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2022-03-31-accounts

Annual Report and Accounts

2022

A COMMUNITY TOGETHER FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS

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www.advancecharity.org.uk

Advance Advocacy and Non Violence Community Education

Charity no. 1086873 PO BOX 74643 London, W6 6JU Telephone: 020 3953 3111 www.advancecharity.org.uk

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Contents
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04 Message from the Chair and Chief Executive

06 Our year at a glance: a community together for women and girls

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13

15 16 18

Supporting women and children in the community

Systemic change to end violence against women and girls

Preventative education and amplifying survivor voices A whole community response in partnership

Looking towards the future

The Impact of the Covid 19 Pandemic

Financial Statements

Statement of Financial Activities

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Message from the Chair and Chief Executive

Christine Losecaat MBE Chair

Niki Scordi Chief Executive Officer

"advance reached out to provide support to over 90 women, young women and children"

The Covid-19 pandemic continued to bring unprecedented challenges for the women and children we support for the second year. As women and children continued to struggle disproportionately with the effect of the crisis on their safety, mental health, housing and income, Advance continued to reach out and provide support to over 9,000 women, young women and children.

It is because of our many supporters, from statutory commissioners to trust and foundations, companies and individuals, that we were to provide our vital services to so many. Our continued commitment to improving outcomes for women and children has meant that we have invested the significant increase in funds in line with our strategic priorities, namely our vital frontline services, our work to amplify the voices of women and children and influence systemic change, and our people who continued

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to show unwavering commitment to the needs of women and children, despite the challenges they faced throughout the pandemic.

In June 2021, we responded to the increasing need of women facing multiple disadvantages by extending our services nationally for the first time, in the South and East of England, in addition to Greater London. As part of Advance’s coordinated community response, we continued to focus on building local partnerships with specialist women’s centres, whilst sharing our expertise in providing womencentred wraparound services and developing a multi-agency response, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice and the National Probation Service.

We were able to develop new services in the community, including a further five new Women's Centres in the South East, in addition to a third centre in London. We extended our groups and workshops in the centres to enable women and girls to build support networks and new skills, as well as further developing our specialist outreach advocates, including young women keyworkers supporting those over 15 years old, at risk of contact with the criminal justice system.

We worked with Government and others, at local and national level, to raise awareness of the impact of abuse and trauma on all aspects of women’s and girls’ lives, building on practicebased evidence and women’s lived experiences. We launched “Women Demand Better Mental Health Support” in May 2021, highlighting the impact of the pandemic on women’s wellbeing and mental health including the increase in self-harm and deaths by suicide. In November 2021 we launched “Women Need Women Who Support Them”, sharing the learnings of the first two years of the London Women’s Diversion Service in partnership with the Metropolitan

Police and the Mayor of London’s office, and calling for an extension of the service providing support in the community and out of court disposals, across the whole of London and beyond.

We want to thank all our colleagues, volunteers and trustees for their hard work, expertise and dedication to providing vital support and delivering our mission, towards a safe, violencefree and equal world for women and girls.

The end of this financial year brought a new challenge with the cost-of-living crisis affecting women and children, our colleagues and partners and all of our communities. It is evident that our support will be just as vital going forward as is has been during Advance’s more than two decades of service, and we are committed more than ever to our mission.

Christine Losecaat MBE, Chair Niki Scordi, Chief Executive Officer

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Our year at a glance

COMMUNITY TOGETHER Thousands of women and girls every year transform their lives with our services. We enable women and children to be safer from domestic abuse and to improve justice outcomes for those FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS in contact with the criminal justice system. Women referred to Advance come from all age groups and communities throughout the South and East of England, including Greater London. Our support empowers women to be safer, to recover from the trauma of their experience and to improve their confidence, self-esteem and life skills, so they are better able to lead the lives they choose in the community.

The number of women and children being referred for support and engaging positively with our services, both directly and through our partners, continued to increase, as the effects of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis continued to impact women and children disproportionately.

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A community together for women and girls

Our services received 9,591

referrals in total, saving and changing lives, despite repeated lockdowns.

5,073

1,028

women and children referred to our VAWG services delivered in partnership

women and children referred directly to our domestic abuse services

634

2,856

women and young women women and young women in contact with the criminal joined groups and justice system referred for activities online one-to-one support and in person

72%

were contacted by our domestic abuse teams and offered support

79%

were contacted by our Criminal Justice Keyworkers in the community and on release

We remained committed to safely contacting and engaging women and children to offer support.

74%

engaged with the services offered by our Domestic Abuse Advocates despite lockdowns

70%

engaged with the services offered by our Criminal Justice Keyworkers across all their needs

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2022 Our year at a glance

The women we provided domestic abuse services to tell us that our support led to a safer and better quality of life:

96% 95%

of women said that they felt safer, as a result of the support provided

of women were at reduced risk following the support provided by the service

93%

95%

92%

of women reported a reduction in abuse due to support and advice received

of women said that their quality of life and well-being had improved due to the support

of young people reported increased awareness of various forms of VAWG and where to access support

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It’s been honestly life changing. You helped me get out of the black hole I was in. Helped me do things I could never have done on my own. Like having a really strong person who’s advocating what you're trying to say but can't articulate it. I am in such a better place and it's a lot to do with you. I couldn't have done it alone.

Reaching more women and children

The women we provided criminal justice services to say that our support improved their lives:

92% 93%

of women reported improved health and wellbeing, due to the support

of women said that they felt safer from abuse, as a result of the support provided

89%

97%

96%

of women using our service reported reduction in drug and alcohol use

of women said that they had enhanced parenting skills

of young women (15-24 years old) reported healthier relationships following our support

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Supporting Women and Children in the Community

community is for: when you’re down, someone lifts you up, and when you’re up, you can lift other

Molly's Story Not her real name

www.advancecharity.org.uk

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Our approach to community services is holistic and centred on the woman or girl , developing a safety and support plan with her, that responds to her and her children’s needs and enables her to recover from the trauma and effects of the abuse.

Our whole-system approach is aligned with our values of collaboration and innovation, partnering with other statutory and non-statutory providers, to deliver a coordinated community and gendered response, improving access to services across the whole system, enabling consistency and continuity of support throughout her journey. Through our advocacy and awareness-raising work, we focus on systemic change and sustainable impact to meet women’s needs and improve outcomes for them.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis that started towards the end of the period referred to in this report, affected all aspects of women and children’s lives disproportionately, increasing the risks they faced and the barriers they faced to access support.

The pandemic exacerbated not only the risk women and children faced of being unsafe, but also their well-being and mental health, requiring significantly more support from Advance. Throughout the year, we continued to adapt our life-saving and life-changing services in the community quickly, in order to deliver the support women and children needed without disruption. Our domestic abuse advocates, outreach community workers and children and young people specialists, continued to offer one-to-one holistic and tailored support throughout. We also opened additional Women's Centres across London, the South and East of England, providing safe spaces in their local communities and access to groups and workshops both in person and virtually, responding to women and children’s diverse needs and meeting them where they are.

is a world where women and children lead safe, violence-free and equal lives so that they can flourish and actively contribute to society.

is saving and changing lives , by working with women who experience domestic abuse to be safe and lead the lives they choose, and those in contact with the criminal justice system to break the cycle of offending.

