Asylum Welcome (A company limited by guarantee) Report and Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2021 Charity no: 1092265 Company no: 4361627 Contents Legal and administrative information Report of th¢ trustees Report of the Tndependent Examiner Statement of financial activitie5 Balance sheet Notes forning part of the financial statements Pagel 2 Asylum Welcome Anntlal Reportyearto 31 March 2021 ompany No: 43616271 Charity No.. 1092265 Legal and administrative inforn]ation Charity Name and Number Asylum Welcome Registered Chartty number. 1092265 Registered as a Company limited by guarantee. number. 4361627 Tru5tee5: Linda Bond (Elected September 2020) Susan Ni Chriodain (Re-elected September 2020) Abdoul Ma Diallo (Elected September 2020) Thomas Espley (Elected 2019. Treasurer) Valerie Johnson (Elected 2019, Cwhair) Lucy Keating (co￿pted October 2020) Dr Ttna Leonard (Re*lected September 2020) Dr David Levy (Co-opted October 2020) Clare Miller (Elected 2019) Anthony Samuel (Rethelected 2019, C¢Rhair) Marcus Thompson MBE (Resigned September 2020) Chief Exeeutivel Director Kate Smart (Resigned 31 March 2020) Mark Goldring CBE (Appointed 21 April 2020) Registered Office Unit 7 Newtec Plac< Magdalen Road, Oxford OX4 IRE Auditorsl Independent Examiners CritchIeys Audit LLP. Beaver Hous4 13-28 Hythe Bridge SL, Oxft>rd OXI 2EP Bankers The Cooperative Bank plc, PO Box 250. Skclm¢rsdal¢, WN8 6wr CAF Bank Ltd., Kings Hill, West Mallin& Kent ME19 4TA Page13 Asylum Welcome Annual ReportYearto31 March 2021 Cofflpary No.. 4361627ICharityNo: 1092265 Report of the Trustees For the year ended 31 March 2021 The Trustees are pleased to present their report together with the fmancial Stat￿nents of thc charity for the year ended 31 March 2021. The legal and administrative inforniation set out on page l. above. fornis part of this ￿port. The financial statements comply wlth current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and the Statement of Recommended Prd¢tice- Accounting and Reporting by Charities. Aim$ and Objeets The Charity's objects are to provide charilable a&sistancc, operating prin¢ipally from OxfoTdshir4 for the relief of poverty, sickness and distress and for educational purposes. for the benefjt of asylum seekers, refugees and vulnerable migrdnts who have a humanitarian n¢ed for assistance in the UK. includiDg those detsined within the legal or penal system. The charity secured approvaL firstly at tts AGM in September 2020. and subsequently from both The Charity Commission and Companies House in O¢tober 2020. to amend its objects to more accurately reflect its growing wotk with 'vulnerabl¢ migrants who have a humanitarian need for assistance in the UK including those detained within the legal or penal system.. This broader scope followed the closure of Campsfield House in December 2018, the commencement in autumn 2019 of a trial support programme at Huntercombe Prlson in Oxfordsh2re (exclusively holding foreign nalional menx Asylum Welcome's Europa Welcome programme, impl¢m¢niing the European Settlement Scheme (EUSS) for EU citizens with settled or pre-settled status in the UK. and a growing ¢aseload with the onset of Covid-19 in March 2020. We saw a steep rise in demand for hwnanitarian support amongst vulnerable migrants in Oxfordsliire facing unpreced¢ntrd new challenges. in addition to their ongoing concerns about status. access to housin& health services etc. The charity ¢xpresses its W￿10￿ Mission and Values as follows: Our VISIOD Asylum Seekers. refugees and vulnerable migrants who have a humanitarian need for assistance in the UK. including those detained within the legal or penal system. feel welcome, safe and ¢onfident as members of a caring community. They live in dignity with hope for the futur¢: they can exercise their rights and have their cases fairly considerf they can access services to meet their need& and they have opp)rtunities to share their talents and achieve their aspirations. Ollr mlsslon Asylum Welcome welcomes, advises and emp)wers asylum seeker4 refugees and migrdnts so that they find safety and can ihrive in Oxford and Oxfordshire. Page14 A5￿uM Wekthne Amnual ReportYearto31 Marth 2021 Company No: 43616271 Charity No: 1092265 Our values Common humanlty: We are all one people. part of a local and a global community Social justice: A fair and compassionate society provides righls and opportunities for all people Voluntary action: Through enabling volunteers to give their time generously to help other much can be achieved Structure, Governance And Management Asylum Welcome is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association, established on 28 January 2002. The directors of the charitable company ('*he charity") are it5 trustees for the purposes of charity law, And throughout this report are collectively referred to as the "trustees" As set out in the Articlcs of Association, th¢ memberb of the charitablc company who aLlend the Annual General Meeling elect the trustees. The Board of Trustees (the Board) goverJJs the charity, and consists of between 6 and 12 trustccs, clcctcd, nonnally for a Ihree-year tern], by the Members al the Annual General Meeting ("AGM"). In addition to the elected trustees, the Board may co-opt up to three more between AGMS. At the AGM each year. one tliird of the elected trustees retire and they may offcr themsclves for r¢-eleclion. 1'h¢ Board must hold at l¢ast th￿¢ m¢ctings ca¢h ycar, but in practice the Board m¢els at least six times & year. A Director is &ppoinled by the Board io managc Ihc day-lo-day operation of thc charity, and to lead the staff team and the volunlccr5. The Director has dclegated authority, wiil)in ihe ternis of thc delegation appointed by the Board. for operational matters including financ employment and asylum and refugee ￿lated issues. During 2020121 the Board were delighted to appoint Mark Goldring CBE &s the cliarity's new Director (replacing Kate Smart who resigned after 7 years of valuable work in March 2020). Mark brlngs a wealth of senior management experience in the charity sector, having been CEO of Oxfam, VSO and Mencap amongst oiher roles in his career. Th¢ Direclor leads a team of staff mostly part-time, who in turn work wlth volunteers to deliver the service5 of the charity. In 2020121 staff numbers increased to meet the needs of a growing number of clients during the Covid-19 pandemic, and reflecting additional income from funders who came forward with ¢m¢rg¢ncy funding to charities like ours dealing with the devastating impact of the pandemic. In 2020121 thc Board also expanded the number of trustees, having experienced a number of resignations during 2019120. We had ten trustees at the end of 2020121, (including 2 who have been co-opted). M05t of these Irustee5 have been in p05t for 2-3 year5, With 2 trustees approaching 6 y¢ars on the Board. I'his has PTovided valuable consistency at a time when many new staff have joined the charity. Th¢ BDard of Trustees welcome5 enquiries from prospective trustees and seeks appropriately experienced and skilled people to replace those retiring. We liave a particular aim to recruit more trustees with lived experience as refugees or asylum seekers. This is a priority for the Page15 Asylum WelrorneAnnual Repgrt Yearto 31 M¥(h 2021 Company No.. 4361627ICharlty No: 1092265 Board, and whilst we Iiave made some progress during 2020121, it remains an important priority for future recruitment. Board members meet prospective trustees and recommend them to Ilie meinbersliip for election at tlie AGM. Ncw trustee5 undergo an orientation to acquaint them with the activities of the charity, 8Dd to brief them on their legal obligations under charity and company law. During this indu¢tion they meet staff members and other trustees. Trustees are encouraged to attend appropriate training events, including induction sessions for other volunteers, and training scs5ions for volunteers in the different services, to develop tl)eir understanding of asylum issues and Asylum Welcome's responsc to them. An inventory of the trustees, skills and experience is maintained, and guides the search for new trustees. The Board appoints a Finance Committee of 34 trustees, chaired by the Treasurer, with the Director and Finance Manager in attendance. A similar Peopl¢ and Governance Committee oversees th05c areas. Other 'ad Iioc, groups of trustees meet to advise the Board or Director on particular governance issues, depending on their skills and experience. These committecs are generally delegated to deliberate and forniulate proposals lo b¢ agreed by the Board. The Director nom]ally attends Board meetings In an exe¢utive/advisory capacity. The aelivilies of ihe charity are guided by thc Strategic Plan (2020-2023) agreed by trustees. and which is th¢ framework for ihe report on the charity's a¢ilviil¢s, below. Asylum Wclcome staff, volunteers and trustees aitend and contribute to local and national events, and work witli local people to organise evcnts to publicise the ¢harity's work and seek support. Asylum Welcome works in coopcralion with statutory services such as the E-lomc Office, th¢ local authoritics, health services and voluntary organisations such as Sanctuury Hosting, Refugee