2024-03-31-accounts

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH NETWORK

(Charity No. 1173349)

Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 March 2024

As the national umbrella organisation of the largest voluntary movement for crime prevention in England and Wales, we support people to prevent and reduce crime by coming together with their neighbours to create safer, stronger and active communities.

Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Contents

About Neighbourhood Watch Network .................................................................................................. 3 Our vision ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Our mission ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Our values ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction from the Chair and the CEO............................................................................................... 4 Trustees report ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Delivering Our Charitable Purpose ..................................................................................................... 5 Public Benefit & Contribution Made by Volunteers ........................................................................... 5 Main Activities .................................................................................................................................... 6 Achievement and Performance .......................................................................................................... 7 Future Plans ...................................................................................................................................... 13 Financial review ................................................................................................................................ 14 Structure, governance and management ......................................................................................... 16 Reference and administrative details ................................................................................................... 18 Trustees responsibilities ....................................................................................................................... 19 ’ Independent Examiner s Report to the Trustees of Neighbourhood Watch Network......................... 20 Financial Statements ............................................................................................................................. 21 Notes to the financial statements ........................................................................................................ 24

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

About Neighbourhood Watch Network

Neighbourhood Watch Network is the strategic voice and national umbrella organisation for England and Wales. We support the grassroots Neighbourhood Watch movement which involves over 2.3 million volunteers in preventing crime and strengthening communities. This work is delivered by our local Associations who are the members of Neighbourhood Watch Network.

Our vision

Our vision is a society where neighbours come together to create safer, stronger and active communities.

Our mission

Our mission is to support and enable individuals and communities to be connected, active and safe, which increases wellbeing and minimises crime.

Our values

Neighbourly, community-focused, inclusive, proactive, trusted, collaborative.

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Introduction from the Chair and the CEO

In introducing this report on behalf of the trustees of Neighbourhood Watch Network for the year ending 31 March 2024, it is impossible not to also reflect on the events of the past few months and their implications for the work of the charity and its supporters.

The new government, elected in July 2024 has stated that one of its missions is to “take back our streets” and we are pleased to see that the government has made it a priority to tackle in particular the unacceptable levels of anti-social behaviour, and violence against women and girls, that blights so many people’s lives. While providing additional resources for the police and criminal justice system to deal with offences is obviously critical to this, we have urged the new government to also support local efforts to strengthen communities and create places where crime cannot flourish. It has been a fundamental principle of British policing since the days of Sir Robert Peel, that it is a partnership with the public and it remains more relevant and necessary than ever. The primary goal of policing should put preventing crime above catching offenders, and success should be measured in lower crime rates and not just the number of arrests and convictions.

The importance of strong, connected communities was illustrated by the response to deplorable outbreaks rioting in the summer, which required a robust response from the police. But we also saw communities coming together to reject violence and hatred and show solidarity with their neighbours.

Neighbourhood Watch is at the heart of these efforts in communities throughout England and Wales, with local schemes run by 60,000 active volunteers that connect with over 2.3 million people. The work that we have always done to provide information and advice on keeping safe from crime, helping people to report concerns, and supporting victims, remains incredibly valuable. We are pleased that this is receiving more recognition from Police Forces and Police and Crime Commissioners in areas like Devon & Cornwall and Leicestershire, with growing interest elsewhere.

We are also seeing the fruits of investment in new areas of work, such as partnerships with business and new ways of engaging young people in our work. Our partnership with BT is advising vulnerable people on the switch from analogue to digital telephone networks, reducing the risk of them becoming victims of scams and fraud, while our youth work is expanding thanks to support from City Bridge Trust and the National Lottery.

However, while the charity is growing, our focus is on expanding impact rather than size. Our approach of co-ordinating programmes and services that are delivered by our member associations, rather than running things means that we are a small charity with a large footprint. People are constantly amazed by the range of activities delivered by the small group that makes up our Central Support Team and trustees are immensely grateful for their efforts and commitment.

2024 will be the final year of our current strategy which aimed to ensure Neighbourhood Watch remains relevant to the needs of all communities, and all the people who make up those communities. The coming year will see a broad-based dialogue with our member associations, individual volunteers, and other stakeholders to learn what has worked well, and what we need to do differently in the next five years. I am confident that we will continue to find inspiration in the work of our supporters and identify new opportunities to support efforts by ordinary people to make their neighbourhoods better places to live.

John Hayward-Cripps CEO

Ian Bretman Chair

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Trustees report

The Trustees of Neighbourhood Watch Network (NWN) present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024.

