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2023-03-31-accounts

YOUTH LEADS UK

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023

Charity Registration Number (England and Wales) 1155789

LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE DETAIL

TRUSTEES

Mrs S Malji

Mr A Toorawa Mr K Malji Miss C Bennett Miss L German

Chair of Trustees

Vice Chair of Trustees Treasurer Trustee with safeguarding oversight Trustee with digital oversight

EXECUTIVE

Mr S Atcha MBE DL

Mr M Mokri

Chief Executive Officer

Head of Programmes and Partnerships

OFFICERS

Ms B Peel Projects & Youth Engagement Coordinator Ms L Dunkerley Projects & Youth Engagement Coordinator Mrs Z Khan Project Support Executive Ms A Abdul Aziz Youth Engagement Officer

REGISTERED OFFICE & INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Principal Address

Independent Examiner

Youth Leads UK KM Accountants Suite 6, Floor 4 1st Floor, Block C White The Wharf Media City Manchester Road Salford Burnley M50 2NT BB11 1JG

BANKERS

HSBC UK Plc

CAF Bank Ltd

Victoria Square 25 Kings Hill Ave Bolton Kings Hill, West Malling BL1 1RJ Kent M50 2NT ME19 4JQ

Youth Leads UK | Trustees Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23

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CHAIR AND CEO WELCOME

Youth Leads UK has once again seen an incredible twelve months of youth social action across Greater Manchester and beyond. We’re in the process of accelerating and growing our impact. Young people aren’t our tomorrow, they are our today.

There are significant opportunities in the strength of our brand, the ambition of the city-region where we are based, the growing demand for youth to be involved in decision-making, increased capacity, growing partnerships and connections, and raising our profile, as well as building and nurturing a small but mighty team of committed staff members.

We are fuelled by our passionate and committed team, board and young people, and we benefit from great support from funders and partners. All involved are driven by the vision of the charity and believe in the impact of the work we produce. We particularly stand out for our peer-led youth-led approach; an exciting, refreshing and collaborative brand; and our ability to be flexible and responsive and to genuinely hand over control to young people.

The organisation has an impressive track record, including receiving the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, a real moment of achievement and pride for the team, and we are good at promoting our achievements and success stories, which has helped significantly raise our profile over the years.

However, we face familiar challenges currently holding Youth Leads UK back from fulfilling its full potential – predominantly in the lack of funding security and sustainability and challenges around staff capacity.

We are proud to have a regional headquarters at the impressive Media City UK, sharing the ambition and opportunity that’s on our doorstep with young people across the region.

Youth Leads UK has benefitted immensely from a strong network of individuals and organisations that believe in us and our mission. We are steadfast in our commitment to changing the lives of underprivileged young people over the years to come.

We are particularly proud of the group of young leaders whose social action project received the inaugural Dame Mary Perkins British Citizen Youth Award. The #BeTheChange social action project tackled hygiene poverty, mental health issues and the climate crisis with a social media campaign, an action day and engagement with education sector leaders.

Saimah Malji Saeed Atcha MBE DL Chair of Trustees Chief Executive

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STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

GOVERNING DOCUMENT

Youth Leads UK is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with the registered number 1155789. We are governed by a constitution that establishes the objectives and powers of the organisation.

OBJECTIVES

As stated in our constitution, Youth Leads acts as a resource for young people by providing advice and assistance and organising programmes of physical, educational and other activities as a means of:

We also develop and promote innovative non-formal education programmes for and by young people, working with them to develop their full potential. We act as a platform for young people to develop life skills applied practically through our publication, Xplode Magazine.

APPOINTMENT OR RENEWAL OF TRUSTEES

Existing trustees elect new Trustees at any point in the year, and there are no restrictions on who can be nominated. New Trustees are supported through mentorship and an induction process which includes details of their responsibilities, Charity Commission publications and the governing document. All Trustees are encouraged to meet Youth Leads UK’s volunteers and beneficiaries.

All Trustees give their time freely and are reimbursed for out of pocket expenses. Trustees are encouraged to disclose all relevant interests and register them with the CEO and withdraw for decisions where a conflict of interest may arise. Additional Trustees will be appointed in the financial year 2023-24, in line with our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion policy to ensure that we continue to represent the people we serve through all levels of the organisation.

