East European Resource Centre
(A company limited by guarantee)
Report of the EERC Trustees for the year ending 31 March 2021 Financial Statement Year ending 31 March 2021
Charity number 1114607
Company number 05617439
East European Resource Centre
Company Information
Status
East European Resource Centre has charitable status and is a company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital.
Directors
Gera Drymer (Chair) Vez Pawluczyk (Vice-chair) Brian Reed (Secretary) Elizabeth Vadillo (Treasurer) Krystyna Bell Staff Aleksandra Chabrowska Gateway Assistant Aleksandra Kowalska Legal Counsel Ana Ganta Gateway Assistant Anca Dimofte Independent Domestic Violence Advocate Anita Barylska Independent Modern Slavery Advocate Barbara Drozdowicz Chief Executive Officer Beata Samonek Independent Domestic Violence Advocate Dana Jozefkowicz Senior Welfare and Immigration Adviser Daniela Necsulescu Welfare Adviser Diana Klosowska EUSS Adviser Elena Visilean EUSS Adviser Esther McConnell Deputy CEO Elzbieta Wilczynska EUSS Adviser Ewa Fajkowska EUSS Adviser Florina Tudose Advocacy Programme Manager Irina Alina Petaca EUSS Adviser Iulia Cristina Sacalas EUSS Adviser Joanna Karwecka Immigration Adviser Katarzyna Mroczkowska Community Giving Coordinator Lukasz Jasniak EUSS Adviser Magdalena Wisniewska EUSS Adviser Malgorzata Pakulska Advice Programme Manager Marta Radelli EUSS Adviser Paula Geanau Outreach & Communications Manager Urszula Skiba EUSS Project Manager Principal address
Room 18 238-246 King Street London W6 0RF
2
Bankers
NatWest CAF Bank 22 Kings Mall 25 Kings Hill Avenue Hammersmith West Malling London Kent W6 0QD ME19 4JQ
Auditors
Brookfield & Co 18 Concanon Road London SW2 5TA
Registered number 05617439
Charity Registration Number 1114607
OISC No. F201500954
3
East European Resource Centre
Registered number: 05617439
Directors’ Report
Foreword
The EERC Trustees are pleased to present their Annual Directors’ Report for the year ending 31 March 2021. The report is presented together with the financial statement and balance sheet of the charity which was prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.
The financial statement and balance sheet complies with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015).
Chair’s Report
The year ending 31 March 2021 was the year of Covid-19. Following the leaving of the United Kingdom from the European Union on the 31[st] January 2020 and end of the Transition Period on the 31[st] December 2020, the global Covid-19 proved to be yet another historic event of profound impact on our community and the charity, the one that brought unparalleled disruption, anxiety and personal sacrifices, which many of Eastern Europeans experienced and lived through.
Covid-19 and Brexit frontline
This year brought high levels of disruption and unprecedented stress and harm to our users resulting from the global pandemic. Covid-19 lockdown and sheer health impact of this viral disease impacted on our users’ ability to work, maintain tenancies, socialise and integrate to their local communities and, last but not the least, the ability to maintain live connection with homeland and families therein. The effect has been the impoverishment, loss of job opportunities in sectors where our target users find occupation and breakdown of all sectors altogether, rapidly deepening social isolation, mental health issues and in many families also isolation-induced abuse and exploitation.
Additionally to global pandemic woes, Eastern Europeans, as the whole European family in the UK, had no other option but to face the challenge of meeting the deadline of application to EU Settlement Scheme falling on the 31[st] of June 2021. The EUSS deadline fell six months after the end of the Transition Period which meant that our fellow migrants arriving from the 1[st] January 2021 onwards haven’t been enjoying the protection of the Withdrawal Agreement, thus have been falling into the new Point-based Immigration System (PBIS) and require appropriate leave to enter the UK. For us, it meant not only ensuring that the immigration advice capacity is in place for the run-up to the 31[st] June deadline (period between end of Transition and the deadline being called the Grace Period) but also that we have capacity to cater for the needs of community members fearing the end of Transition Period thus wanting to submit EUSS applications in 2020. The pandemic and many-month suspension of public services, including consular passport services, delivered not only a double but treble whammy for our community members, caught between needing to apply to EUSS to secure rights to reside in their British home and an inability to obtain necessary IDs and other documentation that would allow them to do so.
Our work focused therefore on two main areas: preventing loss of livelihood and lives to Covid-19, and on supporting community members to obtain EU Settled Status. As such, we maintained alignment to our vision and mission, and prevented loss of core services, by securing emergency and replacement funding lost due to Covid-19 disruption; in addition to core services, we developed new areas of work and methods of delivery to address unique circumstances of the pandemic. Moreover, thanks to our long-standing culture of service flexibility and agility, responsiveness to user needs, and with gratitude to our staff who
4
exhibited a great deal of resistance, initiative and exceptionally high understanding to the needs of both the community and colleagues, we managed to not only maintain our usual high standard of work, but grow the charity and its reach beyond any expectations given the circumstances.
