2023-03-31-accounts - Migrants' Rights Network

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Company No. 06024396 (England & Wales)

Charity No. 1125746

MIGRANTS' RIGHTS NETWORK

(a company limited by guarantee)

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

MYLS ACCOUNTANTS LTD

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS AND CHARTERED CERTIFIED ACCOUNTANTS

7B GREENFORD GARDENS, GREENFORD UB6 9LY

MIGRANTS' RIGHTS NETWORK FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

CONTENTS
Pages	1	-25	Trustees' Report
	26	-26	Independent Examiner's Report
	27	-27	Statement of Financial Activities
	28	-28	Balance Sheet
	29	-39	Notes to the Financial Statements

MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS NETWORK TRUSTEES’ REPORT - STATUTORY INFORMATION FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

The directors of the charitable company are its Trustees for the purpose of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the Trustees.

TRUSTEES

Nicholas Sigler (Chair till January 2023) Sainga Tony (Vice-Chair and then Chair from January 2023) Michael Ahanchian Dagmar Myslinska Michael Raff Rakhi Rashmi Joanna Knight (Trustee) Appointed October 2022 Eduardo Lopes (Trustee). Appointed October 2022 Edith Yembra (Treasurer) Appointed October 2022 Aurora Todisco (Treasurer) Resigned June 2022 Alan Anstead (Resigned July 2022) Leticia Ishibashi (Resigned December 2022)

SECRETARY Fizza Qureshi

REGISTERED OFFICE

The People's Place 80-92 Stratford High St London E15 2NE

COMPANY NUMBER 06024396

CHARITY NUMBER

1125746

BANKERS

Unity Trust Bank Four Brindleyplace Birmingham B1 2JB

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Anna Mylvaganam ACA, FCCA. Myls Accountants 7B Greenford Gardens Greenford UB6 9LY

MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS NETWORK TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

The Trustees present their report and the independently examined financial statements of the charitable company for the year ended 31 March 2023. The statutory information is shown on Page 1.

STATUS

The company, number 06024396, is limited by guarantee and has charitable status. The charity registration number is 1125746. It has a Memorandum and Articles of Association as its governing document.

Principal Activities

The Migrants’ Rights Network is a UK charity that stands in solidarity with all migrants in their fights for rights and justice. We co-curate campaigns using anti-oppression practices to create transformational change, extending beyond the individual impact on migrants’ lives, to tackle oppression at its source.

“We believe everyone has the right to live a dignified life in a society free from all forms of oppression and discrimination.”

MRN’s vision is a society in which:

People are free to move because migration is, and has always been, an integral part of the human experience.
Everyone, including all migrants, live in a society which is free from all forms of oppression and discrimination.
Nobody’s access to safety, rights and security should be determined by their immigration status.

Our values

Migrant-centred- We place at the heart of our work the experiences and perspectives of migrants to ensure we are accountable to those impacted by immigration and wider policies and practices.
Equity for all migrants- We work for the rights and justice of ALL migrants and focus on issues that are side-lined or underrepresented.
Collaboration - We team up with migrants, grassroots organisations, activists, lawyers, and academics to oppose hostile and unfair policies, tackle negative media narratives and campaign for transformational change.
Intersectional- We approach and inform our work with the understanding that people will experience multiple interconnected forms of oppression, where immigration status/migration experience is but one factor.
Leadership- We strive to be daring, determined and speak ‘truth to power’ to obtain justice and equality for migrants. We also recognise that where we hold power, we must be held to account by those affected by immigration systems.
Solidarity - We build the power of those affected by the immigration system and work in alliances to create movements which strengthen efforts to further the rights of ALL migrants.

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We are a diverse team majority led by migratised people and People of Colour, essentially first and second-generation migrants but there are also numerous other intersecting identities in our team including religion, nationality, age, gender, sexuality and those with disabilities.

These wide ranging identities and experiences inform our work, and particularly our work on language and how we challenge policies, established norms and narratives.

To achieve this, we build relationships with grassroots, migrant-led organisations to understand the issues that are important to them and how we can work together to achieve immediate and transformational change.

We believe it is not enough to reform structures and systems which are foundationally discriminatory. We are calling for a complete overhaul, and for people with lived experience to lead that change.

We particularly focus on issues that are less notable or publicly palatable and can be overlooked. We do this to ensure that ALL migrant groups and communities that are seldom heard have access to platforms, support and resources to advocate for themselves and achieve change.

Our work takes many forms, but includes :

Using our platform to raise awareness of pressing issues amongst politicians and policy makers, and in the media.
Working with individuals and/or organisations to build campaigns and links with legal experts in order to pursue strategic litigation.
Building an evidence-base for change by co-curating with affected migrants to inform our work and the work of others, to better understand the issues.
Promoting partnership and collaboration between different causes and campaigns, to enable information and resource sharing.
Informing migrant communities on their rights through our tailored resources and training.
Developing alternative narratives to counter harmful rhetoric and narratives around migration through informative and creative campaigns.

The Network

We bring people together in order to share our collective resources and expertise, and to build solidarity between movements, campaigns and communities.

While we are not a formal network, we work to establish and strengthen connections. Whether that is making links between the race equality sector and the migrants’ rights sector, or between an individual and a legal expert who may be able to take on their case. We believe it is through building bonds between people that we have the greatest opportunity to achieve transformational change.

MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS NETWORK TRUSTEES’ REPORT - STATUTORY INFORMATION FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Our core activities

Our work is based on the following core activities:

Galvanising and growing an agile network of individuals and organisations across the country with a commitment to rights and justice for migrants to collectivise campaigns and action.
Bringing together individuals and organisations within and beyond the migrants' rights sector to share learning, access and resources. We do this in a number of ways, including face-to-face meetings, using online facilities to widen access, brokering introductions, sharing access to influential platforms that we have.
Working with affected individuals and communities to develop Know Your Rights guides and Other practical self-help solutions.
Producing a monthly London newsletter highlighting the work and support needs of migrant-led and other migrants' rights organisations.
Coordinating quarterly meetings and providing ongoing support for collaboration to a London-wide network of migrants' rights and other intersectional organisations.
Facilitating Know Your Rights workshops to help increase migrants' understanding of their rights and how to access them.
•Linking grassroots, migrant-led organisations with access and resources, for example, access to powerholders and decision-makers, media, and avenues of support.
Coordinating a pro bono network of lawyers and grassroots activists to work together on challenging aspects of the hostile environment for migrants.
Strengthening and growing migrant leadership through the development of bespoke migrant leadership programmes across the country.
Using a radical and visionary approach to policy and campaigning issues brought to us by migrants and grassroots group's.
Using legal approaches such as supporting, training, and resourcing frontline workers to gather data for a legal challenge, facilitating legal opinions, and making strategic legal interventions where appropriate.
Participating in forums and advisory panels where we can offer our insight and expertise.

MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS NETWORK TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE DURING THE YEAR UNDER REVIEW SUMMARY OF THE YEAR

Context

The beginning of April 2022 saw the easing of lockdown restrictions amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and highlighted the impact these restrictions had on people’s financial, emotional and overall wellbeing, as well as our strained public health services. The health and social care sectors have bowed under the pressures of underfunding, skills shortages, sickness and exhaustion not just because of Covid-19 but exacerbated by an already dire situation prior to the pandemic.

The UK’s labour shortages paved the way for the inclusion of care workers to the shortage occupation list in February 2022, and we have been waiting to see how the expansion of the Health and Social Care visa would offer a new route for labour migration to the UK, and how the migrant workers recruited through this route would be treated, and what this might mean for all those other sectors that are also struggling with labour shortages and an economic crisis.

The rest of the year has watched many in the social justice sectors shudder at the impending legislation which would essentially make arriving in the UK to claim refugee protection “illegal” and could see individuals being deported to a third-country via their Rwanda plan. Whilst the Government whips up ‘deals for deportation’ i.e. agreements with countries for easier visa access in exchange for deporting undocumented migrants. The Government tactically blamed those seeking sanctuary to create a distraction from its policy failings including the failure to deal with the backlog of asylum applications. By pandering to the right-wing elements in our society, it has bulldozed harmful legislation and ideologies into place.

The impact has been considerably felt by migrant, including refugee, communities, and their allies who have felt impotent as the Government railroads its anti-migrant agenda.

So, it was vital to ensure those people who were being directly impacted by the narratives and the legislation to speak to the policies and changes they wanted. Their voices were carried in our communications on what ‘safe routes’ should entail, and to the policymakers through formal submissions to the parliamentary committees. Centering the wishes of migrants led us to raise the plight of Turkish businesspersons’ visa holders facing undue and arbitrary delays to their application decisions, and the relatives of dependent adults to challenge the incredibly restrictive family migration laws.

Migrants leading their own campaigns and being a beacon of support within their communities, is essential so they can be their own change-makers. We were joined by 30 migrant leaders, to undertake our Migrants’ Aspiration Programme to build on their skills and talents. The participants valued meeting and being part of a diverse group of migrants from

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all walks of life, and being able to connect with those who can empathise with each other on their migration journeys.

A key element of the success of these programmes and our campaigns, has been our intersectional approach, which has given us new optics to analyse the immigration policy landscape, and offer different and unique perspectives on these issues. We have been able to highlight the hypocrisy of protecting and offering safety to Ukrainians but not other refugees of Colour through ‘safe routes’. Using an intersectional approach has enabled us to consider in more depth ‘who is welcome?’ to the UK and used this exploration to create further opportunities for discussions on how migration intersects with other systems of oppression like racism, and Islamophobia, with new partners, and new audiences.

Language, rhetoric, and dehumanising narratives have played a particular role in pushing through inhumane policies. Key Government officials used words like ‘invasion’, and constantly talked about ‘illegal migration’ to describe those seeking protection from our shores. This added further fuel to our Words Matter campaign, which has grown to encompass further explainers to discuss problematic terms and words that are commonly used in migration narratives from within the sector and by the media.

The Words Matter campaign, and our values-led approach are setting a unique tone on migrant justice, one that situates and connects it with other social justice movements, and in its historical context. We no longer make any apologies for stating things as they are, so we can remain allies to those facing unhindered aggression. We know from conversations with funders and organisations that they are grateful to see new and alternative ways to discuss migration and stand up to the hostile language that is targeted at migrant communities.

MRN’s Future

We acknowledge that MRN has had a precarious and unstable funding year. It was difficult to envision all that we wanted to achieve with our vulnerable financial position, but that was primarily because we needed more human resources to realise all the activities we wanted to undertake. In spite of the ever present funding issues, we remained steadfast in our values and approaches in how we worked alongside affected communities.

