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2025-03-31-accounts

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

MALDON AND DISTRICT CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU

_________________

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

FOR

MALDON AND DISTRICT CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 07582667 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1141869

Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Report oftheDirectors &Trustees : 3-7
Independent Examiners Report : 8
Balance Sheet and Statement of Financial Activities : 9
Notes to the Accounts : 11-13

Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau

REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES

The Trustees (who are also the Directors for the purpose of Company Law) have pleasure in presenting their annual report and the inspected financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” (FRS 102) in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the charity.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Charity Name: Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau Charity Registration: 1141869 Company Registration: 07582667 Registered Office: Council Offices, Princes Road, Maldon, CM9 5DL Chief Officer: Mrs Lucy Bettley

TRUSTEES

Claire Morin Chair of Trustees Laura Brown Company Secretary Dale Cox Peter Dollery Melanie Halls Paul Roberts Treasurer Gerald Martin Townshend (appointed 20[th] February, 2025) Philip Wakeling Jo Weaver (appointed 20[th] February, 2025)

PRINCIPAL BANKERS: Unity Trust Bank
Four Brindleyplace
Birmingham
B1 2JB
INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS Pocknells LLP
Henry Brake House,
46 Hullbridge Road,
South Woodham Ferrers,
CM3 5NG

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Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau (“the Bureau”) is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau is also known and referred to as Maldon Citizens Advice. The maximum liability of each member is limited to £1. Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association.

At 31 March 2025, the company had 10 members.

Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee on the 29 March 2011. The charity commenced operations on the 1 October 2011 at which date the assets and liabilities of the unincorporated Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau were acquired.

Recruitment, appointment of Trustees

Trustees, who are also Directors of the Company, are elected from the local community and must either reside or work in Essex. Trustees can be co-opted to the board and are elected by the members at the following Annual General Meeting. Trustees can also be elected to the Board purely at an Annual General Meeting. Trustees have to be members of the Charity prior to becoming Trustees. A separate process agreed by the Trustee Board is followed for the election of the Chair. The Reference and Administrative Details above identifies the constituencies that elected each of the current trustees. No other persons or bodies external to the charity were entitled to appoint persons to the Trustee Board.

Organisational structure and management

Maldon & District Citizens Advice Bureau is governed by its Trustee Board which is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organization and the policy of the charity. The Trustees carry the ultimate responsibility for the conduct of the Bureau and for ensuring that the charity satisfies its legal and contractual obligations. Trustees meet as a minimum quarterly and delegate the day-to-day operation of the organisation to senior management. The Trustee Board is independent from management.

The Board met four times during the financial year.

Day to day management decisions were delegated to the Chief Officer as detailed in the Bureau Manual. This has clearly defined overall responsibility for the Bureau. The Charity is a Member of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureau.

In pursuing its charitable objectives, the Charity co-operates with the following organizations:

Maldon District Council Essex County Council Maldon & District Community Voluntary Service Jobcentre Plus (DWP) Citizens Advice Essex Reaching Communities Fund of the Big Lottery

Essex and National Citizens Advice as part of our delivery of national and countywide CA contracts

Related parties

Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau is a member of Citizens Advice, the operating name of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, which provides a framework for standards of advice and casework management as well as monitoring progress against these standards. Operating policies are independently determined by the Trustee Board of the Bureau in order to fulfill its charitable objects and comply with the national membership requirements.

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Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau

Major risks

The Bureau has an agreed risk management strategy and risk register. The Trustees recognise that any major risks to which the charity is exposed need to be reviewed and systems put in place to mitigate those risks. To that end the Bureau is continually monitoring and managing its risk, reviewing the corporate risk register and ensuring action plans are in place to mitigate its key risks.

Included in external risks is that of the loss of funding. In the past the effects of this have been minimised by the procedures in place, which have resulted in funding being secured from a variety of sources. The charity continues to seek to diversify its funding sources, but the risk is rising as contracts seem increasingly to be of a short duration and the National Lottery funding is due to finish in 2026. In 2025 a separate but related risk comes from the proposed devolution and local government re-organisation for Essex as Maldon DC is a key funder.

Internal risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all transactions and projects and to ensure consistent quality of delivery for all operational aspects of the charitable company. These procedures are periodically reviewed to ensure that they still meet the needs of the charity.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objects

The charity’s objectives are to promote any charitable purpose for the benefit of the community in the area defined by the district of Maldon and surrounding areas, by the advancement of education, the protection and preservation of health and the relief of poverty, sickness and distress. This has been achieved by the provision to the public of free, confidential, impartial advice, information, signposting and assistance with negotiations.

Public benefit required

The Trustees have paid due regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit in deciding the activities undertaken by the local Citizens Advice during the year. The Trustees are satisfied that the information provided in the report and accounts meets the public benefit reporting requirements.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Charitable activities

A full account of the activities of the Bureau is given in the Annual Review which is published separately. Details of the contribution made by volunteers are provided in that report. Meanwhile, as most readers will be aware it suffices to comment that Volunteer Advisers are the core of the CA service and without their dedication and commitment to quality, the free advice service provided in the Maldon district would cease to continue.

