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2020-12-31-accounts

Company registration number: 07879053 Charity registration number: 1152073

Migrant Legal Action

(A company limited by guarantee) Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

Migrant Legal Action

Contents

Reference and Administrative Details 1
Chairman's statement 2
Trustees' Report 4 to 17
Independent Examiner's Report 18
Statement of Financial Activities 19
Balance Sheet 20
Notes to the Financial Statements 21 to 33

Migrant Legal Action

Reference and Administrative Details

Chief Executive Officer Anna Kouma Trustees S Lakhani C V Patel B E Wagner L Negahbani V K Baxi Charity Registration Number 1152073 Company Registration Number 07879053 The charity is incorporated in England. Registered Office 53 Addington Square London SE5 7LB Independent Examiner Theophane Kouma 87 Sandown Road London SE25 4XD Bankers Natwest 70 Denmark Hill Camberwell London SE5 8SD

Page 1

Migrant Legal Action

Chairman's statement

Welcome to our annual report

I am delighted to present Migrant Legal Action’s Annual Report for year 2020. This was a year that presented many challenges for everyone and not least for the charity sector and for many of our clients. As always Migrant Legal Action and its staff have been working tirelessly to help our clients to find the best solutions to their immigration issues.

At its heart, Migrant Legal Action has the aim to defend the rights of the most vulnerable members of our community through the taking of legal action. This work continued during 2020, notwithstanding the impact of COVID-19 and this report is a testament to the effect that the hard work of the team has had. As an organisation, together with our funders, partners and supporters, we have continued to pursue our mission to defend the rights of the immigrant community, despite the unprecedented challenges that we all faced during 2020.

This annual report demonstrates how we have continued to work to meet our aims, setting out the measurable results that we have achieved and illustrates how we have continued to work towards financial sustainability of the organisation.

We work to enable and empower people facing immigration, asylum or nationality issues to better understand their rights as well as obligations. We believe that access to legal advice will empower those in our communities who face multiple disadvantage and complex needs, to take appropriate action to improve their lives. We work toward achieving this by providing high quality specialist legal advice and representation, which is free or affordable.

For a number of years, we have been working in an environment that has presented us with financial constraints and year on year cuts to our funding. During 2020 this was compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had devastating effect on our community and placed even greater pressured on advising organisations.

Many of our funders stepped up to help meet the challenges caused by the pandemic, including flexible use of funding and lighter touch reporting. Migrant Legal Action is very grateful to Advising UK for facilitating access to the Community Justice Fund, wave 1 funding. We are also grateful to the National Lottery Community Fund from whom we received support to assist clients affected by Covid-19 with applications for fee waivers and lifting of the NRPF conditions.

It will be apparent from this report that the work undertaken by Migrant Legal Action had continued to achieve excellent results and is cost effective. We measure our impact by recording the outcomes that we achieve for individual clients and measuring our performance. This is turn shows the effect that our work has in our local community and in the wider society. We work towards ever increasing effectiveness by the use of technologies, whilst ensuring that we work ethically and protect the privacy of our clients.

We were fortunate to continue receiving the assistance of our volunteer bookkeeper, who during the year has assisted us in developing internal financial controls and making sure that we increase our financial resilience.

Our work continues to be made possible by our generous and dedicated funders and supporters. Migrant Legal Action has, since it was established more than 40 years ago, been fortunate to have a strong and stable basis of donors and supporters. We are grateful for your continued trust and generosity and recognise that we would not have been able to continue our work without your support.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us during 2020 and as well as our excellent team of staff and volunteers for their continued commitment to the people we serve.

Page 2

Migrant Legal Action

Chairman's statement

The following pages feature our work over the last financial year. During this year we provided specialist casework and representation, including advocacy in court, in 271 cases. We provided advice to 1982 clients on the phone and 2nd tier advice on 85 cases to generalist advisers and community organisations. As many as 98% of our clients reported this year that they were happy with our service. During the year we have continued with our dedicated specialist anti-trafficking project.

Working in Partnership

Migrant Legal Action has always worked in partnership with local and national organisations and councils to better respond to our clients' needs, share information and resources. We have continued to work together with other agencies both nationally and locally to find the best response to continue providing the much-needed services to clients in the fact of the COVID-19 emergency. We continue being a core member of Southwark Legal Advice Network (SLAN). During 2020, SLAN updated its Advice Strategy, reflecting the impact of COVID-19 and setting out strategic objectives for the advice sector in Southwark whilst identifying particular areas of need and concern.

