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2023-03-31-accounts

us j

Annual Report and Accounts

2 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Charity no. 10 86873

PO BOX 7 4643 London, W 6 6JU Telephone: 020 3953 3111 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Advance Advocacy an d N on Vi o l ence Community Education

Advance Annual Report 2023 3

CONTENTS

4

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR AND CEO

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Christine Losecaat MBE
Chair
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Niki Scordi
Chief Executive Officer
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Every day, women and girls continue to fight for the right to be safe in their relationships and families, their homes and communities. They face devastating and unacceptable truths:

1 woman or girl will be killed on average every 3 days and many will end their own lives due to domestic abuse

Women tell us they want the abuse to stop, the perpetrator to be held to account, and for the system to stand with them, including with those who have been criminalised, often as a result of their experiences of abuse. They want to recover from the devastating impact of the abuse and trauma and be an equal part of their community. In the last three years, there has been greater awareness of women’s lack of safety due to domestic abuse and sexual violence, following the pandemic, the murders of Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa and others, and reviews into police culture affecting public trust and confidence, highlighted in the Casey Review. The public is asking for urgent action at a time where trust and confidence has been damaged. Women and girls are asking that we do better to protect them, so that they can trust the system and society again. It is not enough to survive; women

Advance Annual Report 2023 5

and girls w ant to thrive. Their voices and needs are at the cen tre of our work. This year we worked towards d eveloping our Strategy 2023-2026 which we launched in Spring 2023. Our vision is a safe, just and equal wor ld for women and girls. We are committed to changin g the systems and structures that allow domestic abuse and the impact of the criminal justice system to devastate their lives. We continue to deliver innovative and effective responses through our community services to improve outcomes, reaching out to 8,500 women and children in the past year.

This year, we developed and launched our Maia specialist wraparound community support for young women and girls, in response to the disproportionate impact of domestic abuse on young women and girls under twenty five, affecting them at double the rates than the women over the age of twenty five. Yet specialist wraparound early intervention and preventative support that responds to their needs continues to be lacking nationally. Our Maia service provides an innovative response including specialist one-to-one advocacy and support, peer mentorship by survivors with lived experience, and access to groups and activities in dedicated safe spaces. The service supports them to understand healthy relationships, safety and empowerment, to build confidence and agency, and to manage their health and wellbeing.

The cost-of-living crisis following the pandemic continues to disproportionately impact women and their children, leaving many facing the impossible decision to remain with the perpetrator or to face poverty and homelessness. In response to this, we expanded our Whole Housing services across London, developing specialist responses with partners led by and for diverse communities, including Black and minoritised women. Women affected by domestic abuse should not have to flee, but instead they are supported to be safe in their own home or in a range of accommodation types, with financial, economic, mental health and therapeutic support.

For long-lasting change, there is a need to transform the systems and structures that routinely marginalise women and girls affected by domestic abuse and the criminal justice system. We continued to develop campaigns and influence policy makers and government, through training and multi-agency working, and sharing best practice responses that effectively support survivors and hold perpetrators to account. We highlighted the impact of abuse and trauma on women’s mental health, launching our report No Relief in May 2022 and calling for long-term wraparound support. We are working with police forces and commissioners to develop specialist diversion responses for women, following the Out of Court Disposals framework required by law since 2022.

Our work is only possible because of everyone at Advance, staff and volunteers, working tirelessly to ensure every survivor is supported to be safe and recover from abuse and trauma, whilst often facing significant challenges in their own lives due to the cost-of-living crisis. They have actively engaged in driving the new strategy and ensuring that diversity, equity and inclusion continue to be central to what we do; we thank you.

We are also grateful for all of our supporters, funders and commissioners, our partners and professionals that we work with. You continue to be vital allies, as we work together to ensure women and girls lead safe, just and equal lives.

Christine Losecaat MBE, Chair Niki Scordi, Chief Executive Officer

When I was referred to Advance, every day someone was calling me, supporting, talking to me.

Woman supported by Advance

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66 www.advancecharity.org.uk
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WE ARE ADVANCE

We are a women’s organisation committed to delivering systems change and traumainformed specialist community-based support for women and girls affected by domestic abuse, including those in contact with the criminal justice system.

As 2023 marks 25 years since we were founded, we know what works to help women and girls rebuild their lives and prevent further trauma. We work nationally through our innovative, best-practice approaches and system change initiatives. We deliver wraparound frontline services across the South and East of England, including Greater London.

Our Vision

is a world where women and girls lead safe, just and equal lives.

We achieve this through our mission of delivering systems change and empowering women and children who experience domestic abuse, including those in contact with the criminal justice system.

Advance Annual Report 2023 7

Thousands of women and girls every year transform their lives with our services.

We help women and girls who have experienced trauma through domestic abuse and the criminal justice system in their journey towards safety and justice. Women referred to Advance come from all age groups and backgrounds, and are often facing multiple challenges at once, such as with their and their children’s safety, mental health, finances and housing. Our support puts their needs at the centre of everything we do, empowering women to be safer, to recover from the trauma of their experiences and improve their confidence and self-esteem as well as providing groups, workshops and one-to-one sessions.

More women and girls are requiring longer and more complex support, and we have developed our Strategy 2023 – 2026 to respond to their needs.

www.advancecharity.org.uk/who-we-are/our-strategy/

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. We are committed to supporting women and children in the community in safe women-only centres, with 9 Advance women’s centres across the South and East of England, including London, and 3 further centres through our partners.

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Bedford
BEDFORD-
SHIRE
Luton
Broxbourne
Oxford HERTFORDSHIRE
THAMES VALLEY
Finsbury
Reading Park
Newham
Hammersmith
LONDON
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Bedford
BEDFORD-
SHIRE
Luton
Broxbourne
Chelmsford
Oxford HERTFORDSHIRE ESSEX
THAMES VALLEY
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Canterbury
KENT
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HAMPSHIRE
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Southampton Portsmouth

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Our Strategy
2023 -2026
Safety and Justice for
Women and girls
Read report
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You say you would do something and you do it - you get things done. I have been let down by professionals over the years but you've helped me to gradually trust professionals again.

Woman supported by Advance

88

www.advancecharity.org.uk

2023 OUR YEAR AT A GLANCE

This year our s ervices received 8,497 referrals in tot al, ensuring women and children were safe and supported.

5,012 women and children directly referred to our Domestic Abuse services.

