2023-03-31-accounts

Annual Report 2022-2023

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Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 ///

Contents

Chair and CEO statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Trustees’ report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Organisational objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Activities and achievements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Highlights during 2022-23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Getting people into work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Leading new initiatives that enable communities to thrive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Supporting people when they need help the most . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Strengthening communities and improving lives through volunteering . . 20 Building a thriving VCSE sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Financial review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Structure, governance and management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Future plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Reference and administrative details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

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/// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

Chair and CEO statement

Many activities of Voluntary Norfolk over the last two years were affected by the spread of Covid-19 which in turn meant that a large proportion of our work went into ensuring that our communities emerged stronger from the pandemic . This year our focus has been on working with people to strengthen communities and improve lives especially in the face of the well documented cost of living crisis . This is not to say that Norfolk has completely emerged from Covid – many still suffer from long Covid and over the last twelve months, our volunteers continued to dedicate their time to help with the vaccine programme, while the Wellness on Wheels initiative, which we were proud to be a part of, offered vaccines to parts of the communities that for a variety of reasons sometimes struggled to access healthcare . Rather than a return to more of a “normality” 2022-23 will be remembered as the year that inflation returned at levels not seen since the 1970s . Sharp price increases for basics like food, rent and heating, in particular, have had a major impact on the livelihoods of people across the county . Foodbanks throughout Norfolk reported “unprecedented” demands for their services and NCAN (with whom we work through the Empowering Communities partnership) declared a “cost of living emergency” in October 2022 . The work that Voluntary Norfolk and the various services and projects we deliver therefore continues to be vital .

We are proud of the successes we have had over the last twelve months as we’ve continued to work with people to strengthen communities and improve lives . Our employment and skills team has been effective in getting hundreds of people back into training or work (something that has gone under the radar somewhat because of less national focus on support for jobseekers) . Our Freshly Greated team have continued to lead new artistic and cultural initiatives in Great Yarmouth that enable communities to thrive . They have put on hundreds of exciting events over the year attracting tens of thousands of people from some of the most deprived areas of the town .

John Archibald Chair of Trustees

Alan Hopley Chief Executive Officer

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Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 ///

We developed our volunteer Covid response service into a community response service . Our volunteers, numbering several hundreds, have been instrumental in strengthening their communities, in particular by supporting clinical staff in healthcare settings – a service made all the more vital by the well documented recruitment and retention crisis in the NHS . Individual services have also been hard at work supporting thousands of people when they need help the most . We’re pleased to have been there for carers through our offer within the Carers Matter partnership or the Young Carers and Families Service, those struggling with loneliness and social isolation and receiving help from our Better Together life connectors, or those on nights out in Norwich and in need of a safe space or assistance from our SOS Bus Service . Finally, we remain committed to ensuring Norfolk has a thriving VCSE sector by helping recruit and train volunteers for other voluntary groups or by providing them with the tools, resources and small grants they require .

Internally Voluntary Norfolk has continued to evolve to reflect the changing needs of our service users and clients . This remains one of the key strengths of the organisation . Since 2019, the entire offer which Voluntary Norfolk makes to its VCSE members has been reviewed, developed and improved . This was to be achieved in part by shifting Voluntary Norfolk’s offer of support away from a more traditional membership fee-based model towards a more inclusive, responsive and flexible network model of support . This change of approach culminated

with a change to the constitution, which was overwhelmingly accepted by members confirming the introduction of a networkbased model which we believe will ensure a more flexible and attentive offer for VCSE organisations as well as wider reach across the sector .

Looking back on our last financial year, we are very proud of the positive difference Voluntary Norfolk has made serving our Norfolk communities . It has been a challenging year financially with impact of inflation, increasing demand for services and pressure on public sector budgets associated with the aforementioned cost-of-living crisis . We also invested internally in our staff and the systems and processes that support them in their work . Despite this, we were pleased to realise a small surplus . This is no mean feat given the many challenges we face as an organisation and as a country . Looking forward, as we move into 2023-24 we recognise the challenges that we faced this year are likely to remain . But our work remains essential for the welfare and wellbeing of the people of this county . We will continue to keep to our mission of building connected, resilient and compassionate communities where people work together to improve lives at the heart of all we do, looking for what Voluntary Norfolk can do to best support this, adapting creatively, and working closely with colleagues and partners in the VCSE and public sectors . We are pleased that by working with people up and down the county, we are improving lives and strengthening communities .

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/// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

Trustees’ re ort p

The Trustees present their annual report together with the audited financial statements of the company for the year 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 . The annual report serves the purposes of both a Trustees’ report and a Directors’ report under company law. The Trustees confirm that the annual report and financial statements of the charitable company comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the charitable company’s governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (effective 1 January 2019) .

Since the company qualifies as small under section 382 of the Companies Act 2006, the Strategic report required of medium and large companies under the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2013 has been omitted .

The Trustees confirm that they have had due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives. The activities in respect of furthering the charity purpose are described in our Objectives and Activities section below .

Organisational objectives

The vision, mission and aims for Voluntary Norfolk have been defined as follows:

Our vision

Connected, resilient and compassionate communities where people work together to improve lives .

Our mission

• To enable local people and communities to thrive and reach their potential .

• To deliver innovative solutions through effective partnerships .

• To ensure the voices of volunteers and voluntary organisations are represented .

Our aims

• Inspire and enable people to volunteer, take social action and make a difference .

• Deliver innovative and integrated services in partnership with voluntary, public and private sectors .

• Support the development and voice of community groups, charities and social enterprises .

• Achieve sustainable growth .

The last strategy review was in 2019 . The leadership team has done some initial work in reassessing our organisational objectives which is likely to be concluded in the 2023/24 financial year.

Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 /// 5

Activities and achievements

Over the last financial year Voluntary Norfolk has delivered a variety of projects and services in support of our purposes and aims . The following section details the projects and services that were operational during 2022-23 fall within one of five key areas of work for Voluntary Norfolk:

1. Getting people into work

2. Leading new initiatives that enable communities to thrive

3. Supporting people when they need help the most

4. Strengthening communities and improving lives through volunteering

5. Building a thriving voluntary, community and social enterprise sector

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/// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

Hi hli hts durin 2022-23 g g g

Successfully supported 45% of our clients back into work

86,000 people attended our Freshly Greated events in Great Yarmouth

Our life connectors spent 5,696 hours helping those struggling with loneliness

We raised enough funds to purchase approximately 400 slow cookers to those struggling with food and energy bills

Our young carers team supported 1,441 people including the young carers themselves, those who are being cared for and family members

We supported 574 adult carers

Our SOS Bus service helped 2,475 people on nights out in Norwich

Our volunteers dedicated over 15,000 hours of their time

Our non-emergency patient transport volunteers clocked up 454,248 miles taking people to medical appointments

Over 2,000 volunteers registered on our new volunteering platform Get InVOLved Norfolk

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Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 ///

Glossary

BTN – Better Together Norfolk, Voluntary Norfolk’s loneliness and social isolation service supporting those in Broadland, Great Yarmouth, Norwich and South Norfolk .

CAN – Community Action Norfolk is an organisation which engages with the VCSE sector in Norfolk . Voluntary Norfolk works with them as part of the Empowering Communities Partnership .

CMN – Carers Matter Norfolk is the service that supports adult carers in Norfolk, which Voluntary Norfolk is one of partners in .

CBR Business Solutions – Voluntary Norfolk’s trading arm that provides DBS, Payroll and HR services to organisations and companies around the country .

EECH – East Coast Community Healthcare is a social enterprise providing NHS community health and social care services across Norfolk and Suffolk, largely in the Waveney area around Lowestoft and Beccles .

ESF – The European Social Fund is a European Union funded scheme that helps millions of Europeans improve their lives by learning new skills and finding better jobs.

FUSE – FUSE supports social enterprises in Norwich . Voluntary Norfolk works with them as part of the Empowering Community Partnership .

NCAN – Norfolk Community Advice Network is a Norfolk-wide partnership of advice and community experts . Voluntary Norfolk works with them as part of the Empowering Communities Partnership .

NCF – Norfolk Community Foundation is a charity dedicated to building stronger communities and improving the lives of people in Norfolk . Voluntary Norfolk works alongside them as part of the Empowering Communities Partnership .

NCH&C – Norfolk Community Health and Care provides community health and care services across Norfolk .

NCVO – A membership community for charities, voluntary organisations and community groups in England, which Voluntary Norfolk is part of .

VCSE – Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (formerly known as the tertiary sector and can sometimes be referred to as VCFSE to include faith-based groups or organisations) .

YCM – Young Carers Matter, a partnership of organisations led by Voluntary Norfolk to identify and support young carers around Norfolk .

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/// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

Getting people into work

Voluntary Norfolk’s Employment and Skills team continued to work across a number of projects to deliver professional support and impartial advice to anyone aged 16 or over, across Norfolk regardless of the length of time they were unemployed . Our advisors helped clients develop their skills, search for jobs and overcome the barriers that prevented them from finding employment.

got almost 21% of our clients into training and more remarkably over 45% into employment shows the effectiveness of our service, especially when compared to the multi-billion pound Restart programme launched by the government which in December 2022 reported that it had got just 22% of participants into the “first earnings” stage of employment and just under 10% into a successful “job outcome” .

In the last year, our employment and skills team have worked with 663 clients in total . Of those they successfully got 302 into work and a further 138 into training . The fact that we

Compared to last year the number of clients we saw was broadly similarly (663 compared to 704), which demonstrates the continued need for the service, even at a time when nationally

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Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 ///

there is a large number of job vacancies . The labour shortages which have followed the pandemic have meant that the team has focused its efforts on getting people back to work rather than into training . This explains why the number of our clients moving into work has almost doubled, while the number of people accessing training compared to last year has dropped quite significantly.

Given the end of the ESF funding during 2023, which fund our Employment and Skills work, the projects as they are constituted will come to an end this year but we are actively working with statutory and voluntary sector partners to ensure that we can continue to support clients into employment .

