2026-03-31-accounts

25 years of support

Helping people face court with confidence since 2001

Support Through Court’s Annual Report 2025-26 25[th] anniversary edition

Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2026

Company number: 04360133 Charity number: 1090781

Introduction from Katherine Milliken, Chair of the Board of Trustees

This has been an important and busy year for Support Through Court. Each day, people across England and Wales face court without legal representation, often at one of the most stressful moments in their lives. Our role is to ensure they do not face that experience alone, providing practical, emotional and increasingly digital support to help them navigate the court process.

Over the past year we have continued to develop and strengthen the ways in which we support people. Our online service has expanded our reach, helping us support individuals who may not be able to access a local court-based service. Alongside this, our in-person services continue to provide vital face-to-face support, ensuring people feel prepared, informed and heard as they move through the court process.

We have also continued to build partnerships that strengthen our work and extend our impact. Our collaboration with universities is helping to develop the next generation of volunteers while expanding the support available to people facing court alone. Our Guardians continue to enable us to support our clients, and we couldn’t do what we do without the support of law firms. I was delighted to join the board last June alongside Tristan Harvey and Elizabeth Meekison. Between us, we represent chambers, legal firms and in-house practice, a small but meaningful reflection of the wider legal community coming together to make change.

Since beginning my time as Chair, I have been struck by the dedication and compassion of everyone involved in Support Through Court. Our staff and volunteers provide reassurance, practical help and a listening ear to people at moments of real uncertainty. Their commitment makes an extraordinary difference to thousands of individuals each year.

With Support Through Court’s 25th anniversary, we also have an opportunity to reflect on our legacy and the lasting importance of this work. For a quarter of a century, the charity has stood alongside people facing court alone. As we look ahead, we are developing our 2027–2030 strategy alongside supporters, volunteers and partners, ensuring it reflects the needs of those we serve. I look forward to working with colleagues across the organisation to build on all we’ve achieved in the years to come.

I would like to thank our volunteers, staff, partners, and supporters for everything they do to make this work possible. Together, we are enabling more people to navigate the court process with greater confidence and understanding.

Katherine Milliken Chair of the Board, Support Through Court July 2026

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No one should face court alone

Imagine facing court as life-changing decisions are made — about your children, your home, your livelihood. You have no lawyer, no guide and no idea what might happen next. The process can be daunting, confusing, and deeply personal. At that moment, having someone to turn to matters.

That’s where Support Through Court comes in. Our service is free to use and open to everyone, regardless of income. We provide guidance before, during, and after court. Our volunteers help people understand court papers, prepare what they need to say, and face the courtroom with dignity and confidence. We are a listening ear and a steady presence beside anyone who needs support in court.

For 25 years, we have been part of the solution. Every 90 seconds, someone comes to Support Through Court for help - that's around 43 clients an hour. From our beginnings in London to a network of 12 services across England and Wales, we’ve grown into a trusted voice for access to justice.

But we know we cannot do this alone. Partnership is at the heart of our work, with the legal profession, funders, eight universities, and community groups. Together, we are building a justice system that is fairer, more compassionate, and more accessible.

Access to justice is not a privilege. It is a right. When people can prepare, speak for themselves, and navigate the legal system with help, the effects ripple beyond the courtroom: disputes are resolved more effectively, families can make informed decisions, homes and livelihoods are protected. Most importantly, communities benefit from greater stability and fairness.

Justice should not depend on whether you can afford a lawyer. No one should have to face court alone. For 25 years, we have shown what’s possible. We will continue to be there for as long as we are needed, ensuring people representing themselves feel confident and empowered in court.

Review of the year

This year, we provided support on 51,116 occasions for people navigating the courts without legal representation. That’s over 51,000 moments of reassurance, clarity and calm, made possible through the continued dedication of our incredible volunteers and the generosity of our supporters. Behind every number is a real person facing an often intimidating process alone. Our volunteers remain at the heart of what we do: offering not just practical guidance, but humanity and compassion when it’s needed most. Whether it’s standing beside someone in court or helping to complete daunting paperwork, their kindness continues to make a genuine and lasting impact.

This has been a year of consolidation and consistency. Building on the strong foundations of recent years, we have focused on maintaining the quality, reach and reliability of our services. In a challenging environment, this has meant ensuring that people can continue to access support when they need it most, delivering sustained impact at scale, day in and day out.

Alongside our core services, we have continued to create opportunities for learning, connection and sector-wide conversation. This year’s events included a Support Through Court Spotlight with Dr I Stephanie Boyce, offering valuable insight into leadership and access to justice; a collaborative webinar with OurFamilyWizard, exploring practical tools to support families through separation; and a well-

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attended Family Law Breakfast focused on trauma in the courts, prompting important discussions about how the justice system can better respond to the needs of those it serves.

Behind the scenes, we have continued to strengthen our systems and ways of working to support this consistency. From refining processes to supporting our people and volunteers, this work ensures that our services remain resilient, trusted and effective, both for the clients we support and the partners and funders we work alongside.

To all our supporters: thank you. Whether you’ve donated, volunteered, or joined us at one of our events this year, your support makes this work possible. Your commitment enables us to be there for people facing court alone, providing practical and emotional support at some of the most challenging moments in their lives. Together, we are working to build a society where no one has to face court alone.

Client feedback

The volunteer helped me to have more confidence

Yes: 93% No: 7% Total relevant responses: 2,643

The volunteer helped me better understand the procedures

Yes: 94% No: 6% Total relevant responses: 2,719

The volunteer helped me be better prepared

Yes: 94% No: 6% Total relevant responses: 2,675

Who we’ve helped

The people we support often face complex and challenging personal circumstances. Our clients face the prospect of going through court without anyone to help them. But with our help and guidance, they are given an opportunity to represent themselves to the best of their abilities and have the best chance of accessing justice.

This year, 25% of our clients who completed our diversity monitoring form told us English was not their first language, 48% were in receipt of benefits, and 39% reported serious health problems, with 53% identifying as ethnic minorities.

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Types of case we’ve supported people through

We most often support people with money claims, housing, employment cases, child arrangements, divorce and non-molestation cases. Some clients need help with both civil and family matters.

Case background	Percent of support sessions involving
Civil	52%
Family	50%

Client stories

Client stories as told by volunteers. Names have been changed to protect confidentiality.

