2024-03-31-accounts

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Charity registration Number 1101071

Company registration number 4781936 (England and Wales)

Annual Report And Consolidated Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Response Organisation

Legal and Administrative Information

Trustees

R Sutcliffe (Chair) C Cornforth J Dancer N Inge Dr M Muijen B Palmer K Rushworth F Solla

Secretary

Tim Berg

Charity Number 1101071

Company Number 4781936

Registered Office

A G Palmer Morrell Crescent Littlemore Oxford OX4 4SU

Auditor

Solicitors

Critchleys Audit LLP Freeths First Floor, Park Spires House Central 5700 Oxford Business - 40 41 Park End Park South Street Oxford Oxford, OX1 1JD OX4 2RW

Response Organisation

Welcome from the Chief Executive

’ Trustees Report

’ 28 Statement of Trustees Responsibilities ’ 29 Independent Auditor s Report 33 Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities

34 Charity Statement of Financial Activities 35 Balance Sheet 36 Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows 37 Notes to the Financial Statements

Response Organisation

A Welcome from the Chief Executive

It is with great pleasure that I present Responseʼs Annual Report and Accounts for 2023–2024.

The profile of mental health in the public consciousness continues to rise, along with an understanding of the profound impact it can have on individuals and those around them. At Response, we are proud to be at the heart of Oxfordshireʼs mental health partnership, working to ensure that every individual gets the support they need and deserve.

The sector continues to face significant funding challenges. Public funding for supporting individuals is driven by central government and remains under pressure. Increases in funding from our key commissioners have mirrored central funding increases but have failed to keep pace with inflation. The costs of delivering support—primarily staffing—are tied to the Living Wage. This imbalance is further compounded by our shared commitment with commissioners to improve services, including accommodation, despite revenues declining in real terms.

Response has a proud 60-year history of supporting adults across Oxfordshire, but our impact now reaches far beyond this. Today, our services encompass a broad spectrum of support, including working with individuals experiencing homelessness, who often face complex mental health challenges. We provide supported housing, outreach programmes, and early-intervention services for young people, helping to address mental health issues before they escalate. Through our partnerships with organisations like Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxfordshire County Council, and Oxfordshire Youth, we also deliver vital services for children, adolescents, and young adults, ensuring comprehensive support at every stage of life.

Special recognition is due to our dedicated team of support workers, who provide crucial early intervention support for young people through school and community programmes. Working in partnership with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust as part of our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and other youth initiatives, these programmes are a lifeline for young people across Oxfordshire, as well as parts of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. We also collaborate closely with Oxfordshire County Council and Oxfordshire Youth on the Young Personʼs Supported Accommodation (YPSA) programme. This initiative provides supported housing for young people aged 16 to 25 within the county, offering them a vital stepping stone towards independence.

Response Organisation

Looking ahead to 2025, we anticipate new challenges as contracts come up for renewal in a shifting political landscape. To help bridge the gaps in funding we are now facing on many of our contracts and to keep our much-needed services running, we are investing in fundraising initiatives. At Response, we are ready to face these challenges head-on. If you are interested in ways you can donate to Response, please do get in touch.

I am particularly proud of our ability to move on residents from our services into the community. 2024 has seen a significant increase in the number of individuals that have moved on, including a number of our longest service residents – some who have been with us for over 20 years.

Finally, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who helps Response deliver on its charitable mission. To our Board of Trustees, who generously give their time to offer guidance and independent thinking; to our supporters, who raise funds and volunteer for us; and to our staff, both in frontline services and central support teams, for their hard work and commitment to continual improvement. I also want to thank those who use our services, along with their relatives, friends, and carers, who teach us new perspectives every day.

Nicola Leavesly

Nicola Leavesly Chief Executive

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024

The Trustees present their report and the audited financial statements of the Charity and its subsidiary for the year ended 31st March 2024. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

For the first nine months of the financial year, Response Organisation controlled RAW Workshop (“RAW”), a charitable company registered in England and Wales (registered charity number: 1014416). RAW became independent from Response Organisation in January 2024. These consolidated accounts therefore include the results of RAW for only the period that it was part of the Group.

Reference and Administrative Details

Response Organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee. It is registered as a charity (No. 1101071) and a company (No. 4781936). Details of Trustees, Executive Officers and external advisers are given on the legal and administrative information page.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, 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)" (effective 1 January 2019).

Objectives and activities

Purposes and Aims

Our charityʼs purposes, as set out in the objects contained in the charitable companyʼs Articles of Association, are to:

benefit the public by supporting the statutory services to provide services for people with enduring mental health and well-being needs, across a range of complexities; and

provide appropriate mental health care and support services that are readily accessible to those who need them so that they can maintain optimum levels of independence; and
through its day to day activities, enhance the education of the public in matters relating to hospital management and mental health.

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Ensuring our work delivers our aims

We review our aims, objectives and activities each year. The review looks at what we achieved and the outcomes of our work in the previous twelve months; at the success of each key activity and the benefits they have brought to those groups of people we are set up to help. We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commissionʼs general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they set.

The focus of our work

We believe that everyone has the right to safe, decent and well-maintained accommodation, care and support and that these are vital components of mental wellness
We recognise that in order to continually improve the services we offer, we need to listen to, and be guided by, the people who use or come into contact with our services
We believe that in order to provide high quality services, we need to invest in our staff team and help them develop their skills.

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Strategic Report

Response has two main missions:

1.To support adults with serious mental illness and complex needs to be able to live as independently as possible, by providing recovery-focused care support within the community and our supported housing.
2.To work with children, young people and their families to help them have a healthy approach to their wellbeing and mental health, and live in a safe and supportive environment.

Our Values:

Caring

The human connections we build with each other help us to provide compassionate and individualised support.

Safe

Fostering an environment where everyone feels secure and able to be themselves.

Creative

Encouraging and celebrating innovative solutions, acknowledging experimentations is part of the creative process.

Aspirational

Inspiring everyone to believe in themselves and achieve their personal goals.

Our Strategic Objectives:

We will achieve our mission through the delivery of five strategic objectives:

1. Safe, decent and well-maintained accommodation

We will provide appropriate housing that provides each resident with a safe, decent and well-maintained home, enables recovery, and promotes wellbeing.

We will determine the success of this objective by measuring customer satisfaction levels and performance against health and safety requirements and the Decent Homes Standard. Our continuous improvement program for accommodation will focus on the following:

Client and customer focus – to ensure all services are focused on improving the quality of life for residents, and to work well with our landlords.
Health and Safety – for residents, colleagues, landlords and neighbours to work together to ensure properties are safe, decent and well-maintained, using our co-designed housing standards model, and to ensure all voices are heard.
Timeliness – to provide simple ways to report maintenance needs that are responded to within our KPIs and service level agreements.
Appropriate provision – to provide different types of accommodation to best meet individual needs.

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2. Recovery based support to adults with mental health and complex needs.

We will support more adults to lead safe, fulfilling lives by providing high-quality, evidence-based support services which promote wellbeing, recovery and independence.

We will measure success based on the successful outcomes for all our clients. The Response recovery model has been implemented across services in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. Colleagues are in the process of completing training in our Response Recovery Model and we have refocused service audits to ensure we are embedding a continuous improvement approach to care and support.

Our continuous improvement programme for Adult Services will focus on the following:

Recovery – To provide a recovery-focused service that puts the clientʼs recovery at the centre of all decisions and living in the least restrictive environment and gaining as much independence and autonomy as possible. Recruitment and Retention – To provide high quality care we need to attract and keep staff who embrace our values and who are highly motivated. We will ensure that we respond to feedback to improve working conditions, through training, supervision and career opportunities, as well as through pay and other reward schemes.
Customer involvement – We will improve how we involve our experts by experience to ensure we engage in areas that are important to them and that they have a central role in redesign and service improvement going forward.
Customer satisfaction – We will improve the way we gather feedback to enable voices to be heard and to ensure our experts by experience are helping to continuously shape support services provided.
Quality – We will adopt quality improvement methods. We will review internal audit methodology to ensure they have a quality improvement focus and provide us with the information needed to implement quality improvement cycles. We will achieve Care Quality Commission (CQC) Good rating - or higher, and ensure we achieve the same across all of our non CQC regulated services.
Innovation – We will work with partners in the Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership to review and redesign services where needed to improve our offer and to ready us for the next mental health contract which is likely to be in 2024/25. We will make the most of partnerships across the region to continue to deliver a wide range of services for people with serious mental illness.
Digital Inclusion – Response recognises that our clients should be enabled to participate in the digital world and navigate the often-complex systems that offer access to benefits, utilities and support through connected devices. Response will endeavour to include offers and programmes of support that help reduce our client's exposure to digital poverty in an increasingly technologically connected environment.
Physical health – We will continue to have a focus on improving physical health. Supporting clients to attend annual physical health checks. We will continue to offer support to clients to reduce or quit smoking. We will increase the interventions that we offer in the physical health clinics on the campus to enable ECGs to be taken on site.

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3. Mental health and wellbeing support for children, young people and families.

We will be recognised as a leading third sector provider of high quality and evidenced-based mental health and wellbeing services for children, young people and families.

We will determine success based on positive outcomes for children, young people and families across a growing geographical span of our services in the South-East region. Our continuous service improvement programme will focus on the following:

Improved outcomes High-quality support for children, young people and families to provide preventative and early intervention programmes, avoiding the need for ʻstep upʼ services.
Engagement & Satisfaction – The voice of children, young people and families will be at the heart of all we do, ensuring active participation in the design, delivery and evaluation of service provision.
Inclusion – Increased targeted provision committed to ensuring children and young peopleʼs services are focused on diversity and inclusiveness to enable and ensure equality of access for all.
Partnership – Develop our children, young people and families brand, positioning Response as a leading provider through collaboration with other skilled and experienced third sector organisations and statutory bodies.

