OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator. This document is also available as Markdown.

2024-03-31-accounts

Company Registration No. 04615904 (England and Wales)

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

(A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT AND GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE PERIOD FROM THE 1 APRIL 2023 TO THE 31 MARCH 2024

Page 2

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED 2023/24

CONTENTS

==> picture [462 x 282] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
Page
Company Information 3
Trustees' Report 4 - 9
Independent Auditors' Report 10 - 13
Group Statement of Financial Activities 14
Balance Sheets 15
Cash Flows 16
Notes to the Financial Statements 17- 31
----- End of picture text -----

Page 3

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED 2023/24

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Charity Name

Children and Families Limited

Charity Number 1115459

Company Number 04615904

Registered Office and Principal Address

Children and Families Limited Seashells Rose Street Sheerness Kent ME12 1AW

Trustees/ Directors

DJ Buckett CD Jones V Nedderman (appointed 09/07/2024) L Rabbatts C White

Company Secretary

J Duncan

Senior Staff Members

J Duncan JW Payne I Townsend-Blazier K Townsend-Blazier

Bankers

National Westminster Bank PLC National Westminster House 37 Old Dover Road Canterbury Kent CT1 3JB

Auditors

UHY Hacker Young Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors Thames House Roman Square Sittingbourne ME10 4BJ

Page 4

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED 2023/24

The trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the consolidated financial statements of the charity and its subsidiaries for the year ending the 31 March 2024 which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

The financial statements comply 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).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

In setting our objectives and planning our activities we have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit. The trustees confirm that to the best of their ability they have consistently complied with their duty to have due regard to this guidance in exercising their powers and duties.

Our charitable objects are to advance the education of the public in the subject of childcare and parenting to ensure that children can: i) be healthy; ii) stay safe; iii) enjoy and achieve; iv) make a positive contribution; and v) achieve economic well-being. We seek to develop the capacity and skills of the members of the socially and economically disadvantaged community of Kent in such a way that they are better able to identify and help meet their needs and to participate more fully in society. We seek to promote general charitable purposes for the benefit of the community of Kent and the surrounding area and to provide relief from financial hardship and social and/or economic disadvantage and to advance the education of its residents of all ages and in particular to provide opportunities for the aforementioned residents to participate fully in the life of their community in ways which address and alleviate social and economic disadvantage. We also pursue the relief of unemployment for the benefit of the public in such ways as may be thought fit, including assistance to find employment.

In pursuit of our objects we have undertaken a number of activities particularly with disadvantaged communities in Kent for public benefit. This includes the delivery of registered early education and childcare, where we have worked with parents to help them, help their children to develop and thrive. We have also provided children's centre services to children and families, supporting parents of young children to keep them healthy, safe and to help them with their early learning. We have supported the delivery of other services to the community by hosting health visiting, midwifery and other important community services with a family focus. We have delivered parenting programmes such as the Solihull Approach and family support to those in need, including fuel and water advice and family financial support, helping families to manage their finances better and maximise their income to help reduce the impact of child poverty. We have provided volunteering and training opportunities, especially to parents and particularly in support of those wishing to get back into employment. Our Family Food Bank has also provided emergency food boxes to many vulnerable families across the county who have experienced financial hardship in times of crisis. Our Kent Community Pantry service has supported its members with weekly food support in Ashford, Sheerness, Sittingbourne and Thanet. We have also supported over one hundred and forty charities and community organisations across Kent with surplus food through FareShare Kent, preventing food waste and helping them to support their beneficiaries.

Page 5

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED 2023/24

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Our child and family support services targeting child poverty including the Family Food Bank, the Family Finance Project, You Make the Difference and our Children's Centre services helped over 27,000 family members in Kent with food, welfare & money management advice, early education, wellbeing and other family support services. The majority of our support is targeted at those families with the youngest children where child poverty is often most highly concentrated and where we believe we can have the greatest impact on ensuring children are given the best opportunities in life.

Both nurseries continued to grow the number of children they help educate and develop from 357 to 393 children. We also grew our Holiday Activity & Food clubs attendance from 147 to 193 children and young people across the year. These clubs support children entitled to free school meals with 6 weeks of childcare and nutritious food, much of which we’re able to source from our FareShare operation.

Seashells continued to deliver its open access and targeted family support services throughout the year. During July and August, we supported Kent County Council as a test site to help them develop new family hub models of delivery. The new way of working became embedded within our delivery model and at the end of the financial year we began the process of transitioning from operating only as a children’s centre to becoming a family hub. We also continued our work with Swale Borough Council on the Household Support Fund, to deliver food support and provide pre-paid cards worth £100 across Swale, to help people with their fuel costs during the cost of living crisis. This work delivered £154,000 of financial support directly to those in need.

The Family Food Bank delivered 11,129 food boxes (10,401 boxes in 2023) to families in crisis across Kent and Medway. These food boxes represented 150 tonnes of food, providing 357,718 meals. This was a 20% increase on the previous year and reflective of the continued impact of the cost of living crisis on family finances.

