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2023-05-31-accounts

1 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Annual report 2022–2023

For the year ended 31 May 2023

Registered charity in England and Wales (1161901) and Scotland (SC052265)

Our vision

We’re Breaking Barriers so every refugee can access meaningful employment and build a new life.

Our mission

We welcome refugees into meaningful employment with advice, experience, and education. We believe in the power of responsible business to change society for the better through our innovative partnerships.

Our values

Mission-led

We put refugees first in everything we do. We listen and respond. We act with integrity. We’re focussed on impact.

Entrepreneurial

We believe in the entrepreneurial spirit of every individual to build a better life. We believe in the power of responsible businesses to achieve social change. We’re brave and bold enough to give new things a go. We’re driven by making a lasting impact.

Contents

Contents
Foreword 3
Diversity and inclusion 5
Our 2030 goal 6
Our impact 8
Our clients 13
Outcomes and impact 17
Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond 20

Welcoming

We welcome people of all backgrounds with an open mind. We will make everybody feel comfortable working with us every step of the way. We treat everybody fairly. We champion diversity, equality, and inclusion.

Collaborative

We believe in the power of teamwork and partnerships. We work collaboratively with colleagues to find creative solutions for the greater good. We’re proud to share our expertise and knowledge with partners to further our positive impact.

Trustees’ annual report 22
Independent auditors’ report 33
Financial statements 37
Reference and administrative
information 57
With thanks 58

3 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Foreword

A message from our Chair and CEO

Eight years on from its foundation, and Breaking Barriers has emphatically outgrown the notion of being a ‘small’ charity. We are a high-performing team of 70+ people, our income has increased to over £3.75m and we have expanded beyond London by cementing our delivery in Birmingham and Greater Manchester, with long-term plans for these regions.

Most importantly, this year we supported more refugees than ever before, who achieved more employment, education and volunteering outcomes than in previous years, all with the help of our biggest pool of volunteers to date.

Scaling up an organisation isn’t always straight-forward. We have learned many lessons and professionalised an unrecognisable amount since we first started around Matt’s kitchen table all those years ago. This will stand us in good stead as we look to launch in Glasgow and Liverpool in the coming year.

We exceeded the objectives laid out in our three-year strategy, and we are delighted to launch our 2030 goal. Details are included in this report. In summary, by 2030 we want to:

We are excited for the coming years, and we believe we are set-up for success. We wouldn’t be in this position without every single one of you who believes that refugees deserve to find meaningful employment and build a new life in the UK. If you refer refugees to us for employment support, partner with us to create meaningful employment opportunities, volunteer your time, donate your money, or support our work in any other way – thank you.

Our success is yours too, and we look forward to continuing our work together in the coming year.

Matt Powell, CEO and Founder

James Newell, Chair of Trustees

4 | Breaking Barriers

ImpactAnnual Report 2022–2023

Narsina’s[*] story

I was a teacher back in my home country. However, I was forced to leave everything behind and flee to the UK.

Imagine going to a new country and not knowing anything about the language, the culture, or the processes for studying and working. It’s like a tree that’s been forcibly uprooted and planted in a new land in a new soil. Half of my roots were still back home, and the rest of me was trying to start a new life here. Everything was new and it hurt.

I needed help to figure out how to navigate the UK job market, and the qualifications I needed to pursue further education. I reached out to Breaking Barriers and I’ve been receiving employment support from Ellie, my

employment adviser. She is so patient and never judges my choices. She has helped me with employment advice, writing a CV, applying to university, and preparing for interviews.

Ellie also helped me to successfully apply for a Breaking Barriers grant, which went towards my art and helped me to get closer to my dream of becoming an artist. The grant was life-changing. It helped me to get over the barriers and move forward and build a future.

Breaking Barriers believed in me and my dreams. I still can’t quite believe that in October I will be going to university to study a Masters in Digital Media and Design at Birkbeck University.

*Not her real name

“When I first met Narsina we were looking into how we could make her art and her passion into a living. I think all the people we work with have so much wonderful experience and so many wonderful ideas.”

Ellie Bush, Senior Employment and Integration Advisor

5 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Diversity and inclusion

We are committed to continually improving and prioritising diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at Breaking Barriers.

In September 2022 we launched an updated DEI strategy which was informed by the results of the annual diversity and inclusion survey. Following employee feedback on the survey results and work to date, the strategy focuses on the following five areas:

Thanks to additional capacity with our new HR Advisor role, we reviewed our recruitment process to make it more accessible for disabled applicants, applicants for whom English is not their first language and applicants from a refugee background.

We developed a Lived Experience Strategy, focused on how we reflect the refugee community that we work with in everything we do at Breaking Barriers. This included the creation of a new role – an Involvement Officer – who coordinates a panel of Lived Experience Consultants who will advise across a variety of teams, projects and policies.

The DEI Working Group facilitated monthly catch-ups which all staff are welcome to join, shared regular blogs about cultural events and awareness days, and coordinated several events including an office decorating session for Ramadan, lunches for Refugee Week and a meditation session for Mental Health Awareness Week. The group also held quarterly, themed DEI Forums for all staff, which included discussions and/or training on disability, fasting for cultural reasons and neurodiversity.

We continue to review the effectiveness of our initiatives, seeking feedback from staff through anonymous surveys and feedback sessions and updating our Terms of Reference for the DEI Working Group and its activities.

6 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Our 2030 goal

We have made considerable progress against our FY22–24 strategy including increasing our impact through the expansion of our services, achieving our 1,000th client outcome, and building on our accessible and inclusive support model in our response to a new environment post covid.

We have also been successful in diversifying our income streams and the impact of our corporate partners, investing in our infrastructure and people, and positioning ourselves in the sector through sharing knowledge and insights leading to meaningful collaborations.

In light of this accelerated organisational development and continued funding opportunities for growth, there was a need for a clearer organisational story for what the future of Breaking Barriers would look like. So, we have developed our 2030 goal which outlines our ambition for the next seven years.

The need for our services is also accelerating. There are over 230,000 refugees in the UK, a significant increase in recent years. Refugees are still 4x more likely to be unemployed, face huge barriers to accessing employment, and are increasingly geographically dispersed across the UK.

We want to take significant steps towards meeting our vision of ensuring every refugee can access meaningful employment and build a new life.

Our 2030 goal

Over the next seven years we want to:

Our values of being mission led, welcoming, collaborative and entrepreneurial will guide us in how we plan to adapt, grow, and deliver.

7 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Strategic focus areas:

To reach our goals we are prioritising the following strategic areas:

1 Support more individuals in more geographies across the UK. Our current model lends itself to urban areas with high density populations. With increased refugee dispersal, we need to develop alternative models to increase our reach.

2 Segment our support model 3 Be accessible for refugees at to have flexible any stage of work and streamlined readiness. We will products, using data ensure easy access to understand how to our services, no we can better support matter a client’s different client groups length to the labour to achieve outcomes. market, education levels or English language capabilities.

4 Generate impactful partnerships with private and public sector organisations that further our purpose. This will mean co-creating hundreds of jobs across the UK, meaningful volunteering opportunities and tailored employability support.