4. Be a great place to work.

We will be recognised as a great place to work, where our people feel valued and are given opportunities to develop and learn.

We will measure success by recruiting and retaining the best possible people to support our clients and provide them with the skills, training and autonomy to do their job well. When our colleagues are feeling well, the outcomes of our clients improve so we will work with them to ensure they can have a good day at work. Our people strategy focuses on:

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at all levels of the organisation.
Career pathways that enhance development and skills.
Apprenticeship schemes and qualifications.
Colleague wellbeing and happiness.
Recognition and benefits.

5. Financial stability and sustainable growth.

We will have robust internal systems and processes which provide a platform for high quality services, financial stability, and sustainable growth.

Efficiency – Automating key processes by investing in technology to drive digital transformation.
Smarter spending – Embedding a culture of cost awareness, efficiency and value to reinvest cost savings to increase our impact.
Environmental impact – Integrate environmentally friendly initiatives across our services to reduce C02
emissions.

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How are we going to achieve this?

We have set ourselves ambitious targets over the next three years to make sure we are continually improving the services provided to residents and service users. The table below highlights the targets we have set to achieve by 2025, and our progress to date. These targets are supported by an annual business plan which details how we plan to achieve these outcomes.

Strategic Objective	Key Measure	Progress to date
Quality safe housing	100% meet the Decent Homes Standard 100% Health and Safety compliance achieved	During the year we completed a full inspection across the portfolio to ensure compliance with the Decent Homes Standard. On Health and Safety we have invested in accelerating our Fire Risk Assessment frequency of testing, strengthened measures around smoking and e-bike charging, and expanded the role of our support workers to enable them to raise health and safety / other concerns as they undertake their regular visits to clients. This has been supported by the investment in new housing management systems.
Recovery based support to adults with mental health and complex needs	55% of clients show improvement to recovery 22% of clients have moved onto appropriate housing provision	Targets set were: 20% move on from 24 hour, 27% on from transitional and 20% long term. Overall combined move on targets were exceeded across adult services FY24
Improved mental health and wellbeing support for children, young people and families	75% of children and young people we support, will show improvements in their mental health and wellbeing.	85% of young people show improvement in their mental health and well-being. We need to extend our feedback mechanisms to include gathering feedback from parents/ carers and developing services that also support their well-being too.
Be a great place to work	78% of individuals that have a high or moderate wellbeing score	Based on our bi-annual wellbeing survey, our staff have demonstrated a wellbeing percentage of 75%, which is just slightly below our target.
Financial stability and sustainable growth	100% contracts are financially viable in line with financial regulationsAchieve “green” in all areas of Oxon Safeguarding Board Safeguarding Audit Tool	This remains a challenge, with funds from commissioners continuing to fall behind increases in minimum wage and inflation, while continuing to expect service enhancements. Financial sustainability is a function, therefore, of continued cost control and an investment in fundraising capacity. 8

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How our activities deliver public benefit

Our main activities, and who we try to help, are described in the following pages. All our charitable activities focus on improving the lives of people with mental health challenges and multiple needs.

Who used and benefited from our services

Response works across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, providing a person-centred recovery focused model of care, delivering mental health support and supported housing to those that need it.

Our work tackles the inequalities often seen amongst people experiencing challenges with their mental health. Whether this relates to people experiencing poor physical health, low socio economic status, drug and alcohol use, childhood trauma, people who are neurodivergent or from minority communities, our vision is to support people to thrive and live their lives to the full within the community.

We provide a wide spectrum of services for people, ranging from prevention and early intervention for young people in schools through to 24-7 intensive mental health support and accommodation for people leaving hospital. We work across the region, providing services to those that need it, and are very experienced in working in partnership with NHS Trusts and local authorities to ensure people receive the right level of care and support, at the right time.

Response is part of the Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership, alongside Oxfordshire Mind, Restore, Connection Support, Elmore and Oxford Health Foundation Trust, with the overall goal to improve outcomes for people who use our services. We are better together by providing a holistic offer of support and this is evidenced through year on year improvements against shared outcome priorities related to improved mental health outcomes, community engagement, stable housing and physical health.

We are the largest provider for the Young Peopleʼs Supported Accommodation (YPSA) service in Oxfordshire, and are proud of the work we do to support young people to live safely and to thrive in their own homes. We work in partnership to deliver the service. We provide supported housing for eighty-five 16-17 year olds and unaccompanied young people in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council; and we provide supported housing for one hundred-nineteen 18-24 year olds including care leavers across Oxfordshire in partnership with Oxfordshire Youth.

We offer tailored mental health and wellbeing services to young people and their families in Oxfordshire, working in partnership with our statutory and voluntary sector partners. Our social prescriber youth worker model is provided across schools, homes, and as part of clinical teams in Oxfordshire, and within inpatient wards in Berkshire.

Our approach uses a youth worker social prescribing model which allows us to respond to children and young peopleʼs needs through engaging and impactful practice, using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Solution Focused approaches. We also integrate youth work and social prescribing to engage and connect young people with community-based services local to them, build confidence and grow their 9 personal networks.

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From 1st January to 31st October 2024, we supported 2,063 young people in the community with their mental health needs, helping them to build brighter futures. Across our 543 supported accommodation rooms, 181 were dedicated to young people and 362 rooms provided safe and stable housing for adults aged 18 and over. These numbers reflect the growing demand for our services and the vital role we play in offering life-changing support to those who need it most.

Our Programmes

Our Support Programmes fall into two main areas:

Adult Services

Providing mental health support to Adults across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. This support is in the form of Supported Housing, combined with a range of support services based on individual need.

Children’s, Young People and Families

Providing a range of community based outreach services into schools, communities, and hospitals.

The Adult Services Programme is supported by the Supported Housing Team, who manage the accommodation for those who use our support services. As well as supporting the Adult Services activity, the Housing Team also provide supported accommodation for the Young Peopleʼs Supported Accommodation Programme (discussed within the Childrenʼs, Young People and Families Section) for 16 to 25 year olds.

Adult Services

Response offers mental health support and housing to adults with serious mental illness across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. We provide a variety of supported accommodation ranging from accommodation with visiting support to on-site 24/7 services.

We are a specialist accommodation and support provider for people with complex mental health presentations. Our staff are trained to help individuals with dual presentations of psychosis often co-occurring with autism, personality disorders, drug and alcohol use and physical health needs.

We also ensure people access the right care packages if they have domiciliary care needs. In our intensive 24 hour services we provide medication support and meals to individuals who cannot do this themselves. Medication and nutrition support are also provided in our 24 hour services. Individuals are encouraged to self medicate with the use of assistive technology where appropriate.

We believe that for our services to be effective, they must be based on sound values and principles. We also believe that it is vital to understand our clients as individuals to address their needs adequately. Our Recovery Model draws from a range of therapeutic approaches to empower staff members and clients to work on their own recovery goals through individualised services. This model is based on three simple premises:

1.It is possible to recover from a mental health condition.
2.It is essential to support clients to meet their own goals and move them to greater independence.
3.The most effective recovery is directed by the client.

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Within our Adult Services Support programme Response provides the following range of support, depending on the needs of the client:

24 hour supported living accommodation

Community housing, with visiting support,

Specialist recovery provision for women

Community housing with support from 9-5

Care Quality Commission registered care home

Intensive 24-hour support

Homeless supported housing

Designed for individuals suffering from Serious Mental Illness, the goal is to provide a safe and supportive environment for residents to live independently, while benefitting from the necessary care and support.

Residents are responsible for managing their own daily activities and needs, with support workers visiting regularly to assess well-being and provide recovery-focused support. This achieves a balance between independence and self-sufficiency, and safety and well-being.

Provides Housing and Support for women to reduce health inequalities and improve life chances, while building a sense of community.

Accommodation is staffed on a daily basis, during which residents receive the necessary care and support, however residents are expected to be more independent and manage their own needs at evenings and weekends.

Response manages its own CQC registered care home for adults diagnosed with serious mental illness and complex health needs.

This service is designed for individuals with severe mental health issues and complex needs, and seeks to provide a safe and highly supportive environment for residents to live independently, whilst also receiving the necessary round the clock care and support.

Providing affordable, supported accommodation for individuals exiting homelessness.

As well as the above services, Response has successfully developed the unique role of Move on Coordinator. These individuals work with patients who are being discharged from acute wards, and work to ensure all the patient's essential needs are met when they return to the community. Our Move on Coordinators help individuals avoid homelessness and connect them to the right community support services on discharge. Response has found that the work carried out by these staff members has massively reduced homelessness following discharge by over 95 percent, whilst also reducing re-admission rates.

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Key achievements from the year

Introduction of Concierge Services across the Littlemore Campus
Refurbishment of Morrell Crescent, including boilers and kitchens, a key element of our Adult support programme
Introduction of Electronic Medicines Management to improve efficiency and to reduce the risk of error
Development of enhanced safeguarding panel processes enabling faster reaction to incidents, and improved learnings
Increased engagement of residents in the design and development of support programmes, particularly through the introduction of Carer Forums and also establishment of a panel of “Experts By Experience” These are individuals with personal experiences of our services, who engage in interviews and other processes
Developed new role descriptions for support workers, while reducing reliance on ad-hoc Agency workers to provide cover
Invested in developing our record keeping and note taking practices through Inform, and now through the rollout of Dialogue Plus across our services.

Adult services deliveries plan for the next twelve months will be:

To continue to support clients to meet their recovery goals and to be as independent as possible
To adopt continuous quality improvement methodology across services
To improve the standard of the properties through close management of property swap opportunities
To continue to build the awareness of all of the contributory factors to a successful Support journey for a resident.
To continue to work with partners and other key stakeholders to be part of redesign of the supported housing pathway across Oxfordshire.

