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← Your Sanctuary

2024-03-31-accounts

Working to create lives without fear ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

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 sets to change attitudes and facilitate informed choices.

CORE AIMS

CORE VALUES

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

Chair of Trustees

Susan Rose Chair of the Board of Trustees

I write this report with a mixture of pride and sadness as this will be my final report as Chair. After more than 9 years on the Board, the time has come for me to stand down as a Trustee, and so I shall be relinquishing the role at our AGM in November this year. During my time on the Board, I have seen the Your Sanctuary organisation grow and expand in terms of the size and scale of the services we offer, as well as the facilities and numbers of staff and volunteers. This period of growth in terms of income, staffing and breadth of service delivery has required careful diligence and management on the part of the CEO, senior leaders and the Board. Our senior leadership team continues to ensure we provide appropriate resources and leadership to staff and volunteers as our services develop and expand.

Our strategy continues to be that we are a traumainformed and anti-oppressive organisation providing holistic and therapeutically based services that support survivors of domestic abuse which enable them to heal, and repair fractured relationships within the family. We continue to be diligent in ensuring we are stable in our financial management in order to be able to withstand the volatile economic environment we currently experience. This is not always an easy task as we navigate economic choppy waters. However, the Board continues to believe in investing in our people to ensure they are supported to deliver the work they do and to provide additional support to survivors where

required. Our continuous monitoring and evaluation of our service delivery provides evidence of the impact that our work has on both individuals, families and the wider society.

As always, I am both amazed and exceptionally proud of the work the staff and volunteers undertake which is both demanding and at times distressing. As I end my period on the Board, I would like to recognise all those who work for, and support, Your Sanctuary. A heartfelt thank you to the CEO and senior leadership team, the staff and volunteers who continue to ensure optimum delivery of our services. I would also like to show our appreciation to all fundraisers, donors, partners and suppliers who have supported us this year, and particularly a thank you and goodbye to my fellow Trustees.

Finally, to all those experiencing domestic abuse I continue to have the utmost respect and admiration for your determination and resilience.

Chief Executive

CEO Fiamma Pather

This year has been a year of innovation to strengthen and diversify the services that we deliver to survivors. We have worked in partnership with other agencies to implement new services in the county which further underline the commitment of both statutory and voluntary agencies in Surrey to tackle domestic abuse (DA) and more widely violence against women and girls (VAWG).

Our contract with Surrey County Council to deliver core outreach services was subject to a recommissioning process this year. We worked with our partners in Surrey DA Partnership (SDAP) in order to submit a bid for a high quality, needs led and trauma informed Surrey-wide outreach service. In December 2023 we heard that our bid was successful, and the new contract would commence April 1st 2024 for an initial term of 5 years. We were obviously extremely pleased and proud that we would be able to continue to provide these vital services to survivors living or working in North West Surrey.

This year saw the implementation of a county wide Violence Against Women and Girls prevention project. SDAP worked with partners in the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner and Education to train a number of teachers to deliver VAWG prevention themes across the school curriculums. SDAP specialist engagement workers provide support to teachers in local schools once they have received the training. This is a key project in our efforts to work towards the reduction of all violence against women and girls as well as domestic abuse more specifically.

A partnership of Domestic Abuse specialist providers, a perpetrator behaviour change service and youth services came together to design and implement a virtual hub called the ‘Surrey Steps to Change’ Hub. This hub co-ordinates referrals from individuals and agencies to ensure that individual and/or families are provided with the right service. Survivors are referred to SDAP specialist services (which includes Your Sanctuary); perpetrators who are motivated to change are referred to Interventions Alliance, and young people using harmful behaviours are referred to the Richmond Fellowship. This is a very innovative approach and underpins the Surrey wide aim of early intervention and pivoting to the perpetrator whilst maintaining support to survivors.

Surrey County Council undertook a piece of work to review and refresh their Domestic Abuse strategy. As a specialist provider we were invited to take part in a number of workshops to ensure that the strategy reflected the needs of survivors. The strategy has now been finalised and is available to see on the Healthy Surrey website.

Whilst Surrey County Council were reviewing their strategy we also took the opportunity to refresh our strategy. As always our strategy is informed by the survivors we work with, the knowledge of our staff, and our wider work within

the multiagency partnership. Our new strategy will be implemented in April 2024 until 2029. You can see our overarching objectives on the ‘Future Plans’ of this annual report.

For many years we have been aware of the issues that survivors encounter at Family Court. They have found that they have not been believed, their children’s voices have not been heard, and perpetrators have successfully used ‘Parental Alienation’ as a way of manipulating the courts into granting contact and sometimes even residency of their children. Apart from the distress that this causes both the survivor and their children, some decisions made by the Family Courts have increased risk of harm to the children themselves. So when a philanthropist led organisation and an organisation called ‘Rights of Women’ approached agencies in Surrey to set up a project to make changes to how the family court operates for survivors we jumped at the opportunity to work with them. This led to an 18 month project called the ‘Family Court Enquiry Site’ bringing together DA specialists, experts by experience, the judiciary, commissioners, and court staff to improve outcomes for survivors of DA. This work is on-going so we will be able to report on the successes of the project in our next annual report.

Sadly we have been involved with a number of Domestic Homicide Reviews (now called Domestic Abuse Related Death Review) over this year. The majority of them were related to the suicide of a victim of domestic abuse. The reviews bring together any agency that was involved with the victim as well as input from the victim’s family in order to increase understanding and learning of the experiences of victims. The review makes recommendations to agencies to improve responses and hopefully reduce the number of victims. Our presence on the review panel ensures that the voice of the victim is heard and that our expertise is shared with the other panel members.

