Registered No: 08144361(England and Wales
Registered Charity: 1152227
Annual Report and Accounts
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Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 March 2025
The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2025. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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).
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Report Contents
Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 ........................................................ 2 Objectives and aims ........................................................................................................... 4 Public benefit ..................................................................................................................... 4 Services: advice, casework and community ............................................................................ 5 Advice and casework ............................................................................................................. 5 Immigration advice ............................................................................................................ 5 Housing, homelessness and destitution ............................................................................. 7 Financial Support ............................................................................................................... 7 Referral partnerships ......................................................................................................... 8 Resettlement Team Asylum Seeker Support project ............................................................ 9 A profile of HMSC Visitors ....................................................................................................... 9 Community .......................................................................................................................... 10 Experts by Experience Group ................................................................................................ 11 Policy & Campaigns ............................................................................................................. 11 HMSC’s Operations and Resources ...................................................................................... 12 Safeguarding .................................................................................................................... 12 External circumstances .................................................................................................... 12 Recruitment and internal staff changes ............................................................................. 13 HMSC Union .................................................................................................................... 13 Financial Review .................................................................................................................. 14 Reserves policy .................................................................................................................... 14 Principal Risks and Uncertainties ......................................................................................... 14 Governing document............................................................................................................ 15 Recruitment and appointment of new trustees ...................................................................... 15 Organisational structure ...................................................................................................... 15 The Staff Team ................................................................................................................. 15 Freelance support ............................................................................................................ 16 Volunteers ....................................................................................................................... 16 Staff wellbeing ................................................................................................................. 16 Staff Union ....................................................................................................................... 16 Premises ......................................................................................................................... 16 Induction and training of new trustees .............................................................................. 16 Directors ......................................................................................................................... 16 Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 (independently examined) ................ 18
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OBJECTIVES
Objectives and aims
The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated 16 July 2012 and registered as a charity 31 May 2013. The Charity's operation is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 16 July 2012 (amended 14 May 2013).
The Charity's purposes, as set out in the Charity's memorandum of association, are:
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to advance education and relieve financial hardship among all migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, prioritising those facing multiple disadvantages and those residing in Haringey and other London boroughs; this will be achieved by providing support and specialist advice, particularly on immigration, housing and welfare issues;
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to preserve and protect the physical and mental health of all migrants;
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to provide facilities, both educational and recreational with the object of improving the conditions of life of those persons who have such needs by reason of their immigration status and their social and economic circumstances;
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to advance the education of the public in general about the issues relating to all migrants.
HMSC welcomes all migrants, regardless of their immigration status, unless they are naturalised British citizens and therefore entitled to mainstream advice and support.
Public benefit
Haringey Migrant Support Centre carries out a wide range of activities as detailed in pursuance of its charitable aims. In setting our work programme each year the Directors have regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit and ensure activities we undertake are in line with our charitable objectives and aims.
The Trustees are satisfied that the Company's activities throughout the year provided public benefit because:
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Its activities are free to the public;
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activities gave the public access to various support streams; and
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feedback from participants consistently praised the work of the Charity.
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ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS
Services: advice, casework and community
The way that visitors contacted HMSC continued using the same methods as in the previous period.
Visitors called the New Enquiries Line on a Thursday and were booked an appointment for the following Monday’s ‘Triage’. At this triage session, the Services team supported a dedicated team of 5 volunteers to undertake an in-depth assessment of those visitors’ circumstances. 323 individuals with brand new issues had their needs assessed via a triage session in this period.
After a needs assessment, 267 visitors were identified as having a need for further advice – regarding immigration, housing or destitution – and were then booked a follow-up appointment with an adviser (further details below). These advice sessions are specialist and in-depth and for most visitors will lead to subsequent casework being carried out to resolve the identified issues. Those people who did not need further advice were either signposted or had their case closed.
As in the previous period, demand for our advice and casework service was far beyond our capacity. In large part this is a reflection of the deterioration of legal aid provision, extended delays in Home Office processing times, increasingly inadequate statutory services and a reduction in the number of other third sector organisations in the borough and in London (on which, see below).
Overall during this period, HMSC supported 555 migrants (who had 544 dependent children) via our casework and advice service. We also saw over 600 visits to our Community Space (on which more below).
Advice and casework
HMSC delivers specialist advice and wraparound casework support to our visitors covering immigration, housing and homelessness, and destitution and welfare issues.
Immigration advice
In this period, 178 visitors received immigration advice from one of our in-house advisors, or from our partner advisors from Islington Law Centre. Each visitor was provided with an advice letter and clear next steps to progress their case. Our caseworkers then supported the visitor to attempt to find a legal representative (where a need for one was identified), to access their records through subject access requests to the Home Office (110 SARs made this year), and where appropriate to gather relevant information and evidence for future applications.
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The legal aid crisis only becomes more acute each ‘ year and means that it has become increasingly difficult to find legal aid representation for our visitors’ immigration cases. This year successful referrals to legal aid solicitors fell to 28. However, we were able to refer 50 other immigration cases to charity, private or pro-bono solicitors. This is thanks to HMSC’s immigration team’s efforts in building effective partnerships with these providers. It also speaks to the high-quality work done in-house that so many providers are happy to take cases from HMSC despite the high level of complexity that is often apparent in the cases of our visitors.
