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2023-03-31-accounts

Mediation Buckinghamshire (A Company Limited by Guarantee)

Trustees' Annual Report including Directors Report for the year ending 31 March 2023

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Registered Charity: No 1093803

Company Registration: No 04443326

Registered Office: Des Box, East Richardson Street, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 2GG

Registered Accountants: Dashwoods Accountants Limited, 31 Dashwood Avenue, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP12 3DZ

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Contents`

Trustees' annual report for the year ended 31 March 2023 .................................................................. 3 Overview of our service .......................................................................................................................... 3 Objective, aims and activities ................................................................................................................. 4 Mission ................................................................................................................................................ 4 Aims .................................................................................................................................................... 5 Activities .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Performance and achievements ............................................................................................................. 8 Performance ....................................................................................................................................... 8 Achievements...................................................................................................................................... 9 Feedback received ............................................................................................................................ 11 Structure, governance and management ............................................................................................. 13 Trustees/Directors ............................................................................................................................ 13 Staff ................................................................................................................................................... 14 MB Volunteers .................................................................................................................................. 14 MB Mediator Supervisors ................................................................................................................. 14 Information Technology (IT), Processes & Procedures ..................................................................... 14 Financial review .................................................................................................................................... 15 Principal Funding Sources ................................................................................................................. 15 Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account) .................................. 16 Balance Sheet ........................................................................................................................................ 18 Notes to the Accounts .......................................................................................................................... 19 Accounting policies ........................................................................................................................... 19 Income .............................................................................................................................................. 20 Cost of charitable activities ............................................................................................................... 21 Staff costs .......................................................................................................................................... 22 Tangible fixed assets ......................................................................................................................... 22 Debtors and prepayments ................................................................................................................ 23 Creditors............................................................................................................................................ 23 Restricted funds ................................................................................................................................ 23 Financial Commitments .................................................................................................................... 24 Trustee Expenses .............................................................................................................................. 24 Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Mediation Buckinghamshire ............................... 25 Responsibilities and basis of report .................................................................................................. 25 Independent examiner's statement ................................................................................................. 25

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Trustees' annual report for the year ended 31 March 2023

The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's constitution, the Charities Act 2011 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” (effective 1 January 2019).

Overview of our service

Mediation Buckinghamshire (MB) is a well-established charity providing dispute resolution services such as mediation and conflict support that help individuals, families and organisations in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire resolve disputes that can take over their lives, damage their sense of well-being and erode confidence in their community.

Crucially our service is available to any resident in need and is free at the point of delivery.

MB works though a team of dedicated volunteers, all of whom are trained as mediators, DBS checked and are taken through a volunteer induction process. In 2022/2023, our volunteers received additional training in conflict support, safeguarding and domestic violence. MB uses four of its long-standing volunteers as Mediator Supervisors who provide their time free of charge to run a reflective supervisory programme for all volunteers.

We continue to work closely with our loyal network of local referrers to develop our business model and ensure that we can address their evolving needs such as setting up a programme at short notice with Buckinghamshire Council to work with The Homes for Ukraine project to help communication between hosts and their guests.

Our conflict support pilots have been well supported and referrer feedback has helped us to design a wider dispute resolution service to include individual conflict support sessions in which our trained volunteers encourage people experiencing conflict to change their responses and self-manage a difficult situation without recourse to external authorities, such as the police or housing officers.

Referrer feedback has also encouraged us to investigate the use of a geographically neutral working name that better reflects our wider range of services and this is something we intend to pursue further.

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For many years, MB’s income to pay for its core running costs came primarily from local authority and housing association Service Level Agreements (SLAs). However, we are not complacent and have had considerable success in widening our income streams to include all eleven Thames Valley policing authorities to support their work tackling antisocial behaviours in the community, local charities & trusts to support our intergenerational work and especially our work with children and young people and additional housing associations to address neighbourhood disputes where at least one party is a housing association tenant.

Nonetheless, we continue to look for new sources of funding so that we can increase access to our services including taking self-referrals from individual members of the community. We remain committed to mediating civil and/or workplace mediations, using community mediators who are additionally trained in this specialised area of work. Our mediators do not charge for their time or expertise and the money raised from this service is used to help cover our core office expenditure and enables us to continue to undertake self-referrals.

After a decade renting office space on Oxford Road, High Wycombe, in 2022, our landlord obtained permission to re-develop the site and we had to move on. We were fortunate to secure a unit in a new development of converted shipping containers owned by Buckinghamshire County Council in the centre of High Wycombe. We moved into Des Box in October 2022.

