2025-10-31-accounts - Newent Association For The Disabled

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REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 04937256 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1121008

Report of the Trustees and Consolidated Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 October 2025 for Newent Association for the Disabled

Kingscott Dix Limited Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor Goodridge Court Goodridge Avenue Gloucester Gloucestershire GL2 5EN

Newent Association for the Disabled

Contents of the Consolidated Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 October 2025

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||| |---|---| |Page| |Reference and Administrative Details| |Report of the Trustees|1 to 5| |Report of the Independent Auditors|6 to 8| |Consolidated and Charity Statement of Financial Activities|9 to 10| |Consolidated and Charity Statement of Financial Position|11 to 12| |Statement of Consolidated Cash Flows|13| |Notes to the Statement of Consolidated Cash Flows|14| |Notes to the Financial Statements|15 to 27| |Detailed Statement of Financial Activities|28 to 29|

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Newent Association for the Disabled

Reference and Administrative Details For The Year Ended 31 October 2025

Trustees M P Edwards Dr I A Cocks Mrs P C Hales D Coombs Dr R N Baldwin Mrs C Moore (appointed 26 January 2024) Company number 04937256 (England and Wales) Charity number 1121008 Principal address Sheppard House Onslow Road Newent Gloucestershire GL18 1TL Auditor Kingscott Dix Limited Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor Goodridge Court Goodridge Avenue Gloucester Gloucestershire GL2 5EN Bankers The Cooperative Bank PO BOX 250 Delf House Skelmersdale WN8 6WT

Newent Association for the Disabled (Registered number: 04937256)

Report of the Trustees For The Year Ended 31 October 2025

The trustees present their Group report and financial statements for the year ended 31 October 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

The principal objectives and aims of the Charity remain to relieve physically disabled persons within Newent and the surrounding area by the provision of transport and such other means as the Association may from time to time determine and to provide recreational facilities for such persons in the interests of social welfare with the object of improving their

VISION

Newent Association for the Disabled wants to ensure through its service provision that quality of life is maintained for older and disabled people living in the North Forest Area.

MISSION Newent Association for the Disabled's mission is to: - Offer older people and people with disabilities a range of services to help improve their quality of life - Pioneer innovative and creative responses to meeting the needs of older people and people with disabilities. - Offer high quality services which meet the specific needs of older people and people with disabilities AIMS - Providing high quality direct services to older and disabled people in the North Forest area. - By providing a gold class community transport service through our fleet of vehicles - Responding to the needs of older people from communities in the catchment area. - Creating an effective and efficient organisation with sufficent income to sustain and develop our essential services that all stakeholders are committed to. PUBLIC BENEFIT The charity looks to achieve these objectives, whilst demonstrating its charitable purpose for the public benefit by the provision of activities and clubs at Sheppard House in Newent and transport through the Dial A Ride Facility. The trustees consider that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant.

AIMS

PUBLIC BENEFIT

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

The Board of Trustees has a duty to undertake discussion and make recommendations on constitutional and strategic issues all within the context of its mission.

Each trustee has a special interest e.g. Human Resources, Finance, Transport and Medical. The Board of Trustees are conscious of the unpredictability of its public sources of funding and as such seeks to keep a level of unrestricted reserves so that it can meet any shortfall of income over expenditure.

Income to the Association comes from a variety of sources, donations, legacies, sale of merchandise through the Charity Shop with Gift Aid collected, contractual through GCC with schools' transport, community transport with shuttle service, trust funding with grants for specific projects and direct payments from clients using the Sheppard House menu of services.

Newent Association for the Disabled (Registered number: 04937256)

Report of the Trustees

For The Year Ended 31 October 2025

The securing of income for support and service development in the local area and the charity as a whole is always at the forefront in the thinking of the Board of Trustees and the senior management team. The Trustees have continued to adopt a cautious investment policy. The Association continues to seek to invest its surplus funds in no-risk interest earning

The bulk of its spare funds are placed with The Co-operative Bank PLC. Investment is largely in selected deposit accounts. These accounts have provided a small but safe return with the advantage of short-term liquidity so that funds can be mobilised for ongoing developments.

When applying for funds the Board has to ensure compliance in both the terms and conditions of the grant maker and Newent Association for the Disabled. In addition, all legacy income has to be spent as per the testator wishes. The income generation strategy reflects the aims of our mission and the priority objectives of Newent Association for the Disabled.