The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the charity’s trust deed and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

Delivering Our Charitable Purpose

The Objects of NWN, as set out in the Constitution dated 10 April 2017 are to:

• Promote for the benefit of the public good citizenship, community safety and greater public participation in the prevention and detection of crime, and;

• Promote public support for the work of the police service and other partners in the protection of people and property from, and the prevention of, crime.

To achieve these objects, we provide free online resources for everyone to help them reduce their chances of becoming a victim of crime. We also signpost them to local Neighbourhood Watch groups which aim to strengthen community cohesion and wellbeing and create better connected and more resilient communities.

At a national level, we work closely with government departments, the National Police Chiefs Council Police and Crime Commissioners and voluntary sector partners to extend the reach of our work as far as possible and involve policy and research institutions in assessing our impact and help us plan for future improvements.

Local Neighbourhood Watch groups make a real, long-lasting difference to communities: as well as helping to reduce crime they increase neighbourliness and community wellbeing and strengthen the voice of the community with councils, the police and other public services. We support and enable local schemes to operate by providing resources, training and networking support to volunteers and members.

Public Benefit & Contribution Made by Volunteers

The public benefit from the activities carried out by the Charity by:

• Having access to information and advice on crime prevention and personal security;

• Being part of better connected and more resilient communities – the Charity facilitates the work of Neighbourhood Watch volunteers to maintain and develop community-based Neighbourhood Watch schemes which in turn contribute to better connected and more resilient communities, where crime and anti-social behaviour can be reduced and also the incidence and impact of loneliness and isolation.

The Trustees confirm that they have had due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers or duties.

Neighbourhood Watch volunteers (estimated to number at least 2.3 million individuals) work through their local schemes, many of which are charities in their own right. So, while this is not a direct contribution to NWN, it is important to recognise the significant social value created within communities by preventing crime, reducing the fear of crime, alleviating loneliness and isolation, and providing practical assistance between neighbours.

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Main Activities

We review the aims, objectives and activities of the charity each year to ensure they remain focused on the charity’s stated purposes. In this report, we describe what the charity has achieved and how it has performed in the reporting period and how each key activity has benefitted the people that the charity was set up to help.

Objectives set out in our 2020-2025 strategic plan are to be:

• the authoritative voice on community-based crime prevention , so that everyone will be able to access advice and support they need

• a recognised contributor to community health and wellbeing , so that community cohesion is increased, and loneliness and isolation are reduced

• the most popular gateway for citizens to engage in their locality , so that neighbours have a place to go to connect with each other and their communities.

Activities to achieve these objectives, that we carry out as the umbrella body and the national voice for the Neighbourhood Watch movement in England and Wales, include:

• Providing advice and resources : we host the Ourwatch website for everyone to access crime prevention and community wellbeing advice and resources.

• Campaigning : we raise awareness of crime prevention actions that everyone can use, by launching national crime prevention campaigns across social media channels.

• Promoting the Neighbourhood Watch movement : We work with other charities, government bodies, sponsors the press to show Neighbourhood Watch as a modern, relevant movement for safer, connected communities for all.

• Facilitating work of local Neighbourhood Watch groups : we provide training, resources and networking opportunities for local groups, schemes and association across England and Wales.

• Protecting the intellectual property of the NW movement : we hold trademarks of the Neighbourhood Watch logo and name, to protect the reputation of the Neighbourhood Watch movement and to maximise income opportunities.

• Assessing and reflecting : we regularly survey Neighbourhood Watch members and also members of the public and commission research, to evaluate the impact of our work and assess ways to improve.

• Increasing our reach : we constantly look for new avenues to reach younger and more diverse audiences.

• Growing the resources of our charity : we continuously look for new sources of income and actively manage our relationships with existing sponsors, grant-givers, and other funders to ensure our income is sufficient for us to achieve all the work we set out to do.

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Achievement and Performance

Some of our achievements in furthering Neighbourhood Watch Network’s charitable purposes during 2023-2024 are described below.

Providing advice and resources

Website : Over the past year we have been refreshing our website and have added crime prevention information including new advice on rural crime, anti-social behaviour and updates to burglary, car crime and scams. We have seen a continuing increase in the number of young people 16 – 34 using the website.

In the year between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 – we received over 1 million visits to the site with pages relating to finding local schemes and crime prevention.

