East European Resource Centre
(A company limited by guarantee)
Report of the EERC Trustees for the year ending 31 March 2023 Financial Statement Year ending 31 March 2023
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
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 Aleksandra Kowalska Legal Counsel
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
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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 2023. 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 2023 marked the start of the war in Ukraine and the onset of the cost-of-living crisis linked to rocketing inflation. Ongoing struggles of our most disadvantaged members of community to regularise their status in the UK post-Brexit and new arrivals from Ukraine imparted consistent pressure on our services as well. 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 met our objectives 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
Like in previous year, our work focused on two main areas: preventing loss of livelihood and homelessness and supporting community members to obtain EU Settled Status. Following the start of the war in that commenced on the 24[th] of February 2022, we mobilised immensely and developed a targeted services for Ukrainian evacuees in London, which enhanced our diversity to broader Eastern European non-EEA cohorts, among them Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. After many years of focussing on the 2004/7 EU extension nationals, we returned to supporting all Eastern European migrants again.
Our work remained built around four programmes: Advice, Advocacy, Immigration, and Community & Engagement. This financial year we supported 1,572 unique users . Overall, we provided 9,773 individual advice sessions within 1,463 support plans . Median average number of interactions per user is 3; mean average number per user is 6.2. We reached 82k community members via social media .
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To address essential needs of our most destitute users, this year we continued distributing small financial aid from our crisis fund that has been fed by donations from individual donors. The fund has been an additional resource specifically designed to support users in critical situation, in destitution and homelessness. With the slimming of funds available, we were able to support 5 households 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 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 took the lead in feeding to the government and regional policies relating the Ukraine war evacuees, and among others we worked with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (in charge of the route architecture) and Department for Work and Pensions, where we contributed to product tests so that users from this cohort face reduced barriers in accessing benefits. In order to improve the sector’s and local authority response, we led a number of London cross-sectoral meetings that brought together practitioners and funders, and we founded Ukraine Advice network for frontline advisers across the voluntary sector. We also worked with other decision-makers relevant to the welfare and wellbeing of Eastern Europeans, among them the National Health Service, the police services and the justice system.
A big step in building our influencing capacity and progressing migrant worker agenda had been a secondment of our deputy CEO, Esther McConnell in the Greater London Authority, where she had been leading the work on steering the interest of the regulators, advice providers and funders towards the availability of legal and support services for migrant workers, or lack thereof. Through this engagement, we reinvigorated relationships with labour market decision-makers, such as the Office of the Independent AntiSlavery Commissioner, Gangmasters’ and Labour Abuse Authority and the Greater London Authority (in respect to the EU and Ukrainian workers’ rights.) 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 the Money and Pensions Service on psychological impact of poverty among migrant populations; the GLA on cost of living crisis; a research project that informed work of the Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Unit at the National Crime Agency; the good practice research project by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority on access to immigration legal advice; the London Funders good practice research on legal advice workforce development; and European cross-border research on access to social welfare and European mobility. Last but not least, we joined an advisory panel for the EU migrants’ research by the Migration Observatory at Oxford University.
Organisational development and sustainability
The reporting period was a period of stability and growth for our charity. Our frontline delivery retained a hybrid character. It was dictated by lingering covid risks but above all, the cost-of-living crisis that translated
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to financial stress for users who needed to commute across London to access our services. 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 this reporting period, we extended of our services of evacuees from war-torn Ukraine thus extending reach beyond the EEA cohorts that had been the focus in years since the 2004 EU enlargement.
In terms of sustainability, we enjoyed the return to stability of funding. In this reporting period we enjoyed our regular, long-term funding agreements and 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, the cost-ofliving crisis, 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 29 November 2023
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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 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 threefold impact for Eastern Europeans :
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independent and healthy living
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safe migration, housing and work
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fair access to statutory public and policing services
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 :
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Eastern European Londoners to have improved chances in life and better quality of life through increased knowledge, skills and resilience;
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Eastern European Londoners to have improved voice and to be integrated in the British society, with opportunities to participate in and influence their local communities;
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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 :
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Provision of advice, advocacy and community support for disadvantaged Eastern European migrants in London;
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Delivery of outreach and information campaigns for benefit of the target group as well as the general public in the UK;
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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;
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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.
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Below graphs present statistical data on interactions and support plans (cases) per Programme. Programmes are: Advice – welfare, housing, general, debt; Immigration – EUSS, Ukraine; Advocacy – domestic abuse, hate crime, labour exploitation; and Isolation Support that is embedded in Community and Engagement project.
Below graphs present statistical data on access to work areas per unique user and the average number of interactions per user across the organisation. The latter includes only sustained interactions (cases) and excludes one-off interactions, such as signposts and enquiries outside the scope of the organisation.