3,342

women and children directly referred to our Criminal Justice Services

929 women and children engaged and supported by our partners

143 young women and girls referred to our Young Women and Children’s Services

83%

women and young women were contacted by our Criminal Justice Keyworkers in the community

456

sessions and workshops were delivered by Advance and our partners

85%

women and children were contacted by our domestic abuse teams and offered support

engaged with the services offered by our Domestic Abuse Advocates

84%

92%

engaged with the services offered by our Criminal Justice Keyworkers

Advance Annual Report 2023 9

90%

of women told us that they felt safer because of the support provided

90%

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

The women we supported through our Domestic Abuse services tell us that they felt safer and more positive in their lives

of women reported a reduction in risk following 82% support provided

of women reported a reduction in risk following 81% support provided of women reported a reduction in abuse due to 81% support and advice received

of women said that their quality of life and wellbeing had improved due to the support received

The women we supported through our Criminal Justice services tell us that the support they received improved their lives

of women said that their quality of life and well94% being had improved due to the support

100%

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

of women using our service reported reduction in drug 73% and alcohol use

10 www.advancecharity.org.uk

25 YEARS OF ADVANCE WORKING IN A COORDINATED COMMUNITY RESPONSE

In 2023 Advance celebrated its 25th year supporting women and girls who experience domestic abuse, including those affected by the criminal justice system, and we launched a programme of events from March 2023.

In 1998, our founders Bear Montique MBE and Beryl Foster OBE, who were at the forefront of 50 years of the movement to end violence against women, recognised that there was “little if any support for women and children who were living with domestic abuse”. They understood that the nine out of ten women not accessing refuges were struggling to receive justice when going to the police and needed a range of support to meet their needs in their community and in their own homes.

For 25 years, we have worked alongside voluntary and statutory sector partners to meet survivors where they are, keep them at the centre of our work and

ensure they can access the help and support they need, when they need it.

Our aim has consistently been to both advocate for survivors and to provide community education across all settings where women access support, particularly criminal justice agencies. We aim to bring about systemic change to end domestic abuse, which is the consequence of gender inequality and continued marginalisation of women in society.

Our approach to community education continues to be rooted in:

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Advance Annual Report 2023 11

Advance’s 25 years of work is rooted in 50 years of the women’s movement to end violence against women and girls.

Watch our event https://youtu.be/OHP53BiG-P4

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SUPPORTING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN THE COMMUNITY

We help women and girls who have experienced trauma through domestic abuse and the criminal justice system to rebuild their lives. We do this by providing practical and emotional support, wherever and whenever a woman or girl wants it. Often, the women we support are facing multiple challenges at once, such as with their housing, mental health and personal safety. We work in a whole systems approach, aligned to our values of collaboration and innovation, by influencing and raising awareness to statutory agencies, such as national and local government, health services, criminal justice services and education, about domestic abuse and systemic inequality.

We understand the importance of considering how gender impacts on a woman's experience of trauma and abuse. We run services across London and the South and East of England in safe, women-only spaces such as our women’s

centres. We also work collaboratively with a variety of partners offering specialist support, including for Black and minoritised women and those from LGBTQ+ communities.

The cost-of-living crisis has affected all aspects of women’s lives; many struggle to attend women’s centres or to meet with statutory services as they cannot afford essentials including travel costs. Women living with perpetrators are experiencing increased financial difficulty and they tell us that they are finding it harder to leave as they are often faced with homelessness. The crisis has not only increased their risk of harm, it has also exacerbated women’s and children’s wellbeing and mental health, leaving them needing more support from Advance.

Throughout the year, our dedicated and determined team continued to offer community wraparound support to women and girls recovering from abuse and trauma, responding to all their individual needs including safety, housing, social care, mental health, and wellbeing, as well as supporting them while navigating the criminal justice system.

We opened a further two women's centres to ensure that women and girls had safe spaces in their communities so they could drop in, attend groups and workshops and access donations. We continued to develop specialist services to meet the diverse needs of women and girls.

Advance Annual Report 2023 13

Domestic abuse support and advocacy

Advance supports women and girls who experience domestic abuse and other forms of gender-based violence across many aspects of their life in the way they need it, when they need it. We understand the long-term and devastating effects of domestic abuse, and we believe that women deserve to move beyond surviving to thriving. It has been a difficult year, but women continued to receive support and safety planning when at risk of harm because of domestic abuse, through our accredited Independent Domestic Abuse Advisor (IDVA) services in their areas.

We know how important it is to work within, and alongside statutory organisations to improve responses to women and girls affected by domestic abuse, and better meet their needs. We continued to work with statutory and nonstatutory partners to best meet the needs of women. We received a total of 5,012 referrals including those from statutory bodies such as police, MARAC, health, social care and housing, as well as self-referrals from women themselves.

5,012

women and children directly referred to our Domestic Abuse services.

It made me feel a lot safer talking to her. I suddenly had all this support available.

Woman supported by Advance

14 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Early intervention and prevention for 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 wellbeing and mental health. Our specialist services provided vital support to young women and girls facing multiple disadvantages. During the year, we supported 2,083 women with children, as well as 143 young women and girls directly through our services.

In 2022 we launched our Maia service, an innovative wraparound response in the community for young women and girls affected by or at risk of domestic abuse, aged 9 to 25. Young women and girls told us that they needed trusted adult relationships in the community, beyond the classroom and their peers, where they could safely talk about their relationships both at home and with intimate partners, learn about healthy relationships and consent, and develop their

We offer confidential, unconditional, and long-term support including one-to-one tailored support by a Maia advocate/mentor, support by a peer mentor with lived experience, and groups and activities in our dedicated centres across six boroughs of London. We worked with young women and girls in women-only spaces and explored concepts around

We learn some of the challenges our women face by walking the path alongside them.

Advance Service Manager

Advance Annual Report 2023 15

identity, safety, healthy relationships, feminism, empowerment, and aspirations, allowing them to build confidence, self-esteem, and resilience, manage health and wellbeing and support access and engagement.

engaging with and improving the whole-system response for at-risk young women and girls. We have developed resources and toolkits to share our learnings and best-practice responses to supporting young women and girls in the community.

Over the last year, we have successfully worked alongside and upskilled a range of professionals – including the police, courts, probation, health, housing, schools, and social care – essential in

Read our Maia Toolkit:

https://www.advancecharity.org.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2023/12/Maia-Toolkit-April-23.pdf

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Tes s’s Story
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A young woman supported by the Maia service

Tess was referred to Advance’s Maia mentoring programme. She had recently experienced trauma in her relationship and was involved with the police due to an incident that had occurred in that relationship. Tess needed someone to express her thoughts and feelings to whilst being supported with moving towards her aspirations. The past trauma led to a lot of thought about the choices she’d made leading to deterioration in her wellbeing.

Tess and her Maia mentor advocate put a support plan together, including rebuilding confidence after experiencing physical and emotional abuse, exploring her self-identity and relationships, exploring her unique goals and aspirations and managing her wellbeing and mental health.

