Company re8lstratlon number: 04190963 Charlty re8lstratlon number: 1088596 Homemaker Southwest (A company Ilmlted by guarantee) Annual Report and Flnandal Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 Hornernaker Southwest Contents Reference and Admln15tratlve Detalls Trustees, Report 2to6 Statement of Trustees, Responslbllltles Independent Audltors, Report 8t013 Statement of Flnanclal Actmtles 14tolS Balance Sheet 16 Statement of Cash Flows 17 Notes to the Flnandal Ststements 18to32 Homemaker Southwest Reference and Adrnlnlstratlve Detalls Trusts•s Dr R C Cresswell, M.B.E. Ms J Fr(K>m MrRWBall MsNJHall Ms A Lswayne Andrea Carllsle, Dlrector Vanessa Handley, Dlrector of Development Sarah Fayter, Offlce Mana8er S•nlor Manayrnent / Lead•rshlp Tearn Charlty Rqlstrttion Nurnb•r 1088596 Company R•8lstrntlon Numb•r04190963 The charlty Is Incorporated In England and Wales. Unlt I Stoke Damerel Buslness Centre Church Street Plymouth PL3 4DT R•815t•red Offl¢• Audltorn Four Fffty Partnershlp Chartered Accountants & Re8lstered Audltor 34 Boulevard Weston-super-mare Somerset BS23 INF Pa8e I Homemak•r Southwest Truste•s' Report The trustees, who are dlrertors for the purposes of company law, present the annual report tO8ether with the financlal statements and audltors, report of the charltable company for the year ended 31 March 2024. ObJectlv•s and acthrftles Objects and alms The objects of the charlty as set out In the Memorandum and Artlcles of Assoclatlon are: l) 'Yo promote the benefft of the Inhabltants of the countles of Gloucestershlre, Somerset, Wlltshlre, Hampshlre, Dorsek Devon and Cornwall and wlthout dlstlnctlon of sex or polftlcal, rell8lous or other oplnlons to provlde facllltles In the Interests of soclal welfare wlth the object of Improvln8 the condltlons of Ilfe for the sald Inhabltant&" 11) 'Yo relleve persons resldent In the desl8nated area who; a) are In condltlons of need, hard5hlp and dlstress. or b) are homeless or threatened wlth homelessness." Our mlsslon Is to enable people, especlally those who are vulnerable, to set up, malntaln and sustaln thelr home5, and thus prevent homelessness. We belleve that everyone has the rlght to a safe, secure and affordable home; and that everyone has the rl8ht to be treated wlth respect, whatever th•lr drcumstances. We alm to promote soclal Incluslon. We fumi our mlsslon In a varlety of ways, Includln& - the assessment of what someone needs to malntaln thelr home provlslon of advlce and sUPPOrt accordlng to Indlvldual clrcumstance5, whlch may Include rnaklng sure they get all the benefits to whlch they are entltled . help wlth bud8etln& payln8 bllls, sortln8 Out rent arrears, and deallng wlth debts - accompanylng cllents to court hearlngs re8ardln8 rent arrears . asslstance wlth movln8 Into a property. We contlnue to see a stron8 demand for our 5ervlces due to the Increased needs resultln8 from rlsln8 energy prlces and the rnore 8eneral 'cost of Ilvlng crlsls,. Contlnued hard work and dlll8ence by our Management Team ensured that our annual Income has largely been malntslned. Thls ensured another year of stablllty for our experlenced staff tearn. It Is remarkable that desplte the pressures and uncertalntle5 caused by the 8eneral economlc Instablllty. HDmemaker has contlnued to provlde an excellent servlce to our dlents and commlssloners. The adaptablllty and dedlcatlon of our staff 15 hlghly commendable. Page 2 Homemaker Southwest Trust••s' Report Publk benefft The Charws prlnclpal actlvltles and maln beneflclarles are set out In thls report, hl8hll8htln8 the actlvFtles undertaken to further our charltable purposes for publlc benefft. The Charlty does not charge Its cllents for accessln8 Its servlces, whlch are funded elther by 8rants andlor Servlce Level Agreements wlth commlssloners. Thls allows servlces to be free at the polnt of dellvery, helpln8 US to acces5 cllents In hard-to-reach groups vtho ml8ht not en8a8e If they could not afford to pay. Homemaker Southwest operates for the publlc benefit, and partlcularly In the followln8 reas: - preventln8 and rellevln8 poverty rellevln8 those In need, by reason of111-health, dlsablllty, flnanclal dlsadvanta8e or other dlsadvants8e - preventlng homelessness and promotln8 Independence for d15advanta8ed people. Durln8 the perlod l Aprll 2023 to 31 