Robert’s story

Robert explains why he sought support from Voluntary Norfolk’s employment and skills team and how the team helped him get back into work:

“ I enrolled as I needed guidance moving back into working. Having tried other services before for support, I was keen to give this one a go. My mental health was struggling and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I needed motivation and confidence to get me on the right path. The project and my coach helped me realise what I have to offer to people – my photography.

“ Now I’m building my own business. The project was tailored to what I needed and without the coaching I received I wouldn’t have pursued my photography into a career – it would have stayed as a hobby. I have now gone self-employed and [am the] owner of my own business. This has given me a massive confidence boost as I now realise the talents I have to offer. ”

Our service successfully helped over 45% of our clients into employment

Our team in the streets of King’s Lynn

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/// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

Leading new initiatives that enable communities to thrive

Voluntary Norfolk has a strong tradition of building and supporting communities across Norfolk since we started as an organisation over 50 years ago . Today we are seeking to enable communities in Great Yarmouth to come together and thrive through the medium of arts and culture as delivered by Freshly Greated .

Voluntary Norfolk is the lead partner in the Freshly Greated project which seeks to build and improve the community arts offer in Great Yarmouth . The team works in three of the most deprived neighbourhoods of the borough: Cobholm and Southtown (Great Yarmouth), Nelson Ward and the Barrack Estate (Great Yarmouth) and the Magdalen Estate (Gorleston) . The aim is that when the

funding for this project ends, it will have had a lasting impact because of the work it has done getting the community engaged and local volunteers involved . As a result, each of these neighbourhoods have volunteers that have come forward to work with the team on the project . We also have a “young producer” group for people across the area for fourteen to eighteen-year-olds .

2022-23 was the first full year since the pandemic that in person, mass participation events occurred . In total Freshly Greated hosted over 86 different types of events/ workshops/training sessions/etc . Although this was slightly down from last year (where we put

Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 /// 11

on 95), the audiences reached were massively up . This year we estimate that over 86,000 people came to or saw our events compared to 8,679 last year (It is worth noting that for some of last year, lockdown regulations were still in force and the team only made the transition to restart mass participation events in summer 2021) .

Some of the highlights in the last twelve months have been the:

• 17 Community Makers Sessions attracting 8791 participants

• 25 Music gigs and workshops for 14-18 year olds attracting 3638 people

• 7 Large Community Festivals and Events attended by over 72,000 people

• 7 training sessions in which 226 artists participated

Even more encouraging in terms of enabling the communities to thrive are the number of volunteers who have come forward as well as the groups of “community producers” . The Freshly Greated team hold monthly meetings with these community producers to discuss ideas and provide updates on activity . The number of community producers has approximately doubled with more than 100 people getting involved with the project . Several producers have received additional training and go and see opportunities to continue to develop their experience and skills . There have been 332 times people have volunteered their time – contributing 1775hours in total over the last year .

Luca’s story

“

My son has attended all Play Produce Promote sessions and the positive outcomes of this are definitely measurable. He has had the invaluable opportunity of extending his skills in a working music venue with experienced professionals who have been patient, friendly and approachable.

My son has Autistic Spectrum Disorder which can make it extremely difficult for him to access new experiences and meeting new people without it causing him stress and anxiety. Due to the inclusive and welcoming approach of the project he has absolutely loved every second and his confidence and skill set have grown significantly.

As a result of attending he has gained contacts within the local music scene which has led to him working on community events behind the sound desk, both paid and voluntary. It also gave him the boost he needed to apply to uni to study music production (Emma, parent of Lucas aged 18 (Play, Produce, Promote participant), Gorleston. ”

Over 86,000 people attended Freshly Greated events

One of Freshly Greated’s community events

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Supporting people when they need help the most

Voluntary Norfolk leads a number of projects and supports a variety of support services – everything from assisting carers, young carers and their families to offering help to those struggling with loneliness and social isolation . Our work is designed to ensure that people across Norfolk get support when they need help the most .

Better Together

Our Better Together Norfolk service continues to play a key role in working in partnership to alleviate loneliness and social isolation across our commissioned areas of delivery (Norwich, South Norfolk, Broadland and Great Yarmouth) .

The service seeks to reduce barriers causing loneliness, offer new opportunities for social interaction, deliver one-to-one assessments, coaching interventions and support to individuals, design and deliver community-led initiatives .

The importance of the service has been demonstrated by the fact that in 2022-23 there has been an increase in both the number of referrals we have received and the number of hours of peer support we have provided Over the last year, Better Together Norfolk has accepted 511 new referrals (up from 488 last year) . Typically, the Better Together life connectors engaged with clients for about fourto-seven months . In addition to the Support of

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Life Connectors we also deliver peer support helping those with lived experience shape and deliver groups . Over the last year this amounted to 5,696 hours of peer support . This is a considerable increase from last year during which time the team conducted 3,423 hours of peer support for individuals suffering from social isolation or loneliness .

We have run activities and campaigns across Norfolk to bring people together in order to overcome social isolation . Our “Chatty Chairs” and “Kindness postboxes” proved particular highlights having been installed in supermarkets and cafes around Norfolk .

Inflation returned to blight Britain in 2022-23, exacerbated by rapidly rising food and energy bills . With these rising costs hitting everyone, our attention turned to those most in need, namely those facing with the stark choice of heating or eating . Many of our clients were struggling to make ends meet, and with money issues comes mental health challenges and in increase in social isolation . A grant from UK Power Networks meant we were able to give advice, hints and tips to clients about ways to save money on their fuel bills and we were able to help several hundred this way . We also launched a successful slow cooker appeal, raising an impressive £11,230 which will allow approximately 400 slow cookers to be delivered to some of those most in need across Norfolk A slow cooker has several benefits, such as hands-off cooking, conservation of energy, and

Our team conducted

5,696 hours of peer support for individuals suffering from social isolation or loneliness

Our client Jennifer with a slow cooker purchased with money raised through our slow cooker appeal.

bringing out the flavour in most foods. One of our clients Jennifer said the following .

• “ I’ve been living off sandwiches after the pandemic, I was never taught to cook as a child, and was struggling to afford to turn the oven on to make hot meals. It was such a cold winter, and my slow cooker has been a life saver. I’ve managed to make stews, curries and even jacket potatoes. Even my canned stuff from the food bank can we warmed up in there. ”

Alongside providing slow cookers we were able to deliver a series of cooking classes . Which not only gave the community practical support with creating healthy and affordable meals . It gave individuals a sense of belonging . At the end of each session the whole group sit together to enjoy their meal as a team . It was observed the confidence in the participants growing week by

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/// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

Carers Matter Norfolk

week, and their ease at interacting with each other. One client commented:

• “ I actually thought I was going to just learn to cook, but I learnt how to make friends and talk to people. We’ve said about all having to meet up to eat together when the course finishes. ”

It has been particularly rewarding to see how adaptable the service was in responding to the changing needs of our clients over the last twelve months .

Voluntary Norfolk is a delivery partner in the Carers Matter Norfolk (CMN) service, delivering statutory Carers Assessments and support to adult unpaid carers throughout Norfolk on behalf of Norfolk County Council .

Carers Matters Norfolk (adults), through a team of Family Carer Practitioners, supports carers to maintain their caring role through support to access health and wellbeing funds, grants, counselling services, breaks and signposting, including to others projects Voluntary Norfolk provides . This is a vital role for many carers who may be feeling lonely, vulnerable, and isolated .

Some feedback from one of the grant recipients demonstrates how useful they are:

A student’s story

One person became a Better Together client following a meeting at the Job Centre . Due to health problems, she could not continue with her studies . This impacted her selfesteem and confidence. As a result, she lost regular contact with her fellow students .

After a second meeting, she was introduced to the Art Group that Better Together set up for clients . There, she made friends and soon became a regular attendee . At a later meeting, the client described how she was nervous going to the group for the first time but was so pleased she had .

She said it had given her the confidence to socialise again and consequently had gone to a student reunion she would previously avoided . She was now ‘doing more things’ and said how she was now ‘so much happier’ .

• “ A big thank you for the vouchers. They were a great help, and a big thank you also for the added grant application on our behalf for cost of living, thank you for all your help. I cannot thank you enough for what you are doing for us. Thank you again. ”

Additional support has been available via a short-term project funded by North Norfolk District Council, specifically to help reduce the impact of mental health and isolation amongst carers in the north of the county .

Throughout the year, 625 referrals were made to the CMN Adults Community Team from the Advice Line . Of these, 574 assessments were carried out, which looked at carers’ individual needs across health, wellbeing, finance, employment were undertaken, with personalised action plans for support drawn up and shared with the carers .

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Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 ///

Support included:

• 231 Health & Wellbeing payments for items such as counselling, clothing, spa days, theatre trips, white goods – to make the caring journey more manageable .

• 271 referrals for Carers’ Breaks with

• 158 individuals benefitting from short breaks from the caring role .

• 23 received a Digital Inclusion tablet to enable them to access the Internet . 31 Digital Volunteer requests whereby volunteers provided advice and assistance to ensure people were able to use the tablets .

• 30 Step Down volunteers assigned to

Carer’s story

  - _“ I just want to say a huge big thank you for your care and support over the time I was caring for grandad. You were so patient and kind. You gave me time and I built trust with you. You went out of your way to help us as a family and especially me. You went above and beyond and made sure I understood everything. The world is a tough place at times but you made a ray of sunshine a light when I needed it most. ”_

• carers where they felt they would

• benefit from companionship to attend a group .

• New Peer to Peer support introduced whereby individual carers matched with

• others who have shared experience

Volunteer John showing a carer how to use a tablet

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Young Carers Matter

The Young Carers & Families team seeks to support Young Carers and remove or reduce some of the caring needs from the young carer, whilst giving these children and young people the space to be a young person, enjoy their childhood, build positive relationships and feel less isolated .

We work across Norfolk with local partners whose strength is knowing the area they work in, the schools, local groups and their community . The mix of Youth Workers and Young Carer Support Workers from our partners work closely with our team of Family Support Workers to ensure the family has proper wrap around support where needed, to help remove or reduce any inappropriate or excessive caring from that young person .

