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Annual Report and Accounts 2023/24

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Introduction	4
Across Newlife	6
Financial Review and Results	32
Financial Statements	39
Independent Auditors Report	54

Chair of Trustees foreword

Times are more challenging than ever for disabled children and their families. That is the stark reality revealed by our largest ever family and professionals engagement project, which took place throughout 2023/24. Over the course of several months we spoke to and surveyed more than 1,100 families caring for disabled children, and professionals working with disabled children, about their experiences. And the picture painted was, sadly, a bleak one.

So, in these most difficult times, our commitment to ensuring disabled children are able to access the vital support they need, when they need it, is more crucial than ever.

We have grown our fundraising activity in the year, generating 5% more income, and have ambitions to grow this further in coming years. Despite a small decline in commercial income streams we have seen an increase in our charitable spend, with £4.3m going towards funding our services in 2023/24 (£3.7m in 2022/23).

In July 2023 we welcomed Fiona Robinson to the fold as Newlife’s new CEO. Fiona brings with her a wealth of experience and expertise, and has already made significant strides in taking Newlife into a new era of growth. And as we look to develop our charity’s services to better support the families who turn to us in times of need, we do so with the needs of those families firmly at the forefront.

As always, we could not achieve what we do and support as many families as we do without the tireless efforts of our colleagues, partners and donors - we are truly grateful for all that you do, every day. With your help we can continue to make a real and lasting difference to the lives of disabled and terminally ill children and their families. Thank you.

Clive Lewis - Chair of Newlife's Board of Trustees

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Introduction View from the CEO

I was delighted to join Newlife The Charity for Disabled Children as CEO in July 2023 and am incredibly proud of all the charity achieved during this year - and continues to achieve as we move forward.

Against a backdrop of ever-increasing need coupled with the continued difficulties families with disabled children are facing as they fight to ensure their children can get

the essential equipment and support they need, Newlife has been able to provide more help than ever through our services.

During 2023/24, we increased our charitable service reach by a staggering 38%, surpassing our already-ambitious target by offering more than 19,100 instances of help to disabled children and their families and committing more than £2.9 million in equipment grants and loans to ensure children receive the vital equipment they need, when they need it most.

Over the past few months Newlife has undertaken its largest stakeholder engagement project to date, reaching out to over 1,100 families and healthcare professionals to gauge opinions on Newlife’s services and the state of the nation for disabled children as a whole. The response has been truly eyeopening, and is helping us to define a longer-term strategic direction for the charity to further help us deliver the best level of service and improve outcomes for disabled children.

There is no denying that times are more challenging than ever for families with disabled children; our research revealed that just two in five families felt their child had all of the equipment they needed to live a fulfilling life. In the face of such difficulties, it is more important than ever that Newlife is able to continue meeting the needs of disabled children across the UK.

Going forward, the results of this stakeholder engagement will also inform our ‘state of the nation’ campaign report called ‘Fight for our Future’ which will be released early in 2024/25 with the support of leading charities such as Whizz Kidz, Family Fund, British Healthcare Trade Association, Caudwell Children and the Disabled Children’s Partnership along with the support of the Royal College of

Occupational Therapists. Through our campaigning we are committed to one goal; to make sure that disabled children and their families are a priority to decision makers.

But we couldn’t do any of this without the hard work and dedication of our colleagues and volunteers; our people are one of Newlife’s strongest assets. We are also incredibly grateful to our Board of Trustees who generously donate their time and knowledge, and to our supporters, corporate partners and donors, without whom we could not continue our vital work.

The charity is embarking on a period of growth and transformation across the board. I’m honoured to be at the helm of that growth, and looking forward to seeing where the next financial year will take us.

Fiona Robinson, CEO

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All about Newlife

Our Vision

That every disabled and terminally ill child and their family get; the equipment they depend on, the quality of life they deserve, the caring support they need and the chance to fulfil their potential.

Our Mission

Together we will make life better for disabled and terminally ill children and their families.

Our Values

Always compassionate and deserving of trust – in all we do.
• Making things happen – for those we serve.
Leading in our field – to make things better.
People at our heart – every day.

Our charitable activities

Newlife exists to positively change the lives of children with disabilities and terminal illnesses. We do this by providing thousands of items of specialist equipment each year, often in urgent or crisis situations.

We offer valuable information and support to families through a dedicated nurse service including our very popular Nurse Helpline. We campaign to give disabled children and their families a voice and we also offer fantastic opportunities for adults and young people with a disability to meet new people and learn new skills through our growing volunteer programme and employment opportunities at Newlife.

A review of how we met our objectives for the year are included in our detailed review of services to follow.

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Across Newlife Our year in review

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Our year in numbers

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In 2023/24, we provided...
16,048 1,384
instances of help Play Therapy
through our nurse Pod loans
service
153 1,534
Emergency Equipment
Equipment Grants
Loans
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Grants Provided
In 2023/24 we collected
1,870
tonnes of clothing,
textiles, footwear
& homeware.
55
35
171 13,670
volunteer hours in
207 132 2023/24 across a range of departments.
38
194
160
151
£80,110
was donated in
110 till-point round ups
in 2023/24
86
195
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2023/24 Objectives

Increase our charitable service reach by providing over 19,000 instances of help.

Despite this being an ambitious target, we helped over 19,119 (2022/23 13,802) disabled children and their families through our charitable services in 2023/24, a 38% increase on the prior year.

Increase our equipment provision and provide 1,320 equipment grants.

We provided a staggering 1,534 equipment grants in 2023/24 (2022/23 1,139), a 35% increase on the prior year.

Support children in emergency situations.

We ensured that where there was an urgent need, we responded, often when no-one else could. Newlife provided 153 Emergency Equipment Loans to children in crisis situations and we ‘fast-tracked’ 667 equipment grant applications where there was urgent need. Our emergency support often helps children who are not safe, are in pain, have no awareness of danger or are life-limited.

Extend our nurse helpline service and deliver over 16,000 instances of help.

In 2023/24 we met our target, delivering 16,048 (2022/23 10,898) contacts to our nurse service, an increase of 47% on the prior year. To meet this expected increase in demand, we successfully launched the Newlife nurse reception service in October 2023, ensuring that more calls to our helpline service were answered and vulnerable families were provided with the emotional and practical support that they needed.

Develop our Sensory Play Service.

In 2023/24 we delivered 1,384 (2022/23 1,380) sensory toy pods, a small increase on the prior year, enabling disabled children to develop new skills, helping to distract from pain and providing families the chance to play and have fun.

To further understand the needs of disabled children and their families.

In 2023/24 we launched our largest ever beneficiary and professional engagement project, resulting in the completion of over 1,100 surveys and multiple focus groups providing us with valuable insight into our existing services and future plans, and revealing the barriers that families currently face.

Continue to give disabled children and their families a voice.

In 2023/24 we met with various decision makers including the shadow minister for disabilities, and worked tirelessly to analyse the current reality for disabled children and their families so that in 2024/25 we will be able to launch our state of the nation report; ‘Fight For Our Future’. In 2023/24 we worked collaboratively with various like-minded charities to identify current problems and solutions, many of whom will support and endorse the campaign report.

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Grow Volunteer Support.

We experienced growth in corporate team participation this year, with over 800 hours contributed by corporate groups. Additionally, we are proud to have maintained a consistent number of dedicated regular volunteers. Looking forward, our efforts will focus on expanding and strengthening these engagements to achieve even greater impact in the future.

Continue to grow and diversify income.

The growth in income for the year was driven by a strong performance in corporate income, an area we are actively investing in, along with an expansion in our events portfolio. Customer engagement in our stores was also a key focus, with over £80k raised through our till round-up initiative alone. Additionally, we continued to strengthen our relationships with trusts and foundations, which remain the cornerstone of our income.

Operate good governance.

We continued to ensure we operated with the highest standards of governance, ensuring accountability, transparency, and ethical management of resources to achieve our mission effectively. Our governance framework supports clear decision-making, financial oversight, and compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements.

Improving employees experience.

We want to continue to build an inclusive, engaging and enjoyable working environment where all of our people have a say in what we do and how we do it. We will continue to consult with our staff through staff surveys and listening groups as well as introduce social activities and wellbeing support. We will look at new ways to reward and recognise team and individual achievements including length of service. We will also look to roll out new performance review processes to bring greater consistency to managing our people and ensuring their work matches our organisational priorities and values.

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Our services

Equipment Grant Service

Newlife believes that all children should have the chance to fulfil their potential and live their

fullest possible lives. Sadly this is not a reality for many children with a disability. A Newlife survey completed by over 800 families in 2023 revealed that only 2 in 5 families felt that their child has all the specialist equipment they need to live a full life.

It is harder than ever for many families to get the essential equipment they need. There are not enough professionals working within Health and Social Care, this means that there are long delays for assessments and therefore not enough is being spent through a process which takes far too long.

All this uncertainty means that many disabled children are going without.

Staggeringly, 100% of over 100 families surveyed who received equipment from Newlife told us that without Newlife, it is unlikely they would have been able to get the equipment they needed. This is both worrying, but also highlights the vital work of our equipment service.

Equipment has the power to change lives, to reduce pain, prevent conditions from worsening, improve mobility and thus independence, enable a child to talk to their parents or friends and help the whole family have a good night's sleep.

What we did

Against a backdrop of families finding it increasingly difficult to get the equipment and support they need, Newlife has stepped up its Equipment Grant Service.

