamin P Judah, Brian Watson, Calleva Foundation, Chris Ireland, City of Liverpool, Clive Meredith, Coca Cola GB, Comic Relief, Constance Travis Charitable Trust, Croydon Borough Council, Croydon Borough Council, D G Charitable Settlement, David Family Foundation, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Doris Cox, Duncan Hawthorne, Edinburgh City Council, Frances Woodcock, Francis Foy, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), GMSP Foundation, Gonzalo and María García, Groundswell, Guido Barzini, Hick Charitable Trust, Hilla Adi Bahadurji, The Hiscox Foundation, Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, Home Office, Homelessness Scotland Network, Humphrey Battcock, hush, Islamic Relief, Jennifer Pinney, Jim and Ivanka Lennon, Joan Furber, Joe and Minnie MacHale, Jonathan Pitts, Jones Lang Lasalle Limited, JTI UK, Julia and Hans Rausing, June Macgeachy, L&Q Group, Legal & General Group, Leslie Caplan,

Lifelines International Fund, Linbury Trust (Sainsbury Family), Marc and Lucie Jonas, Marguerite Richardson, Mill Charitable Trust, Molly Cooke, Monica Brett, National Lottery Community Fund Scotland, National Lottery Community Fund Wales, Neath Port Talbot Council, Oak Foundation, Papa John’s, Paul Smee, Pauline Clark, People’s Postcode Lottery, Peter and Jan Winslow, Procter & Gamble UK, PwC Foundation, QBE Foundation, Rachel Williams, Richard Waite and Jennifer Hayward, Richard West, Rob and Vanessa Perrins, Rosemary Newton, Schutz Engel Trust, SSE plc, Severn Trent Water, Shamir Dawood, Shelia Brunstrom, SKY UK, Sleepeezee, Stewart Investors, Swansea Council, Taylor Wimpey UK Ltd, Tesco Mobile, The Berkeley Foundation, The Bradley and Katherine Wickens Foundation, The Hampstead Butcher & Providore, The OSO Foundation, The Wimbledon Foundation, The Permira Foundation, Vertex, Vida Homeloans, Virgin Money Personal Financial Service LTD, Woodmansterne Publications Limited.

you

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Our performance has exceeded expectation and enabled us to plan for future effectiveness.

Sujata McNab, Director of Corporate Services, Crisis

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The future What we’ll do next – 2021– 2022

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Goal 1

• Return to our traditional campaigning on priority issues to successfully end homelessness.

From Autumn 2021 we will campaign for:

• the national introduction of Housing First to help fulfill the Westminster Government’s manifesto commitment on ending rough sleeping.

• better access to support for people who are currently homeless and born outside of the UK.

Goal 2

• Continue our vital work with the new Welsh Government to prevent and end homelessness across Wales. Crisis CEO Jon Sparkes will chair the Welsh Government’s Housing Support National Advisory Board. The board includes housing and homelessness organisations and wider public services. Jon will help advise both on the short-term actions needed coming out of the pandemic and the longer-term steps needed to end homelessness in Wales.

• Begin a long term analysis of housing supply and access to housing needed to end homelessness.

• Work with the Scottish Government to ensure that legislation focused on preventing more people from losing their homes is implemented.

• Continue to work with the new Welsh Government to prevent and end homelessness across the country.

• Support the implementation of Scottish Government’s plan to end homelessness, providing policy, best practice and research assistance.

• Begin preparations for the next general elections in Westminster, including the launch of our Home For All campaign which will present the long-term political solutions to homelessness.

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Goal 3

• Secure our next partnership locations to adopt the Plan to End Homelessness with a local authority partner working together to end homelessness for good.

• Support Crisis Skylights in their work to change and improve systems that tackle homelessness in their regions. This includes continuing to work with Crisis Skylight Brent and their partnership with the Berkeley Foundation.

Goal 4

• Continue to reshape our services, based on our research and evidence to ensure they best meet the needs of our members and end their homelessness.

• Develop Crisis at Christmas so that it is increasingly links people to our all-yearround services.

Goal 5

• Train all client services staff to ensure they can identify the signs of modern slavery.

• Embed psychologically-informed approaches to the way in which we work and support our members.

• Develop a Crisis-wide approach to support migrant homelessness and those with no access to public funds.

• Develop, over the next year, a Built For Zero approach for Great Britain. Built For Zero is inspired by the successes of Community Solutions in the USA and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. The approach involves building a national network of communities dedicated to ending homelessness in their areas. We hope to become the Built for Zero backbone organisation offering significant local and national support.

Learn from the pandemic and take forward the good practice we developed from our experience to benefit our employees and our members.

• Help at least 3,010 people end their homelessness for good.

• Transform the ways our Crisis Skylights work with people who are excluded from help or who have complex needs by creating a dedicated team for this purpose so that each person who needs intensive support will be assigned a lead worker from that skilled team.

• Scope out local opportunities to expand our key initiatives such as Housing First, and other solutions based on strong evidence.

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Our people

• Ensure Crisis is a great place to work where every person we employ can be themselves, be creative, ambitious, thrive and perform to their best ability. Achieving this aim will put us in the best possible place to deliver on our mission to end homelessness. We will make staff wellbeing paramount.

• Review and refresh our organisational values so they are a foundation for our strategic plan for 2023–2028. Our values underpin our brand which will also be audited and optimised in 2021-22.

• We want our approach to equality, diversity and inclusion to challenge the status quo .

• Involving members and learning from lived experience of homelessness must become essential to developing and delivering our mission and plans – not just something we aspire to.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

• Complete our research into the relationship between racism, discrimination, poverty and homelessness and develop our understanding of how different groups of employees experience working for Crisis. We’ll also continue working with our members to ensure that diversity and inclusion and their experiences inform our work.

• Develop a diversity and inclusion strategy and implement the action plan and training to make it happen. We want to continue our development as an inclusive employer – one recognised and accredited nationally as a good place to work.

• Strengthen our governance and leadership through improving representation across the organisation, fostering a culture and training programme that enables all employees to achieve their best work to end homelessness.

• Ensure that our services are accessible to everyone who needs us and that our brand and communications reflect the communities we serve.

• Improve our systems for collecting and maintaining data on equality, diversity and inclusion, monitor our equality, diversity and inclusion training effectiveness, and gather data on our impact.

• Ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion become part of our purchasing and contracting decisions.

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Enterprise and innovation

• Launch an Innovation Strategy for Crisis. This will aim to create an environment and processes that will fully stimulate new ideas and ways of working to end homelessness.

• Expand our retail network from nine to 13 stores and boost their appeal to Generation Z and Millennial audiences. We’ll also offer new hospitality events and products and increase what we sell online.

• Ensure that we offer our members a personalised pathway into our enterprise and innovation volunteering, training, and employment opportunities.

• Invest in three more external ventures, through the Venture Studio, in 2021–22 and grow the number of Changing Lives grants awarded across our Crisis Skylights. We’ll also test our first internal venture in market.

Data, digital and technology

• Benchmark Crisis against a digital and data maturity model to create a baseline from which to measure the programme’s progress and impact.

work within these include: replacing our supporter-facing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, collaborating with Client Services on plans to transform services and interactively improving the way that we resource and deliver digital, data and technology work at Crisis.

• Design and build a collaborative delivery model that doesn’t work in isolation but creates a hub to unite effort, energy and ideas from across the organisation to achieve impact.

• Manage communications and change around the programme proactively and thoughtfully in an effort to deliver a positive experience for our members, supporters and staff. Address the issue of extreme weather and its impact on people who are homeless, including through service provision and policy change.

• Build capacity for delivering digital, data and technology-focused work and change throughout Crisis.

• Initiate and begin to deliver across five workstreams that represent where change is most needed. Key priorities for

Sustainability

• An independent assessment of Crisis’s environmental impact will be completed in the first part of 2021-22. We will use the results to inform our first sustainability strategy including our contribution to achieving science-based targets to tackle climate change.

• Address the issue of extreme weather and its impact on people who are homeless , including through service provision and policy change.

Volunteering

• Build our strategy to ensure that across the homelessness sector all those wanting to volunteer to end homelessness are equipped with the knowledge of the most suitable opportunities in their local area.

• Expand our volunteer fundraising groups and wider community support for ending homelessness. We want to create a powerful network of volunteers who can talk on behalf of Crisis and describe how homelessness can be ended.

• Ensure our volunteers are aware of the key policy changes and campaigns required to end homelessness. We’ll also provide them with training in how best to talk about homelessness.

• Create an environment where our volunteers feel increasingly connected to Crisis. This means ensuring they feel well supported, effective, safe, recognised and able to flourish.

• Complete our new volunteering management system by Christmas 2022. This will help us improve the quality of our data and ensure that our co-ordination of volunteers will be more responsive to their and Crisis’ needs.

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Sustainability/Volunteering

Christmas

• Ensure our successes and experiences from last year’s Crisis at Christmas offer are incorporated in what we plan and offer for 2021.

• Start planning beyond 2021 for Christmas 2022. Our new Director of Services Development will lead this. Ensuring that all our Crisis at Christmas guests connect to our all-year-round services and end their homelessness for good is our ultimate aim.

Fundraising

• Increase our income so that we can help even more people leave homelessness behind.

