2025-09-30-accounts - Beacon (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)

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BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)

Charity number 1119463

Annual Report and Financial Statements

for the year ended 30 September 2025

BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2025

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 11

Prepared by West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO

BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)

Trustees' report for the year ended 30 September 2025

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 Mary Brooks Chair Heather Grinter Vice Chair Martin Lewis Treasurer Sarah Jemison William Sutcliffe Edward Sterling Lisa Ceesay Karen Thornton 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 Alan Dodd FCCA 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.

BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)

Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 30 September 2025

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 and CHAT.

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 two projects (McKenzie Friends, 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), 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 have continued to build strong relationships with partner organisations for the benefit of people seeking asylum in Bradford. We have been a regular attendee at ‘Your Space’ – a weekly multi-agency drop-in service that offers advice and information for people seeking sanctuary. We have also continued to work closely with partner organisations, in particular '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. 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.

BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)

Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 30 September 2025

Public benefit statement (continued)

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.

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. The services and support we have provided were thanks to hard work of our small staff team (Team Leader, CHAT Coordinator, McKenzie Friends Coordinator and Admin & Finance Officer) and our fantastic team of volunteers.

CHAT has become a well-established community conversation class that has been attended by 115 people from 29 different nations in the past twelve months. The growth in numbers attending our weekly sessions meant that we had outgrown the space available in our Touchstone offices so we successfully relocated our classes to the Global Café which is run by the Sherbourne Church Trust. 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, in addition to which 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 enjoyed a day out at Saltaire Village enjoying the village and the canal.

In the past twelve months our McKenzie Friends project has supported 73 people seeking asylum, and our McKenzie Friends volunteers are currently working with 46 of those people. Our clients have come from 28 different countries with the most coming from Pakistan, Nigeria, Iraq and Afghanistan. McKenzie Friends have had many positive outcomes over the past year - 10 people seeking asylum that we supported have been given Leave to Remain in the UK; we have helped find solicitors for 11 of our clients, three of whom have now lodged their further submissions; 12 clients have been supported to make an appeal so helping them access justice and stay in their accommodation.

Financial review

The net receipts for the year were £9,708, including net receipts of £15,082 on unrestricted funds and net payments of £5,374 on restricted funds after transfers.

Reserves policy

The charity's free reserves, at the year end were £67,731.

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 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.

BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)

Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 30 September 2025

Reserves policy (continued)

BEACON’s reserves comprise restricted reserves – the amount of unspent restricted grants received – and free reserves – the amount of unrestricted funds available. The ideal amount of reserves has been set as the full amount of restricted reserves plus an amount equivalent to between 6 and 12 months of unrestricted running costs, as this is deemed an appropriate period of time to achieve the above Aims. Of the available free reserves, the Trustees may agree to use an amount equivalent to between 2 and 4 months to support the development of new projects.

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.

Approved by the board of trustees on …………..……...…….

Signed: ………………..…………. (Trustee) Name: ……………..…..………….

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 2025, which are set out on pages 7 to 11.

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.

Signed: …………………………………… Name: Alan Dodd FCCA

Date: …………………….

West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO

Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW

BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)

Receipts and payments account for the year ended 30 September 2025

Notes 2025 Unrestricted funds £ Receipts Grants (2) 56,000 Donations: Faith Groups 3,037 Individuals 6,573 Gift aid 1,956 Fundraising 914 Other income 275 Bank interest 1,256 Total receipts 70,011 Payments Salaries NI and pensions 32,617 Payroll charges 671 Rent 6,570 Insurance 893 Office costs 856 Publicity and fundraising 3,787 Training 227 Subscriptions 613 Project costs 6,123 IT costs 743 Volunteer expenses 76 Other expenses 183 Governance costs 1,228 Independent examination 792 Total payments 55,379 Net receipts / (payments) 14,632 Transfers between funds 450 Net movement in funds 15,082 Fund balances brought forward 52,649 Fund balances carried forward (3) 67,731	2025 Restricted funds £ 12,100 - - - - - - 12,100 14,353 176 - 102 58 - 231 280 1,754 - 62 8 - - 17,024 (4,924) (450) (5,374) 17,474 12,100	2025 Total funds £ 68,100 3,037 6,573 1,956 914 275 1,256 82,111 46,970 847 6,570 995 914 3,787 458 893 7,877 743 138 191 1,228 792 72,403 9,708 - 9,708 70,123 79,831	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

BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)

Statement of assets and liabilities

as at 30 September 2025 2025 Unrestricted £ Cash funds Cash at bank 62,599 Cash at bank - Bradford CPA 5,112 Cash in hand 20 Total cash funds 67,731 Debtors and prepayments Prepayments Liabilities Accruals	2025 Restricted £ 12,100 - - 12,100	2025 Total £ 74,699 5,112 20 79,831 2025 £ 670 670 2025 £ 924 924	2024 Total £ 63,121 6,982 20 70,123

The financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on …………..……...…….

Signed: ……………...………….…. (Trustee)

Name: ……………..…..………….

BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)

Notes to the accounts

for the year ended 30 September 2025

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.

BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)

Notes to the accounts continued

for the year ended 30 September 2025

2 Grants and donations Benefact Trust No Accommodation Network (NACCOM) Postcode Neighbourhood Trust The Brelms Trust CIO The Garfield Weston Foundation The Leigh Trust The Lyndal Tree Foundation The Methodist Church Yorkshire West District Bradford Diocesan Council for Social Aid (BDCSA) Lush Limited National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) The Allen Lane Foundation The Charles & Elsie Sykes Trust The Scurrah Wainwright Charity The Wharfedale Foundation Other grants 3 Restricted funds Balance b/f £ Charles & Elsie Sykes Trust 757 NLCF - CHAT and MF 11,763 BDCSA 513 Scurrah Wainwright 3,543 Lush Retail Limited 898 Benefact Trust - NACCOM - 17,474	2025 Unrestricted funds £ - - 25,000 5,000 10,000 3,000 3,000 10,000 - - - - - - - - 56,000 Incoming £ - - - - - 11,000 1,100 12,100	2025 Restricted funds £ 11,000 1,100 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12,100 Outgoing £ 757 11,763 513 3,093 898 - - 17,024	2025 Total funds £ 11,000 1,100 25,000 5,000 10,000 3,000 3,000 10,000 - - - - - - - - 68,100 Transfers £ - - - (450) - - - (450)	2024 Total funds £ - - - 5,000 - - 3,000 20,000 3,000 1,000 19,900 4,000 3,000 5,000 2,500 5,000 71,400 Balance c/f £ - - - - - 11,000 1,100 12,100

Fund name

Charles & Elsie Sykes Trust NLCF - CHAT and MF

BDCSA

Scurrah Wainwright

Lush Retail Limited Benefact Trust NACCOM

Purpose of restriction

To support the purchase of bus passes for people in the asylum process. To support the salary costs of the CHAT and Mackenzie Friends coordinators. To support legal and advice and friendship costs for the Mackenzie Friends project.

To support volunteer recruitment activities. The transfer is for a contribution towards management and overhead costs.

To support the Mackenzie Friends project. For a new legal support project.

To support staff and volunteer wellbeing.

BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)

Notes to the accounts continued

for the year ended 30 September 2025

4 Related party transactions

Trustee expenses

During the year no trustees were paid travel expenses (previous year: 1 trustee and £119).

Trustee remuneration and benefits

No trustee received any remuneration or benefit during this or the previous year.