**Zahid Mubarek Trust Hampstead Town Hall 213 Haverstock Hill London NW3 4QP**
**office@thezmt.org thezmt.org**
**Registered Charity Number 1127834**
## **Im act Re ort p p**
**2024–2025**
**We scrutinise. We support We advocate.**
**We work with those who share our vision and values of tackling racial disparities in the criminal justice system and beyond.** 66 __
**thezmt.org.uk**
**Contents**
1
## **Foreword from the Co-Directors**
2
**Strategic Objective One: Improving Transparency and Accountability around Racial Equality in Prisons**
3
**Strategic Objective Two: Improving the Treatment of and Outcomes for Ethnic Minority Prisoners**
4
**Strategic Objective Three: Contribute to a solution-focused and evidence-based debate on reducing racial disparity in the prison system**
© The Zahid Mubarek Trust (ZMT), October 2025. Photo credit frontcover: © jplenio.
## **Our Mission**
**We work with those who share our vision and values of tackling racial disparities in the criminal justice system and beyond.**
**Foreword from the Co-Directors**
**This past year has been one of profound growth, challenge, and impact for the Zahid Mubarek Trust. At a time when racial disparities in the prison system remain stark, we have continued to champion the voices of those too often unheard: prisoners, families, and staff whose experiences are tainted by discrimination and unfair treatment.**
We are proud that the Trust has remained true to its founding mission: to turn scrutiny into meaningful support and transform lived experiences into lasting change. Over the last twelve months, our flagship External Scrutiny and Support Project has deepened its roots across prisons, challenging poor practice, highlighting systemic issues, and providing practical solutions that improve the daily lives of ethnic minority prisoners. At the national level, our advocacy ensured that discrimination complaint processes were not only protected but also strengthened, with our contributions reflected in the publication of the long-awaited DIRF guidance.
We also launched new and pioneering initiatives – from ARTivism, which gave men in custody a platform to express hope and resilience through creativity, to safe space sessions that offered much-needed support for prisoners and staff navigating the impacts of Islamophobia and racism. These projects, led by our lived experience team, show what is possible when trust and cultural competence are placed at the heart of engagement.
Yet we must acknowledge how hard it has been to keep race and equality firmly on the agenda in the current climate. In a system under pressure, conversations about race are often deprioritised or treated as secondary concerns. This makes our work more challenging, but also more necessary than ever. The experiences shared with us by ethnic minority prisoners and staff remind us daily that the reality of racism in prisons cannot be ignored, and that confronting it is essential for any meaningful progress on safety, fairness, and rehabilitation.
Beyond the prison gates, our work has expanded to directly support families. In the absence of dedicated funding, we nonetheless responded to dozens of calls for help, standing alongside families concerned about the safety, well-being, and fair treatment of their loved ones. For us, this remains a vital part of honouring Zahid’s legacy – recognising that imprisonment affects not just individuals, but also communities.
None of this would have been possible without the courage and determination of those who continue to share their stories with us, and the commitment of our partners, supporters, and funders who believe in the importance of our mission.
As we look ahead, we remain steadfast in our vision: a prison system where fairness, dignity, and equality are not aspirations but realities. Zahid’s name continues to guide our work, reminding us that change is both urgent and possible.
Imtiaz Amin & Khatuna Tsintsadze
**Imtiaz Amin**
**Khatuna Tsintsadze**
Co-Directors The Zahid Mubarek Trust
## **Strat ic tive One eg Objec**
## **Improving Transparency and Accountability around Racial Equality in Prisons**
## **The ZMT’s Approach to Systemic Change**
**The External Scrutiny and Support Project (ESSP) continues to gain momentum as a trusted and valued mechanism for improving outcomes for ethnic minority prisoners. Positioned as a trusted and invaluable initiative, its growth across prison establishments nationwide underscores the ZMT’s commitment to fostering meaningful systemic change related to racial equality in prisons.**
Currently, the ESSP stands as the only specialist independent project directly influencing daily practices regarding racial equality in nearly half of the prison estate across England and Wales.
This unique position grants the ZMT unprecedented access and influence, especially crucial in an environment where racial disparities within the criminal justice system are both stark and enduring. The ZMT’s grassroots interventions meticulously scrutinise prison responses to discrimination, monitor equality data, and prioritise the lived experiences of racially minoritised individuals in custody.
During the 2024-2025 period, numerous prisons proactively sought the ZMT’s assistance in implementing the ESSP model, highlighting the project’s credibility and the urgent need for expert, independent scrutiny.
This scrutiny has been at the forefront of policy changes regarding race equality in the prison system for over 25 years. This increased interest also reflects a concerning lack of meaningful resources and support from the central administration.
By taking up this model, the ZMT not only addresses poor practices but actively influences the integration of improved standards that align with our vision of “What Good Looks Like on Race Equality” at a substantial scale proved standards that align with our vision of “What Good Looks Like on Race Equality” at a substantial scale.
Working across nearly half of the prison estate provides a powerful platform to drive change from the ground up, influencing both local culture and national policy.
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The Zahid Mubarek Trust:
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**412 Prisons visits across England & Wales 3,000+ DIRFs scrutinised 267 Complaints from prisoners and their families responded to**
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Plymouth
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**5 ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**The External Scrutiny and Support Project in numbers**
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Newcastle upon Tyne
Manchester
Norwich
Birmingham
London
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## **61 Prisons across England & Wales**
1 HMP Leicester 2 HMP/YOI Lincoln 3 HMP North Sea Camp 4 HMP Onley 5 HMP Whatton 6 HMP/YOI Hatfield 7 HMP/YOI Hull 8 HMP Humber 9 HMP Leeds 10 HMP Lindholme 11 HMP/YOI Moorland 12 HMP Wealstun 13 HMP Bristol 14 HMP Leyhill 15 HMP The Verne 16 HMP/YOI Bedford 17 HMP Littlehey 18 HMP Wayland 19 HMP Bure 20 HMP/YOI Norwich 21 HMP Birmingham 22 HMP/YOI Brinsford 23 HMP Featherstone 24 HMP Hewell 25 HMP Stafford 26 HMP/YOI Stoke Heath 27 HMP/YOI Swinfen Hall 28 HMP Durham 29 HMP/YOI Deerbolt 30 HMP Holme House 31 HMP Kirklevington Grange 32 HMP/YOI Nottingham 33 HMP Ranby 34 HMP Stocken
35 HMP/YOI Sudbury 36 HMP/YOI East Sutton Park 37 HMP Brixton 38 HMP/YOI High Down 39 HMP/YOI Isis 40 HMP/YOI Pentonville 41 HMP Wandsworth 42 HMP/YOI Wormwood Scrubs 43 IRC Morton Hall 44 HMP/YOI Feltham 45 HMYOI Werrington 46 HMYOI Wetherby 47 STC OAKHILL 48 HMP/YOI Peterborough 49 HMP Aylesbury 50 HMP/YOI Belmarsh
51 HMP Frankland
52 HMP Full Sutton 53 HMP Garth
54 HMP Gartree
55 HMP Long Lartin
56 HMP/YOI Manchester
57 HMP Isle of Wight 58 HMP Swaleside 59 HMP Wakefield 60 HMP Whitemoor 61 HMP/YOI Woodhill
Source: ZMT
**Strategic Objective One**
## **The ZMT’s Approach to Systematic Change**
By being embedded in so many establishments, the ESS Project can challenge entrenched cultures, promote fairness and accountability, and promote and normalise good practice through direct engagement with staff and prisoners. This widespread local presence ensures that new approaches are tested and adapted in diverse environments, creating proven, evidence-based solutions that can be confidently shared across the system.
Insights drawn from almost 50% of prisons provide stakeholders with robust, credible data to shape policy that reflects real-world conditions. In doing so, the work bridges the gap between policy and practice, ensuring that national change is not imposed from above but grows organically from local improvements.
## **In response to the increasing demand and to enhance the project’s effectiveness, the Trust has appointed two dedicated Regional Leads.**
These individuals are crucial in providing direct support to establishments, fostering local relationships with both ethnic minority prisoners and staff, and ensuring the consistent delivery of analytical scrutiny of DIRFs and local equalities data.