J Case study
The Home Office refused Abdul’s (not his real name) asylum claim and he was left without legal representation. As a survivor of torture, he was urgently in need of legal advice and representation in order to win his appeal and secure leave to remain in the UK. After receiving in-depth advice, HMSC’s caseworkers attempted to refer the case to partner organisations with legal aid contracts. But a lack of capacity in the sector caused by the legal aid crisis meant that no one was able to take it on. Therefore, HMSC’s Immigration Advisor (IAA level 3) supported Abdul to prepare his appeal – helping him to write his appeal statement, responding to directions from the tribunal and liaising with Abdul’s counsellor and country expert to focus the content of pro bono reports on the material legal issues raised by the appeal. The HMSC Immigration team then secured him a barrister to provide probono representation at the hearing.
HMSC’s Immigration team continued to develop innovative ways to be effective for our visitors and their cases. HMSC has a ’20-year Project’, in which volunteers work under the supervision of our Immigration Caseworker to help visitors put together their evidence for an application to the Home Office based on long residency (20 years). This makes it easier for us to refer these cases, as detailed preparation demonstrates the merits of the case and makes it easier for a solicitor to take the case on. This year our meticulous volunteers prepared evidence bundles for 9 successful referrals to solicitors.
Our volunteers continue to work on Exceptional Case Funding applications for those immigration cases where legal aid is not automatically available (as it is in asylum claims), however these fell to 7 this year. This is because the grant of ECF by the legal aid agency is time-limited and the legal aid crisis means there aren’t enough providers to meet demand. We are therefore no longer able to refer many cases in the specified three-month time, so we are now waiting until there is a clear referral
Abdul was granted Refugee . Status at his appeal!
pathway before undertaking an ECF application. We still do this systematically where this is effective.
Our last visitor survey showed that 96% of visitors who received immigration advice had a better understanding of their immigration situation, and 81% ultimately found a solicitor who could represent them in their immigration matter.
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Housing, homelessness and destitution
HMSC’s immigration and housing work go hand in hand. Many of our visitors who are facing homelessness or housing insecurity have no legal access to any long-term solution without first regularising their status. Whilst our Immigration team support people to progress their immigration cases, our Housing & Destitution team offers wraparound casework to our visitors including initial crisis support and longer term support to find stable housing options.
In April 2024 our Housing & Destitution team added a new member meaning the staff team grew to three (2.2 FTE). This increase in capacity allowed the team to increase the scope of their work for visitors. For example, the Housing & Destitution team began writing pre-action letters through law firm DPG’s PAP Project. This allows us to threaten legal action against local authorities in cases where it appears they have acted unlawfully. We wrote 5 of these pre action letters in the period, which all led to action being taken in response.
HMSC delivered 300 Housing & Destitution advice sessions. 87% of visitors surveyed who received housing advice said they had a better understanding of how to improve their situation, and 85% said their housing situation had improved since beginning work with HMSC.
Visitor feedback
HMSC has been a big help to me and my daughter. I remember when I came to HMSC for the first time I was confused and very scared but after meeting with them I felt relieved and everything turned around
43 visitors secured a legal aid solicitor to represent them in a housing matter. 88 secured housing or had their housing improve, and 38 visitors were successfully referred for support from the Local Authority under the Adult Care Act or the Children’s Act (Section 17) (the significant majority of these were housed). 12 people were successfully referred to lift their NRPF condition and we made 16 successful referrals to relieve street homelessness through temporary means (e.g. shelter).
Financial Support
44% of HMSC’s visitors this year were destitute when they first visited us, and 62% had No Recourse to Public Funds meaning that they could not access mainstream benefits or housing support. The majority of our visitors are therefore facing severe financial hardship and many are in crisis.
To support visitors in this situation we distribute Tesco vouchers and small hardship cash payments to visitors in crisis. We also have a dedicated volunteer who works with visitors to apply for larger grants. In March 2024 we established a new relationship with a hardship grant funder, ACTS435, which has allowed us to be more responsive to visitors who have larger and specific financial requirements.
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Overall this year we distributed £13,804.35 in small and large hardship payments, which is a significant increase on the previous year.
We distributed an additional £2,343.50 to 11 visitors to assist with the payment of fees for immigration applications and representation. This was funded through a dedicated crowdfunder in a previous period which raised money for this area in response to the fact that many of our visitors are unable to now find free representation due to the legal aid crisis.
We also distributed 51 sim cards and 39 foodbank vouchers.
Case study Eric (not his real name) has been trying to prove his statelessness since 2019. Communication quickly emerged as a barrier to his case progressing – his phone was broken and he was locked out of his email account. This made it difficult for HMSC caseworkers and his lawyer to advocate or communicate crucial information. HMSC secured a small grant to buy Eric a new phone. He collected it at the Centre, where a volunteer helped him set it up, activate the SIM, install WhatsApp, and create a new email account. Eric said he saw this as a chance to “start from scratch,” especially as he feared his old email had been compromised. He can now stay in regular contact with his support network, respond quickly to document requests, and feels more in control of his case.
