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2021-12-31-accounts

1 | WATFORD & THREE RIVERS REFUGEE PARTNERSHIP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

WATFORD AND THREE RIVERS REFUGEE PARTNERSHIP Annual Report for 2021

Welcome

Welcome to WTRRP’s Annual Report for January – December 2021 – in what continue to be interesting times. Once again, we give all of you our heart-felt thanks for your continuing support, which has enabled us all to assist a lot of needy people in our midst, through a range of hardships and complexities of life. It was great to have been able to return to pre-Covid normal in some of our activities:

Unfortunately it wasn’t possible to resume our social programme (parties, sporting events for children etc.) but we are confident that this will be possible in 2022.

Please join us at our Annual General Meeting at 7:30pm on

Monday 6th June 2022 , at St Luke’s Church upstairs hall, Langley Way, WD17 3EG. Our guest speaker is Professor Michael Hutt, recently retired from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London. Michael has recently joined WTRRP as a volunteer: he is an expert on modern and contemporary Nepali literature and on Nepali and Bhutanese politics, the Nepali diaspora in India, and the Bhutanese refugee issue.

From 2017-20 Michael was the Principal Investigator for the

project After the Earth’s Violent Sway: the tangible and intangible legacies of a natural disaster, funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund through the Arts and Humanities Research Council. For this he led a team of six researchers investigating the cultural and political impacts of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake and of earlier earthquakes in Nepal.

We’re proud to have helped 431 people in need during the year

Year
2021
2020
2019		 2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
Total caseload 145
126
114		 95
83
74
79
55
40
Adult‐only cases 42
77
27		 25
17
41
29
15
16
Number of adults 221
166
167		 135
118
107
82
77
47
Number of children 210
188
178		 144
127
105
98
69
42
Total number of clients 431
354
345		 279
245
212
180
146
89

2 | WATFORD & THREE RIVERS REFUGEE PARTNERSHIP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Paul Tucker

Drop-In Centre

The Drop-in Centre provides an opportunity for refugee clients to come and discuss any issues they have and to be listened to by one of our volunteers. Previously this took place at St John’s Church in Watford, and we thank them for their warm hospitality and help over a number of years. During the lockdown we moved to a telephone service but later in the year we were able to recommence a face-to-face service at St Mary’s Church in the High Street, Watford and this has helped us forge good links with the church. Currently we have two sessions a month (on the second and fourth Tuesdays) between 11.00 and 1.00pm

Many of our clients are likely

to have lived in the area for a while, but an issue or crisis in their lives means that they need to discuss it and seek help. We can provide advice and sometimes resolve their issue there and then. At other times we refer them to another agency or move them on a stage and invite them to come back. And we listen. Given the nature of their lives and the organisations they speak with, so often they are ‘talked to’ or ‘done to.’ This is a chance for them to be genuinely heard by a volunteer who has no agenda.

What do they come to us for? Our figures below give an indication of this: predominantly it is legal issues tied up with their application for leave to remain. Perhaps their application has been submitted some time ago and they have not heard anything (delays can last from months to years) or they need help with a form or how to respond to correspondence they have received from the Home Office. In this regard we have been hugely helped by our solicitor Salma Khan from Pickup and Scott Solicitors in Aylesbury who comes once a month (usually on the fourth Tuesday) to provide general advice for our clients. The difference this makes for them is significant, helping them to understand the process better and how to take it forward from there. We are very grateful to her.

Following the Drop-In, the Case Review Team considers their referral on an ongoing basis to see what longer term help can be provided. This is detailed elsewhere in the report but can include allocating a befriender or case worker. It may also be appropriate to refer them to our in-house ESOL support or provide food help.

Total
clients
65		 Reason (including multiple reasons, so total % adds to over 100)
Legal
Food
Housing
ESOL
Form
filling
Clothing
Finance/
Benefits
Health
Support
Other
51
11
8
5
1
2
9
2
4
1
78%
17%
12%
8%
2%
3%
14%
3%
6%
2%

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Elsewhere we have been helped by a number of different agencies, Watford Borough Council and Three Rivers District Council, Migrant Help, Red Cross, the Social Services and New Hope, all of whom have given their expert assistance willingly. We are very grateful to them.

