2024-04-05-accounts

Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees (Registered charity, number 1156709) Financial statements for the period 1[st] January 2023 to 5[th] April 2024

Page	Contents
2 - 9	nnual report Trustees’ a
10	Independent e xaminer’s		report
11	Receipts & payments account
12	Statement of assets & liabilities
13 -15	Notes to the accounts

Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees annual report for the period 1[st] January 2023 to 5[th] April 2024

Full name Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees

Other names by which the charity is known AVID

Registered charity number 1156709

Organisation type Charitable incorporated organisation

Principal address

27-31 Carlton Road, Nottingham, NG3 2DG

Trustees Carolina Albuerne Rodriguez Thomas Nunn, until 01/05/2023 Adam Spray Elizabeth Flint, until 14/07/2023 Hannah Cooper, from 07/06/2023 Harbi Jama, until 25/09/2024 Basma Doukhi, from 07/06/2023 Anne Hudson, until 14/08/2024 Niusha Bonakdarian, from 25/09/2024 Michael Darko, until 15/03/2024

Independent examiner

, employee of Community Accounting Plus, Units 1 & 2, North West, 41 Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG1 5GL

Governance and management

The charity is operated under the rules of its constitution adopted 15 April 2014 and was last amended in 2017.

Objectives and activities

The purpose of AVID, as set out in our governing document, are the charitable relief of immigrants and refugees who are suffering hardship, distress or are in need, with particular reference, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, to those who are imprisoned or detained under Immigration Legislation in the United Kingdom.

We achieve this purpose by supporting, strengthening and promoting volunteer visiting to people in detention nationally and working towards an end of detention.

Our priorities are to:

1. strengthen and increase capacity and engagement of visitors to immigration detention in the UK.

2. increase pathways for collaboration, shared strategies and participation among visitor groups.

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Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees

1. connect with the wider movement and utilise our unique strengths to oppose immigration detention and advocate for investment in community based solutions for people who are undocumented.

2. shift power to people who have experience of immigration detention and hostile environment policies.

Established in 1994, AVID has built a strong platform and source of infrastructure support for visitor groups across the UK. Our 13 members, representing over 400 volunteer visitors, are diverse and dynamic. Some are registered charities with paid staff, others have a nonhierarchical structure or are volunteer led. Collectively, members of our network visit all seven Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs), all four Residential Short-Term Holding Facilities (RSTHF) and various prisons, and work in solidarity with more than 3000 people detained a year. AVID exists to reduce the immediate suffering of people detained and work towards a future without detention. We do this by enabling the vital role of visitors to immigration detention whilst facilitating collective action amongst UK visitor groups.

Our main activities to achieve our priorities outlined above are:

1. We strengthen and increase the capacity and engagement of visitors and visitor groups through ongoing 1:1 support and guidance, working with local communities from the earliest stages of establishing support and thereafter providing an ongoing programme of training, bespoke resources, and infrastructure provision.

2. We increase pathways for collaboration, shared strategies and participation amongst visitor groups through a programme of structured-peer support, skill-sharing and cultivate a community of care. This is underpinned by our Members Charter which are seven shared values at the heart of our network. These values are: solidarity; community; anti-racism and anti-oppression; lived-experience led; independence; care and accountability; and dignity.

3. We connect with the wider movement and utilise our unique strengths to oppose detention by monitoring and collecting evidence on detention, engaging the public with the human stories of visiting and by co-ordinating collective action and connections to key stakeholders.

4. We shift power to people with experience of detention and wider hostile environment policies in our own organisation and network through targeted recruitment activities, by providing resources and frameworks to visitor groups in the AVID network, through a range of community building activities and by providing a platform for engagement in policy efforts and initiatives.

Public benefit statement

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, 'Charities and Public Benefit'.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit

AVID was founded in 1994 in response to the increase in numbers held in immigration detention, and to the feedback from people supporting those detained in their local communities. At that time, there were around 250 immigration detention spaces. In the year ending June 2024, 18918 people entered detention. T

detention is for removal and, by law, it should be used sparingly and for the shortest period

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possible. Despite this, the majority of people are detained only to be released into UK communities, where they rightfully belong, but at devastating cost to their lives.