1,534 equipment 44% were ‘fast-tracked’ grants provided in due to an urgent need. 2023/24.

867 grants were provided through our ‘quality of life’ grant service.

The impact

These are all things that many of us take for granted and yet for a disabled child, these are the everyday things that they strive for more than anything else. We know that our equipment helps disabled children and their families to feel this way. Equipment transforms lives

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Rudy’s story

A powered wheelchair has opened up the world for 11-year-old Rudy Cole who lives in Cardiff, allowing him much more freedom and independence to enjoy outdoor activities with his family and friends, as well as keeping him more comfortable and pain-free.

When Rudy was born, he had multiple very rare benign tumours, called haemangioma, on his body and face which were filled with blood and fed by blood vessels. These tumours were also growing on some of his organs, his spinal cord and throughout his brain. Unfortunately, when he was just one week old the tumours in his brain bled significantly and left him fighting for his life.

Rudy thankfully pulled through, but he was left with considerable damage to his brain. Although the haemangiomas have now all gone, Rudy has weakness in the muscles on his right side, generally floppy muscles throughout his body and global delay which means he has very little speech and can’t walk. He also developed drug-resistant epilepsy when he was six months old and was having countless number of seizures each day until he recently

underwent brain surgery as a ‘last resort’ to try and reduce his seizures – which so far seems to have worked.

Using his old NHS wheelchair was uncomfortable for Rudy and caused him pain. It would also bounce him around if it went over the slightest bump, which made it too difficult to take Rudy anywhere the terrain was anything other than smooth and flat. Rudy was also unable to self-propel his old wheelchair, so needed to be pushed everywhere, which as he grew was becoming increasingly difficult.But thanks to the help of kind-hearted donors, a powered wheelchair now means Rudy has a really comfortable wheelchair he can go many more places in.

Mum Amy said: “The new wheelchair is so much better and enables Rudy to do so much more. It’s brilliant to use outside and it can be used on the beach, we can go to farms now because it can handle the rougher, muddier terrain, and we can go strawberry-picking as a family too and he can go and watch his cousin play rugby – which he’s never been able to do before.

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Our services

Equipment Loan Service

Simply put, this is a crisis service for children who are terminally ill, life-limited or cannot be discharged from hospital without the specialist equipment they need. In short, they ‘just can’t wait’ for the equipment they need. They can’t afford to wait for the months and even years it can take for an assessment of their needs through local services.

That is why Newlife’s emergency equipment loan service was developed. We can loan equipment that is needed to families in these circumstances within just a couple of weeks and sometimes within days. This is the only equipment emergency service that we are aware of that operates so quickly and responds to this urgent need.

The impact

Children can sleep safely at home with the specialist beds they need.

Children are no longer stuck in hospital because they don’t have the specialist equipment they need to be discharged.

Life-limited children and their families can create memories and enjoy precious time together with the essential equipment they need.

153 Emergency Equipment Loans provided in 2023/24

Our target was to continue to help children and families by providing emergency loans to families most in need.

In 2023/24 we provided 153 Emergency Equipment Loans (2023/24 385) at a cost of £171,000. The reason that the service has provided less loans this year compared to previous years is that we have re-prioritised this service for emergency loans only for children, simply put, who cannot wait for the equipment they need.

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Esmie’s story

One-year-old Esmie Butler can leave her home in safety and comfort to attend vital medical appointments and enjoy time with her family, thanks to the loan of a specialist buggy from Newlife.

Esmie, from Burnley in Lancashire, was diagnosed with a brain tumour at just two months old. But after enduring five major surgeries to remove as much of the tumour as possible and spending the first six months of her life in hospital, she was left waiting for an assessment date to see if she is eligible for a specialist buggy more than six months after being referred. Struggling to leave their home to even attend hospital appointments, the family turned to Newlife for help.

Esmie urgently needed a specialist buggy that could support her safely and comfortably and prevent her condition further deteriorating, which would allow the family to leave the house to go to regular hospital appointments and into the local community. Newlife was able to provide her with a specialist buggy to meet all her needs through it’s Emergency Equipment Loan service, while the family waited for their local health and social care services to provide long term equipment.

Esmie’s mum, Sophie Bullas, said: “Without Newlife we would have been stuck. We really struggled to get out of the house, but with the loan buggy we were easily able to go to her regular hospital checkups and she could sit in it if we went for a family meal as high seats aren’t supportive enough for her to use.

“Initially, advice we were given was just to prop her up, but that would just lead to further medical issues for her. The buggy from Newlife has extra chest straps which support her and ensure she doesn’t develop a curve in her spine.

“Luckily, because I work with children who have special educational needs, and because of Esmie’s Occupational Therapist, we had heard of Newlife and were able to get in touch with them to apply for the loan buggy – I don’t know where we’d be without them.

“I don’t know many people that could afford to just pay thousands for a buggy or wheelchair, especially as you need to keep getting new ones as they grow, and that’s just one item that a disabled child might need. It’s a lot of stress to constantly try to sort everything out all the time.”

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Our services

Nurse Helpline

Newlife’s dedicated Nurse Helpline is there to help families when they are in the most need and they don’t know where or who to turn to.

families. No two families have the same needs, so the information and support is tailored to each child and family.

Whether families need support understanding a recent diagnosis, need information on how and where to go to access support or ask for an assessment, or just need a friendly and caring person on the end of a phone to provide that emotional help, our nurses are there for our

Many families continue to feel isolated and abandoned, unable to speak to professionals as there is a shortage of key health and social care professionals with many vacancies currently unfulfilled. This is why our professional Nurse Helpline service is trusted and is so popular.

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16,048
instances of help
through our Nurse
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In 2023/24 we have seen a significant increase in calls to the service, to the extent that we have now opened a Newlife nurse reception service that is available for longer hours, to ensure that we can answer more calls. Therefore, we were able to provide 16,048 instances of help through our nurse service compared to 10,898 in 2022/23, an increase of over 47%. But its not just about the numbers. The quality of the service is so valued as one mum said:

“From start to finish Newlife have been amazing, even offering emotional support when needed. They provided us with a buggy at a time we needed it due to adopting another child. I can’t thank the team enough.”

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Hayley’s story

The Nurse Helpline is the first contact families have with Newlife and the team are available to support families with a wide range of needs, from updates on applications to signposting to other services and providing information specific to their child’s condition. But they are also there to provide emotional care and support to family members who are struggling to cope.

Hayley Byatt initially called Newlife’s Nurse Helpline a few years ago to speak about applying for a specialist bed for her 11-year-old son, Oliver, who has severe autism, is incontinent and non-verbal, apart from being able to say ‘Peppa Pig’. His condition was worsening and making it difficult for him to sleep, which meant Hayley couldn’t sleep either, making life feel overwhelming for the single mum who was trying to cope with everything alone.

However, she soon found that the nurses she spoke to were also able to provide the sympathetic ear and support she needed.

Since then, Oliver has received another bed from Newlife as he has grown, and uses the Play Therapy Pod service which provides specialist toys

to help his development, which Hayley says he loves. She has also been receiving support through the Nurse Helpline in a wide variety of ways, including signposting to other services and mental health support for herself.

Hayley said: “Initially I was referred to them to speak about a bed for Oliver, but they went above and beyond – they couldn’t do enough to support me. The nurses on the helpline are so sympathetic and supportive, they are wonderful.

“It’s hard to do everything on your own, but the nurses make the service so straightforward and easy, and if I’m feeling low and can’t cope, they are always happy to speak to me. They are always professional, but also friendly and supportive and I’ve been crying out for people like this to support me.

“They also follow up with calls to make sure I’m ok and that I’m coping - and I always feel like they really want to help me. That makes a big difference to me.”

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Our services

Play Therapy Pod Service

Newlife’s Play Therapy Pod Service is a free loan service, that provides specialist toys for a 12-week period. The toys are suitable from birth through to 18 years of age and each box contains a selection of specialist toys that can teach various key skills such as cause and effect, assist with developing hand-eye coordination, promote understanding of balance and movement as well as helping with the development of motor skills and stimulating audio and visual senses.

At Newlife we also understand the importance of play for building relationships. Sensory toys

help children interact with parents, carers, grandparents, siblings and friends which is, for many, a challenge. Most importantly, this service helps a lot of families have fun together! Specialist toys can be so expensive, so we have created this unique and fun loan service as a way for families to ‘try before they buy’. We have heard from so many families who have told us that their child has really liked one particular toy from our pod and so they are able to confi dently go out and purchase that toy knowing that their child will enjoy it. The impact from this service has been truly astounding.

The impact

We asked our families who received our Play Therapy Pods to complete a short survey. It is clear that the impact of these short loans is profound for both the child and the whole family.

1,384 Play Therapy Pods provided in 2023/24

“Sensory toys are extremely expensive and because our child can't communicate it's impossible to know whether or not he would like a toy. Newlife Play Therapy Pods have changed our lives because we can borrow these amazing toys to fi gure out what's needed. We use the toys to improve attention span, to tickle curiosity and to increase awareness. They are marvellous.”

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Amelia’s story

Two-year-old Amelia Pepper is looking forward to being able to play with her new baby brother - thanks to the loan of specialist sensory toys from Newlife.

Described by her mum, Sian, as ‘a true miracle’, Amelia’s unique genetic sequence means she faces an uncertain future. As a result of her condition, she needs to be tube-fed as she’s at high risk of breathing fl uid into her lungs, is partially sighted and decreased muscle tone means she can’t sit up on her own, walk or crawl.

