REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 05603630 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1115352
Report of the Trustees and
Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
for
Home-Start Dudley (A Company Limited by Guarantee)
Lewis Smith & Co. Chartered Certified Accountants The Old Doctor's House 74 Grange Road Dudley West Midlands DY1 2AW
Home-Start Dudley
Contents of the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
| Page | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Report of the Trustees | 1 | to | 7 |
| Independent Examiner's Report | 8 | ||
| Statement of Financial Activities | 9 | ||
| Balance Sheet | 10 | to | 11 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 12 | to | 18 |
| Detailed Statement of Financial Activities | 19 | to | 20 |
Home-Start Dudley
Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Constitution, Object, Status and Policies
The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 26 October 2005. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association. Home-Start Dudley was formerly a charity governed by a constitution. Home-Start Dudley was set up to provide volunteer-led support, friendship and practical help to families with young children. Home-Start believes that children need a happy and secure childhood and that parents play the key role in giving their children a good start in life and helping them achieve their full potential. Home-Start's beneficiaries are families who need some extra support to cope with the stresses and strains of bringing up children while experiencing additional pressures arising from issues such as poor mental health, physical illness and disability, raising a child as a lone parent, relationship breakdown, domestic abuse, housing issues and homelessness, poverty, isolation.
The objects of the charity are:
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To safeguard, protect and preserve the good health, both physical and mental, of children and parents of children
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To prevent cruelty or maltreatment of children
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To relieve sickness, poverty and need amongst children and parents of children
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To promote the education of the public in better standards of childcare
To achieve the charity's purpose for its' beneficiaries, Home-Start Dudley continues to maintain its core service providing support to families with at least one child under 5 years old. This support, typically made available to families for around two hours a week, has been delivered in the family home and in local community settings. In order to deliver the core service the charity has recruited, trained and managed volunteers from within local communities.
Our volunteers, who usually have parenting experience, appreciate the stresses and strains families with young children can face. They provide regular home-visiting support to referred families.
Families are referred to us by health visitors and health service providers, professionals from the children and families sector and community organisations. Families also self-refer into our service. We run special family groups and hold social events for families when funding allows.
Although an independent scheme, Home-Start Dudley is affiliated to Home Start UK.
The charity is organised so that the management committee meets regularly to manage its affairs and formulate the charity's policies.
Public Benefit Statement
In planning the activities for the year, the trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and planning our future activities. The Trustees are satisfied that the objects are in the public interest and that the benefit relates to the objects of the Charity. Our charitable activities focus on the support of families and are undertaken to further our charitable purposes for the public benefit.
The charity operates within Dudley Borough and the benefit is available free of charge, to families with at least one child under 5 resident in Dudley Borough. The number of families we are able to help is linked to funding and service capacity.
The charity is very grateful to its volunteers and funders, without whom the charity would not exist.
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Home-Start Dudley
Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE
Development, activities and achievements this year
Over the last year, Home-Start Dudley has provided home-visiting support for referred families living in Dudley borough with at least one child under five years of age. Families have accessed our service for a variety of reasons: our support for families has responded to a wide range of needs and issues impacting family life, reflective of the holistic family focused service Home-Start Dudley provides.
Through our home-visiting service, for the year ending 31st March 2024, the charity has supported 35 families: this includes 82 children, 7 of whom had a disability and 5 of whom had additional needs and 10 parents with a disability, additional need or health condition. These families were supported by our team of home visiting volunteers and Home-Start staff.
As a service, we operate referral routes that support access for families: families can self-refer or be referred by a third party (third party referrals come from a wide range of sources including Health Visitors, Family Hubs, Early Education Providers and Early Years services, universal health services and organisations/agencies working with children and families). We also work in partnership or collaboration with a range of statutory agencies, professionals and third sector providers as part of assisting families to access essential, beneficial support; promoting and protecting the wellbeing and welfare of parents and children.
To increase the ease with which families, professionals, partners, volunteers, supporters, donors and others can engage with Home-Start Dudley we have invested in enhancing our online presence during the year. Our website helps the people and communities we serve connect with our charity, with the services and opportunities we provide for Dudley borough. It is a vital and valuable source of information, provides immediate access to families and professionals requesting Home-Start support and enables potential volunteers to express interest in and apply for volunteer roles. As an online platform, it is effective in assisting Home-Start Dudley to achieve wide reach to those who need our support and those who want to support us.