This financial year we supported 1,790 new unique users , aside thousands of users who turned to us in previous years. Overall, we provided 9,680 individual advice sessions . We reached 1.3M community members via social media , of which 52,000 people directly engaged with our content (live sessions and infographics). The latter statistics alone shows the scale and depth of disruption to our delivery model, but we learnt from the disruption and turned it into success.
To address essential needs of our most destitute users, this year we set up a Covid-19 crisis fund raised from individual donations from our supporters. The fund has been an additional resource specifically designed to support users in absolutely critical situation, in destitution and homelessness, in particular single parents with children and vulnerable adults, who are receiving welfare, housing and employability advice, domestic violence and modern slavery advocacy. Even though the funds are slim, 23 families received one-off payments to see them through until they receive benefits, jobs or other statutory support.
For this I would like to thank our frontline staff and volunteers for their relentless efforts in reaching out and supporting the most disadvantaged Eastern Europeans. I would also like to thank funders who provided resources and other support that allowed us to operate and grow. We give special thanks to our supporters for their donations that allowed us to create the crisis fund.
Policy, representation and good practice development
Frontline was not the only work we were engaged in. We continued consistent engagement with the policy makers, and among them Home Office and the Greater London Authority where we are a community and voluntary representative for the London Strategic Migration Partnership. Our focus had been firmly placed on influencing positive change in EU Settled Status product and application process as well as in supporting decision-makers in overcoming barriers applicants faced in accessing essential consular services, document evidence of stay and so forth.
Because the pandemic affected work of the low-income Eastern Europeans badly and the last quarter of this financial year saw the end of the freedom of movement with-in the EU, we maintained relationship with labour market decision-makers, such as the Office of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Gangmasters’ and Labour Abuse Authority and the Greater London Authority (in respect to the EU workers’ rights campaigns.)
We also engaged in Covid-specific good practice activities. Most notably, we supported NHS/PHE to ensure that health messaging reaches all Eastern Europeans above barriers they ordinarily face in accessing public services and information. We also took active part in migrant sector groupings devoted to crisis management, and engaged positively with a wide range of funders to bring to their attention the immediate and disastrous impact of the pandemic on user needs and organisational capabilities across the migrant advice sector.
Organisational development and sustainability
The reporting period was very challenging for our charity. To add to pressures linked to overhaul of immigration rules, the EU Settlement Scheme milestones, and welfare and housing eligibility effected by Brexit, Covid-19 led the organisation to radically review operations in the light on public health risks.
On 18 March 2020 we went into lockdown thus stopping all in-person services and shifting delivery to telephone, email and social media channels. To replace popular events, we engaged in extensive programme of Facebook live events, as well as produced a number of YouTube videos independently and under the umbrella of the Greater London Authority suite of self-help materials. Only in August 2020 we were able to return to limited in-person advice and advocacy solely for the most vulnerable users.
5
The focus of user-facing work remained the same: Eastern European migrants who are disadvantaged, excluded and exploited. In this reporting period Covid-19 expanded our reach beyond London, due to the shift to distance delivery methods, but our core constituency remains the Greater London and Home Counties areas.
In terms of sustainability, the reporting period created its own unique, unprecedented challenges for charities of our size and scope. Covid presented disruption to our usual funding streams, with many regular grants being suspended or cancelled. In their place funders offered short-term emergency or replacement grants that gave us much needed cashflow injection, but also flexibility in delivery. We were also able to access specialist funding that helped us to respond to significant emergencies, such as a spike in domestic abuse in isolated families. Overall, regardless of disruptions, we managed to secure finances for our ever expanding portfolio of services and invest in areas of work that are otherwise difficult to fund, such as digital-only services and individual giving.
Taking everything into consideration – Brexit, looming immigration system overhaul, global pandemic – we believe the year has been a great success for our charity. And a year that contributed to our future-proofing and continued sustainability.
On Behalf of the Board of Trustees
Gera Drymer, EERC Chair
6 December 2021
6
About Us
EERC Purpose
The purpose of East European Resource Centre is to relieve poverty among East Europeans and advance education, employment and awareness of rights and responsibilities.
EERC Vision
Our vision is of London being home to Eastern Europeans where they can make choices about their families, work and homes, and live fulfilled lives as respected members of local communities.
EERC Mission
Our mission is to provide voice and resources to Eastern European migrants who experience poverty, exploitation and social exclusion in order to enable them to make choices about their lives and realize their potential as equal members of communities.
Through our mission we want to achieve a twofold impact :
-
Eastern European migrants in London to have improved quality of life and realize their potential as valued members of local communities.
-
Public agencies, service providers and the general public to recognise Eastern Europeans in London as equal partners and valued members of the community.
