2022-03-31-accounts - Advocacy Alliance

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" You speak, I listen, together we do"

Advocacy Alliance

A Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) Charity Number 1163787

Annual Report

Accounts

for the year to 31st March 2022

Office 28

The Street

12 Lower Clark Street

Scarborough

YO12 7PW

Advocacy Alliance

Charity Number 1163787

REPORT & ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR

ENDED 31st March 2022

CONTENTS:	PAGE
Officers and professional advisors	1
Trustees Annual Report	2-4
Receipts and Payments Summary	5
Statement of Financial Activities	6
Statement of Assets	7
Notes to the Financial Statements	8-10
Independent Examiners Report	11

Advocacy Alliance

OFFICERS AND PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS

Registered charity name Advocacy Alliance Charity Number: 1163787 Registered Office: Office 28 The Street 12 Lower Clark Street Scarborough YO12 7PW Contact Details email: office@advocacyallianceyorkshire.org.uk web site: www.advocacyallianceyorkshire.org.uk Independent Examiner : Barrie Tuck Marchwood , Back Lane South , Middleton , Pickering , YO18 8NU Bankers: NatWest, 3 Westborough, Scarborough, YO11 1UJ CAF Bank Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ

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Advocacy Alliance

Report of the Trustees for the year ending 31st March 2022

The Charity was formed on the 1st October 2015 and started trading on the 1st April 2016 by inheriting the assets of the old charity (No:256085). This new charity is registered with the charity commission and was also formerly known as Advocacy Alliance.

OBJECTIVES OF THE CHARITY

The objects of Advocacy Alliance are to promote, assist and develop the representation of all people in need of such help by virtue of their age, mental health, physical or learning disability in Scarborough, Whitby, Ryedale, and Filey (hereinafter referred to as the area of benefit); to help them overcome any disadvantage that flows from their personal circumstances, by the provision of a service designed to:-

i) assist the above people to obtain their rights and privileges as a citizen
ii) provide friendship and support; and
iii) provide support on a one to one basis to the above people in the area of benefit, whether living in residential care or residing independently in their own home or with relatives.

THE TRUSTEES

The Trustees who served during the year were:-

MICHAEL GOODE Chair STEVE ARNOTT Treasurer CAROL STOCKILL HELEN FORTNUM BEN SELLERS ANGELA McKEOWN Dr SAM WOODS-PEEL TRISH KEMP (Appointed 21st April 2021) CALLUM WALKER (Appointed 10th November 2021)

The Trustees are not paid but Travel Expenses were claimed.

PUBLIC BENEFIT

By providing a free, independent and confidential advocacy service to vulnerable individuals over the age of 18 living in Scarborough, Whitby, Ryedale and Filey.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Activities

The activities of the charity are summarised in the Statement of Financial Activities (page 5) which shows an overall deficit during the year of £71,971 . However, this includes expenditure for amounts to be spent on restricted projects during 2021/22 and would therefore show a true surplus on unrestricted funds of £8,889. The amount of freely available funds for future expenditure of the Charity now stands at £39,674 with a further £23,946 set aside to cover projects already commissioned but not yet completed.

The further £60,000 of designated funds for the provision of any possible future closure costs etc, remains unchanged in the year.

Reserves Policy

The trustees consider that the cash reserves of the charity should be at least equivalent to the total of six months operating expenses and redundancies costs to allow for downturns in the grant and revenue income. The current situation as at 31st March 2022 is in excess of this figure.

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Advocacy Alliance

Report of the Trustees (continued) for the year ending 31st March 2022

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT for 2021/22.

The financial year 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022 has been a year where the organisation worked hard to overcome the significant challenges presented to by the continuing pandemic. During the year the Trustee Board continued to meet on a blended basis with both physical and virtual meetings taking place. During the course of the year the Trustee Board :-

1) Introduced new ways of working in response to the pandemic - including the investment in new resources to support home working and support client engagement.
2) Invested resources into a new Customer Relation Management tool, Charitylog to enable staff and volunteers to keep a clear and concise record of all actions taken on a client's behalf.
3) Secured funding to invest in marketing resources. Funding was secured through a local funder to enable the organisation to invest in new methods of marketing and looking to increase public awareness of the organisation.
4) Explored new ways of working and delivering advocacy support, including the investment in resources that support client engagement within the constraints of the pandemic and societal restrictions.
5) Successfully retained the National Advocacy Quality Performance Mark for a further three years to May 2024. This is a real achievement for a small local advocacy organisation as it requires dedicated trustees, staff and volunteers to enable the organisation to demonstrate that it meets all core advocacy values.
6) Ensured that Advocacy Alliance continued to build on its partnership working with much work being done regarding joint funding bids, joint development of community infrastructure support and joint working to identify local need.
7) Provided Kickstart opportunities working with the DWP. We were able to offer two young people the opportunity to work with Advocacy Alliance to enable them to gain new skills and improve their opportunities for work moving forward.
8) Worked intensely with the NHS and local Clinical Commissioning Groups on the development and expansion of the social prescribing (Wellbeing Partnership) service. Working closely with commissioners and other major stakeholders on ensuing best practice and a social prescribing service delivery that meets patient need.
9) Reviewed budgets in response to the financial needs of the organisation and in response to the needs of the local community for the provision of quality advocacy support.
10) Staff and volunteers worked closely with the local community to identify advocacy needs and submitted funding bids to meet the needs identified.
11) Accessed funding advice and support from Community First Yorkshire, in relation to funding bids made to meet local advocacy need.
12) Invested in development, support and training for all the organisation's staff and volunteers, including specific development support for the Chief Executive.

