2023-03-31-accounts

2023

The Avenues Youth Project Charity number: 1090210 Company number: 04045031

The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

Contents

Company information	page 2
Executive Committee Report	3 - 18
Audit Report	19
Statement of fnancial activities	22
Balance sheet	23
Statement of cashfow	24
Notes to the fnancial statements	25 - 34

Company information

PATRONS

Susan Aglionby OBE, Founder Karen Buck MP Gill Fitzhugh MBE

COMPANY NUMBER

04045031

CHARITY NUMBER

1090210

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Jennie Marshall (Chair) Corrina Ralph (Treasurer) Virginia Ashton Julia Court Cllr Eartha Pond Geoffrey White Graeme Russell Keir Tutt Cristina Fedi (resigned 29.09.23) Louisa Gregory Chris Murray

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Paddy Barnes

COMPANY SECRETARY

Geoffrey White

AUDITORS

Azets Holdings Limited Regis House, 45 King William Street, London EC4R

BANKERS

Royal Bank of Scotland 175-177 Kensington High Street, London W8 6SH Barclays Bank 35 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JR Metro Bank 160-166 Kensington High Street Kensington, London W8 7RG CAF Bank 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ

CHARITY OFFICES

3-7 Third Avenue, Queen’s Park London W10 4RS

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

Executive Committee Report

The members of the Executive Committee present their report with the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the provision of section 1A ‘Small Entities’ of Financial Reporting Standard 102.

Our Mission

Our mission is to deliver high quality recreation activities and skills training to young people in West London, to help them fulfil their potential and boost their long-term outcomes.

Our Values

1. Safe and compassionate

2. Positive and joyful

3. Empowering

Objectives and Aims

1. Trustworthy

2. Committed to community

The charity’s objects are to:

• provide facilities for recreation and other leisure time occupations for the inhabitants (in particular young people) of the London Borough of Westminster and surrounding areas, in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving their conditions of life;

• advance the education of such inhabitants; and

• provide the relief of need, hardship or distress of those living in the area of benefit.

We review our aims, objectives, and activities each year. This review looks at what we achieved and the outcomes of our work in the previous 12 months. It looks at the success of each key activity and the benefits they have brought to those groups of people we are set up to help. The review also helps us ensure our aim, objectives and activities remain focused on our stated purposes. We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.

Our Vision

We believe that every child and young person should have the opportunity to realise their potential, whatever their life circumstances.

Safeguarding

The charity puts children and young people’s best interests at the heart of all that we do, so our commitment to keeping our service users safe is paramount. The Avenues acknowledges its duty to act appropriately to any allegations, reports, or suspicions of abuse in a professional and speedy manner.

Our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy is reviewed and renewed annually to make sure The Avenues promotes best practice and works in a way that prevents harm of any sort, including bullying, abuse, and coercion, and that staff, volunteers and partners recognise when this may be happening and what to do about it.

All staff, unsupervised volunteers and youth work contractors are required to obtain an enhanced DBS certificate and attend an induction which includes Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training as well as Safeguarding and Child Protection training. This training must be completed before coming into contact with the young people who use our service.

A repeat DBS check is obtained for all staff, qualifying volunteers and members of the Executive Committee every three years. Refresher Safeguarding and Child Protection training is provided to both Staff and Members of the Executive Committee including the designated Safeguarding Lead at least every two years.

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

Letter from the Chair Jennie Marshall

We started this financial year as our new Chief Executive took up his role with the aim of consolidating and building on all that had been achieved over the previous years. At the same time, it was clear that our services were more in demand than ever against a background of a deteriorating national economic situation and local gang violence. Our aim is always to provide a safe, caring, youth-led space where young people can learn, develop and build towards a brighter future lead by an exceptional professional team. This year the team has increased to support the many varied programmes now offered and more young people than ever took advantage of those programmes, all free, in a warm and welcoming environment.

The Summer Programme was a particular success with record attendances (325 individuals overall and up to 130 attending each day), not only enjoying the huge variety of activities on offer but also benefitting from the free meals provided and a chance for some to visit and stay in Ireland.

It was also especially satisfying to see the number of young people completing their Level 1 youth work qualification. This is an Avenues initiative and shows how many young people are willing to commit significant time and effort to learn about youth work, whilst also studying for their GCSEs and A’ levels. By encouraging them to become valued and proud members of the local community, we are helping to build tomorrow’s leaders and take them away from the temptations that lure many young city dwellers into a life of crime. This has been followed up by the offer of training for Level 2 and 3 qualifications and we look forward to the first students successfully completing their courses next year.

These are only some of the highlights of what has been achieved during a busy and rewarding year for The Avenues. None of it would be possible without the exceptionally generous support and funding of many individuals, trusts and foundations. This year, again, income increased, as did project expenditure. The multi-year funding that has been provided by some of the bigger trusts and foundations has meant that we can plan for the longer term and better evaluate the impact of our provision. The members of the Executive Committee and staff are enormously grateful for this support and the funding The Avenues continues to receive, which makes our work with the young people of west London possible. As one young person says “The Avenues is like a garden, they see your talent and water it, and then you watch it flower”. We are hugely grateful and thank everyone who helps to make that happen.

The National Youth Sector Advisory Board has released a “Roadmap toward a National Youth Strategy” which urges the government to revitalise the youth sector. Its aim is to ensure that every young person has access to high-quality youth services that promote mental well-being, foster life skills development, and empower them to engage in decisions that impact their lives. For every £1 government invests in youth work, the benefit to the taxpayer is between £3.20 and £6.40, thanks to equipping young people with skills, reducing offending and anti-social behaviour and reducing absenteeism. It seems this is often not appreciated or valued and so is left to charities to provide what should be the right of every young person. We very much hope the next year will bring more focus and commitment from Government to put this right.

Jennie Marshall

There has also been investment in systems and software for the long-term future to make sure that vital background support keeps pace with frontline requirements. The programme of improvement for the building continues too, with a new air conditioning and air handling system installed and plans for, amongst other things, a new security lobby and solar panels on the roof.

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

Activities & Achievements Chief Executive - Paddy Barnes

Challenging and productive in equal measures, 2022-23 was an extraordinary year for The Avenues. Continuing the trend since the pandemic, we saw another surge in attendances from local children and young people accessing our services, which were frequently running at capacity.

Against a background of worsening economic and social conditions across the UK, and noticeably within our catchment area around North Westminster, many of our members’ families faced a serious reduction in living standards due to rising costs, such as fuel, energy bills, food and rents.

To exacerbate matters, serious gang violence returned to our area over the summer of 2022, with the murder of a former Avenues member overshadowing all events. Local tensions were running very high, with the threat of tit-for-tat violence hanging over the community like a dark cloud. Working closely with Westminster’s Integrated Gangs Unit, we took extra precautions for staff and member safety and arranged counselling for deeply affected staff. During the summer holidays we added late night openings, increased our minibus shuttle service to help keep young people off the streets and get staff home safely after their evening sessions, and organised diversionary trips and activities for young people out of the area.

However, to define our year by the incidence of local acts of violence would paint a wholly unfair characterisation of our work, which takes place in the safety of our building, under the calming supervision of our trained youth worker team.

Not only did the number of young people through our door grow significantly again to record attendances (over 1,000 individuals), but as a symptom of increasing food poverty, so did demand for food during sessions, which we tried to meet when budgets allowed, serving over 18,000 meals this year.

For our teenage members we continued to adjust our focus towards skills and employment pathways, including our now well-established Level 1 youth work training programme that introduces a new generation to youth work. At a time when youth work has faced historic underinvestment, we consider it essential to encourage new youth workers into the profession and build capacity with staff who truly represent the communities they serve.

