**COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 04407742 CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1093901** 


## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Financial statements** 

**31 March 2023** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Financial statements** 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

||**Page**|
|---|---|
|Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)|**1**|
|Independent auditor's report to the members|**17**|
|Statement of financial activities (including income and expenditure account)|**21**|
|Balance sheet|**22**|
|Statement of cash flows|**23**|
|Notes to the financial statements|**24**|





## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

The trustees, who are also the directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023. 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in notes to the accounts and comply with the charity's governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and Companies Act 2006 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 published in October 2019. 

## **Reference and administrative details** 

**Registered charity name** CHESS Homeless **Charity registration number** 1093901 **Company registration number** 04407742 **Principal office and registered** 200 New London Road **office** Chelmsford Essex CM2 9AB 

## **The trustees** 

The trustees who served during the year and at the date of approval were as follows: 

Joy Michelle Brown (Chair) Hannah Harbottle Andrew Murphy Graeme Hall Janice Guy (resigned 14 June 2022) Ben Shepherd (appointed 23 August 2022) 

**Company secretary** David Brinkley **Chief Executive Officer** Rob Saggs **Operations manager** Lis Gutteridge **Auditor** Lovewell Blake LLP Chartered accountants & statutory auditor Bankside 300 Peachman Way Broadland Business Park Norwich NR7 0LB **Bankers** The Co-operative Bank plc 1 Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP 

**- 1 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Objectives and activities** 

The Charity's objects are restricted specifically, only for the public benefit, to relieve poverty, hardship and distress, in particular but not exclusively, amongst the homeless, those at risk of homelessness, and those living in adverse conditions. 

This is encapsulated within our Mission statement, Aims and Values of the charity: 

## **Our Mission** 

_CHESS works to ensure that people who find themselves homeless are supported in ways that enable them to move forward purposefully and in good health._ 

## **Our Aims** 

_To provide a good standard of accommodation for the homeless. Supporting improvement in the health and well-being of service users without discrimination or judgement. Giving practical support in achieving independence. Raising awareness of homelessness and to become a catalyst for change and partnership recognising the resources of others._ 

## **Our Values** 

_We care for the homeless and those at risk of homelessness, respecting their need for safety and dignity. We promote a sense of security, self-worth and acceptance of the diversity of the individuals we serve. We encourage the growth and development of our staff and service users through partnerships and training opportunities with others. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all._ 

## **Public benefit** 

The trustees have taken due regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission on public benefit. It is considered that the charity provides a public benefit through our stated; Mission, Aims and Values. 

**CHESS Homeless activities:** CHESS Homeless service delivery consists of the following mechanisms: 

**Outreach service:** We deliver outreach to the following areas Chelmsford, Braintree, Maldon, Epping, Rochford, Brentwood, Uttlesford and Castlepoint. This is where our Rough Sleeper Initiative (RSI) team funded by the Department of Levelling Up Communities and Housing (DLUHC) go out to investigate reports of rough sleepers initiated by members of the public via the Streetlink portal, and direct referrals from the local authorities we work with. 

We offer lifesaving supplies such as tents, water, suncream, sleeping bags and food to begin a journey that will hopefully see the individual that is rough sleeping engage and become housed. This can be either directly with us or with another agency or in a private rental scheme. 

**Rough Sleeper** Emergency bed spaces that mostly serve the outreach team and the 8 local authorities that we operated in during this financial year. This facility has 9 self-contained units a large communal space and office. The facility houses the outreach team and offers 24/7 support to those living on site. It is used as a feeder housing to help those either move back to the areas that they come from, into CHESS or other specialist provision and other move on accommodation. 

**Hodgkinson House - Shelter:** The Shelter has 7 bedrooms in total and one of these is an independent self-contained disability suite. Each service user has a license during their stay here at CHESS Homeless. The shelter also has a professional kitchen where cooking classes take place, a therapeutic green space, 3 private consultation rooms and a small training space. It also houses our support and administration team and is our registered office address. On site is the provision of a kitchenette and lounge upstairs in the shelter so that service users could self-isolate as a household, if necessary. The facility operates on a 24/7 basis and is referred to as 'HH' rather than 'The night shelter', as was previously known as. 

**- 2 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Objectives and activities** _**(continued)**_ 

**Halfway House:** CHESS Homeless continued to deliver the model of the halfway house between shelter accommodation and move-on accommodation. This has 5 hours a day of support staff on site, but it is otherwise accessible and useable in the same way as core CHESS Homeless HMO properties. 

**Move on:** The CHESS Homeless move on accommodation consists of 11 other properties that house 50 individuals in total. Service users move from Hodgkinson House or Woodstock Motel into move on once they have engaged with the 'change programme' that is on offer that helps lead them back into independent living. 

**Back into independent accommodation:** Once a service user has stayed in CHESS accommodation for a period of assessment and support, we can verify that they can hold down accommodation in a House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) environment. This offers assurances to supported housing providers and private landlords. 

**- 3 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

**Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Objectives and activities** _**(continued)**_ 



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## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Objectives and activities** _**(continued)**_ 

CHESS Homeless uses its accommodation to help address the needs of those that are rough sleeping, homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. There is a tiered system that enables a person to access the correct service in CHESS Homeless, this can be from accessing the rough sleeper beds or Hodgkinson House accommodation to being assessed, and then from there into the most appropriate accommodation for their support needs. This may follow a process where the service user accesses all levels and types of supported accommodation in CHESS Homeless, before finally moving out to live independently. Those individuals who engage well and who have lower levels of support may equally jump a level of supported accommodation before moving on. 

CHESS Homeless continues to deliver support and housing to those homeless in Epping - this is through direct partnership with the Epping Local authority and the partnership with Essex County Council. 

The overall provision of beds in the year was reduced from 66 beds to 60 beds. This was due to one of our HMO properties, leased to us by Chelmsford City Council, being taken back for extension purposes. This site will come back to CHESS once the extended provisions are complete. The trustees continue to seek ways to increase bed capacity further to meet the increasing demand in the county. 

Throughout all CHESS Homeless accommodation, support staff are assigned to each service user to help them address issues that may have seen them become homeless in the first place. These issues can range from the need for affordable accommodation to substance misuse and access to mental health services. 

The biggest challenge we face in reducing our homeless population is the availability of suitable affordable accommodation for them to move in to. There remains a challenge to influence and engage landlords to offer accommodation to residents who are on the 'homeless journey'. There have been some successes but not enough to meet the need. Early intervention with enduring solutions is critical in addressing homelessness. Statistics generated in 2018 show the mean age at death of long term homeless was 47 years for males and 43 years for females; compared to the general population of England and Wales, where the mean age at death was 76 years for men and 81 years for women. This provides the challenge of being able to successfully provide specialist 'wrap-around' support to enable a successful move away from the streets and into accommodation. 

