West Kent Debt Advice Trustees, report and accounts 12 months to 31 December 2020 "' Register¢d owarffy tso.,, 1.7 . ny.N , èM9+72. crosslight n¢4vir.p. CONTENTS Introduction 03 Mission & Pvrpose 04 Activities. Achievement5 & PerfoTmance 05 Covid-19- 0 year of challenge 4. Governonce & Management 5. Funding & Support 10 6. Financial Review, Risk Management & Reserves Policy io Tnjstees Responsibilities Independent Exominer's report to Ihe Iwstees Annual Accounts o. Statemenl of Finonciol Activity 13 b. Balance Sheet 14 c. Notes to the Accounts 15 CHARITY INFORMATION Chartty nvmbeF 1125756 Trustees POLA cr￿ch Icharl 8(ry Lock Jonene Hosi Mchod O'thsc C￿ahaM Ro Hden Adom chod Hcyr ankofs Notwest Bonk [￿e. IXI High Streel. Tonbridge. TN9 IDE Company numt>•r 6669672 IndependenF exominer RI*￿rt ￿ddle*on, Al8 ReglsteT¢d ¢)ffice ond wlEtclpol ddress Tontr￿dge Bapt￿1 Church. Dcrenth Avenue, Tonbtidge. TNIO 3HZ I. INTRODUCTION The trustees Iwho ore also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Acll present their report logether wth the unaudited financiol stotements of West Kent Debt Advice for the yeor ended 31 December 20￿1. The trvstees confirm thot the onnual report ond financial statements cornp￿ with the Charilies Act 2011, the Companie5 Act 2CX)6. the TequiTements of the charity's governing document. ond Accovnting and Reporting by Charilies: Slatement of Recommended Proclice applicable to charities preparing their occovnts in accordance with the Financiol Reporting Standard opplicoble in the UK ond Republic ot Irelond IFRS 1021 (effective I Januory 20151 as amended in February 2016. Hlstory Tonbridge Debt Advice Centre ITDACI was eslablished in 2004 by a group of individuals in Tonbridge Baptist Church to provide o "safe ploce" where local people could come to receive free advice to help them escope the debl trap. TDAC was incorporoted os a gvoranlee compony and received choritoble status in 2(i18. It changed its nome lo West Kent Debt Advice IWKDAI on 24 January 2012. Under an agreemenl daled 2 Oclober 2017 WKDA entered into a partnership with the chority Crosslight Advice (CLI to Co-deliver odvice services to clients in West Kent ond thereby ensure that they achieve the highest quolity technical. professional. and ethical standards. Portnershlp Our model is one of colSoborotion and portnership. recognising thot we connot achieve losting change without the support and porlÈcipation of the communities we sefve. It is important for us to give our clients o holistic support and we Lye owore that we con only do that in partnership with other organisations. Alongside our slrategic portnership wth CrosslKJhl Advice. we ore olso involved in many local portnerships including the homeless prevenlion PATH and HERO projects, alongside Citizens Advice and Sevenoaks District Council. We also work closeb/ and exchange knowledge and troining with Ihe other Crosslight bronch staff ond volunteers thot serve the communities in London ond the South 2. MISSION & PURPOSE West Kent Debt Advice {WKDA) is an independent. per50n-centred chaiity working to alleviote poverty amongst some of the most vulnerable in our communities. WKDA works in partnership wth the charity Cr0551ight Advice Icharity number 11633061 and fvlfils its mission through the joint operotion of the Crosslight branches in West Kenl, primorily in Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells ond Sevenoaks. Our Jolnt vlslon is lo ietore dlgnlty and renew hope to those in need by reducing debt poverty and improving financiol capobility. The whole-person approoch of Crosslight Wesl Kent focuses on individuols and families who are often choracterised by unemploymenl or low incomes. long-lenn physicol or mental heolth problems, and complex sociol ond fomily issues. Our elhos is to work with our clients on on individuol basis. to ensure they can embrace the advice given, under5tond the benefits of simple money monagement and budgeting techniques. and be supported to stort working through some of the causes of their difficulties. It is a portnership. ond we seek olways to equip and empower. rother than prescribe ordictale. Most of ourclients come lo us at a point ofcrisis. often focing the threot of eviclion, court orders. visits from bailills. and movnting priority debls. Simply being given Ihe time to be heard can have a huge impoct. With engogement. opportunities abound for posltive life changes. building resilience ond ultimotely. encouraging financiol independence. Our Christian elh05 and our five core volues lie ot the heort of all that we do- To help anyone, regordless of background. taith or circumstonce. who is willing to proactively work with us