Young Carers have continued to benefit from 1:1 support, being able to take part in groups, positive activities and meeting other Young Carers . Young Carers consistently tell us that knowing there is an adult they trust, who can provide that listening and support, helps them manage life’s challenges, whether caring related or not .

Our team of Family Support Workers, work in a whole system approach, drawing on the strengths that lie within the family and across their community . Our team works in the home with the family co-producing with them action plans which help support the family to overcome challenges & barriers and build their resilience . Family needs have increased alongside waiting times for NHS and Social Care support and these have needed more intensive, specialist support from our team to keep them safe and access the assessments for the ongoing help & support needed . We’ve been able to provide supermarket vouchers to some of our most vulnerable and disadvantaged

Our team supported 1,441 young carers and members of their families

families this year and supported others to access foodbanks as the cost-of-living crisis has squeezed their income exponentially, while providing assistance to look at their finances & debt .

Meeting with families and cared for persons highlights the loneliness disability and ill health can bring; we support these families to access other services within Voluntary Norfolk such as Better Together Norfolk to root them back into their community networks, building friendships along with their confidence and self-esteem.

Over the last year, the service has directly and indirectly supported 1,441 Young Carers, those who are being cared for and family members . Of these we identified 736 new Young Carers accessing the service, with an increase in early identification in the younger age group of 5 – 9 years . More families caring for someone with a physical disability have reached out to

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Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 ///

the service with a 40% increase in this group, and a 14% increase in Young Carers caring for someone with a mental health difficulty. Although figures are still extremely low, we have seen a 106% increase in Young Carers coming into the service supporting someone with a substance misuse and mental health difficulty.

One of the young carers we support was able to buy a bicycle thanks to a grant we applied for

A young carer’s story

Client X is a Young Carer, aged 17 who cares for her Stepfather and siblings whilst studying at Sixth Form . Client X had been referred previously for Young Carer support but had not engaged with the service . We asked one of our Family Support Workers to make contact to build a relationship with her and overcome barriers .

When the Family Support Worker met with the Young Carer, she had no thoughts or hopes for the future . Her Grandmother was dying (and passed shortly after she started support) and she was also breaking up with her long-term boyfriend . We provided emotional support as she experienced these two major life changes .

We worked with Client X looking at key practical things which would help her amongst them negotiating with the Housing Association for urgent repairs to be made to her house after severe flood damage from a burst pipe. Client X has now turned 18 and has been supported to access a savings account which she will use to buy a car, she has passed her theory test and

has her practical booked for June . She has also found a supportive boyfriend of her own age .

Client X has been able to engage with looking at Higher Education and has been accepted by all three of her university choices, she is hoping to not go too far away in case her family need her .

Client X had previously not engaged with the Young Carers services but because we built up a relationship with her and with our encouragement has now engaged with a Young Carer Worker and is getting the 1:1 support she needs .

The Young Carer has grown in confidence in her personal life . She has had the opportunity to pass some of the responsibility and pressure of dealing with adult situations on behalf of her family and together we have worked through them . She is now excited to attend University and to be able to drive which will allow her some distance from family life and the chance to develop as her own person but will also mean she is close enough to return home if her caring responsibilities require her to .

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SOS Bus

Voluntary Norfolk has continued to run the SOS Bus service which looks after the safety, health and well-being of people visiting Norwich’s city centre on Friday and Saturday nights . The service aims to reduce unnecessary Accident and Emergency visits, ambulance call outs and to free up police officer time, by offering a safe space with medical cover for anyone in emotional or physical distress . It also provides other help, such as free phone charging, bottled water, flip flops, advice. In total this year, the SOS Bus service helped over 2475 people .

In 2022-2023 the service had 38 volunteers (a considerable increase from the 25 the service had last year) . There are three core volunteer roles on shift: One Shift Coordinator, three Shift Support and a Support Vehicle Driver alongside contracted paramedic, first aider and security. Over the course of the year volunteers gave 2238 hours of their time for shifts (up from 1708 hours in 2021-22), 73 hours to clean and maintain the vehicle and 32 hours promoting the service at events .

A total of 73 shifts were run (up from 61 shifts last year) . 2091 people were helped through the provision of bottled water, phone charging, flip flops, condoms, etc. and a further 384 individuals were cared for on the bus .

The importance of the service and impact that it had supporting the emergency services is demonstrated by the fact that 27 Accident and Emergency visits and 177 ambulance callouts were prevented . It is estimated that the service saved approximately £123,000 for the ambulance service . Given the pressures that the ambulance service has faced this financial year in terms of response times, this service is arguably more vital than it ever has been . Furthermore, the team spent over 54 hours looking after clients brought to the service by the police, who they would otherwise have had to stay with, thus freeing up operational capacity for the Norfolk Constabulary at some of their busiest times .

A weekend story

A husband and wife were brought to the bus by the Police . The husband had tripped up the kerb crossing the road and fell down on the pavement, cutting his eyebrow and injuring his shoulder . The Emergency First Responder assessed him first as the paramedic was busy with another client at that time . Once he was seen by the paramedic, it turned out that he had dislocated his shoulder . To avoid an ambulance call out, the SOS Bus Support Vehicle took him and his wife up to A&E for further treatment . The SOS Bus had prevented yet another ambulance call-out by providing initial treatment and transport to A&E .

It is estimated that the SOS Bus saved approximately £123,000

for the ambulance service

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Strengthening communities and improving lives through volunteering

As Britain emerged from the pandemic the national emphasis on mass volunteering dissipated as the vaccine centres closed or were relocated back into surgeries . Indeed the pandemic had a noticeable impact on volunteering trends across Britain with the numbers down in particular the regular, formal type of volunteering . According to the NCVO, formal volunteering levels fell from 23% of adults who volunteered at least once a month in 2019-20 to 17% in 2020-21 . For those who volunteered at least once a year, this also fell from 37% to 30% . In this context the work of Voluntary Norfolk’s volunteers proved invaluable in continuing to strengthen communities and improve lives .

Community Response Service (CRS)

This year has been a period of significant change for this service . Funding for the Covid Response ended this year and we received some funding to transition the service into a community response service that could provide volunteer support to improve lives and build communities . The community response service, completed this pivot and is now assisting people in the community to achieve healthy outcomes by helping them to maintain their independence either following discharge from hospital,

or completing low-level support activities, such as: Light household chores, assistance to appointments, food shopping, medication collection and support to complete personal administration to avoid hospital admission altogether . Over the last 12 months our

volunteers provided a total of over 3,400 hours of support and have assisted 212 clients .

Previously the focus had been on supporting the vaccination drives . Nevertheless this year,

20 /// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

over 2,000 volunteer hours continued to be dedicated to supporting the COVID vaccination effort .

CRS also provides loneliness and isolation support, offering both telephone and in-person befriending, and supporting people for up to 12 weeks . Over the last year 94 volunteers supported these efforts . Feedback received shows that many befriending matches go on to become long-lasting friendships .

At the end of the financial year, the funding for this service was integrated into a wider Community Crisis and Hospital Discharge Support Service, which Voluntary Norfolk will be a partner in delivering going forward .

Our Community Response Volunteers gave over 3,400 hours

Health and Wellbeing Service (H&W)

The health and wellbeing service was set up to support people in the community to live healthier and more independent lives by supporting them with low-level activities and access to the community .

Over the last year our volunteers spent 537 hours supporting 105 clients . At the end of the financial year, the funding for this service was integrated into a wider Community Crisis and Hospital Discharge Support Service, which Voluntary Norfolk will be a partner in delivering going forward .

East Coast Community Healthcare CIC

Voluntary Norfolk’s partnership with East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH) saw our volunteers continue to help improve the patient experience and support healthcare professionals in the East Coast area, particularly Beccles and Lowestoft areas .

37 active volunteers have provided 830 hours of support across all roles, from visiting patients in Beccles hospital to provide companionship through to providing Health and Wellbeing support to service users in their local community . Even though this is down from last year when we delivered 911 .25 hours, which given the national picture is to be expected, it is still considerably up from 2020-21 where our volunteers donated 576 hours supporting staff and patients .

Beccles hospital

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Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 ///

We have been working hard to develop new roles, particularly working with service users in the community . The very new Health and Wellbeing role started in the last quarter and so far has had 15 people referred in to it for a wide variety of support, from someone to go for a walk with to help get them moving, to help accessing local community groups and building confidence and independence.

Lyndsey’s Story

“ My main job was to spend time socialising with patients on the ward. Games are available but the majority of patients preferred to just talk. I also helped out with things like collecting extra items such as blankets for patients and some filing.

Healthcare assistants and nurses don’t always have time to sit with patients and talk as they are so busy. I think they appreciate knowing patients are able to have a chat with somebody and offer some extra support as many patients are feeling upset and vulnerable when in hospital.

James Paget It has been a great experience and I University Hospital have learnt lots from watching how the HCAs and nurses work. It’s boosted my confidence socially. I’ve enjoyed giving Discharge Welfare something back and I feel a sense of Checks pride that I have been able to help some of the patients through a difficult time. ”

James Paget University Hospital Discharge Welfare Checks

We have made calls to over 1,200 patients since the service started last August, checking in on wellbeing since they had been discharged from JPUH . We’ve been able to refer on to the Community Response service when patients had a short-term need that a volunteer could address, such as medication pick-ups or help with basic household tasks, and have also referred nearly 200 patients on to Health Connectors for more complex or longer term needs, helping to prevent crisis and hospital readmission .

ERS Medical Transport

The ERS medical volunteers, run by Voluntary Norfolk, continued to provide a professional high-quality patient transport across the county and further afield. Our volunteer drivers use their own cars to provide door to door transport to essential, non-emergency medical appointments, mostly within East Anglia . This reduces the cost to the health service, as otherwise these patients would have had to travel by taxi or even by ambulance .