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1 Domestic abuse support and advocacy

Advance is focused on supporting women and children to end domestic abuse and other forms of gendered violence, enabling them to be safer and lead the lives they choose. This year, as the pandemic exacerbated the impact on women and children’s lives, there was an unprecedented and increasing high level of need for support for survivors of domestic abuse. A total of 5,073 (2020/21: 5,251) women and children were referred to us directly, including self-referrals, from the MARAC, the police, social care, health, housing and other service providers.

5,073 women and children were referred to us directly

As the journey for survivors of domestic abuse can often be long as they rebuild their lives, we remained focused on ensuring the provision of support at each stage of the survivors’ needs. We provided support and safety planning for women and children who were at risk of harm because of domestic abuse, through our accredited Independent Domestic Abuse Advisor (IDVA) services.

During the year, access to many statutory services was further reduced and it was

vital that we continued to support all survivors through the pandemic despite the challenges of social distancing and lockdowns. Notwithstanding the disruption to our colocated services in statutory services such as hospitals and clinics, children’s services, and housing, we continued to advocate and provide life-changing support. In this year, it became even more critical that we continued to prioritise working in a coordinated community response, to remove barriers to access and improve outcomes.

2 Children and young women affected by domestic abuse

Advance provides specialist support to families and children from 5 years old, and girls and young women from 13 to 24 years old affected by experiences of domestic abuse, through our co-located Social Care Independent Domestic Abuse Advocates, working together with Children’s Services, as well as through our specialist Children & Young Women’s Advocates.

Children and young women are not only witnesses but also victims of domestic abuse themselves and face devastating and often-long lasting impact on many aspects of their lives. The pandemic exacerbated the risk they faced of being unsafe while in lockdown and affected their well-being and mental health; our specialist services provided vital support to young women and girls facing multiple disadvantages.

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Beth* works as a Young Women’s Keyworker

One of the biggest things that’s different about working with girls this age is what they need support with.

From the age of about 16, we support a lot of girls who are moving into their own accommodation and because many have never had consistent adult role models, they don’t know how to do household tasks like using a washing machine or mopping the floor. Things so many people take for granted because their parents do it for them, like opening a bank account, can be overwhelming and we support them through this.

“Another challenge is that they are in school from 9am to 3.30pm, which gives me a very small window to check in. They don’t make calls on phones much anyway, but that’s another reason I use WhatsApp and Voice Notes a lot – that way, I can get in touch and they can get my messages and check in with me when they can.

“The language I use is totally different from what Minerva Keyworkers use with Advance’s adult women clients. Some people might think it sounds unprofessional, but that’s what young women respond to and helps me connect with them. A lot of the girls have come through care, so they don’t have any role models – so we act as that, a trusted adult, as well as providing information and support. I want to sound less like a probation officer, more like a big ‘sister’.

*Not her real name

3 Accessing support in Health settings

Advance provides life-saving advocacy and support for women and their children accessing health services, in partnership with clinicians in General Practice (GP) and hospital settings through our Health Domestic Abuse Advocates. Women affected by domestic abuse can be supported earlier in health settings, rather than in the community or through the police. It is also vital to provide support to pregnant women as that is often when domestic abuse starts and to children by supporting NHS staff who have a duty to safeguard children.

Through our values of innovation and collaboration, we adapted our approach and work in partnership with IRISi to extend our programme of working with GP practices across four further boroughs. Our commitment to intersectionality continued with the first ever specialist GP IRIS Advocate/Educators for black and minoritised women, in partnership with Asian Women’s Resource Centre.

I hardly ever went to see my GP as my husband wanted

to keep all medical things private, but this year I finally went, and she immediately referred me to Advance. I had attempted suicide three times in the last two years because I could not cope with the abuse. Advance helped me to find the courage and means to leave my husband. They gave me emotional support and guidance with budgeting and food and applying for benefits and a place to live.

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4 Supporting survivors’ journeys for justice

Supporting survivors of domestic abuse must also mean that the system holds perpetrators of abuse to account and improves justice outcomes for survivors. Yet the often-complex court process can leave survivors anxious, feeling blamed and even re-traumatised and unsafe, which the pandemic exacerbated with further delays for court proceedings.

Advance’s dedicated Criminal Justice Advocates (IDVAs) were with the women every step of the way: before, during and after attending court, whether virtual or physical. As well as giving practical support and information about the court process, the IDVAs provided emotional support to help women through this oftenchallenging process.

This year we were able to extend our specialist Criminal Justice Advocates across three West London boroughs, and working with Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts, continued to work closely with the Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, as well as Probation, and supported the coordinated response of all agencies involved to ensure that the woman was informed and part of the process. This has resulted in women feeling supported and safer when prosecuting perpetrators and has increased prosecutions and convictions, improving justice outcomes for all.

‘She has gone above and beyond as a key worker.. I have laughed, cried, annoyed her and all the rest but she has still been there by my side through it all, thank goodness’

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5 Community-based housing support for survivors

Women and children experiencing domestic abuse often feel unsafe at home, even when the abuser no longer lives there. Lockdown left many even more isolated and made it harder to get help, increasing the risk of harm and homelessness for themselves and for their children. Yet most survivors prefer to stay in their own home and within their own community; supporting them to have safe accommodation continued to be a priority this year.

Our Housing and Outreach Advocates were able to provide specialist housing support and solutions in more London boroughs, enabling survivors to be safe in their current or new home and access services to enable them to change their lives. Whether remote or in person, our advocates worked closely with the woman and other services, to ensure she was safe and supported across all her needs, such as her mental health, finances and children.

sAPPHIRE'S STORY

Sapphire was referred to Advance following a physical abuse incident with her partner.

Although it was difficult for her to recognise what she was experiencing as domestic abuse, she has found constant support with her Advance IDVA (Independent Domestic Abuse Advocate) and has felt safe to call and get support whenever she needed her.

Her IDVA has helped her put a safety plan in place whilst living with her partner, and therefore felt able to call the police when she has felt unsafe or if arguments with her partner had escalated.

When she left her partner and became homeless, Advance supported Sapphire to access housing from the council. After some time, she found her temporary housing situation stressful, and the IDVA worked with other professionals and Sapphire to secure more permanent housing.

She also continued to support Sapphire to address all her other needs, including access to a mental health worker. Midwife and Social worker for her unborn child.

Sapphire now feels empowered to live a safe and independent life.

*Not her real name

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6 A Whole VAWG Approach to community support
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Women and children often face multiple systemic barriers to accessing services based on intersecting aspects of their identity. We continue to strive towards inclusive and diverse services, prioritising collaboration with organisations that are led by and for the communities they serve.

Through our Whole VAWG Approach, women and children are able to access holistic support, across all forms of abuse including domestic abuse, sexual violence and harmful practices, and specialist services for black and minoritised women, LGBT+ communities and children and young people. We continued to work closely with our Angelou Partners to ensure that women and children were able to access advocacy and support, both practical and emotional, despite the exacerbated risks and challenges they faced.

As violence against women and girls impacts all aspects of their lives, we provide wraparound and longer-term support to those survivors facing multiple disadvantages and needs, which can include homelessness, mental health, and problematic substance use. Our Domestic Abuse Outreach Advocates and Women's Centres offer holistic community-based support through one-to-one advocacy and access to activities and workshops in safe women-only spaces. We continued to adapt and offer both online and in person groups.

There are lots of women that need this support and they just don't know. There is so much fuzz in their head because of what they've been through, or the abuse they've suffered or trauma they've experienced, and you help clear that fuzz.

Everyone can do what you've helped me do, it's just finding the tools. I feel like I was in a maze and now I've got through it. Now I just have to adapt to living outside the maze.

