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← Herefordshire Voluntary Organisations Support Service

2024-03-31-accounts

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Charity Registration No. 1096451 Company Registration No. 04625595 (England and Wales)

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Trustees Mrs L P Wilcox
Mr R S Kelly
Mrs A C Robinson
Mrs J Faux
Mrs S Penny
Mr C I V Farmer
Mrs M E Campbell (Resigned 6 December 2023)
Mr J Argent (Appointed 21 July 2023)
Mr D Tristram (Appointed 21 July 2023)
Company Secretary and Mr W D Lindesay
Chief Executive
Charity number 1096451
Company number 04625595
Registered office 52 Broad Street
Hereford
HR4 9AB
Auditors Kendall Wadley LLP
Granta Lodge
71 Graham Road
Malvern
Worcestershire
WR14 2JS
Bankers CAF Bank
25 Kings Hill
West Malling
Kent
ME19 4JQ
Contact Telephone: 01432-343932
Email: info@hvoss.org.uk
Website: hvoss.org.uk

Herefordshire Voluntary Organisations Support Service TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

The Trustees of hvoss, who are also directors for the purposes of the Companies Act, have pleasure in presenting the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 of the financial statements and comply with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1[st] January 2019). This report satisfies the requirements for a directors' report under the Companies Act 2006.

hvoss (Herefordshire Voluntary Organisations Support Service) is an umbrella support charity for the Herefordshire Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector.

Our vision is:

“A vibrant and effective Community Sector in Herefordshire"

Driving the services available at hvoss are the incredible contributions that local volunteers, voluntary and community groups, charities and not for profit organisations make in the county.

hvoss is a local infrastructure, support and development organisation. Our mission is to be the ‘go to’ organisation for information, assistance, guidance, communication, facilitation and networking. hvoss membership is currently free, and open to any organisation or individual furthering charitable and not for profit aims and activities in the local community. hvoss remains led by, and accountable to, the local VCSE and other key stakeholders.

The charity has two key strategic aims: -

  1. To support local organisations with their development needs, providing services needed to pursue charitable activity for public benefit.

  2. To promote, organise and facilitate co-operation, co-design and co-production through effective partnership working between the local VCSE sector and public bodies.

  3. 1 -

Strategic Plan 2022 – 2027

During the year the charity remained focused on the following charitable objectives:

The following principles and values inform activities of, and decisions taken by the charity:

The community team have continued to provide support to the VCSE of Herefordshire while developing our volunteer strategy with key strands of youth volunteering, volunteer recruitment and retention, responsive volunteering, and corporate volunteering. The team provided events, training, support, and resources to the VCSE aimed at building sustainable and vibrant communities across Herefordshire. We have held events to support funding, grants and income generation, volunteer recruitment and retention and training.

Our largest event was “Meet the Funders” , attended by 103 charities, community interest groups and organisations, with guest speakers from Herefordshire Community Foundation, the National Lottery, and The Eveson Trust. This was a partnership event with Hereford City Council and supported by Talk Community, offering delegates a sound understanding of the grant making organisations’ criteria, the funding available and what they should include in an application. Our aim was that delegates would feel more confident and better informed when applying for funding --- we received fantastic feedback and we will be building on its success this year.

Drop-in sessions across the county’s market towns promoted opportunities across the sector for volunteers, as well as to share the work of the sector and help individuals to access the support and activities the groups offer, especially people under 30. The Volunteer Fair facilitated introductions and networking between organisations.

The team have been out in the community and attended meetings with our partners and one-toone meetings with organisations providing support with income generation, governance, volunteering advice, guidance and support to anyone who has needed it.

Community development

Partnership with Herefordshire Council and Talk Community

hvoss continued to receive grant support from Herefordshire Council, as part of the Talk Community programme. This contract provides vital resources to enable our Community team to assist and enable local groups and organisations. In the last 12 months hvoss provided:

The charity also routinely assisted with general support and advice enquiries ranging from governance requests to ‘running your group or activity’. At least 30 – 45 mins was spent on each enquiry ensuring that we had sound information on which to base our support, and we met over half the organisations either in their community or the hvoss city centre office. Many resulted in further meetings and visits.

Volunteering Services

The Herefordshire Volunteer Bureau operated throughout the year from our main offices at 52 Broad Street, Hereford as well as locally through community organisations and events. This enabled local organisations to promote their opportunities and for people to find out more about local volunteering available to them.

New Volunteers Registered 207 Volunteers Placed 138 Opportunities for Volunteers advertised 653 Training Sessions Held - 29 sessions for 389 attendees Organisations supported with funding/grants advice 156 Organisations provided with development and/or governance support and guidance 74 ~~a~~

The charity continued to develop the hvoss Active Response Team (HART) . This team of 30+ volunteers registered with hvoss are deployed to support local events and providing support in a dynamic and agile way to the community as needs arise. The HART approach builds on our experience gained in coordinating volunteers responding to crises including flooding and the Covid19 pandemic.

Request for development, funding advice and fundraising support – this continues as the most requested support need.

Monthly funding and development drop-in sessions for groups and organisations. These provided access to local one-to-one support and advice in the local community. 10 outreach sessions were held during the year.

Over the year, hvoss coordinated a Volunteering Strategy , which sets out to adapt our approach to recruiting, retaining and communicating with volunteers across Herefordshire.

Communications / Engagement

Our communications and engagement function has an important role in messaging about developments and keeping the sector and different audiences up to date.

Our monthly newsletter, hvoice , reaches 1042 subscribers with an open rate of 53% (industry standard open rate of 21.5%).

hvoss’ social media platforms are busy and visited by many people and organisations. We continued to share opportunities and news from across the sector including jobs, fundraising, volunteering, training, networking, partnerships, events and member communications.

The charity promoted over 200 local check community events and news items during the year, and also ran successful campaigns to celebrate National Volunteers Week, Trustees Week, Climate Change, Mental Health, Time for Change, Small Charities Week and Refugee Week.

hvoice newsletter 10

Herefordshire Youth Alliance communications 14

Herefordshire Community Network for Ukraine Newsletters and notifications 15

Emails including opportunities for training and partnership working 33

Herefordshire Youth Provision Network

hvoss has established a network of 75 organisations, practitioners and professionals across all sectors, working collaboratively to meet the needs of young people, hvoss, with the support of Sarah de Rohan, facilitates and coordinates quarterly meetings.

Communications to the Youth Provision Network achieved an open rate of over 56%.

