COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 5323430 CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 1139557
Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Unaudited Financial Statements
31 March 2025
WYATT & CO
Chartered accountants 125 Main Street Garforth Leeds LS25 1AF
Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Financial Statements
Year Ended 31 March 2025
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) | 1 |
| Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees | 7 |
| Statement of Financial Activities (Including Income and Expenditure | |
| Account) | 8 |
| Statement of Financial Position | 9 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 10 |
| The Following Pages Do Not Form Part of the Financial Statements | |
| Detailed Statement of Financial Activities | 18 |
Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report)
Year Ended 31 March 2025
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025.
Reference and Administrative Details
| Registered charity name | Families Forward |
|---|---|
| Charity registration number | 1139557 |
| Company registration number | 5323430 |
| Principal office and registered | Oaktree House |
| office | Oakwood Lane |
| Leeds | |
| West Yorkshire | |
| LS8 3LG | |
| The Trustees | |
| R Sorton (Director) | |
| L Phillips | |
| R Roberts (Chair) | |
| M Wood (Director) | |
| B Butt | |
| A Murphy | |
| R Roberts (Director) | |
| S Ahmed | |
| Company Secretary | R Sorton |
| Independent Examiner | Nigel Wyatt BSC FCA |
| 125 Main Street | |
| Garforth | |
| Leeds | |
| LS25 1AF |
- 1 -
Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year Ended 31 March 2025
Structure, Governance and Management
Organisational structure
Families Forward is a Limited Company and Registered Charity and was constituted on 5 January 2005. The organisation is managed by the Trustee Board which currently has six members, four of whom are Directors of the Company. The Trustees include a family law solicitor, two local authority children’s legal services solicitors, a teacher, a Senior Impact Officer with a Community Foundation, and a retired social worker. The Rt Hon Judge Greenan continues to be the Patron of the organisation.
The Trustee Board is responsible for the governance and overall strategic direction of the organisation and the Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the organisation and reports directly to the Trustee board every three months. Standing agenda items for Board meetings are the organisation’s financial standing, with quarterly financial reports, staff issues, information security and operational information.
An Annual General Meeting elects Trustee Board members to the position of Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Complaints Officer and GDPR Officer, approves the Final Annual Financial Accounts and signs off the predicted budget and cash flow forecast for the following year.
The organisation continues to ensure that it works within it means whilst offering a professional service to clients and funders.
Recruitment appointment and training of trustees
As part of our work involves the training of social workers we are able to offer in-house training around operational issues and we make Board members aware of the course and seminars run by the local Leeds Voluntary Action who have a programme of training courses for voluntary sector trustees and management board members. We have induction programmes held several times a year for groups of social work students and Board members are able to attend all or some of those sessions. Aspects covered are: 1. the ethics of the organisation; 2. working with diversity;
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delivering services to vulnerable service users;
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familiarity with the organisation's policy and procedures;
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safeguarding children;
Risk management
It has been our practice in past years for the Manager to report annually on any issues where risk has been either identified or occurred.Following the contraction of funding streams at the end of the 12-13 financial year, the organisation has continued to operate in a reduced capacity, ensuring that it works within its means whilst offering a professional service to clients and funders.
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Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year Ended 31 March 2025
Objectives
The Objectives of the Families Forward are as follows:
To relieve the hardship and distress caused to children by the breakdown of family relationships and to preserve and protect the good physical and mental health of such children who are primarily living in West Yorkshire by:
a. The provision of a range of interventions and assessments on behalf of families in court proceedings or in the community and other professional agendas;
b. The provision and maintenance of supervised contact facilities where children can meet one or both parents and/or other estranged family members in a comfortable and safe environment;
c. The provision of education, training and other support for professional workers and others involved in family intervention and assessment;
The main objective of Families Forward is to work with families that have broken down and where the parents have separated or divorced but where there is a major conflict around the parent not living at home having contact with their children. These situations are characterised by the bitterness and animosity between parents which results in them losing sight of the sometimes devastating impact that has on the children. There is a great deal of research on how such situations adversely impact on children's ability to develop into confident and achieving adults.
Activities
As there are often allegations of risk to children, physically, emotionally or both, and there may have been a period where a parent has lost touch with their child, supervised family time is required to provide that assessment of the risk. A major part of the work is with the separated parents in helping them overcome their feelings about each other and to consider the needs of their child. As the parents are locked into conflict, we have to be skilled and imaginative in dealing with their fears and anxieties. We do this by managing or mitigating the risks by carefully supervising time spent between children and parents. We overcome barriers to progression to unsupervised family time, by working with parents to address their feelings of hurt and anger and focus on the needs of the children, who simply want their parents to not fight.