Complex drug and alcohol services in Essex can be difficult to access with availability inconsistent across the county especially at short notice. Services that are in place are often many miles away from the user, which builds additional reluctance to engage with services. Interventions can often be short, and clients are often discharged too quickly. For our clients to make the large step back into society they need consistent localised longer-term interventions by specialist workers to successfully aid recovery. 

**- 5 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Objectives and activities** _**(continued)**_ 

*National data from Homeless link reports the following: 

- People experiencing homelessness suffer from worse physical and mental health than the general population. 

- Between 2018 - 2021 63% of respondents reported they had a long-term illness, disability, or infirmity. 

- The number of people with a mental health diagnosis has increased substantially from 45% in 2014 to 82% in the 2018 - 2021 cohort. 

- 45% of respondents reported they are self-medicating with drugs or alcohol to help them cope with their mental health. 

- Barriers in accessing needed support for physical and mental health means people experiencing homelessness are over reliant on emergency health care services, with 48% of respondents having used A&E services in the last year, three times more than the general population. 

- Between 2018 - 2021 a total of 38% of respondents had been admitted to hospital in the 12 months before participating in a Homeless Health Needs Audit. The most common reason for hospital admission related to a physical health condition (37%), and 28% related to a mental health condition. or self-harm or attempted suicide. 

- For those who had been admitted to hospital nearly a quarter (24%) had been discharged to the streets. 

- Nutrition presents as a big challenge with a third of respondents reporting that on average, they eat only one more meal a day. 

- Homelessness has a devastating impact on people's health and wellbeing. Across all forms of health care needs, both physical and mental, as well as access to necessary support, people experiencing homelessness report poorer diagnoses and greater barriers to the healthcare needed than the general population. We must understand why this is and address the systemic change needed. Experiencing homelessness should not mean that someone is unable to access the healthcare they need. Nor should it mean we accept poorer health outcomes and growing health inequalities. Homelessness is a health issue, and we must respond accordingly. In 2021 1,286 died whilst being homeless - this is an increase of 32% from 2020 to 2021. With a death now occurring on average every 7 hours. 

*www.homeless.org.uk/knowledge-hub/unhealthy-state-of-homelessness-2022-findings-from-the-homelesshealth-needs-audit/. 

**- 6 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Objectives and activities** _**(continued)**_ 

## **CHESS Homeless Organisation Hierarchy** 

The FTE total for the reporting year was 29.9. 


**- 7 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Objectives and activities** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Social Audit** 

Since 2011 CHESS Homeless has routinely conducted a Social Audit using the guidance issued by the Social Audit Network (SAN). This Social Audit has been an embedded process in our operating routine, but due to the impact of the pandemic over the last 3 reporting years we have not had the opportunity to deliver on this. This has been due to the senior team needing to have all staff available to respond to the issues and challenges of the pandemic and the increase in our provisions for those that are homeless. The homeless operating environment is still rapidly changing due to emerging local and central government initiatives and therefore the Trustees have placed the Social Audit on hold for a 3rd year. 

As an indicator of Social Impact, the trustees did input the outcomes for FY22/23 into the scoring matrix used in the 2019 Social Audit. The score values were uplifted to 2023 Economic Conditions, the outcome was an estimated Social Value of £5,649,644. The trustees are considering an alternative streamlined method of reporting outcomes and impact that will utilise the Essex County Council (ECC) Social Value scoring matrix. This format would allow CHESS Homeless to use the Rough Sleeper Initiative (RSI) contract reporting format to capture all operational activity. The logic being that the ECC scoring matrix has been shaped to reflect the prioritised objectives of our major stakeholder and offers synergy in reporting RSI performance and overall, CHESS Homeless performance. 

## **Achievements and performance** 

CHESS Homeless has been funded by Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to provide the Rough Sleeper Initiative (RSI) outreach service in Chelmsford, Epping, Braintree, Maldon, Brentwood, Castlepoint, Uttlesford and Rochford. The RSI project provides funding for 5 FTE outreach staff and an Outreach Team Coordinator. The team pick up referrals from members of the public who can report Rough Sleepers via the Street-link app. The team can also be tasked direct from the Council. 

The team visits the area where the rough sleeper has been reported within 24 hours and seeks to engage with them. If CHESS Homeless has capacity within the RSI rooms, we will offer a bed space to the person and provide help and support to address the issues that saw the individual become homeless in the first instance. Then the former rough sleeper will be assigned a support worker to help them on their journey into independent living and develop a tailored support programme. This may include signposting them to other agencies for bespoke services. 

During this reporting year CHESS Homeless managed to offer 153 individuals a bedspace and access to our integrated support services. This was an increase of 98.8% on the prior year. 64% of these individuals moved on positively, which is a 23.1% from the previous year. 

Our RSI staff placed 42 individuals into dedicated RSI beds at Woodstock Motel and 19 in other CHESS accommodation. We secured alternative accommodation for an additional 85 individuals. In total 149 individuals were either prevented from rough sleeping or removed from the immediate risk of rough sleeping in this period. CHESS were delighted to be awarded the follow-on RSI contract which will run from September 2022 to March 2025. This contract renewal will allow CHESS to further enhance our focus on early intervention and triage. 

During this reporting year CHESS along with its partners in the RSI group were awarded the 'Working in Partnership award for 2022' from the Essex Housing awards. A troubling legacy of the pandemic is the increase in victims of domestic abuse, much of which is worryingly under-reported. CHESS Homeless have continued their work with Safer Places Essex and have set aside a 4-bed property to help with the chronic shortage of appropriate space for victims. The trustees will continue to explore ways we can continue to support this extremely vulnerable group as we seek to partner with more socially aware landlords in our operating area working towards specific accommodation for such clients. 

**- 8 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Achievements and performance** _**(continued)**_ 

CHESS Homeless has benefited from a tremendous level of support from our dedicated group of volunteers who support salaried staff in various roles across our operations. Pre pandemic our volunteers donated around 7,000 hours, typically averaging just over 100 hours per person per year. During the pandemic we were unable to utilise this fantastic local support. As we gradually opened up our services this reporting year, we are drawing in more volunteer support. During the year volunteers logged 1,211 hours of our normal volunteer support and we plan to grow this further as we open up more of our services in the coming years. During the reporting period we have managed to keep our volunteers updated on our emerging plans for increased services via leaflets and face-to-face briefings. 