But her head control is developing and despite doctors believing she would never speak, she now says a few words, including mum, dad and hello.

Mum Sian said Amelia’s favourite time is when she’s in her sensory room in their Nottingham home - which was fundraised through family and friends - playing with toys from Newlife’s Play Therapy Pods.

She said: “The sensory toys on loan from Newlife are great additions to the room and really help her development - it’s lovely to see her interact, play and learn. The toys always arrive quickly and it’s a lovely surprise to see what’s in the box – there are so many kinds of pods and toys to explore!”

Amelia’s favourite toy so far from the Play Therapy Pods is an elephant with switch buttons attached which she can tap with her fi ngers and toes to make it sing songs and wiggle its ears. She also enjoys colourful toys with music and lights which help incorporate play in her day-to-day development. This has helped her be able to track things with her fi ngers as well as her sight and develop her hand and eye coordination and head control.

Sian added: “There are so many toys we just wouldn’t have known about without the loans from Newlife. They help us discover what really appeals to Amelia, which can sometimes be a real surprise, and there have been several which have made it on to her Christmas and birthday lists as we know she gets a lot out of them, which with the current cost of living is better than buying things we don’t know for sure she will enjoy.

“Newlife’s sensory toys are also a great distraction when she’s in pain or we are waiting for appointments, especially little toys which encourage her to use her hands.”

With a new baby brother for Amelia, the sensory toys also mean Sian and dad, Callum, can look forward to seeing their children play together, helping them to interact and build their own bond.

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Summer's Story

Summer from Newcastle-Under-Lyme has a genetic condition so rare the seven-year-old is the only person in the UK to have it, leaving her abnormally tall for her age and unable to walk or communicate. Despite this, she has been waiting for a suitable wheelchair from her local wheelchair services for almost two years.

A buggy or wheelchair is vital for Summer to leave her home with mum Larissa, but despite being referred to their local wheelchair services in September 2022, they still haven’t been provided with a suitable wheelchair.

When the too-small buggy they had been using broke completely in half, Summer was unable to leave her home, until her mum, Larissa, turned to Newlife and we were able to provide her with a suitable buggy through our Emergency Loan Service. Emergency loans of equipment from Newlife are usually for six months, but Summer’s loan has now been extended twice – and they are still no closer to having permanent provision from their local wheelchair service.

Larissa said: “Having a wheelchair is the biggest thing for us, so I don’t know what we would have done without Newlife helping us. Without this buggy Summer couldn’t go to school, medical appointments or leave the house for anything.

“A wheelchair from statutory services is the bare minimum Summer is entitled to. It’s not fair that it’s been such a battle to get something that’s suitable for her needs. It’s just not good enough that she’s still waiting – we’re now back to having an assessment because it’s been so long.”

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Campaigning Giving a voice to disabled children and their families

It has never been more important to represent the voices of disabled children and their families, many of whom are extremely vulnerable and in desperate need of support, as we have highlighted in this report . It is also true that many families are struggling now more than ever to get this essential support that they need from their local health, social care and education services. This is why Newlife remains committed to campaigning for change.

In 2023/24 we have:

Continued to meet many MPs and Ministers to grow support to promote the interests of young people with disabilities.
Chaired a working group meeting of like-minded charities to identify the problems faced by families of disabled children and to identify potential solutions.
Submitted various Freedom of Information requests to all health and social care authorities on assessment waiting times and equipment spend. We then analysed the data to identify key themes.
Started work on our ‘state of the nation’ report called ‘Fight for our Future’ which will be released early in 2024/25 with the support of leading charities such as Whizz Kidz, Family Fund, British Healthcare Trade Association, Caudwell Children and the Disabled Children’s Partnership along with the support of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists.

“My son now has scoliosis because we spent nine months waiting for a new wheelchair to support his posture. By the time they did it, his spine had gone. Now he’s in a back brace 20 hours a day and he’s possibly going to have spinal surgery when he is 12 because he did not get the postural care we needed in time.” – Parent surveyed

“There is a major lack of funding for children with additional needs. We rely on charities for equipment when this should be provided by the local council.” – Family surveyed

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In the election year we are committed to one goal; to make sure that disabled children and their families are a priority to decision makers. We understand that the number one priority of all parents is to ensure that their child’s needs are met, allowing them to grow and flourish, to enable them to reach their potential.

It sounds simple, but parents and carers have, for too long, been trying to meet this priority within a system that is doing all it can to undermine them, that is preventing them from meeting their child’s most basic needs, that does not in the eye of too many families, see their child as a priority. This is the lived experience of too many disabled children and their families, and it is simply not acceptable.

This is why Newlife has been working tirelessly to better understand the scale of the problem, the systems that have been failing disabled children and their families and to identify what solutions are needed to bring about the change that is needed.

Looking forward

In 2024/25 we will produce and release our campaign report ‘ Fight for our Future’ and work with charities and decision makers to highlight the problems as seen by disabled children, their families and the professionals that work within health and social care and the solutions that we believe can bring about the change that is needed.

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Volunteering

Volunteering at Newlife is an exciting and fulfilling opportunity. Not only can volunteers gain new skills, confidence and experiences throughout their volunteering journey, but our volunteers also make a huge difference to the lives of disabled children and their families across the UK.

A large proportion of our volunteers (over 50%) have been with Newlife for more than five years. We were delighted to recognise five volunteers who reached their ten-year milestone this year.

13,670 Overall volunteer hours in 2023/24 across a range departments including the Opportunity Centre, retail stores and warehousing.

148

Overall number of volunteers.

Skills and integration for disabled adults

We believe it is crucial to give disabled young people and adults, who can easily be excluded from society on grounds of their disability the support, training and workplace experience they need. Our volunteering programme helps volunteers to develop new skills, meet new people and create new opportunities as well as ensure more people can benefit from the gift of volunteering.

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Corporate volunteering

In 2023/24 we have seen a large increase in the number of Corporate Volunteering enquiries and participation. This has mainly been driven by our Charity of the Year partnerships with Paragon Bank and Platform Housing Group, who have both contributed with regular volunteers, coupled with our popular offsite events.

Our largest contributions came in October and November when we welcomed volunteers to assist with our Black Friday preparations and our School Uniform initiative. Newlife supported 108 schools across the UK by providing free school uniforms donated by our retail partners. Volunteers were instrumental in processing the stock and fulfilling uniform requests. We extend a special thank you to everyone who contributed, including HomeServe, JLR, OSB Group, QBE, Unity Bank, Irwin Mitchell, CL Medilaw, Veolia, and Lloyds Bank.

Partnerships we have built

Hednesford Valley High School a SEN school in Cannock, who were able to place four students during term time for weekly sessions in our Opportunity Centre.
Queen Alexandra College Birmingham offered opportunities for students to work in our Yardley retail store. We have three active volunteers at the Yardley store who regularly give their time.
Shaw Trust have helped to promote volunteering in the Cannock area. This has lead to many new referrals and Shaw Trust providing an offer of employability workshops for our existing volunteers.
Job Centre career events have enabled us to spread awareness of Newlife and the volunteer opportunities we have available that can support people back into paid employment.

We recognise that working with our volunteers enhances our effectiveness, and we strive to ensure that volunteers gain the most

from their experiences. In 2024/25, we will be developing our future strategy to support growth and to identify new ways we can build on our current programme, ensuring volunteering is inclusive, meaningful, and impactful.

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Fundraising

Our approach to fundraising

In order to respond to the changing landscape of fundraising and to meet future demand and growth of services, we continue to build on our existing relationships as well as maximise income from three key areas: corporate, charitable trusts and community. All fundraising activity is carried out by skilled, professional, paid in-house fundraisers.

We operate in a transparent and open manner as well as to protect members of our community and supporters who may be vulnerable. To support this, the following fundraising policies are in place and regularly reviewed with key policies also published on our website:

Gift Acceptance and Refusal
• Partnering with alcohol companies
Protecting vulnerable people while fundraising
Dealing with fundraising complaints

Events Portfolio Expansion

As part of diversifying our income this year, we focused on growing our events portfolio, securing places in the London Landmarks Half Marathon and being the nominated charity for the Cannock Chase Running Festival. Additionally, we successfully rolled out the second year of our national fundraising day, Sparkle Day.

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Fundraising income for 2023/24 achieved

£2,178,89 5

Corporate Partnerships

Corporate income saw an increase of 90% compared to the previous year. We secured charity partnerships with Paragon Bank, Platform Housing Group, and several other organisations. Corporate volunteering hours also grew in 2023/24, totaling over 850 hours.

Trusts and Foundations

Income from trust and foundations grew in the year and we secured income from 24 new charitable trusts this year. Notably, we received over £25,000 from three of these new donors: The Jane Hodge Foundation, The Matchroom Charitable Foundation, and St James's Place Charitable Foundation.

Motability Foundation Funding

The year 2023/24 marked our second year of funding from the Motability Foundation. This funding has enabled Newlife to provide equipment and advice and deliver 85 specialist buggies or wheelchairs to children aged 18 months to 18 years across the UK. The range of life-changing equipment provided includes:

A powered wheelchair with an up-down riser for an 11-year-old, enabling access to various heights at secondary school and fostering independence.
A twin buggy for a parent with two disabled children, facilitating school walks and outings.
A lightweight chair for a fi ve-year-old with a muscle-wasting condition, allowing her to wheel herself around and maintain muscle strength.

The impact of this equipment is signifi cant, and this transformational partnership helps us support children and young people across the UK.