Overall we have seen a further shift in the environment in which we work – higher levels of referrals, increased numbers of survivors with complex needs, and impacts from the cost of living crisis on our own staff as well as those we work with. This is also in the context of a continued reduction in services offered by statutory services with thresholds for referrals being moved higher and higher. So we are often left as the only agency actively supporting a survivor, not just around the DA they have experienced, but also with their mental health, substance abuse, parenting, financial issues, housing etc. Also the overall funding environment is very challenging, with statutory funders under increasing pressures, and uncertainty due to a potential change of government.

I am very proud of the work we do that very often goes above and beyond what could reasonably be expected from us and is due to the hard work, dedication and determination of our amazing staff and volunteer teams.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

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 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

Objectives and Activities

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 sets to change attitudes and facilitate informed choices.

Core Aims

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.

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 healing 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 the safe 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.

Your Sanctuary Values

Your Sanctuary Principles

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

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 trauma informed approach to provide a safe space for survivors to talk about their experiences and understand what options they have to keep safe, to overcome practical issues and hopefully to move on to lives free from abuse and fear. Our clients are referred to us through a variety of agencies:

During this financial year (2023–2024) we received 2106 referrals, which is over 600 more referrals than the previous year. 1118 of those referrals were for survivors at high risk of harm from their perpetrator and therefore required crisis management including safety planning, multiagency working, and safeguarding. The fact that we have received so many referrals for high-risk survivors is an indication of increased awareness by agencies of risk factors associated with DA and a deeper understanding of perpetrator behaviour.

Each of our outreach workers supported an average of 30 clients at any one time. We offer a wide range of services:

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

“Your work has inspired me so much I intend to undertake a masters in DA and one day help others how Your Sanctuary have helped me.”

We continue to attend our local MARAC

(Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference) which are now 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.

An increasing number of survivors referred to us are experiencing multiple disadvantages ie may be homeless, have mental health issues and/or substance abuse issues, be at risk of offending as well as the domestic abuse that is being perpetrated against them. In response to these more complex needs, we have developed a specialist service within our outreach team to better support them and to advocate for them with other agencies.

We have also been working with partners to embed learnings from DARDRs and Safeguarding Adult Reviews to align with the Surrey Suicide prevention strategy. It is now more widely recognised that more survivors lose their lives to suicide than to homicide as a result of the abuse they have experienced and that responses to survivors need to be improved in order to reduce the number who take their own lives.

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 109 referrals for male survivors. As well as providing 1:1 support, our male outreach worker has focussed on building links with men’s mental health support groups and providing input for our suicide prevention strategy.

Our amazing team of outreach volunteers continued to offer longer term emotional support to those survivors who are past the point of crisis but who need a longerterm service focussed on rebuilding their lives after domestic abuse. They meet either face to face or on the telephone weekly or fortnightly and discuss issues such as healthy relationships, mindfulness, boundaries and safety planning. The volunteers also refer to other agencies to meet the survivor’s needs and attend appointments at Citizens Advice and housing with their client as they can be very daunting.

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 number of awareness raising sessions for a number of organisations such as Royal Holloway University, Moorcroft Community Centre, Accent Housing and a number of other organisations.

98%

97%

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

OF SURVIVORS WHO ENGAGED WITH OUR SERVICE FELT MORE ABLE TO DEAL WITH PROBLEMS

Achievement and Performance

Children’s Outreach Service

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, 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. During 2023/204 we worked with 27 children on a 1:1 basis and delivered 216 sessions.

We have noticed that the cost-of-living crisis is impacting families who are often living in poor accommodation and food poverty is increasingly prevalent. We have been able to support where possible with basics such as food and toiletry donations and referrals to food banks and community fridges.

We also deliver a Youth Engagement service whose aim is to positively engage with young people to improve life outcomes and reduce the risk of engaging in abusive relationships. We have delivered group

work programmes and worked on a 1:1 basis with young people using a programme called ‘Escape the Trap’ as a framework. Escape the Trap is designed to support young people to learn the dynamics of grooming, coercive & controlling behaviour and gender inequalities. We engaged with 98 young people. Alongside the direct work with young people our Youth Engagement worker has also worked with professionals in a variety of settings to raise awareness of how to support young people who may be displaying challenging behaviour and the impact of domestic abuse on children & young people. In terms of developing our Children’s service we have identified a need for young people (12–25) to be supported around their own abusive relationships that may need to be delivered in a different way to our traditional outreach service. They may not recognise or engage with the term ‘domestic abuse’ and may not want to meet face to face with a support worker. In order to fully understand how we should set up the service and what young people would engage with we have been undertaking some research and focus groups which will continue next financial year before fully scoping out the service.

99%

OF CHILDREN WHO ENGAGED WITH OUR SERVICE FELT THEY HAD IMPROVED THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO STAY SAFE

91%

OF CHILDREN WHO ENGAGED WITH OUR SERVICE FELT MORE HEARD AND LISTENED TO

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

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. We have one smaller house that can accommodate 6 families and a larger, purpose-built refuge that can accommodate about 25 families. Each refuge is arranged slightly differently – the small one has communal living spaces with large bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms. This can suit young mothers with small children as they enjoy the company of the other women and children. The larger refuge is divided into units with a couple of bedrooms and a living/kitchen area plus bathroom. This tends to suit families with older children, single women or older women who enjoy the fact they have more privacy. This larger refuge is also where we accommodate single women survivors who have higher needs around mental health, substance abuse and alcohol abuse. We have developed a specialist programme of support for those women that includes group work and 1:1 support but is more structured and intense than that offered to our other families.

100% OF SURVIVORS WHO STAYED IN REFUGE SAID THEY FELT MORE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THEIR FUTURE

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

During 2023/2024 we welcomed 45 new families into our refuges.

