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2021-03-31-accounts

THE LISTENING PLACE (a Charitable Incorporated Organisation)

REPORT AND AUDITED ACCOUNTS

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Charity number: 1164739

THE LISTENING PLACE

I N D E X

Year ended 31 March 2021

Page
General information 2
Chair’s Report 3
Report of the Trustees 4
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities 11
Independent Auditor’s report 12
Statement of financial activities 15
Balance sheet 16
Statement of cash flows 17
Notes to the financial statements 18

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THE LISTENING PLACE

G E N E R A L I N F O R M A T I O N

Year ended 31 March 2021

Date of Incorporation 7 December 2015
Charity number 1164739
Patrons Michael Mansfield QC
Tim West
Sandhini Poddar
Sir William Sargent
Oliver Pawle
Trustees Terrence Collis
Robyn Doran
Dr Sarah Davidson MBE
Alex Winter
Margot Crowther
Valerie Michie
Stuart Blieschke
Sonia Inniss
Caroline Lien
Phalisha Kerai
Charity address 3 Meade Mews
London
SW1P 4EG
Bankers NatWest
Victoria (A)
PO Box 1357
169 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 5NA
Solicitors Lee Bolton Monier-Williams
1 The Sanctuary
Westminster
SW1P 3JT
Auditors Dixon Wilson Audit Services LLP
22 Chancery Lane
London
WC2A 1LS

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THE LISTENING PLACE

C H A I R ’ S R E P O R T

Year ended 31 March 2021

Chair’s statement

The past year has been amongst the most difficult in living memory. Coronavirus took more than 125,000 lives in the UK. Such a tragedy would have been enough on its own but in order to contain the virus we were forced to pause the social fabric that allowed us to support one another. Lockdown was necessary but it meant that for the first time in our history, isolation became policy, and we all began to realise just how much we depend on others to stay well.

We knew early on that this would impact people who felt suicidal. The near constant stream of frightening news. The restrictions on movement. The increasing sense, for some, that the situation was spiralling out of control. Abruptly and without warning, there was a wider array of reasons to feel anxious, depressed or suicidal. The effect on our referral rate was not immediate but as the pandemic progressed, we reached an average of 343 referrals a month from 246 at the start of the year. In March 2021, we surpassed 500.

This demand came from our referral partners as the people they support came under increased pressure. Research by the Royal College of Psychiatrists found that the waiting times for mental health treatments were so long that two-fifths of patients attempting to find support, contacted emergency or crisis services, with one-in-nine ending up in A&E. A clear marker that we have entered a mental health emergency in terms of both demand and availability of services.

Crucially, The Listening Place (TLP) has been present throughout. Our volunteers have quietly, reliably and consistently listened. Listened to women trapped with their abusers in lockdown, listened to graduates leaving university without hope for the future, listened to older people isolated without their family to support them. We adapted quickly to a rapidly changing set of circumstances switching from face to face to telephone support and then back when it was safe to do so. Throughout we offered compassion, without judgement or advice. Over the past year, we supported 2,883 individuals for as long as they needed.

We were also able to meet this demand thanks to our close working relationship with the NHS. We opened our second premises at Hunter Street in King’s Cross. This new location enabled us to better serve North London and some of the outer boroughs, but it also increased our overall capacity. We opened this site in December 2020 and the number of potential daily appointments increased from 63 to 100. This means that eventually our support will grow from 2,883 to 3,780 people each year. The generosity of NHS Property Services who quickly recognised the value of our work, also means that we have secured the space for free, increasing our reach without increasing our property costs.

This support from the NHS, along with the fact that we now receive referrals from 125 partner organisations, indicates that TLP has entered a new phase as a charity. We are now a key service in suicide prevention efforts in the capital. By providing an effective, alternative service we also ease demand on the oversubscribed NHS. Our aim this year is to grow the volunteer and staff team required to support the steady increase in demand. We know that the impact of the pandemic will be felt for a time to come. Many people will need a warm, compassionate listener to enable them look forward again. As we all navigate the future, The Listening Place and its volunteers will be there to support those who need to be heard. 

Valerie Michie

S. Anderson V MICHIE S ANDERSON CBE Trustee Chief Executive

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THE LISTENING PLACE

R E P O R T O F T H E T R U S T E E S

Year ended 31 March 2021

The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st March 2021. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019).