Tess needed someone to speak to and had been longing for a service like Maia. As the sessions progressed, she was increasingly open to sharing her experiences, and beginning to build trust with her Maia mentor advocate. At the start of sessions Tess was carrying a burden of guilt from her past decisions and actions. There were times she would blame herself for the incidents that happened in the past. Tess and her mentor advocate safely revisited these past traumatic events; she gradually realised she couldn’t continue to blame herself for other people’s actions, she could only take accountability for her own actions.

Tess didn’t focus on her goals and aspirations in the past due to being around people who didn't support them. However, through encouragement from her mentor advocate and creating a stepby-step plan to attain those goals she felt empowered. She achieved her main goals to access Universal Credit so that she can support herself to enrol on a hairdressing apprenticeship and is working towards getting a suitable place to live.

Tess has gained a better understanding of herself and identified the type of relationships she wants. She has heightened self-awareness in identifying potential red flags. Creating a safe and trusted space has allowed Tess to explore and identify her aspirations while addressing her traumatic experiences. This environment played a pivotal role in fostering her progress and enabling her to forge positive friendships. The key to this success lay in the non-judgmental support she received through a trusted relationship with an adult, allowing her to open up and seek help without fear of criticism.

16 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Whole Health support for survivors

Advance provides life-saving advocacy and support for women and their children accessing health services, in partnership with clinicians in General Practice 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, working 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.

Whole Housing Services for survivors

Survivors of domestic abuse need support to stay safe in a variety of accommodation settings, as the majority do not want to or are not able to go to a refuge. This includes private rented accommodation, social housing, and other accommodation types.

Last year, we expanded our Whole Housing services, supporting more women with accommodation needs who are affected by domestic abuse so that they can stay safe wherever they live – whether that is in their own homes or elsewhere. We developed the London Whole Housing Services Alliance with six specialist partners, and launched the service which ensures additional specialist support is inclusive of those often marginalised such as LGBTQ+ survivors, those with additional language or mental health support needs, and those who wish to access other culturally specific services.

The service provides Housing IDVAs, Housing Sanctuary Coordinators, Housing Carers Advocates, and longer-term mental health support. We co-locate within local authority housing options teams offering crisis intervention to high-risk survivors. We support survivors of all risk levels with a local authority or housing association social tenancy for up to a year, providing specialist and culturally specific support.

Advance Annual Report 2023 17

Finance and Debt Coordinator, Advance’s Whole Housing Service

We also support survivors facing financial difficulty due to domestic abuse, ensuring survivor accommodation is safe and secure, provide specialist support to survivors with caring responsibilities to help them sustain accommodation and rebuild survivors’ lives.

The women I meet are very often already living apart from their perpetrator. They have frequently fled from the abuse they have endured. This transition is quite an unsettling time for her. Not only is she going through the emotional trauma, but she is having to adjust quickly and learn how to live on their own, which includes being in control of their own finances, and often for the first time. Some women are left with a debt from an ex-partner, or a family member who has asked them to apply for loans, or they must pay full rent due to the refusal of payment from their ex-partner who has now left the premises. These are just a few examples of financial and economic abuse.

I can’t believe I’ve finally got my own flat with your help. You have advocated for me and my disability throughout and I finally feel like I have been heard.

When I speak with survivors, they often have no idea how they are going to make ends meet. They need support on how to pay all their debts and bills and survive especially during the cost-of-living crisis. Most women affected by domestic abuse have to manage multiple challenges – poor mental health because of the abuse, often focusing on the safety and security of their children and financial insecurity due to the lack of support and funds available – all while trying to rebuild their lives.

I work with women to help them to understand money management, finance, and budgeting in context of their expenses and income. I tailor my support to each woman’s individual concerns. This provides knowledge and skills which then empowers them to make decisions that are right for them and their circumstances. Running a household, which involves paying daily, weekly and monthly bills will involve everything from heating your home, feeding your family, paying for your phone and internet, clothing children, and toiletries and healthcare. And if there is a baby or infant, there are lots of other costs from nappies to bottles and milk. It is imperative for a

Woman supported through Diversion

Victims of coercive control often involve the perpetrator taking out loans in the survivor’s name. She is now left to pay these loans. I work with the survivor and other external agencies to create a way forward towards a debt-free solution. Practical tips include a budget planner which identifies how they are currently spending money and offers advice on how to sort cheaper mobile phone contracts or WiFi, for example. I can suggest how to get the best deals and if needed, apply for foodbank vouchers.

What I enjoy about my role is meeting survivors who develop an understanding that they can manage their finances on their own. The realisation that life is very possible outside of an abusive relationship…yes this takes time, but it is worth the hard work and patience. One survivor said to me “You are the female version of Martin Lewis…” We both laughed. It is at that moment you see the breakthrough for the survivor as she laughs even through adversity!

18 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Whole Justice Approach for domestic abuse

Advance was founded specifically to develop an innovative response to survivors of domestic abuse in their community, with a focus on the criminal justice system. Today, women and children continue to be let down by the criminal justice system when they report domestic abuse.

They tell us that they feel unheard and unprotected and statistics back this, with prosecutions of domestic abuse crimes in 2022-23 at 51,288 - a 45% decrease since 2017 (93,593) (ONS November 2023).

45%

This is despite women increasingly reporting domestic abuse to the police and the changes in law to strengthen responses, including the new Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

In its 25th year, Advance continues to put the women and girls at the heart of its justice response, as well as advocating for systems change to improve outcomes. Advance’s dedicated Criminal Justice Advocates (IDVAs) are with the women every step of the way: before, during and after attending court, whether virtual or physical. They provide practical support and information about the court process, as well as with some of the challenges that women face on their journey.

It has been a journey, but it has been incredible to see the police advocating for our women’s needs.

Advance Service Manager

Advance Annual Report 2023 19

Eva, a Minerva Community Keyworker, said about supporting women in contact with the criminal justice system:

Experiencing a woman having a ‘lightbulb’ moment is so rewarding....You then see a woman wants to make changes because she is learning to like herself again.

Advance Service Manager

Minerva services for women in contact with the criminal justice system

Advance’s Minerva Approach Model 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 a result of the support delivered throughout our Minerva services, 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.

This year, across eight counties in the East and South of England, including Greater London. We reached out to:

3,342

women and young women with sentences in the community and in custody.

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THE MINERVA APPROACH MODEL

20 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Minerva Peer Mentor service

Our Minerva service includes our Peer Mentors support, women with lived experience of imprisonment and the criminal justice system who volunteer to walk alongside other women currently being supported by the service.

Advance’s Peer Mentor Coordinator explains her role

It is really inspiring for women supported through Advance to see other women further alo ng in their journey, including those who have left the Peer Mentor service and are now in paid employment with Advance and with our partners across multiple sectors. I am so proud to work for an organisation that promotes lived experience, and I continue to work with colleagues to support more people into our workforce with lived experience as they are an invaluable asset to Advance and to the women we support.