We identified that a number of survivors being referred to our refuges were migrant women with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF). This meant they were not only destitute (often with children), but were also struggling to access refuge as their rent otherwise would be paid by claiming housing benefit. We decided to fundraise to enable us to support women with NRPF in our refuges so that they could be safe and be supported around domestic abuse and access legal support around their immigration status. We were very pleased that we were able to support 9 women with NRPF this year.

Runnymede Borough Council 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.

Achievement and Performance

Children’s Service in Refuge

Our children’s service in refuge is funded by BBC Children in Need, the OPCC, Surrey County Council and some trusts. 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.

40 children arrived in our refuges and 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.

“My children have said refuge is the only place they have felt safe. We have stayed in temporary accommodation and my children felt so unhappy. Being at refuge is like a family, you are all so special to me and my children.”

90%

OF CHILDREN IN REFUGE FELT SAFER

Activities

Our specialist children’s team work with both the mum and the children to improve their bond which has often been ruptured by the perpetrator. The team enable the families to create memories through shared experiences, offering opportunities for them to reconnect and have fun together through activities:

•A summer disco•Garden parties•Bug walks

•Reptile encounters•Messy play•Music/singing sessions•Trips to local attractions•Cinema trips •Bowling

We have noticed an increasing number of children with SEN (Special Educational Needs) coming into refuge. This presents extra difficulties for children who struggle with the new environment and where we face challenges with obtaining appropriate school or nursery places to meet need. Unfortunately sometimes these children have been unable to secure school places – significantly impacting their social and academic development.

The families that have stayed with us who have No Recourse to Public Funds can also experience additional challenges including language barriers, cultural differences, and the pressures around their immigration status and finances. This inevitably has an impact on the children who have already experienced so much trauma in their lives. Our support workers have worked hard to provide additional support and advocacy when needed.

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

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

Helpline

Our specialist domestic abuse helpline is available for anybody living or working in Surrey or further afield 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 who believes them, is extremely important.

Our trained staff and volunteers take calls from:

Staff and volunteers provide:

During the year we received 5553 contacts. Of those contacts 4578 were phone calls, 709 were email contacts and we conducted 266 online chats. We are seeing a move toward online contacts through emails and chats but survivors still seem to prefer to contact us on the phone which is probably due to the more personal nature of a telephone conversation.

Many of the contacts we received were survivors or professionals seeking refuge space – this accounted for 1413 contacts with another 677 calls being a referral to our refuge service. Our helpline is providing a vital and sometimes life-saving service for the survivors who are at the highest risk and need to flee to the safety of a refuge. We are able to find refuge spaces that are available both locally and nationally through access to a confidential database and give the survivor the contact details of suitable refuges.

We are also seeing that many professionals are contacting our helpline – sometimes they are seeking refuge space for a survivor, or they are needing some information or advice around how to support survivors.

80%

OF PEOPLE WHO CONTACTED THE HELPLINE FELT THAT THEY UNDERSTOOD MORE ABOUT ABUSE AND ABUSIVE BEHAVIOUR

92%

OF PEOPLE WHO CONTACTED THE HELPLINE FELT MORE CONFIDENT TO ACCESS OTHER TYPES OF SUPPORT AROUND ABUSE

Achievement and Performance

Volunteers

As well as our staff team, we are also supported by an amazing team of volunteers who give their time and expertise to the organisation.

During the year we have been helped by a team of 60 volunteers who have had various roles throughout the organisation:

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

In 2023/2024 volunteers contributed approximately 6000 hours to Your Sanctuary which is equivalent to approximately £67,200. 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.

We have a large team of volunteers who cover the helpline for us out of hours. This is an especially important role as it means that we can offer the service in the evenings, weekends and bank holidays which we may not otherwise be able to do. This year volunteers covered 514 shifts which represents 90% 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 147 shifts during office hours.

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

We are also very grateful to a group of committed, knowledgeable and passionate volunteers who have formed the Your Sanctuary Survivor Steering Group. They have all used our services in the past and are now using their lived experiences to inform our strategy, service delivery and priorities. Their voices, and those of other survivors are vital in ensuring we are delivering needs led and trauma informed services across the organisation.

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 and we would like to encourage anybody thinking of volunteering to contact us and learn more about volunteering for Your Sanctuary.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

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.

In the year ended 31 March 2024 we received significant grants from BBC Children in Need, The Masonic Charitable Foundation, Screwfix Foundation, the Community Foundation for Surrey, Woking Borough Council, and Runnymede Borough Council, which together supported our work with children in refuge, helped us to offer a youth engagement service, allowed us to extend our outreach services, to deliver the helpline, to provide homewares for families as they left refuge to start a new life, and provide other services.

Once again, a number of local corporates have been very generous to us by way of both financial gifts and providing volunteer services. A special mention goes to Property Initiatives Management Limited, Woking Crematorium, and the local staff of Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

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

Thank you to all those who have fundraised or donated to us, no matter how small or large, all donations help us to further our efforts to help survivors of domestic abuse.

Our major funders are Surrey County Council, the Ministry of Justice, and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioners for Surrey (OPCC). 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. We do not run telephone or door to door fundraising campaigns and largely depend on our supporters fundraising on our behalf. During the year ended 31 March 2024 the total amount fundraised was £222,000. Details of the main ways in which this funding was used to help Your Sanctuary’s charitable objectives are given above.

Despite the on-going difficulties arising from the costof-living crisis, during the year we received amazing donations from local individuals and organisations, such as churches, Zumba classes, Women’s Institute branches, local Waitrose stores, and individuals undertaking sponsored or other similar fund-raising events on our behalf. Woking District Rotary Club and the Surry Golfbags Charity Day were both very generous to us. And we remember with gratitude those who made a legacy gift to us. We have also continued to fundraise by selling quality items on eBay – again, we can only do this due to the items kindly gifted to us by supporters, and the volunteers who help to run this venture for us. It is a great way to help us diversify our income streams. We are also incredibly grateful to those who commit to regular monthly giving which enables us to undertake various projects working with survivors.