Support to Ukrainians who have moved to Herefordshire

hvoss convened a network of community groups and organisations in February 2022. Herefordshire Council took the decision to deploy their government funding to support Ukrainian refugees in partnership with community organisations and joined the network in April 2022.

The Council’s Support for Ukrainian Community Integration Grant (SUCIG) scheme funds projects for Ukrainian guests, their sponsors/hosts in Herefordshire and organisations providing support and activities. This funding has enabled hvoss to employ a Community Network coordinator and two community link workers, working directly with Ukrainians arriving in Herefordshire.

The Herefordshire Community Network for Ukraine continues to grow and thrive. We have over 90 subscribers to communications, with an open rate of over 67%, and over 20 organisations regularly attend the monthly meetings. The Network’s purpose is to facilitate partnership working between organisations and groups in the VCSE and public services to develop support for Ukrainian guests and their hosts in Herefordshire, identify gaps, encourage and facilitate development and make the best use of resources and funding through effective collaboration. This approach has enabled us to get support to people quickly and deploys available funding effectively.

Herefordshire Council is a key partner in Network meetings and joint planning, which is achieving a responsive and agile approach in identifying emerging needs – often raised by hvoss’ and other organisations’ link workers through their direct support of people – and devising solutions is evidencing the value of the partnership approach. The Council’s funding panel directed that any organisation applying for funding through the SUCIG scheme must present their proposal to a meeting of the Network and become a member, as this would ensure that there is no risk of duplication and response to fill gaps can quickly be developed.

We are told by national organisations including Citizen UK and Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain that our partnership approach is unique.

Working groups have been organised to focus further on particular issues, and include wellbeing and mental health support, particularly for children and young people, communications, employment and housing. Sub-groups report into the wider Network meeting and many initiatives have developed from members’ discussions.

Support and activities have been mapped to identify opportunities and gaps and to share learning and aid collaboration and coordination.

One-to-one support with advocacy, employment, housing and benefits and anything else that will aid people’s integration into the community is provided by our link workers There are a wide range of needs and issues that Ukrainians need guidance and support with when they arrive in Herefordshire and start to settle in the community, and our link workers provide a completely individualised, person-centred approach to respond where the need is. Issues include transition from hosting arrangements to housing, employment, schools and support with translation in many situations including hospital appointments and throughout treatment.

During the year our link workers supported 168 Ukrainians including 77 people helped to access employment and 72 with enrolling on training programmes. 77 people have been supported with finding or applying for housing. Our on-line English lessons with a Ukrainian teacher are routinely attended by 20-30 people each session, with more accessing the recordings. Demand continues to grow as more refugees arrive in the county, although numbers of new arrivals have been slowing because of the lack of people offering sponsorship

and hosting arrangements. We have launched Language Cafés led by volunteers to offer Ukrainians the opportunity to practice speaking conversational English. We are working with partner cafés in local communities, aiming that the participants’ conversations will develop into natural friendships.

“The community of British, Ukrainian and other nationalities that we have built over the last two years is hugely special and important to all who are involved. There is an opportunity to grow this into a bigger community of more breadth where more and more is shared. “ Community Network partner

Among many others, the Network partnership includes the Herefordshire branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), the Diocese of Hereford, Herefordshire MIND, CLD Trust/Strong Young Minds, St Peter and St James church, The Kindle Centre, Halo, Fetch Theatre, Rural Media, The Living Room, New Leaf and the Ukraine Freedom Company in many activities, including through our link workers.

We have run monthly Community Kitchens in Ross-on-Wye and Hereford, an opportunity for Ukrainians to come together to make a traditional dish, cook together, celebrate their culture and maintain social networks, critical to their wellbeing. Over 50 people attended Hereford Community Kitchens in March. We are now encouraging participants to “bring a friend” from the community in which they now live, which may be a host/sponsor or a neighbour.

We also ran a pilot project to respond to the needs of children and young people arriving from Ukraine, funded by Herefordshire Council’s SUCIG scheme. Our highly experienced officer has been providing support in schools and liaising with school staff and families. She is a Ukrainian and Russian speaker, herself a refugee from the war, and encourages the children to talk about their feelings, developing trust and confidence through shared activities around their culture. Since evaluation of the pilot we are delighted to have been granted funding to continue the project until the new year 2025.

People seeking asylum staying in Herefordshire

In 2023 two hotels in Herefordshire were developed into accommodation for people seeking asylum who were placed in the county, single men in Hereford and families in Leominster. hvoss was part of the community effort which soon developed into a highly effective local response which included many county organisations, led by the Council and included partners. The men were supported to learn English by the City of Sanctuary, they played football with the Herefordshire Football Association and attended Friday prayers at The Kindle Centre. Families in Leominster were befriended by local families; all the children went to school and made friends locally, with many of the women volunteering in the town. When the families had to be relocated because a problem with the building’s structure was found, we made representations to Serco that they should be allowed to return if they wished. Many of the families did so. It was very sad when they left and we understand that they were dispersed across many locations, although several have kept in close contact with those who supported them in Leominster. Serco representatives and other members of the multi-agency group, led by Herefordshire Council, commented that Herefordshire’s approach was unique in their experience.

Herefordshire Community Network for Ukraine and its partners’ activities, the response to people seeking asylum staying in Herefordshire, including our response to the Commission on the Integration of Refugees Hereford Local Engagement Hearing. Together with Herefordshire Council and Diocese of Hereford we represented our partnership approach and our role in

supporting refugee families from Afghanistan in partnership with the Ministry of Defence and veterans’ organisations, which informed the Network’s development. Our county’s tremendously warm welcome and inclusive, listening approach, has much to contribute to discussions about the effectiveness of approaches to excluded and vulnerable people.

Volunteering services

Development of volunteering, including retention of people recruited through the pandemic, and re-engagement of people who gave their time so freely before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, has been a key focus as hvoss has returned to being public-facing and activities have reappeared across the county. The Volunteer Bureau team promotes opportunities and functions for people who want to volunteer and the organisations who need them.

Volunteering helps individuals to develop skills, confidence, a sense of purpose, and experience of work in a supportive environment. People whose community engagement reduced through the isolation of the pandemic have been supported and encouraged, as have others whose experience is as a recipient of support who are empowered to make a contribution to their community.

Our Volunteering Strategy for Herefordshire includes key strands of re-engagement of previous volunteers and attracting older people who have invaluable skills and life experience to share, corporate volunteering and partnership with business, the meaningful engagement of younger people, and celebrating the value of volunteering to the community and the people living there including through different language and messaging that recognises their significant contribution. Recognition and respect for the value of the contribution that people make by sharing their time, skills and experience is a ‘golden thread’.