Newsletter : Our monthly newsletter is distributed directly to 1.1M households (up 160,000 from March 2023) and has an average open rate of 46% (well over twice the industry average). In each edition we run targeted crime prevention campaigns, guided by Home Office advice on key priority areas including burglary x 2, anti-social behaviour (ASB), harassment, car crime, scams, domestic abuse, cybercrime, fraud, loneliness & isolation, romance scams and password security.

Media coverage: We appeared on over 30 national and local TV and radio shows providing crime prevention advice and information. These included Crimewatch, GB News, The One Show, Radio 4, Radio Islam and numerous local BBC and independent radio stations.

Neighbourhood Watch Shop: This year, 20,000 membership, volunteer and community crime prevention booklets; 30,000 ‘Join Us’ postcards; and 130,000 Neighbourhood Watch window stickers have been distributed across England and Wales as well as numerous promotional products including street sights wheelie bin stickers etc.

Campaigning

Crime prevention campaigns : In addition to the 1.1M supporters directly engaged with for each campaign our online digital crime prevention campaigns have had an additional reach of over 920,000. Most of these people are non-Neighbourhood Watch members or supporters targeted through paid social media. This figure is the direct reach with many of our local groups reposting our messages and campaigns making the total reach significantly higher. Our campaigns are always focused on giving simple, straightforward crime prevention advice and calls to action which have been reviewed by experts in the field. These include the National Cyber Security Centre, Suzy Lamplugh Trust, National Centre for Domestic Violence, Re-Engage, Anti-Slavery International, Historic England, Resolve, British Transport Police, Merseyside Police, Metropolitan Police, ASB Help, Fraud & Cyber Crime Prevention Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit, SimpliSafe and ERA Home Security.

Partners’ campaigns : We have been working closely with the Home Office in delivering targeted campaigns and disseminating and supporting Home Office campaigns. This has included sharing and promoting the ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign through our newsletter to 900,000 supporters giving advice on spotting and avoiding scams and fraud. We have also liaised closely with 32Red the Home Office communication and campaign provider. These campaigns have included the ‘Fire Kills’ campaign, Energy Saving and the NHS Talking Therapies.

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Following the increased Home Office focus on anti-social behaviour, fraud and burglary we have been a contributing member of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan Ministerial Taskforce; the Home Office/Serious Fraud Office Victims of Fraud Working Group and the Residential Burglary Task Force. We have also been involved in the developing focus on ‘Future Crimes’ working with the Home Office and stakeholders to develop good practice and awareness of cybercrime.

We promoted the Home Office ‘No Place to Hide – Serious and Organised Crime Strategy’ and have been involved national workshops developing and promoting ‘Clear, Hold, Build’ particularly focusing on the community promotion and development element of the ‘Build’ phase.

We also worked with the Metropolitan Police Service to deliver joint crime prevention initiatives and cyber protect reports in London.

Neighbourhood Watch Week : The focus of this year’s Neighbourhood Watch Week was, ‘Making this a Better Place to Live’. While there was a focus on crime prevention activities there was also a strong focus on community cohesion and wellbeing. We produced a large number of physical materials for coordinators and schemes including, postcards, leaflets on membership and benefits, crime prevention packs and information and distributed over 100,000 items for over 65,000 coordinators. We also engaged with 65,000 non-members via social media during the week. Neighbourhood Watch Week is part of the Month of Community and we partnered with other events such as The Big Lunch. Over 1M people engaged with Neighbourhood Watch Week this year according to research from Big Lunch’s research.

Promoting the Neighbourhood Watch movement

Neighbourhood Alert : This is an IT system provided by Visav Ltd to most Police Forces in England and Wales that enables them to relay information to residents who have signed up to receive messages. Residents can also sign-up to receive messages from Neighbourhood Watch and so the Alert system functions as our membership database. By continuing to work closely with Visav we have increased the number of supporters we can directly message by over 160,000 to 1.1 million. This is the number households on the system so we estimate that our total reach is in the order of 2.5 million people across England and Wales. We recruit and train specialist volunteers across our network as MultiScheme Administrators who maintain our membership database on the Alert system which in turn helps maintain the police data where members of the public have signed up to receive messages from both the police and Neighbourhood Watch.

During the year Visav introduced Version 4 of the Alert system and we provided hundreds of hours of training and support to members and our Multi-Scheme Administrators through the transition from Version 3.

Crime and Community conference: Our second Crime a Community Conference was held at the Welcome Foundation in London with over 116 attendees who gave excellent feedback about the event. The keynote talks were from Dr Mellissa Pepper and Assistant Police Commissioner Louisa Rolfe on Citizen volunteers in policing and community safety: A changing role in changing time; and Frontline Policing respectively. Seminars on our bystander project, local projects and good practice, working with young people, rural crime, and diversity in policing completed the day with lots of time for networking.

