CPEster arKJ Dlstrlct Chester & District Samaritans CIO Registered charity number: 1170862 REPORTS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st March 2024 Re9iStered off ice: 36 Upper Northgate Street CHESTER. CHI 4EF Chester & District Samaritans CIO REPORTS AND FINANCIAL STA TEMENTS For the year ended . 31st March 2024 CONTENTS PAGE Trustees, annual report Independent examiner's report Reserves Policy Balance sheet Statement of f inancial activities Notes to the f inancial statements The following pages do not form part of the f inancial statements Detailed statement of f inancial activities 10,11&12 Clwster & Dlstrlct SamarIta￿ ao TRUSTEES. REPORT The trustees present their report and the un0￿￿1*ed f inancial thatements of the charity for the year ended 31$ March 2024 LEGAL STATUS Chester and DistrKct Samaritans CIO is registered with the Charity C(Immission. The Re9iStered Chorsty Number is 1170862. The chority is governed by its Rules. which are in force since the Charity was registered on 20 December 2016. ft came into operatson on l April 2017 when it took over the operations, assets and liabilities of the former charity Samoritans of Chtster a District (keg. No. 256460). This ¢hon9e *¢Jok plate at *ht behest of the Samoritons Centrol Charity to improve the operation of the service. Chester & Dittrict Samaritans 1$ an ff iliated branch of S¢wi*ans Central Charity. OBJEfflVES OF CHESTER a Msrncr SAMAIIITANS Somaritans exist to provide confidential supwt to ony¢ne goi￿j thr￿h crisis and in dayr of takirKJ thelr own lives and to befriend the lonely. disfressed and despairiry. 365 days a year. INVESTMEKf POWERS AND REsTricfioNS The Trustees are required to keep a 9entral bank accoun* and any other acccAJnts for specif ic purposes. All money not r¢quired for current expenses shall be invested. The reserves policy ts described on page 4. It has a current account with HSBC Bank plc for br1￿¢￿ general expenses. There is also a savirrfJ$ account with Virgin Money. THE 8RANCH LEADERSHIP TEAM Chester a t)istrict Samoritons hos a branch leadership team consistirg of Trustees ond Dewty Directors. The Trustees are elected by the branch membersh¥p ond are responsible *or mointaining the bronch premises and oll the facilities necessory for the continued safe and stture operation ef *he listeni￿ service. Th¢rt Qre f ive Truste¢s.' The tr•irtt*or. Treasurer, Setretary and two others who take responsibility for Health & Safety and buildin9 mointEnan¢e. Responsibility for fund-raisir9 is tdken on by The tjirettor curr¢ntly. The D¢puty Directors are appointed by the Director to look aftew specific areas of bronch operations. The full leadership team meets at least four times per year but the Truslees and Directors also meet Se￿ratelY os and when required. THE TRUSTEES The trustees who served the charity durirg the period were as follows: irÈctor / Choir Secretary Trustee Trustee Treasurer Trustee Tr(tste¢ Lynne Barbara Steffan 8¢rnord Simon John Beverly Cosey Smith Rou9hsed9e W¢)ods Barrett Milnes Grimshaw Mrs Mr Mr (From 26 Sept 23) (to 25 Sept 23) {*0 l Aug 23) Mrs kEsuLTS The f Inancial results for the year, and the chority's f inancial position at the end of the year ¢Te shown in the attached f irnncial stotements. ALNIEVEAIENTS Chester ond District Samaritans dre availoble to provide conf idential emotional support for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair Including those which may lead to suicide. This service is provided by on average of 81 listening volunteers bocked up by 10 support volunteers whose primary aim is f und-raisin9. tJurin9 this period 15.826 telephone contacts have been received ond 653 e-mttils responded to. The branch hos continued to support the on-line chat service dealing with 991 contocts. Our outreach team hdve also supported 26 people face to foce ot even*$ held in the Chester and District orea. Outreoch - We have Continued to work within our communities to develop contocts, show who we ore, ond show our support to Community events. The Otjtrtach and Publicity teams have attended some key community events t)nd we will continue to push this further to help our locol communities with support for those in emotional ￿ed. Prison Team - Our Somariton trained Listener teams have continued to offer vital support to men who ore stru991in9 to cope with their time in prison. The covfD pondemic made octess to Listeners problematic at times but It is now returning to normal. Officers have worked with our Listentrs to ensure, where possible, thot when a prisoner asks for a Listener. he is able to see one. Statistiu show that the risk of dyin9 by suicide is si9nif Icantly higher In UK prisons than in the 9eneral population. Our vision, both Listeners and Samaritans is thot fewer pe¢ple die by suicide. Fundin9 was provided from a variety of sources. We b¢nef ited from donations by Timpsons, Altonover. Tarporley Rotory Club, University of Chester Law School and Squire Patton solicitors amorg others as well as generous donations from private benefoctors. Fund-roising was agoin diff Icult and Friends activities were much curtailed. A more det(tiled description of our activities can be found in the Annuol Report submitted to our 2024 AGM. IND￿ENDENT EXAMINER David Whitehead WLS conf irmed 0$ the Independent Ex(miiner at the 2023 AGM Si9Md by order of the Trus*e¢s Honorory Secretary Pa9e 2. INDEPENDENrf EXAMINER'S UNQUALIFIED REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF CHESTER AND DISTRIcf SAMARrrANS CIO CHARITY NUMBER.. 