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← Nightline Association

2023-12-31-accounts

Nightline Association (a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee)

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023

Registered company number 05436297 Registered charity number 1112793 (England & Wales) Registered charity number SC050834 (Scotland)

Contents

Contents
Reference and Administrative Details 2
Trustees’ Annual Report 4
Introduction 4
Who are we? 5
Vision 5
Values 5
Strategic Ambitions 5
Summary of Achievements 7
Ambition 1: Service Provision Excellence 8
Ambition 2: Organisational Resilience 9
Ambition 3: Increase Capacity 10
Ambition 4: Foster Belonging 11
Ambition 5: Extend Reach 13
Ambition 6: Deepen Relationships 13
Future Plans - 2024 and beyond 15
Financial Overview 16
Reserves Policy and Designated Funds 17
Structure, Governance and Management 19
Exemptions from Disclosure 22
Funds held as custodian trustee on behalf of others 22
Nightline Trust Activities 22
Independent Examiner’s Report 24
Statement of Financial Activities 26
Balance Sheet 27
Notes to Financial Statements 28

Reference and Administrative Details

Charity Registration Numbers: 1112793 (England & Wales) / SC050834 (Scotland)

Company Registration Number: 05436297

Registered O�ce:

Lytchett House 13 Freeland Park Wareham Road Poole Dorset BH16 6FA

Trustees:

Professor Michael Sanders (Chair) (Appointed 8 February 2023)

Matthew Axbey (Vice Chair) Martin Smith (Treasurer) Chris Barnes (Appointed 4 April 2023) Helen Bedser (Appointed 27 September 2023) Aisling Curtis (Resigned 14 April 2023) Veronika Dvořáková

Dr Rebekah Eglinton (Appointed 14 April 2023, Resigned 3 November 2023)

Josh Fogg (Appointed 27 April 2023) Megan Haskins Cassandra Kamara Jacob Kelly (Resigned 27 April 2023) Harry McLaren Peter Sequeira (Appointed 27 September 2023) Matthew Youngs (Resigned 31 August 2023)

Principal Sta�:

Principal Sta�: Katie Endacott, CEO (Appointed 20 March 2023) Independent Examiner: Godfrey Wilson Ltd 5th Floor, Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

Honorary Counsel: Reed Smith LLP (Pro bono legal advice) The Broadgate Tower 20 Primrose Street London EC2A 2RS

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Bankers

CAF Bank Ltd The Co-operative Bank plc 25 Kings Hill Avenue PO Box 101 Kings Hill 1 Balloon Street West Malling Manchester ME19 4JQ M60 4EP Shawbrook Bank Limited Lutea House Warley Hill Business Park The Drive Great Warley Brentwood CM13 3BE

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Trustees’ Annual Report

Introduction

2023 has been an important year for the Nightline Association. The work of Nightlines, and of the Association, has become both more di�cult and more important than ever. A national and secular decline in volunteering represents a challenge for all charities, and especially the Nightline movement which depends so much on the generosity of our brilliant volunteers.

Against this backdrop, we also see a continuing increasing need for the services that we provide. The rise in the number of students experiencing mental health challenges, which began before the pandemic, continues to rise unabated, with 16% of students identifying a mental health challenge - more than tripling since 2017 - and student wellbeing continuing to decline in the face of an ever more uncertain world and the cost of living crisis.[1]

Despite these challenges, the Association, and the wider movement, have risen to the occasion. This year we were delighted to appoint Katie Endacott as our first Chief Executive. Katie, along with other sta�recruited this year, has helped to deliver the early stages of the strategy agreed in 2022; and focus on ensuring that the services we provide to Nightlines are the best they can be.

Across the wider movement, there remains extraordinary commitment from volunteers to keeping Nightlines open as much as possible, and providing the best quality support to students who are experiencing distress. The support that these volunteers provide can really make a di�erence when other services and support are not available.

This year has also seen us try to reach out further to students, with a project focused on learning what works best to find the students who most need our services online, and help direct them to get support. We are also halfway through a project that aims to improve the wellbeing of our volunteers, and to safeguard their own mental health.

As always, we would like to thank everyone involved in the Nightline movement for their e�ort and contributions this year and look forward to working alongside you throughout 2024.