Our largest food focussed service FareShare Kent, saw a decrease in the surplus food it redistributed to 814 tonnes (874 tonnes in 2023). This was largely due to a change in practice by our most significant food partner that improved their efficiency and led to a sudden drop in the surplus food that they were generating. We have been fortunate to offset a large proportion of the decrease this caused, by sourcing additional surplus food from other local sources. The number of charities and community organisations we worked with, to maximise the social value of this food also fell slightly to 142 organisations during the year (146 in 2023). We have seen an increasing number of charities having to stop their food work over the last two years due to a lack of funding.

Kent Community Pantry continued to provide food to vulnerable communities for a very low membership fee from Stanhope in Ashford, Seashells in Sheerness, with our friends at Millmead Children’s Centre in Thanet and most recently from Kemsley in Sittingbourne as well, as we continue to grow this service.

Our achievements have only been possible thanks to the dedication and commitment of our staff and volunteers, who donated 34,529 hours (29,699 in 2023). We are also indebted to the many food partners, funders, public bodies and individuals who have supported our work over the last year. Our sincere gratitude goes to them all for helping us to help the children, families and charities we exist to support.

Page 6

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED 2023/24

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The Trustees are reporting a 2024 surplus of £436,038 (2023: surplus of £292,069). The financial KPIs that the Trustees monitor include: i) the level of debtors; ii) the level of the general free reserve.

Reserves Policy

The total reserves at the period end were £2,959,494 of which £596,751 were restricted funds leaving £2,362,743 available for general purposes of the charity.

Of these the charity has designated funds for a building reserve of £260,930, a redundancy fund of £186,060 and a food poverty reserve of £773,263. This leaves general funds of £1,142,490. Of this sum, £490,708 is invested in fixed assets and are only available to the trustees should they be sold, leaving a general free reserve of £651,782.

In the Trustees’ view, the charity’s reserves should provide it with adequate financial stability and the means for it to meet its charitable objectives for the foreseeable future. The Trustees have therefore decided to maintain funds as follows:

Designated Building Reserve Fund (2024: £260,930) – This fund will be held for essential future expenditure on the charity’s property and in particular the Seashells building. The fund will be increased by an amount of not less than £10,000 annually in any year that the group makes an unrestricted surplus.

Designated Redundancy Reserve Fund (2024: £186,060) – This fund will be calculated annually to ensure funds are available to meet any redundancy liabilities in the event of the organisation being wound up.

Designated Food Poverty Reserve Fund (2024: £773,263) – This fund will be set aside using surplus funds generated by FareShare Kent, to help ensure the future sustainability and growth of FareShare Kent and other food related services.

A General Fund (2024: £1,142,490) – This fund is composed of Fixed Assets of £490,708 that can only be realised by disposing of them and a General Free Reserve of £651,782 which will be held to ensure the future stability and sustainability of operations during any periods of unforeseen difficulty. The Trustees will aim to maintain the General Free Reserve at 3 to 6 months of annual turnover.

Risk Management

The Board of Directors meets at least four times a year and receives financial, performance, risk and activity reports. Operations are insured and include but are not limited to: Employers Liability, Public Liability, Professional Indemnity, Directors Indemnity, Buildings, Motor Vehicle and Legal Expenses. In addition, we contract for the provision of health and safety and employment law advice. We also undertake a biennial external safeguarding review and continue to reaccredit with Cyber Essentials each year.

The principal risks identified by the Board on the 13[th] February 2024 included: i) recruitment and retention ii) the lease for one of our properties. We review and record our risks annually in a Risk

Page 7

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED 2023/24

Register, assessing their probability, impact and the means by which we can mitigate against them. We also undertake regular risk assessments for our activities.

Plans for Future Periods

We will continue to adapt our services in line with the family hubs agenda and look for ways to grow the number of families and charities we’re able to support. However, in July 2024, Kent County Council (KCC) launched a consultation proposing to end Family Hubs funding for Seashells and Millmead Family Hubs on the 31[st] March 2025, after more than 20 years of delivering these and forerunner Sure Start Children’s Centre services. These services are delivered to some of the most disadvantaged communities in Kent and despite the significant value for money, acknowledged high quality of these services and the support we have provided to KCC in developing its Family Hubs programme for Kent, KCC maintains that it needs to find savings from these communities, to reduce the black hole in its budget. On the 17[th] January 2025 the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Education decided to proceed with this proposal, which will mean a very significant reduction in services to families on the Isle of Sheppey and the loss of a £214k pa investment into the delivery of these from Seashells. This decision will come into force on the 25[th] January 2025 unless it is subject to call-in and further scrutiny by the council. Significant and ongoing work has been undertaken to highlight, challenge and mitigate the damage this proposal would cause.

We will seek to expand our childcare operations in line with the new government funding entitlements that commence from the 1[st] April 2024. We also intend to continue opening new Kent Community Pantry locations organically and will seek to substantially increase the food we’re able to redistribute through FareShare Kent.

We will also continue to adapt our services and how they’re targeted, to ensure that we’re able to respond effectively to changing needs.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing Document and Constitution

Children & Families Limited is a not for profit company limited by guarantee that was formed on the 12th December 2002 and was registered as a charity with the Charity Commission on the 20th July 2006. The charity is governed by its Memorandum & Articles of Association and managed by its Board of Directors who are also the Trustees as defined by Section 177 of the Charities Act 2011. The Board has overall control of the charity.