Our Approach
Our mission, vision, planned impact, aims and objectives are enshrined in a strategy that is underpinned by workload-based evidence, research and consultation with users and stakeholders. These three elements are major contributors to our service delivery and future planning. We recognize that the external environment is in constant flux. To remain relevant, we strive to be a learning, adaptive organization not only responding to needs, but foreseeing them and planning to mitigate some adverse impacts of changes on our target users, as well as broader communities they are part of.
Summary of our aims and objectives
Our Aims :
-
Eastern European Londoners to have improved chances in life and better quality of life through increased knowledge, skills and resilience;
-
Eastern European Londoners to have improved voice and to be integrated in British society, with opportunities to participate in and influence their local communities;
-
Public agencies, service providers and the general public to have increased understanding of needs of Eastern European Londoners and are more accessible to all.
We achieve our aims through the following Objectives :
-
Provision of advice, advocacy and skills guidance for disadvantaged Eastern European migrants in England;
-
Delivery of outreach and information campaigns for benefit of the target group as well as the general public in the UK;
-
Development of good practice guidance founded on the evidence of needs of Eastern Europeans in the UK and carrying out research into aspects of life, work and public policies that may affect welfare, wellbeing and integration of the target group into the British society;
7
- Policy change influencing to enable effective integration of Eastern Europeans in the UK and improvement of their choices over personal and professional lives leading to better chances in life.
Our key activities over the year included :
➢ Covid-19 poverty and housing
The project supported disadvantaged, marginalized and excluded members of Eastern European community who were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, but also those who required support by the virtue of ongoing ill-health, disability and frailty. This activity was focused on emergency and crisis advice and assistance: 1) individual advice, casework and assistance; 2) outreach: digital materials, live Facebook events and YouTube videos.
The primary areas of advice and assistance in this group are: welfare benefits, housing, debt, accessing health, applying for National Insurance Number, food and fuel poverty, unfair worker treatment, job seeking, and obtaining new ID/passports. While none of these issues were new for our frontline service, Covid circumstances rendered them much more acute and their resolution was often critical to users’ ability to live in the UK.
Overall 930 support plans were opened in this reporting period. This number comprised of 3,129 interactions.
➢ Domestic abuse advocacy
In this reporting period we obtained targeted funds to provide Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy for female victims of domestic abuse. This activity, however not new to our work, benefited from training and professional development of the service thanks to which we were able to set up fully professional, accredited IDVA service.
Overall 119 support plans were opened in this reporting period and these comprised of 300 interactions.
➢ Modern Slavery Advocates
This activity is a continuation of our previous Eastern European Slavery Survivors project. Targeting specifically Polish and Romanian victims, the project focused on pre-detection, detection and postdetection information and advice, and offered support to victims of modern slavery/human trafficking that were interested in accessing the government’s support scheme (National Referral Mechanism).
It is worth noting that victims of labour exploitation, modern slavery and trafficking accessing our activity characterised with significant levels of multiple vulnerabilities, majority of whom having suffered deep trauma, physical and mental health issues. It is reflected in markedly higher number of interactions in each support plan.
Overall 116 support plans were opened in this reporting period and these comprised of 640 interactions.
➢ Eastern European EUSS Centre and other immigration services
Eastern European EUSS Centre has been our ongoing activity since 2019, thanks to the generous funding from the Home Office which enabled us to provide a wide-ranging portfolio of services to all vulnerable and disadvantaged Eastern Europeans in London and Home Counties. In the reporting period we maintained provision of individual advice, casework and assistance in applying for the EU Settled Status, provision of ‘aftercare’ to users who have applied previously but were unable to access or use their online status to evidence rights, and continuation of outreach information campaign through digital channels, among them our very popular Facebook lives.
8
Our focus remined on primary applicants, i.e. individuals applying themselves or for their children living in the UK. We expect that in the following years focus will shift more to joining family members and late applicants, i.e. those who don’t meet the EUSS deadline that fell on the 30[th] June 2021.
Overall 934 support plans were opened in this reporting period and these comprised of 4,918 interactions.
Other Immigration Services
This reporting period was a challenge to us as a fee-charging immigration provider due to difficulty in providing in-person services. However, we managed to keep delivery. We provided advice and support in 65 British citizenship enquiries and further 310 other immigration enquiries.
We expect that interest to apply for naturalization will be growing steadily. We are building capacity to provide broad immigration advice and services relating new point-based immigration system specifically to enable access to low-cost immigration services to those who are covered by immigration controls, i.e. EU nationals arriving after the 1[st] January 2021.
➢ Policy influencing and good practice
Through CEO and Senior Management Team, we seek to use our expert knowledge and experience of supporting disadvantaged Eastern Europeans and other marginalized members of European family in the UK to influence national and regional policy, and improve practice in our sector and government. We give evidence to working groups, attend events, respond to consultations, take part in a number of sector forums, and work in formal partnerships. Throughout the Covid pandemic, and against disruptions caused by it, we maintained unfailing commitment to this crucial systemic work.