We focused on a new strategy that emphasised the objectives we were passionate about, had made a positive and significant impact about, and those that were unique and overlooked by others in the sector. Our new strategy implemented in late 2022 entitled Change. Strengthen. Defy. This will lead us over the next three years. Essential to this strategy is solidarity and building bridges with other social justice sectors, and importantly the approach to our workintersectional, anti-racist and anti-oppression- internally and externally.

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We have determined that the onslaught we face from this Government’s policies and the consequences they have on our communities means it's time for us to be bold and unapologetic in creating the kind of UK we want to see.

The landscape we faced

Our activities

1. Influencing policy to challenge the hostile environment

What did we set out to do and what did we achieve?

Work in partnership with organisations that share MRN’s values to challenge the government’s hostile environment policies against migrants in the UK.

Challenge government policies that criminalise or marginalise migrants such as those affected by labels of ‘poor character’, destitution, poverty and no recourse to public funds.
Challenge discrimination and exploitation of migrants in all spheres, including in the workplace, and provide information about rights and where to turn for support in accessible language.
Take action to reverse the criminalisation of migration.
Advocate that service providers not be used as a means of immigration control.

How did we do?

The right to seek and have safety

A key tenet in our approach is to centre the voices of those with lived experience and for them to determine what policies and approaches to offering protection should be. So, we asked those seeking protection and who had crossed in small boats, what they would like safe routes to look like? Through a dedicated volunteer who had built up trust and a strong relationship with those impacted, we gathered their opinions on what ‘safe routes’ should look like, which helped us shape our communication narratives, and our policy work.

This was also used to inform our published submission to the Joint Committee on Human Rights which has been looking into the rights of asylum seekers in the UK, with a view to identifying human rights concerns.

The Government’s language around refugees, and their lack of willingness to condemn antimigrant groups meant we had a duty to speak out against the enablement of the far-right to intimidate refugees that have been accommodated in hotels across the UK. We felt it was paramount to bring attention to the fact that anti-migrant violence was being driven by racism. We issued a joint letter with our new partners, the Community Policy Forum, with 95

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signatories to draw the links between Islamophobia, racism and far-right anti-migrant violence, which was also published by the Guardian.

The Government’s New Plan for Immigration has led to the embedding of the language of ‘safe and legal routes’ by officials and some in the sector. We have repeatedly, through our Words Matter campaign, contested the idea of ‘safe and legal routes’ and stated repeatedly that for those seeking protection only the language of ‘safe routes’ matters.

Issues affecting migrant communities

In the midst of the pandemic, migrants, particularly Turkish business owners (ECAA visa holders) were awaiting their application decisions to determine if they could settle in the UK, and in some cases bring their families to the UK. They were caught up in the backlog of applications for up to two years due to the pandemic but also the redirection of staff to support those fleeing the Ukrainian conflict. With visa decisions meant to be determined within the Home Office’s six-month customer service commitment standard, these excessive delays of over 18 months had far-reaching consequences. While the Turkish business owners await a decision on their application, they are not allowed to travel out of the UK unless they withdraw their application.

We worked with the Turkish business owners to report on the shocking decision-making delays to their visa applications and were invited by Qualegal and Ceftus to speak about their plight and share findings from our report. Over 30 people attended the event hosted by Christian Wakeford MP, and it was streamed via the metaverse for others to view the event. A key recommendation

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that came forth from the meeting was to challenge the travel restrictions ban, which will feed into our future campaigns. We were quoted on the issues affecting Turkish businesspersons in Civil Service World and Open Democracy.

The burden of this outdated model of not being allowed to travel while they await their application decisions has left people unable to attend funerals or console loved ones as they grieve and has left children with significant mental anguish whilst being separated from their parents. separation was devastating. Some have been refused consultancy roles, have been told they have ‘no right to work’, and have faced harassment by their landlords because of the ‘right to rent’ checks. The deliberate confusion stemming from ‘hostile environment’[1] policies have had wide reaching ramifications at the expense of migrants’ wellbeing.

We were also contacted by family members from the Adult Dependency Rules (ADR) campaign. We supported them to draft and submit a response to the House of Lords, Justice, and Home Affairs

Committee’s consultation on the impact of the Family Migration laws. The response highlighted the implications of migration policies on families with particular emphasis on the emotional impact. In compiling this response, we incorporated the stories of ADR campaigners with lived experience of engaging with the policies, and restrictions, brought about by family migration rules.

We described the existing ADR visa rules as being incredibly restrictive and having a significant detrimental impact on families in the UK and abroad. In partnership with the ADR campaigners, we called for an immediate review of the visa route and modifications to current rules. The evidence was quoted in the oral evidence sessions with witnesses, and has been referenced several times in the final report.

As we have proceeded through the year, we have increasing numbers of migrant workers and international students reaching out to us to get support and advice on the issues they face with their respective institutions. Whilst we do not provide casework and any immigration advice, we ensure that we support each individual with a holistic approach which includes, access to quality and sound legal advice through partner organisations and immigration solicitors; offering opportunities to share their stories with the media with trusted journalists and outlets; and offering them a space to influence policy and legislation by inviting them to meet and engage with politicians, trade unions or relevant agencies.