• Improve what we offer our supporters digitally and be flexible in our communications with donors to best meet their needs.

• Build local communities dedicated to ending homelessness by supporting local volunteer groups, businesses and individuals.

• Develop strategic partnerships with more organisations, businesses and individuals whose purpose aligns with ours to make an impact on ending homelessness.

• Ensure that even more supporters feel they can get involved with our Christmas campaign.

• Continue to offer our popular virtual fundraising events but move back to offering live mass-participant events too.

Structure, Governance and Management

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Structure, governance and management

Section 172 statement – Trustees’ duty to promote the success of the charity

Structure

Crisis UK is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles. The charity has one wholly-owned subsidiary undertaking, Crisis at Christmas Limited, a trading company. The principal activities of the trading company are sponsorship and miscellaneous trading activities.

The trustees have a duty to promote the success of the charity and in doing so are required by section 172 (1) of the Companies Act 2006 to have a regard to

• The likely consequences of any decision in the long term

Trustees

• The interests of the charity’s employees

Crisis UK’s Board of Trustees comprises 12 members who meet at least six times a year to review strategy, business plans and operations. One meeting per year is for at least a full day, allowing an in-depth review of Crisis’s past performance and future direction.

• The need to foster the charity’s business relationships with suppliers, customers (in Crisis‘s case – our members) and others

• The impact of the charity s operations on the community and the environment

Trustees are appointed on a three-year term and are eligible for re-election for a second term. A trustee holds office for a maximum of six years unless the Nominations Committee recommends otherwise, and a majority of the Board of Trustees agrees. Terms of Office may be extended up to three more years if appropriate.

• The desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct

Crisis developed its current strategy with its mission and purpose that “Together we will end homelessness” with five strategic goals built on our activities as a direct service provider for thousands of people facing homelessness and our growing profile and impact as a research and policy organisation. The context for the strategic goals was, and remains, the document Everybody In: How to end homelessness in Great Britain – the plan to end homelessness developed by Crisis to mark our 50th anniversary in 2017 and published in 2018. This ground-breaking document sets out how homelessness can be ended with the necessary political will and provides the context for all our work to end homelessness. This plan was developed after wide consultation of stakeholders of members, staff, partner organisations in the wider sector. The trustees understand the importance of fostering good relationships with stakeholders.

Trustees are recruited through national recruitment campaigns, although personal recommendations are also used where specific skill sets are required. All successful candidates are selected through a rigorous interview process involving the Nominations Committee and the Chief Executive.

All new trustees take part in an induction programme designed to ensure they fully understand their roles and responsibilities, and Crisis’ objects, activities and ethos.

The results, considered by the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, show we achieve a high level of compliance with the standards set out in the Code. In a small number of areas there is scope for greater formality and regularity of reviews which will be introduced as appropriate.

Trustee sub-committees

The Board has established five committees with delegated authority for certain matters and to ensure key matters are given increased time and scrutiny.

The Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, comprising five trustees, has delegated authority for:

• ensuring the charity operates within the financial guidelines set out in current legislation, by the Charity Commission, by the charity’s governing documents and by the Board

• reviewing financial information and audit issues, and making recommendations to the Board on related matters

• considering the need for internal audit work and overseeing a programme for implementation if appropriate

• reviewing the information governance framework, data security and compliance with data protection legislation

The board disbanded the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee in May 2021 replacing this with the Finance and Investment Committee as well as the Audit, Risk and Assurance committees.

The Finance and Investment Committee, comprising a minimum of three trustees and a maximum of two co-opted members with specialist financial expertise. This committee is responsible to the board for:

• assessing and monitoring the financial performance of the charity

• overseeing the charity’s financial planning and forecasting

• determining the strategy and management of investments, ensuring appropriate reserve levels and generating appropriate returns

• overseeing all investments made by the charity through the Venture Studio

The Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee, comprising a minimum of three trustees and a maximum of two co-opted members with specialist financial expertise. This committee is responsible to the board for:

• reviewing and monitoring the effectiveness and status of the risk management framework and corporate risk register and regularly reviewing and monitor the principle corporate strategic risks

• reviewing relevant financial and performance reporting to provide assurance on the management of emerging financial and operational risks

• recommending additions and changes to key organisational policies

• Monitoring compliance with legislation and organisation policies

• recommending the appointment of auditors, their remuneration and terms of engagement

• considering reports of external auditors and any external audit plans and assessing the effectiveness of the external audit process and management responses

• considering the need for an internal audit function or other processes to be applied to provide assurance that the internal controls are functioning as intended and to monitor such work

The Client Services Governance Committee comprises three trustees and was established to:

• ensure Crisis’ services for members are delivered safely and professionally and to provide this assurance to the Board

• act as a forum for scrutiny and review of governance (including incident and safeguarding management) across Crisis Client Services

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The Remuneration Committee comprises a minimum of three trustees to whom the trustees have delegated responsibility for:

• setting the remuneration of the Chief Executive

• receiving recommendations on the remuneration of the Senior Management Team (SMT) and authorising as appropriate

• scrutinising and authorising changes to the organisation’s remuneration structure

The Nominations Committee comprises two trustees, including the Chair, and the Chief Executive, and has delegated responsibility for:

• making recommendations to the Board on the extension of a trustee’s term of office

• recruiting and recommending new trustees to the Board

Further committees of selected trustees are set up as and when required to review specific issues, to which additional specialists are coopted if appropriate.

Related parties and relationships with other organisations

Crisis at Christmas Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary, manages trading activities associated with the charity. The company gifts any surplus to Crisis.

Senior Management Team

The trustees delegate the day-to-day operations of the charity to the Senior Management Team (SMT). The SMT comprises the Chief Executive and five other members with clear lines of responsibility for specific areas of the organisation. The trustees have worked with the SMT to develop the longer-term strategic plans for the charity. Responsibility for the implementation of the plans is delegated to the SMT through agreed one-year business plans.

Remuneration policy for key management personnel

Crisis’ remuneration policy is designed to ensure the organisation continues to be a leading charity within the homelessness sector, providing high quality services for homeless people. This includes ensuring remuneration levels are sufficient both to attract high calibre staff and maintain our human resource across the organisation.

We are committed to the following principles in determining pay for all our employees.

• Be consistent, equitable and open in how employees are rewarded and recognised

• Apply the same approach to pay and reward for all employees, except where there is a clear case for differentiation

• Benchmark pay against the upper quartile of the third sector

• Take account of internal relativities as well as the external market

• Provide an overall package of rewards and recognition that is good within the charitable sector

The remuneration of members of the senior management team is determined by the Remuneration Committee which gives due consideration to the above framework.

We are also proud to have been committed to paying the minimum hourly rates recommended by the Living Wage Foundation for many years.

Staff and volunteers

Our staff and volunteers are vital to our organisation’s ongoing success. They dedicate time, skill and passion to delivering the best possible services for homeless people.

We are extremely fortunate in that we can call on the support of thousands of volunteers each year to support our services. Their contributions are invaluable to our work and help shape the unique character of our charity.

During the year, in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, we furloughed 10% of staff at peak (mostly from our Shops from Crisis team) utilising the government jobs retention scheme but ensuring that staff still received their full pay.

Policy for employment of disabled persons

We welcome applications for employment from all prospective employees regardless of disabilities. Crisis is committed to developing practices which not only meet the requirements of equalities legislation, but which promote equality of opportunity and maximise the abilities, skills and experience of all employees. This includes ensuring that employees are managed in an inclusive way, accounting for individual differences, and giving employees the confidence to disclose a disability if they wish.

If an employee discloses their disability, we discuss with them what they need to be successful in their role and seek to make adjustments to facilitate this. For example, adjustments could include training, specialist technology or equipment. In deciding what is reasonable, the practicalities and resources available to Crisis UK are considered.

We introduced disability leave policy in the year to ensure understanding of the separation of disability-related absence from sickness absence, so that time-off related to disability is not seen as ‘sickness’ ensuring that an individual’s entitlement to sick pay is not affected by absence related to their disability.

Diversity

As part of our commitment to becoming a truly inclusive organisation, Crisis has established staff diversity networks for:

• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people

• lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/ questioning + people

• people with lived experience of homelessness

• women

• disabled people

The networks:

• provide support to staff members and enable them to be their authentic and best selves;

• champion issues across the organisation;

• raise awareness of the impact of relevant legislation;

• improve the working environment for network members and accordingly all Crisis employees

• contribute to making Crisis a truly diverse organisation

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Employee information

We place great importance on ensuring employees are regularly updated and have appropriate opportunities to engage with senior management. The Chief Executive holds ‘have your say’ sessions twice a year at all Crisis locations (delivered virtually in the year), accompanied by another member of the SMT. All staff are invited to attend and contribute.

The Chief Executive also presents a monthly blog, available to all staff, where he celebrates achievements and discusses important topics including future plans, finances and the external environment. We conduct an annual staff survey; the results and proposed actions are discussed with staff (typically through the ‘have your say’ sessions mentioned above) and with the Board. The results of the survey are an important indicator of the health of the organisation. With remote working being a significant way of working since lockdown, we introduced “Tea and Talk” zoom meetings on a range of topics to disseminate information to staff as well as an opportunity for staff feedback.

