Charity registration number 1153764
CROSS SECTOR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
CROSS SECTOR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
| Trustees | Sir D Wootton |
|---|---|
| D Randall | |
| R C Wilson | |
| R Barnes | |
| D Ward | |
| Ms S Terpilowski | |
| I Dyson | |
| M Duffy | |
| P Collins | |
| P Crowther | |
| K Blythe | |
| Ms E Walker | |
| P Lavery | |
| R Woolford | |
| Ms J Williams | |
| Assistant Chief Constable G Ritchie | |
| Charity number | 1153764 |
| Principal address | PO Box 1236 |
| Bromley | |
| Kent | |
| United Kingdom | |
| BR1 9AE | |
| Independent examiner | Nicholas Parrett FCA |
| Azets | |
| 2nd Floor | |
| Regis House | |
| 45 King William Street | |
| London | |
| United Kingdom | |
| EC4R 9AN |
CROSS SECTOR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS
CONTENTS
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Trustees' report | 1 - 3 |
| Independent examiner's report | 4 |
| Statement of financial activities | 5 |
| Balance sheet | 6 |
| Notes to the financial statements | 7 - 9 |
CROSS SECTOR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS
TRUSTEES' REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and "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)".
Objectives and activities
Objectives and aims
To promote for the public benefit, in partnership with the police, law enforcement agencies and other relevant bodies and organisations, the protection of people and property from criminal acts. In particular, but not exclusively, by the provision of a national communication vehicle between the public and the private sectors providing information on all relevant security matters.
The charity maintains a regular flow of national communications between the public and the private sectors in order to ensure maximum awareness of ongoing situation, or to maximise preparedness in advance of an incident taking place.
All activities of the charity have been for the sole purpose of the 'public benefit', through the provision of information to help improve the safety of the public, and property, on a regular basis.
Achievements and performance
Charitable activities
The sole purpose of the charity is to reach as many people as possible, sharing useful advice on security and safety matters.
The demands upon Cross-sector Safety and Security Communication "CSSC" have grown since its founding, and in the recent period of increased maligned activity the calls upon the Charities services have seemed almost exponential and incidents triggered major growth in demand to receive messaging.
The CSSC charity sent out 418 CSSC London, regional and national safety and security messages during the year ending 31 March 2023. A total of 1731 messages have been sent since November 2014. (averaging 34 per month in the last year).
Industry Leaders from 3821 organisations and companies have registered via the CSSC website, which enables members to view and receive all Police alerts and security messages. A total of 291 organisations registering in the period 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023.
All the CSSC regional hub teams are well established, ensuring the charity is able to send messages throughout the United Kingdom.
143 Trade Bodies, Organisations or Associations are now registered on the CSSC cascade.
In addition to the messaging service, we have continued to develop conference calls and bridge calls within the organisation.
The authorities that CSSC works most closely with are the Metropolitan Police Service, British Transport Police, City of London Police, National Counter Terrorism Police Head Quarters, the National Police Chiefs Council and the National Fraud Investigation
All the achievements of the charity over the past year are with limited financial and staff resources and the charity continues to rely on donations from its partners.
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CROSS SECTOR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
Financial review
Principal funding sources
The charity is funded primarily through donations from companies benefitting from, and/or supportive of, the CSSC objectives. Following on from previous years, this has been in the form of a voluntary members fee of £500 per entity.
In order to achieve the structure required to achieve the charity's goals, a number of businesses and public sector bodies have provided voluntary support to help drive the operational aspects of the charity.
Our thanks go to all of the external bodies that have supported the CSSC during the course of the year, either
through donations or time.
The charity this year retained 63% of the fundraising from the annual dinner to support the running of the charity, although much of the benefit from the dinner is related to improve exposure to business and communications of the charity's strategy with senior figures. The remaining 37% was donated to the City of London Police Cadets (£1,000), Metropolitan Police Cadets (£500) and London Fire Brigade Cadets (£500).
Expenditure remained consistent on part-time admin support engaged to deliver the charity objectives. Otherwise the charity has incurred minimal expenses.
Reserves policy
Majority of donations received during the year have been unrestricted. The minimum sum of £5000 as unrestricted cash reserves will continue to be maintained.
Structure, governance and management
Governing document
The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust and constitutes an unincorporated charity.
The trustees who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were: Sir D Wootton
D Randall R C Wilson
R Barnes D Ward Ms S Terpilowski I Dyson M Duffy P Collins P Crowther P Kelly (Retired 31 March 2023) K Blythe Ms E Walker P Lavery R Woolford Ms J Williams Assistant Chief Constable G Ritchie
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CROSS SECTOR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS
TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
Organisational structure
All trustees are experienced professionals in their own right adding extensive value to the objectives of the charity.
The charity is made up of a core Executive Committee that focusses on the strategic direction of the charity. The national communication strategy has been developed by having a structure of Industry Sector Leads (ISLs), each responsible for the dissemination of information to their industry groups.
The network of ISLs form the membership of charity.
The Trustees are in place to manage the communication surrounding major risks and are therefore prepared to respond to major issues accordingly. The trustees are involved in setting the parameters within which communications may be sent advising public of a situation, and how they may best prepare themselves to maximise life safety and security.