Policy and strategic influence

The hvoss team collates and represents local community sector views, influencing county strategy through collaborative relationships with statutory bodies, and contributing to policy developments in adults and children’s services, safeguarding, volunteering infrastructure, commissioning, and health and social care. A key strategic activity is the Herefordshire Community Partnership (HCP). We continued to work in partnership with Healthwatch Herefordshire in this vibrant forum for the public, health and care services, and voluntary and community sector organisations.

Capacity building and training

During the year hvoss inducted volunteers in Safeguarding, Data Protection and Equality and Diversity. We are developing awareness and training to support community groups and our own HARTS, hvoss’ new dynamic team of people who give their time voluntarily to support all sorts of activities and events.

As a key part of our infrastructure role our Community Development team worked with numerous community groups and people setting up newly constituted groups, including a number of parish councils.

Groups received input on their governing documents, finances, governance, forward planning including development of services for local young people and funding applications.

hvoice

Ten hvoice community newsletters were circulated in the last twelve months. Our newsletter continues to evolve and offers the opportunity for community groups and organisations as well as hvoss to highlight their work and share training and recruitment opportunities. We also include important updates including external events. In response to feedback, one important new feature is a funding section detailing both local and national grant opportunities.

Membership

Membership of hvoss is open to all individuals or community organisations who meet eligibility criteria relating to our vision and values. We currently have around 100 members who have a key role in nominating representatives to become trustees of hvoss and inform the direction and plans of our charity. Membership is free and we welcome applications from groups, charities or individuals in communities across Herefordshire.

52 Broad Street offices

Our thanks again to Mr Mark Tucker, our landlord, for his generosity in continuing to support hvoss through our occupation of 52 Broad Street. During this year we signed an extension to our lease for another 5 years, ensuring continued occupation of this high-profile city centre location that is accessible to all and offers invaluable meeting room facilities for staff, volunteers, members, community groups and our partner organisations.

Key services and projects

Be Inspired

As part of this service, in May 2023 hvoss received the first of 3 short-term grants from Hereford Council through a partnership with Landau, to deliver support to young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). The third grant ended in February 2024.

Building on the success of the many collaborative partnerships developed through our very successful Building Better Opportunities (BBO) programme, we received referrals from colleges, schools, counsellors, family support workers, supported accommodation, young carers and care leavers leads, mental health professionals, NHS officers, Job Centre staff, families and individuals. 4 part-time staff members worked on the project over this period in Hereford, Leominster and Ross, which focussed on person-centred responses through individual and group sessions which empowered and encouraged young people to develop confidence, learn valuable life skills and experience a workplace through volunteering, then go back into education or into employment. The team organised training, including 2 First Aid courses, with 11 young people gaining a Level 3 qualification in Emergency First Aid and learning practical lifesaving skills, which helped them be confident and understand they could make a valuable contribution to their community. We also worked with HOOPLE and Landau to support and encourage many young people to re-engage with courses in functional skills, improving their practical Maths and English. Most of the young people on the project were living with mental ill health and / or anxiety and found social interactions and engaging with their community challenging. Many of them felt the Covid pandemic, including lockdowns and lack of sustained education and support, had impacted them, feeling they were the ‘lost Covid generation’. Many of the young people were supported one-to-one to ease them into new environments and roles, re-engaging with society. This service focusses on building resilience, employability and empowering young people to make changes, gain skills and move forward.

81 young people referred to hvoss 63 participants supported 46 people progressed towards employment 14 young people achieved an education or training outcome 12 young people engaged in volunteering 7 young people gained paid employment “This NEETS service has helped me a lot. I moved to Hereford last year and didn’t know anyone. But you helped me find a new volunteering role and supported me ~~—~~ for my first few shifts and with creating my first CV. I then started applying for jobs as I wanted to support my family. You helped me to complete application forms and starter forms. You motivated me to carry on when I felt no-one wanted me because of my disability. This week is a miracle because I have now started my first job here. Thank you, I am very grateful.” Project participant ~~a~~ Young Carers and Young Adult Carers The charity continued to support Herefordshire Young Carers Club (YCC) and Herefordshire Young Adult Carers (YAC) throughout the year. YCC and YAC support any child or young person between 8 and 25 who has a caring responsibility for a parent or family member, which may include siblings or grandparents, who have long-term illness or disability, including poor mental health or issues arising from substance use.

The ongoing support provided by both Young Carers and Young Adult Carers is a critical service needed on an ongoing basis.

In response to demonstrable and growing demand, late in 2023 YCC and YAC jointly set up a new Community Interest Company.

Community Wheels

Community Wheels is a community transport service covering North Herefordshire, Leominster, Central Herefordshire, Hereford City and surrounding parishes, providing users of all ages and a wide range of needs with door-to-door travel. To be eligible passengers must live within the catchment area and be without access to a car or be unable to use public transport due to mobility or other issues. Many of the people who use Community Wheels are at significant risk of social isolation as they do not have easy access to public transport, thus at risk of adding pressure on other services. 198 Customers registered 94% of customers over the age of 65 8% have a learning disability 28% have a physical disability 159 customers required a wheelchair accessible vehicle oe - 9 -

“ Thank you Community Wheels for all you do, we would be lost without you ” (Service feedback)

3837 medical appointments 1658 shopping trips 292 Day Centre visits 1199 therapy appointments 159 connecting transport trips 997 social activities 10 new v olunteer drivers recruited 10,580 journeys undertaken 108,862 miles travelled

At the end of November 2023 following a meeting with Leominster Town Council, the 427 Community Bus Service ceased due to a significant decrease in passengers.

Looking forward, Community Wheels aims to recruit more volunteer drivers in all areas to respond to the continually increasing demand for the service. Sourcing further funding to sustain and develop community transport remains a key priority.

Community Transport Forum (CTF)

As a member of the CTF, in which there are seven independent schemes, we continue to work together and collaborate on community transport service provision, which remains critical to thousands of passengers who would otherwise be isolated. The Forum meets quarterly with Hereford County Council.

Funders

As well as Service Level Agreements with Herefordshire Council, including an extra one-off payment of £4,000, and Leominster Town Council, we are enormously grateful to Mumford Memorial Trust and The Eveson Trust for funding for Community Wheels.