Their structured oversight encompasses tasks such as, but not limited to, equality data analysis, enabling the identification of patterns of disproportionality and co-designing solutions to address them, evaluating the quality of investigations and outcomes of discrimination complaints, and regularly assessing the experiences of ethnic minority prisoners to ensure accountability and transparency.
The ESSP has become instrumental in amplifying transparency and accountability within prisons, uncovering systemic issues, highlighting policy compliance failures, and challenging inadequate investigations and inaction regarding discrimination.
The ZMT’s ongoing presence ensures that equality concerns are neither overlooked nor deprioritised; rather, they are systematically examined, documented, and escalated as needed.
www.thezmt.org
**`The`** EXTERNAL **`Zahid`** SCRUTINY AND **`Mubarek`** SUPPORT **`Trust`** PROJECT
The Project covers the following activities:
Discrimination Complaints: Zahid Mubarek Trust (ZMT) is a External scrutiny of the national charity advocating for racial investigation process and justice in the criminal justice system. outcomes. The Trust pursues three core Equality Meetings: priorities focused on achieving Contribute to Equality holistic change: meetings and provide Improved Transparency and feedback on the strategic Accountability. work on equality. Rehabilitation over Retribution. Prisoner Consultations: Influencing Systemic Change. Conduct regular solutiondriven consultation sessions.
Equality Meetings: Contribute to Equality meetings and provide feedback on the strategic work on equality.
Support Equality Advisors
Any questions about equality issues? **`FREEPOST, ZAHID MUBAREK TRUST`** Get in touch: FREEPOST, ZAHID MUBAREK TRUST Any questions about equality
Above: This poster is displayed on notice boards across prisons in England and Wales so that prisoners can learn about ZMT’s services.
This rigorous independent oversight has led to tangible changes in local policies and practices, contributing to a growing national acknowledgement that complaints of discrimination and equality data must be taken seriously as indicators of institutional culture.
Consequently, the ZMT’s work is profoundly informing national guidelines and fostering a paradigm shift in how equalities and complaints are prioritised by prison leadership.
The ESSP’s model is rooted in constructive challenge, lived experience, and partnership and has been refined through the ZMT’s active presence in prisons and involvement in policy development for decades.
**7 ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**Strategic Objective One**
**Improving Transparency and Accountability around Racial Equality in Prisons**
**Independent expert scrutiny of discrimination complaints in prisons is essential to ensure accountability, transparency, and the protection of prisoners’ rights as prescribed by international legal frameworks and . national policies**
The ESSP continues to shape better practice locally and influence national policy reforms aimed at achieving fairness, safety, and genuine accountability for all.
Independent expert scrutiny of discrimination complaints in prisons is essential to ensure accountability, transparency, and the protection of prisoners’ rights as prescribed by international legal frameworks and national policies.
It provides an objective and thorough review of how complaints are handled, identifies patterns of bias or neglect, and drives improvements in the fairness and effectiveness of the complaints process.
Transforming entrenched negative perceptions and experiences around racial injustice in prisons cannot be performative.
Expert and experience-led external scrutiny brings the valuable perspectives of those with lived experience of discrimination, ensuring that the voices of prisoners and affected communities are central to the process.
This approach enhances trust in the complaints system, makes it more accessible and responsive, and supports reforms grounded in realworld experiences, ultimately leading to fairer treatment and greater justice for all prisoners.
By addressing systemic issues and highlighting both challenges and successes, independent scrutiny helps prevent discrimination, empowers marginalised groups, and promotes a culture of equality and respect within prisons.
© moreISO.
However, scrutiny cannot be truly effective if it is merely independent of the system. Relevant expertise and experience of those invited to act as scrutineers is equally essential.
As seen on numerous occasions, local fire services or generic local organisations are often asked to perform this vital duty in prisons without the relevant training, knowledge, or experience in handling discrimination complaints.
Scrutineers must possess a profound understanding of discrimination, prison systems, and the lived experiences of affected individuals to provide meaningful insights and recommendations.
**ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**8**
**Strategic Objective One**
## **The Difference the ZMT Makes**
**Independent scrutiny led by specialised organisations is critical in enhancing outcomes within prisons, particularly for racially minoritised individuals who frequently encounter systemic disadvantages and disparities in the criminal justice system.**
Our work through the ESSP demonstrates that racial equality is not a side issue; on the contrary, it is central to the fairness, safety, and legitimacy of the prison system. Communityled scrutiny is not only necessary but uniquely effective in ensuring that this principle is upheld.
Unlike internal audits or compliance checks, external scrutiny brings objectivity, credibility, and specialist knowledge to the heart of prison operations.
**When scrutiny is community-led and grounded in lived experience and racial justice expertise, as with the External Scrutiny and Support Project (ESSP), it becomes a transformative tool for systemic change, not just a mechanism for oversight.**
Community-led scrutiny fundamentally differs from the monitoring functions of the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) in both purpose and approach:
- **Specialist focus:** While HMIP and IMBs offer broad oversight of prison conditions and treatment, community-led scrutiny focuses specifically on equality, discrimination, and racial justice, ensuring that issues too often marginalised receive sustained attention.
- **Cultural competence and lived experience:** ESSP scrutiny is led by individuals with lived and professional expertise in racial justice and imprisonment. This results in a deeper understanding, more nuanced analysis, and increased credibility among both prisoners and staff
- **Continuous and relational:** Community-led scrutiny fosters ongoing relationships with establishments, rather than relying on oneoff inspections. This enables the longitudinal tracking of issues, consistent feedback, and trust-building between prisoners and staff.
## **Sev Bikim, Regional D&I Lead**
**Through the External Scrutiny Project and the Equality Advocate Project, the ZMT has revitalised the understanding and enactment of racial equality in the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Norfolk Region (BCN). By collaborating with prisons instead of merely observing them, we’ve challenged outdated practices, built trust, and shown that transformative change is achievable when local voices are heard.**
**9 ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**Strategic Objective One Improving Transparency and Accountability around Racial Equality in Prisons External Scrutiny and Support Project participant I always found it strange that an organisation can call itself ‘independent’ when it’s taking money from the governor. How can you be critical when your pay comes from the very people you’re supposed to hold accountable? Independence from the system is not just about physical detachment, but also about not partaking in the monetary benefit from the system you claim to challenge and change. After over 20 years in prison, I’m open to being convinced, but right now, I’m sceptical.** ~~oe~~ 99 66 ~~a~~ **• Independence from the system:** Unlike At the start of the External Scrutiny Project in IMBs, who are appointed by the Secretary 2012, during a prisoner forum focus group of State, or HMIP, which inspects under aimed at gauging their views on the parameters statutory remit, community-led scrutiny of external scrutiny of discrimination is independent of government. This complaints, one participant shared his autonomy enables us to challenge perspective on the process and its boundaries. policy and practice more freely and advocate for systemic reform. The quote above has since shaped the
The quote above has since shaped the ZMT’s stance on the scrutiny framework.
- **Bridge between prisons and community:** Community-led models connect what happens behind the prison walls with the concerns of families, communities, and advocacy organisations on the outside. This expands accountability beyond the prison itself.
Below: © ZMT. ZMT Equality Advocates during a session.
**ZMT Impact Report 2024-25 10**
**Strategic Objective One**
## **The Difference the ZMT Makes**
Above: © ZMT. ZMT staff meeting with the Equality Advocates.
The ZMT’s scrutiny model is deliberately structured to remain financially independent from the prison service and any prison-based funding, ensuring that its credibility and impartiality are never compromised in the eyes of those it serves: primarily ethnic minority prisoners and staff. This independence is critical to maintaining the trust and confidence of its direct beneficiaries.
However, this principled stance has placed the Trust in a precarious financial position over the years, as the scrutiny project demands the largest share of the organisation’s resources in the shrinking funding landscape for racial justice work in prisons.
This specialist, independent, and community-rooted approach matters in many ways:
- Exposes blind spots in internal systems that may normalise or overlook racism.
- Improves outcomes by raising the standard of investigation into discrimination complaints.
- Increases accountability by holding prisons accountable to the communities most affected by their practices.
- Builds trust among prisoners, especially those who have long felt unheard and over-policed.
