## **THE ANNUAL TRUSTEES’ REPORT** ## **FOR** ## **PETERBOROUGH & DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **PERIOD ENDING 31 MARCH 2025** ## **Registered Charity No 1165414** 40 Commerce Road, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6LR 1 ## **Annual Trustees’ Report for Peterborough & District Samaritans** ## **Contents** ## **Page** - **3 Name** - **3 Charity Registration Number** - **3 Address** - **3 Constitution** - **3 Aims** - **3/4 Achieving the aims** - **4/5 Organisation** - **5 Public Benefit** - **5 / 6 Trustees** - **6 Investment and Reserves Policy** - **6 Professional Advisers** - **7 Report of Independent Examiners** ## **8 Accounts and Balance Sheet: Section A Receipts and Payments** ## **9 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities** Copies of the Trustees’ Annual Report, Accounts 2024-25 and of the Constitution of the Charity are available on request from: The Secretary, Peterborough & District Samaritans, 40 Commerce Road, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6LR. Any enquiries concerning the activities of Peterborough & District Samaritans should be addressed to the Director at the above address. 2 ## **Annual Report of the Trustees of Peterborough & District Samaritans** ## **1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025** 1. **The official name** of the charity is Peterborough & District Samaritans also known as the Peterborough Branch of Samaritans. 2. **The registration number** with the Charity Commission is 1165414. 3. **The official address** of the charity is 40 Commerce Road, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6LR. 4. **The charity is recognised as a Branch of Samaritans** , a registered Charity and a company limited by guarantee not having share capital, incorporated under the Companies Act 1948 on 11 April 1963, whose Registered Office is The Upper Mill, Kingston Road, Ewell, KT17 2AF. ## **5. The aims of the Charity are:** - To work for the assistance of persons who are suicidal, despairing or in distress by providing a service primarily for the benefit of those in Peterborough and the surrounding area, and also for callers nationally. - To enable such persons to receive immediate help, compassion and befriending from members of the Charity selected and prepared for the purpose, working under direction. - Where appropriate, in accordance with Samaritan procedure, to refer to persons having specialist or professional skills. - To support the Charity and aid in the establishment and support of recognised branches of Samaritans ## **6. To achieve the aims:** - The Charity maintains a minimum of two volunteers on duty in the Centre supported by a Leader and a Duty Deputy Director on call. At least two telephone lines are open to receive calls. The Charity responds to chat messages as part of the Samaritans’ online service. There are regular visits to support Prisoner Listeners at HMP North Sea Camp and HMP Peterborough, male and female establishments. The Charity is represented on the Safer Custody group at each prison. It also works with other charities and partner organisations to deliver services outside the Branch, including as a member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Suicide Prevention Steering Group. 3 - All members of the Charity, including the Director and other Office holders, are volunteers and receive no remuneration for the time and commitment they contribute to furthering the Charity’s aims. New volunteers, after a rigorous selection process, receive initial training and serve a probationary period before being accepted as full Members of the Charity. Volunteers attend quarterly meetings and participate in regular online and direct training sessions. Representatives of the Charity attend meetings and training workshops with other Samaritans branches, regionally and nationally. - The Charity participates in a Quality Review process undertaken by Quality Mentors appointed by the Council of Samaritans to ensure that standards and practice are consistent throughout the organisation. The latest was conducted remotely in August 2020. - As well as publicity provided by the national charity, the Branch raises awareness of its services through the local media, social media, attendance at events and activities, and by distributing posters and leaflets. Volunteers also give talks on request to other organisations such as businesses, community groups, colleges and schools to ensure that more people are aware of our services and of how to volunteer with us. - The Charity is generously supported by a number of local individuals, organisations and donors. Officers also apply for grants and project funds from local and national organisations. Volunteers within the Charity organise fund-raising activities and events. The Charity receives assistance from the Samaritans Central Charity in communications, training and policy support. In turn, the Charity contributes part of its income to recognise this national support. - The Charity was issued with notice to quit its leased premises in Lincoln Road in July 2024 by Peterborough City Council. It moved in December 2024 to new leased premises at 40 Commerce Road, Peterborough PE2 6LR. The Charity operates from leased property approximately three miles west of the city centre, comprising two Operations Rooms, admin office, training room and kitchen area. ## **7. The Organisation of the Charity** - All aspects of the work of the Charity, including the recruitment, training and welfare of volunteers, are the responsibility of the Director who is appointed, on members’ nomination, by the Council of Samaritans for a period of three years. The Director has absolute authority over the day-to-day conduct and management of the work of the Charity in pursuance of its objectives. The Director may appoint one or more Deputy Directors and Leaders, is in charge of all members of the Charity, and allocates duties or arranges for them to be allocated. The Director represents the Charity on the Council of Samaritans. - The current Director was confirmed by the Regional Director of Samaritans and took up post in May 2023. 