Bradford Bereavement Support
Charity number 1137624
A company limited by guarantee number 07321391
Annual Report and Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 March 2024
Bradford Bereavement Support
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024
| Contents | Page |
|---|---|
| Trustees' report | 2 to 5 |
| Examiner's report | 6 |
| Statement of financial activities | 7 |
| Balance sheet | 8 |
| Notes to the accounts | 9 to 12 |
Prepared by West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
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Bradford Bereavement Support
Trustees' report for the year ended 31 March 2024
Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors
The trustees during the financial year and up to and including the date the report was approved were: Name Position Dates
Position Nick Anderson Chair David Flynn Vice Chair Ruth Owen Rehana Ashiq Jayani Tennakoon Charity number 1137624 07321391
Resigned 1 November 2023 Appointed 1 November 2023 Registered in England and Wales Registered in England and Wales
Charity number Company number
Registered and principal address
Bankers
c/o University of Bradford Co-operative Bank Phoenix Southwest Building PO Box 250 Off Shearbridge Road Skelmersdale Bradford WN8 6WT BD7 1NX
Independent examiner
Simon Bostrom FCIE West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
Structure, governance and management
The charity is a company limited by guarantee and was formed on 21 July 2010. It is governed by a memorandum and articles of association as amended 1 March 2019. The liability of the members in the event of the company being wound up is limited to a sum not exceeding £10.
Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees
The trustees of the charity are also the directors for the purposes of company law and are appointed by the members at the AGM.
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Bradford Bereavement Support
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 March 2024
Objectives and activities
The charity's objects
The protection and preservation of good health of the people of Bradford who have suffered a bereavement, through the provision of a bereavement counselling service.
To advance education by the provision of training in bereavement counselling in Bradford.
The charity's main activities
Bradford Bereavement Support (BBS) aims to improve the mental health and wellbeing of adults in Bradford Metropolitan District Council by providing a high-quality counselling service for anyone affected by bereavement, or anticipated bereavement in the near future.
BBS provides a free and confidential bereavement and pre-bereavement counselling service for people over the age of 16 across the Bradford Metropolitan District. Our pool of trained volunteer counsellors together with the paid staff and the support of the Trustees make an enthusiastic and dedicated team committed to delivering a high-quality service to the bereaved people of the Bradford Area.
Public benefit statement
In setting our objectives and planning our activities BBS trustees have given serious consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit. In particular the mental health and wellbeing of individuals in Bradford Metropolitan District Council by providing a high-quality counselling service for anyone affected by bereavement. In addition, BBS aims to advance the education in all matters related to bereavement, by the provision of bespoke grief and loss training to Volunteer bereavement Counsellors and the provision of information, advice, and training with the object of relieving suffering of those affected by death.
Achievements and performance
Having moved BBS offices to Bradford University, we continue to build relationships and collaboration with university staff and benefit from a safe, accessible, professional, and friendly environment for both BBS clients and staff.
BBS has again successfully recruited a new cohort of volunteers to provide bereavement counselling therapy to clients. BBS recruit’s students from local educational service who are completing their professional level counselling diploma qualification. Following a rigorous selection process, the accepted students are inducted into BBS. We provide them with formal training on Grief and Loss therapy, safeguarding, telephone and video conferencing skills, service administration volunteering requirements and provide access to Continued Professional Development courses. Once inducted, volunteers are provided with ongoing supervision from qualified BACP registered BBS Supervisors.
In addition to the grant provided by the Clinical Commissioning Group, BBS has generated additional funding in the form of grants to support its ongoing Bereavement Counselling service to clients and to support new service improvement initiatives. This includes a grant from Sovereign Health Care to support on-going clinical supervision of Volunteers. In addition to several small donations from clients following their engagement with the counselling service, BBS also received a donation from a local organisation that had held a fun -run to raise funds for local charities. We also received a larger donation from the estate of Mary Earnshaw who lived in the Bradford area and recognised the value of the service provided by BBS to the local community.
In addition to providing free bereavement counselling therapy to the local community, BBS also provides other support services including a ‘Talking about loss Bereavement Support group’ that provides regular face to face group sessions that enables individuals to talk in a safe, friendly, and non-clinical clinical environment and undertake fun group recreational activities. BBS has also continued to deliver community engagement service to support BAME, LGBTQIA+ and Male communities, BBS has successfully engaged with different local support groups, and this has resulted in increased referral numbers from these communities.
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Bradford Bereavement Support
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 March 2024
Financial review
The net expenditure for the year was £9,474, including net expenditure of £549 on unrestricted funds and net income of £-8,925 on restricted funds.
Reserves policy
BBS is currently dependent on the Clinical Commissioning Groups in Bradford to fund its activities, as earned income alone would not allow BBS to continue operating. This means that if there were to be a gap in the current funding from the Clinical Commissioning Groups, it is likely that BBS would have to close. Currently funding has been secured until March 2023. To avoid closure if funding difficulties were to happen the BBS board has agreed to keep a level of financial reserves to ensure that main operations can continue for a period of 9 months.