The core service delivery model for families is built around volunteer peer-to-peer relational support. Families receive regular support tailored to their circumstances, focused on mutually agreed support needs and priorities. During the financial year, families have been offered face-to-face support (typically taking place in the family home) and, where appropriate, an element of remote support has also been incorporated into their individual support plan. This approach aids accessibility and provides enhanced flexibility throughout a family's journey of support.
Alongside this provision, supported families have accessed our early education resources, toy and story bag library and zoo visit resources during the reporting year. Families have received children's activity packs, school readiness packs, bedtime bags to promote positive bedtime routines, early literacy and healthy sleep, family oral health information and resource packs, Book Trust packs and to mark Storytelling Week, a mini library of children's story books. These resources support children's learning and development, school readiness, health and emotional and mental well-being. As part of our core service, we support families access to grants for emergency essentials (e.g. Children in Need Emergency Essentials programme, Buttle Trust UK, Household Support Fund) and working in partnership with local businesses, organisations and donors has also enabled families to benefit from support with emergency household grocery packages, useful family friendly items, family toiletries/care products, children's clothing/shoes, FoodBank and Babybank assistance and children's toys/gifts at special or festive times of year.
Our Dudley Zoo pass was made available to supported families, enabling families to visit the zoo and enjoy quality time together outside of the family home. Families also attended a Home-Start Dudley trip to Brockswood Animal Sanctuary during the summer.
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Home-Start Dudley
Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
Our support focuses on the whole family, responding to the needs of parents and children. We have helped parents to grow in confidence and manage the demands of raising young children by providing peer-based parenting support, practical assistance and emotional support. Parenting, though incredibly rewarding, can also feel stressful, overwhelming and lonely at times. Unicef UK research on parental mental health for parents of children aged 0-4 years (published 2023), found that sixty-one per cent said they had concerns about their mental health, with those on lower incomes most likely to be affected. Difficulties mentioned by the parents included feeling overwhelmed (49%), anxious (43%), unsupported (36%) and lonely (26%) all or a lot of the time in the past 12 months. More than two-thirds (70%) of parents with babies and young children said it was getting harder every year to be a parent in Britain, while the same number felt that being a parent today was harder than it was for their parent's generation
Two-thirds of the parents we supported during the last twelve months were experiencing mental health issues, a third were lone parents and many expressed feeling isolated and lonely. Our regular peer relationship support has helped parents to manage their mental health, improve their sense of mental and emotional wellbeing, feel less lonely and isolated and benefit from accessing local groups, activities and services. Home-Start support has also helped parents with key areas of family life such as family finances and budgeting, family routines and day to day management and running of the family home. Support for families equally focused on responding to children's needs, promoting children's health, wellbeing, learning and development. This has involved child-centred activity in the home and local community settings, offering positive play, enrichment activities and learning experiences to support children's holistic development. We have also helped parents to access community-based services for children and early education provision. Our child-centred focus has helped parents and children enjoy quality time together and incorporated a range of approaches which supported children to develop early communication and school readiness skills (almost 50% of children supported were identified as needing speech and language support).
Integral to provision of our core home visiting support for families are the volunteers who generously give their time, energy and commitment. During the year our volunteers supported families and completed useful ongoing training made available through Home-Start and our external providers. Volunteers benefited from accessing valuable training from DMBC Public Health and our statutory partners, access to which is appreciated and very useful in helping volunteers provide effective, skilled support for families. Additional training attended included children's oral health, parent and infant emotional wellbeing, ICON, perinatal mental health, parent-infant relationships and safer sleep.
This year, following successful completion of our volunteer training course, we were pleased to welcome a new cohort to Home-Start Dudley's existing team of volunteers, meaning that for the reporting year our volunteer team consisted of 25 volunteers.
As a charity, we recognise the right and importance of every child to have the opportunity to thrive. As part of our commitment to Dudley children and families, during the year we have worked with our valued statutory and non-statutory partners to help shape local service offers, opportunities and programmes of support for families. We have supported Dudley's Child Friendly Dudley initiative, DMBC's Growing up in Dudley project, Dudley's 1001 days, Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes and the development of support directed at meeting the needs of fathers. We have also undertaken Home-Start UK Big Hopes, Big Future training, a school readiness programme which helps families to know how best to equip their children's education and development in the earliest years. This training will enable the families we support to benefit from the Big Hopes, Big Future programme, enhancing our contribution to a key Dudley borough health and wellbeing strategy objective of ensuring children are school ready by the time they start primary school.
