East European Resource Centre
(A company limited by guarantee)
Report of the EERC Trustees for the year ending 31 March 2022 Financial Statement Year ending 31 March 2022
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
Senior staff Aleksandra Kowalska Legal Counsel Barbara Drozdowicz Chief Executive Officer Esther McConnell Deputy CEO Florina Tudose Advocacy Programme Manager Malgorzata Pakulska Advice Programme Manager Nazan Ozgur Immigration/EUSS Programme Manager Urszula Skiba Community & Engagement Project Manager Principal address Room 18 238-246 King Street London W6 0RF
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
2
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 2022. 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 2022 was the second year of Covid-19, the EU Settlement Scheme deadline, and a start of the war in Ukraine. Our work has been therefore, as many times before, focused on those most disadvantaged who were at risk of losing their homes, wellbeing and rights to decent life. I am proud that we didn’t fail in this undertaking and our organisation grew and developed to provide a wide range of services as required by our most disadvantaged beneficiaries, and that foundations laid in the years previous proved to be stable to build on in years ahead of us.
Service delivery and user frontline
Similarly to previous year, our work focused on two main areas: preventing loss of livelihood and lives to Covid-19, and supporting community members to obtain EU Settled Status before and after the EU Settlement Scheme deadline that fell on the 31[st] of June 2021. Sadly, in February another crisis befell Eastern European community – a war in Ukraine that commenced on the 24[th] of February 2022 which propelled our strategy of opening up services to broader Eastern European cohorts including those who come from non-EEA states, among them Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
Our work was build around four programmes: Advice, Advocacy, Immigration, and Isolation Support. This financial year we supported 1,090 new unique users , aside thousands of users who turned to us in previous years. Overall, we provided 9,550 individual advice sessions . We reached 480k community members via social media .
3
To address essential needs of our most destitute users, this year we continued distributing small financial aid from our Covid-19 crisis fund that has been fed by donations from individual donors. The fund has been an additional resource specifically designed to support users in absolutely critical situation, in destitution and homelessness. With the slimming of funds available, we were able to support 10 families who received one-off payments to see them through until they receive benefits, jobs or other statutory support.
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 contributed to our Covid crisis fund and Ukraine Appeal.
Policy, representation and good practice development
Our frontline work feeds into social policy influencing that aims to make changes to British policies thus improving complex systems and enhance users’ independence in taking own action. We continued consistent engagement with the policy makers, and among them Home Office, the EU Delegation, and the Greater London Authority where we are a voluntary sector 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. We also worked with other decision-makers relevant to the welfare and wellbeing of Eastern Europeans, among them the Department for Work and Pensions, National Health Service, the police services and the justice system.
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 significantly in networks and groups that aim to influence policies around supporting migrant DV victims as well as migrant victims of hate crime.
We worked with many academic and research projects as well. Most importantly, we significantly contributed to the research commissioned by Crisis on homelessness among EEA migrants. We also worked with other research teams looking at take-up of rights and best practices in supporting vulnerable Eastern Europeans to effective and meaningful support systems.
Organisational development and sustainability
The reporting period marked the return of some stability for our charity. Regardless of pressures on our welfare and EUSS advice, and new quality assurance systems introduced in response to risks inherent in our independent DV, modern slavery and hate crime advocacies, we secured continued high-quality service to users and enjoyed relative stability of funding.
Our frontline delivery retained a hybrid character. We learnt from experiences in the first year of Covid pandemic and applied careful health risk management methods to ensure safe and consistent hybrid
4
delivery that comprises of in-person and remote delivery. This has been supported by continuous involvement of our community members via digital channels, predominantly social media.
The focus of user-facing work remained the same: Eastern European migrants who are disadvantaged, excluded and exploited. In the final month of this reporting period we prepared for the extension of our services of evacuees from war-torn Ukraine thus extending reach beyond the EEA cohorts that had been the focus in years since 2004 EU enlargement.