to address their sitvation To model unconditionol love and compassion to all To act without judgement in the best interests of our clienls to the best of our obility To be open, honest ond foir in oll our dealings wth clients and creditors alike. and to expect the same in return To empower our client5 to moke their own informed decisions and act for themselves wherever possible I%'K'DA'£ purposes as sel ovt in the objects contoined in its memorondum of associotion ore.. the relief of finonciol hordship omong people living or working in the United Kingdom and els*where by the provision of free odvice. counselling, ond support., lo odvonce the education of the public in oll mollers relating to the manogemer)l of their personal finanLes- ond to odvance the Chfistiori loith for Ihe benefit of the F)ublic in occordonce with our 51olemeiits ol belief. We refer to the Charily CommiÉsion'< genpral guidance on pvblic benpfit when reviewiiig Ihe objectives and oims of Wesl Kent Debt Advire ond in planning fulvre activilies. 3. ACTIVITIES, ACHIEVEMENTS & PERFORMANCE Advlse This Section reflects the work of Crosslight West Kent. in portner5hip with Cr0551ight Advice V.'e provide o persotFfocv5ed. foce-lo '.cce debl odYi¢* service olferirig e￿￿-t0 crKI support ￿¢1￿￿￿g ￿-depth cosework 'pJhen necessw. We att4tse individud5 ifi re8d. aclwYJ 0$ Shero(h7KrJles intei. .ediolhig ￿1h creditors on the￿ beholf if Fequred. We joumei wth our cfienls ond vl)PUt ttwi each step of the w￿, (ykJTrg at tllWP)tt ond bulldlng on thwr .￿th￿l¢U￿ n&&d5 orKJ obilitss. We do not op the length ol our engogernenl ofte. .'iY SLWrt clients I￿?8 long 05 they n&e ?>x he 2020 was unqueslionably the most challenging year in Crosslight's history. It was olso one in which the importance of what we do. ond the incredible dedication of our omazing leam shone brighter than ever. This unique year has been difficult for everyone. Our sloff and volunteer5 have often faced difficult personal circumstances themselves. And for our clients, the difficulties thrown up by the pondemic have often been devaslating, wth mony fomilies already on the edge being pushed further into difficulty. Equip kay port ofour Mi￿5¢n ts to rJeute lostino '.￿nge so Ihot our clienls con foce the i Jture with more confidence oAd becomL etter equrpw to meet their fu'.1 otertliol. We do *hrovgh one-to.one Jdgel coothng ond our'money Coutse. ,.0￿h0$X-bOtr foc&to-lo¢g¢#d on￿￿£. le rtelp client5 k>ok t>&yoftd the i¥.'Yn&ditsle ￿S15 and *ilh them lo uild re￿IenCe over the lang-lerm. 801!: progtamrnes elp dieni5 l>ndek5tond ttety cyth finorces on¢J teocp. '.ryem simple fri0￿￿ skills 50 tkiey ccf, -rf effecl"""rf?1s'. Against this backdrop, we were nevertheless able to support more people Ihan ever before. hold more appointments thon ever before. and moke a bigger positive impact on the lives of our clients than ever before. We were able to s(Jpport over Indlvlduals Ivp 6% on 20191 with comprehensive debl advice. budget coaching and open-ended mentoring. And our team held an extroordinory 670 oppolntments wlth cllents. lup IO%I, al o time when mony orgonisolions hod lo shut their doors. Over 300 people supported, represenllng over 700 famlty members Encourage VÈ kThow thtst dèbi ond lingncitst dfficulty tsflen o yymptcm of a deeper problem. Y4ofk h¢yd 10 5VPPC¥t C￿Ont$ throvg , '￿￿d￿c￿lIES ond empower them lo turn -.fjey live5 aT(xJnd. We uchieve th￿ bi "r]king o genuin2ky holi%tc opproacli ,.th*ch indudes menloEing. befriendin¥, aciol engogemeDt cjnd encourogemenl. wtrtbtrds of dienls iecvrfe thL¥ oddilionol "nllslic. suop(yt. lor exompk3 helplng ¥Mtki epplications. oppltcotions foi r￿tsdenCy l olrLership. ond supporl will) 'mTr/ life. Thts wgport Is initiafrec* dK6cllv y odvisers for Iheir clients on o COS&-bv- We Increased our cllents. Income by over £770,000 per annum We $ecuied over £l.Im of unpayable debt wrlte-offs 1.581 indivldual debts resolved. Includlng rent arears, utlllty debts. and bailiffs Some mllestones In 2020: Supported more clienls and held more appointment5 than ever before Transformed our service ovemight lo offer phone appointments with no client missing an appointment. VOIP phones lines rolled out fo oll applicable volvnteers. New online client documenl platform launched Introduced a new training programme wilh I l online intemal training sessions run covering different topics. All team meetings were moved onfine Lounched Money Course online. o new video series produced during lockdown; online courses up and running; one-to-one budget coaching programme launched online Exceeded our fundraising torget for2020. in spite of huge uncertoinlies created by Covid- Launched a new one-to-one