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Retail

The main source of income in the year relates to the commercial activities of the charity from the recycling of donated products sold through the charity’s network of retail locations.

Joining forces with well-known high street brands has allowed Newlife to do something unique: sell brand new clothes at a fraction of the original price.

Brands play their part by donating surplus stock, increasing its lifespan and preventing it from ending up in landfi ll. Stock is then processed and sold in Newlife’s portfolio of stores across the UK, and online through the Newlife Online and eBay stores.

And every purchase made in Newlife stores or online makes a difference, with 100% of our profi ts going to help disabled children and their families access much-needed specialist equipment.

Till point round-up donations in 2023/24 totalled ooo ooo : = £80,110 Pea a Retail Highlights

There were anniversaries across the portfolio as our High Wycombe store celebrated one year of trading on 28 July 2023, while our Moreton store turned fi ve on 31 July 2023.
Newlife’s school uniform initiative saw 12,000 items of clothing and shoes processed and donated to more than 100 schools in need. The initiative saw a combined effort from the retail, volunteering, and communications and marketing teams to ensure delivery.
Newlife Online received an overhaul in order to improve the customer experience, and had its most successful Black Friday week ever.
A Newlife ‘pop up’ shop opened in Stoke-onTrent in the Potteries Shopping Centre for a sixweek period receiving PR coverage on local BBC radio and in the regional newspaper.
Bridal sales events in June and October 2023, and January and March 2024 proved successful.

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Sustainability impact

We divert thousands of unrequired commercial products from landfill and incineration. We

work with hundreds of well-known and wellrespected high street stores, designer labels and supermarkets to help them reduce their surplus waste, to find ways to re-use this product, honouring the energy resources that went into its creation and recycle it, when it cannot be reasonably re-used, recycling as much of the raw materials as possible.

In 2016, as Newlife became a CIO, Newlife added a new object to its constitution to protect and preserve the environment for the public benefit through waste reduction, reuse, reclamation and recycling.

Any items that cannot be resold, we recycle using qualified and trusted partners to recycle as much as possible of the raw materials, often to create new products.

How do we do this?

We take stock such as clothing, bags, shoes, accessories, soft furnishings, electrical items and homewares that are no longer wanted/required by UK and European retailers. We organise to pick it up from location if required.We then assess the stock through our warehouse operation, to see if it can be reused, if so then we will take out the labels in line with the donors' wishes and make it ready to be sold in our retail stores across the West Midlands, East Midlands, North West and the South West.

The recycle and re-use of this product sits within Newlife's commercial division. All profits from the commercial division are spent on our charitable aims, helping to change the lives of disabled and terminally ill children.

In 2023/24 we collected over 1,870 tonnes of stock.
All stock was sold, donated to good causes or families in need or recycled saving the product from landfill.
We worked with 113 brand partners.

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Looking ahead Objectives for 2024/25

In 2023/24 we provided help or assistance on 19,119 occasions – we remain focused on supporting those most in need of our services and plan to reach as many disabled children and families as possible in the next financial year.

Help 20% more children and their families

Overall we are targeting to help 20% more families or children, whether it be with a much-needed grant of equipment, equipment loaned in emergency situations, a dedicated professional to speak to on our Nurse Helpline or through the provision of toys to help children develop and learn. This equates to a target of more than 22,900 occasions of help. We commit to staying agile to ensure we meet the needs of our families in the most appropriate way.

Continue to listen

During the current year we have undertaken our largest beneficiaries and professionals stakeholder engagement project to date. In 2024/25 we will take what we have learnt and develop our services in ways that families really want and need. We are going to launch a new Family Champions board to ensure we remain close to our families, listening to people with real experience of the issues being felt and ensuring their thoughts are considered as part of future decisions we make on services and provision.

Launch the 'Fight For Our Future' campaign

All children deserve the right to live a life free from pain and the ability to fulfil their full potential.

Yet too many of the 1.6 million disabled children in the UK are being routinely let down as they lack access to crucial support and specialist equipment such as wheelchairs, buggies and

beds. These children are left to suffer in pain, with their safety compromised and isolated from the world. For many, they are denied the opportunities we all take for granted, including the chance to go to school, develop skills and independence for the future or to even leave the house safely. To highlight these issues, we are going to launch our new campaign, Fight for our Future – calling on the Government to implement a series of cost-effective reforms which will break down these barriers and build a better future for disabled children.

Grow and diversify income

In order to achieve our charitable aims we will continue to grow and diversify income by finding new ways to reach more customers. Following the successful trial of the pop-up model,. we will seek to expand this way of selling by taking Newlife on the road.

Train and grow our team

As we grow as a charity, we will renew our commitment to the training and development of our staff through the introduction of apprenticeship schemes and other training resources to help our staff

grow with us.

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Trustee Thank you

The Trustees are grateful to the hundreds of donors who choose to support Newlife. Through generous donations, Newlife can respond to the thousands of requests for emergency and quality of life equipment, as well as specialist play therapy toys, each year. We are particularly grateful to:

The Bernard Lewis Family Charitable Trust who continue to provide vital support to Newlife.

St. James's Place Foundation

for their grant over the next two years to support specialist equipment to improve the quality of life for children across the UK.

The Motability Foundation

for provision of specialist wheelchairs and buggies to help us bring freedom and independence to children, young people and their families.

The Pilkington Charities Fund

for supporting equipment for children in Merseyside.

The Bruce Wake Charitable

The Marian Elizabeth Trust

for their ongoing generous support for our Play Therapy Pods, enabling children and families to experience the joy of play.

The Jane Hodge Foundation

for their grant towards providing specialist equipment to improve the lives of disabled children in Wales.

The Matchroom Charitable Foundation, The David Family Foundation and The Edward Gostling Foundation for their grants towards specialist equipment to improve the lives of disabled children across the UK.

Trust for their grant towards the provision of specialist wheelchairs.

River Island who continue to

generously support us through the carrier bag charge scheme with a donation made to Newlife for every plastic bag sold in store.

The February Foundation for their generous contributions towards our work over the past 14 years.

The Hugh Fraser Foundation

who have supported our work for 10 years, helping us to reach children and families in Scotland.

The Maureen Boal Charitable

Trust for continuing to support specialist equipment in Northern Ireland, to improve the quality of life for disabled children and families.

The Barcapel Foundation for their two generous grants this year towards specialist equipment for children in Scotland.

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Financial Review and Results

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Financial Review

Income

Overall, incoming resources for the year to 31 March 2024 was £17.2m (2022/23 £17.7m) a 2.4% decrease over the prior year.

Commercial income is generated from goods donated by our retail brand partners. These goods are either sold through the Charity’s various retail locations or recycled for their raw materials. All the goods are donated to benefit the Charity by companies, mainly retailers, but also manufacturers and wholesalers. Gross commercial income for the year was £15.0m (2022/23 £15.6m).

In addition, the Charity continued to receive both restricted and unrestricted non-capital donations during the year. These donations have been received from individuals, groups, trusts, foundations, companies and other organisations. Income in the year from donations and legacies and fundraising activity was £2.2m (2022/23 £2.1m) an increase of 5%.

Interest and Investments income is generated from the handling and/or investment of funds held by the Charity. A policy on investment exists to control any risks associated with this. Income remains low in the year at £24.8k (2022/23 £7k) due to a cautious investment policy being pursued to protect the Charity’s assets using a mix of low and medium-risk investments causing a reduction in interest and dividends.

Expenditure

increased by 3% over the prior year. Costs of fundraising have increased by 2% over the prior year. During the year a return on investment of 3.9:1 was achieved, which exceeded target.

Charitable Expenditure – these are specifically related to achieving the aims of the Charity: equipment grants and loans, nurse services, campaigning, medical research and volunteering. In the year to 31 March 2024 a total of £4.3m (2022/23 £3.7m) was spent across these charitable areas, of which £1.2m came from restricted income.

It is the Trustees’ view that the resources expended in achieving the charitable aims have been in line with the aims and objectives of the Charity with clear beneficial outcomes. It is also their view that the cost of governance of the Charity is very low. Meeting venues are donated and minimal expenses by Trustees for their duties are claimed. All this acts to keep the real costs of running the Charity at a very low level. Investment in ‘fundraising’ is a long-term cost.

It is the Trustees’ view that their investment will in time reap rewards as it is based on sound principles and practices within the sector.

At the 31 March 2024 the Charity had funds of £4.8m (31 March 2023 £5.5m), including restricted funds of £0.5m (31 March 2023 £0.7m).

Trustees had decided to reduce the reserves held at the year end in line with the reserves policy.

Key Performance Indicators

Newlife expends resources in a number of ways:

Expenditure on Raising Funds – these costs relate to the investment made in generating income to achieve the aims of the Charity. These costs are split between those in relation to the commercial operations and those relating to fundraising.

In the year these costs totalled £13.8m (2022/23 £13.3m), with £13.2m (2022/23 £12.7m) in relation to commercial operations and £0.6m (2022/23 £0.6m) in relation to fundraising activity. Costs relating to the commercial operations have

Our Key Performance Indicators are reviewed and sent out to our trustees and leadership team every month. The KPIs cover all parts of the commercial division including stock received, production of stock delivered and commercial division sales. We also have KPIs for other key departments that work across Newlife, including the People Team, Finance, IT and Telecommunications, Governance and Compliance, Communications and Facilities. Finally, the Key Performance Indicators for the charitable services/aims are based around the number of children helped, individual/group policies changed through campaigning action and

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the number of volunteers contributing to the work of the charity. These KPIs are regularly reviewed by the Trustees.