Trustee Appointment

One director/trustee retired and one was appointed during the period. Any person legally entitled and willing to act as a Company Director and Trustee may be appointed to the Board and all applications are duly considered and agreed by the Board in the best interests of the charity. The Company Secretary inducts new Trustees into the charity and also informs them of suitable training opportunities that will support them in their role as a Trustee.

Organisational Structure

Page 8

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED 2023/24

The Board of Directors has five members with equal rights under the Memorandum and Articles of Association. Children & Families Limited is the charitable parent company of three wholly owned subsidiary companies. The subsidiaries are Children & Families Childcare Ltd, Children & Families Children's Centres Ltd and FareShare Kent CIC. As parent of the subsidiaries, Children & Families Limited is a Corporate Director of each and appoints at least two natural persons from its Board to serve as Directors on each. The Company Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of Children & Families Limited also acts in these roles for each of the subsidiaries. The Board of Directors meets quarterly and sets the strategic direction and policy of the charity and group of companies under its control.

Pay Policy for Senior Staff

The board of Trustees aim to pay senior staff a fair salary that is competitive within the charity sector and proportionate to the complexity of each role. The Trustees are responsible in line with our charitable objectives based on the principle staff are paid an appropriate salary to attract and retain people with the leadership, experience, knowledge and skills required to lead the group.

Child Protection

As a children’s charity the protection of children is our paramount concern. We have strict and comprehensive safeguarding and child protection policies, procedures and mechanisms in place to protect children from harm. We employ safe recruitment practices and ensure thorough vetting of staff including the use of enhanced DBS disclosures. Staff are trained in child protection awareness and are supported by Designated Safeguarding Leads who ensure the safety of children within services. We audit these measures internally each year and biennially engage external consultants to audit these as well for additional assurance.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES

The charity trustees (who are also directors of Children and Families Limited for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustee’s annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for

Page 9

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED 2023/24

safeguarding the assets of the charity and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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

Statement of Disclosure of Information to our Auditors

In so far as the trustees are aware at the time of approving our trustees’ annual report:

By order of the board of trustees

Small Company Exemptions

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 415A of the Companies Act 2006.

Approved by the Board and signed on its behalf by:

L Rabbatts - Chair

Date: 24[th] January 2025

P a g e | 10

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Children and Families Limited (the ‘parent charitable company’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Group Statement of Financial Activities, the Group and Charity Balance Sheets, Group and Charity Statements of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including 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 Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for 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 financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, 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.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statement is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group or parent charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the financial statements. Our opinion on the financial statements 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.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of 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 financial statements 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.

P a g e | 11

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees' report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities set out on page 8 the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the group’s and the parent charitable 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 trustees either intend to liquidate the group or parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements 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 financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

P a g e | 12

How the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud:

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

We assessed the susceptibility of the charitable company’s accounts to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: http://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

P a g e | 13

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the parent charitable 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 parent charitable 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 parent charitable company and the parent charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Tracey Moore BSc FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of UHY Hacker Young Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors

Thames House Roman Square Sittingbourne Kent. ME10 4BJ

Date: 27 January 2025

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 14

GROUP STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

==> picture [517 x 445] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
Notes Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Funds Funds 2024 2023
£ £ £ £
INCOME
Donations - 91,354 91,354 189,437
Income from charitable activities
Grants receivable 2 137,324 631,891 769,215 548,385
Fees receivable 1,544,428 73,408 1,617,836 1,501,426
-
Rent and service charges receivable 88,409 88,409 130,293
Other income 171,797 149 171,946 84,666
Investment income 69,582 - 69,582 11,176
Total Income 2,011,540 796,802 2,808,342 2,465,383
EXPENDITURE
Expenditure on charitable activities 4 1,812,436 559,868 2,372,304 2,173,314
Total Expenditure 1,812,436 559,868 2,372,304 2,173,314
Net income for the year 199,104 236,934 436,038 292,069
Gross transfers between funds 16 & 17 86,105 (86,105) - -
Net Movement in Funds 285,209 150,829 436,038 292,069
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward 2,077,534 445,922 2,523,456 2,231,387
Total funds carried forward 2,362,743 596,751 2,959,494 2,523,456
----- End of picture text -----

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised during the year.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 15

BALANCE SHEETS AS AT 31 MARCH 2024

Notes
Non Current Assets
Tangible Fixed Assets
10
Investments
11
Group
Charity
as restated
31st March
31st March
31st March
31st March
2024
2023
2024
2023
£
£
£
£
490,708
528,408
194,354
200,293
-
-
104
104
490,708
528,408
194,458
200,397
Current Assets
Debtors
12
Cash at bank and in hand
203,137
116,604
62,825
28,924
2,656,088
2,245,594
2,651,286
2,232,625
Creditors: Amounts falling due within
one year
13
2,859,225
2,362,198
2,714,111
2,261,549
259,760
234,457
307,295
181,881
Net Current Assets 2,599,465
2,127,741
2,406,816
2,079,668
Total assets less current liabilities
Creditors: Amounts falling due after
one year
14
Provisions for Liabilities
15
3,090,173
2,656,149
2,601,274
2,280,065
63,836
73,890
-
-
66,843
58,803
-
-
Net Assets 2,959,494
2,523,456
2,601,274
2,280,065
Represented by:-
Funds
Unrestricted
16
Restricted
17
2,362,743
2,077,534
2,004,523
1,834,143
596,751
445,922
596,751
445,922
Total Funds 2,959,494
2,523,456
2,601,274
2,280,065

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions for small companies under Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

The notes on pages 17 to 31 form part of these accounts.