Referral partnerships
HMSC’s success in securing positive outcomes for visitors is helped by strong partnerships with other specialist organisations. Islington Law Centre – a long time partner – provide immigration advice sessions from our centre, and we have referral pathways in place or close relationships with several law firms and organisations specialising in immigration, asylum, housing and community care. These include Cotton Tree Trust, Kids in Need of Defence (KIND), IHRC, Lawstop, RAMFEL, Seraphus, University of London’s Refugee Law Clinic, Wesley Gryk Solicitors and Work Rights Centre.
We also have an extensive network of signposting and referral links with specialist organisations working across London including; The Unity Project, Project 17, Community Cookup, The Magpie Project, the Bike Project, Rights of Women, Akwaaba, Maternity Action, Mary Ward Legal Centre, Crisis, Haringey Welcome Hubs, Room to Heal, Doctors of the World, various baby banks, local night shelters and foodbanks. All these partnerships enable us to provide holistic, wrap-around support for visitors and resolve the root causes of the issues they are facing.
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Finally, we partner with other organisations to share best practice, pool resources and campaign for change. We are members of the Legal Aid Organising Group coordinated by Migrants Organise, the ASAN network, Together with Refugees, and others. We hosted our first Casework Solidarity Forum in summer 2024 and brought together representatives from over 40 grassroots migrant support organisations to discuss common challenges, share best practice and collaborate on ideas for campaigns and influencing. Working in collaboration with organisations tackling similar issues enables us to build power and wield greater influence over the systems that discriminate and disadvantage migrants.
Resettlement Team Asylum Seeker Support project
At the end of this period, HMSC entered into an agreement with the Resettlement Team at Haringey Council to work together to support asylum seekers in the borough. It was agreed that, with funding from the Resettlement Team, HMSC would recruit a new member of staff to work alongside the Resettlement Team in order to, amongst other objectives:
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give asylum seekers presenting in Haringey a strong understanding of the asylum process
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equip asylum seekers with the necessary information and advice to give them the best possible chance of being granted refugee status
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ensure asylum seekers have the necessary information and advice to live in suitable accommodation and receive the correct support from statutory bodies
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equip council staff with knowledge and information to ensure a more consistent and effective response to common issues arising for asylum seekers
To this end, by the end of this period HMSC had received a significant number of applications for the new role and lined up interviews with four prospective new members of staff.
A profile of HMSC Visitors
In 2024-25, Haringey Migrant Support Centre supported 555 different visitors through its advice service.
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57% of our visitors were women, and 45% had at least one dependent child in the UK.
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17% of our visitors were over 60, 73% were 30 – 59.
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34% of our visitors were homeless, with more in insecure or unsuitable accommodation.
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44% of our visitors were destitute.
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31% of our visitors were undocumented when they first reached HMSC.
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16% were asylum seekers, refugees or refused asylum seekers.
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54% of our visitors had been in the UK for over 10 years and 29% for over 20 years.
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Our visitors came from 79 different countries, with Ghana being the most common country of origin at 35% of our visitors.
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28% of our visitors required an interpreter in order to engage with HMSC’s services.
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We also supported people via our Community Space, with an average of 54 hot meals served per session by the final quarter of 2024-25. However, we do not record demographic information in the same way for the community space due to a desire to minimise the kind of data gathering that migrants are required to take part in in so many other situations, preserving the privacy and dignity of visitors to that space and collecting personal data only when strictly necessary in line with our GDPR policy.
Community
Our Community Space has gone from strength to strength since it opened in September 2023. Engagement is high and from January to March 2025 an average of 54 visitors attended each session. Our Experts By Experience group, consisting of 10 regular volunteers with lived experience, designed the format of the sessions and activities delivered. In response to feedback from visitors, we host yoga, craft activities, food bank distributions, a signposting desk and information sessions at the drop in. When we asked visitors to describe how they felt at the Community Space some common responses were “Happy”, “Safe”, “Supported”, “Relaxed” and “Secure”. We are proud of how the space has developed over the past two years, and there is potential to increase its impact, deliver more benefit to visitors and engage more migrants who are currently not accessing any form of community or statutory support, so are highly vulnerable.
We currently have 15 regular volunteers - 5 in the kitchen team, 2 in the signposting team, 1 barber, 2 welcome desk volunteers, 1 games volunteer, 1 foodbank and refreshments volunteer, 1 nails technician, and 2 childcare volunteers.
The majority of our Community Space volunteers have experience of the UK’s hostile immigration system, and many of these individuals have previously had advice from HSMC’s advice service re: immigration and/or housing and destitution issues. It is a key mark of success with the Community Space that these volunteers with lived experience – who face barriers to volunteering in many contexts – have significant sway over the space, taking responsibility for, for example, foodbank distribution, signposting other visitors to relevant services, operating the welcome desk registration, and other roles.
HMSC’s lived experience campaigning group, Voices for Equality, also ran and were planning a number of sessions in the space including:
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meetings to recruit new members for the group,
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a public meeting and action where community visitors wrote to their local MP (David Lammy, Catherine West, Bambos Charalambous, Kate Osamor) to ask them to meet with Voices for Equality
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Public meeting with the community to update community space visitors on how meetings with MPs have gone and answer questions (planned)
This places the community space as a site of community empowerment, where people who are often deliberately excluded from society can learn new skills, have a voice, take ownership and lead the direction of the community they are members of.
