Life Centre Stourbridge Annual Report & Accounts 1[st] April 2023 to 31[st] March 2024
## _“Helping people ‘do’ life”_
Charity registration number: 1156191
Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge
## Contents
Trends .................................................................................................................................................... 3 Operational Summary 2023/24 .............................................................................................................. 3 Additional ‘Soft outcomes’ ................................................................................................................. 5 Delivery Outreach .................................................................................................................................. 5 Organisational achievements ................................................................................................................. 5 Client/referral agency feedback: ............................................................................................................ 6 Challenges .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Opportunities ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Summary from the Chair ........................................................................................................................ 7 Financial Review ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Statement of Receipts and Payments Accounts – all funds ................................................................ 8 Statement of Receipts and Payments Accounts – by fund ................................................................. 9 Receipts ............................................................................................................................................ 10 Payments .......................................................................................................................................... 11 Reserves ........................................................................................................................................... 11 Independent Examination ................................................................................................................ 11 Governance .......................................................................................................................................... 11 Trustees ............................................................................................................................................ 12 Charity Details .................................................................................................................................. 12 Charity objectives ............................................................................................................................. 12 Independent Examiner’s Report ....................................................................................................... 14 Appendix 1 – The Faithworks Charter .................................................................................................. 15
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Charity registration number: 1156191 Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789
Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge
## Trends
- Demand for LCDA services (indicated by referral rates) continues on an upward trajectory and has risen steadily each year since 2017 by 10-15% per year (and is ~35% higher than that of preCovid-19 levels).
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Demand: Number of Households referred for, and offered LCDA support
160 160
146
Referrals to LCDA
140 132 140
New Clients
120 110 120
100 89 100
80 76 75 75 69 72 80
60 49 60
40 30 3734 34 44 42 40 41 40
20 14 20
0 0
2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24
Covid-19 Covid-19
Number of Households
**----- End of picture text -----**
- 146 new households were referred to LCDA, up 15% on last year. This growth rate is managed by employing low levels of marketing, as well as providing our referral partners with clear criteria and updates on the waiting list status.
- Most referrals come via our network of local churches and foodbanks, through word of mouth; another 30% come through public sector agencies inc. Local Authority departments, Job Centres, Health & Social Care Services; 20% come via LCDA and CMA advertising/marketing.
- 72 new client households were added to our caseload.
- Current caseload of engaged clients [as at 31[st] March 2024] is 69.- increased over the year, as we have been able to take on more clients with enhanced capacity made possible following recruitment & training of two new staff team members to cover HR and admin.
## Operational Summary 2023/24
|**ACTIVITY**|**Numbers**|**Comments**|
|---|---|---|
|Open cases - households received
advice & support|169|Comprising 260 individuals inc children|
|New referrals received|146|over 12 months – upby15%|
|New referrals taken up as active
clients|72|Target of 50% of referrals taken on is
constrained by capacity of debt
advisers/complexityof the cases|
|Open cases that took part in at least 1
advice appointment|84|50% of 169 open cases|
|Current case load of active clients as
at 31 March 2024|69||
|Referrals in triage/waiting for a 1st
Appt as at 31 March 2024|47|Households with debts waiting to be taken
on as active clients (of which 30 are
assigned to HTOH)|
|New referrals signposted to other
agencies after triage; e.g. Welfare|16|Money management/debt issues more
appropriately handled by another agency or
due to a lack of capacitywithin LCDA|
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Charity registration number: 1156191 Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789
Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge
|**ACTIVITY**|**Numbers**|**Comments**|
|---|---|---|
|Rights, DWP, CAB, Step Change,
Thrive,alternative CMA Centre|||
|New referrals failed to engage|17|did not respond after several attempts at
contact/did not attend appointment offered|
|**SERVICE PERFORMANCE**|||
|Number of appointments offered|296|Dependent on availability of qualified Debt
Advisers|
|Number of appointments taken up|236|80% taken up, a consistent level over recent
years|
|Appointments delivered face-to-face|64%|Telephone(27%),email(6%),Zoom(1%)|
|New referrals deemed in ‘crisis’ had
their first appointment within 9
calendar days|100%|A key metric achievement for our service|
|New referrals identified as in debt
had their first appointment within 30
calendar days|100%|We aim to see non-crisis debt clients within
one month of referral, but some have had
to wait longergiven our limited capacity|
|Average advice appointment length
(face-to-face, phone,email)|80 minutes|Initial assessment appointments take 2-3
hours|
|Length of client engagement|6 months –
2 years|Dependent on complexity of debts and
client capacity to maintain repayment
arrangements|
|**DEBT RESOLUTION OUTCOMES**|||
|Amount of debt absolved|£229,487|Representing ~18% of total debt presented;
already 50% higher than LCDA’s best ever
performance (2023) with 4 weeks still to
complete theyear.|
|Total no of cases closed|92|Average debtper case = £2,494|
|Average amount of debt per open
client|£12,274|£2,074,306 over 169 open clients|
|Average amount of debt per new
client|£12,004|£828,278 /69|
|Case files closed – successful or stable
debt resolution inplace|45|No longer in problem debt/debts absolved.
