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2023-03-31-accounts

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES’ REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Charity number: 1091539

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES CONTENTS

Page
Legal and administrative information 1
Report of the trustees 2
Report of the independent examiner 8
Financial statements:
Statement of financial activities 9
Balance sheet 10
Notes to the financial statements 12

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

CONSTITUTION

Surrey Family & Mediation Services (SF&MS) is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The Charity number is 1091539. The Company number is 4363273.

DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES

The Directors of the charitable company are its Trustees for the purposes of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the Trustees. The trustees serving during the year and since the year-end were as follows:

Chair:

Mr Francis Preedy - Chair of Trustees from December 2022 Ms Samantha Singer – Chair of Trustees from January 2022 to December 2022

Current trustees:

Mr Francis Preedy Mr David Brooks Ms Jane Olsen Ms Cate Hedges-Grimshaw – appointed February 2024

Resignations:

Ms Emily Centeno – resigned September 2022 Ms Samantha Singer – resigned January 2023

SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

Mr Craig Brookes – Director, Professional Practice Consultant, Company Secretary – role eliminated June 2023

Ms Tamsin Remnant – Service Manager, Company Secretary – from July 2023

REGISTERED OFFICE

Room F, Guildford Institute, Ward Street, Guildford, GU1 4LH

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Mark Greeve Accountants247 Limited, The Heath Business and Technical Park, Block 5, Room 5172, Runcorn Cheshire, WA7 4QX

BANKERS

Barclays Bank plc, Dorking RH4 1AN

1

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

The Board presents the Trustees’ Report, incorporating the Directors’ Report, and Financial Statements of the Surrey Family & Mediation Services (SF&MS) for the year ended 31 March 2023. The statements appear in the format required by the Statement of Recommended Practice for Accounting and Reporting by Charities (FRS 102) Second Edition, October 2019. The Report and Statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011.

1. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing Document

Surrey Family & Mediation Services is a company limited by guarantee, having no share capital, governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 25 November 2013. The liability of the members, who are the Trustees, is limited to £10 in the event of the charity winding up. It is registered as a Charity with the Charity Commission.

Appointment of Trustees

As set out in the Articles of Association the minimum number of Trustees is three and there is no upper limit. Membership is open to any person, corporate body or unincorporated association that is interested in furthering the work of the Charity and is in agreement with the aims and objectives of the Charity. Trustees are required to retire by rotation every three years, and can stand for re-election if they so wish.

Organisation

The Board of Trustees, who administer the charity, meet formally on at least a quarterly basis. A director managed the day-to-day operations of the Charity up to June 2024. Following a restructuring, the role of Director was removed, and the Service Manager now manages the day-to-day operations of the Charity and works with the Board to agree strategy. To facilitate effective operations the Service Manager has delegated authority, within the terms of the delegation approved by the Trustees, for operational matters including finance, employment and practitioner related issues

People Engagement

The charity continues to explore networks across both the public, private and charity sector in order to identify mutually beneficial opportunities.

The people within the organisation are paramount to its success. The Board of Trustees provides support and guidance to the Service Manager in the restructured organization.

Related Parties

SF&MS is an independent organisation. However, it is affiliated to The College of Mediators, a membership, standards and training organisation for mediators. SF&MS pays affiliation fees to The College, which provides support services through a national training programme for family mediators and taking a lead in practice matters through its Professional Practice Committee. The CEO of The College also operates at a national level in promoting the interests of family mediation and also lobbies government departments on behalf of College of Mediators members.

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SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

2. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES (STATEMENT OF COMMON PURPOSE)

The objects of the Charity are:

The Charity aims to work with families to resolve issues around separation and divorce, with a particular emphasis on the children of couples going through the process.

The strategies employed by the Charity to achieve its objectives are to:

The two main areas of activity of the Charity continue to be:

3

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

Child and Education Services

SF&MS works to offer mediation across the generations, including disputes between children and parents, parents and grandparents and other familial relationships.