**11 ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**Strategic Objective One**
**Improving Transparency and Accountability around Racial Equality in Prisons**
**The ZMT’s scrutiny model is deliberately structured to remain financially independent from the prison service and any prison-based funding, ensuring that its credibility and impartiality are never compromised in the eyes of those it serves: primarily ethnic minority prisoners and staff.**
Above: © ZMT.
**ZMT Impact Report 2024-25 12**
**Strategic Objective One**
## **The Difference the ZMT Makes**
## **Reflections from Staff**
## **Shakeil Hemmings, Regional Lead, ESSP**
**This year has shown what can be achieved through determined scrutiny, constructive challenge, and genuine collaboration. From improving DIRF processes, amplifying the voices of those in custody, to tackling disproportionate outcomes. Yet the pressures facing prisons mean equality work can too easily be sidelined. My commitment is to keep our organisation’s objectives firmly in view, ensuring they deliver real and lasting change.**
“Over the past year, I have been proud to contribute to work that has had a meaningful impact on EDI and the fair and equitable treatment of those held in prison custody and those who work with them. In my region of the West Midlands, I have often been commended for supporting the momentum of progress of EDI with a mutual understanding of what good looks like.”
“I believe that I have strengthened DIRF
investigatory practices through my scrutiny by producing insightful and constructive reports that have directly informed improvements in how discrimination complaints are handled. In addition to this, I have also delivered both local and regional DIRF training, ensuring staff feel confident and equipped to deal with these sensitive matters.”
“Supporting organisational change has been a key part of my role, from providing staff awareness and guidance with equalities data, tackling disproportionality, promoting transparency and accountability in decision-making, and supporting the confidence and competence of EDI leads to manage equality effectively.”
“I have taken pride in creating impactful spaces for listening, learning, and meaningful dialogue, from consultation sessions with ethnic minority children in HMP/YOI Werrington, young adults in HMP/YOI Swinfen Hall, and uniformed staff across the service. These sessions have surfaced valuable insights into lived experiences and operational challenges, which I have fed directly to senior leadership to inform decisions, shape practise, and drive tangible change. By amplifying these voices, I aim to ensure that equality, fairness, and accountability remain central to the work of the prison service.”
**13 ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**Strategic Objective One**
**Improving Transparency and Accountability around Racial Equality in Prisons**
“I have represented the organisation at various key stake holder events, hosting stalls, engaging with prospective prison officers, and sharing our organisations unique mission. The fact that our organisation is often invited to such events to share our unique insight into matters relating to ethnicity in custody conveys that we still remain key players in this space.”
“I am also particularly proud of curating and delivering a bespoke Black History Month presentation on the history of race relations in the prison service, presenting this across multiple establishments.”
“Besides my normal duties of the ESSP, other highlights include:
- Supporting the Together Against Racism campaign at HMP/YOI Werrington.
- Beginning work with the Youth Custody Service to improve outcomes for ethnic minority children.
- Delivering to the Frontline Staff Network Festival to share our organisations mission, attended by around 63 attendees which received strong positive feedback.
- Continued support of HMP Erlestoke, a challenging but very rewarding establishment to partner with.
- Conducting a comprehensive DIRF survey at two establishments, eliciting greater confidence in the DIRF process through multiple key recommendations.
## **Challenges ahead:**
“Looking forward, there are challenges ahead that may impact our ability to sustain this progress. In many establishments, there is a noticeable decline in engagement with equalities work from senior leaders. The departments we partner with often lack the funding and resources to operate at their full potential, and many colleagues are overworked and under-supported. In Young Offender Institutions, and the Youth Custody Service, disorder and staff shortages create further barriers to sustained project work. Although, I do acknowledge that such challenges also present opportunities to address concerns of the treatment and experiences of children and young people in custody.
There are also tensions when our organisation’s findings differ from those of HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP). Understandably, prison establishments may place greater weight of the conclusions of HMIP as the official inspectorate official body, which can diminish the impact of our own scrutiny.
Despite these challenges, I remain committed to maintaining strong working relationships with the establishments we engage with. Where there is mutual trust and openness, our scrutiny can continue to act as a constructive, critical friendship. A friendship that drives better outcomes not only for ethnic minority prisoners, but for everyone within the prison service.”
- Completing a literature review in support of the HMP Wayland Pilot project.”
“I hope that for the establishments where we have built positive working relationships, our scrutiny is seen as constructive, enabling us to remain a critical friend, ensuring better outcomes not only for ethnic minority prisoners, but for all of those held in prison custody.”
**ZMT Impact Report 2024-25 14**
**Strategic Objective One**
## **The Difference the ZMT Makes**
## **Expert and Experience-led External Scrutiny Framework by the ZMT**
**Our research and experience at the ZMT underscore that the decision to reject specific funding sources is closely tied to upholding four core principles fundamental to effective and trustworthy external scrutiny in prisons: independence, impartiality, neutrality, and humanity.**
1
At the base of this framework is independence, the broadest and most critical principle. Independence ensures that external scrutiny can be conducted without interference or influence from prison authorities. This principle is foundational because without true independence, the ability to challenge systemic issues, especially complaints of discrimination, cannot be fully realised. The ZMT insists that scrutiny must be free from financial or operational entanglement with the prison system to maintain credibility and effectiveness.
2
Building upon independence is impartiality. For the ZMT, impartiality guarantees that scrutiny addresses discrimination and other concerns fairly, without bias toward any group or individual based on ethnicity, religion, gender, or political views. This ensures that investigations and reports are grounded in the national policy and international frameworks, helping to rebuild trust among prisoners, staff, and the communities they serve.
3
At the top of the framework is humanity, the ultimate goal driving all ZMT’s work. Upholding humanity means that our scrutiny is fundamentally about alleviating suffering, ensuring dignity, and promoting equitable treatment for all prisoners, particularly those who face discrimination and marginalisation. Maintaining independence, impartiality, and neutrality is crucial to upholding this principle and ensuring that our interventions are driven solely by the well-being and rights of those we serve.
This principled approach to funding and independence strengthens ZMT’s ability to conduct external scrutiny that is trusted, effective, and capable of driving meaningful change within prisons.
4
**15**
**ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**Strategic Objective One**
**Improving Transparency and Accountability around Racial Equality in Prisons**
## **What stakeholders say about the ZMT’s impact**
**The summary of the inspection reports in 2024-2025 weaves together the key themes of transparency, improved investigation quality, trust-building, specialist training, and systemic influence, all highlighting the ESSP and ZMT’s unique role in driving improvement, building trust and raising standards on the ground.**
## **Impact in 2024**
**69% increase in DIRF submissions at HMP Bedford**
HM inspection reports highlighted measurable and widely recognised impact on how prisons handle discrimination complaints and promote racial equality following the ZMT’s external scrutiny work:
Through regular, expert-led external scrutiny of the Discrimination Incident Reporting Form (DIRF) process, the ZMT supported several establishments to improve both the quality and credibility of their responses to discrimination.
Above: © ZMT
Inspection reports across the estate referenced ZMT’s work as “robust,” “major,” and “impressive”, with inspectors highlighting that the Trust’s involvement helped ensure investigations were thorough, timely, courteous, and based on evidence.
Prisons noted that the ZMT’s presence led directly to improvements in policy and practice, including:
- A 69% increase in DIRF submissions at HMP Bedford, signalling growing trust in the process.
- The development of bi-monthly scrutiny panels and transparency forums at HMP Erlestoke increased both prisoners’ and staff’s confidence in the system.
- A consistently higher quality of investigation and response, including interviews with all parties and respectful replies, across multiple prisons.
## **HMP Bedford, September 2024**
**The Zahid Mubarek Trust... carried out scrutiny of all DIRF investigations... and delivered the ‘equality advocate’ training... The result had demonstrable improvement in quality...**
**ZMT Impact Report 2024-25 16**
**Strategic Objective One**
## **What Stakeholders Say About the ZMT’s Impact**
The ZMT’s Equality Advocate training, delivered to prisoners as part of supporting its external scrutiny work, was praised for strengthening peer-led support structures and embedding a culture of rights awareness and collective accountability.
