BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)
Charity number 1119463
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2024
BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2024
| Contents | Page |
|---|---|
| Trustees' report | 2 to 5 |
| Examiner's report | 6 |
| Receipts and payments account | 7 |
| Statement of assets and liabilities | 8 |
| Notes to the accounts | 9 to 10 |
Prepared by West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
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BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)
Trustees' report for the year ended 30 September 2024
Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors
The trustees during the financial year and up to and including the date the report was approved were: Name Position Dates Sarah Jemison Chair Heather Grinter Vice Chair Martin Lewis Treasurer William Sutcliffe Mary Brooks Edward Sterling Lisa Ceesay Karen Thornton Appointed 9 January 2024 Charity number 1119463 Registered in England and Wales Registered and principal address Bankers c/o Touchstone Unity Trust Bank plc 4 Easby Road Nine Brindleyplace Bradford Birmingham BD7 1QX B1 2HB
Independent examiner Rhys North ACA West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
Structure, governance and management
The charity is governed by a constitution adopted on 14 November 2006 as amended on 8 October 2019 and 28 January 2020.
Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees
The trustees of the charity are appointed by the members at the AGM.
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BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern) Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 30 September 2024
Objectives and activities
The charity's objects
The relief of hardship among those seeking asylum in the UK or who are refugees who reside in the Bradford Metropolitan District and surrounding areas.
To advance the education of the public in general about the issues relating to refugees and those seeking asylum.
The charity's main activities
All of BEACON’s activities are underpinned by our vision that the Bradford district becomes a hospitable community where people seeking asylum and refugees are welcome, enjoy access to justice and fair treatment and are supported on their journey to independence and integration. We have enacted this primarily through our McKenzie Friends, CHAT and Hosting projects
McKenzie Friends support people seeking asylum through the legal system towards gaining sanctuary and refugee status; volunteers provide legal support and advocacy to navigate the complexities of the asylum system, including facilitating access to legal advice and accompanying unrepresented asylum seekers to appeal hearings.
CHAT hold weekly English conversation classes and activities group open to non-English speakers in the local community, for all abilities. The group provides a friendly and welcoming environment in which to improve English, form social connections, enhance wellbeing and enjoy a variety of additional activities from gardening, to theatre trips and cooking classes.
Public benefit statement
In setting our objectives and planning our activities our trustees have given serious consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit. In line with our charitable purposes:
1) Our work has been successful in relieving hardship among those seeking asylum and refugees who reside in the Bradford Metropolitan District and surrounding areas. Our three projects (McKenzie Friends, Hosting and CHAT) are dependent on a wide range of committed volunteers who enable us to deliver a high quality service. We have continued to recruit and train new volunteers thus increasing our capacity to support more people seeking asylum as they deal with the many challenges they face. This includes providing information, signposting, and support to access legal advice (McKenzie Friends), the relief of destitution and meeting of basic needs including food and money (Hosting Project) and the opportunity to improve English language skills, take part in volunteering activities and establish social networks leading to a reduction in isolation increased well-being and empowerment among those seeking asylum. (CHAT project).
In addition to the benefits to the people we have supported and the associated benefits gained by our volunteers, our work has a wider public benefit in enhancing social cohesion and opportunities for integration for people seeking asylum. Thus reducing the strain on other community services which are not as well placed to meet the unique needs of people seeking asylum.
2) We have furthered our objective to advance the education of the public in general about the issues relating to refugees and people seeking asylum.
We are members of the Together with Refugees and Hands Up for our Health coalitions, whose aims are to better educate the public and counter the effects of the ‘hostile environment’. We have continued to support and spread awareness of the ‘Lift the Ban’ coalition on the right to work for those seeking asylum. Our annual sponsored walk during Refugee Week and presence at various local events, including the Saltaire Peace and Crafts Fair provide opportunities to increase information amongst the public. We have given presentations to local groups to help spread awareness of the increasingly challenging needs of people seeking asylum.
The public benefit arising from these activities is the increase in information given to the public which in turn enhances support for, and consideration of, the difficulties faced by the individuals we support, thus facilitating people to play a role in society as informed citizens, who are aware of humanitarian concerns affecting people seeking asylum.
The charity trustees have considered the major risks to which the charity is exposed and have a plan to manage identified risks.
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BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 30 September 2024
Achievements and performance
We are pleased to report that our achievements this year have continued to have significant impact on the lives of the people using our services, and on the asylum sector in Bradford.