Information courses and presentations are offered to CAB staff and volunteers to ensure that they are able to inform their clients of the benefits of mediation and regarding the continued availability of legal aid.

Public Benefit.

SF&MS operates exclusively in areas of benefit to the public. We provide the public with access to the most economic, quick and least hostile method by which to obtain professional assistance in formalising a divorce or separation. Mediation has been found on average to lower the amount of conflict between separated parents which has clear and demonstrable benefits for children. Legally aided and subsidised mediation provides access to professional assistance and guidance to the most disadvantaged and economically vulnerable clients in society.

The Trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.

3. ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Service Performance

The Covid 19 pandemic required a transition from an almost exclusively face to face service to an exclusively remote service The service has remained primarily a remote service, based primarily on client preference.

Mediation/ Legal Aid Assistance (LAA)

The number of couples either referred by their solicitor or self-referring to the charity in the year to March 2023 was 483 reflecting a 7% decrease on the previous year (2022: 521).

During the year 386 Mediation Information Assessment Meetings (MIAMs) were conducted from which 169 cases proceeded to mediate. We also closed 87 cases during the financial year that began prior to April 2022. In the year ending March 2022 we conducted 326 MIAMs and 111 cases went to mediation.

The Trustees remain committed to offering mediation free at the point of delivery for those unable to access it in any other way, despite the administrative costs involved.

Concerns remain regarding the legislation implemented in 2013 that sought to encourage couples in dispute to seek mediation rather than go to court. Regrettably direct applications (C100’s) to the courts have remained high. However, the current government has stated that they regard mediation as being the most appropriate form of support for separated parents and that the vast majority of cases that are absent domestic abuse should be dealt with there, rather than court. The family courts have published several judgements in the last two years which make it clear that in financial remedy cases litigants are expected to negotiate openly and in good faith both prior to and during litigation and that failure to do so will begin to attract punitive costs orders. In addition, the government is planning to make mediation compulsory prior to court, rather than just attending a MIAM. It is therefore reasonable to anticipate a rise in

4

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

mediation referrals as the court system becomes more risky and costly to access. The regulatory body, the Family Mediation Council, have also released new guidance that there is now an expectation that the other party will be invited to attend a MIAM, except in cases of domestic abuse. Clients are expected to provide a sufficient reason if they do not wish the other party to be invited. This is to further encourage clients to communicate together and avoid court proceedings, thus encouraging a rise in mediation.

Of the cases that were closed in this financial year in which both parties attend a Mediation Information Assessment Meeting (MIAM), 60% progressed to full mediation reflecting an absolute reduction of 18% (2022: 78%). Of those, 57% achieved success, being defined as clients having reached agreement on child cases or a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Open Financial Statement (OFS) in property and finance or all issues mediation. This is a total of 96 successful outcomes reflecting an absolute increase of 9% (2022: 48%).

A total of 210 legally aided MIAM meetings were conducted across the year and the service closed 34 mediated cases during the year which were fully or partially funded through legal aid during the financial year.

SF&MS places children at the heart of its service offering. It continues to provide Child Inclusive Mediation free of charge for legal aid cases as a reflection of its commitment. It is a powerful tool to focus the parents on their children’s needs which can get lost in the stress of separation.

Grant funding

During the year the service worked hard to identify and secure grants for core funding and for developing additional services. The Charity remains reliant on grant funding for its long term financial sustainability.

4. FINANCIAL REVIEW

The results for the year and financial position of the Charity are shown in the annexed statements .

In the year ending 31 March 2023 the charity generated a deficit of £1,731 (2022: deficit of £1,731). Income from charitable activities was £101,502, an decrease from the previous year, when income was £101,502. Total expenditure was £3,677 higher at £119,233 (2022: £119,233). These financial results reduced the total charity funds to £16,340 at 31 March 2023 (31 March 2022: £52,981).