Constitution

The Listening Place is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), registered on 7 December 2015 as a body corporate under Part 11 of the Charities Act 2011.

It is governed by its Constitution dated 7 December 2015.

Structure, governance and management

The trustees undertake the duties laid down by the Charity's governing document, with full responsibility for the charity's values, mission, strategy and budget. The operational decisions are led by Sarah Anderson (Trustee and Chief Executive) using her delegated authority from the Board of Trustees, and she is assisted in the day to day running of the charity by a team of staff and volunteers.

Remuneration policy

Employee salaries are decided upon by the Chief Executive Officer, and approved by the trustees. The rates are benchmarked against the charity sector.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

There must be at least three charity trustees. If the number falls below this minimum, the remaining trustee or trustees may act only to call a meeting of the charity trustees, or appoint a new charity trustee. The maximum number of charity trustees is 12. The charity trustees may not appoint any charity trustee if as a result the number of charity trustees would exceed the maximum. Apart from the first charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.

Objectives, activities and achievements for the public benefit

The Objective of The Listening Place, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and a public benefit entity, is to relieve mental suffering and help save the lives of those who find themselves at risk of suicide, through the provision of trained and supervised volunteers providing listening support.

Coronavirus and how we adapted to provide support

Despite the pandemic, we delivered support all year. We adapted quickly on several occasions but thanks to the patience and commitment of staff and volunteers, we did so without any major disruption to our service.

During the first lockdown, it became clear that we could not continue our face-to-face service. We adapted quickly. In a matter of hours, we consulted with all visitors and volunteers and made the decision to switch to telephone-based support without cancelling any appointments. A few Visitors declined telephone-based support citing a lack of privacy or difficulty speaking over the phone so we put these visitors at the top of our priority list for when we could resume face-to-face.

“We knew that during the pandemic, our service would be vital and that we would be challenged. Our staff and volunteers had to work hard but closing was never an option. More than that, we wanted to try and find how we could be most useful in a time of national crisis. That’s why we offered our listening support to NHS and Care workers – to put our amazing resources as an organisation to best use”. (Sarah Anderson CBE, CEO).

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THE LISTENING PLACE

R E P O R T O F T H E T R U S T E E S ( c o n t i n u e d )

Year ended 31 March 2021

As lockdown eased, we were able to resume face-to-face support. We made sure that our main site at Meade Mews was Covid-ready conducting a full Covid risk assessment as well as implementing processes and policies to ensure that face-to-face provision was as safe as possible for staff, visitors and volunteers. From June we operated as a hybrid service, continuing to offer visitors telephone-based support but offering new referrals face-to-face support only. We were able to return to 50% face-to-face support before the second and third lockdowns. However, during December as the infection rate soared, we took the decision to return to 100% telephone-based support to protect our staff, volunteers and visitors. As of March 2021, the infection rate is dropping, and we have begun vaccinating our volunteers with the aim of returning to 100% face-to-face by the summer.

Continued growth

Throughout these lockdowns, our staff and volunteers have shown immense flexibility, adapting to new working methods all while The Listening Place continued to grow. Our referral rate rose steeply. Across the year, the average referral rate was 39% higher than the year before. In order to cope with this increased demand, TLP added a second site in December. This increased our potential capacity but also meant a huge amount of work in getting a new site ready to open, training new volunteers and hiring additional staff. Our staff dealt with this admirably but also our volunteers, who showed extraordinary willingness to go above and beyond, taking on additional shifts, helping the admin team and raising money to make this new site a possibility.

To highlight our main achievements:

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THE LISTENING PLACE

R E P O R T O F T H E T R U S T E E S ( c o n t i n u e d )

Year ended 31 March 2021

Impact

‘I’ve had a truly supportive and safe place to deal with what was the scariest and darkest time in my life and could truly not thank The Listening Place enough for all they have done for me’. (Visitor, July 2020).

‘I heard about the Listening place through (a) third party. It should, I feel be up there alongside, Mind, Time To Change, Samaritans as this for me has been very helpful and feel at my time of crisis has kept me alive’. (Visitor, November 2020)

All very different to the process in the past – (which) has been devastating and compounded my initial symptoms over 4 years and led to being close to suicide. This is why I am so amazed at your service.........it is completely different, you are here for me, make me feel that I matter, and finally (when) I feel (ready) to get some help you make it easy for me, not give me months/years of bureaucracy’. (Visitor, August 2020)

Impact remains central to everything we do at The Listening Place. The latest evaluation was overseen by Deputy Chair and Consultant Clinical Psychologist Doctor Sarah Davidson MBE from British Red Cross, and Professor Stephen Platt from the University of Edinburgh.