During 2020 we continued to work in partnership with Southwark Law Centre and Cambridge House Law Centre in the contract with the Borough of Southwark for the provision of specialist advice services in the Borough. We also worked closely together with our colleagues at Citizen Advice from whom we continued to accept regular referrals of complex cases and judicial review matters. Citizen Advice nationally has over many years been the highest referral source to our telephone advice service.

During the year we have also received referrals from our partners at Refuge, Kalayaan, Hestia, Hackney Migrant Centre, CORAM, PRAXIS, Red Cross, the No Recourse to Public Funds Team in Southwark as well as our local MPs.

We have continued support frontline workers to assist service users who have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) status, imposed on their leave to remain and have because of the impact of COVID-19 accepted additional referrals to assist clients with applications to lift their NRPF condition. We have also increasingly worked to empower frontline agencies to support those who have unresolved immigration status to access advice and representations in making applications to regularise their status in the UK.

Acknowledgements

Migrant Legal Action fundraises for all its work with the most vulnerable clients. We rely on relationships with many partners throughout the country and internationally. Our trustees sincerely thank all our supporters and donors who make our work possible, including:

Finally, we want to thank our partners, staff and volunteers who during 2020 have contributed to our work.

S Lakhani Chairman and Trustee

Page 3

Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

The trustees, who are directors for the purposes of company law, present the annual report together with the financial statements of the charitable company for the year ended 31 December 2020.

Objectives and activities

Objects and aims

We deliver specialist advice and representation to people facing multiple disadvantage. We are based in Camberwell, Southwark but work regionally, nationally and internationally. We nevertheless remain firmly rooted in our local community and work closely with the community and other organisations and agencies in Southwark.

We tackle social injustice and poverty by:

Objectives, strategies and activities

During the year, supported by our stakeholders and advisers, we worked towards delivering our business plan which was updated in December 2018. We continued working towards developing and implementing financial systems and controls with the aim of strengthening the organisation’s financial resilience. We realise that establishing financial reserves is our most important objective as we want to build up our sustainability in the face of continued adverse financial climate.

The plan’s key strategic objectives continue to be:

Strategic Objective 1

To enhance organisational capacity, resilience and sustainability.

Our key achievements in relation to business development targets included:

  1. Ensuring that the organisation limits the impact of COVID-19 emergency both in terms of financial sustainability and capacity:

a) Maintained our financial position as follows:

b) Improved our resilience:

Page 4

Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

Strategic Objective 2

Design and provide services that deliver positive impact for individuals, families and communities focusing on those that face severe and multiple disadvantage

Helping people obtain leave to remain, obtain jobs and reunite with their families is at the heart of this objective. During 2020 we further focused on clients who have lost their employment and therefore have been affected by COVID-19 in conjunction with the effect of having NRPF condition imposed on their immigration status. Our key achievements in relation to affordable, independent, and expert legal services included the following:

Users were:

  1. 57% female and 43% male

  2. 72% Black and Minority Ethnic and 28% British White and White Other

  3. 35% Living in social housing

  4. 33% Homeless

  5. 32% Privately renting

  6. 64% Lone parents with children

  7. 36% Couples with children

  8. 32% Unemployed

  9. 48% Working [full-time and part-time]

Asylum:

  1. 31 new asylum cases opened

  2. 9 specialist one-off advice sessions

  3. 10 clients represented at Court

  4. 10 grants of refugee status

  5. 9 successful appeals

Immigration:

  1. 201 new immigration cases opened

  2. 23 specialist one-off advice sessions

  3. 15 clients successfully represented at Appeals Tribunals

  4. 127 clients granted leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain

Nationality:

  1. 75 new nationality cases opened

  2. 17 specialist one-off advice sessions

  3. 51 grants of citizenship

Page 5

Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

Public benefit

Charity trustees have a duty to report in the trustees’ annual report on their charity’s public benefit. The trustees should demonstrate the following:

The people who receive support are entitled to do so according to criteria set out in the charity’s objects: wherever possible, the views and opinions of beneficiaries are sought in the design and implementation of Migrant Legal Action’s activities. This approach helps to ensure that projects are targeted at people in need, and that beneficial changes to the lives of people from disadvantaged and excluded communities can be evaluated and assessed.

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Use of volunteers

Volunteers have always been vital in delivering our work and bring their time, energy and enthusiasm to Migrant Legal Action’s activities. We aim to ensure that as many people as possible are aware of the volunteering opportunities we offer. We also aim to provide our volunteers with opportunities to acquire skills and experiences that will help them improve their quality of life, develop their professional knowledge and or progress into further education, employment or training.

