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Avital safety net for anyonewho needs in East fre H **e** ,rts independent, impartial advice. Annual Report 2023-2024 ## A message from our Chief Executive Officer, Maxine Bromyard **----- Start of picture text -----**
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“Whatever the problem, no matter how big or small, we are here to help our clients find~- a way forward. ## Annual Report 2023-202 ## Key Achievements ## Contact Centres After the success of our Contact Centres in Bishop’s Stortford and Hertford Sele, we opened new Contact Centres in Buntingford and Ware. All our Contact Centres are open for two hours each week and provide a triage service for the digitally excluded and those with extra support needs or who are in crisis. We have helped 642 people via our Contact Centres this year, many of whom wouldn't have been able to access our advice any other way. ## New Endeavours We were successful in bidding for a National Citizens Advice grant which fundeda full-time paid telephone adviser. They helped around 12 clients a day with a range of issues and helped us increase our capacity to help more local people resolve their problems. We also gained funding for a paid adviser to work one day per week in the Bishop's Stortford Food Bank supporting their clients. The aim of the project is to help people get to the root of their problems, often with debt, housing and work issues, so they are more resilient financially after working with us. Community partnerships are very important to us and our Community Engagement Lead worked with Community Alliance BEH to trial a ‘Community Bus’ which enabled us to take our advice direct to rural and harder to reach areas in East Herts. It was an important learning experience for us, and one we hope to build on next year. We secured funding from Herts County Council for a Rural Issues Project, building links to Village Halls and delivering financial inclusion workshops. These tackled lack of knowledge and confidence, financial hardship and digital exclusion, and aimed to reach those at risk of being excluded from involvement in society, including the elderly and socially isolated, particularly in rural areas with poor transport. **----- Start of picture text -----**
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## Annual Report 2023-202 ## Key Achievements ## New Endeavours We redesigned the Citizens Advice East Herts website with accessibility and ease of use for those seeking advice front and centre. At Citizens Advice East Herts, we want to empower people to help themselves and many people have told us that our new website had all the information they needed to resolve their problem. Our thanks to Katy Holden and WeCreateBetter for their work on this successful project. ## Challenges We vacated our offices in South Street in December 2022 to save money and because the building was no longer fit for purpose. Consequently, and unexpectedly, we became liable for dilapidations from Herts County Council which will affect our reserves moving into next year. While we have met our fundraising target for this year, we were unsuccessful in several funding bids which would have resolved this issue. As such, we enter the next financial year with a large fundraising target and the need to reduce some aspects of our work. However, we are working hard on finding ways to give advice within our income and to keep our capacity high, for example we are applying to double our paid advisers’ project. Our Mission is to Meet Clients’ Needs - Now and in the Future and we will continue to do everything we can to support anyone who lives and/or works in East Herts with free, independent and impartial advice when they need it. **----- Start of picture text -----**
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## Annual Report 2023-202 22: Our Impact in 2023-2024 +r **----- Start of picture text -----**
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: : : : : 5,798 unique clients - this total is up 32% oY ;
Hees OM the previous year. Disabled clients, or those with long-term ihaee
vit: | | health issues - 42%. gree!
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Annual Report 2023-202
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## We benefit everyone: Our value is shared across society Citizens Advice East Herts provides a substantial return on investment (ROI) for those who kindly fund our work. Our advice benefits the people we help, their families, the local community, local businesses, local government and the healthcare system. We use the Citizens Advice Treasury-approved model to demonstrate our financial impact: ## Our value to society in 2023/24 For every £1 invested in Citizens Advice East Herts we generate at least: **----- Start of picture text -----**
in fiscal benefits in public value in benefits to
Saving to government Wider economic and individuals
Reduction in health social benefits Value to our clients
service demand, local Improvements in « Income gained through
authority homelessness participation and benefits, debts written
services and out-of- productivity for clients off and consumer
work benefits for clients and volunteers. problems resolved.
and volunteers.
£5.38 Total: £2.4 million E 32.82 Total: £14.8 million £1 3.97 Total: £6.3 million
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## Bs Annual Report 2023-202 ## Client Quotes **----- Start of picture text -----**
“|= sawtfa .lady eeat Bishop’sie = ei Pane “| would just like‘ to say the
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was amazing: patient, i was kind and caring of my
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listener and 1 fantastic with her help. I'm
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Seven in ten clients told us their problem was solved following our advice. Three in four clients said they could not have solved their problem without us. **----- Start of picture text -----**
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## Annual Report 2023-202 Donors and Supporters (east Seite Sarah Hopewell, Executive Member for Heese ellbeing We ; eo “CAEH is invaluable to East Herts residents. While the district is are very fortunate to receive funding from several sources: relatively affluent, the need for Citizens Advice is very real and nareal reaching into rural areas is so important. Without CAEH, many . ak ete would face significant challenges, including homelessness. * Thiers There really is no other service like it. * FoundationsSiaariat . . , , and Town Councils (East Councillor Simon Marlow, also an NHS Social Prescriber, + Other charitable givers Hers spoke on behalf of the East Herts Primary Care Networks er “Citizens Advice East Herts, is one of our most vital resources. We are grateful to everyone who supports our work with a We signpost and refer to them on a daily basis for all manner financial and in-kind contributions and want to thank you all bd oa eo ms cae aa es ach individuals and for enabling us to provide our free, confidential and impartial SRRINES 16 SNGCEPUISIOF CHSIS:IS PNCEIESS: advice service to everyoneba who needs it in East Herts. Jonathan Hunt, Shepherds of Hertford Sar “We are delighted to support Citizens Advice East Herts which Thank you to everyone who gave to us this year. A few of our donors have told us why they support our work... does such such incredible and essential work. Somewhere for Sar “We are delighted to support Citizens Advice East Herts which does such such incredible and essential work. Somewhere for people to turn, for input and sound advice; often when no other options exist. THANK YOU.” **----- Start of picture text -----**
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; 5 i AW Mayor of Ware, Thomas Day chose Citizens Advice East Herts as his Charity of the Year 2023/4
. ¥ iil= "3 , | “Citizens Advice East Herts works tirelessly,y, both in-person and remotely,y to assist residents in Ware and across East Herts with thé
b | bo I | problems that are impacting their lives. | know | speak on behalf of my fellow councillors when | say we are excited to be providing
ay te Fey | HB <4 our support to this fantastic charity over the coming year.”
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Annual Report 2023-202 ## Donors - Thank You! — ail Brazier Trust, Bill McDonald, BSFB & Bishops Stortford i **o** un eo Buntingford Town Council: “Your service is oeAY Foodbank = ae valued and appreciated.” co “All through Covid and the cost-of-living crisis, we've been able = i to help people who've been in food poverty. However, we ° worry that unless we deal with the causes that bring a person ny, term.into foodThat'spoverty, why we're any helpreally wepleased give themto be willableonlyto bebe short-working . @ = Hertford Town Council FoodBank with Citizens Advice East Herts to provide an adviser Serer “So good to see the amount of money being specifically to help food bank clients. It’s much better to help — saved for clients who really need this support. the person get out of poverty than simply giving them food to REGIE TCIATOROREAL The need for Citizens Advice East Herts is greater help them cope.” now than it ever has been” ## Henry Smith Th “It's great to see that despite financial challenges, Citizens »? eae Smith Advice East Herts has achieved significant successes. Hertfordshire Herts Community Fund Charity Increasing service delivery by 16%, opening new contact Community "Citizens Advice East Herts plays an important centres, and raising 50% of your fundraising target are ee role in providing resilience to our community.” impressive outcomes. Your team’s proactive response to challenges, including streamlining training and expanding service access, is commendable.” Rotary poe Amwell Rotary — Hertford Rotary Club ioe: “We provide a grant to support the valuable help Rotary ZS | Clubof_ **=** “We learned of the innovative ways they deliver their services, of Amwell “= and advice your group continues to provide in wee | Hertford Shires the extent of their services and their dependency on our local area.” voluntary funding.” citizens advice ey Annual Report 2023-202 Report 2023-202 2023-202 ## Annual Report 2023-202 Report 2023-202 2023-202 ## Donors & Supporters Thanks also to our generous Parish and Town Councils listed below who have supported Citizens Advice East Herts with donations. As a local charity, it is fantastic to have your support. We hope our work makes your communities stronger and more resilient. - » Buntingford Town Council * Sawbridgeworth Town Council * Ware Town Council * Albury Parish Council * Bayford Parish Council * Bengeo Parish Council * Benington Parish Council * Broxted Parish Council * Buckland & Chipping Parish Council * Little Berkhamsted Parish Council * Much Hadham Parish Council * Stanstead St Margarets Parish Council * Stanstead Abbots Parish Council * Thorley Parish Council * Thundridge Parish Council % NESHGR Gt Sie Fareed **----- Start of picture text -----**
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We have been fortunate to receive donations both for our core work and projects from the following funders: - Amwell Rotary * Inner wheel wheel Club of Hertford Hertford - * Asda Foundation * Inner Wheel Wheel Club of Ware Ware * Bishops Stortford Foodbank ¢ Macs Hart Trust Trust * Brazier Trust + National Citizens Advice * Breathe HR adviser grant) grant) F ‘ati * Postcode Places Trust - * Chantry Community Association » Shanly Foundation Foundation * East Herts Council + Shepherds of Hertford Hertford * Flengaiet ERGAS * The National Lottery (Reaching - Gilfrere Fund conaraunttiog ° Groundworks UK » The National Lottery (Awards for * Haileybury School All) * Henry Smith Foundation . — , * Hertfordshire Community Foundation . oe ial sieemaiate oe ial sieemaiate ial sieemaiate sieemaiate * Hertfordshire County Council = * Hertford Rotary * Ware Charities - Hertford Tangent * As well as numerous well as numerous as numerous numerous » Jonathan Hunt from individuals We would also like to thank the following businesses for their pro-bono work for us. - Inner wheel wheel Club of Hertford Hertford - * Inner Wheel Wheel Club of Ware Ware ¢ Macs Hart Trust Trust + National Citizens Advice (phone adviser grant) grant) - * Postcode Places Trust » Shanly Foundation Foundation + Shepherds of Hertford Hertford * The National Lottery (Reaching conaraunttiog - » The National Lottery (Awards for All) - . — , . oe ial sieemaiate oe ial sieemaiate ial sieemaiate sieemaiate = - * Ware Charities * As well as numerous well as numerous as numerous numerous donations from individuals - Agility Life Sciences - * hnemedia + JJD Media - Mishcon de Reya - * Tees Law « We Create Better ## Annual Report 2023-202 citlzens advlce East Herts. East Herts Citizens, Advice Service (A charitable company limited by guarantee) FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31st March 2024 Registered Charity No." 1083211 Company No: 3982216 *ADINUXPU* 2411212024 COMPANIES HOUSE A72 #101 Easl Herts Crtizen5 Advice SeNice Financial Slalemenls Legal and administrative information Forlhe yearended 3181 March 2024 Truslees and Direclors: Tony MuLrphy James Dowson