March 2024, the Homemaker staff team: - opened 1,980 new case flles secured £5,124,945 In flnanclal ￿[n5 for cllents. helpln8 them to keep thelr homes and malntsin thelr Ilves - prevented 18 cases of homelessness. The trustees conflrm that they have cornplled wlth the requlrements of sectlon 4 of the Charltles Act 2011 to have due re8ard to the publlc benefft 8uldance publlshed by the Charlty Commlsslon for En8land and Wales. Use ofvolurteefs The Charfty make5 Use of the servlces of volunteers and the Trustees appreclate and value thelr contrlbutlon. There Is currently one volunteer who supports the team and asslsts wlth beneffts and appeals. P￿e3 Homemaknr Southwest Trustees, Report Flnanclal revlew The Trustees have revlewed the flnanclal posltlon of the Charlty and are a8reed that It Is currently vlable and trades lawfully. It has a number of pollcles whlch help to ensure that the flnanclal position Is kept under contlnuous revlew; these Indude monthly reports from the mana8ement team .to the Board concernln8 cash flow and Income/expendlture statements. These documents are revlewed by the Treasurer who makes spat checks for accuracy. As part of its flnanclal horlzon scannln& the Board looks at the securlty of Income 8oln8 forward and the proportlon of contracts whlch are Secure for the current and future years. We are confldent that Income Is secure for 2024125, and that we can cover current expendlture. As wlth prevlous years, the uncertalnty of the Money and Penslons Servlce (MaPS) fvndlng to dellver a debt servlce In Plymouth and Torbay has contlnued; the reductlon In fundln8 for thls project In 2023124 saw us lose 0.4FfE In staffln& althou8h demand for the servlce remalns hl8h. The contracts we have wlth local authorltles contlnue, wlth two beln8 rfrawarded beyond March 2026. The AQS assessment for the MaPS DAP Project was successful and the certlflcats has been re-awarded. We now have a mlxture of horn￿baSed and offlce-based staff, althou8h we contlnue to offer both a telephone servlce and a cllent face-tO•face servlce where thls Is approprlate and necessary. Thls has Increased some costs due to home worklng allowances whlch have been rnore than offset by a redurtlon In travelllng expenses. We now have only one offlce, whlch Is In Plymouth,. thls Is a150 our Reglstered Offlce address, from whlch the MaPS team Work. Polky on reserves In accordance wlth the Charlty Commlsslon's guldance on reserves, the Board has consldered and agreed to a reseNes strategy of creatlng a contln8ent reserve equlvalent to mlnlmum of three months, runnln8 expenses plus patentlal redundancy costs. Thls would enable the Charlty to contlnue Its actlvFtles for a Ilmlted perlod In the event of a 518nlficant drop In fundlng. The reserve (Note 18) currently stands at £162,000, the level requlred to fully meet the reserves strategy objertlve. Pa8e 4 Homernaker Southwest Trust••s' Report ndpolfvndlnq sources Homemaker has a range of fundlng sources: most of them from statutory bodles such as local authorltles and the Money Advlce Servlce, or from Re8lstered Soclal Landlords. Although Homemakerfs partnershlp wlth Exeter CAB ended In March 2024, 4 other contract renewals have been successful. In Aprll 2023, the Centre for Sustalnable Energy won thelr tender and re-contracted wlth Homemaker to provlde a money advlce servlce to cllents they Identlfy as needln8 SUPPOrt. Thls contract run5 untll March 24, but Is expected to 80 beyond thls. New contracts to suppty money advlce to South Hams and West Devon Dlstrlct Counclls were secured wlth effect from Ortober 2023; these are for 3 years wlth an optlon for a 2 year extenslon. A further contract to provlde money advlce servlces to Tel8nbrld8e Dlstrlct Councll wa5 secured wlth effect from Aprll 2024; thls contract Is for 2 years wlth an optlon for a I year extenslon. The largest expendlture Is on salarles for staff who help us to dellver our charftable alms In the homes and communltles of our cllents In the South West. The Board agreed a 3% pay Increase wlth effect from tst January 202 Investmentpoll¢y objertlv Our maln accounts are wlth the Co-operatlve Bank (current and onllne savln8s accounts) as they have lower costs and a better Interface for charltles. Reserves have also been lod8ed In Natlonwlde Bulldln8 Sodety Savlngs