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2024-03-31-accounts

shared lives pLus Trustees, annual report 2023-2024 A tuppaand a bit ol baThtertotsckJe lothtllness C•rerindtsrtion

Shared Lives Plus - A Company limited by guarantee Trustees’ report for the period ending March 2024

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Legal and administrative information 1
Introduction 3
About us 8
Our purpose and aims 9
Our Vision, Mission and Aims 9
Principles 10
The difference we make 11
Shared Lives 11
Homeshare 14
Strategic priority successes 15
Creating a favourable environment for shared living to grow 15
Supporting network members 21
Creating a platform for member voices 24
Directors’ report 31
Financial review 31
Reserves policy 31
Investment policy 32
Risk management 32
Structure, governance and management 33
Key management 34
Auditor 35
Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustees and Members of Shared Lives Plus Limited 37

Legal and administrative information

Trustees Mr R Jones - Chairperson
Mr I Coleman - Treasurer
Mr M Ewing (term ended 19.06.24)
Mr M Thomas (term ended 11.11.23)
Mr Mike Jacobs (term ended 30.11.23)
Ms Maxine Palmer-Hunter
Ms Jane McMillan (term ended 30.06.24)
Ms Ionela Ramona Amuza (term ended 09.11.23)
Ms Kate Allen (joined 12.06.23)
Ms Aisling Duffy (joined 12.06.23)
Ms Drusila Lloyd (joined 12.06.23)
Ms Carol Lucas (joined 12.06.23)
Ms Emma Kiss (joined 12.06.23, left 20.06.24)
Mr David Matthews (joined – 20.06.24)
Chief Executive Officer Mr E King
Secretary Mrs H Handley
Charity number (England and Wales) 1095562
Charity number (Scotland)
 SCO42743
Company number 04511426
Principal address Eleanor Rathbone House
Connect Business Village
24 Derby Road
Liverpool
L5 9PR

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Auditor MHA Richard House 9 Winckley Square Preston Lancashire PR1 3HP Bankers The Co-operative Bank PO Box 450 Skelmersdale WN8 6WT

The trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024.

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 and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) the Companies Act 2006, 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 published in October 2019.

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Introduction

Richard Jones, Chair of Trustees

Thank you for taking the time to read Shared Lives Plus’s annual report. This year has been another challenging one for adult social care. Before the recent general election several national think tanks painted a gloomy picture of the state of social care, with the Health Foundation concluding that:

‘(The) Adult social care system in England is in desperate need of reform.

aa State-funded care is a threadbare safety-net and only available to people with the highest needs and lowest means, while many face potentially catastrophic costs.’

Despite the known challenges, it is important that we remain optimistic about social care and the potential for reform. Homeshare and Shared Lives are already playing a key role in providing people with support that changes their lives and are instrumental as one of the solutions needed for the future.

We were pleased to see that Shared Lives has been highlighted by campaigning movement Social Care Future as one of the excellent things people and are doing across the nation. In their promotional video, voiced by famous actress Liz Carr, Shared Lives is upheld as an example of good social care: The video can be found here:

https://socialcarefuture.org.uk/socialcarefuture-animation-accessible-versions/.

Equally, we were delighted to see that the Association of Directors of Adult Social Care in England report in a recent sector survey on the case for investment in Shared Lives:

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‘Nine in ten (90%) of Directors [of Adult Social Care] indicated that increased provision of Shared Lives would have some or a significant impact on outcomes for people, whilst a marginally smaller proportion (87%) are of the opinion that greater availability of Shared Lives would reduce or significantly reduce adult social care expenditure.’

We have also received encouraging support from the Government. On several occasions, the former Social Care Minister Helen Whately has spoken about her positive views on Shared Lives:

‘I’ve seen firsthand how Shared Lives helps people who need care, and I’m delighted this funding will scale up support and make an even bigger difference for more people across the country.’

Building on this support, we were pleased to see the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) launch the Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF), which provides a total of £42.6 million in grant funding over two years to support innovation in adult social care. Many areas have decided to allocate some of this money to growing Shared Lives. We are delighted to support over 10 Integrated Care Boards with their plans to grow and develop both Shared Lives and Homeshare. We were also pleased to be involved in shaping the Government’s decision to invest in Shared Lives through the Accelerating Reform Fund.

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It is encouraging that there is still a strong national interest in Homeshare, an innovation in the housing with support space that we are proud to support. We were particularly pleased to support three Homeshare organisations to be part of an article about Homeshare in the Daily Telegraph, as shown.

Recruitment of carers remains a big challenge for the sector. We were pleased therefore to see the national government include Shared Lives in their national Made with Care recruitment campaign for social care. The picture is of Yolande and Margeret from Tower Hamlets in London.

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Another challenge are low fees paid to carers. This is why I am so pleased that tackling this issue has been a priority for Shared Lives Plus this year, through our Invaluable campaign which highlights fee levels in different schemes across the UK. This campaign has had some traction with Shared Lives schemes reporting that they used the information to support applications for fee uplifts. We will continue to draw attention to where there are fee gaps and are planning a new campaign to highlight the lack of access in some areas to carer breaks.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, we continue to press the case for greater investment and support for Shared Lives. We were pleased to see a new Shared Lives Scheme open in Northern Ireland that will specifically focus on developing support for older people facing social isolation. We were pleased also to support a similar scheme develop innovative approaches to day support in Moray in Scotland, funded through IMPACT (Improving Adult Social Care Together), a UK-wide Centre for evidence implementation in adult social care. In Wales, we delighted to see that innovations in Shared Lives to make this approach to support available to people with mental health needs go from strength to strength.

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Opening Shared Lives for older people in Northern Ireland

With a new Government in place, next year should be another year of change, challenges and opportunities. We know that however the sector evolves over the coming years, Shared Lives and Homeshare must be an essential part of it – providing the highest quality, person-centred support available to more people. But most of all we would like to say a huge thank you to Shared Lives carers, the staff in all the schemes and Homeshare services for all you do and the incredible difference you make.

Thanks you for reading this.

Richard Jones

Chair, Shared Lives Plus

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SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES' REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31 MARCH 2024

About us

Shared Lives Plus is the membership charity for Shared Lives carers, schemes and Homeshare organisations. Our vision is a kinder, stronger society built on sharing our lives and our homes. We help build communities where everyone lives a full life, regardless of the support they need. We do this by turning Shared Lives care and Homeshare into thriving, mainstream options, with the right structures in place to support and guide people who want to share their lives and homes.

This year we supported 146 schemes, 6,315 Shared Lives carer members and 20 Homeshare organisations UK-wide .

Our unique knowledge of the sector enables us to support local Shared Lives and Homeshare organisations, and Shared Lives carers, through the sharing of policy, guidance, advice, and legal support. We also provide a forum in which members voices can be heard and harnessed to shape our approach to shared living.

We support local organisations to establish new Shared Lives and Homeshare organisations and improve existing ones. To find out more visit www.sharedlivesplus.org.uk

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Our purpose and aims

In January 2023 we started working on a new strategic plan. As an organisation we had reached a crossroads, and it was time for a change of direction. The consensus is that we have moved from a phase of making the case nationally to a new phase focused on practically supporting the rapid growth of shared living and our next strategic plan will be titled “ Moving from making the case, to supporting growth”.

We are now in our second year of this plan which complements our three-year Strategic Plan published in September last year (covering the years 2023 – 2026).

The Delivery plan for 2024-2025 , has been informed through discussions with the board, staff, schemes, shared lives carers and people who draw on Shared Lives and sets out:

The first two parts of the plan cover vision and mission, and strategic aims, and remain unchanged from those described in the three-year Strategic Plan and will pursue the priorities outlined.

We have made some small changes to our priorities to reflect the different circumstances of this year. We will have a stronger focus on developing and scaling innovation and providing practical support to help the sector grow.