Within our youth work delivery, we strive to put the voices and opinions of young people at the heart of our thinking, helping shape our projects and initiatives. In terms of organisational direction, our new 3-year strategic plan was approved by the Executive Committee; a strategy of evolution, consolidation and refinement rather than significant further growth, tied to an aim of continuously improving engagement, outcomes and the quality of our facilities. Behind the scenes we implemented new financial, CRM and HR software systems to improve and modernise our administration and prepare us for a future of sustained high usage by West London’s children and young people.

Running The Avenues is a genuine team effort and we are so lucky to have an exceptional team of staff, Executive Committee and supporters. Our team focus is on meeting the needs of our members today, whilst preparing the organisation to meet the community’s needs of tomorrow.

We have received wonderful support from our long list of funders and donors once again, and the trust they place in us is tremendously satisfying. Thanks to forward planning, our organisation entered this year from a position of stability and resilience, with key staff and funding in place, meaning our team was

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

able to cope with the rapid growth in demand and additional challenges facing our community and staff without the stress of a funding shortfall.

History of the charity

Initially, the centre’s users were predominantly from the local West Indian community, the children and grandchildren of the Windrush generation, and over time the demographic make-up of our members has evolved, reflecting the shifting cultural composition of our local communities.

The Avenues was established by Susan Aglionby OBE, a local resident (at the time) and a maternity nurse at St Mary’s Hospital, who was moved to establish the club in response to the high numbers of teenage pregnancies in the area.

However, the building reached its limitations and after 20 years the Executive Committee set about the monumental task of raising £4m (at today’s value) to demolish the centre and rebuild the modern, twostorey, 7500 sq. ft building which stands today.

Together with other local residents they formed the charity in 1979 and, with support from various trusts and foundations, approached Westminster Council about acquiring a bombsite on the corner of Droop Street and Third Avenue in Queen’s Park ward that had lain derelict since the war. The funders made their contribution conditional on the council issuing a long lease on a peppercorn rent, which it agreed. In return the Executive Committee would commit to raising the necessary funds to build a community youth centre.

For over three decades, running costs were funded by a succession of local authority bodies until cuts slowly eroded this funding down to zero in 2017, forcing the charity to seriously reduce its operation. However, a new funding model was born, with the charity actively pursuing its own fundraising, a decision that paid off and has seen youth services fully restored. Over our 44-year history we have attracted inward investment into the borough to the value of £20m in today’s money to benefit the young people of Westminster and the wider community.

The original youth centre was a single story building, complete with games room, recording studio and radio station, and was immediately hugely popular with local teenagers.

Our beneficiaries

In April 2022, our active membership stood at almost 700, aged 8-18, evenly split by gender and reflecting the diverse and evolving cultural composition of our community. By the end of the financial year, this total had risen to over 1,000.

More than half our members live very locally in Queen’s Park and Harrow Road wards of Westminster, two of the most deprived wards in the capital. Queen’s Park Ward is home to the highest number of teenagers of any ward in Westminster, with 20% living in overcrowded homes, 7 times the national average.

The rest mostly live in adjoining wards in Westminster and in the neighbouring boroughs of Brent and RBKC, although we never turn children away based on where they live. One consequence of so many other London youth clubs closing is that more young people need to travel from further afield to access The Avenues.

At the heart of our catchment area is the Mozart Estate, where a history of gang rivalry with South Kilburn Estate and Ladbroke Grove has created a pervasive fear of violence in the community, especially amongst young people. Whilst postcode wars pose a genuine danger locally, we welcome young people from across the geographic divides to help break down barriers and build long-term trust and friendships.

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As food poverty has increased in recent years, meal provision has become an integral part of our service. More than 50% of our members are on free school meals a figure that continues to rise and is more than double the national average. In 2022 we provided 18,200 meals to young people during our programmes, as well as teaching kitchen skills and nutrition to all ages in a wide range of our projects.

From their experiences of poverty and lack of prospects or guidance, many young people in our area under-achieve at school or are at high risk of exclusion, unemployment, criminality and physical/mental health issues.

Growing up in these conditions has a detrimental effect on a child’s self-esteem, ambition and opportunities and these are needs we specifically work to address.

Theory of Change

The Avenues has developed an organisational theory of change, with desired outcomes for young people in each project (and with wider benefits to their families, schools and wider society). This has been in place since 2020.

Since the pandemic, the number of young people suffering from mental health issues has also soared. We are therefore looking to integrate mental health support across all our programmes, both through specialist youth workers and by training our entire youth work team in mental health first aid.

We employ an Impact and Evaluation Manager to provide consistent and robust measurement and can draw upon the advice of an external Advisory Panel established in May 2021 to help us improve our outcomes and how we record them.

However, A total of 1,004 unique despite children and young all the challenges people attended The they face, Avenues over the year once our members

These are our six organisational outcomes, against which we will measure the impact of this project:

1: Young people have improved social and emotional skills.

walk through our doors, they feel safe, respected, and listened to. The mood is a positive, happy one, they can relax, be themselves and develop the confidence and resilience they need to navigate their tricky teenage years.

2: Young people have improved physical and mental wellbeing

3: Young people have increased access to opportunity and learning skills.

4: Young people understand & develop positive relationships with others.

Why we are best placed to tackle the needs in our area

5: Young people are better equipped and confident to make positive lifestyle choices.

With 43 years of continuous youth work experience in our West London community, we have accumulated a deep understanding of the needs and aspirations of local young people and their

6: Young people feel safe and respected.

families, who place their trust in us to look after their best interests. The majority of our youth workers, our Programme Director, Programme Manager and one of our Executive Committee members, came to The Avenues as teenagers, and our Executive Committee has decades of collective experience working with this community.

In Queen’s Park ward, Westminster, where we are based, there is scant open public space or free-to-use facilities for young people. The next nearest youth centre to The Avenues, The Stowe, was closed in 2017, and postcode wars have made travelling outside our immediate area a genuine safety risk. As London’s gentrification and austerity continue to polarize opportunities, we remain an oasis for local young people hoping to improve their outlooks.

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Our youth workers mentor the young people, understand their needs and obstacles, and co-design next steps where they feel heard, empowered, and have ownership of their own development path. This ultimately creates individuals who become more capable, self-confident and able to transition into selfsustained adulthood.

The Avenues building is superbly equipped to deliver youth services, with its arts and crafts studio, games room, training kitchen, dance studio, classrooms and suite of state-of-the-art music studios.

518 young people on free school meals 90% of our young people came from the 50% most deprived areas in UK

We are recognised by Westminster City Council as one of three key youth hubs in the borough, and in 2021 we were awarded the London Youth Gold Quality Mark; being one of just 10 youth organisations to hold this badge of excellence demonstrates our success in delivering the highest standards of youth work, leadership and outcomes for young people.

Key areas of activity

Our programmes evolve slowly, responding to national youth policies and local realities. They also respond to our capabilities: following the complete refurbishment of our music studios in 2021, our state-of-the-art facility has been inspiring our members to participate (and begin considering careers) in music creation or sound engineering using industry standard equipment. That we are fortunate enough to employ a recording artist and sound engineer who is also an exceptional youth worker, allows us to deliver high quality music programmes.

Similarly, our kitchen was refitted in early 2022 as a professional training kitchen with individual prep areas and hobs, which, coupled with a youth worker team boasting cooking ability, allows us to deliver kitchen skills training to all ages.

