
## Working to create lives without fear 


ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 







## VISION 

Our vision is a world free from domestic abuse. 

## MISSION 

We offer sanctuary, support and empowerment to anyone experiencing domestic abuse and enable children to be seen, heard and validated. We challenge mindsets to change attitudes and facilitate informed choices. 

## CORE AIMS 

- To offer protection for survivors and their children 

- To work towards the prevention of domestic abuse 

- To provide effective services 

- To undo the harm caused by domestic abuse 

## CORE VALUES 

- Protection 

- Empowerment 

- Respectful 

- Non-Judgemental 



ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

## Chair of Trustees 

## Susan Rose Chair of the Board of Trustees 


The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic brought significant changes to all our lives, but none more so than those living with domestic abuse. Figures for the reporting of domestic abuse incidents nationally, but also those contacting Your Sanctuary locally, rose significantly. During the year to March 2021, the period of the pandemic, crime figures record 369,000 incidents of domestic violence (ONS) and 215 domestic homicides (Home Office) in the UK. These chilling figures are a reminder that domestic abuse and violence continue to be persistent, challenging problems in our society and demonstrate unfortunately that the services delivered by Your Sanctuary remained ever more needed during the past year. 

As the pandemic took hold by March 2020 and the country moved into lockdown, our CEO and staff quickly adapted our processes and systems in order to be able to continue to meet the needs of our service users. Our outreach staff continued to support vulnerable victims in the community by working from home. This was not an easy task given the inability to separate the distressing nature of the work from their own homes and families. Despite the difficulties of delivering some of our outreach activities such as with children and young people, the continuous access to someone at Your Sanctuary to talk to must have been an enormous support and lifeline to many victims and/or their families or friends with whom our team worked. Your Sanctuary remains a partner in the Surrey Domestic Abuse Partnership (SDAP) formed to enable the delivery of outreach services via our Surrey County Council contract across Surrey. We thank both SCC and our partners at SDAP for their continued collaboration and welcome continued joint activities in the coming year. 

At the same time throughout the pandemic our refuge service continued and saw the opening of our new purpose-built refuge facility provided to us by Woking Borough Council (WBC) which we took possession of in the summer of 2020. On behalf of the Board of Trustees I would like to thank everyone at WBC, but particularly Ray Morgan former CEO of WBC, for instigating and enabling this project which provides our residents with a safe and comforting home during a difficult period in their lives. Again, not an easy task to furbish and install new services into a building during a pandemic, as well as transition workload from our existing two refuges to the new facility. But our staff worked tirelessly to complete the internal fittings and set up our systems. The decision to close one of our exiting two refuges at the same time the new facility opened was taken in order to consolidate resources and staff time into our new accommodation. I would like to thank all those staff and volunteers who worked long hours in order that we could welcome our first residents. Your Sanctuary has an amazing team of 75 volunteers without whom we could not maintain our services, many of whom continued to work with us during the pandemic both in outreach and refuge. 

After such a complex, tiring and stressful year I would like to thank all those who have ensured that our services continued. To our partners, suppliers, commissioners, and trustees who have supported us and worked with us as an organisation to enable the continuation of our services. To all those who have been generous in their donations to our fundraising, in particular our local community, corporate donors, national and local level trust funds. And finally, I send a heartfelt thank you and admiration to our CEO, all staff and volunteers who have tirelessly worked this year despite their own personal circumstances to provide care and support to victims and survivors of domestic abuse. 



## Chief Executive 

## Fiamma Pather CEO 


This year has been overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the various measures that the government took to deal with it and the impact that has been felt by domestic abuse survivors. 

When this financial year started we were in the first of a number of lockdowns ordered by the government in order to control the risk of infection. We were told to work from home if we could; only essential shops were open; schools were shut; many agencies reduced or stopped delivering their services. As a result of these measures we had to change our service delivery model for some of our services and minimise as far as we could the risk of Covid-19 to our staff, volunteers and families in refuge. Our community-based staff worked from home, but our refuges and our office remained open and staffed. Fortunately we had already implemented the IT and telephony systems that allowed us to continue to run our outreach and helpline services remotely. 

As the weeks turned to months we became increasingly concerned about the impact of these restrictions on adult and child survivors of domestic abuse. Our helpline and chat service became a vital source of support during a time when there were very few other services functioning. We heard from survivors themselves but also from very concerned family members or friends who could not contact their loved ones and who needed support and information about possible options. Referrals to our community services started to rise as perpetrators escalated levels of abuse due to the isolation that the lockdown measures had caused. 

Not only were we busy maintaining service delivery through this time but we were also preparing to move into a brand new refuge that was purpose built for us. We took possession of the building in June of 2020 – which at that point was an empty shell that required furnishing and fully equipping. It took a huge amount of effort from our staff team with help from volunteers to get the refuge to a point where we could start accommodating families, but our first few families moved in during February 2021. The new refuge can accommodate 25 families and also has a state-of-theart children’s playroom, a large communal lounge, an office and quiet rooms for 1:1 work. We are incredibly grateful to Woking Borough Council who built the refuge and especially to Ray Morgan (ex-CEO of 

Woking Borough Council) whose brainchild it was. This new refuge has extended the number of families that we can accommodate and provides modern, comfortable and safe accommodation for survivors who come to us at the point of crisis. 

At the beginning of the pandemic a Surrey working group formed comprising of the domestic abuse specialist services, commissioners, and representatives from various statutory agencies. We met weekly to track the impact the pandemic was having on survivors and specialist services and to fast-track responses if needed. Out of these discussions it was decided that we needed to have specialist domestic abuse workers located in each of Surrey’s acute hospitals. These workers will provide support to patients who disclose domestic abuse to a clinician whilst still in the hospital and then if on-going support is required the survivor can be referred to their local outreach team. We will host the hospital service based in Ashford & St Peter’s hospital. This is a vital innovation that will mean many more survivors can access the support they need whilst accessing health services. The start date for the project is 1st May 2021. 

Despite the difficulties and uncertainties of this year we were amazed and grateful to our local community who rallied round us and helped us not only with very generous donations but also with their time – taking shifts on the helpline, keeping our eBay sales afloat, cleaning refuge rooms in readiness for a new family, or tidying up the garden at both of our refuges. 

This has been a very challenging year for all of us at Your Sanctuary, but we are immensely proud of what we have achieved in this time – ensuring that all our services continued uninterrupted and opening a fantastic new refuge to accommodate many more families. But the highlight of our year is the amazing support we received from our local community, and our partners and commissioners who worked with us to support survivors of domestic abuse. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our dedicated, hardworking and passionate staff who, despite their own personal anxieties about the pandemic, carried on delivering a needs-led and trauma-informed service to any survivor who needed it. 



ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

## Report of the Trustees 

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015). 

## OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES 

## Vision 

Our vision is a world free from domestic abuse. 

## Mission 

We offer sanctuary, support and empowerment to anyone experiencing domestic abuse and enable children to be seen, heard and validated. We challenge mind set to change attitudes and facilitate informed choices. 

## Core Aims 

- To offer protection for survivors and their children 

- To work towards the prevention of domestic abuse 

- To provide effective services 

- To undo the harm caused by domestic abuse 

The strategies employed to achieve the charity’s aims and objectives are detailed below. Our charitable activities are focussed on providing protection from, prevention of and recovery from all forms of domestic abuse. Our refuges provide safe houses for women and children who are fleeing from violence and abuse – we are limited in this provision by the number and size of rooms available. As houses offer shared accommodation we cater only for women, from any background, ethnicity, faith or sexuality, and for their children. We do, however, provide an outreach service in the community for both men and women, and for children. Our community outreach service is focussed on risk management and providing support according to individual need. The outreach service is open to the general public limited only by geographical boundaries – i.e. North West Surrey as per our service level agreements. Our helpline service is available to all and is advertised throughout Surrey by ourselves and by various partner agencies. 

