CITIZENS ADVICE SERVI￿ CORBY & KE￿ERING citizens advice North Northants REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES REGISTERED NUMBER: 06156809 (England and WAles) REGISTERED CHARTfY NUMBER: 1119081 CITIZENS ADVICE SERVICES CORBY & KE￿ERING A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE AIYD 1¥40T HAVING A SHARE CAPITAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR ThE AR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2025 IDdependent EiamlDer ZEN ADVICE SERVICES CORBY & KETTEllll¥lG citizens advice North Northants REPORT AIYD ACCOUNTS- YKAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2025 CONTENTS Pages 1 8 Report of the Trustees Report of the Indepcndcnt Examin io Statement of financial activities Balance sbcct 12-18 Not¢s to the accounts TIZENS ADVICE SERVICES CORBY & KErrERIN citizens advice North Northants REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES The Trustees, who are also directors of thc charity for the purpos¢s of the CompaDies Act 2006, present theirreport togetherwith th¢ financial statements of the Charity for tbe year ended 3 1st March 2025. The trustee5 have adopted the provisions of tbe Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) FRS 102 "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETIIILS Charity Name: Citizens Advice S¢Tvices Corby & Kettering Charity Registration: 1119081 Company Number: 06156809 Registered o£fic¢: The Corby Cube Parkland Gat¢way George Street Corby Northants NN17 IQG Company Secretary: Philip Arkell Bank: National WestminsteT Bank plc 25 Corporation Street Corby Northants NN17 INR Independent Examiner: PTYI Azets Thorpe House 93 Headlands Northants NN15 6BL Solicitors: Seatons Solicitors l Al¢xandra Road Corby Nortbants NN17 IPE ZENS ADVICE SERVICES CORBY & KE citizens advice North Northants REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES Report of the Cbalr This year has been both exceptionally successful and undeniably chall¢nging for Citizens Advice North Northants. l an] proud to report that, once again, our reach and impact bave grown sigllificantly. testament to the hard work and dedication of our t￿ volunteers, and parkners. In November, we took an important step in aligning mor¢ closely with our community by rebranding as Citizens AdvAce North Northants. This change b¢tter reflects th¢ political and geowhic boundari¢s of the wiitary authority w¢ serve. Since the rebran￿ we hav¢ launched new servi¢¢s in partnership with Oundle and Thrapston Town Councils, and we ar¢ actively expLorillg further opportuniti¢s to support communiti¢s across Nortb Nort1￿￿pton$hIre. Our operational perfornJanc¢ has been particularly strong. As you will see in the Operations Re￿t. income generated for our clients rose by 330/9 to an impressive £5.9 million. At the same time, we saw a 21 % increase in enquiries-an indication of the growing demand for our services and the trust placed in us by the community. However, the year has not been without significant cballeng¢s. Over the past 12 months, we experienced a loss of appioximately £250,000 in local and national government fi￿dillg - nearly half of our previous income. With a projected funding deficit for 2025126, the TnLStee Board was compelled to make difficult decisions, including a management restructure to ensure the organisation's sustainability. Vlhile such changes are never easy* believe they will ultimately make our charity MO￿ Tesilienl and responsive to the future needs of our community. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my fellow Tn￿t¢¢9 for their unwav¢ring support, to our remarkable volunteers who giv¢ so generously of their time, and to our dedicated staff team, whos¢ professAonali8m ensures we continue to deliver high-quality advice and support. Together, we face the thture with detennination and a shared conm)itment to improving lives across North Northamptonshire. Paul Clarke Chair of the TTUSt Board Directors and Trustees The directors of the charitsble company (the ChaTity) are its Truste¢s for the pU￿08e of ChaTity and throughout this report are ¢ollectively r¢ferTed to as the Tru8t¢e8. The following Trustses (who ar¢ also dire¢ti)rs) seThed during the y¢ar: Adrian ChambKs DirectOr￿TuStec Paul Clarke Chair Jessica Cotton Matthew Quincey Patrisha Dewar Au(trey Teodorini Lesley Thurland Christopher Woolmer Resign¢d 17 March 2025 Ap￿illted 2 April 2024 Resigned 16 October 2024 Tre&sur¢r DirectorfTrust¢¢ Vice Chair Directorllrustee Directorlrn￿ee Directorrrrustee Directorltnjstee Ru&s¢ll Roberts Appointed 12 F¢b￿ary 2025 crTIZENS ADVICE SERVICES CORBY & KETTERING citizen5 advice North Northants REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OWECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Objects The object of Citizens Advice Services Corby & Ketteting is the promotion of any charitsble purpose for the ben¢fit of the comn]unities of CoTby and Kettering Borough by the advancement of education, the prOt￿tiOn of bealth and the r¢li¢f ofpoverty. sickness and distress. The Tn￿ confjrm that they have refer￿d lo the guidan¢¢ contsined in the Cllarity Con]mission's g¢ncTal guidance on public benefit when reviewing the TnLSt's objectives and in planning its future activities. Citiz¢ns Advicc S¢rvi¢es CoTby & K¢tt¢ring aims to provid¢ fr¢e, confidcntial, impartial and independcnt advic¢ and infornjation for the benefit of the I￿&1 community. to ex¢rcise a responsible infiuence on the development of social policies and services and to ensure that individuals do not suffer through a lack of knowledge or an inability to expr¢ss their needs effectively. Jn addition to the continuing provision of high-quality advisory s¢rvices to the local community. th¢ primary objcdive of the p￿iDd was to ensure that Ébe level of s¢rvic&8 deliv¢red were maintained at their current level despite a difficult economic climate. Incr¢asing tbe nunibeT of volunteers atso remain¢d high priority. Quality of Adviee As a local Citizens Advice, w¢ are regularly and robustly quality assured by the national Citiz¢ns Advice audit team to ensure tbat we m¢¢t our memb¢rship requirements and maintain the standards required of the Advice Quality standard (AQS), the Money & P¢nsions Service (MaPS) and Financial Conducts Autbority (FCA). Th¢ national Citizens Advice perfornwice and quality framework entaijs independently auditing our client Te¢ords, gathering feedback directly from clients who have used our servi¢e, as well as monitoring our finances. HR and governance pro¢¢sses. We meet all national Citizens Advice staDdard8 Impact Dashboard 25K+ We handled 25.860 enqulrles vla telephone or at publlc Advtce Desks. +2086 201h In¢rtase enqvlries. Thts equates to 1 eThqulry for every 3 mh)utes wewere open. 29k+ Our advlsers helped with 29.S26 Issues- an 8% inrrea5e Compared wlth last year. £5.9rn+ We have helped our cllents to secure £S,906.477 in addltional incorne. £1.7m+ we have helpeo cllents to manage £1.780.605 of debt. We have supported 2.554 local people wifh ca5e%vork. and more complex advice and support. A 29% increase on last year. 2.5k Our volunteers have dellvered approximatety 9.412 hours of servlce. The equlvalentof £140,ooo or more than 5.5 full time advSsers 9k+ 93% of 11Sent5 said thattheywould recommend us to others and use our servlces asaln. 93 CITIZENS ADVICE SERVICES CORBY & KETfERING citizens advice North Northants REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES Our work Our servic¢ is provided free at the point of delivery. It includ¢s the provision of front-line diagnostic adviee with refe￿alS to specialist stsff and external agencies where appropriate. We help our clicnts with issues that are important to them. D¢bt: We advise on managing money> n¢gotiating with creditors, and choosing debt management options. Benefits: We advise peopl¢ on how to claim benefits to which they may be eDtitl¢d. We also assist clients with appeals and n￿IdatOry reconsid¢rntions. Housing: We advise Clients on issues including eviction, private tenancies, social housing tenancie possession orders. propety repairs and bomelessness Enwgy: We advise clients on issucs relating to energy supply, cn¢rgy costs and help with issu¢s relating to suppli¢rs OT tsriffs. Employment: We advis¢ employees OD issu¢s including unfair dismissal, employment rights. discrimination and bullying Relationships: We give inforn]ation on how to access legal help and give advice on practical solutions in r¢sponse to issues such &8 neigbbor thsputes, domestic violence, school problems, and family bTeakups. We deliver financial Capability training and employability siipport to belp local people survive tb¢ cost- of-living ¢ri$is and improve their prospects of se¢uring a job. Wc also give inforniation on how to acc¢&8 specialist help and give advi¢e on a wide range of 18s￿S including disputed immigration. consumer, Icg81 and education issues. Servl¢e Provision Once again. we have seen a Significant increase in demand foT, and delivery of, advice over the lasl year and continue to offer more accessibl¢ community-based services across North Northamptonshire. Over the last 12 months we delivered services in the followAng locations Kettering: Kettering Community Unit (KCU) Desborough Library Rothwell Library Burton Latimcr Library Salvation Arniy Higbfields Community Centre The Grange Hub I session per week I se&sion