Measuring our impact has always been central in shaping our service to the needs of visitors and has given us the evidence to grow with confidence that our intervention is effective and has remained equally effective as we grew. Our latest evaluation reached 1,994 visitors. Each visitor completed the clinically recognised Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale in tandem with a thermometer questionnaire at three or six months.

Results showed that over both periods visitors experienced statistically significant:

The Thermometer Questionnaire showed that visitors’ suicidality rating dropped by 44% from 6.95 to 4.81 on a ten-point scale where 10 is the highest risk of suicide. As with all quality research, we tested our findings to ensure that the outcome had not occurred by chance and tests showed that there was a less than 1% probability that the changes in our visitors' wellbeing were coincidental. This means we have robust data and can say with confidence that The Listening Place helps to prevent people from taking their own life.

After three months at TLP, we ask visitors to complete a visitor experience questionnaire. 1,381 visitors to date have completed this questionnaire. Visitors are asked to tick one option on a 5-point Likert scale.

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R E P O R T O F T H E T R U S T E E S ( c o n t i n u e d )

THE LISTENING PLACE

Year ended 31 March 2021

Therefore, we continue to have robust measures that our intervention is effective in reducing how suicidal people feel. Our next key aim is find an appropriate publication for this research. Publishing will hopefully influence policymakers and NHS decision makers that this is a viable and scalable model to integrate into any long-term suicide prevention strategy.

Public benefit

The charity is a Public Benefit Entity, and in accordance with Section 4 of the Charities Act 2011, the Trustees have had due regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission on public benefit when reviewing the charity's activities and planning future activities.

Achievement and performance

Team and Volunteers

We have now trained over 813 volunteers but 2020/21 was a very challenging year for the Recruitment and Training team. Coronavirus and the ensuing lockdown meant we had to halt the recruitment and training of volunteers for three months from March to June. Furthermore, as we largely rely on free or unused space from corporate supporters, we faced frequent challenges in accessing the space needed to train new volunteers.

Despite these constant challenges, the Recruitment and Training Team still managed to train a remarkable 171 new volunteers, ensuring that as we added the second premises and when demand rose, there was sufficient volunteer capacity to ensure every person who needed it could access support. To quantify the amazing contribution of our volunteers, by financial year end there were 506 active volunteers on shift. If we take the London Living Wage of £11.05 and consider that our volunteers then collectively deliver 1,012 hours of support per week, we can estimate that they delivered a total of 52,624 volunteering hours in 2020/21 at a minimum value of £661,741 to the organisation. This is an incredible cost saving and simply put, none of TLP's progress in 2020/21 would have been possible without them.

Listening Volunteers – 157 trained

“Dear Eliza, I just wanted to thank you for all your support over the past nearly a year. It has meant so much to me. I am not sure what I would have done at a time when I felt I didn't have anywhere left to turn”. (Visitor, October 2020)

“I came to TLP In September to have sessions with Brian, I was extremely depressed and had daily suicidal thoughts. I also used to self-harm regularly. Brian is a great listener and coming here has changed my whole view of life”. (Visitor, January 2021)

Listening Volunteers directly support suicidal individuals delivering at a minimum one four-hour shift a fortnight. During that shift, they deliver three 50-minute appointments providing compassionate, non-judgemental and ongoing support to suicidal Visitors. Over the course of the year, LVs have delivered both telephone appointments and face-to-face and throughout have shown themselves to be a credit to our organisational values or courage and resolve delivering even as their own worlds were turned upside down.

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R E P O R T O F T H E T R U S T E E S ( c o n t i n u e d )

THE LISTENING PLACE

Year ended 31 March 2021

Helping Volunteers – 14 trained

“TLP has been such a lifeline and an encouragement to me when I was at my lowest ebb. They were all such lovely, supportive people and I would always look forward to my visits there, particularly the cups of coffee!” (Visitor, August 2020).