Farah’s story

Farah is a single mother of two children under 18. She currently lives in the former family home with her children, including her daughter who has a disability. Following her divorce, her ex-husband - who is the legal owner of the property - indicated that he wanted to sell the house and had offered her half of its value.

For Farah, this would mean losing the only stable home her children had known. She was seeking a financial remedy order to enable her and her children to remain in the property. The prospect of navigating court proceedings alone felt overwhelming, particularly given the potential impact on her children’s stability and wellbeing.

Farah attended an initial hearing, but it was adjourned after her ex-husband provided medical evidence explaining why he had been unable to complete the required forms. The delay added to her anxiety and uncertainty.

When Farah came to Support Through Court, she felt confused and unsure about the legal terminology and court process. Volunteers helped her complete the required forms and explained the wording in clear, accessible language. They broke down each stage of the proceedings so she understood what would happen next and what was expected of her.

A volunteer, Helena, also attended court with Farah, providing reassurance and helping her feel less alone in the process. With clearer information and practical support, she felt more confident expressing her wishes and representing herself. Her wellbeing improved as she became better informed and more in control of the situation.

Farah is currently waiting for a new hearing date and has booked a further appointment to draft a letter in preparation. She shared her appreciation for the support she received, saying: “ [Support Through Court] volunteers are brilliant. Helena helped me since the start — she does an amazing job. I’ve become less confused and better informed. ”

Daniel’s story

Daniel is in his 40s and works while sharing care of his daughter from a previous relationship. For years, contact had been arranged informally between him and his former partner, allowing him to balance his job with regular time caring for his child. That arrangement suddenly broke down when his ex-partner stopped communicating with him, blocked his contact and refused to attend mediation. Daniel had never experienced anything like this before. He was not only heartbroken at losing contact with his daughter, missing her birthday and spending Christmas apart, but also deeply worried about the impact on her relationship with his wider family.

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When Daniel first came to us, he appeared unsettled and overwhelmed. Daniel had never been to court before and so had never needed help navigating the process. The thought of representing himself felt daunting. He was frightened that his former partner might damage the bond he had with his only child. With the support of two of our volunteers, he worked through the relevant forms. He felt empowered to draft a statement explaining why he was applying to court. This was the first formal step toward restoring the contact pattern that had worked well for years. We provided clear guidance on next steps so he would feel supported beyond the appointment and explained we could attend a hearing with him so he knew he would not have to face court alone. Our support helped alleviate his fears about “getting it wrong” and making a mistake in the paperwork.

By the end of the session, Daniel felt far more assured. What had initially felt like an impossible situation now felt manageable. He left confident that he was taking the right steps to protect his relationship with his daughter.

Susan’s story

Susan is an older woman who is currently unemployed and managing ongoing health issues. After losing her job, she brought a claim against her former employer, believing she had been treated unfairly due to her age and disability. She felt she had been overlooked in favour of other employees despite her experience, and described feeling ignored throughout the process.

The experience of redundancy and pursuing a legal claim left Susan feeling extremely stressed and anxious. The prospect of attending a tribunal alone was daunting, and she worried about coping with the emotional pressure of the hearing.

Susan contacted our online service, Support Through Court Online. Volunteers based remotely provided support across multiple appointments, helping Susan prepare both practically and emotionally. They ensured she understood what to expect and gave her space to talk through her concerns ahead of the hearing.

We also helped Susan arrange a remote hearing, allowing us to support her more effectively on the day. Volunteers checked in with her beforehand to see how she was feeling and to provide reassurance and any last-minute guidance. During the hearing, we attended with her and took notes, helping to ensure she did not miss key points or dates if anxiety made it difficult to keep track.

This support helped reduce the pressure she was feeling and allowed her to approach the hearing in a calmer, more focused way. Knowing someone was there alongside her made the experience feel less overwhelming.

Afterwards, Susan expressed her gratitude: “ I can't thank you enough for the support. I have been constantly worried by it all — it's overwhelming to cope with. Your kindness… good people are what keep my faith and me going. Your vital service is so appreciated .”

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Our five-year strategy: what we’ve achieved

Objectives 2025-2027	What we’ve achieved so far
We will maintain our client contact numbers in 2026/27.	• We maintained client contact numbers, supporting clients in person, over email, by video call or speaking with them over the phone 51,116 times during the last financial year
We will extend the geographic coverage of our service to provide a service to people using the civil and family courts throughout England and Wales.	• We had 11,641 contacts across England and Wales through our National Helpline, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, in the last year • Support Through Court Online, our remote service, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, supported 1,457 people facing court alone across England and Wales
We will offer a range of ways to access our support through a multi- channel service, offering clients choice and tailoring our support to our clients’ needs as far as we are able.	• We are grateful to our volunteers for their dedication and support in enabling us to now offer client appointments by phone, in person, by email, and by video call • We continue to work with the We Are group to support people in completing online legal processes • Our online service enables video call and email support nationally. This has grown significantly, with 2,104 support sessions delivered this year - a 77% increase. • We expanded our Welsh-language service, improving accessibility for Welsh-speaking clients
We will grow our income to achieve long term sustainability of our financial resources.	• Our income this year was £1,429,974 • We are delighted to have 55 individual Guardians in our network and 38 corporate Guardians championing the work we do • We strengthened multi-year partnerships with universities, deepening collaboration to support student learning while expanding access to support for people facing court alone
We will make more efficient use of our resources including volunteers, providing value for money, resulting in efficiency savings and enabling investment in service improvements.	• We ran Volunteer Impact teams to better inform and strengthen our work • We developed a volunteer survey and engagement plan to improve feedback and involvement • We delivered staff training and EDI initiatives, including five management training apprenticeships • A civil service Fast Streamer worked with our fundraising team to map trusts and look at how we can increase support • Fieldfisher and Baker McKenzie reviewed our local services and the support available and created a report to inform and support future strategy development • We appointed three new trustees and introduced trustee liaison roles, bringing trustees and services together to support each service and increase trustee insight

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	• We reviewed and updated our IT supplier arrangements • We achieved our Cyber Essentials certification
We will use our knowledge of the court system and the issues faced by LiPs to seek improvements for LiPs navigating the court system, offering a better opportunity to access justice.	• We’ve continued to build relationships with HMCTS and court staff in courts around our main service sites as well as sharing volunteer insights and client stories with HMCTS user groups • We contributed to the wider legal support community by sharing insight, strengthening collaboration, and supporting sector-wide improvement in access to justice • We made submissions in response to Access to Justice’s call for evidence, contributing our frontline insight and experience to inform wider sector understanding • We participated in the Special Measures pilot in Nottingham, helping to test and inform approaches to improving court experiences for vulnerable users • We have been working with RCJ Advice to strengthen collaboration and improve the support available to our clients

Looking ahead

This year marks our 25th anniversary, a significant milestone and an opportunity to celebrate the impact we have had over the past quarter century. Throughout the year, we will be bringing people together through events and fundraisers, celebrating the dedication of our volunteers, reflecting on how far we’ve come, and shining a light on the difference that compassionate, practical support can make. It is also a moment to look forward: to test new ideas, explore new approaches, and build on the foundations we have strengthened this year.