Resource, CItiTcn8 Advice Bur¢au and thc Britisli Red Cross to promote tlie well-being of re￿ge¢S and asylum-seckcrs (a full list of partners is included later In this report). Asylum Welcome is cominittcd to cnabling ihe voices of refugees to be heard and hclping them make use of thcir talents. Asylum Welcom¢ seeks to lead by example - helping rcfug¢cs to participatc in all aspects of runnxng the charity, according to their abiliti¢s and inler¢sts. In 2020121 our staff incliided 4 refugees, and we conlinued to in¢rease the number oftalented asylum seekers and refugees as volunteers and membcrs of the organisation. Asylum Welcome Continues to seek the participation of service-users and other refugees in the ¢h8rity's planning processes, inoluding feedback mechanisms to gather indlvidual views, annual surveys, focus group discussions with servicc users and consultation with refugee community leaders, all contributing to the planninu of services. During 2020121 we conducted a wide range of discussions with clients, staff and volunteers to refine our Slrategy still further and concentrate our work and investment where In05t needed. Mark, as Director, has mad¢ it a central fealure of his rolc to engage widely through the pandemic with clients, staff and volunteers, as well as external fund¢rs and partners, to ensure we are relevant and aligned Closely with our key stakeholders. The Board fully endorses this approach. Finally) Wlth everyone having faced huge disruption to their lives and work in 2020121 due to the pandemic, the Board of Trustees want to put on record our enonnous gratitude to the Page | 6 Asyltsm Welcoine Annual Reportyearto 31 Mar¢h 2021 Company No.. 43516271ch4rfty No.. 1092265 Direclor. the newly-formed SenTor Management Team, and all staff and volunteers who have worked tirelessly to maintain services even during lockdown. In this most challenging year we have managed to increase the amount of support that we have given to those needing our help. It is a testament to everyone's Commitment and dedication to this charity. 202012021 The year in perspective Along with our clients and almost every organisation. family and individual, Asylum Welcome's year was dominated by adapting and r¢sponding to Covid-19. While all sections of society were affected. it was inevitable that those with insecure status, housing, employment and finances were particularly vulnerable, and this meant our clients: refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants. Asylum Welcome is proud to have continued to support our cli¢nts without a bTeak right through tlie year. Wliile our offices were closed for just a few weeks in March- ApTiI 2020. vsrtual support for the most urgent cases continued right thmugh, and a more Systematic way of responding was quickly established. This meant virtual meetings wherever possible, but a skeleton staff ¢oiitinued working from the office to meet those clients for whom a combination of traum4 language, connectivity and urgency rneant that face-to-face contact was essential. We had to adapt and invest to make services work effectively. Our own technological limitations meant that it was initially hard for volunteers and somc staff to access the database and pmperly support clients. We have upgraded our IT systems so that this is no longer a constraint for our major services. This has enabled us to record th¢ services provided to Clients mor¢ accurately, to facilitate further activities and case work more efficiently, and also to produce better quality reports. Our offices were already overcrowded before lockdown. so we quickly rented additional space to allow us to see clients in person more safely. Many volunteers were shielding and so we increased staff5ng to ensure we could continue to run services effectively. Covid and international travel re5triction5 meant that fewer asylum seekers arrived in the U.K. in 2020 than in recent years. Many r¢levant Home Office Immigration and asylum related s¢rvi¢¢s initially closed because of Covid and then worked in slower or limited ways. We therefore found less demand for some settlernent support services but a significant increase in demand across other areas - most notably our Adult and Family Services, This service has had double the number of vislts relating to emergency foodl￿ndIllg needs in 2020121 compared to the previous year). We responded by scaling up our hardship fund more than fourfold, ev¢ntually spending about £90,000 against £21,000 the year before. We in¢reas¢d the number of people we supported with the foodbank and turned it from a Ilection to a delivery service, helped by a network of volunteer drivers. Our youth services are important in giving young people a chance to meet each other in a safe environment, as well as us. While the youtli club and girls, group could usually only meet oulside and when guidanc¢ allowed, real efforts were made to keep group and individual support going on-line. Overall. Asylum Welcome teams running our main refugee services conducted 4929 client meetings in 2020121 and spent around 5532 hours working directly with clients, around 3733 hours with single people and 1808 with f￿nill¢s. On average we spent I I hours Working with Page17 Asylwn Wekome Annual Rep¢JrtY8ar to 31 Marth ZQZI Company No.. 43616271Ch3rlty No: 1092265 each singl¢ ¢licnt throughout the year and 17 hour5 working with family cltents. (There are some specific services not included within tliis data, most significantly the work with R¢fugee Community Organisations (RCOS) and the individuals they serve, and it doesn't inolude the visits we made to foreign national prisoners in Huntercombe, or our European Union Settlement Scheme work. 3000 Services provided- number of client advice sessions before (2019120) and during Lockdown (2020121) 2500 2000 1500 iooo 500 i/°°°////// 2020121 201912U We found many clients needino more inlensive support on issu¢s ranging from homelessness to dotnestic violence. Perhaps the most sxgnificant Measure of our response to the pandemic Page18 A5￿u￿ Welcotne Annual ReportYe2rto 31 March 2021 Company No.. 43616271 Charlty No.. 1092265 is the fact that, despite the limitations of Covid, w¢ d¢livered 460/0 more client engagement in ternis of contact Éime than we had in the year before Covid, and carried out more actions lor or with eacli client. Tlie effect of not being able to open our drop-in Wel¢oin¢ Centre meant that we saw about 80/0 fewer'refugee and asylum-se¢king clients for general advice, and there was a substantial decrease in drop-in visitors seeking infom)ation, use of computers or simply comradeship. We were, however, able to engage with more refugees by working with RCOS in the programme described later in this report. | ASYLUM SUPPORT BENEFITS | EDUCATION EMPLOYMENT | FAMILY FOODIFUNDING | GENERAL HEALTH | HOUSING LEGALIIMMIGRATION I WELLBEING 3.43% 91 183 146 2.96% 0.14% 49.30% 15.64% 2.62% 5.76% 2430 771 129 284 597 122 2.48% Number of individuals wpported and worklng hours for 2019120 and 2020lll (Direct refugce service5 only) Ilesiri # ofaction sesslons # of indivtduals # ofmale Jndlvlduals # of fèmale Indlviduals # of non-identified individuals 11 of famllles 11 of singles 11 of dlrec¢workl hours with clients IleloroLockdoivn',Durin 3369 480 310 149 21 117 363 3782 Ijoclrclown Iyo oILhari 4929 46JO% 440 V -8.33% 271 V_12.58% 152 v 2.01% 17 V -19.05% 108 V _7.69% 332 .8S4% S532 TA 46.27% We can see that, overall, th¢ number of advicelaction sessions wilh clients has increased by 460/0 while the number of indivlduals met decreased by 8D/o. I'his is directly linked to the office being closed to casual visitors during the whole year, While we were not ablc to rcopen the Welcome Centre or drop-in service, as the year moved on we carcfully balan¢¢d face-to-fac¢ and virtual services, pulting clients, need5 first, while always following official government guidance and usiiig staff and volunteer5 in ways with which they were comfortable. We were helped in doing this work through the amazing generosity of trusts, foundations and individuals who contributed to a combination of hardship funds, extension of office space and adaptation to new ways of working. We also benefilted from a number of government and Page 19 Asylum WelcorneAnnual Reportyearto 31 March 2021 CDmpany 140.. 