I can't thank you all enough – the staff and volunteers and the lovely lady who greeted me every other Monday (who also brought the magazines in) for quite frankly rescuing me and providing me with the support and space to turn my emotions around to a much more positive place. (Visitor, April 2020)

Helping Volunteers act as hosts for our sites and help with administration and support. In many cases, they are the first person that a suicidal person will meet at The Listening Place and their warmth and attention to the needs of our Visitors is crucial in building a strong, positive relationship with those we support. That setting of tone and personal touch is pivotal and can make the difference in encouraging someone to engage with us. They are the unsung heroes of The Listening Place.

Supervising Volunteers – 45 trained

‘Esther has consistently offered excellent support and gentle encouragement. She has believed in me from day one. As a result, I have grown in confidence to become a better listener. I really can’t thank her enough for everything she has done for me.’ (Phoebe 508)

Maralyn, you are 'simply the best!' You are the 'rock' at our shift and gel everything and everyone together. You have supported me with some very challenging visitors and I have the utmost respect and admiration towards you. Your invaluable work experience and words of wisdom are truly spectacular. I really enjoy listening to you when you are sharing such information. You are always there as someone to talk to, or even to listen, should there be a need, even when you are busy. Thank you Maralyn for being my supervisor!’ (Dipika 795)

Supervising Volunteers are experienced Volunteers who complete additional training in order to oversee service delivery on each shift. They not only ensure the quality of our service on their shift, they also safeguard the emotional wellbeing of the Volunteers on their shift, debriefing after each appointment and giving space to discuss and reflect on difficult sessions. They also carry out assessments and three monthly reviews for our Visitors.

Supervising Volunteers take on an important responsibility. They create the warm, supportive atmosphere that keeps shifts together and the calming influence and guidance that allows every volunteer to deliver amazing work.

Staff Team

Our team grew in 2020/21. As we operated throughout, we were fortunate that no staff member was made redundant or put on furlough. Much of the growth was planned, as we added our second site, though in some cases recruitment was expedited to keep pace with the referral rate. Overall, the staff team grew from nine to seventeen.

The main area of growth was the Visitor Support Team. This is the key operational position in The Listening Place as they are responsible for contacting all referrals within 24 hours and offering the first appointment within a week.

They also act as the contact point throughout the week for all referrals and can offer key insight on all of our visitors’ needs and circumstances.

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THE LISTENING PLACE

R E P O R T O F T H E T R U S T E E S ( c o n t i n u e d )

Year ended 31 March 2021

The other teams also grew to accommodate the second premises and the increased targets required by expansion. We added 3 new members to the Volunteer Training and Volunteer Management Teams as our active volunteer population increased to 506 and our volunteer training targets increased to 200 a year. We also added two new fundraisers, to help us both sustain our performance in securing trusts and foundations grants and to begin to broaden our funding mix.

In all cases, a number of funders stepped forward to make this growth possible and understood that salaries were the key significant expenditure that underpinned expansion. In particular, we would like to thank Fishmongers’ Company’s Charitable Trust, Weldon UK Charitable Trust, Second Growth CIC and City Bridge Trust Bridge Trust (the funding arm of The City of London Corporation's charity, Bridge House Estates) for covering key salaries over the course of the year.

Looking to the future

Our mission remains to provide those who feel life is no longer worth living with a safe space to speak confidentially with warm, non-judgemental Volunteers and we continue to work towards our strategic objectives for 2018-2023, which are as follows:

  1. We will support more people across London who feel life is no longer worth living.

We increased the number of people supported by TLP in 2020/21 by 39%, providing our support to over 2,883 suicidal individuals. We were forced to close our satellite premises over the course of the pandemic. However, the addition of the second site in December 2020 takes our capacity up to 3,780, almost doubling our performance from when these strategic objectives were agreed. As importantly, we have continued to provide a uniquely responsive and compassionate service, responding to referrals within 24 hours and supporting them for as long as they needed. Growth has not meant compromise.

  1. We will collaborate to improve the way people who have suicidal thoughts are cared for across the UK. We continued to operate with a wide range of mental health services both within and outside of the NHS. We receive large numbers of referrals from IAPT services, Psychiatric Liaison Services in hospitals and other charities such as the British Red Cross and Hestia. We now have 125 referral partners who now refer to us rather than directing towards oversubscribed or inappropriate services. We have shared our evaluation data with The Alliance of Suicide Charities, NHS England’s Social Prescribing Programme and Lambeth and Westminster Borough Councils. We also continue to deliver training for the staff of Hestia and we are in the first stages of developing a commercial training programme in active listening to be delivered to businesses.