Approval

The annual report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 2 May 2024 and signed on behalf of the Trustees by:

Prof Michael Sanders Chair of Trustees

1 Sanders, M. (2023). Student mental health in 2023. [online] Available at: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/policy-institute/assets/student-mental-health-in-2023.pdf.

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Who are we?

The Nightline Association provides emotional and mental health support to students each night of term through its Nightlines across the country providing a safe, anonymous listening service for students. We provide a service when other University services are unavailable. The most common issues callers raise with us are stress, mental health and anxiety.

The Nightline Association is the national charity that develops, trains and supports every Nightline in the UK. We provide local Nightlines with the specialist tools to o�er a uniquely confidential service; and we enable the highest quality of active listening, safeguarding and suicide prevention training for Nightline volunteers.

Vision

Nightlines are run by students and for students. The Nightline principles of being confidential, anonymous, non-judgmental, non-directive and non-advisory are followed by all Nightlines. The Nightline Services fill a crucial role in student support by providing peer-to-peer support. They also provide support at night when other support services are often closed.

Our vision is for every student to have access to the support o�ered by Nightline services so that:

Values

The guiding values on which we stand are:

Strategic Ambitions

As part of our new strategy, launched in 2023, we have identified six ambitions; 1. Service Provision Excellence: Provide functional, safe, and reliable services

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Nightlines across the UK in 2023.

Summary of Achievements

In 2023, the Nightline Association supported 32 Nightlines across the UK. We provided subject specific training for Nightlines, and held four conferences where over 150 delegates from Nightlines were able to meet, share ideas and receive updates on training. Our ongoing delivery of IT services enabled Nightlines to provide listening services to students across the UK, with updates rolled out regularly. We took over 16,000 calls and messages from students in need of support,

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and supported them for over 5,684 hours. In managing the Association, the Trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.

Activities in Scotland

In 2023, there were 6 Nightlines operating in Scotland.

The Association supports Nightlines in Scotland in the same way as Nightlines in England & Wales, having regard to the di�ering legal and educational systems in Scotland.

The Association is registered as a charity in Scotland with the O�ce of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

Activities in Northern Ireland

In 2023, there was 1 Nightline operating in Northern Ireland.

The Association supports Nightlines in Northern Ireland in the same way as Nightlines in England & Wales, having regard to the di�ering legal and educational systems in Northern Ireland.

The Association is not required to register as a charity in Northern Ireland as section 167 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 has not yet entered into force.

Ambition 1: Service Provision Excellence

In 2023, we worked on developing our services for Nightlines, recognising the challenges of a declining volunteer force in the sector, and particularly among students who, now more than ever, need to undertake paid work alongside their studies. We developed our service catalogue, which both acknowledged the wide array of services we provide to Nightlines, and identified the maturity and criticality of each of them.

We found it a challenge to set up new Nightlines, with vacancies in our own volunteer set up team, and therefore focused e�orts on supporting those already up and running in 2023.

We provided regular, monthly training to Nightlines on topics such as Mental Health in Black and other Ethnic Communities and Inclusive Recruitment. We grew our policy team to ensure our bank of template policies provided to Nightlines was up to date, and in line with our Accreditation team. It was noted that some call subjects had developed since our last updates, including repeat abusive callers which have increased in number considerably, and we therefore needed to provide a newer policy to support this.

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As the foundation of our service is based on our IT provision to Nightlines, there was considerable investment in this area in 2023. We continued our investment in Portal, our platform for all Nightline-facing digital services, including statistics and insights, instant messaging, and call logging, with bug fixes and enabling the team to pull call statistic data from the portal for any time period, and it is becoming our key channel of communication for engaging with our Nightline volunteers. The ongoing development of Portal has been made possible by funding from Nominet. We are extremely grateful for Nominet's sustained and generous support for our work.

Ambition 2: Organisational Resilience

This year we have been increasing our work on the impact we make, including collecting more data from our Nightlines. We received funding to increase the reach of our services, and in turn understand better what works when advertising the services to students.

Fundraising was challenging throughout the year, with limited resources. However, we also recognised we had significant reserves with a plan for investment, but waited for the sta�team to be in place before implementing our plans to use the funds. As the new sta�team settled in, we focused e�orts on developing a funding pipeline, building relationships with previous funders, and creating clear project bids for various aspects of our work,

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including conferences, training and salaries.