In the reporting period we have been active partners in groupings and projects, selection of which is listed below:
-
House of Commons’ select committee on Exiting the EU – oral evidence (July 2020)
-
EU Delegation – member of the Monitoring Network
-
Home Office: EUSS vulnerability working group
-
Home Office: EUSS civil society engagement group
-
London Strategic Migration Partnership – voluntary sector representative
-
Greater London Authority: Migrant and Refugee Advisory Panel – lead member
-
Greater London Authority: Homeless Migrant Advisory Panel – lead member
-
London Assembly Brexit Working Group – oral evidence contributor
-
EUSS Alliance (hosted by New Europeans) – member
-
Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority: NGO/Worker Liaison group – member
-
Metropolitan Police: Hate crime Diamond Group – member
-
London Working Group – Modern Slavery (with Human Trafficking Foundation) - member
-
Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group - member
-
Labour Exploitation Advisory Panel (hosted by FLEX) – expert contributor to reports around exploitation and Covid-19
-
Step Up Migrant Women Campaign – member of campaign seeking to enable safe exit and improved support for migrant women victims of domestic abuse and exploitation
-
Lloyds Bank – expert contributor to work on financial inclusion for vulnerable people
-
Homelessness National Advice Services – member
-
Child Poverty Action Group – member
-
National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers – member
-
Advice UK - member
-
Advice Services Alliance – member
9
Financial Review
The year ending 31[st] March 2021 was a year of disruption in our funding. While the core of our income consists mainly of multi-year grants and grants for innovation, in this reporting period we had to rely on short-term emergency and replacement grants, as many regular giving streams were suspended due to unprecedented uncertainty related to the Covid pandemic. Even though the funding model in the UK was temporarily changed, we succeeded in securing enough Covid grants to ensure smooth services for users, develop new portfolio of work, and strengthen our cross-programme functions, among them digital outreach and individual giving.
Among the funders who kindly supported our work in this reporting period are: Home Office, The National Lottery Community Fund, Trust for London, City Bridge Trust, London Community Foundation, Tudor Trust, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, AB Charitable Trust, Barrow Cadbury Trust, LB Ealing, LB Hounslow, and a number of other small grants.
The value of unrestricted income from donations reached £ 5,251. As the adverse impact of the pandemic had become very clear for us, we decided to ring-fence donations from individual supporters to one-off destitution payments for beneficiaries of our advice and advocacy activities where a small payment was necessary to secure access to food, baby products, house fuel, hospital transport or similar essentials.
Expenditure in the reporting period continued to be focused on frontline delivery, with no asset investment made. Our biggest expenditure represented fixed personnel costs comprising of staff (89%) and all nonpersonnel direct and indirect costs (11%).
Risk management
There were a number of risks identified in the reporting period. Risks related largely to:
-
Financial risk: shortfall in covering operations - this risk was mitigated by securing a sufficient amount of restricted and unrestricted grants. Income was coming from a very diverse base and the risk of reliance on single stream was minimised.
-
Financial risk: sustainability of grants - in this reporting period the length of grants, most of which were between three and nine months, heightened our sustainability risk. this risk was mitigated by increased resources put to use to obtain multiple grants, which strategy proved to be successful.
-
Operational risks: growth of operations – in order to mitigate any risks resulting from growth of our operational base, we continued fine-tuning the structure of the organisation. Additionally, staff were provided with a broad range of training that helped us to provide enrichment to roles and allowed us to rotate colleagues between various frontline functions to reinforce team spirit.
-
Operational risks: health risks to staff and users - we mitigated this risk by focusing on remote and hybrid delivery whereby in-person contact among staff members and with users was minimised to only essential appointments, with the majority of appointments shifted to mobile phones, social media communicators and outreach events broadcast via social media, most notably Facebook Lives.
-
Operational risk: mental wellbeing of staff – due to unprecedented situation of global pandemic and EERC’s swift shift to remote services, we ensured that our current and potential users had access to full portfolio of our services. Rapidly emerging needs and crisis that our users had to deal with risked that colleagues may burn out in the fast-paced, critical service delivery. To mitigate this risk we introduced a comprehensive plan of support that focus on two main assumptions: 1) reinforcing team spirit and the sense of common objective (through daily morning all-staff zoom meetings and rotation of tasks on the frontline to avoid isolating particular roles) and 2) redesigning quality assurance procedures to improve confidence in times of crisis management (user assessment processes, improved file review and supervision procedures). Additionally, staff gained
10
access to employee support programme, clinical supervision and regular mental health reflective sessions.
