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2025-09-30-accounts

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Registered Charity Number: 1169048

Care4Calais

(a Charitable Incorporated Organisation “CIO”)

Annual Report and Financial Statements

for the year ended 30 September 2025

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Care4Calais

Contents

Page Reference and Administrative Details ........................................................................ 1 Trustees’ Report .................................................................................................... 2 Statement of Trustees' responsibilities .................................................................... 11 Independent Auditor’s Report ................................................................................. 17 Statement of Financial Activities ............................................................................. 20 Balance Sheet ...................................................................................................... 21 Statement of Cashflows ......................................................................................... 22 Notes to the Financial Statements ........................................................................... 23

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Care4Calais

Reference and Administrative Details

Trustees

Trustees who served during the year and up to the date of signing this report were as follows:

Susan Jex - Chair (resigned 31 December 2025) Emma Rose James Nichol Matthew Demwell Iain Overton Sarah Blakemore Wilfred Sullivan Sim Eldem Principal Office 5 Brayford Square London E1 0SG Charity Registration Number Registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation “CIO” in England and Wales charity number 1169048 Registered as an association in France number W626003482 Chief Executive Officer Steven Smith Auditor Azets Audit Services Limited 12 King Street Leeds LS1 2HL Bankers The Co-operative Bank PLC P.O. Box 101 1 Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP Solicitors Farrer & Co LLP 66 Lincoln's Inn Fields London WC2A 3LH

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025

The Trustees present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2025. Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the charity's trust deed and the Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (effective 1 January 2019).

Objectives and activities

Purposes and aims

Care4Calais is established with the charitable objects of the relief and assistance of people in need, in particular but not exclusively, victims of war, natural disaster, trouble or catastrophe by such means as the Trustees think fit, in particular but not exclusively by the provision of food, water, shelter, healthcare and legal support.

The Trustees review the aims, objectives and activities of the charity each year. This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period. The Trustees report the success of each key activity and the benefits the charity has brought to those groups of people that it is set up to help. The review also helps the Trustees ensure the charity's aims, objectives and activities remained focused on its stated purposes.

The Trustees have had regard to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

Our Volunteers

Care4Calais was originally set up as an all-volunteer organisation, with no paid staff. Whilst this worked very effectively up to a point, the rapid growth of the organisation since its formation pointed to the requirement for a permanent staff of paid employees, including a CEO. The charity now employs 24 staff members.

Given its heritage, volunteers remain key to the operation of the charity. During the year, the charity had a revolving team of over 1,000 volunteers in France and a more permanent team of some 1,100 volunteers in the UK. This includes the Trustees.

Structure, governance and management

The organisation is a charitable incorporated organisation constituted under the foundation model and was registered on 5 September 2016 with the Charity Commission in England and Wales. To facilitate its work in France, Care4Calais is also registered as an association in France (number W626003482).

Trustees all have an equal vote on matters relating to the management of the charity. This includes the appointment of Trustees. All Trustees give their time voluntarily, receive no benefits, and do not claim personal expenses from the charity.

Trustees are selected from individuals showing interest in the charity’s work and agreeing to serve to further the charity’s objects. Formal appointment of new Trustees is by way of majority vote of the existing Trustees. The induction of new Trustees is carried out by the Chair and CEO, and is supported by the wider Trustees to enable them to acquaint themselves with the charity’s policies and practices, its aims and activities and what is expected of them under charity law.

During the year under review, the Trustees held five full meetings. Due to the fluidity of the work of the charity and the active involvement of the Trustees, there is regular communication between the Trustees regarding current issues, financial performance and strategic decision making.

The Trustees are acutely aware of the need for strong governance and transparency and, as part of the charity’s operational management and risk management process, have drafted and regularly review specific policies which include:

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

The Trustees are acutely aware of the need for strong governance and transparency and, as part of the charity’s operational management and risk management process, have drafted and regularly review specific policies which include:

Achievements and performance

UK Field Operations

During this reporting year, Care4Calais’ Direct Aid groups in the UK have continued to offer an incredible range of support, clothing, and activities to people seeking safety across the UK. They achieved this against a consistently challenging backdrop of new government legislation, systems which marginalise people seeking safety, increasing use of large-scale accommodation sites, and rising hostility towards refugees.

Despite these pressures, our volunteer-led model continued to provide consistent, compassionate, and responsive support. Across the year, teams delivered over 114,000 hours of service, supported nearly 30,000 individuals, and distributed more than 162,000 essential items. This includes providing essential items including clothing, hygiene products, and devices, alongside structured activities, social and practical support.

Care4Calais maintained support across a wide network of accommodation settings, including hotels and large-scale sites such as Napier Barracks (until its closure in December 2025) and the former RAF Wethersfield in Essex.

Overview of Distributions and Aid Provided

During the reporting period, the following key statistics were tracked:

We improved our data collection systems during the year, introducing updated distribution logs to enhance accuracy and consistency in reporting. This has strengthened our ability to evidence impact and inform operational decision-making.

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

Key Successes

Wellbeing Provision

New wellbeing provision included launching a series of Wellbeing meetings each month (in conjunction with the charity’s Head of Safeguarding), offering up space to discuss difficult topics and seek peer support, as well as working closely with Safeguarding to support individual volunteers with tailored wellbeing plans.

Training

We continued to offer a wide variety of additional training to volunteers, both from internal staff and external providers - including training on modern slavery, supporting LGBTQ+ people through the asylum process, and tackling Islamophobia. We also introduced a new handbook and training specifically for Area and Hotel Leads, recognising the huge and indispensable role volunteer Leads play in organising, managing and delivering C4C services on the ground. Field Operations staff also undertook professional development, including training on volunteer management, housing rights, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and modern slavery.

The following training was delivered internally the year:

Partnerships and Working with Local Authorities

This year, we have strengthened our working relationships with local authorities across the UK, which are important decision makers and sources of support for people going through the asylum process. This allowed us to make effective safeguarding referrals, to work in conjunction with social work and displaced persons teams in order to offer even more tailored support and, crucially, to speak directly with housing departments, who play a key role in people’s lives once they get refugee status. Moreover, many groups have received funding from local authorities - including for a number of clothing projects, activities, and general support. This is a key area of C4C’s work.

Volunteer teams also continued to work effectively in partnership with other organisations operating both locally and nationally, showcasing the adaptability and resourcefulness of C4C groups.