43616271 Charity No.. 1092255 Oxford City Council fjjnds designed to help small organisations respond and adapt to the pandemiG. We have been able to adapt and extend many areas of our worL includiiig helping more than a hundred clients witli reconditioncd laptops to help hoine schooling and wider connectivity. We are particularly pl¢&sed to be abl¢ to complement the existing servic¢s for individuals with a new programme supporting RCOS to better help their own communities. These infonnal groups, with membership often based on counlries of origiii, are often a critical social and material resource for struggling refugees. In lis few months of operdtion, our new programm¢ has enabled us to offer training. advice and opportunity, as well as modest financial help to ten organisations. These organisalions are also cwcial sources of shared information in boili directions, including proinoting Covid vaccine access and acceptance ainong tlieir members. The Covid lockdown limited and slow¢d our work in many respects, but it did not prevent us continuing to support our two pro8rainmes specifically aimed at vulnerablc migrants, ay opposed to refugees. Our Europa Welcoine project allowcd u5 to assist vuln¢rabl¢ European citizens living in tlic U.K. who post-Brexit must now register to stay under the European Union Settlement Schem¢. W¢ w¢r¢ able to help hundreds of pcoplc who would otherwis¢ have struggled to register. Of thcs¢ about 600/0 w¢re of East Timorese origin. Our visitin8 programme for foreign nationals detained at Huntercomb¢ prison was heavily constrained by th¢ prison being closcd to visitors for the wholc year, but we did manage to establish a vidco link and occasional visits which allowed us to engage with some of those in greatcst nc¢d. Tot21 numbers of people supported As can bc seen from the more detsiled reports, Covid changed the way wc worked and how accessible wc wer¢, ¢speclally for casual and drop-in 5UPPOrt. The result was that while we are confidcnt that we continued to conncct with and hclp those in seriou5 need, and actually did morc work with them than ever before, we weren't able to as many activitie5, especially those for drc)p-in visitors and our summer youth programrne, or to reach out into the community with our Europa Welcotne service as w¢ had planned. Some people who would otherwise have contacted us, did not, The total number of people we directly assisied was 1351, as against 1700 in 2019120, the biggest change being tlie fall in the numbers we could help to apply for po3t-Brexit registration. However, through our Europa Welcome programme we engaged over 2,000 additional p¢oplc in cvcnts and acilvities linked to post- Brexit settlement, many of whose applications will be submittcd in 2021. W¢ can be very confident and proud that we continued to provide timely and effective a55iStancc to tliose in serious need, right through from the earliest days of the pandemic. Our organlsAtlonal beydlth And resources Finances The combination of specific Covid-related support, the generosity of our donors, the 5trengih of our enhanced fundraising team and excellent teamwork across the organisation saw our Page | 10 Asylum Welcome Annu)l Repertyear 10 31 March 2021 Company No.. 43616271 Charity No.. 1092265 income increase substantially from £41 $,000 lo nearly £750.000: this mor¢ than cov¢red th¢ increased programming and expenditure, which increased to over £600,000. We now have a larger and more expensive prOgr￿nMe but know that the extra Covid funds we benefitted from this year are unlikely to be available. with many grants having finished in March 2021. Our accumulated reserves will help us smooth th¢ transition into 2021122. The director K&te Smart left in March 2020 after 7 successful and valuable years as director. She was succeeded in April by Mark Goldring, who was recruited, started and completed his first year in the period of lockdown. Staff Staffing during the year increased from 11 (8 FTE) to 16 (1 I FTE). This rcflect5 our greatsr financial stability, with all vacancies previously left open now being filled. so that all services were propcrly staffed. It a550 r¢fle¢ts th¢ starting of the Refugee Community Organisations project in 8epiember, the growth of existlng services, with increased houTS for some stsff and Ihe introduction of a new caseworker with specialist expcrtise in domestic violence, and a strengthening of the fundraising t¢am to two pcoplc. Four members of our staff have lived expericncc as refugees. Staff liave worked flexibly and positively, wlth great cominitment and exccllcnt tcamwork during tlie year. A numbcr changed or adapted Ihcir rol¢s to rctlcct the constraints and challenges of Covid and no one liad lo be furloughed. The senior management team, consisting of the director, services director, finanee manager and fundraising and devclopment manag¢rs, mct rcgularly to steer and support tl)e organisation. Good teainworking across thc organisation was one key reason for our successful fundraising and improved linkages between services as well as with cxtcrnal partners. A salary rEvicw was held during th¢ ycar, b¢nchmarking roles againsl external comparalors. The Bov4rd approved the introduction of ncw salAry scales, with small salary adjustments adopted whcre appropriate In April 2021. A forrnal appraisal 5y5tein was introduced, and a full suite of HR-related policies updated and Compiled. Volunteers Asylum Wclcome's services arc dclivcred and sustained by a volunteer body thut is a strong mlx of long-standing, experienced volunteers, and fresh faces. inGludinB refugees, all supported by the small staff tearn. We recruited 48 new voluntccrs ovcr the year, speaking 20 different languages" 17 of them originally came to the U.K. as re￿SeeS. Volunteering is fundamental to who we are and our way of working. It extends our reach, keeps our costs down and adds an invaluable sense of community engagement and solidarity. A tot&1 of125 volunteers worked with Asylum Welcorne through thc year in all our service4 som¢ taking coordinating responsibilities, for example of the'bikes, project and education support work. Volunteer Tecruilment, training and induction is managed by our part-tiine Volunteer Coordinator, who introduccs and hands on the volunteers to theTr Service tsams. General news and infornation for volunteers is shared in a fortnightly cmail newsletter and the Co-chairs and dTr¢ctor have held regular onlin¢ op¢n meeting5 for volunteers during the year. Regular induction training of new volunteers is complemented by more specialised Page | 11 Asylum Welcome Annual Reportyearto 31 March 2021 Company No: 43616271 Charity No,. 1092265 training for those working in the different services. Safeguarding training is arranged for all volunteers whose roles Involve dealing with clients. The participatory '3 Rings, on-line rota system has continued to work well, streamlining the self-lnanagement of the complex volunteer rotas for the different services. Tlie need to move more services on-line becau5¢ of Covid lias both complicated volunteer oordination and offered volunteers th¢ chance to work mor¢ flexibly. Overall. the ¢onstraints have had the effect of putting more pressure on staff and a few of ihe volunteers. Many volunteers could not access the organisation's database froni home in the early days of the Pandemic and this limited their ability to work. The loss of the usual practical tics and dis¢lplines around volunteering have made it much harder to mcasur¢ volunteer effort over th¢ year. We have recorded 9,438 hours, ainounting to an in-kind valu¢ of more than £162,162 (at rates provided by the European Social Fund) but know this to be a significant underestimat4 as much work done from home was not recorded. Members, Partners and Patrons Membershlp Asylum Welcome is a membership organlsation witli 479 members at the end of March 2021. Rathcr than pay an annual financial subscription, mcmbcrs arc asked to subscribe to Asylum Welcome's vision, io sign up to this slatement and contribute accordin81y: "As a mcmber of Asylum Wclcomc I will do what I can to achicvc this vision. to promot these values and to support Asylum Welcome's activities as a donor, volunteer, fundraiser or dvocatc." Most of our voluntccrs ar¢ also m¢mb¢rs. Membcrs and sUPPOrters donate to Asylum Wclcomc according to their means. avoiding the administrativc burden for us of accounting for membership subscriptions separately from donations. A nuinber of clients and former client5 are now members, and some of them are also working as volunteers and staff. Partnerships AW pul great effort into sustainiiig and building programme partherships in 2020, recognising that refugees have varying and multiple needs and that many organisations providing services to a range of marginalised groups may need help in order to shap¢ th¢m appropriately for refugccs. We have worked particularly closely with Refugee Resource, which focusses primarily on therapeutic counselling, to ensure we provide a joined-up, complementary service to our overlapping clientele. Page | 12 vlum WelcDmB Annual Reportyearto 31 March 2021 Company Mo: 43516271 Charlty No.. 1092265 We show 2 lists of organisation5 below- thosc w¢ work closely with on a local basis and those with whom we collaborate nationally oil specific sector issues. Local Or Aspire Citiz¢ns Advic¢ Bureau City of Oxford Coll¢ge Connection Support Crisis Oxford EMBS (Ethni¢ Minority Business School) Key 2 Housing OAAST (Oxford Advice Ag¢nci¢s Stronger Together) OAF (Oxford Advice Forum) ODAS (Oxfordshire Domestic Abuse Services) OXPAT (Oxford Poverty Action Trust) Open Door Oxford Against Cutting Oxford Brookes Univers2ty Oxford Business College Oxford City Council Oxfordshire Community Foundation Oxfordshire County Council Oxford Food Hub (forn)erly Oxford Food Bank) Oxfordshire Homeless Movement Oxford Quakersl OXFAP Oxfordshire Social Services Oxfordshire Youth Red Cross, Thames Valley Refugee Resource Ruskin College Sanctuary Hosting Somerville College and Mansfield Colleg< University of Oxford St Edward's School St Mungo's The Ashmolean Museum Turpin and Miller Solicitors