Approved and signed on behalf of the Board for issue on 24th January 2025 by:

……………………………………… Lauren Rabbatts

……………………………………….

David Buckett

Company Registration No. 04615904

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 16

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS AND CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

==> picture [517 x 336] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
Notes Group Charity
31st March 31st March 31st March 31st March
2024 2023 2024 2023
£ £ £ £
Cash used in operating activities 22 376,010 371,693 350,434 286,186
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest income 69,582 11,176 69,582 11,176
-
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (35,098) (97,540) (1,355)
- - -
Sale proceeds of tangible fixed assets 8,414
Cash provided by (used in) investing activities 34,484 (77,950) 68,227 11,176
Increase (decrease) in cash 410,494 293,743 418,661 297,362
Cash at the beginning of the year 1 April 2023 2,245,594 1,951,851 2,232,625 1,935,263
Cash at the end of the year 31 March 2024 2,656,088 2,245,594 2,651,286 2,232,625
Cash and cash equivalents consist of:
Cash at bank and in hand 2,656,088 2,245,594 2,651,286 2,232,625
----- End of picture text -----

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 17

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1 Accounting Policies

a) General information and basis of preparation

Children and Families Limited is a charitable company limited by guarantee. In the event of the charity being wound up the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £10 per member of the charity.

The address of the registered office is Seashells, Rose Street, Sheerness, Kent ME12 1AW.

The nature of the charity's operation and principal activities are the advancement of the education of the public in the subject of childcare and parenting.

The financial statements 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), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Children and Families Limited meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. Having reviewed the possible loss of the KCC funding as disclosed in their report, the trustees can confirm their assumption that the charity is still a going concern and no significant uncertainty exists in this respect.

The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and rounded to the nearest £1.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated.

b) Volunteers

The charity relies heavily on its volunteers to allow it to carry out the wide variety of work that it does, across its diverse range of services.

The charity benefits greatly from the involvement and enthusiastic support of its volunteers. These include General Volunteers, Cororate Volunteers and our Trustees. In accordance with FRS 102 and the Charities SORP (FRS 102), the economic contribution of volunteers is not incuded in the financial statements.

c) Income and Debtors

Income is recognised when the charity or its subsidiaries has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions have been met or are fully in the control of the charity or its subsidiaries, there is a significant certainty that receipt is probable and the amount can be measured reliably. These resources represent fees receivable during the year, in addition to grants receivable from various organisations. Where gifts are received of goods and services these are included as donations received at their estimated market value.

Debtors are recognised at the settlement amount less any discount agreed. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid after taking into account any discounts.

d) Tangible Fixed Assets

Tangible fixed assets costing more than £500 are capitalised and included at cost including any incidental expenses of acquisition. Items donated for ongoing use by the charity in carrying out its activities are recognised as tangible fixed assets and the corresponding gain recognised as income from donations within the SOFA.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 18

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1 Accounting Policies (continued)

Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost of fixed assets over the expected useful economic lives of the assets concerned. The rates used are as follows:-

Leasehold improvements Over the period of the Lease or 20% on Cost Office equipment 20% on Cost Computer equipment 33% on Cost Craft and gardening equipment 20% on Cost Motor Vehicles 25% on Cost

Freehold property is not depreciated as the residual value is estimated to be at least as much as the book value.

e) Investments

Investments comprise investments in subsidiaries which are measured at cost less impairment.

f) Expenditure and Creditors

Expenditure is recognised in the period in which they are incurred. Expenditure includes attributable VAT which cannot be recovered as the charity and one of it's subsidiaries are not registered for VAT.

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and these costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Governance costs includes those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include the audit fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity.

All costs are allocated between the expenditure categories of the Statement of Financial Activities on a basis designed to reflect the use of the resource.

Creditors and provisions are recognised at their settlement value less any discounts where the charity has a present obligation from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount can be measured reliably.

g) Fund Accounting

Unrestricted funds are incoming resources receivable or generated from the objects of the charity without further specified purpose and are available in general funds.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds ear marked by the Trustees for a particular purpose.

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor, expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the fund, together with a transfer which represents an estimate of support costs and management and administration costs.

h) Operating leases

Lease payments under operating leases, where substantially all of the risks and benefits remain with the lessor, are charged as an expense in the period in which they are incurred.

i) Financial instruments

The charity has only basic financial instruments recognised at transaction value.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 19

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1 Accounting Policies (continued)

j) Pensions benefits

All eligible employees of the company are automatically enrolled into the NEST defined contribution scheme. Employees are then able to exercise their right to opt out completely or to elect to have the company’s contributions paid into their own personal pension plans provided their own scheme is approved by the Pensions Regulator. Employees contract directly with NEST or their own provider. The company pays the minimum contribution required by the Pensions Regulator and acts as agent for no charge in collecting and paying over employee pension contributions. Contributions are charged to the profit and loss account as they become payable in accordance with the rules of the relevant scheme. The charge for the year was £36,181 (2023: £32,246). The amount outstanding to pension providers at the year end was £6,569 (2023: £6,699).

k) Basis of consolidation

These financial statements consolidate the results of the charity and it’s wholly owned subsidiaries Children and Families Childcare Limited, FareShare Kent C.I.C. and Children and Families Children's Centres Limited on a line by line basis. A separate Statement of Financial Activities, or income & expenditure account, for the charity itself is not presented because the charity has taken advantage of the exemptions afforded by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006. The net movement in funds for the charity was £321,209 (2023: £381,580).