With limited expectations of grants being received in the following year and ongoing monthly losses, the Board of Trustees was forced to take action to preserve the Charity’s financial sustainability through a reduction of the cost base. In June 2023, the Charity was restructured with the role of Director being eliminated. The resulting ongoing structural cost savings, together with targeted income from Charitable Activities of at least £100,000 for the year ended 31 March 2024 - that is, close to the levels seen in the year ended 31 March 2022 - mean that the expectation is that the Charity will continue to make a modest profit going forward. The Charity has started to rebuild reserves following the restructuring and renewed efforts are also being made to secure new grant funds.

The current reserves policy is to retain sufficient reserves to cover insolvency costs plus 12 weeks of operating costs. At the end of February 2024, this minimum level of reserves was met.

A risk register is regularly reviewed by the Board of Trustees. This covers the areas of Governance/Regulatory, Financial and Operational matters. A RAG approach (red, amber, green) is used against the criteria of ‘likelihood’ and ‘impact’ of any individual item, be that a Risk that requires active

5

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

monitoring or an Issue that requires direct action. Key risks include strong reliance on the Service Manager and the risk of experienced mediators leaving.

5. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

Service Development

Work on a Preparation for Separation course was unfortunately ended in December 2022, due to lack of interest and a highly competitive market, and prioritising the Charity’s other activities. The service is investigating the possibility in the longer term of becoming a separation “hub”, combining its service with other services in the community that provide help with parenting skills, money management and other legal and financial matters. In addition, the service is exploring opportunities that provide clients access to solicitors who can draft their financial consent orders, Arbitrators / Arbitration, as well as providing access to neutral legal evaluations of their issues in property and finance cases.

Infrastructure

The Service and its clients have benefitted from changes made during the financial year of 2021/2022, which has provided a simple and secure way for clients to provide and receive information. Mediators and administrators communicate via the secure server and cloud-based system, depleting the need for information to be transferred via email.

Marketing/Fundraising

The service spent the last few years focusing on the utilisation of the website and an effective Google Ads campaign to generate work. This will continue in the coming year, but this will be alongside a renewed focus in creating networks of mutually referring organisations. The service will seek to renew and develop relationships with family solicitors, citizen’s advice bureaux and local community hubs, who can refer appropriate cases to the service in return for the same from the service.

Arbitration / hybrid mediation models.

The charity will look to signpost appropriate cases to arbitration and hybrid mediation processes. Changes in access to and cost of the family court and, in some cases, the limitations of mediation mean that separating/ separated families will benefit from a greater range of options that could help resolve their issues.

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SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES IN RELATION TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES)

The charitable company’s trustees (who are also the directors of Surrey Family & Mediation Services for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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

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

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.

Accountants 24/7 Ltd. have indicated their willingness to be appointed as Independent Examiners for the forthcoming year.

This Trustees’ Report is approved by the trustees on

14 March 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

Francis Preedy Chair

Francis Preedy

David Brooks Finance Trustee

David Brooks

7

INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of Surrey Family & Mediation Services (‘the Company’) for the year ended 31 March 2023

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity’s trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act”). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act .

Independent examiner’s statement

I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Mark Greeve Accountants 247 Limited Member of Institute of Chartered Accountants The Heath Business and in England and Wales Technical Park Block 5 Room 5172 Runcorn Mark Greeve Cheshire WA7 4QX

Dated: 14 March 2024

8

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

Surrey Family & Mediation Services

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES for the year ended 31 March 2023

Notes
Income from:
Donations and legacies
2(a)
Charitable activities
2(b)
Other trading activities
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising Funds and Marketing
3(a)
Charitable Activities
3(b)
Support Costs
3(c)
Total expenditure
Transfer of funds
Net movement in funds
Funds brought forward at 1 April
Funds carried forward at 31 March		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total
2023
£
Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total
2022
£
5,000
-
5,000
10,000
6,000
16,000
87,570
-
87,570
101,502
-
101,502
-
-
-
-
-
-
92,570
-
92,570
111,502
6,000
117,502
8,938
-
8,938
7,574
-
7,574
32,312
-
32,312
37,965
-
37,965
85,016
2,945
87,961
69,999
3,695
73,694
126,266
2,925
129,211
115,538
3,695
119,233
5,315
(5,315)
(28,381)
(8,260)
(35,641)
(4,036)
2,305
(1,731)
44,721
8,260
52,981
48,757
5,955
54,712
16,340
-
16,340
44,721
8,260
52,981