As we enter the final year of our current strategy, our Board and Leadership Team are working together to shape our next phase. This will ensure that we remain responsive, resilient and focused on where we can have the greatest impact in a changing justice landscape. The Board and Leadership Team will be engaging a wide range of stakeholders and listening to their views over the coming months. Alongside our new strategy, we have worked on a new theory of change which we’re delighted to share as part of this report.

A key part of this work is the introduction of our new database and monitoring and evaluation framework. Together, these will enable us to better understand the people we support, strengthen how we measure our impact, and improve the visibility of our services both locally and nationally. This will support more informed decision-making, stronger partnerships, and ultimately provide a better experience for the clients we serve.

We will also continue to explore new and more flexible ways of delivering support. By developing our helpline and online offer, we aim to reach more people who might otherwise struggle to access help, ensuring that support is available wherever it is needed. Following successful funding applications, we are recruiting two project leads, on a short-term contract basis, to deliver two projects to improve our triaging processes and our volunteer training programme. The projects will focus on improving the support we give to domestic abuse survivors and incorporating a trauma-informed approach within our service.

We aim to support our volunteers as best we can, and we will be making some changes following our volunteer survey earlier this year. A new volunteer engagement plan has been developed and shared and we look forward to implementing this to better recruit and retain volunteers.

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As we look ahead, our focus remains clear: building on this year’s stability to extend our reach, deepen our impact, and continue working towards a society where no one has to face court alone.

Theory of change

This year, we developed a new Theory of Change to strengthen how we understand, evidence, and communicate our impact. Grounded in the experiences of the people we support, it sets out how our work leads to meaningful change, both for individuals and across the justice system.

Why we exist

Access to justice should be fair, inclusive, and grounded in dignity and knowledge. Everyone should be able to access emotional support and practical guidance when navigating the civil and family courts or tribunals without legal representation. No one should face court alone.

What we bring

• Real understanding: We know how civil and family courts work, and what it feels like to face them alone.

• A safe, supportive space: We listen without judgement and help people feel calmer, clearer and more confident about their next steps.

• Practical help that makes a difference: From forms and procedures to preparing for court, we provide support that is difficult to access elsewhere, tailoring our support to peoples’ needs.

• People who care: Trained staff and a valued network of volunteers from the community and local universities, are committed to respectful, high-quality support.

• A stronger voice for change: We use what we learn from the people we support to work with courts and partners, influencing change towards greater fairness and equality.

What we do

• Provide an accessible service: We are committed to free support that’s easy to access, whether in person, online, or over the phone.

• Offer practical and emotional help: We guide people before, during and after court. We can help with court forms, statements and checking legal aid eligibility. We also provide a listening ear: giving people reassurance, helping get thoughts in order and supporting them to make sense of their situation.

• Connect people to the right help: Where possible, we signpost people facing court alone to legal advice, specialist services, mental health support, or other support if they need it.

• Make the system easier to navigate: We help people understand out of court options, what’s expected in court, and how to engage effectively with the court process.

• Use what we learn to make a difference: We share our insights and experience to improve our services and advocate for a fairer, more accessible justice system.

What we achieve: the difference we make today

• People aren’t facing court alone: We provide timely, practical, and emotional support so more people without representation feel guided and supported every step of the way.

• Less stress, more confidence: We enable people to engage in court processes and hearings with greater understanding, clarity, and reduced anxiety.

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• Stronger connections and access to help: Through partnerships and referrals, those we support can more easily reach the right advice and services for both court-related and wider life issues.

What we achieve: the difference we make for the future

• Lasting change for fairness and equality: We use what we learn from clients to improve court practices, inform policy, and make the justice system more inclusive and responsive.

• Better wellbeing in all areas of life: By connecting people to emotional support and specialist services, we help them feel stronger, more resilient, and better able to manage life’s challenges in the months and years ahead.

• Fairer futures: Our guidance and support help people engage effectively with court processes, equipping them to manage ongoing issues with housing, money, work, professional relationships, and other practical matters into the future.

• Improved relationships: Support that helps people navigate family or civil proceedings can contribute to clearer communication, better understanding, and more positive outcomes in their family and personal relationships.

Thank you for empowering people facing court

We’re enormously grateful to all our funders: individuals and businesses across the country, law firms, chambers, universities, trusts and foundations, as well as our Guardians, Champions, and the Business and Family Ambassadors Boards. Thank you for empowering people going through court and enabling them to access justice.

Support Through Court aims to maintain our quality service, helping people going through court without representation, for many years to come. We can only do this by working in partnership with others. The committed support of universities and HMCTS allows us to keep our costs low. We’re extremely grateful to them for accommodation and utilities. This ongoing generosity will allow us to carry on providing our core service from bases in court buildings.

We value our partnerships with others involved in the justice system: court staff all over the country who so generously devote time and energy to enabling our service to flourish; and the judiciary, who consistently support our work, in particular our Liaison Judge, Lady Justice Asplin.

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You’re changing lives

To all those who have so generously donated to us: thank you. You’re making a world of difference to people going through court without representation.