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7 Minerva services for women in contact with the Criminal Justice system

Advance’s Minerva Approach Mode l offers women and young women in contact with the criminal justice system holistic, consistent support through dedicated keyworkers, groups, and activities in women-only safe spaces, meeting their individual needs. As such, women achieve increased safety, improved confidence, self-esteem, and life skills, and are better able to rebuild their lives and engage positively in their communities.

We reached out to 2,856 women and young women with sentences in custody or in the community

shelly's STORY

Shelly* could not get a GP appointment for a year after her previous practice removed her as a patient when she was taken into custody. Shelly had been coping with significant mental health issues as a result of trauma and without any other support, she had been self-medicating with drugs. She felt alone and hopeless.

After being referred to Advance’s Minerva service and with the support of her Community Keyworker, Shelly has recently been able to access mental health support and has been prescribed medication to help her cope. As a result, she is able to continue to work with her keyworker on her other needs and has joined a group at Advance’s Women’s Centre. She is now hopeful for her future. *Not her real name

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7 Minerva services for women in contact with the Criminal Justice system

We continued to develop and expand our services available to women in contact with the criminal justice system from 15 years old at all levels of risk and need across London and beyond, to eight counties in South and East of England, reaching out to 2,856 (2020/21: 1,096) women and young women with sentences in custody or in the community and provided:

use issues, children and families, employability, and finances, building networks, empowering women to access support for their needs.

This has been the best experience of my life. I can feel the heart & soul of all the staff members. It's been an incredible journey and changed my life around completely. When I began with Minerva I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel and now I can't stop smiling.

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Bedford
BEDFORD-
SHIRE
Luton
Broxbourne Harlow
Oxford HERTFORDSHIRE ESSEX
THAMES VALLEY
Reading FinsburyPark
Hammersmith LONDON Newham Medway
Maidstone
KENT
HAMPSHIRE
Southampton Portsmouth
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Diversion service for women 8

Bria's STORY

The London Women’s Diversion Service

aims to offer alternatives to prosecution for women who have committed low-harm offences, by working with the Police and diverting women at the point of arrest into support services.

“I was 20 the first time I was arrested. My boyfriend had asked me to hide some of his drugs. When I was pulled over for a smashed taillight, the cop found it in my glovebox. The judge took pity on me and just fined me £200. I’d dodged prison and felt like I’d won the lottery – my boyfriend and I even went out to celebrate. The next time, I wasn’t so lucky.

Advance and its three partner organisations (Hibiscus Initiatives, Pecan and Women in Prison) adapted the service and implemented it across four boroughs throughout the pandemic. We continued to offer trauma-informed and genderspecific one-to-one and group support to women with often multiple needs, enabling them to break the cycle of offending and reducing the overall demand on the police and the justice system.

I was arrested again, for being drunk and disorderly at work, but this time was different. Of course, I lost my job, and the police gave me a conditional caution, the condition being I had to attend two appointments at a Women’s Centre, which is where women in trouble with the law go for help and support groups. That’s where I met Cat from Advance. She was smiley and friendly and asked about me, not about what I had done.

I was treated like I was important, like I mattered. I felt safe and like someone had my back.

Cat linked me in with a local counselling service and an alcohol service to help me stop drinking. Through Advance, I joined a group to help me with training and employment and I realised I wasn’t alone: lots of other women were going through the same issues.

Advance helped me feel in control, and that makes me feel free. Things aren’t perfect, but I am definitely on my way to where I want to be. It’s hard, I’m fighting, but knowing Advance is there every step of the way means I’m not going to give up.

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*Not her real name

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systemic change to end violence against women and girls

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A core aim of Advance is to effect systemic change to end violence against women and girls. We cannot do this alone and we believe that everyone in the system must work together. We work in partnership with professionals and organisations, in statutory and non-statutory settings in a whole-system approach, to raise awareness about violence against women and girls and deliver systems changes needed to improve the response to and outcomes for them.

Aligned with our Strategy 2018-2022, we focused on preventative education and amplifying the voices of survivors to influence policy and practice, that are rooted in their experiences and needs, and on working across the whole community system in partnership to deliver systemic change.

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Preventative education and amplifying survivor voices

Preventative education and awareness of domestic abuse was vital as we went into lockdown at the start of the year. We focused on creating digital content and launched new platforms to reach a wider audience.

We delivered Diversion for Women, Whole Housing and Health community response workshops and consultation sessions with professionals in statutory and non-statutory settings.

We provided training in communities, in statutory and non-statutory settings, as well as in partnership with other organisations, to improve the response to all forms of violence and abuse against women and girls.

Women have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, and this will continue to worsen with the cost-of-living crisis, affecting their employment and financial stability, and leaving many without essentials such as food and housing, severely impacting their mental health and well-being.

Women Demand Better Mental Health The impact of abuse, trauma and the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s mental health

Our report “Women Demand Better Mental Health Support” launched in May 2021 shared the stories of women’s worsening mental health since the start of the pandemic, and highlighted the increase in self-harm and silent deaths of women by suicide, directly linked to their experiences of domestic abuse and the impact of facing multiple disadvantages.

view Report

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advancecharity.org.uk Women Demand Better Mental Health, May 2021
“Women need
women who
support them”
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London Women’s Diversion Service
The impact of community support on diverting
women from the criminal justice system
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In November 2021, we launched “Women Need Women to Support Them” based on the evidence and stories of women in contact with the criminal justice system, diverted to Women's Centres and services at point of arrest, which highlighted the link between women’s experiences of abuse and trauma, and their contact with the police. The positive impact of Advance’s support on the women’s outcomes including a reduction in re-arrests, provided a clear call to action for investment in community-based specialist diversion services nationally.

view Report

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molly's STORY

I was arrested for threatening behaviour. It wasn’t violent or anything like that – what I said, I said in anger. I’ve always had a big mouth and this time it got me into a lot of trouble.

I got the conditional caution and going to the Women’s Centre was just part of that, really. I thought it was going to be

view molly's STORY

a bunch of do-gooders who had read a lot of books and had no real-life experience, telling me I was bad and telling me what to do. I wasn’t looking forward to it. But it wasn’t like that. After my first appointment at the Women’s Centre, I felt really good, really uplifted. I really liked my key worker – she wasn’t dismissive or superior, like I thought she’d be.

My keyworker helped me make a plan – there were groups and activities. She said I could visit the Women’s Centre whenever I wanted. I knew I wouldn’t be on my own. To start, she set me up to go to a centre in the Cotswolds for women who had experienced trauma and addiction. That place really helped me set out who I was and straighten my life out, looking at how trauma had affected me. I was really grateful for that.

I had been trained as a phlebotomist, but couldn’t face going to my job, when I was arrested, to explain I needed to take time out, so I lost my job. My keyworker gave me the confidence and help I needed to get back into work, so I’m a phlebotomist again.

I would say to someone who has the power to fund this kind of service: it’s so important for women to taste what life is, as an independent woman . This service is so empowering. If I hadn’t engaged with this service, I’d still be involved with drugs, still offending. At the time I was arrested, I didn’t want to be alive. Now, I’m part of the world. I’m so proud of myself.

I’m very grateful to Advance for taking me on and helping me find myself. I’m now a volunteer Peer Mentor at Advance, helping other women in similar situations to the one I was in. I’m living proof that you can turn your life around. That’s what

community is for: when you’re down, someone lifts you up, and when you’re up, you can lift other people up . That’s what community means, and Advance has given me that community.