Exemption from the requirement to disclose transactions between the charity and its subsidiary companies has been taken under Section 33.1A of FRS102 as the transactions occur between wholly owned members.

l) Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

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

In the opinion of the trustees there are no sources of estimation uncertainty as at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying value of assets and liabilities in the next reporting period.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 20

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

2 Grants Receivable

BAE Systems Limited
Colyer-Ferguson Charitable Trust
Community Fund
Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund
FareShare
Kent Community Foundation
Kent County Council
Million Hours Fund
National Lottery Awards For All
Power Partners
Southern Gas Networks
Southern Housing
Swale Borough Council
UK Power Networks
Unrestricted
Funds
£
-
-
-
-
127,074
5,000
3,000
-
-
-
-
-
2,250
-
137,324
Restricted
Funds
£
3,500
10,000
116,609
60,226
82,787
4,000
-
9,960
9,800
-
24,985
9,918
300,106
-
631,891
Total
2024
£
3,500
10,000
116,609
60,226
209,861
9,000
3,000
9,960
9,800
-
24,985
9,918
302,356
-
769,215
Total
2023
£
3,500
-
123,817
-
160,154
3,000
-
-
-
3,886
-
-
248,198
5,830
548,385

In 2023 income from grants receivable was £548,385 of which £443,335 was attributable to restricted income and £105,050 to unrestricted income.

3 Income and Expenditure of Trading Subsidiaries

The charity owns the whole of the issued share capital of Children and Families Childcare Limited. Company number 07600925. The results of this company are summarised below:

Turnover
Direct costs
Administrative expenses
Operating Profit
Distribution paid to charity under gift aid
Retained in subsidiary
The aggregate of assets, liabilities and funds was:
Assets
Liabilities
Represented by:
Ordinary shares of £1 each
Profit and loss account
Total funds
2024
£
982,681
891,491
91,190
15,720
75,470
-
75,470
2024
£
142,156
114,596
27,560
2
27,558
27,560
2023
£
755,553
779,789
(24,236)
29,097
(53,333)
(15,523)
(68,856)
2023
£
57,617
105,527
(47,910)
2
(47,912)
(47,910)

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 21

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

3 Income and Expenditure of Trading Subsidiaries (continued)

The charity owns the whole of the issued share capital of FareShare Kent C.I.C. Company number 08659808. The results of this company are summarised below:

Turnover
Direct costs
Administrative expenses
Operating Profit
Distribution paid to charity under gift aid
Retained in subsidiary
The aggregate of assets, liabilities and funds was:
Assets
Liabilities
Represented by:
Ordinary shares of £1 each
Profit and loss account
Total funds
2024
£
690,454
387,261
303,193
118,773
184,420
(132,763)
51,657
2024
£
502,766
192,967
309,799
100
309,699
309,799
2023
£
610,220
341,732
268,488
103,951
164,537
(201,504)
(36,967)
2023
£
464,712
206,570
258,142
100
258,042
258,142

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 22

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

3 Income and Expenditure of Trading Subsidiaries (continued)

The charity owns the whole of the issued share capital of Children and Families Children's Centres Limited. Company number 08953232. The results of this company are summarised below:

Turnover
Direct costs
Administrative expenses
Operating Profit
Distribution paid to charity under gift aid
Retained in subsidiary
The aggregate of assets, liabilities and funds was:
Assets
Liabilities
Represented by:
Ordinary shares of £1 each
Profit and loss account
Total funds
2024
£
280,778
244,132
36,646
31,679
4,967
(17,265)
(12,298)
2024
£
74,505
53,540
20,965
2
20,963
20,965
2023
£
326,501
269,148
57,353
33,595
23,758
(7,716)
16,042
2023
£
83,564
50,301
33,263
2
33,261
33,263