Crisis has a union recognition agreement with Unite. Senior management meet with Unite representatives on a regular basis.

Public benefit statement

In accordance with the Charities Act 2006, we must confirm that the activities we undertake to achieve our objectives are all carried out for the public benefit as described by the Charity Commission.

The beneficiaries of the charity are members of the public who are in need because of homelessness and associated issues. Through our activities, we seek an end to homelessness by delivering life-changing services and campaigning for change. Crisis’ trustees have described in this report the charitable public benefit of our activities; they regularly review our progress against our aims and objectives. They confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission.

Fundraising

Whilst the pandemic has undoubtedly set new challenges and meant we had to change our plans and communication approaches, this did not detract from our supporter focus and indeed in several areas actually helped us to consider new, improved ways of engaging and supporting our supporters. At Crisis we have set out to ensure we always listen to our supporters and put them at the heart of our work. We’ve gone so far as to instigate a Supporter in the Room policy, where in every meeting across Crisis we behave as though there is a supporter present. It ensures we treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve.

In 2020 / 21 we have continued to focus on delivering our Supporter in the Room pledges, striving to deliver supporter care excellence. We have focused on making sure we understand what our supporters want and worked hard to not only meet but exceed their expectations. We will continue to work hard on this in the coming 12 months, delighting supporters at every opportunity and making sure they feel an intrinsic part of the community to end homelessness.

As well as placing supporters at the heart of our culture, we have worked closely with our partners and suppliers to ensure they display the same ethos. We dedicate time at the most senior levels of the organisation to ensure they understand who we are and how we treat our supporters. We constantly monitor the performance of our telephone agencies and provide feedback on a regular basis to ensure performance is both maintained and actively improved. The agency often acknowledges that Crisis goes the extra mile to ensure together we give supporters great experiences.

In the year to June 2021, we communicated with millions of people across GB and received 274 complaints (2020: – 76 complaints). While this number is low, this still represents people who had a bad experience and we will work to reduce this number going forward.

We have continued to monitor and update our privacy policy, constantly reviewed our communication and have launched a preference centre to allow supporters to choose what they receive from us. However, that is just part of the process. We want to go beyond compliance with regulation. We want to revisit the roots of communicating with our supporters, ensuring that every single communication a Crisis supporter receives is relevant, meaningful and inspirational.

In addition, we are committed to ensuring that no vulnerable person feels subject to unreasonable intrusion of privacy or persistent or undue pressure to donate. We have continued to work hard to comply with the Fundraising Regulator’s voluntary regulation scheme, ensure our suppliers and agents do the same, and will continue to ensure we meet the high standards we expect of ourselves, the Regulator expects of us and that our supporters rightly deserve.

Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting (SECR)

Under the Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018, Crisis is mandated to disclose our UK energy use and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As a minimum, Crisis is required to report those GHG emissions relating to natural gas, electricity and transport fuel, as well as an intensity ratio under the Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting (SECR) Regulations.

In the year 2019-20 Crisis created a baseline and will be using the data collated for that year’s report as the base year for future reporting. As and when Crisis can improve on the collection of data relating to GHG emissions, the base year will be amended to include new data.

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Scope of report:

The scope covered under this report includes:

• Permanent premises related energy use – natural gas consumption (scope 1), UK electricity (scope 2) and energy related transmission & distribution (scope 3)

• Transport – Fuel purchased for rented vehicles by Crisis (Scope 1) and private staff and volunteer mileage (Scope 3)

Quantification and reporting methodology:

Crisis has previously complied with ESOS Phase 2 and has established internal methodology for collating energy and transport usage data. In assessing which GHG emissions to report on for the purposes of SECR, Crisis has followed the 2013 (updated 2019) UK Government environmental reporting guidance and has used the 2021 UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting in the calculation of reported figures.

Energy efficiency actions and targets

Crisis has previously taken part in ESOS Phases 1 & 2, the latter of which was submitted May 2019 and will be taking part in the upcoming ESOS Phase 3. The first 2 phases identified opportunities for energy savings across the business which Crisis has implemented over the past couple of years such as the continued replacement of life-expired light fittings with new LED systems. Where appropriate these lighting systems are monitored by passive infrared sensors and energy saving software has been deployed to turn off computer devices at the end of each day.

Throughout the last year Crisis has made extensive use of digital meeting tools in the response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Crisis has established a “ways of working” group which will oversee the digital, estates, facilities and cultural changes as we emerge from the pandemic. We anticipate that through these changes, efficiencies will reduce energy use within our premises. Crisis is pleased to report that the electricity for all Crisis premises continues to be allocated to renewable energy sources.

Greenhouse gas emissions

	Element Gas consumption– at premises where Crisis holds control over metering and invoicing	2020-2021 (tCO2e) 57.43	2019-20 (tCO2e) 68.47
	(SCOPE 1) Owned Transport– for vehicles rented by Crisis for work purposes	19.04	44.09
	(SCOPE 1) UK Electricity- at premises where Crisis holds control over metering and invoicing (SCOPE 2) TOTAL (tCO2e) SCOPE 1 & 2 Transmission & Distribution of UK Electricity- at premises where Crisis holds control over metering and invoicing (SCOPE 3) Business Travel (land)– Private staf and volunteer mileage	173.74 250.21 12.77 8.26	238.27 350.83 21.83 21.61
	(SCOPE 3)
	TOTAL EMISSIONS (tCO2e)	271.24	394.27
	Intensity metric tonnes of CO2e	0.44	0.73
	per full-time employee

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Summary and next steps

Crisis has taken a considered approach over the past year as to its priorities as a charity with mission to end homelessness and has maintained existing environmental standards within its premises.

Our intensity metric shows a reduction in the tonnes CO2e per full-time employee which we mainly attribute to the reduction in occupancy of our premises and reduced business travel

Financial review

Our principal activities are providing a range of life-changing services to homeless people and campaigning on their behalf. Our annual planning and budgeting cycle aims to prioritise our delivery and development plans and allocate the financial resources

to these to ensure that they can be achieved. Our fundraising targets are set to enable us to finance our planned activities and developmental work. Any surpluses that we generate are used to build up funding for investments that we need to make in the future, in order to maximise our reach and impact.

In setting our 2020/21 budgets, we aimed to increase resourcing across all of our areas of delivery, to ensure that we could continue to provide vital support to our members, and to campaign for change across all three nations of Great Britain, as well as earmarking funding for investment in specific projects. In the light of general uncertainty relating to the Coronavirus pandemic, we were prudent in setting our fundraising targets, assuming lower fundraising growth than we had experienced in previous years. This approach meant that we budgeted for a deficit of £4.4m for the year – increasing our expenditure budget to £64.6m (2019/20 actual spend £54.0m) but decreasing our planned income to £60.2m (2019/20 actual income £63.4m).

as we have continued to maintain ‘covid-safe’ ways of working throughout the 2020-21 year.

Crisis has begun to explore further carbon foot-printing in areas not covered under the current scope in this report which will be used to refine the measure of our carbon footprint and to help set targets on our environmental impact in the years ahead.

to deliver both face-to-face and remote support for homeless people throughout the period, as well as maintaining our advocacy and fundraising activities. Difficulties in recruiting and onboarding new staff during the year meant that we had to delay some of our new development activities, in fundraising as well as other areas, which means that the expenditure relating to these has been pushed into 2021/22. These delays resulted in underspending across all of our expenditure areas, totalling £5.9m.

Our fundraising outcomes during 2020/21 were exceptional. Thanks to the generosity of both new and long-standing individual and corporate supporters, as well as funding from People’s Postcode Lottery and other partners, we managed to exceed our fundraising budget by £4.9m. Overall, our income exceeded our target by £4.8m.

The overall effect of our financial performance for the year is a surplus of £6.0m, represented by a reduction of £0.3m on our restricted reserves, and an increase of £6.3m on our unrestricted reserves, bringing our total reserves to £42.1m as at 30 June 2021. This puts us in a strong position to both fund our planned investments, and to ensure our financial viability as we operate through continuing financial uncertainty for the coming period.

Future viability consideration

As part of our planning process, we have looked ahead at the next three financial years to set out our indicative budgets over this period. Over this time, we anticipate some fundraising growth based on new strategies and activities, and we expect a steady increase in our general expenditure. We also have planned investment as designated in our reserves, in our data and digital capabilities as well as in our estate, where we have a forward plan based on the end of our current lease arrangements for both our Skylights and our offices. Taking these considerations into account, we are expecting to generate small deficits for the first two of the next three years, with a return to break even or a small surplus in year three.

We recognise that there are inherent risks around our fundraising assumptions, and that these are harder to evaluate in the current economic climate. We also recognise risks around our expenditure plans, as well as the opportunity to generate efficiencies through more effective and aligned processes and procurement activities.

As part of our assessment, we have identified a number of mitigations to our financial risks. Our strong historic financial performance, coupled with our robust internal reporting and review processes, give us confidence that our financial controls are robust and help us to proactively manage our financial position throughout the year. We have identified some specific areas where we can delay lower priority work and reallocate resources should we need to do so. Our strong reserves position, and our flexibility to manage the deployment of designated reserves, serves to mitigate any remaining financial risks over the coming period and beyond.

