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2025-12-31-accounts

Herts Welcomes Refugees

Trustee Report and Accounts

January – December 2025

Herts Welcomes Refugees – A Charitable Incorporated Organisations – Registered Charity No. 1172687 Registered Address: Ver House, Park Estate, Frogmore, Hertfordshire, AL2 2DR

Introduction

2025 was a significant year in terms of the development and recognition of Herts Welcomes Refugees.

We are proud to have received the King’s Award for Voluntary Service in recognition of the support our volunteers provide.

We succeeded in gaining funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to develop the staff and administrative infrastructure of the Charity and to allow the Trustees to focus more effectively on our strategic objectives.

We appointed the first Director of the Charity, Katie Allen-East, at the end of the year.

We recruited three new Trustees.

We have benefited significantly from participating in the Lloyds Bank Operational Development Scheme. The Scheme has provided support with strategy development, IT implementation, recruitment of our Director, the Charity becoming a direct employer, and has facilitated participation in peer group training and discussion.

These achievements and their impact on the Charity are explained more fully in this report.

We have continued to welcome new arrivals to the county, primarily asylum seekers; to support families who arrived under resettlement schemes albeit that there were relatively few new arrivals in the year; and to help those who have succeeded in their claims for asylum and have gained refugee status as they move on to the next stage of life in the UK.

We continue to adapt to challenges as they are presented to us and those we support; to develop the ways in which we provide support; and to forge and reinforce relationships with other organisations.

Thanks to our Patron

Our Patron, Robert Voss, the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, is standing down as our Patron [at our AGM]. We are hugely grateful for his wise counsel and would like to thank him for his support.

Trustees

The Trustees are delighted to have welcomed three new Trustees this year. Heather Alcock and Julian Rowland bring experience of working with refugees and asylum seekers and in the Charity sector. Birim Karakas, HWR’s Area Convenor for Hertsmere, has also become a Trustee. Birim’s cross-cultural working experience as head of marketing in Europe and Central Asia for Turkey’s largest mobile phone company, brings a valuable, additional/different perspective to the Trustee Board.

Irene Austin will stand down as a Trustee and our Chair at the AGM on 22 April 2026. We are hugely grateful for Irene’s leadership over the last nine years. Irene will continue as the Area Convenor for St Albans and will be on hand to support the Trustees in an advisory capacity.

Kate Scott will take over as Chair, supported by John Borton as Deputy Chair. The other Trustees are Adrian Ball, Andy Gregg and Amani Al Shami.

In accordance with our constitution, at the AGM we will ask members to endorse the appointment of Heather, Julian and Birim as Trustees. Kate Scott will step down and stand for re-election for her final three-year term.

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The Trustees met formally eight times during the year and are in regular contact between meetings to deal with ongoing issues.

At Trustees’ meetings we consider matters of policy in line with the Charity Commissioner’s guidance on public benefit, receive financial reports from the Treasurer and take decisions regarding the strategic direction of the Charity according to the constitution, priorities for the year and the need to adapt as new challenges arise.

These are the priorities the Trustees set for 2025:

Progress with addressing these priorities is explained throughout this report.

The Trustees have set the following priorities for 2026

  1. To continue to support refugees and asylum seekers in a changing environment that will see the gradual closure of hotels.

  2. To continue to develop our Volunteer Development Programme.

  3. To ensure the smooth induction of the new Director to enable her to work effectively with Trustees in delivering the Charity’s objectives, enabling her to review current practices and support volunteer teams.

  4. To improve organisational sustainability and the support HWR provides through long-term funding planning and seeking diversified income streams.

  5. To strengthen further and develop relationships with partner organisations.

  6. To continue to strengthen our systems for data management to improve sharing and collaboration, and store our data securely, with support from the Lloyds Bank Operational Development Programme.

  7. To roll out new tools to improve the monitoring and evaluation of our work.

  8. To develop more effective ways of responding to rapidly changing government policies in order to advocate for those we support.

During 2026 the Trustees, the Director and the Management Group will participate in strategic planning exercises to refine action plans for the above priorities and look forward to developing priorities for 2027.

Challenges in 2025 and looking forward to 2026

In many ways, the challenges facing the Charity and those we support remain the same: the churn in the asylum seeker population; the fickleness of the asylum process; the lack of lawyers/immigration advisers; housing issues for those with refugee status, particularly single people, many of whom have faced

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homelessness this year; rising cost of living; and difficulties in finding employment.

But 2025 has presented fresh challenges, particularly in the form of increased anti-migrant activity and the government’s policies aimed at reducing the numbers of people seeking asylum and settling in the UK. Antiimmigrant activity has exposed some of our volunteers to direct harassment and has increased anxiety levels. Those we support have borne the brunt of this hostility, but it has also affected our volunteers. One hotel has been subject to regular weekly protests. Self-styled “citizen journalists” have also appeared at various locations. Residents, our volunteers, staff and other organisations visiting those locations have suffered direct harassment, in some cases meaning that they are prevented from supporting because they cannot gain access. Some organisations have suspended or cancelled support due to concern for their volunteers. Anti-migrant sentiment has sometimes spilled over into community tensions and bullying at school.