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HMSC also increasingly uses the Community Space as a venue for our visitors to better understand the circumstances of the hostile environment and all of its consequences. During this period we hosted information sessions on a range of topics including:
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The UK asylum system
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Evisas and 3c leave
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Council housing for families with NRPF
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The UK benefits system
We also facilitated participatory workshops and training sessions in conjunction with partner organisations on issues including:
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‘Your rights in an immigration raid’ (Haringey Anti Raids)
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Visa Fees (Migrant Voice)
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How to Write to your MP (Hope and Justice Collective)
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Shaping Narratives around Migration (Migrants Rights Network)
Experts by Experience Group
In the previous period our Experts by Experience group had focussed on planning and launching our Community Space. With the Community Space up and running, the EBE group decided to redirect some of its energies into raising awareness with local decision makers about the experience of migrants in London. There is more on this below.
Policy & Campaigns
A major focus for our Policy and Campaigns Coordinator this year was supporting our Experts by Experience group to plan and launch a campaign group: Voices for Equality . The EBE group initially expressed a desire in October to contact local MPs to raise awareness about the key issues they were facing. Our Policy and Campaigns coordinator worked closely with the group in a support capacity to build trust, confidence and collective demands. This included meeting with Hope & Justice Collective (another group of campaigners who are going through the immigration system), undertaking training with Migrant Voice on “Writing to your MP” and training on “Stories of Self” and “Negotiation Training” with New Economics Foundation. The group followed this work by writing a manifesto reflecting both collective demands and individual experiences to use as a basis for ongoing campaigning. The 3 focus areas of the manifesto are shorter paths to settlement, stable and suitable housing, and safety net and justice for all. The group decided to go beyond one-off lobbying of MPs to launch itself as a campaign group “Voices for Equality.”
Towards the end of this period, Voices for Equality was planning meetings with 3 of our local MPs. In February, seven members of Voices for Equality attended the Migrant Voice conference and some contributed to the plenary session.
Housing gatekeeping research: Our policy and Campaigns officer conducted research between September – December 2024 with HMSC’s housing team investigating gatekeeping practices within local authority housing support for migrants. The existence of gatekeeping practices
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are often shared anecdotally between caseworkers in the sector, but we aimed to evidence the extent of this through this research. During the research period caseworkers tracked instances of gatekeeping across two local boroughs, and the Policy and Campaign coordinator undertook interviews with HMSC visitors looking at the impact of gatekeeping on individuals struggle to access services. We expect the eventual report from this research will illustrate the systemic failures our visitors face.
Threadbare: the Quality of Legal Aid (Report): In collaboration with Migrants Organise, NACCOMM, Refugee Action and SLRA we co-authored a report highlighting how the legal aid crisis leaves people without quality legal advice and representation. This was due to be published shortly after this period ended. This report follows on from our earlier research and policy work on the availability of legal aid with PLP in 2023 “Oceans of Unmet Need”.
In June 2024, HMSC hosted its first conference – the Casework Solidarity Forum. The Campaigns and Policy Coordinator played the leading role in organising the event with the input of other migrant sector organisations helping shape the content and direction of the day. 83 people across 43 organisations joined us at the Amnesty International building in Shoreditch for a highly successful day that gave space to caseworkers across the sector while profiling the role of HMSC within this space. It was a great success and there was lots of enthusiasm and steps agreed to keep momentum from the event going into the time between then and the next one planned for Summer 2025.
HMSC’s Operations and Resources
Safeguarding
HMSC continues to maintain a robust Safeguarding process. Staff and volunteers are signposted to HMSC’s Safeguarding policy, which is approved yearly. All staff and volunteers report any potential safeguarding issues to their line manager and together consider whether the degree to which the issue constitutes a safeguarding issue and what the appropriate next steps are – both from a legal duty and based on our internal best practice. Where a safeguarding issue is raised it is recorded on our case management system and from there managed by one of our three Designated Safeguarding Leads.
In Summer 2024, HMSC commissioned Safer Foundations - safeguarding trainers and consultants in the migration sector - to work with us on producing a safeguarding Best Practice document. The eventual document articulates how HMSC not only has a transparent, accountable and well-signposted safeguarding policy and process, but how through our casework we safeguard visitors on a day-to-day basis.
External circumstances
This period was dominated by the build up to and aftermath of the general election in July 2024 that ultimately led to the Labour Party forming a government. The previous few years of the last government were characterised by a significant amount of chopping and changing on immigration policy, whereas the period in question saw a significant slow down of slated changes to the UK’s immigration and asylum policies. While the policy environment in this
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period did not deteriorate further under the new government up to end of March 2025, there were also no signs of any elements of the hostile environment for migrants being rolled back.
Visitors to HMSC were affected by one change made by the previous government as E-Visas were rolled out at the end of 2024. HMSC was able to adapt to this change by forging a partnership with Barnet Citizens Advice Bureau, who had a designated worker to deal with E Visas.
In the Summer of 2024, anti-migrant and anti-Muslim riots broke out in parts of the UK. Most concerningly for HMSC and its visitors, asylum seekers and those organisations supporting them became a target of this racist violence. Flamed by many years of growing racist rhetoric in the UK, these riots saw hotels housing asylum seekers targeted with some attacked, including attempts to burn down buildings. In light of this we applied for funding to add security measures to our building and attending training in the sector on how to respond to potential in-person confrontation.