Our thanks go too to our volunteers who come from a wide range of backgrounds and whose commitment and professionalism continue to inspire. If you are interested in seeing what we do, or joining us, then please do get in touch as below.

Carrying on carrying on – the Food Team John Gray

Much as we may like stability and continuity, especially as our bodies and faculties age, we can’t rely on life treating us so favourably. And so it has been in the Food Team over the past year as we continually adapted our procedures and teams procedures to match changing circumstances and resources.

We were all inconvenienced by Covid 19, with several volunteers and clients suffering with it, but none of them seriously as far as we know. It is such a relief to begin finally to mix socially again without fearing for ourselves and our families and friends.

Part-way through 2021 we decided that it would be safe enough to invite clients to come to St. Mary’s Church to collect their food and nappies, to reduce our work-load in delivering to clients’ homes and for them to demonstrate to us their need for our practical support by making the effort to get there.

It also gave us better opportunities to make contact with the clients and their families than the brief encounters on doorsteps we had got used to, to assess situations and developments and to feed requests and needs back to the case-workers and befrienders.

We assembled a range of clothes, books, toys, toiletries and edible treats which clients could select when they visited, and bought wheeled trolleys to lend to clients to take home the proceeds.

As Covid 19 receded, so did the available space at St. Mary’s as the church’s normal activities resumed, and we had to retreat into the confines of our office for storage, emerging once a fortnight to set up our stall at the back of the church.

The means to make this work possible came from gifts of money and food, and from very generous grants from various charities (details on page 7). We still took some food from the Watford Food Bank for which we are very grateful, particularly those items which they normally have a surplus of, but mainly we purchased food, nappies and female sanitary items from wholesalers and supermarkets.

Most of the grants had to be spent within a limited time-frame, so we stocked up using the space allocated to us at St. Mary’s. We also received a huge amount of food in harvest donations from schools and churches, which in previous years had gone directly to Watford Food Bank. This gave us a bit of a problem when it came to condensing into the office and a temporary store-room, but we are gradually reducing the volume.

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As team members resumed their working and studying lives, we were very happy that several of WTRRP’s clients joined the team to help with packing and distribution.

We had decided to use some of the grant money to buy supermarket gift cards so that in December and at intervals over 2022 we could have a break from packing and give the clients more choice in being able to buy particular items for themselves.

These proved to be particularly popular, and since our team leaders were feeling their own time pressures, we decided to task the grants team with obtaining enough money for us to transition gradually to gift cards only as the food stocks reduce.

This is still in progress and we have enough to see us through most of 2022, but will need more if this transition is to be permanent.

We still encourage clients to attend St. Mary’s to collect their gift cards where possible, to maintain our contacts with them as well as allowing them to socialise, and also to confirm their need for this service.

Several of our clients are continuing to use the washable nappy kits and the washable sanitary pads which we have provided for them by means of dedicated grants, helping us and them to save money and giving welcome relief to our precious environment. We still have kits available to allocate as appropriate.

Education Marie-Jo Churchill

Our classes in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) continued over lock-down at the intermediate and advanced levels – where it was possible to attend remotely using Zoom. Later in the year it became possible to resume teaching in person at St Mary’s Church on Tuesdays, and a number of levels of teaching resumed:

Our language teaching covers a number of topics and UK life skills, including support for job interviews, support for driving lessons, general knowledge of life in the UK and many others.

We are looking for another teacher of Adult Literacy, and also for teachers at all levels as numbers of students are increasing again, as the risks from Covid diminish.

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Client cases and our Case Review process

Tony Rindl

Our Case Review Team continued to meet approximately every two months to review the clients in our caseload and any new clients referred from the Drop-In Centre. The team collects updates from all the befrienders, and after discussion, makes recommendations to the Committee where financial or other help is required.