Our governance

hvoss Annual General Meeting (AGM)

The 2023 AGM held at Herefordshire’s New Model Institute of Technology and Engineering (NMITE) was attended by almost 100 people. Once again this was a celebration of the many achievements during the last year, including showcases shared in the own words of staff, members, volunteers and people supported by hvoss’ services and projects over the year.

Governance

The trustees are responsible for controlling the work, management, and administration of the charity on behalf of its beneficiaries. The charity is a company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital. The liability of the members in the event of the company being wound up is limited to a sum not exceeding £1.

The company was incorporated on 30 December 2002 – Number 4625595. The company is a registered charity - number 1096451.

Administrative information is shown at the front of the financial statements. Members adopted new Articles of Association to comply with the Charities Act 2011 and Companies Act 2006 in April 2012. Changes to charitable objects, trustees’ benefits and dissolution clauses were made as part of a merger to establish hvoss as a leading support service provider within the local voluntary and community sector.

hvoss is an independent charity established in 2012 following the merger of three local support organisations. Herefordshire is a sparsely populated rural county. The Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector (VCSE) in Herefordshire consists of around 2,300 local organisations. The county has a high rate of volunteer 50,000 volunteers, all making a significant contribution to improved quality of life and the needs of local people and communities.

The charity is a Council for Voluntary Service providing information, advice, and support to the voluntary and community sector across Herefordshire. hvoss offers specialist support in the areas of children and young people, health and social care, volunteering, and community development. The organisation is a member of the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA). During the year, the charity operated a Volunteer Bureau.

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

Mrs L P Wilcox

Mr R S Kelly

Mrs A C Robinson

Mrs M E Campbell (resigned 6[th] December 2023)

Mrs J Faux

Mrs S Penny

Mr C Farmer (resigned 26[th] July 2024)

Mr J Argent (appointed 21[st] July 2023)

Mr D Tristram (appointed 21[st] July 2023)

Trustees are appointed by members at the Annual General Meeting following a nomination and election process. The charity has an induction process to support newly appointed trustees. This includes a one-to-one meeting with the Chief Executive and an opportunity to meet staff, volunteers, and trustees. Regular information is provided about events, training, and other opportunities. Meetings of the Board have included presentations about key internal and external developments, including service and project updates.

Risk management

During the year, the Board has regularly assessed, reviewed, and mitigated against key organisational risks. The Management Team and trustees regularly review the Risk Register and receive regular updates on progress.

Management reporting

All projects provided reports on a regular basis to trustees. The board of trustees met six times during the year. Day to day responsibilities are delegated to the Chief Executive who works with the Heads of Finance and Projects and Development to ensure compliance with all legislative and regulatory requirements. Fundraising is a key focus and a ‘funding funnel’ plan is used to identify, develop and oversee a grant and funding plan.

A key component of central funding is the support services contract awarded to the charity by Herefordshire Council through Talk Community. This funding contributes towards volunteering and development support functions outlined in this report. This contract ran until the summer of 2024, and has recently been extended until December 2024 to allow further time to review future arrangements. The contract values the contribution of our infrastructure role and enables hvoss to address several key objectives in response to capacity building within the community.

Human resources

The Human Resources Group met twice during the year to consider staffing and personnel matters.

hvoss’ plans for the future

The future of local support and development services is a key issue in Herefordshire. Our charity, like many in the local sector, faces increasing demand for its services in the context of cost of living increases and other funding pressures. In recent years the charity has been seeing reduced funding opportunities for activities such as community development, volunteer recruitment and services, training and partnership development. These are core to our work in the community. Many of the activities of hvoss are discretionary in terms of what public bodies fund. In recent years the charity has needed to release some reserves to meet increasing needs. This is not a position that can continue indefinitely, and new income streams need to be identified, including ways of recovering management overheads.

At this mid-point of our strategic plan 2022 – 2027, the board of trustees started a strategic review of the charity - what it does, how it is funded, and where the charity role sits in the context of and in relation to other strategic development such as the Talk Community Review, State of Sector Report 2024, and Herefordshire Together.

hvoss will continue to proactively inform and influence these developments, including advocating for further support funding for infrastructure services so that sufficient capacity, support, management and resilience, both for hvoss and the local VCSE can be maintained in Herefordshire now and in the future. We aim to have an outcome by the end of 2024, and an update provided to all hvoss members at the 2024 AGM.

Working with statutory and public bodies - A key focus is to continue to enable and coordinate partnership work around local community priorities for people all ages where inequality exists e.g. Ukrainian guests, health and social care, and other under-represented communities.

Membership – As a membership organisation, we aim to further develop our offer to local organisations and community groups

Capacity building and training - Workshops, events, and training (including offers for hvoss members) in areas of good governance, capacity-building, social media and communications and fundraising.

Youth Provision Network – Build on the assets and skills in our specialist youth provider network and develop improved local provision for younger people across the county. This includes opportunities to link the activities of youth organisations to the requirements and needs of statutory bodies and other local children and young people partnership work. A key aspiration for the Youth Provision Network is to progress a youth work strategy for Herefordshire and engage young people in developing community-based activities.

52 Broad Street – Further develop 52 Broad Street as ‘The Base’ for training, meeting rooms and resources for the local community sector.

Information and communications – Provide regular updates to members and other VCS representatives on local, regional, and national developments in the sector. Raise profile and presence through hvoice e-bulletins, website latest news items and social media using platforms that are responsive to existing and new users of our services.

Volunteer Bureau – Implement Volunteering Strategy for Herefordshire that builds on the approach taken throughout the pandemic, responding to the needs of the community in an agile way, and promoting the value of skills and life experience-sharing through time given voluntarily, corporate volunteering and engaging younger people. We will be rolling out systems to improve recording and reporting across hvoss and evaluating methodologies to quantify the value and potentially ‘monetise’ volunteer input.

Funding and sustainability – evaluating opportunities for additional or alternative sources of funding for activities to grants and charitable donations, for example commissioned services, and raising awareness of, articulating and communicating the impact of ‘start-stop’ funding on people and communities.

State of Sector Survey 2024 – Publish co-produced research on our sector, changes since the last survey and the sector and communities’ needs.

Herefordshire Community Partnership - Work collaboratively to ensure all sectors work together effectively in equal partnership for the benefit of the wider community, including championing the needs of the VCSE and the value of our sector.

Responsive volunteering – we will further explore and develop new model for local support, including furthering key priorities within our volunteer strategy around young people, and corporate volunteering.