At the end of the 2022-23 financial year, Voluntary Norfolk had 43 active volunteer drivers . (This number of active drivers varies throughout the year and tends to be lower in the months before the new tax year, as drivers have often reached the 10,000 mile limit for the HMRC higher travel expenses payment . This was particularly the case this year given the high motoring costs in general) . This compared to 39 active drivers at the end of the previous financial year.

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/// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

Throughout the year, 454,248 miles were driven (down from 556,947 miles the previous year), completing a total of 11867 journeys (compared to 11,681 journeys in 2021/22), and ensuring that people who needed to travel to and from the hospital or a medical appointment were able to do so . The number of miles covered this year was down in part because this financial year our volunteers started taking more than one patient at a time in their cars following the removal of Covid restrictions .

Keith’s story

• “ Having been a patient and a volunteer I have seen this from both sides. Having volunteer drivers helps to spread the workload across the NHS as I doubt that all the patients, who qualify for transport, would have been able to benefit from, free, door to door transportation. Many of the patients are amazed at what we offer and could not see how they would have managed without us.

Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust

The NCH&C Volunteer Service, delivered by Voluntary Norfolk, employs a team of staff who recruit, train and manage volunteers to provide support in clinical and administrative settings in community hospitals and clinics across Norfolk . At the end of the 2022-23 financial year, our service had 136 registered volunteers – this was down from 168 at the end of the previous financial year largely due to the end of the Covid 19 Vaccination programme which had drawn in a number of shorter-term additional volunteers . Despite the overall drop in numbers, volunteers contributed an increased amount of their time across a wider range of roles logging a total of 6317 hours across 53 different volunteer roles .

The roles our NCH&C volunteers undertook included:

• Providing companionship to inpatients

• Supporting patients in activity and therapy groups

• Supporting with simple, practical tasks

I absolutely would recommend volunteering. It gets you out of the house, gets you meeting other people, provides an amazing service and gives me great satisfaction when I realise that I have helped someone. What more could I ask for? ”

• on wards, such as lunch menus, cleaning touch points, stocking up everyday items

• Assisting patients at mealtimes, following successful completion of the appropriate training

• Meeting and greeting patients arriving for clinics and giving directions

• Assisting with basic administrative tasks such as the collation of patient packs (see Rhianna’s story below)

• Telephoning patients to collect vital feedback on their experiences

• Helping to tidy gardens on NCH&C sites, through basic gardening tasks

• Supporting reception teams with checkin and welcome processes

• Tidying stockrooms, and putting new stock away

• Helping new overseas nurses with orientation into the local area

Volunteer driver Keith

Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 /// 23

The apparently straightforward nature of many of our volunteer roles belies the positive impact that they make . Our Meet & Greet Volunteer role is one example – our volunteers perform a valuable service in providing a warm welcome to outpatients arriving for clinic appointments, ensuring that they are directed (or even escorted) to the appropriate areas and that they are able to check in for their appointment . The fact that the vast majority of patients can be helped in this way by our volunteers means that the reception staff are able to focus on those patients with more complex enquiries as well as focusing on the wide range of other tasks that they are responsible for .

Voluntary Norfolk’s contract to deliver the NCH&C Volunteer Service was this year extended an illustration of how the service is highly regarded as an integral part of the Trust, making a vital contribution to improving patient experience and helping staff to deliver outstanding outcomes .

Rhianna’s story

Rhianna is an NCH&C volunteer who last autumn got involved at the St James Clinic in West Norfolk .

She said:

“ Volunteering allows me to meet with people outside of my family unit, as well as keeping me in a stable weekly routine which helps to maintain my mental and physical health. ”

Her efforts have impressed her colleagues . Sophie, who acts as Rhianna’s Volunteer Champion, supporting her during her volunteering sessions, said:

“ Having Rhianna at St James has been lovely, and she has fitted in

Digital Inclusion

In November 2022, our digital inclusion service came to an end . The service was funded by Norwich City Council and between 1st April and 11th November, we continued to recruit, train and support volunteers to provide digital support to Norwich residents . 20 Digital Inclusion volunteers provided digital skills support to over 60 new learners, and many returning learners at Digital Hubs, at the learners’ own homes and over the phone .

quickly. Rhianna does wonderful work with helping to prepare leaflets for the patient packs which our nurses take to patients in the community. ”

This sort of work allows clinical staff to spend more time seeing to patients .

Rhianna said:

• “ I would recommend volunteering at NCH&C (the Norfolk Community Health and Care (NCHC) NHS Trust) to anyone because the wonderful staff and other volunteers have made the experience so great for me! ”

Rhianna preparing patient packs at the St James Clinic

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/// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

Building a thriving VCSE sector

A core aspect of Voluntary Norfolk’s work is supporting and enabling the wider VCSE sector in Norfolk to thrive. This work is carried out by our Communities team. They have three key purposes:

• Providing and facilitating support to VCSE groups and organisations in Norfolk

• Advocating for and supporting the diversity of VCSE voices across the sector and enabling them to be heard by key audiences and stakeholders

• Promoting and enabling volunteering

Within the Communities team there are a number of different work strands:

Empowering Communities

In October 2021 the Empowering Communities Partnership (ECP) was established to connect, collaborate and champion the VCSE sector so it can make an increasingly significant contribution to the quality of life of Norfolk residents . Led by Voluntary Norfolk (alongside CAN and the NCF supported by NCAN and FUSE

Norwich), this partnership covers the whole of Norfolk and represents a rich body of contacts, experience, local and specialist knowledge built up over many years . Given the many challenges that VCSE organisations are having to deal with – a reduction in donations and income, rising costs, increasing demand for many services, a decreasing pool of volunteers, difficulties in recruiting paid staff – this integrated and joinedup approach continues to be vital for providing the most effective and easy-to-access support .

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Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 ///

Voluntary Norfolk Network

Voluntary Norfolk has recognised that inclusive and responsive networks, that harness expertise from across this diverse sector, are the most effective way of helping organisations thrive . Being part of the Network enables organisations and groups to strengthen relationships with other VCSEs and supports partnership development while enabling more collaboration and less competition . Regular newsletters and Padlets (online notice boards) enable members to access a wide range of information, as well as having opportunities to network and attend events . At the end of this financial year the total of network members had grown from 219 to 290 organisations . The feedback has shown the impact that the scheme has had:

• “ Just wanted to say what an amazing range of events and content in this network update – it all looks really exciting and great to see some different perspectives in there too, moving beyond the usual topics ”

• “ Was so good to network and share experiences with peers IN PERSON!! Good conversations and ideas ”

• “ So much more beneficial than “learn from me” PowerPoint meetings ”

• “ How useful it is to be active in networks and learn from each other ”

Our Network grew from 219 to

290 organisations

Good Practice and Networking Events

Since April 2022 a key part of our support offer centres on Good Practice and networking events, both online and face-to-face . Over the last year, Voluntary Norfolk put on 18 such events which were attended by 390 people . This was considerably up from last year when we put on 12 events attended by 153 people . The events are designed to bring together local expertise around key themes and enable groups and organisations to share approaches, build knowledge and confidence and develop relationships . The feedback that we received from individuals and groups who have attended the sessions has been overwhelmingly positive:

• “ I will share the knowledge with my fellow Trustees and plan a strategy for Access and Inclusion going forward. Very helpful advice and suggestions during the breakout room period which I will also be following up. ”

• “ Really good mix of speakers and a chance to link up with other organisations. ”

• “ The event was very informative and great to hear from a range of speakers in different locations and different sized organisations. ”

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/// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

• “ Information from this session will allow me to better engage with volunteers and aid their own development ”

• “ I hope to use inspiration from other projects to improve the experience of volunteers in our organisation & create a more structured programme to meet volunteer needs. I will also use the frameworks from Helen’s report to improve volunteer experience and a culture of wellbeing at work. ”

encourage their staff to volunteer during work hours (up to an agreed maximum) . The feedback from users has been extremely positive:

• “ I’ve just given the new Get InVOLved website a go and wanted to let you know that I’m really impressed by it. It’s a huge step up from the last site, so easy to use and search for roles, I’ve been tempted by a couple myself! ”

• “ I’d like to say the site looks great and thanks for creating this for us. ”

• “ I’ve definitely noticed that we’ve been getting a lot more applications and interest from VN since its launch. ”

Our Good Practice and networking events were attended by 390 people

• “ So far we’ve had 21 volunteers express an interest in our roles via the new portal, most of which have gone on to volunteer with us. ”

Get InVOLved Norfolk

One of the most exciting new developments this year was the launch of our new volunteering portal for VCSE organisations and volunteers which went live in July 2022 . Since then, 49,600 unique visitors used the site in the first 10 months – an average of 5,000 visits per month . Volunteers registered on the portal has increased to 2,004 (in comparison with 825 on the previous portal in March 2022) and 218 organisations have posted 734 opportunities . These have been located across Norfolk . The design of the new portal is much more intuitive and user-friendly, with filters to aid searches by area, activity and social objectives, amongst others . The site includes pages for trustees, young volunteers and next year a greater emphasis will be placed on the Employer Supported Volunteering offer, where employers

49,600 users visited our new volunteering portal Get InVOLved Norfolk

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Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 ///

Norfolk Volunteer Passport

The Norfolk Volunteer Passport provides volunteers with the knowledge and skills to help them find new roles more quickly and to move more easily between volunteering roles, especially within short term roles that urgently require extra volunteering capacity . During the last year, there were six 6- session online training programmes and one face-toface programme held at Wensum Lodge in Norwich . They were delivered for Voluntary Norfolk by Norfolk Adult Learning . In the last year, 60 volunteers have completed the course and engaged in volunteering . This compared to 38 people who completed the course last year . Some feedback shows how appreciated the volunteers have been of the training provided:

“ I feel confident now undertaking a voluntary role as I feel I have learned exactly what boundaries I have and where I can go to if I need help. I feel all of the areas we covered are exactly what I need to prepare me for working in this sector. ”

“ This course boosted my confidence in my own value in volunteering and in general conversation with other adults. ”

Steve’s story

Steve Harris decided that he wanted to do something different with his life and so earlier this year, he enrolled on the Norfolk Volunteer Passport . This passport scheme, run by Voluntary Norfolk, gives people a general understanding of what volunteering entails and links individuals with organisations that have the most pressing need for volunteers .