Corporate supporters	Universities	Individuals
11KBW	Birmingham City University	Lady Justice Asplin
12 King's Bench Walk	Cardiff University	Eleanor Brass
1GC	Leeds Beckett University	Damien Byrne Hill
1KBW	Liverpool John Moores University	Simon Davis
2 Bedford Row	Manchester Metropolitan University	Guy Fetherstonhaugh KC
29 Bedford Row	Nottingham Trent University	Sir Christopher Floyd KC
3VB	Royal Holloway, University of London	Andrew Hochhauser KC
4PB	St Mary’s University, Twickenham	Sir Rupert Jackson
5 Stone Buildings	University of Essex	Lord Pannick KC
5RB Barristers	University of Sheffield	Lord Sales
Addleshaw Goddard		Philip Waller CBE
AFP Bloom	Trusts	Mr Justice Zacaroli
Atkin Chambers	Bernard Sunley Foundation	Robin Abraham
Blackstone Chambers	Gerald Palmer Eling Trust	Caroline Artis
Bloomsbury Publishing	Inner London Magistrates' Courts' Poor Box and Feeder Charity	Stephanie Barwise KC
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP	St Andrew Holborn and Stafford’s Charity	Guy Beringer CBE
Burges Salmon	The Adint Charitable Trust	Camilla Bingham KC
Charles Russell Speechlys	The Batchworth Trust	David Bradly KC
Clifford Chance	The Clothworkers' Foundation	Lord Carnwath
CMS	The Elizabeth Frankland Moore and Star Foundation	Katherine Cavallo
Deka Chambers	The K W Charitable Trust	Professor Sara Chandler KC
Devereux Chambers	The Loppylugs and Barbara Morrison Charitable Trust	Professor Peter Crisp
etiCloud	The National Lottery Community Fund	Yasseen Gailani
Eversheds Sutherland	The Three Oaks Trust	John Gould
Falcon Chambers	The Zochonis Charitable Trust	Javan Herberg KC
Farrer & Co	Wates Foundation	Mr Justice Holgate
Fountain Court Chambers		Mr James Howells KC
Gray's Inn		Mrs Justice Hill
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer		Graham Huntley
Hunters Law LLP		Phillippa Kaufmann KC
Inner Temple		Christopher Kennedy KC
Keating Chambers		James Kessler KC
Law.com		Henry King KC
Leicester AirPlants		Jenny and Stephen Kingsley
Lewis Silkin LLP		Paul Kirtley
Lincoln's Inn		Matthew Lavy KC
Littleton Chambers		Helen Lawrence
London Legal Support Trust		David Lewis KC

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London Solicitors Litigation Association		Richard Liddell KC
Macfarlanes LLP		Duncan Matthews KC
Middle Temple		Sir Vivian Ramsey
Mills & Reeve LLP		Murray Rosen KC
Old Square Chambers		Tom Smith KC
OurFamilyWizard		Roger Stewart KC
Payne Hicks Beach		Lord Justice Stuart-Smith
QEB		Nigel Tozzi KC
Selborne Chambers		Niranjan Venkatesan
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP		Lord Justice Warby
South Square		Lord (David) Wolfson, KC
Stephenson Harwood		Joanne Wicks KC
The 36 Group		Michael Zuckerman
The Bar Standards Board		Mr Thomas Seager Berry
Watson Farley & Williams		William Norris
Weil, Gotshal & Manges		Colin Liebenrood
White & Case LLP
Wilberforce Chambers

Help transform more lives

Could you help us reach more people facing court alone by volunteering, fundraising or partnering with us? Visit: www.supportthroughcourt.org or email us: [e-mail]

Please consider making a donation so that we can secure our financial future and continue to be there for those alone in court: www.supportthroughcourt.org/donate

Where to find us

All our locations can be found on our website.

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Who we are

Trustees

The trustees, who are also directors of Support Through Court for the purposes of company law, are: Alexander Hulbert Anthony Fincham Caroline Artis, Chair until 31 May 2025 David Wilkin until 2 December 2025 Elizabeth Meekison from 28 May 2025 Helen Lawrence Kay-Dene Petgrave Katherine Milliken, Chair from 28 May 2025 Robert Pitt Samantha Gargaro until 2 December 2025 Stephen Adler, Vice Chair Timothy Nash Tristan Harvey from 28 May 2025 Zubair Chaudhry, Treasurer

Founder

The late Diana Copisarow OBE

Patrons

Martin Lewis, CBE I. Stephanie Boyce CBE FKC The Rt. Hon. The Baroness Butler-Sloss, GBE PC The Rt. Hon. The Baroness Hale of Richmond, DBE PC FBA The Rt. Hon. Lord Dyson, PC The Rt. Hon. The Lord Burnett of Maldon The Rt. Hon. The Lord Neuberger, PC GBS HonFRS The Rt. Hon. The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, KG PC The Rt. Hon. The Lord Reed of Allermuir, PC FRSE The Rt. Hon. The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, Kt PC The Rt. Hon. The Lord Woolf, CH PC FBA FMedSci The late The Rt. Hon. Sir Terence Etherton

Liaison Judge

The Rt. Hon. Dame Sarah Asplin

Chief Executive: Emma Taylor

Company Secretary: Ingela Ekstrom

Registered Address: C/O Sayer Vincent LLP, 110 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TG Principal Office: Support Through Court, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL Bankers: CAF Bank Ltd, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA

Auditor: Sayer Vincent LLP, Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor, 110 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TG

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Objects and activities

The charity’s objects are:

• (a) to pursue charitable purposes by the provision of personal support and assistance, without regard to race, gender, sexuality, age or disability, for (i) those suffering or likely to suffer emotional or psychological stress or otherwise in need of such support or assistance by reason of their involvement with actual or anticipated legal proceedings at the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London or elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and (ii) their spouses, partners, families and friends supporting them in relation to such legal proceedings; and

• (b) to further all and any purposes which are charitable according to English law.

The trustees have fully complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties.

The trustees review the aims, objectives and activities of the charity each year. This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period. The trustees report on the success of each key activity and the benefits the charity has brought to the groups it exists to support. The review also helps the trustees ensure the charity's aims, objectives and activities remained focused on its stated purposes.

The trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set out.

Financial review

Our income this year sits at £1,429,974. We’ve received income from the following sources:

Source of funding 2025/26	£	%
University partnerships	318,377	22.3%
Trust	299,384	20.9%
Government	298,071	20.8%
Corporate	258,107	18.0%
Individual	183,369	12.8%
Community	27,117	1.9%
Earned Income	23,866	1.7%
Investment	21,683	1.5%
Total	1,429,974	100.0%

Our total expenditure was £1,304,097. Aiming to be less reliant on government funding, we have continued to increase funding from other sources over the last couple of years. We have strengthened partnerships with universities, developed our Guardians Network and worked with new trusts and funders. We continued to receive support from the Ministry of Justice and the Access to Justice Foundation’s Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support (IOTLS) programme, which will continue to fund us for the first six months of the coming financial year.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The trustees have overall responsibility for ensuring that the charity has an appropriate system of controls, financial and otherwise. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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As part of the charity’s risk management process, the trustees acknowledge their responsibility for the charity’s system of internal control and reviewing its effectiveness. It is also recognised by the trustees that such a system is designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve the charity’s objectives and can only provide reasonable, not absolute, reassurance against material misstatement or loss.