All income arises from the continuing activities of the charity. The charity had no recognised gains or losses other than those dealt with in the Statement of Financial Activities. The notes on pages 12 to 20 form part of these accounts

9

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

Surrey Family & Mediation Services

BALANCE SHEET

31 March 2023

Fixed assets
Notes
Tangible fixed assets
5
Debtors
6
Cash at bank and in hand
Total current assets
Liabilities: amounts falling due within one year
Creditors
7
Net current assets
Liabilities: amounts falling due after one year
Creditors
Net assets
8
Funds
Unrestricted reserves
Restricted reserves
Total charity funds
9		 2023
£
2022
£
174
692
-
9,153
23,528
54,642
23,528
63,795
(7,362)
(11,506)
16,166
52,289
-
-
16,340
52,981
16,340
44,721
-
8,260
16,340
52,981

10

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

/

The company was entitled to exemption from audit under s477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to small companies subject to the small companies regime and in accordance with FRS 102 SORP.

Approved by the trustees on 14 March 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

Francis Preedy

Francis Preedy Chair

David Brooks

David Brooks Finance Trustee

11

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

Basis of preparation

These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with:

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

Going concern

At the time the accounts were approved, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources in order to continue for the foreseeable future. Whilst the charity has made operating losses the Charity was restructured in June 2023 with the elimination of the role of director, which has reduced the cost base. With recovery of income levels closer to previous years, this allows the charity to operate at a surplus. The reserves policy is to hold sufficient reserves to cover solvency costs plus 12 weeks operating costs. The charity funds are currently above this level. Accordingly, the going concern basis of accounting has been used to prepare these accounts.

12

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

Funds

Unrestricted funds represent the funds of the charity that are not subject to any restrictions regarding their use and are available for application on the general purposes of the charity

Restricted funds are those monies received by the charity which have been given for a particular purpose, for example the Big Lottery Fund Grant.

Income

Recognition of income

These are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when:

Grants and Donations

Grants and donations are only included in the SoFA when the general income recognition criteria are met (5.10 to 5.12 FRS 102 SORP).

In the case of performance related grants, income must only be recognised to the extent that the charity has provided the specified goods or services as entitlement to the grant only occurs when the performance related conditions are met (5.16 FRS 102 SORP).

Volunteer help

The value of any voluntary help received is not included in the accounts but is described in the trustees’ annual report.

Income from interest

This is included in the accounts when receipt is probable and the amount receivable can be measured reliably.

Expenditure and Liabilities

Expenditure is accrued as soon as a liability is incurred.

Expenditure is categorised between Charity Costs, being costs directly attributable to provision of specific mediation activity, Fundraising and Marketing Costs, and Support Costs. Given the small size and complexity of the charity, Charity Costs are not allocated across income streams. Also, there is no attribution of Support Costs to activities, albeit these directly support the charity’s activities.

Assets and Liabilities

Fixed Assets

Only assets obtained under the Awards for All Scheme or of a high value are capitalised. They are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the

13

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

cost of fixed assets, less their estimated residual value, over their expected useful lives on the following basis:

Office fixtures & fittings 25% straight line Computers 33% straight line

Debtors

Debtors are included at the amount due. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid.

Cash at Bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and instant access bank accounts.

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation arising 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 recognised at their settlement amount.

Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and 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.