Steve explained:

“ It’s that perfect stepping-stone between not working and working. ”

Taking part in the programme gave Steve a renewed confidence and desire to find a role that really helped people. He continued:

“ The volunteer application form and person specification allowed me to work out where I would be best placed and allowed me to go straight into volunteering rather than filling out so many different application forms and attend various interviews. ”

After completing the scheme, he started volunteering with St Edmunds Society (a Norwich-based charity, offering vocational training and employability skills training to young people aged 16-18 who find mainstream education challenging) and at MensCraft (A Norfolk charity focusing exclusively on the health and wellbeing of men) .

This year, Steve successfully applied for a paid role with Better Together (Voluntary Norfolk’s service that seeks to tackle loneliness and social isolation) and is now a Life Connector supporting people in Norwich . The Volunteer Passport proved to be that stepping-stone that changed Steve’s career path . It is ideal for people who have volunteered before as well as those new to volunteering .

Thanks to the Volunteer Passport, Steve regained the confidence to find roles that help people

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/// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

Other activities

During the year Voluntary Norfolk led on the development of the first volunteering vision for Norfolk, commissioned by Norfolk County Council . The intention was to carry out research into volunteering trends in the county and explore why numbers of volunteers have fallen in recent years, and to highlight organisations that have made effective adaptations to their working practices in order to recruit and retain volunteers .

Momentum

Through its Momentum team, Voluntary Norfolk has continued to provide specialist support to voluntary and community organisations working with children and young people to help them run high quality, safe and inclusive services. Momentum does this by:

• Connecting, training and advocating for youth groups in its Youth Group Network

• Youth work training

• Small grants

This was added to through a short-term research project in Great Yarmouth, funded by Norfolk Community Foundation’s Know Your Neighbourhood fund .

Through these two initiatives almost 500 people contributed through online surveys, discussion groups and one-to-one interviews . A discussion paper drawing together initial findings was circulated to strategic partners and the VCSE sector for further input . The Vision for Volunteering in Norfolk is due to be published in September 2023 .

Voluntary Norfolk also secured additional funding during the year from NAVCA to develop infrastructure support for local organisations that support and help refugees and asylum seekers arriving from Ukraine and other countries .

• Norfolk Youth Awards

• The Voluntary Sector Forum (Children, Young People and Families

Momentum’s Youth Work Network had existed since 2018 as a space for youth workers to meet on a quarterly basis to share good practice, and it was re-shaped in 2020 to become an online monthly catch-up for youth workers during the covid-19 pandemic . Over the last year, we have restarted in person meetings . These attracted a total of 58 people from 35 organisations . Six training sessions were put on covering topics like Gambling Addiction Awareness and DBS training . 111 training places were taken up over the course of the year .

Difficulties have sadly continued with our youth work training offer for a variety of reasons, including funding issues and a lack of qualified trainers . Nevertheless, seven learners achieved their accreditation in youth work with six gaining the full Level 2 Award . A decision has been made for Momentum to cease offering accredited courses . Existing learners will be supported until the end of 2023 to ensure they have adequate time to submit work for assessment .

Our small grants programme continued in 2022-23 thanks to funding of £15,000 from Norfolk Children’s Services to support youth work in Norfolk . A hugely successful element of the Momentum grants and funding process is that all grant applications are assessed by

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Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 ///

Young Commissioners from the Youth Advisory Boards operating in each district area . They have a good understanding of what is needed in their area . A total of £10,259 .93 was spent over the 13 successful grant applications and Momentum training this year. One of the beneficiaries this year was St Georges Theatre in Great Yarmouth, which used their grant of £750 towards their production of the popular musical ‘We Will Rock You’, at Easter 2022 .

Momentum has run Norfolk Youth Awards since 2011 . The new FLOURISH framework, launched in the summer of 2022, provided an opportunity to align the Youth Awards with other initiatives for young people, leading to increased recognition for the Awards . This helped us to address a common issue raised about the Youth Awards, which is that young people often struggle with setting goals for themselves without additional guidance .

Momentum has continued to host the Voluntary Sector Forum (Children, Young People and Families) for voluntary community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations that provide services to children, young people and their families in Norfolk . The Forum met four times this year to provide a means for two-way engagement between the VCSE and statutory partners and a space for members to raise key issues that impact on our sector and those we represent .

St George’s Theatre was able to run a production of ‘We Will Rock You’ thanks to a grant from Momentum

30 /// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

CBR Business Solutions: Professional Support Services for Charities, Social Enterprises and Businesses

CBR Business Solutions is the trading arm of Voluntary Norfolk, with operating profits providing an important source of unrestricted income .

We provide essential HR support, DBS checks, Payroll and Auto Enrolment services to around 500 organisations across England and Wales . Our clients range from small local charities to large SMEs, and we are proud to deliver highquality services through our experienced and knowledgeable team .

During the last year we have undergone a brand refresh, a review of our processes to identify changes required to enhance our referral procedure and actively sought feedback from a number of clients to ensure our service is meeting expectations .

DBS Checks

We offer both online and paper-based DBS Disclosure applications for our clients, ensuring a fast and secure process . We also provide an ‘applicant verification service’ performed at the Post Office for eDBS clients and are looking to provide digital identity checks as this becomes available . This year we have introduced free DBS training workshops in partnership with the Disclosure and Barring Service to existing clients, with the plan to extend this offer to anyone with responsibility for DBS checks .

Payroll Service

We take care of the payroll needs of our clients, who choose to outsource this function due to capacity, lack of in-house skills or relevant software . Every month, we pay the salaries to 900 payees in 75 discreet customer payrolls, taking into account individual pension requirements, adjustments, statutory payments, tax codes, deductions, tax and National Insurance . We also process and send relevant documentation for clients such as payslips, pension letters, P45s and P60s, returns to HRMC and schedules for pension providers .

HR Consultancy

Our Chartered MCIPD HR Consultants provide a flexible, professional HR service on all aspects of HR management . Whether they need help with on-boarding, contracts of employment, policies and procedures, training and coaching, performance management, restructures, ill health and capability, disciplinary and grievance processes, consultations or redundancies, our qualified consultants can assist. We also act as Investigating Officers in case of complex disciplinary and grievance investigations .

Jobs Board

We also support our clients and other organisations by advertising job vacancies on our Jobs Board and Archant’s EDP online job search portal, Jobs24 . This helps them reach a wider pool of potential candidates and find the best talent for their roles .

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Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 ///

Financial review

The financial performance of the organisation has remained strong .

The statement of Financial Activities for the year is set out on Page 40 . During the year, the charity’s incoming resources increased by £830,411 (20.4%) to £4,889,562 (2022: £4,059,151) . The vast majority of total income and of this year’s increase in income derived from charitable activities (Note 3) . Principally, these are agreements to provide specified services to improve the lives and wellbeing of people living in Norfolk . Legacies and donations accounted for only £7,460 (0 .2%) of total income (2022: £61,317).

Of the charitable activities, the greatest increase in income in the year derived from agreements to deliver services in the areas of Health (£463,049) and Communities’ (£342,425) . The details of these services are described in the relevant sections of this Report, above .

An important contribution to the charity’s net income for use on its charitable purposes comes from CBR Business Solutions as described on page 28 above . The gross income from this source stood at £521,058 (2022: £532,005) in 2022/23 with net income of £15,340 (2022: £46,015).

Expenditure on charitable activity increased by 16.4% to £4,791,116 (2022: £4,006,099) and naturally continues to be the vast majority of the charity’s costs . The areas of increase largely reflect the areas of increased income mentioned above but there was also an increased rate of expenditure as service delivery reverted to a planned level following the period of the major impact of the pandemic (Note 5). There was no other significant event during the year which impacted significantly on the financial position of the charity.

Taking total income and expenditure into account, the net positive movement of funds during the year was £76,665 with an increase in unrestricted funds of £63,600 .

The principal financial risk which continually faces the charity is the ending of fixed term service agreements and its ability to secure new agreements . The pattern of expiry dates and potential for new agreements or extensions of existing agreements are kept under close review by the executive and the Board as a whole . As stated in the Accounting Policies at 1 .12, the charity has no risk arising from pension contributions as it operates a defined contribution scheme .

At the end of the year, the charity held total reserves of £1,189,821 (2022: £1,113,156). These include restricted funds of £708,270 (2022: £695,205). This relatively large sum, absolutely and proportionately, derives principally from money held for the purposes of delivery of service agreements . The more relevant figure is unrestricted reserves which stood at the year-end at £481,551 (2022: £417,951) .

Included in unrestricted reserves are fixed assets of £28,126 (2022: £18,491). The remaining sum is held in liquid form .

Trustees review the charity’s reserves policy every year . Their current policy is to aim to hold unrestricted reserves which amount to three months’ ‘essential running costs’ . This requirement was met and exceeded by almost two months at 31 March 2023 . Trustees considered this position to be prudent in the light of a high level of inflation, slowing economic growth and the importance of the services it delivers . The Board intends to keep the position under close review .

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/// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

Structure, governance and management

Constitution

Voluntary Norfolk is both a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity . The year of formation of the original organisation was 1969 . The company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales was formed 4 November 2005 . Charitable registration was achieved on 11 November 2005 .

members thereby relinquished their formal role in the governance of Voluntary Norfolk . The proposed changes to the memorandum and articles of association were accepted at that meeting and have been subsequently updated .

Trustees

Our governing document is a memorandum and articles of association . The charity’s objective is to promote any charitable purposes for or including the benefit of the community in the United Kingdom and in particular Norfolk and Waveney, the East of England and its neighbourhood and, in particular the advancement of education, community and social services, the protection of health and the relief of poverty, distress and sickness . In addition, it promotes and organises cooperation in the achievement of the above purposes and to that end to bring together in council representatives of the voluntary organisations and statutory authorities within the area of benefit.