Our November 2022 AGM was a celebration of all that we had achieved in the preceding year and was well attended by our referrers and supporters across the Thames Valley including the Mayor, County Councillors and Senior Police Officers. Awards for long service were handed out to 11 MB volunteers who had mediated for over a decade. A panel, chaired by our one of our volunteers, addressed the topic, “Alternatives2Conflict - Challenges and Solutions” and led to a healthy debate about the impact and value of our community dispute resolution services.

Objective, aims and activities

Mission

MB began in 1997 as Wycombe Mediation, a community mediation service providing help in resolving neighbourhood conflicts experienced by the residents of the district. Over the years, our simple, but effective, business model has led to strong local support and gradual expansion of our services and our geographical remit.

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After 26 years, our conflict resolution services continue to play an important role in empowering people to live peacefully in their communities and in improving the mental health and well-being of its users. MB remains fully committed to offering its conflict resolution services to neighbours and families resident in Buckinghamshire and the wider Thames Valley region (Berkshire and Oxfordshire) and to remaining free at the point of access for this core work.

Aims

MB’s aims are to re-build connections between people who come into regular contact with each other, such as neighbours, work colleagues and family members and help them to resolve their differences so that they can move on in their lives looking forwards rather than backwards.

To achieve our aims, we will:

Activities

MB works through a team of dedicated volunteers from many backgrounds, trained to use active listening and non-judgemental communication skills to help others resolve conflict. They work to guide people through the dispute resolution process, creating options and solutions that are practical and fair to the participants themselves and that empower them to move forwards with their lives unblighted by conflict. Participation in our services is voluntary, confidential and not legally binding and we do not give advice or opinions; our role is to enable people to determine for themselves what they would like to do to resolve a dispute and to work with the parties on a neutral, impartial basis to find solutions that work for all those involved.

In carrying out our services, our Trustees, Staff and Volunteers are fully committed to MB’s core values: namely:

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MB is fortunate that its loyal supporters have continued to engage with and promote our services as we have moved towards a post COVID hybrid way of working with most single party meetings on Zoom and most joint meetings face to face. Nonetheless, we run a client focused and flexible service and are always open to making reasonable adjustments to our hybrid practices according to individual client needs and the nature of the case.

In 2022-2023, following our conflict support pilots and having listened to referrer feedback, we extended conflict support training to all our existing trained mediators. We now offer individual conflict support services in neighbourhood cases where only one party wishes to mediate and in Room To Talk cases where parties are not yet ready to move forwards to a joint mediation meeting. This one-to-one support service can provide powerful insight for someone to understand a situation differently, to reconsider their own role in the conflict and to create options as to how they choose to respond in the future. We are hopeful that, on the basis that feedback continues to be positive, we will be able to increase this additional conflict support service in 2023/2024 and recruit volunteers who will specialise in providing conflict support across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

In 2022-2023, MB referrals originated from a range of stakeholders across the Thames Valley area including: Charitable Housing Associations; Thames Valley Police; Local Authorities; Family Support Services (social care); Educational Providers such as schools and universities; Citizens Advice Bureaux; HR Departments; and self-referrals from neighbours, parents and carers.

Our conflict resolution work relating to neighbourhood disputes originate from a broad spectrum of local residents of all ages and ethnicity. Referrals tend to be triggered by anti-social behaviours, such as:

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MB’s Room To Talk work with families (35 cases in 2022/23) is often linked to existing tension within a family and the risk that a young person is thinking of leaving home, or maybe have already left on bad terms. We offer a safe space for individuals within a family to explain to us what is going on for them and to work through, in confidence, how they would like things to be. Then, if they are willing, MB can arrange a joint meeting with all those impacted where, with MB’s guidance, everyone has the opportunity to listen to each other in a neutral environment and work together to plan next steps. This often involves finding ways to communicate more respectfully and calmly in the future. Room to Talk can be used if young people are:

We have updated our signposting resources and can offer additional opportunities for support, where appropriate. For instance, signposting to bereavement charities may help address loneliness and social isolation, both of which can be an underlying cause of conflict in the community.

MB continues to provide workplace mediation services on a fee-paying basis to help local companies and organisations resolve disagreements where there’s a strain or breakdown in working relationships between two or more colleagues, or in a team. We also provide fee-paying civil mediation services to local business and residents involved in commercial disputes relating to, for example, goods and services supplied.