Fundraising activities and factors affecting the achievement of objectives

The Charity has a broad funding base the major funders being Maldon District Council, The National Lottery and Essex County Council. A number of projects concluded at the end of the last or during this financial year and these sources have been replaced by new initiatives. The Charity continues to submit bids to for additional funding from a variety of sources and has also been able to access a broad range of funding by way of its membership of Essex Citizens Advice Consortium.

Review by National Citizens Advice

The bureau received another very high score in its Leadership Self-Assessment, the annual audit undertaken by National CA covering all aspects of the Governance and performance of the Bureau. This provides a strong measure of quality assurance to all stakeholders including both clients and funders and reflects well upon the management team at the Bureau and the whole team of advisors.

Investment activities

The charity does not currently hold material investments.

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Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial position

Full details for the year are given in the accompanying financial statement and accompanying notes. The financial position of the Bureau has been regularly reported to the Trustee Board throughout the year and to Citizens Advice through the Financial Health Monitoring process.

The end of year position shows Incoming Resources of £353,262 and Resources Expended of £332,283.

Total reserves held at 31st March 2025 were £159,559 comprising:

Reserves policy

The Board's policy is that it should always maintain a strategic (designated) reserve of not less than three months and not more than six months average expenditure. The Board shall be continually made aware of the on-going level of Reserves, to ensure that it maintains this number of months of operating capability. The bureau remains within this target.

Other reserves may be designated as restricted (where such funds may only be used for the stated purpose and are typically associated with funding linked to specific projects), designated (where the Trustee Board has taken a decision to use such funds for a particular purpose) or unrestricted being the remaining reserves not treated as restricted or designated. (See Notes 1(d) and (e)). The board has agreed that unspent income shall be treated as unrestricted unless contractually stated.

In practice most of the Bureau's funds represent income which is due to be spent in the current year. Income and reserves not required for immediate use are placed in a deposit account. Interest is brought into the current account as received.

Remuneration of bureau management

No. Of Total Salaries & Pension Other Remuneration /
Employees Contributions Benefits Total
14 x Part-Time =
8FTE £282,601 £0 £282,601

No employee was paid more than £60,000 during the year.

Effective April 2017, the Bureau operates a pension scheme under the auspices of the National Employment. Savings Trust (NEST) with employer contributions of 3% and staff contribution of 5%. Additionally, more than 40 volunteers supply the charity with unpaid work.

Principal funding sources

The Directors extend their gratitude to Maldon District Council who continued to support the core operating capacity of the charity. They also thank Essex County Council for their contribution to core operating costs. Additionally, project-specific funding was received from a variety of grant giving bodies that supported the outreach and home visiting services. Reaching Communities grants from the Big Lottery fund our projects which cover Debt, Homelessness Prevention and Welfare Benefits, Community Engagement, Employment and Financial Capability. Several projects such as Macmillan Welfare Benefits, Ukraine, Cadent and Warm Start are delivered by Maldon Citizens Advice in conjunction with others under the umbrella of Citizens Advice Essex.

The Bureau's premises in Maldon continued to be provided under a license agreement with Maldon District Council.

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Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau

Going concern

In the opinion of the Board, the Charity is a 'going concern' for the purposes of the applicable accounting standards.

Funds in deficit

No funds were in deficit at the balance sheet date.

Investment policy

As required in its Memorandum paragraph 3, in furtherance of its objects, and for no other purposes, the Company has the power to invest the monies of the Company not immediately required for its purposes in or upon such investments, securities or property as may be thought fit, subject nevertheless to such conditions and such consents as may for the time being be imposed or required by law.

FUTURE PLANS

In addition to existing projects, Maldon Citizens Advice will be delivering advice through an Aviva funded project . In preparation for funding from the National Lottery ending in 2026, the trustees are actively investigating alternative grants and contracts.

DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITIES

Company law and charity law require the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau and of the surplus or deficit for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the directors are required to:

The directors are also responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006.

The directors are responsible for ensuring that the company maintains an adequate system of internal control designed to provide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded against material loss or unauthorised use and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.

In accordance with company law, as the company's directors, we certify that:

so far as we are aware, there is no relevant information of which the company's independent examiners are unaware; and as the directors of the company we have taken all the steps that we ought to have taken in order to make ourselves aware of any relevant information and to establish that the charity's examiners are aware of that information.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and reporting by Charities and in accordance with the special provisions of Part VII of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Signed Claire Morin Chair of Trustees Dated:

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Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S UNQUALIFIED REPORT CHARITABLE COMPANY

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau

I report on the financial statements of the company for the year ended 31 March 2025 as set out on pages 9 to 12.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

As the charity trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your company’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

Since the company’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  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

  2. 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

  3. 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.