anisations: We have also engaged with about thirty refugee or ethnic community organisations repres¢nting rcfiJg¢e groups from Syri4 Sudan, Timor L'Est¢. Eritre￿ Iraq, North Africa and elsewhere, as wcll as some not related to specific nationalities. More detail on some of these relationships is contained later in the report. Our other collaborations are with faith groups in Oxford and other parts of.Oxfordshire which, as always, are committed supporters. and with newly emerging refugee support groups and refugee welcome groups across Oxfordshire. National Or Advice UK ASAN (Asylum Support Advice Network) ASAP (Asylum Support Appeals Project) anisations: Page | 13 Asylum Welcome Annual Report Yearto 31 March 2021 Company No- 43616271 Charlty No: 1092265 Asylum Matters AVtD (Association of Visitors of Immigralion Detention Monitoring Group) BID (Bail for bnmigration Detainees) BlackRock Children's Society Citizens Advic¢ Bureau City of Sanctuary/University of Sanctuary Clinks Coram Children's Legal Centre Detention Action Detention Forum Fareshare Freedom from Torture HMP Huntcrcombe Irnmigralion Law Practitioners Association Job Centre Migrant Help Mind Refugee Action Sainsbury's St Mungo's Tesco The British Red Cross The Refugee Council The Home Office Victims First Sp¢cialist Service Patrons The Trustees arn dclighted to have the support of the Bishop of Oxford, Rt. Rev. Steven CrofL as a Patron ofAsylum Welcome. We greaily appreciate the interest and en¢rgctic commitment over many years of Uwe Kitzinger CBE our longstanding Patron and supporter. Our activities in more detail Trustees approved a new strat¢gic direction in January 2020. The combination of financial challenges at the ¢nd of 2019120, the onset of Covid with all its related implications and the arrival of a new director in April 2020, all before the strategy had been converted into detailed planning, necessitated our using this as a directional guide rather than a roadmap. Revised obj¢ctives for the year. based on the new reality, were agreed by the Board in May, with strategic priorities for the longer terni being agreed by the Board in th¢ second half of the year. The notes b¢low reflect the overarching approach of the n¢w Strategy, which states that'we will ¢nable asylum seekers, refugees and migrants at risk to thrive. They will thrive when they are welcome, safe and confidenL" The Welcome Centre At the heart of our approach to helping people feel welcome. safe and confidenl 15 usually our Welcome Centre, the warn], friendlyy drop-in facility, Staffed by volunleers and often the first Page | 14 Asylum WelcomeAnnuèl ReportY@arto 31 March 2021 Ccrrpany No.. 43616271 Charfty No.. 1092265 step to a¢¢essing our other services. This is the one service Iliat we were not able to run at all in 2020, to avoid any unnecessary mixing and risk of infection. This resulted in our losing contsct witli some forn]er or potential clients. Our ¢ommilment is to reopen it in 2021 as soon as health guidance allows. We did allow visitors by appoiiitm¢nt ￿]d inevitably also dealt with many emergenLies, using our larger offices to meet th05¢ Clients for whom it was essential. The Foodbank The Welcome Centre no￿allY houses our Foodbank so that clients can help themselves to what they need and want. To minimise the number of people coming into the buildin& we converted this into a delivery service of prepacked bags, combining fresh and preserved food. We have hugely benefited from the gen¢rosity of a range of donors, indlviduals, shops, scbools, community groups, supennarkets and churches. 176 people benefitted frorn the Foodbank during the year. with the average number supported each week more than doubling from 43 to 106 over the year. In addition. with the help of St Edward's School, we were able to arrange Christmas parcels for anolher hundred people. Relat￿ services The lockdoThTr emphasised the way that people who do not have good IT access and connectivity are cut off from the engagement and opportunities that many of us take for granted. Tliis has heavily affectrd families with children, much of whose education was on- line. Helped by sev¢ral companies and volunteers, we have success￿11Y scaled up our programme of cleaningy Teconditioning and distributing phones and laptops to refi]gees who need them. In th¢ first three months of 2021 calendar year w¢ d¢liv¢r¢d over 100 devices. in¢luding 15 to Sanctuary Hosting"guests-. Our bike project has continued, despite Work having to be suspended for part of the year. We reconditioned and delivered 29 bikes to our clients and their families, helping them to be more mobile and not to have to rely on or pay for public transport. Every bike given out includes full safety equipmenL lock, helmet and lights. The Adult and Family Adviee Serviee The demand for advice on a wide range of issues continued as strongly as ever through the year, although the profile of that demand has changed. with fewer new arrivals and asylum applications due lo the impact of Covid and th¢ gr¢ater need for immediate and practical assistance. Asylum Welcome continued to provide expert and hIgh￿uality advice, explaining and Promoting access to rights, and building self-confidence and understanding. This work aimed to enable and support clients to navigate ilieir own way through the various UK systems of asylum, health care. education, housing, aDd welfare. The key issue for most of our cli¢nts is to secur¢ asylum, to be given "leave to remain", and be able to worL seltle and get on with their lives. Their challenges were intensified by the freezing of processing and hearings for part of the year, and continuing delays and uncertainty, which results in people waiting for months. and in many cases years, for decisions that in turn affect their well-b¢ing, hope and confidence in rebuilding their lives and futures. The Adult and Family S¢rvic¢ team. with 3 staff and a team of volunteers, had over 3,700 separate meetings with clients from 59 countri¢s over the year, an 80% increase on last year. Page | 15 A5￿uM Welcome Annual Report Year to 31 March 2021 Company No.'43616271 Chority No: 1092265 While this service saw slightly fewer clients (322 against 350) because of lockdown, we saw them nearly twice as many times. The range of issues covered has been very widc, but focusses especially on clients, asylum claims and immigration issues. particularly finding solicitors. supporting clients claiming asylum or submitting fresh claims, and subrnitting related applicatioiis for benefits. This year there lias been less as51Stance facilitating family tracing. contact and reunion. and for applying for travel documcnts, partly due to pandemic restriotions on Irdvcl but also due to less of the essential infomiation being shared and available. We liave seen a regrettable rise in the number of cases of domestic abuse and now have a staff member with expertise in thi5 area. Eleven clients, both refuge¢s and migrdnts, needed specific help relating to domestic abuse. These clients were often very vulnerable and in need of expert advice relating to housing, destitution. social care or immigration issues. Where appropriale we referred them on to other expert agencies. We helped 27 people apply for refugee status. of whom I I wer¢ granted status, Ihough many of these had applied in earlier years, We helped about 35 people address housing probl¢ms, of whom 14 were street homeless. We a5SlSted 24 people to successfully apply for benefLts. We worked closely with the City Council and other organisations supporting peopl¢ who had b¢en homeless under the Covid "Everyone In" programme. We will continue to offer this support to h¢lp them move into long-terni housing post Covid, working in a new partnership with Oxfordshire Homeless Movement. The biggest and most immediate Covid-relat¢d impact ￿'aS the increase in the number of clients needing hardship support, the length of lime they neaed it for, and consequently the cost of ihis support. The number of people benefitting during ihe year. from a combination of our own funds and those provided through us by the Red Cross, in¢reased from under loo to about 150. Total hardship expenditure increased substsntially, from £21.000 to about £90,000. Some of this was regular payments to people who could neither work nor claim EKnefitS, some was one-off: for example, to help women move out of an abusive situation while a refuge was being organised. We have supported a small number of people accessing our Europa Welcome service with emergency funds. The Syrian families whom Asylum Welcom¢"h¢lped settle into their homes in Oxford over the 3 years of the City Council's Syrian Resettlèment Programrne have continued to se¢k help and advice on different issues over the year. We are grateful to the Council for continued support to offset this ongoing work. Overall, it has been very satisfying to see the families becoining integrated into th¢ local community and making their own way in their new home ¢ity. Although it IS 2 great relief for clients to be grdnted "leave to remain" in th¢ UK, they still face the challenges of making the transition to independent livin& gaining access to welfa benefIts, and searching for employment and accommodation. The