Gary Cansick Elaine Conno Richard Smilh Ballu Sesay ChiDstine Gillham Bany Hunt Rachael Williamsorn Jane Sartin Nicola Anderson Nalalie Ethvarfs Secretary Treasurer Rasigned 241h July 2023 Appoii?led 26th Januaiy 2024 Appoinled 301h January 2024 Appoinled 26th 4pn'l 2024 Secreftary: James Dowson Registeted Office.. The Manor House High Streel, Bunlingford Hertfordshire SG99AB Bankers: Barclays Bank PIC 10 North Streel Bishops Stortfoid Hetfft)rdshi• CM23 2LH 4r)dependenft Examiners,. Monlague Accounls Poachers Cottage Brewers Lane Badsey Evesham WR117FU East Herts Citizens Adv￿￿ Senfice Financtal Statements Contents of the Financial Statements st for the year ended 31 March 2024 Page Trustees, Report 3108 Independent Examinerfs Report Stalement of Financial AclivitÈes 10 Balance Sheet Statemenl of CaslT, Flows 12 Notes to the Financial Statements 13to24 East Herts Cilizens A,&vice se￿ICe Trustee5' Report Forlhe yeaf ended 31￿ March 2tr24 Trustees, Report The T￿￿slee5 are plea￿d lo submit their anrlual report and financial stslemenls for the year ended 31 March 2024 for the East Herts Citizens Advice SeNice. rele￿[ed to in these statements as Cilizens Adyice Easl HertS. The Directors act as Twstees for Cilizens Advice East He￿, and are ￿ele￿ed to as such throughoul tthis report. Legal and admir4istrative inforlroialiorn set out on page 1 forms a part of this report. The financial sftalemenls comply wilh current staftthory requirements, filemorandum and Articles of Association and the Slatemenl of Recommended Piaclice - Accounttiig and Reporting ffor Charities (effective January 2019). l. Objects and policv The obiect5 of fthe Se￿}08 are to ensure thaft Indlvidualls (lo not suffer Ihrough a lack of knowledge: of their righls and respDnsibJJllies; or of the seN,ioe avai]able lo them: or through an inabHity to express their needs effeclNely,' and, equally, to exercgse a Iresponsible inffluence on Ihe development of social policies and services. both locally li n ,each of ils outlels, regioroally and nationally. The Truslees confi(m that they have referred lo the guidance conlained the Charllty Commission's general guidance on pi ublSc benefft when reviewing Ihe Servlce's aims and obieclives aNI in planning futur,e activilies and setbng policy for the year. In particula￿, th8 Tnjstees ¢onsideT how planned aclivhies will con115t￿te to Ihe aims and owtives they have seL 2. Organisation A Board adm￿nISIerS the chaiity and meets as requlred to ful￿11 its duties. a mlnimum of four times a year. The Board has esftabyished fthree sul>committees: Finance, Rlsk and Staffing and Pers￿ne1. SulKommittee meelings lake pjace regularfy and tthese are supplemenled wllh additional workiing gwoups as required. with Ihe Chieff Execulive (or another senio managei) in attendance. There are fvTlher Ineetings be￿een Y￿USteeS and lihe Senior Leadership Team as required lo cover day-ltrday matters of finance and stRtegy. 3. How our activities deliver public benefit Oui main aclivities artrd who we lry to help ale descnbed below. All our chaiitable acttwities focus on pmvidlng the adv1￿ Ihat people in our local comimunily need f,or the problems they face and lo omptove Ihe policies and practices thatt affecl people's lives. We are a,n Sndependenl charfty tthat wDvides ffee. confidential and Impartial advice to everybody Tegardless of ra￿. gender. (lisabjlily. sexual orienlation. nalionality. re',ligion or age. In all aspecls of Its work. the service recognises Ihe positive value of diversily, promotes equality chaJThetDges discr4rninalion. All oui activilies are undertaken lo further our charitable Fxurposes IDr the pullic benefat. 4. Review of actlvlties and developments About us Ciftizens Advll￿ East Herts provides free, conf￿en11a1, non-jLfjdgemental and impartia advi￿. We are a member of the Cillzens Advice nelwork and an independent. trusted and well-known locaty chardty. East Herts is a large, semi-Nral districl wilh Ilmfled Iiansport links East Herts Ciilzens Advice Servirx Tntstees. Report Forthe yearended 31$1 2024 across the (egion, and partial dp3Ètal connectivity with some a￿aS ttot coveted. so ensu,ring peoFrfe can aC￿sS quality phone advice is one of our top prtoll1￿"es. Our staff and Voluntee￿ ate local people- we are run by th8 cx)mmuni;ty forthe community. Many of our paid slaff previous volunteers or have lived expertence.. Our advice is 4Jelikered via phone. email. webchat and in person (Including home vi,sits>. Our support is wide-reaching and includes ptovid,ing adts¢￿ on debt, benefiits, housii employment. relalionships awrd utilities- hence we are best placed to help people MTr,anage the increase in Ihe cosl of living. No other organisatKJn provides IITe widtrranging. detailed and exte6nally acGredited advice that we offer. People need different types of advlce depending on their circumstances. Some afe in financial distress. olhers have experienced personal difficulties. Many cl¢ents have mentsl health issues or learning disabilities anfl are often in crisis situations with cornpEex probtems that need ir6-depth supporL We a,re currenlly staffed by 18 part-time an.d one full lj'me paitl employee (2022123, 20 part- tiffle and one full tlm8 paid employee) and 52 volunteers excludlng tnlslees (2022123, 51 volunteets>. Ou,r vofunteeKS are the backbone of our organisatiom, giving us In the region of 14,600 hours ol Iheir time (2022123, 13,QOO hour5) in Ehe last year. They include young people tooking for Iheir first job, pmfessionals who want to broaden their horizons arKI retired people who want to give somethrng back to the communily. We value equatity arxl dIV￿sIty and offer training and supporl to all. We have a strang track tecord of WOFktng in partneffship and we awe a key partner on 'East Hets FrontlirE' _ an online refefral tool to hel,p ensu.re that residents get lirn.ety access to the right level of assistan￿ and support do not need to repeat peFsonal details and ale nol lost wilhin a stgnposting system.. In March 2024 there were 163 pubFistr,ed SeNi￿S in East Herts. an increase of 38Yo on 2022-23. During 2023-24, we made over 1.003 referrals to partners, an in.crease of 100% on 2022-23. The most popular destinations w￿e Foodbanks. fuel support, and law clln,Ics. We received around 2,56 inward refeirats, with the rna1￿ sources being social pres¢iibers. foodbanks. Healllhy Hub and Adull Care Services. Why we're needed Allhough East Herts is a relatively prosperous part of the countsy, it. contains areas of relalive deprivation and a disproportionate number of our clients corne from these areas. Our clienls are most li'kely to eam sigirtificanty less than the average East Herts resident less likeliy to be in employrr(ent. more likely to be disabl.ed of have a long-term h,eallh probfem, and less likely to own Éheir own home. A(most a quarter of QUK cl(ents wtK) live in East Herts come fromi the 5 most deprived East Herts wa¥ds (a simillaf figure to 2022123) and sorne disadvantsged by Iheir rura.1 location wtth F)oor transport links and less energ¥*fficienQ homes (East Herts is the Fllost rural of alo Herts districts). The Covtd-19 crisis showed just how vulnerable any of us can be to sudden Iiffje ch8nges. In addition. the cost-of-living crisis is also hrghlighting faull lines in our soci'ety to whi.ch our clients afe mosl exposed. They are in dire need of ow advice to help them Ihrough these diffficult tirnes. Wtrlat we do We understand the complexity of Issues thal affect people. We provide edu,cation and skills lo help oui dients undeistand their rights and respoTrsibil- ies. and opl(ons for adoressing Ihe,ir issues. Our advice on any subject can improve people's health. Inake a differen￿ to Iheir firk1n￿S and make Ihem tnoTe resilient. We airn to enable our dients to find a way forward by tailoring the advi￿ we give to theif irKlividual ne￿$. East Herts Cilizens AdvKe Sepnce Trustees, Report Forlhe yeayended 3151 Ma￿h 2024 In addiliDn Qo our generalist advice seNice. we run wojecls. where funded by partners. Our specialist projecl aweas in 2023124 have induded debt advice. homelessness prevention, isis inte￿entiorn, eneigy efficiency. cosl of living supJKIrt. disability benefils. home visiti"ng, Comm￿nIty engagemenl, support fo￿ Uk￿a￿A1aLns and scams awareness, Last yearwe helped 5.799 people (up from 4.368 in 2022123 boosfted by addilional funding from Citizens Adwce donalion projects which ￿rnCreaSed our capacity), on a range of issues including benefrts, debt, housing. employment and relalioTrships, offering many mulltiple appoinlments as we worked holislically with Ihem to improve their lives. Our advice is avaiilable fto everyone, but significant rnumbers ol cliei)ts ,come lo us because they ar• vulnaTable. facing harthhip and unable lo move foThvaid withoul help. We take oUradvi￿ service dfjrect to Ihe community wilh weekly Conlactr Centres in Hertford and Bishop's Stortford, and In the lastt ye3ff we have exlended fthis service lo Ware and BuntirDgfDrd. We tirialled a mobile °Coffirnun"rty Caf,è° in colla'boralion woth Community All,'lan￿ Broxboume a East Herts, visiling Lillle Madham, 8uTrtingford and Hunsdon. We also rarj a angagement project, building links to Vlllage Halls and (leI￿ver￿ng finarDc9al inclusion woikshops. These lack1,ed lac'k of knowledge and c0nfftlen￿. financgal hardship and (aigilal excluslon, and aimed to reach those al rtsk of being exduded from involvement IrTr society. including I,he elderly and socially isolale(I, particulaily in iuwall areas with poor transport. Researclh aTDd campalgns In addilion lo our advice se¥vices. we raise awareness of issues affecting our communilies through our reseaTch and campaigns. In 2023124 we produced local rasearch papefs induding: Advi08 Needs Anatysis 2023 Compaiison of privale maTkel renls with gocal housing allowance Council Tax Debl C05t of Living Dashboard for East Herts (data updated quarterfy) We also wonked w,ith the He'rts & Beds Clusler Group on rasearch lrnlo dlgilal exclusion, and supported Nalional Cilizen5 Advice on several nalional campaigns including cost of liwng, conwmer ￿1￿h15, scams awareiness, energy efficlency, gambling harm. debt and financial capability. mernttal heallh awareness and activism againsl gender-based viollence. The dilfeyence we ma,ke 11 Is ',impos&ble to pul a financlal valu8 on everylhing we do. but we've used th8 Crtlzens Advice Treasury-approved ,model lo demonslrate our financial impact. UsirxJ fthis model. we calculate that ift 2023124 in Easl Herts we ge,nerated: £14.8 mi￿]0￿ in pubylc value (2022r23 £11.3 million) i.e. imwoved partlclpallon iin sociely and produclivity for the people we help. as well as our volunteers. Thafs £32.82 for every £1 invested12022123 £27.77) £6.3 million In ffinancial c￿COMeS ffollowing advi￿ {20221T3 £4.3 mli th'on) through wilting off ijebts, issuing food vouchets. takiin9 up ben,efits of compensalion for ¢onsLtmer problems.. That's £13.97 for every £1 inv25ted (2022r23 £10.54 for every £1 invested) £10.5 rnillion in wider economic and social benefits Ihrough inwrovements to wellbeir¢g and family ielal¢onships (2022123 £7.9 million) East Herts Citizens Advice Servlce Trustees. Report Forlhe yearended 31se Ma￿h 2024 Client surveys during 2023r24 Indicated that 6(P/o off ctients reported mental healfh improvements, and 40Yts physical hea5th tmprovements. 