-
Reputational risks: breakdown of services – this risk was mitigated in line with financial and operational risks. Thanks to securing multiple grants and providing equipment and support to staff members, we ensured smooth remote and then hybrid delivery
-
Covid-19 risk: governance – our risk assessment followed the government public health advice and included: suspension of all in-person work during the lockdown, moving all staff to work-fromhome arrangements together with providing suitable ICT technology followed by tightly assessed hybrid arrangements, and developing online services that replace in-person outreach activities (e.g. workshops for live-streamed social media events) thus allowing us to protect continuity of our services and the mission. The Management Committee had been updated weekly on risk assessment and measures to protect staff and users, and steps of altering these measures in line with the government public health advice. Due to high level of uncertainty, there is no deadline when Covid emergency delivery measures will expire, and risk assessment is made on an on-going basis.
Plans for the future
Our plans for 2021/22 involve, above all, efforts to return to long-term sustainable funding in order to ensure service continuity, sustainability and growth in areas that reflect the changing needs of our constituent groups. We intend to keep sustained focus on policy change and development of good practice in supporting vulnerable Eastern Europeans, together with specialist advocacy for Eastern Europeans unable to execute their rights as EU nationals residing in the UK and those who arrive in 2021 and later. Our expertise in supporting users to access the EU Settled Status will be harnessed to develop new immigration services addressing needs of new arrivals from the EU and their families. We also plan to return to our objectives around hate crime victim support and hostilities mitigation.
11
EEAC Structure, Governance and Management
Directors and Trustees
The directors of the charitable company (the charity) are its trustees for the purpose of charity law. The trustees serving and staff employed during the year were as follows:
Senior staff Barbara Drozdowicz Chief Executive Officer Esther McConnell Deputy CEO Malgorzata Pakulska Advice Programme Manager Florina Tudose Advocacy Programme Manager
Governing Document and legal status
The East European Resource Centre (EERC) is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 9 November 2005 and registered as a charity on 6 June 2006. The company was established under the Memorandum of Association, which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association. Articles and Memorandum were changed by special resolution registered at Companies House on the 12[th] March 2015 as amended by certificate of incorporation on change of name dated the 17[th] May 2016.
Trustee selection and appointment
The directors of the company are also trustees for the purpose of charity law and under the company’s Articles are known as members of the Management Committee. Under the requirements of the Memorandum and Articles of Association the members of the Management Committee are elected to serve a period of one year, and can stand for re-election at the Annual General Meeting. At each Annual General Meeting following the first one, one third of the Directors must retire from office by rotation.
According to the Articles of Association, the Management Committee shall be not less than three, and (unless otherwise determined by ordinary resolution) shall not be subject to any maximum. During the period of this financial statement, the Committee’s membership was reduced from eight to five.
The overall objective of selection is to seek trustees who represent views of the East European population in England, but who can also contribute wider knowledge, experience and expertise.
EERC maintains an updated list of skills, knowledge and expertise offered by members of the Management Committee.
Trustee induction and training
These divide into two types: training and refresher courses which focus on the various roles and responsibilities of members of committees, and familiarisation courses covering topics related to EERC’s work. Each member has a folder consisting of the organisation’s constitution, business plan, latest audited accounts and latest annual report.
New Trustees are asked to spend a period of one or more days at EERC’s offices in order to familiarize themselves with the day-to-day activities of the charity. They also have a one-to-one briefing meeting with the Committee Chair in order to gain knowledge of the Committee’s responsibilities, and those of its members. New committee members are encouraged to join one of the Management Committee’s subgroups.
Committee members also attend briefing sessions run by funding bodies.
12
Organisational structure
The Management Committee oversees the operation of the charitable company and is responsible for the overall policy and strategic direction. The Management Committee has no line-management function and delegates the entire responsibility for operations to the Chief Executive Officer of the organisation. A Chief Executive Officer is appointed by the trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity. To facilitate effective operations, the Chief Executive Officer has delegated authority within terms of delegation approved by trustees. Delegated operational responsibility includes finance, employment and performance matters. The Chief Executive Officer is supported by the Deputy CEO who is responsible for operations, day-to-day organisational maters, and strategic Human Resources management.
The Management Committee meet on average four to six times a year to receive reports on the activities of the Centre from the Chief Executive Officer, and to decide issues of policy. There are sub-committees covering development, membership, finance and audit. These normally meet bi-annually (depending on evolving internal and external matters that require scrutiny), and make recommendations to the full Management Committee on relevant matters.
Related parties
None of our trustees receive remuneration or other benefit from their work with the charity. Any connection between a trustee of the charity with a supplier, a consultant or a contractor must be disclosed to the full board of trustees in the same way as any other contractual relationship with a related party. In the current year no such related party transactions were reported.
All other instances of conflict of interest are treated in line with the EERC Conflict of Interest Policy and other relevant policies and procedures.
