2021-03-31-accounts

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

Company number: 4151312 Charity number: 1089987

Groundswell Network Support UK (Operating as Groundswell)

Report and financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2021

Reference and administrative information ............................................................................... 3 Trustees’ annual report ............................................................................................................. 5 Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Groundswell Network Support UK .......... 22 Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating income and expenditure) ........................... 27 Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2021 ......................................................................................... 28 Statement of Cash Flow as at 31 March 2021 ......................................................................... 29 Notes to the financial statements ........................................................................................... 30

Reference and administrative information

Company number	4151312
Charity number	1089987
Registered office and operational address	Canterbury Court, Unit CC3.44, 1-3 Brixton Road, London SW9 6DE
Country of registration	England & Wales
Country of incorporation	United Kingdom
Trustees	Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows: - Terry Hitchcock, Chair_(resigned 1 Sept 2020) - Jenny Yates, Chair(appointed to Chair 1 Sept 2020) - Steve Wyler OBE, Treasurer - Laura Austin Croft - Matthew Harrison - Dr Alistair Story - Louisa McDonald - Gerry Rolfe(appointed 30 Jan 2020, resigned 11 May_ 2021) - Gina Rowlands_(appointed 11 May 2021) - Tony McKenzie(appointed 11 May 2021)_
Key management personnel	- Steven Platts, Chief Executive - Kate Bowgett, Director of Services - Becky Evans, Director of Fundraising & Communication - Katie Langford, Director of People & Progression (promoted to role 1 Sept 2020) - Jenny McAteer, #HealthNow Director_(up to 31 May_ 2021) - Martin Burrows, Director of Research & Campaigns_(up to_ 31 May 2021)

Bankers	Unity Trust Bank 4 Oozells Square Birmingham B1 2HB CAF Bank Ltd. 25 Kings Hill Avenue West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ
Solicitors	Bates Wells & Braithwaite Cheapside House 138 Cheapside London EC2V 6BB
Auditor	Sayer Vincent LLP Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor Invicta House 108-114 Golden Lane LONDON EC1Y 0TL

Trustees’ annual report

Vision, mission and core beliefs

Our vision is of an equal and inclusive society, where the solutions to homelessness come from the people with experience of homelessness.

Our mission - Groundswell exists to enable people who have experience of homelessness to create solutions and move themselves out of homelessness – to the benefit of our whole society.

Our core beliefs

The whole community benefits when we effectively tackle homelessness and social exclusion.
We believe in people. People are society’s most valuable resource, and everyone has the capacity to make a contribution.
There is no “them” and “us” – only us. Groundswell brings everyone together to create genuine solutions to homelessness.
Participation works. Supporting people to participate creates more effective services and policy – and crucially enables people to move out of homelessness.

We aim to address these issues through the delivery of our ‘Participation Works’ three-year strategy. Launched this financial year, the strategy has three connected strands: progression, good health and creating change.

In all areas we are strongly committed to partnership working wherever this more effectively provides impact.

Chair’s reflections

The financial year of 2020/2021 began a week after the world as we knew it halted and the UK went into lockdown. It was a challenging year for everyone – especially for those experiencing homelessness, without a safe home to ‘stay home’ in and with many suffering from long-term health conditions increasing the risks of COVID-19. Groundswell’s work was needed more than ever, and I am very pleased to share its activities and achievements with you. These really show how the team pulled together, collaborated with partners, adapted services, listened and involved our clients to provide crucial support during the pandemic.

Due to COVID-19, key players saw homelessness as a health issue for the first time – something that Groundswell has advocated for many years. This led to the Government’s “Everyone In” scheme, in which hotels were used to accommodate people affected by homelessness. Groundswell staff and volunteers played a key role in ensuring that those accommodated had what they needed and accessed healthcare. Groundswell then pushed for those experiencing homelessness to be given priority for COVID-19 vaccines and

supported the roll out and up-take through communications, GP registration, rapid research and influencing national policy.

Groundswell really came into its own during the pandemic, and I’m proud that we are a more effective and increasingly influential organisation as a result. The support, flexibility and trust given by our staff, volunteers, donors, partners, and commissioners has been crucial – thank you; everything you read below has been made possible because of you.

Jenny Yates, Chair of Trustees

Activities and achievements

Here we outline the three key strategic areas in the Groundswell Strategy for 2020-23: Progression, Good Health and Creating Change. The key activities in each strand are summarised and the impact they had on people’s lives.

Progression

This strand represents all our work on developing and supporting a workforce with experience of homelessness to participate in designing and delivering solutions to homelessness whilst progressing in their own lives, which is increasingly digital.

As a result of this strategy, we created a new ‘People and Progression’ department, including a new People Director post which was filled by a former volunteer who progressed into administration and HR roles before taking on this new role.

Thanks to funding from the Oak Foundation, we now have a dedicated Volunteer and Wellbeing Manager, which has meant we have a central person overseeing the participation and management of volunteers involved in all of Groundswell’s work. They have been working with colleagues and volunteers to streamline expenses procedures, policies, inductions and training, as well as taking time to survey and understand volunteers’ needs – this was especially important during the pandemic as our usual support models had to change.

We are moving to a fuller evaluation of our peer support model which will be completed in 2021. Early findings demonstrate that volunteering and being part of Groundswell provide ‘progression capital’ for the people involved – social, cultural, human and economic. This is explained in the diagram below.

Peer engagement

We continued to develop a national network of volunteers with experience of homelessness to support delivery of all three strands of our strategy, encouraging people who are or have been homeless to take control over their lives, to help them move out of homelessness and contribute to society.

The participation of people affected by homelessness remains our core value, there is no them and us – only us.

Over 40 volunteers contributed to our work last year, each of them being supported on their own journey out of homelessness.

In January we launched a ‘peer network’, led by #HealthNow Peer Coordinator, Emma. This platform (currently monthly online meetings) brings togethers Groundswell’s volunteers and volunteers of partner organisations, as well as other experts by experience. This is a platform to gather national insight into the experiences of people who are homeless right now and gives the opportunity for them to be heard by people who can truly listen and respond. For example, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) attended one session, consulting on their rough sleeping strategy; and another session was a Q&A with people from Sage, Public Health England (PHE) and the NHS about ’ the COVID-19 vaccination – informing Groundswell s vaccine resources.

Journey to employment

We create opportunities for people with experience of homelessness to progress into fulfilling careers; they know the problems people face, therefore should be part of the solution.