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GOOD GOVERNANCE

Trustees recognise the importance of good governance as fundamental to the success of Youth Leads UK, promoting a culture where everyone works towards fulfilling the Charity’s vision and supporting compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Board of Trustees meet at least four times per year and is responsible for the organisation’s governance as set out in, but not limited to, the constitution. Decisions on the organisation’s day to day running are taken by the Chief Executive and senior management team. The Board receives regular reports from the Executive. Decisions and matters with significant implications on the organisation are brought to the Board.

These include policy development, organisational priorities, service development, risk identification (management, mitigation and review) and public relations development.

RISK MANAGEMENT

Youth Leads UK has identified risks across all areas of the organisation. Where appropriate, systems and processes have been established to mitigate these risks.

Safeguarding remains a risk that we monitor very closely due to the nature of our work. In the past year, we have had a couple of minor concerns in relation to challenging behaviour. As a result, all staff have undertaken challenging behaviour training, and we have strengthened the co-creation of ‘ground rules’, which are displayed at each session. We will continue to prioritise safeguarding development. DBS checks are carried out for all management or delivery positions and those who regularly work with children and vulnerable adults. Our staff handbook contains a code of conduct relating to safeguarding, and Trustees discuss safeguarding at every board meeting. We have not had any major safeguarding concerns or serious incidents raised in the past year.

In the previous Trustees Annual Report, a principal risk was cyber security. We have since bolstered system security and data protection and taken out a cyber insurance policy.

Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations. All colleagues are advised to comply with media law to minimise risk within our publications.

Our risk register raises three principal risks. These are not enough staff, the loss of an existing major funder and/or delays to funds received. Mitigation measures are in place for each of these. We prioritise recruitment-related funding, strengthening our funder stewardship function and improving financial forecasting. In the past year, to offset the third principal risk, there has been an occasion where Trustees have entered into a short-term cash flow loan facility.

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WHO WE SUPPORT

We work with a lively mix of young people who are diverse in ethnicity and socioeconomic status. All of our young people are aged 12-25 years.

72% of the young people live in the 30% most deprived areas in the country, with 18% of our beneficiaries in the 50% most deprived. The remaining 10% of our young people are scattered across 50% of the least deprived areas in the country.

SOCIAL MOBILITY

We use the Social Mobility Commission employer’s toolkit to measure certain criteria to understand more about the young people that we serve:

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

We report on the following data to understand more about and further support the young people that we serve:

ETHNICITY ETHNICITY AGES AGES
African 10% 12-15 38%
Afro Arab 2% 16-25 62%
Bangladeshi 4% GENDERS
British Indian 6%
British Pakistani 2%
Indian 14%
Mixed 2% Male 30%
Pakistani 44% Female 70%
Portuguese 2%
White British 14%

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ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

VISION

A country where youth leads – young people feel listened to, part of their communities, and ready to make change through skills development opportunities.

MISSION

Youth Leads UK supports young people aged 12-25 to enrich their skills, reach their potential, and influence change. We do this through peer-led programmes of volunteering, social action projects, and learning experiences, and by amplifying the voice of young people with key decision makers.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

VALUES

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SKILLS ENRICHMENT

Our skills enrichment strand is delivered by our core Leadership Programme culminating in the youth-led publication, Xplode Magazine and a social action project. The programme consists of varied weekly in-person sessions, focusing on developing skills and raising the aspirations of around 25 young people per programme. We work closely with each young person supporting their journey to becoming leaders of today.

Since March 2022, we have delivered the Leadership Programme 10 times to over 200 young people across all ten towns and cities in Greater Manchester. Over 160 sessions took place after school, during school holidays and at weekends. Approximately 20% of the sessions took place online. The remaining sessions were held in several locations: our HQ at Media City UK, Bolton Central Library, Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Manchester, the University of Bolton, Bolton College and the University of Salford.

At any one time, we deliver up to three programmes. Each programme consists of 14 sessions broken down as follows: 6 employability skills workshops, 2 digital and media sessions, 2 social action sessions and 4 industry insight sessions delivered by expert practitioners such as GM Higher, KPMG, St. James’s Place, and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Alongside these structured sessions, over 20 mentorship and ‘1-2-1’ sessions took place per programme, supporting young people with applications to college and university, career networking and personal development. Each session lasts approximately 2 hours.