1 This is referring to the Immigration Act 2014 and 2016 which introduced further hostile policies including right to rent checks, and further fines for those employing those without permission to work.

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New campaigns bridging the sectors

We launched the Challenge the Checks campaign in partnership with Migrants at Work and Open Rights Group to uncover the negative effects of expecting employers to enforce immigration law in the workplace, especially right to work checks. Bringing together migrant, employment and digital rights expertise together we can uncover the impact right to work checks are having from all these perspectives on migrants and migratised communities.

We have received support from over 10 organisations for launching this campaign, and for shining a light on how right to work checks affect

so many within the migrant communities and also those from racialised backgrounds. Since launching this campaign, we have had over a dozen migrants approaching us for support, and to share their stories.

Intersecting issues

Digital rights for migrants, including refugees, is a growing area of concern. We are one of the few organisations engaged on this issue and have met with the Cabinet Office for a civil society roundtable to discuss changes to the data-sharing legislation, and our concerns on how this will likely affect migrant communities.

We have used our intersectional approach to discuss migrants’ rights and racial justice and how we can be better allies and create stronger networks to support migrants’ causes at the TUC Anti-Racism Network meetings. This has led to further connections and conversations with trade union branches interested in understanding the issues migrant workers face.

Building new relationships

Where relationships with civil servants and Government ministers with responsibilities for migration have not been as forthcoming as we would like, we have sought out building new relationships and sharing evidence with the communities we work alongside to influence change. We have met with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, who are keen to continue to engage with us and our migrant communities to better understand why they do not utilise their services, and how they can become more accessible. We were invited to meet with the EU delegation to share our knowledge and insights into a range of issues and also our campaigns. They offered their support to convene sector and cross-sector meetings.

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2. Amplifying migrant voices & supporting their causes

What did we set out to do

Make connections: bring together and deepen connections, understanding and solidarity within and across sectors to share learning, facilitate access and bring about visionary and practical solutions.
Amplify the voice of migrants and grass-roots migrant-centred organisations throughout the UK on specific issues, such as the hostile environment and workplace rights.
Enable and support migrants and migrant groups and those working with them to take action and advocate for change themselves through the redistribution of access to influence, information, knowledge and space.

How did we do?

Increasing knowledge amongst the trade unions and their members

Supported by the TUC, we produced a Right to Work Checks guide to assist trade union representatives. The guide has been accessed 446 times via our website and distributed widely by the TUC to its affiliates.

It also led to the TUC hosting a webinar for us to discuss the guide in more detail, which was attended by 142 people and also watched several dozen times. This guide has been instrumental in launching the Challenge the Checks campaign, and bringing this issue to the attention of more unions, such as the UCU and Unison. We also delivered a workshop on behalf of Migration Yorkshire to 53 small business owners from across the region.

Enabling migrant communities

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The Know Your Rights guide (KYR) has remained a staple resource for migrant communities across the country. It has been viewed just under 11.5K times in the past year, with the sections on mental health and no recourse to public funds being the most visited pages. Migrants, including refugees made unanimous requests during one of our focus groups to have information on mental health. In collaboration with Mind and external mental health specialists, we produced the mental health section for the KYR guide and complemented this with a self-help guide. This guide led to a request from Hongkongers in Britain to co-host alongside Mind, a workshop to discuss the guide in detail. The successful workshop had over 20 attendees online with lots of conversations and questions.

Enabling migrants to be their own leaders has always been a core objective of MRN, and this year, we saw the delivery of the Migrants’ Aspiration Programme (MAP). It equipped the 30 MAP participants to become change leaders and empower their communities.

This co-produced leadership programme was a huge success for several reasons: all speakers had migration experiences or were from racialised backgrounds and could speak from their own personal experiences as well as impart their knowledge; the MAP participants came from all walks of life and from across the UK including Northern Ireland; many of the participants went on to local community leadership roles, volunteering and working with migration organisations; and a community was created amongst the MAP participants, who wanted to continue to work alongside MRN to influence policy.

“I will use all the knowledge I gained from the training to help my community.”

MAP participant

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This group of individuals has the power to create strong movements for change. Despite their different circumstances, they felt the value of connecting with each other because of their commonality as migrants living in the UK. Many of these members have remained connected to support each other and us with our policy and advocacy initiatives.

3. Changing the narrative

What did we set out to do :

Challenge government narratives, and policies and practices that divide communities.
Contest negative media narratives and scapegoating of migrants and refugees, and work to advocate for the positive impact that migration and migrant communities have on society in the UK.

How did we do?

Who is welcome?

Intersecting issues with migration have been explored through a series of events and panel discussions including how the refugee policy, racism and migration intersect in light of the differential treatment to Ukrainian refugees. We invited new organisations and individuals to the platform for diverse and new perspectives. The event was attended by 35 people, and its success and approach to explore intersecting issues and identities led to further events including the ‘EU Citizens of Colour and the post-Brexit journey and EUSS’, which was attended by 30 people with the majority having lived experience as EU citizens of Colour. This event led to the formation of a new EU citizens and dependents group called Black Europeans.

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Through new partnerships with MEND and Community Policy Forum, we discussed the emerging and unexplored issues around Islamophobia, migration and how anti-terror policies are creeping into the migration debate. An event to discuss queerness and migration enabled our staff to share their thoughts, perspectives and learnings on how queerness has always been about more than sexuality, as it is a mode of resistance against colonialism and a reclamation of non-conformity.

