SAMARITANS OF TAUNTON AND SOMERSET FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YF.AR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 coNrENTS Reference and Adminislrdtive Detai15 RqK)n of the T￿￿te¢S io Report of the Independent Examiner li Statement of Financial Activities 12 Balance Sheet 13- 18 Notes to the Accounts Charity No. 1170637 SAMARrrANS OF TAu￿rON AND SOMERSET REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Trust¢es of the Brdnch during the year were.. N Jackaman (Secretary) J Crawford S Burge (freasu￿) A Hallows R Jacobs S Bannister Registered Address: 16 Wo(xJ Street TauntoTh Somerset TAI IUN Registrttd Charity No.. 1170637 BaDkers'. Barclays Bank plc North Street Taunton Somerset TAI ILZ Independent Examiner: Mrs T Bell Westcotts 7 Castle Street Bridgwater Somerset TA6 3DT SAMARrrANS OF TAuNfoN AND SOMERSE'r REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 The trustees present thcir annual report and financial statements of the Charity for the year cllded 3 1st March 2024. The financial stalements haye been prepared in accordance with the accounting polici'es set out in Note I to the accounts and comply with the Charity's trust deed, Ch￿itIeS Act 2011 and Accounung arid Reporting by Charitics.. Siatemenl of Recommcnded Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with Ihe Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of treland (FRS 102) {ch￿lueS SORP (FRS102) (effeetive I. January 2019)). About the Samaritans The Charity maintains a centre for recciving telephone calls and e-mails from members of the public and also welcomcs any face to face visicors to the Branch. The centre 15 Stafled entirely by unpaid voluJ)teers and the branch is open 365 days a year. The maill objective of the Charity is.. To listen to and talk wirh persons who are sllicid￿, despairing or in a statc of emotional distress. Callers are from around the United Kingdom and in non-pandcmic times face to face callers are secn from the Taunton and Somerset area. The volunteers are selected and trained to undertake the sensitive task of li8iening to callers, encouraging them to discuss their ihoughts and feelings; this is done in accordancc with the policies and procedures of Samaritans as an organisation. Thc Trustees confimi that they have referred to the guidance contained in the ch￿ltY Commission's general guidance on pubiic benefit when reviewing the Charity's aims and objectives and in planning further activities. We do rhis by- Reaching out ro high-risk groups and communili¢s to redu¢e the risk of suicide. Working in p8f(nership with other organisations and agcncies. Raising awaEeness of the challenges lo redutt the incidcnce of suicide. .There are scven qualitics that define Samaritans, Nature of Service: 24 hour availability Confidentiality Honesry Emouonally supportive CO￿rul1Y structurcd Self-detennination Safeguarding Each quality Is accompanied by policies which must be implemcnted in all brancbes All branches must then use dcfin¢d procedures to pur rhese policies into effect All Samaritan volunteers must be aware of, and adhcie io, Samaritans. Naiure of Service Through our Naturc of Service we gre committed to the following values.. l. Bcing available 24 hours a day to receive calls from peoplc requiring emotional support. 2. To cnsure and stTess confidentiality of the call (within Samaritans)- There are exceptions to this, for exatnple, if therc is a Safegu￿ding concern. SAMARITANS OF TAu￿rON AND SOMF.RSET REI)ORT OF THF. TRUSTF.ES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCII 2024 About the Samaritans - continued 3. Honesty - We publicly scaic how infortnation relating ￿ our callers is uscd. 4. Emotionally Supportive: Callers in need of Samaritans, service are accepted without prejudice and encouraged to talk or write about their feelings, acknowledge thcir emotions and explore options. Volunteers use their listening skills, re£ognise ihe needs of callers and respond appropriately. Voluntccrs will rLOt imwse their own convictions or influence callers in regards to politics, philosophy or religion. 