Every programme culminates in a publication of Xplode - a youth-led magazine, showcasing true youth voices. Xplode Magazine is the founding project of Youth Leads UK. The three magazines published in the past year reached approximately 55,000 people in print and online. In total, 71 pieces of content were created by 46 young people. These magazines were distributed in 26 high schools, 6 Asda stores, 2 Starbucks stores and 16 libraries across Greater Manchester. The magazine is centred on mental health, music, education, conservation, and fashion. Young people in their portfolios are now using this work. We are championing youth voice and preparing the diverse and inclusive newsrooms of the future.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

We use the ‘Shooting Star’ Outcomes Star, a validated method of measuring change in the young people we work with. We measure aspiration, contribution, confidence, learning, people & support and communication.

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60% of young people began the Leadership Programme scoring themselves low in 2 or more areas - at the end of the programme this was 0%. 100% made progress in at least 1 area, and 71% made progress in at least 2 areas.

SELF-EMPOWERING POTENTIAL

We believe in a society where the contributions of young people to their communities are valued, supported and recognised. Young people taking practical action in the service of others is central to their futures - it is linked to social mobility and not only supports the young people involved but the community around them. Our participation programme sees young people design and deliver a short-term, high-impact social action project every three months. Working with our cross-sector partners, they create real change in their communities and develop a whole host of skills from leadership and time management to planning and marketing.

SOCIAL ACTION PROJECT

Youth social action connects young people to their communities, an opportunity to act in the service of others, and a way to develop skills for the workplace. We ordinarily opt for a number of short-term, high-impact projects per year. This year, one project focused on multiple key areas for a longer period of time.

The #BeTheChange social action project tackled three major issues: hygiene poverty, mental health issues and the climate crisis. The group ran a social media campaign tied into an action day, giving out 100 care packages to residents in the local community. These packs included a leaflet on each of their chosen topics, with tips and signposting for support to those who may be struggling. Also included were eco-friendly ingredients for the community to make their own ‘DIY’ cleaning products and low-waste alternatives to cleaning products.

The group also sent out resources to 94 schools across Greater Manchester and wrote letters outlining the project and urging the schools and the young people in the area to educate themselves on these important issues.

We are proud that the social action project received the inaugural Dame Mary Perkins British Citizen Youth Award.

ONLINE SAFETY INSIGHTS

Commissioned by Bolton Together, Youth Leads UK were tasked to create a project promoting online safety. We held focus groups at Ladybridge High School, Essa Academy and Bolton College to gather insights which were then used by a group of young people who created three campaigns titled ‘My First Phone’, ‘CyberBullying’ and ‘Healthy Relationships’.

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Campaign materials included three posters, two professional videos to be placed in schools across Bolton and social media content. The campaigns have engaged over 80 young people and have reached over 55,000 people.

CELEBRATING OUR TENTH ANNIVERSARY

In August 2022, we held the first of a series of recognition events in Manchester. This event also celebrated Youth Leads UK’s tenth anniversary and brought together young people, decision-makers and civic dignitaries such as royal representatives, Greater Manchester Police, Members of Parliament and Civic Mayors.

Young people designed and delivered the entire event, from deciding the guest list and choosing the menu to hosting the evening and sharing their stories on stage. 72 young people had their efforts recognised and were given a certificate by key decision-makers in our region.

Representing His Majesty The King's Lord-Lieutenant, Deputy Lieutenant Melanie

Bryan OBE DL said: “You have inspired us with your passion for service, and we take away a clear call to action to find more opportunities for young people to have their voices heard and make a difference. We passionately believe in the ability of young people to change our world for the better.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said: “What Youth Leads has done over the last 10 years is truly amazing. They’ve helped to create ‘Our Pass’ supporting school leavers and care leavers’ access free bus travel and challenged decision-makers like me. I’m excited to see what the future holds.”

INFLUENCING CHANGE

We have worked tirelessly to influence change across society over the last year.

GREATER MANCHESTER YOUTH COMBINED AUTHORITY

Youth Leads UK is a member and ‘Official Media Partner’ to the Mayor of Greater Manchester’s Youth Combined Authority (GMYCA). The YCA brings together a diverse group of young people who live, work and study in the region. They are responsible for critiquing, developing and championing policies of the Combined Authority. Our young people attend regular meetings to have their say, and they report on the GMYCA’s activities through the magazine and social media channels.