When I first joined Advance as part of the Minerva service, I was based in the women’s centre every day and would ensure it was a safe, open environment for women to drop by whenever they needed it, even if just for a cup of tea and a chat. It was a busy role because there were always so many groups attached to the different services we run, all coordinated through us or through our partners. It allowed me to collaborate with amazing Peer Mentors in organising groups and activities, which allowed them to grow their skill sets.

Advance Peer Mentors are an incredible asset to us, to the women we work with, to the organisation, but also to the wider community. They can break down some of the stigma that women internalise about themselves when they are perceived to have these labels attached to them such as ‘victim’ and ‘perpetrator’.

They also help Minerva Keyworkers through this support, especially in the context of increasingly complex referrals, and underfunding. They are also able to use their voices to tell their stories to local and national governments, and to the wider community so that we can all better understand the experiences of what led women to contact with the criminal justice system, and the barriers they face. They have also fed into and participated in research papers published by Advance such as ‘A place to go like this’ and ‘A safe space to learn about relationships’.

It is really inspiring for women supported through Advance to see other women further along in their journey, including those who have left the Peer Mentor service and are now in paid employment with Advance and with our partners across multiple sectors.

The economic and societal benefits are also huge, considering some of these women might have gone on to re-offend, but instead were given support and an opportunity and they are now thriving and have now go on to support other women and professionals.

Women who have been part of the service, either as Peer mentors or as Mentees, tell us that this has been a significant part of their journey to move forward positively with their lives.

It has been great as I was feeling lonely and unsupported and step-down support helped. Having step-down support also meant that when my circumstances changed to higher risk, the Peer Mentor was able to recognise and flag that. As a result, I have been re-referred to Minerva. This would not have happened without the step-down process. Mentee feedback.

I have really enjoyed my time volunteering with Minerva, especially all the training that I found incredibly useful. I am now going into work with the Civil Service that volunteering with Minerva definitely helped me secure. Peer Mentor feedback.

Advance Annual Report 2023 21

Whole VAWG Services and community support

Women and children often face multiple systemic barriers to accessing services based on intersecting aspects of their identity, and varying challenges. 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 can 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.

Diversion service for women

As part of our commitment to achieving justice for women experiencing domestic abuse, we recognised that in many cases survivors were being criminalised, and ultimately their lives railroaded, as part of their experience of abuse and violence. The London Women’s Diversion service, which first launched in 2019, offers a woman an alternative to prosecution. We work with the police to divert women at the point of arrest into support services, with extremely positive outcomes.

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.

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Scared, Humiliated,
Threatened
Trapped
Controlled, Intimidated,
Afraid Powerless
Coerced or
Pressured,
Isolated
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We offered trauma-informed and genderspecific one-to-one and group support to women who often experience multiple challenges to address some of the root causes of their offending, breaking the cycle of offending, reducing the overall demand on the criminal justice system and changing the lives of women and girls for the better.

It is nice to change people’s perception of certain groups in society, but it is even more rewarding to change someone’s perception of themselves.

Advance Service Manager

22 www.advancecharity.org.uk

SYSTEMS CHANGE TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

Advance was founded to influence and educate the community, specifically statutory agencies and partners, about domestic abuse and systemic inequalities. We were founded to develop and change systems that ensure survivors are supported and that individuals and systems are held to account, in order to end domestic abuse and create safe, just and equal communities.

We recognise the adverse and long-lasting impact domestic abuse has on women’s and children’s lives. We understand, and champion the need for long-term, holistic, wraparound support beyond ‘risk’ to ensure women and girls are able to live safe, just and equal lives.

Advance Annual Report 2023 23

Aligned with our new strategy, last year we expanded specialist services for young women and girls affected by domestic abuse. We continued to work in partnership with statutory and voluntary partners to ensure justice and safety for women and girls affected by the criminal justice system, including through specialist community services for women who have offended, or are at risk of offending. We expanded our wraparound community services for women and girls to respond to all of their needs through unconditional support and advocacy within women-only safe spaces, such as women's centres, in their communities and for as long as they need the support.

Advance continues to champion its founding principle for 25 years of working in a coordinated community response, partnering with statutory and non-statutory providers to improve support and access to women and girls. 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. We also recognise and work closely with partners who have complementary specialisms such as mental health and employability, to ensure women can access the range of services they need, when they need it.

We continued to develop campaigns and responses which are rooted in practice-based evidence of the thousands of survivors we support each year where we amplify the voices and experiences of women and girls, including through representation and decision-making. We continue to challenge systems, local and national governments, the public and community, to remove barriers and inequality for women and girls.

24 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Preventative education and awareness of domestic abuse continues to be vital

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. We delivered young women and girls Maia approach, Diversion for Women, Whole Housing and Health community response workshops and consultation sessions with professionals in statutory and nonstatutory settings.

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 wellbeing.

Our report 'No Relief: the impact of Covid 19 on women’s mental health' was launched in May 2022 www.advancecharity.org.uk/ what-we-do/learning-centre/research/. We 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.

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 couldn’t cope with the abuse. Advance helped me to find the courage and means to leave my husband just before the first lockdown. They gave me emotional support and guidance with budgeting and food, and applying for benefits and a place to live.

Survivor supported by Advance

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Read report
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Advance Annual Report 2023 25

We developed a Maia Service Approach toolkit to be shared with young women and girls, as well as professionals, enabling them to develop a specialist response to young women and girls between 13 and 25 years old, in community settings that meets their needs. This includes a Young Women and Girls short film ‘ I love my loud voice’, sharing five survivor stories, and a workshop to raise awareness and campaign to influence systems and responses for young survivors of domestic abuse.

Watch 'I Love my loud voice' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI1JIghMNsA

Nobody has a perfect relationship with their family. I get that. But not everybody is hurt by them, in the way I was.

Young woman helped by Advance’s Maia service.

26 www.advancecharity.org.uk

A Whole Community Response in partnership to deliver systems change

We recognise that systemic change is needed to tackle violence against women and girls which is caused by systemic inequalities, compounded by the intersection of multiple aspects of women’s identity. We aim to improve responses and outcomes for women affected by domestic abuse and/or those in contact with the criminal justice system, through:

Sharing best-practice models to improve responses nationally. We worked in partnership with children’s specialists to develop our Maia service model across London, building a best-practice model and a toolkit to be shared nationally with voluntary and statutory partners. We further developed and shared our Whole Housing approach model , working with and for community specialist organisations to build expertise and capacity. We continued to share our best-practice model, learnings and recommendations for Women’s Diversion Services , calling for the extensions of the service across London and nationally. We also completed our Mentor Courts project and shared our evaluation outcomes calling for more Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts and Criminal Justice IDVAs to support survivors of domestic abuse through the justice process.