CHAIRMANS REPORT 2025

We all know we live in challenging times. Every chair of every charity can tell you that. But Newent Association for the Disabled’s history of helping people who require additional support has always been at the forefront of our work. That simple fact gives me so much hope – and I know I’m not alone. I see how people whose lives have been affected by mental health problems and disabilities need help in these difficult financial times Despite the challenging external environment, we managed to show a surplus on the year accounts for 2025. As national grants dwindle, we are constantly looking at new ideas to raise funds to ensure our work can continue through Sheppard House and Dial A Ride Notwithstanding the challenges, on many occasions throughout 2024/25 I felt not just hope, but pride at the way the whole leadership team has worked so closely and productively. I would like to thank, in particular, our Board of Trustees, all staff and volunteers and our CEO who has led from the front during these very difficult times. Yes, these are difficult times, but this review shows how much we continue to achieve when we take action together. The fight for mental and physical health goes on. Patricia Hales Chairman CHIEF EXECUTIVE REPORT 2025 2025 was another good year for Newent Association for the Disabled. We managed to generate a surplus of just under £80,000. We have put this to good use improving our facilities at Sheppard House to make sure our clients have the best experience possible. As all organisations we did have the challenge of rising costs, in particular wages. Our transport business, which takes children with special needs to school (in addition to many other services) grew significantly and we now have twenty-one minibuses. This has grown our income but has also led to higher costs in fuel and vehicle maintenance. Sheppard House day centre has been very successful. We have grown the number of clients attending each day to an average of 25. This is a significant increase over the last few years.

We also ran very successful craft classes on a Friday at Sheppard House and these continue to be very popular. Our shop had another good year, which is remarkable against the backdrop of declining footfall in small market towns. In addition, we received significant financial support from Trusts and Foundations and I would particularly like to thank Barnwood Trust for their support. This is very important as it is increasingly competitive as there are more charities applying for grants than

Overall a very successful year which equips us well to face the challenges of 2026.

Newent Association for the Disabled (Registered number: 04937256)

Report of the Trustees For The Year Ended 31 October 2025

Financial Review

During the last year our income grew by over £125,000 which is excellent news in a very challenging time. This was mainly due to a significant increase in revenue from our schools’ contracts. This was supported by income growth in our transport services to the Gloucester Grammar Schools This was a result of our decision to invest some of the previous year’s legacy in new vehicles . Unfortunately, our costs did rise by 17% in the same period. The majority of this was caused by wage cost increases but also included higher fuel, food and energy costs. Despite this we generated a very significant surplus which we will invest in 2025/26 in further improving the services we offer our clients. In addition to this we will be undertaking an

In 2026 we will be building a new shop on our site at Onslow Road. This will focus on furniture recycling and will provide employment and volunteering opportunities. In addition, it will enhance the local environment .

We have managed to generate a surplus in five of the last six years. This demonstrates a consistent financial strategy and has enabled us to grow and provide excellent facilities for our service users. We have grown our reserves and this gives us financial security, even in difficult times. It has also enabled us to invest in new income generating opportunities to further spread any risk. This will help us deal with future uncertainties and the inevitable rise in costs. We are very well placed to meet any new challenges. Lyndon Biddle Chief Executive STRATEGIC REPORT Reserves policy The reserve policy is to hold a minimum of three months expenditure in reserves, as recommended by the Charities Commission. Principal risks and uncertainties The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure. The external risks to funding are reduced by the diversification of the charity’s funding sources. Internal risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for the authorisation of all transactions and projects. The trustees consider that by aiming to ensure a consistently high level of professionalism from a well trained staff reduces the risk of failure in the standard of care delivered. All procedures are periodically checked to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of the

Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with Health and Safety for staff and residents.

Future plans

The trustees intend to continue to improve the facilities within Sheppard House. The trustees will continue to place high importance on staff training to ensure aims and objectives of the charity are met.

STRUCTURES, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

The Charitable Company is incorporated under the Companies Act and has a Memorandum and Articles as adopted on 20th October 2003. The original charity was first registered on 13th May 1987. In November 2007 the assets of the original charity were transferred to this company.

Newent Association for the Disabled (Registered number: 04937256)

Report of the Trustees For The Year Ended 31 October 2025

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

New Trustees are selected from local interested individuals with a view to incorporating expertise appropriate to the proper management of the Association. Trustees are offered opportunities to attend training courses as appropriate.