In terms of sustainability, we enjoyed the return to some stability of funding. In this reporting period we entered into regular, long-term funding agreements and renewed some long-standing arrangements built over the last three years. We also raised modest donations that contributed to our emergency appeals, for which we are deeply grateful.
Taking everything into consideration – the immigration change, lingering effects of Covid-19 and the impact of war in Ukraine – the year was a success that contributes to ongoing quality and consistency of our work.
On Behalf of the Board of Trustees
Gera Drymer, EERC Chair
6 October 2022
5
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 community support for disadvantaged Eastern European migrants in London;
-
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;
6
- 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 :
➢ Advice Programme
The programme 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.
The primary areas of advice and assistance in the reported period were: welfare benefits, housing and homelessness, debt, accessing health, food and fuel poverty, and obtaining new ID/passports.
Overall 588 support plans were opened in this reporting period. This number comprised of 2,357 interactions.
➢ Advocacy Programme
The programme provides victim support and advocacy for Eastern European community members whose welfare, wellbeing and life is at risk. In this reporting period we delivered three victim support activities: independent domestic violence advocacy, independent modern slavery advocacy and independent hate crime advocacy.
Overall 220 support plans were opened in this reporting period and these comprised of 1,510 interactions.
➢ Immigration Programme
Eastern European EUSS Centre has been our ongoing activity since 2019, thanks to the 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. 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.
Overall 583 support plans were opened in this reporting period and these comprised of 4,945 interactions.
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 very limited delivery and provided advice and support in 27 non-EUSS immigration enquiries.
➢ Isolation and community support
Since the first lockdown in Spring 2020, we have been supporting our most isolated and home-bound users with regular telephone check-ins. In this reporting period and thanks to support from the Polish Social and Cultural Association (POSK) among others, we started a regular volunteer-led programme that focused on telephone isolation support as well as community groups for lonely users to attend and re-build social networks.
Overall 47 isolated and home-bound users were supported through a grand total of 735 interactions.
➢ 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
7
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:
-
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 – member
-
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
-
Homelessness National Advice Services – member
-
Child Poverty Action Group – member
-
National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers – member
-
Advice UK - member
-
Advice Services Alliance – member
8
Financial Review
The year ending 31[st] March 2022 brough a level of stability to our funding after a year of covid disruption. While in this reporting period we had to rely on short-term emergency and replacement grants, this reliance was much less pronounced as many regular giving streams were reinstated. Even though the funding model in the UK was temporarily changed by covid, we succeeded in securing a number of sustainable grants that secured sustainable and continuous delivery to all our four main areas of work.
In this reporting period we achieved almost even split between the statutory (direct and indirect, from central as well as local governments) and independent funding. Among the funders who kindly supported our work in this reporting period are: Home Office, Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, Ministry of Justice, London Borough of Ealing, The National Lottery Community Fund, Trust for London, City Bridge Trust, London Community Foundation, Tudor Trust, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and Lloyds Bank Foundation.
The value of unrestricted income from donations reached £ 5,673. As the adverse impact of the pandemic lingered and in the light of essential needs of evacuees from war-torn Ukraine, 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 (85%) and all nonpersonnel direct and indirect costs (15%).
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 one and three years, mitigated the risk acutely felt the year previous.
-
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 lingering situation of global pandemic and EERC’s swift shift to remote services as well as stress resulting from the war in Ukraine and worry over safety of our families in neighbouring countries, 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 focused on two main assumptions: 1) reinforcing team spirit and the sense of common objective (through morning allstaff zoom meetings and weekly team meetings) and 2) re-designing quality assurance procedures to improve confidence in times of crisis management (user assessment processes, improved file
9
review and supervision procedures). Additionally, staff accessed 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 hybrid delivery.
Plans for the future
Our plans for 2022/23 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 social advocacy for Eastern Europeans unable to execute their rights as EU nationals residing in the UK, those who arrive in 2021 and later, and evacuees from Ukraine with their unique sets of needs. To this aim we will be working towards developing a dedicated research and engagement mechanisms that would allow us to conduct in-depth analysis of existing and emerging needs thus helping us to proactively formulate social policy recommendations. 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 and above all, broader Eastern European group.