Immigration detention, the threat of detention, and the aftermath of detention, are all points of - documented through the testimonies of people who have been detained, in research and by clinical professional bodies. In particular, the fact that detention in the UK is indefinite causes immense trauma. Individuals have their autonomy stripped, are transported around the detention state and have no knowledge of when they will be released. It has been described by

Despite this, the government has made clear their intentions to increase the use of detention, including plans to re-open the previously closed Campsfield House immigration removal centre (IRC) and Haslar IRC. Our history of working with local communities, and long-standing volunteers, has shown us that there is the need and possibility of a different approach to immigration. We stand with our members and others in the national and international community to advocate for engagement over enforcement, humanity not oppression.

Visitors play a vital role in mitigating the harm that is caused by detention. They meet with people detained to provide emotional support, be a friend, give practical advice, liaise with lawyers and signpost to other organisations who can help. Further, visitors have a unique understanding of the daily, lived realities of detention centres, which commonly operate in remote and isolated areas. However, visiting is not easy, emotionally nor practically. To fulfill their role and maximise their impact, visitors and visitor groups benefit from advice, support, and collaboration. AVID was established in direct response to this need thirty years ago. We were established by visitors and this has resulted in strong and trusting relationships in our community as well as extensive knowledge about visiting in immigration detention centres. AVID continues to be an essential source of support to visitors and visitor groups to ensure access to sites of detention; guidance, information and training; and to facilitate connections to one another as well as acting as a bridge to key stakeholders, partner organisations and to the wider public.

Summary of the main achievements during the period

Goal 1: To Strengthen and Increase the Capacity of Visitors and Visitors groups.

In our 2023 Members survey, training was highlighted as the most important aspect of our support by our members. In this period, we have continued to provide bespoke training to visitors and visitor groups. We have delivered our core training on immigration detention and visiting skills to Larne House Visitors Group in Belfast and to Morton Hall Visitors Group in Nottingham. We also delivered training on the Illegal Migration Act to Beyond Detention at their

This was alongside a programme of network wide online training which involved: Psychological First Aid facilitated by Doctors Without Borders' Take Action Group to build a foundational understanding of mental ill health and trauma; Legal Advice training on access to legal

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representation in detention with solicitor Adam Spray; Trafficking Indicators and the National Referral Mechanism with Beth Flint, Expert Witness on Trafficking and Detention Action; Safeguarding and Escalating Concerns in Detention with Safer Foundations; Applying for Bail in Prison with Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID); Lived Experience and the role of Bearing Witness with academic Hyab Yohannes; Solidarity with Sudanese Communities with Waging Peace; and Albanians A Convenient Scapegoat with Albanian scholars, Kristina Millona and Piro Rexhepi. Our trainings were attended by an average of 20 30 people per session and received positive feedback:

fantastic, we had been trying to find safeguarding training grounded in an understanding participant)

20/01/202 I learned the differences in legal aid for bail and substantive cases; (and) about the differences

We have continued to facilitate structured peer support and sharing of best practice through: our monthly members call, quarterly prison group calls; regular Deep Dive sessions on specific shared issues; and spaces for solidarity and reflection in response to crisis moments in detention. Deep Dive topics have included: accommodation, safeguarding and escalating concerns; and managing referrals and capacity.

We have provided ongoing 1:1 support and advice to members of our network. A particular area of concern has been changes to access requirements and areas for visitors to detention. We have advocated on behalf of visitor groups to the Home Office and detention centre management in order to clarify information; delay changes to access requirements; and secure regular drop-ins:

(AVID Member)

We have developed best practice guidance with a particular focus on safeguarding in detention. In collaboration with Safer Foundations and with input from people with lived experience of detention we developed our internal safeguarding policy and a template safeguarding policy for AVID members alongside the Deep Dive session and training on this topic. This was complemented by work to develop our wellbeing policy which was shared with the AVID network. To support this piece of work, we were part of the work Wellbeing Discovery Project on the unique challenges of working in the migration sector to organisational wellbeing.