Our Vision, Mission and Aims

Vision

Our vision is a kinder, stronger society where more people share their lives and homes.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Mission

Our mission is to build communities where everyone can flourish, regardless of the support they need. We do this by growing shared living so that more people can benefit from Shared Lives and Homeshare, with the right structures in place for our members and those sharing their lives and homes.

Aims

Our three strategic aims for 2023-28:

Principles

Our principles underpin how we pursue our aims:

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SHARED LIVES PLUS

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

The difference we make

Shared Lives

Husband and wife Gill and Ian Richardson became Shared Lives carers 14 years ago having previously worked in residential care and supported living roles. The couple, who live in Tiverton, Devon, are supported by Shared Lives Plus members Shared Lives South West.

Gill and Ian support Geoff who is in his 70s, and Sam and Fiona who are in their 40s, from their home.

Geoff, who has a learning disability, previously lived in a care home which had some goats. When it closed, officers from the local Shared Lives South West scheme, carefully matched him with Gill and Ian who live on a farm. Now Geoff lives with people he calls family and has a whole range of farm animals to tend to.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Gill explains, “ We wanted to give people individual support and meet their needs personally, Shared Lives allows people to be who they are in a family setting and that’s what we really like about it.

“We want to give people the chance to live life their way. To us this isn’t a job, it’s a lifestyle,” adds Ian.

The couple shared their story for the announcement of the government’s funding towards innovative services, like Shared Lives and Homeshare. Half of all local areas in England chose to invest in the growth of their Shared Lives’ scheme.

“ We are really pleased about Shared Lives getting funding as there are so many people who still don’t know about it. It is great that Shared Lives is being valued and recognised and this will really help get the word out there,” stated Gill.

Dominic Spayne from Shared Lives South West adds: “ I am delighted that all three of the integrated care boards that we work with will be supporting the growth of Shared Lives through the Accelerating Reform Fund. This clearly demonstrates that senior figures within all the local authorities we work with recognise and appreciate the amazing care and support provided by Shared Lives carers, and that there is a huge appetite to grow the model in the West country. We look forward to collaborating with Shared Lives Plus and other schemes across the country, ensuring we all capitalise on this landmark moment for the Shared Lives model.”

The Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF) will distribute a total of £42.6m across England in the next two years to support innovation in adult social care. Around half of Shared Lives schemes across England will receive funding to grow and develop their support for people with a learning disability, dementia, young people leaving care, unpaid carers, and people leaving hospital.

Shared lives in Scotland

Cornerstone is a leading Scottish social care charity which continues to invest and grow Shared Lives, working now across several local authority areas. The organisation’s aims for the service are: “For Cornerstone Shared Lives service to be outstanding and sector leading, achieving the individual aspirations and best possible outcomes for the people supported.”

Cornerstone’s chief Executive Hazel Brown said: “Cornerstone’s Shared Lives service continues to grow and develop across Scotland, providing excellent outcomes to the people it supports, enabling them to live in a nurturing family setting which gives them the support and confidence they need to live truly fulfilling lives.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Cornerstone and its service in the Scottish Borders this year joined the recently launched Young People Leaving Care Programme, working with partners to develop and shared good practice on supporting people leaving care through Shared Lives.

The story of M below describes the difference Shared Lives can make to people leaving care. In October 2022, we supported a young adult to transition over from a temporary short break fostering placement to a full-time Shared Lives arrangement. The young person had experienced significant early trauma. This support came about as the Short Break Foster Carer with Action for Children also provided short breaks for Cornerstone Shared Lives. It was evident through discussions that the young person and carer had a positive and nurturing relationship. The young person expressed that she wanted to remain with the carer, and the carer was equally keen to continue to support her. The alternative was for the young person to move to her own tenancy which all the professionals involved in her care felt to be the wrong decision.

Since transitioning over to Shared Lives and being fully included in the future planning, the young adult has made huge strides in her overall wellbeing. She has demonstrated her ability to reach out for support when needed and utilises this when required. She engages more with services, is included in the support planning and recently achieved access to a college course in policing and criminology which is something she is passionate about.

“Shared Lives has really turned my life around, if it wasn’t for my carer then I’d have been homeless and pretty directionless. Our allocated Shared Lives worker Mel has supported both of us in ways always going above and beyond to help. The way that Shared Lives supports the carers makes it easy for everyone, my carer Carol especially found that the support she receives makes things a lot easier for her to be able to focus on our home life rather than copious amounts of paperwork.”

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Homeshare

Simon and Isabel began home-sharing in November 2023. Simon shares his home with Isabel in Saltaire, on the edge of Bradford. Together they also share their time, skills and knowledge with one another, and are supported by Leeds Homeshare.

Simon’s interest in Homeshare stemmed from his sense of social responsibility and ~e | wanting to make use of the spare room in his comfortable home. His partner was working overseas, and his children were studying and working in other cities so having a sharer move in to help, made sense to him. Simon has Parkinson’s, which doesn’t interfere too much with his many hobbies and interests, such as pickleball, writing, cycling and gardening – but can leave him tired and off balance at the end of the day.

Leeds Homeshare matched him with Isabel, a Leeds Art University graduate who hoped to live closer to her workplace in a historic mill shop. Isabel’s experience of shared living, and her creative yet sensible character seemed a great match for Simon - both practically and conversationally! She also has the time and motivation to fit in the support with housework and sociable meals.

This inspiring Homeshare pairing has exceeded our hopes with the mutual generosity and support given. For example, Isabel’s partner helped fix the cat flap, and Simon offered Isabel some guidance with a recent job application. Simon also introduced Isabel to some new recipes – although he did laugh about his own lumpy Polenta one evening! As a Professor Emeritus, Simon is open to exploring new ideas and experiences, but conceded he found an evening watching reality TV together was one step too far! The openness to try out new things and give it a go has been a highlight in this Homeshare. They also found common ground in the local beer festival, laughing that what it lacked in atmosphere was made up for in taste.

Due to the affordability of Homeshare, Isabel has been grateful for what she describes as a “rare opportunity” to consider and plan for her future career, saying Homeshare is “just more economical”. She has enjoyed getting to know Simon and his family - and appreciated their

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

help to get to know the area when she first moved in. She also found the input from the Homeshare service to be both caring and professional.

Simon reflected that Homeshare has broadened his horizons as well as valuing the support with cooking, cleaning and emptying the dishwasher. He has found that having a Homesharer provides peace of mind, saying that from the onset he just knew “all the checks have been done and it gives you that confidence to give it a try”.

Strategic priority successes

Creating a favourable environment for shared living to grow

Our first strategic aim is to create an environment for shared living models to grow and thrive and be accessible for wider groups of people.

Shared living includes Shared Lives care and the Homeshare model where people have mutually chosen a supportive relationship, introduced and supported by an independent organisation which promotes genuine friendship and relationships.

We are on a mission to expand Shared Lives and Homeshare because we believe that, for many people, life is better when it’s shared. Our own research shows that when people live with people they know and love they experience improved health and wellbeing, placing fewer demands on the health system and feel more optimistic about their future.

Homeshare development

Our support to our Homeshare UK network has gone through several iterations in the past year, leading up to the recent appointment of our new Homeshare and Nations Officer.

Shared Lives Plus specialise in learning from their members as the experts, and as a membership charity, what we do best is to support members to set up and grow using robust guidance, workshops, and support, as well as raising awareness of excellent shared living models delivered by their members across the UK. From discussions with many local

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SHARED LIVES PLUS

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

authorities and national organisations there is still an appetite for Homeshare to tackle some of society's key issues surrounding loneliness, housing issues, and the cost-of-living crisis.

Moving forward Shared Lives Plus will continue to work closely with members to ensure the right support is in place to help them succeed further and are keen to ensure the model grows from strength to strength.