Average debt reduction is £5,098per case.|
|Case files closed – short term
engagement|27|Includes those signposted to other services,
those who wanted/ needed short term
support/advice e.g. household budgeting|
|Number receiving Financial
Statements|169|All open clients receive a (draft) Financial
Statement after first appointment|
|New Debt Repayment Plans/Debt
Relief Orders|~45|This will be a similar number to the cases
closed.|
|Number of people helped to increase
benefit entitlements &/or improve
income|17|For example, claiming pension credit.|
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Charity registration number: 1156191 Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789
Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge
## Additional ‘Soft outcomes’
More detailed personal information is recorded for households in receipt of active debt/money advice (n.169):
|**OUTCOMES**|**Numbers**|**Comments**|
|---|---|---|
|Households with
employability solvency
improvements|44%|Unemployed clients supported to improve financial
stability with oncome & expenditure reviews and debt
managementplans|
|Households in work with
improved budget outcomes|23%|Households in employment have improved income,
and expenditure reduction and debt support to ease
their financial circumstances|
|Households seeing health
stress improvements|20%|Households with sick, disabled or retired people were
supported through financial difficulties to ease health
stresses|
|Households subject to
enforcement activities|24|Households supported to avert seizure of goods by
bailiffs|
|Households in crisis|21|Households at risk of homelessness under notice or
threat of eviction, and/or severe mental health
stress/suicide risk,or victims of domestic violence|
|Mental health
improvements|12|Clients reporting that their mental health had
improved since being supported (stress reduction, less
anxious/depressed)inc. suicide risk/ideation averted|
|Social inclusion
improvements|16|Clients reporting improved social contacts, more
active in the community,new friendships etc|
|Relationship improvements|23|Clients reporting improved family dynamics, reduced
familytensions|
|Practical/emergency
supportprovided|72|Individuals/households receiving support with
essential supplies – food,fuel vouchers,clothing|
## Delivery Outreach
- Majority of open cases were from the Dudley and Sandwell postcodes (80% from the DY9, B63, DY2, DY8, B64, DY5, DY1 postcodes)
- Satellite Centre activity at Holy Trinity Old Hill (Sandwell Borough) resumed with partnership terms & funding renewed to 2025: Team size 3 volunteers, including 1 Debt Advisor
- St Martin’s Bradley Wolverhampton: New Satellite opened 1[st] March 2024
- Christ Church, Lye: Clinic on Fridays
- Brockmoor & Pensnett Community Centre: Clinic attended and client activity started
- Halesowen College: information day for college leavers on managing personal finances attended by 200 students
- Awareness -raising visits to 16 churches in Dudley Borough, also Tipton.
## Organisational achievements
- 5 Debt advisors are active (4 this time in 2023), +2 in supported training
- Three new staff members employed during the year – an Assistant Centre Manager/Debt Adviser, and HR/Admin job share
- 83 Training days completed during 2023/24: AW has completed CMA Level 4 training; CMA refresher training Parts 1 to 3 underway. Heather Keats, CEO and Founder of CMA delivered CMA Part 1 training for 11 staff/volunteers.
- Team of 20 volunteers, supported through monthly meetings
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Charity registration number: 1156191 Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789
Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge
- LCDA 10-year celebration & CD launch 27th January 2024 was well received generating £360 of donations before Gift Aid
- Lottery Awards for All funded a 12-month project ending 29[th] Feb 2024
- Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund grant (£34,919) awarded October 2023, completed end of March 2024
- Dudley Building Society – award of £5,000 received after customer vote
- New FCA Regulatory requirements (Duty of Care) were introduced on 31[st] July 2023. IPSOS survey completed.