## **Headline achievements** 

Our service is naturally people focused and relies heavily on face-to-face support meetings. Since the aftermath of the pandemic, we have been cautiously increasing face-to-face work and seeing the positive outcomes from this. Our shelter (Hodgkinson House) continues 24 hours a day and 7 days a week with an increase from 6 to 7 beds. 

- Total Bed Space Nights Generated throughout the Operations of CHESS - 21,447 (this is a significant increase from the previous year of 17,350 due to isolating issues and a property / bedspace increasing). 

- Achieved 90% Utilisation of Core Bed Spaces (this was down by 3% from the previous year due to external services with allocated bed rights not referring in a timely fashion). 

- 153 people were offered a bed and bespoke support within CHESS Homeless. 

- 149 people were relieved or prevented from becoming homeless. 

- 12 people gained employment whilst in CHESS. 

- 261 individuals in contact with the Outreach Team. 

- RSI Contacts attempted - 1,746. 

- Street Casework visits/logs - 3,155. 

- RSI in-house support consultations - 2,266. 

- CHESS client support casework actions - 2,639. 

- CHESS training/wellbeing meetings 116 (this began in August and is face to face group meetings). 

- Training support meetings - 215. 

- Employment support meetings - 281. 

- The Trustees saw one new member join the board and one resign retaining the board numbers. 

- CHESS gained funding to reduce energy costs at one of our sites by adding the provision of bifold doors and more energy efficient heating to the clients' rooms. 

- Total Social Value of all CHESS Homeless Activities was £5,649m this is 403% based on the operating costs of £1.49m. 

- CHESS reduced its total bedspaces from 66 to 60 due to handing back a property for redevelopment by the landlord. This property will come back to CHESS with additional bedspaces once developed. 

**- 9 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Achievements and performance** _**(continued)**_ 

- The Outreach Team helped facilitate 143 moves of clients directly from the streets into non-RSI accommodation. 

- CHESS Homeless is sad to report that we had one of our clients take their own life during this accounting period. 

- CHESS along with the County Council and 8 local authorities won the Essex Housing 'Working in Partnership' award for 2022. 

**- 10 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

**Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Achievements and performance** _**(continued)**_ 


**- 11 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Achievements and performance** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Case study** 

Client A initially engaged with Outreach and was then brought into Woodstock Motel on 27 June 2022. 

Two team members both worked closely with Client A. 

Client A let us know that he couldn't read or write so as support workers the team had to talk Client A through everything and help them at every stage of his housing application to Brentwood Borough Council. This needed a higher than usual level of support to ensure that nothing was missed or reported incorrectly. 

Because of Client A's lack of literacy, they didn't have any identification or proof of being a resident in Brentwood, even though they were a well-known face as he had been a market trader at the fruit and veg stall for 40 years. This meant that the application process wasn't smooth, but eventually, through tireless work from the team, Client A was placed on the house register and able to bid. 

Things progressed quickly from there and Client A was nominated for a property in Hutton, which he gladly accepted. Client A was taken to his new home on 7 November 2022 and with the help of the facilities team, CHESS were able to provide him with a bed, sofa and several other things to begin life in his new home. 

We heard from Client A a few days after he had moved and he wanted to thank us for all the help and support he received. 

## **Financial review** 

## **Financial review and principal sources of funding** 

During the course of 2022/23 CHESS Homeless engaged Six-Key Policy Advisors to undertake a review of existing Housing Benefit rates received from Chelmsford City Council resulting in a substantial uplift in the rates which came into effect on 1 January 2023. Consequently, income from Housing Benefit and rents increased by 32% to £532k (2022: £403k). 

The uplift in Housing Benefit is also expected to further increase 2023-2024 income. Six-Key will conduct an annual review in the early part of 2024 and will include the property in Epping District Council which was previous excluded. 

During the year Felton Fundraising were responsible for securing £150k of grants and donations at a cost of £12k pa. The amount is slightly down on the previous year's amount of £190k. 

The main grants and donations received during the course of the year included: 

- Rough Sleeper Initiative, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), £253k 

- NSAP (Next Step Accommodation Programme), £104k 

- Essex Community Fund, £45k 

- Garfield Weston, £30k 

- Mulberry Trust, £15k 

- Charis Trust, £10k 

Overall expenditure was up by 2.5% to £1,449k (2022: £1,411k). Staffing costs rose by 6% to £896k (£845k: 2022). Unrestricted operating costs increased by 21% to £1,133k (2022: £938k) this was due largely by the substantial increase in energy costs. 

**- 12 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Financial review** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Reserves Policy** 

The current policy is to have reserves equalling six months operating costs which for the year 2022/2023 would amount to £567k. However, current free reserves stand at £87k (2022: £103k) leaving a deficit of £480k. We are investigating the benefits of recalculating reserve requirements using actual amounts on a declining basis over a six month period which would give a much more realistic figure currently in the region of £250k. Whilst the charity is still below the target level we would expect the uplift in Housing Benefit to significantly improve the reserves. The proposal will be discussed further at Management and Trustee level in the early part of 2024 where the contingency plan of using liquid fixed assets will also be considered. 

## **Plans for future periods** 

We are working with Chelmsford City Council to increase the current level of accommodation to meet their anticipated demand for temporary accommodation. The aim is to have enough accommodation so that people do not have to sleep rough prior to having their housing situation addressed. Within Chelmsford, CHESS is looking at developing specialist accommodation for one or all of the following specific needs: Substance misuse, Women and children fleeing domestic abuse and Mental health. 

We are developing plans to increase the provision of accommodation that is currently serving our Rough Sleeper facility. The site is part of our wider partnership that Essex County Council lead on, but includes Chelmsford, Epping, Maldon, Braintree, Rochford, Uttlesford, Castlepoint and Brentwood. The outline proposal will be to replace the current 9 bedsits with 24 self-contained single bedroomed modular housing units within the site boundary. We have developed early plans and we are currently investigating the use of renewable energy sources in the final design requirement. We are also exploring capital funding options through the SHAP (Single Homeless Accommodation Project) grant made available through DLUHC (Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities) and Homes England. If successful, these modular housing units will provide additional move on housing and help maintain the natural flow of people through the CHESS/RSI pathways. The significant value to this provision of housing is that clients will be able to address their issues that saw them become homeless in the first instance without having to share facilities with any other person (currently all of CHESS Housing stock consists of HMO's - Houses of Multiple Occupancy). Research shows that the increase expected outcomes from delivering a project like this is successful. 