  2. We will manage our charity as effectively and efficiently as possible.

We continue to keep our overheads low. Over the course of 2020/21, the cost of supporting each visitor has remained below £300, at £280 compared to £550 per night for an NHS in-patient bed. We continue to monitor spend closely and 91p from every £1 goes directly to supporting suicidal individuals.

Financial review

Financial position

Incoming resources increased to 1,256,407 (2020: £822,338) reflecting continued excellent performance across trusts and major donors including a number of emergency grants to cover unexpected pandemic costs. Expenditure also increased to £814,053 (2020: £490,415) reflecting the growth of the staff team, purchase of a new remotely accessible Database as well as some unexpected costs incurred because of the pandemic (PPE, temporary staff). As of 31 March 2021, TLP had reserves of 1,403,419 and have made plans for the use of these reserves that are detailed below.

Reserves policy

The balance of the reserves at 31 March 2021 was £1,403,419. This figure is made up of free and restricted reserves. Currently our restricted reserves sit at £262,946. With our reserves policy, we aim to strike a balance between short-term spending needs, our longer-term sustainability, our increasing demand and our growth plans.

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THE LISTENING PLACE

R E P O R T O F T H E T R U S T E E S ( c o n t i n u e d )

Year ended 31 March 2021

Our target for free reserves is equivalent to six months' expenditure. For 2021/22 the expenditure budget is £983,248. The free reserves target is therefore £491,624. These free reserves will be used in the unlikely event that the charity is forced to close and will give us time to wind down our operations and cover all staff notice and redundancy costs.

We have also designated £501,520 from our free reserves towards expanding our reach, with a planned and careful opening of two more bespoke premises by 2024. This would see our expenditure grow from £814,053 in 2020/21 to approximately £1.50m by 2024. All designated reserves are committed to supporting this growth.

The Fundraising team has also developed a strategy to diversify income during this five-year period and has significantly increased the income from Major Donors while also beginning to secure donations in Legacy Fundraising and Community Fundraising.

Risk statement

The Trustees are aware of the risks facing the charity and have a comprehensive Risk Register with a range of accompanying responses. The Risk Register is formally reviewed at each board meeting and updated as necessary.

Acknowledgements

We would like to recognise the outstanding part played by the following Supporters and Volunteers in 2020/21:

The Marguerite Foundation, The Stone Family Foundation, Julia and Hans Rausing Charitable Trust, Second Growth CIC, The Weldon UK Charitable Trust (Ltd.), Bright Future Trust, The National Lottery Community Fund, London Funders, The Netherby Trust, Troy Asset Management, The James Findlay Charitable Trust, Lord and Lady Jeanne Davies of Abersoch, The Henry Smith Charity, Fishmongers' Company's Charitable Trust, The Fore, The Drapers' Charitable Fund, John Armitage Charitable Trust, The Westminster Foundation, The Westminster Community Contribution Fund, Jim Miller at Miller Capital, John Lyon's Charity, Simon Gibson Charitable Trust, Souter Charitable Trust, The Montier Charitable Trust, The David & Elaine Potter Foundation, The Worshipful Company of Grocers, The Pixel Fund, City Bridge Trust, the funding arm of The City of London Corporation's charity, Bridge House Estates.

We also want to thank each and every Visitor to The Listening Place for showing immense courage to reach out for our support.

Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

V MICHIE Trustee

On behalf of the board of Trustees of The Listening Place

2021

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THE LISTENING PLACE

S T A T E M E N T O F T R U S T E E S ’ R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S

Year ended 31 March 2021

Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards. The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustee(s) 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 of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the constitution. 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 LISTENING PLACE

I N D E P E N D E N T A U D I T O R ’ S R E P O R T

Year ended 31 March 2021

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Listening Place (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet and 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 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.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustee's 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 other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and 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

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I N D E P E N D E N T A U D I T O R ’ S R E P O R T ( c o n t i n u e d )

Year ended 31 March 2021

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

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 11, 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 the trustees 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.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

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 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 extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

We gained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to the charity by considering, amongst other things, the sector in which it operates, and considered the risk of acts by the charity that were contrary to applicable laws and regulations, including fraud. We designed audit procedures to respond to the assessed level of risk, but recognised that the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.

We focused on laws and regulations which could give rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements, including, but not limited to UK Charity Law.

