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2023-03-31-accounts

LINKING LIVES UK

Annual Report and Accounts

1[st] April 2022-31[st] March 2023

Charity No: 1170325

Contents

1. Reference and administration information................................................................................... 2
2. Structure, governance and management..................................................................................... 3
3. Objectives and activities........................................................................................................................ 3
4. Public Benefit............................................................................................................................................. 4
5. Trustee & operational team................................................................................................................. 4
6. National Director’s Report.................................................................................................................... 5
7. Chair of Trustee’s Report...................................................................................................................... 6
8. Patron’s report............................................................................................................................................ 6
9. Financial Review....................................................................................................................................... 7

1. Reference and administration information

2

Registration History

Registered 23[rd] November 2016 Registered Charity Number 1170325

Independent Examiner:

Mr John Wild ACA West Warren Warren Road Woodley RG5 3AR

Registered Address:

32 Selmans Hill Bloxwich Walsall West Midlands WS3 3RL

Bank:

Co-Operative Bank plc PO Box 250, Skelmersdale, Lancs WN8 6WT

Trustees:

Dr Ashley Liston (Interim Chair) Mrs Shelagh Marshall OBE (resigned 2[nd] September) Mr Peter Ashall Mr Alan Hare Rev Bev Boden

2. Structure, governance and management

Organisation Type:

Charitable Incorporated Organisation

Governing Document:

Linking Lives UK Constitution

Recruitment and selection of trustees:

New trustees are selected by the existing board of trustees in accordance with necessary skills, experience, shared vision and values of the charity.

3. Objectives and activities

Linking Lives UK is a national charity working to reduce loneliness and social isolation amongst older people. We achieve this through the development of befriending schemes which are set up in partnership with local churches and other agencies. We also run regular volunteer training courses aimed at those engaging in local community activities as well as monthly webinars focusing on individual methods to address loneliness and social isolation.

The trustees have established this CIO as a practical means of showing the love of God in accordance with their Christian beliefs, in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world. The objects of the CIO are:

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4. Public Benefit

Our objectives and activities are outlined above. All activities focus on combating social isolation and loneliness among older people across the UK. This is achieved through the establishment of befriending schemes in various parts of the country ranging from rural areas to inner city urban areas. These local schemes focus on arranging for volunteers to visit older people in their own homes once a week or through telephone befriending. In addition, volunteers are encouraged, where possible, to arrange visits to suitable local social events and activities or outings to places of interest.

We also provide training for volunteers engaging in various local community activities which benefit socially isolated people. This training addresses skills such as ‘effective listening’, ‘managing boundaries’ and ‘safeguarding awareness’.

As a result of these local interactions, the primary public benefit for our clients is increased self-esteem and confidence as well as stronger community links. Volunteers benefit from learning about the life of past generations as well as building strong relationships with their allocated scheme member. Also, there is a benefit for the wider community as people from various generations engage more effectively and those previously on the margins of society begin to re-engage with those around them.

Through all our work, we also aim to value the diverse and rich experiences of older people and to celebrate their gifts and abilities in communities across the UK.

5. Trustee & operational team

We are grateful to our board of trustees (see page 3) who have served during this period. The trustees meet on a quarterly basis and focus on the continued development of our governance structure, medium to long-term strategy and financial stability. We are particularly grateful to Shelagh Marshall who resigned as trustee in September 2023 having brought her expertise and passion to address loneliness among older people since the start of the charity in 2016.

We are also grateful to our central operational team which included Jeremy Sharpe (National Director), Angela Caley (Partnerships & Support Services Manager), Chris Driver (Finance/ IT), Tessa Trace (Trusts & Foundations Manager), David de la Haye (Training & Resources Manager), Carol Hebden (Regional Development Officer – West Midlands), Richard Taylor (Regional Development Officer – Devon).

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6. National Director’s Report

During this year we identified three key strategic elements which create a framework for all aspects of our work. See Impact Report 2022/23 for further details. These are:

In addition to this core framework, the following developments took place during this year:

Strategic development in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales & Chaplaincy launch

We are extremely grateful to Benefact Trust for their investment of £145,000 into a three-year project to develop our work in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and to establish a chaplaincy approach for use in befriending schemes. We subsequently received matched funding from TOR Christian Foundation to enable us to employ a National Development Manager for Scotland and we appointed Michelle Candlish to this role during March 2023 and look forward to the project commencing in April 2023.

We also held meetings with key organisations in Belfast to begin dialogue and increase awareness of our planned work in Northern Ireland. This included attendance at the All-Party Group for Loneliness in Stormont.

