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2022-03-31-accounts

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Charity number 1145810 A Company limited by guarantee number 7830948

Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2022

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Web Site: www.widnesandruncorncancersupport.org.uk
Registered Charity no.1145810 Company no. 07830948
Sponsored by:
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Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Annual Report and Financial Statements

for the year ended 31 March 2022

Contents Page
Trustees' Annual Report 2 to 18
Independent Examiner's Report 19
Statement of financial activities 15
Balance sheet 16
Statement of Cash flows 17
Notes to the Financial Statements 18 to 24

Prepared by the Greater Merseyside Community Accountancy Service

1

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Trustees' report

Thanks and acknowledgements

The Board of Trustees would like to take this opportunity to thank the many individuals, groups and organisations who have supported Widnes & Runcorn Cancer Support Group throughout the year. Thank you once again to NHS Halton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) whose grant agreement has provided a further year of financial support.

Halton Borough Council (HBC) have again provided the Voluntary Sector Core Grant and a grant from the Public Health Team for which we are very grateful.

Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) have once again provided a grant to support our Children and Young People’s service.

Alongside grants and funds, we are very fortunate to receive financial and other varying types of support from organisations, groups and individuals within our community. We would like to note a special thanks to:

The Andy Parker Football Tournament is an annual event which was changed to a charity bike ride this year. Well done to the many who took part, cycling 30.21 miles and raising over £2,000! Thank you so much for all the hard work and fundraising from RJ Parker, Cheshire Plumbing, R Lyons, HB AFC, family & friends and the many businesses and individuals who plan and support this event.

We would also like to thank K Hill and the Ball ‘O’ Ditton bowling team for their generous donation. Throughout the year, the team from Widnes Martial Arts have supported our charity again in a variety of ways including their very own ‘Bake Off’ and various raffles and awareness raising. We are delighted to have their support.

Thank you again to St Berteline's & St Christopher's C of E Church who sent another very kind donation.

B Wilson and family (our youngest supporter!) has raised numerous funds again this year and continues to be creative in his fundraising ideas. Thank you, young Master Wilson, we appreciate you.

Toby Carvery Dominoes team made a very kind donation this year. Thank you and we hope you enjoyed your many games. Thank you to A Winn and Widnes Scout Group for their kind donations to support our stall at the annual Cronton Gala.

Widnes Rotary continue to offer their support and made another generous donation this year.

Participants of our Gentlemen Only Group (GOG’s) made a donation following a social activity. Thank you for choosing to donate this to our charity.

We would also like to thank many individuals for their very generous donations:

A Hart, B Flanagan, B Hatton, B Kenny, B Fortune, C Rice, D Donoghue, D Bennett, D Graal, D Millington, E Brandreth, F Carter, G Farrah-Hall, H Ettrick, H Roache, I Hare, J Bissenden, J Brady, J Doyle, J Fox, J Marshall, J Shephard, J Stretch, J York, J Beesley, S Parker, JP Board, JR Copeman, K Millington, L Antley, L Cartledge, L Cross, L Farrow, L Hawkins, L Plumpton, M A Wynne, M McVeigh, N Leather, P Donoghue, P Byrne, P Loughlin, P Whitfield, P Carlisle, S Byrne, S Connolly, SR Spruce and SV Woods.

We receive regular monthly support via our on-live giving platform. Thank you to Mr & Mrs Carr, Mrs Brady and Mr & Mrs Hill.

Many of our on-line donors are anonymous. Please accept our sincere thanks if you have donated online. We will continue to utilise all donations in the best possible way.

L Farrow is a long-term volunteer, supporter and fundraiser who facilitates the inhouse lottery. Lyn has raised over £12,000 since starting this which she takes great care and organisation in running. Thank you, Lyn and Ken for your support and thanks to all who join in.

We are sometimes in receipt of donations following the passing of someone who has found support in our service. It is difficult to imagine the strength it takes to organise collections and donations in memoriam, and we are very grateful to the family and friends who choose to do this for our charity. To the family and friends of M Seddon, N Killen, P Leather, P Lightfoot, B Jacobs, E Brandreth, please accept our condolences and sincere thanks.

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Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Trustees' report continued

Our service is very blessed with the gift of time and skills from many people. We could not offer counselling, therapies and beauty treatments without our wonderful volunteer counsellors, therapists and beauty students from Riverside College. Your work means so much to so many.

To our many volunteers, your efforts, commitment and humbling contributions make a real difference in people’s lives. We applaud you.