In order to meet our core aims our strategies this year were: 

- To transform Your Sanctuary into a trauma-informed organisation 

- To have sustainable and secure funding 

- To deliver excellent services that meet the needs of survivors 

## Core Values 

- Protection 

- Empowerment 

- Respectful 

- Non-Judgemental 

In setting objectives and planning for activities, the trustees have given due consideration to general guidance published by the Charity Commission relating to public benefit and, in particular, to its supplementary public benefit guidance. 

Whilst some steps were undertaken to start transforming Your Sanctuary into a trauma-informed organisation, limitations around training, due to Covid-19 restrictions, meant some of this work had to be deferred to 2021/22. However, with regard to our strategies, the charity has been successful in securing funding, both statutory and non-statutory, during the year and the following reports provide detail of funding received, and how it has been used in furtherance of our objectives and core aims. 



ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE 

## Community Outreach Service 

Our community outreach service provides emotional and practical support to those experiencing domestic abuse in the boroughs of Woking, Runnymede and Surrey Heath. We use a needs-led and traumainformed approach to provide a safe space for survivors to talk about their experiences and understand what options they must keep themselves and their children safe. Our clients are referred to us through a variety of agencies: 

We offer a wide range of services: 

   - Risk and needs assessments 

   - Safety planning 

   - One to one support 

   - Emotional and practical support 

   - Group work 

   - Advocacy 

   - Referral or signposting to other agencies 

   - Support through court (civil or criminal) 

- Police 

- Health professionals 

- Children’s Services 

- Children’s Centres 

- Your Sanctuary helpline ...and other statutory and voluntary agencies 

During 2020/2021 we received 1,592 referrals, which represents an increase of just under 300 referrals over the previous year. This year our outreach service has been delivered predominantly remotely due to the lockdown measures that have been in place. Although we have not been able to meet survivors face to face, we have continued to support them using other means such as phone, video call (where safe to do so), text and email. Each of our outreach workers supported an average of 40 clients at any one time. 

We work within a multiagency environment in order to meet the needs of survivors. Despite the pandemic we continued to attend our local MARAC (Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference) which was held virtually. This regular meeting brings together both statutory and voluntary agencies to discuss the highest risk survivors so that a safety plan can be created using the knowledge and resources of all the agencies present. We also attend professionals’ meetings in order to support and advocate for the survivors we are engaged with. 

“Thank you so much for all of your help and support, I definitely wouldn’t have the strength to do this without you supporting me” 



ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

We remain part of the Surrey Domestic Abuse Partnership (SDAP) comprised of 4 organisations, commissioned by Surrey County Council, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner in Surrey, and Surrey Police to provide community outreach services in Surrey. This partnership ensures survivors receive a consistent service based on best practice wherever they live or work in the county, and that our voices are stronger as a whole when advocating with statutory and non-statutory services for survivors. 

Our Specialist Male Outreach Service continued to serve the whole of Surrey receiving referrals from our partner outreach services as well as other agencies and professionals. This year we received 116 referrals for male survivors which is an increase from the 

We have continued to extend our service offering by developing a team of outreach volunteers who offer longer term emotional support to those survivors who don’t need the more intense service offered by our outreach workers. This service has been more limited this year with support mostly offered remotely rather than in person. 

Our Outreach service also strives to ensure that other professionals, agencies and organisations are more aware of domestic abuse and are able to give an appropriate response to survivors who may approach them for help. This year we delivered a limited number of virtual training/awareness raising sessions for several organisations such as Surrey Police, Children’s Services and Surrey County Council. 

previous year. 

97% 

OF SURVIVORS WHO ENGAGED WITH OUR SERVICE FELT AN INCREASE IN FEELINGS OF EMPOWERMENT AND SPACE FOR ACTION 

71% 

OF SURVIVORS WHO ENGAGED WITH OUR SERVICE FELT THEY WERE BETTER ABLE TO DEAL WITH PROBLEMS 




ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE 


## 100% 

OF THE CHILDREN WHO ENGAGED WITH OUR SERVICE FELT THEY KNEW MORE ABOUT WHERE TO GET HELP IF THEY NEEDED IT 

85% 

“Cheers for all the help. Things are different now” 

OF THE CHILDREN WHO ENGAGED WITH OUR SERVICE HAD IMPROVED MENTAL HEALTH 

Our children’s outreach service provides 1:1 and group therapeutic support to children who have been affected by domestic abuse. The children are referred from our adult outreach service and are the children of our outreach clients. During 1:1 sessions the children are encouraged to speak openly in a safe and empathetic environment. They are supported through therapeutic play and are enabled to explore their thoughts and feelings around their personal safety, self-awareness, self-worth, self-esteem and sense of purpose. The sessions are child-centred and needs-led. 

Due to the lockdown measures implemented for much of this year our ability to provide face to face support was limited. However, when possible, our children’s workers would meet with children ensuring they were socially distanced – often this would mean going for a walk or meeting up in a park. For many of those children our children’s worker was the one constant source of support during this time as schools, activities, youth clubs etc had all been closed. The pandemic and lockdown measures had a profound effect on children and young people’s mental health as they were isolated from friends, unable to attend school, and often stuck in crowded homes with little opportunity for privacy. 

## Children’s Outreach Service 

Unfortunately we were unable to provide any group work sessions during this year due to the pandemic. 

During 2020/2021 we worked with 20 children on a 1:1 basis and delivered 200 sessions. As part of our partnership working, we also provided virtual consultation sessions in our local social care hub in order to develop knowledge and skills around domestic abuse. This is aimed at improving responses to survivors of domestic abuse who are engaged with a social worker. 



ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

## Refuge Service (Safe Houses) 

Your Sanctuary has two refuges located in North West Surrey. These are safe houses in secret locations for women and their children fleeing abuse and violence. At the beginning of this financial year we had two refuges that could accommodate 13 families. In February of 2021 we opened a brand new, purpose-built refuge that has 25 bedrooms, and we closed our old 7 bed refuge. This new refuge was built and is owned by Woking Borough Council, who also provided a sizeable grant to help us furnish and equip the building. We are incredibly grateful to Woking Borough Council for investing in this facility and showing their strong commitment to supporting survivors of domestic abuse. This means that we can now support over 30 families between our two refuges. We have maintained our complex needs service for women with higher mental health or alcohol abuse needs as we know there is a growing need for this level of support. 

Each woman has a key worker allocated to her on arrival, who provides emotional and practical support throughout her 6 month stay which includes: 

- One to one support 

- Emotional and practical support 

- Support in claiming benefits and budgeting 

- Group work 

- Volunteering opportunities 

- Educational and training opportunities 

- Support with moving on and resettlement in the community 

- Parenting support 

- Advocacy 

- Support with legal issues (criminal or civil) 

During 2020/2021 we welcomed 55 new families into our refuges and supported them to recover from their experiences. They came from all over the country and often arrived with only 1 suitcase of belongings or sometimes just with the clothes they were standing up in. 

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioners for Surrey (OPCC) kindly provided a transition fund for the families that came into our refuges, so we were able to welcome them with new bedding, towels, crockery, saucepans etc which they used during their stay and then took with them when they moved out into the community. 