Funds held as custodian trustee
The charity has agreed to administer the funds of the CSSC dinner, as its agent. It received £5,435 (2022: £17,685), £2,000 (2022: £9,343) amount was allocated to three agreed charities, and £3,435 was retained by the charity, as proposed by CSSC dinner committee. Balance held at the 31 March 2023 was £2000 (2022: £nil) awaiting payment to the agreed charities and these have been reflected as creditors in the financial accounts.
Future plans
Since its inception CSSC has demonstrated its ability to communicate rapidly and responsibly to an ever growing population of subscribing members and is now in a position to send messages, through the cascade principle and the Industry Sector Leads to over 10 million people within 20 minutes. The reputation of CSSC continues to grow and the support it receives from the security services, in all their guises, together with the Home Office is unmatched.
Our Plans for the Future are effectively within three categories;
-
The establishment of truly national coverage throughout the United Kingdom
-
The development of our messaging/alerting service, currently based on confirmed sources and services to also message/alert upon open source material, information.
-
Securing a firm financial base to ensure that CSSC can continue to grow and develop its services. Authorative mass communication has proved itself to be an essential part of the national reaction to a catastrophic, major event. People and industry need to know what is happening and how to react to an event. CSSC is an essential part of the response armoury.
However, it needs to be funded. Donations are its life blood, and the charities future plans are dependant on continued donations from individuals and organisations who benefit from the information distributed by the charity.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
D Randall
Trustee Dated: 5 January 2024
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CROSS SECTOR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT
TO THE TRUSTEES OF CROSS SECTOR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Cross Sector Safety and Security Communications (the charity) for the year ended 31 March 2023.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner's statement
Your attention is drawn to the fact that the charity has prepared financial statements in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) in preference to the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice issued on 1 April 2005 which is referred to in the extant regulations but has now been withdrawn.
I understand that this has been done in order for financial statements to provide a true and fair view in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Practice effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
-
1 accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the 2011 Act; or
-
2 the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
-
3 the financial statements do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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.
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 financial statements to be reached.
Nicholas Parrett FCA Azets 2nd Floor Regis House 45 King William Street London EC4R 9AN United Kingdom
Dated: 23 January 2024
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CROSS SECTOR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
| **Unrestricted ** | Unrestricted | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | ||
| 2023 | 2022 | ||
| Notes | £ | £ | |
| Income from: | |||
| Donations and legacies | 3 | 41,043 | 65,363 |
| Expenditure on: | |||
| Raising funds | 4 | 216 | 216 |
| Charitable activities | 5 | 4,368 | 3,238 |
| Other | 8 | 35,000 | 35,000 |
| Total expenditure | 39,584 | 38,454 | |
| Net income for the year/ | |||
| Net movement in funds | 1,459 | 26,909 | |
| Fund balances at 1 April 2022 | 65,062 | 38,153 | |
| Fund balances at 31 March 2023 | 66,521 | 65,062 |
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
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CROSS SECTOR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS
BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 31 MARCH 2023
| Notes Current assets Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 10 Net current assets Income funds Unrestricted funds |
2023 £ 73,338 (6,817) |
£ 66,521 66,521 66,521 |
2022 £ 65,062 - |
£ 65,062 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65,062 | ||||
| 65,062 |
The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 5 January 2024
D Randall Trustee
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CROSS SECTOR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
1 Accounting policies
1.1 Accounting convention
The financial statements of the charity, 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 2015)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Charities Act 2011. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
1.2 Income
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
1.3 Expenditure
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
1.4 Tangible fixed assets
Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.
Computer equipment 33% on cost
1.5 Taxation
The charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities.
1.6 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.
2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated 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 where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
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CROSS SECTOR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
3 Donations and legacies
| **Unrestricted ** | Unrestricted | |
|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | |
| 2023 | 2022 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Donations and gifts | 41,043 | 65,363 |
4 Raising funds
| **Unrestricted ** | Unrestricted | |
|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | |
| 2023 | 2022 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Fundraising and publicity | ||
| Support costs | 216 | 216 |
| 216 | 216 | |
| Charitable activities | ||
| Security | Security |
|
| Communicat | Communicat | |
| ion | ion |
|
| 2023 | 2022 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Website hosting fees | 999 | 999 |
| Telephone and internet costs | 267 | 253 |
| Sundry expenditure | 3,102 | 1,986 |
| 4,368 | 3,238 | |
| 4,368 | 3,238 |
5 Charitable activities
6 Trustees
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.
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CROSS SECTOR SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
7 Employees
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
| 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number | Number | |
| Sub contractor staff | 2 | 2 |
There were no employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000.
8 Other
| Unrestricted | Unrestricted | |
|---|---|---|
| funds | funds | |
| 2023 | 2022 | |
| Staff costs | 35,000 | 35,000 |
| 35,000 | 35,000 |
9 Taxation
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxationof Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
10 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
| Creditors: amounts falling due within one year | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Accruals and deferred income | 6,817 | - |
11 Related party transactions
Transactions with related parties
During the year the charity entered into the following transactions with related parties:
| Donation received | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Entities with control, joint control or significant influence over the company | 500 | 500 |
| 500 | 500 |
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