A final recognition to the team at Widnes Market who provide space in their wonderful market for us to hold a monthly fundraising stall.

As you can see, it has been a year filled with compassion, kindness, utilisation of skills and generosity. We can never thank you all enough for all you have done and the help and support this has provided for many people in our community

Treasurers Report

We are indebted once again to Jane Williams for the independent submission of our 2021-22 annual accounts and for the preparation of a balance sheet for submission to Companies House.

This is the tenth full accounting year since our incorporation as a Company Limited by Guarantee.

We are fortunate and grateful also to have been in receipt of another yearly grant from NHS Halton CCG, Children & Young People’s funding from Children and Adolescents Mental Health Services and to have been the recipients of further grant support from Halton Borough Council via the Public Health Department and Voluntary Sector Core Grants.

Forthcoming items of note for the accounts:

Reserves and designated funds policy

We ended the year with £33,301

Six months reserves is approximately £58,655 based on this year’s expenditure, although subject to change following the pandemic.

Our remaining Designated Funds Policy for respite was £2,000 (after £5,000 moved to main funds to support core costs).

We have designated funds of £10,000 to cover redundancy and expenses in the event of closure.

Mr Ken Hill Treasurer

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Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group Trustees' report continued

Chairman’s report 2021 – 2022

The year April 2021 to March 2022 is again another one for the history books! Who could have known the full impact of the pandemic on our day to day lives and of course on our charity.

We are very fortunate to have made it through the year as we have sadly seen so many services come to an end under the immense pressure and financial difficulties our sector has faced. Our continuation and recovery have been aided by a combination of carefully considered decisions, foresight of our funders, kindness of our supporters and donors, and sheer determination of our Trustee Board, staff team and volunteers.

I would like to thank Halton Borough Council, Public Health, Halton Clinical Commissioning Group and Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for their commitment to supporting our work and continuation of funds.

Thanks and acknowledgements are shown in this report, yet I would like to recognise the continuous fundraising efforts of our team and the kindness and generosity of our supporters. Every raffle ticket, donation of loose change, purchase on our market stall and donation of gifts for fundraising all adds up and contributes to our running costs. We know things are getting more difficult for most financially and your kindness and generosity means more than ever.

This year has been a huge test for us all and our board and staff team have had to tread very carefully in delivering services as safely as possible. The extra level of consideration and precaution has weighed heavily at times with our staff being under great pressure to balance the needs of our service users with the safety of all. This has of course meant our service running with limited numbers of support staff, ensuring safety measures were adhered to and often justifying some of our decisions. I wholeheartedly stand by the many decisions we have made, and the board and I have great gratitude and respect for our staff team who have implemented these and been the gatekeepers of our service.

The situation we have faced has led to much review and reflection and has provided an opportunity to redress some areas of our service which had become perhaps a little undefined in their purpose. Being a drop-in Centre for many years has been the best way to operate and has served our community well. With the increased cancer occurrences, delayed treatments and many more people presenting with later stage cancers, we have had to examine our provision to truly appreciate what we provide and how that serves our community. Working on an appointment only basis has refocused, redefined, and realigned our resource and we must continue to capitalise on this learning in order to provide the best possible quality of service our community needs and deserves. Making change is not always comfortable yet has been necessary and I appreciate the efforts our team have made in making this transition. We will continue to grow and develop in the best interest of the current and future of our service and the many people we will support.

I would like to pay particular attention to our counselling service. Throughout this document you will see lots of reference made to counselling being one of the most requested services we offer. We can only offer this service as we have such highly trained dedicated people delivering this essential work.

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Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group Trustees' report continued

Counsellors undergo such intense training which takes many years and is by no means an easy path. We are fortunate to have a mix of fully qualified and student counsellors at our Centre. Throughout and beyond the pandemic, they have been adaptable, reliable, and resourceful in their approach, undergoing additional training in order to deliver remote counselling, followed by face-to-face counselling with many additional measures in place. I am immensely proud of the counselling provision we have and the ethical way in which our counselling practice is operated. This is a credit to our professional team.

Halton & St Helens Voluntary, Community Action (VCA) have again been the beating heart of our sector. They are the thread throughout our community, and we are thankful for their continued support and excellent provision.

Finally, I would like to say a further thank you to our fantastic team. Our staff, volunteers and my fellow directors have strived to sustain and support all we do and have led our charity admirably through another challenging year.

Operations Manager Report

My sixth year as Operations Manager has been a mixture of reviewing, reflecting, and restabilising our charity with a few unexpected twists and turns.