To secure CHESS' further future, we are also taking a view on if CHESS should become a Registered Social Landlord (RSL). 

CHESS is delivering a programme with Safer Places (a charity that works with women fleeing domestic abuse) with CHESS Homeless providing the housing and support to keep the individuals housed and accommodated. Then Safer Places delivering the trauma informed support for those vulnerable women fleeing the domestic abuse. We are also seeking to partner with 'Advance Charity' another charity working with women to gain support to better their current situation - this can include domestic abuse, probation service, and severe vulnerability. 

We are keen to ensure that we continue to deliver a 24/7 service in going forward so that our clients do not need to walk the streets. 

**- 13 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Structure, governance and management** 

CHESS Homeless is a public benefit entity and a private company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales and a registered charity in England and Wales. CHESS Homeless is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 2nd April 2002 and revised on 6th February 2006, 3rd November 2015 and 16 July 2021. 

## **Recruitment, Appointment and Training of Trustees** 

The recruitment and appointment of new trustees follows this process: 

CHESS Homeless will advertise for a trustee appointment and request that a trustee application form is completed by those interested individuals. Once the deadline has passed the applicants are shortlisted and invited to attend an interview. Upon a successful interview the candidate / candidates will be invited to sit in and contribute at a minimum of two trustee meetings - the candidate will then be discussed by the current board of Trustees and feedback will be given to the candidate / candidates as to whether they have been successful or not. 

Trustees are given an induction pack that explains the role and responsibilities of the trustee. Training for Trustees will be given on an annual basis in the form of away days - these may be virtual depending on the pandemic and restrictions. 

The board of Trustees are as detailed on page 1. 

## **Organisational structure** 

The board of Trustees delegate the day to day running of the Charity to the CEO. The CEO and Operations Manager routinely report to the board during monthly board meetings. 

## **Setting of remuneration for key management personnel** 

Remuneration for members of the Senior Management Team is set and agreed by the Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Trust in consultation with the Trustees with responsibility for HR or Finance. 

Remuneration for the Chief Executive Officer is set by the Chairman of the Trust in consultation with the Trustees with responsibility for HR and Finance. 

All posts are determined by comparisons within the industry and local market demands. 

**- 14 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Structure, governance and management** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Risk Assessment** 

CHESS Trustees have produced a risk register that captures the top 10 risks relevant to our operating environment. The risk register has been reviewed by the board of trustees and has become a stand-alone agenda item on all future board meetings. 

## **Fundraising standards information** 

The board of trustees supports raising funds from the public in relation to our core activities. The Charity is registered with the Fundraising Regulator. There have been no complaints about fundraising activity this year. 

The fundraising department has signed up to the Fundraising Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice. All fundraising guidance and working practices have been or are being updated so that they are compliant. Fundraisers are also given a briefing before they raise funds for the Charity and will also be given annual updates/reminders via communication from the fundraising department. 

All marketing material or information sent from the Charity contains clear instructions on how a person can be removed from the mailing lists and is GDPR compliant. 

## **Trustees' responsibilities statement** 

The trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). 

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. 

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to: 

- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; 

- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019 (FRS102); 

- make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 

- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; 

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business. 

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

**- 15 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Auditor** 

Each of the persons who is a trustee at the date of approval of this report confirms that: 

- so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charity's auditor is unaware; and 

- they have taken all steps that they ought to have taken as a trustee to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity's auditor is aware of that information. 

The auditors, Lovewell Blake LLP, were appointed following the year end and have indicated their willingness to accept re-appointment. 

## **Small company provisions** 

This report has been prepared taking advantage of the small companies' exemption of section 415A of the Companies Act 2006. 

The trustees' annual report was approved on 15 December 2023 and signed on behalf of the board of trustees by: 

Joy Michelle Brown (Chair) Trustee 

**- 16 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Independent auditor's report to the members of CHESS Homeless** 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Opinion** 

We have audited the financial statements of CHESS Homeless (the 'charity') for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities (including income and expenditure account), balance sheet, statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). 

In our opinion the financial statements: 

- give a true and fair view of the state of the charity's affairs as at 31 March 2023 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended; 

- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; 

- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006. 

## **Basis for opinion** 

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. 

## **Conclusions relating to going concern** 

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. 

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

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. 

**- 17 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Independent auditor's report to the members of CHESS Homeless** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Other information** 

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. 

We have nothing to report in this regard. 

## **Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006** 

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit: 

- the information given in the trustees' report which includes the director' report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and 

- the directors' report included within the trustees' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements. 

## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception** 

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' report included within the trustees' report. 

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion: 

- adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or 

- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or 

- certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or 

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

- the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the directors' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report. 

**- 18 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Independent auditor's report to the members of CHESS Homeless** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **Responsibilities of trustees** 

As explained more fully in the trustees' responsibilities statement, the trustees (who are also the directors for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. 

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. 

## **Auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements** 

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. 

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below: 

- Enquiry of management and those charged with governance to confirm there are no instances of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations. 

- Review of key accounting estimates, to ensure reasonable and no signs of management bias. 

- Review of disclosures within the financial statements and vouching these to supporting documentation to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. 

- Performing audit work over the risk of management override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of activities and reviewing accounts estimates for bias. 

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. 

**- 19 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Independent auditor's report to the members of CHESS Homeless** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report. 

## **Use of our report** 

This report is made solely to the charity's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. 

Mark Proctor FCA DChA (Senior Statutory Auditor) 

For and on behalf of Lovewell Blake LLP Chartered accountants & statutory auditor Bankside 300 Peachman Way Broadland Business Park Norwich NR7 0LB 

19 December 2023 

**- 20 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Statement of financial activities (including income and expenditure account)** 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

||||**2023**||2022|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||Unrestricted|Restricted|||
|||funds|funds|**Total funds**|Total funds|
||**Note**|**£**|**£**|**£**|£|
|**Income and endowments**||||||
|Donations and legacies|**5**|503,335|102,062|605,397|1,219,785|
|Charitable activities|**6**|649,574|253,345|902,919|770,925|
|Investment income|**7**|294|–|294|97|
|||---------------------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|**Total income**||1,153,203|355,407|1,508,610|1,990,807|
|||=======================================|===============================|=======================================|=======================================|
|**Expenditure**||||||
|Raising funds||||||
|Costs of raising funds|**8**|50,401|–|50,401|48,600|
|Charitable activities|**9**|1,083,352|366,024|1,449,376|1,410,811|
|||---------------------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|**Total expenditure**||1,133,753|366,024|1,499,777|1,459,411|
|||=======================================|===============================|=======================================|=======================================|
|**Net income before transfer of funds**||19,450|(10,617)|8,833|531,396|
|Transfers between funds||36,212|(36,212)|–|–|
|||---------------------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|**Net movement in funds**||55,662|(46,829)|8,833|531,396|
|**Reconciliation of funds**||||||
|Total funds brought forward||956,705|771,423|1,728,128|1,196,732|
|||---------------------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|**Total funds carried forward**||1,012,367|724,594|1,736,961|1,728,128|
|||=======================================|===============================|=======================================|=======================================|



The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. 