Achievement and Performance

Future plans

We have reviewed and refreshed our strategy for the next 5 years. Our new strategy has been informed by the experiences of survivors we have supported, by our staff & volunteers, as well as taking into account the complexities of the external environment in which we are operating.

  1. To ensure we have a highly skilled, knowledgeable and adaptable workforce – to be delivered through our structure, people management and learning & development plans.

  2. To be a trauma-informed and anti-oppressive organisation – to be delivered through our people, policies/procedures, management tools, values and ethics.

  3. We have identified 5 overarching objectives for our organisation – to be delivered through our organisation to focus on and which will help deliver people, policies/procedures, management what survivors need as well as continue to enable tools, values and ethics. positive change within agencies and systems. 3. To be informed by survivors and those with lived experience – to be delivered through/with our survivor steering group, staff and volunteers with lived experience, and research (both national and international).

    1. To provide holistic and therapeutically based services to enable healing and repair of the parent/child bond – to be delivered through our staff teams working as ‘teams around the person/family’, information sharing (as appropriate) and collaborating.
    1. To be organisational advocates for survivors to effect change and improve responses in the community and in agencies (statutory and third sector).

  6. “No one has taken the time to explain what refuge is to me, and I was told there was no other option for me and my children.

  7. & Thank you for all the information so I can think about what is best for me and my family.”

  8. To be informed by survivors and those with lived experience – to be delivered through/with our survivor steering group, staff and volunteers with lived experience, and research (both national and international).

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

Our Services

– facts, figures, results and impact

Source: Your Sanctuary – Outcomes Measurement Framework

IMPACT IMPACT 98%

OUTREACH WE RECEIVED 2,106 REFERRALS FOR OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH SERVICE DURING THE YEAR

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

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IMPACT
92%
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OF PEOPLE WHO CONTACTED THE HELPLINE HELPLINE FELT MORE CONFIDENT TO ACCESS OTHER TYPES OF SUPPORT AROUND CONTACTS 5,553 ABUSE WERE MADE WITH THE HELPLINE

REFUGE

THIS YEAR WE WELCOMED 45 NEW FAMILIES INTO OUR TWO REFUGES

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IMPACT
100%
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OF SURVIVORS WHO STAYED IN REFUGE SAID THEY FELT MORE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THEIR FUTURE

IMPACT 90% OF CHILDREN IN REFUGE FELT SAFER

CHILDREN’S SERVICES

IN REFUGE:

40 CHILDREN STAYED IN OUR TWO REFUGES THIS YEAR

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

IN THE COMMUNITY:

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

Financial Review

Financial Review of the Year

During the year funds received were spent across our services; two refuges, community outreach, children’s services and the helpline. Total income for the year was £1,829,996 compared to £1,751,786 in 2023/24, an increase of 4.5%. The increase is largely the result of more refuge rents received, together with increased donations and legacies from local organisations and supporters, and increased returns on investments. The main income source continues to be grants received from Surrey County Council, the Ministry of Justice, and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey (OPCC). This has enabled the charity to continue to provide refuge in our safe houses for endangered women and families who reach out to us for help, including women who have no recourse to public funds. In the community we have maintained one to one support for survivors in conjunction with advice, advocacy and prevention services, and continued to work alongside a local hospital, and the police, also providing assistance for survivors to enable them to stay in their own home by way of the Sanctuary Scheme (more details below), and providing homewares for those in financial need. This work was also financially supported by our local Borough Councils, Woking, Runnymede and Surrey Heath.

In addition to the statutory funding referred to above, we continued to receive a major grant from BBC Children in Need which funded a full-time children’s worker in refuge, and we received grants from the Community Foundation for Surrey towards the helpline, and our outreach service. We are also grateful for the support of the Masonic Charitable Foundation who continued to fund a much-needed youth engagement post.

Expenditure in the year increased to £1,746,852 from £1,507,274 in 2022/23, an increase of 16%. This mainly comprised staff costs (being 68% of all costs), which increased from £1,032,547 to £1,201,800. Statutory grants, received as a result of increased funding made available from central government for the work of domestic abuse charities, have enabled the charity to increase staff numbers from an average of 37 in the previous year, to 43, and thereby extend our services. During the year, as a result of a Surrey County Council grant, we were also able to increase expenditure related to the Sanctuary Scheme to £54,326. The Sanctuary Scheme is a nationwide initiative which aims to provide survivors of domestic abuse a way to stay safe in their own home through added physical security in the home, thereby obviating the need to flee from their perpetrator, potentially to homelessness.

Restricted income is given to the charity for a specific purpose or project and for 2023/24 amounted to £672,325. The related expenditure for the year was £573,055. The balance carried forward is largely comprised of grants received to be spent on specialist refuge staffing, and housing support for survivors in the community. We also received a very generous donation from a local company at the end of the financial year to be used for community outreach work in 2024/25.

At the beginning of the financial year there was a fund of £210,000 which the trustees had designated for various projects. Of this, £131,000 was expended during the year. The trustees therefore have designated a further £158,000, as set out in Note 18, which is principally for refuge property costs but also to cover the cost of specific non-funded staff posts, and also to extend our work with women without recourse to public funds. This gives a balance on designated funds at the year-end of £237,000, which is expected to be expended over the next five years.

The overall surplus for the year was £83,144 (2022/23 surplus of £244,512), with a surplus for the year on unrestricted funds of £114,874 (2022/23 surplus £273,688). The surplus was added to reserves and, after adjusting for a transfer to designated funds, has resulted in a balance of £907,838 on unrestricted funds at the year end, and total funds (including restricted and designated) of £1,424,838. At £907,838, free reserves are higher than the policy level of £650,000; the excess is explained in the Reserves Policy section below.