Successes included:

Government support for Shared Lives

Shared Lives hailed as “innovation” in Government’s next steps to put People at the Heart of Care

In April 2023 the UK Government announced their latest social care investment to put people at the Heart of Care so that everyone in England will have access to outstanding, quality care which empowers them to lead fulfilling lives and have the greatest possible independence. Building on the ‘People at the Heart of Care’ white paper, the government plans to further digitise the social care sector and bolster the workforce. Alongside this, Shared Lives was the only model of care referenced and recognised as an example of innovation,

“Shared Lives schemes have been scaled up across the country to offer greater flexibility and more community-based care. Embedding innovative approaches to delivering care can ensure that care is more

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SHARED LIVES PLUS

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

personalised, supports individuals to live more independently for longer, and can adjust to the needs of future populations.”

This follows our recent successful meeting in February with Helen Whately, Minister of State for Health and Social Care. After our visit she tweeted,

“Great to meet the team from #SharedLives yesterday. It’s a fabulous scheme for people with Learning Disabilities and others who need extra care and support in their daily life.”

In October 2023, the Department of Health and Social Care released a grant of £42.6m to support innovation in adult social care. We worked tirelessly supporting commissioners and transformation leads to submit proposals within very tight timescales.

In total, 26 out of the 42 Integrated Care Board (ICB) – local health and care planning groups – decided to pick Shared Lives or Homeshare for investment, as indicated in the map (the purples areas of England are going to deliver projects on Shared Lives and the yellow areas are investing in Homeshare.) The map below shows all the areas in purple that have chosen to use the ARF to invest in Shared Lives or Homeshare.

So far over 10 ICBs want to work with Shared Lives Plus and deliver projects to expand their offer – through reviewing their service models, diversifying who their Shared Lives scheme supports or recruiting more Shared Lives carers. Three areas also want to start or grow their existing Homeshare provision through the funding. Like any partnership working, there is complexity in defining and working to a set of shared goals. However ambitions are high, which is exciting for the sector, and we are thrilled about the emphasis and profile that Shared Lives and Homeshare are receiving and hope this next year will establish the foundations that will help the sector grow well into the future.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Shared Lives UK State of the Sector report

The State of Sector report continues to ensure we capture what is happening with our member schemes and represents an accurate picture of the size and shape of the Shared Lives sector. The figures below show that in 2023-2024 there were over 146 schemes, and just over 10,081 Shared Lives carers supporting just under 9,082 people.[1]

England Scotland Northern
Ireland		 Wales
Number of Carers 8588 610 213 670
Number of people
supported in Shared
Lives		 8022 505 264 1011

The quality of Shared Lives care

We expect the difference Shared Lives makes to people drawing upon support in Shared Lives to still be very high. We are currently reviewing how we capture this data and hope to establish a new user-friendly online tool which reaches more people, during the coming years, depending on funding and investment.

The latest figures from England show that Shared Lives remains the highest quality form of nationally available social care, with the CQC rating 97% of schemes good or outstanding . Whilst we know that many of our Shared Lives carers have been impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, they have continued to provide an exceptional level of care, to thousands of people, under very challenging conditions.

1 Data provided is estimation based on Shared Lives scheme reports. These figures do not include Northern Ireland.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Strategic advice

Shared Lives Plus are the national Shared Lives and Homeshare expert organisation, with over 35 years’ experience of supporting and developing shared living models. We work with local authorities, NHS commissioners and local providers on a consultancy basis to help implement, grow, and diversify Shared Lives and Homeshare schemes.

Portsmouth City Council, Director of Adult Social Care, Andy Biddle says,

“We know that Shared Lives arrangements have the potential for person centred care and support and a settled environment for our residents.

Through being part of a family and community, they can support people’s good mental health and wellbeing. Being able to meet people’s needs, maintain local relationships and support our Shared Lives carers in providing this person-centred care is a great opportunity and one which we are happy to grow and invest in.”

In the past year we brought in and completed 17 new projects which looked at the implementation, review, growth, and diversification of Shared Lives across the UK including:

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Supporting network members

Our second strategic aim is to support to our network members to provide high-quality services that are safe, effective and sustainable.

Shared Lives membership figures

This year, we set a record, with 759 Shared Lives carers joining as new carer members – the highest yet. Shared Lives Plus carer membership reached 6,315. There are 145 Shared Lives Schemes members across the United Kingdom.

Welcome calls have been introduced and inductions for new carer members are a popular addition and ensure that carers understand and take advantage of all their membership benefits. We introduced direct debit payments to make it easier for Shared Lives carers to spread the cost of their membership and to date have 127 carer households signed up to spread their membership fees this way. We welcome our new members but acknowledge that retention of Shared Lives carers is an issue. This will be a key focus of our forthcoming strategy. We have made our retention work even stronger than before, with individual calls to carers to renew their lapsed membership and to try to understand reasons for non-renewal. This year this has resulted in a third of lapsed members renewing and provided information on the reason for non-renewal, 12% of those carers have retired and 10% are no longer caring.

Our support for Shared Lives carer members

As well as membership renewal advice and support, the team provide advice on a range of membership related issues to potential Shared Lives carer members, Shared Lives carer members, Shared Lives Schemes and potential Homeshare stakeholders.

In the last year, we have responded to nearly 1,500 enquiries from Shared Lives schemes.

We receive an average of 425 calls to the office number per month. 94% of all calls to the office number are dealt with immediately. 6% referred to colleagues. We have responded to 1100 enquiries to the carer helpline this year providing advice and support on a wide range of issues:

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SHARED LIVES PLUS

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

In addition to the 1100 enquiries, we responded to 365 requests for Blue Light cards. We also supported carers by providing support through a free tax, NI, and benefits helpline from BK Plus and hosted webinars and provided both written and recorded information on the key topics about tax for Shared Lives carers. We have also introduced a new carer induction to Shared Lives Plus, which has received positive feedback. We have run inductions for 103 new scheme staff members and four ‘new carer inductions’ outlining the Membership offer for carers, answering queries and promoting SLP contact. For schemes, we have created an Infobank – 15 FAQs on frequently asked topics that don’t have or need specific guidance but are there as an additional resource.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Our Invaluable campaign

Work continued throughout the year on the invaluable campaign for fairer fees for Shared Lives carers. This research produced eleven regional reports which illustrated the fee practices and rates in every UK region and Scotland and Wales.

The key findings highlighted that some Shared Lives care and support fees fell below the national social care sector average. More than a quarter of Shared Lives carers are at risk of leaving the sector due to financial pressures - 31% of carers surveyed said that they had considered leaving Shared Lives altogether because of the cost of living.

A recent survey revealed that the information provided in the invaluable reports proved very useful in securing fee uplifts a. 84% of Shared Lives schemes told us that they had applied for a fee uplift on behalf of their carers, 90% of whom were successful. The percentage of these uplifts did vary across schemes, ranging from 3.3% to 14.1%, with a mean average of 8.19%.

We are committed to continuing the Invaluable campaign and the next phases of the work will focus on researching short break and day support fees, as well as the contribution-based elements of Shared Lives fees for rent and food and utilities.

Benefits changes

We continue to provide best practice advice for our members on matters of policy, including fees and benefits. The increases to benefits levels in April 2024 represented an opportunity to increase the contributions-based elements of Shared Lives carers fees and relieve some of the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis. However, this opportunity was balanced by the need to ensure that the income of the people supported in Shared Lives was protected, in the context of a long freeze on benefits levels and the rising cost of living. We produced briefings for Shared Lives schemes about sustainable increases to the contributions-based fees for Shared Lives carers.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Creating a platform for member voices

Our third strategic aim is to provide a platform for our members to have a voice. We believe that People involved in shared living have a voice and are involved in shaping the strategic direction of our organisation and the sector.