## **HMP Long Lartin, October 2024**
**A group of ‘equality advocates’ had just completed lengthy training... adding to the existing work of equality reps... with demonstrable improvement in the quality of DIRF investigations.**
Unlike statutory bodies like IMBs or HMIP, ZMT’s community-led model brings specialist, race equity-focused expertise and lived experience directly into the heart of prisons. This bridges the gap between prisons and the communities they serve, drives sustainable change, and provides prison leaders with clear, evidencebased feedback to raise standards and ensure fair treatment for all.
## **HMP Belmarsh, 2024**
**The Trust produced a detailed report for each DIRF, which highlighted both good and bad practice. Leaders used these reports to drive improvement.** 66 a
Photos from The David Ramsbotham Award 2024 from left to right: © ZMT. Sev Bikim MBE, Richard Ramsbotham, Shakeil Hemmings, Niyi Akinseye, Imtiaz Amin, Magdalena Serej, Khatuna Tsintsadze.
cs **17 ZMT Impact Rep** h **ort 2024-25** : "
**Strategic Objective One**
**Improving Transparency and Accountability around Racial Equality in Prisons**
Across the prison estate, the ZMT’s work is increasingly recognised not only as a model of good practice, but as a catalyst for change—improving trust in the system, sharpening accountability, and supporting the cultural shift toward fairness, inclusion, and safety.
## **D&I Lead, Youth Custody Service**
**We held our annual awards ceremony on Friday 10th January, and although it was me picking up an award for ‘Partnership Working’, I absolutely would not have been able to win this award without the help of Shakeil and Niyi – who isn’t included as I believe he has moved on. The read out on the night was heavily based on the fantastic work we did in conjunction with one another, with particular focus on the ‘Zero Tolerance to Racism’ project back in May 2024. I just wanted to again place on record my thanks for all the hard work that you conducted in Werrington with me, and recognise the important role you played in this project, which clearly would not have been achieved without the input and dedication of the Zahid Mubarek Trust.**
## **Sharron Showell, D&I Lead**
**The Zahid Mubarek Trust has been an incredible source of support throughout my work with the Equality Advocates at HMP Hewell. Whether I have a question or need guidance during a challenging conversation with a member of the Senior Leadership Team around a Protected Characteristic, they’re always there with the tools, insight, and encouragement I need. Their commitment to fairness and inclusion makes a real difference — not just to me, but to the wider prison community.**
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ZMT Impact Report 2024-25 18
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**Strat ic tive Two eg Objec**
## **Improving the Treatment of and Outcomes for Ethnic Minority Prisoners**
**Having been involved in shaping the change nationally and locally around race equality in prisons, the Trust has learnt that real and lasting change in the prison system does not come solely from policies written at the top. While the national policy lays the foundation for it, in some instances, culture change is forged from the bottom up, by those who live in the system every day. When people in prison are empowered to lead, question, and shape the structures that govern their lives, the impact is profound. It disrupts cycles of silence and disengagement, and replaces them with purpose, accountability, and hope.**
**Bottom-up change restores agency to those most affected by injustice and ensures that transformation is not just imposed, but owned. It is in these grassroots efforts, led by prisoners, supported by the community, and grounded in lived experience, that the prison system finds its most potent catalyst for equity, dignity, and progress.**
The ZMT’s active and meaningful presence in prisons, combined with its continuous engagement with both staff and prisoners, plays a vital role in enabling bottom-up culture change. By regularly listening to lived experiences, facilitating open dialogue, and providing practical support, the Trust builds trust and credibility within the prison community.
This grassroots approach empowers individuals, particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds, to voice their concerns, challenge poor practices, and become active participants in shaping fairer and more inclusive environments.
At the heart of this approach is the ZMT’s bottom-up culture change model, which centres on amplifying the voices of those most affected by discrimination and marginalisation, and using their insights to influence practice, policy, and leadership priorities.
Through consistent engagement and by nurturing agency at all levels, the Trust helps shift attitudes, embed accountability, and drive sustainable change from within.
Below: © ZMT. ZMT staff at the Unlocked Graduates Conference in London.
**19 ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**Strategic Objective One**
**Improving Treatment of and Outcomes for Ethnic Minority Prisoners**
## **The Equality Advocate Project**
The ZMT launched the Equality Advocate Project to address persistent racial disparities and build safer, fairer environments within prisons.
The project trains ethnic minority prisoners to become Equality Advocates: peer leaders who support others, scrutinise discrimination complaints, and work directly with staff to improve equality outcomes at a local level.
The Equality Advocate Project, delivered by the ZMT across 17 prisons, is a powerful example of how bottom-up change in the prison system is not only possible but also essential.
By training and supporting prisoners to become Equality Advocates, the ZMT equips individuals with the knowledge, confidence, and tools to challenge discrimination, promote fairness, and support their peers from within the system.
These advocates act as a vital bridge between prisoners and staff, ensuring that the voices of racially minoritised people are heard, respected, and acted upon.
The project transforms passive recipients of policy into active participants in justice: people who can identify injustice, articulate it, and work collaboratively to address it.
In doing so, the Equality Advocate Project embeds lived experience, peer leadership, and grassroots accountability into the fabric of prison life, proving that meaningful change doesn’t trickle down from authority, but rises from within.
The Equality Advocates are not just trained peer workers, but they are the foundation of a growing movement of changemakers for racial justice within prisons.
Rooted in lived experience, armed with knowledge of rights and systems, and driven by a profound sense of purpose, these advocates are challenging the status quo from within. They are reshaping what leadership looks like in custody, supporting their peers, confronting inequality, and holding institutions accountable. Across their units and prisons, they are building momentum for a more just and humane system – one where fairness is not aspirational, but expected.
In a space where silence and resignation often prevail, the Equality Advocates are amplifying the voices of those who are too frequently overlooked and demanding that racial justice become a lived reality, not a distant ideal.
**Impact in numbers 17 prisons delivering the Equality Advocate Project**
**536 prisoners trained as Equality Advocates**
**203 peer support sessions facilitated**
**33 equalities forums co-chaired by Advocates**
**19 staff briefings and workshops supported**
**ZMT Impact Report 2024-25 20**
**Strategic Objective Two**
**Improving the Treatment of and Outcomes for Ethnic Minority Prisoners**
**Impact on the Treatment of and Outcomes for Ethnic Minority Prisoners — and the Broader Equalities Landscape in Prisons The Equality Advocate Project continues to demonstrate measurable improvements in both the lived experience of ethnic minority prisoners and the broader integrity and responsiveness of equalities frameworks within participating prisons. The impact of this work spans cultural shifts, improved outcomes, and systemic strengthening, as outlined below:** ~~—~~ 1. 2. **Strengthened Standards Increased Confidence in the System for Investigations**
Across establishments where Equality Advocate cohorts are well embedded, there has been a demonstrable increase in prisoners’ willingness to engage with the discrimination complaints process. Sites reported an average 42% increase in Discrimination Incident Reporting Form (DIRF) submissions, suggesting a tangible rise in confidence among prisoners that their concerns will be heard and addressed. In one prison, internal survey data revealed a striking improvement in prisoner trust, with the proportion of prisoners who believed that complaints of discrimination would be taken seriously rising from 28% to 61% in under 12 months. These figures reflect more than operational success—they signal a shift towards a more rights-aware and engaged prison population.
DIRFs submitted with the support of trained Equality Advocates were found to be twice as likely to contain complete, relevant, and wellstructured evidence, thereby increasing the likelihood of a robust and fair investigation. By enhancing the evidentiary quality of complaints, the project not only supports prisoners in having their voices heard accurately but also ensures that investigations are less likely to be dismissed at the triage stage due to a lack of clarity or insufficient supporting evidence. This shift has contributed to greater procedural fairness and a growing culture of accountability within Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) working environment.
*Data sourced from internal prison reporting and ZMT monitoring returns, 2024–2025.