Across Adult Services, Response works with a range of clients, and their feedback, and the feedback of those around them, is an important part of the story:

Happy. I wish Response was a forever home. I have been supported very well from all the staff I have met over the years in Response and all of them have supported me well.

I think they do a great job, and I couldn't do it. X can be difficult, and I appreciated money management being arranged as I feel she would blame me if I was managing her money. I don't feel that I am a carer for X

Staff are available for conversations, making me feel comfortable when going to public. I appreciate the companionship of staff helping me with shopping and going out for coffee.

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continued

Lucy's Story* L has bipolar disorder and PTSD.

She has spent her 20s in a series of unstable jobs and in 2020 was hospitalised following a suicide attempt.

L bounced back from this eventually securing work and settling with her long-term partner.

In May 2023 she and her partner were evicted. Losing her job due to poor mental health had left both of them out of work and unable to pay rent in their private accommodation.

I can shine again

When we met her, L was living in a Travelodge in Wheatley. She felt let down by mental health services but warmed instantly to her keyworker saying: "With your help I know I can shine again”

In July 2023 she was offered a place at Settled Oxfordshire and things turned a corner. With the threat of eviction gone, staff supported her to identify her triggers and worked around these. Due to Settled Oxfordshire's flexible pet policy, she was able to get a support cat called Blaze who really helps her anxiety.

Struggling to get the psychological support she needed through the NHS, her key-worker applied for a grant from Greater Change for private therapy and L was able to choose her own therapist.

*Name and Image changed to protect privacy

----- Start of picture text -----
“I can do so many
things I couldn't do
before.”
“I am so
grateful.”
----- End of picture text -----

Response really got me a life...

Her physical health has also improved. After registering with a new GP, she was given vouchers for slimming world and lost 3.5 stone.

She is extremely positive about her experience and says: “Response really got me a life…….The whole thing, the flat, the support and the grant have changed my life. I am so grateful.”

Continuing to build on her success, L is working with her key-worker on building up her confidence going to the gym and recently went to enquire about the local gym discount scheme.

She is now looking into courses in Floristry with a view to working towards a long time dream of running her own Floristry shop.

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Children, Young People and Families Services

Our services are tailored to meet the unique needs of each young person and family we work with. We take an approach which is tailored to each individual in the support we offer, focusing on their strengths and working collaboratively with families/loved ones and community agencies to support them with their journey.

Our team understands that seeking help for mental health and wellbeing challenges can be daunting, especially for children, young people and their families. That's why we work to create an inclusive, safe and welcoming environment where young people and their families/loved ones can feel comfortable and supported.

We believe that early intervention and prevention are key to improving outcomes for young people and families struggling with mental health and wellbeing challenges. We work closely with schools, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), GPs, and other professionals to ensure that young people and families/loved ones receive the support they need, how and when they need it.

Young People’s Supported Accommodation (“YPSA”) programme

This is commissioned by Oxfordshire County Council, in partnership with the district councils. The YPSA is a service that supports young people aged 16 to 24 who are at risk of homelessness, are care leavers or unaccompanied young people that require accommodation and support to develop independent living skills. Response is commissioned to provide some of the accommodation and support, delivered in partnership with Oxford City Council (16-17 year olds) and Oxfordshire Youth.

The key impacts of this programme are:

1.Enabling young people to build the skills to live independently
2.Through working with other agencies, ensuring there is a holistic support for young people
3.Helping young people to engage or re-engage with activity that supports education, employment or training.

In addition to the YPSA work at Response, our children, young people and familiesʼ service, provides the following range of support:

Outreach Service

Response oversees the outreach contract with third sector partners, on behalf of Oxford Health. There are embedded workers employed by Response, and other voluntary sector organisations, including RAW, BYHP and TRAX, working in CAMHS outreach clinical team, as well as Oxfordshire Youth, providing a training programme to support staff in schools. These CAMHS third sector outreach workers complement the work of the clinical team through providing further support to young people aged 11-18 years through non- clinical flexible approaches to connect young people with community-based services local to them, build confidence and grow their personal networks.

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Wellbeing Youth Workers (Mental Health Support Team)

The Mental Health Support Teams delivered by Oxford Health CAMHS now includes a Response Wellbeing Youth Worker in each locality team (now also in the west of the county) to complement the offer to schools. These workers enhance the whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing, through targeting secondary schools with drop-ins, assemblies, group work and 1 to 1 support for young people with mild to moderate mental health and wellbeing needs, as well as low level consultation to staff. Young people with more complex needs and staff are still supported by the Educational Mental Health Practitioners. In addition, we are now extending our expertise to offer Wellbeing Youth Workers to schools who want to pay for their own dedicated worker.

Reframe

Reframe is a service that supports 16-25-year-olds affected by lifechanging events who often fall through the gaps between Child & Adolescent to Adult Mental Health Services. The overriding aims of the Reframe service are to reduce health inequalities, increase resilience and improve life chances for young adults.

Reframe operated in Berkshire West until March 24 (covering the local areas of Wokingham, Reading and West Berkshire) supporting young people in care or those leaving the care system as well as being open to all 18 to 25 year olds in this area. We are also taking private, paid for referrals for this service across the whole of the Thames Valley.

Specialist Youth Workers in Tier 4 CAMHS Services

This service supports young people with the most acute mental health needs in hospitals through social prescribing youth workers that complement the work of the clinical team through connecting with young people, identifying what matters most to them and supporting access to community services upon hospital discharge.

Getting Help Social Prescribers

Social prescribers build relationships with young people to identify areas of interest and connect young people to local community offers to grow their personal network through things they enjoy or want to experience. This complements the clinical support in place through the CAMHS Getting Help/ Getting More Help teams. This service ended in March 2024 to make way for a new pilot social prescribing service for 2425 in the CAMHS Single Point of Access team.

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Key achievements from the year

As of September 2024, the expanded Mental Health Support Team (MHST) offer now has Response supporting 31 Secondary schools, 96% of the secondary schools in Oxfordshire covered under the MHST initiative. In our group work offer 86% of young people supported said they had improved wellbeing and CAMHS managers have noted the “creative and passionate” approach of our team. We have made this Youth Work offer available as a private service to schools giving them the opportunity to add additional workers to their school.

Our Social Prescribers in the CAMHS Getting Help and Getting More Help teams ran from August 2022 to March 2024 (extended after 1 year funding). 82.2% of 107 referrals received were from higher need Getting More Help cases. Across the project, 1,849 contacts (either direct work or indirect work on behalf of the young person) were made, connecting young people and families to a range of previously unknown offers within the community. As a result of their engagement, children and young people, 86% improved their ability to manage their own mental health and 67% showed an improvement in their mental wellbeing.

CAMHS Outreach has developed from the Community In-Reach model to be integrated within the CAMHS Outreach Service for Children and Adolescents team. In partnership with CAMHS, TRAX, Raw and BYHP we offer targeted and quickly responsive help for young people at high risk. In addition to the contract management role, Response employs 1 worker within the 2.6 person team which has supported 54 young people since January 2024; and 1 worker within the Neuro Developmental Conditions team who has supported 20 in the same time period.

Our work in Tier 4 project was commissioned from August 2022 and ran within two mental health hospitals across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System- one in the Highfield Unit in Oxford and one in Phoenix in Wokingham. During this pilot project over 2023-24 we supported 54 young people with a range of high-level needs, with a significant amount being hospitalised for an eating disorder, alongside a high prevalence of self-harm. Our work focused on reconnecting them with the community with 59% successfully connected before discharge.

Between April 2023 and March 2024, Reframe worked closely with the CAMHS Children In Care team in Berkshire West to support young people either in or leaving the care system aged 16 to 18. We also worked with social care colleagues across the 3 areas (Reading, Wokingham and West Berkshire) to support young people aged 16-25 under their care; we further opened up to support any 18-25 year olds in the area. Across the contract we supported 26 young people. Reframe has also been developed into a private offer where young people and families can make a referral into the team and pay for support.

The Children, Young People and Families’ service delivery plan for the next twelve months will be to:

Secure funding for a community wellbeing youth work hub in Thatcham to meet community need and plug local gaps to increase access to timely mental health and wellbeing support for children, young people and families.

Build upon the successes of the Tier 4 Specialist Youth Workers and CAMHS Social Prescribers to secure contract extensions for the current services, as well as new contracts with commissioners in other geographical areas.

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Continue to measure and report on the successes across each service, as well as collective impact, alongside strengthening and evolving services in light of feedback.
Secure funding for Reframe to be re-established through grant and wider fundraising opportunities to support young people with low to moderate mental health and wellbeing challenges.
Secure private work from schools for Wellbeing Youth Workers and generate referrals for Reframe as a private offer to help plug system gaps and respond to demand.
Continue to look for other opportunities across the region that play to our expertise in Youth Work and Social Prescribing to ease the issues with the CAMHS waiting lists.
Maintain excellent working relationships with our commissioners and wider partners and retain confidence in the quality service Response provides through accurate and comprehensive data reporting

Peter's Story*

*Name and Image changed to protect privacy

Where we started:

P had been on a range of CAMHS waiting lists for a couple of years but has disengaged with clinicians and service provision. He was also not attending school on a long term basis after issues transitioning between primary and secondary school. His parents were increasingly concerned with this isolation from the outside world and stuck with how to support him.