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 2019)’, Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ and the Companies Act 2006.

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 no less than 6 months’ unrestricted expenditure in respect of refuge running costs, and no less than 3 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 working capital is 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.

Based on the reserves policy, the charity should maintain free reserves in the order of £650,000. At the year end the charity’s unrestricted and undesignated reserves totalled £907,837. However, the planned spend from reserves in 2024/25 is expected to reduce free reserves to be in line with the policy by 31 March 2025. Each year the number of referrals to our community outreach service increases, but the main funding contract for this work is fixed, and not expected to increase. The planned spend, referred to above, therefore will be used largely to employ more support workers to handle the caseloads and work directly with survivors. In addition, some of our multi-year restricted grants come to an end during the coming year, it will therefore be necessary to use reserves to continue those vital projects until alternative funding can be found. During the year to 31 March 2025 the charity will also be undertaking re-commissioning of its refuge service, which is provided to Surrey County Council, resulting in considerable uncertainty in relation to a significant part of its funding. Again, it may be necessary to find alternative funding should the charity be unsuccessful in securing the new contract. Given that uncertainty, the trustees felt it expedient to allow a build-up of free reserves. This will be reviewed again once the outcome of the commissioning process is known.

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 as amended, most recently in September 2024. 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. Potential new trustees are interviewed by the Chair and meet with existing trustees and the CEO. New trustees are invited and required to attend a short training session on the Your Sanctuary organisation and to familiarise themselves with the charity and the context within which it operates.

The board is comprised of not less than four 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 Services Leads. The Chief Executive is responsible for ensuring the charity delivers the services specified and follows the strategy developed by the trustees. The CEO works with the senior leadership team composed of herself, the Therapeutic Services Lead, the Adult Community Services Lead and the Finance Manager. The two Services Leads 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.

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) C Earle G Johnson S Morgan S Benning-Prince V Morris D Williams A Price

Company Secretary A Bents

Chief Executive Fiamma Pather

Auditors

Bennewith 2018 Limited (Statutory Auditors) 18 Farnham Road, Guildford, Surrey

Bankers

Barclays Bank Town Gate House Church Street East, Woking, Surrey

In common with most charities, the loss of funding is always a significant risk. The trustees, in conjunction with the CEO and senior leadership team, continue to develop a strategic plan annually to diversify income with the continued investment in an in-house fundraiser and external fundraising consultant (see Note 10 of the Notes to the Financial Statements). 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.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

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:

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 22nd November 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

D Williams – Trustee

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 2024 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:

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:

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

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.

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, safeguarding, and employment.

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

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 audit work.

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

Upper Ground Floor 18 Farnham Road Guildford Surrey GU1 4XA

Date: 22nd November 2024

Statement of Financial Activities – Year Ended 31 March 2024

31.3.24 31.3.23
Unrestricted Restricted Designated Total Total
funds funds funds funds funds
Notes £ £ £ £ £
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies 2 125,209 96,954 – 222,163 201,265
Charitable activities 5
Refuges 712,588 128,738 – 841,326 817,689
Outreach 192,325 400,988 – 593,313 575,508
Children’s services – Refuge 79,465 5,645 – 85,110 96,562
Helpline – 40,000 – 40,000 41,113
Other trading activities 3 16,539 – – 16,539 12,137
Investment income 4 31,545 – – 31,545 7,512
Total 1,157,671 672,325 – 1,829,996 1,751,786
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds 6 64,205 – – 64,205 54,774
Charitable activities 7
Refuges 671,632 56,031 39,500 767,163 732,547
Outreach 168,645 440,778 61,100 670,523 478,366
Children’s services – Refuge 124,169 39,371 3,900 167,440 159,977
Helpline 14,146 36,875 26,500 77,521 81,610
Total 1,042,797 573,055 131,000 1,746,852 1,507,274
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) 114,874 99,270 (131,000) 83,144 244,512
Transfers between funds 18 (158,000) – 158,000 – –
Net movement in funds (43,126) 99,270 27,000 83,144 244,512
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward 950,964 180,730 210,000 1,341,694 1,097,182
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 907,838 280,000 237,000 1,424,838 1,341,694

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

Balance Sheet – at 31 March 2024

31.3.24 31.3.23
Unrestricted Restricted Designated Total Total
funds funds funds funds funds
Notes £ £ £ £ £
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets 13 26,756 – – 26,756 29,026
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 14 64,409 – – 64,409 33,706
Cash at bank and in hand 1,040,986 280,000 237,000 1,557,986 1,608,339
1,105,395 280,000 237,000 1,622,395 1,642,045
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year 15 (152,511) – – (152,511) (259,110)
NET CURRENT ASSETS 952,884 280,000 237,000 1,469,884 1,382,935
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES 979,640 280,000 237,000 1,496,640 1,411,961
PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES 17 (71,802) – – (71,802) (70,267)
NET ASSETS 907,838 280,000 237,000 1,424,838 1,341,694
FUNDS 18
Unrestricted funds 907,838 950,964
Restricted funds 280,000 180,730
Designated funds 237,000 210,000
TOTAL FUNDS 1,424,838 1,341,694

Balance Sheet continued – at 31 March 2024

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2024.