Cooking and music have always been popular activities, but having such top quality facilities allows us to create the ideal learning conditions to inspire groups of young people. They also help attract business partners wishing to align with and support our high-quality services.

We aim to recruit youth workers with specialist skills to help deliver our programmes, with expertise in music production, cooking, judo, radio, beauty skills etc. We supplement this with specialist tutors and volunteers. Youth workers are trained to develop soft skills such as positive thinking, confidence, teamwork and leadership, and these are instilled across all our programmes.

We are a proudly open access provision welcoming everyone who walks through our doors and we treat all young people with the equal respect they deserve.

18,200 meals served across term time and holiday periods 480 food parcels handed to families in our community Resilience building

With our Junior cohort [8-11 years], we focus on building resilience and creating a solid foundation for their future. We are confident that if we build resilience at a young age by keeping young people active, healthy, and engaged with positive role models, they will be better equipped to face any challenges their future holds. We hold a term-time after school provision for 39 weeks of the year, as well as weekend sports activities, and holiday provision for 10-weeks of the year.

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Transition

Our Inters [11-13 years] focus on the theme of transition. As these young people enter secondary school and begin adolescence, much can change, and young people face many different challenges. We hold distinct and separate after-school sessions for this age group, as well as single gender spaces, holiday provision, and some employability and skill-based programmes are available to them. We hope to guide young people through their social, physical, and mental changes young people face at this age, and act as a consistent in their lives.

Positive Choices

Our Seniors [14+ years] focus is around making positive choices. From employability to friendships, we want to ensure that our young people have the options and opportunities they need to forge the best possible lives for themselves. We run open-access Seniors nights, with a minibus pick up and drop off to ensure the safety of our members late at night, employability evenings with a focus on creativity and finding your own path, and all holiday programmes have sessions tailored to suit our older cohort.

In addition, we have curated an employment pathway option within The Avenues. Our Seniors can begin as a volunteer, and if they are dedicated and have the desire to do so, can complete their Level 1 Youth Work qualification in-house at The Avenues. Course completion guarantees them paid work at The Avenues, as well as the opportunity to build the stepping stones for a potential career.

92% of young people completing an employability course believe the course helped them feel more confident about future employment opportunities.

100% of young people completing an employability course have learned at least one technical or soft skill needed in their future.

95% of young people completing our employability projects report that they feel confident they know what to do to succeed in life.

This year’s programme:

• The Zone (8-11 years); 5 days per week after school provision

• Holiday programme (8-18 years); 10 weeks; Easter, Summer, and May, February and October half terms, Monday to Friday

• Secondary Zone (11-13 years); 5 days per week after school provision

• Junior Support Worker training (15-18 years); 39week training programme delivering Level 1 Youth Work qualifications

• Homework Club (8-11 years); Tuesday after school provision

• Youth Volunteering Programme (15-18 years); 12-week programme with ASDAN Peer Mentoring Qualification attached

• Friday Seniors (13-18 years): Friday evenings, open access

• Saturday Seniors (13-18 years): Saturday evenings, open access

• Mic Drop (15-18 years); 12-week music writing, production and performance programme

• Girls Hub (11-16 years); Tuesday evenings, open access

• Releasement (15-18 years): extension of Mic Drop for artists ready to release their original music

• Sporty Saturdays (8-15 years); Saturday afternoons, open access

• Kickstart Careers (15-18 years); 12-week course providing an insight into business and skill learning for skills including beauty, hairdressing, and cooking

• Judo (8-15 years); Saturday afternoons

• Minibus service – free, safe pick-up and drop-off for Girls and Seniors projects

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A selection of programme highlights and achievements

Summer

304 individuals attended a varied range of daily activities for five weeks through July and August. 1,622 lunches were served, 100% of participants said they had fun and 90% said they had access to great opportunities and to try new things. 79% said The Avenues inspires them to be the best person they can be.

Twelve young people (age 13-18) ventured to Galway, learnt to play Gaelic Football, soaked up the sun on the Wild Atlantic Way, visited a traditional Irish music venue, partnered on adventure activities with a local youth club, and experienced the space and tranquillity of the Irish coast. For many it was their first trip abroad and the highlight of their year.

122 young people were engaged in one of our employability programmes

Ten juniors (10-13) enjoyed a 4-night residential in Turville, Oxfordshire, spending sustained time amongst nature, eating outdoors and enjoying simple pleasures like riding a bike along a country lane and waking up to birdsong.

Other holidays

As usual we opened for February, Easter, May and October holidays. 235 children and young people came through our doors during the October half-term, and we were delighted to offer 20 daily spots to young refugees housed in the Westminster and K&C bridging hotels. Inclusion and integration are at the heart of The Avenues, and everyone enjoyed a packed schedule including new activities of skateboarding and a visit from Zoo Lab, getting young people up close to some exciting wildlife.

In February 2023 we welcomed a record daily average of 115 children and young people each day, plus two off-site trips, the holiday project was hugely enjoyed, providing not only fun activities, sport and skills training but also some much needed support for families with over 1,000 breakfasts and lunches served through the week and of course free-to-access holiday childcare.

Sports

From our drive to improve physical and mental wellbeing came Sporty Saturday, a weekly 4-hour sports project. It became an immediate hit, with up to 90 members each week, across all ages, participating in girls’ and boys’ football, dance, judo and multi-sport, both in our building and on local pitches. Healthy cooking and nutrition sessions take place in our kitchen and free, cooked meals are provided for all participants.

1,031 hours of sport and physical activities delivered

98% of young people attending our sports sessions feel that The Avenues helps keep them fit and healthy.

86% of young people feel they’ve become fitter and stronger because they’ve attended Sporty Saturday.

81% of young people feel that participating in sport at The Avenues helps their mental health.

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

CASE STUDY 1

Ahmed (not real name) has been attending The Avenues for several years and has cemented himself as a core member of the club. In early 2022 a new youth worker started at The Avenues, working in a lot of the same spaces and activities that Ahmed liked to attend. The youth worker soon noticed that Ahmed was prone to aggressive outbursts and struggled to manage his emotions. Ahmed often brought a great deal of energy to a session but was unpredictable in doing so, meaning a session could either be brilliant with his enthusiasm and passion or be significantly disrupted.

Over the Easter 2022 holiday programme, Ahmed attended regularly and spent most of the time with the youth worker he has built up this rapport with. Ahmed loves football and it was noted in the past that even though he plays regularly, he rarely passes the ball and struggles to work as a team leaving both him and his teammates frustrated. The focus this Easter was to help Ahmed with both the management of his emotions, and his teamwork skills – both of which we believe are interrelated and come from a place where Ahmed struggles to express himself in a healthy and positive way. The rapport the youth worker and Ahmed built was instrumental over the Easter holiday. With daily check-ins and consistent role modelling, Ahmed has begun to show significant improvements in his behaviour and management of his emotions. There were no outbursts across the two weeks and Ahmed speaks to our youth worker regularly when something is on his mind – whether that is a small fleeting frustration he has with his peers, or something larger that he struggles to articulate.

This is a fitting example of where football has been an excellent youth work tool. Ahmed and the youth worker were able to work together to develop healthy and productive communication tools through football. Because of this, Ahmed is not only a better footballer and teammate, but is able to confidently navigate social situations and know he has a trusted adult to turn to if things go awry.