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 23

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

4 Total Expenditure

Charitable activities
Provision of children and family services
Grants payable
Staff costs
Training and recruitment
Staff travel and subsistence
Activities, materials and consumables
Catering
Light and heat
Cleaning
Insurances
Rent and rates
Postage, printing and stationery
Telephone and internet charges
Repairs and renewals
Subscriptions
Depreciation
Loss on disposal of fixed assets
Support costs
Staff costs
Training and recruitment
Staff travel and subsistence
Advertising
Postage, printing and stationery
Equipment hire and maintenance
Bad debts
Legal and professional
Sundry expenses
Bank charges
Governance costs
Staff costs
Staff travel and subsistence
Courses and conferences
Subscriptions
Auditors' remuneration - audit of the financial
statements
Unrestricted
Funds
£
-
1,080,011
12,178
44,392
18,948
23,418
63,296
18,361
38,428
52,584
8,251
4,831
44,271
623
72,798
-
249,016
234
104
2,797
3,908
13,369
11,852
10,523
855
6,677
19,522
593
1,171
-
9,425
1,812,436
Restricted
Funds
£
-
250,059
-
1,397
264,654
37
4,000
-
1,171
26,293
904
339
7,282
-
-
-
-
185
-
7
-
2,399
-
1,069
-
72
-
-
-
-
-
559,868
Total
2024
£
-
1,330,070
12,178
45,789
283,602
23,455
67,296
18,361
39,599
78,877
9,155
5,170
51,553
623
72,798
-
249,016
419
104
2,804
3,908
15,768
11,852
11,592
855
6,749
19,522
593
1,171
-
9,425
2,372,304
Total
2023
£
-
1,186,974
8,524
50,271
279,176
12,636
39,687
26,569
37,019
75,799
9,605
5,283
60,075
484
80,474
1,619
215,482
749
17
2,526
3,637
18,960
619
29,090
294
6,498
12,598
525
436
-
7,688
2,173,314

In 2023 expenditure from charitable activities was £2,173,314 of which £475,059 was attributable to restricted expenditure and £1,698,255 to unrestricted expenditure.

The auditors' received no remuneration for non-audit and other services (2023: £Nil).

5 Trustee Emoluments

During the year, one trustee (2023 - nil) was reimbursed expenses totalling £51 (2023 - £nil) in respect of travel. No other emoluments were paid (2023 - £nil).

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 24

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

==> picture [527 x 103] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
6 Information on Employees Total Total
2024 2023
£ £
Staff costs are made up as follows:-
Wages and salaries 1,492,543 1,321,503
Social Security costs 69,884 78,393
Pension costs 36,181 30,922
1,598,608 1,430,818
----- End of picture text -----

No retirement benefits were accruing for directors (2023: none).

The number of employees whose total emoluments amounted to over £60,000 in the year were as follows:

==> picture [508 x 42] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |Number|Number| |£80,001 - £90,000|1|-| |£70,001 - £80,000|-|1|

----- End of picture text -----

The average number of employees during the period calculated on the basis of headcount, was made up as follows:-

==> picture [512 x 42] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
Provision of child and family services 60 68
Support and administration 14 13
74 81
----- End of picture text -----

The key management personnel of the parent charity and the group comprise the trustees, the Chief Executive Officer, the Group Accountant, the Head of Development and the Family Hub Services Manager. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel were £251,539 (2023: £221,660).

7

==> picture [512 x 82] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
|||| |---|---|---| |Net Surplus for the Year|2024|2023| |£|£| |The net surplus for the year is stated after charging:-| |Operating leases - buildings|51,877|44,450| |Depreciation of tangible fixed assets|72,798|80,474| |Auditors remuneration|9,425|7,688|

----- End of picture text -----

8 Taxation

The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK income tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Part 10 of the Income Tax Act 2007 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes. No tax charge has arisen in the year.

9 Legal status

Children and Families Limited is a company limited by guarantee. Every member undertakes to contribute such amounts as may be required, not exceeding £10 in the event of the company being wound up. The company has no share capital and is registered as a charity.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 25

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

==> picture [529 x 649] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
10 Tangible Fixed Assets - Group Freehold Leasehold Motor
property improvements vehicles Equipment Total
£ £ £ £ £
Cost
As at 1 April 2023 185,560 330,830 186,206 279,156 981,752
Additions - - - 35,098 35,098
- - -
Disposals (1,870) (1,870)
As at 31 March 2024 185,560 330,830 186,206 312,384 1,014,980
Depreciation
-
As at 1 April 2023 124,241 86,919 242,184 453,344
- - -
Disposals (1,870) (1,870)
-
Charge for the year 6,763 41,895 24,140 72,798
As at 31 March 2024 - 131,004 128,814 264,454 524,272
Net Book Value
As at 31 March 2024 185,560 199,826 57,392 47,930 490,708
As at 31 March 2023 185,560 206,589 99,287 36,972 528,408
10 Tangible Fixed Assets - Charity Freehold Leasehold Motor
property improvements vehicles Equipment Total
£ £ £ £ £
Cost
- -
As at 1 April 2023 309,815 133,668 443,483
Additions - - - 1,355 1,355
- - -
Disposals (1,350) (1,350)
As at 31 March 2024 - 309,815 - 133,673 443,488
Depreciation
- -
As at 1 April 2023 115,750 127,440 243,190
- - -
Disposals (1,350) (1,350)
- -
Charge for the year 4,648 2,646 7,294
As at 31 March 2024 - 120,398 - 128,736 249,134
Net Book Value
As at 31 March 2024 - 189,417 - 4,937 194,354
As at 31 March 2023 - 194,065 - 6,228 200,293
11 Fixed Asset Investments - Charity 2024 2023
£ £
Investment in group companies 104 104
----- End of picture text -----

The investment in group companies represents 100% shareholdings in Children and Families Childcare Limited, FareShare Kent C.I.C. and Children and Families Children's Centres Limited all incorporated in England and Wales.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 26