Impact Report : Our fourth Impact Report celebrated our impact and how we have made a difference in the key areas of crime in public places; community crime, community connection; and health and wellbeing. It also stated our commitment to a sustainable future.

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Facilitating the work of local Neighbourhood groups

Volunteer Knowledge Hub: Our Knowledge Hub continues to attract volunteers with over 3,000 volunteers accessing resources to assist them in their roles including sharing crime prevention messages, running local projects, good practice and up to date resources. Volunteers can also communicate with each other across the network through subject forums. Cyberhood Watch Ambassadors have specific pages on the Knowledge Hub containing fraud prevention campaign materials from different partners and the monthly Fraud Threat Update from the City of London police.

Volunteer training: 8,243 hours of training has been delivered to volunteers including on running a crime prevention campaign, community engagement, equality & diversity, running an active scheme.

Supporting Association Leads: We have continued with our quarterly meetings, with Association Leads, Board members and staff. The meetings are regularly attended by the vast majority of Association Leads or their deputies. During the year we organised a series of ‘Task and Finish’ groups, focusing on Perception Change, Donor Development, Recruitment, Youth Offer, and Volunteer Development & Support with each having several Association Leads and volunteers as contributors.

The 2023/2024 AGM was attended by representatives from 47 Associations with presentations from Dr Revd Dr Carver Anderson (Executive Director, Bringing Hope Charity and Co-chair of the West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership - Faith Alliance) and Georgia Sanders (Networks and Engagement Officer, Vision for Volunteering)

Working with the Police: We negotiated a new framework with the National Police Chiefs Council to detail expectations and good practice in liaison and communication between local Neighbourhood Watch groups and local Police Forces.

Grant giving to local communities: we have continued to support local groups to undertake local targeted campaigns to address crime and community wellbeing in their areas as part of a Community Grant Fund. This year we granted over £8,000 to communities across the country, supporting community-based projects. Examples from this year include:

• Clifton Neighbourhood Watch have introduced local Crime Prevention Evenings and needed funding for a venue hire. The local events are attended by local residents and the local police who present on crime prevention, the area has reported a drop in crime and ASB.

• Gaskell Gardens in Sheffield was a local crime hotspot with a very diverse and multicultural population. The residents wanted to set up a Neighbourhood Watch to protect residents personal security and property. We provided funding for signs, stickers and meeting places. The group is now running and addressing local crime and other issues. Local residents have reported a drop in crime and that they feel safer and more connected.

• Keyham Neighbourhood Watch worked with Plymouth Lesbians Network and Pride Plymouth to write and create a play that tells the story of Kitty Genovese and the history of our charity. This is a collaboration with Theatre Royal Plymouth with the aim of highlighting hate crime and local work with the LGBTQ+ community.

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Facilitating the work of local Neighbourhood groups (continued)

Work by local Neighbourhood Watch groups: Examples of work carried out at ground level are described below:

• Working in partnership with the Metropolitan Police Service to provide London members in areas that do not have a Neighbourhood Watch Borough Association to have monthly updates on fraud within the borough and have prevention advice sent to them.

• The Bell Road group in Bottisham , introduced a campaign of being an active and visible presence by patrolling and putting up warning signs and posters. This has reduced anti-social behaviour and drug use which had plagued the area. Nearby Arbour Close recruited new and active members enabling them to pass information to police on drug dealing near a large nearby school leading to arrests and convictions.

• West Hill (London) Neighbourhood Watch held a pop up stand in a local park that had been blighted by anti-social behaviour. This was well attended by local residents, police and local councillors and led to a range of activities and preventative measures in the park. This has led to a 25% reduction in ASB in the area.

• Croydon Neighbourhood Watch worked with police to have pathway stencils in areas of high street burglary. The scheme was a success and raised awareness of being aware of your surroundings and reporting crime. They also developed a local scam advice leaflet and distributed it to over 10,000 households across the borough.

• Cumbria Neighbourhood Watch helped fund equipment to enable 6 volunteers on horseback to help police prevent crime in the most rural areas. The volunteers on the ground and have gathered intelligence, reported suspicious incidents and provided advice to the often isolated communities.

• In North Warwickshire local Coordinators knocked door to door with local police in an awareness raising campaign to highlight best ways to prevent crime and reduce fear of crime.