**The notes on pages 24 to 36 form part of these financial statements.** 

**- 21 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Balance sheet** 

## **31 March 2023** 

|||**2023**||2022||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Note**|**£**|**£**|£|£|
|**Fixed assets**||||||
|Tangible fixed assets|**15**||1,892,442||1,839,918|
|**Current assets**||||||
|Debtors|**16**|172,951||64,748||
|Investments|**17**|91,421||91,421||
|Cash at bank and in hand||34,866||209,420||
|||-------------------------------||-------------------------------||
|||299,238||365,589||
|**Creditors: Amounts falling due within**||||||
|**one year**|**18**|(87,516)||(91,637)||
|||-------------------------------||-------------------------------||
|**Net current assets**|||211,722||273,952|
||||---------------------------------------||---------------------------------------|
|**Total assets less current liabilities**|||2,104,164||2,113,870|
|**Creditors: Amounts falling due after**||||||
|**more than one year**|**19**||(367,203)||(385,742)|
||||---------------------------------------||---------------------------------------|
|**Net assets**|||1,736,961||1,728,128|
||||=======================================||=======================================|
|**Funds of the charity**||||||
|Restricted funds|||724,594||771,423|
|Unrestricted funds|||1,012,367||956,705|
||||---------------------------------------||---------------------------------------|
|**Total charity funds**|**20**||1,736,961 <br>=======================================||1,728,128<br>=======================================|



These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime. 

These financial statements were approved by the board of trustees and authorised for issue on 15 December 2023, and are signed on behalf of the board by: 

Joy Michelle Brown (Chair) Trustee 

Company registration number: 04407742 

**The notes on pages 24 to 36 form part of these financial statements.** 

**- 22 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Statement of cash flows** 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

||**2023**|2022|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|£|
|**Cash flows from operating activities**|||
|Net income|8,833|531,396|
|_Adjustments for:_|||
|Depreciation of tangible fixed assets|23,944|16,028|
|Other interest receivable and similar income|(294)|(97)|
|Interest payable and similar charges|20,570|21,029|
|_Changes in:_|||
|Trade and other debtors|(108,203)|(16,190)|
|Trade and other creditors|(4,260)|(17,880)|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
|Cash generated from operations|(59,410)|534,286|
|Interest paid|(20,570)|(21,029)|
|Interest received|294|97|
||--------------------------|-------------------------------|
|Net cash (used in)/from operating activities|(79,686)|513,354|
||==========================|===============================|
|**Cash flows from investing activities**|||
|Purchase of tangible assets|(76,468)|(648,624)|
||--------------------------|-------------------------------|
|Net cash used in investing activities|(76,468)|(648,624)|
||==========================|===============================|
|**Cash flows from financing activities**|||
|Repayment of borrowing|(18,400)|(37,300)|
||--------------------------|-------------------------------|
|Net cash used in financing activities|(18,400)|(37,300)|
||==========================|===============================|
|**Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents**|(174,554)|(172,570)|
|**Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year**|209,420|381,990|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
|**Cash and cash equivalents at end of year**|34,866|209,420|
||===============================|===============================|



**The notes on pages 24 to 36 form part of these financial statements.** 

**- 23 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Notes to the financial statements** 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **1. General information** 

The charity is a public benefit entity and a private company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales and a registered charity in England and Wales. The address of the registered office is 200 New London Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 9AB. 

## **2. Statement of compliance** 

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. 

## **3. Accounting policies** 

## **Basis of preparation** 

The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis, as modified by the revaluation of certain assets measured at fair value through income or expenditure. 

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the entity. 

## **Going concern** 

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the trustees believe that no material uncertainties exist. The trustees have considered the level of funds held and the expected level of income and expenditure for 12 months from authorising these financial statements. The budgeted income and expenditure is sufficient with the level of reserves for the charity to be able to continue as a going concern. 

## **Fund accounting** 

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees to further any of the charity's purposes. 

Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure declared by the donor or through the terms of an appeal. 

**- 24 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Notes to the financial statements** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **3. Accounting policies** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Income** 

All income is included in the statement of financial activities when entitlement has passed to the charity, it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the transaction will flow to the charity and the amount can be reliably measured. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income: 

- Income from donations or grants is recognised when there is evidence of entitlement to the gift, receipt is probable and its amount can be measured reliably. 

- Income from housing benefit is recognised when the charity becomes entitled to the resource. 

- Income from contracts for the supply of services is recognised with the delivery of the contracted service. This is classified as unrestricted funds unless there is a contractual requirement for it to be spent on a particular purpose and returned if unspent, in which case it may be regarded as restricted. 

## **Expenditure** 

Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is classified under headings of the statement of financial activities to which it relates: 

- Expenditure on raising funds includes the costs of all fundraising activities, events, non-charitable trading activities, and the sale of donated goods. 

- Expenditure on charitable activities includes all costs incurred by a charity in undertaking activities that further its charitable aims for the benefit of its beneficiaries, including those support costs and costs relating to the governance of the charity apportioned to charitable activities. 

- All costs are allocated to expenditure categories reflecting the use of the resource. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs are apportioned between the activities they contribute to on a reasonable, justifiable and consistent basis. 

## **Operating leases** 

Lease payments are recognised as an expense over the lease term on a straight-line basis. The aggregate benefit of lease incentives is recognised as a reduction to expense over the lease term, on a straight-line basis. 

## **Tangible assets** 

Tangible assets are initially recorded at cost, and subsequently stated at cost less any accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. 

## **Depreciation** 

Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost or valuation of an asset, less its residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset as follows: 

Fixtures and fittings - 20% straight line Motor vehicles - 25% straight line Equipment - 20%/50% straight line 

**- 25 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Notes to the financial statements** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **3. Accounting policies** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Depreciation** _**(continued)**_ 

Due to the nature of the charity depreciation of the property held is recognised by way of maintenance costs instead of a depreciation charge. Property is also held at cost and the trustees consider that the market value of the property is greater than the cost recognised within the financial statements. 