CHAT has become a well-established community conversation class that has been attended by 105 people from 22 different nations in the past twelve months. In the past year our CHAT coordinator has made some new connections in the local community and strengthened some established ones – for example the class worked with the ‘Together Café’ project at the University of Bradford to help the University improve their connections with groups in the local community. Over the past year the class has also welcomed visitors from various groups aimed at helping them settle in to and understand life in the UK – for example a worker from UK Parliament led a session to help participants learn about how the UK is governed and ways that they can have their say in local politics. In addition, participants in the class have been provided with opportunities to explore the local community and to visit places that they may not have had chance to go to otherwise: for example they have visited the local library and obtained library cards, and enjoyed a day out in Skipton enjoying the woods and canal.
In the past twelve months our McKenzie Friends project received 51 referrals, and our McKenzie Friends volunteers are currently working with 40 people seeking asylum. The majority of the clients we have been working over the past year have been from Iraq (18%) with other nationalities reflecting the situation internationally with five people each from Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea and Afghanistan, and others from Nigeria and Pakistan. McKenzie friends have had many positive outcomes over the past year - 13 people seeking asylum that we supported have been given Leave to Remain in the UK; we have secured solicitors for 10 of our clients who are seeking asylum; and 6 people that we have found solicitors for have now lodged their further submissions.
In addition to the work of our CHAT and McKenzie Friends projects, over the last year BEACON has continued to build strong relationships with partner organisations for the benefit of people seeking asylum in Bradford. We have been instrumental in setting up and running ‘Your Space’ – a weekly multi-agency drop-in service that offers advice and information for people seeking sanctuary. We have also worked closely with partner organisations to launch 'Bradford Community - Learning Together' - a monthly programme of networking, training and information open to all staff and volunteers in the sector in Bradford. We have also maintained our positive relationship with Inclusive Volunteering Bradford and District, who have been able to support some of our service users into volunteering positions.
More detailed analysis and information can be found in our Annual Impact Report.
Financial review
The net receipts for the year were £20,598, including net receipts of £10,654 on unrestricted funds and net receipts of £9,944 on restricted funds after transfers.
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BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 30 September 2024
Reserves policy
BEACON depends on grants and donations to sustain its activities. We run the risk of closure if funding difficulties were to happen, if there were a temporary shortfall in income, or an unforeseen rise in spending requirements and costs.
To prevent immediate closure in these instances, the trustees have agreed to keep a certain level of financial reserves to ensure that main operations can continue until alternative provision can be made.
The main concerns are to ensure:
that service users (particularly our hosted guests) are supported to move on to other services in a timely and sympathetic manner
an ability to develop new projects and grasp new opportunities should they arise
that staff can continue working to develop another funding stream to continue the work of BEACON that staff will be provided with redundancy payments where applicable.
The ideal amount of reserves has been set as an amount equivalent to between 6 and 12 months budgeted running costs, as this is deemed an appropriate period of time to achieve the above aims.
Anticipated expenditure is kept under constant review throughout the year and cash flow projections are amended to reflect any changes. Target reserve levels are adjusted accordingly.
At the end of the year our budgeted future running costs for the 2024/2025 financial year are £93,700. The target reserves range is therefore between £46,850 and £93,700.
The charity's free reserves, excluding fixed assets, at the year end are £52,649. This level of reserves sits within our target range.
Approved by the board of trustees on 2/1/2025
Martin Lewis (Trustee)
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BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of BEACON (Bradford
Ecumenical Asylum Concern)
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 30 September 2024, which are set out on pages 7 to 10.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act').
I report in respect of my examination of the charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
1 accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Charities Act; 2 the accounts do not accord with those records.
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.