Risk Management

The Board of Trustees acknowledges its responsibility for managing risks to which the Charity is exposed. Our approach to risk management remains consistent with the previous year and addresses these risks in a conscious manner that increases the likelihood of achieving our strategy and business objectives. This proactive approach has recently been strengthened by the recruitment of a dedicated Director of Business Risk. This proactive approach ensures risk management is part of our management conversations and is embedded in our processes which benefits our decision making and is essential to creating and preserving long term value.

The Director of Business Risk is responsible for defining the risk management framework and driving consistent application across the Charity and reporting through the Risk Executive Group (REG). The REG has delegated authority from the Trustees to constructively challenge and support charity functions in following the risk methodology outlined in the risk management framework. The risk management framework is designed to identify and manage, rather than eliminate, the risk of failure to achieve charity objectives, and to provide reasonable, but not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss. The framework is designed to be sufficiently agile to respond to changes in macroeconomic circumstances.

The Charity captures the most substantial risks under, Principal Business Risks (PBRs). These are reviewed quarterly at the Risk Executive Group (REG) and half yearly by the Trustees, who sit on the Audit and Risk Committee (ARC).

The PBR identified is donor risk. Newlife relies on the goodwill of it's donors for both stock and fundraising support. Newlife continues to develop these key relationships through our planned donor management process.

Risk Appetite

The Charity's risk appetite takes into account careful financial management and commitment to the long-term support of disabled children in accordance with charity's strategic goals and is guided by a number of risk appetite guardrails. The Trustees are also committed to ensuring that the

PBRs are managed on an ongoing basis.

Charity Governance

The Trustees understand their legal duties and recognise the importance of good governance. The Director of Charitable Services reviews best practice and discusses findings with the CEO and the Audit and Risk Committee annually.

Reserves Policy

Due to the identified risk of having one main source of income generation i.e. the commercial operations, the Trustees need to act wisely to ensure that a platform of funds is available to continue the work of the Charity, should income from the commercial operations stall or reduce.

The Trustees review the level of reserves annually and designate funds to cover key aspects of charitable activity. As at the 31st March 2024 the Charity held reserves of £4,779,749.

This is split as follows:	2024	2023
	£	£
Restricted funds	508,583	673,428
Unrestricted funds :
Designated funds	3,585,500	3,035,000
Charitable activity reserve	500,000	500,000
Accumulated charitable funds	185,666	1,247,758
Total funds	4,779,749	5,456,186

The trustees have designated funds of £3.6m to ensure we can meet our stated objectives of providing support or assistance on 22,900 occasions over the next 12 months. In addition, a general fund of £500k is held to allow for amounts that can only be recognised by disposing of tangible fixed assets. After these designations and the restricted reserves held, Newlife has funds of £185,666 at the year end (2022/23 £1,247,758).

Total unrestricted reserves of £4,271,166 (2022/23 £4,782,758) are held. The trustees have agreed that this figure should not fall below £3.3 million. Reserves are currently higher than target but Trustees plan to continue to review charitable spending in 2023/24 to further reduce reserves and will review the level of reserves to ensure it is still adequate.

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Investment Policy

The investment policy is set by the trustees and considers the risk profile and the investment managers’ view of market prospects in the medium term. The investments are currently not required to generate short-term income but to support our reserves requirement in the longer term. The members of the Audit and Risk Committee meet annually with the investment managers to review the performance of the portfolio and the investment strategy.

Disabled Persons Statement

At Newlife, we employ and train disabled adults and give enrichment and purpose to disabled volunteers who work alongside our staff and other volunteers in equality and appreciation. Newlife meets all legislative requirements, including the Equality Act 2010, to ensure equality of access and opportunity regarding recruitment and professional development and is the holder of the Disability Positive Mark level 2.

We believe it is crucial to give disabled young people and adults who can easily be socially excluded from society on grounds of their disability the support, training, workplace experience and volunteer opportunities they need in a meaningful,safe, social and happy environment which we believe will help them to feel part of society.

Serious Incident Reports

There were no serious incident reports to the Charity Commission.

Public Benefit

In detailing the activities of the Charity, Newlife can clearly demonstrate the wide reaching activities of the Charity in the interest of disabled, terminally ill children and their families, adults with disabilities who are a substantial part of the UK public as defined by the Charity Commission Guidance. This demonstrates 'public benefit' as required by the Charity Commission. The Trustees confirm that they have referred to this guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity's aims and objectives and in planning future activities.

Our approach to fundraising

As a charity that relies on voluntary income, we take an active and responsible approach to fundraising. A high-quality supporter experience is key and as a member of the Fundraising Regulator we are firmly committed to ensuring we are compliant with their Code of Practice.

We operate in a transparent and open manner as well as to protect members of our community and supporters who may be vulnerable. To support this, the following fundraising policies are in place and regularly reviewed:

Gift Acceptance and Refusal
Partnering with alcohol companies
Protecting vulnerable people while fundraising
Dealing with fundraising complaints

Our fundraising activity is carefully planned using set templates to ascertain campaign feasibility, plan income and expenditure budgets, logistics and any health and safety requirements.

All fundraising data is stored in accordance with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR 2015) and the Data Protection Act 1998. We have a clear privacy statement on our website and any electronic communications sent out give options to opt out at any time. We apply the legitimate interest test where opt in has not been received for any communications sent via post.

During the year no opt outs were received via the Fundraising Preference Service. Oversight of all fundraising activity carried out by the charity is the responsibility of the Trustees, Leadership Team and specifically the Director of Fundraising and Communications.

Working with third party fundraisers

The charity benefits from lottery income via its contract with Make a Smile Lottery, owned and run by St Helena Hospice.

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All activities carried out by Make a Smile on behalf of Newlife are regularly reviewed and monitored. Clear policies are in place to support vulnerable people and scripts are in place to avoid any mis-selling or representation of the charity.

Complaints

We strive to provide excellent levels of supporter care and relationship management to ensure all fundraisers and donors have a positive experience when supporting Newlife. In 2023/24 no complaint was received in relation to fundraising activities.

All complaints are investigated with outcomes fed back to the complainant in a positive manner. We encourage complaints and feedback to help shape the ongoing development of our activity and the way in which we work with our supporters.

Pay Gaps

We benchmark our pay offer to make sure that salaries are kept fair, competitive and relevant to the environment in which we operate. All salaries are in line or above the National Living Wage (NLW). We specifically monitor pay gaps and work towards reducing them.

In April 2023, our gender pay gap was 7.76% an increase from 5.99% compared to 2022.

Our Commitments to ensure that a balanced gender pay gap exists by:

Giving added focus to succession planning and leadership development in order to promote gender equality and inclusion.
To monitor pay and recruitment activities by gender.
To support flexible working patterns, where this can be managed within the Charity, for example, offering a range of options such as part time working and hybrid working.

Structure, Governance and Management

Newlife The Charity for Disabled Children (Newlife Charity, Newlife or the CIO) was registered with the Charity Commission on 10th November 2016 (Charity Registration Number 1170125). The CIO

has carried on all aspects of Newlife Trading Ltd and Newlife Foundation’s activities. On 19/03/2018 the Charity Commission granted a linking order for the CIO and Newlife Foundation. Subsequently these accounts show the combined position of the CIO and Newlife Foundation. The Trustees are responsible for the overall governance of the Charity. Trustees are either named within the trust deed or elected following a process of open selection or dialogue with interested parties. The decision on Trustee appointment is solely taken by agreement of the board of Trustees.

Where Trustees are appointed they are given a formal induction process to the work of the Charity and provided with information that they need to fulfil their roles, including information about the role of trustees and charity law. Trustees receive updates and training from key industry sources and have substantial personal experience in the sector and business. The principal officer is the Chief Executive who is responsible for the day to day management of the Charity’s affairs and implementing policies agreed by the Trustees.

Trustees receive regular updates on the work of the Charity including financial statements and all activities are administered nationally from the head office.

The Trustees consider the board of Trustees, the Chief Executive and the leadership team as comprising the key management personnel of the Charity in charge of directing and controlling the Charity and running and operating the Charity on a day-to-day basis.

All Trustees give their time freely and no remuneration is paid to the Trustees in their capacity as Trustees. Details of trustee expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in note 3 of the accounts.

Trustees are required to disclose all relevant interests and register them with the Chief Executive and/or the Leadership Team and in accordance with the Charity’s policy withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises. The pay of the Charity’s Chief Executive is reviewed periodically. The remuneration of all senior and executive positions are bench-marked with grant-making charities of a similar size and activity to ensure that the remuneration set is fair and not out of line with that generally paid for similar roles.

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Reference and administation info

Name Newlife The Charity for Disabled Children

Status Registered with the Charity Commission on 10th November 2018

Trustees

Life Trustees: Mr C. Lewis, Mr L. Lewis and Professor M. Patton.

Term Trustees: Mr C Chaney, Mr N Lewis, Mrs P Burnett, Mr R Bradbury, Mrs V Sloane and Mrs K Griffith

Key Management Personnel Ms F Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, Mrs J Duggan Director of Fundraising & Communications, Mrs E Jackson Director of Finance & Central Services, Mr S Morgan, Director of Charitable Services, Ms C Simpson, Director of Retail and Sustainability, and Ms T Barlow, Head of HR.