What we did:

P was allocated to the Outreach team and put on the caseload of one of our Outreach workers alongside some specialist clinical support. P was on the waiting list for a potential autism diagnosis with the Neuro Developmental Conditions team and also on the Getting More Help waiting list for mental health support but team members in both teams could not get him to attend appointments. Our worker attended the home and worked alongside parents to help them understand how to support him and educate them on the potential autism. The worker explored with P his interests and aims for the future in education and beyond. This relationship building work led to increased engagement with other professionals in the Outreach team. Work was also done to prioritize an autism diagnosis and work with education professionals to secure a workable provision and plan for attending.

Where we are now:

P now has an education plan that suits his needs and interests. His parents have a much better understanding of how to support him and what being autistic means. P has said he feels more motivated for the future. He is now leaving the house and recently visited his sister at university in Cardiff. He said “I just feel happier and that has allowed me to do more.”

“I just feel happier and that has allowed me to do more.”

Response Organisation ’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued Housing and Property Housing remains an integral part of our support offering. The environment in which a resident lives is a key part of their support, and the Housing team are currently focussed on ensuring that our portfolio meets those support needs.

The key challenges remain: High levels of Health and Safety compliance, including such areas as fire doors, alarms, and Portable Alliance Testing.

Void management, understanding why voids arise, and managing the portfolio so as to allow for property upgrades, while minimising the financial impact of voids
Ensuring repairs and maintenance resources are focussed on the key areas within our portfolio; Management and collection of income.

Key achievements from the year:

The introduction of ActiveH, a new Housing and Repairs management system that now provides us with
better information on income and arrears management, and enables us to better plan and schedule repairs;
A full benchmarking of our property portfolio against the Decent Homes Standard, to help us maintain a high quality property offering
The relocation of the Housing Team into A G Palmer House, alongside the rest of our central support team, as well as the opening of a small warehouse and repairs management office at Wheatley.
Reorganisation of our Health and Safety offering, ensuring that we have a more rapid cycle of Safety checks across our portfolio, through a combination of experiences Health and Safety professionals and the upskilling of Support workers to be aware of potential issues.

Departments plan for the next year:

Continued focus on developing the skills of our Support team to be aware of potential health and Safety or other property issues during their regular visits to those whom we support
Work in partnership with colleagues in Adult Services to ensure that clients are able to sustain their accommodation
Review all of our key contracts in relation to Housing services, including grounds maintenance and cleaning, to ensure appropriate levels of service as well as value for money.
Based on decent Homes Standard review, Health and Safety feedback, and taking consideration of the current property planning issues within Oxfordshire, reconfigure the property portfolio to best meet the needs of the residents who we support with YPSA and Adult Services.

RAW Workshop

For the nine months to 31 December 2023 RAW Workshop Limited was a subsidiary of Response. Since January 2024 RAW, with the support of Response, has established itself as an independent charity. Response is no longer exerting any influence or control over the activities of RAW Workshop.

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Financial review

The Statement of Financial Activities, set out on page 33, reflects all income receivable in the year.

The Group net expenditure for the year was £216,000 (2023: net expenditure of £669,000). The charity net expenditure for the year was £235,000 (2023: net expenditure £710,000). During the year, Response Organisation has invested significant funds into the establishment of new services, including necessary start up costs, the expansion of operations and in strengthening the charityʼs infrastructure to reflect the governance and compliance requirements of expanded operations.

Pence in the £

The Charity maintains a number of central functions whose sole purpose is to support the Charityʼs activities, including in areas such as Finance, Human Resources, and IT support. In the current year this central expenditure represented 13.5p in every £1 of Revenue (2023: 17.2p, 2022: 12.8p).

Reserves Policy

The Reserves Policy is reviewed annually. The Trustees have decided that the policy for free reserves should be measured in terms of the number of weeksʼ expenditure to be covered, rather than income, having considered best practice and sector benchmarking.

The definition of free reserves can include certain fixed assets as well as net current assets (excluding restricted funds). Response holds a number of unencumbered freehold properties that could be sold and replaced with rented houses should additional funding be required. These properties are shown at cost in the financial statements. Trustees have determined that up to one third of free reserves could be made up of such fixed assets.

Response aims to hold a minimum of one monthʼs expenditure as free reserves as defined above, and to increase free reserves held to a minimum of six weeksʼ expenditure over the next three years. Each year the Trustees consider Response Organisationʼs exposure to the risk of any significant loss of income or unforeseen cost. The nature of our contracts means that any major contractual change would require at least six monthsʼ notice which would enable us to put in place additional funding if it should be needed.

In considering what constitutes “free reserves”, the Trustees take the balance standing to the credit of unrestricted funds, deduct from that the cost of owned properties (less any associated loans) that are not linked to restricted funds, to arrive at a figure of free reserves. The reserves trend for the last five years for the Charity itself, can be summarised as follows:

2024 6,453	2023 6,818	2022 7,411	2021 7,354	2020 7,003
7,337 (1,500) 5,837 616	7,894 (1,628) 6,266 552	8,130 (1,752) 6,378 1,033	8,170 (1,876) 6,294 1,060	8,003 (1,998)
				6,005
				998
1.92	1.68	3.29	4.14	5.26

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At 31 March 2024 Response did not meet the free reserves requirement. The Trustees and the Executive Team continue to review and negotiate key contracts to assess their viability and ensure that sufficient margin and cash is being generated going forward to enable the Charity to have sufficient reserves. They also recognise the challenges involved, in the context of the Charityʼs activities, in restoring reserves to the target levels in the medium term.

The Charity historically has invested in property used to accommodate many of the Charityʼs beneficiaries.

Risk management and internal control

The Trustees have reviewed and updated the formal risk management process to assess business risk and implement risk management strategies. They have assessed the appropriate risk appetite for the organisation and approved an updated risk policy and strategy. Risk management is owned by the Board and the corporate risk register is on the agenda at each Board meeting.

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Risk Management and Internal Control (Continued)

The following risks have been identified as the most significant the organisation faces:

Risk

Actions taken to date to address the risk

Recruitment and retention of top talent - we recognise that if we fail to have the competitive salary and benefits package together with right culture we may be unable to deliver services. Challenging recruitment sector especially for frontline adult services.

We remained an Oxford Living Wage employer for the third year running and have developed pay bands and a job evaluation framework, making Response more competitive with salaries. A new Continuous Feedback Framework has been embedded which enables objective setting and career aspiration conversations along with a review of workload and key worker ratio reductions in Adult Services.

Housing compliance standards – we recognise that if these arenʼt met this could lead to loss of contracts, fines and legal/ regulatory action, incidents, negative impact on recovery of clients, and impact on staff wellbeing.

We have undertaken a full portfolio inspection (outside of our normal reviews) against the Decent Home Standard and also our own aspirations. A programme of works has now been developed across our portfolio The new Housing Management System is now in full operation and has significantly improved our monitoring and property management processes.

Financial sustainability – we recognise that a diverse range of income streams and substantial capital reserves are required, and will ensure sustainability; the current growth phase will consolidate the position for Response Organisation

Our Support contracts continue to be under financial pressure with revenue increases falling behind increases in Living Wage and Inflation. The focus remains on cost management, good housing management to minimise voids, and in managing arrears. Since the year end we have made additional investment in our fundraising capacity.

Delivery of the YPSA contract – we recognise the challenge of delivering this contract in the context of a range of financial, reputational and resource pressures.

The last year has seen significant improvement in the partnership working, particularly between ourselves, Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire Youth. There are proactive conversations ongoing as to how this programme will evolve following the current termination date of September 2025.

Health and safety – We recognise that weak Health and safety systems, processes, policies and staff aware may lead to an increase in major incidents, accidents, and work-related illnesses

We commissioned an independent assessment of our Health and Safety activity which has supported us in accelerating our programme of Fire Risk Assessments, and upskilled our Adult Support team to increase their awareness of Health and Safety issues.

IT Security. We recognise that cyber attacks, hacking, fraud and system failure may lead to operational failure if we have inadequate IT infrastructure

We continue to achieve “Standards Met” in our Data Security and Protection Toolkit assessment. In addition we have focussed on our Cyber Essentials accreditation. Mobile phones and computers have been moved on to a mobile device management system and Conditional Access has been introduced, along with increased use of Triple Factor authentication.

Changes in legislation and planning attitudes, particularly following the recent election, may have a significant impact on the rented property sector and our ability to manage and source suitable accommodation for those clients who use our services

We are monitoring these areas closely, and have noted impact of strategies around urban locations and the desire to reduce multiple occupancy accommodation in favour of families, and also the potential new legislation around landlord and tenant rights. We continue to work closely with Commissioners and Council planning departments to reach solutions that support our respective clients.

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The Trustees have reviewed Response Organisationʼs current internal controls and the costs of operating particular controls, relative to the benefits. The internal systems are designed to provide reasonable but not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss. They include:

A strategic plan and annual budget approved by the Trustees
Regular consideration by the Trustees of financial results, variances from budgets and non-financial performance indicators
Delegation of day to day management authority and segregation of duties

Employees

Response Organisation aims to be a great place to work where our people feel valued and are given opportunities

to develop and learn. Employees are involved in defining our corporate strategies and objectives and we continually ask ourselves how well we are doing in terms of managing and involving our employees.

Engagement with employees

Response values our colleagues and seeks to reflect our values of being caring, safe, creative and aspirational in our organisational culture. We seek to ensure that people feel informed about what is happening within Response and that their views are considered when decisions are made. The introduction of five new Employee Voice groups saw a significant shift in involvement from individuals across the organisation.

The Wellbeing & Connection group organised a successful Winter Party which had great attendance and Employee awards provided in line with our values, alongside encouragement for the Executive team to conduct ʻa day in the lifeʼ with a support worker. Feedback was incredibly positive and has encouraged more cross organisational working. The bi-annual wellbeing survey results also remained above target, with great feedback including:

“This is the best my wellbeing has ever been in a job, as someone who suffers with depression and anxiety, this is the best its been, thanks to the flexibility of home working, and it being closer to home I have the time and energy now to build a routine that assists my wellbeing.”