*Not her real name

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A Whole Community Response in partnership

We recognise that systemic change is needed to tackle violence against women and girls which is caused by systemic inequalities which are compounded by the intersection of multiple aspects of women’s identity. We are committed to delivering systems changes by working in partnership within statutory and non-statutory settings, as well as with other organisations. We aim to improve responses and outcomes for women affected by domestic abuse and/or those in contact with the criminal justice system, through:

• Developing partnerships and supporting specialist and local services best placed in meeting the needs of those in their communities. We worked with partners to launch the National Women’s Justice Coalition as part of our collaboration in delivering holistic women’s community services to women in contact with the criminal justice system.

• Influencing policy to promote responses that meet the needs of women . We worked with ministers and policy-makers to shape the responses and support for women’s mental health and women on probation, ensuring that specialist services and women’s safe spaces are at the centre of services. We continued to work at national level on the issues of community-based support for survivors of domestic abuse, calling for substantive and sustainable funding for women’s specialist services.

Advance hosted the opening of the new London East Women’s Centre on the 25th November 2021, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

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watch the opening event
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The room is full of experience, joy and activists – women and men who work incredibly hard to change the lives of ALL women and girls.

Niki Scordi, Advance’s Chief Executive

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LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE

Advance continued to face significant funding pressures and changes, which have been further exacerbated by the current Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. There has been both an increase in the number of women and children referred to us for support and in the level of support needed to be provided to women who have been adversely and disproportionately impacted by the crisis.

We have benefited from our work to strengthen our strategic leadership and expertise, as well as from the support of many existing and new partners who joined our fight to save and change lives and to end violence against women and girls. This has placed us in a strong position from which to maximise future opportunities.

We have successfully extended our funding for our both our VAWG and criminal justice services beyond London and have extended our services into a further eight counties in the South and East of England, thereby becoming a national charity.

Advance delivered on our commitment for earlier intervention and prevention support through the extension of our services for young women across London, whilst continuing longer-term wholesystem support and additional women’s centres, to meet the needs of domestic survivors and women involved in the justice system, alongside our crisis intervention services for women at high risk.

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our strategy 2018-2022

Our strategic aim, to provide women and their families with support to be safe from abuse and at the turning point they need to change their lives, is central to our vision of a world where women and girls lead safe, violence-free and equal lives. While continuing to deliver the current strategy, we have been developing our new strategy for the next three years, which we will launch in 2023, as we mark 25 years of Advance’s work.

During 2021/22, Advance continued to deliver our vision and look towards the future, despite the challenges due to the pandemic, including:

1

Reaching more women and children experiencing domestic abuse and/or in contact with the criminal justice system, by providing independent, non-judgemental support and advocacy through new referral pathways and improved access.

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2

Engaging with the community to raise awareness of violence against women and girls, to ensure our services meet their needs and gain support of our activities.

3 Maximising our impact and public accountability through:

4 Building strong financial fundamentals in response to challenges in funding environment and ensure long-term sustainability.

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The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic

It continues to be a challenging and worrying time for the women and children we support, as well as our colleagues and partners, with the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021/22 and the cost-ofliving crisis since February 2022.

The Trustees have considered the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, that has been spreading throughout the world since 2020 and through to 2022, as well as the cost-of-living crisis, on Advance’s activities. These challenging circumstances are likely to continue to cause some disruption to our operations, the extent and quantum of which remains uncertain. Our communications with current and potential funders have been and continue to be very positive and flexible through these challenges as the crisis continues. We are optimistic about the fundraising outlook for the next 12 months and our ability to adapt our responses to the needs of the women and children we support, as well as the health and wellbeing of our staff and partners.

Our teams remained committed to delivering the support women and children needed throughout and Advance was able to adapt our life-saving and life-changing services with a mix of remote- and community-based work, to deliver both one-to-one and group support. We have been able to respond to the needs of women in South and East of England, by adapting our specialist Minerva services to local specificities and with local partners, meeting women’s diverse needs in their own communities.

Our founding principle of partnership working through a coordinated community response enabled us to continue to work closely with our voluntary and statutory partners, to respond to improve the outcomes for women and children. We were supported by many existing and new partners from foundations and trusts, to companies and individuals, enabling us to continue our vital work.

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Advance Annual Report 2022

financial statements for the year ended 31 march 2022

30 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Financial Statements

The Trustees (who are also the Directors of the charitable company for the purposes of the Companies Act) present their combined Directors’ report and Trustees’ annual report, as required by company law, together with the audited financial statements of Advance Advocacy and Non Violence Community Education (the Charity) for the year ended 31 March 2022.

The Trustees confirm that the annual report and financial statements of the Charity comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the Charity’s governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommend Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

Governing document and Objectives

Advance is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association which was incorporated in August 2000. Advance was registered as a charity in September 2000.

Our vision is a world where women and girls can live safe, violence-free and equal lives, so that they can actively participate and contribute to society.

The objects of the charity for the public benefit in 2021/22 are:

  1. The relief and support of persons, including children, who have suffered or are in danger of suffering domestic violence;

  2. To advance the education of voluntary and statutory agencies and the public in all aspects of domestic violence, including without limit, its causes and prevention and the relief of its consequences;

  3. Divert women from the criminal justice system at the earliest opportunity, reduce re-offending amongst women and encourage desistance amongst repeat offenders; and

  4. Reduce the number of custodial sentences imposed on women by the Courts and prevent families breaking down as a result of offending.

The Trustees have complied with the duty in section 17(5) of the 2011 Charities Act to have paid due regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission on public benefit. In particular the Trustees consider how planned activities contribute to the achievement of the Charity's objects.

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Advance Annual Report 2022

Recruitment and appointment of new Trustees

The Directors of the company are also the charity Trustees. Trustees are appointed for the skills and experience that they bring and their ability to assist Advance in meeting its charitable objects. In 2021/22, Advance’s Trustees brought diverse experience and a wide skill-base to the Board at a time of significant growth.

All new Trustees are provided with Advance’s Memorandum and Articles, strategic plan, quarterly management accounts and relevant reports, as well as access to all policies via a secure online shared resource. All new Trustees are also provided with the Charity Commission’s 'The Essential Trustee' and invited to discuss any queries with the Chair.

The Articles of Association state that each year one third of the elected Trustees shall retire from office and shall be those who have served longest in office. A retiring Trustee shall be eligible for re-election. The Board is able to decide how many vacancies there are subject to a minimum of three persons. Where a vacancy exists, the vacancy is openly advertised on Advance’s website and networks, and applicants are interviewed and appointed by delegated Trustees.

Trustees are responsible for the overall direction and strategic development of the organisation. This involves overseeing the strategic plan, monitoring performance against set objectives, agreeing the annual budget, monitoring reserves, reviewing and developing policies and procedures, the recruitment of staff and

managing other personnel issues that may arise. The Board of Trustees meets quarterly and is supported by two Trustee sub-committees which also meet quarterly in-between full Board meetings, focussing on: Finance, Fundraising & Business Development; and Governance, Risk & Human Resources.

Organisational structure

The Trustees delegate the management and delivery of services to meet the charity's objects to the Chief Executive (CEO), the Business Services team led by the Director of Finance and Business Services, the Director of Organisational Development and Human Resources and the Director of Business Development and Insights and two Service Delivery teams led by the Director of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Services and the Director of Criminal Justice Services respectively.

The senior staff remuneration at the levels below the CEO is set by the CEO in close consultation with the Board, particularly with reference to the Governance, Risk and HR sub-committee which includes the Chair and also in relation to market rates. A salary scale is used to ensure consistency in similar roles. The salary of the CEO is set by the Board and all staff are eligible to receive an annual increment up to the top of the scale.