Registered Address Newlife Centre, Hemlock Way, Cannock, Staffs, WS11 7GF

Head Office Newlife Centre, Hemlock Way, Cannock, Staffs, WS11 7GF

Auditors BDO LLP, Two Snowhill, Birmingham B4 6GA

Legal Advisors Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP, 134 Edmunds Street, Birmingham, B3 2ES

Bankers Barclays Bank PLC, PO Box 90, 357/366 Strand, London

Investment Managers Barclays Private Bank, 1 Churchill Place, London

Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children. Registered Charity Number 1170125 in England & Wales

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Trustee Responsibilties

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Charity law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under charity law the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charity for that period.

of fraud and other irregularities.

Financial statements are published on the charity’s website in accordance with legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements, which may vary from legislation in other jurisdictions. The maintenance and integrity of the charity’s website is the responsibility of the trustees. The trustees’ responsibility also extends to the ongoing integrity of the financial statements contained therein.

Approved by the Trustees on 23/01/25

and signed on their behalf by

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

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the applicable Charities SORP;

• make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with Charities Act 2011, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the Trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection

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Financial Statements For the year ending 31st March 2024

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Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

	Note	Restricted	Unrestricted	2024 Total	2023 Total
		£	£	£	£
Income
Donations and legacies		1,007,509	1,157,273	2,164,782	2,067,173
Other trading operations:
Fundraising activities		334	13,779	14,113	13,213
Commercialoperations		-	15,031,907	15,031,907	15,581,654

Incomefrom investments		-	24,810	24,810	7,006
Other income		-	1,196	1,196	-
Total income		1,007,843	16,228,965	17,236,808	17,669,046
Expenditure
Expenditure on raising funds:
Fundraising		-	558,532	558,532	549,877
Commercial operations expenditure		-	13,174,842	13,174,842	12,740,445
Expenditure on charitable
activities:
Equipment, campaigning and support		1,172,688	3,167,946	4,340,634	3,678,553
Medical research		-	501	501	(12,118)

Total expenditure	6	1,172,688	16,901,821	18,074,509	16,956,757

Net (expenditure) / income
before gains and losses on	2	(164,845)	(672,856)	(837,701)	712,289
investment
Net gains /(losses)	8	-	161,264	161,264	(42,416)
Net (expenditure)/income
for the period and net		(164,845)	(511,592)	(676,437)	669,873
movement in funds

Reconciliation of funds
Total funds broughtforward		673,428	4,782,758	5,456,186	4,786,313

Total funds carried forward		508,583	4,271,166	4,779,749	5,456,186

All disclosures relate to ongoing operations.

The notes on pages 43 to 52 form part of these financial statements.

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Charity Balance Sheet for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

	Note	2024	2023
Fixed assets		£	£
Tangible assets	7	240,276	464,104
Investments	8	3,100,577	2,928,874
Total Fixed Assets		3,340,853	3,392,978
Current assets
Stock		24,950	108,406
Debtors	9	489,661	775,980
Cash at bank and in hand		3,829,472	3,517,848
Total Current Assets		4,344,083	4,402,234
Creditors – amounts falling due within 1 year	10	(2,553,187)	(2,339,026)
Net current assets		1,790,896	2,063,208

Provision for liabilities	11	(352,000)	-
Net assets		4,779,749	5,456,186

Restricted funds	12	508,583	673,428
Unrestricted funds :
Designated funds	13	3,585,500	3,035,000
Charitable activityreserve	17	500,000	500,000
Accumulated charitable funds	18	185,666	1,247,758
Total funds		4,779,749	5,456,186

Approved by the Trustees and authorised for issue on: 23.01.25

Trustee

Mr Clive Lewis

The notes on pages 43 to 52 form part of these accounts

Docusign Envelope ID: 88E33BAB-F763-4D31-BB15-4CE8B549D3D3

Statement of Cashflows for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

	Note	2024	2023
		£	£
Net cash infow from operating activities	14	373,945	1,141,040

Cash fows from investing activities
Interest received		11,697	2,710
Dividends received		13,113	4,296
Purchase of tangible fxed assets		(121,592)	(384,475)
Sale of tangible fxed assets		44,900	-
Net cash(used in) investing activities		(51,882)	(377,469)

Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period		322,063	763,571
Openingcash and cash equivalents		4,747,533	3,983,962
Closing cash and cash equivalents		5,069,596	4,747,533

Represented by:
Cash at bank		3,829,472	3,517,848
Cash equivalents held in investments		1,240,124	1,229,685
		5,069,596	4,747,533

The notes on pages 43 to 52 form part of these accounts

Docusign Envelope ID: 88E33BAB-F763-4D31-BB15-4CE8B549D3D3

1) Accounting Policies

The accounts (financial statements) have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the Charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

Newlife meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. The Charities financial position remained strong throughout the period under review. The Charity sought additional space on a temporary basis to support underlying trade and started a strategic review of all retail space held to support expansion. The Charity continues to stress test reserves / cash availability whenever significant new activity is considered and continues to look for new trading opportunities. Current forecasts covering the period until 31 March 2026, are prepared and monitored based on current activity levels and best and worst case scenarios are considered. In all cases the charity has sufficient liquid assets to remain cash positive. Given the strength of the balance sheet and availability and liquidity of investments, the members of the Board believe that, while uncertainty exists, this does not pose a material uncertainty that would cast doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the signing of these accounts. The Board, therefore, consider it appropriate for the accounts to be prepared on a going concern basis.

a) Accounting for Income

All income is recognised once the Charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably. Donations are recognised when the Trust has been notified in writing of both the amount and settlement date. In the event that a donation is subject to conditions that require a level of performance before the Charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either

those conditions are fully met, or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the Charity and it is probable that those conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting year. Where an appropriate value can be placed on non-cash donations, they are included in the SOFA.

Newlife receives donations of stock from a large range of donor partners. Due to the nature of the donations the value is not recognised on receipt, as this would be impractical, instead the value to the charity is recognised as income when sold.

b) Accounting for Expenditure

All revenue expenditure is accounted for when incurred. Grants payable are payments made to third parties in the furtherance of the charitable objectives of the Charity. In the case of an unconditional grant offer this is accrued once the recipient has been notified of the grant award. The notification gives the recipient a reasonable expectation that they will receive a single or multiyear grants. Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

c) Investments

Investments are made from unrestricted funds and are shown on the balance sheet at market value, which is determined at fair value.

d) Allocation of Support and Governance Costs

Support costs have been allocated between governance costs and other support costs. Governance costs comprise all costs involving the public accountability of the Charity and its compliance with regulation and good practice. These costs include costs related to statutory audit and legal fees together with an apportionment of overhead and support costs. Governance costs and support costs relating to charitable activities have been apportioned based staff time and asset use. The allocation of support and governance costs is analysed in note 5.

e) Pension Costs

Contributions to the Charity’s defined contribution pension scheme are charged to the statement of financial activities in the year in which they become payable. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Charity in an independently administered fund.

f) Operating Leases

The annual rentals are charge to the statement of financial activities on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. Where the unavoidable costs of

Docusign Envelope ID: 88E33BAB-F763-4D31-BB15-4CE8B549D3D3

a lease exceed the economic benefit expected to be received from it, a provision is made for the present value of the obligations under the lease.

in the reconciliation and analysis of movements of designated funds shown in note 13.

k) Cash at bank and in hand

g) Fixed Assets

Fixed assets are stated at cost incurred or estimated market value at date of receipt where assets have been donated to the Charity. There are no un-capitalised assets.

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and shortterm highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

l) Cash equivalents

Depreciation is provided to write off cost (or market value at date of receipt) less estimated residual values of all fixed assets over their expected useful lives on a straight-line basis. The need for any fixed asset impairment write-down is assessed by comparing the carrying value of the asset against the higher of realisable value and the value in use.

Motor vehicles	25% straight-line basis
Office equipment,	10% - 33% straight-line
Fixtures and Fittings	basis
Loan equipment	50% straight-line basis
Leasehold Improvements	over the life of the lease

h) Reserves

The Trustees have established a charitable activity reserve. The reserve is reviewed annually and is calculated to cover the basic cost of charitable activities (other than grants already committed) for a period of a year.

i) Restricted Funds

Where a donor has specified a particular purpose for a donation, the income is so recognised in the statement of financial activities. Expenditure is allocated to it accordingly.

j) Designated Funds

Where the Charity is committed to a specific project an allocation is made to a designated fund. Income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities as it arises and is allocated as explained

Cash equivalents that are held as part of the managed investment portfolio are included as part of fixed asset investments.

m) Stock

Stock represents items of equipment that have been donated to the Charity for use within its operations. The value of stock comprises the costs that have been incurred in bringing the stocks to their present location and condition (refurbishment) ready for use within the charity’s operations.

Newlife does not include the value of goods donated for resale on the balance sheet as the Trustees consider this to be impractical due to the nature of items received, instead this is recognised as income when sold.

n) Estimates and judgements

In preparing these financial statements, the key area where the Trustees have made accounting judgements are around the length of time that grant commitments are held, and subsequently when these commitments can be released, and the classification of leases between operating leases or financial leases. Key accounting estimates are applied when determining the length of time over which to depreciate assets and assessing the recoverability of trade debtors.

o) Financial instruments

The Charity only has financial assets and liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

2 Net (Expenditure)/Income

2 Net (Expenditure)/Income
	2024	2023
Net(expenditure)/income is arrived at after charging	£	£
Auditors' remuneration – audit services	38,100	37,000
Depreciation	341,511	505,435
Operating lease rentals	757,767	623,048

Docusign Envelope ID: 88E33BAB-F763-4D31-BB15-4CE8B549D3D3

3 Related Party Transactions and Trustees' Expense and Remuneration

The Trustees all give their time and expertise freely without any form of remuneration or other benefit in cash or kind. Payments to trustees in the year totalled £10,262.20 (2022/23 £909.60) and relate to fees and expenses paid when trustee Nigel Lewis was appointed as interim CEO, as allowed under the charity constitution.