We have budgeted for a deficit revenue budget in 2021/22, of £1.7m. This includes the use of £1.7m of designated funds to finance the first year of our data, digital and technology transformation programme. We have assessed the risks in our assumptions relating to this budget, and for plans relating to future years.

Our plans for future periods

Our financial performance in the first three years of our strategic plan has significantly exceeded expectations. This strong performance has enabled us to plan for investments that provide for future effectiveness and sustainability, and to build our capability in and capacity in both resources and infrastructure in place to accelerate our mission to end homelessness.

While we have been prudent in our planning, which does not assume significant general growth in the near-term, we have determined some specific areas for investment in 2021/22 and beyond. These are:

• Our services, ensuring they are designed to enable us to reach those who need us more effectively, and to sustainably end more people’s homelessness

• Our enterprise and commerce, to ensure that we are diversifying and solidifying our income base for the future

The pandemic restrictions continued throughout 2020/21, for longer and with more depth than we had anticipated. We continued

122 Financial review

123

Future viability consideration/Our plans for future periods

• Our digital and data capacity and capability, to enable us to develop new tools and skills to enable us to develop new ways of working and engaging with our members, supporters, and staff, to deliver our goals more effectively. We have launched a threeyear programme at the start of 2021, for which some funding has been designated.

Our workplaces, for which we are evolving a strategy for our future ways of working, alongside developing our office facilities in London to ensure our staff have inspiring, flexible and collaborative spaces in which to work. We have set aside designated funds to help us to create these spaces.

• Our Skylights, for which we have a prioritised plan for development of buildings to provide inspiring and inclusive homes for our services, and for which some funding has been designated. In 2021/22 we are developing our Skylights in Edinburgh and Brent, and seeking to secure a permanent home for our Skylight in London. We expect to invest around £10m in a property purchase during the year.

Crisis’ reserves policy

Our reserves policy is designed to reflect the underlying risks facing us and ensure we have an appropriate level of reserves to safeguard our operations and services to homeless people.

The Board decided in the last financial year to set aside funds in designated reserves for the latter two categories to ensure that, over the medium term, we can commit to these essential initiatives. Designated reserves of £15.5million were held at June 2021 as follows:

We hold restricted funds to meet donors’ requirements. The tangible fixed asset reserve represents the net book value of tangible fixed assets in use by the charity (excluding those items which are included within restricted reserves).

	2021 as follows:
	Skylights refurbishment	£ millions 4.7
	Data and digital transformation Tangible fxed asset Total	6.2 4.6 15.5

The strong financial position in which we now find ourselves will enable us to invest in:

• infrastructure and culture as well as securing and building the financial position.

(See Note 21a in the financial statements for a movement in the year)

The trustees consider the minimum level of free reserves annually – i.e. excluding restricted and designated reserves, required to support our operations. Relevant factors include projected financial performance including cash flow requirements, the findings from our risk management processes and an assessment of risks to our income streams.

in the previous year as we have reduced some of the risk factors to some income portfolios noting the end of lockdown and some return to some semblance of normality. While the actual reserves are higher than the minimum required, our expectation is that, over the period of the strategic plan, our reserves will be in line with the required level and consider this level appropriate to mitigate against the current financial uncertainty. The requirement and underlying factors are considered annually, and the minimum reserves requirement is, therefore, expected to change over time.

Following this review, the trustees have determined that the minimum required level of free reserves is £15.2 million at 30 June 2021. The actual level of free reserves at this date was £25.4 million pounds. The minimum level of reserves required is much lower than

Investment management

Under Crisis’ investment policy, the organisation holds a balanced portfolio of investments. Funds equivalent to the lower of 10% of budgeted expenditure (excluding non-cash items, gifts in kind and expenditure for which restricted funding has already been secured) or 25% of actual free reserves may be held in common investment funds. This is subject to ensuring we have sufficient cash to operate throughout the subsequent two years.

Most of our funds continue to be held in cash or cash equivalents and the investment portfolio and its performance are scrutinised four times a year by the Finance Committee.

There was an unrealised appreciation on investment holdings of £117,000 during the year, in addition to investment distributions. Investments are held in the anticipation that the total return from the investment portfolio will prove satisfactory over a ten-year timescale.

Socially responsible investment

financial returns within an acceptable level of risk. In addition, the trustees are mindful of the non-financial considerations of selecting any fund and will select portfolios that do not hold investments that conflict with the mission of Crisis. The investment at the year-end was held in an ethical charity investment fund.

The trustees have considered the implications of using ethical and socially responsible criteria alongside financial criteria in decisions relating to fixed asset investments. For example, they have considered whether we should explicitly exclude certain business activities from our investment portfolio.

The trustees believe that the charity’s interests are best served by investing in well diversified portfolios, seeking the maximum expected

This policy is reviewed regularly by the trustees.

124 Crisis’ reserves policy

Investment management/Socially responsible investment 125

Risk management

No system of internal control can give absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss. However, we believe we have appropriate procedures and controls to adequately mitigate against risks to which we are exposed.

Systems include:

• a long-term strategic plan, annual business plan and annual budget, all of which are approved by the trustees

• regular consideration by the SMT and trustees of our financial position, variances to plan, and assessment of financial risk

• In-depth review of financial performance and risks by our Finance and Investment Committee and our Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee

• continuing development of our planning and reporting cycle, to ensure visibility of our priorities, activities and risks, and to enable us to reprioritise based on emerging issues

• scaled authority levels and segregation of duties

• Identification and active management of risks

Crisis’ approach to risk management includes the identification of risks on both ‘top down’ and ‘bottom up’ bases. This involves considering internal and external factors affecting our strategic goals and specific risks attributable to detailed operations. Identified risks are rated according to the likelihood and impact of the risk occurring. We overlay on this a review of the risks to delivery of the business plan for the current and subsequent years.

Mitigating controls have been identified and, where further action is required, deadlines and responsibilities assigned. Those activities with higher risk ratings are prioritised.

SMT reviews strategic and escalated operational risks on a monthly basis. These

risks area also routinely reviewed by the Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee, as well as specific risks and related mitigations and actions being reviewed by the other committees of the Board. The strategic risk assessment is reviewed annually by the board of trustees, who also receive updates on risks and risk management through our regular management information reporting, which is a standing agenda item.

The most significant risks facing Crisis for the year ahead have been identified as

• a second wave of coronavirus resulting in a more stringent lockdown- mitigations include utilizing lessons learnt from the first wave as well as reviewing the service delivery model

• an economic downturn impacting our supporter’s propensity to give especially at Christmas – mitigations include ensuring that our campaigns are digitally focused with more variable costs as well as utilizing our reserves to fund a short-term shortfall in income.

• Inability to deliver the Crisis at Christmas project at a scale that supports large numbers of guests – work is already underway in redesigning Crisis Christmas for lockdown and/ or social distancing scenarios.

A key element of our control framework is comprehensive reporting of incidents, accidents and near-misses. This reporting includes any safeguarding or information governance breaches that occur. These are considered by the appropriate governance committees. They also consider the decisions of whether any such occurrences should be reported to a regulatory body. Crisis maintains a strong culture of reporting of incidents etc. across our work. During the year, xx incidents occurred which were reported to a regulator

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees (who are also directors of Crisis UK for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees’ annual report including the strategic report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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 auditors are 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 auditors are aware of that information

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

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.

• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently

• Members of Crisis guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 each to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The trustees are members of the charity, but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

• 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

Auditors

• Sayer Vincent LLP were re-appointed as the charitable company’s auditors during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

• Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation

The trustees’ annual report, which includes the strategic report, has been approved by the trustees on 30 September 2021

and signed on their behalf by

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper 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 group and hence

Tristia Harrison

Chair of Trustees

126 Risk management

127

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

Accounts

128 Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Crisis UK

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.

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Crisis UK (the ‘parent charitable company’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year ended 30 June 2021 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 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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.

In our opinion, the financial statements:

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 Crisis UK’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.

• Give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent charitable company’s affairs as at 30 June 2021 and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended

• Have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulations 6 and 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulation 2006 (as amended)

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

Other Information

• Have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulations 6 and 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulation 2006 (as amended)’

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report, including the strategic 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.

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

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, including the strategic report, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements

• The trustees’ annual report, including the strategic 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, including the strategic report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• Adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent charitable company, 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.

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.

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 as auditor under section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and under the

130 Independent auditor’s report to the members of Crisis UK

131

Crisis annual report 2020-21

Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with regulations made under 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.

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, and the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, which included obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation, concerning the group’s policies and procedures relating to:

• Identifying, evaluating, and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of noncompliance;

• 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 noncompliance 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 group operates in, focusing on those laws and regulations that had a material effect on the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the group from our professional and sector experience.

• We communicated applicable laws and regulations throughout the audit team and remained alert to any indications of noncompliance throughout the audit.

• We reviewed any reports made to regulators.

• 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 noncompliance. 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.

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.

