## **Eastbourne and District Samaritans** **Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023** Registered Charity Number: 1170508 Company Number: CE009224 **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **CONTENTS** ||_Page_| |---|---| |Legal and administration details|1-2| |Report of the trustees|3-12| |Independent Examiner’s report|13| |Statement of financial activities|14-15| |Balance sheet|16| |Notes to the financial statements|17-22| ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATION DETAILS** **LEGAL STATUS** Eastbourne and District Samaritans is a Registered Charity (Charity Registration No. 1170508) and a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Company number CE009224) **PRINCIPAL OFFICE** The Haven 13 Bolton Road Eastbourne East Sussex BN21 3JT **BOARD OF TRUSTEES** Chair David G V Smith Secretary Belinda J Chavasse (from 21 July 2022) Treasurer Stephanie J Carpenter Trustees Nicola Shuttleworth Michelle Jebb (from 23 April 2022) Christopher J Pole (from 21 July 2022) Penelope Vasey (from 21 July 2022) Nicholas G Hunwick (from 23 January 2023) Joseph R Homer (until 20 July 2022) Linda J Gietzen (until 20 July 2022) Kevin C H Lucas (until 20 July 2022) Deborah I Smith (until 20 July 2022) 1 **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATION DETAILS** ## **Independent Examiner** VMR Anderson BA(Hons) FCA DChA Clark Brownscombe 2 St Andrews Place Lewes East Sussex BN7 1UP ## **Solicitors** Cornfield Law LLP 47 Cornfield Road Eastbourne East Sussex BN21 4QN ## **Bankers** Barclays Bank plc 63/67 Terminus Road Eastbourne East Sussex BN21 3NJ 2 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** ## **Introduction** The trustees have pleasure in presenting their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023. Eastbourne and District Samaritans (EADS) is registered as a charity (Charity Registration No. 1170508) and is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Company number CE009224). It is governed by its rules which were first adopted on 1 December 2016. It should be noted that the charity is the successor charity to The Samaritans of Eastbourne and District (Charity Registration No. 278729) whose rules were first adopted on 1 March 1978. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements: The Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard FRS 102. ## **Relationship with the central Samaritans charity** Eastbourne and District Samaritans is one of 201 Samaritans’ branches located across the UK and Ireland. The coordinating body for the branches is the charity Samaritans (Charity Registration No. 219432) referred to henceforth in this report as the ‘central charity’. Eastbourne and District Samaritans has an operating agreement with the central charity, covering the responsibilities of branches and designed to ensure that all branches provide consistently high-quality services and work effectively together as one organisation to support our callers. ## **Strategy and objectives** A new strategy for the central charity, which turns 70 in 2023, was developed last year and covers the period 2022-27. It reflects the increasing demand for our services and the need to adapt and innovate. The new strategy reflects the growing awareness of issues such as discrimination, climate change and COVID under the theme: _**Tackling suicide together: providing a safe space in uncertain times.**_ The new strategy rests on five strategic objectives or ‘key pillars’ of **Access, Reach, Impact, Capacity** and **Sustainability** (see https://www.samaritans.org/about-samaritans/our-organisation/our-strategy/). It was launched in April 2022 and sets out broad principles and a timetable for refining the objectives and policies during the first year. We have now developed a 5-year strategy for EADS under these same five strategic pillars (see EADS Strategy 2023-2027). The document sets out the key activities to be undertaken by the branch with performance indicators that will be reviewed annually. This document was very well received by the central charity’s quality review team in February 2023 and together we developed a mission statement for the branch: _**To improve our capability to offer emotional support to callers nationally and to the community of Eastbourne and district including visitors to the coast and Beachy Head.**_ 3 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** Underpinning our strategy are the three **key objectives of the branch** which are set out in our constitution: 1. _To enable persons in Eastbourne and the surrounding area as well as elsewhere who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those who may be at risk of suicide, to receive confidential emotional support at any time of the day or night in order to improve their emotional health and to reduce the incidence of suicide._ 2. _To promote a better understanding in society of suicide, suicidal behaviour and the value of expressing feelings which may otherwise lead to suicide or impaired emotional health_ . 