10
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 Nazan Ozgur Immigration/EUSS 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.
11
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: Nat West, 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.
12
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 in FY 2021-22 and 2022-23 should be £190,000 and not less than £160,000 at any given point. 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)
13 October 2022
13
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.
14
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
15
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 2022
16
East European Resource Centre Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2022
| 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 2022 2022 2022 2021 £ £ £ £ 739,980 30,577 770,557 813,167 3,657 1,756 5,413 6,479 - 7 7 51 743,637 32,340 775,977 819,697 33,959 - 33,959 40,879 722,045 4,764 726,809 597,750 2,970 63 3,033 3,012 758,974 4,827 763,801 641,641 (15,337) 27,513 12,176 178,056 - - - - 221,465 247,310 468,775 290,719 206,128 274,823 480,951 468,775 |
|---|---|
| 206,128 274,823 480,951 468,775 |
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 19 to 23 form part of these accounts.
17
East European Resource Centre Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2022
| 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 |
2022 2021 £ £ 55,732 118,359 412,251 249,878 |
|---|---|
| 513,040 530,610 |
|
| (32,089) (61,835) 480,951 468,775 |
|
| 480,951 468,775 |
|
| 206,128 221,465 274,823 247,310 |
|
| 480,951 468,775 |
The notes on pages 19 to 23 form part of these accounts.
Brian Phillip Reed Secretary Approved by the board on 13 October 2022
18
East European Resource Centre Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022
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.
19
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 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||
| 2 Net Income for the year is stated |
after charging: | £ | £ | |
| Auditors' Remuneration - Brookfield & Co | 2,866 | 3,012 | ||
| 3 Expenses paid to trustees or persons connected with trustees |
||||
| The aggregate amount of expenses paid to trustees was | 167 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||
| 4 Staff Costs and Emoluments |
£ | £ | ||
| Gross Salaries | 609,877 | 526,615 | ||
| Social security costs | 50,154 | 44,648 | ||
| 660,031 | 571,263 | |||
| Numbers of full time employees or full time equivalents | 2022 | 2021 | ||
| None of the Trustees received any remuneration during the year (2021: Nil) | Nos | Nos | ||
| No employees earned more than £60000 pa or more. (2021: Nil) | ||||
| The average number of employees | ||||
| Engaged on Project Service | 22 | 20 | ||
| Engaged on Management and Administration | 3 | 3 | ||
| 25 | 23 | |||
| 5 Voluntary Income - Grants and donations |
||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||
| Restricted | Unrestricted | £ | £ | |
| £ | £ | |||
| London Community Foundation | 123,515 | - | 123,515 | 36,959 |
| Barrow Cadbury Trust | - | - | - | 49,850 |
| Trust for London | 49,154 | - | 49,154 | 73,500 |
| Paul Hamlyn Foundation | 60,000 | - | 60,000 | 100,000 |
| London Borough of Ealing | 14,663 | - | 14,663 | - |
| Big Lottery Fund | 141,198 | - | 141,198 | 99,929 |
| Imperial Health | 137,969 | - | 137,969 | - |
| Home Office | 124,485 | - | 124,485 | 136,758 |
| POSK | 10,000 | - | 10,000 | - |
| Tudor Trust | 25,000 | - | 25,000 | 2,000 |
| Lloyds Bank Foundation | - | 25,000 | 25,000 | 6,250 |
| Age UK Ealing | - | 100 | 100 | 150 |
| Galop | 13,514 | - | 13,514 | 2,486 |
| MOPAC modern slavery | 39,985 | - | 39,985 | - |
| City Bridge | - | - | - | 93,702 |
| EUSS | - | - | - | 116,342 |