Your Words & Images Matter

We empowered our audiences and attracted new ones by creating a Words Matter series to debunk certain terms and language used commonly, and the ramifications of those words. This resulted in producing four posts contesting the term ‘illegal immigration’, rejecting the narrative of a refugee crisis; the idea of deservingness; and pushing back on the notions of ‘civilised’ and ‘uncivilised’ places that generate refugees. These were all highly received and received substantial shares and likes across our social media platforms including nearly 800 likes for some posts on instagram and LinkedIn. Our Words Matter web pages have also been well viewed (7,438).

We were invited to write blogs for Ben & Jerry’s and IPPR, which was published and circulated amongst their networks.

For the Words Matter pledges, we have received notable pledges from MPs across all the nations including Caroline Lucas MP, Alison Thewliss MP, Paul McLennan MSP and Huw Irranca-Davies MS.

More and more media outlets were sharing images of people crossing the channel in distress, without consent or considering what that image was portraying. Our images matter campaign is exploring the importance of images in shaping public perceptions around

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migration, and how they have power to conjure harmful narratives, or challenge them. We have started with sharing what images we will use to display which represent the search and the unwavering hope for a home, and pursuit of happiness, that is the foundation for all living beings.

To demonstrate more creative ways to defy the narrative, for International Migrants’ Day, we collaborated with the talented MoNDi. We took to the Leake Street Arches and co-created a beautiful mural to show how our words have the power to isolate, but also to bring us together.

Diversifying our communication platforms

We were invited on to several podcasts and panels including the Housing and Diversity network and Who do we think we are? to discuss the Nationality and Borders Act. There were opportunities to also share more personal stories, and lived experience of racism and how it shaped our professional journeys, as well as how to diversify our charity board structures.

Our visual presence in the media increased significantly, as we were approached to give quotes, comments and invited onto large media platforms like Sky. We were invited onto several radio and media news channels to discuss the migration rhetoric in relation to Albania on Sky News, LBC radio to discuss safe routes and Albania, and to discuss the anti-migrant rhetoric and rise of far-right demonstrations outside asylum accommodation on Al Jazeera.

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We have been quoted or interviewed in 17 articles on a diversity of issues ranging from immigration raids to Words Matter and international students who were criminalised. We also wrote articles for Ben & Jerry’s, Sludge Mag and IPPR about Words Matter, and an opinion piece about the response to the Qatar World Cup.

We used more visually creative posts and social media engagement and were invited to collaborate on several posts with SludgeMag and Cypriot diaspora organisations. Within this year, we have grown our audiences by:

On Instagram by 238% (1678 to 4000) with our most liked post on “the burden of explaining where you are from” (801 likes) for National Storytelling Week.
On twitter our followers increased by over 1500. Our most engaged and liked tweet was in relation to our Words Matter explainer that no-one is illegal, which has 276 likes and 218 retweets.
On LinkedIn we have rapidly increased the number of followers of our page from about 1500 to 4886. Remarkably, we have found that our posts are well received and our our Words Matter explainer that no-one is illegal (241 likes) and our refugee policy crisis (214 likes) posts have been liked significantly.

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Our website overall has received 79,596 views.

Solidarity & Collaborations

In line with our networking and collaborative approach and values, we supported other campaigns and organisations, where the issues intersected with migrant and racial justice. This resulted in us publicly supporting campaigns in relation to the following:

Bill of Rights

The proposal to bring in the Bill of Rights, led us to participate as an active member of the Human Rights Act (HRA) coalition. The HRA Coalition housed a broad and diverse collection of organisations which met regularly to discuss how to challenge proposal, which would have an impact on migrants’ rights too.

Fortress Europe

Despite being out of the European Union, the manner in which the migrant policy crisis is being mishandled across Europe and the UK has had deadly consequences. We signed a statement to mourn the deaths of those who perished in the channel crossing, and demanded that the Government and others create access to safe routes to cross borders, to prevent more detentions, deportations, and deaths.

We were asked to speak at the Abolish Frontex & Campaign Against Arms Trade vigil on the eve of the Italy-Libya Memorandum renewal. We reflected on how specific words and language more generally are being increasingly used to demonise migratised and racialised communities, and why we must turn solidarity into action.

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Organisational Development

Funding and diversification

The Words Matter campaign led us to consider new ways for income generation and to consider how we could diversify our income sources so we could achieve more stability, independence and build new relationships. So, we focused on an income generation strategy through external support gratefully provided by Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Plus to find alternative models for income generation. This in combination with a new strategy meant we were able to fully consider all the opportunities at our disposal, including new funding ventures, and new trusts and foundations to approach.

While our funding situation in 2022-23 was not a positive one- like others, we struggled to secure multiple year grants from trusts and foundations as they tightened their belts because of the pandemic and economic crisis. In spite of this we remained committed to investing our reserves into integral roles for the organisation and successful implementation of our strategy. The intensity of fundraising and income generation has come to fruition at the beginning of 2023-24, and this means we have been able to invest further into the key objectives and campaigns our organisation wants to achieve.