Joanna Pittman (Senior statutory auditor)

Use of our report

2 February 2022

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 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. 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

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

Trustees, senior management and advisers

Patron

Trustees

Terrie Alafat, CBE ^~ Martin Cheeseman, CBE *# Victoria Fox #

HRH Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy, KG, GCVO

Vice Presidents

Ann Gee # Julia Goldsworthy Rob Perrins Geetha Rabindrakumar * Damien Régent * Tamsin Stirling # Alison Wallace Robert Weston *

Lord Alton of Liverpool

The Most Rev. and the Rt Hon. Justin Welby, the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury The Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster David Gilmour CBE

Chair of trustees

Steven Holliday ^ ~ (resigned 25th September 2020) Tristia Harrison ^ ~ (appointed 30th July 2020)

• member of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee

^ member of the Nomination Committee

~ member of the Remuneration Committee # member of the Client Services Governance Committee

132 Independent auditor’s report to the members of Crisis UK.

133

Crisis annual report 2020-21

Company Secretary

Marie Morrissey (resigned 28th May 2021) Sujata McNab (appointed 28th May 2021)

Senior management team

Jon Sparkes Chief Executive Matt Downie, MBE Director of Policy and External Affairs

Sarah Farquhar Director of Organisational Development

Sujata McNab Director of Corporate Services (appointed 5th January 2021)

David Warren

Interim Director of Corporate Services (resigned 31st December 2020)

Richard Lee

Director of Fundraising Rebecca Pritchard Director of Services (resigned 31st January 2021)

Grant Campbell Interim Director of Services (appointed 26th January 2021)

Bankers

The Royal Bank of Scotland London Drummonds 49 Charring Cross Admiralty Arch London SW1A 2DX

Senior Statutory Auditor

Joanna Pittman

Auditors

Sayer Vincent LLP Invicta House 108-114 Golden Lane London EC1Y 0TL

Address of charity and registered office

Crisis UK

66 Commercial Street London E1 6LT Telephone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail] Website: www.crisis.org.uk

Company registration no: 4024938 Charity registration no: England and Wales 1082947; Scotland SC040094

Consolidated statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 30 June 2021

Note Income from: Donations and legacies 2 Charitable activities 3 Other trading activities 4 Investments Other Total income Expenditure on: Charitable activities Christmas Campaigning and infuencing Education,employment, health & wellbeing Housing Volunteering Social enterprise Raising funds 5 Retail Total expenditure	2021 2020 Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 51,237 2,674 53,911 49,870 2,640 52,510 156 5,175 5,331 410 6,539 6,949 5,121 126 5,247 3,378 380 3,758 59 - 59 166 - 166 64 19 83 31 5 36
	56,637 7,994 64,631 53,855 9,564 63,419
	2,095 629 2,724 930 1,392 2,322 3,117 115 3,232 2,704 291 2,995 16,155 6,591 22,746 14,213 6,675 20,888 5,191 924 6,115 4,635 1,180 5,815 384 - 384 263 - 263 914 - 914 973 4 977
	27,856 8,259 36,115 23,718 9,542 33,260 19,913 77 19,990 18,134 40 18,174 2,643 - 2,643 2,566 - 2,566
	50,412 8,336 58,748 44,418 9,582 54,000

134 Trustees, senior management and advisers

135

Crisis annual report 2020-21

Net income / (expenditure) before net gains on investments 7 Net gains on investments 14 Net income / (expenditure) for the year and net movement in funds 7 Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	6,225 (342) 5,883 9,437 (18) 9,419 117 - 117 33 - 33
	6,342 (342) 6,000 9,470 (18) 9,452 34,594 1,530 36,124 25,124 1,548 26,672
	40,936 1,188 42,124 34,594 1,530 36,124

Funds: 21a Restricted income funds Unrestricted income funds: Designated funds General funds Total unrestricted funds Total funds	1,188 1,530 1,188 1,530 15,472 16,113 15,472 16,113 25,464 18,481 25,464 18,481
	40,936 34,594 40,936 34,594
	42,124 36,124 42,124 36,124

Approved by the trustees on 30th September 2021 and signed on their behalf by

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 21a to the financial statements.

Balance sheets

As at 30 June 2021 Company Reg No. 4024938

Note Fixed assets: Intangible assets 12 Tangible assets 13 Investments 14 Current assets: Stock Debtors 17 Short term deposits Cash at bank and in hand Liabilities: Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 18 Total net assets	The group The charity 2021 2020 2021 2020 £000 £000 £000 £000 321 520 321 520 5,019 4,865 5,019 4,865 1,088 889 1,088 889
	6,428 6,274 6,428 6,274 4 4 4 4 4,278 3,801 4,278 3,815 12,001 12,001 12,001 12,001 22,427 18,321 22,412 18,294
	38,710 34,127 38,695 34,114 (3,014) (4,277) (2,999) (4,264)
	42,124 36,124 42,124 36,124

Tristia Harrison Chair of Trustees

Damien Régent Trustee

Consolidated statement of cash flows

For the year ended 30 June 2021

Note Cash fows from operating activities 22 Net cash provided by operating activities Cash fows from investing activities: Dividends, interest and rents from investments Purchase of fxed assets Purchase of investments Short term deposits Net cash used in investing activities Change in the year Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year	2021 2020 £000 £000 £000 £000 5,019 10,096 59 166 (889) (1,343) (82) - (4,401) (912) (5,578) 4,107 4,518 18,320 13,802 22427 18320	2021 2020 £000 £000 £000 £000 5,019 10,096 59 166 (889) (1,343) (82) - (4,401) (912) (5,578) 4,107 4,518 18,320 13,802 22427 18320
		4,107 4,518 18,320 13,802
		22427 18320

136 Accounts

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Crisis annual report 2020-21

Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 30 June 2021

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.

1 Accounting policies

a) Statutory information

Crisis is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office address (and principal place of business) is 66 Commercial St., London, E1 6LT.

c) Public benefit entity

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

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.

d) Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern. As indicate din the trustees report, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity will be able to continue operating , meeting its liabilities as they fall due and expect the charity will continue its existence for the next 12 months.

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

e) Income

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

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

Income from government 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

Key judgements that the charitable company has made which have a significant effect on the accounts include reviewing and carrying out a risk analysis of the factors affecting the charity’s ability to continue to fundraise income.

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.

Lottery income: Crisis received proceeds of lotteries held by People’s Postcode Lottery (PPL). Crisis has no ability to alter the price of tickets, determine the prizes or reduce the management fee. As such, PPL is treated as acting as the principal. Net proceeds due to Crisis UK are recognised under lottery income in the statement of financial activities. The analysis of the proceeds is detailed in note 5. where lotteries are run by Crisis , the proceeds from these are reported gross of any prize monies or other expenditure.

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

f) 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 and note 9 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.

g) 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.

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. Crisis acts as a custodian of these funds and consequently they are not available for general use.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes. These funds can be used at trustees’ discretion in furtherance of the charity’s objectives.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use for each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements

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 charitable company in inducing third parties to make voluntary contributions to it, as well as the cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose.

• Retail costs includes expenditure related to operating our Shop from Crisis charity shops.

• Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of delivery services for our clients 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.

138 Notes to the financial statements

139

Crisis annual report 2020-21

j) Grants payable

Grants payable are made to third parties in furtherance of the charity’s objects. Single or multi-year grants are accounted for when either the recipient has a reasonable expectation that they will receive a grant and the trustees have agreed to pay the grant without condition, or the recipient has a reasonable expectation that they will receive a grant and that any condition attaching to the grant is outside of the control of the charity.

Provisions for grants are made when the intention to make a grant has been communicated to the recipient but there is uncertainty about either the timing of the grant or the amount of grant payable.

k) Allocation of support costs

Resources expended are allocated to the particular activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. However, the cost of overall direction and administration of each activity, comprising the salary and overhead costs of the central function, is apportioned on the following basis which are an estimate, based on staff time, of the amount attributable to each activity.

Where information about the aims, objectives and projects of the charity is provided to potential beneficiaries, the costs associated with this publicity are allocated to charitable expenditure.

Support and governance costs are re-allocated to each of the activities on the following basis which is an estimate, based on staff time, of the amount attributable to each activity.

	Basis of allocation
Management	Time spent
	and headcount
Finance & Information	Headcount
Governance
Data & Technology	Headcount
Facilities	Floor space and
	headcount
HR, Learning	Headcount
& Development
Organisational	Headcount
Development
New Developments	Headcount

Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity. These costs are associated with constitutional and statutory requirements and include any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities.

l) Operating leases

Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

m) Tangible fixed assets

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £5,000. 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:

• Office equipment, plant and machinery and vehicles – 4 years

• Improvements to freehold land and buildings – 10 years

n) Intangible fixed assets

Intangible fixed assets are stated at cost, net of amortisation and any provision for impairment. Amortisation is calculated to write off the cost of intangible fixed assets by equal annual installments over their expected useful lives which is expected to be 4 years. Previously, intangible assets ( mostly software development costs) has been classed as tangible assets.

Amortisation is not charged on assets in the course of construction until they are complete and in use. Intangible fixed assets costing £5,000 or more and where it is probable they will create future economic benefit are capitalised.

o) Listed investments

Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted market price. Any change in fair value will be recognised in the statement of financial activities. Investment gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, are combined and shown in the heading “Net gains/(losses) on investments” in the statement of financial activities. The charity does not acquire put options, derivatives or other complex financial instruments.