1170862 I report on the accounts of Chester & District Samaritans CIO (the Charity) for the year ended 31st Morch 2024. The Charity prepares receipts ond payments accounts and had an income less than £250,000 in the relevant f inancial year. RESPONsf8ILETIES AND BASIS OF kEPOkT As the trustees of the Charity. you are responsible for the preporotion of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (the Act). I report in respect of my examination of the Charity's occounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act ond in corrying Dut my examination I have followed all the opplicoble Directions given by the Chority Commission under section 14515)(b) of the Act. INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT r have completed my examination. I conf irm that no material matters have come to my attentign in connection with the examination 9iving me cause to believe in any material respect that., l. accounting records were not kept in rtspect of the Chority as required by section 130 of *he Act.. or 2. the accounts do not accord with those re¢ords. I have no concerns ond have come across no other matters in cdnnection with the exomination to which attelltion should be drawn in thts report in order to enable a proper understanding of the occounts to be reached. David Whitehead F.C.C.A. 21 Highlander Road Saighton Chester CH3 6DH Dated, 12 July 2024 Po9e 3. Ch¢ster & t)istrict Samaritans CIO RESERVES POLICI The branch Current￿ holds cash reserves of £131,070 These reserves are deemed necessary for 3 purposes: 1 Support for on-going operations. The branch is heavily reliant on fund-raisin9 for income and this can be variable depending on the Success of particular fund-roising initiatives. It is, therefore, deemed sensible to maintain reserves equivalent to approximately 18 months expenses at minimum operating Costs (£58,000) to protect the operations of the branch agalllst signif icant f luctuations in income. 2 A small fund that can be used to pay for unexpected outlays on maintenance of existing premises. This has been set at £15,000. 3 Income increased during 2023124 as a result of a prison grant uplift for the year from Samaritans central charity. plus the additional part payment of the 2024/25 prison grant in advance. There was no capital expenditure during the year but expenses were higher as a result of the increased activity supporting listeners at Berwyn prison, an increase in the onnual contribution to the Samaritans central charity, and roof repairs to the owned property. As a result, our cash reserves declined by just under £13,000 durinq the year. Page 4. Chester & District Samaritans CIO BALANCE SHEET 2024 2023 I￿)re FIXED ASSETS 183.872 190,658 CURFiENT ASSETS 8onk 131,070 143,767 CREDITORS NET CURRENT ASSETS 131,070 143,767 NET ASSErs 314,942 334,425 REPRESENTED BY.. TOTAL FUNDS 314,94 334.425 The finonciol stoternents set out on pdges 6 to 9 were approved by the Trustees on 6 Au9USt 2024 and were signed on their beholf by.. Lynne Cosey Director Simon Barrett Treasurer Pa9e 5. NThJ 8- LY ts Èxv Chester & District Samaritans CIO NOTES ro THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Year ended 31st Mor¢h 2024 AcC￿￿rrING POLIaES Basis of accountlr8 The f inancial statements hove been prepared under the historical ¢ost convention on a Receipts a Poyments bosis, gentrolly ¢¥ set out in Chority Commission guidance CCI6. Cash flow Statement The trustees have token odvantQ9e of the exemption in Financial Reporting Standard Nk7 1 (revised) f rom includin9 a cash f low statement in the f inanciol statements on the grounds that the chority is small. Depreciation Depreciation is calculated so tts to write of f the cost of an osset, less its estirnated residual value, over the usef ul economic life of that osset bearin9 in mind that the of f ice equipment is in use 24 hours per doy. An asset list hos been set up to aid colculation of the depreciaion for each item. Freehold property Of f Ice Equipment Fixtures & f ittings See below 25% 107. fn June 2015, the property wos subjected to a revoluation by o chartered surveyor. The outcome of this survey was that the current value of the property. if sold on the open market, was now £165,OCKJ. Theref ore, this is the value which is now displayed in these atcounts. No f urther revaluation has been corried out in 2023/24. The next revoluotion is plonned for 2024/25. DONATIONS Total Funds 2024 Total Funds 2023 Voluntary donations Friends of the Samoritans HMPPS prison team qrant Gift Aid Tax Contribution Other income 17.131 4.120 8.459 2,746 370 15,794 6,142 2.364 3.372 330 28.002 rEREsT RECEIVA9LE 2024 2023 Bank interest receivable 535 224 Pa9e 7. SUPPORT COSTS l otal trunds 2024 l otal trunds 2023 Off ice costs Head Off ice Funding Direct Costs 29.245 11.645 11,913 29,301 10,083 8,789 TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED l otal trunds l otal trunds Depreciation Other costs 2024 2023 Fundraising Publicity Support Costs 39 39 105 365 6.786 46.017 52,803 48.173 Particulars of employees.. The average number of staff employed by the charity durin9 the f inancial year amounted to: 2024 2023 Number of support staff Po9e 8. TAN618LE FIXED ASSErs trreehold uttice trixtures a property Equipment f ittings Total COST At 31st March 2023 Assets disposed of Additions At 31st March 2024 165,OCQ 27.155 IH.241 336.396 165.000 27,155 144,241 336,396 DEPRECIA TION At 31st March 2023 Assets disposed of Charqe for the year At 31st March 2024 24,577 121.161 145.738 1.820 26,397 4,966 126.127 6,786 152,524 NET 800K VALUE At 31st March 2023 At 31st March 2024 165,000 165.OCX) 2.578 758 23 080 18,114 190.658 183,872 CREDrroRS: Amounts falling within one ye¢ 2024 2023 Creditors ANALYSIS OF NEf ASSErs Tongible f ixed assets Other net assets Total Unrestricted Restricted L)esignated Total f unds 183,872 131,070 314.942 Page 9.