## **Financial instruments** 

A financial asset or a financial liability is recognised only when the entity becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. 

Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at the amount receivable or payable including any related transaction costs, unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where it is recognised at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument. 

Current assets and current liabilities are subsequently measured at the cash or other consideration expected to be paid or received and not discounted. 

## **4. Limited by guarantee** 

The Company is limited by guarantee. In the event of winding up, each member is liable to contribute a sum not exceeding £10. 

## **5. Donations and legacies** 

||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total Funds**|
|---|---|---|---|
||Funds|Funds|**2023**|
||£|£|**£**|
|**Donations**||||
|Donations|285,348|11,800|297,148|
|**Grants**||||
|Other grants|217,987|90,262|308,249|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
||503,335|102,062|605,397|
||===============================|===============================|===============================|
||Unrestricted|Restricted|Total Funds|
||Funds|Funds|2022|
||£|£|£|
|**Donations**||||
|Donations|267,108|600,000|867,108|
|**Grants**||||
|Other grants|168,876|183,801|352,677|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
||435,984|783,801|1,219,785|
||===============================|===============================|=======================================|



During the year ended 31 March 2023 £103,890 (2022: £484,100) of government funding was received. 

**- 26 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Notes to the financial statements** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **6. Charitable activities** 

||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total Funds**|
|---|---|---|---|
||Funds|Funds|**2023**|
||£|£|**£**|
|Housing benefit and rent|532,323|–|532,323|
|Housing Related Support|117,251|–|117,251|
|Rough Sleeper Initiative|–|253,345|253,345|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
||649,574|253,345|902,919|
||===============================|===============================|===============================|
||Unrestricted|Restricted|Total Funds|
||Funds|Funds|2022|
||£|£|£|
|Housing benefit and rent|403,425|–|403,425|
|Housing Related Support|117,251|–|117,251|
|Rough Sleeper Initiative|–|250,249|250,249|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
||520,676|250,249|770,925|
||===============================|===============================|===============================|



During the year ended 31 March 2023 £370,596 (2022: £367,500) of government funding was received. 

## **7. Investment income** 

||Unrestricted|**Total Funds**|Unrestricted|Total Funds|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Funds|**2023**|Funds|2022|
||£|**£**|£|£|
|Bank interest receivable|294|294|97|97|
||=============|=============|=============|=============|



## **8. Costs of raising funds** 

||Unrestricted|**Total Funds**|Unrestricted|Total Funds|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Funds|**2023**|Funds|2022|
||£|**£**|£|£|
|Wages and salaries|35,660|35,660|34,571|34,571|
|Other fundraising costs|14,741|14,741|14,029|14,029|
||--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|
||50,401|50,401|48,600|48,600|
||==========================|==========================|==========================|==========================|



**- 27 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Notes to the financial statements** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **9. Expenditure on charitable activities** 

|||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total Funds**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||Funds|Funds|**2023**|
|||£|£|**£**|
||Housing costs|313,167|102,057|415,224|
||Support costs|770,185|263,967|1,034,152|
|||---------------------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|||1,083,352|366,024|1,449,376|
|||=======================================|===============================|=======================================|
|||Unrestricted|Restricted|Total Funds|
|||Funds|Funds|2022|
|||£|£|£|
||Housing costs|287,353|125,524|412,877|
||Support costs|601,712|396,222|997,934|
|||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|||889,065|521,746|1,410,811|
|||===============================|===============================|=======================================|
|**10.**|**Analysis of support costs**||||
||||**2023**|2022|
||||**£**|£|
||Staff costs||860,027|810,370|
||Outsourced staff costs||3,035|18,934|
||Communications and IT||64,250|52,502|
||General office||52,231|65,785|
||Finance costs||20,570|21,029|
||Motor and travel expenses||20,238|10,318|
||Audit fees||12,300|6,000|
||Legal & professional||1,501|12,996|
||||---------------------------------------|-------------------------------|
||||1,034,152|997,934|
||||=======================================|===============================|
|**11.**|**Net income**||||
||||**2023**|2022|
||||**£**|£|
||Depreciation of tangible assets||21,936|16,028|
||Lease payments||86,759|86,159|
||||==========================|==========================|
|**12.**|**Auditors remuneration**||||
||||**2023**|2022|
||||**£**|£|
||Fees payable for the audit of the financial statements||10,338|7,764|
||Prior year over accrual||–|(1,764)|
||Prior year under accrual||1,962|–|
||||--------------------------|----------------------|
||||12,300|6,000|
||||==========================|======================|



**- 28 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Notes to the financial statements** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **13. Staff costs** 

||**2023**|2022|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|£|
|Wages and salaries|814,505|767,831|
|Social security costs|66,091|61,459|
|Employer pension costs|15,091|15,651|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
||895,687|844,941|
||===============================|===============================|



The average number of persons employed by the charity during the year amounted to 42 (2022: 35) 

The number of employees that received emoluments in the following bands: 

|||**2023**|2022|
|---|---|---|---|
|£60,000|- £69,999|1|–|



## **Key Management Personnel** 

The Key Management Personnel include the Chief Executive Officer together with the Finance Officer and Operations Manager. 

The total value of remuneration and benefits received by Key Management Personnel was £158,257 (2022: £143,567). 

## **14. Trustee remuneration and expenses** 

No remuneration or other benefits from employment with the charity or a related entity were received by the trustees. 

## **15. Tangible fixed assets** 

||**Freehold**|**Fixtures**|**Motor**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**property**|**and fittings**|**vehicles**|**Equipment**|**Total**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Cost**||||||
|At 1 April 2022|1,785,400|10,564|56,871|70,164|1,922,999|
|Additions|–|48,275|–|28,193|76,468|
||---------------------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|**At 31 March 2023**|1,785,400|58,839|56,871|98,357|1,999,467|
||=======================================|==========================|==========================|==========================|=======================================|
|**Depreciation**||||||
|At 1 April 2022|–|1,317|39,160|42,604|83,081|
|Charge for the year|–|5,125|5,457|13,362|23,944|
||---------------------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|**At 31 March 2023**|–|6,442|44,617|55,966|107,025|
||=======================================|==========================|==========================|==========================|=======================================|
|**Carrying amount**||||||
|**At 31 March 2023**|1,785,400|52,397|12,254|42,391|1,892,442|
||=======================================|==========================|==========================|==========================|=======================================|
|At 31 March 2022|1,785,400|9,247|17,711|27,560|1,839,918|
||=======================================|==========================|==========================|==========================|=======================================|



**- 29 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Notes to the financial statements** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **15. Tangible fixed assets** _**(continued)**_ 

A 10 year restriction on the sale of Woodstock Motel, Chelmsford was in place at the year end, which requires the charity to return a proportion of any gain on disposal to the previous owner. No amount for this was recognised within the financial statements at the year end as the trustees do not wish to dispose of this property and also due to the immeasurable value. 