Further influence key strategic developments affecting the VCSE including : -

… and for individual services …

Be inspired! - Building on the success of Building Better Opportunities, develop much needed supported volunteering service and life skills for adults of all abilities, Working in partnership with our members and the sector to develop this service, which will be open to voluntary organisations to refer their own volunteers in need of extra support to us, to build capacity, resilience, and inclusivity.

Community Wheels – To recruit more volunteer drivers in all the catchment areas as demand increases post Covid-19. This will increase the number of individuals that can be supported with their transport needs. There will be more “outing trips” offered to the registered customers

utilising the minibus, and review need for a third member of staff as the service provided increases, perhaps to pre-pandemic levels.

Herefordshire Community Network for Ukraine and its partners’ activities, the response to people seeking asylum staying in Herefordshire, including our response to the Commission on the Integration of Refugees Hereford Local Engagement Hearing. Together with Herefordshire Council and Diocese of Hereford we represented our partnership approach and our role in supporting refugee families from Afghanistan in partnership with the Ministry of Defence and veterans’ organisations, which informed the Network’s development. Our county’s tremendously warm welcome and inclusive, listening approach, has much to contribute to discussions about the effectiveness of approaches to excluded and vulnerable people. We are currently evaluating the impact of the Network and partner activities and opportunities to apply this approach to other forums and activities.

Financial review

The results for the year are set out in the financial statements commencing on page 22. The financial statements show net outgoing resources of £28,128 (2023 outgoing £36,772)

Total reserves at the end of the financial year amounted to £284,678 (2023 £312,806).

hvoss has reserves which are accounted for under three headings: restricted, designated, and unrestricted (free). Restricted reserves of £63,620 (2023 £110,347) consist of funds ring-fenced to finance particular projects and cannot be used for any other purpose.

Designated funds are those unrestricted funds that trustees have agreed to set aside for specific purposes and include an amount to cover wind-up costs. In accordance with good practice guidance this includes three months’ central running costs, statutory redundancy for all staff who qualify under current legislation, and all other outstanding commitments of the charity. This currently equates to £118,089 (2023 £80,634) in total.

Unrestricted funds of £102,969 (2023 £121,825) represent the balance of the total reserves and can be used at the discretion of the trustees. After making allowances for tangible fixed assets the free reserves of the charity amount to £98,438 (2023 £114,219).

The level of free reserves has remained within the policy set throughout the year and trustees consider the results for the year and the financial position at the balance sheet date to be satisfactory. At this level trustees believe the charity would be able to continue current activities in the short term should a significant drop in funding occur. In those circumstances consideration would be given as to how the funding could be replaced, the activity changed, or whether further rationalisation of services provision, or other actions would be necessary.

Reserves policy

The trustees believe that maintaining appropriate reserves, combined with an annual review of the controls over key financial systems will provide sufficient resources in the event of adverse conditions in the short term. hvoss uses a full cost recovery methodology to ensure that the costs of providing central services (governance, strategic management, finance and administration, accommodation) are fairly allocated over all activities.

Going concern

The trustees confirm, based on their best judgement, the charity is a going concern for the next 12 months. This said the charity is facing a degree of fundraising uncertainty due to a range of factors, many of which are affecting the wider charity sector. This uncertainty is expected to

continue, at least in the short term, and is expected to impact further in the future. These factors include: -

At mid-point of our 2022 – 2027 strategy, Trustees continue to analyse and regularly review the financial position of the charity on an ongoing basis to fully understand the extent and likely impact of these material uncertainties.

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.

This report has been prepared having taken advantage of the small companies exemption contained within the Companies Act 2006.

The Trustees report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

Mrs L P Wilcox

Trustee

Dated: 6[th] September 2024

Please contact us for more information regarding the Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statement 2023 – 2024 01432 343932 | info@hvoss.org.uk | www.hvoss.org.uk

Thank You We couldn't do what we do without the valued support of many funders and partners ... Herefordshire (i Council The Herefordshire COMMUNITY FOUNDATION EVESON Iiust TALK COMMUNITY healthwètch Herefordshire navca HEREFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP ** Landau Ie X The Mumford Memorial Trust Hereford Police and Crime Commissioner West Mercia City Council working for our city Funded by UK Government High Sheriff of Herefordshire E F BULMER Herefordshlre Commun5ty Nrfwork lor Ukr•ln• .hvoss NEW MODEL INSTITUTE FOR TECHNOLOGY& ENGINEERING TRUST Community F¢)undation Wales Hereford Lions Club . COMMUNITY FUND , Leominster Town Council 16-

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

The Trustees, who are also the directors of Herefordshire Voluntary Organisations Support Service 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:

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. 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.

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Herefordshire Voluntary Organisations Support Service (the ‘charity’) 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 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:

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 charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

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

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

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the 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 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.

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 Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

TO THE TRUSTEES OF HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of Trustees' responsibilities, the Trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the 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 as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

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.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities including fraud

Audit response to risks identified

It should be noted that Auditing standards limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https:// www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

TO THE TRUSTEES OF HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Sarah Morley BA (Hons) ACA (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Kendall Wadley LLP

6 September 2024

Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor

Granta Lodge 71 Graham Road Malvern Worcestershire WR14 2JS

Kendall Wadley LLP is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

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

Current financial year
Unrestricted Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
funds
general
designated
2024
2024
2024
Notes
£
£
£
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
3
644
-
1,889
Charitable activities
4
-
-
396,755
Investments
5
1,240
-
-
Other income
6
5,976
-
4,491
Total income
7,860
-
403,135
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
7
17,305
-
6,657
Charitable activities
8
79,099
12,500
323,562
Total resources expended
96,404
12,500
330,219
Net (outgoing)/incoming resources
before transfers
(88,544)
(12,500)
72,916
Gross transfers between funds
11
69,688
49,955
(119,643)
Net expenditure for the year/
Net movement in funds
(18,856)
37,455
(46,727)
Fund balances at 1 April 2023
121,825
80,634
110,347
Fund balances at 31 March 2024
102,969
118,089
63,620		 Total
2024
£
2,533
396,755
1,240
10,467
410,995
23,962
415,161
439,123
(28,128)
-
(28,128)
312,806
284,678		 Total
2023
£
9,191
912,242
498
11,627
933,558
5,926
964,404
970,330
(36,772)
-
(36,772)
349,578
312,806