We are also increasingly facilitating family time between children and their extended family members, usually where the non-resident parent is not involved, but grandparents or aunts and uncles wish to remain part of the children’s lives.
Public benefit
We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities. Our work providing a safe environment for supervised contact between parents and children benefits the individual families and especially the children involved. In the long term it is anticipated that this should also have a positive influence on the children's ability to develop into confident and achieving adult members of society. In the short term the opportunity for positive communication between all parties should also reduce the need for further court time and costs to be incurred. As this work is challenging and involves direct work with parents and children and constant assessment of risk, this is ideal for social work students who need to satisfy work based learning requirements before qualifying as a social worker. In offering placements we receive fees and we can work with more families at no cost. We also help turn out skilled newly qualified social workers to the wider benefit.
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Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year Ended 31 March 2025
Achievements and Performance
We continue to provide a significant amount of supervised Private Law family time as described in b. above, and demand for this has remained high. During this financial year, Families Forward has continued to meet its target of initial meetings being offered to parties within two weeks of the referral being received. Referrals for our non-commissioned service, either by means of self-referral or through a solicitor, remain constant.
During the 24-25 financial year we have continued to provide the ICFA Service (Improving Child and Family Arrangements), on behalf of CAFCASS. A total of 55 referrals were received during the year.
In terms of the supervised family time, it has been difficult to obtain consistent information as to the success of the work, as the parents are in conflictual relationships and involved with the Court. Though we are successful in moving the majority of families to a position where they can make their own arrangements, and do not need to use the Centre, or the Courts, we also provide evidence where it is clear that parents are not able to meet their children’s needs, and where Courts decide to curtail contact. During the 24-25 financial year, 76 private referrals were received, only two of which were without a Court Order.
However, we have significant anecdotal evidence that parents value our service, particularly as it may be the only way a parent maintains a relationship with their child. In addition, evaluation forms completed by both parents and Family Court Advisors involved in the ICFA project, rate Families Forward very highly. CAFCASS management have stated that they consider us to be a vital resource and acknowledge the high quality of the service. This is also demonstrated by the referral rate of services funded by CAFCASS, and receipt of private referrals from Family Court Advisors.
The availability of Supervised Family Time Centres is very limited due to the lack of centralised or local funding. We have strenuously worked to keep the cost of family time to parents as low as possible, although in November 2024, we were in the position of having to increase our charges, for the first time in four years. We do, however, continue to be a prized service and both parents and judges have acknowledged that without our presence and skills in working in this difficult area the outcomes for children would not be as positive. Our added value is that we offer high quality assessments of time spent between children and their parent and our records and evaluations on the quality of relationships is frequently used by the Courts in determining outcomes in the Family Court.
In many cases statutory agencies such as CAFCASS and Social Care end their involvement as they only focus on acute cases and without our continuing involvement many children would lose contact with the parent who does not live with them or be damaged by intermittent contact as the parents continue their conflictual relationship. This is where we add significant added value.
Challenges
The inflation and cost of living situation continued to be a significant factor during the 24-25 financial year. Although some families have benefitted from the ICFA service funded by CAFCASS, there has been a number of occasions where further work is required but parents are unable to fund the costs. This has also affected the rate of private referrals that have been received, both from the point of view of them not being able to afford Court costs, as well as the costs involved in providing family time.
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Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year Ended 31 March 2025
A further challenge that the organisation had to face was the uncertainty of the CAFCASS ICFA service, which had been initially granted for a three-year period ending on 30 April 2024, with a one-year extension being given until the end of April 2025 (a 1+1 year extension period had been built into the original contract). Further to this, an additional six months extension was awarded, to end on 30 October 2025, to allow for a decision on the tender process for the next three-year ICFA programme to be finalized in June 2025.
During the 24-25 financial year, due to an increase in the number of ICFA and private referrals, Families Forward agreed to transfer to a larger space in Oaktree House, which would give the organisation a practice room and separate office, and would be more accessible to families as it was located on the ground floor of the building. This was taken on for a three-year period from 1 January 2025, with a lease break after one year. This was felt to be a manageable risk as the break clause could be activated if necessary, after the outcome of the ICFA tender process was known. Families Forward continued to use The Old Fire Station in Gipton on alternate Saturdays.