Updated Recruitment Process and Encouraging Lived Experience Volunteers

In July, the Field Operations team updated the recruitment process for new volunteers. The goal is to ensure that volunteers reflect our values and goals, and are appropriately equipped to undertake their roles before they begin volunteering. We are already seeing this improve engagement and retention, as volunteers are fully prepared for their demanding roles from the start. The change also adds further safeguards to ensure all volunteers have heard and understood our safeguarding procedures, ethics, boundaries, and routes of escalation.

As part of our updated recruitment process, we are also focused on recruiting more people with lived experience. We recognise the value volunteers with lived experience bring to the organisation, and the specific insight and expertise they have. This includes volunteers who are currently still going through the asylum process, ensuring we are welcoming to all. We have developed guidance on supporting volunteers with lived experience and those in the asylum system.

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

We continued to provide support at two large accommodation sites, both former barracks - Napier Barracks in Kent (which later closed in December 2025) and Wethersfield barracks in Essex (see below for further detail on our operation at Wethersfield). Both sites bring particular challenges including overcrowding, lack of privacy, lack of access to meaningful activities and essential needs, isolation, and hostility from far-right actors and protestors. Additionally, we continue to be blocked by the Home Office from accessing these camps, making offering support more difficult. Despite this, our teams continued to deliver clothing, activities and support to people forced to live in these unacceptable accommodation sites.

Support at the Bell Hotel, Epping

A key success this year has been the support offered by our teams at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex. In response to anti-migrant violence directed at the hotel and residents, our local team responded immediately, recruiting a new group, fundraising and gathering donations, and starting regular clothing distributions and wellbeing sessions. Our support continues; this responsiveness and leading with empathy exemplifies the C4C approach.

Wethersfield Camp

The former RAF Wethersfield remained a major focus of UK Field Operations, and serves as a case study of the work carried out by C4C teams across the UK.

Over the past year:

Teams supported over 2,500 individuals living at the site, which housed approximately 1,100 men at any one time. The high turnover of residents, all of whom are new arrivals in the UK, creates a constant demand for basic items. Many individuals arrive with only minimal clothing provided at initial processing centres. To address this, Care4Calais: distributed new arrival packs including clothing and essentials; held regular mass distributions of clothing and footwear; responded to urgent needs for specific items.

Demand increased significantly following the expansion of site capacity in summer 2025, when arrivals rose to approximately 100 new individuals per week. Drop-in sessions also remained a cornerstone of support at Wethersfield. Across 80 sessions this year, volunteers provided a wide range of services and activities, including:

These sessions provide not only practical assistance but also vital opportunities for social connection, dignity, and respite from the conditions on site. In addition, the team organised a range of larger community events, including film screenings, music and dance events, cultural gatherings and celebrations (including Eid and Christmas). These activities play a critical role in supporting mental wellbeing and reducing isolation.

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

Despite some reduction in safeguarding concerns due to shorter stays, the site continues to have a significant negative impact on residents’ mental and physical wellbeing. Key issues include isolation, lack of privacy, limited internet access, and restricted freedom of movement.

C4C support is delivered entirely off-site as we are still blocked from accessing the site to deliver services. This creates logistical and safety challenges, particularly in the context of increased far-right activity in the area.

C4C continued to play a role in raising awareness of conditions at Wethersfield. During the year, the Home Affairs Select Committee visited the site and engaged with residents, supported by C4C. Media engagement also continued, although resident participation has decreased due to fear of backlash. We remain committed to ensuring that the experiences of those living at Wethersfield are heard and understood.

FIELD OPERATIONS IN FRANCE – CALAIS AND DUNKIRK

Behind the global headlines of migration statistics are individual human beings sleeping rough on the coast of northern France. This year, as geopolitical crises escalated worldwide, we saw a significant rise in the number of refugees seeking safety at the border. Their journey is met with severe hardship. In Calais and Dunkirk, these include frequent police evictions from living sites that strip people of shelter.

In response, our small team of permanent staff, buoyed by the immense generosity of our volunteers, works to restore dignity and hope, and to replace what has been taken away. We distribute clothing and shoes, offer activities to support mental wellbeing, essential services like barbering and phone charging, and distribute tents, sleeping bags and bedding items, particularly after evictions of living sites. Every day, up to 30 volunteers help with the operation in France. They are teachers, students, retirees, trade union delegations and workers who refuse to look away from a humanitarian crisis on their doorstep. Collectively, our volunteers contribute thousands of hours of unpaid, life-saving labour every year. They provide a direct antidote to the hostility of border policies through simple, unselfish kindness.

Yet, the shadow of the Channel crossings hangs over our daily work. Tragically, the political failure to provide safe routes means that the English Channel continues to claim the lives of those we support. Our work is a direct response to this humanitarian crisis – filling the gap where policy fails with immediate, life-saving solidarity.

This past year, our frontline operations have been heavily impacted by the formalisation and subsequent extension of the UK-France ‘one-in/one-out’ bilateral returns policy. Marketed by politicians as a groundbreaking solution to disrupt smuggling networks, the reality on the beaches of northern France tells a profoundly different story.

In practice, this policy reduces human lives to a ledger system: one person returned to French soil in exchange for one person legally admitted to the UK. The selection criteria determining who is detained and who is returned remain haphazard and opaque, leaving the displaced population in a constant state of terror and psychological distress. Far from solving the crisis, we have seen this policy leave returnees in a severe bureaucratic limbo – frequently displaced inland by authorities, only to gravitate back to the coast, stripped of what little shelter they had. During our site visits, we have also met many people who have struggled to apply for the ‘one-in’ element of the scheme, and there is a lack of legal advice for doing so available in Northern France.

More fundamentally, this scheme directly undermines the spirit of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. By penalising asylum seekers based entirely on their mode of arrival and declaring their claims instantly inadmissible, the system violates the core international law that states must not punish people for how they escape persecution. Our staff and volunteers remain resolute: we do not see numbers to be traded, but human beings who deserve safety, dignity, and the basic right to seek asylum.

In response, we have been distributing leaflets that provide advice to anyone detained on arrival in the UK as to how to seek legal help in appealing their detainment and subsequent removal.

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

This period has seen some organisational changes around the operation in France. The creation of the new post of Chief of Operations (COO), overseeing field operations in both the UK and France, is seeing greater cohesion over such matters as policies, safeguarding logistics, funding and volunteer recruitment. We are taking active steps to recruit staff with the right to work in the EU, thereby reducing administrative difficulties over such matters as travel visas and work permits. Furthermore, we have also taken steps to ensure that at least one of the staff members in Calais is a fluent French speaker. This is proving to be most useful in extending and improving our cooperation with other humanitarian NGOs and official bodies in the area.