Investments in subsidiaries are at cost.

q) Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. In general, cost is determined on a first in first out basis and includes transport and handling costs. Net realisable value is the price at which stocks can be sold in the normal course of business after allowing for the costs of realisation. Provision is made where necessary for obsolete, slow moving and defective stocks. Donated items of stock, held for distribution or resale, are recognised at fair value which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay for the items on the open market.

r) 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.

s) Cash and cash equivalents

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. Balances with maturity greater than three months are included as short term deposits.

t) 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.

u) Financial instruments

With the exception of the listed investments described above, 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.

v) Pensions

Crisis operates a defined contribution group personal pension scheme for employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity. The annual contributions payable by the charity are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities.

• Leasehold improvements – In line with the lease term

• Freehold land and buildings – 50 years

140 Notes to the financial statements

141

Crisis annual report 2020-21

2 Income from donations and legacies

Individuals Legacies Trust Corporates Community Groups Statutory Donated services and facilities	Unrestricted £000 Restricted £000 2021 Total £000 Unrestricted £000 Restricted £000 2020 Total £000 43,674 2,346 46,020 43,580 2,473 46,053 1,972 72 2,044 1,617 - 1,617 1,042 - 1,042 1,131 - 1,131 2,522 100 2,622 1,748 - 1,748 1,356 83 1,439 1,405 123 1,528 671 - 671 389 - 389 - 73 73 - 44 44 51,237 2,674 53,911 49,870 2,640 52,510

The charity has been notified of legacies with an estimated value of £682,000 (2020: £760,000) which have not been recognised as income at 30 June 2021 because no confirmation of impending distribution or notification of estate accounts being finalised has been received.

3 Income from charitable activities

Christmas Campaigning and infuencing Education, health and wellbeing Housing Employment Social Enterprise Total income from charitable activities	Unrestricted £000 Restricted £000 2021 Total £000 Unrestricted £000 Restricted £000 2020 Total £000 - 839 839 - 1,314 1,314 - 50 50 8 143 151 113 3,528 3,642 180 3,982 4,162 - 714 714 - 1,021 1,021 - 40 40 - 75 75 43 4 47 222 4 226 156 5,175 5,332 410 6,539 6,949

4 Income from other trading activities

Events Rental Retail Lottery / Rafe Commercial trading operations	Unrestricted £000 Restricted £000 2021 Total £000 Unrestricted £000 Restricted £000 2020 Total £000 736 126 862 525 380 905 64 - 64 69 - 69 1,901 - 1,901 1,966 - 1,966 2,214 - 2,214 736 - 736 206 - 206 82 - 82 5,121 126 5,247 3,378 380 3,758

Where lotteries are run by Crisis and it acts as the principal, the proceeds are recorded as gross of prizes and other expenditure. In the case of Crisis UK lotteries managed by People’s Postcode Lottery (PPL), Crisis has no ability to alter the ticket price, prizes, nor management charges and therefore does not act as the principal for these draws. Proceeds have therefore been recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities as net of prizes and other expenditure. All net income raised from ticket proceeds is wholly spent in the pursuit of the aims of the charity.

PPL ticket proceeds PPL prize fund PPL management fund PPL prize indemnity insurance PPL net income Other Crisis lotteries	Unrestricted £000 Restricted £000 2021 Total £000 Unrestricted £000 Restricted £000 2020 Total £000 6,264 - 6,264 2,009 - 2,009 (2,506) - (2,506) (804) - (804) (1,754) - (1,754) (563) - (563) - - - - - - 2,004 - 2,004 642 - 642 209 - 209 93 - 93 2,213 - 2,213 735 - 735

Income from charitable activities includes gifts in kind and donated services of £459,000 (2020: £783,000). Grants received from Government and Government related bodies to support the charity’s activities in the year were £2,246,000 (2020: £2,436,000).

142 Accounts

Crisis annual report 2020-21 143

5 Analysis of expenditure

Christmas Campaigning and infuencing Education, health and wellbeing Housing Volunteering Social enterprise Cost of raising funds Retail costs Support costs Total expenditure 2021 Total expenditure 2020	Grants payable (Note 6) Staf costs (Note 8) Other direct costs Gifts in kind and donated services Allocation of support and governance costs 2021 Total 2020 Total £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
	- 738 1,680 85 221 2,724 2,322 - 1,319 1,316 - 597 3,232 2,995 534 13,039 3,960 298 4,915 22,746 19,690 948 3,294 791 - 1,082 6,115 7,013 - 218 99 - 67 384 263 - 503 238 - 173 914 977 - 3,557 14,820 77 1,536 19,990 18,174 - 1,225 1,218 - 200 2,643 2,566 1,482 23,893 24,122 460 8,791 58,748 54,000 - 6,310 2,481 - (8,791) - -
	1,482 30,203 26,603 460 - 58,748 54,000
	3,714 24,925 24,578 783 - - 54,000

Of the total expenditure, £50,412,000 was unrestricted (2020: £44,421,000) and £8,336,000 was restricted (2020: £9,579,000).

Management Finance & information governance Data & Technology Facilities People services and Learning & development New developments Innovation, Enterprise & Innovation Organisational development Internal communications	2021 2020 £000 £000 448 339 964 813 3,639 2,293 723 488 1,796 1,531 588 525 191 257 284 186 156 -
	8,791 6,432

6 Grant making

Crisis Changing Lives Tackling Multiple Disadvantage Programme Tackling homelessness for women survivors of modern day slavery European union settlement scheme In this together Innovation grant programme Home for All Other	Grants to institutions Grants to individuals 2021 2020 £000 £000 £000 £000 - 65 65 91 - - - 64 347 - 347 394 95 - 95 485 - - - 1,847 - - - 736 794 - 794 - 181 - 181 97
	1,416 65 1,482 3,714

Crisis Changing Lives is a grants programme providing financial awards to people who are or have been homeless so that they may achieve their vocational goals, fulfill their potential and become independent. Grant applications can be made by individuals who are supported by a coach working at a Crisis Skylight centre to access training, buy tools for work or set up a business where a robust business plan is presented. Grants were made to 49 members with an average grant of £1,333.*

Tackling Multiple Disadvantage was a project partnership targeting some of the most socially and economically excluded people in east, north and west London giving them skills, confidence and motivation to engage with the labour market and make an active contribution to the economy and society as a whole. The average grant was £nil (2020: £32,240). This programme was part of the Community Fund ‘s Building Better Opportunities programme, funded by the European Social fund. The programme was completed in March 2020.

Tackling homelessness for women survivors of modern day slavery is a project funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport through the Tampon tax fund. The project aims include enabling homelessness charities to identify, protect and support female victims of modern day slavery as well as developing the national understanding of homelessness and modern day slavery affecting women through development of a national database. This will ensure women affected by homelessness and modern day slavery are supported and protected to break out of the cycle of exploitation and destitution. Crisis, alongside its partners on the project, will develop a new model of supported housing for women who have experience of homelessness and modern slavery. Grants were made to two organisations with an average grant of £173,458 (2020:£196,810)

Crisis is leading a pan-London partnership project funded by the Home Office to deliver a coordinated approach supporting vulnerable and at-risk EU citizens to make EU Settlement Scheme applications. The partnership is formed of expert organisations working with EU citizens across the homelessness and migration sectors in 12 London boroughs. Grants were paid to 7 organisations with an average grant of £13,537 (2020: £60,631).

The project works with people who are currently homeless, at risk of being homeless or who have been homeless in the last two years – including victims of domestic abuse, modern slavery and/or trafficking through some of the partners’ specialist projects. The partnership offers multiple access points – at day centre services, referrals from commissioned rough sleeping services across London, and referrals from other agencies working in the homelessness and migration sectors. Crisis received £117,000 from the Home office and this was fully expended in the financial year.

144 Accounts

Crisis annual report 2020-21 145

In this Together - As a direct response to the Coronavirus pandemic, Crisis launched the “In this together” grant programme to support local homelessness organisations across the United Kingdom to respond to the emergency. The aim of the grant programme was to support local homelessness organisations who were at the most acute end of the response to coronavirus, so that they could carry on helping people who are homeless and particularly at risk from the virus. Larger Awards were also given for longer projects which built on the immediate work and sustained some of the changes that were needed to be able to provide services within the ongoing context of the pandemic. No grant awards were made in the financial year.

Innovation programme - Crisis believes some of the practical solutions to achieve ending homelessness lie within local organisations hence we are supporting new initiatives especially for the hard to reach and vulnerable groups around the themes of homelessness prevention, rapid rehousing, welfare and employability as well as migrant homelessness. No awards were made in the year as we decided to award multi year awards in the previous financial year to six organisations with an average grant award of £122,717.

Crisis launched the “home for all” grant programme to help organisations transition to a housing led approach. This grant programme encouraged organisations to transition out of the emergency response into one which provided homes for people along with the support to sustain them. Grant awards were made to 12 organisations with an average grant award of £66,168, across Scotland, Wales and England. These 2-year grants will help establish what works in adopting a housing led approach to ending homelessness.

*Full details of our grant programme are available on our website.