During the period the Charity received a donation of £400,000 (2022/23 £400,000) from the Bernard Lewis Family Charitable Trust, a trust whose trustees include 3 of the same Trustees as Newlife. In addition, £- (2022/23 £5,000) was received from the Bradbury Family Charitable Trust.

4 Analysis of Staff Costs and Other Remuneration of Key Management Personnel

Average number of Charity colleagues	520	564

	2024	2023
	£	£
Wages and salaries	8,910,266	8,446,787
Employers NI	654,319	608,880
Pension contributions	168,147	152,511
Total emoluments	9,732,732	9,208,178

During the period the Charity considers its key management to be the Trustees, and the leadership team, comprising the CEO and leadership team. The total employment benefits including employer pension contributions of the key management personnel recognised in the accounts for the period was £620,447 (2022/23 £569,622).

The number of colleagues whose emoluments as defined for taxation purposes amounted to more than £60,000 in the year, was as follows:

£60,000 in the year, was as follows:
	2024	2023
£60,000 - £69,999	2	1
£70,000 - £79,999	1	1
£80,000 - £89,999	1	-
£100,000 - £109,999	1	1
£110,000 - £119,999	1	1
£120,000 - £129,999	1	-
The number with retirement benefts accruingin:
- money purchase schemes was	7	4
- for which contributions amounted to £	17,445	28,268

The Charity enjoys the benefit of a dedicated team of volunteers who assist in the preparation of stock for resale through the commercial operation in the dedicated opportunity centre and other roles throughout the Charity. In the 12 months of operations over 13,670 (2022/23 13,892) volunteering hours were recorded.

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5 Allocation of Governance and Support Costs

The breakdown of support and governance cost is shown in the table below, these costs are allocated across charitable and non charitable expenditure, using the basis shown below:

	Total Allocated	Other Support Costs	Governance Related	Basis	Total Allocated
	2024	2024	2024		2023
	£	£	£		£
Cost Type
Staff/ management costs	1,679,729	1,636,865	42,864	Staff Time	1,203,844
Offce rental and other costs	496,479	460,407	36,072	Staff Time	582,462
Depreciation	1,361	1,215	146	Staff Time	30,683
Audit fee and trustee related expenses	38,100	-	38,100	-	37,000
	2,215,669	2,098,487	117,182		1,853,989
Allocation on staff time is based on a review of time spent on each activity
Governance Costs				2024	2023
				£	£
Audit Fee				38,100	37,000
Trustee IndemnityInsurance				11,487	10,800
Legal / Professional fees				5,969	7,066
Staff costs				42,864	24,601
Cost of meetings/ Other				18,762	13,127
				117,182	92,594

The total cost of support costs allocated to charitable activities is then apportioned over different activities based on an estimated time spent on each area. All governance costs are met from unrestricted funds and apportioned over both charitable activity, and the costs of generating income.

Docusign Envelope ID: 88E33BAB-F763-4D31-BB15-4CE8B549D3D3

6 Analysis of Expenditure

	Direct Staff Costs	Other	Grant Funding	Support and Governance Costs	Total
	2024	2024	2024	2024	2024	2023
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Equipment,
campaigning	1,027,023	161,210	2,900,163	252,238	4,340,634	3,678,553
and support
Medical research	-	501	-	-	501	(12,118)
Total Charitable Activity	1,027,023	161,711	2,900,163	252,238	4,341,135	3,666,435
Cost of generating funds	437,269	26,434	-	94,829	558,532	549,877
Commercial activities	8,268,439	3,037,801	-	1,868,602	13,174,842	12,740,445
Total Resources Expended	9,732,732	3,225,945	2,900,163	2,215,669	18,074,509	16,956,757

Grants are made for a variety of purposes including equipment, salaries, consumables, training and related costs. All grants under medical research are payable to institutions and are detailed in the Trustee report. All grants under Care Services, Equipment Grants and Loans are grants of equipment made directly to individual children or families, the number and amount of these are detailed in the Trustee report.

In the period the expenditure on charitable activities was £4.3m (2022/23 £3.7m), £3.2m (2022/23 £2.6m) of this was from unrestricted funds and £1.2m (2022/23 £1.1m) was from restricted funds.

7 Tangible Fixed Assets

	Leasehold	Loan	Fixtures &	Motor	Total
	Improvements	Equipment	Equipment	Vehicles
	£	£	£	£	£
Cost
Balance at 31 March 2023	2,068,141	1,345,560	1,499,970	192,817	5,106,488
Additions	59,123	19,895	42,574	-	121,592
Disposals	(1,334)	(362,226)	-	(69,092)	(432,652)
Balance at 31 March 2024	2,125,930	1,003,229	1,542,544	123,725	4,795,428
Accumulated
Depreciation
Balance at 31 March 2023	1,889,711	1,282,284	1,321,121	149,268	4,642,384
Charge for period	147,977	64,179	105,300	24,055	341,511
Disposals	(1,334)	(361,190)	-	(66,219)	(428,743)
Balance at 31 March 2024	2,036,354	985,273	1,426,421	107,104	4,555,152

NBV at 31 March 2024	89,576	17,956	116,123	16,621	240,276
NBV at 31 March 2023	178,430	63,276	178,849	43,549	464,104

Docusign Envelope ID: 88E33BAB-F763-4D31-BB15-4CE8B549D3D3

8 Investments

All investments are in the United Kingdom. The cost of investments held at 31 March 2024, excluding high interest accounts, was £1,860,453 (2022/23 £1,699,189).

	Equity	Total
	£	£
Balance at 31 March 2023	1,699,189	1,699,189
Change in market value	161,264	161,264
Market Value at 31 March 2024	1,860,453	1,860,453
High interest accounts	-	1,240,124
Total Investments	-	3,100,577

Equities represent shares in a mixed investment fund selected to mitigate investment risk and are valued at market value. In addition we received small holdings in 4 developed market equities which we still held at the year end. No one equity represented more than 5% of the portfolio value. The change in value includes all realised profits and losses on disposals in the year.

9 Debtors

9 Debtors
	2024	2023
	£	£
Prepayments and accruals	240,136	293,765
Trade debtors	33,192	208,697
Other debtors	216,333	273,518
	489,661	775,980
10 Creditors
	2024	2023
	£	£
Trade creditors	609,652	487,439
Payroll creditors	140,644	120,903
Other creditors & accruals	990,770	877,568
Approvedgrants < 1year	812,121	853,116
	2,553,187	2,339,026

11 Provisions

11 Provisions
	Balance 31 March	New in year	Released/ unreleased	Balance 31 March
	2023			2024
	£	£	£	£
Provision for dilapidation	-	352,000	-	352,000
	-	352,000	-	352,000

Dilapidation provision is related to the closure of a warehouse in 2024 and is expected to be utilised in the next 12 months.

Docusign Envelope ID: 88E33BAB-F763-4D31-BB15-4CE8B549D3D3

12 Restricted Funds

The income funds of the Charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust to be applied for specific purposes. Sums are drawn down as and when specific expenditure occurs.

when specifc expenditure occurs.
			Movement in Funds
	Balance	Incoming	Expenditure	Balance
	31 March	Resources	& Transfers	31 March
	2023			2024
	£	£	£	£
Equipment Grants	72,929	517,432	(556,339)	34,022
Motability project	275,064	339,601	(312,552)	302,113
Newlife Emergency Appeal	1,013	1,294	(2,307)	-
Loan Schemes	184,862	5,800	(163,602)	27,060
Play Therapy Pod Scheme	137,991	139,479	(133,093)	144,377
Other	1,569	4,237	(4,795)	1,011
	673,428	1,007,843	(1,172,688)	508,583
	Balance	Incoming	Expenditure	Balance
	31 March	Resources	& Transfers	31 March
	2022			2023
	£	£	£	£
Equipment Grants	190,847	440,888	(558,806)	72,929
Motaility Project	-	276,953	(1,889)	275,064
Newlife Emergency Appeal	1,843	1,729	(2,559)	1,013
Loan Schemes	412,299	56,930	(284,367)	184,862
Play Therapy Pod Scheme	147,357	138,602	(147,968)	137,991
COVID-19 appeal	271	-	(271)	-
Children in Need	33,540	-	(33,540)	-
Other	9,036	10,550	(18,017)	1,569
	795,193	925,652	(1,047,417)	673,428

Funds held for Equipment Grants are to be used to provide grants of essential equipment to families within the UK. Funds held under Loan Schemes are to fund equipment for our suite of emergency loan equipment that can be lent free of charge to those children and families who are in most need right now. Funds held under the Play Therapy Pod fund are to provide specialist development and sensory toys to children for a 12 week loan period. The motability project are funds held to provide support and equipment for families requiring assistance with mobility.

Docusign Envelope ID: 88E33BAB-F763-4D31-BB15-4CE8B549D3D3

13 Designated Funds

The income of the Charity includes the following designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the Trustees for specific purposes.