The majority of our volunteers find out about us through personal recommendation. Our volunteers are not paid for their time, but they are reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses they incur. All of our volunteers are provided with a confidentiality agreement and a volunteer agreement, defining their goals, our needs, and the level of support or training they will receive.

Because of the impact of COVID-19 and implementation of remote working, engaging volunteers has become more challenging. During 2020, three volunteers worked with us to provide support in the following areas:

Page 6

Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

Achievements and performance

During 2020 European Nationals continued to be able to make applications under the EU Settlement Scheme ahead of the UK exit from EU on 31 December 2020. This resulted in increased amount of advice calls on our advice line from European nationals needing support and advice with the process.

We have also seen a continued high demand in callers referred to us by other organisations and those wanting advice on their right to lift limitation on access to public funds or who require assistance in obtaining fee waivers, as many clients reported financial impact of COVID-19 which meant that they were not able to meet the increased application fees and Immigration Health Surcharge imposed on all application for further leave to remain.

ASYLUM AND FAMILY REUNION

Migrant Legal Action remains dedicated to assisting refugees in obtaining status and security in the UK. During 2020, the Home Office imposed a stop on asylum interviews for a period of about 6 months, and as a consequence a large backlog of unresolved asylum cases was created. We have therefore, only had 10 grants of refugee status during the year. We continue to be particularly proud of the large percentage of grants made by the Secretary of State without the need to appeal, which this year reached 75%. Unfortunately, clients who had pending asylum claims experienced a further increased delays due to the stop of asylum interviews as a consequence of the first lockdown and lack of facilities to conduct interviews remotely. This had as a consequence further delays before Home Office makes a decision on clients’ asylum claims. Extensive delays continue to be faced by those who are referred into National Referral Mechanism as being potential victims of trafficking.

During the year we assisted 5 of our clients and further 3 referred clients who following a grant of asylum needed assistance with family reunion applications. This work remains particularly difficult because of the unavailability of Legal Aid and the need to apply for Exceptional Funding. We are pleased that all our applications for exceptional funding on behalf of our vulnerable clients have been successful.

IMMIGRATION

We represented 20 clients who were seeking entry clearance for their spouses to join them in the United Kingdom. Moreover, we made 8 applications for clients who face difficulties in obtaining British passport for their children who were born outside the UK. We further made two successful applications for elderly parents to be allowed to remain in the United Kingdom with their children. This category of applicants remains particularly challenging, as since July 2012 the immigration rules for adult dependent relatives have been, in practice, almost impossible to meet.

We represented 123 clients during 2020 who required assistance with their leave to remain applications where they were unable to afford paying the application fee. This is a large increase in comparison to the previous year and we conclude has been caused by the impact of COVID-19. These applications continued to be challenging because of the high level of scrutiny into client’s financial situations as well as the need to show that the applicant would be “made destitute by payment of the fee”. As a result of the pandemic the Home Office relaxed their evidential requirements and started accepting copies of documents to be sent electronically. Additionally, the caseworkers implemented use of email and telephone during the consideration, which hugely facilitated our ability to resolve queries quickly. We were pleased that all but one of our fee waiver requests during 2020 were successful.

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Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

ANTI-TRAFFICKING PROJECT

During 2020 we continued to offer specialist advice to potential victims of trafficking, as part of our anti-trafficking project, which we have run since 2012. We continued to offer free legal advice and representation to victims of trafficking and servitude.

The aim of the project is to break the cycle of human trafficking and forced labour by increasing the provision of legal advice, improving the awareness of the issues and contribute to the development of policy in this area.

This group of clients is often particularly vulnerable, as they are victims of exploitation and often face multiple disadvantages. The delays and poor decision making often lead their re-traumatisation and the biggest challenge is cultivating a relationship of trust with the clients. As a result of the Home Office’s delays in decision making, during 2020 the project resulted in 5 successful outcomes.

BREXIT

During 2020, EU citizens and their dependents continued to able to make applications under the EU Settlement Scheme to secure their immigration status in the UK ahead of the UK exit from EU at the end of 2020. During the year our advice to clients has therefore increasingly focussed on assisting as many clients as possible to secure their status. This has been reflected in the growing proportion of our work that has been dedicated to providing advice and assistance to EU citizens in relation to the Settlement Scheme. Most clients accessed our advice through our telephone advice line. We did, however, submit 25 applications on behalf of clients who had more complex circumstances. All of the applications have been successful.

JUDICIAL REVIEW

We continue dealing with judicial review claims. During 2020 these continued to be challenges of Home Office’s decision to certify our client’s human rights’ and asylum claims. All of these were settled in our clients’ favour. We have also continued in challenging the Upper Tribunal’s refusals of permission to appeal through judicial review.