The committee comprised Tony Rindl (Chair), Sue Ellison (Casework Coordinator), John Gray (Food Donation and Distribution Coordinator), Dmitri McMillen (Caseworker), Andrea Hudson (Caseworker).

In the current year up to January 2022 there were 145 active cases (in 2021 we reported on 126 active cases). During the year we welcomed 36 new clients and discharged 8 clients: as in 2020 we were discharging relatively few clients, as Covid was still causing a considerable level of need.

Our client group comprised 80 families or individuals from Ghana (the largest number), Nigeria and other African countries, 33 from the Middle East and Turkey. Others come from the Indian subcontinent and from Afghanistan, Eastern Europe, South America and the Caribbean. There are at least 32 different nationalities represented amongst our clients.

Typically, clients make initial contact with us through the Drop-In Centre, where they request advice or ongoing support, which could include food boxes, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes, legal and financial advice and befriending.

The team meets to share information, discuss, and where possible, resolve problems and dilemmas that clients are encountering and make financial requests to the Committee. We prioritise the requirements of those newly referred, usually from the Drop-In Centre, and those we know to be in particular difficulty. However we make sure everyone is discussed at every second meeting. Thus, we aim to discuss around 70 cases in each meeting.

The issues discussed are many and varied. Many clients are seeking financial help and we offer financial support towards Leave to Remain applications, which continue to increase in cost each year. Where applicable we make recommendations to WTRRP’s Committee to make financial contributions for Home Office application and NHS fees. (An applicant for Leave to Remain has to pay a fee of £1560 in total for possible NHS use – the so called ‘Immigration Health Surcharge’ – for typically 2½ years, in addition to the application fee – currently £1000 in most cases. They also have to pay their own solicitor’s fees, and possibly also the cost for fingerprinting and photos, costing up to £300 or more.)

The Case Review Team considers the resources that we can provide and what else may be needed. Alongside talking about the inevitable housing and Leave to Remain crises that our clients face in an increasingly hostile environment, we review whether they are collecting their food parcels or attending ESOL classes and make sure we follow up with those who have not been in touch.

In addition to WTRRP’s own resources, we work with, and refer clients to, other organisations in the area who can help with particular needs, including New Hope,

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Stanborough Welfare Centre, the Red Cross Refugee Centre in Luton, Citizens’ Advice, debt counselling organisations, as well as the Social Services and other statutory organisations.

We remain aware that a problem brought by a client can often be just the tip of the iceberg, and that clients may be fearful and need to feel they can trust us in order to be open about the extent of their needs. A common problem is with landlords, making our clients fearful that they will be made homeless. Others have complicated financial or family difficulties and need the expertise of our caseworkers and befrienders to extricate themselves and direct them to the appropriate organisation. We have been concerned about the risk of us being seen as intimidating, especially as some of our clients are in constant fear of deportation. So, we aim always to be responsive and work alongside clients at their own pace.

We are always on the lookout for more volunteers to act as befrienders and caseworkers whereby we can be more attentive to the on-going needs of our clients.

Our social programme

2021 turned out to be even more restrictive to our social activities, with lockdown for part of the year and social distancing being recommended throughout. Sadly therefore we were unable to maintain our regular round of parties for clients, befrienders and supporters, and our hope is that Covid will decrease in 2022 to a level where these could resume.

Christmas box packing and delivering – December 2021

We were able to make and distribute Christmas hampers to 81 families in December. Musarut Mukadam, Sophie Edwards and Tim Whittaker led this activity.

The hampers contained Christmas crackers and decorations, edible treats and presents for each family member, appropriate to age and gender. These were provided by the generosity of a number of organisations:

St Luke’s Church donated items for, and packed, 20 of these hampers for us to distribute.

Stanborough Park Church in their annual Toy Service donated a totally amazing selection and quantity of presents for all ages.

Edge Grove School ran a scheme in which a hamper was placed with each of their classes, and each pupil contributed an item to it each school-day over 4 weeks.

Form 12HAM at St Clement Dane School ran a similar scheme, collecting from all the members of the class.