The Board of Trustees are the charity’s trustees and the legal directors of the company . They are elected or co-opted under the terms of the Articles of Association . A formal process of induction is given to all trustees as well as training as appropriate . The trustees meet six times a year and are the key personnel in terms of directing and controlling the charity . There is a finance sub-committee. All the trustees give of their time freely and no trustee received remuneration within the year .

For this reporting period there were six Trustees who bring a collective wealth of knowledge and experience of voluntary sector delivery, management and governance .

Following consultation with members and consideration by the Board of Trustees, it was proposed at an EGM, held during the course of the 53rd Annual General Meeting, that Voluntary Norfolk should develop a new approach to better demonstrate the returns from investment in infrastructure building on the value that the sector had delivered, most notably throughout the Covid19 crisis, which saw an unprecedented volunteer, voluntary, community and mutual aid response . This was to be achieved, in part, by shifting Voluntary Norfolk’s offer of support away from a more traditional Membership fee-based model towards a more inclusive, responsive and flexible network model of support. Current

Management

Day-to-day responsibility for running the organisation is delegated by the Trustees to the CEO, Alan Hopley . The CEO is supported in the running and development of the organisation by a management team of Directors overseeing Voluntary Sector Infrastructure, Operations, Finance and Development .

The pay of the senior management is reviewed annually and normally in accordance with NJC guidelines . The CEO’s salary is reviewed utilising recruitment consultants and external benchmarking to attract the appropriate calibre of candidate .

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Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 ///

The trustees, CEO and management team are assisted by a Policy Officer to develop, review and update policies and procedures to ensure we meet the highest quality standards .

Voluntary Norfolk notes the implementation plan for the Charities Act 2022 and, whilst changes implemented thus far do not impact on the governance and management of the charity, further changes will be reviewed as appropriate .

Risk management

A risk management register is in place to assist in identifying vulnerable areas of the organisation . During the year, the trustees undertook the annual programme of review of the register established to encompass financial, personnel, insurance, funding and expenditure areas, ensuring identified risks are properly managed and are satisfied that systems and procedures are in place to mitigate the organisation’s exposure to the major risks .

Cooperation with other charities in pursuit of charitable objectives

We are strong advocates for working with other charities and organisations . In our infrastructure provision we work in partnership with Community Action Norfolk and the Norfolk Community Foundation as well as FUSE and NCAN . In our delivery of services we have a range of partners including Shoebox Community Hub, Harleston Information Plus, Out There Arts, Creative Collisions, GYBC, Great Yarmouth Young Carers, West Norfolk Young Carers, Benjamin Foundation, Caring Together, MTM and Holt Youth Project . We also work closely with local authorities, Clinical Commissioning Groups and other NHS organisations to develop and improve services that benefit our clients and help us achieve our charitable objectives .

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/// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

Future plans

A significant proportion of our work is ongoing services or projects, as laid out above. We will continue to deliver these services, looking for opportunities to improve and develop them and working closely with partners and commissioners to ensure the best possible outcomes .

The table below presents an update on progress against our plans for 2022-23 and further plans agreed for the coming year .

----- Start of picture text -----
Area of work / Aims for What does success
Update at end 22-23
Context 2022-23 look like?
Infrastructure Empowering Communities website
Website and newsletter
and monthly newsletter were launched
Recommissioning of Launch launched . Strong
during the year and both have been
the Working Together Empowering engagement from sector
successful . Training and good practice
offer as Empowering Communities with the Empowering
events have also taken place with very
Communities provides partnership Communities offer and
good attendance and positive feedback
an opportunity to positive feedback .
received .
provide an improved,
updated, partnership
offer to the VCSE . The
New volunteering portal
change in volunteer launched in summer 2022 Get InVOLved Norfolk, the new user-
behaviours in response Launch new that enables more informal friendly volunteering portal launched
to Covid provides volunteering volunteering . Strong sign-up and receives high numbers of visits .
an opportunity for a portal Registered volunteer numbers have
and use by volunteers and
different volunteer increased significantly.
organisations .
portal offer .
Evolve Covid
The people and energies Community Response volunteer service
Response
resulting from the Covid developed to provide volunteer support
Services volunteer
response develop into a to people in need in their communities .
service into
Emerging from Covid longer term, sustainable This service is part of the Norfolk and
a community
response, and with community response / Waveney Community Support service,
health and social care response
support resource commissioned by the ICB .
team
system pressures and
cost of living growing, Develop
With ESF funding coming to an end, we
pressure on our Employment An employment and skills are actively seeking alternative funding
services is intense, and and Skills offer that continues to be
to support our Employment and Skills
requires continuous offer to adapt available to support people
provision and so continue to achieve the
improvement and to changes across Norfolk looking to
very high levels of success in supporting
innovation to provide in funding get into employment people into work .
with limited resources streams .
and ensure that Actively working towards
Pursue
services are sustained . accreditation for our
accreditation In progress .
Services, to be gained in
for Services
2023 .
----- End of picture text -----

Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 /// 35

----- Start of picture text -----
Area of work / Aims for What does success
Update at end 22-23
Context 2022-23 look like?
Engage Relationships have developed well .
with ICS We have continued to support the
Continued strong
development, development of the VCSE Assembly
commissioner relationships
Development and including for the ICS, informing the sector
and ability to provide VN
sustainability continuing to of developments and shaping the
support where we are
support VCSE structures to support collaboration and
Significant changes well-positioned to do so .
Assembly development of shared good practice .
in funding streams
development
and commissioning
systems with ESF Financial contribution from CBR
Increase in clients helped
funding coming to an Grow CBR reduced in 22-23, following a successful
and unrestricted revenue
end, the move to an Business previous year resulting from increased
to support VN’s wider
integrated care system, Solutions demand for HR support and recruitment
work
and contracts that post-Covid .
were rolled forward
Develop the
during Covid being SOS Bus SOS Bus has an agreed There is uncertainty around the future
recommissioned . service to operating and funding funding of the SOS Bus, as a result we
a financial model for next five to are considering options in relation to
sustainable seven years this project .
model
Review
existing In progress . There have been
strategy and Updated three-year conversations and work on the strategy
update three- strategic plan . which inform our activities, but a three-
year strategic year plan has not been formally written .
plan
Internal Launch a corporate Achieved .
induction .
development Improve Appointment of an Employee
Develop and launch a
the training, Experience Lead enabled delivery of
The previous two years programme of training and
have been an intense development development in response induction, training and staff support .
and A staff engagement group has been
period, with a focus on to identified needs.
adaptation and delivery engagement Run a calendar of staff running for over a year .
offer for staff
and regular change and engagement events .
uncertainty . It has been
a time of rapid growth
which has not been
Review prioritised
consolidated due to Improve
policies and processes We have developed a rolling update
operating conditions . our internal
and implement changes program for policy update/renewal
systems,
identified. We have strengthened our procedures
policies and Introduce an HR around IT access and data handling .
processes to information system to We have selected Cezanne as the
ensure they
improve staff experience supplier for this product and we are
are up-to- and realise efficiencies in now in the implementation phase .
date and
HR work .
embedded
----- End of picture text -----

36 /// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

2023-24 Future plans

----- Start of picture text -----
Area of work / Context Aims for 2022-23 What does success look like?
A strong and agile partnership
able to respond to the needs of
Further development of the
the sector, by building capacity and
Empowering Communities
capability, growth of volunteering
Partnership .
and strategic engagement and
influence.
Engaged VCSE, public and private
Development and embedding
stakeholders, who work together
of the Vision for Volunteering
to enable growth in volunteering
Infrastructure across the VCSE and
in Norfolk and more inclusive and
statutory sector .
diverse volunteering opportunities .
A refugee support sector, which is
able to work collaboratively with
Development of our sector
the wider VCSE sector and local
support for the refugee
stakeholders to enable cohesion
support sector .
and inclusion of refugees across
Norfolk .
Services
Health and social care system pressures
and cost of living crisis continues to grow Ensuring we have a formal
Pursue accreditation for framework for accreditation will
so pressure on our services is intense,
and requires continuous improvement Services ensure we have robust evidence of
and innovation to provide with limited the quality of our services .
resources and ensure that services are
sustained .
Engage with recommissioning
on existing contracts, Ensuring we are well prepared for
developing our offer and recommissioning contracts .
partnership .
Development and sustainability
Explore options for closer Developing and maintaining
Whilst we had success retaining contracts
partnership working with close relationships with VCSE
last year, more contracts are up for
other VCSE organisations . organisations .
recommissioning this year .
Review options for investing Growth in CBR income and
in CBR Business Solutions to contribution to Voluntary Norfolk’s
enable growth . work .
----- End of picture text -----

37

Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023 ///

----- Start of picture text -----
Area of work / Context Aims for 2022-23 What does success look like?
----- End of picture text -----

Area of work / Context	Aims for 2022-23	What does success look like?
Internal development In the past year we have invested in staff training and support, strengthening policies, processes and improving systems We will continue to build on this to ensure we can work safely and effectively as an organisation; attract, retain and develop staff; and deliver high quality work	Implement HR system	An HR information system that improves staff experience and realise effciencies in HR work. As above we are progressing with the implementation of the Cezanne system
	Data & IT	An IT system ft for purpose, providing appropriate support for employees and a high level of security around data
	Continue to develop training and support for staff with a particular focus on client- facing staff and the pressures they face	A training programme focused on the needs of client-facing staff

38

/// Voluntary Norfolk • Annual Report 2022-2023

(A company limited by guarantee)

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE COMPANY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Trustees	John Archibald, Chair
	David Walker, Vice Chair
	Robert Hetherington
	Vivienne Clifford-Jackson
	Josephine Smithson
	Mark Hitchcock
Company registered number 05616120 Charity registered number 1112017 Registered office St Clements House 2-16 Colegate Norwich Norfolk NR3 1BQ Chief executive officer Alan Hopley Independent auditors Larking Gowen LLP Chartered Accountants 1st Floor, Prospect House Rouen Road Norwich NR1 1RE Bankers Bank of Scotland Plc 33 Old Broad Street London Branch PO Box 1000 BX2 1LB Solicitors Leathes Prior 74 The Close Norwich Norfolk NR1 4DR

Page 139

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK (A company limited by guarantee)

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes 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 . Under company law, the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP (FRS 102);

• make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards (FRS 102) have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

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

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

Disclosure of information to auditors

Each of the persons who are Trustees at the time when this Trustees' report is approved has confirmed that:

• so far as that Trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charity's auditors are unaware, and

• that Trustee has taken all the steps that ought to have been taken as a Trustee in order to be aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity's auditors are aware of that information.