Below graph presents statistical spread of types of interactions by which users accessed and benefitted from services across the organization, and quarterly dynamics of change. Figures include interactions that took place without a user, such as intermediating with councils, DWP or Home Office.
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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 cost of living crisis, evacuees from the war in Ukraine, and 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 731 support plans were opened in this reporting period. This number comprised of 3,403 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 (ended in this reporting period) and independent hate crime advocacy.
Overall 213 support plans were opened in this reporting period and these comprised of 1,935 interactions.
➢ Immigration Programme
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. In addition, we extended services to the members of the Ukraine evacuee population, with many cases relating humanitarian visa applications, extensions of existing visas, and regularisation of stay of overstayers caught in the UK by the war.
Overall 508 support plans were opened in this reporting period and these comprised of 4,187 interactions.
This reporting period was a challenge to us as a fee-charging immigration provider due to very limited capacity of staff.
➢ Isolation and community support
In this reporting period, we closed our covid check-in project that supported the most isolated and homebound users with regular telephone check-ins. Overall 9 isolated and home-bound users were supported through a grand total of 235 interactions.
We invested time in providing a wide-range community support to Eastern Europeans in East London, thanks to the generous funding from the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, and delivered an awareness campaign in relation to the covid vaccination and the general access to public health services.
➢ 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 the first year of the war in Ukraine, and against disruptions caused by it, we maintained unfailing commitment to this crucial systemic work.
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In the reporting period we have been active partners in groupings and projects, selection of which is listed below:
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EU Delegation: Monitoring Network - member
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Home Office: EUSS vulnerability working group - member
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London Strategic Migration Partnership – voluntary sector representative
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Greater London Authority: Migrant and Refugee Advisory Panel – lead member
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Greater London Authority: Homeless Migrant Advisory Panel – member
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Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority: NGO/Worker Liaison group – member
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Metropolitan Police: Hate crime Diamond Group – member
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Advice UK - member
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Advice Services Alliance – member
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Homelessness National Advice Services – member
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Child Poverty Action Group – member
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National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers – member
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EUSS Alliance (hosted by New Europeans) – member
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Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group - member
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Labour Exploitation Advisory Panel (hosted by FLEX) – expert contributor
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Refugee Action Good Practice Hub – advisory panel member
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BAME Advice Providers Network – steering group member
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The Migration Observatory – EU research advisory panel member
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Step Up Migrant Women Campaign – member of campaign for migrant women victims of domestic abuse and exploitation
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London Advice Funders – contributor to the skills gap assessment
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Financial Review
The year ending 31[st] March 2023 brough stability to our funding after years of covid disruption. Reliance on temporary, emergency and replacement funding streams was much less pronounced as many regular giving streams were reinstated. Only our Ukraine advice frontline depended on emergency funding. Overall, we succeeded in securing a few sustainable grants that secured robust 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, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, The National Lottery Community Fund, Justice Together Initiative, Trust for London, City Bridge Trust, London Community Foundation, Tudor Trust, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, AB Charitable Trust and Lloyds Bank Foundation.
The value of unrestricted income from donations reached £ 4,263. 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 (91%) and all nonpersonnel direct and indirect costs (9%).
Risk management
There were a number of risks identified in the reporting period. Risks related largely to:
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Financial risk: shortfall in covering operations - this risk was mitigated by securing enough restricted and unrestricted grants. Income was coming from a very diverse base and the risk of reliance on single stream was minimised.
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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 years previous.
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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.
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Operational risks: health risks to staff and users - we mitigated this risk by maintaining remote and hybrid delivery whereby in-person contact among staff members and with users was minimised to only essential appointments.
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Operational risk: mental wellbeing of staff – due to lingering situation of global pandemic and EERC’s swift shift to hybrid services, the stress resulting from the war in Ukraine and worry over welfare of our families in the light of the cost of living crisis, we ensured that our staff had support they needed. 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 maintained a comprehensive plan of support that focused on two main assumptions: 1) reinforcing team spirit and the sense of common objective (through morning all-staff 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 review and supervision procedures). Additionally, staff accessed to employee support programme, clinical supervision and regular mental health reflective sessions.
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- 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 2023/24 involve, above all, effective and efficient service delivery and good social return on long-term sustainable funding so that our service continues sustainably and grows in areas that reflect the changing needs of our constituent groups. Financially, the year 2023/24 will be devoted to securing ongoing long-term grants beyond the March 2024 so that services are not at cliff edge. Because of increasing diversity of user cohorts, coupled with progressively increasing complexity of issues they face – no less due to the immigration change that has started on the date of Brexit – we are prepared that our user base will grow and impact of our services on individual Eastern European lives in London will be stronger. Therefore we feel we must strive for peak performance.