All Groundswell volunteers receive training for their individual roles, and many participate in external or additional training to help their professional and personal progression. This year has seen many volunteers undertake education and training opportunities, as well as moving into employment:

9 people with experience of homelessness and associated issues joined the Groundswell staff team
11 were involved in employability training
4 started external courses with CityLit (e.g., health and social care, employment, substance misuse)
1 #HealthNow volunteer has started a PhD
5 #HealthNow volunteers are undertaking additional training whilst volunteering
3 of the #HealthNow volunteers have progressed into work.

Mat came to Groundswell in 2017 as a volunteer and in October 2020 he began a full-time role with us. Read Mat’s story.

“ Groundswell’s holistic approach has taught me how to use my life experience to help others, which coupled with the research and admin skills that I have picked up...have given me back my sense of self, as well as a valuable skillset.”

Good Health

This strand represents all our people focused health work, innovative services that enable people to access the health care they need and the work we do to promote a healthy and sustainable working environment both within Groundswell and as tools to share with others.

Homeless Health Peer Advocacy (HHPA)

We continued to deliver HHPA across the country, with volunteer Peer Advocates (people with experience of homelessness) helping individuals who are homeless to access healthcare.

The model was adapted during the height of the pandemic. Our team of staff and volunteers were making ‘welfare calls’ to clients, ensuring they had access to support, the medication they required and were able to talk to someone during an isolating time. We often found people had fallen through the net (particularly those in temporary accommodation) so where suitable, we visited the person.

“At first, I didn’t think this [welfare calls] would work and wondered how we could reach out and offer support over the phone. I felt a bit helpless. I soon realised the value of these calls.

As people were being placed into accommodation, I was able to talk to those who we normally struggled to contact. I also found people were so grateful to be able to talk to someone in this isolating time. I didn’t have to spend hours chasing services or walking across London trying to find them, and on the whole people wanted to talk to me.

Over the phone I built great relationships with clients, some who in the past never wanted to engage with me. I was managing to establish the support they needed.” - Dena Pursell, Lambeth Care Navigator, Groundswell

This work was in addition to our usual face-to-face advocacy support – supporting people to attend appointments, register with a GP and navigate the health system. The HHPA team supported over 500 individuals through face-to-face and remote advocacy, broken down as follows:

2020/2021 HHPA London work done	Q1April – June	Q2July – September	Q3October – December	Q4January – March	Total
Medical appointments	133	161	371	374	1039
Welfare visits to clients	87	127	104	143	461
Welfare calls with clients	748	601	352	193	1894
GP registrations	20	10	37	27	94

“As a Peer you can share your experience and show there is a solution, then clients can find their own confidence and begin advocating for themselves.”

- Peer Advocate

The impact of HHPA on the people we support and those delivering the service is being evaluated. See the Future Plans section for more information.

COVID-19 vaccinations

In February 2021, the HHPA London team began working alongside nurses in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to people experiencing homelessness and have

continued to do so across 2021. Working in collaboration with partner organisations has been key to ensuring a coordinated response to delivering the vaccine at short notice, quickly.

We have contributed our established peer advocacy model to engage with clients, ensure they understood their rights and had a chance to make an informed decision about the vaccine.

Using inclusion health principles via a mixed model approach is ensuring our Peer Advocates and the health teams are going where people are - accommodation settings, community action days for people who are sleeping rough and pop-up hubs in community venues. This is removing structural barriers and means people are comfortable and around people they know and trust – it is also more accessible than expecting people to book a GP appointment and arrange travel.

Just as the COVID-19 virus doesn’t discriminate, neither should the vaccine. When the roving teams are vaccinating people, it is available to all – staff, volunteers and people benefitting from the service or project. We have proven that this camaraderie demonstrates a trust in the process and unites us all as people protecting ourselves and others.

The Groundswell Peers are also using their shared experiences of homelessness to engage with people in advance, so the vaccine isn’t ‘sprung upon them’. Peer Case Worker Dennis Rogers MBE explains how this trust in peers worked when he was working with a vaccine team:

“when I say I’ve had it [the vaccine], people will often then get it”.

Dr Dana Beale, Joint Clinical Lead GP at Great Chapel Street Medical Centre recalls:

“in one accommodation setting, the support provider explained one of the residents (with significant health vulnerabilities) was not keen to come down to the vaccinating room – Dave [Groundswell Care Navigator] asked us for a couple of minutes. Right on cue, smiling patient entered the room ready for his vaccination. That prior relationship that Dave has with his clients/our patients meant on countless occasions during the campaign that someone who might have otherwise felt overwhelmed on the day was greeted and encouraged by a friendly face.”

Our team are also contributing to training for frontline clinicians to explain the barriers people who are homeless often face when accessing healthcare; how various accommodation settings work, and what had happened during ‘Everyone In’.

The expansion of HHPA

Volunteers in nine cities have been trained to deliver HHPA: London, Cornwall, Dublin, Exeter, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Luton and Bradford. As a result, over the past year, Sharon (Learning & Development Manager) trained 35 people with experience of homelessness to become new volunteer Peer Advocates across the country. Below are two examples of the feedback received:

“I just wanted to say thanks for the last few weeks of training. I know that working on zoom is difficult but I have to say that you have made it interesting and enjoyable and that I have learnt sooo much from you.”

“The course that you have run has fortified my understanding of complex issues. I live on the edge of nowhere, somewhere very rural. I think my strength to the peer mentoring project would be a listening ear for offloading purposes. The course was so professional and totally engaging. I liked it a lot and thank you a lot.”

Health promotion

A crucial part of our work was coproducing accessible health information for people experiencing homelessness, providing them with the tools to understand and take control of their situation, and recognise how to make safer informed choices about their own lives.

Since the pandemic began, Groundswell have become the ‘go to’ organisation for accessible and relevant information and guidance about COVID-19 and associated issues, for people experiencing homelessness. These can all be viewed here. During February and March we posted 9,400 copies of our vaccine leaflets (available in seven languages) to services supporting people affected by homelessness across the country.

In March, we created a film for frontline workers to share our team’s experiences of ‘what works’ when rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine to people experiencing homelessness.

“The vaccination work provided by Groundswell has been invaluable and incredibly helpful. They have provided advice, support, in-reach, literature and comms materials, all of which have been vital in assisting to progress increasing vaccine uptake.

Groundswell has been a key component to our collaborative working and I would like to say a big thank you. It is much appreciated.”

- Westminster City Council

Healthy Groundswell

Good health and wellbeing are at the heart of Groundswell; we strive to make Groundswell a healthy and satisfying place to work. We’re committed to ensuring that we are a leader in the Health and Social Care sector with regards to providing a healthy and satisfying place to work and volunteer. Over 60% of Groundswell staff have previously experienced homelessness.