Employees are responsible for delivering the outputs and outcomes in line with funder requirements and Advance’s objectives. This includes service delivery, training, consultancy, and other core areas related to administration, fundraising, finance and human resources.

32 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Advance values diversity and welcomes applications from all sections of the community for its roles. In line with this we have developed policies to ensure that we have fair and transparent recruitment and selection processes in place that meet our equality and diversity policy.

Advance enjoys a strong working relationship with a number of partnerships, organisations and individuals and is represented on a number of working groups in order to further its charitable objectives.

Delivering public benefit

Advance positively impacts the lives of women and their families, by reducing or diverting women from offending, reducing domestic violence incidents and risk of harm, increasing the safety and improving the quality of life of women, young women and children supported by our services.

During the year we were also able to deliver public benefit through further development and innovation, by extending our services across new geographic areas and offering new services to women and children, as well as sharing best practice with practitioners, policy-makers and organisations working with women and children affected by violence and abuse.

We continue to build our partnership working and deliver a coordinated community response to violence and abuse against women and girls, by participating in strategic and operational networks, locally and nationally, and developing and leading service delivery partnerships in London and nationally.

Risk management

The Board of Trustees has conducted a review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed. A risk register has been established and is updated quarterly, overseen by the Trustee sub-committees with a focus on services and governance, finance, fundraising and people. Where appropriate, systems or procedures have been established to mitigate the risks the charity faces. The Governance, Risk & HR Sub-Committee comprising Trustees and the Chief Executive meets quarterly through the year.

Internal control risks are minimised by the review of financial management procedures and implementation of procedures for authorisation of all transactions and projects. Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with health and safety of staff, clients and visitors. The implementation of National Service Standards for domestic violence services and review and implementation of safeguarding children and adults at risk procedures ensure a consistent quality of delivery for all operational aspects of the charity. These procedures are periodically reviewed to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of the charity.

The Board has agreed and oversees a five-year strategic business plan 2018/19 – 2022/23. This sets out plans to allow for the diversification of funding and activities and an action plan is refreshed annually.

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Advance Annual Report 2022

The main risks identified and the mitigating responses to manage these risks include:

Risk identifed Response to Risk
Challenging climate due
to the Covid-19 pandemic,
the cost of living crisis,
public sector cuts, leading
to increasingly competitive
tendering.		 Advance continues to build on its high-quality services
through continuous innovation; aims to reach more women
and girls across new geographic areas and broaden access to
its services; engages with local and central government to
infuence provision of services needed by women; develops
new services aligned to its mission and policy frameworks;
develops hardship and fexible funding to support women
and children afected by the crisis; collaborates with statutory
and voluntary service providers to develop best-practice
partnerships.
Increasingly competitive
funding and commissioning
environment.		 Advance has built the capacity of its fundraising resources;
developed and launched a new fundraising strategy; is
diversifying its funding streams; continues to build and
strengthen relationships with commissioners; is building on
its specialist local experience and understanding of needs;
ensuring continued improvement and value for money of
tender proposals; monitors key performance indicators and
reports regularly to the Board of Trustees.
Recruiting and retaining
sufcient and highly-skilled
staf to maintain quality of
services and capacity for
growth.		 Advance has built the capacity of its human resources,
fnance and data insights team; developed its recruitment and
people development processes; grown its service delivery
management structure and team; continues to invest in
training; engages and responds to team feedback through
a bi-annual staf survey and frequent team days; has been
accredited for Investors in Volunteers and Disability Confdent
Employer.
Sufcient unrestricted
reserves to enable
sustainability and support
signifcant growth.		 Advance has implemented its fundraising strategy to diversify
its funding streams; continues to ensure full-cost recovery
for funded services; is developing proposals to fund capacity
building and core costs; is building relationships with individual
donors and events with communities to raise awareness
and support for its activities; monitors reserves and reports
regularly to the Board of Trustees.
Information and systems
security breach.		 Advance uses a cloud-based data environment; has encryption
in place for its systems and devices; has expert advice for its
data protection processes and systems; has clear policies on
confdentiality, privacy and data protection; regularly reviews
systems security; has been accredited at IASME standard.

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Financial Overview

Following another year of significant funding pressures and changes to the commissioning landscape faced by the women's sector which were exacerbated by Covid-19, we have benefited from the work undertaken by the charity to strengthen our financial management systems, policies and procedures, enabling us to maximise opportunities that arose in 2021/22.

Funding sources

Financial Review

Our success in securing existing contracts and obtaining additional funding to extend service delivery into new areas demonstrates the confidence commissioners and funders have in our delivery and approach. Our fundraising strategy complements our success in achieving restricted funding by targeting designated and unrestricted funding towards our business services and other core costs.

The principal funding sources for the charity in 2021/22 were from the following:

London Borough of Brent London Borough of Ealing London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Westminster City Council Mayor’s Office for Policing & Crime (MOPAC) Ministry of Justice London Community Rehabilitation Company (MTC Novo) Aurum Charitable Trust City Bridge Trust IRISi (London Violence Reduction Unit) Lewis Family Charitable Trust London Community Response Fund T&J Meyer Family Trust Two Magpies Fund Standing Together (Tampon Tax)

Additional financial donations and contributions to help us support families using our services have been received from other donations.

The Trustees consider the financial performance by the charity during the year to have been satisfactory given the initial reserves position of the organisation, the funding environment and the expansion of services undertaken. The financial statements are set out on pages 41 to 55.

The annual income for 2021/22 as shown in the Statement of Financial Activities was £6,534,210 (2020/21: £4,380,046), an increase of 49%, with annual expenditure of £6,247,036 (2020/21: £4,372,793), generating an overall annual surplus of £287,174 (2020/21: surplus of £7,253).

Despite a challenging funding environment, the increase in income has been a result of new grants and contracts from statutory and independent funders, aimed at supporting charities through the difficulties brought about by Covid-19. The increase in annual expenditure was due to the provision of new services and programmes.

The total funds at the year ended 31 March 2022 stands at £1,061,270 (2020/21: £774,096) of which unrestricted funds are £907,341 (2020/21: £624,974) and restricted are £153,929 (2020/21: £149,122). An increase in unrestricted reserves of £282,367 is in line with the strategic priority to grow unrestricted reserves over the next 3 years as outlined in Advance’s Reserves Policy. Cash balances at the year-end were £1,095,333 (2020/21: £744,218).

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Advance Annual Report 2022

Reserves policy

The Board of Trustees reviewed Advance’s Reserves Policy in response to the charity’s main risks and the current funding environment and agreed that unrestricted funds held should be equivalent to up to two months of staff costs, three months of premises costs and one month of running and activities costs for all projects.

In 2021/22, Advance continued to expand its services and income, and unrestricted reserves are needed to meet the charity’s working capital needs and support further development of its services.

The Board has agreed a plan to increase unrestricted reserves to a target of £1,000,000 over the next 3 years. This is deemed realistic and will be achieved through effective financial management, focusing on boosting unrestricted income and improving the agreed level of future contributions from restricted projects towards core costs and unrestricted reserves.

Total funds on 31 March 2022 were £1,061,270 (2020/21: £774,096) of which unrestricted funds are £907,341 (2020/21: £624,974) and restricted are £153,929 (2020/21: £149,122). Free unrestricted reserves on 31 March 2022 amounted to £898,072 (2020/21: £601,504). The Board consider that Advance can continue its current activities with existing reserves.