7 in 10 Clie￿1$ tolcE us their pwoblem was solved following adv1￿. and 3 In 4 said they could not have solved Éheir p￿blern wilhout us. Our cfieThts sard: "My expeiTence was absolutely arnazing. they couldn¥ do enough forme & helped me to engage wt'th the pmblems thal amse. I can't thank them enough for helwng ¢hmugh an 6xtrem8ty difficult tiRTe" "My case worf￿r was knnd Unde￿￿nding and did not judge...was helpful and made tne feel Ihere is ligh¢ at the end of the tunnel...I Ihank her so much ...1 feel more confftlent in managrng myfinanc&s....Ican sleep at night...andmyhope forlhe futu￿ ￿ a more po&live one ...th8nk you l em forever giatefuf Our voluntee Each volunleer receives training and ongoing support specific to theiw role. It takes approximale￿ 18 monfrhs to train a Generalist Adlviser and On￿ tralned th,ey stay wilh us, on average, for f l years. The average iinilial cost of training an<1 recruiting a vol.u,nteer is £1.400 {2022r23 £1.900) wiEh an ongoing annual cost of appmxlmately £30Q. Our cofnmifynent to valuing diversity arKI promotlng eouality means we can en.courage Indlviduals who mighl not olh8DNise volunteer. Uslng the new Cib"zens Adw"ce Value of Volunteerfing calculator. Ihe value to our sen¢ice. our volunteers, the NHS and th6 economiy is esliniated at £602.329 for 2023124. Thos value com.prises tirne given, by voliinteers, improved life satisfactr',on, welllyeirKJ al￿ mental heallh for volunteers, reduction in need for NHS setvices and productivity gains due to volunteer skill development. Our volunteers said: .1 enjoy helping to solve cli&nts pft)b18ms." °Being part of an organisalion Ihat makes 8 re81 differenc6 lo local people. especially a.18 llme when manypeople are Stn￿gling financiati "Helps others and keeps my own mind aclive." Our Impact on cll,ents Stalistics are Important as they help us monitor our effecluveness and trends year on year. but they don't give the full picture. Every dient is unique and has a story Èo tel,1, fike Te (name changed) from Bishop's Stortford, who was sttuggling to manage fONow￿g a SI￿Oke, artd was iBferted lo us by his soeial prescriber. He kep( forgetting to pay bills and so had ended up wtth arreaffs forcouncil Tax, energy and rent He was supported by Melhodist ch.urch who he￿ed hirn get bank sQatements and bills together so our debt easew￿ker coufd formulale a statement of his income and expendilure. We WEre IheTr able lo request holds on his debts and work with him to gel affordable payment plans in pEa￿. While our debt casewofker worked on his case, Terry was able Éo drop into (￿r Contact Cen,Ire at the Meth(xlist Church to provide us with copies of lelters received and updated bank stalements - as had no cfjmwler or intemet ac￿$. Wkne￿ he needed to sel up direct debits with the bank, he struggled to understand what he was supposed to be requesling, so our debt casewoFker went with him and exppained to the bank what was needed. ast Herts Cilrzens Advice SETVd TNslees' Report Fortlje yeareJ)ded 3151 MaKh 2tr24 We carried oul a benefrts chec* as part of the debt casewort(. and found that Tefry was entilled lo Pens90n Credil off £105 per week to ttop up his slate pension. We helped him w¥th fthe On￿ne applicaliDn and asked for ot to be backdated Ihree months. This was awarded wil,h a backdated payment off £1.400. We tlw) applied fo￿ Council Tax Support. Now Ihat he has increased income arnd paymenl pDans set up for his debts, and understands how much money lo put aside each month ffor bills, Tery should nol build up any lurther arrears. He tokl us Ihatt when he came to Us, he was going downhill and had nowhere else to hJriD. He was Inciedibty giraleful and can see a way foNvaTd. The future Ciliiens Advice East Herts BS at a cnlirdl Muncfture, wilh core funding Irom East Herts Counoil reduced by 5SOA re81 tefm5 since 2019, and bolh clieTrtt demand and our cosls incr&asing due to the cosl of living crig"Js. While we have been successful in PTevious years wilh income generalion to bn'dge some of fthe gap, we have needed to use some c,esefves. and Ihe fundraising enviwonment has become more difficuul. Fundws tel8 us thal Ea51 Herts Is seen as affluenl compared fto other parts of Hertfordshire and Ihe UK, anfl w'lh increased numbers of applicallons. they aTe PTiori*ising the most deprived areas. Trustee5 wlll focus on sustainability rafther than growlh oveir the nexl year. and look to secure the long-term future of the servi￿, consrndering the reduced level off core funding Ihat we have avallable and Ihe limiled opportunilies to generate Incorne in our curlent form. We WDII conllnue lo develop Ihe service wher8 we can, and focus on the cllents who need us mostt, inueasing 5eJf-help on oui websile and exploring partnerships with other seNices lo maintain and extend the support available to our cllents. Our Vision is to Meel Client Needs - Now and In Ihe Futu￿. We will achieve our vlsion Ihrough a sirole objeclive: We wlll ensuie that ¢ll&nts hav• access to the advlc? that they n8ed Thls objeclive ahgns ￿fjth the national Cltizens Advicy Livlng Strategy whlch aims to shape a sociely where people fa￿ far fewer probleffts; clienls gelling timely access to the advice they need will help lo resolve Iheir existing problems and PTevent new problems ffrom ariising in 11)e fiJ&ure. For fiJrfher informalion on whal we do and Ihe difference we make see our website - wwi.ctt,izensadv,ice8astherts.org.uk 5. Financial Position The Independently Examined accounts of Ihe Servioe are attached lo this Trport arKJ ffull delails of fthe fina￿￿la1 posltiorn are Contai￿￿d therein logelher wilh Ihe ExaMin￿S ¥epDrt to the Trustees. The TnJstees have considered the level of opeTaling costs and the cash flow. Core funding fcthm IEast Herts Council ,has been recejved for 2023124. and subsequenlly for 2024125. Th& Truslees are satisfied Ihal Ihe SeNi¢e's ove.rall funding is such fthat it will be abk to meel its obligaliorjs as they fall due Ihe orthnary course of business and accordingty Ihe acrx)uTrts have beein drawn up on a going concern basis. The accounls for 2017 showed lor the fiysl Ilme an actuarial valuation ol our shale of the Herts Counly C0￿cl1 Local Government Pension Scheme deficit. rhis was a ￿sU¥l of changes in accounling saandards al the time. and the relalionship with the Truslees of the NCC iPensiion Scheme had ￿eMained unchanged from 2008 when aclive membershi',p of the peThsion stheme ceased and an annual conttrobution of £2.500 was agreed. Dunng 2020r21 changes in legislation pmvided that where aclive melnbership had ceased it was t,hen a reqUI￿￿en& to oblaiin a 'cessattion valuation, of Ihe scheme, wilh a view to Feackn'ng selllerftenl Ove￿ an agreed p8n"od, and fthe stheme effectively Cease. The East Herts CilDzens Advice Service Trustees, Report Forehe yearended 3111 March 2024 Twslees iniStNcted a professional ￿ssa￿on valuation. the Report revea.llng a deficit of £123.000, of which £3,000 was settled in the 2021122 year, with a proposal of £1.000 pef calendar month to clear. This persisted thmuglx)ul 2022123, but the setQlement period woukl have proved an unacceptabty long period at that rate. For 2023124. and beyorKI, settlement has been offered. and a￿pted,, at £1,800 per calendar monlh which will sett Qhe deficit over the ensuin9 five years. The Trustees believe this will prove to be a workable payment plarL Reserves policy and risk management Donations. grants and funds Ihat are prDvided for specific puryjoses are Irealed as Restricted Funds. All other reSen￿S are held in general ffunds. It was dec+ded. ir( iespect of the curien,t year and the previous year. not to ctesignate fun.ds as has sometimes been the case in the past, but to a,Ilow funds to remain flexible and be applied where most r￿er1ed. The board has set a prudent and realistrc bwdgeQ for 2024125 which will eat into reseNes, whilst still maintaining adeq,uate ieseNes for the operation ol'the Servtce. Having set such an 'across the board, budget. no funds had been specificalty designated to projecfis this year. The Trustees sel the fevd of reserves having regard to the committed foThvard spend of the owanlsation, wilh a contingency to allow for the ovderly man,agement of the oiganisatson should it be faced with any advetse and unexpecled even( keeping In mind 8.lso a minimum levèl of free feseNes larget off three to six momths ongoing costs. The 2020121 year expe¥ienced such an evenl of course with the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result. the objective conllnues. The Truslees confim that ri'sks conts.nue to be revtewed on an ongoing basis and systems and proCedU￿S are brought into place in order to manage those risks. 6. Statement of Internal Control The Truslee board ovewsees th,e infomiation SeCur￿Y of all persoroal information of our clients, staff. funders and slrategic partners that is pro￿Sed. Citizens Advi￿ East Herts hold,s joint ￿SpOnsI￿.11ty for client data that is held in our case management system. wilh th8 nalional CitizeThs Advice Servi￿. An informa.tion assurance marEagement team exists lo ensuce the confidentiality, integrity and availability of all personal and sensitive data. and l.,s maintained to a I,evel which is cornplianl wilh the ￿qUireMents of the UK Genera Data Protecl¢on Reg￿laRiOn and Dala Protection Act 2018. 7. Recruitment and training policy for new Trustees Tiustees aiE elected at. the Aniiual Genewal Meeting or are rM)minated by any associated member o(ga,nisaÈions or Co￿opted by the Conimillee members. The petsons entitued to vote at Ihe AGM in order to elect the Trustees are the Members of Iha association (up to 40). The induclion and I￿[ning of new Tvuslees ts urKlertaken wilhin the Servrce. as well as through the attendance at courses provided by national Citizens Advcce. The membets of the cha¥tty ale en&'tled Éo appoint the Trustees, who ale requirBd to retire at the fourth annual genetali meeling following Iha (Sate they were last admiued a5 a member but may be ￿adrnrtled. 8. Statement of disclosure of information to Independent Examiners We. the Directors of the company who held Offi￿ ai the dale of approval of these Financial Slatements, as set out above. each confirm so far as we are aware. Ihatr. there is no relevant aLKtit informalion of which the compansls Independent Examlners are unaware: and we have taken all the steps that.we ought to have taken as diwect0¥5 in order to make ourselves aware of any rdevant audit infofmation and to estabfish that Ihe corrtpany's Independent Examineis are aware of that information. Easl Herts Cihzens Afsvice Se￿Ice Truslees, Report Forllie yeareiided 314 March 2024 9. Independent Examiners A iesolution be prnposed al Ihe Annual GeneRI Meeting Ihat Montague Accounts be appointted Independent Examiners lo Ihe charty lor the ensuing year. This report has been prepared in accordance wilh the special rxovisions relating to smal companies sul4ect lo the small companies, iegime wilhin Part 15 of Ihe Companies Act 2006 and the￿efOre does not indude a Strategic Report. erofthe ees 6Jh November 2024 J Dowson Company secrelary East Herts Citizens Adbice SeN¢¢e Independent Examinerfs Report Forlhe yearended 3fst Ma￿h 2024 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF EAST HERTS CITIZENS ADVICE SERVICE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 I report to the Charity Trustees on my examination of Ihe accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2024 which awe set out on pages 11 to 24. Responsibilities and basis of report As the Charity Trustees of the company (and also its directors forthe purposes of company law) you are ￿spOnSIble for Ihe Pfeparati(Jn of the 8ccounls in accordance wilh the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ("the 2006 Act.). Having satisfied myself that the account of the company are not required to be audited unLfer PaTt f 6 of the 2006 Act and are elligibte for itKlepeTtdent examination, a report i respect of my examination of your companiy's accounts as carfjied oul under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (°the 2011 Acn. In carrying out my examinatior61 have followed Ihe Directions given by the Ch,arity Comm&ssi.on under seCI￿n l45(5)(b) of the 201 l Act. Independent examiner's statement I confiffti that l am quali[￿d to undertake the examination because l am a fthly licEnced member in practice with the Assoclation of Accounting Technicians, and l am also an afffiliated rnember of ACIE {AssoctaÈion of Chaiitable Independent Examine¥s). which is one off the listed bodies. I have completed my examinatiofft,. I confinn that no matlers have come to my a.ItenÉion i connecQion with the examinalion glvlng rne ca.use to believe thal in any matertal respect: accounÉing ￿cordS were nol kepl In respect of the company as iequired by sectlon 386 af the 2006 Act: or 2. the accounts do not accord with Ihose records: or 3. Ihe accounts do not com,ply wl(h the acCou￿,￿l￿g ￿qUirements of secÉion 396 of Qhe 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a Irue and fair vÈe which ris nol a matler considered as part of an in,dependent examination., or 4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordan￿ wilh Ehe methiods and principles of the Statemenl of Recommended Ptactice lor accounting and reporting by charilies [applicable to chatities piepaFing thdr accounts in a.(xordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicabte in the UK and republtc of Ireland, (FRS 102)1. I have no concems and have coma across no other fflatters in conn,ectiowr, with the eX￿inatIon lo whrch attenlion Str￿Uld be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of Ihe accounts to be reached. Date For and on behalf o Montague AcCo￿ts Poache￿ Cottage Brewers Lane Badsey Evesham,, WR117EU 10 East Herts Cit4zens Servl¢e Slalernent of FDnancial AclTrvities For Ihe yearetKled 31* fftAafcli 2024 Statement of Financial Activities 202312024 Nestricted 2022J 2023 Total Funds Unrestricted General Designated Total Funds Incomv: Note Donat40ns and legacies Donatlons Grants 17.437 107,194 I,OOD 6,600 18,437 113.794 30.3.20 138,171 124.631 7,60D 132,231 168 491 Zn¢ome from otlaer artivlti Fundra15￿￿9 4.098 1,790 4,098 1,790 5,888 Investment Income Inc.Dme ffrgm charltabh actSvi¥e$ 13.736 ID,350 13,736 321,810 4,504 249.929 311,460 Total Incon 152.815 320,850 473,665 42,2.924 Expendlture: AdvJce )nd Inforniatlon Exceptlonal Ite4m 181,038 36,162 328.743 509.781 36.162 438,927 Exp8nditur4 on dbjrltabh attt&vltl49 217,200 328,743 545.943 438,927 Total Expendlt,we 217.20D 328,743 545,943 43B,927 Net Delldt (64.335) {7,893) (74278) (16.003) Transfets between funds 737 737 Net Income/{ Expe'ndlture) b¢ffowa other galns and losses (,65,122) (7,156) (72,278) {16,003) Other galns and losses Net mo¥emnt In YuNds (65,122) (7.156) (72,278) {16,003) RecDI3C4-liat4on •f funds Total Funds brnught fomtard 169,957 11,299 181,256 197,259 Funds cayrled forward 104,835 4,143 108.978 181,256 All a'mounts relate to contlnulng actlvltfts of the cyjmpany. The stateM￿t of Financlal Activltles Indudes all galn5 and losses In the year. The Iiotes to the flnandal stattsnents are shown on pages 13 to 24. 