Financial Review
During the 23-24 financial year, our principal funding sources were:
-
Provision of work through the ICFA contract for CAFCASS
-
Fees from parents for providing family time sessions
These are ranked in terms of their value.
We do not have any restricted funds other than income we receive to deliver specific contracted services.
Our reserve policy is to have three months operating costs to cover any unexpected eventualities or loss of funding so that we can meet legal requirements, but due to the financial difficulties described above, this has not been achieved. Having reduced our outgoings in respect of rent, it would be our intention to improve the financial reserves position during 24-25.
During the 2024/25 financial year, total income was £127,052 (2023/24: £105,169) and total expenditure was £94,793 (2023/24: £103,459), resulting in a net surplus of £32,259 (2023/24: £1,710). As a result, the charity’s unrestricted reserves at 31 March 2025 stood at £32,706 (2024: £447). The trustees are pleased to note the strengthening of the charity’s reserves during the year, improving resilience ahead of the planned wind-down.
- 5 -
Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Trustees' Annual Report (Incorporating the Director's Report) (continued)
Year Ended 31 March 2025
Plans for Future Periods
At their meeting in September 2025, the Board of Families Forward unanimously agreed that Families Forward would cease to offer a service to families on 31 December 2025. This decision was made in the light of forthcoming changes in family law, both with regard to funding and the initiatives introduced through the Ministry of Justice and the Courts, which had led to an uncertainty with regard to its sustainability in the long term. The lack of clarity with regard to the future of private law contact, especially in respect of unpredictable referral numbers in the future, led Board members to draw the only conclusion where both staff and families received equal consideration, being the need to close the organisation.
This information was conveyed to all stakeholders, including staff members, referrers, CAFCASS, and existing service users, both by email, letter and through the Families Forward website. Efforts were made to ensure that families received sufficient notice to make alternative arrangements from January 2026, and they received signposting to other agencies that would be able to help them.
Following the cessation of services in December 2025, senior staff would continue to work with Wyatt & Co to close the agency down in an effective and timely manner.
The Board conveyed their thanks to all staff and Board members, past and present, for their commitment to the work of Families Forward and the service that they had provided for over twenty years to families in Leeds.
Small Company Provisions
This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies exemption.
The trustees' annual report was approved signed on behalf of the board of trustees by:
Trustee Rebecca Roberts
Richard Sorton
Date: 15/12/2025 12/12/2025
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Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Families Forward
Year Ended 31 March 2025
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Families Forward ('the charity') for the year ended 31 March 2025.
Responsibilities and Basis of Report
As the trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act’).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent Examiner's Statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
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the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
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the financial statements 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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the financial statements 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.
Nigel Wyatt BSC FCA Independent Examiner
125 Main Street Garforth Leeds LS25 1AF
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Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Statement of Financial Activities (including income and expenditure account)
Year Ended 31 March 2025
| 2025 | 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | ||||
| fundsTotal funds | Total funds | |||
| Note | £ | £ | £ | |
| Income and endowments | ||||
| Donations and legacies | 5 | 127,552 | 127,553 | 105,169 |
| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ||
| Total income | 127,552 | 127,553 | 105,169 | |
| ===================================== | ===================================== | ===================================== | ||
| Expenditure | ||||
| Expenditure on charitable activities | 6,7 | 94,793 | 94,793 | 103,459 |
| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ||
| Total expenditure | 94,793 | 94,793 | 103,459 | |
| ===================================== | ===================================== | ===================================== | ||
| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ||
| Net income and net movement in funds | 32,259 | 32,260 | 1,710 | |
| ===================================== | ===================================== | ===================================== | ||
| Reconciliation of funds | ||||
| Total funds brought forward | 447 | 447 | (1,263) | |
| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ||
| Total funds carried forward | 33,206 | 33,206 | 447 | |
| ===================================== | ===================================== | ===================================== |
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The notes on pages 10 to 16 form part of these financial statements.