• West Hill Neighbourhood Watch in Dartford has reduced antisocial behaviour and improved their area by campaigning to regenerate their local park. By campaigning and engaging in community litter picks, the group has inspired its residents to more collective activity, helping them to feel safer and more connected to their area.

• Red Lion Lane Neighbourhood Watch group in Shooters Hill, SE London , worked with local people to gain road safety improvements.

• Greenwich Neighbourhood Watch delivered a range of community talks and presentations on Burglary at the Safer Neighbourhood Board Conference in March 2024. They also delivered a range of Bystander Training and Scams Awareness workshops across the borough. The have developed their own bystander intervention booklet for local people.

• Members of Hillingdon Neighbourhood Watch in London gathered footage from several residents CCTV cameras and pieced evidence from a spate of local burglaries and handed it to the police which was vital in convicting the offenders.

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Assessing and reflecting

Crime and Community survey: The fourth Neighbourhood Watch Crime and Community Survey was completed with 29,000 responses. The findings steer our campaigns and the top 3 crimes people worry about are anti-social behaviour (66%), having your home broken into (52%) and cybercrime (44%). Over 60% of responders report having witnessed or experienced anti-social behaviour with the next highest being physical assault at 24%. A clear link can be seen between Neighbourhood Watch membership and how safe people feel in their local areas. NW members are much more likely than non-members to think that crime has decreased, have more trust in police and significantly more likely to be satisfied with their personal safety. They feel a connection with their locality and regularly interact with their neighbours.

These results in terms of Neighbourhood Watch being effective in crime prevention, being a gateway for people to engage in their community, and being a contributor to community health and wellbeing are very similar to the previous year’s results which is extremely positive. Our 5-Year strategy is aimed at raising awareness of these impacts among the general public and we are hopeful if improved results next year.

Increasing our reach

Social : Our reach on social media continued to grow with over 43,000 followers. Our paid campaigns reached over one million non-members/supporters through social media clips and advertising.

Youth Offer Development: We were successful in securing two significant grants for work with young people from the National Lottery and the City Bridge Trust. This will allow us to build on our work of the past two years. The Lottery grant is for a full time staff member to deliver local youth work groups in three distinct areas across the network and to introduce a Youth Board. The City Bridge Trust grant is focused in London and for a part time worker to deliver local youth work sessions in three London Boroughs. The project focuses on listening to young people to understand their concerns and needs and to co-produce Neighbourhood Watch youth offers that can be delivered in local Association areas. Volunteers in the various areas will support the paid staff in developing and delivering the work.

There have been 4 further editions of our student magazine ‘The Lookout’ focused on issues concerning students including harassment, drink spiking, burglary and theft, safety, nitrous oxide, loneliness & isolation, safe travel first aid and alcohol. The reach of the magazine is over 100,000 directly to young people and students via both hard copy and electronic and to our supporters households.

Supporting vulnerable people to manage transfer from an analogue to digital telephone network.: As the UK dismantles the existing copper analogue phone system and moves to a solely digital network many British Telecom (BT) customers will need to move their connection from analogue to digital. For many people this will cause very little disruption but for some particularly vulnerable customers this may be more challenging. BT is running large events in cities and major towns and we have been commissioned to run smaller local events with volunteers. This follows a successful pilot project in Cumbria and BT are funding an 18 month project to deliver 250 local information and assurance sessions across five government office regions. We will be employing a team of six staff to deliver the project which will offer information and support and will help prevent many people being victims of possible scams. The project will also enable local volunteers to talk about the benefits of being a members of Neighbourhood Watch to attendees of the sessions.

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Increasing our reach (continued)

Community Safety Charter: The Community Safety Charter was launched in 2022 and was designed to engage a broad range of individuals and organisations in crime prevention activity focused on crime in public spaces. Since it was launched, over 3000 organisations and individuals have signed up to actively reduce street crime and support victims. The signatories include Police Forces, PCC’s, MP’s, Councils, Schools, Insurance Companies, Charities, Retailers, Youth Clubs, Museums, Libraries, and businesses (large and small). Training modules in street harassment, hate crime, anti-social behaviour and bystander intervention have been produced and distributed to all Community Safety Charter signatories. Dealing with confrontation and being the change in your community are additional themes to provide empowerment to change behaviours of ourselves and of others as part of the charter.

The University of East Anglia (UEA) has signed the charter and are proactively using it as a main plank of student safety. We are currently working with UEA and universities in Leicester, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Plymouth to develop a student module of the Charter, to raise awareness of crimes in university halls of residence, campus and surrounding neighbourhoods, affecting young people.