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www.advancecharity.org.uk

Structure, Governance and Management

Registered Company number 04064660 (England and Wales)
Registered Charity number 1086873
Registered ofce PO BOX 74643, London, W6 6JU
Auditors Knox Cropper LLP, 65 Leadenhall Street,
London EC3A 2AD
Bankers CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill,
West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ
Trustees
Christine Losecaat MBE Chair
Christine Mullin Treasurer
Emily Midwood Chair, Governance, Risk and Human Resources
Sub-Committee
Dr Carole Easton OBE Chair of Finance, Fundraising and Business
Development Sub-Committee (efective 1st June 2021)
Helen Arbon
Karthik Mahadevan
Michelle Nightingale
Kate Parsley
Tallulah Perez-Sphar
Charmian Sedman
Naomi Simpson (resigned 28th March 2022)
Anita Hamilton (resigned 31st July 2022)
Hannah Hoare (resigned 21st October 2022)
Meeta Luthra (resigned 19th October 2022)
Senior Management
Niki Scordi Chief Executive Ofcer
Melissa Altman Director of Services
Dr Summer Alston-Smith Director of Development and Insights
Shade Odupelu Director of Organisational Development
and Human Resource
Anita Hamilton Director of Communications (Interim)
Meeta Luthra Director of Finance and Operations (Interim)

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Advance Annual Report 2022

Statement of Trustees Responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also the directors of Advance for the purposes of Company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) including Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland".

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

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

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

Auditors

The auditors, Knox Cropper LLP, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

Christine Losecaat MBE, Chair 19 December 2022

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Independent Auditors’ Report to the Members of Advance

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Advance (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2022 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis of opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with

these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

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

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements, or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise

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Advance Annual Report 2022

appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

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Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

misstatement and how fraud may occur. Our considerations included the risk of management override.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of the audit report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s member in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s member for our audit work, for this report or for the opinions we have formed.

Richard Billinghurst FCA Senior Statutory Auditor

for and on behalf of Knox Cropper LLP Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors 65 Leadenhall Street London. EC3A 2AD

19 December 2022

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Advance Annual Report 2022

Statement of Financial Activities

(Incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account) For the year ended 31 March 2022

Year ended 31 March on given years

Income: Notes Unrestricted
Fund
2022 (£)		 Restricted
Fund
2022 (£)		 2022
Totals
(£)		 2021
Totals
(£)
Charitable activities 2 150,127 6,383,951 6,534,078 4,379,763
Investment income – Interest receivable 132 - 132 283
Total incoming resources 150,259 6,383,951 6,534,210 4,380,046
Expenditure:
Costs of Raising Funds:
Fundraising costs		 3 - 236,153 236,153 104,621
Expenditure on Charitable Activities:
Total Charitable Activities		 3 - 6,010,883 6,010,883 4,268,172
Total expenditure 3 - 6,247,036 6,247,036 4,372,793
Net income / (expenditure) for the year 150,259 136,915 287,174 7,253
Transfers between Funds 132,108 (132,108) - -
Net Movement in Funds for the year 282,367 4,807 287,174 7,253
Reconciliation of Funds
Total Funds brought forward		 624,974 149,122 774,096 766,843
Total Funds carried forward 9-10 907,341 153,929 1,061,270 774,096

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

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Balance Sheet

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Advance Advocacy and Non Violence Community Education

Charity no. 1086873 Company no. 4064660

Charity no. 1086873 Company no. 4064660
Fixed assets Notes At 31 March
2022
£		 At 31 March
2021
£
Tangible assets 5 16,969 42,965
Current assets
Debtors 6 924,468 515,276
Cash at bank and in hand 1,095,333 744,218
2,019,801 1,259,494
Liabilities:
Creditors falling due within one year 7 (975,500) (528,363)
Net current assets 1,044,301 731,131
Net assets 11 1,061,270 774,096
Funds:
Unrestricted income funds 9 907,341 624,974
Restricted funds 10 153,929 149,122
Total Funds 1,061,270 774,096

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small charitable companies. The notes on pages 44 to 55 form part of these accounts.

Approved by the Trustees and authorised for issue on 19 December 2022, and signed on their behalf by

Christine Losecaat MBE, Chair

Christine Mullin, Treasurer

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Advance Annual Report 2022

Statement of Cashflows

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Year Year ended 31 March on given years
2022
£		 2021
£
Net Movement in Funds 287,174 7,253
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of tangible assets 25,996 39,458
Interest received (132) (283)
(Increase) / decrease in debtors (409,192) 162,597
Increase / (decrease) in creditors 447,137 (76,789)
Net Cash generated from Operating Activities 350,983 132,236
Cash fows from investing activities:
Purchase of tangible fxed assets - (12,527)
Interest 132 283
Net cash from investing activities 132 (12,243)
Cash fows from fnancing activities
Interest paid - -
Net cash used in fnancing activities - -
Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 351,115 119,992
Cash and cash equivalent at beginning of period 744,218 624,226
Cash and cash equivalent carried forward 1,095,333 744,218
Cash and cash equivalents can be analysed as follows:
Cash in hand 1,095,333 744,218

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Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2022

1. Accounting policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. They continue to believe the going concern basis of accounting appropriate in preparing the annual financial statements.

a. Basis of Preparation

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities, applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

Advance is a charitable company limited by guarantee (company number 04064660 and charity number 1086873). The registered office is PO Box 74643, London, W6 6JU.

The presentation currency of the financial statements in pound sterling (£).

d. Incoming Resources

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accruals basis once the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the items of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount can be measured reliably. For unsolicited donations this is when received.

In particular, revenue grants are recognised as income at the earlier date of when they are received or when they are receivable, unless they relate to a specified future period or the completion of unmet performance related conditions outside the control of the charity, in which case they are deferred. Deferred income is released to income in the reporting period in which the performance-related or other conditions that limit recognition are met.

e. Resources Expended:

All expenses are accounted for on an accruals basis.

b. Key Judgements and Assumptions in applying Accounting Policies

There are no key judgements or assumptions used in applying the accounting policies.

c. Preparation of the Accounts on a Going Concern basis

The Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern despite the impact of COVID-19 as disclosed in note 15 to these financial statements. The charity has cash resources and has no requirement for external funding. The directors have a reasonable

i. Fundraising costs

These costs are incurred in seeking voluntary contributions. Direct fundraising costs consist of external direct costs and a proportion of direct salary costs calculated on the basis of estimation of time spent on fundraising activities.

ii. Allocation of Support costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs includes costs and services, such as finance, payroll and governance costs which support

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Advance Annual Report 2022

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2022

the charity’s work. Support costs have been allocated directly against charitable activities

f. Staff Pensions

Advance operated a defined contribution pension scheme (DCS) during the year. Contributions payable to the charitable company’s pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate. At 31 March 2022, Advance had 82 (2021: 78) active members in the scheme. Total contributions to the DCS for the year were £58,963 (2021: £49,557).

convertible to known amounts of cash with insignificant risk of change in value.

j. Creditors

Short term creditors are measured at the transaction price. Creditors are recognised when the charity has a present legal or constructive obligation resulting from a past event to make payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably.

k. Restricted funds

g. Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are stated in the balance sheet at cost less depreciation. These items are depreciated on a straight line basis so as to write off their cost over their estimated useful lives. The rates used are as follows:

Buildings and Refurbishments 10%

or the length of the lease whichever is shorter

Computers 33%

Fixtures & Fittings 20%

Items costing less than £200 are written off in full in the year of acquisition.

h. Debtors

Debtors are recognised when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably, and it is probable that the income will be received.

i. Cash and cash equivalents

Cash is represented by cash in hand and deposits with financial institutions repayable without penalty on notice of not more than 24 hours. Cash equivalents are highly liquid investments that mature in no more than 3 months from the date of acquisition and that are readily

Restricted funds are accounted for in accordance with the particular terms of trust arising from the express or implied wishes of donors in so far as these are intended to be binding on the Trustees. Where any such wishes are not intended to be legally binding, they are taken into account and recognised in appropriately designated funds.

l. Unrestricted funds

Unrestricted funds are those which are not subject to any special restrictions and they are classed within the General fund.

m. Foreign exchange

Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transaction. Exchange differences arising in the ordinary course of business are included in incoming resources or resources expended. Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the exchange rates ruling at the balance sheet date..

n. Operating Leases

Rentals under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities on a straight line basis over the lease term.