Reference and administrative details
Charity number: 1114607 Company number: 05617439
Registered Office: Room 18, 238-246 King Street, London W6 0RF
Our advisers
Auditors: Brookfield & Co, 18 Concanon Road, London SW2 5TA
Bankers: Natwest, 22 Kings Mall, London W6 0QD; CAF Bank, 25 Kings Hill Avenue, West Malling, Kent ME19 4JQ
Reserves Policy
The Trustees of the EERC consider that accumulating reserve funds to enable the organisation to cope with specific unforeseen events, contingencies and opportunities is an essential part of carrying out their duties in overall management of the EERC affairs. They have established a policy whereby the unrestricted funds not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets held by the charity should be 3 months of the expenditure.
In the reporting period, the impact of Covid-19 and related risks led the charity to change of the operational reserves policy in the recognition of uncertainty in regular funding. It has been agreed that the charity is striving to accumulate high operational reserves in order to prevent a financial gap leading to breakdown of services. Operating reserves foreseen as necessary to fill the gap created between regular grant-giving and Covid emergency grant-funding in the light of the regular grant-funding disruptions will be retained for use as Trustees see fit, to prevent loss of management and administration capacity, loss of fundraising capacity and to ensure continued high-quality operations.
13
Due to Covid-related uncertainties and the recent growth of the organisation, the Management Committee reviewed the dissolution reserves in order to prevent unnecessary ring-fencing of free financial resources while preventing the risk of defaulting on financial responsibilities. The reserves policy from April 2020 prescribes ring-fencing resources necessary for two months expenditure plus statutory redundancy payments for staff eligible. It’s envisaged that the value of dissolution reserves should be not less than £95,000 at any given point, and aiming for £130,000. Should the charity lose staff or resources (such as offices liable for rent), the reserves will be reviewed downward thus releasing resources back to free operational reserves pot.
Statement of Trustees responsibilities
The trustees are responsible for preparing the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom generally accepted accounting practice for each financial year, which gives a true and fair view of the state of the charity’s affairs and of its profit and loss 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 in the Charities SORP;
-
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
-
State whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed;
-
Prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company, and enable them to ensure that financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also required for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence to take 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 differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Statement as to disclosure to our auditors
In so far as the trustees are aware at the time of approving our trustees’ annual report:
-
There is no relevant information, being information needed by the auditor in connection with preparing their report, of which the group’s auditor is unaware, and
-
The trustees, having made enquiries of fellow directors and the group’s auditor that they ought to have individually taken, have each taken all steps that he/she is obliged to take as a director in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.
By order of the Board of Trustees
Brian Phillip Reed (Secretary)
6 December 2021
14
East European Resource Centre Independent auditors' report to the Trustees of East European Resource Centre
Opinion
We have audited the accounts of East European Resource Centre for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Profit and Loss Account, the Balance Sheet and notes to the accounts, 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 FRS 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
This report is made solely to the 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 company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
In our opinion the accounts:
-
give a true and fair view of the state of the company's affairs as at 31 March 2021 and of its result for the year then ended;
-
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice;
-
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
Basis of opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the accounts section of our report. We are independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the accounts in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and the provisions available for small entities, in the circumstances set out below, 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.
In accordance with the exemption provided by FRC's Ethical Standard - Provisions Available for Audits of Small Entities, we have assisted with the preparation of the accounts.
Conclusions relating to going concern
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:
-
the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the accounts is not appropriate; or
-
the directors have not disclosed in the accounts any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the accounts are authorised for issue.
15
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the report and accounts, other than the accounts and our auditor’s report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the accounts 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. In connection with our audit of the accounts, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the accounts or our knowledge obtained in 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 there is a material misstatement in the accounts or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
-
the information given in the directors’ report for the financial year for which the accounts are prepared is consistent with the accounts; and
-
the directors’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
-
adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
-
the accounts are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
-
certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
-
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
-
the directors were not entitled to prepare the accounts in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the directors’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
Responsibilities of directors
As explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities statement, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the accounts and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of accounts that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the accounts, the directors are responsible for assessing the 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 directors either intend to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the accounts
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the accounts as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted
16
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 accounts.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the accounts is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
J A Brookfield (Senior Statutory Auditor) 18 Concanon Road for and on behalf of London Brookfield & Co SW2 5TA Accountants and Statutory Auditors 6 December 2021
17
East European Resource Centre Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2021
| Notes Incoming resources Incoming resources from generated funds: Voluntary Income - Grants and donations 5 Other Income Investment income Total Incoming Resources Resources expended Costs of generating funds Charitable activities Governance Total resources expended 6 Net incoming resources expended for the Year Transfers between funds Funds brought forward Total Funds carried forward |
Restricted Unrestricted Total Total Funds Funds Funds Funds year to 31 March 2021 2021 2021 2020 £ £ £ £ 778,666 34,501 813,167 675,774 - 6,479 6,479 4,600 - 51 51 88 778,666 41,031 819,697 680,462 14,774 26,105 40,879 6,020 612,318 (14,568) 597,750 527,576 2,262 750 3,012 2,246 629,354 12,287 641,641 535,842 149,312 28,744 178,056 144,620 2,760 (2,760) - - 69,393 221,326 290,719 146,099 221,465 247,310 468,775 290,719 |
|---|---|
| 221,465 247,310 468,775 290,719 |
All of the above results derive from continuing charitable grants and activities and there were no recognised gains or losses other than the above results.