11 Eagt Herts Cilizens Advice Service Balance Sheet As al 3P March 2023 Balance Sheet Company Number 3982216 Notes 2024 2023 Fixed Assets Tanglble assets io Current Assets Debtors Cash at bank and In hand li 5,681 -236 520 3.315 332 176 242.201 335,491 Lla&ilitKes Credltors - amounts falllng due withln one year 12 44.423 46.235 Net current assets L97.778 289,256 Defined Benefit Penslon Llabllity 13 88.800 108.000 Total net assets 108.978 181.256 The Funds of the charlty Restrlcted Income fu.nds 14 4,143 11,299 Unrestrkted funds Deslgnated funds General funds rotal Unrestricted 15 15 104 835 169 957 104.835 169.957 Total Funds 16 108,978 181,256 The Olrect¢)ws conslder that the company Is entitled to exemptlon from the requirement to have an udlt under the provls(ons of sectlon 477 of the Companles Act 2006 ("the Att.) and members have not reoulred the company to obtaln an audit for the year In questicn In acccrdance with sectton 476 of the Art. The Ofrectors acknowledge responsiblllty for ensurfng that the company keeps accountin9 records which comply wlth sectlon 386 of the Act and for preparln9 flnancial statements whlch glve trne and fafjr vlew of the state of affalrs of the company as at 31 March 2024 and of its incoffte and expendlture and appllcation of resources ft•r the year then ended In attordance wlth tlie requlrements of sectlons 394 and 395 of the Act and whlch otlierwlse comply wlth the reoulrements of the Companles Act 2006 relatlng to the financlal Statements so far as applicable to the conipany. The funandal statements have been prepared In accordan￿ with the provisions appllcable to companles subJett to the small companles, regime arul in accorda¥Ke WLTh the Finanaal Reportlng Stand,ard. Approved by the Trustees on 6th Novembw 2024 a by: ed and rlsed for issue on thelr behalf G J Canslck J Dowson The notes on pages 13 to 24 fomi part of the￿ financlal statements. 12 Easl Herts Ciiizens Ad¥ice SerV￿e Slalempnt of Cash FIDWS FOr1J￿ yeaf ended 31st March 2024 Statement of Cash Flows Notes 2023124 2022123 Cash Flows from Operating activities: Net cash provioled by operating activltles 17 Cas19 Flows Irom Anvestln9 activ&t.Lies.- Net Cash provlded by Invesung ac,tivi*ies {95,656) (49.578) Change In cash and cas equivalents Jn the rnportlng period (95,656) (49,578) Cash and cash equlvalents at the beglnrnlng off the reportlng perlod 332,176 381,754 Change In cash and cash equlvalents In the reportlng period 95.656 (49,578) G￿￿ and cash eq4bYivalents at tha and ol the reportlng period 236,520 332,176 The notes on pages 13 to 23 form part of these flnandal statements. 13 EasÈ Herts Citizens Advice Service Notes to the Financial SEatements As at 3fS( March 2024 Notes to the Financial Statements l. Accountlng Policies The p￿ndPa1 accountlng pollcies adopted. judgements and key soU,r￿S of estirnatlon un￿rtaInty in the prepa,ratlon of the financpall statements are as follows: a) Basis of Preparation The finandal staternents have been prepared in accordance wlth Accountlng and Reportlng by Chailtles.. Statement of Recommended Pract1￿ appllcable to charltles preparlng, their accounts in accordan￿ wlth the Fl,nanclal Reporting Standard appllcable In the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRSIQ2) effective l January 2019 - Charltles SORP {FRS102), the Financlal Reportlng Standard applicable bn the iJK and Republic of Ireland (FRSL02) and the Companles Act 2006. East Herts atlzens, Advlce Serv1￿ meets the defin5tlon of a publlc beneflt entity under FR5102. Assets and Illabllitles are initially recognised at hlstorlcal cost or transactlon value unless otherwlse ststed in the relevant accounting pollcy note(s). The presentatlon currency of the financlal statements Is the Pound st￿lIng (£}. b) Legal Status of the Charlty The charlty Is a company Ilmlted by guarantee and has no Sha￿ capltal. In the event of the charlty belng wound up. the Ilablllty In respect of the guarantee Is limited to £1 per member {16) - (2023 - 16) of the charity. c) GoSn8 Concern The Trustees conslder that there are no materlal uncertalntles over the Charit￿s abllity to continue as a golng thncern and relles on annual grants from East Herts DISt￿Ct Councll a,fid others. and that it shall receive sufficient fvndiftg to continue operatlng at least throughout 2Q25. The effect of Covi(1-19 ca,used a major conslderatlon but the level of requlred stablllty and income that the Trustees are already aware W￿11 be I n place for 2025, along with Its reserves, and its ablllty to redu￿ costs and servkce tevels should the need arise shall mean It Is appropriate to draw up these ftnandal statements on a golng concern ba,sls. Reductions In costs previously seen demon,strate thls. d) Fund Accounting Unrestrlcted funds are avallable to spend on activltles that further any of the purposes of the clrarfty. Designated funds are Un￿str[¢￿d funds of the charity, whith the tnjstees have decided, at their discretion. to set aside to u,se for a spedfic purpose,, Restrltted funds are for work on specific projects belng undertaken by the charity, Restrlcted funds a￿ charged a proportlon of management time and organisatiotral costs. 14 Easl Herts Ci15zens Advice Se¥¥ice Notes fto Its Financial S181emenls As al 3#￿ Ma￿) 2024 e) Income Income ts recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance condlts.ons attached to the Item{s) of IT>come have been met, It Is wobable that the Income will be recelve£J, and the amount can be measured reliably. Where income has related expendlture (as with contract income), the irncome and related expendlture are reported gross in the Statement of Vinancial Activities. Donatlons, grants aTKI gifts are recognised when recedvable. In the event that a donation Is subject to fulfilllng performanc,e condltlons before the charlty Is entltled lo the funds. the Income Is deferred and Trot recogT)Ised until It Is probable that those condltlons wlll be fulfllled In the report￿ng perfod. Zncome recelved In advar+ce ￿latIng to the followlng year Is deferred until the crlterla for Incorne recognltlon has been met. Interest on deposlt fuinds held Is Indu(Jed when receIvab￿e and the amount can be measured rellablly by the charoty, whlch Is nomially upon notlflcatlon of 'lhe Interest pald by the fir+ancla,'I Institutlon concerined. Oonated goods and services Donated servlces or faclgltles are recognlsed when the charlty has controg over the Item, any condltlons assoc13ted wlth the donated Itern hav,e been met, the recelpt of the economlc benefit trom the use of the Item Is probaft)le and that economic beneflt can be measured rellably. Donated professlonal senAces arnd facllltles a￿ Included In income at the estdmated value of the glft to the cl)arlty vthern recelved, based on the amount the charlty would have bee,Tr prepared to pay for tihese servlces or facilities had it been requlred to purchase them, wlth a correspondln9 entry In the approprlate expendlture headlng for the same amount. 8) Expenditure Expendltu,re is recognlsed On￿ there Is a Ilegal or constructlve obllgatlon to make a payment. It Is probable that se'ttlement will be requlred, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliabjy. All expendit,ure is accounted for on an accruals b3sIs. Support costs comwlse those costs whlch are Incur,red dlrectly in support of expendllture on advace and guldance and indudes governance, finance, ￿ and HR. Governan￿ costs are those costs Incurred In connectlon wlth the compliance with cor•stltuLlonal and statutory requlrements of the charlty. Su'pport costs are allocated to projects on a tlme basis. h) Volunteers The value of servlces provlded by volunteers Is not Incorporated Into these financlal statemen i) Fixed Assets All flxed assets are caplta'llsed at thelr hlstorlcal purchase cost and depreclated on a stiraight Ilne ba51s over 3 years. Indlvldual assets are capltallserj where their acqutsltlon cost exceeds £IOOD. 15 East Herts Cllizens Advice Setvice Notes to the Finanrial Statefflents As 8t 31sI March 2024 j) Debtors Trade and other debtors are recognlsed at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayrnents are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade dlscounts due. Accrued Incorrle and tsx recoverable Is Induded at the best estimate of the amounts ￿CeiVable at the balan￿ sheet date. k) Cash at bank arid in hand Cash at bank an,d cash In hand itKluded cash and short-term deposlts wlth a maturlty of twelve months or less. l) Llabllltles and Provlsions Uabllltles are rBcognlsed when there is an obllgatlon at the Balance Sheet date as result of a past event. It Is probable that a transfer of economic benefit wéll be required settlement. and the amount of the settlement can be estimated rellably. Liabilities are recognused at the amount that It Is anticipated will be paid to settle the debl or at the amount recelved as advanced payments for the good,s or servlces. m) Pensions The charlty prevlously participated in the HertfOrdshI￿ County Coundl Penslon Fund whlch Is a furKled scheme and the assets are held separately from those of the Cha￿ty. The value of the charlty's share of the assets and Ilablllties has been calculated by the Fund's actuaries and the metttodology Is set out In note 14. Full actuarial valuatlons have In the past been obtained trSeTrnially to be updated at each balance sheet date. n) Taxation The company Is considered to pass the tests set out In paragrapfv I schedtple 6 of the Finan￿ Act 2010 and therefare It meets the definltion of a charltable companv for UK corporatlon tax purposes. Accordlngly, the company Is potentlally exempt from taxatlon In respect otr Income or capital gains re￿lIved wlthtTr, categorles covered by thapter 3 part I l of the Corporation Tax Act 20JLO or sectlon 256 of the Taxation of Charyeable Gains Act L992. to the extent that such Iincome or gains are applied exclusively to cha.rltable purposes. o) Crltlcal Accountlng Estlmates and Areas of Judgement ates and Sudgemerbts are contlnually evaluated and are based on hlstorlcal experlence and other factors, induding expectatfons of futu￿ events that are consldered to be reasonable. p) Financial Instruments The Charlty has only financial assets and liabiultles of a klnd that quallfy as baslc financial instruments. Basic financlal Instrumeftts are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at tt¢elr settl'ement value., Foxed assets are valued, at cost and Investrnents at falr value whlth Is their marf Postcode Communlty Trlist HCAS/Herts County Councll (Crisis Intervention) Herts County Coundl (Rural Cost of Llving} Herts County Council (Cost of Living) 8razler Trust Hertford Yambombers (Houslng Benents) Arnold Clark Shanley Foundatlon Sthroders Bilshops Stortford Foodbank Unrestri¢ted Funds 20,651 1,80Q 20.973 19.167 2.000 19.974 7.500 8.414 11.168 8.414 9,540 8.297 63.092 66.878 46.125 539 25,200 9.274 44,824 9.274 44,093 10,000 38, 100 3,360 12,700 6.226 i.ooo 2,500 4.000 1,000 2,012 General Fundralslng Herts coun.ty Council (H,ousehold Support Fund) Herts Communlty Foundatlon 19.288 12,325 5.350 32LI,81Q 249,929 6. Analys15 of Expenditure Dlrect Costs Support Costs (n,ote 7) Total Costs 202312024 Advi￿ and Infonnation Ex￿ptIOnal Item 431.821 36,162 467,983 79,710 511,531 36.162, 547,693 79,7LO 202212023 Advi￿ and Inforrnation 364,126 74,801 438,927 The exceptlonal item in 2023124 ￿lateS to the dilapidation cost charged on vacatlng the premises in Bishops Stortford. 18 ',East Herts CilizerLs Advlce SeNice Noles lo Ihe Financial Statemenls As 8131AI A18Kh 2Lr24 7. Analysis of Support Costs Basis or AfPPOVtlonment ',Management FiN3nce/ HR Govewnance Total 2023/2024 Advlce and Informataon Dlrect 44,188 11,789 16,247 7,486 79.710 202212023 Advice and llnfomiatlon DI￿ett 38,2Q6 14,164 16,279 6,152 74,801 Govema,nce costs comprlse examination fees El,000 (202212023: £1,000): professlonal ffees £6,000 (202212023.. £4,800) and Board SeC￿tarIat £486 (2022123 £352). 8. Analysis of staff costs and key management personnel 202312024 202212023 Wages aml salarSes Soclal Securlty Costs Penslon Costs 405.205 25,486 324,163 21,023 441,879 355.298 The tharlty t,ru5tees were not paid in the year (2022J2023: nll), nelther were they relmbursed expenses durlng the year {202212023: nll). The average monthly head count was 22 (202212023: 17) and analysls of the staff employees the year was. 202312024 Aclual Number 16 2022/2023 Actual ,,N￿rnber 11 Advlce and llnformatlon Support Servlces Total 22 17 There are no empjoyees whose total employee benefits. IrKludlng penslon contributlons. total over £fA).000. 