The Team- staff and board members

There was a conscious and deliberate decision to use our reserves to fund roles that the organisation needed to drive its objectives forward. In June 2022, we welcomed a new Policy Manager, Julia Tinsley-Kent from a funding body to lead on our policy campaigns. We promoted Anastasia Gavalas to a Communications Officer role after they successfully graduated from their digital marketing apprenticeship with a distinction. Throughout the year, we connected with more people with lived experience, who offered their time and support to volunteer and offer MRN more routes to research whilst offering them many avenues to amplify their voices.

There were a number of changes to the board, which included Alan Anstead stepping down after 3.5 years on the board to move abroad with his family. We also saw Leticia Ishibashi step down from the board after 2.5 years to dedicate her time to a new role. And Aurora Todisco stepped down from the treasurer role after 2.5 years due to work commitments. All of them played a significant part in MRN’s journey, and in supporting its new trajectory.

With these changes, it was confirmed that we would also review what skills deficit there was on the board, and openly recruit for new trustees to join. We successfully recruited Edith Yembra, as our Treasurer, Joanna Knight with monitoring, evaluation and learning expertise, and Eduardo Lopes with migration policy experience to the Secretary of the Board role in October 2022.

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Towards the end of 2022, we began the succession planning process for Nick Sigler to step down as Chair. Through an internal recruitment process, Sainga Tony, was appointed to the role of Chair from Vice-Chair in January, and Rashmi stepped into the Vice-Chair role in February.

MRN’s board proudly remain being a board with a diverse make-up, and with a majority that are from a migratised, racialised or lived experience of migration backgrounds.

THANK YOUs

All the work and activities we have undertaken has been made possible by the amazing teamstaff, volunteers and board members. They are dedicated to keeping MRN a values-led organisation, which always centres and amplifies the voice of the migrant communities we work with, and they ensure that the ways social justice issues intersect are at the forefront of our organisational culture.

Our gratitude goes out to the funders that have remained steadfast in supporting us, including offering us additional support so we can reach financial stability. As ever, we also want to extend a heartfelt thanks to our regular and new donors, who have continued to support us in spite of a cost of living crisis, and in the wake of a pandemic which has itself brought new pressures.

As always, our final but most sincere gratitude is for the volunteers with lived experience, and migrants, including the refugee communities who have placed their trust in us to work alongside them. We thank them for sharing their heartbreaking stories, but more importantly, what they want migrant futures to look like. We stand with you in solidarity as always.

MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS NETWORK TRUSTEES’ REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

It is the intersectional approach and analysis to our work which has enabled us to distinguish us from others in the sector. Working with Muslim and digital rights organisations means we can be at the forefront of campaigns and informing the sector on what it should reflect on and engage with to support migrant and migratised communities.

Our strategy will run until 2025, and will be striving to achieve the following objectives:

CHANGE - The organisation is now firmly committed to working on transformational and systemic change rather than using reformist approaches to the current discriminatory and harmful immigration systems and policies. We will remain reactive, but we will strive to become proactive and pre-emptive to imagine our vision in practice.

What will we do?

a. Tackling the Hostile Office - the Home Office is not working. It is creating misery and leaving a wake of heartbreak and painful experiences. We will use our policy and communications activities to demonstrate the inefficiencies in the operating of its services. We want and need transformational change to our immigration systems and policies to ensure a positive and welcoming experience for anyone that chooses to make the UK their home.
b. Exposing employment exploitation - With an increase in migrant worker visa routes, and more hostile immigration and refugee policies, this will force more people to go underground, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and modern slavery. We will build on our work around right to work and exploitation, specifically compliance, sponsorship, immigration raids and hiring practices. This will enable us to demonstrate what harms migrant workers face when they are in sponsorship-employee relationships.
c. A ‘Hostile Digital Environment’ - In collaboration with others, we will seek to raise awareness of data and technology for immigration enforcement, data sharing (HMRC), the discriminatory use of identification and abuse of personal data. To complement our work on employment rights, we will understand how 'right to work' checks and increasingly common apps impact migrant workers and their communities.

2. STRENGTHEN- For change to take place, we must ensure that migrants are their own ‘change-makers’. This means ensuring that those with lived experience of migration and being a migrant in the UK are front and centre of MRN’s campaigns and activities.

What MRN intends to do:

a. Know Your Rights - To continue to expand the Know Your Rights guide to include additional areas that will affect migrant communities to enable migrants to help their communities to assert their own rights.

MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS NETWORK TRUSTEES’ REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

b. Migrant Aspiration Programme (MAP) - We will create different iterations of MAP, cocreated with the attendees, and also identify ways to meet the needs of migrants in more localised communities, to build stronger networks. This will enable them to support and encourage each other on their journeys.
c. Co-curating campaigns - We will continue to work with migrant groups and communities that are seldom heard to co-create campaigns. We will provide these groups with a platform to share their stories and campaigns, so their issues are given the attention they deserve.
d. Building our pool of knowledge sharers - We will grow an MRN community, so we have a network of experts by experience. Ideally, we want this community to also become ambassadors for MRN and its work.

3 . DEFY- Dissecting the language and its impact on the creation and foundation of immigration policies and rhetoric is vital to challenging damaging policies and media narratives. We are moving past the point of challenging narratives and want to delve deeper into creating new and inclusive narratives that are then reflected and boosted by others. Alongside this, we want to maintain our intersectional approach as to how and when immigration converges with other identities and issues.