We are aware of current UK government initiatives to increase the use of mediation in the small claims sector including the introduction of mandatory telephone mediation for claims under £10,000 with no direct contact between the parties.

We are keeping a close eye on the debate around such proposals and are keen to be pro-active in this area since it seems likely that in time mediation will be a mandatory step in higher claim cases too. We have therefore reached out to a small group of other like-minded community mediation charities nationally and set up a Community Peer Support Group. We meet every 3 months, chaired by the MB Chair, and discusses issues of common interest such as the potential impacts of such government schemes on our credibility in the community, both positive and negative, the value of creating accredited professional standards across the community sector and opportunities for shared training of volunteers.

Not only are we committed to connecting with the wider dispute resolution community but, in 2022/23, MB provided interactive mediation awareness sessions to its existing referrers and partners. These sessions were aimed at helping referrers to recognise

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cases where mediation and conflict support can help and to understand our referral process and how to use it. We also spoke with potential new partners who wish to find out more about conflict and the conflict resolution options offered by MB. For instance, our staff ran pilot training sessions with a local charity working with children and young people who wished for support communicating both with their clients and internally with work colleagues. Based on feedback received, we intend to consider further the potential for expanding our services to include the use of role play and case studies to help people plan and execute difficult conversations in a calm and considered manner.

Finally, in 2022/23, and to ensure that our services are promoted and available to as many people in our community as possible, we engaged actively in awareness raising in a variety of ways including:

Performance and achievements

MB measures its support to the community in the number of cases that it receives from referrers, or directly from individuals in the community as self-referrals, and in the feedback that it receives from surveys submitted to people who have used our services, whether as referrers or as clients. Surveys are submitted to clients at the end of the process and are submitted to referrers both at the end of the process and three months later.

In 2022/23, we have additionally piloted the use of evidence-based questions in our work with families and young people. We used the Warwick-Edinburgh mental wellbeing scale to create our own questionnaire and have developed a feedback process for referrers so we can better evidence our impact by focusing on a reduction in contact by clients once they have engaged with MB’s services. Based on this feedback, we started work with the recently formed Community Peer Support Group to design an impact survey that could be used by all members of the group for neighbourhood and inter-generational work. We intend to use the results to demonstrate the impact of community conflict resolution nationally.

Performance

Our referral numbers for 2022/2023 have remained extremely healthy and well above pre-pandemic levels. We continue to use Zoom to carry out our initial exploratory

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meetings to discuss what is going on for the parties, the impact on their daily lives and possible options going forwards.

In 2022/23:

Cases Received 2022/23 2021/22
Total cases received 249 231
Housingassociations 35(14%) 37(16%)
Police 124(50%) 107(46%)
Local Authority/Social Services 22(9%) 20(8%)
Self-Referrals 60(24%) 60(26%)
Civil and Workplace 1(0%) 6(3%)
Other(CAB/Action4Youth) 7(3%) 1(1%)
Cases Closed 2022/23 2021/22
Total closed 148 165
Cases that involved mediators 146(99%) 117(71%)
Cases where we met allparties 66(47%) 24(20%)
Cases with ajoint meeting 28(20%) 20(17%)
Joint meeting that reached an
agreement		 20 (71%) 15 (75%)
No of residents involved 547 522
Total No. of volunteer hours 1,611 1,522

Achievements

Our focus in 2022/23 has been on continuing to provide a high-quality service and in ensuring that we are fit for purpose and future proofed to:

Specific achievements include:

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Feedback received

In 2022/23, MB received the following positive feedback from a diverse range of our users such as long-term referrers, new partners and residents across the Thames Valley region who have used our services:

Referrer and Partner Feedback

‘Very pleased with the services as I was kept updated along the process and updated with the good news that the mediation had been successful’.

‘I believe that Mediation Buckinghamshire is a brilliant service and it has allowed a safe space for individuals to share their views and opinions. The service is particularly useful when helping to resolve ongoing neighbour disputes which is the bread and butter of neighbourhood policing.’

‘MB had a professional approach and effectively dealt with a complaint between two housemates, precluding further Police intervention. I would definitely use again.’

‘Thanks again. The Mediation Bucks intervention and support actions make a genuine difference and have successfully concluded a good few cases for me.’

‘ Staff had the opportunity to speak out regarding the organisation and the direction. The staff were very open and honest. One staff member did approach [the CEO] and state it’s the best thing they have had since joining the team. This was because they don't really get the time to share their feelings in such a way. Also, it gave the managers ideas where the support is needed the most.’