3. _To collaborate with and support Samaritans central charity and its affiliated branches in fulfilling these objectives_ . ## **The role of the trustees** Whilst being an independent charity, Eastbourne and District Samaritans operates as a branch of the central charity. The central charity sets standards and provides guidance and support to local branches. It is the responsibility of the trustees to maintain the financial viability of the branch and to ensure that the assets are used in pursuance of the objectives of the charity. **Governance** is the role of the trustees. Trustees must ensure that the three main objectives (see above) are met and that the assets of the branch are properly and effectively managed. In addition to the freehold premises from which it operates, EADS owns a leasehold shop which is sublet to the trading company Samaritans Retail (Eastbourne) Ltd, of which the charity is the sole shareholder. This is referred to in this report as ‘the shop’. The chair of trustees is the Branch Director, an appointee of the central charity following structured consultation with the branch membership. The Risk Register, a document designed to ensure that members and callers work together in a safe environment, is the responsibility of the trustees. They provide the material support necessary for the effective running of the branch. The trustees work in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Charity Commission. **Management** is the responsibility of the branch Directorate: the Branch Director, Vice Director and a team of four Deputy Directors (Training, Outreach, Leaders and Mentoring). The Directorate has produced the new EADS Strategy 2023-27, which is updated regularly with specific actions and progress reporting against the agreed activities, including annual performance indicators. The work of the branch is managed in accordance with our objectives set out in the constitution and is linked to the Risk Register which is also updated on a regular basis. ## **Links between trustees and directors** The dual role of the Branch Director makes for effective liaison between the two bodies. At trustee meetings, the Branch Director provides a management progress report based on key statistics on volunteer hours and the reports provided by the Deputy Directors. At each meeting, the Treasurer presents a detailed financial report monitoring the income and expenditure together with a review of reserves and investments. Reports from the shop Financial Director, the Premises Manager and the Health and Safety Officer are also received. 4 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** All these measures enable the trustees to track and monitor the full range of activities undertaken by the directors and other managers and ensure that they are meeting their objectives. ## **Trustee responsibilities** ## _**Financial statements**_ The trustees are required to prepare annual financial statements, which provide a true and fair view of the affairs of the branch as at the end of the financial year and of the income and expenditure of the branch for that year. In preparing the reports the trustees: - a) Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently, - b) Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent, - c) State whether the applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the Financial Statements, and - d) Prepare the Financial Statements on the ongoing concern basis unless it is inappropriate. ## _**Public benefit**_ The trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s objectives. ## _**Risk review**_ The Board of Trustees reviews the major risks to which the branch is exposed on a regular basis and systems and actions are implemented to mitigate those risks. Additionally, the trustees report annually to the central charity on the management of risk. The trustees believe that there is a satisfactory system of internal controls and these are reviewed on a regular basis. ## **Financial review** At the end of the financial year 2022/23 EADS had funds of **£692,177** , of which **£575,087** related to tangible fixed assets. These are the charity’s freehold property ‘The Haven’ at 13 Bolton Road, Eastbourne, from which the charity operates, and a leasehold property at 31 Grove Road, Eastbourne, which is used as premises for the shop. Total income and expenditure for the year were **£65,225** and **£53,726** respectively, resulting in an overall surplus of **£11,499** . ## _**Income**_ The principal sources of income continue to be donations from the public, whether directly or through the sale of donated goods in the shop. 5 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** Annually **the shop** pays EADS £16,000 in rent and in addition will this year be able to donate a trading surplus of £5,206, giving a total contribution to the charity of **£21,206** . As always, we are deeply indebted to the shop’s staff, directors and volunteers for all their hard work and efforts in achieving this. As usual our volunteers took part in a wide range of fundraising activities and local events this year which, as well as raising much needed funds, help to increase local awareness of EADS’ work. The largest event in 2022/23 was the _**Eastbourne ‘Airbourne’ Air Show**_ where the public had voted, preCovid, for EADS to be the show’s ‘People’s Charity’. This raised us just over **£3,300** . The charity is also indebted every year to the McCutchan family of Bates Green Farm, Arlington for allowing us to provide catering and visitor assistance for two days at their annual _**Bluebell Walk**_ . In May 2022 this raised around **£2,350** for EADS. Another regular supporter of Samaritans nationwide is the comedian _**Sarah Millican**_ . When on tour, she invites local Samaritans’ branches to take a retiring collection at the end of her shows. This year EADS’ volunteers attended for one night at the Brighton Dome where a total of **£1,370** was raised. Amongst **other fundraising and local events** this year were a Quiz Night, the Rodmill Pub’s ‘Open Mic’ evening, Eastbourne Sunshine Carnival, Eastbourne 999 Emergency Services Weekend, carol singing at The Beacon shopping centre with the Eastbourne Choral Society, Cargo Gym’s ‘Santa Workout’ at the Saffrons Sports Club, and the first sale of EADS’ own-design Christmas cards. Altogether around **£3,500** was raised by our volunteers through these events. Donations totalling just over **£2,540** were gratefully received from **local organisations and funds** including Croudace Homes, the Consuelo and Anthony Brookes Trust, Eastbourne Lottery Community Fund, Broadway United Church and Eastbourne Choral Society. We are also extremely grateful to the many **individuals** who supported us through the year with **donations** totalling **£3,520** . Also to those members of the public who held **fundraising or sponsored events** for us, including a sponsored 24-hour gym workout, a fishing competition and craft sales, raising a further **£1555** . We were also extremely fortunate to receive a **legacy** of **£11,000** from the estate of Mr Samuel Stringer. **Gift Aid on donations** from the public continue to be an important source of income, contributing around **£2,700** this year. Also, several of our volunteers regularly **donate their travel expenses** back to EADS, enabling us to claim a further **£2,600** in Gift Aid during 2022/23. We have continued to make good use of online fundraising platforms. We had fundraising pages this year with Enthuse, PayPal Giving and Facebook; organised text-giving campaigns via Donr; collected donations from retailers via EasyFundraising and Amazon Smile; and are members of the online Eastbourne Lottery. We have also recently purchased two CollecTin card readers, which enable us to take donations by card at the shop and fundraising events. ## _**Expenditure**_ Expenditure is focussed entirely on the branch’s service provision together with property maintenance and running costs. Overall, the expenses this year were kept within our total budget despite unexpectedly needing to replace our photocopier and office computer and implementing the trustees’ decision to commission a Fire Safety Assessment and consequent Electrical Safety Assessment for The Haven. 6 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** It is anticipated that our expenditure will increase significantly in 2023/24 because of the general cost of living crisis and, in particular, rising energy costs. Our four-year fixed gas and electricity contracts expired in March 2023 and the most favourable new ones we were able to negotiate (two-year fixed) will increase our energy costs by around 75%. Rises are also predicted in the cost of phones, broadband, cleaning, general provisions and insurance, which is why our reserves remain so important. ## _**Reserves**_ As our branch income is heavily dependent on donations, either directly or through the sale of donated goods in the shop, it cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, the trustees consider that 9 to 18 months of annual expenditure is an appropriate level of reserves to maintain to meet our working capital needs. Our net current assets at the end of 2022/23 were **£116,990** , which is equivalent to **26.1 months** at this year’s expenditure rate and is therefore well above our target range. ## **Board of Trustees’ activities and achievements** ## _**Objective 1**_ _To enable persons in Eastbourne and the surrounding areas as well as elsewhere who are experiencing feelings of distress and despair, including those who may be at risk of suicide, to receive confidential, emotional support at any time of the day or night in order to improve their emotional health and reduce the incidence of suicide._ At the beginning of the financial year, the operating environment continued to be affected by the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was still resulting in volunteers being afflicted by the virus and many continued to exercise caution in coming into The Haven. However, from the end of the summer of 2022 we were able to function on a pre-pandemic basis for the rest of the financial year. Table 1 shows that in 2022/23, EADS increased the number of phone calls taken compared to the three previous years. We answered 10.0% more calls than last year and 13.3% more than the pre-COVID year of 2019/20. The reduction in emails reflects the change in policy in 2022/23 to direct more emails through a new central Email Hub. **Table 1: Total number of phone calls and volunteer hours** **----- Start of picture text -----**
2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 % change