To enable this impact, we need to also focus on how we support and enable our core delivery, so we will:

Maximise the Raise the profile of Invest in growing 5 impact of existing 6 Breaking Barriers 7 our infrastructure funding streams and as the specialist and staff structures invest in key areas of employment charity mindfully. We will grow fundraising growth, and change narratives our staff teams and building on the longabout the refugee prioritise employee term and mutually experience to enable engagement and beneficial relationships refugees to effectively culture. We will invest in that have been a integrate in the UK, back-office processes foundation for our through sharing our to ensure effective growth to date. data, insights and growth and that as the lived experience much of our income as of our clients. possible goes directly to supporting refugees.

8 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Our impact Highlights

1,104 clients supported – more than in any previous year

610 outcomes achieved by 419 clients – more than in any previous year

256 new jobs started by clients

90% of clients reporting improved confidence in achieving their goals

9,785 hours of support delivered – more than in any previous year

38% outcome rate – above target

40 corporate partners supporting clients

83% of clients said they now have better chances of finding a role

9 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Reach

This rapid growth was driven primarily by our national expansion. We launched in Birmingham and Greater Manchester, and as these new locations reached full capacity, we were able to scale our operations significantly. The Greater Manchester team supported 385 clients, over 5 times more than in the previous year. The Birmingham team supported 119 clients, over 4 times more than the previous year.

In FY22–23 Breaking Barriers reached a scale it had never seen before – supporting a total of 1,104 clients, 764 of whom received support from Breaking Barriers for the first time. This represents a 77% increase in the number of clients compared to our previous year, and a remarkable 136% increase compared with the year before that.

----- Start of picture text -----
1200 1104
25
1000
385 Other
800
646 Manchester
3 119
600 89
474 462 27
Birmingham
400
527 575 London
474 462
200
0
FY19-20 FY20-21 FY21-22 FY22-23
----- End of picture text -----

77% increase in the number of clients supported

Clients supported per year

Our support

Hours delivered

We delivered 9,784 hours of support time to our clients – more than in any previous year. This represents a 70% increase on last year and nearly double our total for the year before. 6,429 hours (66%) were delivered as one-to-one support, more than in any previous year.

----- Start of picture text -----
9.8k
10000
8000
5.7k 6.4k
5.7k
6000
4.7k
Hours
3.4k
4000
2.7k 2.9k
2000
0
FY19-20 FY20-21 FY21-22 FY22-23
Support hours One-to-one hours
----- End of picture text -----

Hours delivered per FY

We delivered 9,784 hours of support time to our clients

10 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

----- Start of picture text -----
80
70%
60
49%
% proportion
40
of clients 34%
24%
18%
20
12%
9%
6% 5%
4%
0%
0
>3 >6 >9 >12 >15 >18 >21 >24 >27 >30 >33
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Support hours received per client

The average hours of support per client totals 8.9 hours. However, a portion of clients leave the programme shortly after enrolment, or enrolled shortly before the end of the year, which skews the figures. Many clients received considerably more than 8.9 hours’ support – nearly one

in five received more than 15 hours of support, and one in ten received more than 20 hours of support.

As well as our one-to-one support, in FY23 we delivered a total of 405 education classes, attended by 287 clients – 70% more than last year.

70%

more clients attended our education classes compared with last year

Volunteers

We worked with 389 fantastic volunteers.

152 volunteers delivered one-to-one support with clients – more than in any previous year. Each volunteer delivered an average of 5 hours of support (approximately the same as in previous years), with a total of 759 hours in total.

Other volunteers also taught education classes, delivered workshops with our corporate partners, sat on our Ambassador Council, acted as mentors and supported us operationally in our offices.

We worked with 389 volunteers

11 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Face-to-face delivery

This year also saw a considerable return to face-to-face support. Historically, we delivered nearly all of our support in-person at delivery centres across London. However, during the two financial years impacted by Covid lockdowns, over 95% of all support was delivered remotely.

We have now settled into a hybrid model of support, where this year 27% of support time was face-to-face and the rest remote. This flexibility is highly beneficial to clients – those with caring commitments or long travel times struggle to access in-person support, whereas face-to-face support is a lifeline for those with lower digital skills.

----- Start of picture text -----
100 1%
80
73%
60
Our flexible,
96%
Proportion 99% 99% hybrid model
of hours 40 of support
delivered is highly
beneficial
20 to clients
1% 4% 27%
0
FY19-20 FY20-21 FY21-22 FY22-23
Remotely In person
----- End of picture text -----

Proportion of hours delivered

Collaboration

We believe in the power of collaboration and this year we worked closely with other organisations in the sector to deliver support. 568 clients were referred to us from other organisations, more than triple the number from the previous year.

Meanwhile, we also made 435 referrals to other organisations to support our clients with issues outside our areas of specialism – more than double the number of referrals made last year.

----- Start of picture text -----
600 568
480
435
360
Triple the
Referrals
240 amount of
188 195 clients were
referred to us
120
0
FY21–22 FY22–23
To Breaking Barriers from other organisations
From Breaking Barriers to other organisations
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Client referrals in partnership

12 | Breaking Barriers

Impact Report 2022–2023

Bahaa’s story

Having overseas work experience is nice, but when starting your employment journey in a new country it’s a big challenge to convince HR that you have the right experience and skills to do the job properly.

Breaking Barriers supported me with all that I asked for. What do you need? How to write an impressive CV, portfolio or covering letter? English classes and employment workshops? Maybe you need some clothes for an interview? Or perhaps you need new friends!? Oh! Maybe you need financial support?

The day after I got a new laptop from Breaking Barriers, I had an interview with the biggest construction company in the UK, and the top 10 in the world, to work as a structural engineer in railways. My heart was beating rapidly when I picked up the call from the company. It was my best luck ever. I just got the job I love where I live!

13 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Our clients

Country of origin

We welcome people of all backgrounds with an open mind. This year, clients came from 79 different countries of origin, with the most frequent being Afghanistan (159 clients), Iran (138 clients), Eritrea (82 clients), Ukraine (78 clients) and Syria (73 clients).

This represents a considerable change. Syria had historically been the most frequent country of origin for our clients, whereas now it is the fifth most common, and clients from Ukraine were almost entirely absent before the current year.

----- Start of picture text -----
13% 7%
7%
14%
6%
52%
Afghanistan Iran
Eritrea Ukraine
Syria Other
----- End of picture text -----

Clients came from 79 different countries of origin

Client country of origin

English language

Most clients had good English language levels – with only 26% saying they had either basic or no English speaking ability. However, the clients we supported in FY23 had a lower level of English language than in previous years – with only 36% rating themselves as ‘proficient’ in English speaking, compared to 50% last year and 60% the year before.

This was partially driven by our expansion beyond London, where 44% of clients rated themselves as ‘proficient’ in English speaking, compared to 37% in Birmingham and just 23% in Greater Manchester.

For areas beyond London, our contract enabled us to support clients who were further away from the job market due to being newly granted their status. To support the significant barrier of language levels, we built strong relationships with ESOL providers and established our own in-person education classes which proved popular and supported confidence building.