Cyberhood Watch: We have doubled the number of trained community Cyberhood Watch Ambassadors to 300 specialists spread across England and Wales. The training and upskilling of Ambassadors is delivered in partnership with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to ensure alignment with their national messaging for the public and not produce more/different advice or information. We partner on awareness campaigns with the likes of the NCSC, National Crime Agency, City of London Police’s Multi Agency Campaign Group, Trading Standards and many more in order to ensure information and campaigns are communicated to our own audiences and also via Cyberhood Watch Ambassadors and to the wider public through their work and via social media platforms.

Increasing our reach

Social : Our reach on social media continued to grow steadily with over 42,000 followers. Our specific campaigns reached between one and two million people through direct email and Facebook advertising.

More diverse membership: According to those who answer demographic information on our database we now have a membership breakdown of 6.8% from ethnic minority communities and 53% of people under 54 years. This is a significant improvement from 2% and 26% respectively in 2020. We recognise that the ethnic and racial diversity of our membership is still lower than that of the national population and we will continue to focus on addressing this over the coming years. The percentage of people from areas of high crime joining Neighbourhood Watch remains steady at about 30%.

We have run training sessions and presentations on equality and diversity for members over the year and will continue to undertake this work and focus.

Growing the resources of our charity

Donations: We have raised over £38,000 from donations including a young peoples Crowdfunder campaign and individual giving.

Lottery: The second year of our lottery raised over £30,000 which supported the Community Grant Scheme and core work.

Grants: We gained over £65,000 in grants for young people’s work.

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Future Plans

Our current 5-year strategy ends at the end of 2025. In 2024-2025 we aim to complete the work within the strategy then review and reflect on this delivery. We will then work with Associations, volunteers and the public to develop a new 5-year strategy.

The 2024-2025 workstreams include:

• Increase the scope and work of the Cyberhood Watch Project including securing funding for a paid Co-ordinator for the project.

• Promote the Community Safety Charter with a significant campaign focused on small and medium sized businesses

• Work more closely with Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC’s) to gain funding for paid local staff to deliver Neighbourhood Watch within the PCC area.

• Deliver the BT Project across 5 regions of the UK

• Co-develop and trial new approaches to working with young people increasing engagement in their communities and developing new skills.

And

• Develop a new 5-year strategy with trustees, volunteers, supporters and the public

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Financial review

Financial position

The detailed figures for the year ended 31 March 2024 are set out in the financial statements that follow the Trustees’ Report.

There was a net surplus in the year of £19,679 (2022/23: deficit of £17,953). The surplus was planned to build up reserves, for the future growth of the charity. The deficit in the previous year was planned as additional income had been received in prior years that was set aside by the Trustees, as designated funds, for projects in future years. This left total funds of £185,088 (2022/23: £165,409) at the end of the year.

Reserves

Total funds may include those that are –

• Restricted by the donor or funder for specific activities or programmes and that cannot be used for the general purposes of the charity,

and/or those that are

• Received in one financial year as part of a grant for work to be carried out wholly or partly in future financial years.

The existence and level of reserves does not mean that there has been an underspend in the past. Reserves can be built up for various reasons, including timing differences between our financial year and our funders’.

The funds that form our unrestricted funds reserve, should be enough to keep a positive cashflow for day-to-day operations, and keep enough for emergencies. This could be including cutting back our operations in the event of a downturn in funding, or for a winding-up of the charity if there was a large drop in funding. Unrestricted funds can also be designated for investment in future development as part of our long-term strategy.

The full Board reviews the reserves policy annually and has agreed an unrestricted reserve fund target of between three and six months of budgeted general fund operating costs. The table below shows how reserves are calculated:

shows how reserves are calculated:
	31 March 2024	31 March 2023
Total net assets	185,088	165,409
Less
carrying value of fixed assets	(3,406)	(4,326)
Carrying value of shop stock	(5,272)	(10,016)
Restricted and designated funds	(27,112)	(10,784)
Total deductions	(35,790)	(25,126)
Total reserves	149,298	140,283
Budgeted general funds expenditure	524,132	481,637
Number of months of expenditure	3.4	3.3

The Board has instructed the Finance and Audit Committee to monitor reserves on a quarterly basis and to recommend any changes to the policy to the Board.

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Financial review (continued)

Going concern

After reviewing our forecasts, projections and its reserves, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that we have adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future. We therefore continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements.