As part of investing in our sta�, we also reviewed the wellbeing of our Nightline Association volunteers, undertaking a survey in September, which will now take place annually, to understand the motivations and challenges for our volunteers, alongside measuring their sense of ‘belonging’ with Nightline. We also invested in an online learning platform, both for our mandatory training, as well as o�ering continued professional development for both volunteers and sta�, with over 400 training modules.

Ambition 3: Increase Capacity

As referenced above, we invested considerably in 2023 with our new CEO, Katie Endacott, starting in March, a new Operations O�cer, Hannah Bayliss, starting in October, and a Marketing Assistant and Research Assistant who joined in September to lead our research into the reach of our services.

The employment of both our CEO and new Operations O�cer has shown to be a positive move, with the sta�and large volunteer team working well together. We have already increased our capacity to support Nightlines, and increased our networks in the Student Mental Health space.

With a new team comes an opportunity for a fresh culture and changes to what was ‘the norm’, and this year was exactly this. With better internal communication, including monthly updates and online socials, more regular meetings with Nightlines and a clearly identified project on recruitment and retention of volunteers, the culture has developed and trust across the organisation and our members has improved.

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The Association could not operate without our team of nearly 70 volunteers who provide IT support, organise events, develop policies, give financial and administrative expertise, provide advice and support to Nightlines and so much more. We will always be incredibly appreciative of all the hours these volunteers give to the Association, Nightlines, and ultimately students who use our services.

Some of the Nightline team at our National Conference 2023.

Ambition 4: Foster Belonging

As mentioned above, the idea of belonging is important to us. We want students to feel like they belong when they call us, we want our volunteers and sta�to feel like they belong when they work with us, and we want supporters to feel like they belong to part of this incredible community. In this vein, we developed a new recruitment and retention plan in 2023, in a bid to provide greater structure and consistency when bringing a new volunteer on board and supporting them whilst they give their time to the cause.

As we have done for many years, this year we held our National Conference, which brought together over 60 Nightline committee members, and three Regional Conferences, held in Edinburgh, Nottingham, and London, where 15 di�erent Nightlines attended. These four events across the year provided Nightlines with the opportunity to meet one another, share challenges, learn how they had addressed di�culties and shared stories of what worked. We also provided training on areas such as safeguarding, working with stakeholders and fundraising for Nightlines.

This year we have been part of a research project with King’s College London, working on identifying what motivates Nightline volunteers on the phones,

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and how we can support them to prevent burnout. This has also brought together our community of volunteers, increasing their sense of belonging to a wider, national movement.

Looking further afield, we formally joined Nightline Europe as a founding partner this year, growing our reach to work with Nightlines in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. This new network will be an opportunity to share best practice across the continent and increase awareness of the place Nightline has in the European Student Mental Health space. We are looking forward to the next steps with the network, including multi-national research and funding bids.

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Ambition 5: Extend Reach

In 2023 we made a conscious e�ort to be involved with committees such as the Mental Wellbeing in Higher Education Executive Committee, and present at more student mental health conferences, such as Universities UK’s Student Experience in Higher Education: Mental Health and Wellbeing.

In developing our connections and network, it was a delight to meet our Founders and hear their stories, sharing how Nightline has remained the same in so many ways, still meeting the core need of being there for students when other services are not. The Founders were a combination of students, Samaritans volunteers and independent volunteers, who started the Nightline movement in 1970 at the University of Essex.

Many of the Students’ Unions who are responsible for their local Nightlines have come together this year to be part of a Steering Group, where they can also talk to one another and share challenges. We recognise being a sta� member at a Students’ Union or University responsible for a Nightline can be a little lonely at times, with no other student o�ering quite like it, and therefore wanted to provide this space. This has also proved to be a useful space for sense checking new policies, changes and understanding what works well with the Students’ Unions.

Nightlines across the country engaged with our Nightline Awareness Week, with Nightlines creating a variety of online content, blogs shared from Trustees and volunteers, and this in turn has increased general engagement with Nightlines across social media.

Ambition 6: Deepen Relationships

As referenced previously, we developed our Students’ Union Steering Group in 2023, which provided a space for Students’ Unions to come together, to share approaches and policies, talk through insurance and how to make the best case internally for changes to improve the Nightline, and much more. This group has also improved relationships between the Association and our stakeholders; we have been able to support Nightlines with a united front.