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

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

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

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

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

Prior financial year

Unrestricted Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
funds
general
designated
2023
2023
2023
Notes
£
£
£
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
3
744
-
8,447
Charitable activities
4
6,000
-
906,242
Investments
5
498
-
-
Other income
6
7,752
-
3,875
Total income
14,994
-
918,564
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
7
5,926
-
-
Charitable activities
8
82,846
-
881,558
Total resources expended
88,772
-
881,558
Net (outgoing)/incoming resources before
transfers
(73,778)
-
37,006
Gross transfers between funds
11
104,902
(19,167)
(85,735)
Net expenditure for the year/
Net movement in funds
31,124
(19,167)
(48,729)
Fund balances at 1 April 2022
90,701
99,801
159,076
Fund balances at 31 March 2023
121,825
80,634
110,347		 Total
2023
£
9,191
912,242
498
11,627
933,558
5,926
964,404
970,330
(36,772)
-
(36,772)
349,578
312,806

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

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

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

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 MARCH 2024

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
14
Current assets
Debtors
15
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year
16
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Income funds
Restricted funds
17
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
18
General unrestricted funds		 2024
£
31,846
273,645
305,491
(25,702)
118,089
102,969		 £
4,889
279,789
284,678
63,620
221,058
284,678		 2023
£
33,799
291,139
324,938
(21,168)
80,634
121,825		 £
9,036
303,770
312,806
110,347
202,459
312,806

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 31 March 2024, although an audit has been carried out under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011. No member of the company has deposited a notice, pursuant to section 476, requiring an audit of these financial statements under the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements under the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

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

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 6 September 2024

Mrs L P Wilcox Trustee

Company Registration No. 04625595

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash (absorbed by)/generated from
operations
22
Investing activities
Interest received
Net cash generated from investing
activities
Net cash used in financing activities
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash
equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year		 2024
£
1,240		 £
(18,734)
1,240
-
(17,494)
291,139
273,645		 2023
£
498		 £
13,498
498
-
13,996
277,143
291,139

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1 Accounting policies

Company information

Herefordshire Voluntary Organisations Support Service is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 52 Broad Street, Hereford, HR4 9AB.

1.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's constitution, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

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

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The accounts have been prepared on the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

1.2 Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, 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 financial statements.

1.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are funds that can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when the funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

1.4 Incoming resources

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.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Debtors represent amounts owed to the charity for the provision of goods or services or amounts the charity has paid in advance for goods and services it will receive.

Income from charitable and commercial trading activities are included in incoming resources in the period earned.

1.5 Resources expended

Liabilities are recognised for the amounts that the charity anticipates it will have to pay to settle a debt or the amount that it has received in advance as payment for services it has to provide.

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

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

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs associated with the activities undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and their associated support costs.

Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the programmes and activities undertaken. The support costs are treated as core running costs of the charity.

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.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

IT Equipment 4 years on a straight line basis
Leasehold improvements 4 years on a straight line basis
Office Equipment 4 years on a straight line basis
Fixtures & fittings 5 years on a straight line basis
Motor vehicles 4-5 years 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 the statement of financial activities.

1.7 Impairment of fixed assets

At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible 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).

Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use.

If the recoverable amount of an asset is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in income/ (expenditure) for the year.

Recognised impairment losses are reversed if, and only if, the reasons for the impairment loss have ceased to apply. Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but so that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised immediately.

1.8 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand and deposits held at call with banks.

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

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

1 Accounting policies

(Continued)

1.9 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 in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, 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. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors are initially recognised at transaction price. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Derecognition of financial liabilities

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

1.10 Employee benefits

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

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

1.11 Retirement benefits

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.

1.12 Transfers between funds

When a project ends, any deficit arising which cannot be reclaimed from the funder is recovered from the unrestricted funds. Where surpluses arise on completed projects, funders are contacted and asked if they want the surplus repaid. If the funder requests repayment the surplus is refunded. Otherwise the funds are used for specific projects as agreed with the funder, or, where there are no restrictions placed on the surplus funds, transferred to unrestricted funds.

Management costs incurred in administering the funds are treated as transfers between funds.

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

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 Income from donations and legacies

Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Total
funds funds funds funds
2024 2024 2024 2023 2023 2023
£ £ £ £ £ £
Donations and gifts 644 1,889 2,533 744 8,447 9,191

4 Charitable activities

Community & Youth
Development
Transport
£
£
Community Wheels fares
-
59,781
Grants and other project
income
158,767
69,207
Other income
-
-
158,767
128,988
Analysis by fund
Restricted funds
158,767
128,988
For the year ended 31 March 2023
Unrestricted funds -
general
-
-
Restricted funds
597,955
111,552
597,955
111,552		 Volunteer
services
£
-
109,000
-
109,000
109,000
-
195,497
195,497		 Total
£
59,781
336,974
-
396,755
396,755		 Total
2023
£
60,335
844,469
7,438
912,242
6,000
906,242
912,242

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

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

4
Charitable activities
Grants and other project income
BBC Children in Need
E F Bulmer Benevolent
Fund
Herefordshire Council
Herefordshire Community
Foundation
Landau
Eveson Charitable Trust
BSOG
The Mumford Memorial
Trust
Leominster Town Council
Ross Lions
#Iwill
Community Fund Wales
Hereford Lions		 -
-
93,681
962
53,124
-
-
5,000
-
-
-
5,000
1,000
158,767		 -
5,000
32,562
-
-
20,000
442
10,000
1,203
-
-
-
-
69,207		 -
-
94,000
-
-
15,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
109,000		 (Continued)
-
14,770
5,000
-
220,243
673,252
962
2,432
53,124
115,907
35,000
5,000
442
467
15,000
10,000
1,203
1,641
-
1,000
-
20,000
5,000
1,000
336,974
844,469		 (Continued)
-
14,770
5,000
-
220,243
673,252
962
2,432
53,124
115,907
35,000
5,000
442
467
15,000
10,000
1,203
1,641
-
1,000
-
20,000
5,000
1,000
336,974
844,469
844,469

5 Investments

Interest receivable

Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
general general
2024 2023
£ £
1,240 498