----- Start of picture text -----
60%
60
50%
50
40
36%
30
20
10
0
FY20-21 FY21-22 FY22-23
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Proportion of clients reporting that they are ‘proficient’ in English speaking

14 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Education

45% of clients were educated to degree level or above, and 77% had at least three years of work experience. Nevertheless, 82% of clients were unemployed (or economically inactive) when they enrolled with Breaking Barriers (a figure roughly equal across all locations), showing the barriers that all refugees, no matter the extent of their education or experience, can face in the UK. Despite their extensive qualifications, the majority of clients (60%) were primarily seeking entry level roles.

45% 77% educated to had at least 3 degree level years of work or above experience

BUT

82% 60% were unwere seeking employed or entry level economically roles inactive and

Age

Our clients were predominantly young – the majority were under 35 years old. We have also seen the average age of our clients fall over time. In FY19–20 10% of our clients were under 25 and 14% were over 50, by FY23 15% were under 25 and only 7% were over 50.

----- Start of picture text -----
0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3%
100
6.6% Under 18
9.7%
14.2% 12.5%
8.0%
8.6%
80 9.5% 10.2% 12.7% Over 50
13.6%
13.1% 13.2% 45 – 50
21.4%
60
17.5% 22.4% 40 – 45
% of 18.9%
clients
35 – 40
40 20.0%
17.5% 18.1%
18.9%
30 – 35
16.2%
20 14.9% 13.6%
15.5% 25 – 30
14.0% 13.9% 14.9%
9.8%
18 – 25
0
FY 19-20 FY 20-21 FY 21-22 FY 22-23
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Clients by age group per FY

15 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Accommodation

Clients outside London were much more likely to be homeless or experiencing insecure housing. While 31% of clients in London reported they were homeless when they enrolled with Breaking Barriers, in Greater Manchester this figure was 43%, and in Birmingham it was 51%.

Mental health

Despite high levels of homelessness, clients were less likely to report mental health difficulties outside London. Whereas 31% of clients reported mental health issues in London, only 19% did in Birmingham and 17% did in Greater Manchester.

This could be related to additional difficulties of living in London, for example increased costs of living, or it could be due to other factors that determine which kinds of refugees end up in which cities.

This high percentage can be attributed to clients we supported on a specific contract. These clients received their refugee status within the last two years and we worked closely with housing partners and Local Authorities to support clients into more stable accommodation and access meaningful opportunities.

Due to the delivery contract we had in Greater Manchester and Birmingham, the clients we supported were on average newer arrivals to the UK, meaning they may have differences in their interpretations of mental health compared to clients in London, or fear that they might be refused support if they disclosed mental health issues.

It is also important to note that, due to the potential stigma surrounding mental health issues, rates of mental illness among clients may be underestimated and margins for error may be large.

51%

of clients in Birmingham reported they were homeless

31%

of clients reported mental health issues in London

16 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Time to receive refugee status

The majority of all our clients longer than 10 years. As asylum (69%) spent over a year waiting seekers are usually forbidden to receive their refugee status from working, these incredibly after arrival in the UK, with some long waiting periods are highly waiting considerably longer. distressing and can make it One in ten waited more than six extremely challenging for clients years to receive their refugee to re-enter the labour market status, and one in 20 waited once their status is received. 69% of clients 80 69% spent over a year waiting 60 to receive 44% their refugee Proportion status

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80
69%
60
44%
Proportion
of clients 40
25%
18%
20 15%
12%
9% 8% 7% 6%
0
>1 >2 >3 >4 >5 >6 >7 >8 >9 >10
Number of years spent awaiting refugee status
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Number of years clients are waiting for refugee status

Over the last few years, we have seen a decrease in the proportion of clients granted refugee status within one year of their arrival in the UK. This year, 32% of clients received status within a year, compared to 38% last year and 46% the year before. This is a worrying trend for all of those within the UK asylum system.

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50
46%
40 38%
32%
30
20
10
0
FY20-21 FY21-22 FY22-23
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
32%
of clients
received
refugee status
within a year
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Proportion of Breaking Barriers clients who received refugee status within a year of UK arrival

17 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Outcomes and impact

This was our most successful year to date for client outcomes. 419 clients achieved 610 outcomes during the year. This is nearly triple as many outcomes as in the previous year. To put this number fully into context, this means that more clients achieved outcomes in FY22–23 than received any form of one-to-one support in FY21-22.

38% of clients achieved outcomes, comfortably more than our 33% target, and higher than in the two preceding years.

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400
354
300
256
200
134
101 Clients
100
87 93 achieved
0
FY20-21 FY21-22 FY22-23
610
Non-employment outcomes
outcomes
Employment outcomes
during the
Outcomes achieved year
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----- Start of picture text -----
Outcome type Number of outcomes
New employment 227
Education 182
Training 114
Volunteering/work experience 58
Internship/work placement 20
Promotion 5
Changed employment 4
Apprenticeship 0
0 50 100 150 200 250
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Outcomes by type

227 clients entered employment during the year, starting 256 new jobs – equivalent to one new job for every four clients. This is more new jobs for clients than in any previous year, representing nearly double the number of new jobs as in the previous year.

Clients also excelled at achieving nonemployment outcomes (such as entering education or training or doing work experience). Considerable improvements in the rates of non-employment outcomes have driven Breaking Barriers’ overall outcome rate upwards.

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0.6
0.55
0.5
0.40 0.36
0.4
0.3
0.22 0.23
0.19
0.2
0.1
FY20–21 FY21–22 FY22–23
Employment outcomes
per client
Overall number of
outcomes per client
----- End of picture text -----

Outcomes per client supported

18 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Programme efficiency

We were more efficient in supporting clients into outcomes than in previous years. On average, clients received 16 hours of support per outcome they achieved in FY22–23, compared to 25 hours the previous year and 26 hours the year before that. Similarly, clients received 38 hours of support on average for each new job they started in FY22–23, compared to 42 hours the previous year and 57 in the year before that.

However, this may simply be because a higher proportion of the support delivered in FY22–23 was one-to-one than in previous years, potentially increasing its impact. Covid also made employment Clients outcomes more challenging received to achieve in the immediately preceding years, so comparisons 16 hours of efficiency between years of support are not necessarily fair. per outcome they achieved

Client self-assessment

In addition to measuring ‘hard’ outcomes (such as employment, education and training), we also survey clients on the benefits of the support they receive from us. Of the clients completing the survey:

90% 89% felt more felt more confident motivated about to achieve achieving their goals their goals

90%

said they had an improved understanding of how to succeed in their preferred sector

83% 80% 60% 71% said they had said they felt said they said they had better chances more confident felt more an improved of entering about confident employment attending job using digital of UK interviews

said they said they had felt more an improved confident understanding using digital of UK technology workplace in daily life culture

19 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Corporate partnerships

In FY22–23, Breaking Barriers was supported by our community of 40 corporate partners. 18 of our corporate partners created bespoke employment pathways or work placement opportunities for our refugee clients.