Auditors

The auditors, Larking Gowen LLP, have indicated their willingness to continue in office. The designated Trustees will propose a motion reappointing the auditors at a meeting of the Trustees.

Approved by order of the members of the board of Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

................................................ John Archibald Chair of Trustees Date:

Page 40

(A company limited by guarantee)

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Voluntary Norfolk (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the Statement of financial activities, the Balance sheet, the Statement of cash flows and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

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

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; 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 Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council'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 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.

Page 41

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

(A company limited by guarantee)

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF VOLUNTARY NORFOLK (CONTINUED)

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Annual report other than the financial statements and our Auditors' 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.

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

• the information given in the Trustees' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements.

• 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 our knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees' report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which 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.

Page 42

(A company limited by guarantee)

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF VOLUNTARY NORFOLK (CONTINUED)

Responsibilities of trustees

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

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

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

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

Due to the field in which the Charity operates, we have identified the following areas as those most likely to have a material impact on the financial statements: health and safety; safeguarding; GDPR; and compliance with the UK Companies Act.

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including frauds and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

• Enquiries with management about any known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations, accidents in the workplace and fraud;

• Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess estimates; and

• Auditing the risk of management override of controls, including through testing journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness.

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

Page 43

(A company limited by guarantee)

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF VOLUNTARY NORFOLK (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 Auditors' 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 its members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Julie Grimmer FCA DChA (Senior statutory auditor)

for and on behalf of Larking Gowen LLP

Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditors 1st Floor, Prospect House

Norwich

Date: 13 October 2023

Page 44

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

(A company limited by guarantee)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCORPORATING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Note Income from: Donations and legacies 2 Charitable activities 3 Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds 4 Charitable activities 5 Total expenditure Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds: Total funds brought forward Net movement in funds Total funds carried forward	Restricted funds 2023 £ 7,460 4,347,312 4,354,772 - 4,341,707 4,341,707 13,065 695,205 13,065 708,270	Unrestricted funds 2023 £ - 534,790 534,790 21,781 449,409 471,190 63,600 417,951 63,600 481,551	Total funds 2023 £ 7,460 4,882,102 4,889,562 21,781 4,791,116 4,812,897 76,665 1,113,156 76,665 1,189,821	Total funds 2022 £ 61,317 3,997,834
				4,059,151
				13,068 4,006,099
				4,019,167
				39,984
				1,073,172 39,984
				1,113,156

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

The notes on pages 48 to 64 form part of these financial statements.

Page 45

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK (A company limited by guarantee) REGISTERED NUMBER: 05616120

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2023

Note Fixed assets Intangible assets 9 Tangible assets 10 Current assets Debtors 11 Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 13 Net current assets Total net assets Charity funds Restricted funds 15 Unrestricted funds 15 Total funds	1,065,504 1,513,915 2,579,419 (1,417,724)	2023 £ 4,028 24,098 28,126 1,161,695 1,189,821 708,270 481,551 1,189,821	672,477 1,854,360 2,526,837 (1,432,172)	2022 £ 2,601 15,890
				18,491 1,094,665
				1,113,156
				695,205 417,951
				1,113,156

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

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

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

................................................ John Archibald Chair of Trustees Date:

The notes on pages 48 to 64 form part of these financial statements.

Page 46

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

(A company limited by guarantee)

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Cash flows from operating activities Net cash used in operating activities Cash flows from investing activities Purchase of tangible fixed assets Purchase of intangible fixed assets Net cash used in investing activities Cash flows from financing activities Net cash provided by financing activities Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year The notes on pages 48 to 64 form part of these financial statements	2023 £ (318,070) (17,340) (5,035) (22,375) - (340,445) 1,854,360 1,513,915	2022 £ 190,229 (15,622) - (15,622) - 174,607 1,679,753 1,854,360

Page 47

(A company limited by guarantee)

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

1. Accounting policies

1.1 Basis of preparation of financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) - 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 Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Voluntary Norfolk meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.

1.2 Company status

The company is a private company limited by guarantee. The members of the company are the Trustees named on page 1. In the event of the company being wound up, the liability in respect of the gurantee is limited to £1 per member of the company.

The registered office of the company is St Clements House, 2-6 Colegate, Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 1BQ.

1.3 Going concern

The Trustee’s have considered Voluntary Norfolk’s financial and operational position at the time of signing the financial statements.

The Trustees continue to be fully engaged with commissioners, local authorities and funders with regard to a number of new, extended and/or expanded service offers.

The Trustee’s have considered a period of twelve months from the point of signing these financial statements and, considered the level of on-going funding, strength of our offer in respect of contract renewals, engagement with commissioners on new emerging programmes and the financial strength and level of funds within the charity.

Based on the above the Trustee’s confirm it is appropriate to prepare the accounts on the going concern basis.

1.4 Income

All income is recognised once the company has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Income tax recoverable in relation to investment income is recognised at the time the investment income is receivable.

Page 48

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

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 allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

Charitable activities and Governance costs are costs incurred on the company's educational operations, including support costs and costs relating to the governance of the company apportioned to charitable activies.

1.6 Intangible assets and amortisation

Intangible assets costing £NIL or more are capitalised and recognised when future economic benefits are probable and the cost or value of the asset can be measured reliably.

Intangible assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, intangible assets are measured at cost less any accumulated amortisation and any accumulated impairment losses.

Amortisation is provided on intangible assets at rates calculated to write off the cost of each asset on a straight-line basis over its expected useful life.

Amortisation is provided on the following basis:

Website - % 20% Straight line

1.7 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses. All costs incurred to bring a tangible fixed asset into its intended working condition should be included in the measurement of cost.

Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of tangible fixed assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives, using the straight-line method.

Depreciation is provided on the following bases:

Long-term leasehold property - 16.6% Motor vehicles - 5 years Fixtures and fittings - 25% - Office equipment 14.3% (7 years) Computer equipment - 33.3% Database and search engine - 33.3%

Page 49

(A company limited by guarantee)

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

1. Accounting policies (continued)

1.8 Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

1.9 Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

1.10 Liabilities and provisions

Liabilities are recognised when there is an obligation at the Balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably.

Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the company anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide.

Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the provision is based on the present value of those amounts, discounted at the pre-tax discount rate that reflects the risks specific to the liability. The unwinding of the discount is recognised in the Statement of financial activities as a finance cost.

1.11 Financial instruments

The company only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

1.12 Pensions

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

Page 50

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

(A company limited by guarantee)

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

1. Accounting policies (continued)

1.13 Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the company and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the company for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

1.14 Agency arrangements

Voluntary Norfolk act as agent in distributing certain funds for Youth Advisory Boards (YAB). Payments received for YAB and subsequent expenditure are excluded from the statement of financial activities as the charity does not have control over the charitable application of the funds. Management costs are charged and recognised in the statement of financial activities. Details of the agency funds and associated payments are disclosed in note 24.

2. Income from donations and legacies

Donations Donations Government grants	Restricted funds 2023 Unrestricted funds 2023 £ £ 7,460 - Restricted funds 2022 Unrestricted funds 2022 £ £ 59,880 217 - 1,220 59,880 1,437	Total funds 2023 £ 7,460
		Total funds 2022 £ 60,097 1,220
		61,317

During the year, the charity received government funding as part of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Funding represents the cost of employing certain staff unable to carry out their duties as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Page 51

(A company limited by guarantee)

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

3. Income from charitable activities

Health Communities Employment Finance and Resources Health Communities Employment Finance and Resources	Restricted funds 2023 Unrestricted funds 2023 £ £ 2,681,479 - 966,974 - 698,859 - - 534,790 4,347,312 534,790 Restricted funds 2022 Unrestricted funds 2022 £ £ 2,218,430 - 624,549 - 590,258 - - 564,597 3,433,237 564,597	Total funds 2023 £ 2,681,479 966,974 698,859 534,790
		4,882,102
		Total funds 2022 £ 2,218,430 624,549 590,258 564,597
		3,997,834

4.	Expenditure on raising funds
	Costs of raising voluntary income
		Unrestricted	Total
		funds	funds
		2023	2023
		£	£
	Allocated centrally incurred fundraising and governance costs	21,781	21,781

Page 52

(A company limited by guarantee)

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

4. Expenditure on raising funds (continued)

Costs of raising voluntary income (continued)

	Unrestricted	Total
	funds	funds
	2022	2022
	£	£
Allocated centrally incurred fundraising and governance costs	13,068	13,068

5. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

Summary by fund type

Health Communities Employment Finance and Resources Health Communities Employment Finance and Resources	Restricted funds 2023 Unrestricted funds 2023 £ £ 2,634,421 - 1,011,612 - 695,674 - - 449,409 4,341,707 449,409 Restricted funds 2022 Unrestricted funds 2022 £ £ 2,216,943 - 751,966 - 600,068 - - 437,122 3,568,977 437,122	Total 2023 £ 2,634,421 1,011,612 695,674 449,409
		4,791,116
		Total 2022 £ 2,216,943 751,966 600,068 437,122
		4,006,099

Page 53

(A company limited by guarantee)

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

5. Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities (continued)

Summary by fund type (continued)

Summary by expenditure type

Health Communities Employment Finance and Resources	Staff costs 2023 £ 1,697,101 404,183 547,055 414,020 3,062,359	Depreciation 2023 £ - - - 13,011 13,011	Other costs 2023 £ 937,320 607,429 148,619 22,378 1,715,746	Total 2023 £ 2,634,421 1,011,612 695,674 449,409 4,791,116

Staff costs 2022 Depreciation 2022 £ £ Health 1,332,186 - Communities 352,010 - Employment 490,294 - Finance and Resources 406,537 12,712 2,581,027 12,712 Auditors' remuneration Fees payable to the company's auditor for the audit of the company's annual accounts Fees payable to the company's auditor in respect of: All non-audit services not included above	Other costs 2022 £ 884,757 399,956 109,774 17,873 1,412,360 2023 £ 11,485 2,373	Total 2022 £ 2,216,943 751,966 600,068 437,122 4,006,099 2022 £ 9,950 1,310

6. Auditors' remuneration

Page 54

(A company limited by guarantee)

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

7. Staff costs

Wages and salaries Social security costs Contribution to defined contribution pension schemes	2023 £ 2,704,679 227,780 129,900 3,062,359	2022 £ 2,287,088 185,612 108,327
		2,581,027

During the year, redundancy payments were made totalling £1,307 (2022: £Nil).