Across the charity, and notably in France, we are actively ensuring the participation of those with lived experience in our work. This now includes the recruitment of one such individual to the permanent staff team, and efforts to improve the volunteer offer so that it attracts those that have sought asylum in the past.

The year has not been without its challenges. In the absence of any safe routes to cross the Channel, the desperation of those seeking safety has been met with increasingly hostile policies. Rather than acting as a deterrent, these have resulted in increasingly dangerous practices, such as the people smugglers taking more circuitous routes and launching from more dangerous sites in order to avoid the authorities, and police trying to disable rubber boats by slashing them in the water. Far-right supporters have made the journey from the UK to France just to harass and intimidate refugees, resulting in several of the former being barred from access to France. We have also seen an increasing number of women and children in northern France, which may be a product of the breadth of conflicts now ongoing worldwide and the effective closure of the family reunification scheme for access to the UK.

Overview of Distributions and Aid Provided

In total, we distributed 116,620 items to people on the move in Calais in the period. This is mostly clothing, but also includes other essential items. To highlight just a few of the items given out, we distributed:

We also had 25,807 unique instances of an individual accessing our services, including:

Throughout the year, we had 1,175 volunteers join us. The length of stay varied between 1-2 days and several months. The average (mean) number of volunteers per day was 12. We were delighted to be able to welcome back many returning volunteers, as well as new people who came to support our operation. Looking ahead, recruiting enough volunteers to keep our services running, as well as increasing the diversity of our volunteers, remains a priority, alongside ensuring volunteers have a positive, educational and safe experience with the team. We know that each individual that joins us on site is another person who can attest first-hand to the harm of the UK border policy, helping to shift the narrative about those coming to the UK to seek safety, and the conditions they have been forced to live in.

The overall message from C4C in Calais is that, despite facing some challenges throughout the year, the operation is doing well. As we end our tenth year of operations in France, we remain steadfast in our support and look forward to expanding, refining, improving our service.

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

LEGAL ACCESS

Care4Calais’ Legal Access Department is an access to justice project that exists to support people seeking asylum in the UK by facilitating access to legal representation and offering holistic support throughout the asylum process. The Department, made up mostly of specially trained volunteers, has continued its work to ensure that its clients are informed about the asylum process, empowered to make decisions on their care, and supported to lead meaningful lives in the UK following experiences of forced displacement.

The Department conducts one-to-one, complex casework for people seeking asylum. Its casework falls into three streams:

The Department seeks to adapt and amend its services based on the needs of the communities with which it works. During the reporting year, we supported 844 new clients, as well as supporting those already within our services.

Asylum Team

Over the last 12 months, our Asylum Team has continued to witness a fluid asylum system with the processing of asylum claims continuing at pace for the most part. Whilst the avoidance of long delays is a positive step it has created its own challenges, especially in the context of an underfunded and underresourced legal aid system. Last year, C4C’s casework efforts focused on clients who had been invited to their substantive interviews with the Home Office in recognition of this fast processing, and in response to the needs of the people we work with.

In the last year, the team has taken on 170 new clients, and 119 have left our service having been recognised as refugees.

Age Dispute Team

Over the last year, our Age Dispute Team has operated in a changing policy environment. Whereas it had been common practice for age-disputed young people to receive a decision on their asylum claim only after the culmination of their age dispute matter, now the people we work with are receiving decisions very quickly whilst their age dispute is continuing. This means that, when recognised as a refugee, clients are at heightened risk of street homelessness, as many local authority adult housing services refuse to accept responsibility for supporting the young person due to their claimed age as a child. At the same time, children’s services may actively be refusing to recognise them as a child, leaving young people in a support vacuum which the Age Dispute Team has stepped up to fill.

Across the year the team took on 312 new referrals, as well as supporting existing clients through the age dispute process.

Public Law Team

Our Public Law Team has continued to work with residents of Wethersfield to support them to challenge their allocation to the site, taking on 215 new clients in this area during the period of this report. With the introduction of substantive interviews on-site, and shorter stays due to quicker asylum processing, we have found that fewer people want to explore transfer options.

In March 2025, the High Court ruled that the Home Secretary had acted unlawfully by accommodating specific vulnerable asylum seekers at Wethersfield. It was found that the government had failed to properly consider the suitability of the site for individuals with histories of torture, trafficking, and serious mental health conditions.

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

Some of the systemic grounds brought forward in the case were not positively ruled on and the legal teams are proceeding with appeals. The Public Law Team is currently working in partnership with two law firms, Deighton Pierce Glynn and Gold Jennings, on a funded project to work towards evidence gathering and preparation for these appeals. These cases will be of increasing importance given the Home Office’s stated intent to utilise more ex-military sites as accommodation in the coming months.

Alongside their support of residents of Wethersfield, the Public Law Team has also supported smaller numbers of people in other accommodation that is unsuitable for their needs and people experiencing homelessness following grants of refugee status where the local authority has failed in their homelessness duties.

In August 2025, the Home Office announced the start of its ‘one-in/one-out’ scheme with France, and we saw people be detained on arrival to the UK. Our Public Law Team mobilised rapidly to provide casework support and legal access to those targeted by this policy. This meant creating new casework procedures and training at pace, and rapidly recruiting an entire new team of volunteer caseworkers. Finding legal representation for this client base has been challenging, due to law firm capacity and the way the policy is operating. However, we intend to continue our work to ensure those impacted are able to receive advice and be informed.

Alongside our casework channels we have also continued a number of one-off legal referral schemes for a number of different matters. For example, we secured legal representation for 86 individuals who have received Notices of Intent that the Home Office intends to deem their claims inadmissible, these have been mostly successful with our client’s cases being admitted into the UK asylum system as a result.

COMMUNICATIONS

The Communications department covers three areas: Advocacy and Public Affairs; Media and Creative Content; Press and Campaigns.

Advocacy and Public Affairs

In a year of increased far-right mobilisation, Care4Calais has continued to work alongside Unions and partners, with an increased focus on education. This year, outreach and relationship-building has seen the return of union delegations to Calais (after a number of years) from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), specific National Education Union (NEU) branches, and Stand Up To Racism (SUTR). We have spoken at a number of conferences, demonstrations and meetings, including the NEU, PCS, FBU, TUC and SUTR Conferences. At the SUTR AGM we delivered a workshop on organising delegations to Calais. In addition, we have spoken at numerous online branch meetings and events.