## **Equality Advocate, HMP Wayland**
**“Too often, prisoners, especially those of us from ethnic minority backgrounds, are expected to stay silent in the face of discrimination. Before this project, many of us didn’t bother reporting anything because we knew it wouldn’t be taken seriously. But the Equality Advocate Project changed that. It gave us a voice, not just to raise concerns, but to demand fairness with confidence.”**
**21 ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**By embedding lived experience and peer-led support at the heart of the equalities’ infrastructure, the Equality Advocate Project continues to set a powerful precedent: that prisons become fairer, safer, and more legitimate when those most affected by inequality are empowered to lead the change.**
## 3.
## **Safer, More Inclusive Prison Environments**
## 4.
## **Pathways to Leadership and Progression**
The presence of trained, trusted Equality The project has also delivered long-term Advocates has significantly improved the benefits by creating structured pathways into social and emotional climate for minoritised meaningful roles for participants. Eighty-six prisoners, particularly those from Black trained Equality Advocates have progressed and Muslim backgrounds. In one pilot site, into additional positions of responsibility prisoners reported a 30% reduction in feelings across the prison estate, including peer of isolation, which they directly attributed to mentoring, safer custody representation, increased access to peer-led advocacy and and restorative justice facilitation. These culturally competent support. Beyond this transitions not only demonstrate the pilot, qualitative feedback across multiple project’s potential as a platform for personal establishments described Equality Advocates as development and leadership but also affirm a vital bridge between individuals and systems, its value in contributing to a more inclusive helping to build community, reduce fear, and and representative rehabilitative culture. foster a greater sense of safety and belonging among those most at risk of marginalisation. **Equality Advocate, HMP Standford Hill The presence of trained Advocates made the system feel less distant, less stacked against us. We began to see stronger investigations, proper outcomes, and, most importantly, each other. For me, becoming an Advocate wasn’t just about helping others; it was a way to challenge the idea that people like us don’t belong in leadership. It showed that we can hold the system to account from the inside. This work matters, not just because it makes prisons safer and fairer, but because it reminds everyone that dignity, justice, and equality aren’t optional; they’re non-negotiable.** ~~——~~ 66 **ZMT Impact Report 2024-25 22**
**Strategic Objective Two**
## **Strategic Impact:**
**The Equality Advocate Project aligns with the HMPPS Race Action Programme, the Lammy Review recommendations and HMIP expectations around local governance and equalities scrutiny. It builds stronger relationships between staff and prisoners, enhances accountability, and embeds equity into the everyday fabric of prison life. The Equality Advocate Project is transforming how prisons understand and respond to discrimination. It is practical, powerful, and peer-led: building bridges where walls once stood. Together, we are proving that equity is not just a value, it’s a practice.**
## **Impact of the Collective Action in Practice: Equality Advocates at HMP Wayland**
**Last year, the ZMT piloted a ground-breaking peer-led scrutiny panel led by the Equality Advocates at HMP Wayland, marking a significant and tangible step forward in transforming how discrimination complaints are handled in prisons. Rooted in the principles of trust, accountability, and empowerment, the project had a profound impact on prisoners, staff, and the prison system as a whole.**
The independent evaluation of the pilot found that meaningful systemic change to improve confidence in discrimination complaints does not necessarily require an existing culture of fairness to succeed. This notion is flawed.
The act of embedding transparency and accountability through peer-led scrutiny is what begins to shift culture. As demonstrated by the Wayland Pilot, culture change follows practice change, starting with fair and inclusive systems.
As staffing pressures grow and prison populations rise, empowering prisoners through peer-led models is not only practical but necessary.
This pilot has laid the foundation for longterm, systemic change and has proven that prison can indeed be a place of personal transformation when external scrutiny, inclusivity, and learning are prioritised.
The pilot has shown that centring diversity and inclusion in system design not only builds trust and fairness but also reduces problematic behaviour and promotes rehabilitation.
Equalities work has fostered self-awareness among both prisoners and staff, contributing to a safer and more respectful environment.
**The act of embedding transparency and accountability through peer-led scrutiny is what begins to shift culture.**
**23 ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**Strategic Objective One**
**Improving Treatment of and Outcomes for Ethnic Minority Prisoners**
Here are some key areas that have improved as a direct and indirect result of the Wayland Pilot project:
## • **Rebuilding Trust in the Complaints Process**
Before the pilot, many ethnic minority and younger prisoners expressed a deep mistrust of the DIRF process, believing it to be inaccessible, ineffective, or lacking credibility. The introduction of a peer-led scrutiny panel helped reverse this trend. By involving trained prisoner Equality Advocates in reviewing complaints, the project offered an independent and relatable layer of oversight, improving prisoner confidence and demonstrating that complaints would be treated fairly and seriously.
## • **Strengthening Accountability and Transparency**
The panel’s work brought a fresh, community-based lens to complaint handling. Their scrutiny identified cases where processes had been followed appropriately but also instances where investigations lacked depth or where outcomes did not reflect the evidence. These findings, presented to prison leadership, resulted in immediate improvements in how complaints were reviewed and addressed. As a result, the process became more transparent, responsive, and accountable.
## • **Promoting Active Citizenship and Leadership**
Through training and participation in the scrutiny panel, prisoners developed skills in critical thinking, rights awareness, communication, and leadership. Many of those involved described a sense of purpose and agency, qualities not often nurtured in the prison environment. The project challenged assumptions about who can lead change in custody, and positioned prisoners as partners in improving justice and fairness.
## • **Creating Cultural Change Within the Establishment**
The pilot acted as a catalyst for a broader cultural shift at HMP Wayland. Staff began to view prisoners not simply as complainants but as contributors to a fairer and more effective system. The presence of a structured, peer-led scrutiny process encouraged better record-keeping, greater consistency in investigations, and more open dialogue between prisoners and staff about equality and inclusion.
## • **Establishing a Replicable Model of What Good Looks Like**
Perhaps most importantly, the pilot created a replicable, evidence-based model of peer-led scrutiny that can be adopted in other establishments. It demonstrated that, with the proper training, support, and buy-in from prison leadership, prisoners can play a meaningful role in upholding fairness and accountability within custodial settings.
**ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**24**
**Strategic Objective Two**
## **The Returning Citizens Projects**
**The Returning Citizens Programme is the newest addition to ZMT’s mission to improve the treatment of and outcomes for ethnic minority prison leavers. It was developed in response to a clear gap in the system: while resettlement services exist, they are often generic, underresourced, and fail to address the unique cultural, social, and systemic challenges faced by Black, Asian, and minority ethnic individuals leaving custody. Without targeted intervention, these challenges can lead to isolation, discrimination, and a higher risk of reoffending.**
At its core, the programme provides specialist, culturally competent resettlement support – delivered by practitioners with both professional expertise and lived experience of the justice system. This culturally responsive approach ensures that support is relevant, relatable, and rooted in an understanding of the structural inequalities that many prison leavers face.
Our support is comprehensive and holistic, combining practical assistance with housing, training and employment, with emotional and peer-led mentoring that helps individuals rebuild confidence, strengthen resilience, and reestablish a sense of belonging in the community.
The programme is designed to be personalised — no two pathways are the same.
Each Equality Advocate is supported based on their needs, aspirations, and circumstances, enabling them not only to reintegrate but to continue their role as advocates for equality and fairness in society. Crucially, the programme maintains the connection forged in custody through the Equality Advocate Project, ensuring continuity of trust and support beyond the prison gate.
In the past year, we have supported 103 Equality Advocates in the community, with 11 of them securing paid work experience with ZMT.
## **Impact in 2024**
**103 Equality Advocates supported in the community 11 of them secured paid work experience with ZMT**
This allows them to apply their skills and lived experience directly to ZMT’s projects, creating a cycle where those most affected by the justice system become leaders in shaping its reform.
Equality Advocates benefit from a range of paid work experience opportunities that enable them to apply their lived experience, develop professional skills, and play a leading role in shaping and delivering community and prisonbased projects.
For example, two Advocates took the lead in co-designing and are now actively implementing the ARTivism Project, which harnesses the power of creative arts to give prisoners a sense of hope, purpose, and self-expression while building connections between the prison and broader community.
**25 ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**Strategic Objective One**
**Improving Treatment of and Outcomes for Ethnic Minority Prisoners**
Meanwhile, three Advocates collaborated closely in the design of ENRICH, an early intervention programme tailored for young people caught up in the criminal justice system, and will be delivering this transformative support aimed at preventing reoffending and promoting positive life choices.
Within prisons, several Advocates contribute significantly by co-facilitating workshops and support sessions that help empower other prisoners, while also mentoring and supporting trainee Advocates as they develop confidence and skills in their roles.