	Balance 31 March	New	Utilised	Balance 31 March
	2023			2024
	£	£	£	£
Equipment grants and loans	2,525,000	3,204,000	(2,525,000)	3,204,000
Helpline Operations	160,000	60,000	(160,000)	60,000
Volunteering	200,000	145,000	(200,000)	145,000
Campaigns	150,000	99,000	(150,000)	99,000
PlayTherapyPods	-	77,500	-	77,500
	3,035,000	3,585,500	(3,035,000)	3,585,500
Prior Year Comparison	Balance 31 March	New	Utilised	Balance 31 March
	2022			2023
Equipment grants and loans	1,225	2,525,000	(1,225)	2,525,000
Helpline Operations	-	160,000	-	160,000
Volunteering	-	200,000	-	200,000
Campaigns	-	150,000	-	150,000
Other Projects	142,817	-	(142,817)	-
	144,042	3,035,000	(144,042)	3,035,000

Funds held under designations are for the operation of charitable activity for the next 12 months, this includes the next round of research grant applications, operation of the care service department and associated equipment grant and loan costs. There were no transfers between funds in the period.

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14 Reconciliation of Cash Flows from Operating Activities

	2024	2023
	£	£
Net movement in funds before taxation	(676,437)	669,873
Bank interest received	(11,697)	(2,710)
Dividends received	(13,113)	(4,296)
Depreciation	341,511	505,435
Change in value of investments	(161,264)	42,416
Decrease / (Increase) in debtors and prepayments	286,319	(39,321)
(Decrease) in approved grants	(40,995)	(42,770)
Increase / (decrease) in creditors and accruals	255,156	(68,795)
Increase in provision	352,000	-
(Proft)/loss on disposal of fxed assets	(40,991)	3,037
Decrease in stock	83,456	78,171
Net cash infow from operatingactivities	373,945	1,141,040

15 Commitments Under Operating Leases

15 Commitments Under Operating Leases
	Land & Buildings
	2024	2023
	£	£
Total minimum lease commitments under operating leases :
Within 1 year	463,107	582,865
Within 2-5 years	832,698	1,375,805
After 5years	-	-
	1,295,805	1,958,670

Docusign Envelope ID: 88E33BAB-F763-4D31-BB15-4CE8B549D3D3

16 Analysis of Group Net Assets between Funds

	Free Reserve	Designated Funds	Charitable Activity Reserve	Restricted Funds	Total	Total
	£	£	£	£	£	£
	2024	2024	2024	2024	2024	2023
Fixed Assets	-	240,276	-	-	240,276	464,104
Investments	3,100,577	-	-	-	3,100,577	2,928,874
Cash at bank	(524,335)	3,345,224	500,000	508,583	3,829,472	3,517,848
Other net current liabilities	(2,038,576)	-	-	-	(2,038,576)	(1,454,640)
Provisions for liabilities	(352,000)	-	-	-	(352,000)	-
Total	185,666	3,585,500	500,000	508,583	4,779,749	5,456,186

17 Charitable Activity Reserve

Out of the funds raised and on account the Trustees have agreed, as a matter of wise management to establish a reserve of £500,000 (2023 £500,000) to cover any unforeseen event that may impact the Charity. The Trustees have then agreed that the level of free reserves (including any designations) should not fall below £3.3m.

18 Accumulated Charitable Funds

These are unrestricted, undesignated funds which can be used as required to fund the future work of the Charity. At the 31 March 2024 these were £185,666 (2022/23 £1,247,758). These funds are the balance of unrestricted funds that have not been designated in the year. Activity has been prioritised to ensure the Charities continued ability to meet need.

Docusign Envelope ID: 88E33BAB-F763-4D31-BB15-4CE8B549D3D3

Auditors header page

Independent Auditors Report to the Trustees of Newlife for the year ended 31 March 2024

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Opinion on the financial statements

In our opinion, the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the Charity’s affairs as at 31 March 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.

We have audited the financial statements of Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children (“the Charity”) for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Charity Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

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 believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Independence

We remain independent of the Charity in accordance with the ethical requirements 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.

Conclusions related 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 and Accounts, 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. 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 themselves. 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.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

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

the information given in the Trustees’ Report for the financial year for which the financial

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statements are prepared is inconsistent in any material respect with the financial statements; or
adequate accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustee 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 the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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

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

Extent to which the audit was capable of detecting 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, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Non-compliance with laws and regulations

Based on:

Our understanding of the Charity and the sector in which it operates;
Discussion with management and those charged with governance including the Audit Committee; and
Obtaining an understanding of the Charity’s policies and procedures regarding compliance with laws and regulations.

we considered the significant laws and regulations to be the Charities SORP (FRS 102) – second edition and the Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The Charity is also subject to laws and regulations where the consequence of non-compliance could have a material effect on the amount or disclosures in the financial statements, for example through the imposition of fines or litigations. We identified such laws and regulations to be health and safety legislation and data protection.

Our procedures in respect of the above included:

Review of minutes of meeting of those charged with governance for any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations;
Review of correspondence with regulatory and tax authorities for any instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations; and
• Review of financial statement disclosures and agreeing to supporting documentation.

Docusign Envelope ID: 88E33BAB-F763-4D31-BB15-4CE8B549D3D3

Fraud

We assessed the susceptibility of the financial statements to material misstatement, including fraud. Our risk assessment procedures included:

Enquiry with management and those charged with governance, including the Board regarding any known or suspected instances of fraud;
Obtaining an understanding of the Charity’s policies and procedures relating to:
Detecting and responding to the risks of fraud; and
Internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud.
Review of minutes of meeting of those charged with governance for any known or suspected instances of fraud;
Discussion amongst the engagement team as to how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements; and
Performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud.

Based on our risk assessment, we considered the areas most susceptible to fraud to be management override including the posting of inappropriate journal entries to manipulate financial results and management bias in accounting estimates. In addition, we considered revenue recognition an area to be susceptible to fraud, particularly in relation to the posting of journals to material revenue streams.

laws and regulations throughout the audit. Our audit procedures were designed to respond to risks of material misstatement in the financial statements, recognising that the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery, misrepresentations or through collusion. There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures performed and the further removed noncompliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we are to become aware of it.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located at the Financial Reporting Council’s (“FRC’s”) website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the Charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Charity’s trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Charity and the Charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Our procedures in respect of the above included:

Testing a sample of journal entries throughout the year, which met a defined risk criteria, by agreeing to supporting documentation;
A review of estimates and judgements applied by Management in the financial statements to assess their appropriateness and the existence of any systematic bias; and
In addressing the risk of fraud through improper revenue recognition, we tested the appropriateness of certain journals to material revenue streams.

We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with

Samantha Lifford BDO LLP, statutory auditor Birmingham, UK Date 27 January 2025

BDO LLP 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.

BDO LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales (with registered number OC305127).

2024-03-31-accounts

Annual Report and Accounts 2023/24

Contents

Chair of Trustees foreword

Clive Lewis - Chair of Newlife's Board of Trustees

Introduction View from the CEO

Occupational Therapists. Through our campaigning we are committed to one goal; to make sure that disabled children and their families are a priority to decision makers.

Fiona Robinson, CEO

All about Newlife

Our Vision

Our Mission

Our Values

Our charitable activities

Across Newlife Our year in review

Our year in numbers

2023/24 Objectives

Increase our charitable service reach by providing over 19,000 instances of help.

Increase our equipment provision and provide 1,320 equipment grants.

Support children in emergency situations.

Extend our nurse helpline service and deliver over 16,000 instances of help.

Develop our Sensory Play Service.

To further understand the needs of disabled children and their families.

Continue to give disabled children and their families a voice.

Grow Volunteer Support.

Continue to grow and diversify income.

Operate good governance.

Improving employees experience.

Equipment Grant Service

Newlife believes that all children should have the chance to fulfil their potential and live their

What we did

The impact

Rudy’s story

Equipment Loan Service

The impact

Esmie’s story

Nurse Helpline

Hayley’s story

Play Therapy Pod Service

The impact

Amelia’s story

Summer's Story

Campaigning Giving a voice to disabled children and their families

In 2023/24 we have:

Looking forward

Volunteering

Volunteering at Newlife is an exciting and fulfilling opportunity. Not only can volunteers gain new skills, confidence and experiences throughout their volunteering journey, but our volunteers also make a huge difference to the lives of disabled children and their families across the UK.

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Skills and integration for disabled adults

Corporate volunteering

Partnerships we have built

We recognise that working with our volunteers enhances our effectiveness, and we strive to ensure that volunteers gain the most

Fundraising

Our approach to fundraising

Events Portfolio Expansion

Fundraising income for 2023/24 achieved

£2,178,89 5

Corporate Partnerships

Trusts and Foundations

Motability Foundation Funding

Retail

The main source of income in the year relates to the commercial activities of the charity from the recycling of donated products sold through the charity’s network of retail locations.

Sustainability impact

We divert thousands of unrequired commercial products from landfill and incineration. We

How do we do this?

Looking ahead Objectives for 2024/25

Help 20% more children and their families

Continue to listen

Launch the 'Fight For Our Future' campaign

Yet too many of the 1.6 million disabled children in the UK are being routinely let down as they lack access to crucial support and specialist equipment such as wheelchairs, buggies and

Grow and diversify income

Train and grow our team

grow with us.

Trustee Thank you

St. James's Place Foundation

The Motability Foundation

The Pilkington Charities Fund

The Bruce Wake Charitable

The Marian Elizabeth Trust

The Jane Hodge Foundation

River Island who continue to