We have focused on empowering people with lived experience to share their expertise and insight - specifically ensuring that people with lived experience join as speakers at events. We now have a group of around 15 people, and have arranged for a day's in-person training to be given to this group by Migrant Voice in January 2026.

In March, we launched our ‘Safe and Secure Routes’ policy paper, which Care4Calais co-wrote with the PCS union. The parliamentary launch was chaired by Nadia Whittome MP, and speakers included commentator Zoe Gardner, and three people with lived experience of having to cross the Channel. Promotion of this paper continues, and is flagged at any events we speak at. This work further cemented our already-strong connection with the union, and we now meet monthly with PCS. We have been invited to speak on Safe Routes and deliver education sessions for PCS branch AGMs. In February 2026, we will also be co-hosting a drop-in parliamentary session for MPs to speak with us about the policy.

Care4Calais staff have attended parliament a number of times this year to speak at the various meetings and round tables. These have included the Parliamentary Council of Europe and the Socialist Campaigns Group of MPs.

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Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

In May 2025, Care4Calais facilitated the visit of the Home Affairs Select Committee to Wethersfield Camp. We urged for a separate meeting to be held away from the camp, and with contributors from our dropins, so the HASC would hear more honestly about the camp. Within the meeting we made a case for C4C to be involved in the Home Office monthly stakeholder meetings. Due to this, we were then invited to speak with the Home Office representative, and after a successful meeting, we were invited as regular attendees to these meetings.

C4C is now represented on the steering committees for Stand Up to Racism, the Together Alliance, and Women Against the Far Right. Within these movements (and with Unions) we continue to advocate for refugee communities, and encourage all to support our work with tangible ‘asks’ (affiliation, donations and volunteer support).

This year we continued to support the families of those who died in the Channel Tragedy of November 2021. The Cranston Inquiry took place in London, with family members from Ethiopia and Kurdistan visiting in person. C4C staff members sat with those family members and supported them. We continue to stand with them as they seek justice. Later in the year, we also acted as official accompanier to a young man giving evidence at the Inquiry into the death of Leonard Farruku on board the Bibby Stockholm barge.

The charity prides itself on being responsive to policy announcements and/or events. In the last twelve months, our supporters have taken over 43,000 advocacy actions on our Engaging Networks system over a range of issues, such as the government banning rights to citizenship (over 13,000 emails were sent to MPs during this campaign), the Prime Minister’s ‘island of strangers’ speech (over 5,000 emails were sent to the PM) and over 8,000 people taking action to oppose the far-right after the summers riots.

The department has also been involved in advocacy work around the proposed reforms to the asylum system, the ‘one-in/one-out’ treaty with France, and the recent announcement that two new large accommodation sites (in Crowborough and Inverness) will soon open, as well as many other issues.

We have continued producing helpful assets to effectively convey key information, translating these materials into community languages. These have been particularly helpful to the team in Calais providing information to the community on the ‘one-in/one-out’ treaty.

2025 was the tenth anniversary of Care4Calais. The Communications Team ran a successful campaign to mark the anniversary, using volunteer and lived experience voices to tell the story of the charity's first ten years. The campaign was a successful advocacy drive, generating good engagement across social media and raising almost £22,000 in public donations, more than double our initial £10,000 target.

Media

Care4Calais has continued to be a significant voice in the UK media advocating for the rights of those seeking asylum. During the reporting period, we recorded 286 contributions in national media publications from Care4Calais. This has included significant coverage responding to the recently announced asylum reforms, the ‘one-in/one-out’ treaty with France, Keir Starmer’s ‘island of strangers’ speech, far-right riots (including the legal case concerning the hotel in Epping) and the government’s plans to open new large sites.

We continue to pursue proactive media opportunities, and continue to use freedom of information legislation to generate media stories. We want to provide a platform for people with lived experience to tell their stories, which are so often missing in the media’s coverage of migration. The department continues to take an approach that gives people with lived experience the agency to decide whether to tell their story, and this approach has helped members of the community respond to big national topics such as the riots in Epping, restrictions on family reunification and reforms to the asylum system.

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

Creative Content

This year our creative content work has centred on strengthening our presence on Instagram and Facebook. These platforms remain the primary way supporters engage with our work and connect with the realities faced by people seeking safety. Our focus has been on clear, human storytelling and a visual approach that reflects dignity, agency and lived experience. We post almost every day which ensures our supporters stay consistently informed and connected to events in Calais and across the UK.

Across both platforms, our audience now totals more than 124,000 followers. On Facebook, we have 81,414 followers, and on Instagram 42,853. Women form the majority of our audience on both platforms. The strongest age groups sit between 25 and 44. London remains the most engaged city, followed by large urban centres including Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Brighton, Liverpool and Glasgow. Our audience is predominantly UK-based at 74 percent on Facebook and 79 percent on Instagram, with additional engagement from France, Germany, Ireland, Australia, Belgium and Spain.

Analytics show that our content continues to reach far beyond our existing audience. This year our posts achieved 4.6 million views and a reach of 1.8 million. Content interactions reached 81,800, which represents a significant increase from the previous year. Seventy-two percent of our total views came from non-followers, demonstrating strong visibility and resonance beyond our existing supporter base.

Our creative work prioritises language that avoids stereotypes, avoids distancing phrasing and reflects people seeking safety as individuals with agency. All messaging is guided by our internal messaging guide which supports staff and volunteers to frame stories in a way that is ethical, compassionate and aligned with our values. This guide continues to shape our tone of voice, ensuring consistency in how we portray displacement, human rights and solidarity.

We produce a wide range of content types including storytelling posts, photography features, educational explainers, volunteer stories, campaign updates and community-led perspectives. Our aim is to create posts that feel immediate and grounded in lived experience. Testimonies, quotes and first-person stories play an important role in this.

An important project this year was the launch of Yara’s Gift, a book developed in-house that shares the story of a young girl’s journey and the hope carried through community and kindness. The book reflects our commitment to storytelling that centres refugees’ perspectives and helps younger audiences understand displacement in a compassionate way.

We have also strengthened collaboration within the sector. Throughout the year we produced collaborative posts with charities, grassroots organisations and community groups working alongside displaced people. These partnerships helped widen our reach and amplify shared messages on rights, safety and solidarity. In addition, we supported local volunteer groups by producing flyers, posters and visual assets for events, donation drives and community fundraisers. These materials helped groups communicate clearly and attract local support.