2. INCOME

Total Funds

2023 2022
£ £
(a) Donations and legacies
Donations and gifts - -
Grants 5,000 16,000
Other income from donors - -
5,000 16,000
Of which: restricted grants - 6,000
(b) Charitable activities
Legal Aid Agency contract 21,442 25,990
Client fees 65,461 75,512
Other Income 667 -
87,571 101,502

14

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

3. Grants received
Unrestricted
Kelly Family Grant
Henry Smith
Total
Restricted – Preparation for Separation
Community Foundation for Surrey
Total Restricted
Total grants received
EXPENDITURE
Expenditure
Charity costs
Mediation costs
Mediator supervision
Mediation room hire
Fundraising and Marketing
Support costs
Staff
Staff costs
Temporary staff / consultancy
Other direct costs
Insurance and fees
Travel and accommodation		 2023
£
2022
£
5,000
-
-
10,000
5,000
10,000
-
6,000
-
6,000
5,000
16,000
2023
2022
£
£
28,396
34,346
2,078
1,356
1,838
2,263
32,312
37,965
8,938
7,574
63,780
56,197
-
1,000
63,780
57,197
2,104
1,584
90
122		 2023
£
2022
£
5,000
-
-
10,000
5,000
10,000
-
6,000
-
6,000
5,000
16,000
2023
2022
£
£
28,396
34,346
2,078
1,356
1,838
2,263
32,312
37,965
8,938
7,574
63,780
56,197
-
1,000
63,780
57,197
2,104
1,584
90
122
32,312
37,965
8,938
7,574
63,780
56,197
-
1,000
63,780
57,197
2,104
1,584
90
122

15

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

Telephone and mobile 1,045 1,218
3,239 2,924
Administrative costs
Office rent 1,476 5,310
Accounting costs 950 3,000
IT costs 14,245 3,566
Bank charges 659 237
Other costs 3,094 941
Depreciation 518 519
20,942 13,573
Total Support costs 87,961 73,694
Total expenditure 129,211 119,233
Attributed to:
Unrestricted funds 126,266 115,538
Restricted funds 2,945 3,695
4. STAFF COSTS
2023 2022
£ £
Staff salaries and social security costs 63,120 55,250
Pension costs (defined contribution pension plan) 660 947
Freelance mediators 28,396 34,346
Staff recruitment - -
Other staff costs / consultancy - 1,000
92,176 91,543
2023 2022
Average number of employees during the year: 4 4
Full-time equivalent 3 3
Average number of freelance mediators (all part-time) 6 5
Average number of volunteers (all part-time) excluding trustees 0 0

Staff salaries and social security costs reflect employer support allowance receivable of £5,000, that has reduced payroll costs in the financial results for the financial year to 31 March 2023.

16

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

No employees received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) for the reporting period of more than £60,000.

Payments, excluding reimbursement of expenses incurred on charitable business, made to trustees who comprise the Key Management Personnel in the year were £NIL (2022: £Nil).

5. FIXED ASSETS

Tangible fixed assets for use by
the charity
Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2022
Additions/(Disposals)
Write offs
At 31 March 2023
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023
Charge for the year
Write offs
At 31 March 2023
Net book Value
At 31 March 2023
At 31 March 2022
6.
DEBTORS
Trade debtors
Other debtors & prepayments
Deposit on lease		 Computer
Equipment
£
1,556
-
-
1,556
864
518
-
1,382
174
692
2023
£
2022
£
-
3,968
-
3,937
-
1,248
-
9,153

17

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

7.
LIABILITIES: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN
ONE YEAR
Trade creditors
Other taxes & social security costs
Accruals and Deferred Income
8.
ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS
BY FUND
Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Assets
23,702
-
Liabilities
(7,362)
8,080
-		 7.
LIABILITIES: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN
ONE YEAR
Trade creditors
Other taxes & social security costs
Accruals and Deferred Income
8.
ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS
BY FUND
Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Assets
23,702
-
Liabilities
(7,362)
8,080
-		 2023
£
-
5,362
2,000
7,362
Total
2023
£
23,702
(7,362)		 2022
£
3,317
4,013
4,176
11,506
Total
2022
£
64,487
(11,506)
52,981
8,080
-		 16,340