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Advocacy Alliance

Report of the Trustees (continued) for the year ending 31st March 2022

During the year Advocacy Alliance continued to provide Care Act and generic advocacy under the contract with Cloverleaf and North Yorkshire County Council. This contract came to an end on 31/3/2022, so Advocacy Alliance found itself beginning the new financial year 2022 to 2023 with a very small amount of funding secured and a very uncertain future.

RESPONSIBILTIES OF THE TRUSTEES

The Charities Act 2011 requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. The financial statements are required by law to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the surplus or deficit for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently,
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent,
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is in-appropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with Charities Act 2011. The trustees 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.

Signed on behalf of the trustees.

Michael J Goode Dated : 21 / 12 / 22 ……………………………… MICHAEL GOODE Chair

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Advocacy Alliance

Charity Number 1163787

Receipts & Payments

for the year ending 31st March 2022

TURNOVER Net losses from disposals of fixed assets TOTAL INCOME TOTAL EXPENDITURE OPERATING SURPLUS / DEFICIENCY OTHER INCOME Interest Receivable SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR £	£ £ 112,573 239,323 0 0 112,573 239,323 (184,556) (159,560) (71,983) 79,763 12 32 (71,971) £ 79,795 31st March 2022 31st March 2021	£ 239,323 0 31st March 2021
		239,323 (159,560)
		79,763 32

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Advocacy Alliance

Charity Number 1163787

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31st March 2022

		Designated	Restricted	Unrestricted	2022	2021
		Reserve Fund	Funds	Funds	Total	Total
	notes		£	£	£	£
Incoming Receipts
Cloverleaf		0	40,600	0	40,600	58,000
Grants	2	0	62,705	6,809	69,514	179,585
Donations & Collections		0	0	2,459	2,459	1,738
Fundraising		0	0	0	0	0
Interest	3	0	0	12	12	32
Total Incoming Receipts		0	103,305	9,280	112,585	239,355
Resource Payments
Cost of Generating Voluntary Income	5	0	0	0	0	0
Charitable Expenditure	6	0	180,092	391	180,483	152,960
Governance Costs	7	0	4,073	0	4,073	6,600
Total Payments		0	184,165	391	184,556	159,560
Net incoming/outgoing resources before
transfers		0	(80,860)	8,889	(71,971)	79,795
Net movement in funds		0	(80,860)	8,889	(71,971)	79,795
Transfer between funds		0	(4,807)	4,807	0	0
Total funds brought forward		60,000	109,613	25,978	195,591	115,796
Total funds at 31st March 2022	8	60,000	23,946	39,674	123,620	195,591

The notes on pages 7 to 10 form part of these financial statements.

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Advocacy Alliance

Charity Number 1163787

2022 Notes £ Current Assets Cash at Bank & in Hand 123,620 TOTAL ASSETS 123,620 Represented by: Unrestricted funds 10 39,674 Restricted funds 10 23,946 Designated Reserve fund 10 60,000 TOTAL FUNDS 123,620 Statement of Assets as at 31st March 2022	2021 £ 195,591
	195,591
	25,978 109,613 60,000
	195,591

Michael J Goode

Date 21 / 12 / 22

…………………………….

MICHAEL GOODE Chair

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Advocacy Alliance

Charity Number 1163787

Notes to the financial statements for the year ending 31st March 2022

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with applicable United Kingdom accounting standards, the Statement of Recommended Practice "Accounting and Reporting by Charities".

Fund accounting

Separate restricted funds are maintained for receipts and payments and also designated funds for specific projects as specified by the source of the funds. The General Fund is maintained to account for all monies received which are not restricted and this fund is used at the discretion of the trustees.

Resources expended

Payments are recognised as they are paid by the charity and the expenditure includes the VAT that cannot be recovered. Support costs are those costs incurred directly in support of the charitable trading.

All of the Charity's operations are classed as continuing.

There are no recognised gains or losses other than those stated above.