We began initial discussions with Anna Chaplaincy for Older People to prepare for the development of a tailored training course to be piloted with local Linking Lives befriending schemes during 2023/24.

Partnerships

We were pleased to establish a national partnership with the new Warm Welcome initiative which was created as a response to the cost of living crisis during the winter months. This successful initiative brought together various national charities and local community groups,

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libraries and churches to run warm spaces. Our ‘Good Conversations’ training was made available to local projects.

We also worked in partnership with Cinnamon Network, Embracing Age and Sanctuary Mental Health in a project based in Cambridgeshire through the government’s Faith New Deal Pilot Project. The project focused on building links between churches and statutory agencies in Cambridgeshire and we ran webinars aimed at churches in the county and attended a Partnership Day in Cambridge.

Events

We ran various events throughout the year, both online and ‘face to face’. These included four regional Abbeyfield conferences; Befriending Network conference webinar on ‘Inclusivity in Befriending’; Faith in Older People webinar focusing on ‘Loneliness & Mental Health’; Edinburgh City Mission conference seminar; Co-presented Warm Welcome ‘Creating a Welcoming Environment’ webinar; Monthly webinars addressing loneliness

We also participated in other events including a national Christians Against Poverty event; Loneliness Awareness Week including media interviews, blogs and webinars; and regular AllParty Parliamentary Group events.

Exisiting partners

We continued our support for exisiting 58 befriending scheme partners across the UK. This included holding quarterly online coordinator gatherings at which we provided training and advice on recruiting volunteers, fundraising and local collaboration. We also worked with selected local partners to pilot a new impact measurement tool. This will be fully rolled out during 2023.

7. Chair of Trustee’s Report

We have maintained our focus as a charity on addressing loneliness and social isolation among older people during this year. This has involved continuing to promote our traditional befriending scheme model – Two’s Company – including adapting and improving the way in which the model operates. We have also taken the decision to introduce other approaches which diversify our core work and we see this as an important element of our approach to ensure that we are able to adapt to circumstances around us at all times. We are excited to see all that will develop during the coming year.

Ashley Liston – Interim Chair of Trustees

8. Patron’s report

It is, as always, a pleasure to write a report for the Linking Lives Annual Report. Having recently retired I am even more aware than before of the loneliness which has become such a scourge of our society in the West; and social commentators have unanimously commented on the way in which this has been exacerbated by the COVID Pandemic. Statistics vary – but whichever one follows – the figures are deeply alarming. What’s more, loneliness isn’t confined to older people. As we all know, mental health issues (often associated with loneliness) now seem to be commonplace in the younger generation.

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So the need for care and companionship is as great as it has ever been, and I am deeply impressed by the ongoing commitment of Linking Lives UK to providing it. This is not an easy time for charities and Linking Lives is no exception. Most are struggling with faltering donations in the wake of our ‘cost of living’ crisis. But the work continues, and in expressing my own gratitude to everyone involved, I know that I speak also for the many hundreds of people whose lives they have touched in such a transformative way. This is truly Christian service, and I thank God – as well as our numerous volunteers – for it.

James Newcome (recently retired Bishop of Carlisle and Lead Bishop for Health and Social Care)

9. Financial Review

The principle sources of funding are from grant making trusts and we are very grateful to trusts and grant making bodies that have supported us throughout the year which has enabled this work to continue to develop and expand by collectively investing £160,216 (£88,503 of which was restricted funds) into our work.

We are grateful to other organisations (among others) listed below for their support during this year. Also, fees are received from churches that are setting up or have set up befriending schemes as well as other training fees and the total income derived from these sources was £6,202.

Our expenditure was £135,282 (£50,631 of which was expenditure in respect of restricted income) and a detailed breakdown of this figure is provided below. We recorded a small deficit for the year of £21.00 leaving our year-end unrestricted reserves balance in line with our Reserves Policy. The trustees are confident that the charity continues to operate as a going concern.

Reserves Policy

The trustees’ policy is to retain sufficient funds to cover the notice periods of all members of our core operations team. The value of the reserves will be re-assessed at least annually, or when significant changes in financial obligations occur.

Investment Policy

The charity does not hold investments.

Risk Statement

A Risk Register is reviewed and amended where necessary at each trustee’s meeting. This covers aspects of the charity’s operation including governance, external risks, regulation and compliance, finance, and operations. Our current identified top five risks are below, along with the respective controls put in place to mitigate these risks:

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IMPACT REPORT

2022 - 2023

Improving quality of life through friendship

CONTENTS

3 About Linking Lives UK

"A father to the fatherless is God in His Holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families." Psalm 68: 5-6

ABOUT LINKING LIVES UK

Linking Lives UK is a national Christian charity set up to address social isolation and loneliness particularly among older people.