DEPORATION

We continue representing clients that face deportation following criminal convictions. These clients are often facing lengthy detention under immigration powers and are at high risk of deportation, if unrepresented. Clients we represent have families and children in the UK following very lengthy residence. Some of our clients have received sentences of more than 4 years imprisonment, making their appeals particularly difficult.

Most deportation cases are particularly challenging because of the lack of Legal Aid funding and the need to apply for exceptional funding from the Legal Aid Agency. Deportation cases require particularly detailed preparation and obtaining of detailed expert reports. During 2020 Migrant Legal Action continued its work in assisting this vulnerable group and has made a number of successful exceptional funding applications to be able to represent clients.

CONCLUSION

It has been a particularly demanding year, but we have adapted well to the new way of working and continued to achieve exceptionally good results for our clients. We look forward to next year with cautious confidence that we will be able to continue working in assisting clients, bringing hope to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in combination with the complex immigration system. We aim to continue fighting for justice for the most vulnerable and marginalised.

Page 8

Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

Key non-financial performance indicators

We reached a total of 2,338 clients in 2020. Thus despite the pandemic, our work continued and the number of our service users increased.

Our reach this year was calculated by:

Further analysis of performance indicators can be found within the Trustees' Report under objectives, strategies and activities section.

Financial review

The statement of financial activities shows net income of £10,956 (2019: £2,902) for the period. Funds as at 31 December 2020 stand at £17,749 (2019: £6,793).

The details between restricted and unrestricted funds are given in note 13. The trustees consider the state of the charity’s affairs to be satisfactory. The trustees were particularly pleased that despite the impact of the pandemic, Migrant Legal Action has been able to raise the level of reserves to £10,000.

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Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

Policy on reserves

The trustees have reviewed the reserves policy to ensure that it is aligned to Migrant Legal Action’s strategic plan, and set a policy that requires reserves in a readily realisable form be built to a level that:

a) Protects the continuity of the organisation’s services for beneficiaries in the event of a large variation of income b) Bridges cash flow problems

c) Provides a buffer to allow contingency actions to be effected

d) Addresses spending commitments and potential liabilities in the event of a winding up

a) Provides the funds needed to replace capital assets

b) Addresses risks associated with emergency repairs

a) Provide funds to enable the organisation to respond to new beneficiaries and or needs as quickly as possible b) Enables the organisation to take advantage of opportunities

Having drawn from the reserves to grow and deliver Migrant Legal Action’s charitable objectives, and implement a business turnaround plan, the trustees recognise that the current level of reserves is considerably below the desired amount. The risks associated with this lack of reserves have become particularly acute considering the impact of COVID-19, where the organisation faced a decrease in income from the Legal Aid Agency as well as from fee earning activity. This impact, has however been mitigated by:

To address long-term financial sustainability, the trustees have amended the following liquid reserve targets based on an assessment of the risks and opportunities facing Migrant Legal Action, as well as the current and future needs of beneficiaries:

31-12-2021 £34,000 15% of annual expenditure, representing 2-months operating costs 31-12-2022 £51,000 24% of annual expenditure, representing 3-months operating costs 31-12-2023 £68,000 32% of annual expenditure, representing 4-months operating costs

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Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

At the end of 2020 the organisation has not reached the desired level of reserves set last year. This was partly caused by the impact of COVID-19The trustees have, however, with the assistance of volunteer bookkeeper, continued to implemented new accounting systems and controls. The trustees are pleased to note that the organisation’s reserves at the end of 2020 have been £10,000. Trustees will continue to closely monitor the reserves situation, ensuring that further efforts are put in place during 2021 including:

a) Continued implementation of new accounting and control systems to enable more effective use of financial resources

b) Apply for further funding for core operating costs c) Reducing work in progress

The trustees will review the required level of reserves on an annual basis, alongside the operating budget. The assessment will take account of income and expenditure risk within the budget, commitments to repay liabilities, and the need to keep sufficient bank balances to be able to manage the day-to-day fluctuations of receipts and payments.

Funds in deficit

Annual budgets are prepared for all activities and we carefully monitor performance against these on a monthly basis in order to ensure that any activity operating at a deficit is carefully supervised and opportunities are taken to mitigate risks and increase unrestricted funds.

Plans for future periods

Aims and key objectives for future periods

Our future plans are to:

  1. Enhance organisational capacity, resilience and sustainability by:

a) Completing a business transformation process including:

b) Reviewing and updating our Office Manual

d) Continuing to diversify our income profile with particular regard to unrestricted earned income

f) Recruiting further member of staff following reduction in staffing as a result of retirement.