Social media remains a highly reactive space for the charity’s Communications department, which responds swiftly to breaking news, policy announcements and events affecting people seeking safety. This has included rapid updates during parliamentary debates, commentary on national rhetoric around asylum and timely storytelling in response to major incidents. Our ability to act quickly ensures our supporters remain informed with context and grounded perspectives.

Creative work continues to be central to Care4Calais. Through daily posting, lived experience storytelling, sector collaboration and a clear ethical messaging framework, we use our platforms to build understanding, solidarity and action throughout the year.

SAFEGUARDING AND PROTECTION

Over the past year, we have continued to strengthen our safeguarding, wellbeing, and organisational support structures to ensure the highest standards of safety, care, and accountability for both our team and the people we support. This report outlines key developments, achievements, and future priorities across safeguarding, mental health, wellbeing, and organisational resilience.

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

As of November 2025, 330 team members have completed our DEI monitoring form, representing a strong level of engagement across staff, volunteers, and trustees. The data demonstrates the rich diversity within our organisation:

This data supports our ability to shape an inclusive and responsive support environment. We continue to publicly affirm our commitment to inclusion through our DEI Pledge, visible on our website. The DEI monitoring form is now fully embedded into our onboarding process for all new volunteers, staff, and trustees, ensuring our demographic data remains current and meaningful.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

We have taken significant steps forward in strengthening our wellbeing offer this year. Our monthly wellbeing sessions, developed with the Field Operations Team, cover essential topics such as Burnout; Boundaries Without the Guilt; Vicarious Trauma; Finding What Fills You Up; Rest, Recovery and the Myth of Productivity; and Staying Human in Humanitarian Work. Each session includes reflective practice, practical tools, and peer support, helping build resilience and shared understanding across the organisation.

Our Wellbeing Newsletter provides further support with tools, resources, session recaps, and a teamwritten column. It remains responsive to emerging themes such as rising far-right hostility and its emotional impact on staff, volunteers, and the communities we support.

In July, we introduced an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for all paid staff. This includes 24/7 counselling, legal guidance, a menopause programme, medical helpline, family advice line, and access to the Wisdom Wellbeing App offering meditation, yoga, alcohol support, podcasts, and more.

. A key development this year was the introduction of Olive, our wellbeing puppy, at Wethersfield. Olive has completed her training, undergone a full risk assessment, and is already contributing meaningfully to our work. Her presence reduces anxiety, encourages engagement, and brings moments of joy to displaced people in extremely challenging circumstances.

Finally, the Head of Safeguarding continues to provide a triage wellbeing service, ensuring staff and volunteers experiencing distress are identified early and supported through timely signposting and appropriate interventions.

Safeguarding Policies and Procedures

We have undertaken substantial work this year to strengthen our safeguarding framework, ensuring clarity, consistency, and best practice across all operations. Four staff members completed accredited Child Safeguarding Focal Point training through Reading University/Keeping Children Safe, expanding our internal safeguarding expertise and enhancing child-centred practice within our policies.

Our updated UK Safeguarding Policy and Procedure was introduced this year, offering clear reporting pathways for concerns relating to community members, staff, or volunteers. It includes a comprehensive response flowchart to support consistent and timely decisions.

The Northern France Safeguarding Policy and Procedure has been a major collaborative effort between the Head of Safeguarding, Head of Calais Operations, and the COO. To ensure alignment with local context and best practice, we also work closely with other NGOs in Calais.

All safeguarding policies now include the revised Code of Conduct, enhanced child safeguarding measures, and guidance on safe communications and ethical fundraising.

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

During this reporting period, we also developed and implemented a Hate Communications Policy in response to increased far-right activity, including riots and targeted harassment. This policy provides mechanisms for reporting and monitoring hateful communications. It proved vital during a recent incident involving the recording of vulnerable individuals in hospital accompanied by dehumanising language. This was reported to the NHS, triggering a full investigation, with information shared appropriately with police, local authorities, and the Home Office.

The Head of Safeguarding and Protection also attends monthly meetings with safeguarding leads from UK-based NGOs, promoting shared learning and sector-wide alignment.

Public-facing posters with QR codes now allow members of the public to submit anonymous safeguarding concerns quickly and securely.

Investigation Protocol and Duty of Care

Our Investigation Protocol continues to become stronger and more effective. We have seen evidence of earlier reporting of concerns, demonstrating increased confidence across staff and volunteers in recognising and escalating issues. Senior leaders work collaboratively with the Head of Safeguarding to ensure timely updates and coordinated responses during investigations. Following interviews, comprehensive transcribed reports are completed, outlining outcomes, actions, and learning opportunities.

These learning outcomes directly inform policy revisions, shaping our commitment to continuous improvement and reinforcing a strong culture of safeguarding accountability. Where legally required, we escalate cases appropriately, including referrals to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) when thresholds are met.

Risk Assessments

Risk assessments remain a key component of our safeguarding approach. Teams complete them in partnership with their line managers, ensuring risks are identified, documented, and managed effectively. Any concerns or complexities are escalated to the Head of Safeguarding.

This process has remained robust and adaptable, enabling us to respond to the shifting risk landscape, including increased far-right activity directed at asylum seekers and organisations supporting them.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

Strategic Review

In the coming year, the charity will be conducting a strategic review. Although our last strategy document was produced in 2022, it has long been overtaken by events. The last few years have seen an unprecedented change in the way in which those seeking asylum are treated in the UK, resulting in a proliferation of government policies that often appear to be impulsive, with little consideration given to the downstream consequences. These have included: the Rwanda Plan; the use of the Bibby Stockholm barge; the Illegal Migration Act; the move towards ‘big sites’ – notably Wethersfield and Crowborough; restrictions on family reunification; the dismantling of safe routes; the one-in/one-out policy; and a proposed extension to the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

At the same time, hostility towards refugees has been encouraged, both by politicians and certain elements of the media, fanning the flames of division for their own self-interest.

Care4Calais has risen to these various challenges admirably. Our responses have been agile and effective, and we have continued to be fearless advocates for those we support. But now is the time to take stock: to look at our core values, our mission, vision and tasks, and determine the strategy that positions us where we want to be over the next five years. In doing so, we will consult widely, taking in the views from Trustees, volunteers, staff, and those with lived experience.

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

Whilst the charity has always prided itself on its ability to respond quickly to changing circumstances, certain critical strategic questions are already emerging. These include:

Priorities for the Next Year

The charity’s priorities for the coming year will focus on the following key areas:

  1. Providing support to those temporarily accommodated within asylum accommodation within the UK whilst awaiting the outcome of their asylum claims.