‘Sometimes trying to get staff concerns to the surface is difficult meaning managers can't address anything and things stay static. But with outside agency coming onboard listening staff will open up and things can be actioned.’

‘Thanks to the Mediation Buckinghamshire, we are traveling in the right direction.’

‘Very pleased with the services as I was kept updated along the process and updated with the good news that the mediation had been successful.’

Community Feedback

‘It was a very safe place to talk. Great timing schedule. Once I’d been through the process of CS, the process made complete sense and I understood what I was dealing with.’

‘I felt comfortable and safe. Couldn't fault the aftercare and everything with the process was amazing.’

‘They were super friendly, the follow up was excellent. We were really pleased with the service.’

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‘Wish it could be legally binding. Mediators were good at getting communication open. Much more relaxing than court.’

‘It gave confidence to all the stakeholders involved. Everyone tried to help. They were empathetic and allowed us to talk to everyone involved in a way we couldn't have done without you. You guys were fantastic and your experience just helped.’

‘It was a pleasure to meet Andreea and Kayode a few weeks ago and for us to be able to tell our side of the story - please do thank them from us for their time.’

Public Benefit

We believe that it is everybody's right to live peacefully within their communities. The stress that is caused by disputes is real and should not be underestimated. As demonstrated by the referral rates and feedback above, our clients and referrers tell us that mediation and conflict support are effective ways of resolving disputes and, as such, provides a public benefit to the residents of Buckinghamshire and the Thames Valley region.

Furthermore, the Trustees hereby confirm that they have complied with the duty of Section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. Our charitable purpose within the meaning of the Act is enshrined within its objects as stated above.

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Structure, governance and management

MB is an incorporated company (limited by guarantee) and is a registered charity. It is run by a committed team of trustees, staff and volunteers, all of whom are passionate about making a difference in the community through facilitating difficult conversations and creating opportunities for people to move forwards and start again on a new footing. The structure is as set out below:

----- Start of picture text -----
Trustees
Acting Chief executive
Officer (part time)
Senior Case Work Manager (full time)
Case Worker Room to Talk (part time)
Senior Communication & Administrative Officer (part time)
Volunteer mediators
Volunteer mediator supervisors
----- End of picture text -----

Trustees/Directors

The directors of the charitable company are its trustees for the purposes of charity law and throughout the report are collectively referred to as trustees. All directors of the charity are members.

The trustees who held office as at March 31 2023 and were directors as well as trustees on the dates that the report was approved are as follows: Phyllida Middlemiss (Chair), Andy Kenward (Treasurer), Lin Instone (Secretary), Tony Kaye. There were no trustee appointments or retirements during the course of the year.

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MB is governed by a Board of Trustees who meet on a quarterly basis in order to guide MB’s work programme, promote good governance, review management accounts and other organisational matters. The trustees believe that sound risk management is integral to both good management and good governance practice and that risk management should form an integral part of MB’s decision–making and be incorporated within strategic and operational planning. Risk assessment will be conducted on all new activities and projects to ensure they are in line with MB’s objectives and mission. Any risks or opportunities arising will be identified, analysed and reported at an appropriate level. All trustees also take part in outreach work on behalf the charity as ambassadors and promoters of the charity and its services.

Staff

As a result of our increased referral numbers and greater visibility, MB carried out a staffing review and needs assessment.

In April 2022 the post of our existing caseworker was changed to Senior Casework Manager, made full time and amended to reflect additional duties going forwards. MB also created a new post of Acting CEO to enable us to have a business plan in place, to be clear about the growth potential of the service and to support the move for sustainable future funding. The existing Development Manger was appointed to this new part time role for a period of one year, renewable, starting 1 April 2022. In June 2022, MB recruited two additional part time staff members; a Senior Communication and Administrative Officer and a Room to Talk case/project worker. In September 2022, MB engaged a social media and marketing specialist to help MB set up and manage MB social media accounts such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

MB Volunteers

At 31 March 2023, our volunteers were: Andreea, Andy, Annie, Antony, Aylene, Catherine, Eileen, Emma, Graham, Helen, Janet, John, Jeremy, Kayode, Lin, Linda, Liz, Lynne, Margaret, Oliver, Pally, Pat, Phyllida, Rita, Roger, Sandy, Sue, Suzi and Tony.

MB Mediator Supervisors

As of 31 March 2023, Rita (lead supervisor), Sue, Antony and Janet were our Mediator Supervisors. All provide their services to MB free of charge.