“I have never worked for a company who focus so much on staff wellbeing; it is refreshing and very appealing to work for such a company - thank you Response for your ongoing support.”

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Response received the ʻInclusive Employersʼ Award at the Genius Within Awards Ceremony for the work achieved on Neuro-inclusivity over the last 12 months. The Neurodiversity Group, a sub-group of the EDI Group, Diversity Matters, trained over 20 people from across Response to become Neurodiversity Champions and provided them with skills to support colleagues and the organisation in becoming more inclusive. This saw over 85% of individuals feeling more confident to raise their Neurodivergent condition with their line manager, up from just 50% in January 2023.This approach has also attracted candidates to Response too, with a candidate stating during their interview recently:

"I like that Response supports Neurodiversity. This means everyone has a chance and this was what attracted me to applying for the role. I like what Response stands for. My daughter is Neurodiverse and having organisation’s that don’t discriminate and actively support those with Neurodiversity gives me great hope for her future."

The Behaviours & Values group have created Responseʼs first Values & Behaviours Competency Framework, clearly setting out the behaviours expected if you work at Response. This framework underpins the people pillars including recruitment, onboarding, learning & development performance management and recognition. This framework compliments the newly embedded Continuous Feedback Framework for individuals to review work, objectives and wellbeing with their line manager on a monthly basis.

Following the Language & Terminology group surveying stakeholders of Response, and conducting research, a new, consistent approach to the language we use was agreed which is person-centred and promotes respect.

The Policies & Procedures group are responsible for ensuring our documents remain compliant with legislation, in date and easy to understand and follow. This employee-led group has been provided with autonomy to challenge and feedback on practices Response adopts.

Response were able to continue with the accreditation as an Oxford Living Wage employer for a third year, alongside introducing a job evaluation and pay band framework, raising awareness of the pay bands and progression possibilities. Comments from colleagues include “I think work done recently at Response around reviewing/increasing salaries has been hugely positive on staff wellbeing, financial and emotional, and has been really appreciated.”

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Disabled employees

Response is an equal opportunities employer and has the Employer Accreditation with Disability Confident. Response seeks to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of any protected characteristics. Response recognises that it is the prime task of those responsible for recruitment to ensure that the best person is appointed for each vacancy, regardless of the protected characteristics stated in the Equality Act 2010.

As of 31st March 2024, 6.5% of members of staff had self-declared a disability.

If the applicant is disabled, and short-listed for interview, they will be asked if they have any special requirements to enable them to undertake the interview. For example, wheelchair access, assistance with completing any test or lip-reading/sign-language. The panel will assess each applicantʼs responses in the interview individually using a standard scoring system. Everyone has equal opportunities to apply for job opportunities across Response, promotion or sideways moves, all job vacancies are advertised to all of Response weekly. Training opportunities are open to all employees.

Response utilises an external occupational health provider where necessary and appropriate and with agreement from the employee when an employee becomes disabled as well as for other health issues impacting on their work. Response utilises the governmentʼs access to work scheme when reasonable adjustments have been exhausted. Wellness action plans are put in place as required – this supports the employee and the line manager – ensuring both parties are working collaboratively together.

Pensions

Response Organisation continues to operate a defined contribution pension scheme with Friends Life. For those employees who are not members of the Friends Life scheme, in August 2014 Response Organisation introduced automatic enrolment into a defined contribution workplace pension scheme with The Peopleʼs Pension. The pensions offered and provided to employees exceed The Pensions Regulatorʼs requirements.

Funds held on behalf of third parties

At 31st March 2024 Response Organisation held funds totalling £251k (2023: £207k) on behalf of residents. The transactions and assets associated with residentsʼ funds are accounted for separately and are not included within the financial statements of Response Organisation. Residentsʼ funds are held in separate bank accounts and specific controls are in place to safeguard these funds.

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Structure, governance and management

Response Organisation is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The Board of Trustees (“the Board”) is responsible for the overall governance of the charity. The Board meets six times a year. The quorum of the Board is five Trustees and for any Committee is three; the maximum number of Trustees is twelve.

The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:

C Cornforth Appointed 2 March 2024 J Dancer Appointed 3 February 2024 N Inge Appointed 2 March 2024 Dr M Muijen Appointed 15 June 2023 B Palmer Appointed 7 March 2024 K Rushworth Appointed 9 November 2023 F Solla Appointed 2 March 2024 R Sutcliffe

C Buchuck- Resigned 28 October 2023 Wilsenach L Callahan Appointed 15 June 2023, Resigned 29 September 2024 D Edwards Resigned 20 October 2023 S Gill Resigned 14 August 2023 R Leece Resigned 20 July 2023 E Nicholson Resigned 2 May 2024 D Orisewezie Appointed 9 November 2023, Resigned 10 September 2024 Dr W Woodhouse Resigned 10 May 2023 J Yates Resigned 2 December 2024

The Board would like to thank all of the Trustees who stood down during the period for their contribution to the Charity during their time in office, and the enthusiasm and commitment they demonstrated to the purpose and values of the organisation.

In January 2021 the Board reviewed its Standing Orders, Scheme of Delegation and Reservation of Powers. The Standing Orders take account of the Memorandum & Articles of Association, legislative, code and regulatory requirements and good practice advice.

The Standing Orders also clarify how the procedures and delegations work in accordance with the constitution and taking account of the codes as follows:

Charity Commission Charity Governance Code for larger charities;

Charity Commission The Essential Trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do (CC3)
Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009
National Housing Federation Code of Governance and Code of Conduct

Response Organisation has complied with the Charity Commission Code of Governance.

The Standing Orders are part of a wider governance framework which includes:

Memorandum & Articles of Association

Scheme of Delegation and Powers of Reservation

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Financial Regulations

Business plan and strategies
Policies and procedures

Terms of reference for the Board and Committees

The present membership of the Board is set out on the legal and administrative information page. A regular skills audit is carried out to ensure that the Trustee body has the appropriate mix of skills and experience. New Trustees receive an induction pack containing detailed information about Response Organisation, its organisation and its work. Trustees are encouraged to undertake a skills audit and to attend training sessions in order to develop their knowledge and skills. The Trustees actively encourage the participation of users and carers in the working of the charity.

Election and re-election of Trustees is carried out by approval by the Board. Executive Officers are consulted regarding all appointments. Trustees are appointed for a period of three years after which they are required to retire by rotation at an Annual General Meeting. Trustees who so retire, may, if willing to act, be reappointed up to a maximum total term of nine years. A Trusteeʼs term of office may also be ended by resignation or by removal, if necessary, by the Board and in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

The Chief Executive is responsible for the day to day management of Response Organisationʼs affairs and for implementing policies agreed by the Board. The Chief Executive is assisted by a team of senior managers.

Committees

The Board has established three formally constituted sub-committees, each with specific terms of reference and functions delegated by the Board; formal minutes of the committees are circulated to all Board members. The committees are:-

Audit, Risk & People

Finance & Property
Quality & Performance

The Audit, Risk and People Committee meets at least four times a year and oversees and provides assurance to the Board in discharging its responsibility for Responseʼs audit and risk activities. This comprises financial reporting assurance; external audit; internal audit control and compliance, including corporate performance comprising the specification of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) adopted by the Board, Finance, and Performance Committees; IT Security and General Data Protection; business continuity; financial stress testing; health and safety, people and the risk management framework.

Particular areas of focus in 2023/24 were ensuring effective Board governance of risk, information governance and the implementation of a formal Trustee appraisal process.

The Committee evaluates its performance on an annual basis using the Deloitte Audit Committee Effectiveness 26 Framework.

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The Committee evaluates its performance on an annual basis using the Deloitte Audit Committee Effectiveness Framework.

The Finance and Property Committee meets at least six times a year and oversees and provides assurance to the Board in discharging its responsibility for financial oversight and property asset management, including acquisitions and disposals. This includes business planning and approval of the draft annual budget for recommendation to the Board and monitoring performance against it, and compliance with loan covenants and financial regulations.

The Quality and Performance Committee meets at least six times a year and oversees and provides assurance to the Board in discharging its responsibility for engaging with its clients and focuses on enhancing the delivery of the services provided to them. This includes safeguarding, service user and stakeholder engagement, service delivery performance and KPIs, Human Resources (HR) and training.

The Board has responsibility for safeguarding the clients; it attaches high importance to this responsibility, and its membership includes individuals with significant experience in this field.

Key Management Personnel Remuneration

The Trustees consider the Trustees and Executive Officers as comprising the key management personnel of the charity: the Board is responsible for strategic planning and direction of the charity and it delegates to the Executive Officers the responsibility for managing and operating the charity on a day to day basis. All Trustees give of their time freely and no Trustee remuneration was paid in the year. Details of Trustee expenses are disclosed in note 13, and related party transactions are disclosed in note 28 to the accounts.

Trustees are required to disclose all relevant interests and in accordance with the charityʼs policy, withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises.

The pay of the Executive Officers is reviewed annually. The remuneration is reviewed to ensure that it is fair and not out of line with similar roles.

Auditor

In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Critchleys Audit LLP be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.

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' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

R Sutcliffe Chair of Board of Trustees

Date: 12th December 2024

Response Organisation

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

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

Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year 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 financial statements, the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
prepare the financial statements 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 financial statements 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.

Response Organisation

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF RESPONSE ORGANISATION

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Response Organisation (‘the charitable company’) and its subsidiary (‘the group) for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the consolidated statement of financial activities, the consolidated and charity balance sheets, the consolidated 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:

give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and the charitable company's affairs as at 31 March 2024 and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
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 group 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 charitable company’s or the group’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, 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.