  1. Design and provide services that deliver positive impact for individuals, families and communities facing severe and multiple disadvantage by:

a) Increasing our impact and reach by:

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Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

Going concern

The trustees are of the view that the charity is a going concern for at least the next twelve months from the date of signing these accounts; the charity has neither the intention nor the need to liquidate or curtail materially the scale of its operations.

In assessing whether Migrant Legal Action will continue to have adequate resources available to fund the charity’s activities for the foreseeable future, trustees have considered the following:

Trustees and officers

The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:

Trustees: S Lakhani C V Patel B E Wagner L Negahbani V K Baxi Chief Executive Officer: Anna Kouma

Structure, governance and management

Nature of governing document

Migrant Legal Action is a registered charity (registration number 1152073) and is constituted as a company registered in England and Wales and limited by guarantee (registration number 07879053). The company does not have share capital and is limited by the guarantee of the members to a maximum of £1 each. The objects and powers are set out in the Articles of Association.

Page 12

Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

Recruitment and appointment of trustees

Migrant Legal Action is governed by the charity’s trustees, who are also the company's directors (and are collectively called the Board). The Board meets a minimum of four times per year to manage the business of the organisation. It can appoint sub-committees and working groups to operate with delegated responsibilities.

The delegated responsibilities and accountabilities of the Chief Executive, General Secretary and other managers are currently set out in the Organisation's Handbook and in individual job descriptions.

The trustees concentrate on strategic matters, setting overall direction for the organisation, ensuring clear organisational objectives and holding the senior management team to account. This is affected through reporting, both on performance and strategic matters, and formal appraisal of the Chief Executive’s performance.

The trustees have reserved certain powers, which only they can exercise. These include those statutory powers that cannot be delegated, such as policies on investment and reserves, and decisions linked to major policy or programme initiatives, strategic planning, and changes to organisational structure.

Induction and training of trustees

The Board completes skills audits in order to assess the skills of the existing trustees, identifies any ‘skills gaps’ and assesses any skills being lost by the retirement of a trustee. New trustees are recruited through advertising and direct approaches to professionals and other voluntary organisations.

The induction process for new trustees is based on Migrant Legal Action’s induction pack, and is designed to acquaint them with our purposes, financial position, work structure, staff and current issues. The induction process includes:

In order to ensure continued development, the trustees are offered the opportunity to attend training on key areas, such as risk and accountability.

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Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

Staffing and remuneration

Migrant Legal Action promotes the following standards to ensure our human resource policies:

Performance Management

We have a performance management and appraisal policy that:

Staff Remuneration

We recognise the importance of being transparent and accountable in all aspects of our work, including how we reward and recognise our staff. Every employee in our organisation earns at least the Living Wage.

The London Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually, based on the cost of living in London.

Migrant Legal Action is committed to ensuring that we pay our staff fairly and, in a way, which ensures we attract and retain the right skills to have the greatest impact in delivering our charitable objectives. In deciding on levels of pay the following factors are taken into account:

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Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

Salaries

During 2020 we had a staff team of 3 full-time and 4 part-time staff (6 FTE). Due to the impact of COVID-19, four members of staff had to be furloughed for periods of time, because of their inability to continue working from home due to their roles or family circumstances.

For Migrant Legal Action to run successfully, a large range of skills and disciplines are required, and we need to pay appropriately to ensure that we can recruit people with the right skills. We also need to retain them in a competitive market for the long-term, developing them and benefiting from their growing knowledge. This is in preference to the disruption and expense of recruitment, especially as many staff have detailed knowledge that is unique to them in the organisation and could not be quickly replaced. Our staff pay scales are set with this in mind.

The salary of the chief executive is approved by our Board. Every three years the chief executive’s salary is reviewed to benchmark it against other charities in London relative to size, budgets, responsibilities and the competitiveness of the employment market. At the same time, we seek to keep salary costs under control.

All other staff salaries are set by our management team, using comparisons with charities of our size in London and taking into account factors including inflation and Migrant Legal Action’s financial position. Salaries are openly stated in job adverts. The same benefits, including pensions, and terms and conditions apply to the chief executive as all other staff. We don’t apply any form of performance-related pay, nor do we have a bonus scheme.

Pay Awards

During 2020 the annual pay increase for the chief executive, management team and staff was 2%.