Further to research into preventing burnout of volunteers, we have also agreed to feed our anonymised data into wider discussions, such as the Government’s Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce to support student mental health on a national level. We have developed relationships with a number of organisations in 2023, so that moving forward we can be part of wider student mental health research, feeding our national data in with other student mental health data.

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In our restructure, we have had an opportunity to hold a number of social evenings online, giving team members across the country the chance to meet one another, increasing our volunteer retention for those who engaged with the activity.

A few stories from those who attended our conference, deepening their relationship with Nightline Association:

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Future Plans - 2024 and beyond

While Nightlines continue to support students in their hour of need, we look to grow our reach, solidify our o�ering and provide for more students in the coming years. We will continue to deliver our strategy in 2024 and beyond, whilst ensuring that we are reviewing it and flexing it as appropriate.

We are holding our first in-person away day in two years in 2024, and will refresh our conference and training o�ering to Nightlines, moving to more regular training in person and taking a broader approach to the conferences we hold.

The third sector as a whole is facing the challenges of volunteer numbers dropping, as referenced in NCVO’s Time Well Spent 2023 programme, and it has been no di�erent for us; the Association is planning to restructure its teams providing volunteers with manageable tasks which will aid retention.

Having been volunteer-led for many years, we are also looking at investing in supporting both our volunteers, and volunteers at Nightline services with 24-hour counselling, recognising that they deal with a wide variety of challenges on the phone, and behind the scenes at the Association, and we need to support them in this.

While our volunteers cover so many areas, fundraising is an area of great need; we are looking ahead to investing in our fundraising, both regarding our database and keeping a better track of communication and relationships, and in terms of funding

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applications identified and submitted on a regular basis. For us to thrive, we need to increase our income, alongside investing in the team.

We are looking at how to o�er a consistent, reliable service to students, and how we can share services across the country to reduce volunteer burnout and last minute closures. As our vision continues to be for every student to have access to the support o�ered by Nightline services, we look to sustain and grow this valuable service for many years to come.

We continue to support the access of Nightline services so that:

Financial Overview

Financial Review

The Association remains on a stable financial footing, with income of £87,347 slightly above expenditure of £86,742.

We raised funds from a range of sources, with the majority of funds raised being restricted. We exited 2023 with total funds of £165,657, of which £35,000 is designated and £58,265 is restricted, with £72,392 unrestricted general funding. We have su�cient funds to deliver our plans for 2024. Our target general, unrestricted reserves level is six months’ operational reserves and nine months of solely volunteer-led operational costs. This is equivalent to £36,000.

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees (who are also directors of the charity 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, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of a�airs of the charity and of the income and expenditure of the charity for that period. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:

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

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may di�er from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Reserves Policy and Designated Funds

The Association holds su�cient reserves such that all committed expenditure can be met, along with an allowance for unanticipated expenditure to remediate priority risk areas.

Our accounts show total reserves of £165,657 at 31 December 2023, broken down as £58,265 restricted reserves, the following designated funds totalling £35,000, and the remaining £72,392 as unrestricted, general reserves.

  1. Grant bridging - Allowance for a project should funding be delayed or paid in arrears (£5000); and

  2. Remediating IT risks - Funding should significant risks crystallise (£30,000).

Each element is reviewed annually as part of the production of the following year’s budget.

Our target general, unrestricted reserves level is six months’ operational reserves and nine months of solely volunteer-led operational costs. This is equivalent to £36,000.

Our current level of reserves exceeds this figure. Therefore, in 2023, and in the 2024 budget, we are intentionally spending down our unrestricted, general reserves and working to a deficit budget to invest in our strategy and team development, in turn increasing our impact and reach.

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Examination of accounts

The Trustees are satisfied that no audit is required under:

The Trustees believe that an independent examination is required under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 and regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

The Trustees have reappointed Godfrey Wilson Ltd (registered company number 04537489) to carry out this examination. The Trustees believe that Godfrey Wilson Ltd has the requisite ability and practical experience to carry out a competent examination of the accounts.

Approval

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on 2 May 2024 and signed on behalf of the Trustees by:

Martin Smith Treasurer

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Structure, Governance and Management

Legal Structure

The Nightline Association is a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England. The Trustees are the directors for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006.

We are registered as a charity in England & Wales and in Scotland. The Association is not required to register in Northern Ireland as section 167 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 has not yet been brought into operation.