  2. Providing support to those sleeping rough on the coast of northern France whilst seeking safety and sanctuary.

  3. Securing legal representation for those negotiating the UK’s asylum system.

  4. Challenging those policies which fail to follow the spirit of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees.

  5. Providing strong advocacy to uphold the rights of refugees and to ensure their safety and security. 6. Ensuring that the knowledge and views of those with lived experience is included in our operational planning.

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

The Trustees have identified resources and established review systems to manage organisational risk. The Trustees maintain a register of the risks faced by the charity that is reviewed at least annually. The risk register records the risks that may arise in each area of the charity’s operations, along with the policies, systems and procedures in place to mitigate them. Risks are identified, assessed, and scored according to their likelihood and impact. Appropriate steps are then taken to mitigate them in day-today operations.

The principal risks and uncertainties faced by the charity at the time of writing are as follows:

Key Challenges

Homelessness after Leave to Remain

The issue of people struggling to find accommodation and becoming homeless after getting Leave to Remain continued to be a problem this year. C4C’s Direct Aid groups across the country continued working hard to provide support and guidance to people who attained refugee status, working with local authorities and local housing and migration charities to find solutions, and raising awareness of the issue with media and politicians.

Lack of Access to Legal Support

Many people are still forced to navigate the UK asylum system without legal representation, including at appeal stage. Our teams worked to refer to our Legal Access team to find support, and signpost to accurate legal information where somebody is going through an initial claim or an appeal unrepresented.

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

Riots and Far-Right Violence

In summer 2025, we again saw an upsurge in far-right and anti-migrant riots and violence, specifically targeting people seeking safety. This was largely targeted at hotels, including hotels we support in London and Essex (see information on The Bell Hotel, above). The team had learnt lessons from previous years and responded to this by having a plan in place already, ensuring all volunteers are aware of safety procedures, reiterating safety information to volunteers and communities we support, sharing supportive messages, and closely monitoring situations on the ground. We are proud that, again, we could be responsive and be there during these difficult moments, showing that love and compassion is still there. This exemplifies the responsive, compassionate nature of C4C.

Changing Policies and Laws

A number of changes by the new Labour government continued to challenge those in our community this year, and we responded to consultations, gave evidence, and supported those in our community to navigate the new laws and challenges, for example the pausing of family reunification.

Financial review

The Trustees are satisfied with the charity’s performance for the year ended 30 September 2025.

During the year total income of the charity was £1,453,518 (2024: £1,928,321) and total expenditure of the charity was £1,887,671 (2024: £1,775,576).

Net movement in funds for the year was a deficit of £434,153 (2024: £152,745 surplus).

At the balance sheet date, the charity had total funds of £826,974 (2024: £1,261,127). The Trustees consider that the financial position of the charity is satisfactory.

Reserves policy

At the end of the year, the charity had reserves of £826,974 (2024: £1,261,127), which includes stock of donated goods for distribution of £87,525 (2024: £148,649) which cannot be converted into cash funds. £31,859 (2024: £49,800) represents restricted funds (see note 14). This leaves a free reserves balance of £763,022 (2024: £1,183,356), which represents approximately 5 months’ running costs.

The Trustees regularly review the need for free reserves and consider a level to cover four to six months of running costs to be appropriate.

Pay policy for senior staff

The pay of the charity’s senior staff is reviewed annually and may be increased in accordance with national indicators such as inflation, where financially possible and prudent.

Fundraising

We strive to achieve the highest fundraising standards and we value our supportive funders. The Trustees believe this means that the charity is working for and on behalf of real people and communities in the UK who believe in what it does and want to support refugees. However, inherent in this is a risk that income is not diversified or guaranteed in the medium to long term. To counter this, we are intent on diversifying our income streams.

We are staying up to date with developments in charity regulation, data protection and the Fundraising Preference Service (FPS) to make sure we are legally compliant and adhering to all guidelines. Our fundraisers follow the Institute of Fundraising’s Code of Practice. No complaints relating to fundraising were received in the year.

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Care4Calais

Report of the Trustees for the year ended 30 September 2025 (continued)

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with the United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) and applicable law and regulations.

The law applicable to charities requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period.

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

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

28 July 2026

Approved by the Trustees of the charity on …………………… and signed on its behalf by:

Wilfred Sullivan Trustee

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Care4Calais

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustees of Care4Calais

We have audited the financial statements of Care4Calais (the charity) for the year ended 30 September 2025 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and the related Notes to the Financial Statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the 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.

Conclusion relating to going concern

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

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

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

Other information

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

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

We have nothing to report in this regard.

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Care4Calais

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustees of Care4Calais (continued)

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ Annual Report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of the trustees for the financial statements

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

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

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 regulations made under section 154 of that Act.

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

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.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of identifying irregularities, including fraud

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above and on the Financial Reporting Council’s website, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud.

We obtain and update our understanding of the entity, its activities, its control environment, and likely future developments, including in relation to the legal and regulatory framework applicable and how the entity is complying with that framework. Based on this understanding, we identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. This includes consideration of the risk of acts by the entity that were contrary to applicable laws and regulations, including fraud.

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Care4Calais

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustees of Care4Calais (continued)

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud, we designed procedures which included:

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the Charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and the regulations made under section 154 of that Act. 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’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Azets Audit Services Limited is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

Azets Audit Services Limited Statutory Auditor

Date: 28 July 2026

12 King Street Leeds LS1 2HL

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Care4Calais

Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 30 September 2025

Notes
Unrestricted
funds
£
Restricted
funds
£
Total
funds
2025
£		 Total
funds
2024
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
2
1,293,761
123,646
1,417,407
Trading income – online shop
25,876
-
25,876
Investment income
3
10,235
-
10,235		 1,857,360
39,790
31,171
Total income
1,329,872
123,646
1,453,518		 1,928,321
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
4
1,641,393
141,587
1,782,980
Raising funds
89,967
-
89,967
Trading expenditure – online shop
costs
14,724
-
14,724		 1,656,137
100,276
19,163
Total expenditure
1,746,084
141,587
1,887,671		 1,775,576
Net (expenditure)/income and
movement in funds
7
(416,212)
(17,941)
(434,153)		 152,745
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
1,211,327
49,800
1,261,127		 1,108,382
Total funds carried forward
14
795,115
31,859
826,974		 1,261,127

All of the charity's activities derive from continuing operations.

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

A fully detailed Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 30 September 2025 is shown in note 17 of the financial statements.