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Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

Major risks and management of those risks

The trustees regularly review and assess the risks faced by Migrant Legal Action in all areas of its work, and plan for the management of those risks. The management ensure that all plans and decisions take into account the possibility of negative outcomes. There is a Risk Register which is supervised and monitored monthly by the ECO, reported on quarterly at meetings of the Board of trustees and reviewed annually by the Board in order to ensure that the material risks to which the charity is exposed are properly evaluated and managed.

Appropriate mitigating actions are implemented by management to address the residual risks, mitigating them to a level the Board considers acceptable.

The Board recognises that, to achieve the objectives of the charity, the nature of some of Migrant Legal Action’s work requires acceptance of some risks which are outside our control, that is, risks which cannot be eliminated, so where this happens there is active and clear monitoring of the risk.

The trustees consider that appropriate systems and controls are in place to monitor, manage and mitigate Migrant Legal Action’s exposure to risks. These include, among other control mechanisms, maintaining staff awareness of risks by embedding suitable approaches in the budgeting process, the maintaining of reserves and the review of key systems and processes.

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

Our risk assessment and mitigation strategy approach is proactive and:

Principle risks and uncertainties are assessed for impact and likelihood. The highest risk areas have been identified as follows:

The trustees (who are also the directors of Migrant Legal Action for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with the United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) and applicable law and regulations.

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Migrant Legal Action

Trustees' Report

Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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.

The annual report was approved by the trustees of the charity on 31 December 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

......................................... S Lakhani Chairman and Trustee

Page 17

Migrant Legal Action

Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of Migrant Legal Action ("the Company")

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2020.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity’s 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 Migrant Legal Action are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 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:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of Migrant Legal Action as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view' which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities [applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)].

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

...................................... Theophane Kouma

87 Sandown Road London SE25 4XD

31 December 2021

Page 18

Migrant Legal Action

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 December 2020 (Including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses)

Note
Income and Endowments from:
Donations and legacies
3
Other trading activities
4
Investment income
5
Other income
6
Total income
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
16
Total expenditure
Net income
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
13		 Unrestricted
£
49,732
105,122
34
34,158
189,046
(178,090)
(178,090)
10,956
10,956
6,793
17,749		 Restricted
£
10,000
43,316
-
-
53,316
(53,316)
(53,316)
-
-
-
-		 Total
2020
£
59,732
148,438
34
34,158
242,362
(231,406)
(231,406)
10,956
10,956
6,793
17,749		 Total
2019
£
28,601
168,711
66
-
197,378
(194,476)
(194,476)
2,902
2,902
3,891
6,793

All of the charity's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods. The funds breakdown for 2019 is shown in note 13.

The notes on pages 21 to 33 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 19

Migrant Legal Action

(Registration number: 07879053) Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2020

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
9
Current assets
Debtors
10
Cash at bank and in hand
11
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year
12
Net current assets
Net assets
Funds of the charity:
Unrestricted income funds
Unrestricted funds
Total funds
13		 2020
£
1,293
8,821
26,881
35,702
(19,246)
16,456
17,749
17,749
17,749		 2019
£
1,723
29,482
1,669
31,151
(26,081)
5,070
6,793
6,793
6,793

For the financial year ending 31 December 2020 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors' responsibilities:

The financial statements on pages 19 to 33 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on 31 December 2021 and signed on their behalf by:

......................................... S Lakhani Chairman and Trustee

The notes on pages 21 to 33 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 20

Migrant Legal Action

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

1 Charity status

The charity is limited by guarantee, incorporated in England, and consequently does not have share capital. Each of the trustees is liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £3 towards the assets of the charity in the event of liquidation.

The address of its registered office is: 53 Addington Square London SE5 7LB

These financial statements were authorised for issue by the trustees on 31 December 2021.

2 Accounting policies

Summary of significant accounting policies and key accounting estimates

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

Statement of compliance

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) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). They also comply with the Companies Act 2006 and Charities Act 2011.

Basis of preparation

Migrant Legal Action meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

The financial statements are prepared in Sterling, which is the functional currency of the entity.

Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.

The trustees assess whether the use of going concern is appropriate i.e. whether there are any material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The trustees make this assessment in respect of a period of one year from the date of approval of the financial statements.

Exemption from preparing a cash flow statement

The charity has taken advantage of reporting exemptions under FRS 102 and therefore not included a cash flow statement in these financial statements.

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Migrant Legal Action

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In the application of the accounting policies, Trustees are required to make judgement, estimates and assumptions about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affected current and future periods.

Income and endowments

All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of the income receivable can be measured reliably.

Donations and legacies

Donations are recognised when the charity has been notified in writing of both the amount and settlement date. In the event that a donation is subject to conditions that require a level of performance by the charity before the charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions are fully met, or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the charity and it is probable that these conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period.