As a result of the pandemic, we closed our office on 19 March 2020 to comply with Government restrictions. Below are some of the methods we used to ensure Groundswell remained a happy, healthy place to work that centred on staff and volunteer wellbeing:

A wellbeing checklist was created that incorporated all the staff and volunteers. Staff in the People and Progression team contacted a caseload regularly; any concerns were discussed as a team and actions taken where necessary e.g. a home visit, arranging a loan or in some cases accompanying someone to hospital.

Peer wellbeing network: We trialled a peer check-in system whereby volunteers and staff had their own list of people who they checked in with over the phone. Several volunteers built strong connections with each other and continue to keep in touch informally.
A wellbeing newsletter was created and circulated to staff and volunteers, focusing on managing the lockdown and associated wellbeing issues (e.g. working from home, the importance of a routine).
Zoom coffee breaks enabled people to see each other and chat in a more informal setting. These were well attended and clearly helped people who were struggling with the isolation.
A Christmas on-call system was set up to manage staff and volunteers’ wellbeing over the Christmas period. Staff and volunteers fed back that it was reassuring to know that there was someone to call if they were struggling.

Creating Change

This strand of the strategy represents all our work aiming to challenge and change policy and practice based on real insight from people experiencing homelessness.

Through citizen journalism, face-to-face and telephone interviews, focus groups and our national peer network, we have been able to gather a wealth of insight into people’s experiences whilst homeless. We have particularly focussed on the impact of COVID-19, the benefits system and homeless health inequalities in various cities. You can read this insight here.

It is crucial these voices are not only heard but listened to when creating solutions to the issues exposed – our research is action focussed, we don’t just expose problems.

How our insight has created change

Our briefing about primary care during COVID-19 demonstrated that people who are homeless were facing significant barriers trying to access healthcare remotely. As a result, our #HealthNow Network Coordinator worked with the Faculty for Homeless and Inclusion Health to bring together a range of homelessness and health stakeholders and people with experience of homelessness to discuss the barriers and opportunities of delivering healthcare remotely and co-produce solutions to overcoming the digital divide.

The report from the event has been sent to NHS England and NHS Digital and we are pressing for a task force to lead a pilot of one of the coproduced solutions.

The stories our citizen journalists were telling us about their experiences of homelessness during the pandemic fed directly into the NHS’ response to COVID-19 for people experiencing homelessness:

“Groundswell’s research…has provided us with real time insight into the reality of what was and wasn’t working, what the issues were that we needed to focus on, and

what people really needed us to address… We have used the regular monitoring briefings, the diaries and stories to have some really challenging discussions. As a result, we have mobilised people to think about what they can do to make changes happen that will create more accessible, inclusive and trauma informed services that are available when and where people need them.”

- Olivia Butterworth, Head of Public Participation – Homelessness and Inclusion Health, NHS England and NHS Improvement (see full blog)

Our Benefits for Health research explored how health and welfare systems are experienced by people who are homeless. It led to the production of a guide to help people experiencing homelessness, and the staff that support them, to make the most from benefits

In partnership with Homeless Link and Pathway we have a seat on the voluntary community and social enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Alliance to ensure people experiencing homelessness and the #HealthNow partners are represented in the health and care system and have increased influence

Our #HealthNow research with Crisis, exploring homeless health inequality in Birmingham has led the local alliance to create an action plan with people experiencing homelessness, with tangible commitments to:

Develop training on good practice when supporting patients who are experiencing homelessness
Pilot GP and paramedic in-reach to hostels
Use peer volunteers to support the local homeless primary care team to set up a patient participation group

After speaking to our national peer network and carrying out research into the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, we are now working with PHE to use learnings to set out what needs to happen to ensure people experiencing homelessness are fully vaccinated and transmission of COVID-19 is prevented.

#HealthNow national campaign

Our national #HealthNow partnership continued with national charities Shelter and Crisis. Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, the four-year campaign aims to work towards an inclusive health system, where everyone has access to the health care they need, ultimately moving people out of homelessness. Nationally, we chair the ‘Homeless Health Partnership’ meeting made up of voluntary sector stakeholders. During the height of the pandemic the group were meeting weekly.

“Through Groundswell’s leadership the Homeless Health Partners meeting has very quickly become a ‘mustn’t miss’ for government officials working on health & homelessness policy. The usefulness of the forum to us and partner organisations has been cemented through the work of Groundswell’s vaccination co-ordinator, without whom we would be missing vital information about the roll-out of the vaccination

programme for people experiencing homelessness. This information is about much more than vaccination; it will inform improvements in all forms of service delivery going forward, and our strategy to end rough sleeping.”

- Gill Leng, National Health and Homelessness Advisor for Public Health England

Future plans

Health promotion

One of Groundswell’s organisational goals is ‘health promotion’ – ensuring people who are homeless are given the tools and information they need to make safe, informed choices about their lives. Throughout the pandemic this has been an in-demand part of our work and we have produced a range of resources for people who are homeless in relation to staying safe during Covid-19 and more latterly vaccinations.

To build on the momentum, we are exploring opportunities to invest and develop this part of our work, so we can continue coproducing resources relevant to the issues people experiencing homelessness face and distribute them free to services across the country.

At the start of 2021, in response to the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine and the initial requirement to be registered with a GP, NHS England launched a campaign based on Groundswell’s original GP registration card campaign. It reinforced that the NHS is open to all and everyone is welcome to access a GP.

NHS England struggled to manage the volume of requests and effective promotion, so Groundswell used funding to take over the management of this. Between June and August 2021, we distributed over 7,500 of their cards across the country. NHS England want to work in continued partnership with Groundswell on improving access to GPs for people experiencing homelessness. We are exploring options for future collaboration and campaigns.

Welfare calls

The addition of ‘welfare calls’ to our HHPA service offer has cemented the value of peer advocacy in good healthcare for people affected by homelessness. It enabled our peer volunteers and staff to informally ‘check in’ with clients, helping them to build a rapport and often identifying issues that were falling through the net. We are now building this into our HHPA offer to clients both in London and via our partners in cities across the country, who modelled this approach during the first lockdown.

Listen Up!

We’re proud to have found a way to give opportunities for people experiencing homelessness to participate during the pandemic. This ‘remote volunteering’ model through our citizen journalism project has added value to what Groundswell can offer and contribute, and we are delighted to have received a three year ‘Change Makers’ grant from Comic Relief to grow this work. ‘Listen Up!’ will give more people experiencing homelessness the opportunity to train as citizen journalists and feed their experiences into

key decision makers in real time. This will ensure policy and practice is listening and acting upon the lived experience of homelessness.

Evaluation of Groundswell’s progression support model

The Oak Foundation have funded Groundswell to commission an organisation to evaluate the effectiveness of Groundswell’s progression support model. The aim is to demonstrate its effectiveness to the wider health and social care sector and give organisations the tools and confidence to offer opportunities to people with experience of homelessness.