Governing Document

The Association’s constitution consists of its Articles of Association which are available from Companies House and the Charity Commission.

These are supplemented by the Bye Laws and Ordinances, which are available upon request.

Planned conversion to CIO

The Association had planned to formally apply to convert to a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) in 2023, however this was paused to focus on more strategically-important workstreams. The Association is hopeful to be able to apply for conversion in 2024.

Membership & A�liation

Our legal members are the Coordinators of the A�liated Nightlines. In addition, all Nightline and Association Volunteers are (non-voting) associate members.

A�liated Nightlines are accredited by the Association as meeting the requirements of the Good Practice Guidelines (GPGs), a set of guidelines approved by the members and based on legal and best practice requirements in the helplines sector.

There is an annual a�liation fee for Nightlines which is set by the membership. This is currently 4% of a Nightline’s annual income, which was capped at £983.71 in 2023 (rising in line with inflation).

Representation

In addition to the AGM, the members are represented by Regional Coordinators which are elected by the members in each of the 9 regions for a term of 1 year.

The Regional Coordinators represent Nightlines in their region, as well as helping signpost them to the support and guidance available from the Association.

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The Regional Coordinators form the Council which advises the Association on matters a�ecting Nightlines. The Council must approve Trustee appointments and certain governance changes. In May 2023, elections were held for the new one-year term of nine Regional Coordinators, with only three applicants; three further rounds were held, with three more roles filled in December 2023.

Trustee Meetings & Committees

The Trustees took an active role in the running of the Association until March 2023, providing direct support to the volunteer Heads of Department until the CEO started in their role.

The Board of Trustees holds four plenary meetings each year, with shorter additional meetings held when necessary. In addition to the Board, four board committees provide oversight on the Association’s activities:

In addition, ad hoc Search & Nomination Committees are formed as needed to manage the recruitment of Trustees and Sta�with senior management functions. The Suspension Committee meets when required to consider any allegations or concerns that Nightlines are not operating in line with the required Good Practice Guidelines. The Suspension Committee did not meet in 2023.

Trustee Appointment

Trustees are appointed following a rigorous appointment process. This is carried out by a Search & Nomination Committee including Trustees, volunteers, and representatives of a�liated Nightlines. The process involves the review of applications, interviews, references and an analysis of potential conflicts of interest. Appointments are subject to vetting and eligibility checks and must be approved by both the Board of Trustees and the Council.

General Trustees are appointed to a 3-year term. Student Trustees are appointed to a 2-year term and must be current students at the time of their appointment or reappointment. Trustees are limited to a maximum of 6 consecutive years in o�ce.

Safeguarding

While the Association does not directly run any Nightline services, we recognise the importance of having robust procedures in place to protect children and adults at risk.

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All of our volunteers (including Trustees) and sta�undergo safer recruitment checks, including references, to help us make sure that they are appropriate people to work with us. Sta�and volunteers (including Trustees) are also required to complete our online safeguarding training to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to fulfil their role. The Nightline Association’s safeguarding was externally reviewed in the summer of 2023, with recommendations taken on board and developments in our training and accreditation process underway.

The Safeguarding Steering Committee performs a quarterly audit of safeguarding incidents and reports directly to the Board of Trustees.

The safeguarding arrangements for individual Nightlines are the responsibility of the parent bodies or Board of Trustees of each Nightline. The Association provides guidance and advice to support Nightlines and parent bodies in doing this.

Risk Management

During 2023, the Trustees reviewed risks regularly at Board Meetings and tracked progress on alleviating risks.

Charity Governance

In 2023, the Trustees reviewed and updated the policies of the Association, as part of a regular review process.

This formed part of a wider governance review of the Association, in line with the Charity Governance Code, which was completed in autumn 2023.

Volunteer Management

The Association’s volunteers are organised into a number of teams within seven departments:

Each department is led by a volunteer Head of Department, line managed by the CEO.

Subsidiaries

The Association has a subsidiary charity, Nightline Trust, a charitable incorporated organisation (charity number 1112793-1).

The Nightline Trust provides high-level governance and oversight for independent

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Nightlines, either where there is no parent body, or where the parent body is unable to do so, but where the Nightline service still remains viable and sustainable in the long-term.

In 2023, the Nightline Trust acted as the parent body for Birmingham Nightline, a charitable company limited by guarantee. Birmingham Nightline was managed by their own Board of Trustees, with regular reporting to the Association.