Once again, our Board of Trustees have provided additional time, consideration and support in unprecedented times and have been the backbone of our operation. Our organisation is blessed to have such resolute individuals who operate with professionalism, compassion and always with our charitable aims at heart.

We began April 2021 with optimism following such uncertainty and looked forward to our doors being fully open once again. Our staff team were offered their second dose of Coronavirus vaccine and our Centre, with various measures in place was able to be partially open offering limited services with controlled numbers of people on the premises.

We were delighted to be able to offer face-to-face counselling sessions once again. Sessions were quite different as we needed a more open space than our usual counselling room, face coverings had to be worn, and counsellors had to be at a distance from their clients. We rearranged our main room and prepared a new area for sessions to take place. Counselling was the first service to return as we could adapt the area, and it was the service, we had learned, that people were most in need of. Telephone and Zoom counselling continued remotely throughout this time, as we gradually increased face-to-face sessions.

In June we were able to begin to invite individuals in for discussions, again with various safety measures in place. We met with some of our volunteers and could begin to interview new student counsellors. The intention at this time was to slowly rebuild elements of the service steadily, bringing back the things which would provide the most support. Times were uncertain with restrictions being updated and amended, so we acted carefully with safety at the forefront of all decisions.

In July we were able to have our financial audit and thanks to additional funding from Halton Borough Council, and after much research into the best option, we invested in an air-purifying unit; followed by two more later in the year. As the units were tried and tested for eliminating Coronavirus particles from the air and certified as hospital grade equipment, these gave additional reassurance. We were then able to offer small Peer Support Groups and additional listening appointments.

As community activity began to increase, the very supportive team from Widnes Martial Arts held their very own ‘Bake off’ to raise awareness and funds for our work. Our team were involved in the very popular Cronton Gala, and we were invited to Ormiston Chadwick Academy (OCA) to give a talk to over a hundred students. They also did some fantastic fundraising activities for us.

In October we held an online event to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month and November saw the Riverside College Beauty Students returning to provide manicures and pedicures.

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Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Trustees' report continued

In November we revamped our counselling room, utilising a donation from a young man who has raised funds for our charity many times, Master Ben Wilson. We continued to increase access to counselling and our Peer Support Groups could begin to increase to ten participants.

In December some of our staff and volunteers supported the Christmas float with Widnes Rotary, spreading some much-needed cheer in the community.

In the New Year, our staff team renewed their First Aid training and OCA asked for our support in conducting mock interviews with their oldest students who were preparing for the world of higher education and work.

February saw the installation of a new opening-window at the front of our Centre at long last, and an extractor fan in our counselling room. Every step was moving us closer to working at full capacity.

From March 2022, we began to plan more community activities, and the realisation that we could branch out more was beginning to help things to take shape.

Without a doubt, the pandemic and all that it brought has irreversibly changed things for our charity and for our service. Some lessons learned have shown us that things had to change in order for us to keep progressing.

Looking back and reflecting on the way our service operated in 2018/2019, it is clear that some of the developments have resulted in a clearer more specific service, more defined in its outputs and purpose. The change from being a drop-in service to offering appointment times, while difficult to accept for some, has redefined and refocused our offer.

If a person in need comes to us and is shielded, protected, and showered with sympathy for an undefined length of time, they will naturally seek that shelter and protection to feel better and become dependent on that type of support, feeling better only when in that state. If a person is offered empathy, professional therapeutic interventions, and specialised services, created with the intention to empower and enable them to manage their situation, they will develop the tools and skills they need to navigate and cope well, potentially finding positivity, hope and peace in even the most difficult of situations. This is why our service will continue to promote a culture of empowerment, rather than dependency and why our service will continue to develop its identity as a therapeutic support mechanism with a clear purpose.

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Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Trustees' report continued

Our services

Core Support

Listening and information services – The way in which we recorded service utilisation had to change during the pandemic and therefore set the standard for the year. We had to operate with a simplified version of recording data due to many service changes, so all telephone contact covered listening, support and information. 1760, calls were handled over the year, gradually lowering as more face-toface activity took place.

Psychological Support

Professional counselling sessions have continued to be high priority with a mix of remote and faceto-face sessions catering to the fluctuating pandemic restrictions and needs of the clients. Over 500 counselling related calls and assessments took place which led to 316 hours of counselling. Many more sessions were arranged but cancelled due to illness or suspected Coronavirus symptoms. On average, over 10 sessions per month were cancelled for this reason.