Engaging members

The Shared Lives Plus Board continued to implement the findings from the governance review with two key changes to improve the overall governance:

  1. A risk-focused Board, with trustees having key roles in monitoring the key risks and opportunities associated with the Shared Lives Plus strategic plan

  2. A more inclusive representation of Shared Lives Plus members and people who use services through a small number of membership councils, whose chairs will sit on the board, and which will more actively advise and liaise with Shared Lives Plus’s senior team on the operational issues which matter most to members

Your Voice membership forums

We continue to work with carers and schemes to ensure we are offering the services most appropriate to them, and the Your Voice forums allows the opportunity for members to hear about our work, but more importantly ensure we are working on the issues important to them. Members bring along issues which they would like to raise, and we discuss how Shared Lives Plus can do more to support them.

Meeting quarterly, our three your voice forums are regularly attended by over 100 people. We have inducted and supported new chairs, a Shared Lives carer and scheme member for their respective forums. They have settled well into their roles and the forums are providing a productive avenue for members and for senior management and Trustees to understand members’ priorities.

Shared Lives carer groups

Shared Lives carer groups have the potential to establish and improve relationships between Shared Lives schemes and carers. They could provide a forum in which Shared Livs carers can discuss their challenges with others, and then have a means to convey any issues to the scheme.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

There are currently several different iterations of carer groups currently in existence. Through discussions with both Shared Lives carers and schemes, we identified a disconnect between independent carer groups, and those with some scheme involvement and moderation. We decided to research carer groups further, which included visits to both and independent and scheme facilitated groups. The team contacted all existing independent carer groups to better understand why they were not as successful in practice as they could be in theory. Issues included lack of communication and resolution of issues with the scheme, and the

organisational burden for carers. Consequently, we created “The 3 C's workshop”. The three c’s are “Collaboration, Communication and Co-production”. Members of our membership team deliver this workshop to schemes, which encourages a hybrid form of carer group. This hybrid involves the scheme providing administrative and facility support, whilst providing carers with a space to speak freely. Any concerns and issues can then be agreed upon and fed back to the scheme.

Shared Lives scheme engagement

We held regular webinars on a range of operational topics: from tax advice to universal credit, consultancy support, media relations and with external partners and government to support schemes with the latest best practice. This year this has included meeting with schemes to discuss panel processes, de-approval and improving processes following a CQC inspection.

Shared Lives Plus conference

Due to staff capacity and some financial challenges, we postponed our annual conference for 2024 instead introducing a series of webinars and workshops to support scheme and carer members.

Engaging with Homeshare UK members

The Homeshare UK network is made up of 20 active providers based across the UK who come together regularly to share best practice and participate in the wider developments of the programme. There continues to be consistent numbers with older and newer members, and as a network there has been a shift in focus to help local Homeshare organisations to grow their personalised, face to face approach.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

People with lived experience

We are committed to keeping the voices of people with lived experience at the heart of what we do and have made a commitment to improve our approach in co-production. We meet with our ambassadors on a regular basis and have co-produced with them resources about Shared Lives. This has included internal work for Shared Lives Plus, as well as for Shared Lives

schemes in the UK. Examples include developing easy-read documents about Shared Lives, as well as designing workshops as part of our Strategic Advice work. We continue to listen to our ambassadors to look at how we can improve how we work in partnership with them to shape our services and continue to look for funding for this piece of work.

Around the nations

We work in every corner of the UK and continue to work with local partners and stakeholders to provide more shared living opportunities to all. We have Development Teams in three of the nations who work specifically with stakeholders to grow Shared Lives and Homeshare in these countries.

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Wales

Shared Lives is well established in Wales with each of the 22 local authority areas served by a Shared Lives scheme. This year, there are 1011 supported people and 670 Shared Lives carers. A three-year project in Wales, concluded this year, and provided opportunity to develop:

1. A national voice for the Shared Lives model of care

2. Create a strong network across Wales to improve quality of service delivery

3. Support the development of existing and new services by working with local and national government, commissioners, heads of service and local Shared Lives services, Shared Lives carers and people with lived experience.

Overall, the project has:

1. Improved recruitment processes for new Shared Lives carers, cutting down recruitment timescales from six to three months and in some areas, eight weeks from assessment to approval, of a new Shared Lives carer.

2. Secured additional funding to recruit Ambassadors, people with lived experience to coproduce resources in Wales, as well as carer Champions, providing direct support to Shared Lives carers during and beyond Covid.

3. Driven improvements in Shared Lives carer recruitment, working in partnership with Social Care Wales National Carer Recruitment Campaign

4. Supported the review and development of existing and new services

5. Hosted quarterly meetings between Senior Adult Services Managers to support sharing of best practice, improved quality of service delivery and efficiencies in operational practices across Wales.

6. Partnership working in Wales has brought some excellent opportunities. Shared Lives Plus met with Voices from Care Cymru (VFCC) who are keen to work together to influence Welsh Government to offer Shared Lives to care leavers. Close relations with Care inspectorate Wales led to improved support for ‘quality of care’ reporting by Wales

7. Shared Lives Plus attended and contributed to Mental Health Cross Party Group meeting on Shared Lives Mental Health services. We were delighted to be involved with the Deputy Minister’s second visit to Shared Lives household this year.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Northern Ireland

Age Northern Ireland has launched their new Shared Lives scheme designed especially to support older people. It has been a very positive launch and they have recruited 9 new carers in the last year, with two people supported so far and several more matches at various stages of approval.

The service also featured on the national BBC News:

Scotland

In Scotland 505 people are supported by 610 carers, a decrease in supported people (8%) and carers (4%). Two schemes had closed in the last year period, Aberdeenshire and Perth. Dundee local authority has expressed an initial interest in establishing their own Shared Lives scheme. At present, two other schemes support matches in the Dundee area.

As reported on in our successes, leading social care charity Cornerstone has been working to develop and share best practice for supporting people leaving care in the Scottish borders. The Young People Leaving Care Programme recognises and seeks to mitigate the intersectional challenges of being a care leaver with a support need.

Further to the North-East, Moray Shared Lives was chosen to facilitate a project commissioned by IMPACT. You can read more about IMPACT and its relationship to Shared Lives Plus in our joint working section below. The project explored what services are currently available to reduce the feeling of loneliness for older people in Moray, and what else could be put in place or upscaled. Shared Lives emerged as one of the most effective means of reducing loneliness for those it supported. Researcher Nicola Watson, who is now our Nations and Homeshare officer, conducted co-productive one-to-one meetings and focus groups. Nicola’s research

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

found that older people in Moray wanted trusted relationship-based support, and time. Shared Lives offers both an opportunity to develop deep and trusting relationships, and to take the time to get to know the Shared Lives carer as well as their wider community. The project also found that Shared Lives provided a natural meeting place in the carer’s home, and opportunities for intergenerational relationships. The full findings and recommendations will be published by IMPACT at the end of September 2024.

Co-production – older people, focus groups, one of one meetings Shared lives carers – people they support, how Shared Lives reduces loneliness

Joint Working

Shared Lives Plus is a small charity which always seeks to have the greatest impact it possibly have through its own means, however, we need to work in partnership to make sure we grasp all the available opportunities to support the Shared Living sector.

Key partnership this year

Impact

Shared Lives Plus is a key partner in the consortium which supports IMPACT, a £15 million UK centre for implementing evidence in adult social care. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Health Foundation, the UK centre for evidence in adult social care. Ewan King, our CEO, is on the leadership team for IMPACT, and is also responsible for national embedding, to ensure the lessons from the initiative’s work are shared. Shared Lives in Moray Scotland was selected as an IMPACT facilitator site, which involved exploring how shared lives, along with other local community organisations, could best support older people facing isolation in rural areas.