| AB charitable trust | - | - | - | 10,000 |
| Trust for London (Workers) | - | - | - | 17,250 |
| Other COVID one off grants | - | - | - | 11,000 |
| Prevent | - | - | - | 38,890 |
| Donations and misc small grants | 497 | 5,477 | 5,974 | 5,401 |
| LB Redbridge | - | - | - | 12,850 |
| 739,980 | 30,577 | 770,557 | 813,317 |
20
East European Resource Centre
| Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 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 Costs of project partners 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 |
2022 2021 £ £ Total Total 3,659 10,579 30,300 30,300 629,731 540,963 15,903 5,377 30 (34) - 53 6,240 2,493 4,483 2,110 5,174 4,257 9,945 7,422 5,528 12,659 25,192 20,308 24,583 2,142 2,866 3,012 167 - 763,801 641,641 2022 2021 £ £ 46,869 118,359 8,863 - 55,732 118,359 2022 2021 £ £ 28,939 58,735 3,150 3,100 32,089 61,835 Restricted Unrestricted Total Funds Funds Funds £ £ £ - - - 235,067 277,973 513,040 (28,939) (3,150) (32,089) 206,128 274,823 480,951 |
2022 2021 £ £ Total Total 3,659 10,579 30,300 30,300 629,731 540,963 15,903 5,377 30 (34) - 53 6,240 2,493 4,483 2,110 5,174 4,257 9,945 7,422 5,528 12,659 25,192 20,308 24,583 2,142 2,866 3,012 167 - |
|---|---|---|
| 763,801 641,641 |
||
| 2022 2021 £ £ 46,869 118,359 8,863 - |
||
| 55,732 118,359 |
||
| 2022 2021 £ £ 28,939 58,735 3,150 3,100 |
||
| 32,089 61,835 |
||
| 206,128 274,823 480,951 |
21
East European Resource Centre Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31 March 2022
10 Analysis of net assets between funds
| Restricted Funds: The National Lottery Community Fund Central Costs RF Total Covid-19 Response EUSS Centre Hate Crime Isolation & Community Support Modern Slavery MoJ DV Fund MOPAC Modern Slavery MOPAC VAWG Grassroots Fund TFL Workers City Bridge Trust Total Restricted Funds Unrestricted Funds: Total Unrestricted Funds Total Funds |
At Incoming Outgoing At 1/4/20 Resources Resources Transfers 31/3/21 - 141,198 (94,839) - 46,359 3,912 85,000 (61,412) (27,500) - 105,725 64,691 (117,939) - 52,477 26,865 235,932 (236,862) - 25,935 31,776 28,263 (33,173) (504) 26,362 - 36,522 (36,120) (402) - - 10,189 (24,790) 14,601 - - 43,391 (57,196) 13,805 - - 71,037 (55,210) - 15,827 - 27,414 (23,275) - 4,139 40,377 - (18,157) - 22,220 12,810 - - - 12,810 |
|---|---|
| 221,465 743,637 (758,973) - 206,129 |
|
| 247,310 32,340 (4,827) - 274,823 |
|
| 468,775 775,977 (763,800) - 480,952 |
The National Lottery Community Fund – welfare advice, community support and outreach to impoverished and marginalised Eastern Europeans in London
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
Hate Crime - information campaign, outreach and support for Eastern Europeans affected by hate crime and radicalisation
Isolation & Community Support – telephone support and community groups for isolated or home-bound vulnerable Eastern Europeans
Modern Slavery - targeted outreach to Eastern European victims of labour exploitation, trafficking and modern slavery
MoJ DV Fund - targeted victim support and advocacy for Eastern European victims of domestic violence and abuse
MOPAC Modern Slavery - targeted victim support and advocacy for Eastern European victims of trafficking and modern slavery
MOPAC VAWG Grassroot Fund - targeted victim support and advocacy for Eastern European victims of domestic violence and abuse
TFL Workers - outreach and targeted advocacy for Eastern Europeans in labour exploitation
City Bridge Trust – covid-19 fund to provide advice to victims of domestic violence
22
11 Related party transactions and trustees' remuneration
Trustees' Remuneration
Trustees received no remuneration in respect of their services as Trustees (2021: £nil). Travel expenses of £nil were paid in the period (2021: £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 (2021: None).
23