Account and a Charlty Bank ICK) Day Notlce Account. Itls our alm that no one account contalns more than £85 Golnq conc•rn The trustees have prepared the flnanclal statement5 on a 8oln8 concern basls as. In thelr oplnlon, the Charlty Is able to meet its obll8atlon5 as they fall due. Thls oplnlon Is based on forecastlng for the 12 months from 518nln8 these flnanclal statements. The Charlty contlnues to see a stron8 demand for Its servlces due to the Increased needs resultlng from the 'cost of Ilvlng crlsls '. The Trustees are confldent that they wlll be able to obtsln fvture fundln8 from a wlde range of Sources to be able to contlnue thls valuable work. As such, the Trustees are of the oplnlon that It Is wholly approprlate to prepare the accounts on a 8oln8 concern basls. Pa8e 5 The charlty Is • prfv4ts company Umltsd by iuar•ntse Inumber 04190963) and was Incorpornted on 30 M•rth 2001. It wai regtstered wlth the Ch•rlty Comm1551on (Realstratlon Number 1088596) on 26 September ZOOI. The comyny was éstab115hed under a Memor•ndum of Assoclatlon whlth daxrlbes the objects and powers of th• ￿rItable compryp and It Is aovemed under Its Artkles af AsFoclatlon. New trusttts are appolnted by the B￿rd. ift•r conslderrtlon ot applkatlons Irom volunts•rs. TruJta• numbers from p mlftlmum of fv• to i m•xlmum of tsefv•. 202¥24, mamlxrthlp of tho eoard r•maln•d stabkn wlth a total mem Rocfultment of addftlonal Bo•rd m•mbers Is stlll sqen as a prlorlty. N•w Tntstees are Induct•d by th• Chilr and Executlve Dlrectori. Trnlnlng tor Trust•es 15 irrar* as deem•d n•cewry. The Truste•s me•t r•8ul•rly, usually 5 m••tlnp p•r yur, more frequent m•etlw Jre held vthen drcumstsnces demand. They Jr• respon￿61• for 5ettlng polkles. manulnl fln•ndal iffalrs ind d•t•rni1nI￿thO Charws strntealc dlrertlon. The Dlr•rtor, the ￿lector of Dw•lDpment and the Office Mana8er form tha Le3der5hlp T￿rn whlch runs the Or8Jnlsatlon on a day to day bals. All the case wothrs report to tbe Dlrnctor of Oev•lopmenL The Dlrector of DmlopmenL th• offi￿ Mana8er Ind t￿ MAS Admlnlstrntor r•pon w th• Dlrettor. Dlkn of knfomiltlon to •udltor Eath trustee Ims t•ken stepi th•t they owht to h•ve tsk•n as a truthe In order to m•ke th•m6•lves aware ol any rel•¥￿t audll Intorniatlon and to establlsh that the thartys audltpr Is awarn of thai knformJtlon. Th• trustws conflrm that th•rn Is no role¥•nt Informatlon ih¥t they know of and of whlch they knaw th• 4udltor Is unawar•. Th• annual report WD5 •ppro¥od by thè trustees of the tharlty on *7.....1.¥..%lt•nd on its behNK bw. R C CressvAII. M.b.E Trustee Pagè 6 The truste•s (who Ire algo th• dlrKtors ot Hom•m•ker Sthwut lor thq PUTPOW of company law) ar• rwonslble for prnprlnq th• truste•s' reprt and th• IlnaThdal statem•rrts In ac¢ordano wlth ipplkabl• liw and Unlted Kln8dom Accountln8 Standards (Unlted Klngdom Gornrnlly Accepted Accountln8 Prnctlcel. IncludlnB FRS 102 'Th8 Flnandal Report￿ Stmdard appllclble In the UK and Rep￿11¢ of Ireland". Company law rnqulres the tru$teei to prepare flnanclal ststements for e•ch flft•nd￿ year. Under company Iw the trnstoe5 rnu￿ not approve the flnandal statemants unless they arn s•tlsfied that they 8lve a true ind falr vlew of the state of affalrs of the tharltsble companv and of the Incofflln8 resources and appllcatlon of resourcos. Indudlnl Its Income and •xpendltur•, of the tharftsble company for that pertod. In preparln8 theM Ilftandal Statsments, the trustees requlred to: ble accounUn8 pollcles and apply them consljtently. mak• Ju*ements and estlmates that are reai(ttMble and prud•ftL' 5tOte whother applkabl• •ccountlni standards, comprfslno FRS 102 have b•4n follN•d, sublect to any materfal deplrturns dI￿o$•d and explalned In th• Iln•ndal st*t•m•nty' and preparn the flnancb81 st8temenfs on tho concern basls unlw It li Inapprwlate to presume that the chJrltabk cwipany wlll contlnue In buslness. The trustets •re respon51ble ftK kee￿n$ proper accountln8 records th•t can dlsdose whh reasonable accuracy Jt any tlme the flnandal posltlon ot the charftable company and en•ble thom to ensurn thal the ftbafi&l Stitenwnts <*y wlth tha Campankns Act 2r at least twelve months after the reportln8 date. If there Is an uncondltlonal rl8ht to defer settlement for at least twelve months after the reportln8 date, they are presented as non