5. Samaritans aim to offer a carefully constructed and consistent response offcr is regularly reviewcd and evaluated. co our callers. Thc support we 6. Self Deterniination. calle￿ remain responsible for thcir own decisions and do not lose the right to make decisions even if that decision is to t8kc their own life. This belief underpins all our contact with callers. In siLu&tion8 where we suspect the caller is a child or a vulnerdble adult who cannot Jnake their own decision, and in a position of hann, this principle is subject to thc limits imposed by our Safeguarding Policy. Achievements and Perfonnancc Samaritans, policy r¢quires a change of Director evcry three years, whcrc possible. with a similar changc of leadership team at thc same iimc. Encouraging fresh ideas. new creative encigy, and encouragement of branch members to seek and achieve personal development, this is an apprnach with many benefits. A significant risk is the loss of institutional memory. cxperience and knowledge of the workings and dcmands of the central ch￿IlY. Samaritans coniinucs to porLder thc shape, scale and scope of leadership roles in its branchcs, recognizing the nccd for balance as it aims to deliver the safest, tnost positive and effcctive serviec possible, bui relying on volunteers whose priority, of course. is to man the phones and fit Samaritans life into their own p￿$0￿8] schedule. Our brdnch owes a significant debt of gratitude to its previous Director, Rosic. and her exeellcnt outgoing leadership team. They stecred us through the difficult COVID-19 times, managing to sure up finances. recruit new volunteers and maintain effective links in the commuTJity despi(e the challenges we fac¢d. Moreovcr, the branch rcceived a tnuch-nccdcd face lift and in Seplcmbcr 2023, our rcceivcd a wonderful facelill thanks to plants which had been part of the sa[n￿ltan5 listcning garden a¢ Ihe Chelsea Flower Show, and the work of DaThcn Hawkes landscape ggJdener8. from Cornwall. Whilst the quality and safety of our scrvice to our callers is paramoun¢ eonsideraiion and support of the voluntcer experien¢¢ is also iJnportant and Rosie kept a keen eye on these matters. mcasured by the success of Mr. Mi1&4 breakfast meetings, barbecues, infornjal dinners and teas in branch. Fler en¢ourngemcn¢ of support volunteers. such an important part of our work force. was a personal prioriiy. She has been a hard act to lollow but such is the life of the Samariians Director th￿ one 15 soon swept along by the pace of change aiid challeiiges set by thc ¢eniral charity. The first job. the Iiiosi difficulL was e5¢ablishing one's le￿IdershIP team. Undcrstandably. wc join Samaritans to provide rnuch-ncLxlcd cmotional support for pcoplc in despair. In surveys. tnost people wish this to bc the extcnt of thcir committnen(- quil¢ understandably as Ihcy have busy livcs and limited 5COPC to expand their involvement. Howevcr, widcr iiivolven]Lnt in Samarit<1ns busines5 also brings a myriad of opportunitics for pcrsonol development and use ol pcrsonal and profcssional skills now underutilized or even undervalued. SAMARITANS OF TAUNTON AND SOMERSET RF.PORT OF THF. TRUSTF.ES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Aehievcments and Perfomiancc- continued Wc have jusi received formal feedback from our Branch Quality Review, something which takeq place routinely in the first year of a new directorate. It providcs a glowing appraisal of our branch, confwming the impact of Rosic's supcrb leadership until July 2023, and the positivc ifflpression created by the new leadership team. Trusiees in SamaTilans summarizcd an incredibly positive report: 'This is an excellent review. The branch is to be congratulated for creating a successful. collaborativc working environtnent. whcrc everyone is aligned in making thc branch work well. Your focus on inclusivity, and in particular your plans for a property thac fully 5UPPOrts that is good to see" Ai the end of year one, I am cxtremely grateful for the support of a superb group of people who have stepped into the Branch tEader5hip Team and who have worked suprcmely well to maintain thc ethos and exccllence of our Wood Street br￿Ch. Our meeting5 every six weeks have provided opportunilics ro share new8 and to plor ihe next steps as we iry to move the branch even further forward. Their inlclligent, experienced, and cooperative personas have bcen central to the fruitful di.gcussions and sense of pury)05c. All the Deputy Directois, each responsible for an aspect of samari￿]s business, have supported the branch members effectivcly, communicating clearly and striving 10 incoq)ordte them into their teams. In two years, time, we will need a new Director and leadcrship team and knowledgc of thc workings of the branch will be a real help when you step into a new role on the BLT. Tammy. DD for Recruitment. has made effective use of the much-lamented Branch Management Tool lo Sir¢amline and improve the inilidl volunlLcr journey, arranging inlcrviews, adniini%i¢ring applications. and passing successful applicants into the training proc¢ss. In ihcory, the 501iware will coordinalc all communications and protect data in appropriate manner, kc¢ping it in the Samaritans systems. Shc has been ably supportcd by a tcam of experienced Samaritans in the inforn)ation, interview, and selection processcs. In year two