NCASC

We also formed a partnership at this year’s National Children and Adult Social Care Conference (NCASC) with organisations who shared the same values and commitment to coproduction to show that there is a different way; a road towards a different approach to social care and support which is characterised by decency, hope, love and relationships, rather than fear, fragmented lives, frustration and despair.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Social Care Future

Shared Lives Plus also continues to be a key partner in the Social Care Future movement, a collective of organisations and individuals who want to see positive reforms to social care. Shared Lives features on the movement’s new website – as a glimpse of the future – and features in the animation about Social Care Future, narrated by the comedian Liz Carr. The Social Care Vision is:

“We all want to live in the place we call home with the people and things that we love, in communities where we look out for one another, doing the things that matter to us.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Directors’ report

Financial review

2023-24 was a much improved year for the charity, although there remained pressure on costs and salaries. The charity managed to return a small deficit for the year of £15k – compared to over £300k in the previous year.

Income in 2023-24 dropped from £2,057k to £1,606k with £787k of this restricted funding. Restricted expenditure was less than funds received and so restricted funds ended the year at £223k. All of which the charity expects to spend in 2024-25.

Unrestricted funds were again in deficit but much reduced year on year to £178k deficit.

The reduction in turnover and costs relates in part to the ending of the Homeshare Expansion Project. Sadly, due to this, we made some redundancies in early 2023-24 as we ended the Homeshare Expansion Project with agreement from the funder.

The project was unable to generate the income needed to become self-sustaining within the period of the grant, and it was felt that financially this could have been difficult to manage. We thank the funder for their support throughout the project and process of winding it down.

On 31 March 2024 Shared Lives Plus had Restricted Reserves of £222K. Unrestricted Reserves stood at £267K, which included £229k of Designated Funds which the Board of Trustees felt it prudent to allocate to cover any potential future risks as part of the Reserves policy.

We have a budget for 2024-25 which shows a small surplus, but we plan to continue the changing of the organisation with a revised strategic plan.

Reserves policy

It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds which have not been identified as designated funds (covering outstanding leases and essential salaries for three months) should be at least £218k. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. The level of free reserves has fallen to £267k and the Trustees will continue to monitor this to ensure the value is sufficient to cover the winding up costs of the charity, and where it is in excess will look at the most appropriate ways to allocate any surplus of funds to the objectives of the charity.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Investment policy

The trustees continue to consider investments and the best ways to manage surplus working capital funds and Shared Lives Plus had 4 additional savings accounts with Investec, CAF Bank, Charity Bank and Redwood Bank. The trustees feel this ensured the excess funds were working as hard as possible. However, as there were some pressures on our liquid cash during the year the balances held at Charity Bank, Redwood bank and CAF bank were all given notice to return funds to the Shared Lives Plus Current account. This was in process at the year-end as some accounts were on 30-90 days’ notice. The balances on each account are shown in the year end accounts as they stood at that time, whether notice had been given or not.

During the previous financial year, the charity also opened a PayPal account, as customers and members were requesting this as a way to pay. At 31[st] March 2024 there were no transactions on this account.

Risk management

The Finance Committee manages the potential risks to Shared Lives Plus using the Risk Register which continues to develop. An action plan is used to reduce any high-risk areas to a low to medium in an acceptable timescale.

The most significant risks facing Shared Lives Plus are as follows:

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Structure, governance and management

The charity is a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee, and is governed by its memorandum and articles of association.

The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year were:

Mr R Jones - Chairperson Mr I Coleman - Treasurer Mr M Ewing (term ended 19.06.24) Mr M Thomas (term ended 11.11.23) Mr Mike Jacobs (term ended 30.11.23) Ms Maxine Palmer-Hunter Ms Jane McMillan (term ended 30.06.24) Ms Ionela Ramona Amuza (term ended 09.11.23) Ms Kate Allen (joined 12.06.23) Ms Aisling Duffy (joined 12.06.23) Ms Drusila Lloyd (joined 12.06.23) Ms Carol Lucas (joined 12.06.23)

Ms Emma Kiss (joined 12.06.23, left 20.06.24) Mr David Matthews (joined – 20.06.24)

Appointment

During the year Shared Lives Plus changed its governance structure to reflect the changes within the organisation. The board structure was changed by resolution and approved by the Charity Commission. The new structure is based on the Governance review which has taken place over the previous 3 years.

None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.

Our Trustees have legal responsibility for the work of Shared Lives Plus Limited. Their responsibilities include:

  1. Overseeing the work of the Chief Executive and the management of Shared Lives Plus Limited.

  2. Agreeing the strategy for the development and growth of Shared Lives Plus Limited.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

  1. Ensuring that Shared Lives Plus Limited meets its legal responsibilities.

  2. Ensuring sound financial management of Shared Lives Plus Limited.

During 2021-22, the charity undertook a full governance review. From this some new structures were put in place including trustee training, a new Register of Interests, and links established between individual trustees and individual senior managers.

During 2023-24 the trustees (as part of the Governance Review started in 20-21), changed the make-up of the Board, these changes were agreed by the Charity Commission and move the organisation’s governance to a more fit-for-purpose model.

The changes mean that the Chair of the Your Voice Forums (one for cares, one for schemes and one for Homeshare) explained earlier, will become trustees on the Board – the trustees felt that this was the best way to hear members voices at Board level. This means there will be no directly elected members on the Board (although the chairs of the forums are indeed voted into position by the membership).

New roles were identified after a skills gap analysis, and these were recruited via advertisement in national press/websites. The board interviewed and appointed 2 new trustees in June 2023 and the recruitment of 3 Chairs of the relevant Your Voice Forums were also recruited, who also have taken their seats on the board from June 2023.

Key management

Ewan works with an increased senior management team consisting of Lynne Harrison, Director of Operations, Phoebe Barber-Rowell, Head of Communications, and Suzi Clarke Head of Strategic Advice

New Trustees follow a set Induction plan covering roles and responsibilities, an overview of Shared Lives Plus and its work, statutory requirements and Finance. All trustees attend governance training (group and one to one sessions) plus receiving regular updates via the Finance Committee.

The Board of Trustees has responsibility for the management of Shared Lives Plus Limited throughout the UK.

Membership is offered to all those involved in Shared Lives (previously adult placement) and Homeshare.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Auditor

Disclosure of information to auditor

Each of the trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information.

The trustees, who are also the directors of Shared Lives Plus Limited for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the accounts in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company Law requires the trustees to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.

In preparing these accounts, the trustees are required to:

  1. select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently

  2. observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP

  3. make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent

  4. state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the accounts

  5. prepare the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 31ST MARCH 2024

Small company provisions

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

The trustees' report, incorporating the directors’ report, was approved by the Board of Trustees.

Mr R Jones - Chairperson

Trustee

Dated: 11 October 2024

Mr I Coleman - Treasurer Trustee Dated: 11 October 2024

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS REPORT AS AT 31ST MARCH 2024

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustees and Members of Shared Lives Plus Limited

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Shared Lives Plus Limited (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 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:

  1. give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2024, and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

  2. have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

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

Basis for opinion

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

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS REPORT AS AT 31ST MARCH 2024

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 charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

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

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the trustees annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

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:

  1. the information given in the trustees' report (incorporating the directors’ report) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS REPORT AS AT 31ST MARCH 2024

  1. the directors’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

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:

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

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

  3. certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

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

  5. 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.

Responsibilities of trustees

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

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS REPORT AS AT 31ST MARCH 2024

going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial

statements

We have been appointed auditor under the Companies Act 2006 and section 151 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with those Acts.

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:

  1. Enquiries with management and of those charged with governance about any known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations actual and potential litigation and claims.

  2. Enquiry of entity staff in tax and compliance functions to identify any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations.

  3. Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

  4. Auditing the risk of fraud in revenue, including through the testing of income cut off at the period end and through income transaction testing to provide comfort that revenue is completely stated in the financial statements.

  5. Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS REPORT AS AT 31ST MARCH 2024

  1. Auditing the risk of management override of controls, including through testing journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, and evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business.