This year we have identified three over-arching approaches through which we carry out our work. These are:

There were 58 schemes at year end making regular home visits, telephone calls or both to around 700 people experiencing loneliness across England, Scotland and Wales. This is a net reduction in schemes operating mainly due to some being forced to close due to lack of volunteers or funding. We continue to be encouraged that, however, that 10% of befriending relationships which ended during the year were due to scheme members being in a position to re-engage with community activities or events. This highlights some of the key outcomes including greater independence, selfconfidence and community engagement. We ran 9 Power of One webinars attended by 135 individuals and 177 volunteers benefited from attending 18 Good Conversations courses.

WELCOME

Thank you for reading Linking Lives UK's Annual Impact Report for 2022-2023.

Using our new framework outlined above, we have remained focused on our mission to address loneliness and social isolation. Despite the effects of the pandemic beginning to improve, a significant section of our society continues to experience loneliness on a daily basis. This makes all of our work as urgent and necessary as it ever has been, and we encourage everyone to do what they can to respond to these needs. The name ‘Linking Lives UK’ came out of a desire to draw people together across the country for mutual benefit and this includes scheme members, volunteers, local church partners and other individuals and organisations. We are excited to see the ways in which this is being outworked in many ways in villages, towns and cities across the UK.

Jeremy Sharpe National Director

“Loneliness is ‘a subjective, unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship. It happens when there is a mismatch between the quantity and quality of the social relationships that we have, and those that we want.”[1]

Approximately 7.1% of people in Great Britain (3.83 million) experience chronic loneliness, meaning they feel lonely ‘often or always.’ [2]

[1] Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, A connected society: a strategy for tackling loneliness (2018) [2] Campaign to End Loneliness, The State of Loneliness 2023: ONS Data on loneliness in Britain (2023)

2022-23 ACHIEVEMENTS

We are excited to have been able to continue developing our existing services during this year as well as piloting new initiatives which will help us to broaden the ways in which we address loneliness. Some of our key achievements are below.

FOCUS AIMS PROGRESS MARCH 23
Continue developing 58 befriending schemes in
befriending schemes & operation (6 affiliates)
building affiliate links
SUPPORTING
CHURCHES Encourage strong and
sustainable local projects		 84% of schemes successfully
continued during the year.
Begin developing new Begun developing concepts of
models of operation two new befriending
approaches
Roll out online & face to Delivered the course to 177
EQUIPPING face Good Conversations individuals
VOLUNTEERS courses across UK
Provide quality befriending
training to coordinators &		 Delivered 26 sessions to
volunteers & coordinators
volunteers
INSPIRING Establish monthly ‘Power Delivered 9 webinars
INDIVIDUALS of One’ webinars Delivered 31 other training
Other training/ seminars sessions/ seminars/
presentation
Continue to secure funds 297% increase in income from
to meet strategic aims 2018 to 2023
FINANCE
Broaden financial base Started development of
through income corporate partnerships initiative
diversification
Raise funds to develop our Raised 3-year part funding
work in Scotland, Wales & to enable creation of
CREATE N. Ireland national hubs
NATIONAL HUBS
ACROSS UK		 Appoint National
Development Managers		 Appointed National
Development Manager for
Scotland

2022 - 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

Our changing responses to loneliness

One of the highlights of the year was securing a three year grant from Benefact Trust to enable us to continue to develop our work specifically in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Thanks to a ‘matched’ grant from TOR Christian Foundation we were able to appoint a National Development Manager for Scotland in March 2023, and Michelle Candlish started working for us in April 2023. We also began developing networks in Northern Ireland during a visit to Belfast in March 2023 and we aim to raise sufficient funding to enable a national project to be created shortly. This grant will also enable us to begin developing a chaplaincy model for our partner befriending schemes to use and we have begun discussions with Anna Chaplaincy for Older People to enable this project to begin at the end of 2023.

We also take every opportunity to engage in local, regional and national events and initiatives which relate to our aims. These included engagement in:

National events such as Mental Health Awareness and Loneliness Awareness Weeks; Campaign to End Loneliness Annual Conference and the launch of ‘Keeping the Faith’ report in London.