## **16. Debtors** 

|||**2023**|2022|
|---|---|---|---|
|||**£**|£|
||Trade debtors|83,134|27,487|
||Prepayments and accrued income|78,923|26,224|
||Other debtors|10,894|11,037|
|||-------------------------------|--------------------------|
|||172,951|64,748|
|||===============================|==========================|
|**17.**|**Investments**|||
|||**2023**|2022|
|||**£**|£|
||COIF Charities Deposit Fund|91,421|91,421|
|||==========================|==========================|
|**18.**|**Creditors:** **Amounts falling due within one year**|||
|||**2023**|2022|
|||**£**|£|
||Bank loans and overdrafts|17,217|17,078|
||Trade creditors|25,932|10,758|
||Accruals and deferred income|16,971|40,206|
||Social security and other taxes|21,176|20,655|
||Other creditors|6,220|2,940|
|||--------------------------|--------------------------|
|||87,516|91,637|
|||==========================|==========================|
|||**2023**|2022|
|||**£**|£|
||Deferred income brought forward|19,925|–|
||Released during the year|(19,925)|–|
||Deferred during the year|–|19,925|
|||--------------------------|--------------------------|
||Deferred income carried forward|–|19,925|
|||==========================|==========================|
||Deferred income relates to grants received for future periods.|||
|**19.**|**Creditors:** **Amounts falling due after more than one year**|||
|||**2023**|2022|
|||**£**|£|
||Bank loans and overdrafts|367,203|385,742|
|||===============================|===============================|



**- 30 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Notes to the financial statements** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **19. Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Analysis of loans payable by instalments** 

||**2023**|2022|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|£|
|In more than one year but not more|||
|than two years|17,217|17,078|
|In more than two years but not more|||
|than five years|81,355|83,028|
|Greater than five years|285,848|302,714|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
||384,420|402,820|
||===============================|===============================|



The bank loans are on a repayment basis repayable over 60 months from the date the loan was drawn and is secured on property owned by the charity. Interest is calculated at a fixed rate of 5.65% to March 2024 and 5.90% from April 2024. 

## **20. Analysis of charitable funds** 

## _**Unrestricted funds**_ 

Year ended 31 March 2023 

|Year ended 31 March 2023||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||At 1 April||||**At 31 March**|
||2022|Income|Expenditure|Transfers|**2023**|
||£|£|£|£|£|
|General funds|956,705|1,153,203|(1,133,753)|36,212|1,012,367|
||===============================|=======================================|=======================================|==========================|=======================================|
|Year ended 31 March 2022||||||
||At 1 April||||**At 31 March**|
||2021|Income|Expenditure|Transfers|**2022**|
||£|£|£|£|£|
|General funds|927,613|956,757|(937,665)|10,000|956,705|
||===============================|===============================|===============================|==========================|===============================|



**- 31 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Notes to the financial statements** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## _**Restricted funds**_ 

|Year ended 31 March 2023||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||At 1 April||||**At 31 March**|
||2022|Income|Expenditure|Transfers|**2023**|
||£|£|£|£|£|
|CRM & Accounting Software|336|–|–|–|336|
|Bedrooms|2,000|–|(2,000)|–|–|
|General Christian Act|20|–|–|–|20|
|Client Incentives|2,327|–|–|–|2,327|
|Refurbishment 7-8 George||||||
|Street|5,079|–|(1,500)|–|3,579|
|Maintenance Support|450|–|–|–|450|
|Essex Community|800|–|–|–|800|
|ASDA quiz night|322|–|–|–|322|
|Residents Training|1,395|–|–|–|1,395|
|Property Revaluation|24,900|–|–|–|24,900|
|Hub Appeal|1,200|–|–|–|1,200|
|Kitchen Refurbishment|7,200|–|(7,200)|–|–|
|House Furnishings|300|–|(59)|–|241|
|Rough Sleeper Initiative|31,252|253,345|(272,491)|–|12,106|
|CCG NHS Thurrock|48,750|–|(23,750)|–|25,000|
|Rock Choir Tickets|464|–|–|–|464|
|Active Essex Bikes|514|40|–|–|554|
|HSBC|4,696|–|(3,521)|–|1,175|
|Net Covid Fund (ECF)|25,265|20,000|(45,265)|–|–|
|Community Partnership (ECF)|–|25,770|(4,334)|–|21,436|
|British Science|90|–|–|–|90|
|Greater Change|13,068|–|(2,869)|–|10,199|
|Winter Project|995|2,040|(3,035)|–|–|
|Changing Futures|–|5,000|–|–|5,000|
|Sports Active|–|3,000|–|–|3,000|
|Helping Hands|–|9,500|–|–|9,500|
|Rainsford Furniture|–|500|–|–|500|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------|-------------------------------|
||171,423|319,195|(366,024)|–|124,594|
||===============================|===============================|===============================|=============|===============================|
|**_Restricted fixed assets_**||||||
||At 1 April||||**At 31 March**|
||2022|Income|Expenditure|Transfers|**2023**|
||£|£|£|£|£|
|Woodstock Motel|600,000|–|–|–|600,000|
|Woodstock Motel Fixtures and||||||
|Fittings|–|36,212|–|(36,212)|–|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|--------------------------|-------------------------------|
||600,000|36,212|–|(36,212)|600,000|
||===============================|===============================|===============================|==========================|===============================|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|--------------------------|-------------------------------|
|Restricted fund total|771,423|355,407|(366,024)|(36,212)|724,594|
||===============================|===============================|===============================|==========================|===============================|