We held 30 workshops, attended by 248 unique clients and supported by 322 corporate volunteers. After attending a workshop with our corporate partners:

After volunteering at a Breaking Barriers workshop:

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40
corporate
partners
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Anas’ story

Through our partnership with Cummins, two clients have been hired into life-changing roles. Here’s what Anas had to say:

The opportunity I have from Cummins to join the RePower program (a return-to-work programme) has substantially and positively impacted my health, knowledge, and family.

Life’s challenges often lead to career breaks, raising concerns about re-entering the workforce. For me, Cummins Company’s RePower Program was the answer.

After a two-year hiatus, the program empowered me as a product engineer, restoring my confidence and reigniting my ambitions.

Joining Cummins’ engineering team felt like entering a collaborative, diverse community where knowledge sharing was cherished, fostering personal growth. The program bridged my past experiences with the latest advancements, allowing me to excel. Credit also goes to Breaking Barriers, equipping me with the skills to confidently present myself.

20 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond

We are excited to look ahead to FY23–24 after such a successful year. Our priorities for the next financial year are to:

21 | Breaking Barriers

Impact Annual Report 2022–2023

Nawal’s story

My dream is to study sociology at university. I used to work as a case worker for the UNHCR and I want to understand how and why wars start, and how people rebuild their country after a war ends.

To reach my dream I needed to improve my English. When I arrived in the UK, I had studied English grammar in high school, and I’d also watched lots of English-language films but I’d never had to speak English aloud. I wasn’t confident going to the shops or having conversations. Sometimes if I was tired or stressed my ‘English brain’ just shut down and I couldn’t say anything at all.

Fast-forward two years and my English is much better. I feel confident and I’m ready to go to university. However, to do this I need to complete an access to higher education course, and

to get onto that course I need to pass an IELTs exam (IELTS is an English language test for study, migration or work). You have to pay for IELTs exams and I can’t afford it.

I started with these classes, but I’ve learned so much

more. My Employment Advisor understood my dream and what I needed to get there.

I was searching for support for refugees and I saw that Breaking Barriers offered IELTs classes. I started with these classes, but I’ve learned so much more. My Employment Advisor understood my dream and what I needed to get there. She has helped me with

reading and understanding job descriptions, CV writing, interview preparation skills and how to write a personal statement or cover letter.

I now work as a waitress in a pub. In the pub I get to meet people from across the world and it’s helping me to understand different English accents – although sometimes it’s still so hard!

I also work as a Lived Experience Consultant for Breaking Barriers, where I bring my experiences as a client and person of refugee background to support the development of their work.

I’m in a strong position. I’m working, my English has improved and I’m preparing for my access to university course. I hope that, once I pass my IELTs exam, I’ll be able to go to university and achieve my dream.

22 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Trustees’ annual report

For the year ended 31st May 2023

The Trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31st May 2023.

The Trustees confirm that the financial statements comply with the current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice – Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

Objectives and activities

Breaking Barriers was set up to support refugees into meaningful employment. The objects set out in our governing document are as follows:

At Breaking Barriers, we deliver on our charitable objectives through our Employment and Education programmes.

Our Employment programme offers personalised one-to-one support to people of a refugee background seeking to work in the UK. We run these appointments in person, via video call or over the phone. We also work with businesses from a wide range of industries. Many of our partners offer workshops, mentoring and job opportunities to build our clients employability skills. Our academy placements offer clients 6-month paid work placements to gain invaluable skills working for a UK business.

Our Education programme focuses on two key areas we see as essential skills to build your career in the UK. The first is the English language, so we offer one-to-one or small group classes to help clients feel comfortable communicating in English. We also offer IT and Digital skills to ensure our clients can search for and apply for jobs.

23 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Public benefit

When planning Breaking Barriers’ activities each year, the Trustees take due regard of the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit. Within the constraint of resources, and subject to any eligibility criteria for a specific service, Breaking Barriers’ services, described above, are available to all refugees and people of refugee background. Services are offered without charging fees. Our work to help refugees gain meaningful employment is a key contributor to integration for refugees themselves and for members of the host population.

Achievements and performance

On pages 8 to 19 we outline the significant growth and achievements made over the last 12 months.

Financial Review

At the year ended 31st May 2023 Breaking Barriers made a surplus of £0.54m (FY22: £0.55m). These funds will enable us to expand our programmatic delivery into Liverpool and Glasgow in FY24, without impacting our reserves position in terms of months cover FY23: 3.4m (FY22: 3.80m). We had our most successful fundraising year yet, raising income of £3.8m (2022: £2.85m) which is an increase of £0.95m or 33%.

----- Start of picture text -----
£4,000,000 £3,798,854
£3,500,000
£2,851,232
£3,000,000
£2,500,000
£2,000,000 £1,930,428
£1,500,000 £1,426,381
£1,006,363
£1,000,000
£741,150
£500,000
£0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Income over time
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24 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

We have a diversity of income streams, and diversity of donors within those streams. With income split as follows:

  1. Statutory income including SIB £1.20m (2022: £0.89m)

  2. Income from corporate partnerships including match funding £1.60m (2022: £0.92m)

  3. Income from trusts and foundations including match funding £0.77m (2022: £0.83m).

  4. Income from other sources including donations and gifts, makes up £0.23m (FY22: £0.17m).

----- Start of picture text -----
Corporate Partner Income
31%
Trusts And Foundations
42%
General Donations, Major Donations,
Gift aid and other
6% Statutory
20%
----- End of picture text -----

Breakdown of FY23 Income by source

The growth in corporate partnership income when compared to last year (74%) is due to investments in the team enabling us to increase the number of corporate partners we work with, raise more funds and help more refugees seeking employment.

Total expenditure for FY23 was £3.26m (2022: £2.30m) which represents an increase of 42%. We expanded our teams to enable us to help more people, including our teams in Birmingham (+2) and Manchester (+8), our Data (+1) and HR (+2) teams, Corporate Partnerships (+3) and our Comms and Engagement team (+1). Expansion in these teams led to a subsequent increase in office and technology costs.

We started two projects this year that will be transformative for the organisation. The first is the implementation of a new CRM, which will house client and donor data. This project will ensure we work efficiently and effectively, with our key data stored in one place to ensure accuracy, access and compliance.

The other project relates to public fundraising, as set out in last year’s Annual Report and Accounts. We started the project to understand our target audience and audience proposition, conducted client, staff and audience research and developed our creative concept and are due to start testing in the autumn of 2023.

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We also ran an awareness campaign this year, in the form of a documentary where we followed five refugees as they navigate temporary accommodation, employment, love, family and education in the UK. Called ‘My (Refugee) Life’ and available on YouTube, the documentary sheds light on many of the misconceptions people have about the lives of refugees. Our clients were involved in the making of the film - they made up the trainee crew supporting the film and launch of the documentary, as well as 27 other clients who put themselves forward as candidates for the trainee roles or casting. The documentary was impactful, leading to high social media engagement, being covered by several national news outlets.

Expenditure on raising funds was £0.57m (FY22: £0.32) which represents 17% of total expenditure (FY22: 14%).

Reserves

At Breaking Barriers our reserves policy is to maintain a general fund which represents three months of forward expenditure. At 31st May 2023, our general fund had a balance of £1.21m, representing 3.4 months’ expenditure (FY22: £0.79m representing 3.8 months’ expenditure).