expensive and limited local housing market has made finding accommodation in Oxford very difficult. We have supported clients with "status" lo search for accommodation, to understand options and to take iheir lives forward. With little asylum support accommodation, sinc¢ Oxford is not a governmental "dispersal area" clients who want to stay in the Oxford area face difficult de¢isions. Page116 A￿lurn wel￿Me Annual Reportyearto 31 Marrh 2021 Cornpany No.. 4361627/Cthatlty No: 1092265 Significant improvements have been made to our systems for recording client feedback and progres5. These increase our ability to respond to fcedba¢k and track ¢lients progress over time. Asylum and Immlgrailon Group This is a newly established team intended to improv¢ our ability to support clients needing legal help with applications for legal aid. fresh claims. travel documcnts, gathering of evidence and preparation of official documents. It aims to work closcly with and in support of TU￿1n and Miller as the main local 501icitors. The service has developed more slowly Ihan intended. with key interloeutors. including the most rclcvant Home Office services, being closed or limited for some of the year. Nevertheless, 90 Clients have been supported, including 9 who got s¢ttl¢m¢nt or leav¢ to remain, 9 who got a legal adviser, 3 who gained recourse to public funds and I who got citizenship. The Youth SerYlc¢ This service is one of the few where much of the activity takes place in gTOUPS and so was more drastically hit by lockdown than other services. The activities of Venda. our youth group, were moved on-line but an on-linc youth club has limited attraction, especially for new arrivals who may not hav¢ good English. Nevertheless 33 group sessions were run, and thc summcr allowcd somc outdoor activitie4 walks and sports. On-line activities included art classes and cookin8. With the materials and ingredients being delivered lo people's houses. Of the 158 individuals who rettived individual advice and sUp￿rt and engaged with group activities, two thirds are mal4 and this proportion is even highcr in thc youth club. While this reflects the refugee population in general, efforts have been made to C5thblish & girls, group so that they too can have fun together and mulual support with (heir peers, while also receiving individual support from staff and volunlccrs. These efforts have not alw•y5 bcen succcssful, but extra staff capacity has been made available for this project and it will be resumed in 2021. Responding to the pandemic, staff and volunlecrs have concenlrated their attention on older young people who are no longer under thc c8r¢ of l(Kal authorities. They in¢lud¢ thos¢ who do not have status or are newly arrivcd, and are the most lik¢ly to be made homeless. Five young people who had previously been under the care of local authority, after at least five y￿5 waiting (and in onc casc twelv¢). hav¢ bc¢n hclFKd to rcgulari5¢ their ststus. The tcam was able to help 27 cli¢nts resolve potcntial or actual homclcssness, 10 to acccss bcncfits, 14 get health support and 19 legal representation. Education and Employment This service w&8 boosted by the appointment of a staff member to lead it in July, which meant that even in a hugely constrained ninc-month period we saw morc clients than in the previous y¢ar. Page | 17 Asylurn WeltorneAnnual Report Yearto 31 Marth 2021 Cornpany No.. 4361627ICharity Nc= 1092265 Learning English is a massive priority for our clients and we are amazingly well support¢d by a team of over 25 volunteer teachers ten of whom are newly recruited. All run I:1 classes with their students, whether face-to-face or virtually. There are multiple language-t¢aching providers around Oxford and we don't seek to replace Ihem, bul to 5UPPOrt people for wliom these arrangernents do not yet wo￿. Our closer engagement with community organisations brought out a very clear need from the Timorese community for language lessons that fitt¢d their other work commitments. In conjunction with tlie East Timor Community and Ruskin College, Saturday classes were planned to start in January, then postponed to April due lo lockdown. 25 studcnts enrolled, requiring two cl&sses lo meet the demand, and w¢ had to closeihem to further applicants. The additional space that we rented, with a big open and well-ventilaied rooin, has been a real asset in making this possible. One refugee volunteer, who w&s a maths professor, has started a maths teaching programme which is going well in ils piloi phase. He is bringing other refugee volunteers alongsidc him to develop this programm¢. Our education advisor5 SUPPOrt refugees with the preparation and planning of their education needs and activities, including adapting them to the UK situation. Our employment advisor5 help clients move towards job readiness and to find worL including help with preparation of Cvs, carecr5 advice. 5UPPOrt for applications and links with supportiv¢ employers for work experiencc or paid roles. 83 clicnts benefited from th¢sc cducation advicc and teaching scrvices (this is thc only area whcrc we hav¢ more female than malc ¢licnts). 53 were hclped towards or into employment, with 8 gaining jobs, including our first paid work placemenl in an Oxford Universily Collcge. This pla¢¢m¢nt was exlcndcd and culminated in pennanenl paid employment. This is a model we would like to roll out lo other College& One development durin8 lockdo5￿ was the number of parents seeking help for their children whose schools w¢r¢ closed. We were able to arrange tuition for about 30 children, and this has caused us to explore whether wc should tak¢ on a more aclive role with respect to schooling. A volunteer is now leading ￿rthttr research into this. Overnll Cllent satisfaetion Our client feedback system WAS introduced towards the end of the year, Initial responses Show high levels of clients, satisfaction (with all as1￿Cts of the services scoring 4.5 or higher out of 5). Page | 18 Asylurn welc￿ Annual Report YÈarto 31 Marth 2021 Company No.. 43616271 Charity No- Iry32265 CLIENTS. SATISFACTION LEVELS WITH THE SERVICE ASPECTS Quallty of SeTvice provlded Communicating with the advlser Process of gettln8 your 155ues resolved Walting tlme for you to be be seen 'The way the adviser dealt wlth you me taken by advlser to salve your Issues During 2021 we will be building on this immediatc fccdback system and introducin8 lools to systematiGally,monitor thc progression and achievcment of clients, goals. Refvgee Communlty Oryanisatlons Assisted by the Oxfordshire Community Foundation, in August 2020 w¢ started a programmc to systematically support and work wilh Refu8ec Community Organisations (RCOS). These organisations are usually inforn)al, oftcn based on country of origin or language, und often involvc both longer-5tanding residents and new arrivals, whether refugccs or not. Some are well eslabli8hed. formally constituted and reglster¢d, somc are not. They don't have paid staff and often lack basic infrastructure. We believe there are at least 30 such org4ni$ations across the county, and many provide an ongoing and safe point of contact and social support for MO￿ recent or struggling arrivals. We are in regular contact with about 20 of the organisations and have ¢105c rclations with ha]f of these, Core funding enabled us to employ a part-time staff memb¢r with ¢xperlence as a refugec and in leading both local and national refvgee organisations. He has run a series of tailored training sesSTons to help the RCOS strength¢n their Capacity (in administrative, fundraising and financial Management, for example) and manages a small grants programme using funds from several donors. The £1 1,000 spent in the first rounds of this funding cnablcd us to offer immediate assistance to ten organisations helping community members meet immediate nceds. These included. educational support for a Saturday school for. Sudanese children. young Eritrean care leavers'meeting for sport and recr¢ation' cultural activities bringing together Syrian women; and a multi-racial refugee women's group. establish¢d by Refugee Rcsource,.thv4t offers training in food hygien¢ as a first stcp to setting up a catering business. Page119 A5Wum Welcome Annual Report Yearto 31.March 2021 Company ND-. 