It has been challenging to provide our normal level of support in our refuges due to the pandemic as we could not have volunteers come into the houses to run extra activities and additional support. However, our staff have continued to work in refuge throughout the pandemic providing a reassuring presence for the families. We had to incorporate strict cleaning regimes and mask wearing in the communal areas which families found quite difficult to manage, and one to one meetings were also challenging whilst maintain social distancing. Fortunately we did not have an outbreak of Covid-19 in either of the refuges but a couple of families had to isolate due to outbreaks at the local school. 

Our staff team worked incredibly hard to continue to support families, as well as furnish and equip our new refuge – a task made even more challenging as stocks of furniture and equipment, and also deliveries, were unpredictable. However, it was all worth it as our new refuge looks warm and welcoming. 

“You showed me that I can calm my anxieties down, and when I feel that I am strong, it’s then that I will overcome my fears, it just takes time to keep healing our past traumas is my guess” 

95% 

90% 

OF SURVIVORS WHO STAYED IN REFUGE SAID THEY FELT SAFER 

OF SURVIVORS WHO STAYED IN REFUGE SAID THEY FELT MORE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THEIR FUTURE 



ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE 

## Children’s Service in Refuge 


“I feel like I have much more confidence and I understand why I react the way I do” 

Our children’s service in refuge is funded by BBC Children in Need, the OPCC and Surrey County Council. This provides us with one full time therapeutic play worker and one part-time play-worker working across both our refuges. Our children’s service in refuge focusses on therapeutic support and play, alongside group play work for the children who come and stay with us. 

The service aims to undo the harm caused by experiencing domestic abuse, and to help children understand the abuse that happened was not their fault. We work with them to rebuild their self-esteem and confidence, and support them in the transition from refuge to life in the community. Each refuge has a playroom that is equipped with toys, books, arts and crafts materials, and other activities, all of which is used to help the children engage, play and have fun. 

31 children were supported by our refuge children’s service this year. The children also received support from other groups/agencies whilst they were with us, for example, family centres, health visitors, local companies, and volunteers. 

## Activities 

We involved and engaged the children in refuge in a number of activities this year. 

Here are a few examples of what went on throughout the year: 

- Shared breakfasts and lunches 

- Cooking and baking 

- Arts and crafts 

- Themed activities for celebrations such as Christmas, Spring, International Women’s day 

- PJ party with movies 

- Walks out in the community 

- Rhyme time and music groups 

95% 

OF CHILDREN IN REFUGE FELT SAFER 

- Birthday parties and holiday parties such as Christmas party and Halloween celebration 

- Joint sessions between Mums and Children 

- Gardening sessions 

- Role play and dressing up with performances 

- Talent shows 

90% 

OF CHILDREN IN REFUGE HAD AN IMPROVED RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR MUM 



ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

## Helpline 

Our specialist domestic abuse helpline is available for anybody living or working in Surrey and is open from 9am till 9pm, 7 days a week. Our helpline is often the first port of call for people experiencing domestic abuse and the fact that they can talk to somebody who is non- judgemental, empathetic, and above all believes them, is extremely important. 

Our trained staff and volunteers take calls from: 

- People experiencing domestic abuse 

- Friends or family members worried about somebody else 

- Professionals seeking information, advice or referral pathways 

- People wishing to donate to us 

Staff and volunteers provide: 

- Listening support 

- Information 

- Sign posting to other agencies 

- Referral into Your Sanctuary services 

During the year we received in 4,701 calls with the busiest month being August 2020. 994 calls were requests for refuge. These figures are all much higher than in previous years and are as a result of survivors and friends and family members reaching out during lockdowns for some support and information. We were fortunate to receive additional funding from the OPCC and from the Community Foundation for Surrey which enabled us to expand our helpline resourcing in order to cope with the extra demand. 

Our on-line chat service was launched in February 2019 and was aimed at survivors and others for whom the phone may not be appropriate or safe. This year we had 472 online chats many of which were from survivors who were locked into their homes with their abuser and therefore could not use the phone to speak to us – the chat service provided a safe way to reach out for support and information. This innovation in our services really came into its own this year. 

92% 

OF CALLERS WHO RESPONDED SAID THAT THEY HAD AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF ABUSE AND ABUSIVE BEHAVIOURS AFTER ENGAGING WITH THE HELPLINE 

97% 

“I have called the helpline a few times now and each time the call handler is so kind and takes the time to listen to me. I don’t know what I would have done without you” 

OF CALLERS WHO RESPONDED SAID THAT THEY FELT THEY UNDERSTOOD MORE ABOUT THEIR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS AFTER ENGAGING WITH HELPLINE 



ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE 

## Volunteers 

It would not be possible to do all the work that we do without the continued support of our fantastic volunteers. 

During the year we have been helped by a team of 75 volunteers who have had various roles throughout the organisation: 

## • Helpline • Admin • Outreach • Refuge • Children’s Services • Fundraising • Marketing 

In 2020/2021 volunteers contributed approximately 5000 hours (which is a little less than previous years due to the restrictions placed on us by the lockdowns) to Your Sanctuary which is equivalent to approximately £55,000 if we were to pay staff members. This is an important and much valued contribution and demonstrates how much more we can deliver with and through our volunteers. Our volunteers contribute to the well-being of clients and staff, provide positive energy, creativity, and also do a great job of promoting our services externally. 


This year more shifts than ever were covered by volunteers on our helpline during out of hours shifts – approximately 575 shifts this year which represents 97% of the total out of hours shifts. Our volunteers have also taken shifts during the day – lessening the load on our staff members who were coping with increased call numbers. This year they covered 286 shifts during office hours which is an increase from last year. Most of our helpline volunteers were able to take the calls from home so could carry on with their volunteering despite the Covid-19 restrictions. 

Volunteers are involved with a wide variety of activities to support this organisation: 

- Setting up the new refuge – preparing rooms and collecting furniture 

- Helping us with our eBay fundraising initiative 

- Delivering 1:1 support for outreach clients remotely via phone/email/text 

- Clearing and tidying the refuge gardens 

- Delivering Christmas presents to survivors and their children 

Obviously this year there have been limited opportunities for volunteers to support us as they could not come into our office or into our refuges and we did not run any fundraising events. However, we were able to adapt some of our work so that, for instance, outreach volunteers could engage with survivors remotely. We do however look forward to offering greater opportunities next year. 

We did see a huge upturn in the number of people contacting us to volunteer for Your Sanctuary this year due in part to many people being on furlough and the increased awareness around the impact of domestic abuse on survivors during lockdown. 

We would also like to take the opportunity to thank the Surrey Volunteer Bureaux network, Volunteer Woking and other organisations who play an important role in helping us to find volunteers. 



ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

## Donations and Fundraising 

As a charity our full-service provision is dependent on the organisations and individuals who support us, enabling us to extend our work and reach as many survivors of domestic abuse as possible. 

to us by supporters, and the volunteers who run this venture for us. There has also been a significant increase in the number of supporters who donate to us via regular monthly giving for which we are very grateful. 

In the year ended 31st March 2021 we received significant grants from Woking Borough Council; BBC Children in Need, the Community Foundation for Surrey, The Henry Smith Charity, the Lloyds Bank Foundation, Women’s Aid, Nationwide Building Society, and the National Lottery Community Fund, which together provided funding to furnish our new refuge, supported our work with children, allowed us to extend our outreach services, deliver the helpline, continue to operate through the pandemic, and provide other services. 