Support Through Court uses a comprehensive risk register which is updated on a quarterly basis and reviewed by the trustees. The Board pays particular attention to those risks with critical and high-risk scoring (based on impact and probability) and whether there have been any changes in the score since the previous review. The Board also questions and analyses the existing controls and planned actions.

Safeguarding and data protection incidents are reported on to the trustees as standing agenda items during the Audit and Risk Committee meetings. Two trustee Safeguarding Champions sit on the Service Committee.

The key risks identified for the past year, and the actions taken to mitigate them, were:

Risk	Mitigating actions
Significant reduction or loss of income	The charity’s reserves policy is set out in full below. The principal purpose of this policy is to maintain service provision as well as resolving short-term, in-year, cash flow issues that might arise. The trustees believe that the target of four and a half months reserves provides enough time to consider options and take action to maintain a viable service in line with a changing funding environment. Income and risk are assessed monthly. Fundraising pipelines and plans are in place to establish new supporters and partnerships and targets and progress are reviewed by the Fundraising Committee quarterly.
Front line wellbeing and safeguarding	Safeguarding is an ongoing risk for the charity, and we are continuing to monitor our responses to clients’ needs. We have a new safeguarding team and policy which will be renewed annually. We have two trustee Safeguarding Champions who support the cross-team safeguarding team. In addition, student volunteers work inpairs to support clients and each other.
System security and permissions compromised (virus, hackers, cyberattack). Data compromised.	All main systems are cloud-based and delivered by providers with appropriate accreditations and cyber security. We now restrict cloud-based access to the UK only unless special permission has been granted. Logins from elsewhere, regardless of what authentication processes are passed, are automatically rejected. Permission and set up/deletion of cloud accounts are restricted to nominated authorised staff only. Cloud based data is backed up to protect the organisation from any form of ransomware. Cyber security responsibility for the organisation is held at board level and seen as a high priority. In the year, the organisation obtained Cyber Essentials certification. Homeworking data protection and acceptable use policies are in place. The organisation’s Subject Access Request (SAR) process has been updated to reflect the risks associated with the data we hold, ensure compliance with our obligations to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under GDPR legislation, and provide individuals with fair access to their personal information.

Reserves policy

The trustees consider it appropriate for Support Through Court to hold a general reserve, primarily to maintain its service if funding is disrupted through the ebb and flow in fundraising streams. Our reserve is available to support in-year short-term cash flow issues arising from intermittent income receipts. Taking this into account, the trustees have agreed to target an unrestricted reserve equating to four and a half months of the charity’s expected running costs for the following financial year. The trustees understand that the level of reserves will fluctuate as strategic

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aims are met and have agreed that the general unrestricted reserve should not fall below two and a half months of the charity’s expected running costs for the following financial year. The trustees have put trigger points in place to ensure that there is enough time to consider and take the best course of action to allow the charity to maintain a level of service commensurate with any change in its funding environment.

The charity's reserves and cash flow are reviewed by the Treasurer, CFOO and CEO (under the scrutiny of the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee) quarterly. A contingency plan is in place to deal with delays in funding and in-year cash flow issues. This plan comes into effect at the point the level of unrestricted reserves, based on months of the following year’s expenditure, falls below three months. Trigger points alert the trustees to any deteriorating reserves position. The charity’s running costs for the year to 31 March 2027 are expected to be £1,462,961 (2026: £1,304,097). The restricted reserve at 31 March 2026 was £nil (2025: £nil), while the unrestricted reserve was £625,243 (2025: £499,366) which equates to 5.1 months of 2026-27 total running costs (2025: 4.2).

Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material financial uncertainties that affect the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The ability of the charity to continue in its current shape is dependent on its ability to secure funding. Support Through Court received an extension of the MOJ’s IOTLS grant delivered by the Access to Justice Foundation, which has provided some certainty for the period ending 30 September 2026. The grant extension represents 10% of the total income budget for 2026/27.

This brings a degree of financial certainty, and we are confident that the charity remains a going concern. Nonetheless, plans are in place to deal with any significant losses in income and to mitigate against this key risk, the charity has been taking several steps, including fundraising to increase its non-government income, optimising the use of the funds it has and targeting a level of reserves that the Board believes provides the charity with a suitable breathing period. 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.

Investment policy

The trustees have the power to invest monies not immediately required. Given the level of reserves, whose primary use is to ensure that a continuous service can be maintained, and intending to expand the reach of the service, the trustees have, for the time being, decided to keep any monies not immediately required in interest-bearing accounts with CAF Bank Ltd and on the CAF Charity Deposit Platform. These accounts are kept under review by the Treasurer, CFOO and CEO (under the scrutiny of the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee) regarding levels of interest provided by these and alternative accounts. Changes to location of investments can be made in-year by the Treasurer, CFOO and CEO, having sought the agreement of the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee.

Governing document

The organisation is a Charitable Company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 24 January 2002 and registered as a charity on 26 February 2002. The Company was established under a Memorandum of Association, which established the objects and powers of the Charitable Company and is governed under its Articles of Association. All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note seven to the accounts.

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Trustee appointment and induction

The term of office of a trustee is three years from date of appointment. Trustees retiring at the end of the first term of office of three years may be reappointed for a further term of office of three years . Save that, should the Chair or Vice Chair so recommend, a trustee who has served two consecutive terms of three years may be reappointed by resolution for a final term of three years. Such reappointment shall be subject to that resolution being passed by 75% of the other trustees. The selection of trustees is made based on vacancies arising, sympathy with the objects of the charity and the additional skills and experience that potential new trustees can offer that complement those of continuing trustees. One of the trustees in office is currently a service volunteer within the charity and two are former volunteers.

Under the Articles of Association, trustees are appointed by a majority vote of the members (who are all the current trustees) by ordinary resolution. Each new trustee is interviewed by at least two members of the Nominations Committee (serving trustees) before being recommended for appointment. Following appointment to the Board, each receives all relevant Charity Commission guidance, as well as the most recently published Annual Report, the Board's terms of reference and other management information necessary to exercise fully their governance role. At the time of joining, Board sub-committee trustees receive relevant sub-committee terms of reference. The Leadership Team arranges induction visits to the offices of the charity for new trustees and briefs them about the operation of the charity. A Board equality, diversity and inclusion review took place during the year to ensure our Board continues to be as diverse as possible.