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I N D E P E N D E N T A U D I T O R ’ S R E P O R T ( c o n t i n u e d )

Year ended 31 March 2021

Our tests included agreeing the financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation and enquiries with management.

As in all our audits, we also addressed the risk of management override of internal controls, including testing journals and evaluating whether there was evidence of bias by management that represented a risk of material misstatement due to fraud.

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it. We did not identify any key audit matters relating to irregularities, including fraud.

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 regulations made under section 154 of the Charities Act 2011. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s 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 charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Dixon Wilson Audit Services LLP

……………………………………… Dixon Wilson Audit Services LLP, Statutory Auditor 22 Chancery Lane London WC2A 1LS

23/12/2021

Date:…………………………..

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THE LISTENING PLACE

S T A T E M E N T O F F I N A N C I A L A C T I V I T I E S

Year ended 31 March 2021


2021
2021
Unrestricted
Restricted
Note
Funds
Funds
£
£
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
783,823
461,545
Charitable activities
9,550
-
Income from other trading activities
-
-
Investments
1,489
-
Total income and endowments
2
794,862
461,545
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
4
5,017
68,656
Charitable activities
6
542,049
198,331
Total expenditure
547,066
266,987
Net income
247,796
194,558
Transfer between funds
-
-
Net movement in funds
247,796
194,558
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
892,677
68,388
Total funds carried forward
1,140,473
262,946		 (As restated)
(As
2021
2020
2020
Total
Unrestricted
Restricted
Funds
Funds
Funds
£
£
£
1,245,368
686,150
87,253
9,550
8,600
-
-
36,560
-
1,489
3,775
-
1,256,407
735,085
87,253
73,673
17,000
46,644
740,380
397,307
29,464
814,053
414,307
76,108
442,354
320,778
11,145
-
15,078
(15,078)
442,354
335,856
(3,933)
961,065
556,821
72,321
1,403,419
892,677
68,388		 restated)
2020
Total
Funds
£
773,403
8,600
36,560
3,775
822,338
63,644
426,771
490,415
331,923
-
331,923
629,142
961,065

All amounts are in respect of continuing activities.

15

Charity number: 1164739

THE LISTENING PLACE

B A L A N C E S H E E T

At 31 March 2021

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
7
Current assets
Debtors
8
Cash at bank
9
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
10
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Total funds of the charity:
Unrestricted income funds:
General fund
Designated fund
Restricted fund
Total		 (As restated)
2021
2020
£
£
22,057
14,841
428,542
252,019
1,055,069
776,051
1,483,611
1,028,070
(102,249)
(81,846)
1,381,362
946,224
1,403,419
961,065
638,953
692,677
501,520
200,000
262,946
68,388
1,403,419
961,065

The accounts on pages 10 to 24 were approved by the board of directors on 2021 and were signed on its behalf by:

M CROWTHER V MICHIE Trustee Trustee

16

THE LISTENING PLACE

S T A T E M E N T O F C A S H F L O W S

Year ended 31 March 2021

Note
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income for the year
Depreciation
7
Interest received
2
Increase in debtors
8
Increase in creditors
10
Net cash flows from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
7
Interest received
Net cash flows from financing activities
Net increase in cash
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the
end of the year		 £
442,354
8,600
(1,489)
(176,523)
20,403
(15,816)
1,489		 2021
£
293,345
(14,327)
279,018
776,051
1,055,069		 (As
£
331,923
7,421
(3,775)
(6,135)
52,036
(22,262)
3,775		 restated)
2020
£
381,470
(18,487)
362,983
413,068
776,051

17

N O T E S T O T H E F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

THE LISTENING PLACE

Year ended 31 March 2021

1. Accounting policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgement and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

(a) Basis of preparation and assessment of going concern

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities 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) and the Charities Act 2011.

The Listening Place 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 note.

(b) Fund accounting policy

Unrestricted funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees’ discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charity.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

(c) Incoming resources

All income is recognised in the statement of financial activities when charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount of the income can be measured reliably.

Donations are recognised when the charity has been notified in writing of both the amount and settlement date. In the event that a donation is subject to conditions that require a level of performance before the charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions are fully met, or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the charity and it is probable that those conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period.

(d) Resources expended

Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to the expenditure, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

(e) Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charity’s pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

(f) Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses.