We were grateful, to receive small grant assistance from DCVS as a contribution towards volunteer related training and support and very much appreciate the ongoing support of CHADD, with whom we share an office base in Brierley Hill. We express our thanks to CyberSharp IT, NHS 999, Waitrose Stourbridge, Himley Road Methodist Church and Xandor Automotive for their interest, support and generosity.
Home-Start Dudley would like to thank everyone who has supported the charity over the last year and been part of helping Home-Start Dudley make a positive difference to Borough families. We appreciate the contribution of all our trustees, volunteers, staff and many supporters and stakeholders to the work of the charity. We also acknowledge the support received from Home-Start UK and the Home-Start network.
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Home-Start Dudley
for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
Report of the Trustees
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Financial position
The Statement of Financial Activities shows total income of £63,260 (2023 - £62,913) and expenditure of £59,576 (2023 - £59,414) resulting in a net income for the year of £3,684 (2023 - £3,499).
The funds carried forward to the next financial year are £79,985 (2023 - £76,301). Of these funds £77,181 (2023 - £71,307) are unrestricted reserves made up as follows:
£14,237 (2023 - £8,394) are general unrestricted funds £27,500 (2023 - £27,500) are designated funds set aside as reserves (see reserves policy below) £5,444 (2023 - £5,413) are unrestricted reserves relating to Dudley MBC £30,000 (2023 - £30,000) are an unrestricted strategic development reserve.
The remaining funds are restricted reserves of £2,804 (2023 - £4,994).
Reserves policy
The management committee has agreed a reserve of £27,500 should be kept which it considers to be sufficient to cover potential short-term changes in funding strategies and winding-up costs if necessary. This consists of a provision for statutory redundancy payments and contract cancellation charges plus an appropriate contingency for other closure costs. As at year ended 31 March 2024, we believe this reserve to be sufficient to cover at least three months operating costs and our total reserves sufficient to cover nine months operating costs. The directors' long-term aspiration is to continue to build unrestricted reserves whenever the opportunity affords to allow for rises in costs, increases in planned activity and fluctuations in funding to ensure sufficient cash flow.
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Home-Start Dudley
Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
FUTURE PLANS
In these difficult times, we are aware of the shared experience of families with young children, individuals volunteering to help them and small, independent local charities such as ours as we all respond to the challenge of meeting daily demands and pressures.
This awareness brings into sharp relief the importance of preserving our service for parents and children, of ensuring we reach and continue to support as many families as possible. In the current climate, families are struggling, struggling to keep their heads above water, struggling to keep a roof over their heads, struggling to access the essential services and support they need, to stay well and to avoid crisis. Responding to the exigencies of day-to-day existence can call upon all available focus, energy, resources and reserves. Simply staying afloat or concentrating on putting one foot in front of another can cast a long shadow over everyday family life, impacting the present and dimming the future.
In the current political and socio-economic climate, as well as that of the recent and not-so-recent past, it can be difficult for any of us to look to and plan for the future. Every aspect of life and wellbeing is vulnerable to the impact of rising costs, squeezed finances, strained services and reducing access to help and support. Inequalities crystallise, life chances narrow, and future outcomes look less positive. The toll on the family can permeate every sphere of personal and family life: physical, emotional and mental; practical and financial; health and housing; employment and education. Children are the ones most affected.
Working alongside Public Health and other Borough organisations we want to help parents give their children the best start in life, help families make the most of family life and help parents, their children, and our local communities to have a thriving and healthy future. It is in times such as these that the type of support Home-Start provides is most urgently needed. Compassionate, responsive, regular, flexible and personalised peer support for families helps shine a light in periods of darkness and extends a lifeline in troubled times. Opportunities to volunteer, to connect with the community and experience making a positive difference help individuals stay engaged, active and healthy. Home-Start relationship-based peer support creates a sense of personal agency for families and volunteers, helping them be hopeful, deal with the demands of today and look towards a brighter tomorrow. In this way we aim to mitigate any adverse impact on children's physical, mental, emotional and social development and to support the health and wellbeing of parents, children, families and communities as a whole.