Response Organisation

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF RESPONSE ORGANISATION (continued)

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

the information given in the trustees' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, is consistent with the financial statements; and
the directors' report included within the trustees' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

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

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

adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the trustees' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

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

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.

Response Organisation

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF RESPONSE ORGANISATION (continued)

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

the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities, and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with directors and other management, and from our knowledge and experience;
we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the Company.

We assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence where applicable; and identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.

We assessed the susceptibility of the group’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected, and alleged fraud; and
considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias; and
investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims;
reviewing relevant correspondence.

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also 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.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

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.

Response Organisation

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF RESPONSE ORGANISATION (continued)

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.

Katherine Wilkes FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Critchleys Audit LLP

Statutory Auditor

Date: 19[th] December 2024

First Floor, Park Central 40 - 41 Park End Street Oxford, OX1 1JD

Response Organisation

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

Unrestricted Restricted Funds Funds 2024 2024 £’000 £’000 Income and endowments from: Donations and legacies 3 203 476 Charitable activities Housing 4 9.958 - Adult services 4 5,252 - Children services 4 1,014 - RAW Workshop 4 - 290 Central services income 4 55 - Investments 5 45 - Other income 6 - - Total income 16,527 766 Expenditure on: Raising funds 7 18 24 Charitable activities Housing 8 9,466 46 Adult services 8 6,250 - Children's services 8 900 - RAW workshop 8 - 723 Total charitable expenditure 16,616 769 Loan interest 82 - Transformational roles - - Provision for diminution in property value - - Total expenditure 16,716 793 Transfers between funds - - Net income for the year/ Net movement in funds (189) (27) Fund balances as at 1 April 2022 as previously reported Prior Year adjustment 1.16 Fund balances as at 1 April 2023 (restated) 6,793 964 Demerger of RAW Workshop (151) (405) Fund balances as at 31 March 2024 6,453 532	Total 2024 £’000 679 9,958 5,252 1,014 290 55 45 - 17,293 42 9,512 6,250 900 723 17,385 82 - - 17,509 - (216) 7,757 (556) 6,985	Unrestricted Funds 2023 £’000 19 9,236 5,078 1,357 - 60 15 891 16,656 8 9,307 6,488 1,224 - 17,019 97 98 130 17,352 104 (592) 7,562 (177) 7,385 - 6,793	Restricted Funds 2023 £’000 593 41 12 - 340 - - - 986 40 52 15 - 852 919 - - - 959 (104) (77) 1,041 - 1,041 - 964	Total 2023 £’000 612 9,277 5,090 1,357 340 60 15 891
				17,642
				48
				9,359 6,503 1,224 852
				17,938
				97 98 130
				18,311
				- (669)
				8,603 (177)
				8,426 -
				7,757

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

Response Organisation

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

Unrestricted Restricted Funds Funds 2024 2024 £’000 £’000 Income and endowments from: Donations and legacies 3 203 - Charitable activities Housing 4 9.958 - Adult services 4 5,252 - Children services 4 1,014 - Central services income 4 55 - Investments 5 45 - Other income 6 - - Total income 16,527 - Expenditure on: Raising funds 7 18 - Charitable activities Housing 8 9,466 46 Adult services 8 6,250 - Children's services 8 900 - Total charitable expenditure 16,616 46 Loan interest 82 - Transformational roles - - Provision for diminution in property value - - Total expenditure 16,716 46 Transfers between funds - - Net income for the year/ Net movement in funds (189) (46) Fund balances as at 1 April 2022 as previously reported Prior Year adjustment 1.16 Fund balances as at 1 April 2023 (restated) 6,642 578 Fund balances as at 31 March 2024 6,453 532	Total 2024 £’000 203 9,958 5,252 1,014 55 45 - 16,527 18 9,512 6,250 900 16,662 82 - - 16,762 - (235) 7,220 6,985	Unrestricted Funds 2023 £’000 19 9,236 5,078 1,357 60 15 891 16,656 8 9,307 6,488 1,224 17,019 97 98 130 17,352 104 (592) 7,411 (177) 7,234 6,642	Restricted Funds 2023 £’000 - 41 12 - - - - 53 - 52 15 - 67 - - - 67 (104) (118) 696 - 696 578	Total 2023 £’000 19 9,277 5,090 1,357 60 15 891
				16,709
				8
				9,359 6,503 1,224
				17,086
				97 98 130
				17,419
				- (710)
				8,107 (177)
				7,930
				7,220

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

Response Organisation

BALANCE SHEET – AS AT 31 March 2024

Notes Fixed assets Tangible assets 13 Current assets Stocks 14 Debtors 15 Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 16 Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year 17 Provisions for liabilities 19 Net assets Income funds Restricted funds 20 Unrestricted funds	Company 2024 £’000 8,289 - 1,634 1,546 3,180 (2,916) 264 8,553 (1,263) (305) 6,985 532 6,453 6,985	Group Restated (Note 26) 2023 £’000 8,828 9 995 3,360 4,364 (3,729) 635 9,463 (1,401) (305) 7,757 964 6,793 7,757	Company Restated (Note 26) 2023 £’000 8,772 - 841 2,925	Company Restated (Note 26) 2023 £’000 8,772 - 841 2,925
				3,766 (3,612)
				154
				8,926 (1,401) (305)
				7,220
				578 6,642
				7,220

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 12[th] December 2024.

R Sutcliffe Chairman

Company registration number 4781936

Response Organisation

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS – FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Notes Cash flows from operating activities Cash (absorbed by) / generated from operations 24 Investing activities Purchase of tangible fixed assets Proceeds on disposal of tangible fixed assets Investment income received Net cash generated from investing activities Financing activities Cash transferred on demerger of RAW Workshop Repayment of bank loans Net cash used in financing activities Net increase in cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	2024 £’000 (379) 512 45 (593) (128)	£’000 (1,271) 178 (721) (1,814) 3,360 1,546	2023 £’000 £’000 745 (245) 1,313 15 1,083 - (125) (125) 1,703 1,657 3,360	2023 £’000 £’000 745 (245) 1,313 15 1,083 - (125) (125) 1,703 1,657 3,360
				1,703 1,657
				3,360

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024

1 Accounting policies

Charity information

Response Organisation is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is A G Palmer House, Morrell Crescent, Littlemore, Oxford, OX4 4SU.

1.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, 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 Group accounts include the results of the Charity and of RAW Workshop. In January 2024 Response Organisation transferred control of RAW Workshop to the Trustees of that Charity. The consolidated accounts include the results of RAW Workshop for the nine months to 31 December 2023 and, since it was no longer part of the Response Organisation Group as at 31 March 2024, no Group balance sheet is presented as it is identical to that of the Company, Response Organisation, itself.

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 financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note. 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 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 financial statements.

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.

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.

Legacies are recognised on receipt or otherwise if the charity has been notified of an impending distribution, the amount is known, and receipt is expected. If the amount is not known, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset.

The charity also received government grants in respect of supported housing contracts. Income from government grants are recognised at fair value when the charity has entitlement after any performance conditions have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. If entitlement is not met then these amounts are deferred.

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

1. Accounting policies (Continued)

1.5 Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

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:

Freehold property and land Not depreciated Leasehold property & improvements Straight line over the life of the lease Office fixtures & fittings 33% Straight line Equipment & furniture 25% Straight line Vehicles 25% Straight line

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.

Depreciation is not charged on freehold property as the properties are maintained to a high standard, are not seen as diminishing in value, and therefore any depreciation charge would be immaterial. Properties are reviewed for impairment annually.

1.7 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).

1.8 Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost comprises direct materials and, where applicable, direct labour costs and those overheads that have been incurred in bringing the stocks to their present location and condition. Items held for distribution at no or nominal consideration are measured the lower of replacement cost and cost.

Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.

1.9 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. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

1. Accounting policies (Continued)

1.10 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 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.

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.

1.11 Provisions

Provisions are recognised when the charity has a legal or constructive present obligation as a result of a past event, it is probable that the charity will be required to settle that obligation and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation.

The amount recognised as a provision is the best estimate of the consideration required to settle the present obligation at the reporting end date, taking into account the risks and uncertainties surrounding the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the amount expected to be required to settle the obligation is recognised at present value. When a provision is measured at present value, the unwinding of the discount is recognised as a finance cost in net income/(expenditure) in the period in which it arises.

1.12 Employee benefits

When employees have rendered service to the charity, short-term benefits to which the employees are entitled are recognised at the undiscounted amount expected to be paid in exchange for that service.

1.13 Retirement benefits

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

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

1 Accounting policies (Continued)

1.14 Leases

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

1.15 Loans and Borrowings

Loans and borrowings are initially recognised at the transaction price including transaction costs. Subsequently, they are measured at amortised costs using the effective interest rate method, less impairment. If an arrangement constitutes a finance transaction it is measured at present value.

1.16 Prior Year Adjustment

The Statement of Financial Activities and the Balance Sheet for 2023 have been restated. Details of the restatement and of the reasons for this are set out in Note 26.

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.

The judgements that have had the most significant effect on amounts recognised in the financial statements was the charge for depreciation during the year and the amount provided for dilapidations on leasehold properties. The liability related to dilapidations has been based upon a review of property conditions and historically incurred costs on previous expired leases.