43616271 Charity No= 1092265 We estimate tliat thesc activities directly beiiefitted about 250 people, as well as having a broadeT indirect iinpact through strengthening the organisations involved. As Covid cases we will revert to support longer-term capacity-building and joint activities, including collaborating on advocacy activity, locally and nationally. Europa W¢l¢ome This programme helps vulnerable European citizens and their family members who are already here to register for settleinent in Oxfordshire post Brexlt. Funded by the Hom¢ OffJ¢¢, the European Union Settlement Schem¢ (EUSS) programme is targeted at those vulnerable European Union citizen5 who cannot readily apply witliout h¢lp. Our exp¢ricncc shows that this is usually for reason5 linked to language, disability, IT literacy andlor lack of appropriate documentation. We engiiged with over 2,500 pcople through this scheme in 2020121. Over 600/0 of the 368 people we directly helped to apply. including 177 whose applications were submitted by us, were from East Timor. They are living in Ilie U.K. because they have Portuguese citizenship or the right to live Iher¢, so, in addition to European languages, we Iiave also produccd outreach matcrial in Ihe Tetum language spoken in Eas¢ Timor. The numbers supportcd were limit¢d by the cxtra challenge of virtual working without easy remot¢ a¢¢e$s lo tlic EW databasc, and by applicant5 blruggling to obtain relcvant documcnts due to lockdown restrictions. The outreach activity to help Communities understsnd the schem¢ and to apply for themselves 18 as iinportant a% the specific assistancc we give lo thosc who need help to upply. We hav¢ produccd YouTube vidcos, Facebook advertiseinents and other materillls, working in cffvclive partnerghip witli tlic Oxfurd City CounLil, wliosc stuff we havc Irained. Our plans to offcr a face-to-face scrvice from OCC facililics wcre fruslratcd by the forced closure ofall public facilities. The c108ing date for applications under this scheme is 30 Junc 2021, after which only people who hav¢ cxceplional circumstances will bc able to apply. Prlsoner and Detainee ProJeet, HMP Hunlercombe Prlson Huntercombe prison cater5 for foreign national prisoners either awaiting deportalion or likely to be deported at tlie end of iheir sentcncc. Some have no fainily in the country andlor little English. The programine, drawing on what has been learned from th¢ many years of Asylum Welcoine's work in the Camp5field House immigration d¢tcntion cenire, was designed to offer companionship and support lo prisoners Ihrough & visiting programme. Most inmates are not refugees or asylurn seckers, although some apply for asylum or to stsy on human rights grounds. The programme really struggled to get going when it was started in 2019, with long delays and complications getting s¢curity clearance for volunteers and our pl￿-time staff member to visit th¢ prison. Almost as soon as ihere were signs of progress and the first visits Iiad actually taken place, the lockdown meant that all external visits were Suspended and prisoners were locked in their cells for 23 hours a day. Page | 20 Asylum Welcorne Annual Reportyearto 31 Marth 2021 Company Mo.. 43616271 Charity No.. 1092265 Contact was maintained, and first telephone ar&d then video conferring began, so that our multilingual team of volunteers w¢re able to conduct over 200 virtual meetings witli 45 prisoners during the year. There were ongoing challenges with access and reliability of contacL as all calls must be initiated from the prison. Only 5 facc-to-facc visits were possible between April 2020 and March 2021. lTh¢s¢ w¢re arranged because of specific concerns and n¢eds, and problems of language compatibility for prisoners who would not engage with the authorities. The feedback from both prison and prison¢rs has been that these proved welcome and useful. The initial programmc was a pilot, and as a result of a review one year in, albeit a very ¢hall¢nging one, the Asylum Welcome Board gave their support to continue the work on an open-cnded basis. How this develops will depend on how ¢ffecliv¢ly it can run after Covid. Advocacy We continued to join wilh otTrLers to speak up for refugees and to encourage and as51St organisations and authoritics to include provision for refugees in their planning. Perhaps the most significant element of thi5 was working witli the City Council and subsequently the Oxfordshirc Homeless Mi ovement in Mawh 2020 to success￿11Y provide accornmodation for Tefugees in the 'Ev¢ryon¢ In, programme. 'I'his offcred emergency shelter to all homclvss people, including those with No Recoursc to Public Funds ( NRPF), and there are plans and provision to assist them when this finishes. More Ihan 20 NRPF refugees and asyluin s¢ekcrs were sheltered und¢r this programmtt. We are now working in partnership with the Homeless Movement, Aspir¢ and Connections Support to facilitste continued support. We successfully worked with hcalth Services. RCOS and other8 to ensure provlslon of Covid va￿InatiOn8 for those not reglstered with a GP, and to encouragc rcfugccs to have the vaccine. Tliis included using doctors who were nativ¢ language speakers to conlact clients individually, and translating materials. W¢ w¢re pleased to be joined by the then Shadow Chancellor and local MP, Anneliese Dodds, at our (virtual) AGM. We ourselvcs have given a rang¢ of talks to schools, community 8roups and rellgious organisations. W¢ have support¢d two Oxford University colleges to become'universities of Sancluary" reaLhing out to and 5UPPQrtin8 student5 from refugee backgrounds, as well as using their Te50urccs to help refugees in th¢ widcr community. Tn March 2021, the I-lome Secretary launched an official consultation on her plans to reforni the asylum system. We are greatly concerned about Ihese plans and will b¢ seeking to promote the voices of refugees to Ilie public, the media and politicians to cxplain why the new plan5 will harni the wellbeing of people fleeing persecution. We planned events in multiple languagcs.in April to shap¢ our official response. Offlces and Infrastructure Tn July 2020 we rented additional 0￿1¢¢ space d1￿ctlY opposite our existing office to allow saf¢r m¢etings with clienls during the pandemic, and to accommodate a combination of our inCr￿ed staff and more community engagement as soon as rules allow. Pago | 21 Asylurn Welcome Annual Reportyearto 31 Marth 2021 Company No.. 43616271 Charity No: 1092265 We moved all clients receiving hardship support froin cash payment5 to debit cards which wc can load remotely, making the service more convenient for ¢licnts and safcr for cvcryone. This was invaluable a5 numbers of recipients rose. Helped by several supportive donors, we have been able to invest in improved d&tabase access that does not depend on having a working on a computer in the O￿Tce. This has helped volunteers to offer clients better support remotely. We have also upgraded other elements of our IT infrastructure and maintenance arrangements. Our Communications Review has identified a range of ways we can better communicate and ¢ngag¢ with our clients, volunteers and the public. These include upgrading our website, which will be completed in the first half of 2021. The Communications Review will also help us share informatlDn with and hear from clients past and presenL which is one part of our commitment to putting refugee voices more at the centre of everything we do. Fundralslng Asylum Welcoine's services were funded by a mixture of grants from trusts and foundations (450/0), frorn the continued support of individuals and groups, including schools and failh group$ (370/0) and from ¥ovcrnment (local and national) and other partiiers (180/0). We are enonnously proud of and grateful for the level of support froin local individuals and community groups. We are al80 deeply grateful for tlie support provided by trusis aiid foundations, statutory fundcrs and organisations, some of which are long-stsnding supporters of Asylum Welcome, while others supported us for lh¢ first lime in 2020-21. Ln parall¢l, we rcmain immcnscly grateful for th¢ hard and imAginativ¢ work of our fundraiqing inanager, our fundraiser (who joined us this year), and our tliree long-serving fundraising volunteers. They carry a substantial woi'kload, cnsuring that WC SCGurc a divcrse range of funds to sustain and develop our work. and thai we cominuni¢at¢ ¢reativcly through our regular supporters, n¢wslettcr"W¢aving Ni Ctworks of Support", our appcals, and our community door drops. In what was a highly unusual ycar duc to thc Covid pandemic, we were very encouraged that our incoine nevertlieless grew over the year. This enabled us to step up eniergency 5UPPOrt throughout the pandemic and alsi) to develop across a number of key areas- notably our enhanc¢d Work wilh Rcfug¢¢ Community Organisations, but also thc bolslcring of kcy services including our Adult and Family AdviLe Service, our legal immigration advice, support lo survivors of domestic abuse, and our Education and Employment Service. We finished the year raising £747,826 which greatly cxceeded what we raised the year before (£418,000), but with total expenditure increasing from £430,000 to £601,000 as client needs grew and as more work was accomplished. This included the need to rent additional premises, increasing our office space by 500/0 to allow for 50ciRI distan¢xng and safe working. Detailed figures are included elsewhere in this report. Over the year, we w¢r¢ fortunate to benefit from substantial support from trusts and foundations, largcly in thc fonn of short-tcnn cmcrgcncy Covid grants but also through some significant multi-year grants. There was strong support from the local community, most notably through our eu]ergency Covid appeal in the spring of 2020. which generated an extraordinary £37,145. Page | 22 Asytum Welc(JrneAnnual RepDrt YeartD 31 Marth 2021 Company No.. 4361627/¢Jarfty No.. 1092265 Public face-to-face events were impossible becausc of the pandemic. However. Asylum Welcome co-organised and participated in the One World Festival. an annual cultural event in celebration of the many communities and faiths of Oxfordthir4 rtm by