What MRN intends to do:

a. Informing & celebrating -

i. Our ‘Who is Welcome?’ series has demonstrated the lack of space and discussions on how immigration intersects with other systems of oppression and identities. We will continue to ally with organisations beyond the migration sector to build this series and raise awareness amongst new audiences.
ii. Migration week/month - To advocate for an official ‘migration week’ to showcase the importance of migration to the UK, and all that it has to offer, without reinforcing damaging narratives about contribution in the economic sense.
b. Defying the narrative - Our Words Matter campaign has already reached new audiences, and covered by the media, and people are pledging to say ‘no to hate against migrants + refugees’. We will expand this to reach new audiences and seek commitments to the Words Matter pledge from policy-makers and politicians who use the language we seek to erase, and build impactful campaigns so dehumanising narratives are systematically eradicated.

MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS NETWORK TRUSTEES’ REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

4. ‘SOLIDARITY ‘- With poverty on the rise, an intersectional approach to our work and campaigns is more important than ever. We do not need to look far to understand who is going to be the hardest hit with the increase in living costs against a backdrop of stagnant and low wages, and the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) policy.

We will stand in solidarity with these communities, championing their legal and political campaigns that rally against these policies. And equally, raise awareness of these campaigns with our networks, partners and social media followers.

5. SUSTAINABILITY- This is a key and ongoing concern for MRN’s future. While 2022-23 was not a positive financial year, the groundwork has led us to receive multi-year funding, and funding from new funders. This has enabled us some flexibility and space to continue our income generation activities including being commissioned to deliver workshops or participate in events. We continue to have healthy reserves, which will enable us to consider supporting roles within the team, so we can achieve all our strategic objectives.

Over the next year, our attention will be focused on implementing elements of the income generation strategy and using expertise and skills in the team and board to deliver these.

MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS NETWORK TRUSTEES’ REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

RISK ASSESSMENT

The Board of Trustees and Chief Executive Officer have reviewed MRN's activities and identified the risks to which it is exposed, in particular those related to its operations and finances. This process involved identifying the risks, prioritising the potential impact and the likelihood of occurrence, e.g. lockdown measures. Through the risk register which is reviewed annually, controls to prevent or minimise the risks have been identified, together with deadlines for their implementation. The process has been more critical with the impact of the pandemic on businesses and funding streams.

FINANCIAL REVIEW AND RESERVES POLICY

The level of reserves during the year to 31 March 2023 were sustained due to a significant unrestricted grant received from Esmee Fairbairn in 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23, which has maintained the organisation's core costs.

We continued our fundraising efforts continued as a priority for 2022-23 and developed a new strategy to approach new funders. This strategy was supported by an externally developed income generation strategy so we could diversify our income sources, and sustainable fundraising outcomes. We considered what other services MRN could offer as an income stream, and we recognised our Words Matter workshops were a unique offer and could be commissioned.

While we had a more difficult time securing funding in 2022-23, we were provided with protection from our unrestricted reserves provide some protection to MRN and its activities by allowing time to adjust to changing financial circumstances. The Board reviews on an annual basis, the level of unrestricted reserves by considering the risks associated with various income streams, expenditure plans and Balance Sheet item.

At 31 March 2023, MRN had unrestricted funds of £95,432. The Board agreed that the prudent level of reserves should not be less than 3 months of unrestricted expenditure, which at 31 March 2023 equates to reserves of £40k. MRN has achieved this aim and now holds above this amount as free reserves. The Trustees are confident these reserves are sufficient to cover urgent contingencies should they arise. The trustees are willing to use the reserves for any funding shortfalls, so they are brought in line with our target and reserves policy.

GOVERNANCE

Trustees

Trustees are appointed in line with regulations set out in its Memorandum and Articles of Association. They are nominated by current Board members and elected at the AGM based on their knowledge and involvement in work connected to the objectives and activities of the Charity.

The trustees who served during the year are shown below: Nicholas Sigler (Chair till January 2023) Sainga Tony (Vice-Chair and then Chair from January 2023) Michael Ahanchian Dagmar Myslinska Michael Raff Rakhi Rashmi Joanna Knight (Trustee) Appointed October 2022 Eduardo Lopes (Trustee). Appointed October 2022 Edith Yembra (Treasurer) Appointed October 2022

MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS NETWORK TRUSTEES’ REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Aurora Todisco (Treasurer) Resigned June 2022 Alan Anstead (Resigned July 2022) Leticia Ishibashi (Resigned December 2022)

A majority of trustees, as members of the network, are already familiar with the work of the charity. All new trustees are given information and inducted with the following information:

-the obligations of trustees under the Charity Commission's document CC3.

'Essential Trustees: what you need to know’.

-Memorandum and Articles of Association.

-Current financial position of the charity as set out in the latest published accounts, and management accounts.

-Future plans and objectives.
-Meetings with key staff and board members.

The MRN board meets on a bi-monthly basis remotely, in-person and in hybrid formats. The Chief Executive Officer and invited key members of staff attend trustee meetings. The Chief Executive Officer is accountable directly to the management committee for all aspects of the operations of the charity. An annual budget is agreed at the beginning of each new financial year, setting out the policy and objectives for that year, the financial implications, and the general modus operandi for achieving the objectives.

Management accounts are prepared and reported to trustees at each board meeting.

Trustees' Responsibilities

Company and charity 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 surplus or deficit of the charitable company for that period.