However, we have seen no developments with regard to providing safe routes for people seeking asylum. The government’s proposals for “earned settlement” are divisive and we are already seeing the negative impact they are having on the refugee population. A member of our Advisory Group, formerly a university lecturer in Afghanistan stated: “Personally, it has affected me a lot because I came here with nothing and with lots of hopes. But when I heard about these proposals it shattered me. It’s a kind of limbo situation we are in. I wish now that I had decided to apply for a student visa in another country and not in the UK.” In accordance with our priorities to strengthen our advocacy work, ensure the views expressed by our Advisory Group are heard and acted upon, and make greater use of the experiences and voices of the people we support, we have significantly increased our efforts in this respect, as explained later in this report.

On a more positive note, we have seen an increase in volunteer recruitment, particularly in areas where we have struggled to recruit previously, from people who want to welcome refugees and demonstrate that the anti-migrant rhetoric does not reflect their sense of British values.

We noted in last year’s report that the population in some of the asylum hotels was changing from being a mix of single people and families to being solely or predominantly single men. That change has continued, as has the churn within asylum accommodation. The churn is a result of two things. First, asylum seekers can be moved between several hotels and/or into dispersed accommodation while waiting for a decision. Second, the more rapid processing of asylum applications. Our volunteers have adapted the support they provide accordingly, both in terms of activities provided and in supporting people as they leave asylum accommodation following decisions on their claims. Sadly, our volunteers have seen many instances of single people facing homelessness as they leave asylum accommodation, which is harrowing both for the people concerned and our volunteers.

The increased pace of Home Office decision making was noted in last year’s report. This still applies, although the proportion of first instance positive decisions has reduced, and as a consequence, the backlog of appeals has increased. We are seeing some very fast decision making, in some cases within two or three months of arrival, which should be welcome, but can mean that the person receiving a decision so quickly has had very little time to orientate themselves, learn even basic English and gain an insight into life in the UK. This is a particular issue in those districts where there is a greater concentration of single asylum seekers and some local authorities are not as organised as others with regard to supporting people towards independence. On the other hand, the increase in the appeals backlog means that some are still waiting for a decision for a prolonged period with the resulting negative impact on mental health. As a result, we are seeing people in both categories struggling.

The government introduced a pilot part way through the year, following extensive lobbying, extending the notice period between grant of refugee status and eviction from 28 days to 56 days. This was welcome because the 28-day period did not give sufficient time for people to open a bank account and for Universal Credit to be claimed and become payable. Nor did it fit with the timescales to which local authority housing departments (obligated to provide accommodation for families with children under 18 and individuals with

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confirmed health issues) operate. The effect of the 28-day period was that single people were particularly disadvantaged, many having to leave asylum accommodation facing homelessness and a period of destitution. Unfortunately, the government then cancelled the pilot for single people without health issues, which revived the issues previously suffered. There have been legal challenges to the 28-day notice period, and a compromise of 42 days seems to have been reached, which at least puts more people in a position of being in receipt of Universal Credit when they leave, even if the housing issues remain.

We expect to see more of the asylum hotels that we support closing in 2026. In fact, the largest hotel in the county is currently in the process of closure. We also expect to see the use of more “dispersed” accommodation (that is, housing in the community) to house asylum seekers. We recognise that dispersed accommodation has advantages in comparison to hotels because people have greater agency over their lives, but very little official support is provided for them. It is more difficult for our volunteers and people in dispersed accommodation to make contact and for our support to be offered and accessed. The Trustees have identified that these changes will raise issues for the Charity, so our priorities for 2026 include consideration and action aimed at continuing to support refugees and asylum seekers in a changing environment that will see the gradual closure of hotels.

The mental health and wellbeing of both the people we support, and our volunteers, have featured more prominently this year. We work closely with other organisations, particularly Herts Mind Network’s Flourish project, to signpost and refer refugees and asylum seekers needing support to appropriate services, as well as providing a sympathetic ear for those who feel despondent. Being involved in this kind of support has an impact on our volunteers who absorb some of the anxiety of those we support, whether that relates to their asylum claim or status, inability to find a lawyer, housing, concerns about accessing education and finding employment, or worry about the fate of those left behind in their countries of origin. In the coming year, the Charity will further develop the support we provide to our volunteers through the Volunteer Development Programme to enable them to process more effectively the vicarious trauma to which they are exposed.

Achievements and developments

2025 was also a year that has seen a number of significant achievements and developments in the Charity.

King’s Award for Voluntary Service

We are proud to have been awarded the King’s Award for Voluntary Service, one of only two awards for Hertfordshire charities. The Award recognises the fantastic achievements and dedication of our volunteers. We also interpret the Award as support for the values of welcome and humanity embodied by the Charity. We are thankful to all the volunteers for the work they put in to provide evidence for this Award.

National Lottery Community Fund funding

Having identified that it was a priority for the Charity to increase its sustainability and develop its management, IT and administrative functions, the Trustees decided to apply for funding to The National Lottery Community Fund so that we could develop our staff team.