7 | WATFORD & THREE RIVERS REFUGEE PARTNERSHIP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

St Mary’s Church kindly loaned premises, and around 18 volunteers arranged and packed the balance of the hampers (see picture), with a similar number delivering to our clients.

Grants Team Peter Howard

In 2021, the Grants Team (Grace Da Costa, Mick Hayter and Peter Howard) secured grants for the charity totalling £77,282. In December, Grace needed to leave the team, and she will be sorely missed. Fortunately, Peter Myers and Sarah Myers joined us in December 2021, and they have already been busy researching grants and submitting applications.

The Grants Team is making every effort to ensure that in 2022 WTRRP has enough money from grants to provide food and vouchers, school uniforms, laptops, sanitary products and nappies. In addition, we hope to be successful with grant applications for sports and holiday activities, general overheads, and digital equipment for ESOL teachers and the Drop-In. Later in the year we will apply for further funds to cover the Office Manager costs. Grants in 2021 were very generously provided by the following:

£34,403 from The National Lottery Community Fund for our Office Manager and office costs to end October 2023. First instalment received in 2021 = £8,495

£9,600 from HCC (Covid Winter Support Grant) administered by Hertfordshire Community Foundation (HCF) for food

£10,000 from HCF (Large Grant and Local Support Grant) for food and vouchers

£2,000 from East of England LGA for food

£2,000 from Arnold Clark Community Fund for food and vouchers

£3,600 from Watford & Three Rivers Trust (W3RT) for food and vouchers

£110 from Barrow Cadbury Trust for food

8 | WATFORD & THREE RIVERS REFUGEE PARTNERSHIP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

£900 from the Breslaff Centre for food

£2,689 from Mayor of Watford for sustainable period products and nappies

£1,600 from Hertfordshire County Councillors Mark Watkin, Asif Khan, Nigel Bell and Tim Williams for school uniforms

£7,380 from W3RT for laptops and Chromebooks

£2,000 from CMW Charitable Trust for our emergency fund (£1,000) and our general fund (£1,000)

£1,000 from Amazon to help children

Here are some testimonials about the difference these grants have made:

Food and nappies:

"Without WTRRP we would go without some food. We would be without gas and electricity and also miss some meals. The organisation's support also allows us to buy seasonal clothes. Mentally, WTRRP helps us feel relaxed being in a friendly environment." Laptops/Chromebooks:

"The 2 Chromebooks provided for my girls are life-saving. Now they don't have to share the tablet with their little brother in order to complete their homework. T (my older daughter) was super excited to have her own personal laptop to complete her homework. Learning is more fun and homework easier to complete for her. Thank you again and again to the wonderful team at WTRRP for all your support and efforts to put a big smile on my children's faces."

School uniforms:

"The grant was very important to me and helped a lot. It is his first time at school so Muhammad needs a lot of new things and the money helped a lot.” Office Manager: Results of online feedback survey after operating the post for 6 months. 18 volunteers, 16 clients and 2 partner individuals/organisations responded. Overall support: 94% of clients who responded said WTRRP's support for them had become better in the last 6 months, with only 1 person saying it was about the same.

Helping clients: 45% of volunteers and partners who responded thought WTRRP had become more effective at helping its clients in the past 6 months, 45% thought it was about the same, and 10% thought it had got worse.

Internal efficiency: 50% of volunteers and partners who responded thought WTRRP was running more efficiently in the past 6 months, 40% thought it was about the same, and 10% thought it had got worse.

Comments focused on communication: The majority of people had had contact with the office manager, with only 13 people who replied to this question saying they'd had no

9 | WATFORD & THREE RIVERS REFUGEE PARTNERSHIP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

contact with her. 64% of those who came into contact found her very helpful, 32% quite helpful, and 1 person not very helpful.

When asked how helpful it is to have an office manager in general, 72% thought very helpful, 17% quite helpful, 8% (3 people) thought not very helpful and 1 person thought very unhelpful.

Our Office Manager and our Volunteers Tim Whittaker

Our Office Manager Cat Kilgannon joined us for 14 hours per week in November 2020, and Cat is now working significantly on many of our operations, especially our case review and volunteer recruitment. Currently Cat works mainly from home while Covid rates remain high; she will then work in part from our office at St Mary’s Church.