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Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Statement of Financial Position
31 March 2025
| 2025 | 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | £ | £ | £ | |
| Fixed Assets | ||||
| Tangible fixed assets | 13 | – | 39 | |
| Current Assets | ||||
| Debtors | 14 | 10,312 | 9,972 | |
| Cash at bank and in hand | 24,452 | 135 | ||
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | |||
| 34,764 | 10,107 | |||
| Creditors: amounts falling due within one year | 15 | 1,558 | 9,699 | |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | |||
| Net Current Assets | 33,206 | 408 | ||
| ------------------------------- | ---------------- | |||
| Total Assets Less Current Liabilities | 33,206 | 447 | ||
| ------------------------------- | ---------------- | |||
| Net Assets | 33,206 | 447 | ||
| =============================== | ================ | |||
| Funds of the Charity | ||||
| Unrestricted funds | 33,206 | 447 | ||
| ------------------------------- | ---------------- | |||
| Total charity funds | 16 | 33,206 =============================== |
447 ================ |
For the year ending 31 March 2025 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Directors' responsibilities:
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The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476;
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The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.
These financial statements were approved by the board of trustees and authorised for issue are signed on behalf of the board by:
Rebecca Roberts Richard Sorton
Director Date 15/12/2025 12/12/2025
The notes on pages 10 to 16 form part of these financial statements.
- 9 -
Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements
Year Ended 31 March 2025
1. General Information
The charity is a public benefit entity and a private company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales and a registered charity in England and Wales. The address of the registered office is Oaktree House, Oakwood Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS8 3LG.
2. Statement of Compliance
These financial statements have been prepared in compliance with FRS 102, 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland', the 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) (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and the Companies Act 2006.
3. Accounting Policies
Basis of Preparation
Families Forward meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless stated otherwise in the relevant accounting policy note. The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the entity.
Going Concern
The trustees have made the decision, after the balance sheet date, to wind down the charity and bring its operations to a close on a voluntary basis. This decision has been taken not due to any financial difficulty, but as a strategic choice by the board following a period of reflection on the long-term sustainability and direction of the organisation.
At the time of approving the accounts, the charity remains financially solvent, holds sufficient reserves, and continues to meet its obligations in the ordinary course of business. There is no material uncertainty regarding the charity's ability to continue to operate in the short term and to meet its existing commitments, including the conclusion of the current ICFA contract and closure obligations.
Although the charity is expected to cease operations in the foreseeable future, the financial statements have been prepared on the going concern basis as the charity continues to operate and deliver services at the date of approval, and the wind-down process will be managed over a structured timeframe. The trustees are confident that all liabilities will be met and that the charity will continue to function for a sufficient period to allow for an orderly closure. Accordingly, the going concern basis remains appropriate for the preparation of these financial statements.
Judgements and Key Sources of Estimation Uncertainty
The preparation of the financial statements requires the trustees to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported. These estimates and judgements are continually reviewed and are based on experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
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Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year Ended 31 March 2025
3. Accounting Policies (continued)
Fund Accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees to further any of the charity's purposes.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular future project or commitment.
Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure declared by the donor or through the terms of an appeal, and fall into one of two sub-classes: restricted income funds or endowment funds.
Incoming Resources
All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when entitlement has passed to the charity; it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the transaction will flow to the charity and the amount can be reliably measured. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:
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income from donations or grants is recognised when there is evidence of entitlement to the gift, receipt is probable and its amount can be measured reliably.
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legacy income is recognised when receipt is probable and entitlement is established.
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income from donated goods is measured at the fair value of the goods unless this is impractical to measure reliably, in which case the value is derived from the cost to the donor or the estimated resale value. Donated facilities and services are recognised in the accounts when received if the value can be reliably measured. No amounts are included for the contribution of general volunteers.
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income from contracts for the supply of services is recognised with the delivery of the contracted service. This is classified as unrestricted funds unless there is a contractual requirement for it to be spent on a particular purpose and returned if unspent, in which case it may be regarded as restricted.
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Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year Ended 31 March 2025
3. Accounting Policies (continued)
Resources Expended
Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is classified under headings of the statement of financial activities to which it relates:
-
expenditure on raising funds includes the costs of all fundraising activities, events, non-charitable trading activities, and the sale of donated goods.
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expenditure on charitable activities includes all costs incurred by a charity in undertaking activities that further its charitable aims for the benefit of its beneficiaries, including those support costs and costs relating to the governance of the charity apportioned to charitable activities.
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other expenditure includes all expenditure that is neither related to raising funds for the charity nor part of its expenditure on charitable activities.
All costs are allocated to expenditure categories reflecting the use of the resource. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs are apportioned between the activities they contribute to on a reasonable, justifiable and consistent basis.
Tangible Assets
Tangible assets are initially recorded at cost, and subsequently stated at cost less any accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. Any tangible assets carried at revalued amounts are recorded at the fair value at the date of revaluation less any subsequent accumulated depreciation and subsequent accumulated impairment losses.