7 Net income for the year

This is stated after charging / (crediting):

This is stated after charging / (crediting):
	2021	2020
	£000	£000
Depreciation	931	838
Loss or proft on disposal of fxed assets	-	(12)
Operating lease rentals:
Property	2,690	2,119
Auditors’ remuneration (excluding VAT):
Audit	24	19
Other services	3	3

8 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 Pension costs	2021 2020 £000 £000 24,950 20,865 210 44 2,693 2,126 2,350 1,890
	30,203 24,925

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) during the year between:

£60,000 - £69,999 £70,000 - £79,999 £80,000 - £89,999 £90,000 - £99,999 £120,000 - £129,999 £130,000 - £139,999	2021 2020 No. No. 17 7 5 2 1 2 3 2 - 1 1 -
	27 14

The total employee benefits including pension contributions of the key management personnel were £698,000 (2002: £673,300). The key management personnel is the senior management team listed on page 134.

The charity trustees were not paid nor received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year £nil (2020: £nil). No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity £nil (2020: £nil).

Trustees’ expense represent the payment of travel and subsistence costs totalling £ nil (2020: £299) relating to attendance at meetings of the trustees. The numbers of trustees incurring expenses during the year was nil (2020:1).

146 Accounts

Crisis annual report 2020-21 147

9 Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was as follows:

11 Taxation

The company is registered as a charity and is entitled to the exemptions under the Corporation Tax Act 2011.

Corporation tax charge at 19 % (2020: 19%) for Crisis at Christmas Limited is £ nil(2020: £nil).

Charitable activities Fundraising and trading Support services Volunteer Contribution: Crisis is extremely fortunate to receive the generous support of our volunteers. Average number of volunteers	2021 2020 No. No. 494 466 122 103 98 75
	714 644
	2021 2020 No.* No.
	2,106 13,856

*Due to the pandemic many of our usual face to face activities run by volunteers could not take place and the fall in numbers reflects this.

10 Related party transactions

Terrie Alafat, a trustee of Crisis, is Chair of Trustees at Hestia Housing and Support who are a partner of the Tackling homelessness for women survivors of modern day slavery project funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Grants of £425,561 ( 2020: £330,781) were paid to Hestia under this project during the year.

12 Intangible fixed assets

Cost At the start of the year Additions in year Disposals in year At the end of the year Depreciation At the start of the year Charge for the year Eliminated on disposal At the end of the year Net book value At the end of the year At the start of the year	Intangible £000 1,158 30 (47)
	1,141
	638 229 (47)
	820
	321
	520

Tamsin Stirling, a trustee of Crisis, is a trustee of Bevan Foundation to whom Crisis paid an annual subscription of £330 (2020: £318)

Rob Perrins, a trustee of Crisis, is Chairman/trustee of The Berkeley Foundation. Crisis received grants of £437,286 (2020: £383,948) from The Berkeley Foundation. Rob is also Managing Director of Berkeley Group from which Crisis received donations of £3,011 (2020: nil)

Geetha Rabindrakumar, a trustee of Crisis, was an employee of Cardborad citizens until June 2021. Cardboard Citizens provide workshop services to Crisis and Crisis paid £6,660 (2020: £4,440) for this.

Victoria Fox, a trustee of Crisis, is an employee of Cyrenians Scotland who are a partner of the Private Rented Sector Test and Learn Pilot funded by the Scottish Government. £17,609 (2020:nil) was due to Crisis under this programme

148 Accounts

149

Crisis annual report 2020-21

13 Tangible fixed assets

The group and charity Cost At the start of the year Additions in year Disposals in year At the end of the year Depreciation At the start of the year Charge for the year Eliminated on disposal At the end of the year Net book value At the end of the year At the start of the year	Motor Vehicles Freehold property Leasehold improvements Ofce equipment Total £000 £000 £000 £000 - 2,385 6,389 628 9,402 21 15 822 - 858 - - - (7) (7)
	21 2,400 7,211 621 10,253
	- 1,301 2,818 418 4,537 3 58 563 78 702 - - - (7) (7)
	3 1,359 3,381 489 5,232 18 1,039 3,830 132 5,019
	- 1,085 3,570 210 4,865

All of the above assets are used for charitable purposes.

14 Investments

The group and charity

Fair value at the start of the year Additions in the year Net gain / (loss) on change in fair value Investments comprise: UK Common investment funds WeareGoodGiving Ltd	2021 2020 £000 £000 889 856 82 - 117 33
	1,088 889
	2021 2020 £000 £000 1,006 889 82 -
	1,088 889

At the year end, the value of fixed asset investments held in a common investment fund amounted to £1,007,000 (2020: £889,000). The fund at 30th June 2021 was invested in UK and foreign equities (78%), infrastructure and property (12%) , cash and near cash (5%). The historical cost of this investment was £569,000.

The charity took at 20% equity stake in Wearegoodgiving Ltd alongside other four charities ( RNIB, RSPCA, Barnados, WaterAid). This multi charity start up will focus on growing payroll market. This investment has been reflected at cost as no trading has commenced at 30th June 2021.

The value of the land on the freehold property cannot be determined hence the whole cost of the freehold property is depreciated over fifty years.

The freehold land and building in Newcastle was purchased using a grant from the Department for Communities and Local Government (via the Council of the City of Newcastle Upon Tyne). A 15 years legal charge was placed on the building in August 2006. At 30 June 2021, the legal charge on the building was £260,000 (2020: £520,000

150 Accounts

151

Crisis annual report 2020-21

15 Subsidiary undertaking

The charitable company had a wholly owned subsidiary, Crisis at Christmas Limited, a company limited by guarantee and incorporated in England. 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. Crisis at Christmas Limited does not have a tax liability and available profits are gift aided to the charitable company. A summary of the results of the subsidiary is shown below:

Turnover Cost of sales Gross proft Administrative expenses Management charge due to parent undertaking Proft / (loss) for the fnancial year The aggregate of the assets, liabilities and funds was: Assets Liabilities Funds	2021 2020 £000 £000 206 82 - -
	206 82 (2) (3) (15) (21)
	189 58
	15 26 (15) (26)
	- -

16 Parent charity

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

	2021	2020
	£000	£000
Gross income	64,748	63,452
Result for the year	6,000	9,452

17 Debtors

Income tax (gift aid) recoverable Sundry debtors Prepayments and accrued income Amounts due from subsidiary undertakings	Group Charity Group 2020 2021 2020 £000 £000 £000 £000 1,375 282 1,375 282 773 481 773 483 2,130 3,038 2,130 3,038 - - - 12
	4,278 3,801 4,278 3,815

18 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Trade creditors Taxation and social security Other creditors Accruals Accruals for Grants Payable	Group Charity 2021 2020 2021 2020 £000 £000 £000 £000 648 1,124 636 1,111 743 584 740 584 267 882 267 882 1,356 692 1,356 692 - 995 - 995
	3,014 4,277 2,999 4,264

19 Pension scheme

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable by the charity to the fund and amounted to £2,350,000 (2020: £1,890,000).

152 Accounts

Crisis annual report 2020-21 153

20a Analysis of group net assets between funds

Tangible fxed assets Intangible fxed assets Fixed asset Investment Current assets Current and long term liabilities Net assets at the end of the year	General unrestricted Designated funds Restricted funds Total funds £000 £000 £000 £000 - 4,250 769 5,019 - 321 - 321 1,088 - - 1,088 27,390 10,901 419 38,710 (3,014) - - (3,014)
	25,464 15,472 1,188 42,124

20b Analysis of group net assets between funds (prior year)

Tangible fxed assets Intangible fxed assets Fixed asset Investment Current assets Current and long term liabilities Long term liabilities Net assets at the end of the year	General unrestricted Designated funds Restricted funds Total funds £000 £000 £000 £000 - 4,073 792 4,865 520 520 889 - - 889 21,869 11,520 738 34,127 (3,868) - - (3,868) (409) - - (409)
	18,481 16,113 1,530 36,124

21a Movements in funds

		Incoming	Outgoing
	At the start of	resources	resources		At the end of
	the year	& gains	& losses	Transfers	the year
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Restricted funds:
Cost of generating funds	-	77	(77)	-	-
Crisis at Christmas	-	629	(629)	-	-
Education, health and wellbeing
Crisis Skylight Newcastle (capital)	792	-	(22)	-	770
London Crisis Skylight (revenue)	-	1,827	(1,827)	-	-
Big Lottery Fund – ESF Building	76	-	(76)	-	-
Better Opportunities
Learning Zone	161	-	(161)	-	-
The National Lottery Community	71	120	(96)	-	95
Fund- Edinburgh Skylight
The National Lottery Community	-	115	(61)	-	54
Fund- South Wales Skylight
Client Services	-	423	(355)	-	68
Skylight Newcastle	39	135	(131)	-	43
Skylight Birmingham	53	336	(329)	-	60
Skylight Oxford	-	304	(304)	-	-
Skylight Edinburgh	-	397	(397)	-	-
Skylight Merseyside	-	291	(278)	-	14
Skylight South Yorkshire	41	17	(58)	-	-
Skylight Coventry & Warwickshire	42	101	(143)	-	-
Skylight Croydon	-	200	(200)	-	-
Skylight Brent	8	1,000	(1,008)	-	-
Skylight South Wales	-	266	(266)	-	-
European union settlement	13	117	(130)	-	-
scheme
Tackling homelessness for women	-	473	(473)	-	-
survivors of modern day slavery
Tackling inactivity and economic	10	-	(6)	-	4
disadvantage programme (Sport
England)
Roots out of homelessness	17	70	(87)	-	-
(Islamic relief)
Skylight Café (revenue)	-	4	(4)	-	-
Employment opportunities	-	78	(78)	-	-
Data & Digital transformation	-	100	(100)	-	-
Venture Studio	-	63	-	-	63