Recruitment and internal staff changes
HMSC’s General Manager was on maternity leave for much of this period and returned to work in February 2025. HMSC’s board began a discussion with the General Manager and the staff member who had been undertaking the role as a maternity cover about the possibility of moving to a co-leadership model. A survey of other similar migrant support organisations who had moved to this model was initiated. At the end of FY 24-25 the board was considering this proposal, with regard to the fact that HMSC’s growth - both financially and in terms of the size of the staff team - had created a greater need for management capacity, and that co-leadership brings with it many other benefits including the benefit of diverse leadership styles, range of expertise, and wellbeing benefits to the leaders of small organisations (along with associated staff retention benefits).
At the start of this period the interim General Manager (who was previously a Senior Caseworker) was in place in their new role. Connected to losing this casework capacity, in April HMSC ultimately increased the size of its staff team by adding a Services & Immigration Assistant (part time, maternity cover) and Senior Housing Caseworker (full time, but this was changed to part time mid-way through the year).
Elsewhere, the Operations Coordinator resigned at the end of the previous year and was replaced with a permanent member of staff after a short period of cover in spring 2024.
HMSC Union
After the Trade Union recognition agreement between IWGB and HMSC in 2023, the board of trustees continued to work with the HMSC union on issues of pay and conditions. The trustees welcomed the developing relationship in working towards improving staff wellbeing and at the end of the period were working towards an above-inflation pay increase in recognition of the inflationary environment of the previous few years.
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FINANCIAL REVIEW
Financial Review
The charity made a deficit of £17,758 in the year (2024 – surplus of £68,686). This included a surplus of £24,713 in Unrestricted Funds (that is, funds which are neither restricted nor designated) (2024 - £20,655). Total unrestricted funds increased to £138,614 at year end, up from £113,901 at the end of the previous financial year. This level of unrestricted reserves meets our aim to maintain unrestricted reserves sufficient to meet any redundancy payments and closure costs, and to maintain activity for 3 months.
Restricted grants and donations totalling £369,466 were received during the year. Expenditure allocated against restricted income was £411,930, giving a deficit of £42,471 in Restricted Funds.
Reserves policy
Reserves are that part of a charity's unrestricted funds that is freely available to spend on any of the charity's purposes.
HMSC maintains free unrestricted reserves:
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to provide a level of working capital that protects the continuity of our core work
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to provide a level of funding for unexpected opportunities
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to provide cover for risks such as unforeseen expenditure or unanticipated loss of income.
The board of trustees will review the above criteria with reference to HMSC's strategy and business plans and determine the target level of free reserves to meet these.
The Board of Trustees will at times designate funds from free reserves for significant project costs or replacement of major assets.
In line with guidance issued by the Charity Commission, trustees regularly review the reserves of the Charity and have adopted the following policy:
We aim to maintain unrestricted reserves sufficient to meet any redundancy payments and closure costs, and to maintain activity for 3 months.
Principal Risks and Uncertainties
The Company undertakes periodic reviews for different areas of risk including, insurance cover; health and safety policies in the workplace and whilst performing their duties; working with vulnerable people and young children; financial affairs; personnel practices; ICT technology. In relation to these matters, and apart from matters completely outside the Company's control the Directors consider that the risks to which the Company is subject have been mitigated to a satisfactory level.
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STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
HMSC is a registered charity (number 1152227) and is constituted as a company limited by guarantee (number 08144361). Its objects, powers and other constitutional matters are set out in its Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Recruitment and appointment of new trustees
The Directors of the Charity are the Trustees for the purpose of charity law. The minimum number of Trustees is three; there is no maximum number. As set out in the Articles of Association, at each annual general meeting one third of the Trustees must retire from office.
The Trustees have no beneficial interest in the Charity other than as members and all guarantee to contribute up to ten pounds in the event of winding up.
Organisational structure
The Trustees are responsible for the overall vision and strategic management of the Charity, whilst the day-to-day operation is delivered by a small team of staff supported by freelancers, and volunteers.
The Staff Team
General Manager (two staff were employed at this grade during February and March on the return of the permanent General Manager from maternity leave)
Services & Immigration Lead (previously Casework Coordinator)
Assistant Caseworker (Services & Immigration)
Housing & Destitution Lead (Previously Destitution Coordinator)
Senior Caseworker (Housing & Destitution)
Caseworker (Housing & Destitution)
Operations Coordinator
Community Coordinator
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Policy & Campaigns Coordinator
Freelance support
Immigration Caseworker (IAA 3)
Bookkeeper
Fundraiser
Chef
Volunteers
A dedicated team of volunteers across various teams – Triage, Legal Support, Housing & Destitution, Hardship Grants – continue to enable HMSC to make a significant impact on visitors lives and this was more true in this period than for many years. With increased capacity in our casework teams (see above) HMSC staff were able to supervise a larger group of volunteers on a variety of tasks such as assessing the needs of visitors, applying for hardship relief via large grants, mobile phones and SIM cards, preparing legal bundles for immigration cases that are referred to solicitors, requesting subject access requests from the Home Office, assisting in benefits applications or freedom pass requests. The list goes on!