18

SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

9. CHANGES IN FUNDS

2023
Funds:
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total Funds
2021
Funds:
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total Funds		 Bal b/fwd
1 Apr 2022
£
44,721
8,260		 Income
£
Expenditure
£
Transfers
£
Bal c/fwd
31 Mar
2023
£
92,570
(126,266)
5,315
16,340
-
(2,945)
(5,315)
-
92,570
(129,211)
-
16,340
Income
£
Expenditure
£
Transfers
£
Bal c/fwd
31 Mar
2022
£
111,502
(115,538)
-
44,721
6,000
(3,695)
-
8,260
117,502
(119,233)
-
52,981
52,981
Bal b/fwd
1 Apr 2021
£
48,757
5,955
54,712

Of the £8,260 restricted funds as at 31 March 2022, £5,315 related to development of a Preparation for Separation course and £2,945 related to funds earmarked for development of IT infrastructure. The funds related to the development of a Preparation for Separation course were transferred to unrestricted funds during the year to 31 March 2023, and the funds earmarked for development of IT infrastructure were being utilised for IT expenditure during the year to 31 March 2023.

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SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

10. CASHFLOW

Net income/(expenditure)
Add back depreciation
Investment in fixed assets
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
(Decrease)/increase in creditors
Net increase/(decrease) in cash equivalents
Opening cash at bank and in hand
Closing cash at bank and in hand		 2023
£
2022
£
(36,641)
(1,731)
518
519
-
-
9,153
(3,358)
(4,144)
(6,096)
(31,114)
(10,666)
54,642
65,308
23,528
54,462

11. FEES FOR EXAMINATION OF THE ACCOUNTS

The Independent examiner’s fee for examination of the accounts was £1,000.

12. TAXATION

The charity is a registered charity and as such its income and gains falling within Sections 471 to 489 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 are exempt from corporation tax to the extent that they are applied to its charitable objects.

13. COMMITMENTS

There were no capital commitments at 31 March 2023 (2022: Nil).

14. TRUSTEES AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

No trustee expenses were incurred in 2023 (2022: Nil)

Trustees are considered to be related parties. None of the trustees have received any remuneration or received any other benefits from an employment with Surrey Family & Mediation Services or any other related entity. There have been no related party transactions in the period.

Trustees and individual liability insurance is covered under the Public Liability section of our charity’s insurance.

15. DEFINED CONTRIBUTION SCHEME

Surrey Family & Mediation Services operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund. The pension cost and charge represent contributions payable by the charity to the fund or to separate schemes in which employees are members and amounted to £660 (2022: £947).

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SURREY FAMILY & MEDIATION SERVICES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

16. POST BALANCE SHEET EVENT - CONTINGENT LIABILITY

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) informed the Charity on 11 March 2024 that as a result of issues picked up in an audit of legal aid implementation in October 2023, due to breaches in the 2018 Standard Civil Contract Standard Terms there was extremely likely to be a very large deficit to the LAA following all of the necessary recoupment action. This relates to Legal Aid files claimed during the period February 2022 to October 2023 when digital signatures were obtained but in a way that was routinely non-compliant with the strict Legal Aid requirements, and a loss of data due to an IT issue when migrating to a cloud server that affected all files opened between the period January to July 2022 which have been billed. Under the strict terms of the Legal Aid contract approximately £40,000 of Legal Aid income during the affected periods, could potentially be fully clawed back by the LAA. This would result in the insolvency of the Charity.

SF&MS considers that the way that digital signatures were obtained as part of the COVID transition to remote working whilst being a technical breach, did not change the fundamental delivery of high quality legally-aided mediation to eligible individuals. Additionally, efforts are being made to recover the historic IT records that were not successfully migrated to the cloud based system. As such, the Trustees and Management currently expect that the recouping of income by the LAA can be limited to a small proportion of the total income involved, reflecting the administrative nature of the breaches and ensuring that SF&MS remains solvent and a continued provider of legal aid to our most vulnerable clients.

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