An increase in the carrying amount of an asset as a result of a revaluation, is recognised in other recognised gains and losses, unless it reverses a charge for impairment that has previously been recognised as expenditure within the statement of financial activities. A decrease in the carrying amount of an asset as a result of revaluation, is recognised in other recognised gains and losses, except to which it offsets any previous revaluation gain, in which case the loss is shown within other recognised gains and losses on the statement of financial activities.
Depreciation
Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost or valuation of an asset, less its residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset as follows:
Office equipment - 25% reducing balance
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Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year Ended 31 March 2025
3. Accounting Policies (continued)
Impairment of Fixed Assets
A review for indicators of impairment is carried out at each reporting date, with the recoverable amount being estimated where such indicators exist. Where the carrying value exceeds the recoverable amount, the asset is impaired accordingly. Prior impairments are also reviewed for possible reversal at each reporting date.
For the purposes of impairment testing, when it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, an estimate is made of the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs.
Financial Instruments
A financial asset or a financial liability is recognised only when the entity becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at the amount receivable or paable including any related transaction costs, unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where it is recognised at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument. Current assets and current liabilities are subsequently measured at the cash or other consideration expected to be paid or received and not discounted.
4. Limited by Guarantee
Families Forward is a company limited by guarantee. The liability of its members is limited. Every member promises that if the company is dissolved while he or she remains a member or within 12 months afterwards, to contribute up to £1 towards the cost of dissolution and the liabilities incurred by the company while the contributor was a member.
5. Donations and Legacies
| Unrestricted | Total Funds | Unrestricted | Total Funds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | 2025 | Funds | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Donations | ||||
| Donations | 4,628 | 4,628 | 21,690 | 21,690 |
| Grants | ||||
| Grants receivable | 6,500 | 6,500 | 3,500 | 3,500 |
| Other Donations and Legacies | ||||
| Supervised contact fees | 40,457 | 40,457 | 27,832 | 27,832 |
| PIP Fees and ICFA income | 75,968 | 75,968 | 52,147 | 52,147 |
| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | |
| 127,552 | 127,553 | 105,169 | 105,169 | |
| ===================================== | ===================================== | ===================================== | ===================================== |
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Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year Ended 31 March 2025
6. Expenditure on Charitable Activities by Fund Type
| Unrestricted | Total Funds | Unrestricted | Total Funds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds | 2025 | Funds | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Child and family support services | 88,666 | 88,666 | 98,586 | 98,586 |
| Support costs | 6,127 | 6,127 | 4,873 | 4,873 |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | |
| 94,793 =============================== |
94,793 =============================== |
103,459 ===================================== |
103,459 ===================================== |
7. Expenditure on Charitable Activities by Activity Type
| Activities | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| undertaken | Total funds | Total fund | |||
| directly | Support costs | 2025 | 2024 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Child and family support services | 88,666 | 6,127 |
94,793 | 103,459 | |
| =============================== | ========================== | =============================== | ===================================== | ||
| 8. | Analysis of Support Costs |
| Child and | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| family | ||||
| support | ||||
| services | Total 2025 | Total 2024 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| Governance costs | 1,415 | 1,415 | 373 | |
| Accountancy | 4,712 | 4,712 | 4,500 | |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------- | -------------------------- | ||
| 6,127 | 6,127 | 4,873 | ||
| ========================== | ========================== | ========================== | ||
| 9. | Net Income | |||
| Net income is stated after charging/(crediting): | ||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||
| £ | £ | |||
| Depreciation of tangible fixed assets | 39 | 13 | ||
| ================ | ================ | |||
| 10. | Independent Examination Fees | |||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||
| £ | £ | |||
| Fees payable to the independent examiner for: | ||||
| Independent examination of the financial statements | 1,060 | 1,020 | ||
| Other financial services | 3,652 | 3,380 | ||
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------- | |||
| 4,712 | 4,500 | |||
| ========================== | =============================== |
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Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year Ended 31 March 2025
11. Staff Costs
The total staff costs and employee benefits for the reporting period are analysed as follows:
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Wages and salaries | 70,682 =============================== |
65,614 =============================== |
The average head count of employees during the year was 7 (2024: 6).
No employee received employee benefits of more than £60,000 during the year (2024: Nil).