Going concern

The trustees have considered the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date of signing the accounts (to the period to December 2024).

Our annual budget for FY23/24 covers the period to May 2023. This set out our plans for expansion into Liverpool and Glasgow, investments in our infrastructure and bolstering our partnership work. As part of the budget setting process, we reviewed our cash flow, and set out various scenarios in terms of our fundraising success and understood what impact this would have on the organisation and its reserves. Robust monitoring is in place to ensure that we remain liquid, and currently we are able to draw down on our reserves quickly, ensuring we are able to react to a downturn immediately. Whilst the current economic climate remains uncertain, we are confident that we will be able to meet our plans.

Taking into account our current cash position, our forecast, and our principal risks, the Trustees are confident we will continue in operation and will be able to meet our liabilities when they fall due over the medium term. Therefore, the board have decided to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing these financial statements.

Future plans

The need for our services is accelerating , with over 230,000 refugees in the UK and refugees 4 times more likely to be unemployed than the general population. With this in mind, and our previous strategy running its term, in FY23 we developed our 2030 goal.

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By 2030 we want to:

Principle risks and uncertainties

The Board is responsible for ensuring that we have effective risk management and that internal systems are in place to understand our risk appetite and manage the major risks we are exposed to.

Currently the Senior Leadership Team review risks on a monthly basis, with the Finance, Audit and Risk Sub-Committee meeting on a quarterly basis to review the risk register, and the whole Board undertaking an annual review. Our key risks and their mitigations are summarised in the table below:

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Risk

Risk that our long term financial position is not sustainable

Mitigations

Risk of delivering a product that doesn’t meet client need or where the cost per beneficiary is unaffordable or unfundable

Risk that we do not attract and retain high performing talent and are therefore less effective

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Structure, governance and management

The charity is governed by a Board of Trustees who oversee the strategy, direction, performance and risks of the organisation. They do this by approving budgets, operational plans and key organisational policies. They also review our financial performance, risk register, fundraising income and portfolio of donors, our impact data and feedback from beneficiaries.

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Board of Trustees
Quarterly meetings, annual
strategy day
Fundraising Finance, Nominations & Programmes Fuse / BBR
Sub-committee Audit and Risk Remuneration Sub-committee President
2 Trustees – Sub-committee Sub-committee 3/4 Trustees – (non-governance
meet quarterly 3 Trustees – 3 Trustees – meet quarterly role) 1 Trustee
meet quarterly meet quarterly
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Day-to-day management of the charity is delegated by the trustees to the CEO, Matt Powell, supported by his Senior Leadership Team. This group meets monthly to review income, expenditure and cashflow, recruitment and to monitor organisational risks. It also reviews any other matter which might materially impact the financial position or reputation of the charity and where necessary notifies the trustees of any issues arising.

Trustees are chosen for their expertise and commitment to support refugees. Potential new trustees are identified either from suitable candidates known to the board or CEO or through open search. All candidates submit an application with a CV and personal statement and appointments are approved by majority vote of existing trustees. A formal induction plan is in place to ensure that new trustees are fully informed about their responsibilities, the current position of the charity and the key questions they will need to address.

Trustee terms are fixed terms of three years with optional extensions.

Breaking Barriers Trading Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Breaking Barriers, CIO was set up in 2018 to help the charity provide employment related services to refugees in order to assist them in finding meaningful work and to support their successful settlement in, and integration with local communities. In 2019, 2020 and 2021, its only source of income was income from these employment services. The results of Breaking Barriers Trading Ltd are fully consolidated in these accounts. BB Trading has a resource sharing agreement with the charity through which the company pays for an equitable share of the administrative services needed to ensure that business activity is compliant with all appropriate and relevant standards.

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Related parties and relationships with other organisations

The charity has one subsidiary undertaking, Breaking Barriers Trading Ltd, which is wholly owned by the charity and was established in 2018. No loans have been made by the charity to the trading subsidiary.

There are no formal relationships between the charity and any other organisation.

Remuneration policy for key management personnel

Annual pay awards for the organisation are approved by the Board. The Board considers the CEO and the rest of the Senior Leadership Team’s salaries separately, taking into account performance, level of individual responsibility and external benchmarking.

Responsible Fundraising Statement

Breaking Barriers has a deliberately diverse portfolio of donors, of which no donor represents more than 20% of our income. Breaking Barriers’ objective is to achieve as wide a range of income streams as possible in order to reduce the reliance on any one stream of income and to protect the charity from not being able to fulfil its objectives. Currently, income is sourced from businesses, statutory sources, charitable trusts and foundations, and individuals (through the promotion of one-off and recurring gifts, legacies, and independent fundraising activities.)

Towards the end of FY22 we commissioned an independent study to review further diversification of fundraising streams for Breaking Barriers. This review will be complete in early FY24.

The trustees chose to designate £200k of financial year 2022’s free reserves to invest in income diversification and the implementation of accelerated growth plans over the next three financial years. We believe that this will ensure we remain sustainably financed, as well as providing a greater platform for future growth as we respond to a continued growth in the need for our services.

Breaking Barriers does not currently employ any commercial participators. In FY23 we employed one professional fundraiser whose contract required them to adhere to Breaking Barriers values and practices in relation to fundraising activity. Their fundraising activities were directly supervised by the Director of Development, who reviewed fundraising proposals and participated regularly in the fundraiser’s external meetings.

We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and ensure that we adhere to the standards set out in the Code of Fundraising Practice. We are committed to treating everyone fairly and with respect. We take privacy seriously and are transparent about how we collect, store and use personal data to ensure that our supporters trust us and feel part of our community. Full details of our approach to personal data use can be found in our Privacy Policy on our website.

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In 2022/23 we received no complaints directly related to our fundraising practices. We provide details on how to contact us, including our complaints policy and procedure on our website.

‘Safety and safeguarding risk’ statement

The safety and welfare of our clients, volunteers and staff is of paramount importance. We have a formal safeguarding policy and all staff and volunteers have been trained to meet its requirements. The safeguarding policy is updated annually and reviewed with sign off by the Board.

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees’ report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales and Scotland requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011 and the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

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The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

If the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) is wound up, the members of the CIO have no liability to contribute to its assets and no personal responsibility for settling its debts and liabilities. The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

Auditors

Godfrey Wilson were re-appointed as the auditors of the charity and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

The trustees’ annual report has been approved by the trustees on 5 December 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

James Newell

James Newell, Chair of Trustees

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Independent auditors’ report

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Breaking Barriers (the ‘parent charity’) and its subsidiary (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 May 2023 which comprise the consolidated statement of financial activities, consolidated and parent charity balance sheet, consolidated statement of cash flows and the related notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group and parent charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

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Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

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Responsibilities of the trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out in the trustees’ report, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The procedures we carried out and the extent to which they are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, are detailed below:

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Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. Irregularities that arise due to fraud can be even harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc. org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities . This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, and Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charityʼs trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditorʼs report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charityʼs trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Date: 5 December 2023

Godfrey Wilson Limited

Godfrey Wilson Limited

Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

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Financial statements

Consolidated statement of financial activities

For the year ended 31 May 2023

Income from:
Donations
Charitable activities
Other tradingactivities		 Restated
2023 2022
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Note £ £ £ £
3 1,317,163 1,096,378 2,413,541 1,679,655
4 637,402 740,196 1,377,598 1,094,731
7,715 - 7,715 76,846
Total income 1,962,280 1,836,574 3,798,854 2,851,232
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
5 (478,945) (90,219) (569,164) (321,077)
5 (1,150,870) (1,543,140) (2,694,010) (1,976,496)
Total expenditure (1,629,815) (1,633,359) (3,263,174) (2,297,573)
Net income and movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
6 332,465 203,215 535,680 553,659
993,078 360,228 1,353,306 799,647
13 1,325,543 563,443 1,888,986 1,353,306

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities.

