Fletton House Fletton Way, Glapthorn Road Oundle Peterborough PE8 4JA Tel: 01832 275433 E-mail: admin@volunteeractionoundle.org.uk Web Site: www.volunteeractionoundle.org.uk
## Volunteer Action Annual Statement
Registered charity no. 1161080
1[st] April 2020 to 31[st] March 2021
## **Mission**
Volunteer Action’s mission is **“** Volunteering to improve the lives of local people in need”.
## **Strategy**
This mission is fulfilled by running a Community Car Scheme and Befriending Service.
## **Operational Activity**
## **Demand for our services**
Throughout the restrictions, introduced for the pandemic, we maintained our volunteer driver service taking members to medical appointments. These were much reduced and many drivers chose to stand down, as they themselves were over 70 and advised they were at high risk from the virus. Miles driven fell to 48,000 (previous year 125,000), fulfilling 5,000 (12,500) trips. We continued to sign up new members, some of whom were referred to us through the county support scheme. Over 100 (200) new people joined the scheme, which still operates with no membership fee. We introduced a shopping service, where we shopped and delivered, and a prescription delivery service. These are barely used now (June 2021) but were a lifeline for many during the pandemic. From December 2020 we were taking people for Covid vaccinations and used our own funds to subsidise the cost of these to passengers.
The face-to-face befriending scheme was suspended for most of the year but almost all our volunteers and members stayed in touch on the phone. We phoned all our car scheme members (around 800) to ask them if they would like a telephone befriender through the lockdown. Almost 160 people said yes and we asked all our volunteers who were unable to drive to help us out. Together with some new recruits we eventually had around 110 volunteers working to support this scheme. Numbers have dropped away but a survey conducted in December 2020 found an ongoing demand for a phone befriending service and this is now a permanent part of our offer.
## **Running the services**
It would be impossible for VA to deliver its services without its volunteers. These number about 135.
## Administration and management
VA runs a small administration operation close to the centre of Oundle. It was staffed by four part-time employees (FTE 2) and a loyal group of volunteers who usually work on a one-day a week basis. Apart from the normal activities of a small charity, the main workload is the weekly task of receiving calls for drives and then matching them with drivers. In addition, we are fortunate to have one volunteer who administers the befriending scheme and another who does the at-home assessments of new members. Covid-19 guidelines resulted in us introducing opportunities for staff to work from home, but we managed for a large part of the year without volunteers.
## Community car scheme
Recruiting drivers for the Community Car Scheme was surprisingly successful during the pandemic, benefitting from volunteering having such a high national profile. During the year we used over 40 different drivers at some point. In April we used just 15 different drivers but this had risen to 30 by the year end. We pay our drivers 40 pence a mile for their mileage, including home to pick-up point. Our passengers pay the same rate, but only for the passenger return mileage. We provide training for our drivers on subjects such as manual handling, lone working and safeguarding. Drivers are able to claim modest out of pocket expenses if they are required to wait for an extended time or during meal times.
Both passengers and drivers generally thoroughly enjoy the opportunity for conversation, which we consider to be a small way to contribute towards reducing loneliness and social isolation, over and above getting the member out of their house.
## Befriending
With befriending moving to a phone based service and the sudden increase in demand, we suspended our usual efforts to ‘match’ volunteers and members. Many of the relationships formed on the phone have endured but there were some which did not work out. We are currently (June 2021) supporting over 75 people on the phone and almost 40 with the now-restored face-to-face scheme.
## **Risk Assessment**
The charity maintains a wide range of risk assessments in relation to both the services we provide to our members and to our administrative operations. These are reviewed on an annual basis.
## **Financial matters**
## Income and expenditure
VA receives its income from a range of sources - Local Authorities, NHS, donations, fundraising and contracts. Salaries is the largest expense but there are office costs including rent and we continue to fund the cost of mileage to get drivers to members’ pick-up points. In a large rural area, this is a key consideration.
During the year income exceeded expenditure by £3.4k. Although a deficit had originally been budgeted for the year, a number of “windfall” grants and donations were received in the year, together with the availability of coronavirus funding, which resulted in the small surplus.
## Reserves
In the Trustees’ view, the reserves should provide the charity with adequate financial stability and the means for it to meet its charitable objectives for the foreseeable future.