Children and Young people’s support

For much off the year our Children and Young People’s Support Worker, Sam, was on maternity leave. As schools had been cautious with regards to external visitors, much of Sam’s maternity leave happened at a time when Sam would not have been able to go into schools to provide sessions. Sam had adapted her workbooks and resources so any enquiries received during this time were offered resources to use until sessions could resume. Sam returned to work in midJanuary 2022 and sessions resumed in mid-February. The number of referrals received during this period were much lower as anticipated, with 45 hours of therapy provided, supporting 8 young people.

Peer Support

Bosom Buddies – This support group reached 20 years of service in 2019. The participation and attendance had reduced over time, largely in response to other local breast cancer support offers. Pink Parties had been an annual event for many years and an on-line alternative was again provided in October 2021. Although not known at the time, this was to be the last of our Pink Parties as we must focus our resources where they are most needed. The return of the Bosom Buddies support group is not currently in our future plans.

GOG’S - Our Gentlemen Only Group recommenced in July and gradually increased in numbers as restrictions changed throughout the rest of the year. The group has welcomed new participants and is very well attended. The support and connections made through the offer of this group withstood the testing times and the need for this to continue was very apparent. The mix of returning participants, still experiencing long term cancer related issues or with new cancer concerns, and newly registered gents, results in meaningful, purposeful meetings.

Mixed Peer Support Group (previously named Hugs)- Many of the participants of this group kept in touch with each other and did not return when face-to-face meetings resumed for various reasons. Our service welcomes evolution and intends for the groups to be progressive and therapeutic rather than habit forming which is why we feel this is right for those who have moved on.

We knew from new service users that the appetite for a peer support group was apparent so in July, we launched our Mixed Peer Support group which welcomes all varieties of support needs.

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Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Trustees' report continued

Wellbeing

Holistic and Beauty therapies

We had scheduled therapies a number of times, only to have to reschedule them until things felt safer. This sadly meant that aside from a small few, we could not provide therapies for the whole year, yet it was the right thing to do.

Respite

With some additional measures in place, we were able to let our Respite caravan in Talacre. We were delighted that there were ways to increase safety measures so from late July 2021 onwards, we were able to fulfil 19 separate bookings, many were those who had missed out on the breaks in the previous year.

Outreach & Engagement

Networking has always been an important part of the Outreach & Engagement role. As well as ensuring that the services we offer are continually promoted to the residents of Halton, it provides valuable opportunities to raise our profile, whilst keeping up to date with the wide variety of services available from other organisations throughout the borough.

Similar to last year, due to Covid restrictions the majority of Outreach & Engagement activities continued to be conducted online. We continued to strive to maintain contact with the following groups by taking part in regular online meetings. This has enabled us to keep in contact with other organisations and to continually promote the services we have offered throughout a very difficult period:

Halton Healthwatch Advisory board (board member) Patient Engagement Group (Whiston Hospital)

Halton PPG Plus (Patient Participation Group) Halton CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) E&I group (Engagement & Involvement)

UK Age Concern expert panel

Child Bereavement Network group (Cheshire & Merseyside) Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance TYA CQG (Teenage & Young Adults.

Partners In Prevention quarterly network group (networking opportunity for partners from Health, Social Care and the Voluntary sector).

Whilst most meetings continued to take place online, the new year saw a cautious return to some faceto-face outreach activity. Posters promoting the Centre services were updated (to include tear-off contact details for the Centre) and distributed to various locations throughout the borough.

February saw the commencement of a new weekly outreach venture in partnership with the ‘Eat @ The Heath’ community hub, based at The Heath Business Park, Runcorn. This group meet every Wednesday between 11.30am & 1.30pm. Our Outreach & Engagement worker regularly attended the weekly events which enabled her to connect face-to-face with both new and existing service users, some of whom struggled to travel to Widnes.

Social media and connectivity

We continued to develop our social media offer alongside adding more face-to-face services, so people had a choice of how to access our services.

Website

Over the year we had 3110 visits to our website, which is a 4.3% decrease from 2020/21. This was understandable as more face-to-face services resumed. Of those, 2791, were first time visits and 409 were returning visits.

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Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group Trustees' report continued

Email correspondence

We continued to use MailChimp which is an email system which allows us to create branded and personalised emails, meeting our data protection requirements. Anyone can sign up for email newsletters by completing the form on our website or Facebook page and people who are new to our service are automatically added if they have provided an email address and consent. During this period, we sent 22 mass emails to 431 recipients with an average open rate of 52.5%. This is way above the industry average for non-profit organisations which is just 21%.