YOUTH HEALTHCARE TRANSFORMATION BOARD

We have successfully completed the pilot stage of the Bolton Youth Healthcare Transformation Board. The board met monthly to discuss health issues important to young

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people. Topics included young people’s relationships with healthcare services, personal health and taboos, and knowledge and understanding of patients' rights. The young people have created youth-led campaigns on drugs, safe sex and patient rights and conducted research and meetings with health decision-makers .

YOUTH-LED GOVERNANCE - YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD

Our new alumni strategy is being delivered successfully. It is evolving to form part of our thinking around youth-led governance of the organisation now that the CEO is 26 years old and as our Trustees move beyond the age of 25. We will refresh and reinvigorate our Youth Advisory Board which will now include a 50/50 split of beneficiaries and young people with no previous affiliation with Youth Leads UK.

The Youth Advisory Board’s Chair will become a Trustee, and regular engagement between Trustees and the Youth Advisory Board will take place to sense-check our strategy.

The new board will be appointed in the 2023-24 financial year.

OTHER INFLUENCING CHANGE WORK INCLUDED:

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THE FUTURE

Our strong mission is driving impact in many different ways and as our reputation and impact grow, the opportunities also grow.

Youth Leads UK has been selected as a Weston Charity Awards winner for 2023. The Weston Charity Awards is a 12-month programme of top-level strategic support (via Pilotlight 360) and a small unrestricted grant designed to fund the implementation of any changes as a result. Pilotlight 360 is a comprehensive programme built around a relationship between a team of business experts and the key decision-makers in a charity. Youth Leads UK want to grow our impact to support more young people. We’re excited to see how this programme will help us identify our strengths and opportunities from all angles of the charity - governance, delivery, staffing structure and our corporate functions such as marketing.

Youth Leads UK has been commissioned to work on a national programme of activity for the Big Change charity and their Big Education Conversation project. We will be facilitating and supporting a group of young people who make up the Project Council of the Big Education Conversation.

Youth Leads UK has also been commissioned by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham to deliver a Greater Manchester Youth Civic Leadership Programme to encourage more young people from racially minoritised communities to participate in civic life such as Trusteeships, school governors, magistrates and local politics.

Youth Leads UK is seizing the opportunity to shout loud and proud about the power of young people and we’re enthused about what achievements the coming year will bring.

PUBLIC BENEFIT

Youth Leads UK is committed to fulfilling its public benefit duty as outlined in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011. The trustees understand the importance of complying with the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit and have diligently considered the aims, objectives, and activities of the organisation in relation to the achievements and outcomes of our various programs.

The trustees can confirm that the charity has fulfilled the public benefit requirement and that this requirement is strongly embedded within the policies and procedures of the organisation, as evidenced throughout this report.

Youth Leads UK | Trustees Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23

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FINANCIAL REVIEW

For the first time, we have prepared accruals accounts. This is in preparation for the organisation’s income to surpass the £250,000 limit on ‘Receipts and Payments’ accounts, as per Charity Commission guidance for Charitable Incorporated Organisations. CIO accounts require independent examination. The accounts and examination can be found overleaf.

PRINCIPAL FUNDING SOURCES

Our principal funding sources remain as grant income, but the percentage of generated income and donations has increased steadily. We have been able to focus more on income generation due to our increased staffing capacity. We are pleased to have seen much more in the way of donations and the sale of media production and youth consultations.

In the financial year ending 31 March 2023, the following grant-making organisations have generously supported our work:

We would like to thank the following organisations for their in-kind support and donations:

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RESERVES POLICY

Reserves are needed to build the sustainability and viability of Youth Leads UK, to bridge the gap between the receipt and spending of income, cover unanticipated expenditure and lessen the impact of any delays in receipt of committed income.

The Board of Trustees’ examination of the charity’s need for reserves concludes that to allow the protection of current activities, the meeting of day-to-day responsibilities and the building of sustainability and viability of Youth Leads UK, a sum is needed.

The Trustees consider that the level of unrestricted reserves stands at £15,000 at the end of the 2022-23 financial year. This is below the target of £30,000 due to delays in incoming unrestricted income.

The Trustees are confident that the reserves level will be met at £30,000, and they also wish to increase total reserves to at least £35,000 in the 2023-24 financial year to cover three months of committed annual costs. The Trustees review the reserves policy every year.