A number of significant risk factors for the future have been identified, including: uncertainty over future statutory funding from local government and the NHS; the continuing uncertainty over the level of voluntary donor funding; and general unforeseen day-to-day operational costs.
Taking these factors into account, the trustees have determined to maintain the charity’s reserves at a minimum level of £70,000, which is equivalent to a year’s operational expenditure, plus the costs of winding up the organisation in the event that it became unviable.
However, the actual reserves at the end of the year were well in excess of this minimum level. This was partly due to careful management of the Charity’s resources over many years, but also due to good fortune in receiving unexpected legacies, donations and grants (including c. £16,000 in 2020/21 alone).
The Trustees are considering how best to reduce the level of reserves over a number of years without it being detrimental to financial stability. This will be achieved partly through the annual budget process, and partly through the strategic review of new services which might be offered on a permanent basis. For example, a staffed ‘friend on a phone’ scheme for isolated or lonely members has been introduced in 2021-22, the costs of which can only be covered out of our reserves.
In addition, as rural bus services have declined sharply in recent years, we have experienced strong growth in demand, and core costs have increased as a result. It is important that services are maintained in the long term to meet that growing demand and it is anticipated that this will be increasingly expensive. Our reserves will help ensure that we have a long-term future.
## **Public Benefits**
The trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit.
Rural isolation and loneliness are well known to be closely associated with mental well-being and we know that our service helps tackle this. Older people value independent living and we can help maintain that for longer by providing a reliable way to get to vital appointments or just getting the shopping. Bus services have been withdrawn entirely through most of our surrounding villages and are very limited in the 2 small market towns we support. These problems are also alleviated by our steadily growing befriending scheme.
In addition to the services provided, VA offers an opportunity for volunteers to engage with their communities and make a contribution towards the success of a highly regarded service. For many it provides the opportunity to be valued member of a team and maintain a more active retirement. Maintaining that reciprocity is a key ethos of our thinking.
## **Location**
Our eligibility covers addresses in a largely rural area of approximately 340 square miles incorporating more than 50 villages and 2 small towns. We are fortunate to have drivers throughout most parts of this but matching members to local drivers or befrienders is a constant challenge and very much contributes to running costs.
## **Governance**
The charity has been a CIO since 2015.
Recent recruitment of trustees has been by invitation to people bringing skills needed to run the organisation. The 2020-21 board comprised:
Mr Stuart Anderson (Chair) Mr David Bland Mr Colin Brown Mr Peter G Burrows Mr Rupert Cadbury resigned January 2021 Mrs Diana Charles Mrs Val Chesser Ms Moira Froggatt Mr Colin Pendrill resigned January 2021 Mr Charles Wallace Mrs Maureen Weston
**VOLUNTEER ACTION Charity Number: 1161080 RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT For the period from 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021**
Page 1
|**RECEIPTS**
**Drives & Shopping Services**
Organisations
Member payments
**Grants**
ENC
NCC
NHS
National Lottery
Thrapston Town Council
Others
**Donations**
General donations
Friends account
Gift Aid tax reclaimed
Legacy
**Other Income**
Software licence
Sundries
Bank interest
**Fundraising Income**
Sale of Jigsaw Puzzles
Quiz & Raffle
100 Club
Coffee morning
**Total Receipts**
**PAYMENTS**
**Salary Costs**
Salaries
Payroll bureau costs
Pensions scheme (NEST)
**Drives & Shopping Payments**
Drivers
Shopping
**Property & Insurance Costs**
Rent
Insurance