## Client/referral agency feedback:
- “ _I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders_ .”
- " _I feel perfect! Ever since you started helping me things have just been going great thanks. My son is going on a school trip and normally I get stressed about being able to afford it, but I have the money and was able to pay for it, so I was so pleased_ "
- Dudley Building Society: “ _Our customers have nominated LCDA for funding support, and you have been shortlisted for a possible grant. We’ve been told that LCDA is making an impact on the lives of people in our community_ ”
- …from someone facing eviction: " _I wanted to thank you specifically for your valuable time, your patience and Information on my situation. I can tell you care deeply about your clients’ issues and I pray you continue your good work. God bless you_ .”
- …comment from a referral partner: “ _Life Centre Debt Advice is the first place I’d call if one of my households has a need for debt advice_ .”
## Challenges
Going forward, LCDA faces a number of challenges to sustain our growth in capacity:
- Scheduling staff time to meet targets for assessing the needs of new referral clients and being able to allocate them the appropriate level of support
- Increasing availability of qualified Debt Advisers for frontline advice through reallocation of administration and staff oversight/training
- Continuous professional development for staff and volunteers to improve the effectiveness of the service and bring about speedier debt resolutions
- Fulfilling additional reporting requirements – FCA Duty of Care implementation
- Improving client engagement rates by working more closely with referral agencies and partners to ensure a better fit with client need, priorities and willingness/readiness to engage
- Completing an urgent IT Audit and implementing recommendations to improve efficiency and security
- Securing longer term funding to retain key qualified and gifted staff
- Recruiting and training new volunteers.
## Opportunities
- Building partnerships with local churches and community groups to grow a network of neighbourhood level debt & money advice delivery across deprived areas of the Black Country
- Expanding our delivery model to include access to centralised debt advice via the ‘Integrated Hub’ service through our national umbrella organisation Community Money Advice
- Work more closely with local authority and public agencies to influence policy and practice around debt advice and poverty alleviation.
Charity registration number: 1156191 Page **6** of **15**
Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789
Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge
## Summary from the Chair
The focus for our service has always been ‘how can we effectively help those who come to us in need of advice and support’.
It is so encouraging to receive feedback from clients expressing their experiences of a service that has given them: -
- compassionate face to face support
- excellent regulated advice
- help that has gone beyond their expectations
- hope for the future
- support for the long term
This has been achieved through an excellent, committed and hard-working team of volunteers, staff, supporters and trustees. I take this opportunity to thank everyone involved with LCDA for all that they do and particularly those things that go un-noticed, but are just as vital to the effective running and provision of our service, whether it be practical, prayerful or through financial support.
My hope and prayer is that we can continue to fund, equip and sustain our service to be here for many years to come, meeting the needs of those who decide to make that first big step to ask for our help.
If, having read this report you feel you would love to be part of this work, please do not hesitate to contact one of the team, we would welcome the opportunity to speak to you.
Alan Taylor
Chair
## Financial Review
LCDA is in a financially strong position. The reasons are:
1. We received grants totalling £39,858 from the Cost Of Living Fund which we had to spend by 31[st] March 24
2. We received a grant from the Dudley Building Society of £5,000 late in March which we have yet to spend
During the next financial year, we anticipate these changes to our expenditure:
1. An upgrade to our IT infrastructure – approx. £5,000
2. We recruit another staff member for 16 hours/week – approx. £10,000
3. A reduction in employment costs as Martin Frize reduces his hours from 32/week to 8/week from w/c June 17[th] onwards – approx. £10,000
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Charity registration number: 1156191 Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789
## Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge Statement of Receipts and Payments Accounts – all funds
This statement is for the period 1[st] April 2023 to 31[st] March 2024 for all funds. The comparative figures for 2022/23 are for the 15 months from 1[st] January 2022 to 31[st] March 2023.
|Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge
Statement of Receipts and Payments Accounts – all funds
This statement is for the period 1stApril 2023 to 31stMarch 2024 for all funds. The
comparative figures for 2022/23 are for the 15 months from 1stJanuary 2022 to 31stMarch 2023.|Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge
Statement of Receipts and Payments Accounts – all funds
This statement is for the period 1stApril 2023 to 31stMarch 2024 for all funds. The
comparative figures for 2022/23 are for the 15 months from 1stJanuary 2022 to 31stMarch 2023.|
|---|---|
|||
|Brought Forward|**2022/23**
**2023/24**
**£33,741.12**
**£55,190.23**|
|**Receipts**||
|Churches
Gift Aid
Individuals
Trusts / Foundations
Other Grants
Other Income
Satellite Income
**Total Income**|£6,877.00
£6,169.58
£1,652.75
£1,477.46
£15,550.51
£7,914.05
£28,015.00
£46,828.00
£90.00
£5,150.00
£451.83
£1,244.26
£4,868.18
£5,311.52
**£57,505.27**
**£74,094.87**|
|**Payments**||
|Direct Employee Expenses
Fees
Indirect Employee/Volunteer Expenses
Marketing
Other Expenses
Premises Costs
Payments for assets
**Total Expenditure**|-£28,153.28
-£50,583.45
-£2,099.00
-£4,498.83
-£2,515.67
-£2,550.30
£0.00
-£253.00
-£544.23
-£736.84
-£2,743.98
-£2,803.41
£0.00
-£1,167.01
**-£36,056.16**
**-£62,592.84**|
|**Carried Forward**|**£55,190.23**
**£66,692.26**|
Page **8** of **15**
Charity registration number: 1156191 Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789
Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge
## Statement of Receipts and Payments Accounts – by fund
This statement is for the period 1[st] April 2023 to 31[st] March 2024.
|Statement of Receipts and Payments Accounts – by fund
This statement is for the period 1stApril 2023 to 31stMarch 2024.|Statement of Receipts and Payments Accounts – by fund
This statement is for the period 1stApril 2023 to 31stMarch 2024.|
|---|---|
|||
|Brought Forward
**£44,017.33**
**£1,897.90**
**£9,275.00**
**£0.00**
**Funds**
**LCDA**
**HTOH**
**LAFA**
**COL**|**£55,190.23**
**Totals**|
|**Receipts**||
|Churches
£6,169.58
Gift Aid
£1,477.46
Individuals
£7,914.05
Trusts / Foundations
£20,046.37
£26,781.63
Other Grants
£5,150.00
Other Income
£1,244.26
Satellite Income
£5,311.52
**Total Income**
**£42,001.72**
**£5,311.52**
**£0.00**
**£26,781.63**|£6,169.58
£1,477.46
£7,914.05
£46,828.00
£5,150.00
£1,244.26
£5,311.52
**£74,094.87**|
|**Payments**||
|Direct Employee Expenses
-£15,494.20
-£6,028.80
-£7,568.50
-£21,491.95
Fees
-£2,474.83
-£350.00
-£1,674.00
Indirect Employee/Volunteer
Expenses
-£770.96
-£240.31
-£226.26
-£1,312.77
Marketing
-£253.00
Other Expenses
-£736.84
Premises Costs
-£753.02
-£2,050.39
Payments for assets
-£1,167.01
Journals
-£37.25
£0.00
£36.77
£0.48
Prior year adjustments
£626.19
-£626.19
**Total Expenditure**
**-£19,640.91**
**-£6,895.30**
**-£9,275.00**
**-£26,781.63**|-£50,583.45
-£4,498.83
-£2,550.30
-£253.00
-£736.84
-£2,803.41
-£1,167.01
£0.00
£0.00
**-£62,592.84**|
|**Carried Forward**
**£66,378.14**
**£314.12**
**£0.00**
**£0.00**|**£66,692.26**|
## **Fund Key**
LCDA Life Centre Debt Advice General Fund HTOH Holy Trinity, Old Hill – a satellite centre Designated fund LAFA Lottery Awards for All Restricted fund COL Cost of Living Restricted fund
## **Notes**
1. Journals: Transfer of the expenditure above grant amount to LCDA General Fund
2. Prior year adjustment: Reallocation of expenditure in prior year to appropriate fund account as per agreement
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Charity registration number: 1156191 Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789
Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge
## Receipts
This chart shows the breakdown of our income streams: -
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Receipts in 2023/24
Churches
2% [7%] 8%
2% Gift Aid
7%
11%
Individuals
Trusts /
Foundations
Other Grants
63% Other Income
Satellite Income
**----- End of picture text -----**
Our major source of income is from Trusts. The regular support from individuals has slightly reduced whereas the support from churches has increased slightly.