Units 23/22 23/19
Phone Calls Hours 18,666 16,456 19,218 21,140 +10.0% +13.3%
Hours on the Phone Number 5,642 5,110 5,845 6,011 +2.8% +6.5%
Emails Number 3,221 2,956 1,858 984 -47.0% -69.5%
Webchat Number - - - 188 - -
Face to Face Number 642 - - 145 - -77.4%
**----- End of picture text -----**
Eastbourne was one of only three Samaritans’ branches to re-open for face-to-face callers in July 2022. This has been a major success for the branch and was very welcomed by the community in Eastbourne. We receive up to 20 face-to-face callers per month, all of whom greatly appreciate our support. 7 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** Webchat, which is still under pilot, was introduced to the branch in July 2022. We ran two shifts per week and it is expected that this will become a more common form of communication with callers once it is rolled out by the central charity as a main service during 2023/24. Figure 1 shows that we maintained around 85 active listening volunteers during the financial year with a higher number active during the summer months. We had 12 listening volunteers leave during 2022/23 and 19 volunteers who became full listeners, thus increasing the overall number of volunteers. However we had a number who were inactive during the year due to health, work or personal reasons. It is the aim of the branch to have 100 listening volunteers, which requires the recruitment of 24 new volunteers per year. The number of hours on the phone completed by branch volunteers remained around 500 hours per month and 6,011 hours was achieved for the year, which is 2.8% more than in 2021/22. **Figure 1: Number of active listening volunteers and volunteer hours 2022/23** **----- Start of picture text -----**
90 No of Volunteers - solid line - left axis Volunteer Hours – bar - right axis 600
85 500
80 400
75 300
70 200
65 100
60 0
**----- End of picture text -----**
8 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** **Figure 2: Number of calls answered per month 2021/22 – 2022/23** The branch answered more calls throughout the financial year compared to last year, answering 21,140 calls – a new record for Eastbourne – although, as Figure 2 shows, this year-on-year improvement tailed off towards the end of the financial year. Samaritans in the UK answers over 1 million calls per year: - **Every day** – Samaritans’ volunteers respond to almost 9,000 calls for help. - **Every hour** – Samaritans’ volunteers respond to more than 370 calls for help. - **Every minute** – Samaritans’ volunteers respond to more than 6 calls for help. - In 2022, the average length of a phone call for emotional support to Samaritans was around 24 minutes. **----- Start of picture text -----**
No of Calls
2,000 2022/3
1,800
1,600
1,400
1,200 2021/2
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
**----- End of picture text -----**
Figure 3 shows that we had 55 listening volunteers who contributed more than 100 listening hours per year, with the average for all volunteers being 115 hours per year. Whilst we are very appreciative of all our volunteers, it should be noted that 60% of our annual rota hours were covered by just 39 of our 85 volunteers. Overall we would need 92 volunteers completing 16 hours per month each to fill our rota and prevent shifts having to be closed. It is our aim therefore to increase the number of listening volunteers to 100 as this would substantially reduce the number of shifts that would need to close. The branch is also very dependent on our 19 support volunteers who provide a range of administrative and support functions including procurement, building and grounds maintenance, and support to our wonderful and profitable shop. 9 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** **Figure 3: 2022/23 Distribution of total recorded volunteer hours by volunteer** **----- Start of picture text -----**
No of volunteers
Average hours: 115.1
**----- End of picture text -----**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
No of Hours
**----- End of picture text -----**
## _**Objective 2**_ _To promote a better understanding in society of suicide, suicidal behaviour, and the value of expressing feelings which may otherwise lead to impaired emotional health and suicide._ EADS has played a major role in supporting the _**East Sussex Suicide Prevention Group**_ which coordinates activities of a range of key organisations including East Sussex County Council, the Coastguard Service, Eastbourne Hospital, NHS Mental Health Services, the Chaplaincy Service and Network Rail. We have also been active in the specific _**East Sussex Coastal Suicide Prevention Group**_ which concentrates its efforts around Beachy Head and Birling Gap and have contributed to the design of a number of preventative measures to support the reduction of suicide in the coastal areas. We have expanded our outreach activities and extended our reach to key constituents in Eastbourne and work with local organisations. New initiatives in 2022/23 included support on suicide prevention to the _**National Childbirth Trust**_ and _**Eastbourne Sanctuary**_ , supporting their volunteers to assist asylum seekers. We continue to reach out to school children through the annual _**Big Futures Show**_ with Sussex schools and we supported _**Network Rail**_ in February 2023 with the national _**Small Talk Saves Lives**_ initiative at Lewes Station. 