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

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

6 Other income

Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
general
£
£
Miscellaneous
5,976
4,491
For the year ended 31 March 2023
7,752
3,875		 Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
general
£
£
Miscellaneous
5,976
4,491
For the year ended 31 March 2023
7,752
3,875		 Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
general
£
£
Miscellaneous
5,976
4,491
For the year ended 31 March 2023
7,752
3,875		 Total
2024
£
10,467		 Total
2023
£
11,627
11,627
Raising funds
Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
general
2024
2024
£
£
Fundraising and publicity
Staff costs
17,305
6,657
17,305
6,657		 Total
Unrestricted
funds
general
2024
2023
£
£
23,962
5,926
23,962
5,926
5,926
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024		 8
Charitable activities
Community
& youth
Transport
Volunteer
services
Health &
social care
Core
services
Total
Total
2023
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
Staff costs
107,326
50,567
70,110
-
31,500
259,503
506,140
Depreciation and impairment
-
-
-
-
2,648
2,648
5,709
Project costs
43,173
55,909
9,143
-
-
108,225
398,646
150,499
106,476
79,253
-
34,148
370,376
910,495
Share of support overheads (excl. staff costs) (see note 9)
-
-
-
-
38,853
38,853
46,084
Share of governance costs (see note 9)
-
-
-
-
5,932
5,932
7,825
150,499
106,476
79,253
-
78,933
415,161
964,404
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds - general
-
-
4,013
-
75,086
79,099
Designated
12,500
-
-
-
-
12,500
Restricted funds
137,999
106,476
75,240
-
3,847
323,562
150,499
106,476
79,253
-
78,933
415,161
For the year ended 31 March 2023
Unrestricted funds - general
-
-
-
-
82,846
82,846
Restricted funds
589,013
102,950
178,641
3,829
7,125
881,558
589,013
102,950
178,641
3,829
89,971
964,404

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

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

9 Support costs

Support
costs
Governance
costs
£
£
Staff costs
25,705
-
Depreciation
1,499
-
Office expenses -
governance
-
2,929
Premises costs
20,753
-
Office expenses
16,601
-
Audit fees
-
2,500
Trustee meeting
expenses
-
503
64,558
5,932
Analysed between
Charitable activities
64,558
5,932		 2024
£
25,705
1,499
2,929
20,753
16,601
2,500
503
70,490
70,490		 2023 Basis of allocation
£
20,954
Activity basis
-
3,165
28,473
Activity basis
17,611
Activity basis
4,660 Governance
-
Governance
74,863
74,863

General office expenses are apportioned 15% to governance costs and 85% to charitable activities expenditure, based on estimated usage by staff of office facilities for each activity.

10 Taxation

The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.

11 Transfers

The transfers from unrestricted funds to restricted funds are necessary to alleviate the excess of restricted expenditure over income. The transfers to designated funds are to adjust for the level of reserves required in the event of winding up.

The transfers from restricted funds to unrestricted funds have been made for permitted management fees and authorised release of funds for use for general and designated purposes.

12 Trustees

None of the Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year. None of the trustees incurred expenses on the charity's behalf (2023- nil).

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

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

13 Employees

Number of employees

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Management
Administrative
Voluntary Sector Support
Youth Projects
Employment costs
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs - defined contribution schemes		 2024
Number
3
-
11
1
15
2024
£
260,954
14,916
7,594
283,464		 2023
Number
3
1
16
3
23
2023
£
471,111
28,692
12,263
512,066

Included within wages and salaries are redundancy costs amounting to £2,890 (2023 £18,141).

The employee numbers above include part time and full time staff, as a result the full time equivalent employees are 9 (2023: 16)

There were no employees whose annual remuneration was £60,000 or more.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024		 14
Tangible fixed assets
IT Equipment
Office
Equipment
Fixtures &
fittings
Motor vehicles
Leasehold
improvements
Total
£
£
£
£
£
£
Cost
At 1 April 2023
23,784
2,050
5,981
50,349
7,542
89,706
At 31 March 2024
23,784
2,050
5,981
50,349
7,542
89,706
Depreciation and impairment
At 1 April 2023
18,490
2,050
2,867
50,349
6,914
80,670
Depreciation charged in the year
2,192
-
1,327
-
628
4,147
At 31 March 2024
20,682
2,050
4,194
50,349
7,542
84,817
Carrying amount
At 31 March 2024
3,102
-
1,787
-
-
4,889
At 31 March 2023
5,294
-
3,114
-
628
9,036

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

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

15 Debtors

Debtors
Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income		 2024
£
4,457
22,190
5,199
31,846		 2023
£
8,769
14,751
10,279
33,799

16 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Deferred income
Trade creditors
Accruals and deferred income		 2024
£
2,623
4,659
18,420
25,702		 2023
£
2,747
4,053
14,368
21,168

included in accruals and deferred income is deferred income of £2,623 (2023 - £2,747) which represents monies received in advance and is released in full the following year.