Our first priority is ensuring we are here for the families of today and there for the families of tomorrow. The pressures and vulnerabilities facing families have no current end in sight. Families need to be able to reach out for, access and receive support to help them through. Our service will seek to help families navigate the difficulties and challenges they are facing and overcome the issues they are experiencing, helping create a more positive future outlook.
Home-Start Dudley continues to focus on sustainability of the core service while considering opportunities to increase reach, provision and support for families. We will continue to work with our funders to deliver a service that responds to local needs and with our partners to ensure service integration effectively supports access to, routes into and provision of support for families. We remain keen to increase the support and opportunities available to all families, whatever their shape, size or situation and to explore ways to enhance our service provision by developing new projects and activity streams.
We are committed to enabling and encouraging volunteering and supporting connected communities. We seek to remove barriers to volunteering and aim to be an inclusive organisation that reflects our diverse local communities.
As a small local charity, investing in our capacity and capability, strengthening our infrastructure and enhancing our sustainability is an ongoing objective. We endeavour to engage the support of those who would like to help the charity to further our objectives and carry out our important work with children and families. We are keen to develop new partnerships with local organisations and businesses as part of an approach to supporting sustainability and aiding growth.
The trustees identify continuing to provide Home-Start Dudley support for families as a priority. To enable our charity to continue to serve our local communities going forward, we will:
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Continue to make our service available to families, adapting to changes in the operating environment
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Stay connected to families and stakeholders to make sure families continue to have the support they need
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Home-Start Dudley
Report of the Trustees
for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
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Seek to involve local people in volunteering opportunities which support Home-Start Dudley's work with families, offering training, support and a volunteering role which enables individuals to make a meaningful contribution to the lives of local families
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Continue to work in close association with the local authority public health and children's services departments to help the charity continue to deliver service to local communities and respond to the needs of local families.
The charity sector landscape continues to present challenging terrain. There is little indication on the horizon that the difficult path being navigated will give way to an easier way ahead any time soon. Yet this is exactly when we most need to continue to move forward, stepping towards the future and the possibilities and opportunities it presents.
Our mission remains to walk beside Dudley families, helping them to navigate daily family life, overcome challenges and live happy, healthy lives in happy, healthy homes. We are committed to being there for parents and children when they need us the most because childhood can't wait.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
Board of Trustees
Trustees are all volunteers from a variety of backgrounds relevant to the work and management of the Charity. Trustees are appointed following completion of the recruitment process which includes a formal application, interview, satisfactory references, DBS and automatic disqualification checks.
The trustee board meets a minimum of four times per year in the financial year reported on, the trustees met 6 times. At these meetings trustees receive reports from the Scheme Manager who is responsible for the day-to-day operational management of the charity. The trustee board makes decisions, as appropriate, on the strategic direction, policy and governance of the Charity, as well as monitoring operational management.
Risk management
The present and future operating climate for charities is inherently uncertain. The trustees seek to identify and monitor risks and as far as possible and practicable, take action to mitigate those risks.
The security of funding, particularly core funding, continues to be the main area of risk. The charity remains heavily dependent on the continuation of the local authority SLA which at present supports the core costs of the charity. As we move into the future, we recognise that the way services are commissioned may change which has the potential to offer opportunities as well as challenges.
The other major risk is child protection and safeguarding, which is covered by scrupulous verification of references, safeguarding training, DBS checks and ensuring a suitable insurance cover is in place. The management committee continues to keep these risks under review.
Notifiable Incidents
The Trustees can confirm that there were no serious incidents or matters which needed to be reported to the Charity Commission during the period.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Registered Company number
05603630 (England and Wales)
Registered Charity number
1115352
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Home-Start Dudley
Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
Registered office
10-12 Charter Street Brierley Hill West Midlands DY5 1LA
Trustees
| Trustees | |
|---|---|
| Mary Elizabeth Jean Turner | Chair |
| Peter John Dyson | Vice Chair |
| Jane Margaret Southwell | Trustee |
| Colin Martin Taft | Trustee |
| Martin Berrington | Trustee |
| Staff | |
| Julia Bannister | Scheme Manager |
| Anna Worrall | Coordinator |
| Sue Ross | Administrator |
Company Secretary Julia Bannister
Independent Examiner
Craig Alan Beale FCCA Lewis Smith & Co. Chartered Certified Accountants The Old Doctor's House 74 Grange Road Dudley West Midlands DY1 2AW
This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Approved by order of the board of trustees on ............................................. and signed on its behalf by:
.......................................................................... Mary Elizabeth Jean Turner - Trustee
Page 7
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Home-Start Dudley
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Home-Start Dudley ('the Company')
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2024.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under Section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by Section 386 of the 2006 Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of Section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
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the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Craig Alan Beale FCCA
Lewis Smith & Co. Chartered Certified Accountants The Old Doctor's House 74 Grange Road Dudley West Midlands DY1 2AW
Date: .............................................