We are pleased to have a total of 82 volunteers fully signed up, and another 10 were in the process of joining at the end of 2021, which is excellent news. Most of our volunteers are either befrienders or on the rota for the Drop-In Centre, but we have a number of other roles being filled too.

We are also very privileged that a number of our former clients have become volunteers, often being able to provide insights and experience that can really help current clients.

Our ESOL classes moved online mid-year, to those who were able to join in this way: this was necessarily restricted to intermediate and advanced classes. Marie-Jo Churchill led and managed this activity, and will continue to do so.

Sadly, Grace Da Costa stepped down as Trustee and Grants Coordinator in September, as both her regular job and her personal commitments had increased considerably during the year. Grace provided enormous and transformative energy to our organisation, setting our grants application processes in train, running a number of specific projects including the provision of IT equipment to many of our clients, as well as being a committed member of the committee. Many thanks to Grace: we’re pleased that you remain a volunteer.

Thanks too to Peter Howard, who has kindly taken on the Grants Coordinator role in addition to compiling – and managing operations for – our newsletter.

We also sadly say goodbye and massive thanks to Mick and Jeanette Hayter, who have run a significant part of our food operation – managing donors and donations as well as participating in distribution and many other activities – for over a decade, as well as being involved in the Drop-In Centre. Their garage and living rooms had regularly become temporary stores when our available space, and that of Watford Foodbank, had filled up due to the generosity of so many donors! Mick was also a key link between WTRRP and local sister charity Herts Welcomes Refugees.

Finally, Andrea Hudson has also stepped down as Trustee, committee member and befriender of many of our clients. Our thanks to you for keeping us going, being part of the Case Review Team, and supporting so many of us in so many ways over more than 15 years.

10 | WATFORD & THREE RIVERS REFUGEE PARTNERSHIP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

We are pleased to welcome two Volunteer Coordinators, Yifan Wang and Seema Agnihotri, who are managing our recruitment of new volunteers, running regular meetings for us all to share experience and thoughts, and working with the other coordinators to allocate the right people to all the work that WTRRP carries out.

Seema joined WTRRP as a befriender and a volunteer coordinator in September 2021. Seema had previously been a volunteer for the partnership a few years ago and was involved in the Women's group and befriending. Seema has worked for 10 years as a volunteer coordinator for Homestart and currently she is working as a Fostering Social Worker. Seema enjoys walking and gardening in her spare time.

Yifan joined WTRRP as Volunteer Coordinator in October 2021, sharing the responsibilities with Seema. Previously he had volunteered with various organisations, most notably installing solar panels in a remote village in the Himalayas. Outside of WTRRP he works full time for an energy company and has recently moved to Watford with his girlfriend. In this spare time, he likes to travel the world and experience different cultures and practise photography.

The Committee and I would like to convey our thanks to all our volunteers who have helped us achieve so much during 2021, running (and reinstating in-person) the Drop-In Centre with Paul Tucker, befriending and carrying out casework for so many clients with Sue Ellison, and organising and delivering food and other essentials with John Gray.

There are still areas which WTRRP would like to develop: We need more caseworkers to work with Sue Ellison and others who are managing the majority of complex cases. We also need help with Social Media, Admin and our Women’s Group. We are also looking for a Secretary and other committee members: see page 15 for more details.

Volunteering with WTRRP is incredibly rewarding and makes a real difference to people’s lives – and probably your own too. If you’re interested in joining us, please get in touch by emailing admin@wtrrp.org.uk – we would love to hear from you!

Our committee and trustees

These committee members served with WTRRP since 1 January 2021 unless otherwise stated, and wish to stand for re-election at the AGM:

Yifan Wang Volunteer Coordinator *Paul Shaw Treasurer (joined October 2021)

Tony Rindl Tim Whittaker Chair (and acting Secretary)

We are still looking for a Secretary, and others to join our committee, and would be grateful for any volunteers or leads: please make contact with Cat (admin@wtrrp.org.uk ) or Tim (timhwhittaker@virginmedia.com ) if you are interested.