Once again, we are very grateful to the local staff of Enterprise Rent-A-Car who have continued to provide volunteer services to us. 

We have also continued to crowdfund for particular needs and are thankful for the financial support of GlobalGiving. 

In common with many charities, this year our community fundraising was very different to earlier years. At the start of the financial year we reduced our expectations and fundraising budget because we were aware Covid-19 was going to put a stop to many sponsored events, the ability to host coffee mornings, and the like. However, what we had not anticipated was the fantastic response we would get from folk in the community who were concerned about the impact the lockdowns were having on survivors of domestic abuse. It was phenomenal! With the new era of online meetings etc came a new era of fund-raising with innovative ways of sponsorship. We should give a special mention to Welcome Church in Woking who raised in the order of £30,000 for Your Sanctuary through fantastic sponsored challenges. In addition, we also received many other significant donations from local organisations and individuals, for instance, one supporter regularly sent a cheque to us from her pension income because she was so concerned about the increased levels of domestic abuse. One way in which we fund-raise is through selling quality items on eBay – again, we can only do this due to the items kindly gifted 

Needless to say, all this generosity meant we not only met our fund-raising budget but completely surpassed it. It helped us to adapt to the strange times we found ourselves in, to furnish our new refuge, and to extend our services in all areas to meet the growing need. It was also a huge encouragement to the staff of Your Sanctuary – we were working in very trying circumstances, taking on many new risks in order to continue and extend our service provision, but to receive so much fantastic support helped us through this difficult process. We cannot name all our wonderful donors but want to say a massive thank you to you all – your support helped us through the most difficult of years and has positioned us well to help more survivors of domestic abuse, and to offer more preventative services, in the coming years. 

Our major funders are Surrey County Council, Woking Borough Council, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioners for Surrey (OPCC), the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Ministry of Justice. As always, we are enormously grateful for their support which underpins our ability to achieve our mission. 

The charity uses a fundraising consultant to make trust and grant applications, and an in-house fundraiser to raise funds and awareness in the community. During the year ended 31 March 2021 the total amount fundraised was £481,000. Details of the main ways in which this funding was used to help Your Sanctuary’s charitable objectives are given above. 



ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE 

## Future plans 

Strategic aims for the next 3 years: 

- To be the specialist provider of support to Children and Young people in NW Surrey who have experienced domestic abuse or are at risk of experiencing it through recovery and educational programmes. 

- To ensure that our services are inclusive and diverse so that survivors who may be ‘further away’ from agencies are able to engage with us. 

   - To provide accommodation-based services that meet the needs of survivors fleeing domestic abuse taking into account existing and relevant external factors. 

   - To use technology and digital platforms to help us achieve our aims for survivors and for the organisation as a whole 

   - To build diverse and sustainable income streams so that Your Sanctuary is financially stable. 

- To provide programmes that enable adult survivors engaged in our community-based and accommodation-based services to recover from their experiences of domestic abuse. 




ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

## Our Services – facts, figures, results and impact 

Source: Your Sanctuary – Outcomes Measurement Framework 

## OUTREACH 

WE RECEIVED **1,592** REFERRALS FOR OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH SERVICE DURING THE YEAR 

IMPACT 97% 

OF SURVIVORS WHO ENGAGED WITH OUR SERVICE FELT AN INCREASE IN FEELINGS OF EMPOWERMENT AND SPACE FOR ACTION 

**71%** OF SURVIVORS WHO ENGAGED WITH OUR SERVICE FELT THEY WERE BETTER ABLE TO DEAL WITH THEIR PROBLEMS 

IMPACT 97% 

OF CALLERS WHO RESPONDED SAID THAT THEY HELPLINE FELT THEY UNDERSTOOD MORE ABOUT THEIR RIGHTS AND WE RECEIVED OPTIONS AFTER ENGAGING **4,701** WITH HELPLINE CALLS ON OUR HELPLINE 

**92%** OF CALLERS WHO RESPONDED SAID THAT THEY HAD AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF ABUSE AND ABUSIVE BEHAVIOURS AFTER ENGAGING WITH THE HELPLINE 

## REFUGE 

THIS YEAR WE WELCOMED **55** FAMILIES INTO OUR TWO REFUGES 

IMPACT 95% 

OF SURVIVORS WHO STAYED IN REFUGE FELT SAFER 

**90%** OF SURVIVORS WHO STAYED IN REFUGE SAID THEY FELT MORE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THEIR FUTURE 

IMPACT OF CHILDREN IN CHILDREN’S SERVICES 95% REFUGE FELT SAFER 

IN REFUGE: 

**31** CHILDREN STAYED IN OUR TWO REFUGES THIS YEAR 

**90%** OF CHILDREN IN REFUGE HAD AN IMPROVED RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR MUM 

## IN THE COMMUNITY: 

- WE WORKED WITH **20** CHILDREN ON A 1:1 BASIS AND DELIVERED **200** SESSIONS 

- **100** % OF THE CHILDREN WHO ENGAGED WITH OUR SERVICE FELT THEY KNEW MORE ABOUT WHERE TO GET HELP IF THEY NEEDED IT 

- **85** % OF THE CHILDREN WHO ENGAGED WITH OUR SERVICE HAD IMPROVED MENTAL HEALTH 



ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

## Financial Review 

## Reserves policy 

The trustees regularly review the reserves policy and at least on an annual basis. Free reserves, which are the unrestricted funds of the charity, are generally held at a level of approximately 8 months’ unrestricted expenditure in respect of refuge running costs, and between 3- and 6-months’ unrestricted expenditure in respect of other services. The trustees are mindful of their stewardship responsibilities, in particular with regard to the two refuges. It is essential these monies are available to be used in the event all other funding ceases, in order to prevent homelessness for our refuge residents, who are granted a six months’ licence on arrival in refuge, and are dependent on our support and services, and to avoid immediate financial difficulties for the charity. By maintaining free reserves at the stated level ensures sufficient funds are always available to cover essential management, administration and support costs, taking into particular account that we are responsible for the running of two refuges. If funding issues became apparent, it would give the charity the time to seek new funding to support Your Sanctuary. This level of reserves also ensures funds are available to pay any necessary legal obligations, such as redundancy costs, were a winding down of services to become necessary for the charity. 

Towards the year end the charity ceased operations in its old 7-bedroomed refuge and began to house women and their families in our new 25-bedroomed refuge. The financial commitments associated with the new refuge are much higher than before and therefore it has been necessary to increase to £547,000 the level of free reserves being maintained in line with the reserves policy. At 31 March 2021, as a result of the unprecedented grants and donations received during the year, free reserves totalled £753,000. However the budget for 2021/22 indicates a deficit in the order of £79,000. Also, the trustees have plans, over the next two years, to use the exceptional funding received in 2020/21 to recruit an extra refuge worker needed for the larger building, to extend the facilities at the new refuge, to offer refuge to women without recourse to public funds, and to extend the helpline chat service and group programmes offered to survivors, all of which is budgeted to cost in the order of £106,000. These are extensions to our services that can only be undertaken due to the generosity of our supporters. So although the free reserves are much higher than the stated reserves policy at the year end, the trustees are satisfied the planned use of reserves over the next two years will then bring the free reserves in line with the reserves policy. 