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Home-Start Dudley
Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
| 31.3.24 | 31.3.23 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | ||
| funds | funds | funds | funds | ||
| Notes | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM | |||||
| Donations and legacies | 157 | - | 157 | 375 | |
| Charitable activities | |||||
| Grants receivable | 62,818 | - | 62,818 | 62,418 | |
| Investment income | 2 | 178 | - | 178 | 120 |
| Other income | 107 | - | 107 | - | |
| Total | 63,260 | - | 63,260 | 62,913 | |
| EXPENDITURE ON | |||||
| Charitable activities | 3 | ||||
| Charitable activities | 55,684 | 2,190 | 57,874 | 57,721 | |
| Governance costs | 1,702 | - | 1,702 | 1,693 | |
| Total | 57,386 | 2,190 | 59,576 | 59,414 | |
| NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) | 5,874 | (2,190) | 3,684 | 3,499 | |
| RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS | |||||
| Total funds brought forward | 71,307 | 4,994 | 76,301 | 72,802 | |
| TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD | 77,181 | 2,804 | 79,985 | 76,301 |
The notes form part of these financial statements
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Home-Start Dudley
Balance Sheet
31 March 2024
| 31.3.24 | 31.3.23 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | |||
| funds | funds | funds | funds | |||
| Notes | £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| FIXED ASSETS | ||||||
| Tangible assets | 9 | - | 2,804 | 2,804 | 4,994 | |
| CURRENT ASSETS | ||||||
| Debtors | 10 | 681 | - | 681 | 258 | |
| Cash at bank and in hand | 83,674 | - | 83,674 | 78,103 | ||
| 84,355 | - | 84,355 | 78,361 | |||
| CREDITORS | ||||||
| Amounts falling due within one year | 11 | (7,174) | - | (7,174) | (7,054) | |
| NET CURRENT ASSETS | 77,181 | - | 77,181 | 71,307 | ||
| TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT | ||||||
| LIABILITIES | 77,181 | 2,804 | 79,985 | 76,301 | ||
| NET ASSETS | 77,181 | 2,804 | 79,985 | 76,301 | ||
| FUNDS | 12 | |||||
| Unrestricted funds | 77,181 | 71,307 | ||||
| Restricted funds | 2,804 | 4,994 | ||||
| TOTAL FUNDS | 79,985 | 76,301 |
The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2024.
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for
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(a) ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and
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(b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company.
The notes form part of these financial statements
continued...
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Home-Start Dudley
Balance Sheet - continued
31 March 2024
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on ............................................. and were signed on its behalf by:
............................................. Mary Elizabeth Jean Turner - Trustee
The notes form part of these financial statements
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Home-Start Dudley
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of preparing the financial statements
The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
The presentation currency of the financial statements is the Pound Sterling (£) and the figures are rounded to the nearest round pound.
The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.
Income
Grants are accounted for when the charity is legally entitled to the amounts due. Grant income is deferred when a grant has been received before the year end for expenditure which must take place in the following year or where there is no entitlement to a grant until certain services have been provided and these have not been provided before the year end.
Any grants without conditions are not deferred even if the resources are received in advance of the expenditure on the activity funded by them. The timing of the related expenditure is at the discretion of the charity and income is not deferred simply because the related expenditure has not yet been incurred.
Donations and all other income are recognised when they are received.
Expenditure
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as an expense against the activity for which expenditure arose.
Debtors and creditors
Debtors and Creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure.
Governance costs
Include costs of the preparation and examination of statutory accounts, the costs of trustee meetings and cost of any legal advice to trustees on governance or constitutional matters.
Tangible fixed assets
Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.
| Fixtures and fittings | - 20% on cost |
|---|---|
| Computer equipment | - 33% on cost |
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Costs includes costs directly attributable to making the assets capable or operating as intended. These are capitalised if they can be used for more that one year, and cost at least £500.
continued...