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

12 Debtors
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments
13 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Amounts owed to group companies
Taxation and social security
Other creditors
Accruals & deferred income
Group
31st March
2024
£
102,816
29,888
70,433
203,137
Group
31st March
2024
£
111,046
-
21,254
38,958
88,502
259,760
31st March
2023
£
49,289
26,074
41,241
116,604
as restated
31st March
2023
£
32,573
-
21,014
38,606
142,264
234,457
Charity
31st March
31st March
2024
2023
£
£
2,764
4,591
5,550
5,565
54,511
18,768
62,825
28,924
Charity
31st March
31st March
2024
2023
£
£
49,046
10,991
236,893
138,615
5,855
6,645
6,500
8,928
9,001
16,702
307,295
181,881

Unrestricted income relating to services that have not been provided at the balance sheet date are reported as a liability. As the service is delivered over time it is recognised as income in the SOFA.

Provsions�for�leased�property�dilapidations�and�service�charges�previously�included�within�accruals�and�deferrred� income are now disclosed separately (see note 15) due to the increasing materiality of these provisions.

14 Deferred Income

Deferred income comprises government funding and grants received in advance at the end of the financial year.

Balance as at 1st April 2023
Amount received in year
Amount released to income earned from charitable
activities
Balance as at 31 March 2024
Less than one year
Group
Charity
£
£
116,844
-
76,142
-
(117,636)
-
75,350
-
Over one year
Group
Charity
£
£
73,890
-
29,867
-
(39,921)
-
63,836
-

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 27

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

15 Provisions for Liabilities

Dilapidations
£
Balance as at 1st April 2023
8,200
Charged to income and expenditure
-
Utilised in year
-
Balance as at 31 March 2024
8,200
Service
Charges
£
50,603
8,040
-
58,643
Total
£
58,803
8,040
-
66,843

As part of the Group's property leasing arrangements there is an obligation to repair damages which incur during the life of the lease, such as wear and tear. The cost has been charged to income and expenditure as the obligation arose. The provision is expected to be utilised when the landlord calculates and demands payment for dilapidations.

In addition, a provision has been set aside for anticipated future service charge liabilities. The cost is charged to income and expenditure as the obligation arises. The provision is expected to be utilised when the landlord calculates and demands payments of service charge amounts.

16 Unrestricted Funds
Designated funds:
Building reserve fund
Redundancy reserve fund
Food poverty fund
General funds
Designated funds:
Building reserve fund
Redundancy reserve fund
Food poverty fund
General funds
Balance
at
01 04 23
£
250,930
146,587
588,843
1,091,174
2,077,534
Balance
at
01 04 22
£
240,930
151,901
424,307
1,082,597
1,899,735
Income
£
-
-
-
2,011,540
2,011,540
Income
£
-
-
-
1,811,332
1,811,332
Expenditure
£
-
-
-
(1,812,436)
(1,812,436)
Expenditure
£
-
-
-
(1,698,255)
(1,698,255)
Transfers
£
10,000
39,473
184,420
(147,788)
86,105
Transfers
£
10,000
(5,314)
164,536
(104,500)
64,722
Balance
at
31 03 24
£
260,930
186,060
773,263
1,142,490
2,362,743
Balance
at
31 03 23
£
250,930
146,587
588,843
1,091,174
2,077,534

The building reserve fund is money set aside to cover possible major expenditure required on the charity's property.

The redundancy reserve fund is additional money put aside for Statutory Redundancy Pay for all applicable group employees at the balance sheet date.

The food poverty fund is money set aside to help ensure the future sustainability and growth of FareShare Kent and other food poverty related services.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 28

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

==> picture [527 x 573] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
17 Restricted Funds Balance Balance
at Income Expenditure Transfers at
01 04 23 31 03 24
£ £ £ £ £
- -
Colyer Fergusson Charitable Trust 10,000 (2,688) 7,312
- -
Southern Housing 9,918 (3,849) 6,069
- -
Million Hours Fund (Making Waves) 9,960 (5,838) 4,122
KCF Core Costs Grant - 4,000 (4,000) - -
Awards For All - 9,800 (6,482) (3,318) -
West Area Energy Packs 3,940 - (1,500) 290 2,730
- -
Helping Hands 1,572 (1,122) (450)
- - -
Household Support Fund 277,535 (277,535)
Southern Gas Network - 24,985 (12,509) - 12,476
Power Partners 2,312 - (2,472) 160 -
Fuel and Water - Orchard Community 656 - (656) - -
Fuel and Water - Swale BC 357 17,571 (3,051) - 14,877
Imagination Library 3,111 149 (829) - 2,431
FareShare Kent - 82,787 - (82,787) -
- - -
Community Fund 116,609 (116,609)
-
Family Foodbank 433,974 233,488 (120,728) 546,734
445,922 796,802 (559,868) (86,105) 596,751
Balance Balance
at Income Expenditure Transfers at
01 04 22 31 03 23
£ £ £ £ £
- -
West Area Energy Packs 4,523 (583) 3,940
- -
Helping Hands 14,958 (13,386) 1,572
Household Support Fund - 226,008 (226,012) 4 -
Reconnect 7,171 - (7,171) - -
Power Partners 9,716 9,716 (17,120) - 2,312
Orchard Community 4,000 - (3,344) - 656
Fuel and Water Swale BC 2,528 - (2,171) - 357
Imagination Library 3,882 284 (1,055) - 3,111
FareShare Kent - 64,929 0 (64,929) -
Digital Inclusion Fund 569 - (569) - -
Community Fund - 113,562 (113,765) 203 -
- - -
Children and Young Peoples Fund 3,838 (3,838)
-
Family Foodbank 289,413 220,071 (75,510) 433,974
- - -
Early Childhood Development 10,535 (10,535)
331,652 654,051 (475,059) (64,722) 445,922
----- End of picture text -----

Colyer Fergusson Charitable Trust

Funding to deliver the aquatots service which aims to promote water safety to children and families living across the Isle of Sheppey.