We are delighted to have secured a grant that provides financial security for the major proportion of the salaries of an enlarged, but still small, staff team over a three-year period. With this funding we were able to appoint our first Director, marking a significant step in the Charity’s development. We have also used this funding to engage an employee who, working with consultants provided through our participation in the Lloyds Bank Development Foundation’s programme, is developing our IT infrastructure. We will also recruit further administrative support in 2026.

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Lloyds Bank Development Foundation’s Operational Development Programme

This Programme has given the Charity access to support which has significantly contributed to our development this year.

Early in the year the Trustees worked with a consultant provided under the Programme to focus on reviewing our objectives and setting priorities. This process reinforced the view that we needed to take steps to increase the staff team, particularly to add a senior member of staff to support the Trustees, manage the staff team, develop our systems and processes to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory obligations, support those we support and volunteers efficiently, and report effectively to funders. The learning from this exercise enabled the Trustees to develop a successful application for Lottery funding.

Having secured funding for an enlarged staff team, the Programme gave us access to consultancy support for recruiting the Director. We found this invaluable. The Trustees also decided to directly employ the staff team, having contracted out this function previously. This change takes effect in February 2026, and we received guidance from consultants under the Programme to help us make the transition to being a direct employer, including support with the development of policies and processes which are in line with current employment best practice.

The Programme has supported our transition to MS SharePoint, to facilitate the secure storage and sharing of documentation and data, by giving us access to IT consultants who advise on the different options for setting up our IT systems and provide guidance to the Trustees and staff involved in this development, drawing on their experience of advising charities similar to ourselves.

We have also benefited from the formation by our Lloyd’s Programme Manager of a peer group made up of similar charities that are also on the Programme and from opportunities to access training and a forum for discussing issues.

We are looking forward to working with a team of volunteer employees of Lloyds Bank who will help us review and develop our risk management processes.

Management Group

Our Management Group is made up of Area Conveners and Area Convener Team members and those volunteers leading on specific areas such as social media and communications, evaluation of the Charity’s impact, and safeguarding. This group meets monthly to share information and raise issues, identify emerging trends and develop the support provided by the Charity. The Volunteer Co-ordinator also attends these meetings and, from February 2026, so will the new Director.

The HWR structure chart is included below.

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In the course of the year, the Management Group has developed several new areas of support, further developed best practice relating to its operation, welcomed new members, and contributed significantly to the priorities identified by the Trustees, in particular those relating to training, development of policies to ensure fairness in support, support with IT initiatives and supporting refugees to prepare for and find employment.

Members of the Management Group have delivered training:

In support of the priority identified relating to employability, Management Group members developed a conceptual typology to help guide HWR’s employability support to refugees based on their work experience and English language ability which was discussed with the Advisory Group and presented to the Management Group.

In Dacorum, Management Group members organised the second Education Fair for refugees and asylum seekers, which this time included organisations that might offer volunteering and employment opportunities, as well as bringing local colleges and training providers together. They also collaborated with the South Hill Centre in an employability initiative for refugees to raise awareness of potential employment opportunities and skills development pathways. Eight employability sessions were supported with a variety of agencies, training providers and employers in health and social care, cleaning, construction, security and the NHS.

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Management Group members are also leading on developing opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers to volunteer with the Charity. Many refugees and asylum seekers are keen to volunteer but find it hard to find opportunities. We recognise that volunteering is a great preparation for work, improves language skills and supports integration. We are developing a Code of Conduct and an induction process for these volunteers and have amended Monday.com (our system for recording volunteer hours and activity) so that their contribution can be recorded. At present we have refugee/asylum seeker volunteers teaching and assisting in ESOL classes, acting as translators, helping with triaging enquiries at drop ins, supporting playgroup activities, helping with free shops and preparing free lunches at a community drop in. We also try to support those who want to volunteer by signposting them to other local opportunities and making introductions where possible.

Advisory group

Three meetings of the Advisory Group together with selected Trustees were held during the year. All made a significant contribution to HWR’s direction and approach.

The March meeting focussed on reviewing HWR’s Draft Priorities for 2025. The discussions resulted in significant changes being made to the final list of priorities presented at the April AGM. Amendments and additions that were the direct result of contributions by the Advisory Group meeting were: increased efforts by HWR in supporting refugees into employment; making specific commitments in relation to collaboration with other organisations; and increasing the use of the voices of refugees and asylum seekers in HWR’s advocacy.

The July meeting focussed on HWR’s role in supporting refugees into employment. Two members of the Dacorum Convener Team, drawing on their local experience and employability activities, presented a proposed conceptual typology to help guide HWR’s employability support. The discussion with Advisory Group members helped clarify where and for whom HWR’s efforts could add value to the work of other organisations such as Job Centres, Reed in Partnership and training providers.

With the government’s announcements about changes and proposed changes to policies and guidance relating to asylum seekers, refugees and citizenship, and in the context of widespread protests outside asylum hotels, the October meeting focussed on HWR’s communications and advocacy. Discussions reinforced the need to make greater use of refugees’ own experiences in HWR’s advocacy and helped focus on the subjects and key messaging in HWR’s advocacy. These were directly reflected in HWR’s communications and advocacy activities in late 2025 and through into 2026.