Staff wellbeing
HMSC maintained a strong commitment to staff wellbeing. This includes external clinical supervision for all frontline staff and a thorough pastoral line management system.
Staff Union
HMSC’s staff Union is the International Workers of Great Britain (recognised on 1[st] April 2023).
Premises
HMSC has continued to rent office space from the Salvation Army.
Induction and training of new trustees
New Trustees are provided with copies of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, together with the most recent Directors' and Trustee Report.
All Trustees continue to maintain a good working knowledge of Charity and Company Law and best practice by studying Charity Commission newsletters, together with attendance at appropriate external courses.
Directors
The directors of the company are its trustees for the purpose of charity law but throughout this report are collectively referred to as the directors. The directors serving during the year were as follows:
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Brian Dikoff (chair)
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Grace Brown
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David Rayns
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Shadin Dowson-Zeidan
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Amreet Johal
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Nicholas Sigler
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Lucrezia Canzutti
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Zakeera Suffee
15/12/2025 Approved by order of the board of trustees on ............................................. and signed on its behalf by: ........................................................................
D M Rayns – Trustee
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Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Haringey Migrant Support Centre ('the Company')
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2025.
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 the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your 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
Since your charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a listed body. I can confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by Section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of Section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
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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.
A S Robinson FCA The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
J P B Harris & Co. Chartered Accountants Harmile House 54 St Marys Lane Upminster Essex RM14 2QP
Date: .............................................16/12/2025
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Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2025
| 31.3.25 | 31.3.24 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Total | ||
| fund | fund | funds | funds | ||
| Notes | £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM | |||||
| Donations and legacies | 2 | 12,487 | 6,527 | 19,014 | 15,127 |
| Charitable activities | 5 | ||||
| Charitable activities | 10,000 | 362,939 | 372,939 | 401,854 | |
| Other trading activities | 3 | 13,624 | - | 13,624 | 617 |
| Investment income | 4 | 156 | - | 156 | 42 |
| Other income | 2,083 | - | 2,083 | 500 | |
| Total | 38,350 | 369,466 | 407,816 | 418,140 | |
| EXPENDITURE ON | |||||
| Raising funds | 6 | 10,188 | 15,785 | 25,973 | 26,654 |
| Charitable activities | 7 | ||||
| Charitable activities | 3,456 | 396,145 | 399,601 | 322,800 | |
| Total | 13,644 | 411,930 | 425,574 | 349,454 | |
| NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) | 24,706 | (42,464 ) | (17,758 ) | 68,686 | |
| Transfers between funds | 16 | 7 | (7) | - | - |
| Net movement in funds | 24,713 | (42,471 ) | (17,758 ) | 68,686 | |
| RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS | |||||
| Total funds brought forward | 113,901 | 181,876 | 295,777 | 227,091 | |
| TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD | 138,614 | 139,405 | 278,019 | 295,777 |
19
Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Balance Sheet 31 March 2025
| Unrestricted fund Notes £ FIXED ASSETS Tangible assets 13 976 CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 14 793 Prepayments and accrued income - Cash at bank and in hand 153,777 154,570 CREDITORS Amounts falling due within one year 15 (16,932 ) NET CURRENT ASSETS 137,638 TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 138,614 NET ASSETS 138,614 FUNDS Unrestricted funds 16 Restricted funds TOTAL FUNDS |
Restricted fund £ - 11,218 - 126,151 137,369 2,036 139,405 139,405 139,405 |
31.3.25 Total funds £ 976 12,011 - 279,928 291,939 (14,896 ) 277,043 278,019 278,019 138,614 139,405 278,019 |
31.3.24 Total funds £ 1,953 200 4,200 321,378 325,778 (31,954 ) 293,824 295,777 295,777 113,901 181,876 295,777 |
|---|---|---|---|
The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2025.
The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.
The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for
-
(a) ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and
-
(b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company.
20
Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Balance Sheet - continued 31 March 2025
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on . ............................................ 15/12/2025 and were signed on its behalf by:
............................................. D M Rayns - Trustee
21
Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
BASIS OF PREPARING THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
The trustees confirm that at the time of approving the financial statements, there are no material uncertainties regarding the Charity's ability to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. In arriving at this conclusion, the Trustees have taken account of current and anticipated financial performance in the current economic conditions, its business plan and its reserves position. For this reason, the going concern basis continues to be adopted in the preparation of the Charity's financial statements.
INCOME
Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:
Donations and grants are split between restricted and unrestricted funds in accordance with the terms of the grant or donation.
Donations and gifts are recognised in the statement of financial activities when receivable. Income from government and other grants is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred. Donated services and facilities are included at the value to the charity where this can be quantified.
Bank interest is recognised on an accrual basis.
EXPENDITURE
Expenditure is included in the statement of financial activities on an accruals basis, inclusive of any VAT that cannot be recovered. It is recognised when there is a legal or constructive obligation to pay for it. Certain expenditure is directly attributable to specific activities and has been included in those cost categories. Certain other costs, which are attributable to more than one activity, are apportioned across cost categories on the basis of an estimate of the proportion of time spent by staff or resources used on those activities.
TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.