Developing partnerships and supporting specialist and local services best placed in meeting the needs of those in their communities. We worked with partners to continue to develop a shared approach through 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 policymakers 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 Annual Report 2023 27

Challenging perceptions and changing lives

Written by Advance Kent Service Manager on managing one of Advance’s women’s centres

Most of the women we work with ha ve faced trauma in their lives. This has impacted their emotional wellbeing, their choices and the options that are available to them. Many women have come from situations of domestic abuse, which may have led to them being coerced to commit crime.

Some women we work with have had no healthy support systems, especially family and friends or just having someone who believes in them. They have sometimes developed unhealthy coping mechanisms such as drinking, taking drugs, or getting involved in problematic relationships. This is not about being lazy or uneducated, this is about finding something that helps to escape trauma and get through tough times.

Our keyworkers provide bespoke support for women based on their individual needs, from accessing safe accommodation, building confidence to access services such as mental health support, to securing employment. We want to empower women to create their own positive support networks and encourage healthy coping mechanisms. This often starts with small steps to build trust and respect with our keyworkers and allowing women we support to have the space to learn to trust and respect themselves.

We started working in Kent about a year ago, and now have a women’s centre in Medway which has become a safe space for the women we support. We help women with basic care items, and we facilitate groups supporting emotional wellbeing, life skills and healthy ways of coping with trauma.

When I applied for the role with Advance, I was excited about being part of a woman’s journey to make those positive changes and help her recognise her ability to be the best version of herself. It is nice to change people’s perception of certain groups in society, but it is even more rewarding to change someone’s perception of themselves.

I enjoy advocating for women, as challenging as that is sometimes. Being part of changing the perception of women in the criminal justice system is vital. The benefits and changes that women experience using holistic and trauma-informed approaches is proven and can be the starting point to them becoming the best version of themselves. Judgement and stigma only serve to perpetuate lack of self-worth.

... Seeing them experience a moment when a way of thinking is even slightly changed is very uplifting and supporting women to take small steps to engage positively within their community is our goal.

I know we are helping make big changes in the lives of the women we support and hopefully in time we will change the way women and young girls who experience trauma can access support before their choices become limited and their self-worth hits rock bottom.

The work we do is very much needed and the challenges we face build a greater sense of achievement when you see how our approach and support positively impacts the lives of the women and their communities.

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www.advancecharity.org.uk

Our Strategy 2023 -2026

Domestic abuse is a key driver of poverty, homelessness, ill health, addiction and criminalisation of women. One in four women experience domestic abuse, and a woman is killed every three days in England and Wales. Yet too few women feel supported when they ask for safety, and when they ask for justice. They tell us they feel unheard, and unseen. They struggle to receive support, and when they do, they struggle to access it. Women are finding it harder and harder to manage their household bills, including gas and electric, as well as their phone and food bills, and are often unable to pay the travel fare to get to women’s centres or probation meetings. Some women tell us that issues around finances have made their situation worse as perpetrators continue to control or take money, or they feel unable to leave and support themselves and their children.

The criminal justice system is essential to help protect victims and hold perpetrators to account, and currently it is not working. We are committed to strengthening internal systems and learning within Advance and across the statutory and voluntary settings to improve justice outcomes for women and children nationally and ensure their safety. We must ensure that our criminal justice system works for women by looking to the Victims and Prisoners bill and pushing for its implementation to best support women and girls throughout the criminal justice journey. We must look to the criminal justice system and ensure that the most vulnerable, often those who have experienced domestic abuse and other forms of gender-based violence, are not criminalised unnecessarily. We will continue to challenge systems to ensure that women and girls receive the support they need to tackle the root causes of their offending and empower them to lead the lives they choose.

Advance Annual Report 2023 29

Our strategic aims are:

Young women and girls experience domestic abuse at disproportionate levels, and we must ensure that preventative specialist services are available for all women and girls who experience or are at risk of experiencing abuse to prevent further harm, including their criminalisation. We will continue to raise awareness of these issues, and challenge societal and systemic cultures and attitudes which propagate the inequalities that allow violence against women and girls to thrive.

Ending domestic abuse requires a multi-faceted approach which goes beyond criminal justice, including education, culture change and interventions that can change the behaviour of perpetrators.

During 2022-23, we engaged with and listened to the women and girls with lived experience when developing our new three-year strategy to ensure that we best meet their needs, and support them to lead safe, just and equal lives. We also consulted with our partners across the voluntary and statutory sector, our supporters and our staff, building on our collective expertise and shared commitment to end violence against women and girls.

1 Women and children in our communities have access to wraparound support across all their needs, for as long as they need it.

Early interventions for young women and girls affected by domestic abuse and violence, so that they are empowered to make informed choices and access support at the earliest point.

2

Raise awareness and campaign for systems change to address the prevalence and scale of the impact of domestic abuse and the criminal justice system on women.

3

Support those working for and with Advance to be leaders, change makers and advocates for women and girls.

4

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www.advancecharity.org.uk

ADVANCE’S STRATEGY 2023 – 2026

Advance’s Strategy 2023 – 2026 in full Read report www.advancecharity.org.uk/who-we-are/our-strategy/

In 2022-2023, we have been working to deliver towards our aims:

0 1

Women and children in our communities have access to wraparound support across all their needs, for as long as they need it.

02

Advance Annual Report 2023 31

03 Raise awareness and campaign for systems change to address the prevalence and scale of the impact of domestic abuse and the criminal justice system on women.

04 Support those working for and with Advance to be leaders, change makers and advocates for women and girls.

3232 www.advancecharity.org.ukww.advancecharity.org.uk

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Governing document and Objectives

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 2023.

Advance is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association which was incorporated in August 2000, after its founding in 1998. Advance was registered as a charity in September 2000.

Our vision is a world where women and girls can live safe, just and equal lives.

The objects of the charity for the public benefit in 2022/23 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;

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).

  1. Divert women from the Criminal Justice System at the earliest opportunity, reduce re-offending amongst women and encourage desistance amongst repeat offenders;

  2. 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.

Advance Annual Report 2023 33

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 objectives. In 2022/23, 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.

In 2022-23, The Board of Trustees met quarterly and was supported by two Trustee sub-committees which also met quarterly in-between full Board meetings, focussing on: Finance, Fundraising & Business Development; and Governance, Risk & Human Resources.

The Board of Trustees has implemented a new governance structure effective from 01 July 2023 which meets quarterly and is supported by three Trustee sub-committees which also meet quarterly in-between full Board meetings, focussing on: People, Finance & Operations, Fundraising, Development & Comms; and Services and Safeguarding.