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Advocacy Alliance Charity Number 1163787

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ending 31st March 2022

		During	2021/22	2021/22		During 2020/21	During 2020/21
	Restricted	Unrestricted				Restricted	Unrestricted
	funds	funds		Total funds		funds	funds	Total funds
				2021				2020
	£	£		£				£
2. Grants
Two Ridings	0		-		0	5,000	-	5,000
Extra Time Lottery	0		-		0	79,732	-	79,732
Empowering Choice in Care	0		-		0	35,000	-	35,000
Kickstart	11,711	2,300		14,011		0	-	0
Awards for All	0		-		0	9,996	-	9,996
Sirius Foundation	0		-		0	14,558	-	14,558
Scurrah Wainwright	4,800		-		4,800	0	-	0
Social Prescribing	41,953	4,509		46,462		35,299	-	35,299
SBC Marketing	4,241		-		4,241	0	-	0
	62,705		6,809	69,514		179,585	0	179,585
3. Investment income
Bank interest receivable	0		12		12	0	32	32
4. Incoming resources from charitable activities
Sales of goods/services as part of
direct charitable activities	0		0		0	0	0	0
5. Costs of generating voluntary income
Fundraising	0		0		0	0	0	0
6. Costs of charitable activities by	fund type
Support costs	180,092		391	180,483		152,960	0	152,960
	180,092		391	180,483		152,960	0	152,960
7. Governance costs
Accountancy Examination	500		-		500	475	-	475
General Administration	3,573		-		3,573	6,125	-	6,125
	4,073		0	4,073		6,600	0	6,600
				Year	to		Year to
			31	March	2022		31 March 2021
				£			£
8. Other resources expended
Total staff costs were as follows:	Gross pay after rebate			126,169			130,557
	Employers Nat. Ins.			6,586			4,942
	Pension			2,465			1,403
				135,220			136,902
The average number of part-time	employees during the year, were as follows:-
Number of support staff					7		8
Number of trustees					7		7
					14		15

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Advocacy Alliance Charity Number 1163787

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ending 31st March 2022

9. Analysis of Funds 2022

Designated funds *	Opening balances Incoming resources Resources expended Transfers Closing balances £ £ £ £ £
	60,000 - - - 60,000

The Trustees have decided to allocate an amount to be reserved for at least six months running costs and to pay for a managed closure of the operation , should this ever need to happen in the future. It will then cover the costs of disposing of assets, the safe and secure destruction of case documents and any staff redundancy settlements.

Opening balances Incoming resources Resources expended Transfers Closing balances - 4,241 (4,241) - - (1,052) 11,711 (10,659) - - - 4,800 - - 4,800 14,558 - (14,558) - - 40,000 40,600 (75,793) (4,807) - 38,973 - (38,973) - - 9,996 - (5,671) - 4,325 7,138 41,953 (34,270) - 14,821	Opening balances Incoming resources Resources expended Transfers Closing balances - 4,241 (4,241) - - (1,052) 11,711 (10,659) - - - 4,800 - - 4,800 14,558 - (14,558) - - 40,000 40,600 (75,793) (4,807) - 38,973 - (38,973) - - 9,996 - (5,671) - 4,325 7,138 41,953 (34,270) - 14,821	Opening balances Incoming resources Resources expended Transfers Closing balances - 4,241 (4,241) - - (1,052) 11,711 (10,659) - - - 4,800 - - 4,800 14,558 - (14,558) - - 40,000 40,600 (75,793) (4,807) - 38,973 - (38,973) - - 9,996 - (5,671) - 4,325 7,138 41,953 (34,270) - 14,821
109,613 103,305 (184,165) (4,807) 23,946
early in the next financial year
25,978 9,280	(391) 4,807 39,674

195,591 112,585	(184,556) - 123,620
Opening balances Incoming resources 60,000 -	Resources expended Transfers Closing balances - - 60,000
- 35,000 - - - 5,000 - 14,558 6,369 58,000 19,746 79,732 5,738 9,996 1,000 - 1,467 - (2,732) 35,299	(35,000) - - (1,052) - (1,052) (5,000) - - 0 - 14,558 (24,369) - 40,000 (60,505) - 38,973 (5,738) - 9,996 (1,000) - - (1,467) - - (25,429) - 7,138
31,588 237,585	(159,560) - 109,613

24,208 1,770	0 - 25,978

115,796 239,355	(159,560)	- 195,591

10. Analysis of cash between funds

Current Assets	2022 2021 Designated Restricted Unrestricted Total Total Funds Funds Fund Funds Funds £ £ £ £ £ 60,000 23,946 39,674 123,620 195,591
	60,000 23,946 39,674 123,620 195,591

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Advocacy Alliance

Charity Number 1163787

I report on the accounts of: Advocacy Alliance

for the year ending 31st March 2022 which are set out on pages 4 to 10.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 (2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the "2011 Act") and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act
to follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act), and
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner's report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair' view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention

1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect, the requirements;
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act

have not been met; or

2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Barrie Tuck Date : 5 / 01 / 2023 Barrie Tuck Marchwood , Back Lane South , Middleton , Pickering , YO18 8NU

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