These paid roles not only enhance the Advocates’ own personal and professional development but also strengthen the impact and sustainability of our projects by centring those with lived experience at the heart of change.
This work is urgent. National statistics show that between April 2021 and March 2022, proven reoffending rates were 20.8% for Asian offenders, 25.9% for Black offenders, and 26.6% for White offenders in England and Wales.
## **The Wayland Project**
The Wayland Pilot delivered more than process improvements; it fostered a more profound commitment to justice, reshaped relationships between staff and prisoners, and proved that co-production in prison governance is both possible and powerful.
The impact of this work extends beyond HMP Wayland, offering a vision for systemic change rooted in inclusion, lived experience, and shared responsibility.
Read The Wayland Pilot Evaluation Report (September 2024) available at:
**https://barrowcadbury.org.uk/our-impact/ publications-and-research/the-waylandpilot-use-of-a-peer-led-scrutiny-panel-toamplify-voices-and-restore-trust-in-thediscrimination-complaints-system-in-prisons/**
For many ethnic minority prison leavers, the barriers to resettlement are compounded by systemic discrimination, limited access to culturally relevant services, and a lack of community-based support that reflects their lived realities.
By addressing these barriers head-on, the Returning Citizens Programme tackles not only the symptoms of reoffending but also its root causes. Through this programme, ZMT is changing the narrative of release – from one of survival to one of opportunity, empowerment, and leadership. It is a powerful example of how bottom-up, community-led support can work in tandem with national policy aims to create lasting systemic change.
**ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**26**
**Strat ic tive Three eg Objec**
## **Contribute to a solution-focused and evidencebased debate on reducing racial disparity in the prison system**
**In the past twenty-five years, the ZMT has played a key role in advocating for a solution-focused and evidence-based work on reducing racial disparities in the prison system. During this period, the Trust deployed various strategies of working with the prison service and the Ministry of Justice on improving the treatment of and outcomes for ethnic minority prisoners.**
Progress can sometimes feel slow or patchy, especially given the scale and complexity of the prison system. But at the moment, race equality has become an afterthought for HMPPS. The ZMT believes that more ambitious, urgent, and community-led action is necessary to achieve meaningful, lasting racial justice in prisons.
Photo above: © ZMT. Khatuna Tsintsadze at a Funding Network event.
The HMPPS Offender Equalities Annual Report 2023 to 2024 ( **https://www. gov.uk/government/statistics/hmppsoffender-equalities-annual-report-2023to-2024** ) provides detailed statistics on the prison population in England and Wales, focusing on protected characteristics such as age, race, religion, etc.
While the prison service has made some significant strides towards improving data transparency, developing policies, and engaging with external partners, the ZMT believes that substantial challenges remain or have worsened in some areas.
As of 31 March 2024, the total prison population was approximately 88,000, with males comprising 95.9% and females 4.1%. Ethnic minority prisoners accounted for 31.7% of the population, with Black or Black British prisoners making up 12.9% of remand and 12.1% of sentenced prisoners.
Racial disparities persist in areas like disciplinary measures, access to rehabilitation, and treatment by staff. It is the ZMT’s expert view that these systemic issues require more profound cultural change, more consistent accountability, and sustained investment in grassroots empowerment.
Regarding age, 33.4% were in the 30-39 age group, and 13.1% were under 25. The religious affiliation breakdown showed that 44.6% identified as Christian, 31.0% reported having no religion, and 18.2% identified as Muslim. The report also delves into specific areas such as incentives.
**27 ZMT Impact Report 2024-25**
**Strategic Objective Three**
Incentive status data indicated that a higher proportion of female prisoners, those aged between 18 and 39, or from Black or Black British ethnic backgrounds, were on the Standard incentive level. Highlighting the existing and persistent racial disparities in prisons is central to the ZMT’s mission. We believe that addressing these entrenched systemic failures requires a holistic, lived-experience-led approach that transforms both policy and practice.
Building on our core work with Equality Advocates and external scrutiny, the ZMT advocates for systemic reforms, starting with the transparent and independent monitoring of discrimination complaints to ensure accountability and fairness in areas such as the use of force, adjudications, and IEP decisions.
Through training and mentoring Equality Advocates, many of whom have lived experience of incarceration, we empower those most affected to challenge inequality from within the system, co-designing projects such as ARTivism and ENRICH that support rehabilitation and early intervention.
By centring lived experience in every step, from data collection and advocacy to policy change and community engagement, the ZMT fosters a prison environment that not only addresses racial disparities but actively supports ethnic minority prisoners’ wellbeing, dignity, and chances for successful reintegration.
Due to the Government change last year and a shift in our approach to advocacy on systemic changes, we concentrated primarily on culture change at the grassroots level: building capacity and empowering a collective movement of people with lived experience.
This approach aligns closely with our new organisational strategy 2030, which will be launched in 2026. The conference will reinforce our commitment to fostering sustainable, communityled change within the prison system.
Through these efforts, alongside our External Scrutiny and Support Project and national training initiatives, we continued to provide credible, rights-based evidence and practical solutions that inform policy and improve accountability.
ZMT also works directly with prison leadership and national equalities teams to embed anti-racist policies and improve cultural competency among staff.
Below: © ZMT.
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ZMT Impact Report 2024-25 28
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Company registration number: 06652052 Charity registration number: 1127834
## Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited
(A company limited by guarantee)
Annual Report and Financial Statements
for the Year Ended 31 March 2025
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Contents**
|Reference and Administrative Details|1|
|---|---|
|Trustees' Report|2 to 4|
|Independent Examiner's Report|5 to 6|
|Statement of Financial Activities|7 to 8|
|Balance Sheet|9 to 10|
|Notes to the Financial Statements|11 to 21|
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Reference and Administrative Details**
**Trustees** Daniel Benedict Rubinstein Ms Anne Dunn Mr Mohsin Sajjad Mr Damian Dominic Gordon **Senior Management /** Imtiaz Amin, Co-director **Leadership Team** Ms Khatuna Tsintsadze, Co-director **Charity Registration Number** 1127834 **Company Registration** 06652052 **Number Registered Office** Hampstead Town Hall Centre 213 Haverstock Hill London NW3 4QP **Independent Examiner** Zain Saleh FCCA ZAS Accountancy & Tax Ltd Suite 427 Legacy Centre Hampton Road West Feltham Middlesex TW13 6DH **Bankers** HSBC Bank plc 192 Hoe Street Walthamstow London E17 4QN
Page 1
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Trustees' Report**
## **Financial review**
The results for the year ended 31 March 2025 are set out in the attached accounts. Total incoming resources for the year were £428,886 (2024: £366,604).
Expenditure for the year was £426,790 (2024: £385,270). The surplus for the year was thus £2,096 (2024 deficit: £18,666). The Fund balances carried forward at 31 March 2025 totalled £13,441 (2024: £11,344) all of which were unrestricted.
Page 2
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Trustees' Report**
## _**Policy on reserves**_
The Trustees review the ZMT’s reserves policy annually. Considering the liabilities and costs associated with a reduction in the level of the charity’s activities that might be caused by a reduction in funding, the Trustees have resolved that we should hold unrestricted reserves sufficient to cover not less than three months’ anticipated expenditure and aim to increase unrestricted reserves to six months when permitted by the funding situation.
## _**Principal funding sources**_
The Trustees of the ZMT are grateful to the following charitable trusts and foundations for their generous support during the financial year:
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust - £70,000 (unrestricted) Esmée Fairbairn Foundation - £60,000 (unrestricted) Trust for London - £50,000 (restricted) The National Lottery Community Fund - £50,000 (restricted) AB Charitable Trust - £30,000 (unrestricted) The Tudor Trust - £30,000 (unrestricted) CAF - £20,000 (unrestricted) The Drapers’ Charitable Fund - £20,000 (restricted) HMPPS - £32,500 (restricted) AB Charitable Trust - £3,750 (restricted) HT & LB Cadbury Trust - £3,000 (unrestricted)
The ZMT also generated income from delivering contractual services to Serco £70,000 and other trading income.
The Trustees are grateful donations from individuals who believe in and support our work.