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 after the Brexit date, and evacuees from Ukraine with their unique sets of needs.
To this aim we will be working towards developing mechanisms that 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.
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EERC 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.
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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, dayto-day organisational matters, 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 lingering impact of Covid-19 and of the cost of living crisis led the charity to maintain 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.
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Due to years of uncertainties resulting from the pandemic, the war and the cost of living crisis, 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 2022-23 should be not less than £130,000 at any given point, and reaching £160,000 in FY 2023-24. 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:
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Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
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Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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State whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed;
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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:
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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
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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
Elizabeth Vadillo (Treaturer)
29 November 2023
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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 2023 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:
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give a true and fair view of the state of the company's affairs as at 31 March 2023 and of its result for the year then ended;
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have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice;
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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:
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the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the accounts is not appropriate; or
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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
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accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the accounts are authorised for issue.
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:
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the information given in the directors’ report for the financial year for which the accounts are prepared is consistent with the accounts; and
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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:
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adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
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the accounts are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
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certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
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we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
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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.
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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 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 29 November 2023
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East European Resource Centre Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2023
| 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 2023 2023 2023 2022 £ £ £ £ 1,068,380 46,713 1,115,093 770,557 282 2,442 2,724 5,413 - 1,141 1,141 7 1,068,662 50,296 1,118,958 775,977 30,300 - 30,300 33,959 813,851 5,520 819,371 726,809 - 3,513 3,513 3,033 844,151 9,033 853,184 763,801 224,511 41,263 265,774 12,176 (7,886) 7,886 - - 206,128 274,823 480,951 468,775 422,753 323,972 746,725 480,951 |
|---|---|
| 422,753 323,972 746,725 480,951 |
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.
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East European Resource Centre Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2023
| 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 |
2023 2022 £ £ 64,337 55,732 689,038 457,308 |
|---|---|
| 753,375 513,040 |
|
| (6,650) (32,089) 746,725 480,951 |
|
| 746,725 480,951 |
|
| 422,753 206,128 323,972 274,823 |
|
| 746,725 480,951 |
The notes on pages 20 to 23 form part of these accounts.
Elizabeth Vadillo Treasurer Approved by the board on 29 November 2023
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East European Resource Centre Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023
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.
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East European Resource Centre Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31 March 2023
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Net Income for the year is stated | after charging: | £ | £ | |
| Auditors' Remuneration - Brookfield & Co | 3,500 | 2,866 | |||
| 3 | Expenses paid to trustees or persons connected with trustees | ||||
| The aggregate amount of expenses paid to trustees was | 13 | 167 | |||
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||
| 4 | Staff Costs and Emoluments | £ | £ | ||
| Gross Salaries | 713,694 | 609,877 | |||
| Social security costs | 64,009 | 50,154 | |||
| 777,703 | 660,031 | ||||
| Numbers of full time employees or full time equivalents | 2023 | 2022 | |||