## Financial Review of the Year 

During the year funds received were spent across our services; two refuges, outreach, children’s services and the helpline. Total income for the year was £1,505,921 compared to £871,293 in 2019/20. This included significant amounts received both from statutory sources and from the community to aid with the charity’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and also one-off funding from Woking Borough Council referred to below. Surrey County Council is the main funder for the charity’s services in refuge and in the community, and this year provided additional funding for our outreach services to help our response following the lockdowns. In addition to providing and renting to the charity a purpose-built refuge in the year, Woking Borough Council, also provided initial funding to furnish the property. The council also renewed their community grant for our outreach and helpline services. The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioners for Surrey (OPCC) provided funding to enable us to continue our adult outreach services, the children’s outreach service, the helpline, to employ a parttime children’s worker in refuge, and to help with our Covid-19 response. It also funded our transition fund providing bedding and equipment for those women and families moving on from refuge. The grant which started the prior year from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government extended into the current year and enabled us to accept into refuge women with more complex needs. They also provided funding to 

ensure we could retain a second refuge, and to assist with the helpline and therapeutic services. We continued to receive a major grant from BBC Children in Need which funded a full-time children’s worker in refuge, a grant from Lloyds Bank Foundation for core services, and we received a number of significant grants from the Community Foundation for Surrey towards running outreach programmes in the community, the helpline, our children’s outreach work, to continue our outreach volunteers’ project, for a children’s playworker in refuge, and to assist with our outreach work in response to Covid-19. Women’s Aid also provided funding to facilitate the Change That Lasts ‘Expert Voices’ scheme in the community. This year we received an exceptional grant from the Ministry of Justice to assist our services in the response to Covid-19. 

Expenditure in the year increased to £1,138,047 from £842,137 in 2019/20. This was mainly comprised of staff costs which increased to £774,556 in 2020/21 from £619,106 in 2019/20 as a result of increasing our services and staff numbers from new funding received, and in particular in responding to the extra support needed as a result of the impact of the coronavirus. The new refuge gave rise to exceptional costs in the year totalling £105,000 for furnishing and preparing the new refuge for use, and for making provision in line with the lease agreement, and for related legal fees. 

Restricted income is given to the charity for a specific purpose or project and for 2020/21 amounted to £454,318. The related expenditure for the year was £436,962, of which £6,330 related to capital expenditure and has been transferred to general reserves to cover depreciation costs in future years, and the balance of £11,026 is being carried forward for therapeutic training. 

At the beginning of the financial year there was a fund of £50,000 which the trustees had designated to improve and develop the helpline, for outreach and training costs, and for future fundraising costs. During the year £5,000 was used in relation to outreach costs, so the trustees designated a further £5,000 towards future outreach staff costs, and designated a further £50,000 in relation to refuge property costs, giving a balance on that fund at the year-end of £100,000, which is expected to be expended over the next five years. 

The overall surplus for the year was £367,874 (2019/20 surplus of £29,156), with a surplus for the year on unrestricted funds of £306,848 (2019/20 surplus £32,369). The surplus was added to reserves and has resulted in a balance of £753,476 on unrestricted funds at the year end, and total funds (including restricted and designated) of £866,289. As detailed in the Reserves Policy and above, the charity received exceptional levels of funding during the year some of which was unspent at the year end. With uncertainty ahead it would not have been prudent to spend all donations in the year and therefore the trustees considered it appropriate to allow reserves to rise in the short-term knowing that £547,000 of free reserves is required to be maintained in order to comply with its reserves policy, the charity has budgeted a deficit of £79,000 for the forthcoming year, and plans are in place to spend the balance of the excess of reserves in the next two years, as detailed in the Reserves Policy. 

The charitable company’s incoming and outgoing resources all related to continuing activities. The charitable company has no recognised gains or losses other than the net movement in funds for each year. 

The financial statements comply with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015)’, Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ and the Companies Act 2006. 



## STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT 

## REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS 

## Governing document 

The charity is a company limited by guarantee governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 18 May 2010. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission. 

## Appointment of trustees 

Trustees are appointed by the existing board. Before new trustees are appointed the board determines what new attributes and knowledge are needed within the board and uses its network of associates to attract a diverse range of candidates. Short-listing and interviews take place against agreed criteria. New trustees are invited and encouraged to attend a short training session to familiarise themselves with the charity and the context within which it operates. 

The board is comprised of not less than two and not more than ten trustees, and its composition is reviewed every year using procedures laid down by the board. 

## Organisational Structure 

The board of trustees is responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the charity in line with the stated mission. They also set the remuneration for the Chief Executive. 

A scheme of delegation is in place and day to day responsibility for the provision of services rests with the Chief Executive along with two operations managers. The Chief Executive is responsible for ensuring the charity delivers the services specified and follows the strategy developed by the trustees. The operations managers have responsibility for the day-to-day operational management of the charity, individual supervision of the front-line staff team and also ensuring that the team continue to develop their skills and working practices in line with good practice and as considered pertinent for their role. 

## Risk management 

The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. To that end a risk register is maintained which is reviewed monthly by senior management and at each meeting of the board of trustees. Where significant risks are identified, policies, plans and procedures are established to mitigate or minimise the risk and are then regularly monitored. 

In common with most charities, the loss of funding is always a significant risk. The trustees have therefore developed a strategic plan to diversify income with the continued investment in an in-house fundraiser. Procedures are also in place to ensure compliance with health and safety for staff, volunteers and clients at the head office and both refuges, and the charity strives to achieve best practice in respect to safe-guarding responsibilities. 

Registered Company number 07257302 (England and Wales) 

Registered Charity number 1137057 

Principal and Registered office 15A Monument Way Woking Surrey GU21 5LY 

## Trustees 

S P Rose (Chair) J Croyden R Foster C Earle (appointed 9 July 2020) G Johnson (appointed 9 July 2020) T Patrick (appointed 9 July 2020) L Tait (resigned 29 September 2021) J Ward (resigned 26 July 2021) J Charles (appointed 22 July 2020, resigned 19 June 2021) 

Company Secretary A Bents 

Chief Executive Fiamma Pather 

## Auditors 

Bennewith 2018 Limited (Statutory Auditors) 3 Wey Court Mary Road Guildford, Surrey 

## Bankers 

Barclays Bank Town Gate House Church Street East Woking, Surrey 



ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

## Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities 


The trustees (who are also the directors of Your Sanctuary for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). 

- In so far as the trustees are aware: 

- there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware; and 

- the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information. 

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to 

## Auditors 

The auditors, Bennewith 2018 Limited (Statutory Auditors), will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. 

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 18 November 2021 and signed on its behalf by: 

- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; 

- observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP; 

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 

R Foster – Trustee 

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business. 

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. 



## Report of the Independent Auditors to the Trustees 

## Opinion 

We have audited the financial statements of Your Sanctuary (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). 

In our opinion the financial statements: 

- give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2021 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended; 

- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and 

- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006. 

## Basis for opinion 

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. 

## Conclusions relating to going concern 

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. 

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability 

to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue. 

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. 

## Other information 

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

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard. 

## Matters on which we are required to report by exception 

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion: 

- the information given in the Report of the Trustees is inconsistent in any material respect with the financial statements; or 

- the charitable company has not kept adequate accounting records; or 

- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or 

- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit. 



ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

## Responsibilities of trustees 

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. 

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. 

## Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements 

We have been appointed as auditors under Section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder. 

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Independent Auditors that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. 

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below: 

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the entity and determined the most significant are those that relate to FRS 102 Section 1A, pension laws and regulations and tax regulations. 

