2023-03-31-accounts - North East Child Poverty Trust

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NORTH EAST CHILD POVERTY TRUST

Charity registration number 1161174

Trustees’ Annual Report (including Directors’ report) for the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023

Registered address

c/o Northern Housing Consortium, Hope Street Xchange, 1-3 Hind Street, Sunderland, SR1 3QD

Introduction

This Report and Accounts covers the period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) awarded North East Child Poverty Trust (NECPT) a £300,000 grant over three years in March 2021 covering the financial years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24. In December 2022 NLCF agreed an additional grant of £25,000 in view of demand and cost increases driven by the ‘cost of living crisis’ experienced across communities.

The grant funds the partnership between NECPT, Northumberland County Council (NCC) and Leading Link (LL). The aim is to offer a community and youth led programme building local partnerships and capacity and support for local organisations. The project aims to maximise impact and add value to the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme delivered through the local authority which now delegates programme oversight and management to Leading Link. The grant funding was intended to extend this approach to other parts of the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) area in the second and third years. The section on activity in 2022-23 covers both the continuing work in Northumberland and these additional activities.

Objectives and activities

The purposes of the Trust are as set out in the governing document to mitigate and relieve child poverty in the North- East of England by

Raising awareness of the issue of child poverty
Improving knowledge and understanding of the causes and consequences of, and solutions to, child poverty
Working collaboratively with public services, voluntary bodies, employers, and young people to address child poverty.

Trustees have given due consideration to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit under the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.

Activities in 2022-23

The Northumberland Holiday Programme grew substantially in 2022 over the previous year. In summer 2022 there were 42 holiday camps compared to 32 in the previous year (31 per cent increase) and the number of hours delivered, children attending, meals provided, and hours of family provision similarly grew substantially. In the winter camps there were 132,94 hours of provision with 768 children attending. There was substantial winter provision outside the camps activity for children as well as growth in family activities. It is anticipated this growth will continue in 2023-24.

The original grant agreement envisaged that in years 2 and 3 there would be increasing activity in the areas of NTCA outside Northumberland to develop further the community and place-based approach. This has started on a pilot basis involving:

Rigorous local needs assessment to establish a baseline;
Engaging with secondary schools to recruit potential Young Leaders and monitor outcomes;
Extensive training and development opportunities for Young Leaders (YLs);
The introduction of participation in Children’s University programmes to develop learning.

In those areas there are four primary schools and three secondaries engaged respectively in the Children’s University programme and the LL Young Leaders programme, which has also continued its development in Northumberland. In total there are over 100 Young Leaders engaged across the whole area supporting after school activities and the Holiday Programme.

Impact and learning: people and policy

The evaluation of the Northumberland programme was contracted by Leading Link to Northumbria University Healthy Living Lab (HLL) for the summer 2022 and summer 2023 activities. The work is funded jointly by NECPT and NC. The HLL team is led by Professor Greta Defeyter, a nationally recognised expert in HAF research and evaluation.

The evaluation report data details several positive outcomes. There are demonstrated positive benefits for children, parents, and caregivers – improved mental wellbeing, engagement in enriching activities, reduced social isolation, boost in self-esteem and confidence, improved behaviour at home and better preparation for learning at school.

The National Lottery funding via NECPT has contributed to significant achievements in the Northumberland Holiday Programme. The additional resource has enhanced the ‘test and learn’ approach and enabled exploration of best practice and enhanced capacity building as well as creating space and opportunity to support the development of local relationships. Innovation has characterised the approach to building on the HAF foundations and that is reflected in many parts of the country leading the Department for Education to adapt its guidelines as the scheme develops.

A ‘HAF plus’ approach has enabled a more broad-based mix of activity and set of outcomes in going beyond the Free School Meal attendees’ approach to tackle wider aspects of family poverty and disadvantage for example through the ‘family offer’. Northumberland FSM reach is in any event 47% of the eligible cohort, compared to the national average at 22%. Policy change has been impacted as a result, so the December 2022 Department for Education guidance now recognises a wider use by local authorities of the 15% tolerance margin, best practice for children with SEND needs is recognised, as well as capacity building, which has been central to the Northumberland approach.

These lessons are being shared between areas across the country for example through the so-called ‘design sprint’. This has been a year-long consultation with 500 young people and a recent policy roundtable coordinated by the Department for Education where young people shared ideas and plans leading in the design and development of holiday activities. The project was co-ordinated by Professor Defeyter and a Department for Education event was attended by senior business executives interacting with the young people attending. Young Leaders play a leading role in managing and delivering activities, again demonstrating the growth of capacity and confidence.

Financial review

At 31 March 2023 the Trust had a bank balance of £11,374.

The NLCF original grant is paid in two tranches each financial year. The original intention was to grant £100,000 each year but the sums have fluctuated because of spend patterns, particularly the underspend in the first financial year, 2021-22. The NLCF grant received in 2022-23 was £94,826.

The charity spent £120,739 during the period which was largely made up of grants to Leading Link and Northumberland County Council. The underspend in year 1 was carried forward to the 2022-23 financial year and a smaller underspend in that year has been carried forward to the 2023-24 financial year to which the additional grant of £25,000 has been added.

At the period end the charity held unrestricted reserves of £2,889 and restricted reserves of £8,485 totalling £11,374 of reserves. There are no uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern. The Trustees are satisfied that the level of reserves is suitable for the charity at this time and will continue to hold small unrestricted reserves pot with most of the reserves specifically allocated to relieve child poverty.