Signed:

Independent Examiner: John Holliday Relevant professional qualification: FCCA Name of Practice: Pocknells LLP Address of Practice: Henry Brake House, 46, Hullbrldge Road, South Woodham Ferrers, CM3 5NG

Date:

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Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau

BALANCE SHEET FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

£ 31 March 2025 31 March 2024
Fixed Assets Cost 25,699 25,699
Depreciation 25,699 25,699
- -
Current Assets
Cash at bank and in hand 149,198 134,742
Accrued income 16,300 17,413
Other Debtors 3,107 -
Total Current Assets 168,605 152,155
Current Liabilities
Trade Creditors 473 588
Deferred Income 1,673 1,673
Other Creditors 1,950 10,564
Accruals 4,950 750
Total Current Liabilities 9,046 13,575
Net Assets 159,559 138,580
Funds Unrestricted 35,651 31,366
Designated 95,000 95,000
Restricted 28,908 12,214
Total Funds 159,559 138,580

For the year ended 31 March 2025 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

No members have required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and for the preparation of accounts.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies' subject to the small companies' regime.

Signed on behalf of the Trustees

Claire Morin Chair of Trustees Dated

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Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE STATEMENT YEAR ENDED 31[st] MARCH 2025

INCOME Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds
(Note 2a) 2024/25 2023/24
Figs in £
Maldon DC 85,100 85,100 79,500 79,500
Other grants and
contracts 35,378 225,349 260,727 67,567 175,060 242,627
Donations 2,559 2,559 6,268 6,268
Bank Interest 4,876 4,876 3,705 3,705
Total Income re
Charitable
Activities		 127,913 225,349 353,262 157,040 175,060 332,100
EXPENDITURE Total Exp Total Exp
(Note 2b) 2024/25 2023/24
Figs in £
Salaries & NI 85,463 197,138 282,601 114,896 169,867 284,763
Accounting 8,622 8,622 3,276 3,276
Other Overheads 11,014 3,647 14,661 8,838 3,217 12,055
Office Costs 16,639 5,835 22,474 14,972 7,459 22,431
Governance 2,665 1,260 3,925 2,409 1,260 3,669
Total Expenditure 124,403 207,880 332,283 144,391 181,803 326,194
Profit /(Loss) 3,510 17,469 20,979 12,649 (6,743) 5,906

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025

1) Accounting policies Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau is a company limited by guarantee in England / Wales. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information on page 3 of these financial statements. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are the provision of free and independent advice on their rights to the citizens of Maldon and the surrounding area.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 (as updated through Update Bulletin 1 published on 2 February 2016 and Update Bulletin 2 published on 5 October 2018), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity.

The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated.

a) Incoming resources

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Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. All expenditure directly related to the provision of advice services is included within charitable expenditure. Other costs incurred have been allocated between fundraising and publicity and management and administration as appropriate. Where such costs relate to more than one functional cost category they have been split on an estimate of time or floor space basis, as appropriate.

c) Fixed assets and depreciation The Trustees have agreed that fixed assets are included at cost and that items are capitalised and written off over four years only if their unit cost is over £1000. The Bureau currently has no fixed assets in this category.

Restricted Funds relate to the Reaching Communities Fund of the Big Lottery, various energy support projects, Ukraine and MacMillan. Income received for the restricted purposes is included in a separate restricted fund against which appropriate expenditure is allocated.

Designated funds are allocated out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes. The use of such funds is at the trustees' discretion.

Rental costs under operating leases are charged to the statement of financial activities on a straight-line basis over the period of the leases.

2) Funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

3) Trustees' Expenses and Remuneration

No trustee expenses were incurred during the current year and no remuneration was paid.

Pocknells LLP, our Independent Examiner, were paid a discounted fee.

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Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau

5) Paid Employees

Figs in£ **Total ** **Total **
2024/25 2023/24
Gross Emoluments Inc. pension and.
EmployersNational Insurance		 282,601 284,763

Employer's NI is net of £5,000 NIC allowance.

6) Restricted Funds

Figs in £ Brought fwd Received Expenditure Transfer
during 2024/25 to/)from)
Unrestricted		 Carried fwd
Big Lottery Funding (6,938) 103.133 105,739 (8,497) (12,829)
Energy projects (3,368) 36,842 29,711 8,063 (2,436)
Ukraine and other - 15,477 1,110 1,209 (13,158)
projects
Macmillan (1,908) 69,897 71,320 - (485)

7) Financial commitments

There were no capital commitments during 2024/25 and no commitments for 2025/26 as at the balance sheet date.

8) Related party transactions

There have been related party transactions identified in accordance with FRS102. There were transactions between Maldon and District Citizens Advice Bureau and National Citizens Advice in relation to insurance and information services.

9) Taxation

The charity is an exempt charity within the meaning of schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes.

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