The New Economics Foundation were awarded the contract for this work in May 2021 and the work will be completed by the end of 2021. We expect the research to evidence savings to society through job creation, reduction in dependency on benefits and the cost of no longer being homeless. The findings from the report will be used when supporting existing delivery partners and recruiting new delivery partners for HHPA.

Groundswell will provide support and guidance to embed this model into partner organisations working with volunteers who have experienced homelessness.

HHPA evaluation

The National Institute of Health Research is evaluating how and to what extent Groundswell’s HHPA intervention changes the way people experiencing homelessness use outpatient and emergency services, and how it shapes other health and social outcomes (e.g. mental health, drug use and access to related services). This is incredibly important in the future development of HHPA across the country.

Now restrictions have eased following the pandemic, we expect the research with clients to ramp up again demonstrating the impact of HHPA on their lives. At present the research has explored the impact on the volunteer Peer Advocates delivering the service, as they explain:

“I came in [to Groundswell], and like it just clicked, and I keep saying to everyone it felt really, really cheesy, but I’ve never ever walked into a building…of work and never thought no I actually want to work here, like before even really knowing what Groundswell was.” - Peer Advocate, <1 year

“Being altruistic and helping others, that’s…now that’s what I get out of it, but at first I didn’t really see that side of me. But it happened through Groundswell, meeting everyone here, I suppose being kind of infected or I suppose that nature of people is - contagious, you know?” Peer advocate, >3 years

Communications

We have recruited a full-time Communications Officer to manage our website and social media accounts. They will help us reach and grow our audiences, ensuring our communications are accessible to the right people and ultimately help deliver out strategic goals.

Working remotely

Like most organisations, from the beginning of the pandemic Groundswell had to drastically change the way its teams work. Staff and volunteers were working remotely, unless it was safe to visit the office. Although at times it has been challenging to maintain our strong relational culture and overcome emotional issues such as loneliness and practical digital divide issues, we’re now in a strong position to offer our team a more flexible model of working.

Our previous office was not COVID-19 safe, therefore the decision was made to relocate to a space that offered more flexibility for hybrid working. In August 2021 we moved to Workspace Kennington Park and are safely transitioning into a new way of working.

Financial review

Income

Groundswell's income was £2,112,609 during the year, our largest ever income and a 22% increase on the previous year (£1,731,795).

Expenditure, at £1,833,285, was 38% up on the previous year (£1,326,018). This resulted in a surplus of £279,324 for the year (2019: £405,777). £219,803 of the surplus related to restricted funds, where the unspent funds will be expended in the future on the purposes for which they were given. The operating surplus is reflected in the unrestricted surplus of £59,521 in 2020-21 (2020: £275,450).

Reserves

The Trustees, after a careful assessment of the Charity's risks, including those related to COVID-19, have determined that the reserves policy should be to hold a contingency for unexpected expenditure and to allow time in the event of a sudden cessation of key funding to source alternatives. In the light of this, Groundswell’s reserve target has been adjusted to unrestricted funds in a range equivalent to four to six months running costs, i.e. £611,095 to £916,642.

At 31 March 2021, the total funds carried forward were £957,829 (2020: £678,505) of which £587,699 were unrestricted funds and £370,130 were restricted funds. The free reserves of the charity are the unrestricted funds which are not tied up in fixed assets (£14,360), which are therefore £573,339. The free reserves of £573,399 is just below our target reserves range.

Going concern

The trustees consider Groundswell to have sufficient free reserves and cashflow to enable the organisation to continue operating for the foreseeable future, looking at least twelve months from when this report is approved. There are no material uncertainties relating to going concern.

Thanks to our supporters, commissioners and partners

The 2.6 Challenge, Advent of Change, The Albert Hunt Trust, The Alchemy Foundation, Amazon Smile, Bevan Healthcare CIC, Bupa UK Foundation, Camden Giving, Cape Project, City Bridge Trust, City of London, City of Westminster, Crisis UK, CVC Foundation, DePaul – Dublin, Direct Relief,

East London Foundation Trust, Exeter Homeless Partnership, Fulfilling Lives - Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham, Garfield Weston Foundation, Greater London Authority, Grosvenor Chapel, Halcrow Foundation, The Henry Smith Charity, Homeless Link, Inspiring Change Manchester, Ipsos Mori

The King's Fund, Kingsley Napley, The Leslie Aldridge Trust, London Borough of Lambeth, London Borough Hammersmith & Fulham, London Borough of Islington, London Community Foundation

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Manchester Health and Care Conditioners, Manchester Metropolitan University, Mrs Maud Van Norden Charitable Foundation, National Lottery Community Fund, NHS England, NHS North Central London CCG, NHS North West London CCG

NHS South East London CCG, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Oak Foundation, Pathway, The Quadrio-Curzio Family Charitable Trust, Shelter Cymru, Signposts

Stanley M Street Philanthropic Foundation Inc, Strand Parishes Trust, StreetSmart, Trust for London, University College London, The University of Manchester, Westminster Amalgamated Charity, West Yorkshire and Harrogate Partnership ICS, The Wellcome Trust

Principal risks and uncertainties

Groundswell operates a robust risk management and control framework, including the preparation of a detailed annual risk register. Key ongoing and emerging risks are reviewed quarterly by both the Finance Committee and the Senior Management Team. Additionally, the Charity operates a thorough system of incident reporting, which is managed by the Senior Management Team and overseen by the People Committee.

The Groundswell Trustees fully acknowledge the risk that is inherent in the Charity's work. We take these risks consciously and conscientiously, applying our thorough risk framework to our work - as we believe that empowering people experiencing homelessness to be at the heart of delivering solutions to homelessness is the most effective way to address the growing societal concern of homelessness.

The principal risks identified by the Board and Senior Management Team are: loss of contract income leading to insufficient operating income and reserves; negative impacts on the charity’s participatory ethos as we continue to grow and culture changes; and also a need to focus on continually improving our impact measurement systems.

Fundraising policy

Our original fundraising target for the reporting period was £1,846,484 across all income streams with a balance of statutory income, restricted grants and unrestricted donations. The final figure raised of £2,112,609 represents 114% of this target, a very satisfactory outcome with a heathy split across all income streams.

To raise £2,112,609, Groundswell spent £113,474, which includes the salary of one full time fundraiser, 50% of the Chief Executive’s time and other associated costs. As a percentage of overall spend, the figure of £113,474 represents 5.3% which is well below the lower end of the 10-15% target range we have set ourselves. We aim to keep our fundraising spend within a range because we recognise that some years we need to invest more than others to produce results in the future.