Music

Our music projects go from strength to strength with our flagship music programme Mic Drop completing its second year. By the end of this financial year, a total of 28 young people had completed this 6 month evening course, having honed their lyric writing, music composition and performance skills. Through introductions to a range of music

622 hours of music projects delivered in the recording studios

industry professionals, including our wonderful supporter, Paul Epworth, owner of The Church Studios in Highgate, they have been introduced to a range of potential music career possibilities beyond being an artist. We are thrilled to have established a flourishing partnership with contemporary music university ICMP, whose inspiring new facilities are within walking distance of The Avenues and provide an exciting learning pathway for our young performers.

In early 2023, Mic Drop’s success spawned a continuation project,

Releasement which will take young people up to age of 21 and give them additional support to create original music and help them release their music onto streaming sites. The first releases were scheduled for September 2023.

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

CASE STUDY 2

Ayla (not real name) recently finished our 20-week Mic Drop course. Our studio engineer youth worker has worked with Ayla for some time, both directly in the studio, and indirectly in different sessions. In the past, there have been numerous occasions where Ayla has been involved in altercations with other girls and she has experienced things which have caused trauma for her to build a wall around her feelings.

As soon as Ayla joined Mic Drop, she began channelling her pain and emotions through her lyrics and quickly wrote songs of incredible quality with the youth worker she’s developed a relationship with. There have been many times where our youth workers have discussed some of the situations Ayla has talked about in her music, and this is the platform that our youth workers have used to get her to open up so we can have honest and open conversations about the issues that she has experienced and how she feels about life, relationships, and family. This is the perfect example of how music making can be a powerful youth work tool.

Ayla is displaying much less anger about life and is beginning to let a few more people into her life. She is now able to vocalise her thoughts and opinions without hesitation and is showing those around her compassion and consideration. We cannot wait to see the bright future that Ayla has ahead of her.

Seniors science

Balancing the arts with science, we initiated some STEM learning at The Avenues, hooking up with ProtoEV Challenge, a motorsport programme for schools and youth clubs. Run by The Blair Project, a Black-led social enterprise that uses the thrill of motorsport to inspire young people, the programme introduced science and engineering as career possibilities in a competition where our young people converted a petrol go-kart into a high-powered e-kart, before testing and racing their creation on a test track.

World Cinema Club

As part of our drive to broaden the range of voices that our members hear, we recently launched our World Cinema Club, a regular opportunity for our Seniors to watch films of cultural significance and then discuss in our World Cinema Podcast. Through close collaboration with the British Film Institute, as well as the Cabinet Office’s Race Disparity Unit, 12 members of Black heritage aged 14-18 engaged in an impressive analysis of the themes and representation of Black youth culture within UK Urban film & TV.

Seniors party

Almost 100 of our 13-18 year old Seniors attended the Black + Pink Valentine’s Party in February. Built into our Friday night programme and a designated part of the project’s funding, the party provided a safe space for our older members to enjoy a night out, dance, connect and socialise. It is great to balance the skills, training and activities side of The Avenues experience, with letting off steam and having fun.

Girls research project

Some of our senior girls made their voices heard completing a GLAfunded research project, exploring the barriers to girls in Westminster attending girls-only sessions in youth clubs. Our Tuesday night project, ‘Girls’ Hub’, was full of highlights including residential trips, museum visits, self-defence classes, sexual health workshops and a social action project providing care packages for homeless young women at Centrepoint. We are so proud of all that this group of young people do at The Avenues.

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

Community partnerships

Open 6 days per week for 48 weeks 16 different programmes delivered 4,228 hours of youth work sessions delivered

Meaningfood is a social enterprise initiative from one of our supporters, The Fôr Foundation, with whom we partnered this year to provide cookery workshops and community dinners for our members, their families and the wider community.

On Christmas Day we partnered with the Harrow Road Soup Kitchen 4,228 hours and opened our doors to provide a free community event for 30 of our community’s most disadvantaged individuals, who enjoyed a memorable traditional dinner and festivities. We look forward to extending this relationship to make good use of our kitchen facilities when not being used for youth sessions.

While acutely aware of our focus on serving the children and young people of our community, we also know that we are part of a much larger ecosystem, and our girls were so happy to be able to provide a tea party for the Open Age charity’s elderly members in February as part of a social action project. Here is some of the wonderful feedback received.

“The Tea Party today was all things bright and beautiful”

“Lots of chatting, friendly youths and wonderful cooks that showed their skills at cooking”

“What a wonderful event! got to speak to a variety of folk, young and old. Relaxed!”

Key outcomes

89% of young people reported they feel comfortable being themselves.

73% of young people know they have someone to turn to if they are struggling.

73% of young people feel they have a good understanding of their mental health.

77% of young people feel they can manage challenging situations.

85% of young people feel listened to.

100% of young people have fun coming here.

85% of young people highly value the relationship they have with the youth workers.

86% of our Seniors know that when times are hard, they can rely on The Avenues to support them.

86% of our Seniors feel that because of The Avenues, they are less likely to make choices that would negatively impact their lives.

86% of our Seniors feel coming to The Avenues helps them stay healthy.

Quotes recorded during 2022

“I feel like Avenues has helped a lot [with my mental health]. Lots of people there I trust and before I didn’t know where to go if I needed help. Avenues helped with that.” Young person, aged 15

“I’ve felt more comfortable talking to staff and mates from Avenues than anyone else – I genuinely feel like I can talk and be heard. They are genuinely there for you. I love the connection there, it’s like a second home.” Young person, aged 16

“Avenues showed me how to see the difference between friends and people who won’t bring anything to your life. It taught me how to respect myself.” Young person, aged 16

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Funding

9 young people completed Our overall approach to funding is to develop multiple, diverse 39-weeks of training to earn income streams, establishing strong, long-term relationships with individual and corporate donors and with a wide range of trusts their Level 1 qualification and foundations. in youth work

We were delighted to start relationships with the following

funders: Henry Smith Charity, Postcode Society Trust and Steel Charitable Trust, and we strengthened existing relationships with Bernard Sunley Foundation, Drapers Charitable Fund, Kusuma Trust, The National Lottery, Two Magpies and many others.

A combination of grants, fundraising events, donations and rental income meets our budgeted programme and running costs each year. Although the bulk of our income nowadays comes from trusts and foundations, community fundraising and donations play a significant and crucial role providing 11% of our unrestricted income and 5.4% of total income in 2022-23.

We are particularly grateful for every personal donation, so felt honoured to have our music projects funded and endorsed by two of the music industry’s biggest names, Paul Epworth and Merck Mercuriadis.

We awarded all staff a 5% pay increase at the start of the financial year to help with the cost of living crisis.

In May 2022 we held a spectacular fundraising dinner in our building, our first in three years - following Covid disruption. Our staff team entertained 100 local supporters, a live auction was led by a senior member of Bonham’s London team and the guests enjoyed a beautifully made video from Wing Productions. Among the auction items were some limited edition photos of Stevie Wonder visiting the Mozart Estate in 1984, which helped us raise

an impressive £42k on the night.

With summer upon us, our long-standing supporters at clothing label YMC printed a range of limited edition t-shirts featuring one of the Stevie Wonder photos, which raised over £2k, and they raised a further £6k through other initiatives in the year.

Over 400 people attended our Party at The Paradise pub in Kensal Green in November helping create a night to remember. We were treated to outstanding performances by six young people, participants in our Mic Drop programme, and our volunteer DJs had the venue rocking. The party raised over £11k for our youth projects, and as ever, the night was made possible by the generosity of Nick Pring at Urban Pubs &

Bars. Huge thanks also to Live Nation for providing some top quality concert tickets as raffle prizes.