9. Net Incoming Resources 202312024 202212023 Net Incomlrng Resources Is stated after charging. Depreclation ndependent exam￿nation fees Operatlng lease rentals 1,000 20,261 1,000 17.339 19 East Herts Citizens Advi￿ Service Notes to the financi81 Slalements As at 31# March 2024 10. Tangible Fixed Assets IT Total Cost or Revaluation At start of year Additlons At of year 59,995 59,995 59.995 59.99S Depreclatlon At start of year Charge for year At end aff year 59.995 59.995 59.995 59,995 Net book value at the end of the year Net book value at the start of the year 11. Debtors 202312024 202212024 Sundry Debtors Prepayments 5.563 118 5,681 1.318 3,315 12. Credltors: Amounts falllng due wlthln one year 202312024 202212023 Other Credltors Accruals Deferred KncDme 36.230 1,864 11,760 2,708 44.423 46,23S Deferred Income reconcil￿tIOn. Balance brought forward Amount released to the Statement of F5nanclal Actlvltles Amount deferred in the year Balance carried forward 31,767 (3L,767) 51,695 (51,695) 31.767 31.767 6,329 Defer￿d Income represents funds advanced for projects undertaken In the followlng year. Easl Herts Ci14zens AdvJce SeNl¢e Noles to Ihe Financbal Slalements As 8t31￿ Ma￿h 2024 13. Pensions The charity observes ts obllgations under auto-enrolment. and some employees of the charity are entitled to Join a defDned contributlon "money purchase" scheme. The charJty'S contributloLn5 are restrlcted to a maxknmum of 60/0 of the employee's gmss salary, EHCAS participated In a (Jefined beneflt pension scheme operated by Hertfordshlre County Councll untll 31 December 2008. There are no ac￿1Ve members of the scheme and the Trustees had agree(I wlth the Trustees of the penslon scheme that the charlty. may contlnue to part1dpo￿e In the scheme, mal(Ing payments of £2.500 per annum. EFICAS. being a ceased empuoyer wlthin the hjnd with an outstandlng deficlt, had been reoulred t,0 value the deftclt on a Gllts (cessatlon) basis, a full revlew a,rKI actuarlal valuatlon being completed triennlally, The basss used for the more recent valuats'ons however was Gllts w5th cessatlon mortality. Ce5satlorn mortallty assumes a more prudent Ilfe expectancy - people will be expected lo live longer. and penslons expected to be pald for longer, therefore a sllghtly Increased Ilablllty. Durlny 2020121 changes leglslatlon provlded that where actlve meml)ershlp had ceased It was then a requlrement to obtaln a '￿SSatIOn valuatlon. of the scheme. with a vlew to reachlng settlefnent over an agreed perlod. and the scheme effectlvely cease. The Trustees Inst￿Ucted a professloThal ￿sSatIOn valuation, the Report reveallng a deficit of £123,000, of whlch £3.OOD was sertled In the 2021122 year. w3th a proposal of £1,000 per calendar rnonth to clear. Thls perslsted throughout 2022123, but the settlement perlod would have proved an ￿nacCeptablY long period at that rate. For 2023124, and beyond. settlernent has been offered, and aC￿pted, at £1,800 per calendar month whlch wlll settle the deFlclt over the ensulng five years. The resultant Ilablllty at 31st March 2024 of .£88.8001s shown un these Accounts. Glven that thls Is now an absolute liablllty, no detalls of the underlylng assets arKJ Ilabllltles need be dlsdosed here. 14. Restricted Funds 2023/2024 Income Expendllure As at l Aprll 2023 Transfers Asat31 March 2024 Speclallst AdvlcE General Adv4ce Beneflts Tralnln9 other Total 5,171 3,548 119,313 177,435 123,070 179.272 1,414 2.441 730 2.580 4,934 7,226 288 11,299 320,850 328.743 737 4,143 202212023 Incume xp8nd•ture As at l Aprll 2022 Asat31 Wjarch 2023 Transfers Spedalist Advuce General A(Jvlce Benefits Tralnlng other 121.746 65.493 116.575 61,945 23,423 21,719 19.4fA 243.126 5,171 3,548 23.423 24,299 18.914 230,452 2,580 550 Total 23,973 11.299 21 East Herts Citizens Adthce SeNlce Notes to the FbTtancial Slalemenis As at 31st March 2024 The nature of these funds Is as glven below: General Adv1￿ - core advice in any area, induding but not restrlcteit to beneflts, debt, houslng. consumer, famlly and relationshlps, employrnent, dlscrlmlnatlon. Immlgration anqf law and courts. 5peclalist Adv1￿ - In-depth adv1￿ from a subject matter expert In debt. housing or beneflts, delivered over one or multlple sessloTrs. Tralning - actuvitles I'nvolved In developlng the skllls and knowledge of staff and volunteers. Other - other artivlties Indudlng those Involved In communlty engagement and scams awareness. 15. Unrestricted Fund5 2023/2024 Income Expen,dliure As at l Aprll 2023 Asat31 March 2024 Transfers/ Movements Deslgnated Funds General Fund L69,957 154,565 218,950 737 104,835 Total Unrestrirted Funds L69,957 154,565 218.950 737 104,835 2022/2023 I,rKome Expendlture Asatl Aprll 2022 Asat31 M•rch 2023 Transfersl MoveM,ents Desi9nated Funds Flxed Assets Other Assets Total Oeslgnated Fun4Ss General Fund 51525 51,525 12L,761 (51525) 51,525 192.472 195,80L 169,957 Untrestrlcted Funds 173,286 192,472 195,801 169,957 16. Net Assets by Funds 202312024 Designated Funds General Fund Restri.cted Funds Total Fund,s Tan9ible Flxed Assets Current Assets Credltors falling due In less than one year Defined benefit pension lialjillty 238,058 4.L43 241201 (44.423) (44,42.3) (88.800) 104,835 (88.800y 108.978 22 East Herts Cilizens A¢JviGe SeTVi Notes lo Ihe Financlal Stalanenls As at 31¥t March 2024 202212023 DesogTrated Funds General Fund Restr•cted F,und5 Totall Funds TaTrgi￿e Flxed Assets Ctjrrent Assets credIto￿ falllng due In less than one year Defined beneffit penslon Ilabllity (108,000) 169,957 324.192 11,299 335,491 (46,235) (46,235) {108,000) 11,299 181,256 17. Reconciliation of net income / (expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities 202312024 202212023 Net expendlture foi the rwrtlng perlod (as per the Statement of FiTranclal Activitles) Adjustments for." Depreciatfjon Charges DecreaseJ(Inorease) In debto Increase creditors Movement In penslon Ilablllty Net cash provlded by / (used In) operating actlvalies (72,278) {16,003) (2,366) (1,812) (19,200) {95,656) (639) (20,936) (12.000) (49,578) 18. Analysls of cash and cash equivalents 202312D24 202212023 Cash In hand Bank and Not4ce deposlts (12 months or less) Total cash and cash equlvalents 46 236.520 332,130 236,520 332, 176 19. Commitments under operating leases The charity had total corninutments ￿rtde￿ operatin8 leases as sel out be￿OW., 202312024 Land & 2022/2023 Land & other Bulldlngs other Otolyear 6,900 4.890 23 East Herts Cbtizens Advice Seivrce Notes to Ihe Ftnartctal Slalernents As al 31U Ma￿￿ 2024 20. Related party transactions During the year, £9.000 (202212023: £4,800J was the deemed market value of seThices provided without charge by Tees Solicitors for legal worK and. exceptionaEly, in respect of the dilapidations claim. James Dowson, a durector of the company, is a par tner of Tees. Also £650 (202212023: £Nil) was the deemed, maiket value of services provrded without charge by Mishcon de Reyd for HR related advice. Nicola Anderson. a dlreclor of the company. Is an employee of Mrshcon de Reya. There are rro other ￿lated, p3rtlles to note. 24 citlzens advlce East Herts. East Herts Citizens, Advice Service (A charitable company limited by guarantee) FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31st March 2024 Registered Charity No." 1083211 Company No: 3982216 *ADINUXPU* 2411212024 COMPANIES HOUSE A72 #101 Easl Herts Crtizen5 Advice SeNice Financial Slalemenls Legal and administrative information Forlhe yearended 3181 March 2024 Truslees and Direclors: Tony MuLrphy James Dowson Gary Cansick Elaine Conno Richard Smilh Ballu Sesay ChiDstine Gillham Bany Hunt Rachael Williamsorn Jane Sartin Nicola Anderson Nalalie Ethvarfs Secretary Treasurer Rasigned 241h July 2023 Appoii?led 26th Januaiy 2024 Appoinled 301h January 2024 Appoinled 26th 4pn'l 2024 Secreftary: James Dowson Registeted Office.. The Manor House High Streel, Bunlingford Hertfordshire SG99AB Bankers: Barclays Bank PIC 10 North Streel Bishops Stortfoid Hetfft)rdshi• CM23 2LH 4r)dependenft Examiners,. Monlague Accounls Poachers Cottage Brewers Lane Badsey Evesham WR117FU East Herts Citizens Adv￿￿ Senfice Financtal Statements Contents of the Financial Statements st for the year ended 31 March 2024 Page Trustees, Report 3108 Independent Examinerfs Report Stalement of Financial AclivitÈes 10 Balance Sheet Statemenl of CaslT, Flows 12 Notes to the Financial Statements 13to24 East Herts Cilizens A,&vice se￿ICe Trustee5' Report Forlhe yeaf ended 31￿ March 2tr24 Trustees, Report The T￿￿slee5 are plea￿d lo submit their anrlual report and financial stslemenls for the year ended 31 March 2024 for the East Herts Citizens Advice SeNice. rele￿[ed to in these statements as Cilizens Adyice Easl HertS. The Directors act as Twstees for Cilizens Advice East He￿, and are ￿ele￿ed to as such throughoul tthis report. Legal and admir4istrative inforlroialiorn set out on page 1 forms a part of this report. The financial sftalemenls comply wilh current staftthory requirements, filemorandum and Articles of Association and the Slatemenl of Recommended Piaclice - Accounttiig and Reporting ffor Charities (effective January 2019). l. Objects and policv The obiect5 of fthe Se￿}08 are to ensure thaft Indlvidualls (lo not suffer Ihrough a lack of knowledge: of their righls and respDnsibJJllies; or of the seN,ioe avai]able lo them: or through an inabHity to express their needs effeclNely,' and, equally, to exercgse a Iresponsible inffluence on Ihe development of social policies and services. both locally li n ,each of ils outlels, regioroally and nationally. The Truslees confi(m that they have referred lo the guidance conlained the Charllty Commission's general guidance on pi ublSc benefft when reviewing Ihe Servlce's aims and obieclives aNI in planning futur,e activilies and setbng policy for the year. In particula￿, th8 Tnjstees ¢onsideT how planned aclivhies will con115t￿te to Ihe aims and owtives they have seL 2. Organisation A Board adm￿nISIerS the chaiity and meets as requlred to ful￿11 its duties. a mlnimum of four times a year. The Board has esftabyished fthree sul>committees: Finance, Rlsk and Staffing and Pers￿ne1. SulKommittee meelings lake pjace regularfy and tthese are supplemenled wllh additional workiing gwoups as required. with Ihe Chieff Execulive (or another senio managei) in attendance. There are fvTlher Ineetings be￿een Y￿USteeS and lihe Senior Leadership Team as required lo cover day-ltrday matters of finance and stRtegy. 3. How our activities deliver public benefit Oui main aclivities artrd who we lry to help ale descnbed below. All our chaiitable acttwities focus on pmvidlng the adv1￿ Ihat people in our local comimunily need f,or the problems they face and lo omptove Ihe policies and practices thatt affecl people's lives. We are a,n Sndependenl charfty tthat wDvides ffee. confidential and Impartial advice to everybody Tegardless of ra￿. gender. (lisabjlily. sexual orienlation. nalionality. re',ligion or age. In all aspecls of Its work. the service recognises Ihe positive value of diversily, promotes equality chaJThetDges discr4rninalion. All oui activilies are undertaken lo further our charitable Fxurposes IDr the pullic benefat. 4. Review of actlvlties and developments About us Ciftizens Advll￿ East Herts provides free, conf￿en11a1, non-jLfjdgemental and impartia advi￿. We are a member of the Cillzens Advice nelwork and an independent. trusted and well-known locaty chardty. East Herts is a large, semi-Nral districl wilh Ilmfled Iiansport links East Herts Ciilzens Advice Servirx Tntstees. Report Forthe yearended 31$1 2024 across the (egion, and partial dp3Ètal connectivity with some a￿aS ttot coveted. so ensu,ring peoFrfe can aC￿sS quality phone advice is one of our top prtoll1￿"es. Our staff and Voluntee￿ ate local people- we are run by th8 cx)mmuni;ty forthe community. Many of our paid slaff previous volunteers or have lived expertence.. Our advice is 4Jelikered via phone. email. webchat and in person (Including home vi,sits>. Our support is wide-reaching and includes ptovid,ing adts¢￿ on debt, benefiits, housii employment. relalionships awrd utilities- hence we are best placed to help people MTr,anage the increase in Ihe cosl of living. No other organisatKJn provides IITe widtrranging. detailed and exte6nally acGredited advice that we offer. People need different types of advlce depending on their circumstances. Some afe in financial distress. olhers have experienced personal difficulties. Many cl¢ents have mentsl health issues or learning disabilities anfl are often in crisis situations with cornpEex probtems that need ir6-depth supporL We a,re currenlly staffed by 18 part-time an.d one full lj'me paitl employee (2022123, 20 part- tiffle and one full tlm8 paid employee) and 52 volunteers excludlng tnlslees (2022123, 51 volunteets>. Ou,r vofunteeKS are the backbone of our organisatiom, giving us In the region of 14,600 hours ol Iheir time (2022123, 13,QOO hour5) in Ehe last year. They include young people tooking for Iheir first job, pmfessionals who want to broaden their horizons arKI retired people who want to give somethrng back to the communily. We value equatity arxl dIV￿sIty and offer training and supporl to all. We have a strang track tecord of WOFktng in partneffship and we awe a key partner on 'East Hets FrontlirE' _ an online refefral tool to hel,p ensu.re that residents get lirn.ety access to the right level of assistan￿ and support do not need to repeat peFsonal details and ale nol lost wilhin a stgnposting system.. In March 2024 there were 163 pubFistr,ed SeNi￿S in East Herts. an increase of 38Yo on 2022-23. During 2023-24, we made over 1.003 referrals to partners, an in.crease of 100% on 2022-23. The most popular destinations w￿e Foodbanks. fuel support, and law clln,Ics. We received around 2,56 inward refeirats, with the rna1￿ sources being social pres¢iibers. foodbanks. Healllhy Hub and Adull Care Services. Why we're