4 - The Trustees are responsible for all aspects of the administration of the Charity, its property, finances, fundraising and general affairs as part of the Branch Leadership Team. - The Trustees of the Charity are the Director and not more than ten members (including a Secretary and a Treasurer) elected by the membership at a General Meeting. The Trustees can co-opt up to two further Trustees who will serve until the following AGM. ## **8. Public Benefit** - In planning our activities for the year, the Trustees kept in mind the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit. - By offering support as set out above in our Aims, we seek to help people find ways of coping with their distress without choosing to die by suicide. We also seek to support those whose distress is less acute, in the hope that they will not reach the point of feeling that they wish to end their lives. As stated earlier, we make our support available in many ways, including by telephone, online chat, face to face, in prisons, and at other locations or events. - The Director’s Report (published separately) sets out the main achievements of the Branch in furthering the aims outlined in Section 5, including the number and type of contacts made during the year. - The Branch provides a service primarily intended for the benefit of persons in Peterborough and the surrounding district. However, it also works in cooperation with all Samaritans Branches to ensure 24 hour availability of the service across the UK, free of charge. ## **9. Trustees of the Charity during the period were:** **Name Position Held Term of Appointment** Phil Green Director / Trustee Ex officio from May 2023 Martin Cragg Trustee / ex-Director Re-elected at AGM 11 September 2024 Gill Graper Trustee / Secretary Re-elected at AGM 11 September 2024 Keith Turnbull Trustee / Treasurer Re-elected at AGM 11 September 2024 Susan Scammell Trustee / Mentor Re-elected at AGM 11 September 2024 Ivan Walker Trustee / BPSO Re-elected at AGM 11 September 2024 5 Trustees (other than the Director) are elected by volunteers at a General Meeting or are coopted by the Trustees. All Trustees complete the Samaritans Trustee induction online training and are expected to participate in other relevant training as appropriate. Co-opted Trustees who are not listening volunteers are asked to attend the first session of initial training for volunteers in order to understand more fully the ethos of the organisation. The Trustees regularly consider the major risks to which the Charity is exposed, notably potential financial or operating risks, and consider the various safeguards to mitigate these risks including internal controls and systems. The Branch sets an annual budget. Management accounts and financial statements are presented regularly at the Branch Leadership Team meetings. ## **10. Investment and Reserves Policy** Reserves in excess of day-to-day needs are invested in funds managed by CCLA Investment Management who offer a range of investments designed for charities. These are reviewed by the Trustees to ensure that they continue to perform adequately and offer a responsible and ethical investment medium. The Charity’s accounts are published alongside this report and on the Charity Commission website. The Treasurer’s report is published separately and presented at the AGM. The Trustees consider that, as a charity dependent almost wholly on voluntary giving, specific or general grants and one-off donations, it is appropriate to maintain commensurate reserves which would enable the charity to continue to fund its activities for between 1.5 and 2.5 years. ## **11. Professional Advisers** ## **Banks** HSBC, Cathedral Square, Peterborough, PE1 1XL Co-Operative Bank, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester M60 4EP (account closed at 31 March 2025) **Insurers** Ecclesiastical Insurance Group, Beaufort House, Brunswick Road, Gloucester, GL1 1JZ AXA Insurance UK PLC (Commercial) **Independent** Bulley Davey Chartered Accountants, 6 North Street, Oundle, PE8 4AL **Examiners** 6 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examiner's report on the accounts Seetion A IDdep•nd•nt Examlnerfs R•port Report to the trusteesl i m¢mbvrn of I PETERBOROUGH & DISTRICT SAMARITANS On accounts lor thè yèar 31 MARCH 2025 •nd•d Charity no lif any) 1165414 Set out on pages I report to the irL¢*ees on my examinats.on of thè a¢coun(s of the above charity Ilhè Trustl for the y¢ar ended Resp¢)nsibilities and As the char¥ty trustees of th¢ Trust. you are responsilje for the prepar￿On basi$ of rgwt of the accounts in accordance wth the requiremen1$ of the Charths Ac* 2011 {Ihe Act") I rewrt in ￿e$￿¢t of my examirtatKJn ol the TrtF*'s accounts carried oul under section 145 ol the 2011 Aci arKi In rarwng out My examinality). I *ave foll0v￿d the ap￿ICable Dif•￿10￿$ gNen by the Charity cornrntss￿n under sectson 14515llbl of the ALt. I have completed my exarnination. I confirrn that no material matters have ome to my atton110n lother than that diSdo￿d below'l In wnnection *ith the examinatson which gives me cause io tdieve that In. any materk41 re5pea.' accounbng f•¢¢rds were keo in accordan￿ vnth seetion 130 of the or the ac￿nts do not actord with the accountin9 Tecords Independent examinees ststement I have no concems and have come a(xoss no other mattws it) ¢onr*(* with the exam5nation 10 which attenlson should te drawn in order to enab￿ a prtsper understanding of the accounts to be ruched. ' Please delcto Ihg words In the l)wkets itthoydo nota￿￿Y. Name: MR GRAHAM DARBOURNE Relevant professional qualifieatitsnls) or body Irf anyl-. FCA Address.. THE OLD TOWN HALL MARKET PLACE, OUNDLE PETER80ROUGH, PE8 48A IER October 2018 (HARITY COMMISSIO , FC4R EP4GtANO AND WII£S 176$414 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a F￿the ￿lI¢*j To Section A Receipts and payments JThre>trrlo RestriCTe¢s lundx Endowment Y¢X*I fvnds 41 R#41 nB. Uor*-.kbnAsi 42 )56 7.211 ?¥is1 IVVS Gri >oJ* 119 Subt r05s incwé ARJ J73 Q127 Isoe ratye). b (otsl 62.127 1(s.710 7.026 7$ (141 S.479 ki49 rund 1.023 Sub lot•1 46•P IA4 AsSrtJJnd in￿￿n￿nI uwrha 5•Tr tsbkl Sub totsl 80,929 N•t01r*•"￿1P•￿Me￿ts) . 15,47 A8 C4sh lunds Last •nd 143,3 133.142 145J38 134982 12>.$71 14S.33 Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unresrrkte tufvJ* Rest11Cted fuTr#s ErJ4¢wmett furK15 B1 Cath fiwHIs X749 ¥L9 Toial c•5h funds 133.•62 tunds fufvts *JrbwF¢sI£ .Sil Jwtsils ¢o•t{opODAall CostloptsJThdl 84Ass*5 f*tained forth• dwrtty'5 awn u Fun0 Ll•bNI PrirtN•mt Dat• cl 2S1￿