Groundswell does all fundraising in-house, never using third party commercial fundraisers. We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and comply with the code of fundraising practice. During the period we did not have any non-compliance issues nor receive any fundraising complaints.

Structure, governance and management

Governance

The management of the Company is the responsibility of the Board Members who are appointed under the terms of the Articles of Association which state that:

“Any person who is willing to act as a Trustee, and who would not be disqualified from acting under the provisions of Article 27, may be appointed to be a Trustee by a decision of the Trustees.”

The Board Members perform the role of Directors in company law and of Trustees in charity law. The minimum number of Trustees is four, with a maximum of 12. Those who served during the period are listed on page one.

All Trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 6 to the accounts.

Board Meetings are held quarterly to ensure that the charity is operating effectively and within its aims. Additionally, the Board operates two standing sub-committees: a Finance Committee, which maintains a consistent framework for financial and risk control in Groundswell, and a People Committee, which supports Groundswell to be a healthy, safe and enabling organisation for its staff and Volunteers.

Groundswell commits to having two or more Board members with lived experience of homelessness, which is the case now following trustee appointments over the past year. The charity has formed a nominations working group to oversee the recruitment of new trustees as necessary. On 1 September 2020, Terry Hitchcock stood down as Chair after eight and a half years’ outstanding service to the charity during which he contributed

enormously to Groundswell’s current status and reputation. Following a carefully planned year-long succession process, Jenny Yates, previously the Treasurer, became the new Chair, and Steve Wyler took over as Treasurer.

Related Parties and Relationships with other organisations

In order to deliver its services and research & campaign work Groundswell cooperates with statutory bodies and voluntary sector organisations across the UK. The charity is in partnerships with Crisis and Shelter through the #HealthNow programme funded by the Lottery. The partnerships are defined by formal Collaboration Agreements. During the period no trustees declared any related party interests.

Remuneration Policy

Groundswell's Finance & People Committees oversee remuneration, with responsibility for external benchmarking, salary recommendations, recruitment processes and cost of living increases. Groundswell aims to ensure that all staff are appropriately remunerated for their work. We achieve a fair balance which takes into account: the aim of attracting suitably qualified and dedicated staff, the external environment, the organisation's financial position and considerations of our beneficiaries.

Management

Groundswell operates a Senior Management Team to oversee the successful delivery of activities. The members of that team who served during the year are listed on page 1. The total amount of salary costs associated with this group in 2020-21 was £316,377 (previous year: £207,978), of which £30,309 were Employer National Insurance Contributions.

Achievements and Performance in the Delivery of Public Benefit

The Groundswell Trustees have taken account of Section 17 (5) of the Charities Act and the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, which require us to have regard to the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission when exercising their duties. We state that the activities delivered by Groundswell during 2020-21, described in this report, directly further Groundswell's charitable objects and that these activities have been undertaken for the public benefit.

Statement of Responsibilities of Trustees

The Trustees (who are also directors of Groundswell Network Support UK 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).

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

Trustees are required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

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

In so far as the trustees are aware:

There is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware
The trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. The Trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31 March 2021 was 10 (2020:11). The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Auditor

Sayer Vincent LLP was re-appointed as the charitable company's auditor during the year and has expressed its willingness to continue in that capacity. The trustees’ annual report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.

The trustees’ annual report has been approved by the trustees on 27 October 2021 and signed on their behalf by:

Steve Wyler, Treasurer

Jenny Yates, Chair

Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Groundswell Network Support

UK

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Groundswell Network Support UK (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2021 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure for the year then ended
Have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice
Have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006

Basis for opinion

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

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on Groundswell Network Support UK's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

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 trustees’ annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 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.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act

2006

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

The information given in the trustees’ annual report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
The trustees’ annual report, including the strategic report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ annual report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
The financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
Certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
We have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

The directors were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the trustees’ annual report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities set out in the trustees’ annual report, the trustees (who are also the directors of the 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 financial

statements

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

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

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

We enquired of management and the finance committee, which included obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation, concerning the charity’s policies and procedures relating to:

Identifying, evaluating, and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;
Detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected, or alleged fraud;
The internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or noncompliance with laws and regulations.
We inspected the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, focusing on those laws and regulations that had a material effect on the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the charity from our professional and sector experience.
We communicated applicable laws and regulations throughout the audit team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We reviewed any reports made to regulators.
We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and tested these to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud.
In addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, we tested the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments, assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias and tested significant transactions that are unusual or those outside the normal course of business.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

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

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. 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 members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Joanna Pittman (Senior statutory auditor)

3 November 2021

for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor Invicta House, 108-114 Golden Lane, LONDON, EC1Y 0TL

Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating income and expenditure)

Notes	Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds
	2021 2021 2021 2020 2020 2020
Income from:	£ £ £ £
Donations and legacies 2	233,195 - 233,195 283,503 975 284,478
Charitable activities: 3
#HealthNow	11,580 491,894 503,474 6,186 227,929 234,115
Homeless Health Peer Advocacy	739,612 207,044 946,656 558,677 291,728 850,405
Insight & Action	181,015 43,406 224,421 123,054 159,434 282,488
Volunteer Progression	15,000 173,828 188,828 - 76,800 76,800
Learning and Development	15,985 - 15,985 - - -
Other trading activities	50 - 50 3,432 - 3,432
Investments	- - - 77 - 77
Total income	1,196,437 916,172 2,112,609 974,929 756,866 1,731,795

Expenditure on:
Raising funds 4	113,474 - 113,474 111,208 - 111,208
Charitable activities 4
#HealthNow	43,505 387,691 431,196 332 166,076 166,408
Homeless Health Peer Advocacy	721,956 92,009 813,965 478,705 284,229 762,934
Insight & Action	143,671 107,793 251,464 104,295 99,434 203,729
Volunteer Progression	86,455 108,876 195,331 4,939 76,800 81,739
Learningand Development	27,855 - 27,855 - - -
Total expenditure	1,136,916 696,369 1,833,285 699,479 626,539 1,326,018

Net income/(expenditure)	59,521 219,803 279,324 275,450 130,327 405,777

Transfers between funds	- - - - - -

Net movement of funds 14	59,521 219,803 279,324 275,450 130,327 405,777

Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward	528,178 150,327 678,505 252,728 20,000 272,728
Total funds carried forward	587,699 370,130 957,829 528,178 150,327 678,505

All recognised gains and losses are included in the above Statement of Financial Activities. All income and expenditure derives from continuing activities.

Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2021

Groundswell Network Support UK. Company Number 04151312.