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Home-Start Dudley
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued
Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and have not been designated for other purposes.
Designated funds
Designated funds comprise of unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Restricted funds
Restricted funds are those funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits
The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
2. INVESTMENT INCOME
3.
| INVESTMENT INCOME | ||
|---|---|---|
| 31.3.24 | 31.3.23 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Deposit account interest | 178 | 120 |
| CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS |
| CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Charitable activities Governance costs |
Support Direct costs (see Costs note 4) £ £ 57,874 - - 1,702 57,874 1,702 |
Totals £ 57,874 1,702 |
| 59,576 |
continued...
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Home-Start Dudley
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
4. SUPPORT COSTS
| SUPPORT COSTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Governance | ||
| costs | ||
| £ | ||
| Governance costs | 1,702 | |
| NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) | ||
| Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting): | ||
| 31.3.24 | 31.3.23 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Depreciation - owned assets | 2,190 | 1,648 |
5. NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
6. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2024 nor for the year ended 31 March 2023.
Trustees' expenses
During the year, expenses of £145 (2023 - £Nil) were paid to J Southwell. These expenses were incurred in her role as trustee.
7. STAFF COSTS
| STAFF COSTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| 31.3.24 | 31.3.23 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Wages and salaries | 42,714 | 42,657 |
| Other pension costs | 315 | 316 |
| 43,029 | 42,973 | |
| The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows: | ||
| 31.3.24 | 31.3.23 | |
| Number of employees | 3 | 3 |
No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.
continued...
Page 14
Home-Start Dudley
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
| 8. | COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES | COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | ||
| funds | funds | funds | ||
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM | ||||
| Donations and legacies | 375 | - | 375 | |
| Charitable activities | ||||
| Grants receivable | 62,418 | - | 62,418 | |
| Investment income | 120 | - | 120 | |
| Total | 62,913 | - | 62,913 | |
| EXPENDITURE ON | ||||
| Charitable activities | ||||
| Charitable activities | 54,365 | 3,356 | 57,721 | |
| Governance costs | 1,693 | - | 1,693 | |
| Total | 56,058 | 3,356 | 59,414 | |
| NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) | 6,855 | (3,356) | 3,499 | |
| RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS | ||||
| Total funds brought forward | 64,452 | 8,350 | 72,802 | |
| TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD | 71,307 | 4,994 | 76,301 | |
| 9. | TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS | |||
| Fixtures | ||||
| and | Computer | |||
| fittings | equipment | Totals | ||
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| COST | ||||
| At 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 | 4,396 | 6,642 | 11,038 | |
| DEPRECIATION | ||||
| At 1 April 2023 | 4,396 | 1,648 | 6,044 | |
| Charge for year | - | 2,190 | 2,190 | |
| At 31 March 2024 | 4,396 | 3,838 | 8,234 | |
| NET BOOK VALUE | ||||
| At 31 March 2024 | - | 2,804 | 2,804 | |
| At 31 March 2023 | - | 4,994 | 4,994 |
Page 15
continued...
Home-Start Dudley
| Notes to the Financial Statements-continued | Notes to the Financial Statements-continued | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for the | Year Ended 31 March 2024 | |||||
| 10. | DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR | |||||
| 31.3.24 | 31.3.23 | |||||
| £ | £ | |||||
| Prepayments | 681 | 258 | ||||
| 11. | CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR | |||||
| 31.3.24 | 31.3.23 | |||||
| £ | £ | |||||
| Accrued expenses | 7,174 | 7,054 | ||||
| 12. | MOVEMENT IN FUNDS | |||||
| Net | Transfers | |||||
| movement | between | At | ||||
| At 1.4.23 | in funds | funds | 31.3.24 | |||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Unrestricted funds | ||||||
| General Fund | 8,394 | 843 | 5,000 | 14,237 | ||
| Designated Funds | 27,500 | - | - | 27,500 | ||
| Dudley MBC Fund | 5,413 | 5,031 | (5,000) | 5,444 | ||
| Strategic Development Reserve | 30,000 | - | - | 30,000 | ||
| 71,307 | 5,874 | - | 77,181 | |||
| Restricted funds | ||||||
| Pears Foundation Grant | 4,994 | (2,190) | - | 2,804 | ||
| TOTAL FUNDS | 76,301 | 3,684 | - | 79,985 | ||
| Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: | ||||||
| Incoming | Resources | Movement | ||||
| resources | expended | in funds | ||||
| £ | £ | £ | ||||
| Unrestricted funds | ||||||
| General Fund | 843 | - | 843 | |||
| Dudley MBC Fund | 62,417 | (57,386) | 5,031 | |||
| 63,260 | (57,386) | 5,874 | ||||
| Restricted funds | ||||||
| Pears Foundation Grant | - | (2,190) | (2,190) | |||
| TOTAL FUNDS | 63,260 | (59,576) | 3,684 |
Page 16
continued...