we hopc io embed these processes and exploit their potential to the fullcst. A feature ol Tammy's work has bcen her cooperation with Frcddie, DD for Training. Together ihey have scrutinÉzed the Samaritans journcy with thc aim to make it smoothcr. morc cohesive. and tiansparent. They rccognizc the iJnportance of the Mentor role in this journey and in the coming year we hope lo train more and enhaJJcc their undcrstanding of how ihey can besi help thc new Samaritkms towards full mcmbership of thc branch. Freddie has nelworked well in thc Southwest rcgion and his con5idcrable experiencc and characteristic perspectives challenge fellow traincrs. We continue to train three cohorts each year. Freddie ha5 investigated increasing group Si7ES from eight to tcn, though such cxpansion brings practical downsiream cha]lenges around skills prdcticc and mentoriiig. We recognize the challenge of answering calls as quickly as possiblc, for demand is always high and suicidal thoughis can strike at any time. Many seryices are only available during office hours and our pride continucs that Samaritans are there around the clock. Suceessful recruitsnent and.training, growing our branch numbers, is important but equally important is the minimizalion of attrition, something which is a concern around branchc5 naiionally. At the time of Wriling we hav¥ eighty-seven dctivc listening volunteers. up from .scvttn(y-nine in July 2023. We have successfully trained and embeddcd fifteen ncw Samariians in the lasl twelve months, so it secms clear that our low atirition rdte iq an important fealute which allows us io maintain and CVLn grow our number.4. Research sugge4ls tliau on dvcrage, a voluntccr siays lor about ihrce ye2rs. WL hopc 10 buck this trend by tnainiaining th¢ I'aunlon branch &s an excellent, w¢l¢oniiiig, and supportive place 10 mect like- minded folk and find personal fuifilm¢nt. SAMARrrANS OF TAUNTON AND SOMERSET REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCII 2024 Achievements and Pcrforniance- continued Our brdnch survey. sent out at the time of our Branch Quality Revi¢w, provided irnportant feedback. and wnfirn)cd the loyalty and commitment ofour Samaritans. Chief concerns revolved around reliability of the wi-fi and telephony in the branch, volunteers frustrated by dropped calls and sound qua]ity. Deeper investigation revealed Ihat our statistics were in line with national levels for these issues at each of our three duly statiolls. Issues .%eemcd to stem from deeper seated problerns being addressed by the central charity. Wilson, as Vice Diiector for Compliance, has been an invaluable asset in the brdnch and a supportive friend to many of us. His persona] drive is exceptional. and he has strered us through stiff regulatory ch&llenges. From March 2024, Sam8Jilans faced thc ehallengc of maintaining its service whilst increasing the levcl scruriny in Éhc Criminal Records Checks of all volunieers. Samaritans needed to Upda￿ the scope of checks actoss the organisation to achieve the best level of prote¢tion for those that encounter us. We wcre included in the first group of branches to upgrade DBS checks. of all volunteers, in a short three-month period. Some unavoidable technical issues aros< of course. but. Wilson and Tomtny worked tirelessly to provide personal support for all branch members and. ch8racieristically. the challenging goal was ￿hieVed in good time. In the next six months or so, we will eTnbrace significatLt changes in telephony within ihc branch. Samaritans, national platform, Link, reaches the end of irs life this YC￿ and moves are afoot to move all branches to VOIP calling which moves us away from analogue telephony, into the digital age, arid bypasses the cabling and hardware of our current setup. Pilot studies are encouraging, and we will welcome this move which will allow us to incrcase the number of workstations and upgrade the wi-fi froKn copper cable to fibr¢. I write in the hope that thesc changes will bring improvements to the reliability of our in-housc technology with associated benefits for our callers. Wilson will again steer the branch through this phase which should be complete by carly 2025. Over the course of 2024. Sam￿lta￿s will be migrating online chat and UK relcphonc helpline service lo its new Listening Ccnlre and the Welsh Language line. In 2025 they will also be migrating the UK email seThicc, Republic of Ireland helpline and email scrvice io the samc pl.OIX) and this value has been iTJcorporated in these accounts. Market value is the estimated amount for which the property should exchange on thc valuauon da￿ between a willing buyer and L willing seller in atj ann'b length transaction, after proper marketing and where ihe P