Facebook

The Centre's Facebook page increased its ‘likers’ by 17.03% from 1,003 to 1,209 and those who actively follow our page (interact with us on a regular basis by liking, sharing or commenting on our posts) increased by 19.5% from 942 to 1126. Our average monthly reach (the number of people who see our posts) was 3748.

Private Facebook groups

We continued to facilitate our private group on Facebook which is only available to those registered with us. At the beginning of April, we combined our 2 groups to give 1 ‘Activity & Support Group’ which contains puzzles, riddles, and games, alongside inspirational and self-care posts. We had 87 members with lots of interaction. Some of the group members also posted in the group to support each other through difficult times.

We continued to use Twitter, Instagram, and our YouTube channel to share messages and information. These allow us to keep in touch with other local services and share information.

We continued to reach out to ensure that Halton residents knew how to access our services. These methods proved to be an invaluable platform for communication whilst we continued to increase our face-to-face offer. We remain in a good position technologically to approach the year ahead.

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Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Trustees' report continued

Service Utilisation Total
Telephone
support		 Wellbeing/listening support calls 1760
Counselling Counselling sessions (remote) 108
Counselling sessions, face to face 208
Counselling related calls & assessments 501
Face
to
face
servi
ces		 Support group attendances 411
Face to face listening sessions 22
On-line
support
groups		 No. of posts on Facebook Peer Support Group 3144
No. of comments 6574
Number of reactions 16574
Webchats/online messaging 125
On-line
engagement		 Website visitors 3110
Facebook main page followers 1209
Twitter followers 478
Email subscribers 431
Newly
registered
people		 Patients 39
Carers 21
Bereaved 10
Children & Young People 11
Total 81

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Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Trustees' report continued

What our service users say…

Mr P

“The social media side to the group has entertained me and is something I still log onto several times a day! Easy and fun way to interact with other group users”

Mrs B

“It is so good to be able to talk to others who appreciate how I feel. Everyone is so friendly and understanding”

Anon

“It gave me chance to open up, made me think about how to move forward, talk about my feelings and what I was going through. Talking to others really helped me”

Mrs C

“I feel I have had an opportunity to discuss my worries and concerns, and this has helped with dealing with my diagnosis and treatment”

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Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Trustees' report continued

Public Benefit:

In identifying and reviewing these priorities, aims and objectives, plus the supporting actions and activities for the year, we have been fully mindful of the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit. We have aimed to ensure that all these planned actions and activities, agreed or noted by the Trustees/Directors at our regular Committee Meetings, are for public benefit and in-line with the charities purpose.

Financial Review

The deficit of the charity for the year amounted to (£31,584) ((£12,052) ~ 2021)

Reserves Policy

Details of the charity's reserves are shown in note 7a and show a figure of £105,586. This level of reserves is equivalent to 4 months of the centre's running costs. This is above the centre's aim of holding £64,000 the equivalent of 6 months running costs and this figure includes the costs of closure. However, the charity also have a designated funds policy which separates funds for the purpose of working with children and young people and also a fund for respite purposes. This amounts to £75,000. These funds are not part of the charities reserve funds.

Risk Management

The trustees actively review the major strategic, business and operational risks that the charity faces on a regular basis and acknowledge that the key risks relate to reduction in core funding and utilitisation of the service.

Statement of Directors' responsibilities

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial accounts for each 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 charity for that period. In preparing those 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 financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business;

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity 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 charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Approved by the Board on 13th October 2022 and signed on behalf of the directors by:

Gordon Ellis

Gordon Ellis Chairperson

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Reference and Administrative Details

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Charity number 1145810

A Company limited by guarantee number 7830948

PATRONS OF WIDNES AND RUNCORN CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

Jackie Ashley

Jim Mills

Derek Twigg MP

Dee Graal

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2021 - 2022

Honourable President Dr Mary Gibbons, Retired G.P.

OFFICERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES:

Chairperson Gordon Ellis Vice Chairperson Clair Picton Treasurer Ken Hill

TRUSTEES/DIRECTORS

Mr Gordon Ellis Retired local Business Director Mrs Clair Picton Halton Resident (Voluntary Sector representative) Dr Mary Gibbons Retired G.P. Sheila Warr Retired Macmillan Breast Care Specialist Nurse Mr Kenneth Hill Retired local authority worker Mrs Susan Pybus Ex-bank worker (of the Widnes Cancer Support Fund Association) Allison Roberts Reflexology Therapist Mr Ian Connolly Retired Salesman

Company Secretary

Nicola Donaghue

Principal Staff

Nicola Donoghue Operations Manager Karen Millington Centre Co-Ordinator P/T Corrinne Stevens Centre Co-Ordinator P/T Nicola Brady Administrative Support Worker Val Melling Bookkeeper / Administrator Maureen Isherwood Outreach & Engagement Worker Sam Bourque Children & Young People's Co-ordinator / Counselling Co-ordinator

Method of appointment

The Trustees are elected at the Annual General Meeting. The Members of the Board are the Directors for the purposes of company law and the Trustees for the purposes of charity law.