Return of the AVID conference:

In March 2023 we held our Members Conference for the first time since the pandemic. It was attended by 25 people representing 12 of our members. We were joined by people who had attended a conference before and many individuals for whom it was their first time at an AVID conference. We encouraged people to attend with lived experience of detention, offering an extra funded spot to enable groups to do this. 6 people attended with lived experience. We had a packed agenda with sessions including: the history of immigration detention; solidarity within

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and outside of detention; power and livedadvice in immigration detention; monitoring in immigration detention and wellbeing. The conference was really important in building a sense of solidarity amongst the network and attendees hugely valued being able to put a face to a name and learn from one another in person. Groups commented that they would take away a feeling being part of a wider network, new ideas for co-production, increased knowledge particularly on legal advice and new understandings about the role of visitors within the wider movement.

• hopefully more in person conferences and events to

Goal 2: To Increase Pathways for Collaboration, Shared Strategies and Participation Amongst Visitors Groups:

We continued with the development of our Members Charter (the shared values of our network) and have ensured that this remains a living document. We established three charter groups on priority areas identified by the network: anti-racism and anti-oppression; care and accountability; and independence. Twelve staff and/or volunteers from ten groups in our network signed up to participate in these groups along with AVID staff, with 4 - 5 members in each working group. The purpose of these working groups is to establish what these values mean in practice; encourage open and honest dialogue on where groups are meeting our aspirations and where we can do better; and consolidate this learning to be shared across the network. First meetings took place in November/December 2023.

We have continued to work with members of our network to monitor key issues in detention and work together to call for systems change. For example, in March 2023, following protests in Harmondsworth and Colnbrook in March 2023, we co-ordinated a joint letter with Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), Detention Action and Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) to the Home Office Detention Escorting team raising concerns about the crisis in these centres and across the wider detention estate. We asked for immediate attention to the way that the response was been managed from detention centre staff, which included segregation and allegations of the use of force. The release of the Brook House Inquiry report in September 2023 provided a further opportunity to maintain pressure and raise awareness of the systemic failures across the immigration detention estate. We utilised social media, in partnership with Medical Justice, to build awareness and share content including of the testimonies of people detained in Brook House. At our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in January 2024 we invited Kate Eves, the Chair of the Brook House Inquiry, to speak alongside Anna Pincus, Director of Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group (GDWG) and AVID member, to speak about the Brook House Inquiry report, what we learnt and what next. The hybrid event was attended by 62 people.

Custody Association (ICVA), AVID and Manchester Immigration Detainee Support Team (MIDST) to enable greater information sharing and escalation of issues in relation to the detention of people in police cells. This has been an extensive piece of work which involved collating and corroborating testimonies with MIDST, gathering key statistics from Freedom of November 2023.

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Goal 3: Connect to the Wider Movement to Oppose Immigration Detention

We held two workshops with AVID network member and researcher Thom Tyerman on 2023). The workshops brought groups together from across the UK including visitor groups, local campaign groups and national organisations. They provided a space for our network to connect with local groups organising to end detention and identify ways to strengthen collaboration resulting in new connections being made.

In response to the announcement of government plans to re-open Haslar and Campsfield IRCs (first announced in June 2022 and re-committed to under the current Labour government), which closed in 2015 and 2019 respectively, we supported local residents to Haslar IRC and previous visitors to establish a local campaign group providing resources and guidance. We delivered outreach and facilitated regular meetings with other local and national actors to keep momentum on campaigns to close these centres.

seeking asylum in the UK to Rwanda. We continued to work with wider partners in the sector including being an active member of the Detention Forum a network of organisations committed to ending immigration detention, joining their Co-ordination group and advising on livedexperience leadership in the network.

We have connected visitor groups to key stakeholders bringing evidence to the Committee for Prevention of Torture (CPT) during their visit to the UK in March/April 2023; quarterly Home (HMIP).

We presented at the HMIP conference in December 2023 on AVIDs role, challenges, concerns in relation to the Illegal Migration Act, the experiences of women in detention, and proposals for ways HMIP can better engage with visitors and people with lived-experience of detention. Alongside regular activities to engage with the wider public on the stories of visiting which include regularly updating our blog and engagement through social media, we have sought new ways to raise awareness motivated by the fact that 2024 marked our thirtieth anniversary. At the beginning of 2024 we took part in an Internship Programme with the University of Westminster attended by students of Westminster and people with lived-experience of detention. We worked with the group to create materials based for a showcase event in Westminster University, centring around two timelines on resistance to detention and the history of detention.