Southern Housing

Funding received to support the Kemsley, Sittingbourne Community Pantry.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 29

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

17 Restricted Funds (continued)

Million Hours Fund (Making Waves)

A youth based project aimed at supporting and empowering young people in Sheerness to have better opportunities in life by providing services and activities they would like to engage in.

KCF Core Costs Grant

Funding to support Children and Families Core Costs.

Awards For All

Funding to support children's development and learn through technology, this enabled a new Smart Board to be purchased, as well as new youth resources. It also supported our inclusivity work and installed a new ramp to enable all services users to access the Den building, as well supported our energy efficient objectives by installing PIRs in key areas of our building.

West Area Energy Packs

Funding for energy saving packs to support people in the west area of Swale.

Helping Hands

Funding for utility saving measures such as winter warm packs and fuel and water efficiency packs to support people across Swale.

Household Support Fund

Funding to provide support to vulnerable households through the distribution of digital pre-paid cards to help with utility costs and though food support.

Southern Gas Network

This grant funding enables us to deliver the Fuel and Water Home Adviser service to local residents in need of utility advice, support and fuel vouchers, and assists with money management, budgeting and debt advice.

Power Partners

Has supported us with a grant to enable us to employ a part time worker to support our fuel and water home advice service. This is enabling us to reach more households and provide them with practical advice, guidance and support to help them save energy and money on their utility costs.

Fuel and Water - Orchard Community

This funding will support the delivery of The Renewable Roadshow across Swale, where advice support on saving energy and water will be shared with vulnerable communities and packs containing energy and water saving products will be distributed.

Fuel and Water - Swale BC

Funding provided for energy and water efficiency resources to be distributed to families by the Fuel & Water Home Adviser.

Imagination Library

For families approaching eligibility for 'free for two', we undertake face to face book corner visits and enrol them onto the Imagination Library, through which they receive a free new children's book each month.

FareShare Kent

Funds received from FareShare UK, John Lewis & Partners and The Community Fund for various projects in support of our food and employability work. The transfer against this project in the accounts shows the capitalisation of fixed assets purchased and funds granted for the future sustainability of FareShare Kent.

Community Fund

Funding received from the National Lottery for a project working with families, with a particular focus on community safety, early years education, health & wellbeing, community engagement and family finances.

Family Foodbank

The Family Food Bank gives food boxes to families in crisis identified by workers in the community. We’re able to support families across Kent and Medway through approximately 80 distribution centres.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 30

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

18 Analysis of Group Net Assets between Funds

Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets
Amounts falling due after one year
General
Funds
£
490,708
782,461
(130,679)
1,142,490
Designated
Restricted
Funds
Funds
Total
£
£
£
-
-
490,708
1,220,253
596,751
2,599,465
-
-
(130,679)
1,220,253
596,751
2,959,494

20 Related Party Transactions

During the year Swale CVS, a charitable organisation managed by Christine White (Trustee), supplied consultancy services of £1,000 (2023: £5,000). This transaction was also carried out at arms length and was paid after the year end. Jim Duncan (Chief Executive) is also a Trustee of Swale CVS.

There were no other related party transactions.

21 Revenue Commitments

At the period end the group was committed to making the following payments in respect of operating leases none of which related to the charity with expiry dates as follows:-

Plant and Equipment
Within one year
Land and Buildings
Due:
Not later than one year
Later than one year not later than 5 years
Later than five years
2024
£
-
2024
£
37,215
118,125
-
155,340
2023
£
1,558
2023
£
41,932
184,935
28,125
254,992

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIMITED

Page 31

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

22 Reconciliation of Net Movement in Funds to Net Cash Flow from Operating Activities

Net movement in funds
Add back depreciation charge and loss on disposal
Distributions paid to charity under gift aid
Deduct interest income
Decrease (increase) in debtors
Increase (decrease) in creditors
Net cash used in operating activities
Group
31st March
2024
£
436,038
72,798
-
(69,582)
(86,533)
23,289
376,010
31st March
2023
£
292,069
82,093
-
(11,176)
(27,560)
36,267
371,693
Charity
31st March
31st March
2024
2023
£
£
171,181
157,107
7,294
11,204
150,028
224,743
(69,582)
(11,176)
(33,901)
(6,457)
125,414
(89,235)
350,434
286,186

22 Post Balance Sheet Events

In January 2025, Kent County Council announced that that it would not be recommissioning the funding for Family Hubs when the contract ends on 31st March 2025, as referred to in the Trustees’ Report on page 7. The financial effect of this decision is approximately £214,000 per annum.