per week I session p¢r week I se&ston per week I se￿10￿ per week I s¢&sion per week I s¢&sion per week Corby. Corby Foodbank Kingswood Neigbbourhood Centre Hazelwood Neighbourhood Centre Home-start Corby Corby MIND East Northants: 2 sessions per week I day per week I day per week I s¢ssion per week I s¢ssion per week Oundle Fwdbank Oundle Town Council Thrapston Council I day per w¢ek I session per week I s¢ssion per week (pilot project) Our outtra¢h services offer triage, full advi¢e and even c&8ework as required. Telephone advic¢ rmains the most popular chaDn¢l although its popularity continues to fall from a bigb of 78% CITIZENS ADVICE SERVICES CORBY & KETTERIF4G citizen5 advice North Northants REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES two years ago to 62% last year and down to 47•/0 this year. At the same time, face-to-fac¢ Se￿Ice$ have increased from 24% to 31P/o likely as a result of the expansion of our outreach services. Clients appreciate the convenience of telephone advice but for many, the complexity of benefits forn￿ and the challenges associated with digitsl access mean that acoess to face-to-fac¢ swvices ren)ain extremely popular. Th¢ new email advi¢e service, launch¢d in August 2023, has incre&sed in popularity from 12% to 21 % over the last year - a 61 % Incre￿ to 1,356 cli¢nts. We ar¢ now responding to over 5 en]ails per day. This s¢rvice is of particular valuc because it enables p¢ople who cannot access our services dwing office hours to submit an enquiry at a time that is convenient to them. How people access our services E￿$11, 21% T*pW47% Othèr. 2% Our Parthers Our ability to r¢ach the most vulnerable members of our conunurrity is dictatcd largely by the success of parthersbips arn the voluntary and statutory s¢¢tors. We are pleased to say that we continue to work with Nortb Northants Council to ensure that local residents have acce5S to advi¢e no matter where they live. The advice serYi¢¢s strategic grant is now delivered in partnership with Citiz¢ns Advi¢¢ West Nortbants and Cherwell and Con)munity Law Service. Our partners include: North Northants Council Citizens Advice West Northants and Cherwell Community Law Service Support Nortb Northants Tn￿sell TTUSt (Corby, Oundle and Kettcring) Northamptonsbire MIND Highfields Community Centre The Grallg¢ Hub Homestart Corby Job Centre Plus KCU (Kett￿]ng Community Unit) Community Libraries (Burton Latimer, DesboTough and Rothwell) Salvation Arniy (Kettering) Kettering, Corby, Oundlc aud Thrapston Town Councils Our Impact Although the cost-of-living crisis is no longer front-page news, local people continue to face financial Challenges with many managing a n¢gative budget. We have exp¢Tienced a substantial rise in both the numb and complexity of cases. ID the last year, we have seen a 210/0 in￿eaSe in enquiries througb our publi¢ advice desks and pl￿neS lines, rising CITIZENS ADVICE SERVICES CORBY & KETTERING citizens advice North Northants REPORT OF TItE TRUSTEES to 25,860. This is 011 top of a 35 % increase over the last two years and equates to one enquiry every 3 minutes Our advis¢rs have helped address 33,906 issues, a 150/0 increase on th¢ pr￿lOuS y¢ar. the equivalent of130 issues Presented cach working day. This translat¢s into our advisers securing £5,906,477 in additional income. a 330/0 increase on the previous year and supporting our clients to D]aDag¢ £1.780,605 in debt. VolunteerlDg As an organisation reliant upon the dedication and conJn)itment of highly trained volunteers, it remains necessary to recrui( induct and trdin at least 10 -15 new volunteers each year to meet denwld. We now have 25 volunteers supporting our advice servic¢s as well as our 9 volunteer trustees who are respoDS]ble forthe governanc¢ of th¢ charity. In the last year, we are proud to say that our volunteers donated 9,160 hours th¢ ￿ll]yal¢llt of 5.4 full lime staff. Webslt4 social media and new access channels I am very pleased to r¢port tbal our social media presence has improved significantly over the last J2 months. We now have a much-improved Facebook proffle aJMI OUT website, and particularly the enquiry forni attract a great number of visitors. Multiply and UKSPF Projects At the end of the year, funding for our Multtply {financia] capability) and UKSPF (¢mployability) projects came to an end. This was a great sham¢ 5incc both projects have proved in¢r¢dibility suc¢¢ssful with our employability project (STEP) belping 270/0 of participants secure employment and potentially generating about £500.IX)O in additional income. CITIZENS ADVICE SERVICES CORBY & KETTERING citizens advice North Northants REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FINANCIAL