Information Technology (IT), Processes & Procedures

To meet the IT needs of our new staff posts, MB has purchased some refurbished computer hardware and has started to put in place plans to update the current Case Management System (CMS) system, not least because our current system, Intermediate, has not responded well to our greater referral numbers and we are concerned as to how much longer it will remain fit for purpose. The arrival of new staff has prompted MB top carry out a full review of MB administrative processes and procedures and to update its internal paperwork and correspondence with referrers and clients. Our caseworkers now formally triage all cases coming into MB and assess them for SAW:

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Safety; Appropriateness, and Willingness to Engage before completing a Conflict Resolution Information Brief (CRIB) for our internal case management records. Our Visit Report Forms have also been reviewed by a group of volunteers and amended to reflect the range of dispute resolution options that are available to our clients; not just mediation but also conflict support and signposting.

Financial review

The financial statements below reflect the MB activities outlined above and have been drawn up to comply with the Statement of Recommended Practice for Charities.

In 2022/23 there was an overall decrease in total funds held of £35,765 from 2021/22. The overall funds available to the charity are sufficient to enable it to continue to carry out its stated objectives.

Principal Funding Sources

The charity works in partnership with its principal funders including local authorities, housing associations and the police.

In 2022/23, MB had service level agreements with:

In 2022/23 MB received grants from:

The Charity additionally undertakes workplace mediation, civil mediation and mediation of disputes involving residents of Paradigm Housing, for which it gets paid on a caseby-case basis.

Signed on behalf of the trustees,

Phyllida Middlemiss Chair of Trustees

Dated: November 2023

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Mediation Buckinghamshire Company Number 04443326

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure

Account)

for the year ended 31 March 2023

Note
Income and endowments:
Voluntary income
2
Activities for generating funds
Investment income (Bank
interest)
Total income and endowments
Expenditure on:
Costs of charitable activities
3
Total resources expended
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 2022/23
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total funds
£
£
£
7,500
28,126
35,626
36,425
0
36,425
22
0
22
43,947
28,126
72,073
80,487
27,348
107,835
80,487
27,348
107,835
(36,540)
778
(35,762)
46,044
15,218
61,262
9,504
15,996
25,500

All income and expenditure is derived from continuing activities.

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for the year ended 31 March 2022

Note
Income and endowments:
Voluntary income
2
Activities for generating funds
Investment income (Bank
i t
t)
Total income and endowments
Expenditure on:
Costs of charitable activities
3
Total resources expended
Net movement in funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 2021/22
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Total funds
£
£
£
20,000
19,800
39,800
28,325
0
28,325
18
0
18
48,343
19,800
68,143
61,702
4,582
66,284
61,702
4,582
66,284
(13,359)
15,218
1,859
59,403
0
59,403
46,044
15,218
61,262

All income and expenditure is derived from continuing activities.

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Balance Sheet

at 31 March 2023

t 31 March 2023
Note
Tangible fixed assets:
Tangible assets
5
Current assets:
Debtors
6
Bank accounts
Total current assets
Creditors:
Amounts due within one year
7
Net current assets
Total assets less current
liabilities
Net assets
Capital funds:
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
8
Total funds		 2023
£
£
0
5,088
54,359
59,447
33,948
25,449
25,499
25,499
9,504
15,995
25,499		 2022
£
£
0
2,553
73,268
75,821
14,559
61,262
61,262
61,262
46,044
15,218
61,262
59,447
33,948		 75,821
14,559
25,499 61,262
25,499 61,262
9,504
15,995		 46,044
15,218
25,499 61,262

For the year ending 31 March 2023 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476. The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of the accounts.

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

Approved by the trustees,

Andy Kenward Treasurer

Dated: 8 November 2023

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Notes to the Accounts

These annexed notes form part of the Financial Statements

Note

1 Accounting policies

The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland “(“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical convention (modified to include certain items at fair value). The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and rounded to the nearest pound.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years unless otherwise stated.

Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included in the SOFA when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Resources expended

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources.

Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:

Computers: 25% per annum of cost

Fixtures and Fittings: 25 % per annum of acquisition cost

Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees for particular purposes.

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Note

Pension costs

The company contributes to a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable to the fund in respect of the year.

Reserves policy

The Charity aims to hold reserves in unrestricted funds sufficient to meet statutory redundancy obligations to staff and other contractual liabilities.