The main concerns of the board are to ensure:
-
that staff can continue working, primarily to secure new funding
-
that clients and volunteers are supported to move on to other services
The charity's free reserves, excluding fixed assets, at the year end were £43,029.
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Bradford Bereavement Support
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 March 2024
Statement of trustees' responsibilities
The trustees (who are also the directors for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees report and the financial statements in accordance with the applicable law and UK Accounting Standards.
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial accounts 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 the year. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
prepare the accounts on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.
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 accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities (Charities SORP (FRS102)), and in accordance with the special provisions of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Approved by the board of trustees on 25/07/2024
David Flynn (Trustee)
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Bradford Bereavement Support
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Bradford Bereavement Support
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charitable company for the year ended 31 March 2024, which are set out on pages 7 to 12.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity's trustees of the charitable company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the charitable company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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1 accounting records were not kept in respect of the company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or 2 the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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3 the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair view' which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
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4 the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities [applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)].
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Simon Bostrom FCIE
26/07/2024
West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
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Bradford Bereavement Support
Statement of Financial Activities
(including summary income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31 March 2024
| Notes 2024 Unrestricted funds £ Income from: Grants and donations (2) 96,207 Fees and charges 1,008 Total income 97,215 Expenditure on: Salaries, NIC and pensions (3) 69,459 Payroll costs 919 Other staff costs 19 Training and supervision 7,205 Premises costs 11,006 Phone and postage 1,805 Printing, stationery and office expenses 662 Fundraising expense - Independent examination 908 Membership and subscriptions 832 Office, IT and equipment costs 1,259 COVID-19 AWC Pathway - Insurance 1,974 DBS checks 392 Professional fees and consultancy 528 Counselling fees 654 Gifts and donations - Activities and events 142 Total expenditure 97,764 Net income / (expenditure) (549) Fund balances brought forward 43,578 Fund balances carried forward (4) 43,029 |
2024 Restricted funds £ 3,000 - 3,000 5,123 - 24 2,250 - 19 177 - 100 - 659 - - - - 3,549 - 24 11,925 (8,925) 17,002 8,077 |
2024 Total funds £ 99,207 1,008 100,215 74,582 919 43 9,455 11,006 1,824 839 - 1,008 832 1,918 - 1,974 392 528 4,203 - 166 109,689 (9,474) 60,580 51,106 |
2023 Total funds £ 80,084 9,829 89,913 78,549 437 32 9,657 11,492 4,046 964 542 1,008 320 850 7,785 1,424 460 636 2,587 209 345 121,343 (31,430) 92,010 60,580 |
|---|---|---|---|
All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities.
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Bradford Bereavement Support
Balance sheet
| as at 31 March 2024 2024 Unrestricted £ Current assets Debtors and prepayments (5) 2,790 Cash at bank and in hand (6) 41,247 Total current assets 44,037 Current liabilities: amounts falling due within one year Creditors and accruals (7) 1,008 Total current liabilities 1,008 Net current assets / (liabilities) 43,029 Net assets 43,029 Funds Unrestricted funds 43,029 Restricted funds - Total funds 43,029 |
2024 Restricted £ - 8,077 8,077 - - 8,077 8,077 - 8,077 8,077 |
2024 Total £ 2,790 49,324 52,114 1,008 1,008 51,106 51,106 43,029 8,077 51,106 |
2023 Total £ 3,917 79,233 83,150 22,570 22,570 60,580 60,580 43,578 17,002 60,580 |
|---|---|---|---|
For the year ending 31 March 2024 the charitable company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
The members have not required the charitable company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476. The trustees (who are also the directors for the purposes of company law) acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime and with FRS 102 (effective January 2019).
The financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on 25/07/2024
David Flynn (Trustee)
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Bradford Bereavement Support
Notes to the accounts
for the year ended 31 March 2024
1 Accounting policies
Basis of accounting
These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by 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) and with the Charities Act 2011.
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. There has been no change to the accounting policies since last year.
No changes have been made to the accounts for previous years.
Going concern
The trustees are satisfied that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue.
Incoming resources
All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when the charity becomes entitled to the resources, if it is more likely than not that the trustees will receive the resources and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.
Grants and donations
Grants and donations are only included in the SOFA when the charity has unconditional entitlement to the resources.
Where grants are related to performance and specific deliverables, they are accounted for as the charity earns the right to consideration by its performance.
Expenditure and liabilities
Expenditure is recognised on an accrual basis as a liability is incurred. Liabilities are recognised where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to pay out the resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.
Taxation
As a charity the organisation benefits from rates relief and is generally exempt from income tax and capital gains tax but not from VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the cost of those items to which it relates.
Pensions
The charity operates a defined contribution scheme for the benefit of its employees. The costs of contributions are recognised in the year they are payable.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.