Goal 4: Shift Power to People with Lived Experience of Detention

In this period, we have focused on building a community of advocates with lived experience of immigration detention through a wide range of projects. In July 2023, we brought together a coalition of people with lived experience of detention to write a joint letter to the newly coronated King Charles III timed with when the Illegal Migration Act 2023 received royal assent. The letter was signed by 29 people representing 20 nationalities who had spent a collective total of 13 years and 5 months in detention a history and connection to colonialism; and warned against the impacts of the Illegal Migration

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letter to the King Charles in the hope to raise awareness of our campaign using social media to share content created from this event.

In the first months of 2024, we delivered a series of four workshops (with 10 participants) in partnership with Liverpool University and Cut to the chase productions to explore the realities of detention in the UK. The workshops resulted in poetry, art and songs but most importantly, acted as a healing space for those involved.

Early in 2023 we also prepared and delivered a conference session for the Independent

for the session, Type text here

IMB. This was the first session of its kind and led to key commitments from the IMB to increase the visibility of IMB members in detention and make changes to their feedback mechanisms.

Internally, in October 2023 we introduced an innovative co-leadership structure within AVID, showing our willingness to match our words with concrete actions. Our Co-Director for Policy and Influencing has worked at AVID for seven years and has experienced the harsh realities of detention first hand. This change has put us in a better position to take forward our new strategy in the face of detention expansion.

We have changed our financial year from the calendar year to March-April. Therefore, this reporting period runs from January 2023 5 April 2024.

At the end of this reporting period, we had made a deficit and our reserves were lower than we hoped going into the next period. This is due to the competitive fundraising climate and the fact we were transitioning away from long-standing funders as well as several applications for which we reached the final stage.

We are primarily reliant on trusts and foundations as a funding source. Foundations often want to fund an organisation for a time limited period therefore we are regularly needing to look for new supporters. This also leaves us vulnerable if an anticipated, prospect fund does not come through. With the length of funding deadlines and processes we need to be organised and efficient in applications. Currently our fundraising is led by our Co-Director for Membership and Operations and we do not have a separate fundraising function.

We have been able to act on the feedback from unsuccessful funding applications which was that funders wanted to see a more developed theory of change. At the beginning of 2023, we finalised our strategic framework, our objectives and intended impact. We received consultancy support on our monitoring, learning and evaluation framework. This has enabled us to attract new funders. Further, we plan to take steps to diversify our income focusing on increasing individual giving. This will be supported by a programme of digital development including a new website in addition to a fundraising campaign for our thirty-year anniversary.

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We allocate three months running costs to our reserves as well as the cost for redundancy payments. Our reserves currently reflect the amount in our reserves policy. This is reviewed annually, or when a new staff member is recruited or other significant change to our financial position.

20/01/2025 Signed ______ Date _ Qatnsca Ghusutt, Carolina Albuerne Rodriguez, Trustee

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Independent e xaminer’s report to the trustees of Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees for the period 1[st] January 2023 to 5[th] April 2024

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees (the charity) for the period 1[st] January 2023 to 5[th] April 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’). | report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 the 2011 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.

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 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.

Signed ____ Date _______21/01/2025 Jo FCIE hn O'Brién MSe-F CIE Employee of Community Accounting Plus

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Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees Receipts & payments account for the period 1[st] January 2023 to 5[th] April 2024

2022 Total Funds £ Note Receipts 140177 Grants & donations 2 1328 Membership - Conference - Workshops 82 Bank interest 141587 Total receipts Payments 71818 Staff costs 3 4878 Premises & running costs 4 2693 Governance costs 5 2674 Direct charitable expenditure 6 82063 Total payments 59524 Net receipts/(payments) 46604 Cash funds at start of this period 106128 Cash funds at end of this period	Unrestricted Funds £ 174851 1692 300 1464 241 178548 156392 17670 5144 16366 195572 (17024) 91977 74953	Restricted Funds £ 14550 - - - - 14550 10998 10772 - 192 21962 (7412) 14151 6739	2024 Total Funds £ 189401 1692 300 1464 241
			193098 167390 28442 5144 16558
			217534 (24436) 106128
			81692