There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. The attached notes form part of these financial statements.

The prior period comparative income has been restated between income from donations and charitable activities. There is no change to total income, or net movement in funds.

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Consolidated Balance Sheet

For the year ended 31 May 2023

Current assets:
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand		 2023 2023 2022 2022
Note £ £ £ £
9 548,882 438,766
1,567,016 1,115,558
Liabilities:
Creditors: amounts falling due
within oneyear		 2,115,898 1,554,324
10 (226,912) (201,018)
Net current assets
1,888,986 1,353,306
Total net assets
12 1,888,986 1,353,306
Funds
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds:
Designated funds
General funds
13
563,443 360,228
117,475 200,000
1,208,068 793,078
Total unrestricted funds 1,325,543 993,078
Total funds
1,888,986 1,353,306

Approved by the trustees on 5 December 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

James Newell

James Newell, Chair of Trustees

The attached notes form part of these financial statements.

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Charity Balance Sheet

For the year ended 31 May 2023

Fixed assets:
Investment
Current assets:
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand		 2023 2023 2022 2022
Note £ £ £ £
17 1 1
9 565,361 497,479
1,552,551 1,107,865
Liabilities:
Creditors: amounts falling due
within oneyear		 2,117,912 1,605,344
10 (226,548) (252,039)
Net current assets
1,891,364 1,353,305
Total net assets
1,891,365 1,353,306
Funds
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds:
Designated funds
General funds
563,443 360,228
117,475 200,000
1,210,447 793,078
Total unrestricted funds 1,327,922 993,078
Total funds
1,891,365 1,353,306

Approved by the trustees on 5 December 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

James Newell

James Newell, Chair of Trustees

The attached notes form part of these financial statements.

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Consolidated statement of cash flows

For the year ended 31 May 2023

For the year ended 31 May 2023
Cash fows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities
Increase in debtors
Increase / (decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided by operating activities
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginningof theyear
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of theyear		 2023 2022
£ £
535,680 553,659
(110,116) (277,776)
25,894 (119,595)
451,458 156,288
1,115,558 959,270
1,567,016 1,115,558

Breaking Barriers has not provided an analysis of changes in net debt as it does not have any long term financing arrangements.

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Notes to the consolidated financial statements

For the year ended 31 May 2023

Note 1 Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities in preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy or note.

Basis of consolidation

These financial statements consolidate the results of the charity and its wholly-owned (controlled) subsidiary on a line by line basis. Transactions and balances between the charity and its subsidiary have been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements. Balances between the two entities are disclosed in the notes of the charity’s balance sheet. A separate SOFA has not been presented for the charity.

Going concern

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and that the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred. Income received in advance for the provision of services is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

Income from donations and legacies are gifts from individuals, charitable trusts, corporate partners and other donors that are either unrestricted, restricted to core purposes or general organisational targets.

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Income from charitable activities is defined as income given for discrete services or the achievement of specific outcomes.

Income from other trading activities is income from employment related services carried out by Breaking Barriers Trading. These services are invoiced and recognised as revenue when delivered.

Donations of gifts, services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item or received the service, any conditions associated with the donation have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised so refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated gifts, professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity’s work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.

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Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

Allocation of support costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the charity and its and activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on the basis of staff time as set out in note 5 to the accounts.

Operating leases

Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

Investment in subsidiary

Investments in subsidiaries are valued at cost less provision for impairment.

Tangible fixed assets

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £1,000. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life.

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

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Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

Pensions

Breaking Barriers operates a defined contribution pension scheme managed by NEST in accordance with current auto-enrolment rules.

Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently recognised at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Accounting estimates and key judgements

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.

The key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements are accrued and deferred income adjustments for grants paid in arrears and contracts invoiced in advance, and the percentages used to allocate costs to different activities and funds.

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Note 2 Detailed comparatives for the consolidated statement of financial activities (restated)


of fnancial activities (restated)
s (restated)
2022
Unrestricted
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
470,261
Charitable activities
283,651
Other trading activities
76,846
Total income
830,758
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
(210,290)
Charitable activities
(222,804)
Total expenditure
(433,094)
Net income and movement
in funds
397,664
Total funds brought forward
595,414
Total funds carried forward
993,078
Note 3 Income from donations		 2022 2022 2022
Total
£
Unrestricted Restricted
£ £
1,679,655
1,094,731
76,846
2,851,232
470,261 1,209,394
283,651 811,080
76,846 -
830,758 2,020,474
(321,077)
(1,976,496)
(2,297,573)
(210,290) (110,787)
(222,804) (1,753,692)
(433,094) (1,864,479)
553,659
799,647
397,664 155,995
595,414 204,233
993,078 360,228 1,353,306
Corporate partners
Trusts and Foundations
Donations
Donatedgifts and services		 Total
2023
£
1,456,634
733,247
198,637
25,023
2,413,541
Unrestricted Restricted Total
2023
£
2023 2023
£ £
1,456,634
733,247
198,637
25,023
923,060 533,574
227,614 505,633
141,466 57,171
25,023 -
1,317,163 1,096,378 2,413,541

Donated gifts income relates to IT hardware. Donated services income relates to Benefit in Kind for office space and classrooms for Education classes.

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Prior period comparative

Prior period comparative
Corporate partners
Trusts and Foundations
Donations
Donatedgifts and services		 Unrestricted Restricted Total
2022
£
2022 2022
£ £
897,483
659,804
92,608
29,760
329,406 568,077
72,765 587,039
68,090 24,518
- 29,760
470,261 1,209,394 1,679,655

Donated services income relates to Gift in Kind for office space and classrooms for Education classes.