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

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/Our-Work/Audit/Audit-and-assurance/Standards-andguidance/Standards-and-guidance-for-auditors/Auditors-responsibilities-for-audit/Descriptionof-auditors-responsibilities-for-audit.aspx. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

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

Nicola Mason MA(Cantab) FCA DChA

Senior Statutory Auditos

For and on behalf of MHA, Statutory Auditor Preston, United Kingdom

11 October 2024

MHA is the trading name of MacIntyre Hudson LLP, a limited liability partnership in England and Wales (registered number OC312313)

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SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED, A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Unrestricted
funds
Notes
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
1,260
Charitable activities
4
758,412
Investments
5
2,219
Other Income
6
57,137
Total
819,028
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
7
964,375
One off staff COL payment
-
964,375
Net income / (expenditure)
(145,347)
Transfers between funds
(32,577)
Net movement in funds
(177,924)
Reconciliation of funds:
Fund balances at 31 March 2023
445,217
Fund balances at 31 March 2024
267,293		 Restricted
funds
£
-
787,289
-
-
787,289
657,325
-
657,325
129,964
32,577
162,541
59,370
221,911		 Total
2024
£
1,260
1,545,701
2,219
57,137
1,606,317
1,621,700
-
1,621,700
(15,383)
-
(15,383)
504,587
489,204		 Total
2023
£
590
2,027,993
4,247
23,827
2,056,657
2,321,912
42,610
2,364,522
(307,865)
-
(307,865)
812,452
504,587

The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE BALANCE SHEET

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

2024 2024 2023 2023
Notes £ £ £ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 13 8,657 23,070
Intangible Assets 13a 1,544 10,041
10,201 33,111
Current assets
Debtors 15 150,223 171,509
Cash at bank and in hand 675,359 675,359 667,222
825,582 838,731
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within 16
one year (346,579)
(367,255)
Net current assets 479,003 471,476
Total net assets 489,204 504,587
The funds of the charity
Restricted funds 21 221,911 59,370
Unrestricted funds
Committed funds 229,352 233,853
20 229,352 233,853
General unrestricted funds 37,941 211,364
Total unrestricted funds 20 267,293 445,217
Total charity funds 489,204 504,587

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

The accounts were approved by the Trustees on 11 October 2024

Mr R Jones - Chairperson Mr I Coleman – Treasurer
Trustee Trustee
Company Registration No. 04511426

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SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

2024 2024 2023
Notes £ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash provided by operating 24 5,918 (305,558)
activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets - (14,731) (14,731)
Purchase of Intangible Assets - - -
Interest and dividends received 2,219 4,246 4,246
Net cash used in investing activities 2,219 2,219 (10,485)
Change in cash and cash equivalents 8,137 (316,043)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 667,222 983,265
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year 675,359 667,222
Split by:
Current assets – cash and cash equivalents 675,359 675,359 667,222
675,359 675,359 667,222

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SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1 Accounting policies

Charity information

Shared Lives Plus Limited is a private charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Eleanor Rathbone House, Connect Business Village, 24 Derby Road, Liverpool L5 9PR

1.1 Accounting convention

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

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost 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 £.

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 presented unless otherwise stated.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1.2 Going concern

At the time of approving the accounts, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus, the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the accounts.

The charity shows a deficit for 2023-24 of @£15k, but as this was after previous year results of a £300k deficit, it can be seen that the charity is on an upwards trend and the release of the Accelerating Reform Fund from the UK government has meant that the new financial year 24-25 is likely to post a good surplus – and this is likely to continue into 25-26. The fund totals £42.6m and Shared Lives is noted as the number one option in the governments suggested use of the fund to Local Authorities.

As we start 2024-25 year, we have already seen a large number of LA’s come to Shared Lives Plus to start working together and spending part of their allocation of funds with us. We are well placed to support LA’s in delivering Shared Lives in their areas. This work is delivered via our Strategic Advice team.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives unless the funds have been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the accounts.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the accounts.

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SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1.4 Income

Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.

The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:

Income from charitable activities is recognised in the period in which the charity is entitled to receipt and the amount can be measured with reasonable certainty. Grants, including grants for the purchase of fixed assets, are recognised in full in the statement of financial activities in the year in which they are receivable. Income is deferred only when the charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor has specified that the income is to be expended in a future period. Membership income is accounted for in the year to which it applies. Membership income received during the year that relates to a subsequent financial accounting period is carried forward as a creditor in the balance sheet and shown as deferred membership income. It is recognised in line with the benefits received.

Conference income is recognised when the conference has taken place.

Intangible income

On occasions where the charity received assistance in the form of donated facilities, and the benefit is quantifiable and material, an appropriate amount is included in income and an equivalent amount as expenditure under the relevant heading. The value of services provided by volunteers has not been included in these accounts.

Page 47 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1.5 Expenditure

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Grants payable are payments made to third parties in the furtherance of the charitable objects of the charity. A grant is charged to the statement of financial activities when the recipient has been notified of the award.

The irrecoverable element of VAT is included with the item of expenses to which it relates as this cannot be recovered by the charitable company.

Redundancy costs are included as a liability and an expense when the entity is demonstrably committed either:

(a) to terminate the employment of an employee or group of employees before the normal retirement date; or

(b) to provide redundancy benefits as a result of an offer made in order to encourage voluntary redundancy.

1.6 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

All unrestricted assets costing more than £1,500 are capitalised at cost. 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:

Computer and office equipment 33% per annum on a straight-line basis Office furniture 25% per annum on a straight-line basis Website 33% per annum on a straight-line basis

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset and is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.

1.7 Intangible fixed assets

Intangible fixed assets are non-financial fixed assets that do not have physical substance but are The Charity recognises intangible assets at historical cost and in this year only the website of the which is currently under construction, falls within this category. Intangible assets are amortised

Page 48 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

life of the asset. In the case of the website, this has been calculated based on the strategic plan of when a rebuild is scheduled. The asset is therefore depreciated at a rate of 25% from its launch date.

1.8 Fixed asset investments

Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are

1.9 Impairment of fixed assets

At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).

1.10 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts.

1.11 Financial instruments

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets are offset, with the net amounts presented in the accounts when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Page 49 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Derecognition of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

1.12 Employee benefits

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Redundancy benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide redundancy benefits.

1.13 Retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company. The annual contributions payable are charged to the statement of financial activities.

1.14 Leases

Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged to income on a straight-line basis over the term of the relevant lease.

Page 50 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1.15 Taxation

The charity benefits from various exemptions from taxation afforded by tax legislation and is not liable to corporation tax on income or gains falling within those exemptions. Recovery is made of tax deducted from qualifying income and from receipts under Gift Aid, and partial recovery is also made of tax credits on UK dividend income.