OTHER NOTES

2 Trustees received a total of £50 in expenses in the year 2022-23, and there were none in the previous year (2021-22).

The average number of employees was 4.8 FTE in the year 2022-23 and 4.2 FTE last year (2021-22).

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STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES

The Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity.

In preparing these reports, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are also responsible for ensuring that the charity has appropriate systems of internal control across the organisation. They are responsible for keeping proper accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy, at the time, the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements follow best practice. They are further responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The systems of internal control are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute reassurance against material misstatement of loss. Internal control processes implemented by the Trustees include:

By order of the Trustees dated 26 June 2023

Saimah Malji

Chair of Trustees

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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT ON THE ACCOUNTS

I report to the charity Trustees on my examination of the accounts of Youth Leads UK for the year ended 31 March 2023 which are set out on the page overleaf.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND BASIS OF REPORT

As the charity’s Trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S STATEMENT

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material 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 Act; or

  2. The accounts do not accord with those records.

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.

Mark Heaton FCCA FCIE DChA

KM Chartered Accountants 1st Floor, Block C The Wharf Manchester Road Burnley BB11 1JG

26 June 2023

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Youth Leads UK - 1155789

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNTS

For the period: 01 APRIL 2022 TO 31 MARCH 2023

Receipts and Payments

Receipts Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest £		 Unrestricted
funds
to the nearest £		 Restricted
funds
to the nearest £		 Restricted
funds
to the nearest £		 Total funds
to the nearest £		 Total funds
to the nearest £		 Last year
to the nearest £
Grants 11,000.00 201,682.00 212,682.00 171,582.13
Donations 3,337.79 3,337.79 3,528.48
Sales 12,686.00 12,686.00 20,600.00
Bank Interest 24.29 24.29 - .00
Sub total 27,048.08 201,682.00 228,730.08 195,710.61
Asset and investment sales
Loans Received 18,000.00 18,000.00
Payments
Sub total
Total receipts		 18,000.00 - 18,000 -
45,048.08 201,682.00 246,730.08 195,710.61
Accomodation & Services 15,000.00 46,459.54 61,459.54 45,644.00
Direct Project Costs 16,551.65 16,551.65 10,834.79
IT & Software 2,373.98 9,916.16 12,290.14 31,939.04
Communications & Marketing 2,048.08 7,420.52 9,468.60 5,394.12
Staff Costs 141,367.52 141,367.52 119,778.83
Legal, Governance & Banking 10,082.28 10,082.28 14,059.00
Stationary & Postage 2,497.45 2,497.45 4,421.66
Sub total 19,422.06 234,295.12 253,717.18 232,071.44
Asset and investment
purchases
Loans Repaid 7,300.00 7,300.00
Transfers between funds
Cash funds last year end
Sub total
Total payments
Net of receipts/(payments)
Cash funds this year end		 7,300.00 - 7,300
26,722.06 234,295.12 261,017.18 232,071.44
18,326.02 -32,613.12 -14,287.10 -36,360.83
-18,000.00 18,000.00 - -
14,673.98 18,820.31 33,494.29 69,855.12
15,000.00 4,207.19 19,207.19 33,494.29

Registered Charity No: 1155789

22-23 Accounts

Youth Leads UK

Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories
Cash funds		 Details Details Unrestricted
funds
to nearest £		 Unrestricted
funds
to nearest £		 Restricted funds
to nearest £
Bank 15,000.00 4,207.19
- -
- -
Other monetary assets
Liabilities
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
TREASURER
VICE CHAIR		 Debtors - Garfield Weston Foundation (Grant)
Debtors - CareTech Foundation (Grant)
Loans
Total cash funds
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
Details
Debtors - Greater Manchester Police
(Donation)
Signature		 15,000.00 4,207.19
OK OK
Unrestricted
funds
to nearest £
18,000
-
-
-
-
-
10,700
-
-
-
Print Name
KHALIL MALJI
ADAM TOORAWA		 Restricted funds
to nearest £
-
25,000
7,500
-
-
-
Date of approval
KHALIL MALJI 26/6/2023
ADAM TOORAWA 26/6/2023

Registered Charity No: 1155789

22-23 Accounts

Youth Leads UK