10 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** We ran a very successful _**Brew Monday**_ campaign on 16 January 2023 in partnership with 70 cafés encouraging people who felt able, to meet with a friend, neighbour or loved one over ‘a cuppa’ in one of the participating cafes in Eastbourne, Hailsham, Newhaven and Seaford. The event was widely covered on local radio and media, encouraging the uptake of our listening tips and other material. Samaritans’ branches in the South East of England cover all the prisons in the region and EADS has a very effective partnership with the Brighton and Horsham Samaritans’ branches at HMP Lewes. We train selected prisoners to become Listeners and we also train the prison officers and work with the prison management to train their safety officers, who then act as ambassadors for the Listener Scheme. We then provide weekly support to the Listeners. Given that resources in HMP services have been stretched to the limit, our Listener Scheme is an essential part of the rehabilitation support for prisoners and also provides the prison Listeners with essential additional skills for life. Suicide in prisons is over 15 times the community average and over half of the prison population suffer from poor mental health. Our support to HMP Lewes is therefore a key part of our branch activities and we are very proud of the outcomes achieved. The branch has also been active in promoting Samaritans at the Eastbourne and Newhaven Chambers of Commerce with further partnership activities planned for 2023/24. ## _**Objective 3**_ _To collaborate with and support Samaritans central charity and its branches in fulfilling these objectives._ We were one of three branches in the country to reopen for face-to-face (F2F) callers in July 2022. We worked with Samaritans’ Central Office to develop practical and workable procedures for other branches to follow. Our F2F service is of critical importance to the branch given our location in the centre of Eastbourne and the proximity to Beachy Head and the coastal cliffs. We have strengthened our procedures and have undertaken additional training on F2F to ensure that our volunteers are safe and follow strict duty of care/safeguarding practices. A special Samaritans’ initiative was run this year during 13-19 March – _**Lighten the Nights Week.**_ Its purpose was to try to fill the gap during the night between 2am and 7am when, although there are fewer calls to Samaritans, it is the time when most calls are left unanswered. We are now covering more night calls and have changed our rota in 2022/23, striving to be open continuously from Friday at 10am to Monday morning at 2am. The Branch Director has attended a number of meetings and weekend workshops with other directors from the South East Region to discuss and make representation on changes to Samaritans’ policies and procedures including: training, quality assurance, the volunteer agreement, the use of centralised hubs, and providing input to the new national Samaritans’ Strategy 2023-2027. The Branch Director is in regular contact with the Regional Director for the South East and has on-going discussions with other branches including Horsham and Brighton branches to improve learning and share experience. 11 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** ## **Conclusion** While Eastbourne is one of the more prosperous areas of the UK, many in our area have been affected by the pressures on the cost of living and the consequences of this cost squeeze on both our callers and our volunteers. This coupled with the fact that we are still emerging from the pandemic, which is having a significant and possibly delayed impact on the country’s mental health. There are therefore pressures on our service and this has been experienced by our volunteers who have found calls to be generally more challenging than previously. Our priorities are firstly to increase the number of volunteers in the branch and provide a quality service to our callers, and secondly to serve, where we can, the emotional needs of the Eastbourne and District community. The branch is well recognised and respected in the community and there is a strong desire to expand the well-established outreach activities, which we should be able to do provided this does not take resources away from our callers. In 2022/23, the branch has: - Redefined its 5-year strategy in line with the revised strategy of the national Samaritans charity. This was strongly commended by the Samaritans’ Central Office quality assurance team: - “ _EADS is a very enthusiastic and sociable branch with a great feeling of camaraderie. This is reflected in good teams for training, mentoring, leaders, outreach, prison support, volunteer care and all other branch activities.”