Organisational structure

The Trustees delegate the management and delivery of services to meet the charity's objectives to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Business Services team led by the Director of Finance and Operations, the Director of People, the Director Development and Insights and the Director of Services.

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 People, Finance & Operations 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.

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.

34 www.advancecharity.org.uk

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, policymakers 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 Board reviews the risk register 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. Advance reported a serious incident to the Charity Commission during the year and the matter was closed with no further action required.

The Board has agreed and oversees a three-year strategic business plan 2023/26. This sets out plans to allow for the diversification of funding and activities and an action plan is refreshed annually.

Advance Annual Report 2023 35

Response to Risk

Challenging climate post Covid-19 pandemic, the costof-living crisis, public sector cuts, leading to increasingly competitive tendering.

Increasingly competitive funding and commissioning environment.

Recruiting and retaining sufficient and highly skilled staff to maintain quality of services and capacity for growth.

Sufficient unrestricted reserves to enable sustainability and support significant growth.

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 influence provision of services needed by women; develops new services aligned to its mission and policy frameworks; develops hardship and flexible funding to support women and children affected by the crisis; collaborates with statutory and voluntary service providers to develop best-practice partnerships.

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.

Advance has built the capacity of its human resources, finance 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 staff survey and frequent team days; has been accredited for Investors in Volunteers and Disability Confident Employer. 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 Advance uses a cloud-based data environment; has encryption security breach. in place for its systems and devices; has expert advice for its data protection processes and systems; has clear policies on confidentiality, privacy and data protection; regularly reviews systems security; has been accredited at IASME standard.

3636 www.advancecharity.org.ukw.advancecharity.org.uk

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 and the cost of living crisis, 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 2022/23.

Funding sources

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 2022/23 were from the following:

London Borough of Brent London Borough of Ealing London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF) Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) Westminster City Council (WCC) Greater London Authority Bi-borough Family & Children’s Services (RBKC, WCC) Ministry of Justice domestic abuse services Ministry of Justice probation community services Mayor’s Office for Policing & Crime (MOPAC) Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) Islamic Relief Julia and Hans Rausing Trust Refuge (Greater London Authority) Standing Together (Tampon Tax) Turning Point

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

Advance Annual Report 2023 37

Financial Review

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 43-45.

The annual income for 2022/23 as shown in the Statement of Financial Activities was £7,722,628 (2021/22: £6,534,210), an increase of 18%, with annual expenditure of £7,616,090 (2021/22: £6,247,036), generating an overall annual surplus of £106,538 (2021/22: surplus of £287,174).

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 and the costof-living crisis. The increase in annual expenditure was due to the provision of new services and programmes.

The total funds at the year ended 31 March 2023 stands at £1,167,808 (2021/22: £1,061,270) of which unrestricted funds are £1,158,713 (2021/22: £907,341) and restricted are £9,095 (2021/22: £153,929). An increase in unrestricted reserves of £251,372 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 £933,147 (2021/22: £1,095,333).

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 2022/23, 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 £1,275,000 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 2023 were £1,167,808 (2021/22: £1,061,270) of which unrestricted funds are £1,158,713 (2021/22: £907,341) and restricted are £9,095 (2021/22: £153,929). Free unrestricted reserves on 31 March 2023 amounted to £1,132,243 (2021/22: £898,072). The Board consider that Advance can continue its current activities with existing reserves.

38 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
Susan Lesley Fennimore Chair of Finance, Fundraising and Business Development Sub-
Committee (appointed 7 March 2023; resigned 5 October 2023)
Karthik Mahadevan
Michelle Nightingale
Kate Parsley
Charmian Sedman
Anita Hamilton (resigned 31 July 2022; reappointed 7 March 2023)
Meeta Luthra (resigned 19 October 2022; reappointed 1 June 2023)
Ludovico Giannotti (appointed 7 March 2023)
Prof. Susan Edwards (appointed 7 March 2023)
Elly Crawford (appointed 7 March 2023)
Abundance Temile (appointed 7 March 2023)
Deborah Cartwright (appointed 7 March 2023)
Tallulah Perez-Sphar (resigned on 22 January 2023)
Helen Arbon (resigned on 29 March 2023)
Dr Carole Easton OBE (resigned on 24 September 2023)
Senior Management
Niki Scordi Chief Executive Ofcer
Melissa Altman Director of Services
Dr Summer Alston-Smith Director of Development and Insights
Vicki Osunde Director of People (appointed October 2023)
Vanessa Penzo Director of Finance and Operations (appointed September 2023)

Advance Annual Report 2023 39

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 require 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 18 December 2023

40 www.advancecharity.org.uk

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 2023 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).

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.

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.

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 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.

Advance Annual Report 2023 41

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.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the

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

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of noncompliance 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 on next page:

42 www.advancecharity.org.uk

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

18 December 2023

Advance Annual Report 2023 43

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
2023 (£)		 Restricted
Fund
2023 (£)		 2023
Totals
(£)		 2022
Totals
(£)
Charitable activities 2 117,516 7,600,051 7,717,567 6,534,078
Investment income – Interest receivable 5,061 - 5,061 132
Total incoming resources 122,577 7,600,051 7,722,628 6,534,210
Expenditure:
Costs of Raising Funds:
Fundraising costs		 3 - 198,474 198,474 236,153
Expenditure on Charitable Activities:
Total Charitable Activities		 3 - 7,417,616 7,417,616 6,010,883
Total expenditure 3 - 7,616,090 7,616,090 6,247,036
Net income / (expenditure) for the year 122,577 (16,039) 106,538 287,174
Transfers between Funds 10 128,795 (128,795) - -
Net Movement in Funds for the year 251,372 (144,834) 106,538 287,174
Reconciliation of Funds
Total Funds brought forward		 907,341 153,929 1,061,270 774,096
Total Funds carried forward 9-10 1,158,713 9,095 1,167,808 1,061,270

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

44 www.advancecharity.org.uk

BALANCE SHEET

For the year ended 31 March 2023

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
2023
£		 At 31 March
2022
£
Tangible assets 5 68,074 16,969
Current assets
Debtors 6 1,335,686 924,468
Cash at bank and in hand 933,147 1,095,333
2,268,833 2,019,801
Liabilities:
Creditors falling due within one year 7 (1,169,099) (975,500)
Net current assets 1,099,734 1,044,301
Net assets 11 1,167,808 1,061,270
Funds:
Unrestricted income funds 9 1,158,713 907,341
Restricted funds 10 9,095 153,929
Total Funds 1,167,808 1,061,270

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 46-58 form part of these accounts. Approved by the Trustees and authorised for issue on 18 December 2023, and signed on their behalf by