**- 32 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Notes to the financial statements** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## _**Restricted funds**_ 

|Year ended 31 March 2022||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||At 1 April||||**At 31 March**|
||2021|Income|Expenditure|Transfers|**2022**|
||£|£|£|£|£|
|CRM & Accounting Software|336|–|–|–|336|
|Bedrooms|2,000|–|–|–|2,000|
|General Christian Act|20|–|–|–|20|
|Client Incentives|2,327|–|–|–|2,327|
|Refurbishment 7-8 George||||||
|Street|5,079|–|–|–|5,079|
|Maintenance Support|450|–|–|–|450|
|Essex Community|800|–|–|–|800|
|ASDA quiz night|322|–|–|–|322|
|Residents Training|1,403|–|(8)|–|1,395|
|Property Revaluation|24,900|–|–|–|24,900|
|Hub Appeal|1,200|–|–|–|1,200|
|Kitchen Refurbishment|7,200|–|–|–|7,200|
|House Furnishings|300|–|–|–|300|
|Rough Sleeper Initiative|100,470|250,249|(319,467)|–|31,252|
|CCG NHS Thurrock|41,480|55,000|(47,730)|–|48,750|
|Rock Choir Tickets|464|–|–|–|464|
|Active Essex Bikes|354|–|160|–|514|
|HSBC|25,000|–|(20,304)|–|4,696|
|Net Covid Fund (ECF)|6,846|25,265|(6,846)|–|25,265|
|NSAP|29,137|51,073|(80,210)|–|–|
|TNL|10,000|–|–|(10,000)|–|
|British Science|106|–|(16)|–|90|
|Greater Change|1,425|18,468|(6,825)|–|13,068|
|Safer Places|7,500|–|(7,500)|–|–|
|Winter Project|–|995|–|–|995|
|Operations Manager salary|–|33,000|(33,000)|–|–|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|--------------------------|-------------------------------|
||269,119|434,050|(521,746)|(10,000)|171,423|
||===============================|===============================|===============================|==========================|===============================|
|**_Restricted fixed assets_**||||||
||At 1 April||||**At 31 March**|
||2021|Income|Expenditure|Transfers|**2022**|
||£|£|£|£|£|
|Woodstock Motel|–|600,000|–|–|600,000|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|--------------------------|-------------------------------|
||–|600,000|–|–|600,000|
||===============================|===============================|===============================|==========================|===============================|
||-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|-------------------------------|--------------------------|-------------------------------|
|Restricted fund total|269,119|1,034,050|(521,746)|(10,000)|771,423|
||===============================|=======================================|===============================|==========================|===============================|



**- 33 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Notes to the financial statements** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

CRM & Accounting Software: represents funding received towards the integration of accounting and CRM software. 

Bedrooms: represents funding received towards the purchase of bedroom furniture. 

General Christian Act: represents funding received towards the support of service users. 

Client incentives: represents funding received towards the support of service users. 

Refurbishment 7-8 George Street: represents funding received towards the refurbishment of 7-8 George Street. 

Maintenance Support: represents funding received towards the training of the maintenance staff. 

Essex Community: represents funding received towards the upkeep of the charity's properties. 

ASDA Quiz night: represents funding received towards quiz activities for the residents of the charity. 

Residents Training: represents funding received towards the costs of training for residents. 

Hub Appeal: represents funding received towards refurbishment of 200 New London Road. 

Kitchen refurbishment: represents funding received towards the refurbishment project. 

House Furnishings: represents funding received towards the refurbishment project. 

Rough Sleeper Initiative: represents funding received towards Rough Sleeper Initiative. 

Winter Project: represents funding received towards the annual Winter Project programme. 

CCG NHS Thurrock: represents funding received towards a mental health worker with counselling and therapy support. 

Rock Choir Tickets: represents funding received towards the Rock Choir show for the residents of the charity. 

Operations Manager salary: represents funding received towards the cost of the Operations Manager's salary. 

Active Essex Bikes: represents funding received towards the cost of the client bikes. 

HSBC: represents funding received towards the cost of property refurbishment. 

Net Covid Fund (ECF): represents funding received towards the cost of the renovation costs of move on properties during Covid-19. 

NSAP: represents funding received towards the running costs of properties. 

TNL: represents funding received towards the cost of a new car for support workers. 

British Science Grant: represents funding received towards the costs of the Support Spring Event. 

Greater Change: represents funding received towards the support worker staff costs. 

Safer Places: represents funding received towards the cost of the Safe Haven pilot project. 

Changing Futures: represents funding received towards move on costs. 

Sports Active: represents funding received towards move on costs. 

Helping Hands: represents funding received towards move on costs. 

Rainsford Furniture: represents funding received towards the cost of furniture. 

**- 34 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Notes to the financial statements** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **21. Analysis of net assets between funds** 

|**Year ended 31 March 2023**||||
|---|---|---|---|
||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total**|
||funds|funds|**Funds 2023**|
||£|£|**£**|
|Fixed assets|1,292,442|600,000|1,892,442|
|Current assets|174,644|124,594|299,238|
|Creditors less than 1 year|(87,516)|–|(87,516)|
|Creditors greater than 1 year|(367,203)|–|(367,203)|
||---------------------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
||1,012,367|724,594|1,736,961|
||=======================================|===============================|=======================================|
|**Year ended 31 March 2022**||||
||Unrestricted|Restricted|**Total**|
||funds|funds|**Funds 2022**|
||£|£|**£**|
|Fixed assets|1,239,918|600,000|1,839,918|
|Current assets|194,166|171,423|365,589|
|Creditors less than 1 year|(91,637)|–|(91,637)|
|Creditors greater than 1 year|(385,742)|–|(385,742)|
||---------------------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
||956,705|771,423|1,728,128|
||=======================================|===============================|=======================================|



## **22. Analysis of changes in net debt** 

||||**At**|
|---|---|---|---|
||At||**31 March 202**|
||1 April 2022|Cash flows|**3**|
||£|£|**£**|
|Cash at bank and in hand|209,420|(174,554)|34,866|
|Debt due within one year|(17,078)|(139)|(17,217)|
|Debt due after one year|(385,742)|18,539|(367,203)|
|Current asset investments|91,421|–|91,421|
||-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
||(101,979)|(156,154)|(258,133)|
||===============================|===============================|===============================|



**- 35 -** 



## **CHESS Homeless** 

## **Company Limited by Guarantee** 

## **Notes to the financial statements** _**(continued)**_ 

## **Year ended 31 March 2023** 

## **23. Operating lease commitments** 

The total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows: 

||**2023**|2022|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|£|
|Not later than 1 year|37,040|39,971|
|Later than 1 year and not later than 5 years|–|32,943|
||--------------------------|--------------------------|
||37,040|72,914|
||==========================|==========================|



## **24. Related parties** 

During the year £180 (2022: £180) of unrestricted donations income was received from two Trustees, and £1,080 (2022: £11,516) of expenditure was made to Birketts of which Hannah Harbottle is also an Associate. 

**- 36 -** 