We assessed the risks of material misstatement in respect of fraud as follows: 

- Enquiries made of management and those charged with governance as well as the service organisation in relation to payroll services 

- Analytical procedures were used to identify if there were any unusual or unexpected relationships 

– Discussions with management to identify any fraud risk factors of related party relationships and transactions 

Based on the results of our risk assessment we designed our audit procedures to identify non-compliance with such laws and regulations identified above. 

Enquiries were made of management and those charged with governance. We corroborated our enquiries through the review of Board minutes and other papers provided. There was no contradictory evidence. 

We considered the risk of fraud through management override and, in response, we incorporated testing of manual journal entries into our audit approach. We tested year end journals as well as journal entries throughout the year. There were no transactions identified outside the normal course of business. 

Based on the results of our risk assessment we designed our audit procedures to identify and to address material misstatements in relation to fraud. We incorporated an element of unpredictability in the selection of the nature, timing, and extent of audit procedures. 

Where transaction meeting risk criteria were identified, we carried out further work such as additional testing to source information. 

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/ auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors. 

## Use of our report 

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors’ report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. 

Bennewith 2018 Limited (Statutory Auditors) 

Eligible to act as an auditor in terms of Section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006 

3 Wey Court Mary Road Guildford Surrey GU1 4QU 


Date: 3 December 2021 



Statement of Financial Activities – Year Ended 31 March 2021 

||||||31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||Unrestricted|Restricted|Designated|Total|<br>Total|
|||funds|funds|funds|funds|<br>funds|
||Notes|£|£|£|£|<br>£|
|INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS|FROM||||||
|Donations and legacies|2|317,990|105,154|5,000|<br>428,144|<br>200,633|
|Charitable activities|5||||||
|Refuges||513,774|229,091|–|<br>742,865|<br>408,146|
|Outreach||191,325|55,574|–|<br>246,899|<br>202,574|
|Children’s services – Refuge||11,000|25,747|–|36,747|<br>26,000|
|Helpline||–|38,752|–|38,752|<br>22,000|
|Other trading activities|3|11,209|–|–|11,209|<br>8,345|
|Investment income|4|1,305|–|–|1,305|<br>3,595|
|Total||1,046,603|454,318|5,000|1,505,921|<br>871,293|
|EXPENDITURE ON|||||||
|Raising funds|6|51,938|–|–|51,938|<br>51,023|
|Charitable activities|7||||||
|Refuges||405,178|235,800|–|640,978|<br>406,573|
|Outreach||182,807|101,412|5,000|289,219|<br>260,755|
|Children’s services – Refuge||29,815|47,634|–|77,449|<br>64,420|
|Helpline||26,347|52,116|–|78,463|<br>59,366|
|Total||696,085|436,962|5,000|1,138,047|<br>842,137|
|NET INCOME||350,518|17,356|–|<br>367,874|<br>29,156|
|Transfers between funds|17|(43,670)|(6,330)|50,000|–|<br>–|
|Net movement in funds||306,848|11,026|50,000|367,874|<br>29,156|
|RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS|||||||
|Total funds brought forward||446,628|1,787|50,000|498,415|<br>469,259|
|TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD||753,476|12,813|100,000|866,289|<br>498,415|





ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

## Balance Sheet – at 31 March 2021 

||||||31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||Unrestricted|Restricted|Designated|Total|<br>Total|
|||funds|funds|funds|funds|<br>funds|
||Notes|£|£|£|£|<br>£|
|FIXED ASSETS|||||||
|Tangible assets|13|37,027|–|–|37,027|<br>705|
|CURRENT ASSETS|||||||
|Debtors|14|8,147|–|–|8,147|<br>38,174|
|Cash at bank and in hand||929,583|12,813|100,000|1,042,396|<br>628,207|
|||937,730|12,813|100,000|1,050,543|<br>666,381|
|CREDITORS|||||||
|Amounts falling due within one year|15|(221,281)|–|–|(221,281)|<br>(168,671)|
|NET CURRENT ASSETS||716,449|12,813|100,000|829,262|<br>497,710|
|TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT|||||||
|LIABILITIES||753,476|12,813|100,000|866,289|<br>498,415|
|NET ASSETS||753,476|12,813|100,000|866,289|<br>498,415|
|FUNDS|17||||||
|Unrestricted funds|||||753,476|<br>446,628|
|Restricted funds|||||12,813|<br>1,787|
|Designated funds|||||100,000|50,000|
|TOTAL FUNDS|||||866,289|498,415|





Balance Sheet continued – at 31 March 2021 

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2021. 

The members have not deposited notice, pursuant to Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006 requiring an audit of these financial statements. 

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for 

- (a) ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and 

- (b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company. 

These financial statements have been audited under the requirements of Section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. 

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies’ regime. 

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 18 November 2021 and were signed on its behalf by: 

R Foster – Trustee 



ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

## Cash Flow Statement – Year Ended 31 March 2021 

|||31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
|---|---|---|---|
||Notes|£|<br>£|
|Cash fows from operating activities||||
|Cash generated from operations|1|454,475|<br>96,166|
|Interest paid||(276)|<br>(303)|
|Net cash provided by operating activities||454,199|<br>95,863|
|Cash fows from investing activities||||
|Purchase of tangible fxed assets||(41,315)|<br>(600)|
|Interest received||1,305|<br>3,595|
|Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities||(40,010)|<br>2,995|
|Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period||414,189|<br>98,858|
|Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period||628,207|<br>529,349|
|Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period||1,042,396|<br>628,207|



## Notes to the Cash Flow Statement – Year Ended 31 March 2021 

|1. RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO NET CASH FLOW||||
|---|---|---|---|
|FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES||31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
||Notes|£|<br>£|
|Net income for the reporting period||367,874|<br>29,156|
|(as per the Statement of Financial Activities)||||
|Adjustments for:||||
|Depreciation charges||4,991|<br>2,087|
|Interest received||(1,305)|<br>(3,595)|
|Interest paid||276|<br>303|
|Decrease/(increase) in debtors||30,027|<br>(20,983)|
|Increase in creditors||52,612|<br>89,198|
|Net cash provided by operations||454,475|<br>96,166|
|2. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS|At 1.4.20|Cash fow|<br>At 31.3.21|
||£|£|<br>£|
|Net cash||||
|Cash at bank and in hand|628,207|414,189|<br>1,042,396|
|Total|628,207|414,189|<br>1,042,396|





Notes to the Financial Statements – Year Ended 31 March 2021 

## 1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES 

## Basis of preparing the financial statements 

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)’, Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. 

## Income 

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. 

## Expenditure 

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. 

## Allocation and apportionment of costs 

Costs related to a particular activity are allocated to it directly. Other costs are apportioned between the activities on the basis of estimated usage. 

## Tangible fixed assets 

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

Fixtures and fittings – Straight line over 5 years Computer equipment – Straight line over 3 years 

## Taxation 

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities. 

## Fund accounting 

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees. 

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. 

Designated funds have been set aside by the charity for a particular purpose. The funds remain unrestricted and can used for another purpose at the Trustees’ discretion. 

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements. 

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company’s pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate. 

## Donated goods 

The charity receives donated goods for resale. These goods are not recognised as income on receipt. Instead, the net amount received is recognised as income when sold. The proceeds of sale are categorized as ‘Income from other trading activities’. 



ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

|2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES|||31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||£|<br>£|
|Donations|||300,720|<br>89,153|
|Grants|||127,424|<br>111,480|
||||428,144|<br>200,633|
|3. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES|||31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
||||£|<br>£|
|Other income|||38|<br>1,449|
|Donated goods resold|||11,171|<br>6,896|
||||11,209|<br>8,345|
|4. INVESTMENT INCOME|||31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
||||£|<br>£|
|Deposit account interest|||1,305|<br>3,595|
|5. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES|||31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
||||£|<br>£|
||Activity||||
|Grants|Refuges||563,433|<br>229,179|
|Refuge rents|Refuges||179,432|<br>178,967|
|Grants|Outreach||246,899|<br>202,574|
|Grants|Children’s services – Refuge||36,747|<br>26,000|
|Grants|Helpline||38,752|<br>22,000|
||||1,065,263|<br>658,720|
|6. RAISING FUNDS|||31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
||||£|<br>£|
|Raising donations and legacies|||||
|Staff costs|||40,747|<br>39,582|
|Consultancy|||11,191|<br>11,441|
||||51,938|<br>51,023|
|7. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS|||Support cost||
||Direct Costs||(see note 8)|<br>Totals|
|||£|£|<br>£|
|Refuges|597,791||43,187|<br>640,978|
|Outreach|263,069||26,150|<br>289,219|
|Children’s services – Refuge||70,002|7,447|<br>77,449|
|Helpline||72,230|6,233|<br>78,463|
||1,003,092||83,017|<br>1,086,109|





Notes to the Financial Statements continued – Year Ended 31 March 2021 

|8. SUPPORT COSTS||Governance||
|---|---|---|---|
||Other|costs|<br>Totals|
||£|£|<br>£|
|Refuges|33,046|10,141|<br>43,187|
|Outreach|23,955|2,195|<br>26,150|
|Children’s services – Refuge|6,820|627|<br>7,447|
|Helpline|5,794|439|<br>6,233|
||69,615|13,402|<br>83,017|



|9. NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)|31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
|---|---|---|
|Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):|£|<br>£|
|Auditors’ remuneration|3,000|<br>2,900|
|Auditors’ remuneration for non-audit work|3,270|<br>2,340|
|Depreciation – owned assets|4,993|<br>2,087|



## 10. TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS 

There were no trustees’ remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2021 nor for the year ended 31 March 2020. 

## Trustees’ expenses 

There were no trustees’ expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2021 nor for the year ended 31 March 2020. 

|11. STAFF COSTS|31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
|---|---|---|
||£|<br>£|
|Wages and salaries|691,586|<br>550,927|
|Social security costs|56,076|<br>45,053|
|Other pension costs|26,894|<br>23,126|
||774,556|<br>619,106|
|The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:|31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
|Charitable activities|19|<br>16|
|Support|2|<br>2|
|Fundraising|1|<br>1|
||22|<br>19|



No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000. 



ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

|12. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT|Unrestricted|Restricted|Designated|<br>Total|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES|funds|funds|funds|<br>funds|
||£|£|£|<br>£|
|INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM|||||
|Donations and legacies|116,299|84,334|–|<br>200,633|
|Charitable activities|||||
|Refuges|180,517|212,629|15,000|<br>408,146|
|Outreach|202,574|–|–|<br>202,574|
|Children’s services – Refuge|26,000|–|–|<br>26,000|
|Helpline|22,000|–|–|<br>22,000|
|Other trading activities|8,345|–|–|<br>8,345|
|Investment income|3,595|–|–|<br>3,595|
|Total|559,330|296,963|15,000|<br>871,293|
|EXPENDITURE ON|||||
|Raising funds|51,023|–|–|<br>51,023|
|Charitable activities|||||
|Refuges|331,736|74,837|–|<br>406,573|
|Outreach|109,497|151,258|–|<br>260,755|
|Children’s services – Refuge|20,547|43,873|–|<br>64,420|
|Helpline|14,158|35,208|10,000|<br>59,366|
|Total|526,961|305,176|10,000|<br>842,137|
|NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)|32,369|(8,213)|5,000|<br>29,156|
|RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS|||||
|Total funds brought forward|414,259|10,000|45,000|<br>469,259|
|TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD|446,628|1,787|50,000|<br>498,415|





Notes to the Financial Statements continued – Year Ended 31 March 2021 

|13. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS|Fixtures|Computer|<br>Totals|
|---|---|---|---|
||and fttings|equipment||
||£|£|<br>£|
|COST||||
|At 1 April 2020|11,200|23,265|<br>34,465|
|Additions|24,677|16,638|<br>41,315|
|Disposals|(11,200)|–|<br>(11,200)|
|At 31 March 2021|24,677|39,903|<br>64,580|
|DEPRECIATION||||
|At 1 April 2020|11,200|22,560|<br>33,760|
|Charge for year|411|4,582|<br>4,993|
|Eliminated on disposal|(11,200)|–|<br>(11,200)|
|At 31 March 2021|411|27,142|<br>27,553|
|NET BOOK VALUE||||
|At 31 March 2021|24,266|12,761|<br>37,027|
|At 31 March 2020|–|705|<br>705|
|14. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR||31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
|||£|<br>£|
|Other debtors||4,849|<br>24,249|
|Prepayments||3,298|<br>13,925|
|||8,147|<br>38,174|
|15. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR||31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
|||£|<br>£|
|Trade creditors||11,625|<br>2,086|
|Other creditors||17,456|<br>15,020|
|Accruals and deferred income||192,200|<br>151,565|
|||221,281|<br>168,671|
|16. LEASING AGREEMENTS||31.3.21|<br>31.3.20|
|||£|<br>£|
|Minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases fall due as follows:||||
|Within one year||16,796|<br>27,332|





ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

|17. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS||Net|Transfers||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||movement|between|At|
||At 1.4.20|in funds|funds|31.3.21|
||£|£|£|£|
|Unrestricted funds|||||
|General fund|446,628|350,518|(43,670)|753,476|
|Restricted funds|||||
|OPCC – Programmes and services|1,787|–|–|1,787|
|Ministry of Housing - Refuge and Helpline|–|11,026|–|11,026|
|Ministry of Justice|–|6,330|(6,330)|–|
||1,787|17,356|(6,330)|12,813|
|Designated funds|||||
|Outreach services|15,000|–|–|15,000|
|Helpline project|25,000|–|–|25,000|
|Fund raising and commissioning|10,000|–|–|10,000|
|Refuge property costs|–|–|50,000|50,000|
||50,000|–|50,000|100,000|
|TOTAL FUNDS|498,415|367,874|–|866,289|
|Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:||Incoming|Resources|Movement|
|||resources|expended|in funds|
|||£|£|£|
|Unrestricted funds|||||
|General fund||1,046,603|(696,085)|350,518|
|Restricted funds|||||
|BBC Children in Need||16,054|(16,054)|–|
|Community Foundation for Surrey||41,370|(41,370)|–|
|OPCC – Staffng||37,000|(37,000)|–|
|OPCC – Programmes and services||10,028|(10,028)|–|
|OPCC – Transition fund||2,500|(2,500)|–|
|Women’s Aid||30,000|(30,000)|–|
|Ministry of Housing – Refuge and Helpline||194,540|(183,514)|11,026|
|Other donations less than £10k||17,730|(17,730)|–|
|SCC – Covid-19 Support||10,904|(10,904)|–|
|Ministry of Justice||74,192|(67,862)|6,330|
|Woking Borough Council||20,000|(20,000)|–|
|||454,318|(436,962)|17,356|
|Designated funds|||||
|Outreach services||5,000|(5,000)|–|
|TOTAL FUNDS||1,505,921|(1,138,047)|367,874|