Christine Losecaat MBE, Chair

Christine Mullin, Treasurer

Advance Annual Report 2023 45

STATEMENT OF CASHFLOWS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Year ended 31 March on given years Year ended 31 March on given years Year ended 31 March on given years
2023
£		 2022
£
Net Movement in Funds 106,538 287,174
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of tangible assets 14,121 25,996
Interest received (5,061) (132)
(Increase) / decrease in debtors (411,219) (409,192)
Increase / (decrease) in creditors 193,600 447,137
Net Cash generated from Operating Activities (102,021) 350,983
Cash fows from investing activities:
Purchase of tangible fxed assets (65,226) -
Interest 5,061 132
Net cash from investing activities (60,165) 132
Cash fows from fnancing activities
Interest paid - -
Net cash used in fnancing activities - -
Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (162,186) 351,115
Cash and cash equivalent at beginning of period 1,095,333 744,218
Cash and cash equivalent carried forward 933,147 1,095,333
Cash and cash equivalents can be analysed as follows:
Cash in hand 933,147 1,095,333

46 www.advancecharity.org.uk

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

For the year ended 31 March 2023

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:

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 (£).

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. The charity has cash resources and has no requirement for external funding. The directors have a reasonable 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.

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 accrual’s basis.

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

f.

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

Advance Annual Report 2023 47

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2023

to which they relate. At 31 March 2023, Advance had 123 (2022: 82) active members in the scheme. Total contributions to the DCS for the year were £75,568 (2022: £58,963).

g.

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)		 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.

k. 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 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

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

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

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

48 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2023

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
2023 (£)
Restricted
Funds
2023 (£)
2023
Totals
(£)
2022
Totals
(£)
Income from Charitable Activities:
Community-based
Advocacy & Support		 103,000 7,600,051 7,703,051 6,513,262
Donations & gifts 14,385 - 14,385 20,281
Other income 131 - 131 535
117,516 7,600,051 7,717,567 6,534,078
Grants received, included in the above, are as follows:
Unrestricted Grants		 Year ended 31 March on given
years
2023
Totals
(£)
2022
Totals
(£)
2023
Totals
(£)
Prism Trust 45,000 -
City Bridge Trust - 49,311
T&J Meyer Family Trust 20,000 25,000
Aurum Charitable Trust 30,000 30,000
Howard de Walden Estate - 10,000
Two Magpies Fund - 15,000
Anglo Recycling 8,000 -
103,000 129,311
Restricted Grants Year ended 31 March on given
years
2023
Totals
(£)
2022
Totals
(£)
2023
Totals
(£)
London Borough of Brent 456,450 440,804
London Borough of Ealing 89,633 89,633
London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF) 399,604 399,604
Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) 346,241 273,200

Advance Annual Report 2023 49

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2023

2. Income from Charitable Activities continued.

Year ended 31 March on given years

2. Income from Charitable Activitiescontinued. 2. Income from Charitable Activitiescontinued. 2. Income from Charitable Activitiescontinued. Year ended 31 M arch on given years
Unrestricted
Funds
2023 (£)
Restricted
Funds
2023 (£)
Westminster City Council (WCC)		 Unrestricted
Funds
2023 (£)		 Restricted
Funds
2023 (£)		 2023
Totals
(£)		 2022
Totals
(£)
378,661
320,661
Greater London Authority 1,249,850 -
Bi-borough Family & Children’s Services (RBKC, WCC) 52,000 75,000
Covid resilience fund (LBHF, RBKC, WCC) - 200,080
Ministry of Justice domestic abuse services 214,975 191,224
Ministry of Justice probation community services 1,912,841 1,444,843
Mayor’s Ofce for Policing & Crime (MOPAC) and Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) 2,108,527 2,065,172
London Community Rehabilitation Company (MTC Novo) - 167,045
Islamic Relief 42,000 -
Lewis Family Charitable Trust - 15,000
Julia and Hans Rausing Trust 20,833 -
Health IRISi Advocacy - 455,185
Women In Prison - 10,400
Refuge (Greater London Authority) 247,520 -
Standing Together (Tampon Tax) 117,300 110,800
Get Connected 8,333 29,167
Turning Point 12,500 37,500
Other 783 633
Total Grants Received 7,600,051 6,383,951

50 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2023

3. Analysis of total expenditure

Direct
Costs
(£)
Staf
Costs
(£)
Support
Costs
(£)
2023
Total Cost
(£)
2022
Total Cost
(£)
Year ended 31 March on given years		 Direct
Costs
(£)
Staf
Costs
(£)
Support
Costs
(£)
2023
Total Cost
(£)
2022
Total Cost
(£)
Year ended 31 March on given years		 Direct
Costs
(£)
Staf
Costs
(£)
Support
Costs
(£)
2023
Total Cost
(£)
2022
Total Cost
(£)
Year ended 31 March on given years		 Direct
Costs
(£)
Staf
Costs
(£)
Support
Costs
(£)
2023
Total Cost
(£)
2022
Total Cost
(£)
Year ended 31 March on given years		 Direct
Costs
(£)
Staf
Costs
(£)
Support
Costs
(£)
2023
Total Cost
(£)
2022
Total Cost
(£)
Year ended 31 March on given years
Expenditure on Charitable Activities
Cost of generating funds:
Fundraising costs 6,576 191,898 - 198,474 236,153
Charitable activities:
Community-based Advocacy & Support 1,927,917 4,996,476 435,651 7,360,044 5,927,295
Governance Costs - - 57,572
57,572		 83,588
Total Charitable activities
1,927,917
4,996,476
493,223
7,417,616
6,010,883
Total Expenditure 2023
1,934,493
5,188,374
493,223
7,616,090
Total expenditure 2022
1,479,371
4,257,337
510,328
6,247,036
Direct costs include:
2023
Total Cost
(£)
2022
Total Cost
(£)
Direct costs related to community-based activities
Year ended 31 March on given years		 1,927,917 4,996,476 493,223
7,417,616		 6,010,883
1,934,493
5,188,374
493,223
7,616,090
1,479,371 4,257,337
510,328
6,247,036
2023
Total Cost
(£)
2022
Total Cost
(£)
Year ended 31 March on given years		 6,247,036
Partners’ activities costs 1,508,974
986,240
Service-user activities 45,714
98,679
IT & Telecommunication Costs 286,781
324,807
Other Direct Costs 86,448
58,586
1,927,917
1,468,312

Advance Annual Report 2023 51

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2023

Support Costs includes: Year ended 31 March on given years Year ended 31 March on given years
Support costs related to community-based activities 2023
Totals
(£)		 2022
Totals
(£)
HR & payroll 9,788 7,610
Premises & storage 53,841 90,406
Lease costs 250,793 193,606
Staf related support costs 88,576 92,676
Other support costs 18,591 16,446
Depreciation 14,061 25,996
435,650 426,740
Year ended 31 March on given years Year ended 31 March on given years Year ended 31 March on given years
2023 2022
Totals Totals
Governance costs (£) (£)
Legal & Professional fees 40,991 72,880
Auditors’ fees 5,454 5,671
AGM / Annual Report 4,545 3,256
Trustee and Board meeting expenses 6,583 1,781
Governance review - -
57,573 83,588

52 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2023

4. Trustees and employees

4. Trustees and employees
Year ended 31 March on given years
2023 2022
Totals Totals
Staf costs: (£) (£)
Salaries 4,119,524 3,214,774
Social security costs 391,538 280,378
Pension scheme contributions 75,568 58,963
Redundancy - -
Consultants & Agency staf 486,202 405,809
Recruitment and training 115,542 297,413
5,188,374 4,257,337
2023 2022
Number Number
The average number of persons employed during the year was: 140 114

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 £107,907 (2022: £101,455).