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

2023	2022
No.	No.
117	105

The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:

		2023	2022
		No.	No.
In the band £70,001	- £80,000	1	1

The staff costs for the employee in the banding above is in respect of gross wages.

The Key Management Personal of the charity is represented by 6 (2022: 5) members of the senior leadership team together with the 6 unpaid trustees. KMP compensation including employers national insurance costs amounted to £259,665 (2022: £266,519).

8. Trustees' remuneration and expenses

During the year, no Trustees received any remuneration or other benefits (2022 - £NIL) .

During the year ended 31 March 2023, no Trustee expenses have been incurred (2022 - £NIL) .

Page 55

(A company limited by guarantee)

VOLUNTARY NORFOLK

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
9. Intangible assets Cost At 1 April 2022 Additions At 31 March 2023 Amortisation At 1 April 2022 Charge for the year At 31 March 2023 Net book value At 31 March 2023 At 31 March 2022	Website £ 13,028 5,035 18,063 10,427 3,608 14,035 4,028 2,601

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

10. Tangible fixed assets

Long-term leasehold property £ Cost or valuation At 1 April 2022 78,509 Additions - At 31 March 2023 78,509 Depreciation At 1 April 2022 78,509 Charge for the year - At 31 March 2023 78,509 Net book value At 31 March 2023 - At 31 March 2022 - 11. Debtors Due within one year Trade debtors Prepayments and accrued income	Motor vehicles £ 15,235 - 15,235 - 3,047 3,047 12,188 15,235	Fixtures, fittings and office equipment £ 56,838 457 57,295 56,838 - 56,838 457 -		Computer equipment £ 60,278 16,883 77,161 59,623 6,085 65,708 11,453 655 2023 £ 1,014,566 50,938 1,065,504	Total £ 210,860 17,340
					228,200
					194,970 9,132
					204,102
					24,098
					15,890
					2022 £ 514,227 158,250 672,477

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

12. Assets held for third parties - Payroll floats

Bank and cash balances include assets held for third parties comprising of payroll floats held for the purposes of executing payroll duties on behalf of clients.

The corresponding liability to return payroll floats is recognised in other creditors as set out in note 13 below.

Balance at 1 April 2022 Amounts acquired Amounts repaid	2023 £ 619,920 693,172 (619,920) 693,172	2022 £ 604,267 619,920 (604,267)
		619,920

13. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

Trade creditors Other taxation and social security Other creditors Accruals and deferred income	2023 £ 107,540 96,009 891,938 322,237 1,417,724	2022 £ 88,774 105,181 779,667 458,550
		1,432,172

14. Accruals and deferred income

Deferred income at 1 April 2022 Resources deferred during the year Amounts released from previous periods Deferred income at 31 March 2023	2023 £ 33,250 61,770 (33,250) 61,770	2022 £ 1,136 33,250 (1,136)
		33,250

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

15. Statement of funds

Statement of funds - current year

Balance at 1 April 2022 £ Unrestricted funds Designated funds Property fund 5,000 General funds General Funds - all funds 412,951 Total Unrestricted funds 417,951 Restricted funds Communities 203,058 Employment 3,102 Health 473,810 Restricted fixed assets 15,235 695,205 Total of funds 1,113,156	Income £ Expenditure £ - - 534,790 (471,190) 534,790 (471,190) 970,724 (1,011,612) 698,859 (695,674) 2,685,189 (2,631,374) - (3,047) 4,354,772 (4,341,707) 4,889,562 (4,812,897)	Transfers in/out £ (5,000) 5,000 - (19,845) (6,287) 26,132 - - -	Balance at 31 March 2023 £ -
			481,551
			481,551
			142,325 - 553,757 12,188
			708,270
			1,189,821

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15. Statement of funds (continued)

Statement of funds - prior year

Unrestricted funds Designated funds Property fund General funds General Funds - all funds Total Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Communities Employment Health Restricted fixed assets Total of funds	Balance at 1 April 2021 £ 5,000 297,107 302,107 293,553 12,912 464,600 - 771,065 1,073,172	Income £ - 566,034 566,034 664,551 590,258 2,223,073 15,235 3,493,117 4,059,151	Expenditure £ - (450,190) (450,190) (755,046) (600,068) (2,213,863) - (3,568,977) (4,019,167)	Balance at 31 March 2022 £ 5,000
				412,951
				417,951
				203,058 3,102 473,810 15,235
				695,205
				1,113,156

16. Summary of funds

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16. Summary of funds (continued)

Summary of funds - current year

Balance at 1 April 2022 £ Designated funds 5,000 General funds 412,951 Restricted funds 695,205 1,113,156 Summary of funds - prior year Designated funds General funds Restricted funds	Income £ Expenditure £ - - 534,790 (471,190) 4,354,772 (4,341,707) 4,889,562 (4,812,897) Balance at 1 April 2021 £ Income £ 5,000 - 297,107 566,034 771,065 3,493,117 1,073,172 4,059,151	Transfers in/out £ (5,000) 5,000 - - Expenditure £ - (450,190) (3,568,977) (4,019,167)	Balance at 31 March 2023 £ - 481,551 708,270
			1,189,821
			Balance at 31 March 2022 £ 5,000 412,951 695,205
Summary of funds - prior year
Designated funds General funds Restricted funds
			1,113,156

17. Analysis of net assets between funds Analysis of net assets between funds - current year

Tangible fixed assets Intangible fixed assets Current assets Creditors due within one year Total	Restricted funds 2023 Unrestricted funds 2023 £ £ 12,188 11,910 - 4,028 696,082 1,883,337 - (1,417,724) 708,270 481,551	Total funds 2023 £ 24,098 4,028 2,579,419 (1,417,724)
		1,189,821

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

17. Analysis of net assets between funds (continued) Analysis of net assets between funds - prior year

Restricted funds 2022 Unrestricted funds 2022 £ £ Tangible fixed assets 15,235 655 Intangible fixed assets - 2,601 Current assets 704,351 1,822,486 Creditors due within one year (24,381) (1,407,791) Total 695,205 417,951 18. Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash flow from operating activities 2023 £ Net income for the year (as per Statement of Financial Activities) 76,665 Adjustments for: Depreciation charges 9,132 Amortisation charges 3,608 Increase in debtors (393,027) (Decrease)/increase in creditors (14,448) Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities (318,070) 19. Analysis of cash and cash equivalents 2023 £ Cash in hand 1,513,915 Total cash and cash equivalents 1,513,915

Total funds 2022 £ 15,890 2,601 2,526,837 (1,432,172) 1,113,156 2022 £ 39,984 10,105 2,607 (42,829) 180,362 190,229 2022 £ 1,854,360 1,854,360

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

20. Analysis of changes in net debt

Cash at bank and in hand	At 1 April 2022 £ 1,854,360 1,854,360	Cash flows £ (340,445) (340,445)	At 31 March 2023 £ 1,513,915
			1,513,915

21. Pension commitments

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable and amounted to £129,900 (2022: £108,327). At the year end £Nil (2022: Nil) remained payable.

22. Operating lease commitments

At 31 March 2023 the company had commitments to make future minimum lease payments under noncancellable operating leases as follows:

			2023	2022
			£	£
Not later than	1	year	-	39,375

The following lease payments have been recognised as an expense in the Statement of financial activities:

	2023	2022
	£	£
Operating lease rentals	78,509	75,035

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

23. Related party transactions

Vivienne Helen Clifford-Jackson, a trustee of Voluntary Norfolk is a director for Healthwatch Norfolk. During the year ended 31 March 2023, Voluntary Norfolk invoiced Healthwatch Norfolk £1,582 (2022: £2,774) in relation to job adverts and HR services. A balance of £Nil was due to the charity from Healthwatch Norfolk at 31 March 2023 (2022: £199).

David John Walker, a trustee of Voluntary Norfolk is a director of Into Opera. During the year ended 31 March 2023, Voluntary Norfolk invoiced Into Opera £26,595 (2022: £23,353) in relation to payroll services. A balance of £2,337 was due to the charity from Into Opera at 31 March 2023 (2022: Nil).

Peter Mark Hitchcock, a trustee of Voluntary Norfolk is a director of Norfolk Citizens Advice. During the year ended 31 March 2023, Voluntary Norfolk invoiced Norfolk Citizens Advice £5,174 (2022: £11,113) in relation to job adverts. A balance of £796 was due to the charity from Norfolk Citizens Advice at 31 March 2023 (2022: £5,267). Norfolk Citizens Advice invoiced Voluntary Norfolk £38,333 (2022: £Nil) in relation to referral services for the Carers Matter Norfolk project. A balance of £13,250 was owed to Norfolk Citizens Advice at 31 March 2023 (2022: £Nil).

24. Agency arrangements

Voluntary Norfolk act as an agent in distributing funds from Youth Advisory Board (YAB). In the year the charity received £270,840 (2022: £270,000) and disbursed £469,946 (2022: £219,341) from the fund. An amount of £154,727 (2022: £353,833) is included in other creditors relating to undistributed funds.

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