We held our first ever pub quiz at The

Income increased from by 45% from £796,041 to £1,153,691

Avenues in March 2023, where 90 quizzers raised over

£3k. And six supporters pushed through the pain to raise over £13k for the charity in the London Marathon, held in October. Too many to thank individually, we are hugely grateful to every supporter who gives up their time, energy and spare cash to help us continue our work.

“The Avenues is really good for my mental health because there’s mentors here who I can talk to about anything. I feel respected here because the staff treat everyone equally.” Young Person, aged 14

“The best thing about The Avenues is the people because everyone helps each other. Both the staff and the children, whoever you are, they will help you.” Young Person aged 11

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

“I love it here because everyone is supportive of each other. Everyone has got your back.” Young Person, aged 13

“I did the level 1 qualification in youth work last year at The Avenues. It was one of the best things I could do because it helped me build my confidence

and it gave me something positive to do in my free time.” Young person, aged 16

CASE STUDY 3

Daniel (not real name) is a young person local to the community and member of The Avenues. With a little encouragement, Daniel joined our in-house Youth Work Level 1 qualification course and, alongside his peers, started the 39-week journey to gain an understanding of what it took to be a youth worker. It is safe to say that this course was transformative for Daniel, who, as the months went by became more confident, comfortable, and showed signs of him believing in himself. The course taught him the basic practical, social, and emotional skills that a youth worker needs, and Daniel welcomed this learning with open arms. At the end of the 12-months, the group attended a residential to have some fun and consolidate their skills.

Our youth worker mentioned that Daniel shone:

“He was first up in all activities and took leadership in his pairing/groups. Even when some activities seemed difficult or scary, he was first to try and had a positive attitude towards it all and encouraged others to take their turn afterwards. He was the only person to reach the top of Jacob’s Ladder - the most difficult activity of the weekend due to it being an individual task with lots of people observing and physically difficult. It wasn’t easy to complete but he persevered and continued. He confidently and calmly figured out a way to complete it. This was a standout moment for both Daniel and the group and we were all very proud of him”.

Daniel is now a Junior Support Worker who works at our Sporty Saturday sessions.

“The Avenues is one of the best youth clubs in London and we have always been

impressed with their work” Erik Mesel, Senior Grants & Public Policy Manager, John Lyon’s Charity

“Not only one of Westminster’s four main Youth Hubs, The Avenues also acts as a hub for local stakeholders, sharing their extensive knowledge of the area and often hosting events to share views and offer mutual support. They really are at the heart of their community.”

Helen Mann, CEO, Young Westminster Foundation

“I don’t think any of us from UK Youth could overlook the very real importance of what you do for young people at The Avenues Youth Project by providing a safe and welcoming space where they can learn so much a nd just maybe find their future vocation. This helps us to inform our work at UK Youth, which we can’t do in a bubble without meeting the impressive organisations which work so hard to provide youth services.”

Catherine Sykes, Corporate Partnerships Manager, UK Youth

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Financial Review

The charity saw another strong financial performance for the year ended 31 March 2023. In year income increased by 45% to £1,153,691 (2022: £796,127), bringing it above the threshold requiring an audit. The increase, particularly in grant income, was especially welcome in a year which many charities have found challenging.

Although direct charitable expenditure increased 29% (restricted programme funds accounted for 60% of this total), overall expenditure in year increased by just 24% to £1,025,170 (2022: £824,726). This proportionately lower increase in expenditure combined with increased income resulted in a surplus of £128,521 (2022: deficit of £28,599). This surplus has been used to increase reserves, leaving the Avenues well placed to weather the current cost-of-living crisis (including steep costs increases and wage inflation).

As part of our continual review of practices and processes, two in year changes were implemented aimed at further improving monthly reporting. First, grant income is now fully recognised on an accruals basis and released to the Income Statement over the course of the grant, and secondly an overhaul of the accounting system enabled more detailed real time analysis of expenditure.

As the charity has grown it has also been important to take advantage of technology to automate processes. The Executive Committee supported the introduction of a new integrated HR, timekeeping and payroll system which went live in January 2023. At the same time a new CRM database platform was introduced.

Reserves Policy Statement

The Avenues Reserves Policy is to maintain a target reserve of unrestricted funds (general reserves and designated funds) equal to six months of budgeted operating costs, with the actual reserves of unrestricted funds being not less than three months of budgeted operating costs.

The principal purpose of The Avenues Reserve Policy is to mitigate the following risks:

The base case risk is that the Avenues will not have

sufficient funds to enable our normal operating activities to be provided on a continuous basis due to temporary shortfalls in typical income streams or other events which trigger an unexpected funding demand: the reserves should at no time be in a sum lower than that needed to enable The Avenues to continue normal operating activities on an uninterrupted basis despite the occurrence of the relevant temporary contingency.

The fundamental case risk is that The Avenues will suffer a material and most likely permanent drop in revenue which, if not addressed, would most likely lead to a permanent cessation of activities: ideally the reserves should at no time be in a sum lower than that needed to fund any restructuring of the business or any other significant change in circumstances, such as moving premises, which the Avenues Executive Committee believes could enable the activities and support to continue being provided to the beneficiaries.

Monitoring and Reviewing Reserves Policy

The actual operating costs of The Avenues are closely monitored by the Executive Committee and the Treasurer of The Avenues. Together with details of the cash balances, deferred income, and restricted and unrestricted reserves, these are the subject of monthly ‘financial dashboards’ presented to the Finance Sub-Committee and quarterly reports submitted to the Executive Committee. At each of its quarterly meetings the Executive Committee considers whether, in the light of events which have occurred or are expected to occur, any change or changes should be made to the expected amounts of the targeted and minimum unallocated reserves.

Reserves as at 31 March 2023

Historically the financial statements have shown a Restricted Building Fund which represented the remaining value of the leasehold property. It was decided in year to update this classification to include all assets, and a transfer from unrestricted funds was effected. The fund is henceforth to be known as the Restricted Fixed Assets Fund.

The Restricted Youth Work Activity Fund balance represents project income recognised in the period

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but not yet spent and so carried forward to be spent on the intended project in the following year.

While Westminster Council owns the freehold to the land, The Avenues leases the property and pays the council a peppercorn rent in recognition of The Avenues’ agreement for providing services and support to young people and the local community. The nature of the lease, which has 79 years remaining, is that The Avenues is wholly responsible for the repair, maintenance and improvement of the property. Of the remaining Unrestricted Reserves, the Executive Committee therefore considers it prudent to hold a Designated Reserve of £200,000 to cover the eventuality of building works and repairs required to maintain and further improve the charity’s youth centre and major asset.

Structure, Governance and Management

Constitution

The charity is a company limited by guarantee constituted pursuant to, and governed by, a Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 1 November 2001.

Members’ Liability

The charity has no share capital. Rather, its members have “guaranteed” (i.e., agreed) that in the event of winding-up of the charity they will each contribute £1 towards funding any shortfall in the assets of the charity as compared with its liabilities.

The members have no right, in the event of a winding-up of the charity, to receive any distribution of any surplus of the value of the charity’s assets over its liabilities; pursuant to the Memorandum and Articles of Association any such surplus is required to be given to another charity having similar objects to those of the charity.

Executive Committee

The business of the charity is managed by its Executive Committee which currently comprises a Chair and ten other volunteers. All members of the Executive Committee are also directors and, as the only members of the charity, they constitute the trustees of the charity.

New members of the Executive Committee are recruited with regard to the balance on the Executive Committee from time to time of persons with relevant

skills, experience, knowledge and qualifications.

Any person appointed by the Executive Committee holds office until the next succeeding annual general meeting of the members at which time they become eligible for re-election.