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Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2022

2. Income from Charitable Activities

Year ended 31 March on given years

2. Income from Charitable Activities
Year ended 31 March on given years		 2. Income from Charitable Activities
Year ended 31 March on given years		 2. Income from Charitable Activities
Year ended 31 March on given years		 2. Income from Charitable Activities
Year ended 31 March on given years		 2. Income from Charitable Activities
Year ended 31 March on given years
Unrestricted
Funds
2022 (£)
Restricted
Funds
2022 (£)
2022
Totals
(£)
2021
Totals
(£)
Grants:
Community-based
Advocacy & Support		 129,311 6,383,951 6,513,262 4,349,434
Donations & gifts 20,281 - 20,281 28,179
Other income 535 - 535 2,150
150,127 6,383,951 6,534,078 4,379,763
Grants received, included in the above, are as follows:
Unrestricted Grants		 Year ended 31 March on given years
2022
Totals
(£)
2021
Totals
(£)
2022
Totals
(£)
Insurance Industry Charitable
Foundation(IICF)UK		 - 2,500
City Bridge Trust 49,311 -
T&J Meyer Family Trust 25,000 8,000
Aurum Charitable Trust 30,000 10,000
Howard de Walden Estate 10,000 10,000
Two Magpies Fund 15,000 10,000
129,311 40,500
Restricted Grants Year ended 31 March on given years
2022
Totals
(£)
2021
Totals
(£)
2022
Totals
(£)
London Borough of Brent 440,804 399,832
London Borough of Ealing 89,633 89,633
London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF) 399,604 408,603
Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) 273,200 215,732

47

Advance Annual Report 2022

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2022

2. Income from Charitable Activities continued.

Year ended 31 March on given years

2. Income from Charitable Activities continued. 2. Income from Charitable Activities continued. 2. Income from Charitable Activities continued. Year ended 31 March on given years
Unrestricted
Funds
2022 (£)
Restricted
Funds
2022 (£)
Westminster City Council (WCC)		 Unrestricted
Funds
2022 (£)		 Restricted
Funds
2022 (£)		 2022
Totals
(£)		 2021
Totals
(£)
242,661
378,661
Health Triage (BCBN and Islamic Relief) - 40,750
Bi-borough Family & Children’s Services (RBKC, WCC) 75,000 -
Covid resilience fund (LBHF, RBKC, WCC) 200,080 -
Ministry of Justice domestic abuse services 191,224 -
Ministry of Justice probation community services 1,444,843 202,113
Mayor’s Ofce for Policing & Crime (MOPAC) 2,065,172 1,299,360
London Community Rehabilitation Company (MTC Novo) 167,045 700,000
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government - 260,833
London Community Response Fund - 71,517
Health IRISi Advocacy 455,185 200,000
Women In Prison 10,400 10,400
Standing Together 110,800 -
Get Connected 29,167 -
Turning Point 37,500 -
Safer Places 633 -
Lewis Family Charitable Trust 15,000 5,000
Julia and Hans Rausing Trust - 150,000
Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) UK - 12,500
Total Grants Received 6,383,951 4,308,934

48 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2022

3. Analysis of total expenditure

Direct
Costs
(£)
Staf
Costs
(£)
Support
Costs
(£)
2022
Total Cost
(£)
2021
Total Cost
(£)
Year ended 31 March on given years		 Direct
Costs
(£)
Staf
Costs
(£)
Support
Costs
(£)
2022
Total Cost
(£)
2021
Total Cost
(£)
Year ended 31 March on given years		 Direct
Costs
(£)
Staf
Costs
(£)
Support
Costs
(£)
2022
Total Cost
(£)
2021
Total Cost
(£)
Year ended 31 March on given years		 Direct
Costs
(£)
Staf
Costs
(£)
Support
Costs
(£)
2022
Total Cost
(£)
2021
Total Cost
(£)
Year ended 31 March on given years		 Direct
Costs
(£)
Staf
Costs
(£)
Support
Costs
(£)
2022
Total Cost
(£)
2021
Total Cost
(£)
Year ended 31 March on given years
Expenditure on Charitable Activities
Cost of generating funds:
Fundraising costs 11,059 225,094 - 236,153 104,621
Charitable activities:
Community-based Advocacy & Support 1,468,312 4,032,243 426,740 5,927,295 4,258,152
Governance Costs - - 83,588
83,588		 10,020
Total Charitable activities
1,468,312
4,032,243
510,328
6,010,883
4,268,172
Total Expenditure 2022
1,479,371
4,257,337
510,328
6,247,036
Total expenditure 2021
895,265
3,202,053
275,475
4,372,793
Direct costs include:
2022
Total Cost
(£)
2021
Total Cost
(£)
Direct costs related to community-based activities
Year ended 31 March on given years		 1,468,312 4,032,243 510,328
6,010,883		 4,268,172
1,479,371
4,257,337
510,328
6,247,036
895,265 3,202,053
275,475
4,372,793
2022
Total Cost
(£)
2021
Total Cost
(£)
Year ended 31 March on given years		 4,372,793
Partners’ activities costs 986,240
574,792
Service-user activities 98,679
70,910
IT & Telecoms Costs 324,807
186,491
Other Direct Costs 58,586
62,273
1,468,312
894,466

49

Advance Annual Report 2022

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2022

Support Costs includes: Year ended 31 March on given years Year ended 31 March on given years
2022 2021
Totals Totals
Support costs related to community-based activities (£) (£)
HR & payroll 7,610 9,017
Premises & storage 90,406 30,523
Lease costs 193,606 149,693
Staf related support costs 92,676 28,506
Other support costs 16,446 8,258
Depreciation 25,996 39,458
426,740 265,455
Year ended 31 March on given years Year ended 31 March on given years Year ended 31 March on given years
2022 2021
Totals Totals
Governance costs (£) (£)
Legal & Professional fees 72,880 996
Auditors’ fees 5,671 3,976
AGM / Annual Report 3,256 3,048
Trustee and Board meeting expenses 1,781 2,000
83,588 10,020

50 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2022

4. Trustees and employees

4. Trustees and employees
Staf costs: Year ended 31 March on given years
2022
Totals
(£)
2021
Totals
(£)
Salaries 3,214,774 2,644,429
Social security costs 280,378 254,265
Pension scheme contributions 58,963 49,557
Consultants & Agency staf 405,809 188,478
Recruitment and training 297,413 65,324
4,257,337 3,202,053
Year ended 31 March on given years
2022
Average
Number
2021
Average
Number
2022
Average
Number
The average number of persons employed during the year was: 114 89

The charity considers its key management personnel to comprise the Trustees and the Chief Executive. The total employment benefits including employer pension contributions and national insurance contributions of the key management personnel were £101,455 (2021: £94,219).