Maintaining representation of asylum seekers within the Advisory Group is a challenge given the constant movement of asylum seekers through the system – either through their being granted Leave to Remain or in being moved to dispersed accommodation or to other hotels outside of the county. During the year, three new members were welcomed into the Group. Trustees would like to express their appreciation to all members for their engagement and important contributions through the year.

Our volunteers

Our volunteers are at the heart of everything we do and everything we achieve. We are constantly amazed by their enthusiasm, resilience and ability to adapt to new situations and needs. The support we provide varies from location to location depending largely on availability of volunteers and local needs. The range of support is explained more fully in the section ‘Who We Help And How’ below but, briefly, can be characterised as material support (clothing, shoes, SIM cards, reconditioned bikes, phones, laptops, supermarket vouchers to alleviate hardship, household goods and furniture) and wellbeing and integration support in the form of ESOL/language support, art and craft activities, opportunities to cook, activities for children, playgroups, homework clubs, listening and advice, referrals to other organisations, men’s and women’s groups, liaison with schools and colleges, events and outings.

We now have more than 200 active volunteers. Inevitably some volunteers have moved on, but 72 new volunteers were recruited during the year. It is an unexpected, although heartening, effect of the anti-migrant activity that we have seen an increase in numbers of people wanting to volunteer with us in areas where we

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have previously struggled to recruit, particularly Hertsmere, Broxbourne and Stevenage, prompted by a desire to demonstrate that the anti-migrant narrative is not shared by all.

In the Autumn of 2025, we undertook our second volunteer survey, which attracted a good response rate of 54%. The survey provided very useful feedback. 26% of respondents are volunteering for 2 hours per week; 47% are volunteering for 3 or more hours a week. The feedback from volunteers on how well-supported they feel was very positive, but we acknowledge there are also areas needing more support, and we are feeding this into the Volunteer Development Programme.

The use of Monday.com, the online database to record and analyse how much and the type of work our volunteers are doing, continues to be developed and strengthened, although we know that we are not capturing all time spent by volunteers on behalf of the Charity. Monday.com shows that during 2025, more than 15,000 hours were contributed by our volunteers. As a reference point, we know a typical UK worker works 1800 hours per year, so we accumulated more than 8 full-time employees between us – even with known underreporting. Of these hours, 27% were spent on ESOL/language support, 12% on emotional and physical wellbeing, 10% of children's wellbeing, 10% on sourcing and providing goods, 8% on listening and advice and 6% giving intensive support to refugees in the difficult period when they are moving on from Home Office accommodation following a positive decision.

During the year we improved the provision of safeguarding training and introduced training on aspects of work by volunteers, such as the provision of Listening and Advice to asylum seekers. A pilot session on volunteer wellbeing was run by SARAS (Systemic Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers) with a follow up session in 2026. Feedback from the volunteer survey has resulted in developments to offer more support to those volunteers who are befrienders, and plans are in hand to extend our induction programme to make it more comprehensive for all new volunteers.

The Volunteer Development Programme was a 2025 priority. The Trustees’ aim is to develop a Programme that will inform and engage our volunteers and equip them to deliver support more effectively, while also allowing the Charity to identify and use their talents for the benefit of those we support and the further development of the Charity. The Programme will include wellbeing support to address the challenges our volunteers currently face and those we see coming with regard to hotel closures, which will have an impact on our volunteers on a personal level, and the likely combination of increasing anti-migrant feeling and harsher government policies.

The further development of this Programme will be a top priority during 2026.

Staffing

At the end of 2024, our Volunteer Coordinator resigned and we are very grateful that Annabel Kirk agreed to take over the Volunteer Coordinator role as well as retaining some of her administrative duties. We also appointed Jamshaid Khan, who has been invaluable in helping us with the development of our IT infrastructure. Both Annabel and Jamshaid are employed on a part-time basis. We will also be recruiting more administrative support in 2026.

Having been successfully recruited at the end of 2025, our first Director, Katie Allen-East, joined us in February 2026.

Who we support and how

We are asked by funders and others to explain how we know that the support we provide is what is needed and is effective. It is worth restating that HWR provides front line support to refugees and asylum seekers and so we are engaging with their issues face-to-face through the relationships we build and the welcome we

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provide. We are therefore able to identify needs first hand – from the obvious material needs, as when confronted by a new arrival with only a track suit and flip flops to wear, to needs that emerge later, such as mental health issues, gaining access to a lawyer or navigating the process of establishing a life in the UK after grant of refugee status.

In recent years, the focus of the Charity’s support has shifted from families who arrived under government resettlement schemes, primarily Syrians and Afghans, towards those who arrive in the UK to claim asylum. We still maintain support to the resettled families, particularly those who have arrived more recently, usually by providing a befriender for an individual or a family. Many of the resettled families no longer need HWR’s support as they have successfully established themselves – indeed, many have become British citizens. A befriender may provide formal ESOL support or provide more general support, including language support, aimed at helping the person/family understand UK society, thereby aiding integration. This support is usually provided in the refugee’s home.