Page 51 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

3 Donations and legacies

2024 2023
£ £
Unrestricted funds
Donations and gifts 1,260 590

Page 52 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

4 Charitable activities

Development Homeshare Member Total Total
support 2024 2023
£ £ £ £ £
Sales within charitable activities 181,049 2,312 - 183,361 140,404
Performance related grants 687,289 100,000 - 787,289 1,332,944
Membership income 40,000 7,150 527,901 575,051 554,645
908,338 109,462 527,901 1,545,701 2,027,993
Analysis by fund:
Unrestricted funds 221,049 9,462 527,901 758,412 695,049
Restricted funds 687,289 100,000 - 787,289 1,332,944
908,338 109,462 527,901 1,545,701 2,027,993
Prior Year
Unrestricted funds 178,561 6,212 510,276 695,049
Restricted funds 804,104 503,840 25,000 1,332,944
982,665 510,052 535,276 2,027,993

Page 53 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

4 Charitable Activities Cont’d
Development Homeshare Member Total Total
support 2024 2023
£ £ £ £ £
Performance related grants
National Lottery Community 330,448 - - 330,448 358,926
Welsh Government 68,526 - - 68,526 84,542
Dept for Education/Stoke CC - - - - 181,144
WCVA - - - - 8,288
Secret Funder - 100,000 - 100,000 451,000
Clarion/Fusion 21 - - - - 6,253
Rayne Foundation 20,000 - - 20,000 -
Corra Foundation - - - - 77,180
Garfield Weston - - - - 25,000
Mercers - - - - 46,587
Moondance 36,000 - - 36,000 46,414
RS MacDonald 17,000 - - 17,000 13,260
Fidelity UK 118,059 - - 118,059 -
Innovate UK 16,270 - - 16,270 24,350
Health Foundation 80,986 - - 80,986 -
Other - - - 10,000
687,289 100,000 - 787,289 1,332,944
Membership Income Total Total
2024 2023
£ £
Pears Foundation 40,000 40,000
Income from Members 535,051 510,276
575,051 550,276

Page 54 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

5 Investments

Investments
2024 2023
£ £
Unrestricted funds
Income from listed investments - -
Bank Interest receivable 2,219 4,247
2,219 4,247

6 Other Income

Other Income
2024 2023
£ £
Unrestricted funds
Merchandise/Lottery sales/Fundraising 3,975 1,622
Commission 185 602
Contribution to shared resources (IMPACT) 40,736 9,100
Portal Income 5,955 11,660
Gift Aid - 6
Speaker Fees 4,946 -
Small Miscellaneous 1,340 837
57,137 23,827

Page 55 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

7 Charitable activities

Development Homeshare Member Total
Total		 Total
support 2024 2023
£ £ £ £ £
Staff costs 453,117 136,631 555,490 1,145,238 136,631 555,490 1,145,238 136,631 555,490 1,145,238 1,683,043
Telephone, IT and website 14,308 25,588 53,653 93,549 107,217
Printing, postage and stationery 1,251 2,238 4,692 8,181 9,790
Staff travel, accommodation, training 13,436 6,146 2,885 22,467 78,328
and recruitment
Events and conferences - - 2,508 2,508 16,448
Marketing and fundraising 3,809 6,812 14,284 24,905 43,512
Publications and newsletters - - - - 28,997
Project Costs 75,192 - - 75,192 18,950
Professional & Consultancy - - 5,712 5,712 72,939
Insurance - - 175,970 175,970 173,852
561,113 177,415 815,194 1,553,722 815,194 1,553,722 2,233,075
Grant funding of activities (see note 8) - - 1,029 1,029 10,538
Share of support costs (see note 9) 18,874 5,968 27,421 52,263 108,836
Share of governance costs (see note 8,630 1,040 5,016 14,686 35,000
10)
588,617 184,423 848,660 1,621,700 848,660 1,621,700 2,364,522
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds 78,556 37,158 848,660 964,375
Restricted funds 510,061 147,264 - 657,325
588,617 184,422 848,660 184,422 848,660 1,621,700
For the year ended 31 March 2023
Unrestricted funds 14,604 80,671 834,786 930,061
Restricted funds 700,964 684,147 49,350 1,434,461
715,568 764,818 884,136 2,364,522

Page 56 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Development Member Total
8 Grants Support 2024
£ £ £
Other – less than £1,000 1,029 - 1,029
In Control Partnerships
1,029 - 1,029

In 2023 £10,538 of grants were made to institutions.

Page 57 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

9 Support costs

Support costs
Support Support
Governance		 2024 2023 Basis of allocation
costs costs
£ £ £ £
Depreciation 22,584 - 22,584 24,555 Office equipment 24,555 Office equipment
Professional and Actual charges to Actual charges to
consultant fees 812 - 812 9,496 9,496 different grant funders
Rent, utilities and 11,946 11,946 31,565 Actual charges to 31,565 Actual charges to
room hire different grant funders,
-
Including Insurance
Other costs 16,921 - 16,921 43,221 Allocated
proportionally to
different grant funders
and actual costs for
membership
development
Audit & Accountancy - 13,472 13,472 11,813 see below 11,813 see below
Committee expenses - 1,214 1,214 260 see below 260 see below
52,263 14,686 66,949 120,929 66,949 120,929
Analysed between
Charitable activities 52,263 14,686 66,949 120,929

Included within the support costs for charitable activities is £nil (2023 - £nil) relating to the grant making activities of the charity.

All governance costs are allocated in proportion with the charitable activity expenditure.

Page 58 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

10 Auditor's remuneration

The analysis of auditor's remuneration is as follows:
Fees payable to the charity's auditor: 2024 2023 2024 2023
£ £
Audit of the charity's annual accounts 11,043 10,310
Non-audit services
Fees payable to the charity’s auditor for other services 411 374

11 Employees

Number of employees

The average monthly number employees during the year was: 26 (2023: 34)

2024 2023
Number Number
Senior management 5 5
Project workers 12 18
Administration 3 7
Communications 6 5
26 34
Employment costs 2024 2023
£ £
Wages and salaries 990,957 1,372,562
Social security costs 95,271 139,795
Other pension costs 48,292 63,276
1,134,520 1,575,634

Included within the payroll costs are £10,610 (2023: £Nil) costs of redundancy. SMP of £15,526 has been deducted from Wages and Salaries in the year.

The number of employees whose annual remuneration was £60,000

or more were:

or more were: or more were:
2024 2023
Number Number
£60,001 to £80,000 £60,001 to £80,000 2 2

Page 59 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

11 Employees cont’d

Contributions totalling £7,107 (2023: £7,599) were made to defined contribution pension schemes on behalf of employees whose emoluments exceed £60,000.

12 Trustees

None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year.

A total of 10 (2023 – Nil) trustees were reimbursed for expenses totalling £1,273 (2023 – Nil) relating to travel and accommodation costs for attendance at trustee meetings.

Page 60 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

13 Tangible fixed assets

Computer and Office Total
office equipment furniture
£ £ £
Cost
At 1 April 2023 58,458 5,246 63,704
Additions - - -
Disposals (980) - (980)
At 31 March 2024 57,478 5,246 67,724
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023 35,872 4,762 40,634
Depreciation charged in year 13,767 320 14,087
Depreciation eliminated on disposals (654) - (654)
At 31 March 2024 48,985 5,082 54,067
Carrying amount
At 31 March 2024 8,493 164 8,657
At 31 March 2023 22,586 484 23,070
13a Intangible fixed assets
Website Total
Cost £ £
At 1 April 2023 42,487 42,487
Additions - -
At 31 March 2024 42,487 42,487
Amortisation
At 1 April 2023 32,446 32,446
Amortisation charged for the year 8,497 8,497
At 31 March 2024 40,943 40,943
Carrying amount
At 31 March 2024 1,544 1,544
At 31 March 2023 10,041 10,041

Page 61 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

14 Financial instruments 2024 2023
£ £
Carrying amount of financial assets
Debt instruments measured at cost 84,624 84,624
134,459
Carrying amount of financial liabilities
Measured at cost 311,779 311,779
323,932
15 Debtors
2024 2023
Amounts falling due within one £ £
year:
Trade debtors 80,420 80,420
126,341
Prepayments and accrued income 65,250 65,250
37,050
Other Debtors 4,553 4,553
8,118
150,223 150,223
171,509
16 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
2024 2023
Notes £ £
Other taxation and social security 31,197 43,317
Deferred income 17 286,554 245,888
Trade creditors 4,727 32,110
Other creditors 6,082 9,868
Accruals 18,019 36,072
346,579 367,255
17 Deferred income
2024 2023
£ £
Other deferred income 286,554 245,888
286,554 245,888
Current liabilities 286,554 245,888

Page 62 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

17 Deferred income

An amount of £286,554 (2023 - £245,888) is deferred in respect of membership income received during the year that relates to the subsequent financial accounting period and is recognised in line with the benefits received.