There was one employee with employee benefits between £60,001 and £70,000 (2021: 2). Two employees had employee benefits between £70,001 and £80,000 (2021: 0). No employee had employee benefits between £80,001 and £90,000 (2021: 0). No employee had employee benefits between £90,001 and £100,000 (2021: 1). One employee had employee benefits between £100,001 and £110,000 (2021: 0).

There were no redundancy payments in 2021/22 (2021: £nil).

The Trustees and persons connected with them have not received or obtained any remuneration or other financial benefits for the period directly or indirectly from Advance’s funds. The aggregate amount of expenses reimbursed to Trustees to cover travel expenses during 2021/22 was £nil (2021: £nil).

51

Advance Annual Report 2022

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2022

5 . Tangible fixed assets

5 . Tangible fxed assets 5 . Tangible fxed assets
Year ended 31 March on given years
Buildings
(£)
Fixtures &
Fittings
(£)
IT
Equipment
(£)
Totals
(£)
Cost		 Year ended 31 March on given years
Buildings
(£)		 Fixtures &
Fittings
(£)		 IT
Equipment
(£)		 Totals
(£)
Balance at 1 April 2021 57,119 20,322 83,897 161,338
Additions - - - -
Balance at 31 March 2022 57,119 20,322 83,897 161,338
Accumulated Depreciation
Balance at 1 April 2021 39,382 11,849 67,142 118,373
Charge for period 11,387 4,349 10,260 25,996
Balance at 31 March 2022 50,769 16,198 77,402 144,369
Net book value at 31 March 2022 6,350 4,124 6,495 16,969
Net book value at 31 March 2021 17,737 8,473 16,755 42,965

6. Debtors

6. Debtors
At 31 March
2022
(£)		 At 31 March
2021
(£)
Accrued income and grants receivable 813,146 421,064
Prepaid expenses 72,231 64,471
Other debtors 39,091 29,741
£924,468 515,276

52 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2022

7. Creditors amounts falling due within one year

7. Creditors amounts falling due within one year
At 31 March
2022		 At 31 March
2021
Trade Creditors 531,236 94,501
Taxation and social security 109,882 153,806
Accruals and Other Creditors 289,383 103,400
Deferred Income 44,999 176,656
975,500 528,363

Deferred income reflects grants received during the year for which performance conditions have not been met at the year end. Deferred income recognised at 31 March 2022 was recognised in full in the current financial year.

8. Operating Lease Commitments

8. Operating Lease Commitments
Minimum Lease Payment Falling Due: Land & Buildings
At 31 March
2022
(£)		 Land & Buildings
At 31 March
2021
(£)
Within 1 year 117,998 130,528
Within 2 to 5 years 58,149 59,188
176,147 189,716

In addition to the above commitments, Advance entered into lease agreements for Women's Centres and offices in Hammersmith and Kent, after the year end. The amount of commitment in respect of these new leases is £521,382.

53

Advance Annual Report 2022

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2022

9. Unrestricted Income Funds

Balance at
1 April
2021
(£)		 Incoming/
(Outgoing)
Resources
(£)		 Transfers
(£)		 Balance at
31 March
2022
(£)
Advance General Fund 624,974 150,259 132,108 907,341
The Unrestricted Income Funds are classifed as follows At 31 March
2022
(£)		 At 31 March
2021
(£)
Free Reserves (incorporating General Fund) 898,072 601,504
Tangible Fixed Assets in use 9,269 23,470
Total 907,341 624,974

10. Restricted Funds

Restricted funds are accounted for in accordance with the particular terms of trust arising from the express or implied wishes of donors in so far as these are intended to be binding on the Trustees. Where any such wishes are not intended to be legally binding, they are taken into account and recognised in appropriate alternative funds, as indicated as transfers below.

Balance at
1 April
2021
(£)		 Incoming
Resources
(£)		 Transfers
(£)		 Resources
expended
(£)		 Balance at
31 March
2022
(£)
Domestic Abuse services 59,879 2,615,735 - (2,527,685) 147,929
Criminal Justice services 89,243 3,768,216 (132,108)
(3,719,351)
6,000
Total 149,122 6,383,951 (132,108)
(6,247,036)
153,929

Total transfers in the year from restricted funds amounted to £132,109, which represents a contribution from restricted grants relating to Minerva Services for women in contact with the criminal justice system to Advance’s general overheads and reserves during the year.

Domestic abuse (DA) services: Services are provided to eight boroughs in West London, including Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, through a number of programmes including

the Angelou Partnership VAWG Services, Social Care DA services, Housing DA services and the Criminal Justice and Police DA services.

Criminal Justice (CJ) services: Services are provided pan London and in South and East England through our Minerva and Diversion programmes, including our collaboration with Ministry of Justice, National Probation Service, the Metropolitan Police and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).

54 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2022

11. Analysis of the charity’s net assets by Fund

Fund balances at 31 March 2022 are represented by: Unrestricted
Fund
(£)		 Restricted
Funds
(£)		 Total
Funds
(£)
Tangible fxed assets 9,269 7,700 16,969
Debtors 111,322 813,146 924,468
Cash at bank and in hand 891,085 204,248 1,095,333
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (104,335) (871,165) (975,500)
907,341 153,929 1,061,270

12. Taxation status

Advance is a registered charity and no taxation is payable on its income arising in the United Kingdom.

13. Related party transactions

There were no connected charity transactions during the year. There were no related party transactions during the year. None of the Trustees receive remuneration or other benefit from their work with the charity.

55

Advance Annual Report 2022

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2021

14. Comparative 2021 Statement of Financial Activi ~~ties~~
~~ies~~
Year ended 31 March 2021

Year ended 31 March 2021
Year ended 31 March 2021
Statement of Financial Activities
Income:		 Unrestricted
Fund
(£)		 Restricted
Fund
(£)		 2021
Totals
£)
Charitable activities:
Domestic violence advocacy projects 70,829 4,308,934 4,379,763
Investment income – Interest receivable 283 - 283
Total incoming resources
Expenditure:		 71,112 4,308,934 4,380,046
Costs of Raising Funds:
Fundraising costs		 - 104,621 104,621
Expenditure on Charitable Activities:
Total Charitable Activities		 - 4,268,171 4,268,171
Total expenditure - 4,372,792 4,372,792
Net income / (expenditure)
for the year		 71,112 (63,858) 7,253
Transfers between Funds - - -
Net Movement in Funds for the year 71,112 (63,858) 7,253
Reconciliation of Funds
Total Funds brought forward		 553,862 212,981 766,843
Total Funds carried forward 624,974 149,122 774,096
All income and expenditure derived from continuing activities.

15. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic

The Trustees have considered the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, that has been spreading throughout the world in 2020, 2021 and 2022 on the Charity’s activities. This outbreak is likely to continue to cause some disruption to the Charity’s business but at the date of approval of these financial statements, the extent and quantum of the disruption remains uncertain.

Our communications with current and potential funders have been very positive, with funders showing an understanding of the challenges and a willingness to be flexible with funding to see organisations like ours through these challenges. We are optimistic about the fundraising outlook for the next 12 months.

PO BOX 74643 London, W6 6JU Telephone: 020 3953 3111 www.advancecharity.org.uk