Investment income

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank

Expenditure

All expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditure, it is probable settlement is required and the amount can be measured reliably. All costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure heading that aggregate similar costs to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources, with central staff costs allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use. Other support costs are allocated based on the spread of staff costs.

All resources expended are inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

Raising funds

These are costs incurred in attracting voluntary income, the management of investments and those incurred in trading activities that raise funds.

Charitable activities

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

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Migrant Legal Action

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

Support costs

Support costs include central functions such as governance cost, finance and information technology incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity. They have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Governance costs

These include the costs attributable to the charity’s compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements, including audit, strategic management and trustees’s meetings and reimbursed expenses.

Taxation

The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

Tangible fixed assets

Individual fixed assets costing £50.00 or more are initially recorded at cost, less any subsequent accumulated depreciation and subsequent accumulated impairment losses.

Depreciation and amortisation

Depreciation is provided on tangible fixed assets so as to write off the cost or valuation, less any estimated residual value, over their expected useful economic life as follows:

Asset class Depreciation method and rate Furniture and equipment 20% Reducing balance

Trade debtors

Trade debtors are amounts due from customers for merchandise sold or services performed in the ordinary course of business.

Trade debtors are recognised initially at the transaction price. They are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less provision for impairment. A provision for the impairment of trade debtors is established when there is objective evidence that the charity will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value.

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Migrant Legal Action

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

Trade creditors

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Accounts payable are classified as current liabilities if the charity does not have an unconditional right, at the end of the reporting period, to defer settlement of the creditor for at least twelve months after the reporting date. If there is an unconditional right to defer settlement for at least twelve months after the reporting date, they are presented as non-current liabilities.

Trade creditors are recognised initially at the transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Foreign exchange

Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate of exchange at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the balance sheet date are reported at the rates of exchange prevailing at that date.

Fund structure

Unrestricted income funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charity.

Restricted income funds are those donated for use in a particular area or for specific purposes, the use of which is restricted to that area or purpose.

The aims and use of each material restricted fund are set out in note 15 of the financial statements.

Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans, which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, and investments which are held at fair value.

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Migrant Legal Action

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

3 Income from donations and legacies

Donations and legacies;
Grants from institutions
General donations		 Unrestricted
funds
£
39,200
10,532
49,732		 Restricted
£
10,000
-
10,000		 Total
2020
£
49,200
10,532
59,732		 Total
2019
£
8,100
20,501
28,601

Included within grants from institutions was the sume of £10,000 from the National Lottery Community fund and £39,200 from Access to Justice.

4 Income from other trading activities

Trading income;
Legal representation
5
Investment income
Interest receivable and similar income;
Interest receivable on bank deposits
6
Other income
Furlough grants		 Unrestricted
funds
£
105,122
105,122		 Restricted
£
43,316
43,316
Unrestricted
funds
£
34		 Total
2020
£
148,438
148,438
Total
2020
£
34
Unrestricted
funds
£
34,158		 Total
2019
£
168,711
168,711
Total
2019
£
66
Total
2020
£
34,158

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Migrant Legal Action

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

7 Staff costs

The aggregate payroll costs were as follows:

Staff costs during the year were:
Wages and salaries		 2020
£
151,517		 2019
£
162,768

The monthly average number of persons (including senior management / leadership team) employed by the charity during the year expressed as full time equivalents was as follows:

during the year expressed as full time equivalents was as follows:
Case workers
Administration		 2020
No
6
1
7		 2019
No
6
1
7

No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000 during the year.

8 Taxation

The charity is a registered charity and is therefore exempt from taxation.

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Migrant Legal Action

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

9 Tangible fixed assets

9
Tangible fixed assets
Cost
At 1 January 2020
At 31 December 2020
Depreciation
At 1 January 2020
Charge for the year
At 31 December 2020
Net book value
At 31 December 2020
At 31 December 2019
10 Debtors
Trade debtors
Accrued income
Other debtors
11 Cash and cash equivalents
Cash at bank		 Furniture and
equipment
£
4,085
4,085
2,362
430
2,792
1,293
1,723
2020
£
1,547
6,100
1,174
8,821
2020
£
26,881		 Total
£
4,085
4,085
2,362
430
2,792
1,293
1,723
2019
£
21,369
6,100
2,013
4,085
2,362
430
2,792
1,293
1,723
2020
£
1,547
6,100
1,174
8,821
2020
£
26,881
29,482
2019
£
1,669