Details of the Nightline Trust’s work is available later in this report.

International Nightline movement

International A�liation status is available to Nightlines and groups of Nightlines outside of the UK and allows access to most of our services and resources. We were part of Nightline Europe in 2023, providing networking and shared learning opportunities across the continent.

Memberships & A�liations

Exemptions from Disclosure

No details of the Association, its Trustees, or its sta�have been omitted from this report.

Funds held as custodian trustee on behalf of others

The Association acts as a conduit for funds donated to local Nightlines through JustGiving. Donations are processed and paid to the Association, which then passes the money to the relevant Nightline or its parent body. These conduit funds are noted in the accounts. There were no funds held, to be passed to Nightlines, at the end of 2023.

Nightline Trust Activities

The Nightline Trust is a wholly owned subsidiary charity of the Nightline Association (registered charity number 1112793-1). It exists to take on ownership and/or oversight of Nightline services where there is no appropriate parent body such as a Students’ Union, but where the Nightline service remains sustainable and viable in the long term.

Our Nightline

The Nightline Trust oversaw the operation of one Nightline, Birmingham Nightline, in

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  1. The responsibility for the management and governance of Birmingham Nightline sits with the Nightline’s Board of Trustees, who were appointed in November 2022. The Nightline Trust remains the sole legal member of Birmingham Nightline and continues to provide support to the trustees.

During the reporting period, Birmingham Nightline has operated a reduced service, providing listening support to students in Birmingham via instant messaging while the feasibility of re-establishing a Nightline operating a full service in the city was assessed by the Birmingham Nightline Board of Trustees.

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Independent examiner's report

To the trustees of Nightline Association

Nightline Association

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Nightline Association (the charitable company) for the year ended 31 December 2023, which are set out on pages 26 to 37.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charitable company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’), the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'), and the Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 ('the 2005 Act').

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the charitable company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charitable company's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and section 44(1)(c) of the 2005 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act, and the requirements of regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 ('the 2006 Regulations').

Independent examiner’s statement

Godfrey Wilson Limited also provides payroll services to the charitable company. I confirm that as a member of the ICAEW I am subject to the FRC’s Revised Ethical Standard 2016, which I have applied with respect to this engagement.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

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Independent examiner's report

To the trustees of Nightline Association

Nightline Association

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Date: 2 May 2024 Rob Wilson FCA Member of the ICAEW For and on behalf of: Godfrey Wilson Limited Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

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Nightline Association

Statement of financial activities

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Restricted Unrestricted
Note
£
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
49,468
31,919
Charitable activities
4
-
5,576
Investments
-
384
Total income
49,468
37,879
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
-
7,427
Charitable activities
29,638
49,677
Total expenditure
5
29,638
57,104
6
19,830
(19,225)
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
38,435
126,617
Total funds carried forward
58,265
107,392
Net
income
/ (expenditure)
and movement in funds		 2023
Total
£
81,387
5,576
384
87,347
7,427
79,315
86,742
605
165,052
165,657		 2022
Total
£
55,253
4,824
555
60,632
216
61,392
61,608
(976)
166,028
165,052

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in note 13 to the accounts.

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Nightline Association

Balance sheet

As at 31 December 2023

Note
Current assets
Debtors
9
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within 1 year
10
Net current assets
Net assets
12
Funds
13
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
General funds
Total charity funds		 £
4,687
163,036
167,723
(2,066)		 2023
£
165,657
165,657
58,265
35,000
72,392
165,657		 2022
£
1,161
166,213
167,374
(2,322)
165,052
165,052
38,435
-
126,617
165,052

The directors are satisfied that the company is entitled to exemption from the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 (the Act) relating to the audit of the financial statements for the year by virtue of section 477(2), and that no member or members have requested an audit pursuant to section 476 of the Act.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for:

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

Approved by the trustees on 2 May 2024 and signed on their behalf by

Martin Smith - Treasurer

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Nightline Association

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

1. Accounting policies

a) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities in preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Nightline Association 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 note.

b) Going concern basis of accounting

The accounts have been prepared on the assumption that the charity is able to continue as a going concern, which the trustees consider appropriate having regard to the current level of unrestricted reserves. There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

c) Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from the government and other grants, whether 'capital' grants or 'revenue' grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

d) Donated services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item, is probable and the economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised.