Fixtures and fittings - 33% on cost
Individual fixed assets costing £2,000 or more are initially recorded at cost.
TAXATION
The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.
FUND ACCOUNTING
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.
PENSION COSTS AND OTHER POST-RETIREMENT BENEFITS
The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
22
Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2025
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
The only financial instruments held by the company are debtors and creditors. These are categorised as 'basic' in accordance with Section 11 of FRS 102 and are initially recognised at transaction price. These are subsequently measured at their transaction price less any impairment.
2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
| Donations 3. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES Fundraising events 4. INVESTMENT INCOME Deposit account interest 5. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES Activity Grants Charitable activities Grants received, included in the above, are as follows: Awards for All Garfield Weston Foundation London Legal Support Trust The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington The Reel Fund The Henry Smith Charity The National Lottery Community Fund Trust for London Hornsey Parochial Charities London Churches Refugee Fund Other Grants Caritas London Borough of Haringey Lipman-Miliband Trust Paul Hamlyn Foundation Sisters of the Holy Cross London Catalyst Clothworkers Foundation Albert Hunt Trust Mrs Smith and Mount Trust |
31.3.25 £ 19,014 31.3.25 £ 13,624 31.3.25 £ 156 31.3.25 £ 372,939 31.3.25 £ 19,992 20,000 19,575 - 22,500 35,000 61,527 60,450 4,000 - - 10,000 33,750 - 48,000 15,600 2,000 6,545 10,000 4,000 372,939 |
31.3.24 £ 15,127 31.3.24 £ 617 31.3.24 £ 42 31.3.24 £ 401,854 |
|---|---|---|
| 31.3.24 £ - 20,000 24,250 35,000 12,500 70,000 59,734 47,500 4,000 900 23,915 10,000 24,000 3,000 48,000 15,600 - 3,455 - - |
||
| 401,854 |
23
Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2025
6. RAISING FUNDS
RAISING DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
| RAISING DONATIONS AND LEGACIES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff costs Fundraising consultancy Programme expenses 7. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS Charitable activities 8. SUPPORT COSTS Charitable activities Support costs, included in the above, are as follows: Wages Social security Pensions Staff recruitment and training Rent, insurance utilities Office overheads Volunteer costs Professional fees Independent examination Allocation of support costs Policy and campaigns Depreciation of tangible fixed assets |
Direct Costs £ 396,145 Other £ 2,479 |
31.3.25 £ 9,713 15,750 510 25,973 Support costs (see note 8) £ 3,456 Other 2 £ 977 31.3.25 Charitable activities £ 58,607 4,502 2,159 7,543 11,089 20,790 2,476 17,046 1,440 (129,262 ) 6,089 977 3,456 |
31.3.24 £ 9,737 16,275 642 26,654 Totals £ 399,601 Totals £ 3,456 31.3.24 Total activities £ 43,424 2,965 1,544 7,927 13,276 18,613 2,546 25,111 1,440 (116,160 ) - 977 1,663 |
24
Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2025
9. NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)
Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):
| 31.3.25 | 31.3.24 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Depreciation - owned assets | 977 | 977 |
10. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2025 nor for the year ended 31 March 2024.
TRUSTEES' EXPENSES
There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2025 nor for the year ended 31 March 2024.
11. STAFF COSTS
| Wages and salaries Social security costs Other pension costs The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows: Charitable activities |
31.3.25 £ 271,264 20,840 9,993 302,097 31.3.25 11 |
31.3.24 £ 203,993 13,477 7,018 |
|---|---|---|
| 224,488 | ||
| 31.3.24 8 |
No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.
12. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
| Unrestricted fund £ INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies 14,212 Charitable activities Charitable activities 23,915 Other trading activities 617 Investment income 42 Other income 500 Total 39,286 EXPENDITURE ON Raising funds 16,939 Charitable activities Charitable activities 1,749 |
Restricted fund £ 915 377,939 - - - 378,854 9,715 321,051 |
Total funds £ 15,127 401,854 617 42 500 |
|---|---|---|
| 418,140 | ||
| 26,654 322,800 |
25
Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2025
| 12. | COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - continued | COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - continued | COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES - continued | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | ||
| fund | fund | funds | ||
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| Total | 18,688 | 330,766 | 349,454 | |
| NET INCOME | 20,598 | 48,088 | 68,686 | |
| Transfers between funds | 57 | (57) | - | |
| Net movement in funds | 20,655 | 48,031 | 68,686 | |
| RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS | ||||
| Total funds brought forward | 93,246 | 133,845 | 227,091 | |
| TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD | 113,901 | 181,876 | 295,777 | |
| 13. | TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS | |||
| Fixtures | ||||
| and | ||||
| fittings | ||||
| £ | ||||
| COST | ||||
| At 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 | 17,787 | |||
| DEPRECIATION | ||||
| At 1 April 2024 | 15,834 | |||
| Charge for year | 977 | |||
| At 31 March 2025 | 16,811 | |||
| NET BOOK VALUE | ||||
| At 31 March 2025 | 976 | |||
| At 31 March 2024 | 1,953 | |||
| 14. | DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR | |||
| 31.3.25 | 31.3.24 | |||
| £ | £ | |||
| Trade debtors | 10,825 | 200 | ||
| Other debtors | 110 | - | ||
| Prepayments and accrued income | 1,076 | - | ||
| 12,011 | 200 |
26
Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2025
15. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
| 31.3.25 | 31.3.24 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Trade creditors | 4,915 | 8,227 |
| Social security and other taxes | 6,575 | 4,982 |
| Other creditors | 839 | 15,672 |
| Accrued expenses | 2,567 | 3,073 |
| 14,896 | 31,954 |
16. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
| Albert Hunt Trust Awards for All Caritas Clothworkers Foundation Garfield Weston Foundation London Legal Support Trust London Borough of Haringey The Henry Smith Charity Lipman-Milliband Trust The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington Mrs Smith and Mount Trust The National Lottery Community Fund Paul Hamlyn Foundation The Reel Fund - David Kogan and LeahSchmidt Sisters of the Holy Cross Trust for London Hardship Fund - Covid-19 Hardship Fund - LCRF Hardship Fund - London Catalyst Hardship Fund - Solidarity Fund appeal Hornsey Parochial Charities Total Restricted Funds General Fund Total Unrestricted Funds Total Funds Total Restricted Funds Total Unrestricted Funds |
At 1.4.24 - - - - 20,000 749 - 70,000 3,000 21,793 - 30,309 20,557 3 - 7,841 2,034 900 797 893 3,000 181,876 113,901 295,777 At 1.4.23 133,845 93,246 227,091 |
Incoming resources 10,000 19,992 10,000 6,545 20,000 19,575 33,750 35,000 - - 4,000 61,527 48,000 12,500 15,600 60,450 - - 2,000 6,527 4,000 369,466 38,350 407,816 Incoming resources 378.854 39,286 417,140 |
Outgoing resources Transfers At 31.3.25 (10,000 ) - - (9,991 ) - 10,001 (10,000 ) - - (5,857 ) - 688 (20,000 ) - 20,000 (15,477 ) - 4,847 (29,067 ) - 4,683 (87.291 ) - 17,709 (3,000 ) - - (21,786 ) (7) - (2,522 ) - 1,478 (60,421 ) - 31,415 (50,220 ) (10,850 ) - - 18,337 1,653 (15,600 ) - - (49,325 ) - 18,966 (556) - 1,478 (340) - 560 (2,120 ) - 677 (2,507 ) - 4,913 (5,000 ) - 2,000 (411,930 ) (7) 139,405 (13,644 ) 7 138,614 (425,574 ) - 278,019 Outgoing resources Transfers At 31.3.24 (330,766 ) (57) 181,876 (18,688 ) 57 113,901 (349,454 ) - 295,777 |
|---|---|---|---|
27
Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 March 2025
17. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2025.
28
Haringey Migrant Support Centre
| Detailed Statement of Financial Activities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 | |||
| 31.3.25 | 31.3.24 | ||
| £ | £ | ||
| INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS | |||
| Donations and legacies | |||
| Donations | 19,014 | 15,127 | |
| Other trading activities | |||
| Fundraising events | 13,624 | 617 | |
| Investment income | |||
| Deposit account interest | 156 | 42 | |
| Charitable activities | |||
| Grants | 372,939 | 401,854 | |
| Other income | |||
| Self earned income | 2,083 | 500 | |
| Total incoming resources | 407,816 | 418,140 | |
| EXPENDITURE | |||
| Raising donations and legacies | |||
| Wages | 8,722 | 8,917 | |
| Social security | 670 | 539 | |
| Pensions | 321 | 281 | |
| Fundraising consultancy | 15,750 | 16,275 | |
| Programme expenses | 510 | 642 | |
| 25,973 | 26,654 | ||
| Charitable activities | |||
| Wages | 203,935 | 151,652 | |
| Social security | 15,668 | 9,973 | |
| Pensions | 7,513 | 5,193 | |
| Programme expenses | 39,767 | 38,159 | |
| Overhead allocation | 129,262 | 116,160 | |
| 396,145 | 321,137 | ||
| Support costs | |||
| Other | |||
| Wages | 58,607 | 43,424 | |
| Social security | 4,502 | 2,965 | |
| Pensions | 2,159 | 1,544 | |
| Staff recruitment and training | 7,543 | 7,927 | |
| Rent, insurance utilities | 11,089 | 13,276 | |
| Office overheads | 20,790 | 18,613 | |
| Carried forward | 104,690 | 87,749 |
This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements
29
Haringey Migrant Support Centre
| Detailed Statement of Financial Activities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| for the Year Ended 31 March 2025 | |||
| 31.3.25 | 31.3.24 | ||
| £ | £ | ||
| Other | |||
| Brought forward | 104,690 | 87,749 | |
| Volunteer costs | 2,476 | 2,546 | |
| Professional fees | 17,046 | 25,111 | |
| Independent examination | 1,440 | 1,440 | |
| Allocation of support costs | (129,262 ) | (116,160 ) | |
| Policy and campaigns | 6,089 | - | |
| 2,479 | 686 | ||
| Other 2 | |||
| Fixtures and fittings | 977 | 977 | |
| Total resources expended | 425,574 | 349,454 | |
| Net (expenditure)/income | (17,758 ) | 68,686 |
This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements
30