Rhys North ACA
3/1/2025
West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
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BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)
Receipts and payments account
for the year ended 30 September 2024
| Notes 2024 Unrestricted funds £ Receipts Grants (2) 37,000 Donations: Faith Groups 3,458 Individuals 8,093 Other 249 Fundraising 50 Other income 226 Bank interest 855 Total receipts 49,931 Payments Salaries NI and pensions 24,973 Payroll charges 490 Rent 6,690 Insurance 600 Office costs 904 Publicity and fundraising 2,275 Training 197 Subscriptions 454 Project costs 744 IT costs 544 Volunteer expenses 20 Other expenses 106 Governance costs 704 Independent examination 726 Total payments 39,427 Net receipts / (payments) 10,504 Transfers between funds 150 Net movement in funds 10,654 Fund balances brought forward 41,995 Fund balances carried forward (3) 52,649 |
2024 Restricted funds £ 34,400 - - - - - - 34,400 18,625 242 - - 282 - 134 192 4,610 - 212 9 - - 24,306 10,094 (150) 9,944 7,530 17,474 |
2024 Total funds £ 71,400 3,458 8,093 249 50 226 855 84,331 43,598 732 6,690 600 1,186 2,275 331 646 5,354 544 232 115 704 726 63,733 20,598 - 20,598 49,525 70,123 |
2023 Total funds £ 25,000 4,505 5,638 2,084 1,139 38,366 42,387 688 6,842 591 985 216 105 456 2,719 415 199 165 727 420 56,915 (18,549) - (18,549) 68,074 49,525 |
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BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern) Statement of assets and liabilities
| as at 30 September 2024 2024 Unrestricted £ Cash funds Cash at bank 45,647 Cash at bank - Bradford CPA 6,982 Cash in hand 20 Total cash funds 52,649 Debtors and prepayments Prepayments Other debtors Liabilities Accruals Other creditors |
2024 Restricted £ 17,474 - 17,474 |
2024 Total £ 63,121 6,982 20 70,123 2024 £ 450 1,029 1,479 2024 £ 792 985 1,777 |
2023 Total £ 39,244 10,081 200 49,525 |
|---|---|---|---|
The financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on 2/1/2025
Martin Lewis (Trustee)
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BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)
Notes to the accounts
for the year ended 30 September 2024
1 Accounting policies
Basis of accounting
The trustees have taken advantage of section 133 of the Charities Act 2011 and have prepared the accounts on a receipts and payments basis.
There has been no change to the accounting policies since last year.
No changes have been made to the accounts for previous years.
Taxation
As a charity the organisation benefits from rates relief and is generally exempt from income tax and capital gains tax but not from VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the cost of those items to which it relates.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.
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BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)
Notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
| 2 Grants Bradford Diocesan Council for Social Aid (BDCSA) Lush Limited National Lottery Community Fund The Allen Lane Foundation The Brelms Trust CIO The Charles & Elsie Sykes Trust The Lyndal Tree Foundation The Methodist Church Yorkshire West District The Scurrah Wainwright Charity The Wharfedale Foundation Society of the Holy Child Jesus (SHCJ) Other grants 3 Restricted funds Balance b/f £ Society of the Holy Child Jesus 7,530 Charles & Elsie Sykes Trust - NLCF - CHAT and MF - The Wharfedale Foundation - BDCSA - Scurrah Wainwright - Lush Retail Limited - 7,530 |
2024 Unrestricted funds £ - - - 4,000 5,000 - 3,000 20,000 - - - 5,000 37,000 Incoming £ - 3,000 19,900 2,500 3,000 5,000 1,000 34,400 |
2024 Restricted funds £ 3,000 1,000 19,900 - - 3,000 - - 5,000 2,500 - - 34,400 Outgoing £ 7,530 2,243 8,137 2,500 2,487 1,307 102 24,306 |
2024 Total funds £ 3,000 1,000 19,900 4,000 5,000 3,000 3,000 20,000 5,000 2,500 - 5,000 71,400 Transfers £ - - - - - (150) - (150) |
2023 Total funds £ - - - - - - 5,000 10,000 - - 10,000 - 25,000 Balance c/f £ - 757 11,763 - 513 3,543 898 17,474 |
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Purpose of restriction
Fund name Purpose of restriction Society of the Holy Child Jesus To support the salary costs of the Team Leader and Finance & Administration Assistant. Charles & Elsie Sykes Trust To support the purchase of bus passes for people in the asylum process. NLCF - CHAT and MF To support the salary costs of the CHAT and Mackenzie Friends coordinators. The Wharfedale Foundation To support the salary costs of the Mackenzie Friends coordinator. BDCSA To support legal and advice and friendship costs for the Mackenzie Friends project. Scurrah Wainwright To support volunteer recruitment activities. The transfer is for a contribution towards management and overhead costs. Lush Retail Limited To support the Mackenzie Friends project.
4 Related party transactions
Donations from trustees and related parties
The total aggregate value of unconditional donations to the charity from the trustees or related parties was £315 (2023: £180).
Trustee expenses
During the year one trustees were paid a total of £119 in respect of travel (previous year: no expenses paid).
Trustee remuneration and benefits
No trustee received any remuneration or benefit during this or the previous year.
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