The income for membership deferred on 31[st] March 2023 has been released in full during the year.

18 Retirement benefit schemes

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.

The charge to profit or loss in respect of defined contribution schemes was £48,292 (2023 - £63,478).

19 Operating lease commitments

At the reporting end date, the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

2024 2023
£ £
Within one year 24,046 8,490
Between two and five years 17,506 16,980
41,551 25,470

Page 63 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

20 Unrestricted funds

Current Year

The income funds of the charity include the following designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes:

Movement in funds Movement in funds
Balance at Income Expenditure Transfers Transfers
Balance at
1 April In/(out) 31 March
2023 2024
£ £ £ £ £
Designated funds
Committed funds - leases 25,000 - - 16,551 41,551
Committed funds - short term 208,853 - 21,052 - -
187,801
staffing
233,853 - 21,052 16,551 229,352
General unrestricted funds 211,364 819,028 943,323 (49,128) 37,941
445,217 819,028 964,375 (32,577) 267,293

The leases commitment is to cover payments under the property and equipment leases of the charitable company.

The staffing designation of funds is for the senior staff members required to manage the process of a business closure. The short-term staffing commitment is to cover three months costs for the senior management team plus key office and communication staff.

Page 64 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Prior Year

Movement in funds Movement in funds
Balance at Income Expenditure Transfers Transfers
Balance at
1 April In/(out) 31 March
2022 2023
£ £ £ £ £
Designated funds
Committed funds - leases 58,000 -) 33,000 - 25,000
Committed funds - short term
staffing 122,759 86,094 - - -
208,853
180,759 86,094 33,000 - 233,853
General unrestricted funds 463,373 637,619 897,061 7,433 211,364
644,132 723,713 930,061 7,433 445,217

Page 65 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

21 Restricted Funds 21 Restricted Funds Movement in funds Movement in funds
Current Year Current Year Balance at 1st Income Expenditure Transfers Balance at 31
April 2023 out March 2024
£ £ £ £ £
National Lottery - 330,448 295,529 - 34,919
Welsh Government - 68,526 68,526 - -
The Rayne Foundation - 20,000 20,000 - -
Fidelity - 118,059 5,797 - 112,262
RS MacDonald 6,368 17,000 17,372 - 5,996
Innovate UK - 16,270 16,270 - -
Awards 4 All 4,015 - 4,015 - -
Funder req. anonymity 37,120 100,000 147,264 10,144 -
Moondance - 36,000 21,000 - 15,000
Corra Foundation 24,300 - 24,300 - -
Awards For All Scotland 10,000 - 8,054 - 1,946
Health Foundation - 80,986 29,198 - 51,788
Transfers between Funds (22,433) - - 22,433 -
59,370 787,289 657,325 32,577 221,911
21 Restricted Funds 21 Restricted Funds Movement in funds
prior Year prior Year Balance at
Income		 Income Expenditure Transfers Balance at 31
1st April 2022 out March 2023
£ £ £ £ £
National Lottery - 358,926 358,926 358,926
-		 -
Welsh Government (10,000) 84,542 74,542 74,542
-		 -
The Rayne Foundation 6,939 - 6,939 6,939
-		 -
John Ellerman Foundation John Ellerman Foundation
-		 - 34,457 34,457
-		 -
Innovate - 24,350 24,350 24,350
-		 -
RS MacDonald 1,109 13,260 8,001 8,001
-		 6,368
Garfield Weston - 25,000 25,000 25,000
-		 -
Fidelity 7,652 7,652 7,652
-		 -
Mercers 6,761 46,587 53,348 53,348
-		 -
Ecclesiastical 10,077 - 10,077 10,077
-		 -
Stoke CC/DfE - 181,144 181,144 181,144
-		 -
Clarion Housing/Fusion 21 Clarion Housing/Fusion 21
21,051		 6,253 27,304 27,304
-		 -
Awards 4 All 9,872 5,857 5,857
-		 4,015
WCVA 24,863 8,288 33,151 33,151
-		 -
Funder req. anonymity 104,996 451,000 518,876 518,876
-		 37,120
Moondance - 46,414 46,414 46,414
-		 -
Corra Foundation - 77,180 52,880 52,880
-		 24,300
Awards 4 All Scotland - 10,000 - -
-		 10,000
Transfers between Funds (15,000) - - -
(7,433)		 (22,433)
168,320 1,332,944 1,434,461 (7,433) 59,370 1,434,461 (7,433) 59,370 1,434,461 (7,433) 59,370

Page 66 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Welsh Government - Grant Scheme for Voluntary Organisations:

RS Macdonald Charitable Trust:

Funding towards our three-year project: 'Reaching More Vulnerable People in Scotland'.

National Lottery Community Fund – The project will work with thousands of people with support needs and Shared Lives carers and local Shared Lives schemes to bring family and communitybased care to isolated or excluded adults with support needs, who are currently offered only institutional or functional support services.

The funding covers key posts within Shared Lives Plus to develop shared lives and Homeshare across the regions of the UK.

Funder requesting anonymity – this is a 5-year project expanding the Homeshare model across England including launching a unique social franchise model. The grant funds the difference between generated income and costs from the project and funds several staff posts.

Moondance Foundation – supporting our work in Wales

Corra Foundation in partnership with The Promise – a project enabling parents with learning disabilities and their children to develop and maintain safe, loving relationships, with a view to helping them remain together.

Rayne – Grant to support the delivery of a two year young people leaving care Shared Lives programme. The grant will be used to support the staffing of the programme and an engagement officer post.

Fidelity – Grant to support Shared Lives Plus to build a strategic advice team which will generate income and support Shared Lives Plus become financially sustainable.

Page 67 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

22 Analysis of net assets between funds – Prior Year

Unrestricted Designated Restricted Total 2023
funds funds funds
£ £ £ £
Fund balances at 31 March 2023 are
represented by:
Tangible assets
23,070		 - - 23,070
Intangible Assets
10,041		 - - 10,041
Current assets/(liabilities)
178,253		 233,853 59,370 471,476
211,364 233,583 59,370 504,587
Analysis of net assets between funds – Current Year Analysis of net assets between funds – Current Year
Unrestricted Designated Restricted Total 2024
funds funds funds
£ £ £ £
Fund balances at 31 March 2024 are
represented by:
Tangible assets
8,657		 - - 8,657
Intangible Assets
1,544		 - - 1,544
Current assets/(liabilities)
27,740		 229,352 221,911 479,003
37,941 245,034 189,334 489,204

Page 68 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED

A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

23 Related party transactions

Remuneration of key management personnel

The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows.

2024 2023
£ £
Aggregate remuneration 284,903 196,917

During the year ended 31 March 2024, Shared Lives Plus Limited received membership income of £11,695 (2023 – Nil) from members with connections to Trustees. There are amounts receivable outstanding at 31 March 2024 of £2,135 (2023 – Nil).

Page 69 of 70

SHARED LIVES PLUS LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

24 Cash generated from operations 2024 2023
£ £
Net (expenditure)/income for the year (as per the (13,289) (307,865)
statement of financial activities)
Adjustments for:
Investment income (2,219) (4,247)
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets 14,087 24,554
Amortisation of intangible fixed assets 8,497 -
Loss on disposal of fixed assets 326 35
Movements in working capital:
(Increase)/decrease in debtors 21,286 24,477
Increase/(decrease) in creditors (22,770) (42,512)
Net cash provided/ (used by) by operating activities 5,918 (305,558)

Shared Lives Plus Limited is incorporated under the Companies Act as a company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital. The liability of each member is limited to £1.

Page 70 of 70

Shared Lives Plus

Eleanor Rathbone House Connect Business Village

24 Derby Road Liverpool L5 9PR

0151 227 3499

Reg Charity number (England and Wales) 1095562 Company number 4511426 Reg Charity No (Scotland) SC)42743