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

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 22 November 2024 and were signed on its behalf by:

D Williams - Trustee

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

Cash Flow Statement – Year Ended 31 March 2024

31.3.24 31.3.23
Notes £ £
Cash fows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations 1 (67,846) 363,583
Interest paid (394) (209)
Net cash provided by operating activities (68,240) 363,374
Cash fows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fxed assets (13,658) (11,907)
Interest received 31,545 7,512
Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities 17,887 (4,395)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period (50,353) 358,979
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period 1,608,339 1,249,360
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period 1,557,986 1,608,339

Notes to the Cash Flow Statement – Year Ended 31 March 2024

1. RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO NET CASH FLOW

FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES 31.3.24 31.3.23
Notes £ £
Net income for the reporting period 83,144 244,512
(as per the Statement of Financial Activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges 15,928 15,033
Interest received (31,545) (7,512)
Interest paid 394 209
Increase in provisions 1,535 17,310
(Increase)/decrease in debtors (30,703) (6,087)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors (106,599) 100,118
Net cash provided by operations (67,846) 363,583
2. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS At 1.4.23 Cash fow At 31.3.24
£ £ £
Net cash
Cash at bank and in hand 1,608,339 (50,353) 1,557,986
Total 1,608,339 (50,353) 1,557,986

Notes to the Financial Statements – Year Ended 31 March 2024

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.

Charity Status

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered as a company in the UK (company number: 7257302) and as a charity with The Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number:1137057).

The registered office address of the organisation is: 15A Monument Way, Woking, Surrey GU21 5LY.

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

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’.

Going Concern

The accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis. The Trustees do not believe there are any material uncertainties that cast doubt on whether the charity is a going concern.

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

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES 31.3.24 31.3.23
£ £
Donations 165,728 123,236
Grants 56,435 78,029
222,163 201,265
Grant income is as follows: Total Total
Unrestricted Restricted 31.3.24 31.3.23
£ £ £ £
Grants received - donations and legacies (as above)
–		 56,435 56,435 78,029
Grants received - charitable activities (note 6) 623,082 575,371 1,198,453 1,200,149
£623,082 £631,806 £1,254,888 1,278,178
Details of restricted grant income are given in note 17 to these accounts. 31.3.24 31.3.23
Details of unrestricted grant income are as follows: £ £
Surrey County Council 611,082 611,081
Social Services 11,000 11,000
Community Foundation for Surrey – –
OPCC – 5,707
Other trust income 1,000 –
£623,082 £627,788
3. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES 31.3.24 31.3.23
£ £
Donated goods resold 12,957 6,642
Training 3,582 5,495
16,539 12,137
4. INVESTMENT INCOME 31.3.24 31.3.23
£ £
Deposit account interest 31,545 7,512
5. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES 31.3.24 31.3.23
£ £
Activity
Grants Refuges 480,030 486,966
Refuge rents Refuges 361,296 330,723
Grants Outreach 593,313 575,508
Grants Children’s services – Refuge 85,110 96,562
Grants Helpline 40,000 41,113
1,559,749 1,530,872

Notes to the Financial Statements continued – Year Ended 31 March 2024

6. RAISING FUNDS 31.3.24 31.3.23
£ £
Raising donations and legacies
Staff costs 50,791 44,180
Sundries 914 994
Consultancy 12,500 9,600
64,205 54,774
7. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS Support cost
Direct Costs (see note 8) Totals
£ £ £
Refuges 716,802 50,361 767,163
Outreach 618,287 52,236 670,523
Children’s services – Refuge 153,396 14,044 167,440
Helpline 70,918 6,603 77,521
1,559,403 123,244 1,682,647
8. SUPPORT COSTS Governance
Other costs Totals
£ £ £
Refuges 38,444 11,917 50,361
Outreach 47,828 4,408 52,236
Children’s services – Refuge 12,908 1,136 14,044
Helpline 6,241 362 6,603
105,421 17,823 123,244
9. NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) 31.3.24 31.3.23
Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting): £ £
Auditors’ remuneration 4,240 3,500
Auditors’ remuneration for non-audit work 4,500 4,220
Depreciation – owned assets 15,928 15,031

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

10. TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

In the prior year, A Price was appointed as a Trustee. A Price has received funds from the charity for several years related to work as a self-employed fundraising consultant. During the year, she was paid £12,500 (2023: £9,600) by the charity in her role as fundraising consultant.

The trustees have confirmed that, a) there is nothing in the Articles of Association that prevents a trustee from providing paid services; and b) the agreement is consistent with the Charity Commission guidance in CC11.

There were no other trustees’ remuneration or benefits for the year ended 31 March 2024 nor the year ended 31 March 2023.

Trustees’ expenses

There were no trustees’ expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2024 nor for the year ended 31 March 2023.

Key management personnel

The total remuneration paid to Key Management Personnel, was £66,601 (2023: £68,582). The charity are also making contributions to a defined contribution pension scheme for one member of key Management Personnel (2023: one).

11. STAFF COSTS 31.3.24 31.3.23
£ £
Wages and salaries 1,077,983 922,262
Social security costs 90,236 79,142
Other pension costs 33,581 31,143
1,201,800 1,032,547
The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows: 31.3.24 31.3.23
Charitable activities 38 34
Support 3 2
Fundraising 2 1
43 37
The number of employees whose employee benefts 31.3.24 31.3.23
(excluding employer pension costs) exceeded£60,000 was:
£60,001 -£70,000 1 1

Notes to the Financial Statements continued – Year Ended 31 March 2024

12. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT Unrestricted Restricted Designated Total
OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES funds funds funds funds
£ £ £ £
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies 123,236 78,029 – 201,265
Charitable activities
Refuges 682,826 134,863 – 817,689
Outreach 179,370 396,138 – 575,508
Children’s services – Refuge 81,562 15,000 – 96,562
Helpline 14,753 26,360 – 41,113
Other trading activities 12,137 – – 12,137
Investment income 7,512 – – 7,512
Total 1,101,396 650,390 – 1,751,786
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds 54,774 – – 54,774
Charitable activities
Refuges 522,937 179,610 30,000 732,547
Outreach 95,036 383,330 – 478,366
Children’s services – Refuge 100,336 59,641 – 159,977
Helpline 54,625 26,985 – 81,610
Total 827,708 649,566 30,000 1,507,274
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) 273,688 824 (30,000) 244,512
Transfers between funds (60,000) – 60,000 –
Net movement in funds 213,688 824 30,000 244,512
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward 737,276 179,906 180,000 1,097,182
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 950,964 180,730 210,000 1,341,694