needed Allhough East Herts is a relatively prosperous part of the countsy, it. contains areas of relalive deprivation and a disproportionate number of our clients corne from these areas. Our clienls are most li'kely to eam sigirtificanty less than the average East Herts resident less likeliy to be in employrr(ent. more likely to be disabl.ed of have a long-term h,eallh probfem, and less likely to own Éheir own home. A(most a quarter of QUK cl(ents wtK) live in East Herts come fromi the 5 most deprived East Herts wa¥ds (a simillaf figure to 2022123) and sorne disadvantsged by Iheir rura.1 location wtth F)oor transport links and less energ¥*fficienQ homes (East Herts is the Fllost rural of alo Herts districts). The Covtd-19 crisis showed just how vulnerable any of us can be to sudden Iiffje ch8nges. In addition. the cost-of-living crisis is also hrghlighting faull lines in our soci'ety to whi.ch our clients afe mosl exposed. They are in dire need of ow advice to help them Ihrough these diffficult tirnes. Wtrlat we do We understand the complexity of Issues thal affect people. We provide edu,cation and skills lo help oui dients undeistand their rights and respoTrsibil- ies. and opl(ons for adoressing Ihe,ir issues. Our advice on any subject can improve people's health. Inake a differen￿ to Iheir firk1n￿S and make Ihem tnoTe resilient. We airn to enable our dients to find a way forward by tailoring the advi￿ we give to theif irKlividual ne￿$. East Herts Cilizens AdvKe Sepnce Trustees, Report Forlhe yeayended 3151 Ma￿h 2024 In addiliDn Qo our generalist advice seNice. we run wojecls. where funded by partners. Our specialist projecl aweas in 2023124 have induded debt advice. homelessness prevention, isis inte￿entiorn, eneigy efficiency. cosl of living supJKIrt. disability benefils. home visiti"ng, Comm￿nIty engagemenl, support fo￿ Uk￿a￿A1aLns and scams awareness, Last yearwe helped 5.799 people (up from 4.368 in 2022123 boosfted by addilional funding from Citizens Adwce donalion projects which ￿rnCreaSed our capacity), on a range of issues including benefrts, debt, housing. employment and relalioTrships, offering many mulltiple appoinlments as we worked holislically with Ihem to improve their lives. Our advice is avaiilable fto everyone, but significant rnumbers ol cliei)ts ,come lo us because they ar• vulnaTable. facing harthhip and unable lo move foThvaid withoul help. We take oUradvi￿ service dfjrect to Ihe community wilh weekly Conlactr Centres in Hertford and Bishop's Stortford, and In the lastt ye3ff we have exlended fthis service lo Ware and BuntirDgfDrd. We tirialled a mobile °Coffirnun"rty Caf,è° in colla'boralion woth Community All,'lan￿ Broxboume a East Herts, visiling Lillle Madham, 8uTrtingford and Hunsdon. We also rarj a angagement project, building links to Vlllage Halls and (leI￿ver￿ng finarDc9al inclusion woikshops. These lack1,ed lac'k of knowledge and c0nfftlen￿. financgal hardship and (aigilal excluslon, and aimed to reach those al rtsk of being exduded from involvement IrTr society. including I,he elderly and socially isolale(I, particulaily in iuwall areas with poor transport. Researclh aTDd campalgns In addilion lo our advice se¥vices. we raise awareness of issues affecting our communilies through our reseaTch and campaigns. In 2023124 we produced local rasearch papefs induding: Advi08 Needs Anatysis 2023 Compaiison of privale maTkel renls with gocal housing allowance Council Tax Debl C05t of Living Dashboard for East Herts (data updated quarterfy) We also wonked w,ith the He'rts & Beds Clusler Group on rasearch lrnlo dlgilal exclusion, and supported Nalional Cilizen5 Advice on several nalional campaigns including cost of liwng, conwmer ￿1￿h15, scams awareiness, energy efficlency, gambling harm. debt and financial capability. mernttal heallh awareness and activism againsl gender-based viollence. The dilfeyence we ma,ke 11 Is ',impos&ble to pul a financlal valu8 on everylhing we do. but we've used th8 Crtlzens Advice Treasury-approved ,model lo demonslrate our financial impact. UsirxJ fthis model. we calculate that ift 2023124 in Easl Herts we ge,nerated: £14.8 mi￿]0￿ in pubylc value (2022r23 £11.3 million) i.e. imwoved partlclpallon iin sociely and produclivity for the people we help. as well as our volunteers. Thafs £32.82 for every £1 invested12022123 £27.77) £6.3 million In ffinancial c￿COMeS ffollowing advi￿ {20221T3 £4.3 mli th'on) through wilting off ijebts, issuing food vouchets. takiin9 up ben,efits of compensalion for ¢onsLtmer problems.. That's £13.97 for every £1 inv25ted (2022r23 £10.54 for every £1 invested) £10.5 rnillion in wider economic and social benefits Ihrough inwrovements to wellbeir¢g and family ielal¢onships (2022123 £7.9 million) East Herts Citizens Advice Servlce Trustees. Report Forlhe yearended 31se Ma￿h 2024 Client surveys during 2023r24 Indicated that 6(P/o off ctients reported mental healfh improvements, and 40Yts physical hea5th tmprovements. 7 in 10 Clie￿1$ tolcE us their pwoblem was solved following adv1￿. and 3 In 4 said they could not have solved Éheir p￿blern wilhout us. Our cfieThts sard: "My expeiTence was absolutely arnazing. they couldn¥ do enough forme & helped me to engage wt'th the pmblems thal amse. I can't thank them enough for helwng ¢hmugh an 6xtrem8ty difficult tiRTe" "My case worf￿r was knnd Unde￿￿nding and did not judge...was helpful and made tne feel Ihere is ligh¢ at the end of the tunnel...I Ihank her so much ...1 feel more confftlent in managrng myfinanc&s....Ican sleep at night...andmyhope forlhe futu￿ ￿ a more po&live one ...th8nk you l em forever giatefuf Our voluntee Each volunleer receives training and ongoing support specific to theiw role. It takes approximale￿ 18 monfrhs to train a Generalist Adlviser and On￿ tralned th,ey stay wilh us, on average, for f l years. The average iinilial cost of training an<1 recruiting a vol.u,nteer is £1.400 {2022r23 £1.900) wiEh an ongoing annual cost of appmxlmately £30Q. Our cofnmifynent to valuing diversity arKI promotlng eouality means we can en.courage Indlviduals who mighl not olh8DNise volunteer. Uslng the new Cib"zens Adw"ce Value of Volunteerfing calculator. Ihe value to our sen¢ice. our volunteers, the NHS and th6 economiy is esliniated at £602.329 for 2023124. Thos value com.prises tirne given, by voliinteers, improved life satisfactr',on, welllyeirKJ al￿ mental heallh for volunteers, reduction in need for NHS setvices and productivity gains due to volunteer skill development. Our volunteers said: .1 enjoy helping to solve cli&nts pft)b18ms." °Being part of an organisalion Ihat makes 8 re81 differenc6 lo local people. especially a.18 llme when manypeople are Stn￿gling financiati "Helps others and keeps my own mind aclive." Our Impact on cll,ents Stalistics are Important as they help us monitor our effecluveness and trends year on year. but they don't give the full picture. Every dient is unique and has a story Èo tel,1, fike Te (name changed) from Bishop's Stortford, who was sttuggling to manage fONow￿g a SI￿Oke, artd was iBferted lo us by his soeial prescriber. He kep( forgetting to pay bills and so had ended up wtth arreaffs forcouncil Tax, energy and rent He was supported by Melhodist ch.urch who he￿ed hirn get bank sQatements and bills together so our debt easew￿ker coufd formulale a statement of his income and expendilure. We WEre IheTr able lo request holds on his debts and work with him to gel affordable payment plans in pEa￿. While our debt casewofker worked on his case, Terry was able Éo drop into (￿r Contact Cen,Ire at the Meth(xlist Church to provide us with copies of lelters received and updated bank stalements - as had no cfjmwler or intemet ac￿$. Wkne￿ he needed to sel up direct debits with the bank, he struggled to understand what he was supposed to be requesling, so our debt casewoFker went with him and exppained to the bank what was needed. ast Herts Cilrzens Advice SETVd TNslees' Report Fortlje yeareJ)ded 3151 MaKh 2tr24 We carried oul a benefrts chec* as part of the debt casewort(. and found that Tefry was entilled lo Pens90n Credil off £105 per week to ttop up his slate pension. We helped him w¥th fthe On￿ne applicaliDn and asked for ot to be backdated Ihree months. This was awarded wil,h a backdated payment off £1.400. We tlw) applied fo￿ Council Tax Support. Now Ihat he has increased income arnd paymenl pDans set up for his debts, and understands how much money lo put aside each month ffor bills, Tery should nol build up any lurther arrears. He tokl us Ihatt when he came to Us, he was going downhill and had nowhere else to hJriD. He was Inciedibty giraleful and can see a way foNvaTd. The future Ciliiens Advice East Herts BS at a cnlirdl Muncfture, wilh core funding Irom East Herts Counoil reduced by 5SOA re81 tefm5 since 2019, and bolh clieTrtt demand and our cosls incr&asing due to the cosl of living crig"Js. While we have been successful in PTevious years wilh income generalion to bn'dge some of fthe gap, we have needed to use some c,esefves. and Ihe fundraising enviwonment has become more difficuul. Fundws tel8 us thal Ea51 Herts Is seen as affluenl compared fto other parts of Hertfordshire and Ihe UK, anfl w'lh increased numbers of applicallons. they aTe PTiori*ising the most deprived areas. Trustee5 wlll focus on sustainability rafther than growlh oveir the nexl year. and look to secure the long-term future of the servi￿, consrndering the reduced level off core funding Ihat we have avallable and Ihe limiled opportunilies to generate Incorne in our curlent form. We WDII conllnue lo develop Ihe service wher8 we can, and focus on the cllents who need us mostt, inueasing 5eJf-help on oui websile and exploring partnerships with other seNices lo maintain and extend the support available to our cllents. Our Vision is to Meel Client Needs - Now and In Ihe Futu￿. We will achieve our vlsion Ihrough a sirole objeclive: We wlll ensuie that ¢ll&nts hav• access to the advlc? that they n8ed Thls objeclive ahgns ￿fjth the national Cltizens Advicy Livlng Strategy whlch aims to shape a sociely where people fa￿ far fewer probleffts; clienls gelling timely access to the advice they need will help lo resolve Iheir existing problems and PTevent new problems ffrom ariising in 11)e fiJ&ure. For fiJrfher informalion on whal we do and Ihe difference we make see our website - wwi.ctt,izensadv,ice8astherts.org.uk 5. Financial Position The Independently Examined accounts of Ihe Servioe are attached lo this Trport arKJ ffull delails of fthe fina￿￿la1 posltiorn are Contai￿￿d therein logelher wilh Ihe ExaMin￿S ¥epDrt to the Trustees. The TnJstees have considered the level of opeTaling costs and the cash flow. Core funding fcthm IEast Herts Council ,has been recejved for 2023124. and subsequenlly for 2024125. Th& Truslees are satisfied Ihal Ihe SeNi¢e's ove.rall funding is such fthat it will be abk to meel its obligaliorjs as they fall due Ihe orthnary course of business and accordingty Ihe acrx)uTrts have beein drawn up on a going concern basis. The accounls for 2017 showed lor the fiysl Ilme an actuarial valuation ol our shale of the Herts Counly C0￿cl1 Local Government Pension Scheme deficit. rhis was a ￿sU¥l of changes in accounling saandards al the time. and the relalionship with the Truslees of the NCC iPensiion Scheme had ￿eMained unchanged from 2008 when aclive membershi',p of the peThsion stheme ceased and an annual conttrobution of £2.500 was agreed. Dunng 2020r21 changes in legislation pmvided that where aclive melnbership had ceased it was t,hen a reqUI￿￿en& to oblaiin a 'cessattion valuation, of Ihe scheme, wilh a view to Feackn'ng selllerftenl Ove￿ an agreed p8n"od, and fthe stheme effectively Cease. The East Herts CilDzens Advice Service Trustees, Report Forehe yearended 3111 March 2024 Twslees iniStNcted a professional ￿ssa￿on valuation. the Report revea.llng a deficit of £123.000, of which £3,000 was settled in the 2021122 year, with a proposal of £1.000 pef calendar month to clear. This persisted thmuglx)ul 2022123, but the setQlement period woukl have proved an unacceptabty long period at that rate. For 2023124. and beyorKI, settlement has been offered. and a￿pted,, at £1,800 per calendar monlh which will sett Qhe deficit over the ensuin9 five years. The Trustees believe this will prove to be a workable payment plarL Reserves policy and risk management Donations. grants and funds Ihat are prDvided for specific puryjoses are Irealed as Restricted Funds. All other reSen￿S are held in general ffunds. It was dec+ded. ir( iespect of the curien,t year and the previous year. not to ctesignate fun.ds as has sometimes been the case in the past, but to a,Ilow funds to remain flexible and be applied where most r￿er1ed. The board has set a prudent and realistrc bwdgeQ for 2024125 which will eat into reseNes, whilst still maintaining adeq,uate ieseNes for the operation ol'the Servtce. Having set such an 'across the board, budget. no funds had been specificalty designated to projecfis this year. The Trustees sel the fevd of reserves having regard to the committed foThvard spend of the owanlsation, wilh a contingency to allow for the ovderly man,agement of the oiganisatson should it be faced with any advetse and unexpecled even( keeping In mind 8.lso a minimum levèl of free feseNes larget off three to six momths ongoing costs. The 2020121 year expe¥ienced such an evenl of course with the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result. the objective conllnues. The Truslees confim that ri'sks conts.nue to be revtewed on an ongoing basis and systems and proCedU￿S are brought into place in order to manage those risks. 