Sources of funds

The Home Office grant to us provides funding for core activity and enables us to secure additional funding from commercial sponsors including ERA (home security products), Avast/Norton (internet security software), AirBnB (holiday accommodation), Simplisafe (home security products). We are indebted to our sponsors who support us and work closely with them to amplify our message through their networks.

Fundraising Practices

Neighbourhood Watch Network is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and is fully compliant with the Code of Fundraising Practice. Our Head of Fundraising is an Individual Member of the Institute of Fundraising. In the year 2023/24 we did not carry out any direct marketing or face-toface fundraising and received no complaints related to our fundraising practices. We are committed to always protecting vulnerable people and will ensure adherence to the Code of Fundraising practice and clear guidelines should we undertake different types of fundraising in the future. All marketing materials contain clear instructions on how a person can be removed from mailing lists.

Risk Management

We review the main risks facing the charity on a regular basis. The current risk register highlights the reliance on a narrow range of funders mentioned above and the related need to better demonstrate the impact of Neighbourhood Watch activities, particularly in respect of crime prevention. NWN also recognises the need to extend its reach and develop a stronger offer that is relevant to all parts of society and that builds engagement among younger people, those from ethnic minority backgrounds and those most at risk from crime. All of these issues are addressed in NWN’s 2020-2025 strategy and being implemented in our future plans. The charity has also insured against risks where practical to do so.

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Structure, governance and management

Legal structure

Neighbourhood Watch Network was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) on 9th June 2017. It replaced Neighbourhood & Home Watch Network, a registered charity and company which was then dissolved. The voting membership of the CIO is explained below; trustees are also voting members.

Governance

Our governing document is its Constitution, dated 10 April 2017 which is available on our website www.ourwatch.org.uk. The overall governance, finance and operations of NWN are controlled by the Trustees, within the regulatory framework set by the Charity Commission.

The Constitution, resolutions and complementary procedures set by the Board, are the rules that we operate by, and by which decisions are made. The Trustees are ultimately responsible for NWN.

Members

NWN’s membership structure aligns with the 43 Police Force areas across England and Wales and each of these can form a “Force Level Association” and become voting members of NWN by signing a Memorandum of Understanding covering joint working arrangements and providing a common framework of ethics and standards. There are currently 30 of these Force Level Associations. The exception to the national structure is the Metropolitan Police Force Area which is organized around the 32 London Boroughs and which collectively account for 4 votes within the membership.

Individual membership of local Neighbourhood Watch Associations does not confer membership of the CIO.

Trustees

The governing document states that there must be between 4 and 12 trustees in post at any time. Trustees who serve at the date of this report, and those who served during the year under review are set out on page 16.

The trustees delegate much of the day-to-day management of NWN to the CEO, but remain ultimately responsible. Their responsibilities are active, not passive, and include:

• regular evaluation of the strategic direction of NWN and its management policies

• evaluation of outcomes and the effectiveness with which the CEO and management implement them

• monitoring legal compliance

• management of risks related to NWN’s activities

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on our website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

16

Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Structure, governance, management (continued)

The trustees are members of the Charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the Charity.

All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the Charity. Any expenses reclaimed are set out in note 5 to the financial statements.

The Board’s operations

The Board of Trustees meets at least four times a year to conduct its business and oversee progress against strategic and operational plans. Trustees are also involved in various working groups that support strategic workstreams. The Board is supported by a Finance and Audit Committee, which oversees the Charity’s finances (including reserves), income generation and risk management, and reports regularly to the Board on these matters.

Appointment and retirement of trustees

The Trustees are elected by the Members at NWN’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and others may be co-opted by the Board between Annual General Meetings, provided that the total number of trustees does not exceed twelve. Members are entitled to nominate candidates for election as trustees at the AGM and other trustees are recruited through advertising and evidence-based recruitment processes against the trustees’ role description.

Board recruitment and induction

The Board is responsible for ensuring that it is made up of trustees who are collectively able to fulfil the governance function of the Board and therefore needs to have a mix of skills, both those which relate to the objectives of NWN and more generic skills and experience such as legal and financial.

The Board regularly undertakes a self-assessed skills audit against the set of skills it has identified as being essential for the governance of the Charity; this enables the Board to identify skills gaps, which informs the recruitment process and training needs. Trustees are able to access learning and development opportunities relevant to their trustee position.