Registered address

21-23 Alforde Street Widnes Cheshire WA8 7TR

Bankers

Lloyds Bank plc Albert Square 23-24 Albert Road Widnes, WA8 6JW

13

Independent Examiner's report to the trustees of Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31st March 2022 set out on pages 15 to 24.

Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to:

q state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent examiner's statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:

q to keep accounting records in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; and

q to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities

have not been met; or

2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Jane Williams

Jane Williams MAAT Greater Merseyside Community Accountancy Service St Maries Lugsdale Road Widnes WA8 6DB

13th October 2022

14

Statement of Financial Activities

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

(Including Income & Expenditure Account) for the year ended 31 March 2022

Notes
2022
Unrestricted
funds
£
Income from:
Income from donations
(4)
22,119
Income from charitable activities
(5)
4,821
Other incoming resources
(6)
4,200
Bank interest
2
Total incoming resources
31,142
Resources expended
Charitable activities
(7)
59,126
Net incoming / (outgoing) resources
(27,984)
Transfers between funds
-
Net movement in funds
(27,984)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds as at 01 April 2020
61,286
Total funds as at 31 March 2021
(9)
33,301		 2022
Restricted
funds
£
72,200
-
-
-
72,200
75,800
(3,600)
-
(3,600)
44,300
40,700		 2022
Total
funds
£
94,319
4,821
4,200
2
103,342
134,926
(31,584)
-
(31,584)
105,586
74,001		 2021
Total
funds
£
110,977
8,270
3,013
6
122,266
134,318
(12,052)
-
(12,052)
117,638
105,586

The above statement includes all gains and loses recognised during the year. All activities are regarded as continuing.

Comparative figures for the previous year by fund type are shown in Note 13. The Notes on pages 17 to 24 form an integral part of these accounts.

15

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Charity number 1145810

A Company limited by guarantee number 7830948 Balance sheet

as at 31 March 2022

2022
Unrestricted
Fixed Assets
£
Tangible Assets
(8)
-
Total current assets
-
Current Assets
Debtors and prepayments
(11)
-
Cash at bank and in hand
(12)
36,649
Total current assets
36,649
Current liabilities:
amounts falling due within one year
Creditors (due within one year)
(13)
3,348
Total current liabilities
3,348
Net Assets
33,301
Funds of the charity
Restricted Funds
-
Unrestricted funds
33,301
Total Funds
33,301		 2022
Restricted
£
21,595
21,595
11,050
8,055
19,105
-
-
40,700
40,700
-
40,700		 2022
Total
£
21,595
21,595
11,050
44,704
55,754
3,348
3,348
74,001
40,700
33,301
74,001		 2021
Total
£
25,195
25,195
-
82,143
82,143
1,752
1,752
105,586
44,300
61,286
105,586

The trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) confirm that for the year ended 31 March 2022

the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, and

the members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in . accordance with section 476 of the Act

the trustees acknowledge their responsiblities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts

The notes on pages 17 to 24 form an integral part of these accounts.

These accounts, which have been prepared in accordance with the provisions in the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies, were approved by the trustees on 13th October 2022 and signed on their behalf by:

Ken Hill

Ken Hill Director / Trustee

16

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 March 2022

Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income/(expenditure) per SOFA
Capital purchase
Depreciation
Investment income
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
(5)
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Cash flows from investing activities
Investment income
(6)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash:
Total cash as at 01 April 2021
Total cash as at 31 March 2022		 2022
Total
£
(31,584)
-
3,600
2
(11,050)
1,596
(37,436)
(2)
(37,438)
82,143
44,704		 2021
Total
£
(12,052)
-
3,600
6
0
464
(7,982)
6
-
(7,988)
90,131
82,143

The notes on pages 17 to 24 form an integral part of these accounts.

17

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Notes to the financial statements

for the year ended 31 March 2022

1 Basis of preparation

These accounts (financial statements) have been prepared under the historical cost convention,

(d) Accounting & Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (Charities SORP FRS 102) (effective January 2015)

2 Accounting Policies

2.1 Fund accounting

(a) Unrestricted funds are those that can be expended at the discretion of the trustees in the furtherance of the objects of the charity.