**Marketing**
Advertising & publicity
**Office Expenses**
Stationery & office supplies
Telephone
Telephone upgrade
Computers & equipment (incl. maintenance)
Computer system upgrade
I.T. costs for covid-secure working
Subscriptions
Management team expenses
Legal expenses
Petty cash
**Other Expenses**
Volunteer expenses
Volunteer lunch
Staff & trustee training
Staff expenses
August tea
Christmas dinner for members
Bank charges
**Fundraising Expenses**
100 Club prizes
**Total Payments**
**NET RECEIPTS**|||**2020-21**|**2020-21**|||**2019-20**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**
**Funds**||**Restricted**
**Funds**||**Total Funds**||**Total Funds**|
||**£**
3,191
36,167||**£**
-
-||**£**
3,191
36,167||**£**
15,797
-|
||39,358||-||39,358||15,797|
||-
-
-
-
-
13,000||12,436
9,539
2,665
1,800
-
-||12,436
9,539
2,665
1,800
-
13,000||12,436
6,630
1,999
-
1,000
9,625|
||13,000||26,440||39,440||31,690|
||11,280
6,158
1,878
2,491||-
-
-
-||11,280
6,158
1,878
2,491||13,567
5,328
2,808
21,500|
||21,807||-||21,807||43,203|
||650
-
1,437||-
-
-||650
-
1,437||660
26
752|
||2,087||-||2,087||1,438|
||-
929
5,305
-||-
-
-
-||-
929
5,305
-||1,840
1,127
4,155
1,218|
||6,234||-||6,234||8,340|
|||||||||
||**82,486**||**26,440**||**108,926**||**100,468**|
||20,980
886
1,550||23,531
-
-||44,511
886
1,550||38,685
706
1,534|
||23,416||23,531||46,947||40,925|
||15,546
24,334||-
-||15,546
24,334||14,711|
||39,880||-||39,880||14,711|
||4,320
749||-
-||4,320
749||4,536
694|
||5,069||-||5,069||5,230|
||-||-||-||389|
||2,358
978
-
2,067
17
1,434
417
182
600
75||-
-
-
-
2,909
-
-
-
-
-||2,358
978
-
2,067
2,926
1,434
417
182
600
75||1,771
819
624
-
6,797
-
220
296
-
167|
||8,128||2,909||11,037||10,694|
||243
-
-
69
-
-
491||-
-
-
-
-
-
-||243
-
-
69
-
-
491||1,194
219
305
420
659
184
65|
||803||-||803||3,046|
||1,750||-||1,750||375|
||1,750||-||1,750||375|
|||||||||
||**79,046**||**26,440**||**105,486**||**75,370**|
||**3,440**||**-**||**3,440**||**25,098**|
|||||||||
Copy of VA Receipts Payementa Account 2020-21- FINAL Charity Commission CW revisions
Page 2
**VOLUNTEER ACTION Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**As at 31st March 2021**
**CASH FUNDS**
Bank and Cash Balances
**TOTAL ASSETS**
**UNRESTRICTED FUNDS**
At 1st April 2020
Net Receipts
At 31st March 2021
Signed on behalf of all the trustees:
Print Name:
Date of approval:|**31.03.2021**
**£**
167,070|**31.03.2021**
**£**
167,070|
|---|---|---|
||**167,070**||
||163,630
3,440||
||**167,070**||
||||
||||
||||
||S. Anderson||
||||
||16th September 2021||
Copy of VA Receipts Payementa Account 2020-21- FINAL Charity Commission CW revisions
CHARITY COMMISSION
FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Independent examiner's
report on the accounts
Section A
Independgnt Examinerfs Report
R¢port to the trusts0$1
members of
Volunteei Action
On accounts for the year
ended
31 March 2021
Charity no
lif any)
1161080
Set out on pages
Accounts 1-2. Trustees Report 14
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above
charity {'Ihe Trust") lor the year ended 31103 12021.
Responslbllltles and As the chanty Iruslees of the TnJst, you are responsible for the pparatIOn
basis of report of the accounts in accordance wrth the requirements of the Charities Act
2011 nhe Acri.
I report in respect of my examination ol the Tr¥Jst's accounts rrIed out
under section 145 of the 2011 Acl and in carying OLrt my examination, I
have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission
under section 14515llbl of the Acl.
I have completed my examination. I wnfirm that no material matters have
come lo my attention in connection with the examination which gives me
cause lo believe that in, any material respect..
accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of
the Act or
the accounts do not a¢d wth the aCuntIng record8
Independent
examiner'$ ststement
I have no concems and have come aeross no other matters in connection
with the examinatson to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a
proper understanding of Ihe accounts to reached.
Slgned:
Date:
17 September 2021
Namo:
JLKlie Woods
Relevant professional
qualificationl$l or body
lif any):
ICAEW- FCA and DChA
Address:
90 South Road. Oundle
Pelerborough PE8 4BP
IER
October 2018