Asylum seekers are usually supported by the Charity within the Home Office contracted asylum accommodation, although in Dacorum we operate from two drop-in centres located in churches. These centres allow refugees who were asylum seekers to continue to access the Charity’s support. They also give other refugees, and asylum seekers living in dispersed accommodation, access to the Charity. Given the expected closures of hotels and increased use of dispersed accommodation, we will be looking to develop more drop in facilities, ideally in collaboration with others.

At any given time during 2025 there were in the region of 2000 asylum seekers in Hertfordshire. We support in six of the nine asylum accommodation sites in the county and, in some areas, also support dispersed asylum seekers. The churn or turnover in asylum seeker numbers that we referred to last year has continued, meaning that many more asylum seekers have passed through the accommodation sites in the county during the year. We cannot make contact with everyone in these sites and the level of contact does vary. For instance, we might see someone only when they need a SIM card, or we might welcome someone keen to learn English to our English classes, only to later hear that they have been moved out of the county to another location. On the other hand, some asylum seekers are in their accommodation for years (over three years in several cases that we know of) and some, particularly families, come to the Charity for a range of support.

Our records of support provided have improved significantly but are not yet sufficiently sophisticated to record instances of support per person. Nevertheless, here is some statistical information drawn from Monday.com and our accounting records.

Activities recorded included:

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Registered charity No 1172687

HWR also provided the following material support, drawing primarily on grant funding to do so:

In some cases, we have supported families and individuals on a repeat basis, particularly as they make the transition from life as an asylum seeker where they have very little agency to life in the community following grant of refugee status.

Safeguarding

HWR’s ability to manage, and respond effectively to, safeguarding issues was significantly strengthened during 2025. Chichi Ezeh’s arrival as HWR’s (volunteer) Safeguarding Lead at the end of 2024 significantly increased the professional safeguarding knowledge and experience within the Safeguarding Team. Through the year the following measures were taken:

Taken together these measures contributed to a discernible increase in the awareness and appreciation of safeguarding across HWR. Safeguarding reports covered a wide range of situations and incidents including suicide attempts by asylum seekers; minors being wrongly assessed as adults and placed in adult accommodation; poor mental health contributing to anti-social behaviour issues and sectioning; and incidents of domestic abuse and violence. Whilst most reports related to the safety and well-being of asylum seekers and refugees, some related to the safety and well-being of HWR volunteers – such as the filming of volunteers’ ID lanyards by anti-migrant activists. Recurring themes in the analysis of the reports received have been around role clarity and boundaries, particularly in relation to the supervision of children and the need to avoid informal arrangements. The consistent message provided by the Safeguarding Team and the Trustees has been that HWR’s Safeguarding Policy must always be followed, regardless of positive intentions.

Trustees feel that there has been a clear strengthening of safeguarding culture during 2025, with increased reporting, increased awareness of professional boundaries, and safer working practices. Volunteers are demonstrating greater confidence in raising concerns early, which is taken to reflect improved understanding

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rather than necessarily increased risk. Over the coming year safeguarding will remain a core priority with continued monitoring of data, training, and clear communication of safeguarding expectations being essential priorities.

Evaluation and impact

In accordance with the Trustees’ priority to continue to explore and implement methods to monitor and evaluate the Charity’s work, over the last year we have continued to strengthen the methods we use to evaluate the difference the Charity is making. It is very important for us to do so for two reasons. First, it enables the Charity to sense check that the support we provide is effective and, if it is not, then to learn how we can improve. This includes the support provided to our volunteers as well as refugees and asylum seekers. Second, our funders expect evidence demonstrating impact.

The findings of our second volunteer survey are explained earlier in this report.

We continue to pilot our surveys of English classes/ ESOL with asylum seekers. We have developed this survey using online forms, with students using their phones and a translation tool to complete the latest survey. The survey is completed with those students who have attended 12 or more sessions with HWR, which is an increasing challenge in itself given the churn in asylum seeker learners. We are planning to run the survey across the county to give us a larger sample to analyse.

We collate case studies from asylum seekers and refugees whom we support as these provide powerful testimonies to the difference the work of our volunteers makes to people's lives. Looking forward to 2026, we are working to measure the impact of our befrienders on the refugees they work with, and we will be piloting a new survey with all befriender volunteers and running some focus groups with refugees to collect this important data.

Monday.com is a powerful tool for collecting data relating to the time given by our volunteers, the type of support provided and the number of people benefiting from our support. The data collected allows us to evidence what we do so we renewed our efforts to encourage volunteers to use Monday.com by running training sessions delivered by Management Group members, as well as encouraging area team members to demonstrate how to record time to volunteers who were uncertain about how to do so. This produced a marked increase in the proportion of volunteers using the Monday.com system for time recording.

Communications, Media and Advocacy

2025 saw significant developments in HWR’s communications, media and advocacy activities.

The primary objective of the communications team is to raise awareness of the situation of asylum seekers and refugees and the work of the Charity within Hertfordshire. A secondary objective is to encourage donations and for more volunteers to join the Charity. An effort is made to tell positive stories to counter the often negative and hostile narratives in much of the mainstream media and social media. The communications team also seeks to keep volunteers, members and supporters of the Charity aware of its activities and significant developments and events. The three main areas of communications work in 2025 were the website, social media posts and the newsletter distributed regularly to volunteers, members and supporters.