		2021	2020
	Notes	£	£

Fixed Assets
Tangible assets	9	14,360	14,461

Current Assets
Debtors	10	166,512	71,028
Cash at Bank and in Hand		1,139,648	765,257
		1,306,160	836,285

Creditors
Amounts falling due with one year	11	(362,691)	(172,241)
Net Current Assets		943,469	664,044

Total Assets Less Current Liabilities		957,829	678,505

Funds
Restricted	14	370,130	150,327
Unrestricted	14	587,699	528,178

Total Funds		957,829	678,505

Approved by the trustees on 27 October 2021 and signed on their behalf by:

Jenny Yates Chair

Steve Wyler Treasurer

The notes on pages 29-43 form part of these financial statement.

Statement of Cash Flow as at 31 March 2021

	2021	2020
	£	£
Cash Flows From Operating Activities:
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	385,135	405,212

Cash Flows From Operating Activities:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments	-	77
Purchase of fixed assets	(10,744)	(14,752)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities	(10,744)	(14,675)

Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period	374,391	390,537

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period	765,257	374,720

Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2021	1,139,648	765,257

Analysis of Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash in hand and at bank	2021	2020
	£	£
	1,139,648	765,257
Total cash and cash equivalents	1,139,648	765,257


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

	2021	2020
	£	£
Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting period (as per the statement of
financial activities)	279,324	405,777

Depreciation charges	10,845	7,502
Dividends, interest and rent from investments	-	(77)
Profit on disposal of fixed assets	-	150
Increase in debtors	(95,484)	(17,072)
Increase in creditors	190,450	8,932
Net cash flow from operating activities	385,135	405,212

Notes to the financial statements

1. Accounting Policies

a. Statutory information

Groundswell Network Support UK is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in England and Wales.

The registered office address is:

Canterbury Court, 1-3 Brixton Road, London, England, SW9 6DE.

b. Basis of preparation

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

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

In applying the financial reporting framework, the trustees have made a number of subjective judgements, for example in respect of significant accounting estimates. Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The nature of the estimation means the actual outcomes could differ from those estimates. Any significant estimates and judgements affecting these financial statements are detailed within the relevant accounting policy below.

c. Public benefit entity

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

d. Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern. Groundswell ended the financial year in a strong position with healthy reserves plus good levels of secured income and a strong fundraising pipeline for the financial year 2021-22.

The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

e. Income

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

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is a treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

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

f. Donations of gifts, services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item or received the service, any conditions associated with the donation have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised so refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated gifts, professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

g. Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

h. Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.

i. Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Costs of raising funds relate to the costs incurred by the charitable company in inducing third parties to make voluntary contributions to it, as well as the cost of any activities with a fundraising purpose
Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of delivering services and conducting research undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs
Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

j. Allocation of support costs

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

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

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

HHPA Contracts	51%
#HealthNow	15%
Insight & Action	11%
Progression	13%
Fundraising	8%
Learning & Development	2%

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

k. Operating leases

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

l. Tangible fixed assets

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £500. Depreciation costs are allocated to activities on the basis of the use of the related assets in those activities. Assets are reviewed for impairment if circumstances indicate their carrying value may exceed their net realisable value and value in use.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

follows:
Computer equipment	4 years
Furniture, fixtures and fittings	4 years

m. Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

n. Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

o. Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

p. Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

q. Pensions

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the charity to the fund in respect of the year.

2. Donations and legacies

	Unrestricted Restricted 2021 Total Unrestricted Restricted 2020 Total
	£ £ £ £ £ £
Gift aid	17,608 - 17,608 21,076 - 21,076
Personal donations	80,468 - 80,468 255,778 975 256,753
Donations from foundations, trusts and other corporate bodies	127,402 - 127,402 6,649 - 6,649
HMRC Grant - CJRS	7,717 - 7,717 - - -
	233,195 - 233,195 283,503 975 284,478

3. Income from charitable activities

	Unrestricted Restricted Total 2021 Unrestricted Restricted Total 2020
Homeless Health Peer Advocacy	£ £ £ £ £ £
Bupa UK Foundation	- - - - 40,327 40,327
Camden Giving	- 30,512 30,512 - 38,834 38,834
City Care Navigator	- 14 14 - - -
City Bridge Trust	- - - - 48,250 48,250
City of Westminster	189,947 - 189,947 76,341 - 76,341
Direct Relief	- 65,748 65,748 - - -
East London Foundation Trust	69,975 - 69,975 69,975 - 69,975
Gilead Sciences Ltd	- - - - 47,916 47,916
Greater London Authority	- 40,000 40,000 - 49,681 49,681
Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust	- - - 42,896 - 42,896
Homeless Link	- 48,150 48,150 - - -
Hyde Park Place Estate Charity	- - - - 5,000 5,000
The Pilgrim Trust	- - - - 9,750 9,750
London Borough of Lambeth	103,334 - 103,334 18,333 - 18,333
London Borough of Hackney	- - - - 48,970 48,970
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham	47,500 - 47,500 40,000 - 40,000
London Borough of Islington	69,774 - 69,774 69,774 - 69,774
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine	11,750 - 11,750 - - -
Merchant Taylors' Company	- - - - 3,000 3,000
NHS Central London CCG	120,944 - 120,944 116,000 - 116,000
NHS Greenwich CCG	19,000 - 19,000 19,000 - 19,000
NHS Hammersmith & Fulham CCG	7,500 - 7,500 15,000 - 15,000
NHS North Central London CCG	40,000 - 40,000 40,000 - 40,000
NHS North West London CCG	41,961 - 41,961 41,500 - 41,500
NHS South East London CCG	17,548 - 17,548 - - -
Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences	80 - 80 - - -
Pathway	300 - 300 - - -
St Mungo's	- - - 5,408 - 5,408
The London Community Foundation	- 22,620 22,620 - - -
UniversityCollege London	- - - 4,450 - 4,450
Charitable income Homeless Health Peer Advocacy	739,613 207,044 946,657 558,677 291,728 850,405

Insight & Action
Access - The Foundation for Social Investment	- - - - 10,000 10,000
City of London	3,154 - 3,154 - - -
Comic Relief	- - - - 3,803 3,803
Crisis UK	8,810 - 8,810 20,713 - 20,713
Fulfilling Lives - LSL	122,964 - 122,964 4,499 - 4,499
Geoff Frew	- - - 300 - 300
Greater London Authority	4,306 - 4,306 - - -
Homeless Link	4,145 - 4,145 - - -
ICM Manchester	15,000 - 15,000 - - -
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine	- - - 26,800 - 26,800
MHCLG	- - - - 9,740 9,740
Newcastle City Council	- - - 11,500 - 11,500
NHS England	9,999 - 9,999 - 7,382 7,382
Shelter	- - - 17,418 - 17,418
Thames Reach Homeless Charity	- - - 14,824 - 14,824
The University of Manchester	12,437 - 12,437 25,000 - 25,000
Trust for London	- 40,000 40,000 - 40,000 40,000
University College London	200 - 200 2,000 - 2,000
Wellcome Trust	- 3,406 3,406 - 88,509 88,509
Charitable income for Insight & Action	181,015 43,406 224,421 123,054 159,434 282,488