Home-Start Dudley
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
12. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued
Comparatives for movement in funds
| Net | Transfers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| movement | between | At | ||
| At 1.4.22 | in funds | funds | 31.3.23 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted funds | ||||
| General Fund | 7,901 | 493 | - | 8,394 |
| Designated Funds | 25,000 | - | 2,500 | 27,500 |
| Dudley MBC Fund | 6,551 | 6,362 | (7,500) | 5,413 |
| Strategic Development Reserve | 25,000 | - | 5,000 | 30,000 |
| 64,452 | 6,855 | - | 71,307 | |
| Restricted funds | ||||
| Pears Foundation Grant | 8,350 | (3,356) | - | 4,994 |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 72,802 | 3,499 | - | 76,301 |
Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
| Incoming | Resources | Movement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| resources | expended | in funds | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Unrestricted funds | |||
| General Fund | 493 | - | 493 |
| Dudley MBC Fund | 62,420 | (56,058) | 6,362 |
| 62,913 | (56,058) | 6,855 | |
| Restricted funds | |||
| Pears Foundation Grant | - | (3,356) | (3,356) |
| TOTAL FUNDS | 62,913 | (59,414) | 3,499 |
The purpose of the funds are as follows:
Designated Funds
A reserve to cover any potential short-term changes in funding strategies and winding-up costs if necessary. The amount of this reserve is agreed ny the management committee.
Dudley MBC
Funds to deliver the Home-Start service to families resident in Dudley Borough.
Strategic Development Reserve
A reserve provided for strategic and operational development purposes for use at the discretion of Home-Start Dudley.
Pears Foundation
This award has been made for the upgrade of ICT, storycise/toy library costs and family days out.
continued...
Page 17
Home-Start Dudley
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
13. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2024.
Page 18
Home-Start Dudley
| Detailed Statement of Financial Activities | ||
|---|---|---|
| for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 | ||
| 31.3.24 | 31.3.23 | |
| £ | £ | |
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS | ||
| Donations and legacies | ||
| Donations | 157 | 375 |
| Investment income | ||
| Deposit account interest | 178 | 120 |
| Charitable activities | ||
| Grants | 62,818 | 62,418 |
| Other income | ||
| Refunds | 107 | - |
| Total incoming resources | 63,260 | 62,913 |
| EXPENDITURE | ||
| Charitable activities | ||
| Wages | 42,714 | 42,657 |
| Pensions | 315 | 316 |
| Rent | 5,726 | 5,726 |
| Insurance | 1,070 | 1,014 |
| Communication costs | 705 | 622 |
| Office costs | 623 | 551 |
| Sundries | 113 | 101 |
| Repairs and small equipment | 100 | 28 |
| Staff travel expenses | 798 | 699 |
| Volunteer expenses | 993 | 800 |
| Home-Start UK fees | 1,134 | 1,205 |
| Professional fees | 700 | 516 |
| Bank charges | 60 | 72 |
| Resources | 213 | 169 |
| Passes and permits | 420 | - |
| Pears grant expenses | - | 1,597 |
| Depreciation of computer equipment | 2,190 | 1,648 |
| 57,874 | 57,721 | |
| Support costs | ||
| Governance costs | ||
| Accountancy and independent examination fees | 1,560 | 1,584 |
| Committee and AGM costs | 94 | 61 |
| Carried forward | 1,654 | 1,645 |
This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements
Page 19
Home-Start Dudley
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
| Detailed Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 |
||
|---|---|---|
| 31.3.24 | 31.3.23 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Governance costs | ||
| Brought forward | 1,654 | 1,645 |
| Companies House fees | 13 | 13 |
| Information Commissioner's Office | 35 | 35 |
| 1,702 | 1,693 | |
| Total resources expended | 59,576 | 59,414 |
| Net income | 3,684 | 3,499 |
This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements
Page 20