During 2025 the HWR website had 7,082 unique visits and 17,771 page views. News items and stories about refugees and volunteers are added regularly. During the year the website was streamlined with the addition of a standardised footer and tidier menus. Two new pages ‘Refugees Giving Back’ and ‘Refugee Voices’ were added. ‘Refugee Voices’ is a project being run jointly with Eton College students, who with the Charity’s support are interviewing ten refugees/asylum-seekers and publishing their anonymised summaries on the website. The project commenced in October 2025 and is planned for completion by Easter 2026.

On average between three and five social media posts are shared each week. With the marked increase in hate speech and misinformation on X (formerly Twitter) the decision was taken to deactivate the Charity’s X account and social media efforts are now focussed on the Charity’s Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts. Over the past year the number of followers of the Facebook page grew from 495 to 696 and the Facebook group increased from 1567 to 1641 followers. Our Instagram followers grew from 428 to 583. The

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feed of images coming through from Instagram to the website means that the website’s home page is regularly refreshed with new content. Our LinkedIn followers grew from 61 to 244. The Charity also maintains a YouTube channel to post media interviews and recordings of refugees and volunteers. At the end of each week our Social Media Coordinator shares a weekly roundup of social media posts on our All-Volunteers’ WhatsApp group.

During the year seven HWR newsletters were sent out to our mailing list of volunteers and supporters. Generally, the content of newsletters issued was a mix of news items about the Charity, campaigning and lobbying activities, and some tasty recipes from around the world! The Newsletter mailing list grew from 742 subscribers at the beginning of the year to 812.

In terms of the Charity’s wider external communications and media appearances, undoubtedly the biggest stories this year were receiving National Lottery funding and the King’s Award for Voluntary Service which achieved good local coverage. Information about asylum hotels aimed at dispelling some of the popular myths was provided in an interview on BBC Three Counties Radio and in letters to local press outlets. HWR was invited to contribute to a St Albans Times’ article about the contribution made by immigrants. The Forced to Flee publication was updated and republished during the year together with a fresh summary and this led to interviews on both Heart Radio and MIX FM.

Stories and case studies of refugees and asylum seekers, their achievements and how they have been helped can be found on our website.

The Trestle Arts Base in St Albans hosted two art residencies by refugee artists who have been supported by the Charity. News and radio coverage of the two art residencies was carried by BBC Three Counties Radio, MIX FM and the Herts Advertiser.

A Media and Advocacy subgroup, chaired by a Trustee, was set up to help coordinate and focus the Charity’s media and advocacy efforts. A key theme in the work of the subgroup is to increase the voices of refugees and asylum seekers in the Charity’s advocacy efforts aimed at politicians and the wider public. Members of the Advisory Group have greatly assisted in these efforts.

To counter the increase in negative rhetoric about asylum seekers and refugees and the government’s controversial proposals on ‘Earned Settlement’, the Charity signed open letters addressed to the government and put a position statement on the homepage of the Charity’s website. The concerns of refugees and asylum seekers, particularly in response to the proposed policy changes, were conveyed and represented via several different routes including letters to Hertfordshire MPs and the various media appearances. The work of amplifying refugee voices and advocating against the Earned Settlement proposals will continue in 2026.

Working with other organisations

HWR works collaboratively with a wide range of organisations to provide direct support to refugees and asylum seekers. We have strong working relationships with the Refugee Council, Flourish, Goods For Good, One Impossible Thing, South Hill International and many churches and faith groups. These organisations and groups support us practically and financially.

We also have strong relationships with Hertfordshire County Council and Dacorum Borough Council and are looking to build similar relationships with other councils. Some Trustees and Management Group members represent the Charity and the people we support at meetings at regional, county and local level with the aim of raising awareness of the needs of refugees and asylum seekers and advocating on their behalf.

We would like to express our thanks to all the organisations that supported the Charity’s work in 2025.

It was a strategic priority for 2025 and continues to be a priority for 2026 that the Charity seeks to build new

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Herts Welcomes Refugees – Trustee Report and Accounts 2025 Registered charity No 1172687

and strengthen existing relationships with partner organisations. We have formed a new relationship with an organisation called SARAS (Systemic Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers) to run a well-being session for our volunteers. This will continue in 2026 with more in-depth sessions for volunteers. The support we provide in Stevenage has developed this year in response to the change in the asylum seeker demographic by forming new relationships with the Church of Latter Day Saints by supporting their ESOL classes for asylum seekers and St George and St Andrew’s Church who welcome refugees and asylum seekers to their community hub. We are also discussing closer collaboration with Stevenage Borough Council.