Organisational structure

The Main Trustee Board meets in full at least four times a year with subcommittees of trustees and relevant advisors meeting more frequently to deal with particular issues. The day to day running of the charity is in the hands of paid administration staff with a Senior Executive.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number 04937256 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number 1121008

Registered office Sheppard House Onslow Road Newent Gloucestershire GL18 1TL

Trustees

M P Edwards Dr I A Cocks Mrs P C Hales D Coombs Dr R N Baldwin Mrs C Moore

Auditors

Kingscott Dix Limited Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor Goodridge Court Goodridge Avenue Gloucester Gloucestershire GL2 5EN

Bankers

The Cooperative Bank PO BOX 250 Delf House Skelmersdale WN8 6WT

Solictiors

Orme & Slade Solicitors Natwest Bank Chambers The Homend Ledbury HR8 1AB

Newent Association for the Disabled (Registered number: 04937256)

Report of the Trustees

For The Year Ended 31 October 2025

Commencement of Activities

The Company took over the assets and activities of Newent Association for the Disabled on 1st November 2007.

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (who are also the directors of Newent Association for the Disabled for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) including Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland".

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 of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are

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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business. The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. In so far as the trustees are aware: - there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditors are unaware; and - the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

Report of the trustees, incorporating a strategic report, approved by order of the board of trustees, as the company directors, on…....................... and signed on the board's behalf by:

Mrs P C Hales Trustee

Report of the Independent Auditors to the Members of Newent Association for the Disabled (Registered number: 04937256)

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Newent Association for the Disabled (the 'charitable parent company') and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 October 2025 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Charity Statement of Financial Activities, the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position, the Charity Statement of Financial Position, the Statement of Consolidated Cash Flows, notes to the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'.

In our opinion the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the charitable parent company’s affairs as at 31 October 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

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 Auditors' 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 statements 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’s and the charitable parent 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 trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.

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.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. 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.

Report of the Independent Auditors to the Members of Newent Association for the Disabled (Registered number: 04937256)

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

the information given in the Group Report of the Trustees for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the Group Report of the Trustees has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

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

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:

adequate accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the parent charitable company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of trustees As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) 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 charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. Our 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 a Report of the Independent Auditors 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. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below: In assigning the audit engagement team we ensured that collectively they had the appropriate competence and capabilities to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations, highlight areas of the financial statements particularly susceptible to fraud and conduct appropriate additional enquiries where suspicions or weaknesses became evident.

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 charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. Our 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 a Report of the Independent Auditors 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.

At the planning stage, we assessed the susceptibility of the entity's financial statements to material misstatement, including how fraud might occur. This involved preliminary planning discussions with management to obtain their assessment of fraud risk, to identify any incidences of fraud during the year and understand the measures and controls they had taken to combat the possibility of fraud.

Our transaction testing and assessment of controls during the audit provided further evidence as to the validity of this initial assessment with regard to material misstatement and fraud.

Report of the Independent Auditors to the Members of Newent Association for the Disabled (Registered number: 04937256)

We identified areas of law and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our general commercial and sector experience, through discussion with the Trustees, and inspection of the Charity's regulatory and legal correspondence. The team were briefed with regard to laws and regulations and remained alert to any indication of non-compliance throughout the audit.

The charity is subject to laws and regulations that directly affect the financial statements including legislation covering financial reporting and we assessed the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items. In assessing this compliance, we evaluated the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates in the measurement and presentation of profit within the financial statements.

The charity is subject to many other laws and regulations where the consequences of non-compliance could have a material effect on amounts or disclosures in the financial statements, for instance through the imposition of fines or litigation. We identified the following areas as those most likely to have such an effect: Health and safety, Employment laws, GDPR, Care Act, Care, Support & Aftercare Act and Health & Social Care Act.

Audit procedures designed to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations included enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence. None of the procedures applied identified actual or suspected non-compliance.

or suspected non-compliance. Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. Where an irregularity is non-financial or has not reached a stage where its impact is financial, it is less likely to be identified by auditing procedures. In addition, to the extent that an irregularity involves collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls, there remains a high risk of non-detection. We are not responsible for detecting all instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations and cannot be expected to do so. A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors. Use of our report This report is made solely to the 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 charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' 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 charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material

with auditing standards. Where an irregularity is non-financial or has not reached a stage where its impact is financial, it is

Mark Spashett BSc FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Kingscott Dix Limited Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor Goodridge Court Goodridge Avenue Gloucester Gloucestershire GL2 5EN

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