The notes on pages 20 to 23 form part of these accounts.
18
East European Resource Centre Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2021
| Notes Current assets Debtors 7 Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 8 Net current assets Total assets Funds of the Charity Restricted Funds 10 General Funds 10 Total Funds 10 |
2021 2020 £ £ 118,359 82,391 412,251 249,878 530,610 332,269 (61,835) (41,550) 468,775 290,719 468,775 290,719 221,465 69,393 247,310 221,326 468,775 290,719 |
|---|---|
| 468,775 290,719 |
The notes on pages 20 to 23 form part of these accounts.
Brian Phillip Reed Secretary Approved by the board on 6 December 2021
19
East European Resource Centre Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021
1. Basis of accounting and accounting policies
a) Accounting Conventions
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and on a going concern basis, which is dependent upon the availability of adequate continued funding. The nature of the charity’s funding is inherently uncertain as it is only agreed by the funding bodies every one to three years. Should grant funding be discontinued in future years, the charity would have to find other sources of funding, or significantly curtail its activities. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities published on 16/7/14, The Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective January 2015) and the Companies Act 2006.
Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).
Change in basis of accounting
There has been no change to the accounting policies (valuation rules and methods of accounting) since last year.
b) Incoming resources
Incoming resources are included in the SOFA when the charity becomes entitled to the resources, the Trustees are virtually certain they will receive the resources and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient certainty. Where incoming resources have related expenditure (as with fundraising for contract income), the incoming resources and related expenditure are stated gross in the SOFA. Grants and donations are only included in the SOFA when the charity has unconditional entitlement to the funds. The value of any volunteer help received is not included in the accounts but is described in the Trustee’s annual report. Investment income is included when receivable.
c) Resources Expended
Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out resources. Resources expended include attributable VAT which cannot be recovered. Governance costs include costs on the preparation and examination of statutory accounts, the costs of Trustee meetings and costs of any legal advice to the Trustees on governance or constitutional matters. Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of the resources e.g., Staff costs by the time spent and other costs by their usage.
d) Restricted and Unrestricted Funds
The accounts distinguish between restricted and unrestricted funds. Restricted funds are received from donors and are subject to restrictions on the purposes for which they may be used. Unrestricted funds are those where there are no externally imposed restrictions and are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
e) Debtors
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid after taking account of any trade discounts due.
f) 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.
g) Creditors and provisions
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 ore estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
h) Legal status of the Trust
The trust is a company limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £1.
20
East European Resource Centre Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31 March 2021
| East European Resource Centre Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||
| 2 Net Income for the year is stated |
after charging: | £ | £ | ||
| Auditors' Remuneration - Brookfield & Co | 3,012 | 2,225 | |||
| 3 Expenses paid to trustees or persons connected with trustees |
|||||
| The aggregate amount of expenses paid to trustees was | 0 | 21 | |||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||
| 4 Staff Costs and Emoluments |
£ | £ | |||
| Gross Salaries | 526,615 | 331,621 | |||
| Social security costs | 44,648 | 30,163 | |||
| 571,263 | 361,784 | ||||
| Numbers of full time employees or full time equivalents | 2021 | 2020 | |||
| None of the Trustees received any remuneration during the year (2019: Nil) | Nos | Nos | |||
| No employees earned more than £60000 pa or more. (2019: Nil) | |||||
| The average number of employees | |||||
| Engaged on Project Service | 20 | 9 | |||
| Engaged on Management and Administration | 3 | 3 | |||
| 23 | 12 | ||||
| 5 Voluntary Income - Grants and donations |
|||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||
| Restricted | Unrestricted | £ | £ | ||