Our relationship with the Refugee Council is long standing and is an example of how we work collaboratively to develop relationships for the benefit of those we support. In 2025, we continued a productive partnership with the Refugee Council to deliver ESOL classes for resettled families, the majority of whom are Afghan women. The programme was initially launched in Borehamwood and Bushey and, in response to strong participation and demand, was subsequently extended to St Albans and Hertford. Under this collaboration, the Refugee Council is responsible for securing the venues and contracting the ESOL teacher. HWR volunteers play an important supporting role in the delivery of the classes. Working alongside the lead ESOL teacher, volunteers assist with organising the venues, preparing the classrooms, providing refreshments, supporting participants by looking after young children during the sessions, working with individuals in the group and helping with clearing up after the classes. This partnership has enabled the provision of a welcoming, supportive, and well-organised learning environment for participants, helping them develop their English language skills and supporting their integration into the community.

Treasurer’s report

2025 was a very busy year for HWR in financial terms, with receipts and payments comparable to 2024. The main focus of charitable payments in 2025 was on household costs and hardship relief, reflecting the large numbers of people receiving Leave To Remain and setting up home. We have worked closely with Hertfordshire County Council and with borough councils, particularly Dacorum Borough Council, and this is reflected in both the sourcing and the use of our funding for charitable payments.

Our overall payments for 2025 were £123,027 (2024: £122,427), with charitable payments of £85,043 (2024: £86,908) and core salary and related costs of £34,923 (2024: £33,445.)

Our receipts for 2025 were £155,896 (2024: £162,035). Our restricted receipts included new grants of £60,000 to meet core costs over 2025 and 2026, with £51,472 carried forward to 2026. We received £57,000 of restricted funds for charitable payments and used almost all of these funds over the year. We received £38,896 of unrestricted grants, donations and contractual payments, including continued funding from Dacorum Borough Council for our furniture storage costs and for the premises for one of the weekly drop-in centres. We also received reimbursement of £2,604 from Hertfordshire County Council under a household support grant received in 2025 but applicable retrospectively to eligible payments made by us from unrestricted funds in 2024.

We received £15,000 of supermarket vouchers from HCC from the Household Support Fund for distribution in 2025 and 2026. We had distributed £6,475 of these vouchers by the end of 2025.

Much of our volunteer activity does not involve charitable payments and is not reflected in our financial results except by the increase in the cost of volunteer coordination and administration. We rely on the time, effort and expertise given so generously by our volunteers, including the management group. This generosity is fundamental to the Charity’s character and operations, and we don’t believe it is appropriate to assign a monetary value to it for the purposes of the accounts.

Support from the broader community is also fundamental to HWR, both from our members and registered supporters and from the general public. This includes significant financial support, and we would particularly like to thank all those who have contributed to our appeals and donated so generously in 2025. We receive many direct individual donations as well as donations from congregations and members of community organisations and contributions through fundraising events. This generosity has helped us to finish the year

14

Herts Welcomes Refugees – Trustee Report and Accounts 2025 Registered charity No 1172687

with increased unrestricted reserves which at the end of the year were £52,504 (2024: £39,489.) This will help us to manage our growth as an organisation and the continuing high demand for our services in 2026.

2025 Payments

a) Charitable payments (69.5% of total payments)

We are very grateful to all the organisations and individual donors who have provided funds in 2025 to support our charitable payments:

We used funds from previous grants for charitable payments during the year, and thank these organisations again for their support:

b) Payments for volunteer coordination and administrative support, including salaries and related costs (28% of total payments)

These core costs were funded in 2025 from four grants, and we are grateful to these institutions for their support:

The volunteer coordinator and administrator were employed in 2025 through Community Development Action Hertfordshire, and we maintained a reserve with CDA for this purpose.

In November 2025 we received the first instalment of the three-year grant from the Community Lottery which together with some matching funds from HWR will support our salaries and related costs for a full-time director and three part-time posts. As part of this programme we are moving to direct employment for the first time. We are grateful to the Community Lottery, Hertfordshire County Council and CDA Herts for their support of this transition and growth in HWR.

c) General administration (2.5% of total payments)

General administration and governance costs were £3,061 (2024: £2,074). These include the cost of the AGM

15

Herts Welcomes Refugees – Trustee Report and Accounts 2025 Registered charity No 1172687

which we were again able to hold as a live meeting with a strong social element, and of increased support for volunteer wellbeing. We are very grateful for the time and effort given so generously by the unpaid volunteers in our management group.

Reserves Policy

Our policy is to have a minimum level of available reserves equal to three months’ operating costs for the Charity.

The Annual Accounts for 2025 and the Examiner’s letter are attached. We are very grateful to our examiner Sean Good for his support and professional expertise.

On behalf of all the Trustees of Herts Welcomes Refugees we would like to thank you all for your continued support.