(b) Restricted funds are those that may only be used for specific purposes. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor, or when funds are raised for specific purposes.

(c) The purposes of the funds are shown in Note 7a.

2.2 Income

(b) Where income has related expenditure (e.g. caravan), the income and related expenditure are reported gross in the SOFA.

(d) Gift Aid, where appropriate, is recognised in the same accounting period as the donation to which it relates.

(e) Income, which is subject to conditions that the charity has yet to fulfil, or which is specifically for use in a future accounting period, is treated as deferred income.

2.3 Expenditure and liabilities

(c) Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation to pay out resources.

(d) Governance costs include the costs of preparation and examination of the statutory accounts, the cost of trustee meetings and the cost of any legal advice to trustees on governance or constitutional matters.

18

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Notes to the financial statements

for the year ended 31 March 2022

2.4 Tangible Fixed Assets

(a) Tangible fixed assets are capitalised if they can be used for more than one year and cost at least £1,000. They are valued at cost or, if gifted, at their value on receipt.

Rates of depreciation Caravan: 20% straight line basis to nil Fixtures and fittings: 15% straight line basis to nil Equipment: 20% straight line basis to nil

2.5 Debtors

2.6 Cash

(a) Cash comprises bank deposits repayable on demand and any short-term highly liquid investments with a maturity date of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

2.7 Creditors

(a) Creditors are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are normally recognised at their settlement amount, usually the invoice amount.

2.8 Taxation

The charity is not liable to income tax or capital gains tax on its charitable activities.

3 Transactions with trustees and related parties

No trustees received any expenses or remuneration during the period.

Owing to the nature of the charity's activities and the composition of the board of trustees (being drawn from local statutory and voluntary organisation), it is inevitable that transactions will take place with organisations in which a trustee may have an interest. All transactions in which a trustee may have an interest are conducted at arm's length and in accordance with the charity's financial regulations and expenditure procedures. No transactions were indentified which should be disclosed under FRS 102.

19

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Notes to the financial statements

for the year ended 31 March 2022

4
Income from donations
Halton Borough Council: Vol Sec Funding
Halton Borough Council: Public Health
NHS Halton CCG
Halton Borough Council: Recovery Fund
The Steve Morgan Foundation
LCR Cares
Donations
5
Income from charitable activities
Fundraising
6
Other Incoming resources from
charitable activities
Contributions
Other Incoming Resources		 2022
Unrestricted
funds
£
-
-
-
5,762
-
-
16,357
22,119
2022
Unrestricted
funds
£
4,821
4,821
Unrestricted
funds
£
1,875
2,325
4,200		 2022
Restricted
funds
£
11,500
6,500
54,200
-
-
-
-
72,200
2022
Restricted
funds
£
-
-
Restricted
funds
£
-
-
-		 2022
Total
funds
£
11,500
6,500
54,200
5,762
-
-
16,357
94,319
2022
Total
funds
£
4,821
4,821
Total
funds
£
1,875
2,325
4,200		 2021
Total
funds
£
11,000
6,500
55,750
-
16,261
3,000
18,466
110,977
2021
Total
funds
£
8,270
8,270
Total
funds
£
436
2,577
3,013

20

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Notes to the financial statements