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

13. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS Fixtures Computer Totals
and fttings equipment
£ £ £
COST
At 1 April 2023 28,434 56,237 84,671
Additions – 13,658 13,658
At 31 March 2024 28,434 69,895 98,329
DEPRECIATION
At 1 April 2023 10,532 45,113 55,645
Charge for year 5,687 10,241 15,928
At 31 March 2024 16,219 55,354 71,573
NET BOOK VALUE
At 31 March 2024 12,215 14,541 26,756
At 31 March 2023 17,902 11,124 29,026
14. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 31.3.24 31.3.23
£ £
Other debtors 18,533 15,466
Prepayments 45,876 18,240
64,409 33,706
15. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR 31.3.24 31.3.23
£ £
Trade creditors 10,310 4,527
Other creditors 25,390 24,595
Accruals and deferred income 116,811 229,988
152,511 259,110
16. LEASING AGREEMENTS 31.3.24 31.3.23
£ £
Minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases fall due as follows:
Within one year 54,834 53,707

During the year £96,914 of operating leases were included in expenses.

Notes to the Financial Statements continued – Year Ended 31 March 2024

17. PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES 31.3.24 31.3.23
£ £
Provisions 71,802 70,267
Dilapidations Redecoration
Cedar Court Cedar Court Pension Total
£ £ £ £
Balance at 1 April 2023 28,915 33,000 8,352 70,267
Adjustment through SOFA 4,000 1,000 (3,465) 1,535
Balance at 31 March 2024 32,915 34,000 4,887 71,802

The dilapidations and redecoration provisions relate to work required by a refuge lease to restore the property to its original condition on its return to the landlord Woking Borough Council (WBC). The lease can be terminated with 6 months’ notice. At the date of signing the accounts, neither party has given notice.

The pension provision relates to a debt on withdrawal which will be due once there are no members of the pension scheme.

18. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS Net Transfers
movement between At
At 1.4.23 in funds funds 31.3.24
£ £ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General fund 950,964 114,874 (158,000) 907,838
Restricted funds
OPCC – Programmes and services – 10,000 – 10,000
SCC – Staffng and services 178,358 48,622 – 226,980
OPCC – Transition fund 2,372 (2,372) – –
PIML –Outreach – 40,520 – 40,520
Runnymede Brough Council – 2,500 – 2,500
180,730 99,270 – 280,000
Designated funds
Outreach services 15,000 – 30,000 45,000
Helpline project 25,000 (25,000) – –
Fund raising and commissioning 10,000 – – 10,000
Refuge property costs 50,000 – 57,000 107,000
Offce space 30,000 (30,000) – –
Refuge residents without recourse to public funds 20,000 (16,000) 16,000 20,000
Staffng – development and children’s work 47,000 (47,000) 17,000 17,000
Transition fund 13,000 (13,000) 13,000 13,000
CYP Online Services – – 25,000 25,000
210,000 (131,000) 158,000 237,000
TOTAL FUNDS 1,341,694 83,144 – 1,424,838

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

Transfers between funds all relate to designating unrestricted general funds for specific purposes or projects. An explanation of each Designated fund is included at the end of the note.

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows: Incoming Resources Movement
resources expended in funds
£ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General fund 1,157,671 (1,042,797) 114,874
Restricted funds
BBC Children in Need 33,726 (33,726) –
Community Foundation for Surrey 7,708 (7,708) –
OPCC – Staffng 102,249 (102,249) –
OPCC – Programmes and services 12,250 (2,250) 10,000
SCC – Staffng and services 289,792 (241,170) 48,622
OPCC – Transition fund – (2,372) (2,372)
Ministry of Justice 118,555 (118,555) –
Woking Borough Council 7,000 (7,000) –
Masonic Charitable Foundation 15,000 (15,000) –
SCC – Changing Futures/Public Health 28,025 (28,025) –
PIML – Outreach 40,520 – 40,520
Runnymede Brough Council 17,500 (15,000) 2,500
672,325 (573,055) 99,270
Designated funds
Helpline project – (25,000) (25,000)
Offce space – (30,000) (30,000)
Refuge residents without recourse to public funds – (16,000) (16,000)
Staffng – development and children's work – (47,000) (47,000)
Transition fund – (13,000) (13,000)
– (131,000) (131,000)
TOTAL FUNDS 1,829,996 (1,746,852) 83,144

Notes to the Financial Statements continued – Year Ended 31 March 2024

18. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS– continued. Net Transfers
movement between At
At 1.4.22 in funds funds 31.3.23
Comparatives for movement in funds £ £ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General fund 737,276 273,688 (60,000) 950,964
Restricted funds
OPCC – Programmes and services 1,444 (1,444) – –
SCC – Staffng and services 141,242 37,116 – 178,358
OPCC – Transition fund – 2,372 – 2,372
Ministry of Justice 22,560 (22,560) – –
SCC – Changing Futures/Public Health 14,660 (14,660) – –
179,906 824 – 180,730
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
Offce space 30,000 – – 30,000
Refuge residents without recourse to public funds 3,000 – 17,000 20,000
Staffng – development and children’s work 47,000 (30,000) 30,000 47,000
Transition fund – – 13,000 13,000
180,000 (30,000) 60,000 210,000
TOTAL FUNDS 1,097,182 244,512 – 1,341,694

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

Comparative net movement in funds, Incoming Resources Movement
included in the above are as follows: resources expended in funds
£ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General fund 1,101,396 (827,708) 273,688
Restricted funds
BBC Children in Need 34,641 (34,641) –
Community Foundation for Surrey 13,125 (13,125) –
OPCC – Staffng 86,962 (86,962) –
OPCC – Programmes and services 12,250 (13,694) (1,444)
SCC – Staffng and services 274,746 (237,630) 37,116
OPCC – Transition fund 10,000 (7,628) 2,372
Ministry of Justice 118,555 (141,115) (22,560)
Woking Brough Council 21,800 (21,800) –
Nationwide 15,263 (15,263) –
Masonic Charitable Foundation 15,000 (15,000) –
SCC – Changing Futures/Public Health 48,048 (62,708) (14,660)
650,390 (649,566) 824
Designated funds
Staffng – development and children’s work – (30,000) (30,000)
TOTAL FUNDS 1,751,786 (1,507,274) 244,512

Notes to the Financial Statements continued – Year Ended 31 March 2024

18. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS – continued.