Budget Coaching programme l O new volunteers storted or in training Our Oulcomes We take analysis of the impoct of our work very seriovsly. With the assistance of the Chorities Evoluation Service. we implemented a robvst recording methodology to ensure that we could assess the effectiveness of ourWo￿. The pandemic hod an impact on the clients who approached us. the interoctions with creditor5 ond the emotional wellbeing of our clients and os a result olso had some impact on our outcomes and in particular how clients reported their perspective after the advice. We larget len specific 'ovlcomes' aligned lo our aims. i.e. the individual changes we ore trying to achieve. For example.. fewer clients at risk of eviction. fewer clients facing 'priority debts, more individuals accessing budgeling advice. All our outcomes ore measured through our cose management syslem le.g. when we ochieve milestones like resolving renl arreorsl. and we have esloblished procedures for the recording of such dota. Al Iiiiproved economic circumstances One of our primary oims is to help people to improve their economic circumstances. In the last twelve months. 42%125% in 20191 of ovr clients had one or more finoncial gain5 thanks to our intervention. These included: new benefits claimed, benefit deductions stoppedlreduced. grant awarded. and debts written off. In oddition. in partnership with local foodbanks and 05 an ogent for "Acts 435" (a charrty providing individual grants directly to those in needl, we were able to help clients in Practical woys. Bl Prevention of homelessne55 One of the main concerns for clients is to secure their home. Over the past three years we've seen a steody upword trend of clients w7lh rent a￿e0[s. We prioritise clients whose housing is under threat and work closely with locol landlords and social housing providers to stabilise the sitvation. Clients are treed from emotional distress so that they can tockle other issues or start to manoge their linances. cl Social Impact 11 is crvcial for us to know if we are Iruly meeling the needs of those we seek to support. Our holistic approach means that we often get to know our clients very well and have the privilege of suppothng them through many personal silvotions which may be o couse of. or caused by. their financial situation. We ask oll our clients Iwo sets of simple questions, six months apart. which hove been designed lo evaluate the proctical and emotional impact of our wort on the clienl's lived experience. We use Ihe responses to analyse Ihe impoct of our interventions on the lives of those we support. 83% ot money covrse attendees felt more confldent about theit money 63% 01 cllents reported Improved ment wellbelng 737r* of clients leel Iheir financial outlook had improved 82% of clients sold their main debt Issue had been resolved The chollenge5 faced by our cllents The vast mojority of our clients have complex needs which require dozens of hours of patient cose work, and increosingly. court action or tribunal oppeob. 2018 2019 2020 Average debt per client % of clients who have long-tem heolth issues % of clients slrvggling with social issues Yo of clients wilh multiple14+1 debls % of clients With priority debt5 % of clients with rent a￿earS and facing eviction 70 of client5 wfh utility arreor5 £15.068 £17,555 £19.777 31% 451. 58% 11% 22% 76% 89% 79% 79% 35% 59% 59% Covid.19- a year of challenge Needless to soy, the Covid pondemic h05 had o signiftcant impact on our work ond hov4 It's de￿vered. Since March 2020, all our oppointmenls hove taken place vio telephone. This encjbled us to continue our work uninterrupted and has been o lifesaver for many clients Idireclly in two cases - ovr advisers t¥evented Iwo suicide ollemptsl. Phone oppointments have worked better than anyone dared hope. and clients have responded lo them exlremely s)ositively. However they are not a substitvle for face-to-foce meetings. less con be achieved in a ngle telephone 5e5sion and so we hove had lo hokl more oppointment5 than previously lover double). They are also le% relalionol, and il lake5 longer to bL4ild trust. For exomple much of the impoct of our WOTk Is not just the fact thot we ore able resolve specific debt 155ues, but that we ore oble to go beyond this and help C￿entS address the ca5us of Iheir debt5 ond mentor them as they get bock on their feel. This is horder to achieve over the phone. Another challenge of not being able to meet clients face-t4Fface is thot those with commvnication issves or who cannot read or write hove struggled to express themselves ondlor reloy the contents of correspondence e05ity. We WOTked hord to put SUPF)ort mechanisms in pioce. utilising video