On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

e) Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity: this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

28

Nightline Association

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

1. Accounting policies (continued)

f) Funds accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.

g) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

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

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

h) Allocation of support and governance costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity, including the costs of complying with constitutional and statutory requirements and any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities based on the proportion of staff time as follows:

2023 2022
Raising funds 15.0% 0.0%
Charitable activities 85.0% 100.0%

i) Debtors

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

j) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash 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.

k) Creditors

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

l) Conduit funding

Conduit funds are monies received for third parties and do not belong to the charity. The incoming funds and outgoing payments are excluded from the Statement of Financial Activities. Any conduit funds in hand at the year end are shown as creditors in the accounts.

29

Nightline Association

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

1. Accounting policies (continued)

m) Financial instruments

The charitable 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.

n) Pension costs

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for its employees. There are no further liabilities other than that already recognised in the SOFA.

o) Accounting estimates and key judgements

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

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

The charity does not have any accounting policies with key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant effect on the amounts.

2. Prior period comparatives: statement of financial activities

Income from:
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Investments
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Total expenditure
Net income / (expenditure) and movement in funds		 Restricted
£
£
45,000
10,253
-
4,824
-
555
45,000
15,632
-
216
10,311
51,081
10,311
51,297
34,689
(35,665)
Unrestricted		 2022
Total
£
55,253
4,824
555
60,632
216
61,392
61,608
(976)

30

Nightline Association

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

3. Income from donations and legacies

Grants
Donations
Gifts in kind
Total income from donations and legacies
Prior period comparative:
Grants
Donations
Gifts in kind
Total income from donations and legacies		 Restricted
£
£
49,468
6,000
-
11,798
-
14,121
49,468
31,919
Restricted
£
£
45,000
1,000
-
5,790
-
3,463
45,000
10,253
Unrestricted
Unrestricted		 2023
Total
£
55,468
11,798
14,121
81,387
2022
Total
£
46,000
5,790
3,463
55,253

4. Income from charitable activities

Subscriptions
Other income
Total income from charitable activities		 2023
Total
£
4,577
999
5,576		 2022
Total
£
3,504
1,320
4,824

Income from charitable activities was unrestricted in the current and prior period.

31

Nightline Association

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

5. Total expenditure

Raising
funds
£
Staff costs (note 7)
5,040
Other staff and volunteer costs
-
IT and telephone
-
Events
-
Fundraising costs
378
Legal and professional
-
Office and running costs
-
Trustee expenses
-
Sub-total
5,418
2,009
Total expenditure
7,427
Total governance costs were £2,334 (2022: £1,740).
Prior period comparative
Raising
funds
£
Staff costs (note 7)
-
Other staff and volunteer costs
-
IT and telephone
-
Events
-
Fundraising costs
216
Legal and professional
-
Office and running costs
-
Trustee expenses
-
Sub-total
216
-
Total expenditure
216
Allocation of support
and governance costs
Allocation of support
and governance costs		 Charitable
activities
£
26,135
7,385
5,524
14,092
-
13,365
1,429
-
67,930
11,385
79,315
Charitable
activities
£
22,869
1,965
14,113
7,099
-
10,533
29
-
56,608
4,784
61,392		 £
12,446
-
-
-
-
-
-
948
13,394
(13,394)
-
£
1,204
-
-
-
-
2,388
-
1,192
4,784
(4,784)
-
Support and
governance
costs
Support and
governance
costs		 2023 Total
£
43,621
7,385
5,524
14,092
378
13,365
1,429
948
86,742
-
86,742
2022 Total
£
24,073
1,965
14,113
7,099
216
12,921
29
1,192
61,608
-
61,608

32

Nightline Association

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

6. Net movement in funds

This is stated after charging:

Trustees' remuneration
Trustees' reimbursed expenses
Independent examiner's remuneration:
Independent examination (excluding VAT)		 2023
£
Nil
948
1,600		 2022
£
Nil
1,192
1,450

Trustees' reimbursed expenses represent payments to nine trustees' for travel and subsistence costs and other incidental costs relating directly to the charity. The reimbursed trustee expenses in the prior year represent payments to six trustees' for travel and subsistence costs.

There were no payments for other services provided by the independent examiner in either the current or prior year.