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Care4Calais

Balance Sheet as at 30 September 2025

Notes 2025 2024
£ £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 9 32,093 27,971
Current assets
Investments 10 516,031 725,797
Stock 11 165,014 192,947
Debtors 12 68,862 59,799
Cash at bank and in hand 96,164 305,338
846,071 1,283,881
Creditors:Amounts falling due within one year 13 (51,190) (50,725)
Net current assets 794,881 1,233,156
Net assets 826,974 1,261,127
Funds of the charity:
Restricted funds 14 31,859 49,800
Unrestricted funds 14 795,115 1,211,327
Total funds 14 826,974 1,261,127

28 July 2026

The financial statements were approved by the trustees on ……………………… and signed on their behalf by:

Wilfred Sullivan Trustee

The notes on pages 23 to 32 form part of these financial statements.

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Care4Calais

Statement of Cash Flows for the Year Ended 30 September 2025

2025 2024
Note £ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash(used in)/provided byoperatingactivities 16 (407,054) 126,166
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received 10,235 31,171
Decrease/(Increase) in cash investments 209,766 (29,559)
Purchase of fixed assets (22,121) (17,339)
Net cashprovided by/(used in) investing activities 197,880 (15,727)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year (209,174) 110,439
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 305,338 194,899
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of theyear 96,164 305,338

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Care4Calais

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2025

1. Accounting policies

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

Charity information

Care4Calais was registered on 5 September 2016 as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation under the foundation model, it is registered with the Charity Commission under charity number 1169048. The charity’s principal office address is 5 Brayford Square, London, E1 0SG.

Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis 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 (FRS102) (effective 1 January 2019) (Charities SORP (FRS102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Ireland (FRS102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £1.

Care4Calais meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.

Going concern

The trustees have reviewed the financial position of the charity, which includes reserves (mainly in the form of cash balances) and ongoing donation levels. The nature of the charity is such that its output is dictated by ongoing income and there is minimal reliance on large supporters. As such, the charity can respond quickly to fluctuations in income by managing spend, should the trustees take the view that they do not wish to use reserves in the short term.

Given the above, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that adequate financial resources are available to enable the charity to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and have adequate contingency plans in the event that income streams are reduced.

Thus, the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Income

Donations and legacy income is recognised when the charity establishes entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.

Income from trading activities relates to sales made as part of an online store selling merchandise relating to the Care4Calais charity.

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Care4Calais

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2025

1. Accounting policies (continued)

Donations of goods for distribution

Donated goods are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donation have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. Their value is the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain items of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), volunteer time is not recognised. Please refer to the trustees’ report for more information about their contribution.

Expenditure

All expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditure, it is probable settlement is required and the amount can be measured reliably. All costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure heading that aggregates similar costs to that category.

Charitable activities - expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Support costs - includes payments to advisors, providing information to refugees, supporters and the media together with sundry office and administration costs.

Governance costs - include the costs attributable to the charity’s compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

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

Pensions

The charity operates a defined contribution scheme for the employees of the Charity. Contributions are charged as an expense to the SoFA in the period in which they fall due.

Staff costs

The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense where settlement of obligations does not fall within the same period.

Fund accounting

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other incoming resources received or generated for the charitable purposes.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds that have been designated by the trustees for a particular purpose.

Taxation

The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

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Care4Calais

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2025

Financial instruments

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments. The Charity only has financial assets and liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments in accordance with section 11 of FRS 102. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and are subsequently measured at their settlement value.

Debtors

Debtors relate to accrued income held by online fundraising platforms, this is recognised at the settlement amount due.

Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid.

Creditors

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

Financial liabilities are derecognised when, and only when, obligations are discharged, cancelled or they expire.

Amounts recognised as provisions are best estimates of the consideration required to settle the present obligation at the reporting end date, taking into account the risks and uncertainties surrounding the obligation.

Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Individual fixed assets costing £1,000 or more are initially recorded at cost and subsequently at cost less accumulated depreciation.

Depreciation is provided on tangible fixed assets so as to write off the cost or valuation, less any estimated residual value, over their expected useful economic life as follows:

Office equipment 3 years straight line Motor vehicles 3 years straight line Containers 3 years straight line

Stock

Donated items of stock held for distribution are recognised at fair value which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay for the items on the open market.

Investments

Investments represent short term cash deposits held for the purpose of obtaining higher rate interest income.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value.

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Care4Calais

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2025

Critical accounting estimates and judgements

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

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

The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities are outlined below.

Stock

The charity recognises donated items, including clothing, goods, hygiene and other personal and practical items, as both income and stock when they remain in the warehouses at the year end. In doing so, the trustees have identified a reasonable fair value for each category of donated items, which are a mix of quality new and donated goods, based on readily available prices for replacement.

Valuations of gifts in kind

The charity recognises donated items, including clothing, goods, hygiene and other personal and practical items, as both income and expenditure as they are issued to beneficiaries during the year. In doing so, the trustees have identified a reasonable fair value for each category of donated items, which are a mix of quality new and donated goods, based on readily available prices for replacement and apply this to the logs of goods issued in the year.

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Care4Calais

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2025

2. Income from donations and legacies

Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
2025 2025 2025 2024
£ £ £ £
Donated goods for distribution 87,525 - 87,525 148,649
Donations and legacies 1,206,236 123,646 1,329,882 1,708,711
1,293,761 123,646 1,417,407 1,857,360

In the prior year restricted income from donations and legacies was £74,673.

The charity is heavily reliant on its volunteers, in accordance with the Charity SORP volunteer time has not been valued in these financial statements.

3. Investment income

Total Total
2025 2024
£ £
Interest receivable on bank deposits (unrestricted) 10,235 31,171

4. Expenditure on charitable activities

Total Total
2025 2024
Note £ £
Direct costs of charitable activities:
Food, clothing and equipment for refugees 534,935 490,043
Staff costs 899,399 849,114
Operational costs 44,491 57,813
Advocacy 27,611 49,726
Warehouse and storage costs 110,874 106,156
Volunteer costs 55,321 48,788
Total direct costs 1,672,631 1,601,640
Support costs allocated 5 58,603 38,728
Governance costs allocated 5 51,746 15,769
Total expenditure on charitable activity 1,782,980 1,656,137

5. Analysis of governance and support costs

Support costs Total Total
2025 2024
£ £
Bookkeeping 7,004 6,744
Insurance 13,188 7,411
Bank charges 10,515 6,224
Depreciation 17,999 3,462
General expenses 3,583 3,313
Subscriptions and donations 6,314 11,574
58,603 38,728