Organisational structure

The charity was established to enable volunteers to provide services to clients. Volunteers are involved as far as is reasonably practical in the daily operations of our service.

As a charity that complies with the charity code of governance, the trustees are responsible for the governance of the charity and for setting its strategic direction, meeting as a Board four times a year as a minimum. The Leadership Team is responsible for the overall management of the charity and reports to the trustees formally as a Board, and more informally as circumstance demands.

A trustee chairs the Service Committee and the Fundraising Committee of the Board, which comprises three trustees, a volunteer representative, the CEO, and the CFOO. A trustee chairs the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee of the Board, which comprises two trustees, the Treasurer, Chair, the CEO, and the CFOO, and scrutinises financial matters, principally regarding risk, control, and policy. The approval and setting of strategic plans and associated budgets are reserved to the full Board.

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Volunteers engaged in the provision of the charity’s services are supported by paid staff. Each service has a dedicated service staff member and some have an additional Volunteer Support Coordinator. We have one satellite service in Southend County and Family Court, which is overseen by a lead volunteer who coordinates the service, with support from the Senior Service Manager at the Chelmsford Service.

Volunteers are encouraged to share their views with their service staff and can email the Leadership Team directly. Volunteers are also formally invited throughout the year to feedback via an annual survey and national meeting with senior charity staff to review plans and share good practice. The charity regularly reviews all governance arrangements.

Related parties and relationships with other organisations

Support Through Court has ongoing relationships across England and Wales with universities and their law clinics, HMCTS, the judiciary and other agencies, including Citizens Advice and other housing and debt advice providers, offering cross referral and support for LiPs.

Fundraising statement

Support Through Court’s fundraising is undertaken by an in-house team of staff and one consultant for a short term contract to organise our 25[th] Gala, who comply with the code of fundraising practice laid out by the fundraising regulator. No street fundraising or telephone fundraising took place. No fundraising complaints were received last year. The charity has a privacy policy and complies with data protection law and has a Donor Policy. Fundraisers do not put undue pressure on individuals (vulnerable or otherwise), are clear in communications about who they are, and are open and honest about the service provided and fundraising activities.

Compliance with statutory requirements

Reference and administrative information set out on page 12 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102. This trustees’ Annual Report includes a directors’ report as required by company law.

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Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees (who are also directors of Support Through Court for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees’ Annual Report 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; 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. In addition, trustees are responsible for feeding into the direction of the charity via our Service Committee, the Audit and Risk Committee, and our Fundraising Committee.

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 on 31 March 2026 was 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 appointed as the charitable company's auditor during the year and has expressed its willingness to continue in that capacity. The trustees’ Annual Report was approved by the trustees on 13 July 2026 and signed on their behalf by

Katherine Milliken

Support Through Court Chair

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Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Support Through Court (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2026 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 2026 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 Support through Court’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, including the strategic 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.

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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, including the strategic 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 including the strategic 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

• 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.

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Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

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

• We enquired of management, 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 non-compliance 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 judgments 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.

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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.

Farrah Kitabi (Senior statutory auditor)

15 July 2026

for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor 110 Golden Lane, LONDON, EC1Y 0TG

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Where to find Support Through Court volunteers

If you’re facing court alone, get in touch by calling our National Helpline, or via a local service.

Support Through Court National Helpline 03000 810 006

A list of our face-to-face services and opening hours can be found on our website: Our locations

Support Through Court . Registered charity No. 1090781 A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales no. 04360133 Registered Office: C/O Sayer Vincent LLP, 110 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TG Principal Office: Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL Tel: [phone] | www.supportthroughcourt.org

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Support Through Court

Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account)

For the year ended 31 March 2026

For theyear ended 31 March 2026
Note Income from: 2 3 4 5a 5a Reconciliation of funds: Net movement in funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward Net movement in funds Total expenditure Charitable activities Local services Investments Total income Expenditure on: National helpline Support Through Court Online Local services Raising funds Other trading activities National helpline Support Through Court Online Donations and legacies Charitable activities	Unrestricted £ 837,715 - - - 28,805 21,683	Restricted £ 18,320 428,292 2,500 92,659 - -	2026 Total £ 856,035 428,292 2,500 92,659 28,805 21,683	Unrestricted £ 758,912 - - - 13,803 21,871	Restricted £ 45,475 404,339 45,500 110,299 - -	2025 Total £ 804,387 404,339 45,500 110,299 13,803 21,871
	888,203	541,771	1,429,974	794,586	605,613	1,400,199
	495,609 182,165 53,241 31,311	18,234 428,378 2,500 92,659	513,843 610,543 55,741 123,970	508,440 157,003 26,154 43,578	55 449,759 45,500 110,299	508,495 606,762 71,654 153,877
	762,326	541,771	1,304,097	735,175	605,613	1,340,788
	125,877 125,877 499,366	- - -	125,877 125,877 499,366	59,411 59,411 439,955	- - -	59,411 59,411 439,955
	625,243	-	625,243	499,366	-	499,366

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in Note 15a to the financial statements.

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Support Through Court

Company no. 04360133

Balance sheet

As at 31 March 2026

Note Fixed assets: Current assets: 11 Liabilities: 12 15a General unrestricted funds Debtors Unrestricted income funds: Designated funds Restricted income funds Cash at bank and in hand Short term deposits Tangible assets The funds of the charity: Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Net current assets Total net assets General funds Total charity funds	£ 44,954 482,337 370,319	2026 £ -	£ 61,484 357,171 331,927	2025 £ -
		- 625,243		- 499,366
	897,610 (272,367)		750,582 (251,216)
	- 625,243		- 499,366
		625,243		499,366
		- 625,243		- 499,366
		625,243		499,366