Andrea Hudson served as a Trustee of WTRRP since June 2015 (when WTRRP received its charitable status), and resigned in December 2021.

11 | WATFORD & THREE RIVERS REFUGEE PARTNERSHIP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

Grace Da Costa served as a Trustee of WTRRP since September 2020, and resigned in September 2021.

Committee members marked with * are currently Trustees.

Finances for 2021

Paul Shaw

In financial terms 2021 has been another good year despite the continuing problems caused by the pandemic. Our income rose slightly compared with 2020 and although expenditure increased by £20,169, we still made a surplus for the year of £7,723. Our grants team have again been hard at work during 2021 and brought in income of £49,374 a slight increase over the 2020 figure. These grants have meant we have increased our charitable activities expenditure by £8,903 over 2020 to £68,569 in 2021.

Year 2021 2020 2019 2018
Income
Unrestricted income 46,692 46,789 49,305 47,256
Restricted income 49,374 48,434 20,424 -
Total Income 96,066 95,223 69,729 47,256
Expenditure
Charitable activities 68,569 59,666 37,356 45,610
Management of the Partnership 19,774 8,508 4,938 5,282
Total Expenditure 88,343 68,174 42,294 50,892
Surplus/(Deficit) for Year £7,723 £27,049 £27,435 (£3,636)

Income

The income for the year of £96,066 is just a little higher than in the previous year. Restricted funds represent funds raised that the Charity can only use for specific purposes. We received a total of £49,374 restricted grants from various providers as detailed in the statutory accounts and in the grants team report elsewhere in the annual report.

The unrestricted income in total at £46,692 was similar to the figure in 2020. Individual donations at £23,651 showed an increase of £9,171 over 2020 and the donations from churches was £8,395 higher than 2020. However, the value of food donations provided by the Watford Foodbank was down by £17,326 at £8,178 because we were able to provide food for clients from various grants we received during the year.

The income from individuals includes a sum of £2,367 being the amount of gift aid we have been able to reclaim from the tax authorities. We would like to thank the individual donors (particularly those who have continued to make donations by standing order) and the various local churches and other organisations who are the backbone of support for the charity.

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The graph below shows our sources of income since 2016:

----- Start of picture text -----
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Individuals Churches Grants Gift Aid Other Sources
----- End of picture text -----

Expenditure

Total expenditure for the year (excluding donations in kind of £8,178) was £80,165 an increase of £37,495 over the 2020 figure of £42,670. Charitable activities expenditure rose by £26,229. Befriending and education expenditure was £24,029 higher and our contribution towards client fees was £2,200 higher. The management expenses rose by £11,266 due to the full year cost of employing our administrator. This has greatly improved the running of the charity and is only possible thanks to grants from both the Allen Lane Foundation and the National Lottery Community Fund.

As the pie-charts below show, 75% (2020 80%) of our expenditure was on direct assistance for clients, 15% (2020 23%) on contributions to legal costs and fees and 61% (2020 57%) on befriending which includes the provision of laptops to help children with their education, the provision of school uniforms, food and toiletries in addition to that provided through the Watford Foodbank and help with travel costs and the purchase of essential items of furniture.

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2021 Expenditure

----- Start of picture text -----
Governance costs
Client fees
Administration
expenses
Befriending
----- End of picture text -----

Client fees Befriending Administration expenses Governance costs

----- Start of picture text -----
2020 Expenditure
Governance costs
Administration Client fees
expenses
Befriending
----- End of picture text -----

Client fees Befriending Administration expenses Governance costs

14 | WATFORD & THREE RIVERS REFUGEE PARTNERSHIP ANNUAL REPORT 2021

What’s next? Tim Whittaker

Last year we wrote that we might be fairly optimistic about Covid19 restrictions relaxing later in 2021, but sadly it remained a long way from being in the past. However, we resumed – with caution – face-to-face interaction between volunteers and clients for personal support and for social events.