_ - Successfully reopened face-to-face in July 2022 and we have provided support to Central Office to encourage its wider reintroduction to other Samaritans’ branches. - Increased our response to callers with the volume of phone calls increasing by 10.0% in 2022/23 to 21,140 calls. This is ahead of the national trend, and we have maintained between 85 and 87 active listeners throughout the year. - Maintained our connection with local stakeholders in Eastbourne and undertaken a number of new outreach activities to support the emotional needs of the Eastbourne and District communities. - Had an outstanding year financially helped by a number of very successful fundraising initiatives and the sterling efforts of our shop staff and volunteers. - Maintained a strong financial position with an overall surplus of income over expenditure of £11,499 (compared to a budgeted surplus of £3,600) and our year-end reserves increasing to £116,990, equivalent to just over 26 months of operating costs. By Order of the Board of Trustees _______________________________ Date: David G V Smith (Chair) 12 ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT** ## **TO THE TRUSTEES OF** ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** I report on the accounts of the branch for the year ended 31 March 2023, which are set out on pages 14 to 22. ## **Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner** The charity’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. I report in respect of my examination of the Trustee’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 2011 Act. ## **Independent Examiner’s statement** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: - (1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or - (2) the accounts do not accord with those records; or - (3) the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. 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. VMR Anderson BA (Hons) FCA DChA > Chartered Accountant Clark Brownscombe > 2 St. Andrews Place Lewes East Sussex BN7 1UP Date: 13 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** |**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**Totals**
**2022/23**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**INCOME**
**Income and endowments from**
Donations and legacies
- Donations and gifts
**28,278**
**-**
**28,278**
- Legacies
**11,000**
**-**
**11,000**
Grants
**-**
**-**
**-**
Other trading activities
- Fundraising events
**9,522**
**-**
**9,522**
Income from investments
**425**
**-**
**425**
Other income
- Rental income
**16,000**
**-**
**16,000**
**Total income and endowments**
**65,225**
**-**
**65,225**
**EXPENDITURE ON**
Charitable activities (page 15)
**51,822**
**-**
**51,822**
Raising funds
**1,904**
**-**
**1,904**
**Total resources expended**
**53,726**
**-**
**53,726**
**Net movement in funds**
**11,499**
**-**
**11,499**

**Fund balances at 1 April 2022**
**680,003**
**675**
**680,678**
**Fund balances at 31 March 2023**
**691,502**
**675**
**692,177**|Totals
2021/22
£
34,689
3,850
5,162
2,483
9
16,000| |---|---| ||
62,193| ||
51,985
291
52,276| ||
9,917
670,761| ||680,678| 14 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** |**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**Totals**
**2022/23**
Totals
2021/22
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Charitable activities**
Volunteer travel, training
and Council/Regional Meetings
**13,736**
**-**
**13,736**
10,835
Telephone
**4,044**
**-**
**4,044**
2,875
Advertising and general publicity
**1,982**
**-**
**1,982**
1,157
Postage, printing and stationery
**656**
**-**
**656**
910
Branch affiliation fee to central charity
**5,990**
**-**
**5,990**
3,700
Sundry expenses
**1,062**
**-**
**1,062**
964
Rates, water, electricity and heating
**5,196**
**-**
**5,196**
4,514
Repairs and renewals
**7,715**
**-**
**7,715**
15,194
IT, furniture, fittings and equipment
**3,990**
**-**
**3,990**
1,041
Cleaning
**3,748**
**-**
**3,748**
6,540
Insurance
**2,029**
**-**
**2,029**
1,819
**Governance costs**
- Accountancy fees
**1,674**
**-**
**1,674**
2,436
**51,822**
**-**
**51,822**
51,985
**Raising funds**
Fundraising expenses
**1,729**
**1,729**
291
Savings management fees
**175**
**175**
0
**1,904**
**1,904**
291|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**Totals**
**2022/23**
Totals
2021/22
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Charitable activities**
Volunteer travel, training
and Council/Regional Meetings
**13,736**
**-**
**13,736**
10,835
Telephone
**4,044**
**-**
**4,044**
2,875
Advertising and general publicity
**1,982**
**-**
**1,982**
1,157
Postage, printing and stationery
**656**
**-**
**656**
910
Branch affiliation fee to central charity
**5,990**
**-**
**5,990**
3,700
Sundry expenses
**1,062**
**-**
**1,062**
964
Rates, water, electricity and heating
**5,196**
**-**
**5,196**
4,514
Repairs and renewals
**7,715**
**-**
**7,715**
15,194
IT, furniture, fittings and equipment
**3,990**
**-**
**3,990**
1,041