Local and Regional Events included the launch of Edinburgh Two’s Company in June following the creation of a partnership with Edinburgh City Mission. We were also pleased to work with Sanctuary Mental Health, Cinnamon Network and Embracing Age as part of the government’s ‘Faith New Deal project’. The project focused on partnership working with local authorities in relation to loneliness and mental health and we took part in a launch event in Cambridge at its conclusion.

Conferences – We presented at three Abbeyfield regional conferences and participated in a ChurchWorks Summit, ReImagining Care Launch, Together Network Summit and a Southwark Diocese Conference.

Central Government Engagement - We continue to sit on the All Party Parliamentary Group for Loneliness and Connected Communities, and we also met with representatives of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sports to discuss the role of faith groups in addressing loneliness.

Partnerships - We were pleased to be able to build our first relationship with a business which shares our vision. Total Energy Solutions provided a grant towards our work in addressing loneliness and equipping volunteers specifically in Devon. We also joined the national steering group of the Warm Welcome Campaign which was run for the first time, in response to the cost of living crisis. We ran our Good Conversations Training for local spaces involved in this campaign.

We are also actively involved in the coalition ‘Christians Together Against Loneliness’ (www.ctal.uk) which is made up of ten national faith-based charities working to address loneliness and social isolation in a variety of ways

We were also pleased to gather most of our operational team and trustees together for a Vision Day at the end of 2022 and this was a great opportunity to discuss future ideas and strategy and review progress so far. This was an opportunity for some members of the team to meet ‘face to face‘ for the first time, having only met ‘online‘!

KEY STATISTICS

Changing responses to loneliness during the year.

We supported 706

older people nationally to reduce their loneliness & isolation

7

new Two's Company befriending schemes were launched

18

‘Good Conversations‘ courses delivered to 177 people

2

community organisations joined us as Affiliate Partners

10%

of befriending relationships which ended in the year were as a result of reengagement in community activities

Our model of befriending costs just £3.68 per week per befriended person

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10

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‘Power of One‘ webinars delivered to 135 people

7 7 other training other training sessions sessions delivered delivered to to 294 people 294 people Readers appreciate

‘While loneliness has the potential to kill, connection has even more potential to heal’ Vivek Murthy US Surgeon General

“I have been totally bowled over by the care and attention given by my volunteer visitor during what has been a very difficult time." Scheme Member - Exwick Two's Company

IN THEIR OWN WORDS...

Our Volunteers

Some lovely relationships have formed with Our Partners the volunteers and scheme members. We recently held a celebration night to share stories & encouragements which was really helpful."

Kirkby in Ashfield Two’s Company

“One of our volunteers has been feeling down and it’s given him a sense of purpose and a reason to get up every day. He feels really supported”

Ely Linking Lives

"One of my volunteers told me recently that they now think of their scheme member as a friend, not as a scheme member."

Exwick Two’s Company

“Being a befriender has reminded me of just how important human connection is. I know that I am not the intended beneficiary of this scheme, but it has enriched my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined.”

Linking Lives Befriender

Our Beneficiaries

"Thank you for your visits. I could talk to you about things I couldn't talk to my family about."

Scheme Member

"One scheme member who is a wheelchair user is definitely getting out much more on his own since being matched with his befriender. He has gained much more confidence."

"I have been suffering with chronic pain and depression for some time. I went to the church cafe for the first time and realised that I hadn't mentioned my pain once. My positivity has been increasing since then!"

OUR NATIONAL REACH

Scheme numbers and locations across the UK

58 schemes were offering befriending across the United Kingdom.

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1
NO CHANGE 1
1
NO CHANGE
2
1
Number of schemes
Increase/decrease versus 31/3/2022
----- End of picture text -----

Dingwall Proves that ‘Two's Company’

Our church has always been centred on outreach. For many years we ran a group for marginalised and lonely people and found it was a great benefit to those who attended and to our volunteers.

From experience we knew that within our community there was extreme loneliness and isolation and it was clear this would increase under lockdown restrictions at the time. After some research, we found Linking Lives UK and attended the befriending training and absorbed all the literature we could to set up our own scheme.

It worked well and we recruited volunteers. We then set about linking with the professionals and agencies who were best placed to refer those experiencing isolation. First we had just a slow trickle of referrals which then became a steady flow of people requiring access to the scheme.

We experienced a huge boost when lockdown was lifted. We were at last able to meet up or visit those we had befriended and have now heard time and again how much of a difference this makes to the individuals who receive the visits or calls.

I look forward to chatting to my befriender. We chat about anything and everything. We put the world to rights, and we share our interests. It has brought a new dimension into my life. I don’t feel as alone anymore.