At each Annual General Meeting of the charity one-third of the existing members of the Executive Committee are required to retire but then become eligible for re-election.

The Executive Committee meets a minimum of four times a year and in addition has an annual ‘Away Day’ for the purpose of in-depth review and study of particular subjects relevant to the charity’s affairs.

There are three sub-committees of the Executive Committee; Personnel, Finance, and Buildings, and each such sub-committee meets on an ad-hoc basis, co-opting qualified volunteers (for example, from accountancy and architecture), where appropriate.

A BLM forum brings members of the Executive Committee and staff together to agree and oversee best practice on equality, diversity and cultural competence. This group is working closely with the Personnel sub-committee. A Youth Work Advisory Panel brings together staff, Executive Committee members and co-opted experts in youth work from other organisations, including Centre for Youth Impact.

No member of the Executive Committee is remunerated by the charity for any of their time spent in connection with the affairs of the charity.

Chief Executive

The Executive Committee has delegated day-to-day management of the charity to the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive attends all meetings of the Executive Committee and is an ex-officio member of each of the Executive Committee’s sub-committees.

The performance of the Chief Executive is the subject of annual reviews carried out by the chair of the Executive Committee.

Trustees

The trustees who are also directors of the company for the purpose of company law are all members of the Executive Committee. Changes to Trustees are shown on page 2.

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Auditors

The Avenues has appointed Azets Audit Services as its auditors.

Executive Committee’s responsibilities in

The members of the Executive Committee are responsible for preparing the Executive Committee’s Report and the charity’s financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the members of the Executive Committee (being the directors of the company) to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure of the company for the year. In preparing these financial statements, the members of the Executive Committee 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 have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

The members of the Executive Committee are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the 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 company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the members of the Executive Committee are aware:

• there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware; and

• the members of the Executive Committee have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ and in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to smaller entities.

Signed on behalf of the Executive Committee: Jennie Marshall - CHAIR, 7 December 2022

• prepare the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in operation.

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Audit Report

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Avenues Youth Project (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise of the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flow 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 Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2023, 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; and

• 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 Executive Committee’s use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

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

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the members of the Executive Committee 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 Executive Committee’s annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The members of the Executive Committee 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.

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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 Executive Committee’s report (incorporating the directors’ report) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

• the Executive Committee’s 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 Executive Committee’s 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 directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

• the members of the Executive Committee 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 directors’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of members of the Executive Committee

As explained more fully in the Executive Committee’s responsibilities statement, the members of the Executive Committee (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 Executive Committee determines 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 members of the Executive Committee 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 members of the Executive Committee 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 noncompliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

• Enquiry of management and those charged with governance around actual and potential litigation and claims as well as actual, suspected and alleged fraud;

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• Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;

• Assessing the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations considered to have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company through enquiry and inspection;

• Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

• Performing audit work over the risk of management bias and override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business and reviewing accounting estimates for indicators of potential bias.

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.

This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Other matters which we are required to address

Without qualifying our opinion, we draw attention to the fact that the comparative information in the financial statements was unaudited.

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.

John Howard (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of Azets Audit Services, Statutory Audit, Chartered Accountants 2nd Floor, Regis House 45 King William Street London EC4R 9AN

7 December 2023

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at:

https://www.frc.org.uk/Our-Work/Audit/Audit-andassurance/Standards-and-guidance/Standards-andguidance-for-auditors/Auditors-responsibilities-foraudit/Description-of-auditors-responsibilities-for-audit. aspx

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Income and expenditure for year ended 31 March 2023

Note Incoming Resources Grants and donations 2 Investment income Rental income Fundraising Other government grants Total incoming resources Resources Expended Cost of generating funds: Fundraising expenses Charitable expenditure: Direct charitable expenditure 3 Management and administration 4 Total resources expended Net surplus for the year Fund balances brought forward Transfer between funds Fund balances carried forward	Unrestricted funds Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds Restricted Fixed Asset Fund Total 2023 Total 2022 £ £ £ £ £ 402,942 588,228 - 991,170 578,018 3,437 - - 3,437 148 79,544 - - 79,544 59,632 62,385 - 17,155 79,540 157,776 - - - - 553
	548,308 588,228 17,155 1,153,691 796,127
	24,270 - - 24,270 40,499 345,083 488,995 - 834,078 645,901 57,226 48,000 61,596 166,822 138,326
	426,579 536,995 61,596 1,025,170 824,726
	121,729 51,233 (44,441) 128,521 (28,599) 510,578 165,706 1,384,415 2,060,699 2,089,298 (141,476) (122,023) 263,499 - - 490,831 94,916 1,603,473 2,189,220 2,060,699

Continuing operations

All income and expenditure has arisen from continuing activities.

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Balance sheet at 31 March 2023

	Note	Total 2023	Total 2022
		£	£
Fixed Assets
Tangible assets	7	1,603,473	1,656,192
Current Assets
Cash at bank & in hand		873,638	761,111
Debtors	8	34,896	1,768
		908,534	762,879
Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year	9	(322,787)	(358,372)
Net Assets		2,189,220	2,060,699
Funds
General reserves	10	290,831	77,861
Designated funds	10	200,000	432,717
Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds	10	94,916	165,706
Restricted Fixed Asset Fund	10	1,603,473	1,384,415
		2,189,220	2,060,699

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small charitable companies.

The financial statements were approved by the Executive Committee on 5th December 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:

-----------------------------------------J Marshall (Chair)

-----------------------------------------Corrina Ralph (Treasurer)

The Avenues Youth Project Charity number 1090210 Company number 04045031

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Reconciliation of net cash (used in) Operating Activities Net income/(loss) for the reporting period Adjustments for: Bank interest Depreciation (Increase)/ decrease in debtors Increase/ (decrease) in creditors Net cash used in operating activities Cash flows from investing activities Fixed assets purchases Cash flows from financing activities Bank interest received Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	2023 £ 128,521 (3,437) 61,596 (33,128) (35,585) 117,967 117,967 (8,877) 3,437 112,527 761,111 873,638		2022 £ (28,599) (148) 54,457 6,263 289,544
			321,517
			321,517 (330,902) 148
			(9,237) 770,348 761,111

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Note 1. Accounting policies

• 1.1 Basis of preparation

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Companies Act 2006; and the requirements of the Statement of Recognised Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities (effective 1 January 2015). The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention as modified by the revaluation of certain assets and the recognition of certain financial assets and liabilities at fair value.

The financial statements are presented in sterling (£) which is also the functional currency for the charity.

1.2 Going concern

After reviewing the charity’s forecasts and projections and taking into account the economic conditions (given inflation levels), the members of the Executive Committee have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The charity therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements.

• 1.3 Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty Accounting 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 circumstances.

The following judgements (apart from those involving estimates) have been made in the process of applying the above accounting policies that have had the most significant effect on amounts recognised in the financial statements:

Useful economic lives of tangible assets

The annual depreciation charge for tangible assets is sensitive to changes in the estimated useful economic lives and residual values of the assets. The useful economic lives and residual values are re-assessed annually. They are amended when necessary to reflect current estimates, based on technological advancement, future investments, economic utilisation and physical condition of the assets. See note 7 for the carrying amount of the land and buildings, plant and equipment and motor vehicles, and note 1.10 for the useful economic lives for each class of assets.

There are no key assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the next financial year.

1.4 Legal status

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

1.5 Public Benefit

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

1.6 Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the members of the Executive Committee.

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Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the Executive Committee has decided, at its discretion, to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

1.7 Income recognition

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably, and it is probable that the income will be received.