6. Statement of Internal Control The Truslee board ovewsees th,e infomiation SeCur￿Y of all persoroal information of our clients, staff. funders and slrategic partners that is pro￿Sed. Citizens Advi￿ East Herts hold,s joint ￿SpOnsI￿.11ty for client data that is held in our case management system. wilh th8 nalional CitizeThs Advice Servi￿. An informa.tion assurance marEagement team exists lo ensuce the confidentiality, integrity and availability of all personal and sensitive data. and l.,s maintained to a I,evel which is cornplianl wilh the ￿qUireMents of the UK Genera Data Protecl¢on Reg￿laRiOn and Dala Protection Act 2018. 7. Recruitment and training policy for new Trustees Tiustees aiE elected at. the Aniiual Genewal Meeting or are rM)minated by any associated member o(ga,nisaÈions or Co￿opted by the Conimillee members. The petsons entitued to vote at Ihe AGM in order to elect the Trustees are the Members of Iha association (up to 40). The induclion and I￿[ning of new Tvuslees ts urKlertaken wilhin the Servrce. as well as through the attendance at courses provided by national Citizens Advcce. The membets of the cha¥tty ale en&'tled Éo appoint the Trustees, who ale requirBd to retire at the fourth annual genetali meeling following Iha (Sate they were last admiued a5 a member but may be ￿adrnrtled. 8. Statement of disclosure of information to Independent Examiners We. the Directors of the company who held Offi￿ ai the dale of approval of these Financial Slatements, as set out above. each confirm so far as we are aware. Ihatr. there is no relevant aLKtit informalion of which the compansls Independent Examlners are unaware: and we have taken all the steps that.we ought to have taken as diwect0¥5 in order to make ourselves aware of any rdevant audit infofmation and to estabfish that Ihe corrtpany's Independent Examineis are aware of that information. Easl Herts Cihzens Afsvice Se￿Ice Truslees, Report Forllie yeareiided 314 March 2024 9. Independent Examiners A iesolution be prnposed al Ihe Annual GeneRI Meeting Ihat Montague Accounts be appointted Independent Examiners lo Ihe charty lor the ensuing year. This report has been prepared in accordance wilh the special rxovisions relating to smal companies sul4ect lo the small companies, iegime wilhin Part 15 of Ihe Companies Act 2006 and the￿efOre does not indude a Strategic Report. erofthe ees 6Jh November 2024 J Dowson Company secrelary East Herts Citizens Adbice SeN¢¢e Independent Examinerfs Report Forlhe yearended 3fst Ma￿h 2024 INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF EAST HERTS CITIZENS ADVICE SERVICE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 I report to the Charity Trustees on my examination of Ihe accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2024 which awe set out on pages 11 to 24. Responsibilities and basis of report As the Charity Trustees of the company (and also its directors forthe purposes of company law) you are ￿spOnSIble for Ihe Pfeparati(Jn of the 8ccounls in accordance wilh the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ("the 2006 Act.). Having satisfied myself that the account of the company are not required to be audited unLfer PaTt f 6 of the 2006 Act and are elligibte for itKlepeTtdent examination, a report i respect of my examination of your companiy's accounts as carfjied oul under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (°the 2011 Acn. In carrying out my examinatior61 have followed Ihe Directions given by the Ch,arity Comm&ssi.on under seCI￿n l45(5)(b) of the 201 l Act. Independent examiner's statement I confiffti that l am quali[￿d to undertake the examination because l am a fthly licEnced member in practice with the Assoclation of Accounting Technicians, and l am also an afffiliated rnember of ACIE {AssoctaÈion of Chaiitable Independent Examine¥s). which is one off the listed bodies. I have completed my examinatiofft,. I confinn that no matlers have come to my a.ItenÉion i connecQion with the examinalion glvlng rne ca.use to believe thal in any matertal respect: accounÉing ￿cordS were nol kepl In respect of the company as iequired by sectlon 386 af the 2006 Act: or 2. the accounts do not accord with Ihose records: or 3. Ihe accounts do not com,ply wl(h the acCou￿,￿l￿g ￿qUirements of secÉion 396 of Qhe 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a Irue and fair vÈe which ris nol a matler considered as part of an in,dependent examination., or 4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordan￿ wilh Ehe methiods and principles of the Statemenl of Recommended Ptactice lor accounting and reporting by charilies [applicable to chatities piepaFing thdr accounts in a.(xordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicabte in the UK and republtc of Ireland, (FRS 102)1. I have no concems and have coma across no other fflatters in conn,ectiowr, with the eX￿inatIon lo whrch attenlion Str￿Uld be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of Ihe accounts to be reached. Date For and on behalf o Montague AcCo￿ts Poache￿ Cottage Brewers Lane Badsey Evesham,, WR117EU 10 East Herts Cit4zens Servl¢e Slalernent of FDnancial AclTrvities For Ihe yearetKled 31* fftAafcli 2024 Statement of Financial Activities 202312024 Nestricted 2022J 2023 Total Funds Unrestricted General Designated Total Funds Incomv: Note Donat40ns and legacies Donatlons Grants 17.437 107,194 I,OOD 6,600 18,437 113.794 30.3.20 138,171 124.631 7,60D 132,231 168 491 Zn¢ome from otlaer artivlti Fundra15￿￿9 4.098 1,790 4,098 1,790 5,888 Investment Income Inc.Dme ffrgm charltabh actSvi¥e$ 13.736 ID,350 13,736 321,810 4,504 249.929 311,460 Total Incon 152.815 320,850 473,665 42,2.924 Expendlture: AdvJce )nd Inforniatlon Exceptlonal Ite4m 181,038 36,162 328.743 509.781 36.162 438,927 Exp8nditur4 on dbjrltabh attt&vltl49 217,200 328,743 545.943 438,927 Total Expendlt,we 217.20D 328,743 545,943 43B,927 Net Delldt (64.335) {7,893) (74278) (16.003) Transfets between funds 737 737 Net Income/{ Expe'ndlture) b¢ffowa other galns and losses (,65,122) (7,156) (72,278) {16,003) Other galns and losses Net mo¥emnt In YuNds (65,122) (7.156) (72,278) {16,003) RecDI3C4-liat4on •f funds Total Funds brnught fomtard 169,957 11,299 181,256 197,259 Funds cayrled forward 104,835 4,143 108.978 181,256 All a'mounts relate to contlnulng actlvltfts of the cyjmpany. The stateM￿t of Financlal Activltles Indudes all galn5 and losses In the year. The Iiotes to the flnandal stattsnents are shown on pages 13 to 24. 11 Eagt Herts Cilizens Advice Service Balance Sheet As al 3P March 2023 Balance Sheet Company Number 3982216 Notes 2024 2023 Fixed Assets Tanglble assets io Current Assets Debtors Cash at bank and In hand li 5,681 -236 520 3.315 332 176 242.201 335,491 Lla&ilitKes Credltors - amounts falllng due withln one year 12 44.423 46.235 Net current assets L97.778 289,256 Defined Benefit Penslon Llabllity 13 88.800 108.000 Total net assets 108.978 181.256 The Funds of the charlty Restrlcted Income fu.nds 14 4,143 11,299 Unrestrkted funds Deslgnated funds General funds rotal Unrestricted 15 15 104 835 169 957 104.835 169.957 Total Funds 16 108,978 181,256 The Olrect¢)ws conslder that the company Is entitled to exemptlon from the requirement to have an udlt under the provls(ons of sectlon 477 of the Companles Act 2006 ("the Att.) and members have not reoulred the company to obtaln an audit for the year In questicn In acccrdance with sectton 476 of the Art. The Ofrectors acknowledge responsiblllty for ensurfng that the company keeps accountin9 records which comply wlth sectlon 386 of the Act and for preparln9 flnancial statements whlch glve trne and fafjr vlew of the state of affalrs of the company as at 31 March 2024 and of its incoffte and expendlture and appllcation of resources ft•r the year then ended In attordance wlth tlie requlrements of sectlons 394 and 395 of the Act and whlch otlierwlse comply wlth the reoulrements of the Companles Act 2006 relatlng to the financlal Statements so far as applicable to the conipany. The funandal statements have been prepared In accordan￿ with the provisions appllcable to companles subJett to the small companles, regime arul in accorda¥Ke WLTh the Finanaal Reportlng Stand,ard. Approved by the Trustees on 6th Novembw 2024 a by: ed and rlsed for issue on thelr behalf G J Canslck J Dowson The notes on pages 13 to 24 fomi part of the￿ financlal statements. 12 Easl Herts Ciiizens Ad¥ice SerV￿e Slalempnt of Cash FIDWS FOr1J￿ yeaf ended 31st March 2024 Statement of Cash Flows Notes 2023124 2022123 Cash Flows from Operating activities: Net cash provioled by operating activltles 17 Cas19 Flows Irom Anvestln9 activ&t.Lies.- Net Cash provlded by Invesung ac,tivi*ies {95,656) (49.578) Change In cash and cas equivalents Jn the rnportlng period (95,656) (49,578) Cash and cash equlvalents at the beglnrnlng off the reportlng perlod 332,176 381,754 Change In cash and cash equlvalents In the reportlng period 95.656 (49,578) G￿￿ and cash eq4bYivalents at tha and ol the reportlng period 236,520 332,176 The notes on pages 13 to 23 form part of these flnandal statements. 13 EasÈ Herts Citizens Advice Service Notes to the Financial SEatements As at 3fS( March 2024 Notes to the Financial Statements l. Accountlng Policies The p￿ndPa1 accountlng pollcies adopted. judgements and key soU,r￿S of estirnatlon un￿rtaInty in the prepa,ratlon of the financpall statements are as follows: a) Basis of Preparation The finandal staternents have been prepared in accordance wlth Accountlng and Reportlng by Chailtles.. Statement of Recommended Pract1￿ appllcable to charltles preparlng, their accounts in accordan￿ wlth the Fl,nanclal Reporting Standard appllcable In the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRSIQ2) effective l January 2019 - Charltles SORP {FRS102), the Financlal Reportlng Standard applicable bn the iJK and Republic of Ireland (FRSL02) and the Companles Act 2006. East Herts atlzens, Advlce Serv1￿ meets the defin5tlon of a publlc beneflt entity under FR5102. Assets and Illabllitles are initially recognised at hlstorlcal cost or transactlon value unless otherwlse ststed in the relevant accounting pollcy note(s). The presentatlon currency of the financlal statements Is the Pound st￿lIng (£}. b) Legal Status of the Charlty The charlty Is a company Ilmlted by guarantee and has no Sha￿ capltal. In the event of the charlty belng wound up. the Ilablllty In respect of the guarantee Is limited to £1 per member {16) - (2023 - 16) of the charity. c) GoSn8 Concern The Trustees conslder that there are no materlal uncertalntles over the Charit￿s abllity to continue as a golng thncern and relles on annual grants from East Herts DISt￿Ct Councll a,fid others. and that it shall receive sufficient fvndiftg to continue operatlng at least throughout 2Q25. The effect of Covi(1-19 ca,used a major conslderatlon but the level of requlred stablllty and income that the Trustees are already aware W￿11 be I n place for 2025, along with Its reserves, and its ablllty to redu￿ costs and servkce tevels should the need arise shall mean It Is appropriate to draw up these ftnandal statements on a golng concern ba,sls. Reductions In costs previously seen demon,strate thls. d) Fund Accounting Unrestrlcted funds are avallable to spend on activltles that further any of the purposes of the clrarfty. Designated funds are Un￿str[¢￿d funds of the charity, whith the tnjstees have decided, at their discretion. to set aside to u,se for a spedfic purpose,, Restrltted funds are for work on specific projects belng undertaken by the charity, Restrlcted funds a￿ charged a proportlon of management time and organisatiotral costs. 14 Easl Herts Ci15zens Advice Se¥¥ice Notes fto Its Financial S181emenls As al 3#￿ Ma￿) 2024 e) Income Income ts recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance condlts.ons attached to the Item{s) of IT>come have been met, It Is wobable that the Income will be recelve£J, and the amount can be measured reliably. Where income has related expendlture (as with contract income), the irncome and related expendlture are reported gross in the Statement of Vinancial Activities. Donatlons, grants aTKI gifts are recognised when recedvable. In the event that a donation Is subject to fulfilllng performanc,e condltlons before the charlty Is entltled lo the funds. the Income Is deferred and Trot recogT)Ised until It Is probable that those condltlons wlll be fulfllled In the report￿ng perfod. Zncome recelved In advar+ce ￿latIng to the followlng year Is deferred until the crlterla for Incorne recognltlon has been met. Interest on deposlt fuinds held Is Indu(Jed when receIvab￿e and the amount can be measured rellablly by the charoty, whlch Is nomially upon notlflcatlon of 'lhe Interest pald by the fir+ancla,'I Institutlon concerined. Oonated goods and services Donated servlces or faclgltles are recognlsed when the charlty has controg over the Item, any condltlons assoc13ted wlth the donated Itern hav,e been met, the recelpt of the economlc benefit trom the use of the Item Is probaft)le and that economic beneflt can be measured rellably. Donated professlonal senAces arnd facllltles a￿ Included In income at the estdmated value of the glft to the cl)arlty vthern recelved, based on the amount the charlty would have bee,Tr prepared to pay for tihese servlces or facilities had it been requlred to purchase them, wlth a correspondln9 entry In the approprlate expendlture headlng for the same amount. 