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Bradford Bereavement Support
Notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 March 2024
| 2 Grants and donations Bradford and Airedale CCG Idle Red Kites People's Postcode Lottery Sovereign Health Care DWP Kickstart Other donations and legacies 3 Staff costs and numbers Gross salaries Social security costs Employment allowance Pensions |
2024 Unrestricted funds £ 80,145 1,500 10,000 - - 4,562 96,207 |
2024 Restricted funds £ - - - 3,000 - - 3,000 |
2024 Total funds £ 80,145 1,500 10,000 3,000 - 4,562 99,207 2024 £ 72,289 5,088 (5,000) 2,205 74,582 |
2023 Total funds £ 76,329 - - - 2,096 1,659 80,084 2023 £ 76,316 5,452 (5,000) 1,781 78,549 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The average number of employees during the year was 4.9, | The average number of employees during the year was 4.9, | being | an average of 3.3 full time equivalent | an average of 3.3 full time equivalent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2023: 4.5, 2.9 FTE). There were no employees with emoluments | above £60,000. | ||||
| Defined contribution pension scheme | 2024 2023 |
||||
| Costs of the scheme to the charity for the year | £ £ 2,205 1,781 |
||||
| Amount of any contributions outstanding at the year | end | - - |
|||
| Amount of any contributions prepaid at the year end | - - |
||||
| **4 ** | Restricted funds Balance b/f |
Incoming | Outgoing | Transfers Balance c/f |
|
| £ Lottery Community Fund IT 448 |
- | £ | £ 448 |
£ £ - - |
|
| Lottery Community Fund 4,558 |
- | - | - 4,558 |
||
| Morrison's Foundation 7,744 |
- | 5,335 | - 2,409 |
||
| People's Postcode Lottery 3,453 |
- | 3,453 | - - |
||
| Sovereign Health Care - |
3,000 | 1,890 | - 1,110 |
||
| Tesco/Groundwork 390 |
- | 390 | - - |
||
| Yorkshire Building Society 409 |
- | 409 | - - |
||
| 17,002 | 3,000 | 11,925 | - 8,077 |
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Notes to the accounts continued
Bradford Bereavement Support
for the year ended 31 March 2024
4 Restricted funds
Fund name
Lottery Community Fund IT Lottery Community Fund Morrison's Foundation People's Postcode Lottery Sovereign Health Care Tesco/Groundwork Yorkshire Building Society
Purpose of restriction
Towards the costs of an IT upgrade to support remote working. To fund project delivery of an advice and support service to the bereaved of To fund project delivery of Group Support to the bereaved of Bradford.
To employ a temporary Community Engagement Officer for 6 months to Towards the costs of bereavement counsellors in Bradford. To support service delivery. Covid-19 response fund.
| 5 Debtors and prepayments Debtors Prepayments Other debtors 6 Cash at bank and in hand Cash at bank Cash in hand 7 Creditors and accruals Amounts received on account for contracts / performance related grants Accruals Taxation and social security |
2024 £ 576 500 1,714 2,790 2024 £ 49,226 98 49,324 2024 £ - 1,008 - 1,008 |
2023 £ 3,443 474 - 3,917 2023 £ 79,135 98 79,233 2023 £ 19,082 1,008 2,480 22,570 |
|---|---|---|
8 Related party transactions
Trustee expenses
No trustee received any expenses during this year or the previous year.
Trustee remuneration and benefits
No trustee received any remuneration or benefit during this or the previous year.
Remuneration and benefits received by key management personnel
The total employee benefits received by key management personnel were £28,374 (previous year: £36,126).
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Bradford Bereavement Support
Statement of Financial Activities including comparatives for all funds (including summary income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31 March 2024
| 2024 2023 Unrestricted Unrestricted funds funds £ £ Income Grants and donations 96,207 77,988 Fees and charges 1,008 9,829 Other income - - Total income 97,215 87,817 Expenditure Salaries, NIC and pensions 69,459 63,659 Payroll costs 919 437 Other staff costs 19 13 Training and supervision 7,205 9,057 Premises costs 11,006 11,492 Phone and postage 1,805 3,505 Printing, stationery and office expenses 662 219 Fundraising expense - 542 Independent examination 908 1,008 Membership and subscriptions 832 320 Office, IT and equipment costs 1,259 278 COVID-19 AWC Pathway - 7,785 Insurance 1,974 1,424 DBS checks 392 314 Professional fees and consultancy 528 636 Counselling fees 654 740 Gifts and donations - 209 Activities and events 142 345 Total expenditure 97,764 101,983 Net income / (expenditure) (549) (14,166) Fund balances brought forward 43,578 57,744 Fund balances carried forward 43,029 43,578 |
2024 Restricted funds £ 3,000 - - 3,000 5,123 - 24 2,250 - 19 177 - 100 - 659 - - - - 3,549 - 24 11,925 (8,925) 17,002 8,077 |
2023 Restricted funds £ 2,096 - - 2,096 14,890 - 19 600 - 541 745 - - - 572 - - 146 - 1,847 - - 19,360 (17,264) 34,266 17,002 |
2024 Total funds £ 99,207 1,008 - 100,215 74,582 919 43 9,455 11,006 1,824 839 - 1,008 832 1,918 - 1,974 392 528 4,203 - 166 109,689 (9,474) 60,580 51,106 |
2023 Total funds £ 80,084 9,829 - 89,913 78,549 437 32 9,657 11,492 4,046 964 542 1,008 320 850 7,785 1,424 460 636 2,587 209 345 121,343 (31,430) 92,010 60,580 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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