Cleaning
**3,748**
**-**
**3,748**
6,540
Insurance
**2,029**
**-**
**2,029**
1,819
**Governance costs**
- Accountancy fees
**1,674**
**-**
**1,674**
2,436
**51,822**
**-**
**51,822**
51,985
**Raising funds**
Fundraising expenses
**1,729**
**1,729**
291
Savings management fees
**175**
**175**
0
**1,904**
**1,904**
291|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**Totals**
**2022/23**
Totals
2021/22
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Charitable activities**
Volunteer travel, training
and Council/Regional Meetings
**13,736**
**-**
**13,736**
10,835
Telephone
**4,044**
**-**
**4,044**
2,875
Advertising and general publicity
**1,982**
**-**
**1,982**
1,157
Postage, printing and stationery
**656**
**-**
**656**
910
Branch affiliation fee to central charity
**5,990**
**-**
**5,990**
3,700
Sundry expenses
**1,062**
**-**
**1,062**
964
Rates, water, electricity and heating
**5,196**
**-**
**5,196**
4,514
Repairs and renewals
**7,715**
**-**
**7,715**
15,194
IT, furniture, fittings and equipment
**3,990**
**-**
**3,990**
1,041
Cleaning
**3,748**
**-**
**3,748**
6,540
Insurance
**2,029**
**-**
**2,029**
1,819
**Governance costs**
- Accountancy fees
**1,674**
**-**
**1,674**
2,436
**51,822**
**-**
**51,822**
51,985
**Raising funds**
Fundraising expenses
**1,729**
**1,729**
291
Savings management fees
**175**
**175**
0
**1,904**
**1,904**
291| |---|---|---| ||
51,985|| |||291
0| |||291| 15 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2023** ## **COMPANY NUMBER CE009224 CHARITY NUMBER 1170508** |Note
**FIXED ASSETS**
Tangible fixed assets
4
Investment in trading company
3
**Current Assets**
Debtors
5
Cash at bank and in hand
**Creditors: Amounts falling due**
**within one year**
6
**Net Current Assets**
**Total Assets Less Current Liabilities**
**Represented by:**
**Restricted Funds**
Duty Room refurbishments
9
**Unrestricted Funds**
General Fund
9|**2022/23**
2021/22
**£**
**£**
£
**575,087**
575,087
**100**
100
**575,187**
575,187
**13,239**
18,503
**113,272**
98,078
**126,511**
116,581
**9,521**
11,090
**116,990**
105,491
**692,177**
680,678
**675**
675
**691,502**
680,003
**692,177**
680,678|**2022/23**
2021/22
**£**
**£**
£
**575,087**
575,087
**100**
100
**575,187**
575,187
**13,239**
18,503
**113,272**
98,078
**126,511**
116,581
**9,521**
11,090
**116,990**
105,491
**692,177**
680,678
**675**
675
**691,502**
680,003
**692,177**
680,678|**2022/23**
2021/22
**£**
**£**
£
**575,087**
575,087
**100**
100
**575,187**
575,187
**13,239**
18,503
**113,272**
98,078
**126,511**
116,581
**9,521**
11,090
**116,990**
105,491
**692,177**
680,678
**675**
675
**691,502**
680,003
**692,177**
680,678| |---|---|---|---| ||||575,187
18,503
98,078| ||||
116,581
11,090| ||||
105,491| ||||
680,678| ||||675
680,003| ||||680,678| The Financial Statements were approved by the trustees on 22[nd] June 2023. ___________________________________ David G V Smith (Chair) 16 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** ## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES** ## **a. Accounting** These financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with applicable accounting standards. In addition, they have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102. The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The accounts are prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity. ## **b. Fund Accounting** The charity maintains various funds in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities FRS 102’. These funds, which require separate disclosure, are as follows: _**Unrestricted Funds**_ – these are the general funds of the charity and are expendable at the discretion of the trustees in the furtherance of the charitable objectives. The main sources of general funds are from donations and gifts, legacies, fundraising events and income from investments and bank deposits. _**Restricted Funds**_ – these are funds which are subject to specific objects declared by the donor or which are raised by appeal for a specific purpose. These funds are expendable by the trustees in furtherance of the specific object for which they were given unless the donor later agrees that they can be applied for a general purpose. Due to the nature of these funds, they are accounted for separately from the general funds of the charity. ## **c. Depreciation** Other than freehold and leasehold property, all tangible fixed assets valued at or over £2,500 are depreciated over four years on a straight line basis, or over their economic useful life (if less than four years). Freehold property and the 999-year leasehold property have not been depreciated in accordance with FRS 102 because, in the opinion of the trustees, the properties are repaired on a regular basis with the relevant costs charged to the income and expenditure account, and their market value is in excess of the purchase price. ## **d. Voluntary Income** Donations are recognised as income when the donation is received. Legacies are recognised at the earliest point at which the amounts become certain. 