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Charity registration number: 1156191 Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789
Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge
## Payments
In 2023/24 our employment costs rose significantly because we employed two more staff members for 10 hours/week each & then increased the staff hours later in the year to deliver the outcomes that the Cost of Living fund enabled.
The breakdown for this year: -
## **Payments in 2023/24**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Direct Employee
Expenses
-3% [-2%]
-4% Fees
0%
-1%
-7% Indirect
Employee/Volunteer
Expenses
Marketing
Other Expenses
Premises Costs
-81%
Payments for assets
**----- End of picture text -----**
## Reserves
Our minimum running costs for a quarter are approximately £18,000 & this is considerably less than our current balance.
## Independent Examination
The accounts have been examined independently.
## Governance
The Trustees and Centre Manager work together to govern the operation of the charity to the relevant standards. The Manager is primarily responsible for the quality of the Debt Advice and our compliance with the regulations and requirements of the two bodies that accredit our work, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Community Money Advice (CMA) organisation. The quality of the debt advice is externally audited annually by the CMA organisation.
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Charity registration number: 1156191 Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789
Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge In 2023/24 the Management Team (Trustees and Centre Manager) met 10 times and the Trustees once to guide the work agree new approaches, approve new volunteers and any other relevant leadership decisions.
Trustees are appointed or confirmed at Trustee Meetings and may serve for a maximum of 3 years before formal re-election if appropriate, and it is recommended that they serve no more than 7 years.
The charity has an informal accountability to the Churches Together in Stourbridge (CTiS) network.
## Trustees
**Name Primary role End of term** Alan Taylor Chair 28/06/24 Julia Savage Trustee 22/06/25 David Watts Trustee 28/06/23 Retired Malcolm Moss Scribe & Treasurer 30/03/25 Nicola Martin Fund Raising 02/02/25 Christopher Heslop Trustee (from 24/01/24) 23/01/27
## Charity Details
**Charity number** 115691 **Charity status** Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) Registered 13[th] March 2014. **Registered Office** The Upper Room, Bellmark House 18a Market Street Stourbridge, West Midlands DY8 1AD **Telephone** 01384 739757 **Email** info@lifecentredebtadvice.org.uk **Chair** Alan.Taylor@lifecentredebtadvice.org.uk **Independent Examiner** Alastair Greeves **Bankers** Unity Trust Bank plc Nine Brindley Place Birmingham B1 2HB
## Charity objectives
The objects of the charity as set out in the constitution are: -
1. To relieve poverty by providing ethical debt and money management advice, free of charge.
2. To promote social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing people from becoming socially excluded, relieving the needs of those people who are socially excluded (for the purpose of this clause ‘socially excluded’ means being excluded from society, or parts of society, as a result of financial hardship) and assisting them to integrate into society in particular but not exclusively by; -
- a. providing advocacy services for people who are unable to advocate for themselves because of fear or lack of knowledge or lack of confidence
- b. providing training and guidance to develop people’s financial capability
- c. helping those who have been isolated from, or who are out of touch with, society to re-adjust and re-integrate by befriending them and re-building their confidence in
- Charity registration number: 1156191 Page **12** of **15**
Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789
Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge their local community.
3. The advancement of the Christian faith by evangelistic mission that is carried out on an entirely non-coercive and invitational basis, and in accordance with the Faithworks charter given as Appendix 1 of the constitution.
These objects are carried out currently by the provision of the Life Centre Debt Advice work by employing a Debt Advice Manager and training volunteer Debt Advisors and Support Workers who give debt advice and work with clients to achieve debt-free status.
As followers of Jesus, we believe that prayer is the foundation of this work.
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Charity registration number: 1156191 Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789
Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge
## Independent Examiner’s Report
Page **14** of **15**
Charity registration number: 1156191 Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789
Annual Report, Review & Accounts for Life Centre Stourbridge
Appendix 1 – The Faithworks Charter
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Charity registration number: 1156191 Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Reference number: 618789