Volunteer
Action
Fletton House
Fletton Way, Glapthorn Road
Oundle
Peterborough PE8 4JA
Tel: 01832 275433
E-mail: admin
volunteeractionoundle.or
Web Site: www.volunteeractionoundle.org.uk
Volunteer Action Annual Statement
Registered charity no. 1161080
15tApril 2023 to 31st March 2024
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, Befriending Services and
launched new Group Befriending activities.
Operational Artivity
Demand for our services
This 12-month period has seen another increase in demand for the car scheme, partly due to
an increase in NHS appointments at Hospitals. Miles driven increased to 131,814 (previous
year 126,945), fulfilling 12,308 (14,604) passenger trips. We introduced a Membership Fee
for the Car Scheme of £24 per year and have seen 498 paid members as of the end of 23124
financial year. We are continuing to support a small number of the community with a weekly
shopping service, where we shop for our members and deliver to their house, restricted to
the most vulnerable. Over 60% of our drives are for medical related appointments.
Our Befriending service has seen an increase in demand for our services and the proportion
of face-to-face to telephone befriending is 81%. The number of members on the befriending
scheme remains steady at 68. We have launched a monthly Group Befriending Event which
supports 76 members in East Northants and a further 43 members in rural Corby. Group
Befriending is a new project we have been invited to join as part of the Countywide
Befriending Seniice which extends our reach to include Corby.
Northamptons￿￿￿
Cornmu•ityFwndallon
Q¢g&tor&d vThih
Masonic
Norfh
REGULATOR Z CoLmcU

Runnlng the services
It would be impossible for VA to deliver its services without its volunteers. The number of
volunteers across the three schemes is 136.
Administration and management
VA runs an administration operation close to the centre of Oundle. Staffed by four part-time
employees and one full time (FTE 2.8}. A loyal group of 8 office volunteers who usually work
on a one-day a week basis. These volunteers have contributed to 904 hours within this year.
Apart from the normal activities of a small charity. the main workload is the weekly task of
receiving bookings for drives and then matching them with drivers. In addition, the
befriending service is supported by one administrative volunteer and a volunteer assessor
who visits people who have been referred. We have continued to supply monthly invoices
and have seen an increase of member payments being received via BACS payment- however
the majority are still on the phone via card. There is a150 a trustee body of 6 volunteers
contributing approximately 350 hours per year.
Community car scheme
Recruiting volunteer drivers for the Community Car Scheme has continued to be difficult.
During the year we used nearly 68 different drivers. We paid our drivers 45 pence per mile
for their mileage, including home to pick-up point. Our passengers pay the same rate, but
only for the passenger return mileage. An annual membership fee to join the car scheme was
introduced in September 2023 to new members and existing members from April 2024 to
support increasing operational costs and keep the cost of the rurally located passengers,
invoices subsidised. We provide training for our drivers on subjects such as manual handling,
lone working and safeguarding.
Both passengers and drivers generally thoroughly enjoy the opportunity for conversation,
contributing towards reducing loneliness and social isolation, over and above getting the
member out of their house.
We estimate volunteer driver hours at approximately 11,6913 pa (based upon the average
journey/wait time of one hour)
Befriending & Group Befriending
Befriending volunteers contribute approximately 2,978 hours pa. We have a team of 61
volunteers across the three schemes.
Rlsk Assessment
The charity maintains a wide range of risk assessments in relatlon to both the services we
provide to our members and to our administrative operations. These are reviewed on an
annual basis or as required.
Northam
Cornmun
nshire
Masonic
opth
t4orthrmplon
Coun¢ll
FR
.4151',Ifi