7. Staff costs and numbers

Staff costs were as follows:

Salaries and wages
Pension costs		 2023
£
42,334
1,287
43,621		 2022
£
23,318
755
24,073

No employee earned more than £60,000 during the current or prior year.

The key management personnel of the charitable company comprise the Trustees and the Chief Executive Officer. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel were £37,647 (2022: £Nil).

Average head count 2023
No.
1.00		 2022
No.
0.75

8. Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

33

Nightline Association

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

9. Debtors

Trade debtors
Prepayments		 2023
2022
£
£
262
34
4,425
1,127
4,687
1,161

10. Creditors : amounts due within 1 year

Trade creditors
Accruals
Other creditors (note 11)
11. Conduit funding
Balance at start of year
Funding received during year
Funding distributed during year
Balance at end of year		 2023
£
112
1,954
-
2,066
2023
£
557
2,271
(2,828)
-		 2022
£
25
1,740
557
2,322
2022
£
1,003
3,573
(4,019)
557

Conduit funds are monies received for third parties and do not belong to the charity. The charity passes them through the accounts to Nightlines to help their charitable purposes, but does not have control over their use. The receipts and payments referred to above have been excluded from the Statement of Financial Activities. The balance held at the end of the year is included in Other creditors (note 10).

34

Nightline Association

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

12. Analysis of net assets between funds

Analysis of net assets between funds
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets at 31 December 2023
Prior period comparative
Current assets
Current liabilities
Net assets at 31 December 2022		 £
58,265
-
58,265
Restricted
funds		 £
35,000
-
35,000
£
38,435
-
38,435
Designated
funds
Restricted
funds		 £
74,458
(2,066)
72,392
£
128,939
(2,322)
126,617
General
funds
General
funds		 Total
funds
£
167,723
(2,066)
165,657
Total
funds
£
167,374
(2,322)
165,052

35

Nightline Association

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

13. Movements in funds

Restricted funds
Charlie Waller Trust
Nominet
Innox
National Lottery
Total restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Remediating IT risks
Grant bridging
Total designated funds
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds		 At 1
January
2023
£
408
13,027
25,000
-
38,435
-
-
-
126,617
126,617
165,052		 Income
£
£
-
(408)
39,468
(4,230)
-
(25,000)
10,000
-
49,468
(29,638)
-
-
-
-
-
-
37,879
(57,104)
37,879
(57,104)
87,347
(86,742)
Expenditure		 £
-
-
-
-
-
30,000
5,000
35,000
(35,000)
-
-
Transfers
between
funds		 £
-
48,265
-
10,000
At 31
December
2023
58,265
30,000
5,000
35,000
72,392
107,392
165,657

Purposes of restricted funds

Charlie Waller Trust To fund training for Nightline volunteers on suicide calls. Nominet To fund digital projects. Innox To fund the salary of the CEO. National Lottery To increase training for Nightlines.

Purposes of designated funds

Remediating IT risks Funding should significant risks crystallise.

Grant bridging Allowance for a project should funding be delayed or paid in arrears.

36

Nightline Association

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 31 December 2023

13. Movements in funds (continued)

Movements in funds (continued)
Restricted funds
Charlie Waller Trust
Nominet
Innox
Total restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds
Prior period comparative		 At 1
January
2022
£
886
2,860
-
3,746
162,282
162,282
166,028		 Income
£
£
-
(478)
20,000
(9,833)
25,000
-
45,000
(10,311)
15,632
(51,297)
15,632
(51,297)
60,632
(61,608)
Expenditure		 £
408
13,027
25,000
At 31
December
2022
38,435
126,617
126,617
165,052

14. Subsidiaries

The Association has one direct subsidiary charity, the Nightline Trust (a charitable incorporated organisation, registered charity no 1112793-1) which is a linked charity of the Association under section 12(1) of the Charities Act 2011. No transactions were undertaken by this subsidiary in 2023. The Nightline Trust itself has a subsidiary charity, Birmingham Nightline (a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered company no 13605561, not required to register with the Charity Commission due to section 30(2)(d) of the Charities Act 2011). Birmingham Nightline prepares separate accounts.

37

© Nightline Association 2024 Registered company 05436297 Registered charity 1112793 (England & Wales) Registered charity SC050834 (Scotland)

The name “Nightline” and the Nightline logo are registered trademarks of the Nightline Association.