Key Management Personnel
Key management personnel include all persons that have authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the charity. The total compensation paid to key management personnel for services provided to the charity was £39,948 (2024: £37,647).
12. Trustee Remuneration and Expenses
No remuneration or other benefits from employment with the charity or any related entity were received by the trustees.
13. Tangible Fixed Assets
| Equipment | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Cost | ||
| At 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 | 1,419 | 1,419 |
| ========================== | ========================== | |
| Depreciation | ||
| At 1 April 2024 | 1,380 | 1,380 |
| Charge for the year | 39 | 39 |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------- | |
| At 31 March 2025 | 1,419 | 1,419 |
| ========================== | ========================== | |
| Carrying amount | ||
| At 31 March 2025 | – | – |
| ========================== | ========================== | |
| At 31 March 2024 | 39 | 39 |
| ========================== | ========================== | |
| Debtors | ||
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Trade debtors | 5,858 | 5,280 |
| Prepayments and accrued income | 4,454 | 4,692 |
| ------------------------------- | -------------------------- | |
| 10,312 | 9,972 | |
| =============================== | ========================== |
14. Debtors
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Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Financial Statements (continued)
Year Ended 31 March 2025
15. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Bank loans and overdrafts | – | 5,649 |
| Accruals and deferred income | 496 | 3,093 |
| Social security and other taxes | 149 | 487 |
| Other creditors | 1,413 | 470 |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------- | |
| 2,058 ========================== |
9,699 ========================== |
16. Analysis of Charitable Funds
Unrestricted funds
| Unrestricted funds | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At | |||||
| At | 31 March | ||||
| 1 | April 2024 | Income | Expenditure | 2025 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| General funds | 447 | 127,052 | (94,793) | 32,706 | |
| ================ | ===================================== | =============================== | =============================== | ||
| At | |||||
| At | 31 March | ||||
| 1 | April 2023 | Income | Expenditure | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| General funds | (1,263) | 105,169 | (103,459) | 447 | |
| ========================== | ===================================== | ===================================== | ================ |
17. Post Balance Sheet Events
On 25[th] September 2025 the trustees formally resolved to begin the process of winding down Families Forward and ceasing all charitable operations. This decision was made on a voluntary basis, reflecting a strategic choice by the Board of Trustees in light of long-term sustainability considerations.
The organisation will continue to operate in the short term to ensure appropriate closure of ongoing cases and contractual obligations, including the remaining term of the ICFA contract (due to end 31 October 2025).
The trustees are working closely with advisors to manage the wind-down process in accordance with best practice and regulatory requirements.
18. Related Parties
During the financial year no related party transactions took place.
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Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Management Information
Year Ended 31 March 2025
The Following Pages Do Not Form Part of the Financial Statements.
- 17 -
Families Forward
Company Limited by Guarantee
Notes to the Detailed Statement of Financial Activities
Year Ended 31 March 2025
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Income and endowments | ||
| Donations and legacies | ||
| Donations | 4,628 | 21,690 |
| Grants receivable | 6,500 | 3,500 |
| Supervised contact fees | 37,973 | 25,205 |
| Letter box facility | 2,484 | 2,627 |
| PIP Fees and ICFA Income | 75,968 | 52,147 |
| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | |
| 127,553 | 105,169 | |
| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | |
| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | |
| Total income | 127,553 | 105,169 |
| ===================================== | ===================================== | |
| Expenditure on charitable activities | ||
| Child and family support services | ||
| Activities undertaken directly | ||
| Salaries | 70,682 | 65,614 |
| Rent rates & water | 16,814 | 16,425 |
| Premise expenses | – | 4,405 |
| Repairs & maintenance | 100 | – |
| Insurance | 1,912 | 1,718 |
| Health & safety | 245 | – |
| Travel Costs | 194 | 6 |
| Staff Training | 208 | – |
| Telephone Costs | 369 | 492 |
| Other Office Costs | (2,965) | 9,744 |
| Service Delivery | 657 | 182 |
| Sundry Expenses | 450 | – |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | |
| 88,666 | 98,586 | |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | |
| Support costs | ||
| Accountancy Costs | 4,712 | 4,500 |
| Depreciation | 40 | 13 |
| Governance Costs | 1,375 | 360 |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------- | |
| 6,127 | 4,873 | |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------- | |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | |
| Total expenditure | 94,793 | 103,459 |
| =============================== | ===================================== | |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | |
| Net income | 32,760 | 1,710 |
| =============================== | ===================================== |
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