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Computer equipment - Straight line over 3 years.

18

THE LISTENING PLACE

N O T E S T O T H E F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S ( c o n t i n u e d )

Year ended 31 March 2021

(g) Financial instruments

Financial instruments are recognised in the Charity’s Balance Sheet when the Charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include receivables and cash at bank, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest.

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including payables, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest.

(h) Donated goods, facilities and services

Donations are recognised in the period when it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the donated goods, facilities and services will flow to the charity and provided they can be measured reliably. An equivalent amount is included as expenditure under the relevant heading in the Statement of Financial Activities.

Donated facilities and services provided to the charity are measured and included in the accounts on the basis of their value to the charity i.e. the amount that the charity would pay in the open market for an alternative item that would give the same benefit to the charity as the donated item.

Donated goods are recognised at fair value unless it is impractical to measure this reliably in which case a derived value, being the cost of the item to the donor is used.

(i) Operating leases

Rentals applicable to operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in equal amounts over the period of the lease.

(j) Prior year restatement

The charity has restated the 2020 comparative figures to recognise additional income of £45,000 from grants and donations that the charity became entitled to in the year ended 31 March 2020.

The net income for the year increased by £45,000 to £331,923 as a result.

The charity had entitlement to additional grants and donations of £175,000 prior to the year ended 31 March 2020. These adjustments did result in an amendment to the total funds as at 31 March 2020 of £220,000. The balance of the Unrestricted Funds increased from £672,677 to £892,677.

The balance of the Restricted Fund as at 31 March 2020 did not alter from £68,388.

19

THE LISTENING PLACE

N O T E S T O T H E F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

Year ended 31 March 2021

2.
Income from:
Donations and legacies
Donations
Gift aid
Grants
Income from charitable activities
Supporting visitors
Income from other trading activities
Room hire
Investments
Bank interest		 (As restated)
2021
2020
£
£
274,230
197,917
13,944
11,278
957,194
519,208
1,245,368
728,403
9,550
8,600
9,550
8,600
-
36,560
-
36,560
1,489
3,775
1,489
3,775

3. Donated goods, services, and facilities

The charity received donated goods, services, and facilities of £25,300 (2020 - £14,500) during the year.

The charity has a team of trained volunteers who provide direct support to suicidal individuals. The trustees have calculated the value of the volunteering hours based on the London Living wage in this financial year of £661,741. The services provided by volunteers are not recognised as income in accordance with the Charities SORP.

4.
Costs of raising funds
Staff costs
Fundraising expenses		 2021
£
68,656
5,017
73,673		 2020
£
46,644
17,000
63,644
5.
Staff costs
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs		 2021
£
360,684
31,689
7,378
399,751		 2020
£
230,546
16,658
4,740
251,944

The average number of employees during the year was 16 (2020 – 8).

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

The trustees consider that the employee benefits paid to Key Management Personnel were £nil (2020 - £nil).

20

THE LISTENING PLACE

N O T E S T O T H E F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

Year ended 31 March 2021

6.
Analysis of charitable expenditure
Charitable activities
Support costs
Charitable activities
Supporting visitors:
Direct costs
Analysis of support costs
Supporting visitors:
Management
Information technology
Other
Independent examiners’ fees
Auditors’ remuneration		 2021
£
561,214
179,166
740,380
2021
£
561,214
561,214
2021
£
141,167
19,199
8,600
-
10,200
179,166		 2020
£
305,671
121,100
426,771
2020
£
305,671
305,671
2020
£
96,302
15,037
7,421
2,340
-
121,100

7. Tangible fixed assets

Computer
equipment
£
Cost
At 1 April 2020
22,262
Additions
15,816
At 31 March 201
38,078
Depreciation
At 1 April 2020
7,421
Charge for year
8,600
At 31 March 2021
16,021
Net book value
At 31 March 2021
22,057
At 31 March 2020
14,841		 Total
£
22,262
15,816
38,078
7,421
8,600
16,021
22,057
14,841