for the year ended 31 March 2022

7 Expenditure of charitable activities

**7a ** 2022
Unrestricted
funds
Direct Costs
£
Salaries and NICs
7a
22,599
Payroll costs
1,164
Printing & Stationery
614
Telephone & Postage
3,265
Equipment
8,144
Other Expenses
43
Fees & licenses
35
Premises
Rent
8,866
Utilities
2,209
Insurance
1,069
Cleaning
47
Repairs & Maintenance
1,564
Other
Bank Charges
197
Training
344
Travel
111
Event
343
Group Activities
11
Caravan Expenses
5,871
Counselling & Supervision
1,046
Marketing & Fundraising
129
Depreciation
-
Governance costs
(10)
1,455
Total resources expended
59,126
Staff costs and numbers
Gross salaries
Employer's NI
Employer's Pension		 2022
Unrestricted
funds
Direct Costs
£
Salaries and NICs
7a
22,599
Payroll costs
1,164
Printing & Stationery
614
Telephone & Postage
3,265
Equipment
8,144
Other Expenses
43
Fees & licenses
35
Premises
Rent
8,866
Utilities
2,209
Insurance
1,069
Cleaning
47
Repairs & Maintenance
1,564
Other
Bank Charges
197
Training
344
Travel
111
Event
343
Group Activities
11
Caravan Expenses
5,871
Counselling & Supervision
1,046
Marketing & Fundraising
129
Depreciation
-
Governance costs
(10)
1,455
Total resources expended
59,126
Staff costs and numbers
Gross salaries
Employer's NI
Employer's Pension		 2022
Restricted
funds		 2022
Total
funds		 2021
Total
funds
£
22,599
1,164
614
3,265
8,144
43
35
8,866
2,209
1,069
47
1,564
197
344
111
343
11
5,871
1,046
129
-
1,455
59,126		 £
72,200
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,600
-
75,800		 £
94,799
1,164
614
3,265
8,144
43
35
8,866
2,209
1,069
47
1,564
197
344
111
343
11
5,871
1,046
129
3,600
1,455
134,926
£
97,676
4,650
-
1,773
94,799		 £
105,931
1,109
491
2,993
1,385
346
45
8,761
1,957
951
985
267
152
48
136
-
811
4,280
-
57
3,600
13
134,318
£
102,122
1,752
2,057
105,931

No employee earned £60,000 per annum or more in the current accounting period The average number of employees during the year was 3.4 (2021:3.4)

21

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Notes to the financial statements

for the year ended 31 March 2022

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group
Notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 March 2022
8 Tangible assets
Cost
At 1 April 2021
Additions
At 31 March 2022
Depreciation
At 1 April 2021
Charge for year
At 31 March 2022
Net book value
At 31 March 2022
At 31 March 2021		 Caravan
£
35,995
-
35,995
10,800
3,600
14,400
21,595
25,195		 Total
£
35,995
-
35,995
10,800
3,600
14,400
21,595
25,195

22

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Notes to the financial statements

for the year ended 31 March 2022

9 Movements in funds
Unrestricted funds
General funds
Restricted funds
Caravan
HBC: Vol Sec Funding
HBC: Public Health
NHS Halton CCG
Total funds		 As at
01/04/2021		 Incoming
Resources		 Outgoing
Resources		 Transfers As at
31/03/2022
£
61,286		 £
31,142		 £
59,126		 £
-		 £
33,301
44,300
-
-
-
44,300
105,586		 -
11,500
6,500
54,200
-
72,200
103,342		 3,600
11,500
6,500
54,200
-
75,800
134,926		 -
-
-
-
-
-
-		 40,700
-
-
-
-
40,700
74,001

Purpose of restricted funds

We are grateful to all our funders who provided support to our centre running costs and salaries.

10 Governance Costs
Independent Examiners' fee
Accountancy
Professional fees
DBS Checks
Administration
11 Debtors and prepayments
Debtors
Prepayments
12 Cash at bank and in hand
Current Accounts
Deposit Accounts
Fundraising Account
Cash in hand
13 Creditors and accruals
Creditors
Deferred Income		 2022
£
525
95
702
120
13
1,455
£
11,050
-
11,050
£
28,368
11,934
3,928
474
44,704
£
1,723
1,625
3,348		 2021
£
-
-
-
-
13
13
£
-
-
-
£
58,440
20,272
3,021
410
82,143
£
1,752
-
1,752

23

Widnes and Runcorn Cancer Support Group

Notes to the financial statements

for the year ended 31 March 2022

13 Comparative income and expenditure by fund type

Income from:
Income from donations
Income from charitable activities
Other incoming resources
Bank interest
Total incoming resources
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
Net incoming / (outgoing) resources
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds as at 01 April 2020
Total funds as at 31 March 2021
(9)		 2022
£
22,119
4,821
4,200
2
31,142
59,126
(27,984)
-
(27,984)
61,286
33,302
Unrestricted		 2021
£
21,466
8,270
3,013
6
32,755
36,927
(4,172)
-
(4,172)
65,458
61,286
Funds		 2022
2021
£
£
72,200
89,511
-
-
-
-
-
-
72,200
89,511
75,800
97,391
(3,600)
(7,880)
-
-
(3,600)
(7,880)
44,300
52,180
40,700
44,300
Restricted Funds		 2022
2021
£
£
72,200
89,511
-
-
-
-
-
-
72,200
89,511
75,800
97,391
(3,600)
(7,880)
-
-
(3,600)
(7,880)
44,300
52,180
40,700
44,300
Restricted Funds
89,511
97,391
(7,880)
-
(7,880)
52,180
44,300

24