Irene Austin, Chair Adrian Ball, Treasurer

16

Herts Welcomes Refugees – Trustee Report and Accounts 2025 Registered charity No 1172687

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trusts•sl Mem￿¢S of Herts Webcomes Refugees On aceounts for tho yaar ended 31 DecemLw 2025 Charlty no lif any) 1172687 Set out on pages 1-3 I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the abov8 chartyllhe Trust'l for the year ended 31112J2025 Resptsnsibllitles and basls As the charity trustees of the TTUSt, ycrtj are responsible for the preparation of r•port of the accounts in accordance wilh the reqUireM￿ts of the ClwitEs Act 2011 (Ihe ACV). I rewrt in respect of my examination of the Trusfs accounts Ca￿led out under secbon 145 of the 2011 Act and carrying out my examination. I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the ACL Indepond•nt e￿?￿ine¢S I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have stat•ment come to my attention in COnn￿tiOn with the 8xaminatÉon which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act" or the accounts do not a¢¢ord wilh Ihe accounting records I have rn) concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to ena￿e a proper understsnding of the accounts to be reache(l. Slgned: 0210412026 Name: Sean Good Relevant professional qualificatlonls) or body (If any): Retired chartered accountsnt Address: 22 Stanhope Road St Albans Herts AL15BL IER Oct 2018

Re¢dpts and pgyments a¢cowtsforth• p•rtod lJ¥nu•ryto JI PeEemb•p2(125 Unrn#ria•d Totsl Tot•l2024 23,C86 5,449 9,2 I,(ffJi LSIX) 24,596 55.449 74.760 1,091 27.633 88,989 44,387 1,026 Charllabkq I￿￿ts andoth•rorphlsatloM Totsl rc•lpis 34896 117,tD) 155.896 162,035 Ch•rfl•bk p•wnents 30.713 54.270 31983 34,923 33,445 kndydkni s•larfes•rKI Yelatrd ca G•n•rnl •dmlnlstraiion 2.772 3.￿1 IQ74 Totsl yyTrents 35,485 87,$42 123.027 122A27 Cash fund5 P4•t r•r•lptsl Ipaym•ntsl Trnsls between funds 3,411 29.458 116041 32 39.WJ C45h ft￿￿$•¢ lJ•nu•ry 46A89 31¥6 78.885 39.276 Cath I￿￿t 11 DI￿￿b￿r 52,504 59360 IIL864 5tst•m•rrt oloMtsaNtIIWIIN•s •tthi•nd of th•yrlod Totsl Totsl 2024 Cash •t lanceatCDA Tot•1 ¢45h fvnd> 52.504 57.e 1,753 59,360 iio.iii L753 111.864 1,643 ?8.885 52,504 Hous•holdluDd¥owh•rs from HCC Glft•ld due 852S 85 95 Slgned.. IreneAusdn Chalr Adrfan Ball Trea5ur•r 30 Ma￿h 2026

Note 1 Charitable payments from all funds by category

Category
Household goods and furniture
Clothing
Financial support
Activities
Bike scheme
Household storage
Phones
Computers
Support for asylum seeker applications
Volunteer mileage
Transport
Educational support
TV and licences
Arabic school
Other
Total
Volunteer coordination and administration
Category
Payments to CDA for salaries and related costs
DBS costs
Office equipment and supplies
Travel
Training
Utilities
Total
General administration
Category
Subscriptions and courses
Insurance
Events and volunteer wellbeing
Website and publications
Recruiting
Safeguarding membership
Office equipment and supplies
Other
Total		 £
2025
34,957
17,538
10,478
6,912
5,232
3,960
2,687
1,139
984
654
473
29
85,043
£
2025
32,176
1,508
645
250
185
159
34,923
£
2025
650
779
702
416
245
150
119
3,061		 2024
17,600
36,772
4,745
5,630
8,080
4,016
1,649
1,768
1,197
463
1,050
577
2,561
700
100
86,908
2024
31,353
1,116
52
401
290
233
33,445
2024
755
312
200
461
145
86
115
2,074

Note 2 Volunteer coordination and administration

Note 3 General administration

Note 4 Table of Restricted funds, Designated unrestricted funds and CDA reserve

Opening balance
Restricted funds for core costs
HCC expansion grant 1
7,014
HCC expansion grant 2
Postcode Lottery 2024-5
18,159
Community Lottery
Total restricted funds for core costs
25,173
Restricted funds for charitable payments
HCF Transition
HCF Household
HCC Household 1
HCC Household 2
MindHerts
961
CLDS
929
Rotary Laptops
728
DF Foundation
1,000
HWR Ukraine appeal
1,218
HCC locality
HCC Winter event
325
E Herts uniforms and Xmas
Library
419
Total restricted funds for charitable payments
5,580
Total all restricted funds
30,753
Opening balance
Designated unrestricted funds
Hilden Charitable Fund
7,000
HWR Warm Welcome appeal
1,036
Total designated unrestricted funds
8,036		 Receipts
25,000
35,000
60,000
5,000
10,000
25,000
15,000
500
1,500
57,000
117,000
Receipts
2,458
2,458		 £
Payments
7,014
8,528
18,159
33,701
5,000
10,000
22,396
11,276
443
929
728
1,000
165
500
325
1,000
79
53,841
87,542
£
Payments
7,000
1,457
8,457		 Transfers
2,604
2,604
2,604
Transfers		 Closing balance
16,472
35,000
51,472
3,724
518
1,053
500
340
6,135
57,607
Closing balance
2,037
2,037

£2,604 from the HCC Household 1 restricted grant was used to reimburse payments made from Unrestricted funds in 2024

Designated unrestricted funds are included in the total Unrestricted funds at 31 December of £52,504

CDA reserve: the balance held with CDA for payroll management at 31 December was £1,753 (2024: £1,643)