REVIEW Financlal Position Total incoming resources in th¢ y¢ar were £579,358, of this £568,440 related to project ￿stricted activities. A loss of £35,725 was made ID the y¢ar. Al 31st March 2025 tot&1 reserves were £455,566 however thcs¢ include rcstTiCted funds (1¢ those fi]nds receivcd for contractually restricted activiti¢s but not yet spent) of £67.345. The ustees have also designated a total of £360,000 of funds for specific purposes, &8 set out in note I I, this I￿VeS general unrcstricted funds of £28,221 at 31 st March 2025. Reserve5 Policy Citizens Advice Services Corby & K¢tteTing is Tequired to ensure that free monie5 are available in each financial year to m¢et 8ny reasonably foreseeable c4)Dtingency. The trust¢¢s have allocated thc financial reserves set &8ide to allow for sufficicnt cash flow to maintain the core service of the Organisation at a level equivalent to at l¢ast six (6) montbs nornial 0￿rat]llg expenditure with a goal of increasing this to ninc (9) months over th¢ con)ing years. This is the equivalent of £233.000 rising ts) £350,000. The TTUStees have recently reviewed our Tethmdancy ]iability which is relatively high given the good staff ret¢ntion rate. The trustees have allocated £77,(K)O in our designated reserv¢s to meet this liability in tbe c￿llt that the Charity were to dissolve. In re￿gnition that the charity is accommodated within local aUt]￿rIty premises, the trust¢¢s reCo￿ls¢ that we may be ask¢d to vacate thes¢ prernises in the ¢oming years. As a result, the truste¢s have allocated £50.000 in designated reserves to cover the cosl of securing alterDat¢ office accommodation, Summw of designated T¢serves: 6 months op¢ratAng costs Redundancy liability Office accon)modation contitig¢n¢y Total £233,000 £77,000 £50,000 £360,000 Prlnelpal Funding Source5 The Trustee Board extends their gratitude to Nortb Northamptonshire Council (NNC) who continue to support the core operdting of the Charity in both Corby and Kettering. Athlitionally, project specific funding was r￿e]Ved from. cIti￿)S Advice, NNC for Corby & Kett￿]llg Homele&8nc&8, Department for Education (via NNC) for the Multiply proj¢cL Henry Smith Ch￿lty and TTuss¢ll Tntst. NNC provid¢ premises to th¢ CTr￿1ty in both Corby & Kettering. fiwther details of this can be seen in Note 13. Citizens Advice Services Corby & Kett￿ing plan to expand their reach to include the whole of North Northamptonsbire and will continu¢ their work to ensure that the necessary funds are secured so that th¢ services people need are in place when our help is n¢¢d¢d. Strategic priorities for the next tw¢lve (12) months are to seck ncw funding str¢ams to support further pmject delivcry and introduce s¢rvices in the areas of Wellingborough and East Northants. We will continue to et]sur¢ that w¢ are fit for purpose and look forward to wor]ang with our Partners in the future to serve our clients. ENS ADVICE SERVICES CORBY & citizens advice North Northants REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES STRucfuRE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEME Governfing document Citizens Advice Services Corby & Kettering is a company limited by guarantee governeAI by its Menwrandum and Arti¢l¢s of Associ&tion dated 19 October 2022. It is registeTed as a CILarity with the Charity Commission. Memb¢Th ar¢ elected from the local coJJJmunity and must either reside or work in the Boroughs of Corby or Kettering. How¢v¢r such applications require the approval ofthe Trustees. There are ¢urrently nine members, eath of whom agrees to contribute £1 in the ¢venl of the Charity winding up. AppolntmeDt of Trustses As set out in the Articles of Association the first Trustees sball be th08¢ pe￿OnS notified to CompaDies Hous¢ as the fiTSt directors of the Charity. Trustees are not required to retire by Totstion and remain as Trustees until they resig￿ There shall be a minimum number of thtte Trustees and a maximum number of fifteen Trustees. The TTUSte¢s have the power to appoint additional TTUSt¢¢s or to fill a vacancy arising amongst the Trustees. The members have the power to nominate additional Trust¢¢s, or Trustees to fill a vacancy. at a general meeting. Trn$tee Induction and training New Trustees und¢rgo an orientation day to bTi¢fthem on th¢ir legal obligations under ChaTity and company law. the conlent of tbe Memorandwn 8md Articles of As￿lation, the decision-making processes, the business plan and recent finaD¢ial perfornw]ce8 of thc Charity. Trnstees are ¢n¢ouraged to attend appropriate external training events wh¢r¢ these will facilitats the Undertsli￿ of their role. Organlsatlonal strUc￿re cit1w￿ Advice Services Corby & Kettering is governed by its Trusk¢ B