In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:-

1) select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
2) make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
3) prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the 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 and the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Anna Mylvaganam ACA, FCCA, Myls accountants offers herself for reappointment as Independent Examiner to the charity at the forthcoming AGM.

MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS NETWORK TRUSTEES’ REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

SMALL COMPANY EXEMPTIONS

This report has been prepared and delivered in accordance with the provisions in Part 15 of Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.

This report was approved by the board on 5 December 2023 and signed on their behalf.

Sainga Tony (Chair)

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF MIGRANTS' RIGHTS NETWORK FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's Trustees of the Company (and also known as Directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention which gives me cause to believe that:

the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; or
the accounts do not accord with such records; or.
the accounts do not comply with relevant accounting requirements under section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102).

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.

Anna Mylvaganam ACA, FCCA. Myls Accountants 7B Greenford Gardens Greenford, UB6 9LY

The notes on pages 30 to 39 form part of these financial statements.

In approving these financial statements as trustees/directors of the charitable company we hereby confirm that:

For the year ending 31 March 2023 the charitable company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The members have not required the charitable company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.

The accounts were approved by the board of trustees/directors on 5 December 2023

Sainga Tony (Chair)

The note on page 30 to 39 form part of these financial statements

MIGRANTS' RIGHTS NETWORK NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

1a. Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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), (Charities SORP FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Migrants' Rights Network meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

1b. Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The Migrants' Rights Network has reported a deficit of £70,258 for the year. However, this was in the context of holding significant unrestricted reserves. This made it difficult to fundraise via trusts and foundations, as funders prefer organisations to hold smaller reserves. In light of the high unrestricted reserves, the board actively decided to reduce the reserves, invest in additional core staff roles, and the organisation's strategic activities.

The trustees are of the view that with the current rate of expenditure of the unrestricted reserves that we will be eligible and in a better position to apply to trusts and foundations.

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern. The trustees are aware that the next financial year will require multiple year funding to provide more financial stability but also that the organisation needs to focus on a diversification of income. Therefore, it will commission the development of an income generation strategy to support the organisation on this journey. The trustees will continue to view any uncertainty and risks at each board meeting through the management accounts. Where risks are identified, mitigation plans, and additional board meetings will be scheduled.

MIGRANTS' RIGHTS NETWORK NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED).

1c. Tangible fixed assets

Capital items costing in excess of £500 are capitalised. Fixed assets are shown at historical cost.

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life by the straight-line method.

Computer equipment

% 25

1d. Taxation

The charitable company is exempt from taxation under sections 466 to 493 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010.

1e. Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably, and the charity has been notified of the executor's intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is a treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material (see note 22).

Income received in advance of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met (see note 23).

MIGRANTS' RIGHTS NETWORK NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED).

1f. Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT.

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

1g. Funds

The Restricted Funds are restricted income funds given to the charity for specific purposes. They are expendable by the trustees in furtherance of particular projects within the charity. Objects.

The Unrestricted Funds are funds expendable at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charity.

1h. Pensions

The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme, and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the company to the fund in the year.

MIGRANTS' RIGHTS NETWORK NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

MIGRANTS' RIGHTS NETWORK NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

8. TRANSFER BETWEEN FUNDS

The transfer between funds represents the contribution to overheads from the various projects.

MIGRANTS' RIGHTS NETWORK NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

MIGRANTS' RIGHTS NETWORK NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Baring Foundation provided funding to support our work to highlight the disadvantage and impact indefinite leave to remain refusals have on highly skilled migrants, their families, and those with protected characteristics.
Barrow Cadbury Trust gave a grant to support migrants, in particular those with NRPF to access goods and services through adapting a 'Know Your Rights' guide to an on-line tool.
Esmee Fairbairn Foundation offers an unrestricted core cost grant of £120,000 over three years.
Travers Smith provided a grant to support the Words Matter series which seeks to defy the existing harmful narratives that demonise migrants and refugees.

MIGRANTS' RIGHTS NETWORK NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust provided funding to deliver an online Migrants' Aspiration Programme to deliver on the skills and talents of migrants, including refugees.
Open Rights Group funded by the Digital Freedom Fund provided us with a grant as a partner organisation to deliver on the right to work checks campaign and engage with those with lived experience.
Garden Court Chambers provided funding to support our policy and campaigning activities to defend civil liberties and the rights of migrants, and to improve migrants’ access to social justice.
Trust for London made a grant towards salary and overheads to promote the rights of migrants vulnerable to exploitation and discrimination, and work with MRCOs and individual migrants to build their skills to lobby for change at local and London-wide levels.
Tudor Trust offered a grant for staff wellbeing and organisational support.
Immigration Law Practitioners' Association provided funding for MRN/counsel for pre-litigation research to identify potential Highly Skilled Migrant (HSM) claimants to build a legal strategy for potential further strategic litigation. Numerous cases post-Balajigari have raised various common legal themes which may require litigation to ensure fairness and transparency in how these cases are determined.

MIGRANTS' RIGHTS NETWORK NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

The average number of employees during the year was 5 (2022:5). No employee earned more than £60,000 during the year.

15. TRUSTEES EXPENSES

The trustees neither received nor waived any emoluments during the year (2022: £Nil) Trustees were reimbursed for travelling expenses. These amounted to £ Nil (2022: £Nil)