Approved by the trustees on 13 July 2026 and signed on their behalf by

Katherine Milliken Chair

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Support Through Court

Statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 March 2026

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

Net (expenditure) / income for the reporting period (as per the statement of financial activities) Depreciation charges Dividends, interest and rent from investments Decrease / (increase) in debtors Increase / (decrease) in creditors Net cash (used in) / provided by operating activities Cash at bank and in hand Short term deposits Total cash and cash equivalents Cash flows from operating activities Net cash provided by investing activities Net cash provided by operating activities Cash flows from investing activities: Interest received Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year Analysis of cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year	£ £ 141,875 21,683 21,683 163,558 689,098 852,656 At 1 April 2025 Cash flows £ £ 331,927 38,392 357,171 125,166 2026	£ £ 141,875 21,683 21,683 163,558 689,098 852,656 At 1 April 2025 Cash flows £ £ 331,927 38,392 357,171 125,166 2026	2026 £ 125,877 - (21,683) 16,530 21,151	2025 £ 59,411 - (21,871) (35,843) (55,739)
			141,875	(54,042)
			£ £ (54,042) 21,871 21,871 (32,171) 721,269 689,098 Other changes At 31 March 2026 £ £ - 370,319 - 482,337 2025
	At 1 April 2025 £ 331,927 357,171		Other changes £ - -
		852,656		689,098
		Cash flows £ 38,392 125,166		At 31 March 2026 £ 370,319 482,337
	689,098	163,558	-	852,656

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Support Through Court

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

1 Accounting policies

a) Statutory information

Support Through Court is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in the United Kingdom.

The registered office address is c/o Sayer Vincent LLP, 110 Golden Lane, London EC1Y 0TG

The principal office address is Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL.

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 financial uncertainties that affect the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern.

The ability of the charity to continue in its current shape is dependent on its ability to secure funding. Support Through Court successfully applied for the Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support grant offered by the Access to Justice Foundation which has provided some certainty for the period ending 31 March 2026. The grant was extended for a further period ending September 2026.

This brings a degree of financial certainty, and we are confident that the charity remains a going concern. Nonetheless, plans are in place to deal with any significant losses in income and to mitigate against this key risk, the charity has been taking several steps, including fundraising to increase its non-government income, optimising the use of the funds it has and targeting a level of reserves that the Board believes provides the charity with a suitable breathing period.

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.

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Support Through Court

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

1 Accounting policies (continued)

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.

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 and free office space and utilities provided by the courts are 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 the service, undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs.

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

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Support Through Court

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

1 Accounting policies (continued)

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 head count attributable to each activity.

Local services	54%
National Helpline	6%
Support Through Court Online	6%
Raising Funds	34%

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 £1,000. 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.

Where fixed assets have been revalued, any excess between the revalued amount and the historic cost of the asset will be shown as a revaluation reserve in the balance sheet.

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:

Computer equipment

3 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) Short-term deposits

Short term deposits includes cash balances that are invested in accounts with a maturity date of between 3 and 12 months.

o) 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.

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Support Through Court

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

p) 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.

q) 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.

r) Pensions

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable under the scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the year to which they relate.

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Support Through Court

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

2 Income from donations and legacies

Gifts Grants 3 4 Grants Income from charitable activities Total income from charitable activities Grants from the Ministry of Justice Fundraising Events Income from other trading activities Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support	Unrestricted £ 445,334 392,381	Restricted £ 18,320 -	2026 Total £ 463,654 392,381	Unrestricted £ 413,280 345,632	Restricted £ 45,475 -	2025 Total £ 458,755 345,632
	837,715	18,320	856,035	758,912	45,475	804,387
	Unrestricted £ - -	Restricted £ 225,380 298,071	2026 Total £ 225,380 298,071	Unrestricted £ - -	Restricted £ 266,763 293,375	2025 Total £ 266,763 - 293,375
	-	523,451	523,451	-	560,138	560,138
	Unrestricted £ 28,805	£ - Restricted	2026 Total £ 28,805	Unrestricted £ 13,803	Restricted £ -	2025 Total £ 13,803
	28,805	-	28,805	13,803	-	13,803

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Support Through Court

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

5a Analysis of expenditure (current year)

Salary costs (Note 7) Other staff costs Legal and professional Recruitment costs Fundraising costs Marketing costs IT costs Volunteer costs Office costs Insurance Audit Fees Trustee expenses Support costs Governance costs Total expenditure 2026	Raising funds £ 338,186 1,546 - - 20,344 1,806 603 - - - - -	Local services National Helpline Support Through Court Online Governance costs £ £ £ 334,306 27,666 75,901 14,586 8,069 882 351 - - - - 672 22 22 - - - - - - 889 86 85 - 16,452 223 20,885 - 7,305 133 39 - 2,628 20 - - - - - 320 - - - 12,080 - - - - Charitable activities	Local services National Helpline Support Through Court Online Governance costs £ £ £ 334,306 27,666 75,901 14,586 8,069 882 351 - - - - 672 22 22 - - - - - - 889 86 85 - 16,452 223 20,885 - 7,305 133 39 - 2,628 20 - - - - - 320 - - - 12,080 - - - - Charitable activities	Support costs £ 313,101 2,895 19,868 - - - 78,106 - 727 3,293 - -	2026 Total £ 1,103,746 13,743 20,540 44 20,344 2,866 116,269 7,477 3,375 3,613 12,080 -	2025 Total £ 1,147,048 22,238 10,513 3,826 5,050 595 124,537 7,908 4,002 3,568 11,500 3
		Local services £ 334,306 8,069 - 22 - 889 16,452 7,305 2,628 - - -
	362,485 142,139 9,219	369,671 225,785 15,087	29,032 97,261 27,658 25,033 25,033 - 1,676 1,676 (27,658)	417,990 (417,990) -	1,304,097 - -	1,340,788 - -
	513,843	610,543	55,741 123,970 -	-	1,304,097	1,340,788

32

Support Through Court

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

5b Analysis of expenditure (prior year)