| £ | £ | ||||
| City Bridge trust | 93,702 | - | 93,702 | 36,800 | |
| London Community Foundation | 36,959 | - | 36,959 | - | |
| Tudor Trust | 2,000 | - | 2,000 | 25,000 | |
| Big Lottery Fund | 99,929 | - | 99,929 | 45,733 | |
| EUSS | 116,342 | - | 116,342 | 301,529 | |
| Trust for London (covid-19) | 73,500 | - | 73,500 | 59,878 | |
| Greater London Authority | - | - | - | 6,977 | |
| LB of Barking Dagenham | - | - | - | 82,000 | |
| Home Office | 136,758 | - | 136,758 | 71,626 | |
| Miscellaneous other grants and donations | - |
150 | 150 | 6,231 | |
| Lloyds Bank Foundation | - | 6,250 | 6,250 | - | |
| AB Charitable Trust | - | 10,000 | 10,000 | - | |
| LB Redbridge | - | 12,850 | 12,850 | - | |
| Trust for London (workers) | 17,250 | - | 17,250 | - | |
| Barrow Cadbury Trust | 49,850 | - | 49,850 | - | |
| Other Covid one-off grants | 11,000 | - | 11,000 | - | |
| Prevent | 38,890 | - | 38,890 | - | |
| Galop (sla) | 2,486 | - | 2,486 | - | |
| Donations | - | 5,251 | 5,251 | - | |
| 778,666 | 34,501 | 813,167 | 675,774 |
21
East European Resource Centre Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021
| 6 Resources Expended Costs of generating funds Fundraising costs Staff Costs Charitable Expenditure Staff Costs Professional Fees Volunteer expenses Travel and meetings Subscriptions and Publications Insurance Telephone and fax IT expenses Office and administration costs Premises costs Grants outwards to partner organisations Governance Costs Audit and accountancy Management Committee expenses 7 Debtors Grants receivable Other debtors and prepayments 8 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Deferred Income Other accruals 9 Analysis of net assets between funds Tangible fixed assets Current Assets Current Liabilities |
2021 2020 £ £ Total Total 10,579 6,020 30,300 - 540,963 361,784 5,377 5,795 (34) 437 53 2,593 2,493 869 2,110 2,132 4,257 4,239 7,422 6,168 12,659 9,358 20,308 22,612 2,142 111,589 3,012 2,225 - 21 641,641 535,842 2021 2020 £ £ 109,496 82,391 8,863 - 118,359 82,391 2021 2020 £ £ 58,735 37,250 3,100 4,300 61,835 41,550 Restricted Unrestricted Total Funds Funds Funds £ £ £ - - - 280,200 250,410 530,610 (58,735) (3,100) (61,835) 221,465 247,310 468,775 |
2021 2020 £ £ Total Total 10,579 6,020 30,300 - 540,963 361,784 5,377 5,795 (34) 437 53 2,593 2,493 869 2,110 2,132 4,257 4,239 7,422 6,168 12,659 9,358 20,308 22,612 2,142 111,589 3,012 2,225 - 21 |
|---|---|---|
| 641,641 535,842 |
||
| 2021 2020 £ £ 109,496 82,391 8,863 - |
||
| 118,359 82,391 |
||
| 2021 2020 £ £ 58,735 37,250 3,100 4,300 |
||
| 61,835 41,550 |
||
| 221,465 247,310 468,775 |
22
East European Resource Centre Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31 March 2021
10 Analysis of net assets between funds
| Restricted Funds: City Bridge Trust Central Costs RF Total Covid-19 Response EUSS Centre GLA Brexit outreach Hate Crime Modern Slavery Trust for London (Workers) Total Restricted Funds Unrestricted Funds: Total Unrestricted Funds Total Funds |
At Incoming Outgoing At 1/4/20 Resources Resources Transfers 31/3/21 12,657 37,400 (37,247) - 12,810 - 80,000 (76,088) - 3,912 32,296 326,041 (252,612) - 105,725 21,677 253,099 (247,911) - 26,865 2,763 - (2,763) - - - 41,376 (9,600) - 31,776 - - (2,760) 2,760 - - 40,750 (373) - 40,377 69,393 778,666 (629,354) 2,760 221,465 221,326 41,031 (12,287) (2,760) 247,310 290,719 819,697 (641,641) - 468,775 |
|---|---|
| 290,719 819,697 (641,641) - 468,775 |
CBT Poverty - advice and outreach to Eastern Europeans affected by poverty and destitution
Central Costs RF - salaries and on-costs of the Chief Executive and the Deputy CEO
Covid-19 Response - advice, advocacy and practical support for Eastern Europeans affected by Covid-19 pandemics
EUSS Centre - advice and assistance for vulnerable Eastern Europeans to access and apply to the EU Settlement Scheme
GLA Brexit Outreach - information campaign and outreach advice for Eastern Europeans in accessing the EU Settled Status
Hate Crime - information campaign, outreach and support for Eastern Europeans affected by hate crime and radicalisation
Modern Slavery - Eastern European Slavery Survivors: targeted victim support and advocacy for Eastern European victims of trafficking and modern slavery
MOPAC Modern Slavery - targeted victim support and advocacy for Eastern European victims of trafficking and modern slavery
TFL Workers - outreach and targeted advocacy for Eastern Europeans in labour exploitation
11 Related party transactions and trustees' remuneration
Trustees' Remuneration
Trustees received no remuneration in respect of their services as Trustees (2020: £nil). Travel expenses of £nil were paid in the period (2020: £nil).
Related Party Transactions
No Trustees or other person related to the charity had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the charity (2020: None).
23