3 Donations and legacies

Unrestricted funds Restricted funds 2024 2024 £’000 £’000 Donations and gifts (Company) 203 - Donations and gifts (Group) 203 476	Total Unrestricted funds Restricted funds 2024 2023 2023 £’000 £’000 £’000 203 19 - 679 19 593	Total 2023 £’000 19 612

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

4 Charitable activities Group and Company Housing 2024 £000 Income from charitable activities 9,958 Analysis by fund Unrestricted funds 9,958 Restricted funds - For the year ended 31 March 2023 Group and Company Housing 2023 £’000 Income from charitable activities 9,277 Analysis by fund Unrestricted funds 9,236 Restricted funds 41	Group and Company Adult services 2024 £000 5,252 5,252 - Group and Company Adult services 2023 £’000 5,090 5,078 12	Group and Company Children services 2024 £000 1,014 1,014 - Group and Company Children services 2023 £’000 1,357 1,357 -	Group Only RAW Workshop 2024 £000 290 - 290 Group Only RAW Workshop 2023 £’000 340 - 340	Group and Company Central services Total 2024 2024 £000 £000 55 16,569 55 16,279 - 290 Central services Total 2023 2023 £’000 £’000 60 16,124 60 15,731 - 393

5 Investment Income (Group & Company)

Investment Income (Group & Company)
	2024	2023
	£’000	£’000
Interest receivable	45	15

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

6 Other income Group and Company

	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
	Funds	Funds		Funds	Funds
	2024	2024	2024	2023	2023	2023
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Net gain on disposal of tangible fixed assets	-	-	-	891	-	891

7. Raising Funds

Raising funds General fundraising costs (Group & Company) RAW Workshop (Group only)	Unrestricted Funds 2024 £’000 18 - 18	Restricted Funds 2024 £’000 - 24 24	Total 2024 £’000 18 24 42	Unrestricted Funds 2023 £’000 8 - 8	Restricted Funds 2023 £’000 - 40 40	Total 2023 £’000 8 40
						48

8. Charitable activities

Group

Staff costs Other direct costs Share of support & governance costs (see note 9) Analysis by fund Unrestricted funds Restricted funds	Housing 2024 £’000 992 7,761 8,753 759 9,512 9,466 46 9,512	Adult Services 2024 £’000 4,392 539 4,931 1,319 6,250 6,250 - 6,250	Children’s Services 2024 £’000 613 125 738 162 900 900 - 900	RAW Workshop 2024 £’000 326 112 438 285 723 - 723 723	Total 2024 £’000 6,323 8,537 14,860 2,525 17,385 16,616 769 17,385	Total 2023 £’000 6,530 8,290
						14,820 3,118
						17,938
						17,019 919
						17,938

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

8. Charitable Activities Company Staff costs Other direct costs Share of support & Governance costs (see note 9) Analysis by fund Unrestricted funds Restricted funds	Housing 2024 £’000 992 7,761 8,753 759 9,512 9,466 46 9,512	Adult Services 2024 £’000 4,392 539 4,931 1,319 6,250 6,250 - 6,250	Children’s Services 2024 £’000 613 125 738 162 900 900 - 900	Total 2024 £’000 5,997 8,425 14,422 2,240 16,662 16,616 46 16,662	Total 2023 £’000 6,161 8,055
					14,216 2,870
					17,086
					17,019 67
					17,086

Governance costs includes payments to the auditors of £23,550 (2023- £14,080) for audit and related fees.

9. Supports costs (Group) Staff costs Depreciation Facilities costs General office costs Audit fees Accountancy Other costs Analysis between Charitable activities	Support Costs £’000 1,267 97 220 872 - - - 2,456 2,456	Governance Costs £’000 - - - - 24 29 16 69 69	2024 £’000 1,267 97 220 872 24 29 16 2,525 2,525	Support Costs £’000 1,597 99 302 1,076 - - - 3,074 3,074	Governance Costs £’000 - - - - 18 20 6 44 44	2023 £’000 1,597 99 302 1,076 18 20 6
						3,118
						3,118

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

9 Support costs (Company) Staff costs Depreciation Facilities Costs General Office Costs Audit fees Accountancy Office costs Analysed between Charitable activities	Support Governance costs costs £’000 £’000 1,173 - 84 - 171 - 743 - - 24 - 29 - 16 2,171 69 2,171 69	2024 £’000 1,173 84 171 743 24 29 16 2,240 2,240	Support Governance costs costs £’000 £’000 1,486 - 86 - 276 - 987 - - 14 - 21 - - 2,835 35 2,835 35	2023 £’000 1,486 86 276 987 14 20 - 2,870 2,870

Governance costs includes payments to the auditors of £23,550 (2023: £13,080) for audit and related fees

10 Trustees

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

J Yates, a trustee of the Charity, is Chief Executive of Reading Borough Council. Reading Borough Council (alongside other councils and NHS authorities across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire) commissions services from the Charity at rates negotiated with the relevant commissioning teams.

11 Net movement in funds Net movement in funds is stated after charging/(crediting) Fees payable to the company's auditor for the audit of the company's financial statements Depreciation of owned tangible fixed assets Loss/(profit) on disposal of tangible fixed assets Operating lease charges - rent Operating lease charges - other	2024 £’000 24 332 12 2,969 71	2023 £’000 18 348 (891) 2,556 83

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

12 Employees

The group average monthly number of employees during the year was:

Housing Adult Services Children's Services Support Services Raw workshop Total Group Employment costs Wages and salaries Social security costs Other pension costs Company Employment costs Wages and salaries Social security costs Other pension costs	2024 Number 32 179 16 29 22 278 2024 £’000 6,616 608 220 7,444 2024 £000 6,242 574 208 7,024	2023 Number 26 195 22 37 21 301 2023 £’000 7,249 624 254 8,127 2023 £000 6,805 601 241 7,647

The number of employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000 is as follows:

	2024	2023
	Number	Number
£60,001 - £70,000	1	1
£70,001 - £80,000	1	-
£80,001 - £90,000	-	2
£100,001 - £110,000	-	1
£110,000 - £120,000	1	-

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

12 Employees (Continued)

Pension contributions

In accordance with the requirements of the Pensions Act 2008 Response Organisation administers a workplace pension scheme with The People's Pension. The scheme automatically enrolls eligible employees at the prescribed rate of 3.2% of basic salary.

Response Organisation had retained the stakeholder pension scheme with Friends Life for employees who were members of that scheme before the introduction of the People's Pension workplace pension scheme. Contributions to the Friends Life stakeholder pension scheme are made up to a maximum of 6% of basic salary matched by the employer.

In addition, five members of staff are members of the NHS pension scheme.

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

13 Tangible fixed assets Group Freehold property and land Leasehold property & improvements Assets under construction Office fixtures & fittings Equipment & furniture £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Cost At 1 April 2023 6,909 2,183 11 1,103 791 Additions 4 6 - 121 229 Transfer of assets - 11 (11) - - Disposals / assets written off (655) - - (512) (308) Disposal of subsidiary - (48) - - (111) ─────── ─────── ─────── ─────── ─────── At 31 March 2024 6,258 2,152 - 712 601 ─────── ─────── ─────── ─────── ─────── Depreciation and impairment At 1 April 2023 130 519 - 943 588 Depreciation charged in the year - 101 - 132 95 Eliminated in respect of disposals / assets written off (130) - - (512) (309) Disposal of Subsidiary - (33) - - (90) ─────── ─────── ─────── ─────── ─────── At 31 March 2024 - 587 - 563 284 ─────── ─────── ─────── ─────── ─────── Carrying amount At 31 March 2024 6,258 1,565 - 149 317 At 31 March 2023 6,778 1,664 11 160 204	Vehicles £000 77 19 - (20) (36) ─────── 40 ─────── 66 4 (14) (16) ─────── 40 ─────── - 11	Total £000 11,074 379 - (1,495) (195) ─────── 9,763 ─────── 2,246 332 (965) (139) ─────── 1,474 ─────── 8,289 8,828

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

Company Freehold property and land Leasehold property & improvements Assets under construction Office £000 £000 £000 Cost At 1 April 2023 6,909 2,135 11 Additions 4 6 - Transfers - 11 (11) Disposals / assets written off (655) - - ─────── ─────── ─────── At 31 March 2024 6,258 2,152 - ─────── ─────── ─────── Depreciation and impairment At 1 April 2023 130 486 - Depreciation charged in the year - 101 - Eliminated in respect of disposals / assets written off (130) - - ─────── ─────── ─────── At 31 March 2024 - 587 - ─────── ─────── ─────── Carrying amount At 31 March 2024 6,258 1,565 - At 31 March 2023 6,779 1,648 11	fixtures & fittings Equipment & furniture £000 £000 1,103 682 121 227 - - (512) (308) ─────── ─────── 712 601 ─────── ─────── 943 508 132 85 (512) (309) ─────── ─────── 563 284 ─────── ─────── 149 317 160 174		Vehicles £000 40 - - - ─────── 40 ─────── 40 - - ─────── 40 ─────── - -	Total £000 10,880 358 - (1,475) ─────── 9,763 ─────── 2,107 318 (951) ─────── 1,474 ─────── 8,289 8,772

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

14 Stocks (Group only) Finished goods and goods for resale 15 Debtors Rents and service charges receivable Other Debtors Prepayments and accrued income 16 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year Bank Loans Other borrowings Other taxation and social security Trade creditors Other creditors Accruals and deferred income 17 Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year Bank Loans	Company 2024 £’000 849 427 358 1,634 Company 2024 £’000 137 100 125 742 471 1,341 2,916 Company 2024 £’000 1,263	2024 £’000 - Group 2023 £’000 319 284 392 995 Group 2023 £’000 127 100 198 612 228 2,464 3,729 Group 2023 £’000 1,401	2023 £’000 9
			Company 2023 £’000 238 284 319
			841
			Company 2023 £’000 127 100 183 599 228 2,375
			3,612
			Company 2023 £’000 1,401

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

18 Loans and overdrafts Bank loans Other loans Payable within one year Payable after one year	Company 2024 £’000 1,400 100 1,500 237 1,263	Group 2023 £’000 1,528 100 1,628 227 1,401	Company 2023 £’000 1,528 100
			1,628
			227
			1,401

The long-term loans are secured on 2 Dodgson Road, Oxford, 4 Bodley Road, Oxford, 1 Egerton Road, Oxford, 9395 Papist Way, Wallingford, 1 - 17 Scrutton Close, Oxford and 49 Oxford Road, Banbury. At 31st March 2024 the value of the loans was 27% of the net book value of the secured properties (31 March 2023 - 40%). The loans bear interest between 2.7% and 5.2% and are repayable over 20 years.