The Nationality and Borders Bill is in the final stages of its passage through Parliament, and as expected, contains a number of provisions that will make the lives of all migrants harder in this country: it will among other things become a criminal offence to arrive in this country without appropriate paperwork, and the Home Secretary will have considerable powers outside the court system to remove people from the country.

As a charity we do not campaign on these issues but instead aim to assist affected individuals and families with support, vital items and fees, but we do need to be aware of what is being done. If you are interested, please search online for UNHCR (or Refugee Council) and Nationality and Borders Bill for commentaries, or read the legislation.

We continue to integrate our new Office Manager and will see more of Cat in person, and we continue to streamline the operations of WTRRP as the charity grows.

We expect to continue some of the activities – most notably our befriending and casework, the Drop-In, and distribution of food and essentials – that we enhanced and developed over the Covid19 crisis. Other things – like our social events – should be able to re-start some time in 2022.

At the same time, we always need more volunteers for all activities, including befriending, helping with casework, helping with the support and entertainment of our clients in many ways – please see next page. So please continue to bear us in mind if you have any time or other assets that might help us.

Thank you! See you at the AGM – we promise you an interesting evening.

Approval

The Trustees approved this Annual Report at a meeting on 6 June 2022, and it was signed on their behalf by Tim Whittaker as Chair.

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We need these Volunteers

If you are interested in one of the following roles or if you know someone who might be interested, please get in touch with one of the WTRRP coordinators or committee members. Alternatively, Cat will also be able to help you: admin@wtrrp.org.uk

Secretary

The role involves working with the Committee and the Partnership’s part-time Office Manager to ensure the smooth running of the organisation and that the administrative requirements of the organisation are met and fulfil the terms of the Constitution. It is estimated that this role will take up approximately 8 hours a week of your time. The Secretary would need to be available on occasional weekends and evenings when the majority of meetings are held.

Some Key Responsibilities Include:

Caseworkers

This role is for people who already have some previous experience in people facing roles. We are looking for people who have empathy, are good listeners and are nonjudgemental. You will be supporting a small number of clients who have more complex needs and require extra support to get through difficult situations. We are looking for people who have two to four hours a week to spare. You will be offered support in this role by the Partnership.

Some Key Responsibilities Include:

Drop-In Centre Volunteers

Volunteering at the Drop-in Centre provides an opportunity for you to help our refugee clients with any issues they might have. We have two sessions a month (on the second and fourth Tuesdays) between 11.00 and 1.00pm at St Mary’s Church in the High Street, Watford.

Some Key Responsibilities Include:

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Befrienders

Befrienders offer friendship and practical support to clients who can be isolated or new to the area of Watford and Three Rivers. You will need to have an hour or two a week to spare

Some Key Responsibilities Include:

If you are able to support us financially, please visit https://wtrrp.org.uk/donate and follow the links, or contact us directly for more details. Thank you!

We are only sending one printed copy of this Annual Report to some organisations who used to receive several, in order to save costs and resources.

We will be very pleased to send further copies on request. If you want to receive more, either just this time or every time, please contact us by email: tim@wtrrp.org.uk

You can also find this Annual Report online at www.wtrrp.org.uk

Registered Charity Number 1162226

Watford and Three Rivers Refugee Partnership

Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31 December 2021

Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted Restricted Restricted Total
Note Funds Funds Funds 2020
Income
Grants 1 2,000 49,374 51,374 52,484
Donations 2 44,692 - 44,692 42,739
Total Income 46,692 49,374 96,066 95,223
Expenditure
Charitable activities
Befriending 3 8,923 47,703 56,626 50,032
Contribution towards client fees 4 5,533 6,301 11,834 9,634
Education - 109 109 -
14,456 54,113 68,569 59,666
Management of the Project
Governance costs 147 - 147 75
Administration expenses 5 2,561 17,066 19,627 8,433
2,708 17,066 19,774 8,508
Total Payments 17,164 71,179 88,343 68,174
Excess of Receipts over Payments for the Year £ 29,528 £ (21,805) £ 7,723 £ 27,049
Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31 December 2021
2021 2020
Current Assets
Debtors 2,367 435
Cash at bank 74,671 69,392
77,038 69,827
Current Liabilities
Creditors 4,160 4,673
£ 72,878 £ 65,154
Funds
General fund
Opening balance 27,054 20,366
Excess of Receipts over payments for the year 29,528 6,688
56,582 27,054
Restricted funds 6
Administrator fund 2,789 13,846
Client assistance fund 9,165 16,188
Appeal fund - 6,241
Emergency fund 2,825 1,825
Other restricted funds 1,517 -
16,296 38,100
£ 72,878 £ 65,154