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Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees Statement of assets and liabilities at 5[th] April 2024

----- Start of picture text -----
2022 Note 2024
£ Cash assets £
106128 Bank accounts 81692
106128 81692
Other monetary assets
278 Debtors 7 1942
278 1942
Assets retained for the charity’s own use
2 x laptops, purchased April 2021, cost £1,098
General equipment.
Liabilities
(6009) Creditors 8 (4464)
(6009) (4464)
----- End of picture text -----

These financial statements are accepted on behalf of the charity by:

Signed _____ Dated _____ Hannah Cooper, Trustee seaustee 20/01/2025

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Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees Notes to the accounts for the period 1[st] January 2023 to 5[th] April 2024

1. Receipts & payments accounts

Receipts and payments accounts contain a summary of money received and money spent during the period and a list of assets and liabilities at the end of the period. Usually, cash received and cash spent will include transactions through bank accounts and cash in hand.

2. Grants & donations

2. Grants & donations
	Unrestricted			Restricted				Total
	£					£		£
NLCF Awards for All	-					9550		9550
Corporate donations	600					-		600
Arhag Housing Foundation	-					1500		1500
Refugee Action	2200					-		2200
Craignish Trust	5000					-		5000
Donations	11051					-		11051
Fulmer Charitable Trust	2000					-		2000
Hillcote Trust	5000					-		5000
Cloud Artisans Nominet Give Hub	-					3500		3500
P Hamlyn Foundation	126000					-	126000
Swan Mountain Trust	3000					-		3000
Tudor Trust	20000					-		20000
Total	174851					14550	189401
3. Staff costs
	Unrestricted				Restricted			Total
	£					£		£
Salaries, NI & pension	150826					10998		161824
Staff costs	5237					-		5237
Recruitment	329					-		329
	156392					10998		167390
4. Premises and running costs
	Unrestricted					Restricted		Total
			£				£	£
Bank charges	150						-	150
Premises and running costs			-			280		280
Office equipment & running costs	16885					10492		27377
Rent & rates	635						-	635
	17670					10772		28442

3. Staff costs

4. Premises and running costs

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5. Governance costs

Unrestricted £ Accountancy 1758 Consultancy 1182 Insurances 1005 Trustee expenses & training 790 Legal & Professional fees 409 5144	Restricted £ - - - - - -	Total £ 1758 1182 1005 790 409 5144

6. Direct Charitable Expenditure

Unrestricted £ Lived experience 1695 Members activities 11142 Network events & meetings 3368 Training delivery 68 Volunteer expenses 93 16366	Restricted £ 50 - 142 - - 192	Total £ 1745 11142 3510 68 93 16558

7. Debtors

Prepayment: Dropbox Fees receivable	£ 40 1902
	1942

8. Creditors

Professional fees Wages, NI & Pension Payroll fees	£ 1008 3401 55 4464

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9. Funds analysis

Restricted funds Animation project Digital transformation Handbook fund Unrestricted funds General fund Website development Training and membership co-ordinator	Opening balance £ - 7471 6680 - - 14151 91977 91977	Receipts £ 9550 - - 1500 3500 14550 178548 178548	(Payments) £ (2811) (7471) (6680) (1500) (3500) (21962) (195572) (195572)	Closing balance £ 6739 - - - -
				6739 74953
				74953

Animation project funded by Awards for All for the development of an animation on detentionand related outreach.

Craignish Trust for Training and Membership Co-ordinator. We secured funding to partially fund the salary of our Membership and Training Co-ordinator. The role of the Membership and Training Co-ordinator is to develop, support and strengthen the AVID network of volunteer visitor groups. Activities include acting as a key point of contact on visiting and volunteering in detention; coordinating the develop

membership support including our new

Esmee Fairbairn Foundation "Funding Plus" for Digital transformation. This funding is for the development of our new website, online handbook and online monitoring platform. We are working with digital partner, Common Knowledge, for this piece of work.

AVID Handbook funded by Arhag Foundation for the development of content for the AVID Handbook for visitors to people in immigration detention

AVID website - for the development of a new website.

10. Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions in this period.

11.

Trustees received no expenses, remuneration or benefits in this period.

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