8) Expenditure Expendltu,re is recognlsed On￿ there Is a Ilegal or constructlve obllgatlon to make a payment. It Is probable that se'ttlement will be requlred, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliabjy. All expendit,ure is accounted for on an accruals b3sIs. Support costs comwlse those costs whlch are Incur,red dlrectly in support of expendllture on advace and guldance and indudes governance, finance, ￿ and HR. Governan￿ costs are those costs Incurred In connectlon wlth the compliance with cor•stltuLlonal and statutory requlrements of the charlty. Su'pport costs are allocated to projects on a tlme basis. h) Volunteers The value of servlces provlded by volunteers Is not Incorporated Into these financlal statemen i) Fixed Assets All flxed assets are caplta'llsed at thelr hlstorlcal purchase cost and depreclated on a stiraight Ilne ba51s over 3 years. Indlvldual assets are capltallserj where their acqutsltlon cost exceeds £IOOD. 15 East Herts Cllizens Advice Setvice Notes to the Finanrial Statefflents As 8t 31sI March 2024 j) Debtors Trade and other debtors are recognlsed at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayrnents are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade dlscounts due. Accrued Incorrle and tsx recoverable Is Induded at the best estimate of the amounts ￿CeiVable at the balan￿ sheet date. k) Cash at bank arid in hand Cash at bank an,d cash In hand itKluded cash and short-term deposlts wlth a maturlty of twelve months or less. l) Llabllltles and Provlsions Uabllltles are rBcognlsed when there is an obllgatlon at the Balance Sheet date as result of a past event. It Is probable that a transfer of economic benefit wéll be required settlement. and the amount of the settlement can be estimated rellably. Liabilities are recognused at the amount that It Is anticipated will be paid to settle the debl or at the amount recelved as advanced payments for the good,s or servlces. m) Pensions The charlty prevlously participated in the HertfOrdshI￿ County Coundl Penslon Fund whlch Is a furKled scheme and the assets are held separately from those of the Cha￿ty. The value of the charlty's share of the assets and Ilablllties has been calculated by the Fund's actuaries and the metttodology Is set out In note 14. Full actuarial valuatlons have In the past been obtained trSeTrnially to be updated at each balance sheet date. n) Taxation The company Is considered to pass the tests set out In paragrapfv I schedtple 6 of the Finan￿ Act 2010 and therefare It meets the definltion of a charltable companv for UK corporatlon tax purposes. Accordlngly, the company Is potentlally exempt from taxatlon In respect otr Income or capital gains re￿lIved wlthtTr, categorles covered by thapter 3 part I l of the Corporation Tax Act 20JLO or sectlon 256 of the Taxation of Charyeable Gains Act L992. to the extent that such Iincome or gains are applied exclusively to cha.rltable purposes. o) Crltlcal Accountlng Estlmates and Areas of Judgement ates and Sudgemerbts are contlnually evaluated and are based on hlstorlcal experlence and other factors, induding expectatfons of futu￿ events that are consldered to be reasonable. p) Financial Instruments The Charlty has only financial assets and liabiultles of a klnd that quallfy as baslc financial instruments. Basic financlal Instrumeftts are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at tt¢elr settl'ement value., Foxed assets are valued, at cost and Investrnents at falr value whlth Is their marf Postcode Communlty Trlist HCAS/Herts County Councll (Crisis Intervention) Herts County Coundl (Rural Cost of Llving} Herts County Council (Cost of Living) 8razler Trust Hertford Yambombers (Houslng Benents) Arnold Clark Shanley Foundatlon Sthroders Bilshops Stortford Foodbank Unrestri¢ted Funds 20,651 1,80Q 20.973 19.167 2.000 19.974 7.500 8.414 11.168 8.414 9,540 8.297 63.092 66.878 46.125 539 25,200 9.274 44,824 9.274 44,093 10,000 38, 100 3,360 12,700 6.226 i.ooo 2,500 4.000 1,000 2,012 General Fundralslng Herts coun.ty Council (H,ousehold Support Fund) Herts Communlty Foundatlon 19.288 12,325 5.350 32LI,81Q 249,929 6. Analys15 of Expenditure Dlrect Costs Support Costs (n,ote 7) Total Costs 202312024 Advi￿ and Infonnation Ex￿ptIOnal Item 431.821 36,162 467,983 79,710 511,531 36.162, 547,693 79,7LO 202212023 Advi￿ and Inforrnation 364,126 74,801 438,927 The exceptlonal item in 2023124 ￿lateS to the dilapidation cost charged on vacatlng the premises in Bishops Stortford. 18 ',East Herts CilizerLs Advlce SeNice Noles lo Ihe Financial Statemenls As 8131AI A18Kh 2Lr24 7. Analysis of Support Costs Basis or AfPPOVtlonment ',Management FiN3nce/ HR Govewnance Total 2023/2024 Advlce and Informataon Dlrect 44,188 11,789 16,247 7,486 79.710 202212023 Advice and llnfomiatlon DI￿ett 38,2Q6 14,164 16,279 6,152 74,801 Govema,nce costs comprlse examination fees El,000 (202212023: £1,000): professlonal ffees £6,000 (202212023.. £4,800) and Board SeC￿tarIat £486 (2022123 £352). 8. Analysis of staff costs and key management personnel 202312024 202212023 Wages aml salarSes Soclal Securlty Costs Penslon Costs 405.205 25,486 324,163 21,023 441,879 355.298 The tharlty t,ru5tees were not paid in the year (2022J2023: nll), nelther were they relmbursed expenses durlng the year {202212023: nll). The average monthly head count was 22 (202212023: 17) and analysls of the staff employees the year was. 202312024 Aclual Number 16 2022/2023 Actual ,,N￿rnber 11 Advlce and llnformatlon Support Servlces Total 22 17 There are no empjoyees whose total employee benefits. IrKludlng penslon contributlons. total over £fA).000. 9. Net Incoming Resources 202312024 202212023 Net Incomlrng Resources Is stated after charging. Depreclation ndependent exam￿nation fees Operatlng lease rentals 1,000 20,261 1,000 17.339 19 East Herts Citizens Advi￿ Service Notes to the financi81 Slalements As at 31# March 2024 10. Tangible Fixed Assets IT Total Cost or Revaluation At start of year Additlons At of year 59,995 59,995 59.995 59.99S Depreclatlon At start of year Charge for year At end aff year 59.995 59.995 59.995 59,995 Net book value at the end of the year Net book value at the start of the year 11. Debtors 202312024 202212024 Sundry Debtors Prepayments 5.563 118 5,681 1.318 3,315 12. Credltors: Amounts falllng due wlthln one year 202312024 202212023 Other Credltors Accruals Deferred KncDme 36.230 1,864 11,760 2,708 44.423 46,23S Deferred Income reconcil￿tIOn. Balance brought forward Amount released to the Statement of F5nanclal Actlvltles Amount deferred in the year Balance carried forward 31,767 (3L,767) 51,695 (51,695) 31.767 31.767 6,329 Defer￿d Income represents funds advanced for projects undertaken In the followlng year. Easl Herts Ci14zens AdvJce SeNl¢e Noles to Ihe Financbal Slalements As 8t31￿ Ma￿h 2024 13. Pensions The charity observes ts obllgations under auto-enrolment. and some employees of the charity are entitled to Join a defDned contributlon "money purchase" scheme. The charJty'S contributloLn5 are restrlcted to a maxknmum of 60/0 of the employee's gmss salary, EHCAS participated In a (Jefined beneflt pension scheme operated by Hertfordshlre County Councll untll 31 December 2008. There are no ac￿1Ve members of the scheme and the Trustees had agree(I wlth the Trustees of the penslon scheme that the charlty. may contlnue to part1dpo￿e In the scheme, mal(Ing payments of £2.500 per annum. EFICAS. being a ceased empuoyer wlthin the hjnd with an outstandlng deficlt, had been reoulred t,0 value the deftclt on a Gllts (cessatlon) basis, a full revlew a,rKI actuarlal valuatlon being completed triennlally, The basss used for the more recent valuats'ons however was Gllts w5th cessatlon mortality. Ce5satlorn mortallty assumes a more prudent Ilfe expectancy - people will be expected lo live longer. and penslons expected to be pald for longer, therefore a sllghtly Increased Ilablllty. Durlny 2020121 changes leglslatlon provlded that where actlve meml)ershlp had ceased It was then a requlrement to obtaln a '￿SSatIOn valuatlon. of the scheme. with a vlew to reachlng settlefnent over an agreed perlod. and the scheme effectlvely cease. The Trustees Inst￿Ucted a professloThal ￿sSatIOn valuation, the Report reveallng a deficit of £123,000, of whlch £3.OOD was sertled In the 2021122 year. w3th a proposal of £1,000 per calendar rnonth to clear. Thls perslsted throughout 2022123, but the settlement perlod would have proved an ￿nacCeptablY long period at that rate. For 2023124, and beyond. settlernent has been offered, and aC￿pted, at £1,800 per calendar month whlch wlll settle the deFlclt over the ensulng five years. The resultant Ilablllty at 31st March 2024 of .£88.8001s shown un these Accounts. Glven that thls Is now an absolute liablllty, no detalls of the underlylng assets arKJ Ilabllltles need be dlsdosed here. 14. Restricted Funds 2023/2024 Income Expendllure As at l Aprll 2023 Transfers Asat31 March 2024 Speclallst AdvlcE General Adv4ce Beneflts Tralnln9 other Total 5,171 3,548 119,313 177,435 123,070 179.272 1,414 2.441 730 2.580 4,934 7,226 288 11,299 320,850 328.743 737 4,143 202212023 Incume xp8nd•ture As at l Aprll 2022 Asat31 Wjarch 2023 Transfers Spedalist Advuce General A(Jvlce Benefits Tralnlng other 121.746 65.493 116.575 61,945 23,423 21,719 19.4fA 243.126 5,171 3,548 23.423 24,299 18.914 230,452 2,580 550 Total 23,973 11.299 21 East Herts Citizens Adthce SeNlce Notes to the FbTtancial Slalemenis As at 31st March 2024 The nature of these funds Is as glven below: General Adv1￿ - core advice in any area, induding but not restrlcteit to beneflts, debt, houslng. consumer, famlly and relationshlps, employrnent, dlscrlmlnatlon. Immlgration anqf law and courts. 5peclalist Adv1￿ - In-depth adv1￿ from a subject matter expert In debt. housing or beneflts, delivered over one or multlple sessloTrs. Tralning - actuvitles I'nvolved In developlng the skllls and knowledge of staff and volunteers. Other - other artivlties Indudlng those Involved In communlty engagement and scams awareness. 15. Unrestricted Fund5 2023/2024 Income Expen,dliure As at l Aprll 2023 Asat31 March 2024 Transfers/ Movements Deslgnated Funds General Fund L69,957 154,565 218,950 737 104,835 Total Unrestrirted Funds L69,957 154,565 218.950 737 104,835 2022/2023 I,rKome Expendlture Asatl Aprll 2022 Asat31 M•rch 2023 Transfersl MoveM,ents Desi9nated Funds Flxed Assets Other Assets Total Oeslgnated Fun4Ss General Fund 51525 51,525 12L,761 (51525) 51,525 192.472 195,80L 169,957 Untrestrlcted Funds 173,286 192,472 195,801 169,957 16. Net Assets by Funds 202312024 Designated Funds General Fund Restri.cted Funds Total Fund,s Tan9ible Flxed Assets Current Assets Credltors falling due In less than one year Defined benefit pension lialjillty 238,058 4.L43 241201 (44.423) (44,42.3) (88.800) 104,835 (88.800y 108.978 22 East Herts Cilizens A¢JviGe SeTVi Notes lo Ihe Financlal Stalanenls As at 31¥t March 2024 202212023 DesogTrated Funds General Fund Restr•cted F,und5 Totall Funds TaTrgi￿e Flxed Assets Ctjrrent Assets credIto￿ falllng due In less than one year Defined beneffit penslon Ilabllity (108,000) 169,957 324.192 11,299 335,491 (46,235) (46,235) {108,000) 11,299 181,256 17. Reconciliation of net income / (expenditure) to net cash flow from operating activities 202312024 202212023 Net expendlture foi the rwrtlng perlod (as per the Statement of FiTranclal Activitles) Adjustments for." Depreciatfjon Charges DecreaseJ(Inorease) In debto Increase creditors Movement In penslon Ilablllty Net cash provlded by / (used In) operating actlvalies (72,278) {16,003) (2,366) (1,812) (19,200) {95,656) (639) (20,936) (12.000) (49,578) 18. Analysls of cash and cash equivalents 202312D24 202212023 Cash In hand Bank and Not4ce deposlts (12 months or less) Total cash and cash equlvalents 46 236.520 332,130 236,520 332, 176 19. Commitments under operating leases The charity had total corninutments ￿rtde￿ operatin8 leases as sel out be￿OW., 202312024 Land & 2022/2023 Land & other Bulldlngs other Otolyear 6,900 4.890 23 East Herts Cbtizens Advice Seivrce Notes to Ihe Ftnartctal Slalernents As al 31U Ma￿￿ 2024 20. Related party transactions During the year, £9.000 (202212023: £4,800J was the deemed market value of seThices provided without charge by Tees Solicitors for legal worK and. exceptionaEly, in respect of the dilapidations claim. James Dowson, a durector of the company, is a par tner of Tees. Also £650 (202212023: £Nil) was the deemed, maiket value of services provrded without charge by Mishcon de Reyd for HR related advice. Nicola Anderson. a dlreclor of the company. Is an employee of Mrshcon de Reya. There are rro other ￿lated, p3rtlles to note. 24