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Migrant Legal Action

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

12 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Trade creditors
Other taxation and social security
Other creditors
13 Funds
Unrestricted
General funds
Restricted funds
Women trafficking
People of Southwark
Total funds
Unrestricted
General funds
Restricted funds
Women trafficking
People of Southwark
Total funds		 Balance at 1
January 2020
£
6,793
-
-
-
6,793
Balance at 1
January 2019
£
3,891
-
-
3,891		 Incoming
resources
£
189,046
10,000
43,316
53,316
242,362
Incoming
resources
£
142,868
8,100
46,410
197,378		 2020
£
11,361
2,885
5,000
19,246
Resources
expended
£
(178,090)
(10,000)
(43,316)
(53,316)
(231,406)
Resources
expended
£
(139,966)
(10,000)
(44,510)
(194,476)		 2019
£
16,466
4,615
5,000
26,081
Balance at 31
December
2020
£
17,749
-
-
-
17,749
Balance at 31
December
2019
£
6,793
(1,900)
1,900
6,793

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Migrant Legal Action

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

The specific purposes for which the funds are to be applied are as follows:

Women trafficking - Tackling matters with trafficking specifically involving with women

People of Southwark - Providing legal assistance to those within the London Borough of Southwark

14 Analysis of net assets between funds

14 Analysis of net assets between funds
Tangible fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Total net assets		 Unrestricted
funds
£
1,293
35,702
(19,246)
17,749		 Total funds
£
1,293
35,702
(19,246)
17,749

15 Analysis of net funds

Cash at bank and in hand
Net funds		 At 1 January
2020
£
1,669
1,669		 Financing cash
flows
£
25,212
25,212		 At 31
December
2020
£
26,881
26,881

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Migrant Legal Action

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

16 Expenditure on charitable activities

16 Expenditure on charitable activities
Note
Staff costs
Allocated support costs
17
Governance costs
17
Tackling asylum
Tackling trafficking
Tackling immigration		 Unrestricted
funds
£
98,201
31,390
(184)
129,407
Activity
undertaken
directly
£
31,556
13,809
59,488
104,853		 Restricted
£
53,316
-
-
53,316
Activity
support costs
£
13,211
5,781
24,904
43,896		 Total
2020
£
151,517
31,390
(184)
182,723
2020
£
44,767
19,590
84,392
148,749		 Total
2019
£
162,768
30,708
1,000
194,476
2019
£
58,227
25,481
109,768
193,476

£105,433 (2019 - £127,957) of the above expenditure was attributable to unrestricted funds and £43,316 (2019 - £54,510) to restricted funds.

In addition to the expenditure analysed above, there are also governance costs of (£184) (2019 - £1000) which relate directly to charitable activities. See note 16 for further details.

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Migrant Legal Action

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

17 Analysis of governance and support costs

Support costs allocated to charitable activities

Tackling asylum
Tackling trafficking
Tackling immigration
Tackling asylum
Tackling trafficking
Tackling immigration		 Governance
costs
£
(55)
(24)
(104)
(183)
Governance
costs
£
301
132
567
1,000		 Finance
costs
£
149
65
280
494
Finance
costs
£
222
97
418
737		 Information
technology
£
965
422
1,819
3,206
Information
technology
£
878
384
1,654
2,916		 Staff costs
£
Administration
costs
£
4,859
6,122
2,126
2,679
9,160
11,540
16,145
20,341
Staff costs
£
Administration
costs
£
5,220
5,173
2,284
2,264
9,840
9,753
17,344
17,190		 Premises
costs
including
depreciation
£
1,994
873
3,759
6,626
Premises
costs
including
depreciation
£
2,212
968
4,171
7,351		 Other
support
costs
£
218
95
410
723
Other
support
costs
£
757
331
1,427
2,515		 Total
2020
£
14,252
6,236
26,864
47,352
Total
2019
£
14,763
6,460
27,830
49,053

The support costs have been allocated in proportion to the staff costs incurred on each activity. The trustees are of the opinion that this represents a fair use of resources.

Page 31

Migrant Legal Action

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

Governance costs

Accountancy fees

Unrestricted
funds
£
(184)
(184)		 Total
2020
£
(184)
(184)		 Total
2019
£
1,000
1,000

Page 32

Migrant Legal Action

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

18 Trustees remuneration and expenses

No trustees, nor any persons connected with them, have received any remuneration from the charity during the year. No trustees have received any reimbursed expenses or any other benefits from the charity during the year.

19 Net incoming/outgoing resources

Net incoming resources for the year include:

Depreciation of fixed assets

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2020 2019
£ £
430 575
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