Key Management were:

Salary
£60,001 - £70,000
£70,001 - £80,000
£80,001 - £90,000
£90,001 - £100,000
£100,001 - £110,000		 No. of Employee
2023
2022
0
1
1
2
0
0
0
0
1
1

Two key management employees were on long-term unpaid leave during 2022/23. There were no redundancy payments in 2022/23 (2022: £nil).

The Trustees and persons connected with them have not received or obtained any remuneration or other financial benefits as a trustee for the period directly or indirectly from Advance’s funds. The aggregate amount of expenses reimbursed to Trustees to cover travel expenses during 2022/23 was £nil (2022: £nil).

Advance Annual Report 2023 53

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2023

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 2022 57,119 20,322 83,897 161,338
Additions 65,226 - - 65,226
Balance at 31 March 2023 122,345 20,322 83,897 226,564
Accumulated Depreciation
Balance at 1 April 2022 50,769 16,198 77,402 144,369
Charge for period 5,498 2,898 5,725 14,121
Balance at 31 March 2023 56,267 19,096 83,127 158,490
Net book value at 31 March 2023 66,078 1,226 770 68,074
Net book value at 31 March 2022 6,350 4,124 6,495 16,969

6. Debtors

6. Debtors
At 31 March
2023
(£)		 At 31 March
2022
(£)
Accrued income and grants receivable 1,270,906 813,146
Prepaid expenses 24,189 72,231
Other debtors 40,591 39,091
1,335,686 924,468

54 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2023

7. Creditors amounts falling due within one year

7. Creditors amounts falling due within one year
At 31 March
2023		 At 31 March
2022
Trade Creditors 277,793 531,236
Taxation and social security 123,478 109,882
Accruals and Other Creditors 641,602 289,383
Deferred Income 126,226 44,999
1,169,099 975,500

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 2023 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
2023
(£)
At 31 March
2022
(£)
Within 1 year 312,247 117,998
Within 2 to 5 years 552,820 58,149
865,067 176,147

The Hammersmith office lease contains a break clause in year three which, if exercised, would reduce the overall commitment falling due within 2 to 5 years by £347,588.

In addition to the above commitments, Advance entered into lease agreements for women centres and offices in Kent, Reading and Chelmsford, after the year end. The amount of commitment in respect of these new leases is £187,805.

Advance Annual Report 2023 55

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2023

9. Unrestricted Income Funds

Balance at
1 April
2022
(£)		 Incoming/
(Outgoing)
Resources
(£)		 Transfers
(£)		 Balance at
31 March
2023
(£)
Advance General Fund 907,341 122,577 128,795 1,158,713
The Unrestricted Income Funds are classifed as follows At 31 March
2023
(£)		 At 31 March
2022
(£)
Free Reserves (incorporating General Fund) 1,132,243 898,072
Tangible Fixed Assets in use 26,470 9,269
Total 1,158,713 907,341

Unrestricted Income Funds Comparative

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

56 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2023

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
2022
(£)		 Incoming
Resources
(£)		 Transfers
(£)		 Resources
expended
(£)		 Balance at
31 March
2023
(£)
Domestic Abuse services 147,929 4,260,780 - (4,239,139) 169,570
Criminal Justice services 6,000 3,339,271 (128,795)
(3,376,951)
(160,475)
Total 153,929 7,600,051 (128,795)
(7,616,090)
9,095

Total transfers in the year from restricted funds amounted to £128,795, 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 twelve boroughs in West and Central London, including core services in Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, and through a number of programmes including the Angelou Partnership VAWG Services, Social Care DA services, Health DA services, Housing DA services and the Criminal Justice and Police DA services.

Criminal Justice (CJ) services: Services are provided pan-London and in eight counties in South and East of 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).

Young women and girls (YWG) services: Services are provided across West and Central London through our Maia and Courageous services, including our collaboration with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and the London Violence Reduction Unit (VRU).

Restricted Funds Comparative

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

Advance Annual Report 2023 57

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2023

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

Fund balances at 31 March 2023 are represented by: Unrestricted
Fund
(£)		 Restricted
Funds
(£)		 Total
Funds
(£)
Tangible fxed assets 26,470 41,604 68,074
Debtors 64,780 1,270,906 1,335,686
Cash at bank and in hand 1,146,870 (213,723) 933,147
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (79,407) (1,089,692) (1,169,099)
1,158,713 9,095 1,167,808

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.

During the year, two Trustees resigned their office to provide finance and communication services to the charity, for which they received payment. No payments were made whilst they were still Trustees. There were no related party transactions during the year. None of the Trustees receive remuneration or other benefit from their work with the charity.

58 www.advancecharity.org.uk

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 31 March 2023

14. Comparative 2022 Statement of Financial Activi ~~ties~~

. p Year ended 31 March 2022
 Year ended 31 March 2022
 Year ended 31 March 2022
Statement of Financial Activities
Income:		 Unrestricted
Fund
(£)		 Restricted
Fund
(£)		 2022
Totals
£)
Charitable activities:
Domestic violence advocacy projects 150,127 6,383,951 6,534,078
Investment income – Interest receivable 132 - 132
Total incoming resources
Expenditure:		 150,259 6,383,951 6,534,210
Costs of Raising Funds:
Fundraising costs		 - 236,153 236,153
Expenditure on Charitable Activities:
Total Charitable Activities		 - 6,010,883 6,010,883
Total expenditure - 6,247,036 6,247,036
Net income / (expenditure) for the year 150,259 136,915 287,174
Transfers between Funds 132,108 (132,108) -
Net Movement in Funds for the year 282,367 4,807 287,174
Reconciliation of Funds
Total Funds brought forward		 624,974 149,122 774,096
Total Funds carried forward 907,341 153,929 1,061,270
All income and expenditure derived from continuing activities.

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