A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months Net Transfers
combined position is as follows: movement between At
At 1.4.22 in funds funds 31.3.24
£ £ £ £
Unrestricted funds
General fund 737,276 388,562 (218,000) 907,838
Restricted funds
OPCC – Programmes and services 1,444 8,556 – 10,000
SCC – Staffng and services 141,242 85,738 – 226,980
Ministry of Justice 22,560 (22,560) – –
SCC – Changing Futures/Public Health 14,660 (14,660) – –
PIML – Outreach – 40,520 – 40,520
Runnymede Brough Council – 2,500 – 2,500
179,906 100,094 – 280,000
Designated funds
Outreach services 15,000 – 30,000 45,000
Helpline project 25,000 (25,000) – –
Fund raising and commissioning 10,000 – – 10,000
Refuge property costs 50,000 – 57,000 107,000
Offce space 30,000 (30,000) – –
Refuge residents without recourse to public funds 3,000 (16,000) 33,000 20,000
Staffng – development and children’s work 47,000 (77,000) 47,000 17,000
Transition fund – (13,000) 26,000 13,000
CYP Online Services – – 25,000 25,000
180,000 (161,000) 218,000 237,000
TOTAL FUNDS 1,097,182 327,656 – 1,424,838

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023/2024

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 2,259,067 (1,870,505) 388,562
Restricted funds
BBC Children in Need 68,367 (68,367) –
Community Foundation for Surrey 20,833 (20,833) –
OPCC – Staffng 189,211 (189,211) –
OPCC – Programmes and services 24,500 (15,944) 8,556
SCC – Staffng and services 564,538 (478,800) 85,738
OPCC – Transition fund 10,000 (10,000) –
Ministry of Justice 237,110 (259,670) (22,560)
Woking Borough Council 28,800 (28,800) –
Nationwide 15,263 (15,263) –
Masonic Charitable Foundation 30,000 (30,000) –
SCC – Changing Futures/Public Health 76,073 (90,733) (14,660)
PIML – Outreach 40,520 – 40,520
Runnymede Brough Council 17,500 (15,000) 2,500
1,322,715 (1,222,621) 100,094
Designated funds
Helpline project – (25,000) (25,000)
Offce space – (30,000) (30,000)
Refuge residents without recourse to public funds – (16,000) (16,000)
Staffng – development and children’s work – (77,000) (77,000)
Transition fund – (13,000) (13,000)
– (161,000) (161,000)
TOTAL FUNDS 3,581,782 (3,254,126) 327,656

Notes to the Financial Statements continued – Year Ended 31 March 2024

18. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS – continued.

Restricted funds

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

SCC – Changing Futures/Public Health – Grants to extend outreach work with survivors with complex needs.

Property Initiatives Management Limited – Grant towards community outreach services.

Community Foundation for Surrey –

Grants received towards complex needs in refuge, children’s service in refuge, helpline development, and outreach services.

OPCC Staffing –

Grants towards additional staff or staff hours. This included: contributions towards helpline staff, children’s workers in refuge, extra support hours in adult outreach, police advocate, young persons’ worker, a support worker for the prevention of violence against women and girls, and the perpetrator hub project.

OPCC Programmes & Services –

Grants towards various programmes and services. This included: delivery of Hope 2 Recovery programmes and counselling services.

SCC Staffing and Services –

Grants towards additional staff and staff hours.

This included: support workers in refuge, a hospital-based outreach worker, men’s outreach support, and the helpline. Along with our local borough councils, they also provided funding for the Sanctuary Scheme to help survivors remain safely in their own home.

OPCC Transition Fund -

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

Ministry of Justice –

Grants to provide additional support for adult and children’s outreach work.

Woking Brough Council –

Community grant towards outreach and helpline services.

Nationwide –

Grant towards refuge worker salary.

Masonic Charitable Foundation –

Grant toward salary of youth engagement and well-being worker.

Runnymede Brough Council –

Grant toward the transition fund providing goods for residents moving on from refuge, providing emergency mobile phones for survivors, and a contribution towards community 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.

Office Space – To cater for increasing staff members.

Refuge residents without recourse to public funds – To accommodate more women in refuge.

Staffing development and children’s work – To strengthen the provision for children.

Transition Fund –

To provide basic homewares for residents moving on from refuge.

CYP Online Services –

To develop online services targeted at children and young people.

19. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2024.

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

Surrey County Council; Ministry of Justice; The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey; Woking Borough Council; Runnymede Borough Council; Surrey Heath Borough Council; Public Health; BBC Children in Need; Masonic Charitable Foundation; Community Foundation for Surrey; Association of Private Cemetries and Crematoria; Woking District Rotary Club; GlobalGiving; local Women’s Institutes; Soroptimist International; Enterprise Rent-a-Car; Tudor Capital Europe; DWF Foundation; Capital Group; Screwfix Foundation; Waitrose; Surrey Golfbags; YPO Star London; TT Electronics; Assurant Foundation; Pyrford Women’s Forum; Welcome Church; Property Initiatives Management Ltd.

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.