Notes to the Accounts for the Year ended 31 December 2021

Unrestricted
Note
Funds
1
Grants
The Barrow Cadbury Trust - COVID-19
Support Fund
-
National Lottery Community Fuind
-
Watford & Three Rivers Trust
-
East of England Local Government Association
-
Hertfordshire Community Foundation
-
County and District Councillors
-
The Breslaff Centre
-
Watford Borough Council, Mayor's Small Grants Fu
-
Arnold Clark
-
CMW Charitable Trust
1,000
Amazon
1,000
Other
-
2,000
£
2
Donations
Individuals
7
23,651
Churches
10,900
Rickmansworth Rotary Club
1,000
Art for Refugees
628
Pumphouse Theatre
100
Other donations
235
Donations in kind - food
8
8,178
44,692
£
3
Befriending
Food purchases
8,178
Food distribution
-
Laptops
-
Toiletries
-
School uniforms
-
Parties and activities
-
Client travel expenses
363
Other client expenses
382
8,923
£
4
Contribution towards client fees
Legal fees
1,559
NHS and Home Office fees
-
Other
3,974
5,533
£
5
Administration expenses
Salaries
-
Rent
-
Equipment
21
Insurance
474
Postage
186
Stationery
445
Telephone
140
Travel expenses
1,019
Other expenses
276
2,561
£		 Restricted
Funds
110
8,495
10,980
2,000
19,600
1,600
900
2,689
2,000
1,000
-
-
49,374
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
£
29,508
899
9,717
4,296
1,400
174
-
1,709
47,703
£
3,941
2,300
60
6,301
£
12,334
3,000
1,218
483
-
-
31
-
-
17,066
£		 Total
Funds
2020
110
13,700
8,495
8,775
10,980
-
2,000
-
19,600
6,042
1,600
2,750
900
2,392
2,689
-
2,000
-
2,000
-
1,000
-
-
18,825
51,374
£
52,484
£
23,651
14,480
10,900
2,505
1,000
250
628
-
100
-
235
-
8,178
25,504
44,692
£
42,739
£
37,686
26,242
899
1,044
9,717
13,330
4,296
4,863
1,400
2,760
174
931
363
84
2,091
778
56,626
£
50,032
£
5,500
7,012
2,300
2,442
4,034
180
11,834
£
9,634
£
12,334
2,704
3,000
3,228
1,239
-
957
495
186
98
445
20
171
870
1,019
222
276
796
19,627
£
8,433
£

Notes to the Accounts for the Year ended 31 December 2021

6 Restricted Funds

The administrator fund represents money to help employ an administrator. The appeal fund and emergency fund represents money that can be used to help clients meet the cost of fees. The client assistance fund represents money that can be used to provide food, toileteries, laptops and activities for our clients.

7 Individual Donations

The income amount shown includes the element that we are able to claim back as a charitable organisation as gift aid for 2021 amounting to £3,337. The 2020 amount was £2,057.

8 Donations in kind

The figure for food donations received in the year has been estimated by the Watford Food Bank.

Paul Shaw, 6 June 2022

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT

REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF WATFORD AND THREE RIVERS REFUGEE PARTNERSHIP (Charity Number 1162226) ON ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 December 2021

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Watford and Three Rivers Refugee Partnership (“the Charity”) for the year ended 31 December 2021.

As the charity trustees of the Charity, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that, in any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Your sincerely

John Sills, FCMA

6 June 2022 35 Baytree Walk Watford WD17 4RX