Restricted funds The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. Movement in funds
Movement in funds		 Balance at
Incoming
Resources
Transfers
Balance at
Incoming
Resources
Transfers
Balance at		 1 April 2022
resources
expended
1 April 2023
resources
expended
31 March 2024		 £
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£		 Community Wheels
-
111,550
(102,459)
(2,126)
6,965
133,583
(106,474)
(17,607)
16,467		 427 Club
-
2,139
-
(2,139)
-
1,685
-
(1,685)
-		 No Wrong Door
41,310
5,361
(35,069)
(11,602)
-
-
-
-
-		 Family Drug Support
8,791
-
-
-
8,791
-
-
(8,791)
-		 Capital
8,539
1,375
(5,709)
-
4,205
-
(3,847)
-
358		 Social Prescribing
4,923
-
(3,830)
(1,093)
-
-
-
-
-		 Miscellaneous Projects
43,701
3,738
(2,115)
-
45,324
5,462
(453)
(36,282)
14,051		 BBO
-
98,426
(91,056)
(7,370)
-
-
(394)
394
-		 Young Carers
2,757
30,070
(21,721)
(1,324)
9,782
5,100
(8,979)
(4,319)
1,584		 Young Adult Carers
-
11,000
(2,351)
(200)
8,449
1,000
(8,554)
(895)
-		 In2
726
17,644
(18,686)
316
-
-
(3,030)
3,030
-		 Talk Community
24,433
97,082
(87,374)
(15,661)
18,480
94,000
(75,239)
(37,241)
-		 UK Community Renewal Fund
-
516,580
(487,669)
(28,911)
-
-
-
-
-		 ICS Community Partnership
5,000
-
-
(5,000)
-
-
-
-
-		 Allsorts
12,552
36
(4,680)
(6,349)
1,559
-
-
(1,559)
-		 Voice of the Child
6,344
-
(2,068)
(4,276)
-
-
-
-
-		 Supported Volunteering
-
-
-
-
-
15,000
-
-
15,000		 Youth Alliance
-
-
-
-
-
500
(106)
5,989
6,383		 NEETS Project
-
-
-
-
-
53,124
(43,194)
(9,930)
-		 Ukraine Integration
-
23,563
(16,771)
-
6,792
93,681
(79,949)
(10,747)
9,777		 159,076
918,564
(881,558)
(85,735)
110,347
403,135
(330,219)
(119,643)
63,620
17
Restricted funds
(Continued)		 Community Wheels – Volunteer drivers providing transport across Herefordshire for individuals who cannot access independent/public transport. Funders include Mumford Memorial Trust, E. F Bulmer Trust, Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), Herefordshire Council, Leominster Town Council, The Eveson Trust, membership Mumford Memorial Trust, E. F Bulmer Trust, Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), Herefordshire Council, Leominster Town Council, The Eveson Trust, membership fees, and fares paid by passengers. fees, and fares paid by passengers. 427 Club - Was a weekly community minibus service running from Bodenham to Leominster, run in partnership with Leominster Town Council to enable access to services in the town. The service ended in 2023. No Wrong Door – A collaboration between youth services providers in the county - including building and services where young people access support they need. The project opened in 2016 and closed in 2022 following a review of the needs of young people and providers across Herefordshire. Family Drug Support - Funds transferred from Herefordshire Carers Support to provide information, support, and guidance regarding preventative services for the community. Focus on provision for children and young people used to support the development of front facing information (website), training and networking for young people and VCSE organisations. Capital – Grants received for specific capital purchases. Social Prescribing – A project to develop patient signposting and referral services across Herefordshire, and to support patients to access non-medical sources of information and support. The project was part of the General Practice Resilience Programme (GPRP) and was commissioned locally by the NHS Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group. hvoss ran an initial 12-month pilot in Fownhope and then developed further support across Herefordshire. This has led to the development of countywide social prescribing being led by Taurus Healthcare. Miscellaneous Restricted Funds – Consist of smaller grants received for individual projects and/or specific activities. Funding this year include a grant from Community Foundation Wales of £5,000 to enable the development of @TheHub (Ross-on-Wye) in line with donor request and a Herefordshire Community Foundation grant for Foundation Wales of £5,000 to enable the development of @TheHub (Ross-on-Wye) in line with donor request and a Herefordshire Community Foundation grant for Ukrainian guest laptops. Ukrainian guest laptops. BBO – The Building Better Opportunities project brought together funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and the European Social Fund to help tackle poverty and social exclusion faced by the most disadvantaged people in England. The project ended in 2023. Young Carer and Young Adults - Offering a range of services and support to children and young people in a caring role including regular careers clubs, one to one support and guidance, advocacy, and signposting to other services. Funded by a range of trusts, local donations, Hereford Lions, and Children in Need (latter ended in 2022). In2 – Was the hvoss part of the Landau led In2 partnership. The programme focused on 15–24-year-old young people not in education, training, or employment. The In2 – Was the hvoss part of the Landau led In2 partnership. The programme focused on 15–24-year-old young people not in education, training, or employment. The overall aim of the programme was to promote economic and social inclusion which sought to achieve sustainable integration of young people into the labour market. Funded ended 2023. - 38 -
Talk Community – A partnership with Herefordshire Council to directly deliver a range of activities to support the voluntary and community sector (VCSE) and improve
county wellbeing and resilience. Activities are ongoing as part of community capacity building including volunteering and development support for local organisations		 - 38 -
Talk Community – A partnership with Herefordshire Council to directly deliver a range of activities to support the voluntary and community sector (VCSE) and improve
county wellbeing and resilience. Activities are ongoing as part of community capacity building including volunteering and development support for local organisations		 further findings of State of Sector research.
17
Restricted funds UK Community Renewal Fund - Was a programmes and new approaches to pr employment. For more information, visit ICS Community Partnership – Developi Allsorts (Minds of All Kinds) – Support Allsorts (Minds of All Kinds) – Support including eating disorders. Ended 2023. Voice of the Child – Engaged young pe Voice of the Child – Engaged young pe Supported Volunteering - Funding recei for further training, education and closin NEETs – To deliver assistance in the Herefordshire Council.
17

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

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

18 Designated funds

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:

At 1 April Resources Transfers At 31 March
2023 expended 2024
£ £ £ £
Winding up reserves 80,634 - 17,640 98,274
Premises costs - (12,500) 32,315 19,815
80,634 (12,500) 49,955 118,089
Previous year: At 1 April Resources Transfers At 31 March
2022 expended 2023
£ £ £ £
Winding up reserves 99,500 - (18,866) 80,634
HAT brochure 301 - (301) -
99,801 - (19,167) 80,634

It is the policy of the charity to maintain sufficient unrestricted reserves, which are free reserves of the charity, to close down the organisation. In accordance with Charity Commission Guidelines these represent three months' running costs of the charity. These reserves are transferred from unrestricted reserves to designated reserves.

In additions funds have been designated to cover exceptional premises costs.

Core Activity Support - funds set aside to sustain core activities.

HAT brochure - funds designated to produce the HAT brochure.

19 Analysis of net assets between funds

Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Restricted
funds
funds
funds
general
designated
2024
2024
2024
£
£
£
Fund balances at 31 March 2024 are represented by:
Tangible assets
4,531
-
358
Current assets/(liabilities)
98,438
118,089
63,262
102,969
118,089
63,620		 Total
2024
£
4,889
279,789
284,678

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

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

19 Analysis of net assets between funds

Analysis of net assets between funds (Continued)
Unrestricted Unrestricted Restricted Total
funds funds funds
general designated
2023 2023 2023 2023
£ £ £ £
Fund balances at 31 March 2023 are represented by:
Tangible assets 7,606 - 1,430 9,036
Current assets/(liabilities) 114,219 80,634 108,917 303,770
121,825 80,634 110,347 312,806

20 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:

Within one year
Between two and five years		 2024
£
10
40
50		 2023
£
8,010
4,010
12,020

The operating leases represent leases of property from third parties. The leases are negotiated over terms of 3-6 years.

21 Related party transactions

Remuneration of key management personnel

The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:

2024 2023
£ £
Aggregate compensation 74,919 87,378

HEREFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS SUPPORT SERVICE

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

22 Cash generated from operations 2024 2023
£ £
Deficit for the year (28,128) (36,772)
Adjustments for:
Investment income recognised in profit or loss (1,240) (498)
Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets 4,147 5,708
Movements in working capital:
Decrease in debtors 1,953 56,638
Increase/(decrease) in creditors 4,658 (12,803)
(Decrease)/increase in deferred income (124) 1,225
Cash (absorbed by)/generated from operations (18,734) 13,498