Income from donations including grants, subscriptions and gifts is included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable. Grants, where entitlement is not conditional on the delivery of specific performance by the charity, are recognised over a period not exceeding one year from when the charity becomes unconditionally entitled to it.

Income from trading activities includes income earned from fundraising events and trading activities to raise funds for the charity. Income is received in exchange for supplying goods and services in order to raise funds and is recognised when entitlement has occurred.

Investment income is earned through long term bank deposits. It includes dividends and interest. It is included when the amount can be measured reliably.

1.8 Expenditure recognition

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. It is categorised under the following headings:

• Costs of raising funds include those costs incurred in attracting voluntary income.

• Expenditure on charitable activities includes those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

1.9 Allocation of support and governance costs

Support costs are those that assist the work of the charity but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office costs, governance costs and administrative costs. They are incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity.

1.10 Fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Cost includes costs directly attributable to making the asset capable of operating as intended.

Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets, at rates calculated to write off the cost, less estimated residual value, of each asset on a systematic basis over its expected useful life as follows:

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• Leasehold property – straight line over 50 years (although the lease renewed in 2002 is for 99 years, the useful life of the building in its current form is deemed to be 50 years (to year 2052) and the property and improvements are being depreciated over that period.)

• Furniture and equipment – 20% straight line (with full year in year of purchase)

• Motor vehicles – 20% straight line

1.11 Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. Accrued income is measured at the amount due to be received.

1.12 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and deposits with a maturity date of one year or less from the date of opening.

1.13 Creditors

Creditors are recognised when there is 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.

Other creditors and accruals are recognised at their settlement amount due.

1.14 Financial instruments

The charity only has 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.

1.15 Taxation

The charitable company is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part II Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

1.16 Value added tax

Value added tax is not recoverable by the charitable company and as such is included in the relevant costs in the Statement of Financial Activities.

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

Note 2. Grants and donations

BBC Children in Need Carlile Foundation CHK Foundation City of Westminster Charitable Trust Drapers Charitable Fund Edward Harvist Trust Everyone Active Garfield Weston Global's Make Some Noise Greater London Authority HAF HS2 Community Fund Hyde Park Place Estate Charity Jack Petchy Foundation John Lyon's Charity Kitchen Social (Mayor's Fund for London) Kusuma Trust UK London Youth Luckies of London Navarac Ltd Octavia Foundation Pineapple Youth Trust Queen's Park Community Council Sport England Strand Parishes Trust The Health Lottery The Henry Smith Charity The National Lottery Two Magpies Fund Westminster Almshouses Westminster Amalgamated Westminster City Council Westminster Foundation Westminster Ward Budget Young Westminster Foundation YWF Brighter Futures Youth Music Other grants Other donations

Unrestricted funds Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds Total 2023 Total 2022 £ £ £ £ - 47,072 47,072 28,164 11,250 - 11,250 18,750 - 110,417 110,417 58,333 - 7,500 7,500 7,500 11,250 - 11,250 - - 500 500 4,000 - 5,460 5,460 - 30,000 - 30,000 12,500 - 17,500 17,500 11,000 - 54,440 54,440 23,975 - 52,661 52,661 29,500 - 27,500 27,500 - 3,333 - 3,333 1,667 - 4,050 4,050 1,200 4,000 51,666 55,666 10,667 - 5,300 5,300 7,715 - 14,583 14,583 7,845 - 7,910 7,910 2,000 4,470 - 4,470 4,470 4,393 - 4,393 - - 10,000 10,000 5,000 4,167 - 4,167 7,500 16,667 - 16,667 22,500 - 5,250 5,250 - - 5,000 5,000 - - 2,320 2,320 6,959 33,750 - 33,750 - - 56,915 56,915 13,942 - 5,000 5,000 5,000 10,000 - 10,000 19,000 - 6,667 6,667 3,333 117,499 34,515 152,014 43,768 40,200 4,191 44,391 26,250 - 9,480 9,480 9,939 - 20,351 20,351 - - 8,333 8,333 1,667 - 2,997 2,997 - - 2,400 2,400 54,478 111,963 8,250 120,213 129,396

402,942 588,228 991,170 578,018

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

Note 3. Direct charitable expenditure

	Unrestricted funds	Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds	Total 2023	Total 2022
	£	£	£	£
Salaries and staff costs
Salaries, NI and pensions	199,304	247,591	446,895	325,917
Training and supervision	7,096	-	7,096	2,772
Staff recruitment costs	5,730	-	5,730	20,216
	212,130	247,591	459,721	348,905
Youth work activities	403	225,679	226,082	206,762
Office and other costs
Insurance	7,037	-	7,037	4,594
Light and heat and water rates	41,616	-	41,616	16,485
Telephone and internet	3,052	-	3,052	2,298
Repairs and renewals	5,635	-	5,635	18,781
Maintenance and cleaning	40,432	-	40,432	32,294
Printing, postage and stationery	1,289	-	1,289	1,631
Subscriptions	2,340	-	2,340	3,366
Sundry expenses	2,125	-	2,125	(8,532)
Computer support and consuma	6,034	-	6,034	1,561
Consultancy	9,459	15,725	25,184	-
Subsistance	5,226	-	5,226	5,475
Motor vehicle costs	933	-	933	88
Marketing and PR	7,372	-	7,372	12,193
	132,550	15,725	148,275	90,234
	345,083	488,995	834,078	645,901

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

Note 4. Management and administration expenditure

Salary Costs Salary Other Costs Depreciation Bank charges and interest Independent examiners fee Audit fee	Unrestricted funds Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds Restricted Fixed Asset Fund Total 2023 Total 2022 £ £ £ £ £ 41,872 48,000 - 89,872 73,145 - - 61,596 61,596 54,457 639 - - 639 539 - - - - 10,185 14,715 - - 14,715 -
	57,226 48,000 61,596 166,822 138,326

Note 5. Operating Surplus / (Deficit)

Operating deficit is shown after charging:
	Total 2023	Total	2022
	£	£
Depreciation on tangible fixed assets	61,596	54,457
Auditors’ remuneration (fees including VAT):
- for audit	9,600		-
- independent examination	-	10,185
- for other services	5,115		-

Note 6. Staff Costs

Wages and salaries Social security costs Staff pension Other staff costs	Total 2023 Total 2022 £ £ 489,714 375,517 34,270 11,694 12,783 11,851 - -
	536,767 399,062

As a charity, no member of the Executive Committee received any remuneration during the year in their capacity as members of the Executive Committee.

None of the member of the Executive Committee have reclaimed travelling and other expenses.

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

The average weekly number of full time equivalent staff employed by the charity during the year was as follows:

Administrative work Direct charitable work	Total 2023 Total 2022 3 3 12 6
	15 9

The number of employees whose annual remuneration was £60,000 or more was :

		Total	2023	Total	2022
£60,000	- £69,999		1		0

The key management of the charity comprises the Chief Executive. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel for the year were £69,277 (2022: £59,472 for previous Chief Executive on reduced hours).