154 Accounts

Crisis annual report 2020-21 155

Campaigning and Influencing

Policy and Campaign Communications(Comic Relief) Housing Housing (Homelessness Reduction Act) Other Housing Total restricted funds Unrestricted funds: Designated funds: Skylights refurbishment Digital income development Supporter engagement Technology and major systems Data & Digital transformation Fixed asset reserve Total designated funds General funds Non-charitable trading funds Total unrestricted funds Pension fund Total funds	- 2 (2) - - 63 50 (113) - - 144 - (126) - 18 - 798 (798) -
	1,530 7,993 (8,335) - 1,188
	5,300 - - (619) 4,681 700 - - (700) - 1,575 - - (1,575) - 3,945 - - (3,945) - - - - 6,220 6,220 4,593 - - (22) 4,570
	16,113 - - (641) 15,472 18,481 56,754 (50,412) 641 25,464 - - - - -
	34,594 56,754 (50,412) - 40,936
	- - - - -
	36,124 64,747 (58,747) - 42,124

21b Movements in funds (prior year)

		Incoming	Outgoing
	At the start of	resources	resources		At the end of
	the year	& gains	& losses	Transfers	the year
	£0	£000	£000	£000	£000
Restricted funds:
Cost of generating funds	-	40	(40)	-	-
Crisis at Christmas	-	1,392	(1,392)	-	-
Education, health and wellbeing
Crisis Skylight Newcastle (capital)	814	-	(22)	-	792
London Crisis Skylight (revenue)	-	2,133	(2,133)	-	-
The National Lottery Community	43	398	(365)		76
Fund- ESF Building Better
Opportunities
Learning Zone	161	401	(401)	-	161
The National Lottery Community	-	77	(77)	-	-
Fund – Merseyside Skylight
The National Lottery Community	-	120	(49)	-	71
Fund – Edinburgh Skylight
The National Lottery Community	-	29	(29)	-	-
Fund – South Wales Skylight
Client Services	-	23	(23)	-	-
Skylight Newcastle	-	187	(148)	-	39
Skylight Birmingham	-	210	(157)	-	53
Skylight Oxford	-	323	(323)	-	-
Skylight Edinburgh	-	442	(442)	-	-
Skylight Merseyside	-	15	(15)	-	-
Skylight South Yorkshire	41	152	(152)	-	41
Skylight Coventry & Warwickshire	42	103	(103)	-	42
Skylight Croydon	-	197	(197)	-	-
Skylight Brent	9	718	(719)	-	8
Skylight South Wales	-	38	(38)	-	-
European union	-	598	(585)	-	13
settlement scheme
Tackling homelessness for	-	518	(518)	-	-
women survivors of modern
day slavery
Tackling inactivity and	13	1	(4)	-	10
economic disadvantage
programme (Sport England)
Roots out of homelessness	53	40	(76)	-	17
(Islamic relief)

156 Accounts

157

Crisis annual report 2020-21

Arts Council National Lottery Project Campaigning and Infuencing Research Policy Centre for homelessness impact Communications (Comic Relief) Housing Housing First Other Housing Skylight Café Skylight Café (revenue) Employment opportunities HR Total restricted funds Unrestricted funds: Designated funds: Skylights refurbishment Digital income development Supporter engagement Technology and major systems Tangible fxed asset reserve Total designated funds General funds Total unrestricted funds Total funds	- 14 (14) - - - 33 (33) - - - 10 (10) - - 211 - (211) - - - 100 (37) - 63 - 125 211 (192) - 144 32 956 (988) - - - 4 (4) - - - 75 (75) - - - 6 (6) - -
	1,544 9,564 (9,578) - 1,530
	3,000 - - 2,300 5,300 700 - - - 700 2,100 - - (525) 1,575 2,300 - - 1,645 3,945 4,078 - - 515 4,593
	12,178 - - 3,935 16,113
	12,950 53,888 (44,422) (3,935) 18,481 25,128 53,888 (44,422) - 34,594
	26,672 63,452 (54,000) - 36,124

Purposes of restricted funds

Crisis Skylight Newcastle (capital) : In previous years the Department for Communities and Local Government (via Newcastle City Council) agreed to fund the capital costs of the development of a Skylight Centre in Newcastle to provide further activities and facilities for homeless people. Costs are now being depreciated in accordance with the depreciation policy. A legal charge was placed on the building (Note 13) hence the continuing restriction.

The National Lottery Community Fund – ESF Building Better Opportunities : The Tackling Multiple Disadvantage project is funded by European Social Fund to support homeless people with complex or multiple needs into training or employment in London. Homeless people with needs relating to mental health, substance misuse or a history of offending can now access free, personalised support to improve their skills, resilience and job prospects. The TMD partnership of Crisis, Thames Reach, St Mungo’s and Mind in the City, Hackney & Waltham Forest will engage and support 600 people by the end of 2019.

Learning Zone : The Learning Zone within Skylight London provides educational opportunities for Crisis members and funds were received restricted for this purpose and the funds have been spent according to funder requirement.

The National Lottery Community Fund Skylight funds : The Big Lottery funds costs within various Crisis Skylights. The balances at the year-end represent unspent funds to be expended in the following year.

Other Skylight funds : These funds are specific funds received towards areas of our work within our Skylights; the balance carried forward represents unspent funds at the year-end to be expended in the following year.

Other Housing : The Oak Foundation agreed to fund our work on the Housing Reduction Act. The project commenced in February 2018 and the balance represents unspent funds at the year end.

Roots out of homelessness : The Islamic relief funds the project with an aim of improving the financial security and welfare of homeless and vulnerable housed people in East London. The balance at the year represents unspent funds to be expended in the following.

Tackling inactivity and economic disadvantage programme : Sports England fund this programme aiming to support inactive people from lower socio economic groups to fit activity into their lives.

Venture Studio : This fund is for third party investments in start ups in which Crisis will provide investment, support the ventures to end homelessness. The balance at the year represents unspent funds to be expended in the following.

Purposes of designated funds

Skylights refurbishment : This reserve has been designated by the trustees to be used for the refurbishment of Skylights as some of our Skylights move into new premises or undergo significant reconfiguration work to enable us to provide a better service for our members.

The digital income development fund and the technology and systems fund have been transferred into a single fund - the data and digital transformation fund.

Data and digital transformation : This reserve has been designated by the trustees, recognising the need to invest in core systems to ensure that we continue to deliver excellent services to our members and supporters. This fund will enable us to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our operations, reflecting the significant growth in the charity over recent years, as well as increasing volume and complexity of demands on our services. We have developed a data and digital strategy, and now in the process of developing systems of which the new ways of working as a result of the pandemic will mean an acceleration of some of this work.

Tangible fixed asset reserve : This reserve represents the net book value of tangible fixed assets (excluding those items which are included within restricted reserve) in continuing use by the charity which are not by the nature of tangible fixed assets , readily available for use for other purposes.

158 Accounts

159

Crisis annual report 2020-21

22 Reconciliation of net income / (expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities

Net income / (expenditure) for the reporting period (as per the statement of fnancial activities) Depreciation charges (Gains) / losses on investments Dividends, interest and rent from investments (Proft) / loss on the disposal of fxed assets (Increase) / decrease in debtors Increase / (decrease) in creditors Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities	2021 2020 £000 £000 6,000 9,452 931 838 (117) (33) (59) (166) - 12 (477) (1,610) (1,259) 1,603
	5,019 10,096

25 Financial commitments

At the balance sheet date, the group had committed to £600,000 (2020: £2,000,000) towards the refurbishment of new skylight premises.

The group had committed to invest £125,000 in start up ventures as part of the Venture Studio in start ups with solutions of ending homelessness.

26 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.

27 Post balance sheet events

The charity Pathway London (charity No 1138741) merged by group structure on 1st July 2021 with Crisis UK. Pathway is a subsidiary of Crisis, and Crisis is the sole member of Pathway. The charities have retained separate boards of trustees, although one Crisis trustee has joined the Pathway board.

The charity purchased a building adjacent to the current headquarters for £10.1m to convert the building into an inspiring London skylight centre.

23 Analysis of cash and cash equivalents At 30 June 2021

Cash at bank and in hand Short term deposit Total cash and cash equivalents	At 1 July 2020 Cash fows At 30 June 2021 £000 £000 £000 18,321 4,106 22,427 12,001 - 12,001
	30,322 4,106 34,428

24 Operating lease commitments

The group’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	Property 2021 2020 £000 £000 2,690 2,119 6,417 4,959 6,460 3,306
	15,567 10,384

160 Accounts

Crisis annual report 2020-21 161

We have been part of extraordinary efforts to support people who are experiencing homelessness this year, however, we must be clear – the job is not done.

Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive

Crisis Head Office

66 Commercial Street London E1 6LT Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] [e-mail] www.crisis.org.uk

Copyright Crisis 2021

Crisis UK (trading as Crisis). Registered Charity Numbers: E&W1082947, SC040094. Company Number: 4024938. CRI144