#HealthNow
Cornwall Housing	- - - 6,186 - 6,186
De Paul, Dublin	- - - - 9,742 9,742
Exeter Homeless Partnership	10,000 - 10,000 - - -
National Lottery Community Fund	- 413,507 413,507 - 178,187 178,187
NHS England	- 69,930 69,930 - - -
NHS Wakefield CCG	1,580 - 1,580 - - -
MHCC	- 7,614 7,614 - - -
Stavros Niacrchos	- - - - 30,000 30,000
The Tudor Trust	- - - - 10,000 10,000
The Pavement Magazine	- 844 844 - - -
Charitable income for #HealthNow	11,580 491,895 503,475 6,186 227,929 234,115

Progression Programme
City Bridge Trust	- 42,749 42,749 - - -
Halcrow Foundation Ltd	- 25,478 25,478 - 31,800 31,800
Oak Foundation	- 105,601 105,601 - - -
Streets of London	- - - - 10,000 10,000
StreetSmart	15,000 - 15,000 - 25,000 25,000
Wates Foundation	- - - - 10,000 10,000
Charitable income for Progression Programme	15,000 173,828 188,828 - 76,800 76,800

Learning & Development
Cape Project	2,100 - 2,100 - - -
Ciara Macfarland	958 - 958 - - -
Crisis UK	2,500 - 2,500 - - -
DePaul - Dublin	1,250 - 1,250 - - -
NHS Central London CCG	525 - 525 - - -
Shelter Cymru	700 - 700 - - -
Signposts	7,952 - 7,952 - - -
Charitable income for Learning & Development	15,985 - 15,985 - - -

Total income from charitable activities	963,193 916,173 1,879,366 687,917 755,891 1,443,808

4. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

Current year	Raising funds #HN HHPA I&A P&P L&D Gov costs Support costs 2021 Total 2020 Total
	£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
Staff costs (Note 6)	89,005 164,648 574,547 127,903 148,740 21,878 - 114,461 1,241,182 920,688
Project costs	2,484 218,802 80,491 88,371 7,697 518 - 17,422 415,785 260,281
Accommodation expenses	- - - - - - - 50,847 50,847 62,327
Office expenses	- 1,454 2,575 1,635 362 40 - 12,664 18,730 21,208
IT and systems expenses	95 5,798 10,053 2,099 1,451 39 - 35,150 54,685 17,247
Professional expenses	- - 53 - 500 - - - 553 3,350
Depreciation and loss on disposal	- - 4,941 - - - - 5,905 10,846 7,652
Finance charges	- - - - - - 393 556 949 646
Trustee expenses (incl. insurance)	- - - - - - - 978 978 -
Audit and professional fees	- - - - - - 7,511 31,219 38,730 32,142
Bad debts written off	- - - - - - - - - 477
	91,584 390,702 672,660 220,008 158,750 22,475 7,904 269,202 1,833,285 1,326,018

Support costs	21,266 39,339 137,273 30,559 35,538 5,227 - (269,202)

Governance costs	624 1,155 4,032 897 1,043 153 (7,904) -

Total expenditure 2021	113,474 431,196 813,965 251,464 195,331 27,855 - -

Total expenditure 2020	111,208 166,408 762,934 203,729 81,739 - -

Prior year	Raising funds	#HN	HHPA	I&A	PP	Gov costs	Support costs	2020 Total
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Staff costs (Note 6)	79,882	61,693	482,284	107,433	46,380	-	143,016	920,688
Project costs	90	70,178	128,914	24,238	6,317	-	4,857	260,281
Accommodation expenses	-	-	-	-	-	-	62,327	62,327
Office expenses	454	124	1,238	618	9	-	18,765	21,208
IT and systems expenses	800	-	500	324	-	-	15,623	17,247
External professional expenses	1,181	5,550	6,000	13,473	233	-	2,600	3,350
Depreciation and loss on disposal	-	-	-	-	-	-	7,652	7,652
Finance charges	-	-	-	44	-	-	602	646
Trustee expenses (incl. insurance)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Audit and professional fees	-	-	-	-	-	32,142	-	32,142
Bad debts written off	-	63	-	-	-	-	414	477
	82,407	137,608	618,936	146,130	52,939	32,142	255,856	1,326,018

Support costs	25,586	25,586	127,927	51,171	25,586	-	(255,856)

Governance costs	3,215	3,214	16,071	6,428	3,214	(32,142)	-

Total expenditure 2020	111,208	166,408	762,934	203,729	81,739	-	-

5. Net income for the year

	2021	2020
This is stated after charging (crediting):	£	£
Depreciation	10,845	7,502
Loss on disposal of fixed assets	-	150
Operating lease rentals:
Property	50,847	62,327
Equipment	2,823	1,939
Auditor's remuneration (excl VAT):
Audit	7,250	7,100
VAT Advice	-	5,160

*Basis of support costs allocation is on staff time.

6. Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

Staff costs were as follows:	2021 2020
	£ £
Salaries and wages	1,060,858 786,533
Social security costs	96,019 71,639
Employer's contribution to defined contribution pension schemes	49,055 34,332
Redundancy, etc	- 2,895
Staff welfare	5,771 9,816
Recruitment costs	469 1,764
Other(includingtraining)	29,010 13,709
	1,241,182 920,688

Staff numbers:

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was 31.90 (2020: 30.25)

Staff are split across the activities of the charitable company as follows (head count basis):

	2021 2020
	No. No.
Homeless Health Peer Advocacy	16.7 16.3
Insight & Action	3.2 5.0
Progression Programme	3.9 1.2
Fundraising	1.5 1.0
#HealthNow	2.7 1.3
Learning & Development	1.0 -
Support	3.0 5.5
	31.9 30.3

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs and employer's national insurance) during the year between: £60,000 - £69,999: 1

The total employee benefits (including employer's pension contributions and employer's national insurance) of the key management personnel were £316,377 (2020: £207,978).

The charity trustees were neither paid nor received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2020: £nil).

No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2020: £nil).

No trustees received payment or reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs for attendance at meetings in the current year (2020: £nil).