## **Statement of trustees' responsibilities**
The trustees (who are also the directors of Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including FRS 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. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they 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 its income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
Page 3
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Trustees' Report**
- select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable accounting standards, comprising FRS 102 have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- 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 that can disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and 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.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
## **Disclosure of information to auditor**
Each trustee has taken steps that they ought to have taken as a trustee in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charity's auditor is aware of that information. The trustees confirm that there is no relevant information that they know of and of which they know the auditor is unaware.
The annual report was approved by the trustees of the charity on 21 January 2026 and signed on its behalf by:
......................................... Daniel Benedict Rubinstein Trustee
Page 4
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited ('the Company')**
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2025.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the charity’s trustees of the Company (and also its 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**
Since the Company's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
1. accounting records were not kept in respect of Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act 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
4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities [applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (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.
Page 5
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited ('the Company')**
...................................... Mr Zain Saleh FCCA ZAS Accountancy & Tax Ltd Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Suite 427 Legacy Centre Hampton Road West Feltham Middlesex TW13 6DH
Date:.............................
Page 6
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 (Including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses)**
|**Note**
**Income and Endowments from:**
Grants, donations and legacies
3
Charitable activities
4
Total income
**Expenditure on:**
Charitable activities
5
Other expenditure
6
Total expenditure
Net income
Net movement in funds
**Reconciliation of funds**
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
17
**Note**
**Income and Endowments from:**
Grants, donations and legacies
3
Charitable activities
4
Total income
**Expenditure on:**
Charitable activities
5
Other expenditure
6
Total expenditure
Net expenditure
Net movement in funds
**Reconciliation of funds**
Total funds brought forward|**Unrestricted**
**£**
238,354
-
238,354
(234,459)
(1,799)
(236,258)
2,096
2,096
11,345
13,441
**Unrestricted**
**£**
193,900
-
193,900
(210,774)
(1,792)
(212,566)
(18,666)
(18,666)
30,010|**Restricted**
**£**
112,962
77,570
190,532
(190,532)
-
(190,532)
-
-
-
-
**Restricted**
**£**
125,668
47,036
172,704
(172,704)
-
(172,704)
-
-
-|**Total**
**2025**
**£**
351,316
77,570|
|---|---|---|---|
||||428,886|
||||(424,991)
(1,799)|
||||(426,790)|
||||2,096|
||||2,096
11,345|
||||13,441|
||||**Total**
**2024**
**£**
319,568
47,036|
||||366,604|
||||(383,478)
(1,792)|
||||(385,270)|
||||(18,666)|
||||(18,666)
30,010|
The notes on pages 11 to 21 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 7
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 (Including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses)**
|**Note**
Total funds carried forward
17|**Unrestricted**
**£**
11,344|**Restricted**
**£**
-|**Total**
**2024**
**£**
11,344|
|---|---|---|---|
All of the charity's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods. The funds breakdown for 2024 is shown in note 17.
The notes on pages 11 to 21 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 8
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **(Registration number: 06652052) Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2025**
|**Note**
**Fixed assets**
Tangible assets
12
**Current assets**
Debtors
13
Cash at bank and in hand
14
**Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year**
15
**Net current assets**
**Total assets less current liabilities**
**Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one**
**year**
16
**Net assets**
**Funds of the charity:**
**Unrestricted income funds**
Unrestricted funds
**Total funds**
17|**2025**
**£**
3,256
53,957
24,680
78,637
(64,569)
14,068
17,324
(3,883)
13,441
13,441
13,441|**2024**
**£**
6,718
19,135
34,100|
|---|---|---|
|||53,235
(38,412)|
|||14,823|
|||21,541
(10,197)|
|||11,344|
|||11,344|
|||11,344|
For the financial year ending 31 March 2025 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Directors' responsibilities:
- The members have not required the charity to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476; and
- The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
The notes on pages 11 to 21 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 9
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **(Registration number: 06652052) Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2025**
The financial statements on pages 7 to 21 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on 21 January 2026 and signed on their behalf by:
......................................... Daniel Benedict Rubinstein Trustee
The notes on pages 11 to 21 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 10
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**
## **1 Charity status**
The charity is limited by guarantee, incorporated in , and consequently does not have share capital. Each of the trustees is liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 towards the assets of the charity in the event of liquidation.
The address of its registered office is: Hampstead Town Hall Centre 213 Haverstock Hill London NW3 4QP
## **2 Accounting policies**
## **Summary of significant accounting policies and key accounting estimates**
The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.
## **Statement of compliance**
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)) (issued in October 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
## **Basis of preparation**
Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.
The presentational currency of the financial statements is Pound Sterling (£).
## **Going concern**
The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern nor any significant areas of uncertainty that affect the carrying value of assets held by the charity.
## **Exemption from preparing a cash flow statement**
The charity opted to early adopt Bulletin 1 published on 2 February 2016 and have therefore not included a cash flow statement in these financial statements.
Page 11
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**
## **Income and endowments**
All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of the income receivable can be measured reliably.
## _**Grants receivable**_
Grants are recognised when the charity has an entitlement to the funds and any conditions linked to the grants have been met. Where performance conditions are attached to the grant and are yet to be met, the income is recognised as a liability and included on the balance sheet as deferred income to be released.
## _**Deferred income**_
Deferred income represents amounts received for future periods and is released to incoming resources in the period for which, it has been received. Such income is only deferred when:
- The donor specifies that the grant or donation must only be used in future accounting periods; or
- The donor has imposed conditions which must be met before the charity has unconditional entitlement.
## **Expenditure**
All expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditure, it is probable settlement is required and the amount can be measured reliably. All costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure heading that aggregate similar costs to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources, with central staff costs allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use. Other support costs are allocated based on the spread of staff costs.
## _**Charitable activities**_
Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
## **Governance costs**
These include the costs attributable to the charity’s compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements, including audit, strategic management and trustees meetings and reimbursed expenses.
Page 12
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**
## **Government grants**
Government grants are recognised based on the accrual model and are measured at the fair value of the asset received or receivable. Grants are classified as relating either to revenue or to assets. Grants relating to revenue are recognised in income over the period in which the related costs are recognised. Grants relating to assets are recognised over the expected useful life of the asset. Where part of a grant relating to an asset is deferred, it is recognised as deferred income.
## **Taxation**
The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.
## **Tangible fixed assets**
Individual fixed assets costing £100.00 or more are initially recorded at cost, less any subsequent accumulated depreciation and subsequent accumulated impairment losses.
## **Depreciation and amortisation**
Depreciation is provided on tangible fixed assets so as to write off the cost or valuation, less any estimated residual value, over their expected useful economic life as follows:
|**Asset class**|**Depreciation method and rate**|
|---|---|
|Fixtures and fittings|25% on cost|
|Computer equipment|33.33% on cost|
## **Research and development**
Research and development expenditure is written off as incurred.
## **Trade debtors**
Trade debtors are amounts due from customers for merchandise sold or services performed in the ordinary course of business.
Trade debtors are recognised initially at the transaction price. They are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less provision for impairment. A provision for the impairment of trade debtors is established when there is objective evidence that the charity will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables.
Page 13
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**
## **Cash and cash equivalents**
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value.
## **Fund structure**
Unrestricted income funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charity.
Restricted income funds are those donated for use in a particular area or for specific purposes, the use of which is restricted to that area or purpose.
## **Financial instruments**
## _**Classification**_
Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised when the charity becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the charity after deducting all of its liabilities.
## _**Recognition and measurement**_
All financial assets and liabilities are initially measured at transaction price (including transaction costs), except for those financial assets classified as at fair value through profit or loss, which are initially measured at fair value (which is normally the transaction price excluding transaction costs), unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction. If an arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, the financial asset or financial liability is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are only offset in the statement of financial position when, and only when there exists a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and the charity intends either to settle on a net basis, or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Financial assets are derecognised when and only when a) the contractual rights to the cash flows from the financial asset expire or are settled, b) the charity transfers to another party substantially all of the risks and rewards of ownership of the financial asset, or c) the charity, despite having retained some, but not all, significant risks and rewards of ownership, has transferred control of the asset to another party.
Financial liabilities are derecognised only when the obligation specified in the contract is discharged, cancelled or expires.