Chris, Coordinator at Dingwall Two’s Company Befriending near Inverness, Scotland

The befriending scheme has made a big difference to me. It’s a comfort. Sometimes my befriender is the only person I speak to all week. If I’m up or down there is a listening ear. We share all sorts and I’m teaching her to cook! She’s swapping gardening tips. Meeting up has been a big bonus and I get to meet her dogs!

PERFORMANCE AND GROWTH

2023 Financial Performance

Our Progress since 2018

Financial Growth

Development of Befriending Schemes

Development in Befriending Calls and Visits

Staffing

----- Start of picture text -----
2023
----- End of picture text -----

OUR THANKS TO GO...

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our local partners volunteers across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland whose dedication at the frontline makes all of our impact achievable.

We would also like to thank our delivery partners and project coordinators for their commitment and motivation to make a difference in the lives of so many older people.

Finally, and very importantly, thank you to our supporters, donors and funders. We are privileged to receive your kind support without which Linking Lives UK would not be able to reach out to those most in need at the margins of society.

Linking Lives UK

PO Box 8279, Reading RG6 9UN www.linkinglives.uk info@linkinglives.uk 0300 302 0225

Charity No. 1170325

Find out more about our work and impact at www.linkinglives.uk

@LinkingLivesUK Linking Lives UK

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees
On accounts for the year
ended
Set out on pages		 Charity name
Linking Lives
31 March 2023
Charity no
(if any)
1170325
1-2
(remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets)

Report to the trustees

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/03/2023.

Responsibilities and As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the basis of report accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed: Name: John Wild Relevant professional ACA ICAEW qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: West Warren, Warren Road

Date: 12/01/2024

Oct 2018

1

IER

Woodley RG5 3AR

Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

Oct 2018

2

IER

CHARITY COMM15510N FOR FNGLAND AND WALES LINKING UVES UK 1170326 Recei tsand ments accounts CC16a For ihe penod from 011041dU22 To 3110312023 Section A Receipts and payments Unresincte funds Restrieted funds totho nearest£ Endowment Total funds Ist year to the nea¥est lothe nearest£ to thè m&arest£ to tho nèarest £ A1 Recei Oonalions Fees rifAnl< Bsnk Interest Oiher 6,6TT 6.67T 0,202 160,216 38 4,066 5,300 131,901 10 50 71.713 B,503 450 lo&y r0&5 income AR) 84,631 88.953 173.584 141,327 set and rnvestment 8a l>ee tafjle . 84,031 8,953 173.S84 141.327 A3Pa ments ContractCrf8 Staffcosts Insuran Annual Conferen Training & Ar£¢MnrfW)dation Matkeling Expentses & travea tago, printin9 & ￿tsI￿nery oom hire & ICT VVÈDS OatstrBse Membèrship d other organ15*ons CTAL Managemenicnarges 11,595 62.815 388 36.068 47,663 70,001 53,OG1 232 495 5,083 2,394 658 763 2,196 102 2,340 865 4,536 887 4,698 274 138 1f,983 4,698 274 1.078 205 13B 11.983 Sub totsi 84.651 50,631 1JO,2a2 13),15UJ A4 Asset and investmènt Sub totsl 84.651 50.631 13S,282 f35,803 Net of n>reipts/(paymentsJ AS Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end ?.1 38,322 400 27,512 66.234 JO,301 400 24,498 24,077 52,010 90,311 46,486 52,010 CCXX R1 accounts ISSI 2910112024

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the perlod Unrestricted funds to no3rgst£ Restricted fund trj rbEKry￿gt £ Endowment fundg C8tggrJrl• Dptai15 B1 Gash funds cunEnlAC￿ynt 24.077 B.985 51.249 Total cash funds lagree bslancesvthh rKeipt$and p8ymeth$ $1) 24.077 66,234 Unrestrlcted funds Restricted funds Endowment funds to nÈarest £ D¢taTrl• to n@aregt£ to n￿r￿st£ Fund to which a$5et bÈ¢on Current valu8 Detalls Cost loptlonall B3 Investment assets . zeza Fundtowhich asset belo Cur¥ent value onal Details Laptop. NOr￿k Costlopliotkal 263 84 Assets retained for the charity's own use Laptop $34 145 Fund to whi¢h relales Arnount duo onal Wh•n du¥ lor￿1 Details B5 Liabilities 19ned by one or two tru¥tee3 on beha5f of all the trustees Djtè of val re Print Name CCXX R2 ath)unts ISSI 2910112024