Salary costs (Note 7) Other staff costs Legal and professional Recruitment costs Fundraising costs Marketing costs IT costs Volunteer costs Office costs Depreciation Insurance Audit Fees Trustee expenses Support costs Governance costs Total expenditure 2025	Raising funds £ 327,170 3,709 - - 5,050 595 616 - 120 - - - -	Local services National Helpline Support Through Court Online Governance costs £ £ £ 343,039 33,657 82,627 14,705 6,562 114 391 - - 1,074 3,472 - 373 - 260 586 - - - - - - - - 7,051 10,772 40,996 - 7,805 68 35 - 2,715 3 130 - - - - - - - - 356 - - - 11,500 - - - 3 Charitable activities	Local services National Helpline Support Through Court Online Governance costs £ £ £ 343,039 33,657 82,627 14,705 6,562 114 391 - - 1,074 3,472 - 373 - 260 586 - - - - - - - - 7,051 10,772 40,996 - 7,805 68 35 - 2,715 3 130 - - - - - - - - 356 - - - 11,500 - - - 3 Charitable activities	Support costs 2025 Total £ £ 345,850 1,147,048 11,462 22,238 5,967 10,513 2,607 3,826 - 5,050 - 595 65,102 124,537 - 7,908 1,034 4,002 - - 3,212 3,568 - 11,500 - 3
		Local services £ 343,039 6,562 - 373 - - 7,051 7,805 2,715 - - - -
	337,260 162,185 9,050	367,545 224,407 14,810	45,688 127,911 27,150 24,321 24,321 - 1,645 1,645 (27,150)	435,234 1,340,788 (435,234) - - -
	508,495	606,762	71,654 153,877 -	- 1,340,788

33

Support Through Court

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

6 Net income / (expenditure) for the year

This is stated after charging / (crediting):

This is stated after charging / (crediting):
	2026	2025
	£	£
Depreciation	-	-
Auditor's remuneration (excluding VAT):
Audit	10,500	9,150

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

Staff costs were as follows:

Staff costs were as follows:
Redundancy and termination costs Employer’s contribution to defined contribution pension schemes Social security costs Salaries and wages	2026 £ 911,549 4,314 107,586 80,297	2025 £ 966,001 2,325 94,905 83,817
	1,103,746	1,147,048

The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs and employer's national insurance) during the year between:

		2026	2025
		No.	No.
£60,000	- £69,999	-	-
£70,000	- £79,999	1	-
£80,000	- £89,999	1	2

The total employee benefits (including pension contributions and employer's national insurance) of the key management personnel were £260,262 (2025: £288,164).

The charity Trustees were neither paid nor received any other benefits from employment with the charity in the year (2025: £nil). No charity Trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2025: £nil).

Trustees' expenses represents the payment or reimbursement of travel, subsistence and training costs totalling £nil (2025: £3) incurred by nil (2025: 1) member.

8 Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was 30 (2025: 31.6).

The average number of employees (head count based on equivalent number of full-time staff) during the year was 26.2 (2025: 26.9).

9 Related party transactions

There are no related party transactions to disclose for 2026.

Aggregate donations from related parties were £14,683 (2025: £52,599).

10 Taxation

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

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Support Through Court

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

11 12 13 Balance at the beginning of the year Amount released to income in the year Amount deferred in the year Balance at the end of the year Taxation and social security Deferred income Trade creditors Accruals Deferred income (note 13) Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Debtors Other debtors	2026 £ 44,954	2025 £ 61,484
	44,954	61,484
	2026 £ 20,462 22,027 8,880 220,998	2025 £ 24,785 22,157 13,825 190,449
	272,367	251,216
	2026 £ 190,449 (189,278) 219,827	2025 £ 236,898 (196,189) 149,740
	220,998	190,449

Deferred income comprises of University Partnerships with grants aligning with the academic year, funding for a Volunteer Training and Triage Project and ticket income for the 25th Anniversary gala which will be held in 2026/27.

14a Analysis of net assets between funds (current year)

Analysis of net assets between funds (current year)
Current liabilities Tangible fixed assets Net assets at 31 March 2026 Current assets	General unrestricted £ - 897,610 (272,367)	Designated £ - - -	Restricted £ - - -	Total funds £ - 897,610 (272,367)
	625,243	-	-	625,243

14b Analysis of net assets between funds (prior year)

Net assets at 31 March 2025 Current liabilities Tangible fixed assets Current assets	General unrestricted £ - 703,391 (204,025)	Designated £ - - -	Restricted £ - 47,191 (47,191)	Total funds £ - 750,582 (251,216)
	499,366	-	-	499,366

35

Support Through Court

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

15a Movements in funds (current year)

Birmingham Caerdydd/ Cardiff Chelmsford/ Southend Leeds Liverpool London Services: Central Family Court Royal Courts of Justice Total restricted funds General funds Total funds Total unrestricted funds Manchester Sheffield Nottingham Support Through Court Online Local services Unrestricted funds: Other funds National Helpline Restricted funds:	At 1 April 2025 £ - - - - - - - - - - - -	Income & gains £ 2,500 92,659 54,943 58,717 40,759 37,259 45,759 56,426 57,228 71,287 - 6,000 18,234	Expenditure & losses £ (2,500) (92,659) - - (54,943) (58,717) (40,759) (37,259) (45,759) - (56,426) (57,228) (71,287) - (6,000) - (18,234)	Transfers £ - - - - - - - - - - - - -	At 31 March 2026 £ - - - - - - - - - - - - -
	-	541,771	(541,771)	-	-
	499,366	888,203	(762,326)	-	625,243
	499,366	888,203	(762,326)	-	625,243
	499,366	1,429,974	(1,304,097)	-	625,243

36

Support Through Court

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 March 2026

15b Movements in funds (prior year)

Birmingham Caerdydd/ Cardiff Chelmsford/ Southend Leeds Liverpool London Services: Central Family Court Royal Courts of Justice Total restricted funds General funds Support Through Court Online Unrestricted funds: National helpline Restricted funds: Total funds Local services Sheffield Manchester Nottingham Total unrestricted funds Other funds	At 1 April 2024 £ - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Income & gains £ 45,500 110,299 67,797 58,290 59,647 52,101 54,715 42,013 46,314 57,202 4,180 7,500 55	Expenditure & losses £ (45,500) (110,299) (67,797) (58,290) (59,647) (52,101) (54,715) (42,013) (46,314) (57,202) (4,180) (7,500) (55)	Transfers £ - - - - - - - - - - - - -	At 30 March 2025 £ - - - - - - - - - - - - -
	-	605,613	(605,613)	-	-
	439,955	794,586	(735,175)	-	499,366
	439,955	794,586	(735,175)	-	499,366
	439,955	1,400,199	(1,340,788)	-	499,366

Restricted funds have been restricted for use in specific geographical service locations, as shown above.

The National Helpline provides support to people across England and Wales via a central telephone service.

Support Through Court Online provides support to people across England and Wales who are unable to access a local service, via remote appointments (usually by video call).

Other service and other funds cover expenditure on budget relieving gifts in kind and funding for a new client management system implemented in the year.

16 Legal status of the charity

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.

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