2
Income
Voluntary income:
Grants and donations
Activities for generating
funds
Mediation services
Investment income:
Bank interest
Total income		 2022/23
2021/22
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
£
£
£
£
7,500
28,126
20,000
19,800
36,425
0
28,325
0
22
0
18
0
43,947
28,126
48,343
19,800

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Note

3
Cost of charitable activities
Payroll and pension costs
Mediators’ expenses and venue
hire
Premises (rent and utilities)
Insurance (premises and
professional indemnity)
Office costs (IT, phone, publicity,
copying and consumables)
Training
Supervision
Depreciation
Independent examination
Trustee expenses
Repairs, renewals and small
equipment
Corporate expenses
Total costs		 2022/23
2021/22
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
funds
£
£
£
£
58,204
20,074
43,247
2,232
1,243
39
11
9,127
734
6,864
427
25
446
5,475
1,241
4,480
1,815
4,490
575
2,350
4,045
74
450
450
540
2,476
540
45
1,269
206
926
80,486
27,349
61,703
4,582

Small inconsistencies with the income and expenditure statement are due to rounding.

There was no remuneration for Trustees in the year. There are no related party transactions to report.

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Note

4 Staff costs

The average number of persons employed by the company, including directors, during the year was as follows:

Office administration (full
time equivalent)
Salaries
Employers NI
Pensions
Total
Tangible fixed assets
Cost:
At 1 April 2023
Additions/disposals
At 31 March 2023
Depreciation:
At 1 April 2023
Charge for the year
At 31 March 2023
Net book value:
At 1 April 2023		 Office administration (full
time equivalent)
Salaries
Employers NI
Pensions
Total
Tangible fixed assets
Cost:
At 1 April 2023
Additions/disposals
At 31 March 2023
Depreciation:
At 1 April 2023
Charge for the year
At 31 March 2023
Net book value:
At 1 April 2023		 2022/23
3.38
£
75,536
1,829
914
78,279
£
Cost:
4,101
At 1 April 2022
0
Additions
4,101
At 31 March
2022
Depreciation:
4,101
At 1 April 2022
0
Charge for the
4,101
At 31 March
2022
Net book value:
0
At 1 April 2023		 2021/22
1.38
£
44,471
247
762
45,480
£
4,101
0
4,101
4,101
0
4,101
0

22

Note

ote ote
6
Debtors and prepayments
Amounts falling due within one year:
Deposit with landlord
Prepayments and accrued income
Invoice 21113 (part) – Buckinghamshire Council
Invoice 21128 - Paradigm Housing Group
Invoice 21130 - Paradigm Housing Group
Invoice 21109 - Paradigm Housing Group
Invoice 21110 - Buckinghamshire Council
Invoice 21111 - Heart of Bucks Community Fund
prepaid
7
Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year:
Accruals and Deferred Income
Deferred income: Thames Valley Police for 2023/24
Deferred income: Bucks Council for 2023/24
8
Restricted funds
Fund b/f
Income
£
£
Casework coordinator
11,568
Volunteer training
1,650
2,500
Social media
2,000
Children & young
l
22,626
Self-referrals
3,000
Totals
15,218
28,126		 2023
2022
£
£
770
943
1,753
300
2,700
375
450
850
(500)
5,088
2,553
2023
2022
£
£
4,823
5,184
24,750
9,375
4,375
33,948
14,559
Spend
Transfer
Fund c/f
£
£
£
11,568
4,150
640
1,360
7,990
14,636
3,000
15,218
28,126		 27,348
0
15,996

23

Note

9
Financial Commitments
Office lease with 3 month break clause		 2023
2022
£
£
2,310
4,750
2,310
4,750

10 Trustee Expenses

Trustees only claim travelling expenses to and from meetings.

24

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Mediation Buckinghamshire

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of Mediation Buckinghamshire ('the Company') for the year ended 31 March 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity’s trustees of the Company (who are also the directors of the company 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 for this year 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 have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection which gives me cause to believe that:

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.

Rebekah Haywood (FCCA)

Dashwoods Accountants Limited Chartered Certified Accountants 31 Dashwood Avenue High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HP12 3DZ 9 November 2023

25

Mediation Bucks Des Box, East Richardson Street, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 2GG Telephone: 01494 520821

mediation@mediationbucks.org.uk www.mediationbucks.org.uk

Mediation Bucks is the operating name of Mediation Buckinghamshire

Registered Charity No 1093803 Company Registration No 04443326

26