Note 7. Fixed Assets

COST As at 1 April 2022 Additions Disposals As at 31 March 2023 DEPRECIATION As at 1 April 2022 Charge for the year As at 31 March 2023 NET BOOK VALUES As at 31 March 2023 As at 31 March 2022	Leasehold property Furniture & Equipment Motor Vehicles Total £ £ £ £ 2,311,479 185,917 22,420 2,519,816 5,134 3,743 - 8,877 - - - - 2,316,613 189,660 22,420 2,528,693 682,074 178,187 3,363 863,624 54,817 2,295 4,484 61,596 736,891 180,482 7,847 925,220 1,579,722 9,178 14,573 1,603,473 1,629,405 7,730 19,057 1,656,192

Construction costs of the building included in leasehold property above amounted to £1,762,923. The charity took possession of the completed property in May 2003

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

Note 8. Debtors

Note 8. Debtors
Trade debtors Prepayments Accrued income	Total 2023 Total 2022 £ £ 13,469 350 10,807 1,418 10,620 -
	34,896 1,768

Note 9. Ceditors

Note 9. Ceditors
Trade creditors SS & other taxes Accruals and deferred income Other creditors	Total 2023 Total 2022 £ £ 7,166 48,497 10,615 8,393 302,925 299,205 2,081 2,277
	322,787 358,372

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

Note 10. Funds

Current year fund note: Opening Balance Incoming Resources Resources Expended Transfers £ £ £ £ Unrestricted Funds General reserves 77,861 548,308 (426,579) 91,241 Designated Funds 432,717 - - (232,717) 510,578 548,308 (426,579) (141,476) Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds 165,706 588,228 (536,995) (122,023) (Formerly known as 'Restricted Funds') Restricted Fixed Asset Fund 1,384,415 17,155 (61,596) 263,499 (Formerly known as 'Restricted Buildings Fund') Total Funds 2,060,699 1,153,691 (1,025,170) - Prior year comparative fund note: Opening Balance Incoming Resources Resources Expended Transfers £ £ £ £ Unrestricted Funds General reserves 238,522 338,219 (498,880) - Designated Funds 432,717 - - - 671,239 338,219 (498,880) - Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds 182,444 309,108 (325,846) - (Formerly known as 'Restricted Funds') Restricted Fixed Asset Fund 1,235,615 148,800 - - (Formerly known as 'Restricted Buildings Fund') Total Funds 2,089,298 796,127 (824,726) -	Current year fund note: Opening Balance Incoming Resources Resources Expended Transfers £ £ £ £ Unrestricted Funds General reserves 77,861 548,308 (426,579) 91,241 Designated Funds 432,717 - - (232,717) 510,578 548,308 (426,579) (141,476) Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds 165,706 588,228 (536,995) (122,023) (Formerly known as 'Restricted Funds') Restricted Fixed Asset Fund 1,384,415 17,155 (61,596) 263,499 (Formerly known as 'Restricted Buildings Fund') Total Funds 2,060,699 1,153,691 (1,025,170) - Prior year comparative fund note: Opening Balance Incoming Resources Resources Expended Transfers £ £ £ £ Unrestricted Funds General reserves 238,522 338,219 (498,880) - Designated Funds 432,717 - - - 671,239 338,219 (498,880) - Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds 182,444 309,108 (325,846) - (Formerly known as 'Restricted Funds') Restricted Fixed Asset Fund 1,235,615 148,800 - - (Formerly known as 'Restricted Buildings Fund') Total Funds 2,089,298 796,127 (824,726) -	Current year fund note: Opening Balance Incoming Resources Resources Expended Transfers £ £ £ £ Unrestricted Funds General reserves 77,861 548,308 (426,579) 91,241 Designated Funds 432,717 - - (232,717) 510,578 548,308 (426,579) (141,476) Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds 165,706 588,228 (536,995) (122,023) (Formerly known as 'Restricted Funds') Restricted Fixed Asset Fund 1,384,415 17,155 (61,596) 263,499 (Formerly known as 'Restricted Buildings Fund') Total Funds 2,060,699 1,153,691 (1,025,170) - Prior year comparative fund note: Opening Balance Incoming Resources Resources Expended Transfers £ £ £ £ Unrestricted Funds General reserves 238,522 338,219 (498,880) - Designated Funds 432,717 - - - 671,239 338,219 (498,880) - Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds 182,444 309,108 (325,846) - (Formerly known as 'Restricted Funds') Restricted Fixed Asset Fund 1,235,615 148,800 - - (Formerly known as 'Restricted Buildings Fund') Total Funds 2,089,298 796,127 (824,726) -	Current year fund note: Opening Balance Incoming Resources Resources Expended Transfers £ £ £ £ Unrestricted Funds General reserves 77,861 548,308 (426,579) 91,241 Designated Funds 432,717 - - (232,717) 510,578 548,308 (426,579) (141,476) Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds 165,706 588,228 (536,995) (122,023) (Formerly known as 'Restricted Funds') Restricted Fixed Asset Fund 1,384,415 17,155 (61,596) 263,499 (Formerly known as 'Restricted Buildings Fund') Total Funds 2,060,699 1,153,691 (1,025,170) - Prior year comparative fund note: Opening Balance Incoming Resources Resources Expended Transfers £ £ £ £ Unrestricted Funds General reserves 238,522 338,219 (498,880) - Designated Funds 432,717 - - - 671,239 338,219 (498,880) - Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds 182,444 309,108 (325,846) - (Formerly known as 'Restricted Funds') Restricted Fixed Asset Fund 1,235,615 148,800 - - (Formerly known as 'Restricted Buildings Fund') Total Funds 2,089,298 796,127 (824,726) -	Current year fund note: Opening Balance Incoming Resources Resources Expended Transfers £ £ £ £ Unrestricted Funds General reserves 77,861 548,308 (426,579) 91,241 Designated Funds 432,717 - - (232,717) 510,578 548,308 (426,579) (141,476) Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds 165,706 588,228 (536,995) (122,023) (Formerly known as 'Restricted Funds') Restricted Fixed Asset Fund 1,384,415 17,155 (61,596) 263,499 (Formerly known as 'Restricted Buildings Fund') Total Funds 2,060,699 1,153,691 (1,025,170) - Prior year comparative fund note: Opening Balance Incoming Resources Resources Expended Transfers £ £ £ £ Unrestricted Funds General reserves 238,522 338,219 (498,880) - Designated Funds 432,717 - - - 671,239 338,219 (498,880) - Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds 182,444 309,108 (325,846) - (Formerly known as 'Restricted Funds') Restricted Fixed Asset Fund 1,235,615 148,800 - - (Formerly known as 'Restricted Buildings Fund') Total Funds 2,089,298 796,127 (824,726) -	Closing Balance £ 290,831 200,000
					490,831 94,916 1,603,473
	2,060,699	1,153,691	(1,025,170)	-	2,189,220
					Closing Balance £ 77,861 432,717
					510,578 165,706 1,384,415
	2,089,298 796,127 (824,726) -				2,060,699

Designated Funds

This represents the amount that the members of the Executive Committee felt it prudent to ring fence for building maintenance and improvements in the coming year.

Restricted Funds

Youth Work Activity Project Funds: This amount represents restricted project income remaining as at the year end - to be spent in 2023/4. Fixed Assets Fund: This amount represents the value of fixed assets shown in note 7.

Fixed Assets Fund: This amount represents the value of fixed assets shown in note 7.

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The Avenues Youth Project Report 2022–2023

Note 11. Analysis of net assets between funds

Fixed Assets Current assets Current liabilities	Unrestricted funds Restricted Youth Work Activity Funds Restricted Fixed Asset Fund Total £ £ £ £ - - 1,603,473 1,603,473 813,618 94,916 - 908,534 (322,787) - - (322,787)
	490,831 94,916 1,603,473 2,189,220

Note 12. Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions in either the current or the prior year.

Note 13. Ultimate controlling party

The charitable company is considered to have no ultimate controlling party.

Note 14. Subsequent events

There have been no subsequent events.

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AvenuesYouthProject

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