the Ashmolean Museum in partnership wilh many local faith and community groups. This online festival ran from November 2020 until April 2021, fcatured perfornlances from Asylum Welcome's clients, and generated substantial local interesL Meanwhile, many local faith and community groups continued to 5UPPOrt us wilh donations, and a number of individuals ran fundraising campaigns to raise money in Sup1￿ of our work. Over the year. we continued to build links and parlnerships with many 5ch(K)Is, groups and organisations, including St Edward's School (which provided Christmas gift boxes and laptops for our most vulnerable families), Magdalen College School (which provided laptops) and a number ofolher school& in addition to BlackRock. Together they donated over l 00 laptops and devices for our clients. These efforts led to the successful launch of our Recycled Laptop Project, a new service providing laptops to our clients. including our young client and to oth¢r organisations su¢h as Sanctuary Hosting and refugee community organisations. This ¢nablcd r¢fugc¢s and asylum s¢¢kers to continue iheir online educalion and stay connected throughout the pandemic. To do this. we partnered with local IT companies and 'Share Oxford - A Library of Tliings,, which hclped to wipe, service, repair and PA T-test these for frtt. We also established an Ambassadors programme to recognise the outstanding individuals who go out of their way to help us to increase awarenes% raise our profile. network Ènd raise funds. Looklng ahead to 2021n022 The Board have approved a set of plans and obje¢tiv¢s that build on the developments and excellent work of 2021, recognising that we have some scope for investment, while needin8 to be carefvl not to overslret¢h ours¢lv¢s as Covid ¢m¢rg¢n¢y funding flnishes. The main priorities related to improvemen¢ change or expansion in 2021r22 are: l. Improvin8 the en8agement with and involvement of clients and people with lived experience in all elements of Ihe organisation and its wo]1(. 2. Better cominunication and engagement with voluntccrs. 3. Extending and improving s¢rvi¢cs whcrc rcsearch or feedback show that clients needs are not being fully meL These are likely to include: education and employment" work in schools, both to benefit refugee children and increase public awar¢n¢ss: asylum, immigration and legal advice and support 4. B&ter use of our voice. and especially those of refugee& to influence local and national legislation, policy and practice. 5. Work with univ¢rsitie& srhools and other institutions to help them bett¢r support refugee5, Asylum Welcome and raise public awar¢ncss of th¢ challcngcs rcfugccs 6. Build on our work with Refuge¢ Community Organisations io establish a more dynamic, crealive and mutually supwrtive relationship. 7. Continue to build close relations with Refugee Resource (and other organisations), including ¢xploration of office sharing with Refugee Resour¢e in 2022. Page | 23 A$Y￿rn Welcome Annual Beportyearto 31 M•rth 2011 Company No.. 4361627/charlty No.. lQ92265 Financial review The trustees are happy to report a surplus for 2020-21 of £146L after a modest Surp1￿ or £14k in 2019-20. Income for 2020-21 was £748k (2020 £418k). showing an overall in¢r¢as¢ of £330k or 79Yo. Prlnclpal sources of lundln8: Year End Year ETrJ Change ￿ priorye•r Mar-21 Mar-20 £'IIJO E'DJO % Change Trusts & Found•tions' Ststutpry Grants Fzith Or8ani£atltsns ColleK45 & khad5 Indlvlduals & Le8aEie5 Partn¢rshlps & 0th4rCommunity¢>yni14tions 419 187 232 124% 93 72 21 14 li 27% 163 112 51 45% 57 33 23 67% 748 418 330 The year started with the beginning of the fwst Covid lockdovrn and whi15t our 5crviccs were initially curtailed, we conlinued to support our most vulnerable ¢lienlS, as described elsewhere in this report. Appreciation of Asylum W¢l¢om¢'s work during a mosl diificult ycar has becn generously shown by Trusts and Foundations, individuals and the community within which il operates. Expcnditure increased from £404k in 2019-20 to £601 k in 2020-21- an increase of49Yo. We increased our financial support for those clicnts who were particularly disadvantaged by the pandemic from £1 Ik in 2019-20 to £49k in 2020-21. Overall. expenditure on charitsble aeiivities increased by 54Yo. The overall result saw Asylum Welcome with unjtstricted ￿SerVeS of £342k as of 31 March 2021. Of this £50k has been designated for potential costs related to Property. Asylum Welcorne has a poli¢y of holding trserves for the following r¢asons". To fund cash-flow in the short terni. for example where a donor pays in arrears To buffer against the impact of negative events- such as a short-terni drop in income To allow invcstrnent and cxp¢ndilur¢. when opportunitics present which would further Asylum Welcorne's worK such as new initiatives or investing in organisational capacity To allow an orderly wind4own of the organisation, in the vent that it ceased to operate. The target reserves set at between 3 and 4 months, running costs* plus an estimate of closure costs. Based on Asylum W¢l¢oTnc's budget for th¢ y¢ar to 31 March 2022, this equates to a target range of £198k to £254k. Aft¢r accounting for the designated fund, and a small investrnent in office equipmenL Asylum Welcome has free reserves of £285k. This is £59k above th¢ midpoint of the reserves range set by the Board. Page | 24 A%￿UM WÈlcomÈ Amnual Rwrt Yeartts 31 Marth 1021 Company No.. 4361627ICharity No- 1092265 This surplus recognises that some of the source5 of funding available in 2020121, linked to Covid- specific funds, will not Continue, but much of the work they supported will need th. The reserve will enabl¢ Asylum welcome.to strengthen, and in some instances extend our programmes, in line willi our strategic objective4 and to further support clients during the pandemic and rebuilding afterwards. The Board have approved a budget for the year to March 2022 which will result in a deficit for the year, bringing reserves back within the target range. Wc remain mindful that the impact of the pandemic continues to play out and the trustees and management pay close attention to the financial implications, Page | 25 Asylum Wel¢omÈ Arnual Report Yearto 31 March 2021 Company No.. 4361627/Charity No: 1092265 Trustees, responsibilities in rclation,to th¢ financial statements The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trust¢es' Report and financial statements An accordance with applic&ble law And regulations. Company law Tequires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financlal year. UT￿er that law the Trustees have elected lo prepar¢ the financial statements ln accordance with United Kingdom Gen¢r4lly Accepted Accounting Practise (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under Company law the Trustees must not approve the financial sialements unless they are sAtlsfied that Ihey give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of thc cliarity and the incoming resour¢es and applicalion of resources, Including tlie net income or expenditur¢, of the charity for that period. In preparin8 tl)ese financial statemcnls, thc Trustees are required 10: select suitable accountin8 poli¢i¢s aiid then apply thein wnsislently> • make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; stale whether applicable United Kingdon Accouiitiiig Standards have been followed, subject to any mAterial departures disclosed and explained in Ih¢ financial statements- prepare tlie finaneial stalemonls on the going concern basls unless it 15 inappropriate lo presume that Ihc charity will continue In operatlon, The Truslec3 arc rcspoiisible for keeping adequate records tl)at are sufflclenl to show and explain (he churily's transactlons and disclosc with re￿Onable a¢curacy ai any time Ilie finuncial positlon of the charfty and enable them to ei)sure that the £lnanclal 51atcments comply with the Companics Act 2006. They are also r¢sponsible for safeguarding the asscls of tlie chority and hence for lakln8 reasonable step5 for the prevention And delecilon of fraud and oihcr irrc8ularities, So far as the Trustees are aware, thcrc is no relevant audlt Tnfomiation (infomiation needed by the compai)y's auditors In connection with preparing thelr report) of which the chyritable company's auditors ar¢ unaware. aiid eacli Trustee has lak¢n all stcps that tliey ougl)t to liave taken as a director in order to make themselve5 aware of relevant audit inforniation and lo establish that tho charitable ¢ompany's auditors are aware of that infomialion. This report has been prepared in accordance wlth the small companies regime under Section 419(2) of the Companies Act 2006. Thi5 report approved by the TrUsIe￿ on 21 July 2021 and signed on thelr behalf by Tony Sarnuel, Co-chair date Zo21 Pase | 26 lum Welwrne Annual ReportYÈarto 31 Marth 2021 Company Nc.. 43616271 Charlty No.. 1092265 Ind¢peDd¢nt examlner's report to the Tn￿tte5 ofAsyluuJ Welcome I report io the trustees on my examina￿0￿ olthe accounts ofAsylurn Welcome (the Tn￿} for the ended 31st March 2021. which aTE 5Ct out ¢Jn page5 28 ￿ 3S. RHponsibilhl¢s ind bll5i$ of rtport As the choriry tw5t￿ of the ThIM you are responsible forihe PTepJrntlon ofthe accounts In cordance with the Tequirementsofthe Chariiies Ac¢ 201 