Page 14
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**
With the exception of some hedging instruments, other debt instruments not meeting these conditions are measured at fair value through profit or loss.
Commitments to make and receive loans which meet the conditions mentioned above are measured at cost (which may be nil) less impairment.
## **3 Income from grants, donations and legacies**
|Grants, including charitable donations;
Government grants
Grants from charitable trusts and
foundations
Grants, including charitable donations;
Government grants
Grants from charitable trusts and
foundations
**4 Income from charitable activities**
Delivery & research
**Total for 2025**
**Total for 2024**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**General**
**£**
-
238,354
238,354
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**General**
**£**
-
193,900
193,900|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**
13,712
99,250
112,962
**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**
36,168
89,500
125,668
**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**
77,570
77,570
47,036|**Total**
**2025**
**£**
13,712
337,604|
|---|---|---|---|
||||351,316|
||||**Total**
**2024**
**£**
36,168
283,400|
||||319,568|
||||**Total**
**funds**
**£**
77,570|
||||77,570|
||||47,036|
Page 15
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**
## **5 Expenditure on charitable activities**
|**Note**
**Core costs and project expenses**
Staff and consultants' costs
Delivery and research costs
Office and communication
Insurance
Memberships and subscriptions
Charitable donations
Bank charges
Depreciation, amortisation and
other similar costs
Governance costs
7
**Total for 2025**
**Total for 2024**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**General**
**£**
193,981
-
23,843
1,166
780
1,268
77
5,963
7,381
234,459
210,774|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**
107,352
83,180
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
190,532
172,704|**Total**
**funds**
**£**
301,333
83,180
23,843
1,166
780
1,268
77
5,963
7,381|
|---|---|---|---|
||||424,991|
||||383,478|
In addition to the expenditure analysed above, there are also governance costs of £7,381 (2024 - £5,773) which relate directly to charitable activities. See note 7 for further details.
## **6 Other expenditure**
|**Note**
Marketing and publicity
Other resources expended
**Total for 2025**
**Total for 2024**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**General**
**£**
1,498
301
1,799
1,792|**Total**
**funds**
**£**
1,498
301|
|---|---|---|
|||1,799|
|||1,792|
Page 16
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**
## **7 Analysis of governance and support costs**
## **Governance costs**
|Independent examiner fees
Examination of the financial statements
Accountancy and bookkeeping fees
**Total for 2025**
**Total for 2024**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**General**
**£**
3,000
4,381
7,381
5,773|**Total**
**funds**
**£**
3,000
4,381|
|---|---|---|
|||7,381|
|||5,773|
Page 17
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**
## **8 Trustees remuneration and expenses**
No trustees, nor any persons connected with them, have received any remuneration from the charity during the year.
No trustees have received any reimbursed expenses from the charity during the year.
## **9 Staff costs**
In the current year, the charity had an average of 5 employees (2024 - 5).
The total wages and consultancy fees paid during the year were £301,333 (2024 - £283,746)
The total employee remuneration and benefits of the key personnel of the charity were £47,613 (2024 - £47,692)
The emoluments of one member of staff, including benefits in kind, are within the range of £60,000 to £69,999 (2024 - One in the range £60,000 to £69,999).
## **10 Independent examiner's remuneration**
||**2025**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|**£**|
|Examination of the financial statements|3,000|3,000|
## **11 Taxation**
The charity is a registered charity and is therefore exempt from taxation.
Page 18
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**
## **12 Tangible fixed assets**
|**Cost**
At 1 April 2024
Additions
At 31 March 2025
**Depreciation**
At 1 April 2024
Charge for the year
At 31 March 2025
**Net book value**
At 31 March 2025
At 31 March 2024
**13 Debtors**
Prepayments and accrued income
Accrued income
Other debtors
**14 Cash and cash equivalents**
Cash at bank||**Furniture**
**and**
**equipment**
**£**
26,158
449||**Total**
**£**
26,158
449
26,607
17,389
5,962
23,351
3,256
8,769
**2024**
**£**
-
11,891
7,244|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||26,607|||
|||17,389
5,962|||
|||23,351|||
|||3,256|||
|||8,769|||
|||**2025**
**£**
46,715
-
7,242
53,957
**2025**
**£**
24,680|||
|||||19,135|
|||||**2024**
**£**
34,100|
Page 19
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**
## **15 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
|Bank loans
Other taxation and social security
Other creditors
Accruals
Deferred income
**16 Creditors: amounts falling due after one year**
Bank loans
**17 Funds**
**Balance at 1**
**April 2024**
**£**
**Incoming**
**resources**
**£**
**Unrestricted**
**_General_**
General Funds
11,345
238,354
**Restricted**
Advocacy for Justice
Programme, A Record of
Our Own Project, Equality
Advocates Project and
Prison Leavers Support
Project
-
190,532
**Total funds**
11,345
428,886|**2025**
**£**
6,142
26,326
9,158
6,864
16,079
64,569
**2025**
**£**
3,883
**Resources**
**expended**
**£**
(236,258)
(190,532)
(426,790)|**2024**
**£**
5,991
19,705
8,111
4,605
-|
|---|---|---|
|||38,412|
|||**2024**
**£**
10,197|
|||**Balance at**
**31 March**
**2025**
**£**
13,441
-|
|||13,441|
Page 20
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**
|**Unrestricted**
**_General_**
General Funds
**Restricted**
Advocacy for Justice
Programme, A Record of
Our Own Project, Equality
Advocates Project and
Prison Leavers Support
Project
**Total funds**|**Balance at 1**
**April 2023**
**£**
30,010
-
30,010|**Incoming**
**resources**
**£**
193,900
172,704
366,604|**Resources**
**expended**
**£**
(212,566)
(172,704)
(385,270)|**Balance at**
**31 March**
**2024**
**£**
11,344
-|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||11,344|
Page 21
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Detailed Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**
|**Income and Endowments from:**
Grants, donations and legacies
(analysed below)
Charitable activities (analysed
below)
Total income
**Expenditure on:**
Charitable activities (analysed
below)
Other expenditure (analysed
below)
Total expenditure
Net income/(expenditure)
Net movement in funds
**Reconciliation of funds**
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward|**2025**
**Unrestricted**
**General**
**£**
**Restricted**
**£**
238,354
112,962
-
77,570
238,354
190,532
(234,459)
(190,532)
(1,799)
-
(236,258)
(190,532)
2,096
-
2,096
-
11,345
-
13,441
-|**2025**
**Total**
**£**
351,316
77,570
428,886
(424,991)
(1,799)
(426,790)
2,096
2,096
11,345
13,441|**Total**
**2024**
**£**
319,568
47,036|
|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**
**General**
**£**
238,354
-
238,354
(234,459)
(1,799)
(236,258)
2,096
2,096
11,345
13,441|||
||||366,604|
||||(383,478)
(1,792)|
||||(385,270)|
||||(18,666)|
||||(18,666)
30,010|
||||11,344|
This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements. Page 22
## **Zahid Mubarek Trust Limited**
## **Detailed Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2025**
|**_Grants, donations and legacies_**
Government grants
Grants from charitable trusts and foundations - Restricted
Grants from charitable trusts and foundations - Unrestricted
**_Charitable activities_**
Primary purpose trading
**_Charitable activities_**
Staff and consultants' costs
Staff and consultants' costs
Delivery and research costs
Office and communication
Insurance
Memberships & subscriptions
Charitable donations
Depreciation
Bank charges
Independent examiner's fees
Accountancy and bookkeeping fees
**_Other expenditure_**
Advertising
Loan interest|**Total**
**2025**
**£**
13,712
99,250
238,354
351,316
77,570
77,570
(107,352)
(193,981)
(83,180)
(23,843)
(1,166)
(780)
(1,268)
(5,963)
(77)
(3,000)
(4,381)
(424,991)
(1,498)
(301)
(1,799)|**Total**
**2024**
**£**
36,168
89,500
193,900|
|---|---|---|
|||319,568|
|||47,036|
|||47,036|
|||(106,412)
(177,334)
(66,292)
(22,085)
(1,069)
(538)
-
(3,907)
(68)
(3,000)
(2,773)|
|||(383,478)|
|||(1,319)
(473)|
|||(1,792)|
This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements. Page 23