7. Related Party Transactions

There were no related party transactions for the year (2020: Nil). Aggregated donations from related parties were £32,500 (2020: £30,000).

8. Taxation

The charitable company is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

9. Tangible Fixed Assets

	Fixtures and fittings Computer equipment Total
	£ £ £
Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2020	1,140 38,662 39,802
Additions in the year	- 10,744 10,744
Disposals in theyear	- (1,030) (1,030)
At 31 March 2021	1,140 48,376 49,516

Accumulated Depreciation
At 1 April 2020	570 24,771 25,341
Depreciation for the year	297 10,548 10,845
Eliminated on disposal	- (1,030) (1,030)
At 31 March 2021	867 34,289 35,156

Net book value
At 31 March 2020	570 13,891 14,461

At 31 March 2021	273 14,087 14,360
All the above assets are used for charitable purposes.

10. Debtors and Prepayments

	2021	2020
	£	£
Trade debtors	146,351	60,871
Other debtors	490	490
Prepayments	10,004	-
Accrued income	9,667	9,667
	166,512	71,028

All of the charity's financial instruments, both assets and liabilities, are measured at amortised cost. The carrying values of these are shown above and also in note 11 below.

11. Creditors: Falling due within one year

	2021	2020
	£	£
Trade creditors	36,671	5,671
Taxation and social security	78,518	38,608
Other creditors	7,687	5,777
Accruals	35,291	8,809
Deferred income(note13)	204,524	113,376
	362,691	172,241

12. Deferred income

12. Deferred income
	2021 2020
	£ £
Balance at the beginning of the year	113,376 130,935
Amount released to income in the year	(113,376) (130,935)
Amount deferred in the year	204,524 113,376
Balance at the end of the year	204,524 113,376

13. Analysis of net assets between funds

Current Year	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Funds Total
	£ £ £
Fund balances at 31 March 2021 are represented by:
Tangible fixed assets	14,360 14,360
Net Current Assets	573,339 370,130 943,469
	587,699 370,130 957,829

Prior Year	Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Funds Total
	£ £ £
Fund balances at 31 March 2020 are represented by:
Tangible fixed assets	14,461 - 14,461
Net Current Assets	513,717 150,327 664,044
	528,178 150,327 678,505

14. Movement in funds

Current Year	At 1 April 2020	Income & Gains	Expenditure & losses	Transfers	At 31 March 2021
	£	£	£	£	£
Restricted funds
Donations and legacies	-	-	-	-	975
Homeless Health Peer Advocacy	8,474	207,044	(92,009)	-	122,534
Insight & Action	80,000	43,406	(107,793)	-	15,613
#HealthNow	61,853	491,894	(387,691)	-	166,056
Volunteer Progression	-	173,828	(108,876)	-	64,952
Total restricted Funds	150,327	916,172	(696,369)	-	370,130

Unrestricted funds
General funds	528,178	1,196,437	(1,136,916)	-	587,699
Total unrestricted funds	528,178	1,196,437	(1,136,916)	-	587,699

Total Funds	678,505	2,112,609	(1,833,285)	-	957,829

Purposes of restricted funds:

Homeless Health Peer Advocacy: This service provides practical support for people experiencing homelessness to access healthcare.

Insight & Action: Groundswell's participatory action research work investigating and providing insight into health related issues which affect people experiencing homelessness.

Progression Programme: This programme provides support and coaching to Groundswell staff and volunteers to enable them to progress - with a focus on securing pad employment and providing assistance once employment has been secured.

#HealthNow: Is a UK wide campaign, working towards an inclusive health system where everyone has access to the health care they need; ultimately moving people out of homelessness.

homelessness.
Prior Year	At 1 April 2019 Income & Gains Expenditure & losses Transfers At 31 March 2020
	£ £ £ £ £
Restricted funds
Donations and legacies	- 975 - - 975
Homeless Health Peer Advocacy	20,000 291,728 (284,229) - 27,499
Insight & Action	- 159,434 (99,434) - 60,000
#HealthNow	- 227,929 (166,076) - 61,853
Volunteer Progression	- 76,800 (76,800) - -
Total restricted Funds	20,000 756,866 (626,539) - 150,327

Unrestricted funds
General funds	252,728 974,929 (699,479) - 528,178
Total unrestricted funds	252,728 974,929 (699,479) - 528,178

Total Funds	272,728 1,731,795 (1,326,018) - 678,505

15. Operating lease commitments

The charity's total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases is as follows for each of the following periods:

	Property Equipment
	2021 2020 2021 2020
	£ £ £ £
Less than one year	59,294 60,000 970 1,939
Two to five years	102,776 120,000 - 970
	162,070 180,000 970 2,909

16. Legal Status

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £1.

6iounds Of homeles 020 7725 2851 www.groundswell.org.uk @ItsGroundswell

Groundswell Network Support UK (Operating as Groundswell)

Contents

Reference and administrative information

Trustees’ annual report

Vision, mission and core beliefs

Our core beliefs

Chair’s reflections

Jenny Yates, Chair of Trustees

Activities and achievements

Progression

Peer engagement

Journey to employment

Good Health

Homeless Health Peer Advocacy (HHPA)

- Peer Advocate

COVID-19 vaccinations

The expansion of HHPA

Health promotion

Healthy Groundswell

Creating Change

How our insight has created change

- Olivia Butterworth, Head of Public Participation – Homelessness and Inclusion Health, NHS England and NHS Improvement (see full blog)

#HealthNow national campaign

- Gill Leng, National Health and Homelessness Advisor for Public Health England

Future plans

Health promotion

Welfare calls

Listen Up!

Evaluation of Groundswell’s progression support model

HHPA evaluation

Communications

Working remotely

Financial review

Income

Reserves

Going concern

Thanks to our supporters, commissioners and partners

Principal risks and uncertainties

Fundraising policy

Structure, governance and management

Governance

Related Parties and Relationships with other organisations

Remuneration Policy

Management

Achievements and Performance in the Delivery of Public Benefit

Statement of Responsibilities of Trustees

Auditor

Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Groundswell Network Support

UK

Opinion

Basis for opinion

Conclusions relating to going concern

Other Information

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act

2006

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

Responsibilities of trustees

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial

statements

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

Use of our report

Joanna Pittman (Senior statutory auditor)

3 November 2021

Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating income and expenditure)

Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2021

Groundswell Network Support UK. Company Number 04151312.

Statement of Cash Flow as at 31 March 2021

Notes to the financial statements

1. Accounting Policies

a. Statutory information

b. Basis of preparation

c. Public benefit entity

d. Going concern

e. Income

f. Donations of gifts, services and facilities

g. Interest receivable

h. Fund accounting

i. Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

j. Allocation of support costs