Financlal matters
Income and expenditure
VA receives its income from a range of sources- Local Authorities, NHS, donations, fundraising
and contracts. Salaries are the largest expense, howeverthere are office costs including rent,
IT, administration 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 we achieved a surplus of £9,876 due in part to the new Group Befriending
project income and an increase in grant applications to help support the Charitable purposes.
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 the
uncertainty of future statutory funding from local government and the NHS. This continuing
uncertainty over the level of funding and increasing day-to-day operational costs remain a
key focus for the Trustees.
Taking these factors into account, the trustees have determined to maintain the charitws
reserves at a minimum level of six months running costs plus associated wind-up costs.
Public Beneflts
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 poor mental well-
being and we know that our services help 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 two small market towns
we support. These same issues are also alleviated to some extent by our befriending scheme.
In addition to the services provided, VA offers an opportunity for volunteers to engage with
their communities and contribute towards the success of a highly regarded and service. For
many it provides the opportunity to be a valued member of a team and maintain a more
artive retirement. Maintaining that balance is a key ethos of our thinking.
Location
Our eligibility covers addresses in a largely rural area of approximately 340 square miles
incorporatlng more than 50 villages and 2 small towns. We are fortunate to have drivers
throughout most parts of this, however matching members to local drivers or befrienders is
a constant challenge and contributes to running costs.
Norihamptonshtye
CommUnltyF¢￿jnda1￿tsl1
Masonic
ftqg1stei￿wmh
REGULATOR ￿ ¢uun¢ll

Governance
The charity has been a CIO since 2015.
Recent recruitment of trustees has been by application from people who bring the skills
needed to run the organisation. The 2023-24 board comprised:
Mr Stuart Anderson- resigned January 2024
Mr Peter G Burrows - resigned January 2024
Mrs Val Chesser- Resigned January 2024
Colin Brown- Resigned November 2023
Ms Moira Froggatt
Mr Charles Wallace {Treasurer}
Mr David Cashmore {Chairl
Mr Lloyd Martin {Vice-Chair)
In 2023-24 we appointed
Mr Richard Allinson
Mrjohn Pick
Signed on behalf of the board of trustees:
F&)rthaMpionshi
CommunityFovndatlo
Masonic
North
RÉfjUiATOR
C•un¢il

VOLUNTEER AcnoN
RECEIPTS AND PAYMEbJTSACCOUNT
Forthe paiod from 1st Awij 2023 to 31st March 2024
arltyNunkner. 116110)
RECEIPTS
MErnb•rppY￿Thts
Annwl K1ernbÈr£￿F••l
48,215
7A16
45>97
7.416
,136
6r¥rts
-carxtr¢rn•tur￿
4AY
7.670
NNC-Otsry•nts
NHS
AV￿￿F￿r
Ott￿rir4￿ts
74
7J204
6EDEMIdc￿¢i¥
FA¢rdsurount
274
18J74
PaInk￿trIE
Z75Q
7$0
410
Quk&Frf
FwthWryevent5
1797
4p5
i0.aE7
JOA
PAYMENTS
71785
c￿ts
v•n5b)￿￿h•￿(NESr1
1723
4L4U
1723
52.
75
PAIE5
357
72
495
752
4253
4.348
591
11252
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119
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4￿1
379
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CHARITY COMMISSION
FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Independent examiner's
report on the accounts
Section A
Independent Examlner's Report
Report to the trustee81
members of
VOLUNTEER ACTION
On accounts for the year
ended
31 MARCH 2024
Charlty no
(if any)
1161080
Sot out on pages
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Ihe above
charity (Ihe Trust.) for the year ended 3110312024.
Responsibilltles and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation
basls of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act
2011 ('the Act.).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out
under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I
have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission
under section 14515Xb) of the Act.
I have completed my examlnatlon. I confimi that no material matters have
come to my attention (other than that disclosed below ') in connection with
Ihe examination which gNes me cause to believe Ihat in, any material
respect:
accountlng records were not kept Sn accordance with section 130 of
the Act or
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
Independent
examlnerfs statement
I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection
with Ihe examination lo which attention should be drawn in order to enable a
proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
' Please delele the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
Slgned:
Date:
qIL4
Name:
MR GRAHAM DARBOURNE
Relevant professlonal
qualification(s) or body
(if any):
FCA
Address:
THE OLD TOWN HALL, MARKET PLACE
OUNDLE
PETERBOROUGH, PE8 4BA
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October 2018
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October 2018
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