Structure, governance, and management

The Charitable Incorporated Organisation is governed by its Constitution. There were no significant changes to governance arrangements. One Trustee resigned and was replaced following a recruitment process.

The Trustees during the period were:

Trustee name	Office
Satty Rai	Secretary
Jane Streather
Philippa Gardiner	Treasurer
Geri Brown	(resigned October 2022)
Amy Richardson
Siobhan O’Neill
Lewis Roberts
Jim Coulter	Chair
Thomas Monaghan
Jackie McHanwell
Karen Deen	(appointed March 2023)

Funds held as custodian

No funds were held as custodian Trustees on behalf of others.

Plans for future periods

At the beginning of the financial year Trustees embarked on a strategic review following a period of two years when there were no in person Board meetings because of the pandemic and lockdown and meeting restriction requirements and advice. Inevitably the online meetings were focussed on operational performance and Trustees were keen to reposition the organisation for future activity.

Although the review is ongoing there are several clear emerging themes:

To work in partnership and deliver through others with emphasis on supporting and enabling local communities.
To strengthen the relationship with the North East Child Poverty Commission in fulfilment of our shared aim to tackle and eliminate child poverty.
To emphasise the importance of communicating and sharing learning and emphasise the importance of impact for people.
To explore gaps in provision and opportunities to promote innovative practice.
To develop initiatives in the region acknowledging the widespread existence of child poverty.
To identify funding sources to enable the Trust’s support work to continue and secure delivery through partnerships based on a shared vision.

The review will conclude in the 2023-24 financial year.

Approved by the board on 21[st] July 2023 and signed on their behalf by the trustees:

Jim Coulter (Chair) Philippa Gardiner (Treasurer)

	North East Child Povery Trust	North East Child Povery Trust	North East Child Povery Trust	1161174	CC16a

	Receipts andpayments accounts
	For the period from	01/04/2022	To	31/03/2023


Section A Receipts and payments
	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds	Total funds	Last year
	to the nearest £	to the nearest £	to the nearest £	to the nearest £	to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
	-		-	-	-
National LotteryCommunityFund Grant	-	94,826	-	94,826	100,000
Unrestricted donation	69	-	-	69	500
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	69	94,826	-	94,895	100,500

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total*	-	-	-	-	-

*Total receipts*	69	94,826	-	94,895	100,500

A3 Payments
Grant Leading Link delivery Covid National Lottery programme		-	-	-	90,870
Grant Leading Link National Lottery CommunityFundprogramme		98,224	-	98,224	50,043
Grant to Northumberland County Council for summer National Lottery programme		14,425	-	14,425	15,080
Evaluation	-	7,500	-	7,500	5,000
Administration costs	-	590	-	590	691
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
**Sub total **	-	120,739	-	120,739	161,684

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
**Sub total **	-	-	-	-	-

*Totalpayments*	-	120,739	-	120,739	161,684

*Net of receipts/(payments)*	69	- 25,913	-	- 25,844	- 61,184
A5 Transfers between funds	-	-	-	-	-
A6 Cash funds lastyear end	2,820	34,398	-	37,218	98,402
*Cash funds thisyear end*	2,889	8,485	-	11,374	37,218

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories	Details	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds
		to nearest £	to nearest £	to nearest £
B1 Cash funds	Current bank account	2,889	8,485	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
	*Total cash funds*	2,889	8,485	-
	(agree balances w ith receipts and payments account(s))	OK		OK
		Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds
	Details	to nearest £	to nearest £	to nearest £
B2 Other monetary assets		-	-	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-
		-	-	-

	Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)	Current value (optional)
B3 Investment assets			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-

	Details	Fund to which asset belongs	Cost (optional)	Current value (optional)
B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-
			-	-

	Details	Fund to which liability relates	Amount due (optional)	When due (optional)
B5 Liabilities			-
			-
			-
			-
			-

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees	Signature	Print Name		Date of approval
		Philippa Gardiner
		Jim Coulter

Notes to the Accounts

Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements

The financial statements are prepared on a receipts and payments basis of accounting due to the size of the charity.

Income Recognition

The main source of income received during the year was through grant funding from the National Lottery Community Foundation.

Grants received of £94,826 have been recognised in full at point of receipt into the bank. This income is restricted in accordance with the NLCF terms.

Donations received during the year are recognised when received.

Donated Goods, Facilities and Services

The charity received free office space during the year to hold trustee meetings.

Activity Related Expenditure

The above SOFA splits out the expenditure in the year.

Apportionment of costs

There has been no apportionment of costs between funds. All expenditure was directly attributable to either unrestricted or restricted activities.

Trustee Remuneration and Benefits

There were no payments made to trustees or connected organisations during the year.

Trustee expenses

A total of £179 has been paid for an insurance policy with Zurich Insurance plc – part of this amount is to cover Trustees’ Liability Insurance.

Examiners’ Remuneration

The examination this year has been provided pro-bono.

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of North East Child Poverty

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the financial statements of the charity for the period ended 31 March 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of 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.

Independent Examiners 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:

Accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act: or
The financial statements 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 financial statements to be reached.

Gillian Benjamin ACA

Eland House, Eland Lane Ponteland Newcastle upon Tyne NE20 9TP

21[st] July 2023