19	Provisions for liabilities	2024	2023
		£’000	£’000
	Dilapidations	305	305

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

20 Restricted funds (Group and Company)

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:

at 1
Thatcham (Priory) Project fund
Aylesbury (Mandeville) Project fund
YPSA
Women's Services
Oxford Homeless
Settled Oxfordshire (Homeless)
Response Giving
Total Company
RAW Workshop
Total Group

Movement in funds
Movement in funds
Balance
April 2022
Incoming
resources
Resources
expended
Transfers
Balance
at 1 April
2023
Incoming
resources
Resources
expended
Eliminated
on
disposal of
RAW
Balance at
31 March
2024
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
354
-
(22)
(80)
252
-
(22)
-
230
330
-
(26)
(24)
280
-
(24)
-
256
4
-
(4)
-
-
-
-
-
-
2
12
(14)
-
-
-
-
-
-
5
-
-
(5)
-
-
-
-
-
-
41
-
5
46
-
-
-
46
1
-
(1)
-
-
-
-
-
-
696
53
(67)
(104)
578
-
(46)
-
532
345
933
(892)
-
386
766
(747)
(405)
-
1,041
986
(959)
(104)
964
766
(793)
(405)
532

The first two named restricted funds were for contributions to the cost of renovations and properties to provide care and support services.

YPSA – This relates to funds received for our Young People’s Supported Accommodation.

Women’s Services – This relates to funds received for the establishment of a new women’s only service.

Oxford Homeless – This relates to funds received for work with the Homeless in Oxford.

Response Giving - This relates to funds given for grants to Response clients moving into their own accommodation.

RAW Workshop – subsidiary funds treated as restricted in a group context. Following the disposal of RAW Workshop during the financial year, the balance of this fund is recorded as being transferred out of the Response Organisation Group.

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

21 Group analysis of net assets between funds

Unrestricted funds Restricted funds 2024 2024 £’000 £’000 Fund balances at 31 March 2024 are represented by: Tangible assets 7,803 486 Current assets/(liabilities) 218 46 Long term liabilities (1,263) - Provisions (305) - 6,453 532 Company analysis of net assets between funds Unrestricted Funds 2024 £’000 Restricted Funds 2024 £’000 Fund balances at 31 March 2024 are represented by: Tangible assets 7,803 486 Current assets /(liabilities) 218 46 Long term liabilities (1,263) - Provisions (305) - 6,453 532	Total 2024 £’000 8,289 264 (1,263) (305) 6,985 Total 2024 £’000 8,289 264 (1,263) (305) 6,985	Unrestricted funds 2023 £’000 8,241 258 (1,401) (305) 6,793 Unrestricted Funds 2023 £’000 8,240 108 (1,401) (305) 6,642	Restricted funds 2023 £’000 587 377 - - 964 Restricted Funds 2023 £’000 532 46 - - 578	Total 2023 £’000 8,828 635 (1,401) (305)
				7,757
				Total 2023 £’000 8,772 154 (1,401) (305)
				7,220

22 Operating lease commitments

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

Within one year Between two and five years In over five years	2024 £’000 1,810 1,661 1,470 4,941	2023 £’000 2,270 1,757 1,488
		5,515

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

23 Related party transactions

Remuneration of key management personnel

The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows.

	2024	2023
	£000	£000
Aggregate compensation	467	491

Response Organisation was the sole member of RAW Workshop (a registered charity) for the first nine months of the financial year. In January 2024 the control of RAW Workshop was transferred to the Trustees of RAW Workshop. For the purposes of the group accounts, Raw Workshop activities are considered to be restricted.

Response organisation lent RAW Workshop funds, of which £Nil (2023: £Nil) were outstanding for repayment at the period end.

There were no other related party transactions to be disclosed for this year.

For the year ended nine months to 31 December 2023 the subsidiary showed the following results:

Income from: Donations Grants Investments: rent received Charitable activities: workshop sales Total income Expenditure on: Fundraising, marketing and development Charitable activities Total expenditure Net income	Nine months to December 2024 £’000 113 363 290 766 234 723 747 19	Year to March 2023 £’000 170 423 - 340
		933
		79 812
		891
		42

Response Organisation

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, For the year ended 31 March 2024 Continued

24 Cash generated from operations Deficit for the year Adjustments for: Investment income recognized in statement of financial activities Loss (gain) on tangible fixed assets Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets Movements in working capital: Decrease in stocks (increase) decrease in debtors Increase / (decrease) in creditors Cash (absorbed by) generated from operations 25 Analysis of changes in future net funds / (debts) At 1 April 2023 £’000 Cash at bank and in hand 3,360 Loans falling due within one year (227) Loans falling due after more than one year (1,401) 1,732 26 Restatement of 2023 Balance Sheet Creditors: amounts falling due within one year £’000 Group As previously reported (3,552) Additional historic liability (177) Restated (3,729) Company As previously reported (3,435) Additional historic liability (177) Restated (3,612)	24 Cash generated from operations Deficit for the year Adjustments for: Investment income recognized in statement of financial activities Loss (gain) on tangible fixed assets Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets Movements in working capital: Decrease in stocks (increase) decrease in debtors Increase / (decrease) in creditors Cash (absorbed by) generated from operations 25 Analysis of changes in future net funds / (debts) At 1 April 2023 £’000 Cash at bank and in hand 3,360 Loans falling due within one year (227) Loans falling due after more than one year (1,401) 1,732 26 Restatement of 2023 Balance Sheet Creditors: amounts falling due within one year £’000 Group As previously reported (3,552) Additional historic liability (177) Restated (3,729) Company As previously reported (3,435) Additional historic liability (177) Restated (3,612)	24 Cash generated from operations Deficit for the year Adjustments for: Investment income recognized in statement of financial activities Loss (gain) on tangible fixed assets Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets Movements in working capital: Decrease in stocks (increase) decrease in debtors Increase / (decrease) in creditors Cash (absorbed by) generated from operations 25 Analysis of changes in future net funds / (debts) At 1 April 2023 £’000 Cash at bank and in hand 3,360 Loans falling due within one year (227) Loans falling due after more than one year (1,401) 1,732 26 Restatement of 2023 Balance Sheet Creditors: amounts falling due within one year £’000 Group As previously reported (3,552) Additional historic liability (177) Restated (3,729) Company As previously reported (3,435) Additional historic liability (177) Restated (3,612)			2024 £’000 (216) (45) 18 332 - (855) (505) (1,271) Cash Flows £’000 (1,814) (10) 138 (1,686) Net Assets £’000 7,934 (177) 7,757 7,397 (177) 7,220	2023 £’000 (669) (15) (891) 476 4 607 1,233 745 At 31 March 2024 £’000 1,546 (237) (1,263)
		1,732				46
		Creditors: amounts falling due within one year £’000 (3,552) (177) (3,729) (3,435) (177) (3,612)				Unrestricted reserves £000 6,970 (177)
						6,793
						6,819 (177)
						6,642

During the year under review, the Charity was made aware of an error in relation to the historic rents and service charges for a particular property, as a result the Charity is refunding this amount. The overcharge related to the period prior to 31 March 2022 and has therefore been recognised as a prior year adjustment.

= Response Organisation

AG Palmer House, Morrell Crescent, Littlemore, Oxford, OX4 4SU

Find us: www.response.org.uk Email us: engagement@response.org.uk Call us: 020 3540 8694

Charity No. 1101071 Company No. 4781936 - Limited by guarantee Registered in England

Company registration number 4781936 (England and Wales)

Legal and Administrative Information

Trustees

Secretary

Registered Office

Auditor

Solicitors

Contents

A Welcome from the Chief Executive

Response Organisation

Nicola Leavesly

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024

Reference and Administrative Details

Objectives and activities

Purposes and Aims

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued

Ensuring our work delivers our aims

The focus of our work

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued

Strategic Report

Response has two main missions:

Our Values:

Caring

Safe

Creative

Aspirational

Our Strategic Objectives:

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued

2. Recovery based support to adults with mental health and complex needs.

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued

3. Mental health and wellbeing support for children, young people and families.

4. Be a great place to work.

5. Financial stability and sustainable growth.

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued

How are we going to achieve this?

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued

How our activities deliver public benefit

Who used and benefited from our services

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued

Our Programmes

Adult Services

Children’s, Young People and Families

Adult Services

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued

Key achievements from the year

Adult services deliveries plan for the next twelve months will be:

continued

Response really got me a life...

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued

Children, Young People and Families Services

Young People’s Supported Accommodation (“YPSA”) programme

Outreach Service

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued

Reframe

Getting Help Social Prescribers

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued

Key achievements from the year

The Children, Young People and Families’ service delivery plan for the next twelve months will be to:

Response Organisation

’ ’ - Trustees Report (Including Directors Report) Year ended 31 March 2024 continued

Peter's Story*

*Name and Image changed to protect privacy

Where we started:

What we did:

Where we are now:

The key challenges remain: High levels of Health and Safety compliance, including such areas as fire doors, alarms, and Portable Alliance Testing.