Notes to the Financial Statements continued – Year Ended 31 March 2021 

|17. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS– continued.||Net||
|---|---|---|---|
|||movement|At|
||At 1.4.19|in funds|31.3.20|
|Comparatives for movement in funds|£|£|£|
|Unrestricted funds||||
|General fund|414,259|32,369|446,628|
|Restricted funds||||
|Community Foundation for Surrey|10,000|(10,000)|–|
|OPCC – Staffng|–|1,787|1,787|
||10,000|(8,213)|1,787|
|Designated funds||||
|Outreach services|–|15,000|15,000|
|Helpline project|35,000|(10,000)|25,000|
|Fund raising and commissioning|10,000|–|10,000|
||45,000|5,000|50,000|
|TOTAL FUNDS|469,259|29,156|498,415|
|Comparative net movement in funds,|Incoming|Resources|Movement|
|included in the above are as follows:|resources|expended|in funds|
||£|£|£|
|Unrestricted funds||||
|General fund|559,330|(526,961)|32,369|
|Restricted funds||||
|BBC Children in Need|28,873|(28,873)|–|
|Lloyds Foundation|8,740|(8,740)|–|
|Community Foundation for Surrey|10,886|(20,886)|(10,000)|
|OPCC – Staffng|91,535|(89,748)|1,787|
|OPCC – Programmes and services|21,727|(21,727)|–|
|SCC – Children’s Outreach Worker|24,530|(24,530)|–|
|OPCC – Transition fund|5,422|(5,422)|–|
|Women’s Aid|30,835|(30,835)|–|
|Ministry of Housing – Refuge|69,415|(69,415)|–|
|CAST – Helpline|5,000|(5,000)|–|
||296,963|(305,176)|(8,213)|
|Designated funds||||
|Outreach services|15,000|–|15,000|
|Helpline project|–|(10,000)|(10,000)|
||15,000|(10,000)|5,000|
|TOTAL FUNDS|871,293|(842,137)|29,156|





ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021 

|A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months||Net|Transfers||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|combined position is as follows:||movement|between|At|
||At 1.4.19|in funds|funds|31.3.21|
||£|£|£|£|
|Unrestricted funds|||||
|General fund|414,259|382,887|(43,670)|753,476|
|Restricted funds|||||
|Community Foundation for Surrey|10,000|(10,000)|–|–|
|OPCC – Staffng|–|1,787|–|1,787|
|Ministry of Housing - Refuge and Helpline|–|11,026|–|11,026|
|Ministry of Justice|–|6,330|(6,330)|–|
||10,000|9,143|(6,330)|12,813|
|Designated funds|||||
|Outreach services|–|15,000|–|15,000|
|Helpline project|35,000|(10,000)|–|25,000|
|Fund raising and commissioning|10,000|–|–|10,000|
|Refuge property costs|–|–|50,000|50,000|
||45,000|5,000|50,000|100,000|
|TOTAL FUNDS|469,259|397,030|–|866,289|
|A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined||Incoming|Resources|Movement|
|net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:||resources|expended|in funds|
|||£|£|£|
|Unrestricted funds|||||
|General fund||1,605,933|(1,223,046)|382,887|
|Restricted funds|||||
|BBC Children in Need||44,927|(44,927)|–|
|Lloyds Foundation||8,740|(8,740)|–|
|Community Foundation for Surrey||52,256|(62,256)|(10,000)|
|OPCC – Staffng||128,535|(126,748)|1,787|
|OPCC – Programmes and services||31,755|(31,755)|–|
|SCC – Children’s Outreach Worker||24,530|(24,530)|–|
|OPCC – Transition fund||7,922|(7,922)|–|
|Women’s Aid||60,835|(60,835)|–|
|Ministry of Housing – Refuge and Helpline||263,955|(252,929)|11,026|
|CAST – Helpline||5,000|(5,000)|–|
|Other donations less than £10k||17,730|(17,730)|–|
|SCC – Covid-19 Support||10,904|(10,904)|–|
|Ministry of Justice||74,192|(67,862)|6,330|
|Woking Borough Council||20,000|(20,000)|–|
|||751,281|(742,138)|9,143|
|Designated funds|||||
|Outreach services||20,000|(5,000)|15,000|
|Helpline project||–|(10,000)|(10,000)|
|||20,000|(15,000)|5,000|
|TOTAL FUNDS||2,377,214|(1,980,184)|397,030|





Notes to the Financial Statements continued – Year Ended 31 March 2021 

## 17. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS – continued. 

Ministry of Justice – Support for all services of the charity during Covid-19. 

## Restricted funds 

BBC Children in Need – Grant received to fund a refuge children’s worker. 

Lloyds Foundation – Grant towards the cost of managing outreach volunteers. 

Community Foundation for Surrey – Grants received towards provision of the Recovery Toolkit and the Freedom Programme, cost of managing outreach volunteers, children’s playworker, helpline, children’s outreach, and outreach response to Covid-19. 

## OPCC Staffing – 

Grants towards additional staff or staff hours. This included: contributions towards helpline staff, part-time children’s refuge worker, a part-time children’s outreach worker, and extra support hours in adult outreach. 

OPCC Programmes & Services – Grants towards various programmes and services. This included: delivery of a freedom programme, and help towards the charity’s Covid-19 response. 

## OPCC Transition Fund – 

Grants toward the provision of basic homewares for residents moving on from refuge. 

SCC Childrens Worker – 

Grant received to fund a part-time children’s outreach worker. 

Woking Borough Council – Community grant towards outreach and helpline services. 

## Designated funds 

Outreach Services – Funds designated for Outreach and training. 

Helpline Project – 

Funds designated to improve and develop the charity’s helpline. 

Fund Raising and Commissioning – Funds designated for fund raising for the charity and the costs of commissioning new contracts. 

## Refuge Property Costs – 

Funds set aside for service charges, repairs, and renewals related to refuge property. 

## Transfers between funds 

An amount of £6,330 was transferred from the Ministry of Justice Restricted Fund to General Funds. This adjusts for restricted funds spent on unrestricted fixed assets that were not fully depreciated during the period. 

## 18. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES 

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2021. 

## Women’s Aid – 

Grant received towards the Trusted Professional scheme. 

## Ministry of Housing – 

Grants received towards extending our work in refuge particularly to cater for women with more complex needs, and to extend the helpline services. 

## CAST Helpline – 

Grant towards developing and testing the Helpline chat tool. 

Other donations less than £10k – Various small restricted grants each less than £10k. 

SCC Covid-19 Support – Extended outreach support for charity during Covid-19. 



ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/2021

Thank you to all our supporters who through their generosity have enabled us to support so many survivors of domestic abuse 


Woking Borough Council; Surrey County Council; Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government; The Office of Police and Crime Commissioners in Surrey; Ministry of Justice; BBC Children in Need; Bridgepoint; Lloyds Foundation; Nationwide Building Society; Community Foundation for Surrey; Women’s Aid; The Henry Smith Charity; Mayor of Woking for 2020/21, Councillor Hunwicks; SC Johnson; American Women in Surrey; Welcome Church, Woking; Vera Outhwaite Charitable Trust; Orbis Investments; Barclays; Waitrose; Soroptimist International; Enterprise Rent-a-Car; Masonic Charitable Foundation and Surrey Freemasons; National Lottery Community Fund; Schroder Charity Trust; Egham United Charity; The Wisley Foundation; Greenoak Community Focus, Woking; BUPA UK Foundation. 

Thanks also go to all our individual donors, regular givers, schools, supermarkets, local churches, and other organisations and trusts who make such a wonderful contribution. 