I {Ihe Act?. I report in respecl of my examination of the xcounts c4nied out under sectlon 145 of the 2011 Act and in canwng oui my examinaiion I have followed all the applicable Dlreclions given by the Cilarity Commissioner under Se￿lOn 14515Xbl of the 2011 ACL Indepeod¢J¢ ¢iamlneP4 5tAtethent Sin¢¢ lh¢ ¢ompany's Bross income exeeeded £250.000 yourexaminer must be a member of a body liS￿d in S￿lI0n 145 orth¢ 2011 A¢L I confinn that l arn quolified to undertake the examination b￿auSe l am a member of the ]nMitute ofchmeTvJ A¢count•rti$ Irt Ettglartd and w￿¢4 whieh is one of the limed bodie& I h8v¢ ¢ornpl¢ted my exBminatiOtt and confirni that no m*erial matiers hav¢ com¢ io my attention in com1e￿I0ll with the examin&ion 8ivin8 me caw to believe thal in Any ￿￿er1 respect: (l) a¢countin8 rewrd5 were not k¢pl in r¢5P¢rt of ¢h¢ a5 t¢quired by ￿￿10ft 130 of the Act.. or (2) th¢ a¢¢ounts do not accord with tho% re￿rds. or (3) rhe ac¢ount5 do not comply with th¢ appli￿b]e requirements concemlng ihe forni Ind content of ac¢ounts set out in ihe ChwTiii¢S (Accounis and Report5) Re8ulaii¢)ns 2008 hcr than Any requirement that ihe accounts give a'rne ond fair viev which is not a maltcr w)$idcr¢d pyrt of an ind¢pendeni ¢xrnIin￿10￿. I have no co￿¢m5 and have ¢om¢ otherM￿le¥S Tn conneeilon wlth the expminjtion io which attention should be in th1$ repLYt in order to enable a proper undwstsndin8ofthe a¢¢owitsW be reached. Name of Exornlu¢T: Rob¢rt Kirtland Kfy &3- Nam¢ ofFtrm: Critchl¢y3 Audil LLP Rel¢vaK¢ profes51onal body: ID5tiiui¢ ofchart¢rgJ Accountants irt Ettg]and and Wales Addres$: Beaver Hous¢. 23-38 Hythe Brid8e Street. Oxfrrf OXI 2EP D4tt: I l August 2021 AsWumWekomb-Ar*wd rewtlortheyexto 31 MKdb2021 Company N¢V. 49e1e271ChBrity No.. 1092265 ASYLUM WELCOME STA TEMENT OF FINANCIAL AcfIvITIFS FOR TIIE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCII 2021 2020 Furtber Vnrestrfcttd Re5tTktrd De5iEll#¢ed Fynd$ FU￿d$ Ullrestrided R¢strleted Dulgoated Totsl Funds Fund$ Noi¢ IneottLt IDcomt frorn Don￿lonS & Le8Jues Inv¢8ty¢nt]ncmp 313J95 163 434.420 747.815 163 233,735 120 184.125 417.860 12Q 313.558 434.420 747.978 233.855 184,125 417.980 Exp¢ndlfun R•i$ing fvn¢Js ChariublB4c4ivitte 96.670 62,973 96.670 504.710 76.623 151787 76,623 326,952 441.737 174,165 Total 12 441.737 601J80 229AIO 174.165 403,575 N¢t In¢0m￿l¢￿p¢ndItun) 153.915 17 146.598 4.445 14,405 Tr¥IN￿ern b¢hY¢¢n Net ltt 153915 (7,31 146,598 4,445 9,960 14.405 Totsl fvnd5 brou8ht forwurd Tofal fvndi tatTltd funvard 138.895 292.810 S0.C so.c 198.855 345,453 134.450 138.895 50.000 184.450 50 000 198 855 2,643 9,960 Th¢#¢w on p88ey 30 10 33 fonnpm of thu¢ Kc•unts. Asylum Weleorrtè-knM81 wortforth¢ yeBrkn 31 2021 CDmpany No.'43616271ChorftyNo.' t09L65 PagB28 ASYLUM WELCOME BALAf+lCE SHEET AT31 MARCH2021 2021 21120 FurlbÈr Fixed Ass¢ti OITJtc Equiptnenl, Furniture& Firtln88 W¢bsile 3,153 4.625 7.778 5,140 Curr¢nt Asxl8 Debtors C￿h un Dcpo$si Cash ￿¢b￿k and in hand 76.580 244.863 101.264 26,516 66.389 160,966 422,707 253,871 Curroht l.l•bllltlc* Crediiots.. Fhlling due within on¢y¢4r 85,U32 85,032 60 156) Nef Current Asstts 337,675 193,715 Crndliors: Amount8 fallin8 du¢ ofter mLY¢ on¢ ye 345 453 198.853 R¢pr¢S￿IedbY.' Vnr¢ifrlt¢¢d Incom¢ Fundi D¢BSgonted Trund5 R¢Jtrlcl¢d In¢ome 292,810 so,000 2,643 138.895 50,OnO 9,960 345,453 198.855 Approved b Trustees ¢ d SI￿1¢d on thcirbehdfby.. Samuel Co.Chair I g. '.[ . ,,171H A•yIuM￿le&mO-￿n￿ud teportfortr* year io 31 FI&￿￿2011 Company ND.. 4￿18271¢h1ntyNQ.' %D82255 Paw29 ASYLUM WELCOME NOTES FORMfNG PART OF THE FINANC]AL STATEMENfs FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021 I ACCOUNTING POLICIES B2515 ofprcpAr#lioD Trt fln0n￿nIsUterntnt5 h&vc becnprep4￿d RccordanC¢ tho SiatomtsntofRocommendcd PrnElise'. ACC￿￿1$ll￿andR¢portinB by Chriu#slFRS1021 BpplicDblEtoChatitlCSWEP￿INath¢]rwOuVlS In atfi i$wwrfdtd ¢)nOfflu Egtslpfftent BDd Ont¢4 Furnlture llt th? rnl• of25•A lstrw¥hi Ilnc bHiiAI. Iht dAts of lltqul$lilon of tho ￿let. Flxed A8segy4o511n8ovor£l.000 Br¢ cipiiillied ltt#¢¢ordott¢ wlth Cop1￿1158tsOTh Pully. IDtsDWbl•wEts Bre measured ftt cost lessaccumlll￿ed Jmorti5Diion. AmortlMUonlscb¥yd w uio SI￿¢11¢ thè ¢osiofintfyn8lble$ lÈ#ythelf rL*ldulll v4lueov¢rthqlresLirnthd us•fvl Ilv¢$ wiKzth¢ KrnlAhl11 The Int￿lIble Lmmi*d ¢vorih¢ foliowith# ustthl livti.. w¢b8lt• Jye•rs, Debl•n Cndll•ts rtt¢lv*lJWpts￿b[QWlthIll r*lle yur Debtorsand creditors wllh ￿ iiwtd Snt¢reM rth ODdtt¢elvobh OT￿yoble withln onEytETqr• re￿IdEd ￿ ¢1*￿110￿ prI Any108xs•rf5ins fwm ￿n￿1r￿¢￿t llr¢ r¢¢ows¢d IA expendilW4. Cuh li b￿k￿d haod includ8s cub B¢counl& The¢hBrttyoniY 88*ts IloblllUes Of￿ or¢In￿kInd th•t qudlfy &sbylc Instsum¢nl5. UDrt4ftl¢iwJ Futtd¥ ,Unmlri4ied f￿ndS ￿p￿￿¢d￿l￿oll4 ST￿￿1￿d thln¢ominB Tesour¢l Fwid3 tQ mB¢I li￿￿￿¢1e Re5trltltd RoStri￿ed fundsaTr used fwsp¢¢ifl¢ pwp05es ￿ld down by iho donor. ExpcnditurE %vhi¢h Eetsthesecriieria (* chdr8ed tothe fund. tO8•lherwilh ll fair￿10¢411￿th of manag¢meni support IXCAL STATUS OF THE COMPANY Asylumwelcome 05 ll E¢Jmpany limit￿ by guar￿rter. iDwotptcd in thèurtited K￿sdom. wilhi15 t¢wstered orrit¢•tUn117 N¢w¢¢ PIÈ¢4 M?8d?lett Rogd. Oxford OX4 IRB Thc liubility DfeaehmemberiThthe4venlof llw1nd￿￿￿p i% linbtrd ID£I. AtslumWelB4me-Annual reportrorlho ye4rts Jl MaKh 2D21 Company NL¥ 43e18271ClJanty Nry. 1092266 ASYLUM WELCOME NOTES FORMING PART OF THE F]NANCIALSTATEMErifs FOR THE YEAR ENDED31 PAARCH 2021 {¢oDiinu¢d) 2010 To 3DONAITONS F￿￿datiONS ABlknt4JleTtu%t ARMTtu S.DOD 3.75D BromleyAdvi¢¢ othErD￿a￿￿S{IGs5 th￿$1(￿0)) 41510 2.Nl 675 7232 675 7J3Z 680 230 560 33W7 4]?￿60 231,736 114315 JlJJ95 W2D 747I15 C¢Mparty Ne.. 4361v271c1￿thI No.. 1092XS Page31 ASYLUM WELCOME NOTES FORMING PART OF THE. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR ThE YEAR ENDED MARCH 312021 {CorttttitJed) 4 FLNWASSEtS eobt Openi￿D￿thI 120ZQ 1(363 aosBIBEakncehlarEb Jl 2121 l Awa2020 13223 10.409 Dispwds ¢JositiBB3kDce31 Muth2021 At31 kknth 2021 At3I 2020 5.140 S INTANGiBLEFJXEDA5SE13 Cw* 202Q Addttiralls￿theyg C1￿￿B￿l￿#3l H￿2021 Att#knul*iedAmDrthAti 4.625 4h25 Optmng Balanu L Apri12020 Chxr8vtsthe) NItBookVAllle At31 MwJth20ZI 4￿25 At31 6 DEBTORS 2120 IJ 9.756 60.498 76.51 16)60 26J16 7CREDITQL8..AMOUN13 FALU￿￿U￿wrI]I1￿1(M￿EyU 9244 4337 PAIS& 65.rn 60.156 8DEFERRED ]NCOME 1020nl 1.4.20 R£￿￿￿S0FA D$fr￿a51jJ1 BJhnEE31321 &o*l¢yTft¥t 11250 11250 11250 33750 33750 LfoydsFouwJativn 13250 133$0 15LV) 3779 65779 65779 Ibisrepresem&U￿0￿E]l￿ClvedptlL￿tVJ] hl•tb2021 l Apfi2021 A5ylumWeic¢yme. reF*Ytfortheyearb)31 M•th2021 Cornp8ny 14ts43S16271Charty Nw. 1092265 Pap32 ASYLUM WELCOME NOTES FOBMING PART OFTHBFtNANCIAL STATEMEM3 FOR IHEYEARENDED 31 MARCH 2021 (¢ontinu¢d) 3112021 Athli &FwlyAthry W¢1¢oweC￿tr¢ 75 74221 5h50 4lJ36 Is,￿? IA59 541 t)thneESuppurt 15.rixi Fwd Hfjrdthip s5￿8￿Re2tttlej￿*Jrt-(￿rf•dClty 1fy1.5111 IcvJio 41974 Bth¢ 4J57 9&l4 655 21842 1,714 RefiJtseCc￿DwnitiesPrOp(I 21142 81.480 434.420 441.737 2,643 434A20 441.737 Tnplywth HDrn¢Offic¢rWD￿8TtyUir¢￿¢nts. Syl￿REsettlED￿t.0￿OraC￿yeUull￿l fiMd51jllrwryk￿￿Wb¢knYtywthE30SJ￿f￿￿e$ lien￿l￿ng￿ern achtapwayi0tyn￿ èmundth¢eAiy. Onde•8aEeamw¢di+rt￿¢￿1￿0teer$ro rourL4ients IODESIGNAIEDFUNDS 11 ANALYSLSOFNET AssEfsoETWEENPUND5 2•21 T•tsi T•tsl RemtfftdFuD& 2fv13 1643 292*10 Untr5tiiGtcdfullds 3.15) 138195 5LI,iY)D 198,855 345.453 lum WekomeAnnu•l Rep Yearto31 MarGh 2Q21 Company No.. 4?015271Ch¥lty Nts1092265 SYLUMWELCOME NOTES FORMINGPARTOFTHE FNANCIALSTATEMEKfs FOR THE￿R ENL)ED31 MARCH2021 Iconiinu¢dl 12 STAFFCOSTS 316.986 34.812 351.798 247.682 26.596 274278 Natx)nal Insu￿￿(¢S￿d PeDth(ffl CoDtributtOnS 351.795 274278 Nu￿berS 2021 2020 NumberofstatTemployed 16 Fult uroe Equivalents EJnpkn¢1￿Its paid to k¢ymllna•￿ ￿￿V￿1(Allkd£41558 (2020 £450￿) ThetvahJaMI y41￿¢ of w￿l￿rrte￿I timv. ftythe)ur ￿lE¥￿TrY.￿[y38 howsatrnte&kXOVLdrdby theEuropEan ¢watestoa vaiu¢of£161162 GqrriE4J foThwd, w¢lwv¢noit£c￿￿t¢d for DDyliabJlityin T¢sw1ofh)lid￿ owvj. 13 TRUSTEES'REMUNERATh)N AND EXPENSES o remUneThrion.di￿lY￿r induE(g]y. ou¢oftht fuDth oftsthulLy*SF0Klw￿ pa)*forthe)T4tworytru* ortoaDyp¢rw kno%vJhtob¢¢(K￿ethJ to Ir￿￿¢ No M￿¢[el￿bU￿Cd kn any TDJ5th Q019.NIL}thrin8the)rar. 14 OBLIGATION5 iJNDERLEASES Omingle45CS Tr¢tstg1 offutute rnin1￿￿￿1f•$t￿yrne￿ts i% follw**. Notla¢er¢lw onBI 573WJ 19250 57J80 193. The atrrfyJDtof Don4xnEdJ*bkoptrating PQymCDts Wis￿1 eX￿￿edWIn8th¢Prx￿ £47.959 15 RELAIEDPAkTY TRANSACTIONS TheTrutsS ¢fjtsfirm thattherehave been no p3rtytt•￿￿￿thlt￿llirtd1$d￿t ￿ thc DtcMtiD8 ThEAggrtgate 0fTn￿lee* dorAt¢¢tsS bn th¢)wis£l.57 AS￿￿M Welcome Annual Report Yearto 31 Marth 2021 Company No'.43616271Ch8thy No.. 1092265 Page 34 ASYLUM WELCOME NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FNANC]AL ￿ATEmENTs FOR THE YEAR FNDED 31 MARCH 2021 (Continued) 16EXPENDITURE ANALYSLS Totsl Y Adu]IAdYi(e &$￿1 EnwJoyTDEUt& Volull Refup Fthl Ytydh SumKrt ri8hts 31J2021 &TrInll￿ EU55 RCO Proj￿1 Advo 2ty146l io 6Q7 £533 ICl)7 ijifj 17.137 .718 1147 32618 12372 13,737 11.070 1511 417 J.167 1.314 62,141 397.835 6314 6214 7.4 9JZI Cost&dirty*aUribu&bletoActiW 8Q130 6552 7J46 1310 $24 49SI 2621 4967 1561 7515 4967 1561 4276 15, IiW2 13,853 123.415 601J84 96.6 11SJ84 29.17Q 17.759 35h22 37M8 4l37 AsWumwsbTh.knnU￿ reF¥xlluth&yeaTto $1 Marth2021 Conw3wNa 43616271ChantyNu. 11X22e5