17 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** ## **e. Investment Income** Interest is accrued on a daily basis and is credited on this basis in the income and expenditure account. ## **f. Expenditure** Expenditure is included in the Statement of Financial Activities on an accrual basis, inclusive of any VAT which cannot be recovered. The main categories of expenditure are: - i. Charitable activities which are the costs of running the branch. - ii. Expenditure on raising funds which includes investment manager’s fees and fundraising expenses. ## **g. Consolidation** The charity has taken advantage of the exemptions conferred in paragraph 24.6 of the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities FRS 102” from preparing consolidated financial statements. ## **h. Statement of Cash Flows** The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows. ## **i. Financial Instruments** The charity has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at amortised cost. Financial assets held at amortised cost comprise cash and bank in hand, other debtors and prepayments. Financial liabilities held at amortised cost comprise other creditors and accruals. Investments in subsidiaries are held at cost less impairment. 18 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** ## **2. COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (Preceding year)** |**(Preceding year)**||||| |---|---|---|---|---| ||**Unrestricted**||**Restricted**|**Totals**| ||**Funds**||**Funds**|**2021/22**| ||**£**||**£**|**£**| |**INCOME**||||| |Income and endowments from||||| |Donations and legacies||||| |- Donations and gifts||**34,689**|**-**|**34,689**| |- Legacies||**3,850**|**-**|**3,850**| |Grants||**-**|**5,162**|**5,162**| |Other trading activities||||| |- Fundraising events||**2,483**|**-**|**2,483**| |Income from investments||**9**|**-**|**9**| |Other income||||| |- Rental income||**16,000**|**-**|**16,000**| |**Total income and endowments**||**57,031**|**5,162**|**62,193**| |**EXPENDITURE ON**||||| |Charitable activities||**44,542**|**7,443**|**51,985**| |Raising funds||**291**|**-**|**291**| |**Total resources expended**||**44,833**|**7,443**|**52,276**| |**Net movement in funds**||**12,198**|**(2,281)**|**9,917**| |**Fund balances at 1 April 2021**|**667,805**||**2,956**|**670,761**| |**Fund balances at 31 March 2022**|**680,003**||**675**|**680,678**| 19 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** ## **3. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS** ||**2022/23**|2021/22| |---|---|---| |**Investment in trading company**|**£**|£| |At 31 March 2022 and 31 March 2023|**100**|100| The wholly owned trading company Samaritans Retail (Eastbourne) Limited, which is incorporated in the United Kingdom, pays its profits to the charity by gift aid. The charity owns the entire issued share capital of 100 Ordinary shares of £1 each. A summary of the trading results is shown below. |**2022/23**

**£**

Turnover
**69,731**

Other operating income
**-**

Cost of sales and administration expenses
**(64,525)**
Distribution to Eastbourne and District Samaritans
**(5,206)**
Net result
**-**

The assets and liabilities of the company were:
Assets
**7,573**

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
**(7,426) **
**147**
Aggregate share capital and reserves
**147**|2021/22
£
67,150
8,171
(62,478)
(12,892)
(49)
15,181
(15,034)|2021/22
£
67,150
8,171
(62,478)
(12,892)
(49)
15,181
(15,034)| |---|---|---| ||

|| |||
147
147| 20 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** ## **4. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS** |**Freehold**
**Property**
**Leasehold**
**Property**
**£**
**£**
**Cost**
As at 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023
**329,941**
**245,146**
**5.**
**DEBTORS**
**2022/23**
**£**
Amounts due from trading company
**5,206**
Other debtors
**8,033**
**13,239**
**6.**
**CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR**
**2022/23**
**£**
Other creditors
**1,480**
Accruals
**8,041**
**9,521**|**Total**
**£**
**575,087**
2021/22
£
12,892
5,611
18,503
2021/22
£
5,020
6,070
11,090| |---|---| ## **7. TAXATION** The branch is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charity for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes. ## **8. TRUSTEES REMUNERATION** No remuneration was paid to any of the trustees during the year (2022: £nil). 21 ## **EASTBOURNE AND DISTRICT SAMARITANS** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023** ## **9. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS** |
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds|**Fixed**
**Assets**
**£**
**575,187**
**-**
**575,187**|**Net**
**Current**
**Assets**
**Total**
**2022/23**

**£**
**£**
**116,315**
**691,502**
**675**
**675**
**116,990**
**692,177**|Total
2021/22
£
680,003
675| |---|---|---|---| ||||680,678| ## **ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS (Preceding year)** |
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds|**Fixed**
**Assets**
**£**
**575,187**
**-**
**575,187**|**Net**
**Current**
**Assets**
**Total**
**2021/22**
Total
2020/21
**£**
**£**
£
**104,816**
**680,003**
667,805
**675**
**675**
2,956
**105,491**
**680,678**
670,761| |---|---|---| 22