21

THE LISTENING PLACE

N O T E S T O T H E F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

Year ended 31 March 2021

8.
Debtors
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income		 (As restated)
2021
2020
£
£
350
-
23,782
2,349
404,410
249,670
428,542
252,019		 (As restated)
2021
2020
£
£
350
-
23,782
2,349
404,410
249,670
428,542
252,019		 (As restated)
2021
2020
£
£
350
-
23,782
2,349
404,410
249,670
428,542
252,019		 (As restated)
2021
2020
£
£
350
-
23,782
2,349
404,410
249,670
428,542
252,019
9.
Cash at bank
Current account
Deposit account
COIF Charities Deposit Fund		 2021
£
119,161
735,885
200,023
1,055,069		 2020
£
141,561
634,490
-
776,051
10. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Taxation and social security
Other creditors		 2021
£
46,649
9,400
46,200
102,249		 2020
£
20,534
11,160
50,152
81,846

11. Commitments

The charity currently leases the office premises. The future amount of minimum lease payments is as follows:

Within one year
In two to five years		 2021
£
72,000
127,200
199,200		 2020
£
55,200
-
55,200

12. Trustees’ remuneration and related party transactions

The trustees received no emoluments during the year (2020 - £nil). Trustees’ expenses reimbursed during the year totalled £nil (2020 - £nil).

During the year the charity was charged rent for office space by a trustee of £101,520 including VAT (2020 - £106,200). The amount outstanding at year end is £18,000 (2020- £18,000).

22

THE LISTENING PLACE

N O T E S T O T H E F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

Year ended 31 March 2021

13. Taxation

The Listening Place is a registered charity and as such is exempt from tax on its income to the extent this is applied for charitable purposes.

14. Analysis of funds
(As restated)
At 1 April
Incoming Resources
2020
resources
expended
£
£
£
Analysis of fund movements
Unrestricted funds:
General fund
692,677
794,862
(497,066)
Designated fund
200,000
-
(50,000)
892,677
794,862
(547,066)
Restricted funds:
The Weldon UK Charitable Trust
27,252
38,000
(46,306)
The Fore
14,536
5,000
(19,536)
Postcode Community Trust
12,600
-
(12,600)
John Lyon’s Charity
14,000
14,000
(14,000)
My Westminster Fund
-
6,906
(6,906)
Westminster Community Contribution
Fund
-
14,739
(14,739)
The Fishmongers Charity
-
30,000
(30,000)
Independent Age
-
14,400
(14,400)
Netherby Trust
-
234,000
(4,000)
City Bridge Trust
-
48,000
(48,000)
The National Lottery Community Fund
-
54,000
(54,000)
DWF Foundation
-
2,500
(2,500)
68,388
461,545
(266,987)
Total funds
961,065
1,256,407
(814,053)		 Transfer At 31 March
between
2021
funds
£
£
(351,520)
638,953
351,520
501,520
-
1,140,473
-
18,946
-
-
-
-
-
14,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
230,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
262,946
-
1,403,419		 Transfer At 31 March
between
2021
funds
£
£
(351,520)
638,953
351,520
501,520
-
1,140,473
-
18,946
-
-
-
-
-
14,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
230,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
262,946
-
1,403,419
1,140,473
18,946
-
-
14,000
-
-
-
-
230,000
-
-
-
262,946
1,403,419

23

THE LISTENING PLACE

N O T E S T O T H E F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S

Year ended 31 March 2021

Analysis of funds – previous year
(As restated)
At 1 April
Incoming
Resources
2019
resources
expended
£
£
£
Analysis of fund movements
Unrestricted funds:
General fund
406,821
735,085
(414,307)
Designated fund
150,000
-
-
556,821
735,085
(414,307)
Restricted funds:
Awards for All
7,878
-
-
The Weldon UK Charitable Trust
34,443
39,453
(46,644)
The Fore
30,000
-
(15,464)
Postcode Community Trust
-
19,800
-
John Lyon’s Charity
-
28,000
(14,000)
72,321
87,253
(76,108)
Total funds
629,142
822,338
(490,415)		 (As restated)
Transfer At 31 March
between
2020
funds
£
£
(34,922)
692,677
50,000
200,000
15,078
892,677
(7,878)
-
-
27,252
14,536
(7,200)
12,600
-
14,000
(15,078)
68,388
-
961,065		 (As restated)
Transfer At 31 March
between
2020
funds
£
£
(34,922)
692,677
50,000
200,000
15,078
892,677
(7,878)
-
-
27,252
14,536
(7,200)
12,600
-
14,000
(15,078)
68,388
-
961,065
892,677
-
27,252
14,536
12,600
14,000
68,388
961,065

The above funds are explained further in the accounting policy on page 18.

24