Note 4 Income from charitable activities

Note 4 Income from charitable activities ies
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
2023
2023
2023
£
£
£
SIB contract
629,262
-
629,262
Statutory grants
-
565,196
565,196
Matched funding grants and other
charitable activities
8,140
175,000
183,140
Total income from charitable activities
637,402
740,196
1,377,598
In 2023 the charity received government grants, defned as funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to
fund charitable activities. The total value of such grants in the period ending 31 May 2023 was £10,000. In the prior year,
£23,257 was received from HMRC under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. There are no unfulflled conditions or
contingencies attaching to these grants in the current or prior year.
Prior period comparative
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
2022
2022
2022
£
£
£
SIB contract
265,132
-
265,132
Statutory grants
1,000
621,080
622,080
Matched funding grants and other
charitable activities
17,519
190,000
207,519
Total income from charitable activities
283,651
811,080
1,094,731		 Unrestricted Restricted Total
2023
£
2023 2023
£ £
629,262
565,196
183,140
629,262 -
- 565,196
8,140 175,000
637,402 740,196 1,377,598
Unrestricted Restricted Total
2022
£
2022 2022
£ £
265,132
622,080
207,519
265,132 -
1,000 621,080
17,519 190,000
283,651 811,080 1,094,731

47 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Note 5 Analysis of expenditure

Salary costs
Work and delivery space
Client and Volunteer
costs
Outreach and Events
Technology
Consultancy
Professional fees
Staf costs e.g.
travel, development,
recruitment and welfare
Grants
Other
Support costs
Governance costs
Total		 Cost of
raising funds		 Charitable
activities		 Support Governance 2023 Total
£ £ £ £ £
(378,403) (1,965,768) (195,544) - (2,539,715)
(9,270) (125,316) (26,884) - (161,470)
- (6,855) - - (6,855)
(4,168) (53,639) (3,856) - (61,663)
(11,187) (177,969) (13,194) - (202,350)
(107,088) (18,809) (7,245) - (133,142)
(3,331) (13,646) (8,875) (12,200) (38,052)
(5,349) (70,097) (13,649) - (89,095)
- (19,369) - - (19,369)
(925) (8,517) (2,021) - (11,463)
(519,721) (2,459,985) (271,268) (12,200) (3,263,174)
(47,315) (223,953) 271,268 - -
17% 83%
(2,128) (10,072) - 12,200 -
17% 83%
Total (569,164) (2,694,010) - - (3,263,174)

48 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Note 5 Analysis of expenditure – prior period comparative

Salary costs
Work and delivery space
Client and Volunteer
costs
Outreach and Events
Technology
Consultancy
Professional fees
Staf costs e.g.
travel, development,
recruitment and welfare
Grants
Other
Support costs
Governance costs
Total		 Cost of
raising funds		 Charitable
activities		 Support Governance 2022 Total
£ £ £ £ £
(237,126) (1,400,305) (212,427) - (1,849,858)
- (63,071) (63,260) - (126,330)
(37) (8,720) - - (8,756)
(861) (17,884) (9,216) - (27,961)
(17,511) (106,026) (25,657) - (149,194)
(4,651) (3,980) (3,058) - (11,690)
(1,661) (4,391) (9,668) (10,800) (26,520)
(8,029) (39,862) (27,815) - (75,705)
- (12,917) - - (12,917)
(51) (4,022) (4,569) - (8,642)
(269,927) (1,661,177) (355,670) (10,800) (2,297,573)
(49,643) (306,027) 355,670 - -
14% 86%
(1,507) (9,293) - 10,800 -
14% 86%
Total (321,077) (1,976,496) - - (2,297,573)

49 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Note 6 Net income / (expenditure) for the year

This is stated after charging / (crediting):
Operating lease rentals:
Property
Auditor’s remuneration:
Audit fees
Accountancy services		 This is stated after charging / (crediting):
Operating lease rentals:
Property
Auditor’s remuneration:
Audit fees
Accountancy services		 2023 2023 2022
£ £
(130,088) (76,320)
(12,220) (10,800)
(536) -

Note 7 Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

Staff costs were as follows:

Staf costs were as follows:
Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Employer’s contribution to defned contribution
pension schemes		 2023 2022
£ £
2,257,179 1,653,101
237,532 168,048
45,004 28,709
2,539,715 1,849,858

The key management personnel of the charity comprise of the Trustees, Chief Executive Officer, Director of Development, Director of Finance, Chief of Staff, Director of Programmes, Director of Communications and Engagement.

The total employee benefits including pension contributions of the key management personnel were £433,896 (2022: £377,787).

The charity trustees were not paid or received any other benefits from employment with the charity or its subsidiary in the year (2022: £nil) neither were they reimbursed expenses during the year (2022: £nil). No charity trustee received payment for professional or other services supplied to the charity (2022: £nil).

50 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

The following number of employees received compensation (excluding employer pension and NI) during the year between:


pension and NI) during the year between:
£60,000 - £69,999
£70,000 - £79,999
£80,000 - £89,999
£90,000 - £99,999		 2023 2022
No. No.
1 -
- -
1 1
-

Staff numbers

The average number of employees (head count based on number of staff employed) during the year was as follows:


during the year was as follows:
Raising funds
Charitable activities		 2023 2022
No. No.
5 6
61 44
66 50

Note 8 Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

51 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Note 9 Debtors

Note 9 Debtors
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments
Amounts owed by group undertakings
Accrued income		 Group Charity
2023 2022 2023 2022
£ £ £ £
75,106 16,007 73,186 -
37,488 29,599 37,489 29,599
43,903 5,376 43,903 5,376
- - 18,398 74,720
392,385 387,784 392,385 387,784
548,882 438,766 565,361 497,479

Note 10 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Taxation and social security
Accruals
Deferred income
Other creditors		 Group Charity
2023 2022 2023 2022
£ £ £ £
(104,809) (57,734) (104,795) (112,639)
(34,507) (42,117) (34,157) (40,317)
(3,825) (51,033) (3,825) (48,949)
(83,771) (50,134) (83,771) (50,134)
(226,912) (201,018) (226,548) (252,039)

Deferred income

Deferred income
Balance at the beginning of the year
Amount released to income in the year
Amount deferred in the year
Balance at the end of theyear		 Group Charity
2023 2022 2023 2022
£ £ £ £
(51,033) (197,851) (48,949) (160,351)
47,208 148,901 45,125 111,402
- (2,083) - -
Balance at the end of theyear (3,825) (51,033) (3,825) (48,949)

Deferred income comprises amounts received in advance for annual programmes and under contracts.

52 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Note 11 Pension scheme

Breaking Barriers has a defined contribution scheme operated by NEST.

Note 12 Analysis of net assets between funds

Net current assets
Net assets at the end of theyear
Net current assets
Net assets at the end of theyear		 2023 Total funds
£
1,888,986
General
Unrestricted		 Designated Restricted
£ £ £
1,208,068 117,475 563,443
1,208,068 117,475 563,443 1,888,986
2022 Total funds
£
1,353,306
General
Unrestricted		 Designated Restricted
£ £ £
793,078 200,000 360,228
793,078 200,000 360,228 1,353,306

53 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Note 13 Movements in funds

Note 13 Movements in funds
Restricted funds:
Integration Activities – Employment (a)
Integration Activities – Education
(b)
Integration Activities – Volunteering (c)
BB Grants
(d)
Thought / Action leadership
(e)
D&I
(f)
Lived Experience
(g)
Other
(h)
Total restricted funds
Unrestricted funds:
Designated funds
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds		 At the start
of the year
Income		 Expenditure Transfers At the end
of the year
£ £ £ £ £
285,854 1,359,529 (1,294,851) - 350,532
5,402 107,599 (91,814) - 21,187
- 66,638 (39,199) - 27,439
2,878 46,190 (6,122) - 42,946
20,217 - (20,217) - -
1,296 - (1,296) - -
- 40,000 (7,591) - 32,409
44,581 216,618 (172,269) - 88,930
360,228 1,836,574 (1,633,359) - 563,443
200,000 - (82,525) - 117,475
793,078 1,962,280 (1,547,290) - 1,208,068
993,078 1,962,280 (1,629,815) - 1,325,543
Total funds 1,353,306 3,798,854 (3,263,174) - 1,888,986

Purposes of restricted funds

Restricted Funds: We have received income restricted to the following purposes:

(a) Employment integration activities seeks to upskill clients for employment through one-to-one information, advice and guidance sessions. This has been offered in three locations in FY23 and from FY24 two further regional locations along with a pilot for Local/Rural to reach clients remotely.