27

Docusign Envelope ID: B4B7FB50-61A5-89BE-80BA-45AD808FDAB8

Care4Calais

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2025

5. Analysis of governance and support costs (continued)

Governance costs Total Total
2025 2024
£ £
Audit fees 11,865 11,300
Preparation of financial statements 2,900 2,784
Legal fees 36,981 1,685
51,746 15,769

6. Staff costs, trustees’ remuneration and expenses

Staff costs during the year were as follows: 2025 2024
£ £
Wages and salaries 799,894 769,276
Social security costs 84,201 68,124
Pension costs 15,304 11,714
899,399 849,114

During the year the Trustees considered themselves to be key management personnel and received no remuneration. This year, the following senior management were added to the list of key management personnel:

CEO Head of UK Field Ops Head of legal access and special projects Head of Calais field ops Head of press and broadcast media Head of finance, IT, logs and admin Head of advocacy and public affairs Head of communications

The number of employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000 is as follows:

2025 2024
£60,001 - £70,000 1 1

The average number of employees in the year was 25 (2024: 25).

Total remuneration paid to the key management personnel was £443,715 (2024 - £341,380).

No Trustees, nor any persons connected with them, have received any remuneration or other benefits from the charity during the year.

During the year there were no transactions entered into between the charity and the Trustees.

7. Net (expenditure)/income

This is stated after charging:

2025 2024
£ £
Auditor’s remuneration - Audit 16,600 15,780
Auditor’s remuneration - Preparation of financial statements 2,500 2,320
Depreciation 17,999 3,462

Fees payable to the auditor are stated excluding irrecoverable VAT.

28

Docusign Envelope ID: B4B7FB50-61A5-89BE-80BA-45AD808FDAB8

Care4Calais

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2025

8. Taxation

Care4Calais is a registered charity and as such is a charity within the meaning of schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010. Accordingly, the charity is potentially entitled to tax exemption under part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 in respect of income and gains arising.

9. Tangible fixed assets

Office Motor
equipment vehicles Containers Total
£ £ £ £
Cost
At 1 October 2024 3,269 44,425 1,320 49,014
Additions - 22,121 - 22,121
As at 30 September 2025 3,269 66,546 1,320 71,135
Depreciation
At 1 October 2024 3,269 16,454 1,320 21,043
Charge in the year - 17,999 - 17,999
As at 30 September 2025 3,269 34,453 1,320 39,042
Net book values
At 30 September 2025 - 32,093 - 32,093
At 30 September 2024 - 27,971 - 27,971
10.
Investments
2025 2024
£ £
Cash investments 516,031 725,797

Cash investments relate to term deposit accounts which have maturity dates ranging from 95 days’ notice to 12 months.

11. Stock

2025 2024
£ £
New and used goods for distribution 165,014 192,947
12. Debtors
2025 2024
£ £
Accrued Income 44,440 48,500
Prepayments 24,422 11,299
68,862 59,799

29

Docusign Envelope ID: B4B7FB50-61A5-89BE-80BA-45AD808FDAB8

Care4Calais

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2025

13. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

2025 2024
£ £
Trade creditors 272 4,157
Taxation and social security 23,395 22,528
Other creditors 27,523 24,040
51,190 50,725

14. Funds

Restated Balance at
Balance at Transfers 30
1 October Income Expenditure £ September
2024 £ £ 2025
Restricted funds
Groups 49,800 74,500 (92,977) - 31,323
Minibus - 20,000 (20,000) - -
Heathrow - 29,146 (28,610) - 536
49,800 123,646 (141,587) - 31,859
Unrestricted funds
General 1,211,327 1,329,872 (1,746,084) - 795,115
1,211,327 1,329,872 (1,746,084) - 795,115
Total funds 1,261,127 1,453,518 (1,887,671) - 826,974
Restated Balance at
Balance at Transfers 30
1 October Income Expenditure £ September
2023 £ £ 2024
Restricted funds
Groups 82,351 74,673 (107,224) - 49,800
82,351 74,673 (107,224) - 49,800
Unrestricted funds
General 1,026,031 1,853,648 (1,668,352) - 1,211,327
1,026,031 1,853,648 (1,668,352) - 1,211,327
Total funds 1,108,382 1,928,321 (1,775,576) - 1,261,127

Restricted funds

Groups funds are monies raised via the purchase of gift vouchers to support refugees

Minibus fund was for the purchases of a minibus to assist with charitable operations

Heathrow funds support yoga and wellbeing activities for people seeking asylum and refugees in the Heathrow area.

30

Docusign Envelope ID: B4B7FB50-61A5-89BE-80BA-45AD808FDAB8

Care4Calais

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2025

15. Analysis of net assets between funds

Unrestricted
Restricted
2025		 general
2025		 Total
funds
£ £ 2025
£
Tangible fixed assets - 32,093 32,093
Net current assets 31,859 763,022 794,881
Total net assets 31,859 795,115 826,974
Restricted
2024
£		 Unrestricted
general
2024
£		 Total
funds
2024
£
Tangible fixed assets - 27,971 27,971
Net current assets 49,800 1,183,356 1,233,156
Total net assets 49,800 1,211,327 1,261,127

16. Reconciliation of net movements in funds to net cash flow from operating activities

2025 2024
£ £
Net movement in funds (434,153) 152,745
Depreciation charge 17,999 3,462
Interest income (10,235) (31,171)
(Increase)/decrease in debtors (9,063) 44,340
Increase/(decrease) in creditors 465 (23,993)
Decrease/(increase) in stock 27,933 (19,217)
Cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities (407,054) 126,166

The charity had no net debt in either this or the previous financial year.

31

Docusign Envelope ID: B4B7FB50-61A5-89BE-80BA-45AD808FDAB8

Care4Calais

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2025

17. Comparative Statement of Financial Activities

Total
Unrestricted Restricted funds
funds funds 2024
£ £ £
Income from:
Donations and legacies 1,782,687 74,673 1,857,360
Trading income – online shop 39,790 - 39,790
Investment income 31,171 - 31,171
Total income 1,853,648 74,673 1,928,321
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities 1,548,913 107,224 1,656,137
Raising funds 100,276 - 100,276
Trading expenditure – online shop 19,163 - 19,163
costs
Total expenditure 1,668,352 107,224 1,775,576
Transfer between funds - - -
Net expenditure and movement in
funds 185,296 (32,551) 152,745
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward 1,026,031 82,351 1,108,382
Total funds carried forward 1,211,327 49,800 1,261,127

32