| None of the Trustees received any remuneration during the | year (2022: Nil) | Nos | Nos | ||
| No employees earned more than £60000 pa. (2022: Nil) | |||||
| The average number of employees | |||||
| Engaged on Project Service | 22 | 22 | |||
| Engaged on Management and Administration | 2 | 3 | |||
| 24 | 25 | ||||
| 5 | Voluntary Income - Grants and donations | ||||
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||
| Restricted | Unrestricted | £ | £ | ||
| £ | £ | ||||
| London Community Foundation | 103,378 | - | 103,378 | 123,515 | |
| Justice Collaborations | 100,000 | - | 100,000 | - | |
| London Borough of Barking & Dagenham | 53,947 | - | 53,947 | - | |
| The National Lottery Community Fund | 171,168 | - | 171,168 | 141,198 | |
| Home Office | 126,758 | - | 126,758 | 124,485 | |
| Focus on Labour Exploitation | 25,304 | - | 25,304 | - | |
| POSK | 10,000 | - | 10,000 | 10,000 | |
| Galop | 22,108 | - | 22,108 | 13,514 | |
| AB Charitable Trust | - | 20,000 | 20,000 | - | |
| Lloyds Bank Foundation | - | 21,000 | 21,000 | 25,000 | |
| Trust for London | 85,000 | - | 85,000 | 49,154 | |
| Chelsea | Square 1994 Trust | - | 2,000 | 2,000 | - |
| Paul Hamlyn Foundation | 63,500 | - | 63,500 | 60,000 | |
| MOPAC | 306,667 | - | 306,667 | 39,985 | |
| London Borough of Ealing | - | - | - | 14,663 | |
| Imperial | Health | - | - | - | 137,969 |
| Tudor Trust | - | - | - | 25,000 | |
| Donations and misc. small grants | 550 | 3,713 | 4,263 | 6,074 | |
| 1,068,380 | 46,713 | 1,115,093 | 770,557 |
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East European Resource Centre Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31 March 2023
| 6 Resources Expended Restricted Costs of generating funds Fundraising costs - Staff Costs 30,300 Charitable Expenditure Staff Costs 747,403 Professional Fees 17,297 Volunteer expenses 52 Travel and meetings 548 Subscriptions and Publications 6,105 Insurance 4,373 Telephone and fax 5,675 IT expenses 7,227 Office and administration costs 7,269 Premises costs 14,777 Project costs 3,125 Governance Costs Audit and accountancy - Management Committee expenses - 844,151 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 |
Restricted - 30,300 747,403 17,297 52 548 6,105 4,373 5,675 7,227 7,269 14,777 3,125 - - |
Unrestricted 2023 2023 £ £ Total Total - - 3,659 - 30,300 30,300 - 747,403 629,731 2,590 19,887 15,903 - 52 30 - 548 - 698 6,803 6,240 - 4,373 4,483 - 5,675 5,174 72 7,299 9,945 1,860 9,129 5,528 - 14,777 25,192 300 3,425 24,583 3,500 3,500 2,866 13 13 167 9,033 853,184 763,801 2023 2022 £ £ 60,794 46,869 3,543 8,863 64,337 55,732 2023 2022 £ £ - 28,939 6,650 3,150 6,650 32,089 Restricted Unrestricted Total Funds Funds Funds £ £ £ - - - 422,753 330,622 753,375 - (6,650) (6,650) 422,753 323,972 746,725 |
Unrestricted 2023 2023 £ £ Total Total - - 3,659 - 30,300 30,300 - 747,403 629,731 2,590 19,887 15,903 - 52 30 - 548 - 698 6,803 6,240 - 4,373 4,483 - 5,675 5,174 72 7,299 9,945 1,860 9,129 5,528 - 14,777 25,192 300 3,425 24,583 3,500 3,500 2,866 13 13 167 9,033 853,184 763,801 2023 2022 £ £ 60,794 46,869 3,543 8,863 64,337 55,732 2023 2022 £ £ - 28,939 6,650 3,150 6,650 32,089 Restricted Unrestricted Total Funds Funds Funds £ £ £ - - - 422,753 330,622 753,375 - (6,650) (6,650) 422,753 323,972 746,725 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 844,151 | 9,033 | 853,184 763,801 |
|
| 422,753 323,972 746,725 |
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East European Resource Centre Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31 March 2023
10 Analysis of net assets between funds
| Restricted Funds: Social Welfare Advice Domestic Abuse Advocacy Labour Exploitation Advocacy Hate Crime Advocacy Immigration Services Isolation & Community Support General Advice Central Costs Total Restricted Funds Unrestricted Funds: Total Unrestricted Funds Total Funds |
At Incoming Outgoing At 1/4/22 Resources Resources Transfers 31/3/23 59,169 281,290 (209,060) (48,046) 83,353 19,966 410,234 (323,827) 2,932 109,305 - 15,115 (4,507) - 10,608 26,362 20,250 (26,113) - 20,499 48,155 176,758 (127,434) (32,403) 65,076 - 63,947 (51,346) (1,548) 11,053 52,476 - (20,906) 71,179 102,749 - 101,068 (80,958) - 20,110 206,128 1,068,662 (844,151) (7,886) 422,753 274,823 50,296 (9,033) 7,886 323,972 480,951 1,118,958 (853,184) - 746,725 |
|---|---|
| 480,951 1,118,958 (853,184) - 746,725 |
Social Welfare Advice – welfare, housing and money advice, community support and outreach to impoverished and marginalised Eastern Europeans in London, including a sizeable number of users recruiting from the evacuees from Ukraine
Domestic Abuse Advocacy – outreach and targeted victim support and advocacy for Eastern European victims of domestic violence and abuse
Labour Exploitation Advocacy - targeted victim support and advocacy for Eastern European victims of labour exploitation and abuse
Hate Crime Advocacy - targeted victim support and advocacy for Eastern European victims of hate crime
Immigration Services - advice and assistance for vulnerable Eastern Europeans to access and apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, Ukrainian humanitarian schemes, and related immigration instruments
Isolation & Community Support – outreach, telephone support and community groups for isolated or home-bound vulnerable Eastern Europeans
General Advice – outreach, helplines and life-in-the-UK advice and assistance for impoverished, marginalised, exploited and socially excluded Eastern Europeans
Central Costs - salaries and on-costs of the Chief Executive and the Deputy CEO
11 Related party transactions and trustees' remuneration
Trustees' Remuneration
Trustees received no remuneration in respect of their services as Trustees (2022: £nil). Travel expenses of £nil were paid in the period (2022: £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 (2022: None).
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