(b) Education integration activities supports clients to increase employment prospects with English language classes and training.

(c) Volunteering activities across our programmatic areas supports the work of Breaking Barriers in delivering specialist skills and support.

(d) BB Grants provide opportunities for Breaking Barriers client’s to apply for individual funding aligned with specialist skills or to take part in courses for qualifications to help progress and/or re-establish careers.

(e) Thought/Action leadership from FY24 is integrated alongside programmatic delivery and data/ impact measurement.

(f) We have implemented D&I alongside our strategic work and across the organisation to positively impact the quality of support for refugees and those of refugee background in the sector as a whole.

(g) In FY24 we are looking to enrich our offering to clients with a Lived Experience Panel. Individuals have been selected who will bring a wealth of lived experiences and unique perspectives to inform and advise our work.

54 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

(h) Other funds represent contributions to other projects not covered above, such as Digital and Technology in terms of our CRM implementation, sponsorship of staff at Breaking Barriers by other organisations, and income for our documentary which took a look at 5 refugees and how they rebuilt their lives in the UK in part through finding education and employment offering.

General Funds: Breaking Barriers’ reserves policy is to hold approximately three months of total expenditure. At the year-end, General Funds stood at £1,208k (2022: £793k) representing approximately 3.4 months’ expenditure.

Designated Funds: In 2023 £117,475 remained of the designated fund from FY22 these were for the purpose of diversifying income streams to meet future growth. This strategic work will be progressed in FY24. There were no additional designated funds started in FY23.

Acknolwedgements: During the year BB received grants from City Bridge Trust – £40k towards our Employment Programme in London, East End Community Founation – £10k towards our Employment Programme in London, Garfield Weston Founation – £20k towards our Employment Programme London, Fidelity UK Foundation – £65k towards infrastructure costs to support our expansion, Said Foundation – £5k towards our Education programme, CareTech Foundation – £40k towards our Employment Programme London, Clothworkers Foundation £34k towards infrastructure costs associated with expansion.

Note 13 Movements in funds

Note 13 Movements in funds
Prior period comparative
Restricted funds:
Integration Activities – Employment
Integration Activities – Education
BB Grants
Thought / Action leadership
D&I
Lived Experience
Total restricted funds
Unrestricted funds:
Designated funds
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds
At the start
of the year
Income		 Expenditure Transfers At the end
of the year
£ £ £ £ £
185,598 1,428,911 (1,328,655) - 285,854
6,685 212,283 (213,566) - 5,402
11,950 24,990 (34,062) - 2,878
- 137,247 (117,030) - 20,217
- 7,795 (6,499) - 1,296
- 209,248 (164,667) - 44,581
204,233 2,020,474 (1,864,479) - 360,228
- - - 200,000 200,000
595,414 830,758 (433,094) (200,000) 793,078
595,414 830,758 (433,094) - 993,078
Total funds 799,647 2,851,232 (2,297,573) - 1,353,306

55 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Note 14 Operating lease commitments

Total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:


as follows:
Less than 1 year
1 – 5years		 Property Property
2023 2022
£ £
93,630 50,880
- -
93,630 50,880

Note 15 Legal status of the charity

The charity is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and is governed by its foundation model constitution. The Trustees are chosen for their expertise and commitment to support refugees. The charity registered with the Scottish Charity Regulator during the year as the charity expanded its services to Glasgow.

Note 16 Related party transactions

During the year we recieved a donation of £75k from the Apax Foundation (FY22: £75k), our Trustee Andrew Waidhofer is Vice President of Apax Partners. We also received £80k (FY22: £80k) from BNY Mellon where our Trustee Hani Kablawi is on the leadership team.

At the end of the year, there was no provision raised in the parent charity’s accounts in relation to the BB Trading’s use of shared resources (FY22: £1.2k) and amounts owed to the charity at year end totalled £18.3k (FY22: £74.7k)

56 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Note 17 Subsidiary undertakings

Breaking Barriers Trading Ltd (company no 11707875) is 100% owned by Breaking Barriers and has share capital of £1. The subsidiary runs the charity’s non-charitable trading activities. A summary of its financial performance and position are given below:


position are given below:
Entity Type Nos. of shares Value Interest
Breaking Barriers Trading Ltd Ordinary 1 1 100%
Turnover
2023 2022
£ £
7,715 79,633
Cost of sales (9,941) (38,771)
Gross proft (loss) (2,226) 40,862
Administrative expenses (151) (3,934)
Operating proft (loss) (2,377) 36,928
16,385 79,406
(18,762) (79,406)
(2,377) -

Subsidiary’s accounts are fully consolidated and all intra-group balances, transactions, income and expenses are eliminated on consolidation.

Note 18 Parent charity

The parent charity’s gross income and the results for the year are disclosed as follows:


follows:
Gross income
Results for theyear		 2023 2022
£ £
3,791,140 2,776,465
Results for theyear 538,058 516,731

57 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Reference and administrative information Trustees

----- Start of picture text -----
Appointed Resigned Role
Ian Chard Oct-16 Dec-22 was Treasurer
Sajid Hussein Oct-16 Dec-22
Rachel Harrington Aug-17
James Newell Jun-18 Chair
Hani Kablawi Jul-20
Julia Onslow-Cole Jul-20
Prudence Mwanza Sep-20
Andrew Waidhofer Feb-21
Katie Rickard Mar-21
Lena Sabbagh Mar-22
Lou Calvey Jun-22 Apr-23
Kelly Maklowicz Jul-22
Barbara Serra Jul-22
Helen Downie Aug-22 Treasurer
Jonas Huruy Kidane Oct-22
----- End of picture text -----

CEO: Matthew Powell

Charity number: 1161901

Breaking Barriers is also registered as a charity with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) number SC052265

Registered office

Breaking Barriers, 71–91 Aldwych, Aldwych House, London, WC2B 4HN

Auditors

Godfrey Wilson Ltd, 5th Floor Mariner House, 62 Prince Street, Bristol, BS1 4QD

Bankers

Barclays, 9 High St, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 1DR

58 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

With thanks

We are grateful to our donors, supporters, partners and those who prefer to remain anonymous, for their support which has made our success possible.

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60 | Breaking Barriers

Annual Report 2022–2023

Arnold Clark Community Fund

City and Guilds Foundation

The Etauliers Charitable Foundation

The Vandervell Foundation