Management

The Trustees delegate day-to-day running of the charity to the CEO who reports directly to the Board. The CEO leads a staff team of 18 salaried staff (13.8 full-time equivalents) at the time of signing the report. The Chair and Treasurer hold a meeting with the CEO each month. The Board receives regular reports on operational performance and provides oversight and scrutiny of results, using a set of key performance indicators.

Remuneration

The remuneration of the CEO is set by the Board and the remuneration of other staff is set by the CEO. In all cases, this is informed by formal and informal benchmarking information from comparable organisations in the voluntary sector, the responsibilities of each individual role and the requirements of the person specification.

17

Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Reference and administrative details

Charity name: Neighbourhood Watch Network Charity number: 1173349 Country of registration: England & Wales Principal office: Room V108, Vox Studios, 1-45 Durham Street, London SE11 5JH Trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report were: Ian Bretman Chair Kardaya Singh Rooprai Treasurer Rebecca Bryant OBE Mohamed Hammeda Sue Pillar Hugh Ind Andrew Whyte Key management personnel: John Hayward-Cripps, Chief Executive Officer Bankers: HSBC, 41 Market Place, Loughborough, LE11 3EJ Independent Examiner: Joanna Pittman, Sayer Vincent LLP 110 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TG

18

Neighbourhood Watch Network Trustees’ Report

Trustees responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that year. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2015 (FRS 102);

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the governing document. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of NWN and financial information included on our website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Ian Bretman

Chair

Date: 20 November 2024

19

Neighbourhood Watch Network Financial Statements

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Neighbourhood Watch Network

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Neighbourhood Watch Network for the year ended 31 March 2024.

This report is made solely to the trustees as a body, in accordance with the Charities Act 2011. My examination has been undertaken so that I might state to the trustees those matters I am required to state to them in an independent examiner's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the trustees as a body, for my examination, for this report, or for the opinions I have formed.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity trustees of the CIO you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the CIO’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

Since the CIO’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.

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 CIO 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.

Name: Joanna Pittman FCA

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Address: Sayer Vincent LLP, 110 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0TG Date: 28 November 2024

20

Neighbourhood Watch Network Financial Statements

Financial Statements

Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2024

				31 March 24	31 March 23
	Notes	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
		funds	funds
		£	£	£	£
Income from:
Donations		7,291	31,439	38,730	13,154
Charitable activities	2	280,000	68,746	348,746	306,306
Other trading activities	3	226,915	13,000	239,915	231,449
Investments	-	1,741	-	1,741	283
Total income		515,947	113,185	629,132	551,192
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities	4	437,363	99,256	536,619	487,189
Raising funds	4	72,834	-	72,834	81,956
Total expenditure		510,197	99,256	609,453	569,145
Net (expenditure)/income		5,750	13,929	19,679	(17,953)
Transfers between funds		-	-	-	-
Net movement in funds		5,750	13,929	19,679	(17,953)
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward		154,625	10,784	165,409	183,362
Total funds carried forward	10	160,375	24,713	185,088	165,409

All income and expenditure relate to continuing activities.

There are no other gains or losses other than those stated above.

Notes 1 – 13 form part of the financial statements.

21

Neighbourhood Watch Network Financial Statements

Balance sheet

at 31 March 2024

	Notes	31 March 2024	31 March 2023
		£	£
Fixed assets
Intangible fixed assets	7	-	-
Tangible fixed assets	7	3,406	4,326
Total fixed assets		3,406	4,326
Current assets
Stock		5,272	10,016
Debtors	8	149,128	74,792
Cash at bank and in hand		488,780	114,006
Total current assets		643,180	198,814
Creditors:amounts due within one year	9	(461,498)	(37,731)
Net current assets		181,682	161,083
Total net assets		185,088	165,409
Funds of the charity	10
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds		2,399	8,962
General funds		157,976	145,663
Total unrestricted funds		160,375	154,625
Restricted funds		24,713	10,784
Total funds		185,088	165,409

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and signed on their behalf:

Ian Bretman Chair

Kardaya Rooprai Treasurer

Date: 20 November 2024

Date: 20 November 2024

22

Neighbourhood Watch Network Financial Statements

Statement of cash flows For the year ended 31 March 2024

	Notes	31 March 2024	31 March 2023
		£	£
Reconciliation of net expenditure to net cash flow
from operating activities
Net income/(expenditure) as per the statement of		19,679	(17,953)
financial activities
Investment income		(1,741)	(283)
Depreciation of fixed assets	7	1,877	7,409
Movements in working capital
Change in stock		4,744	(9,176)
Change in debtors	8	(74,336)	(12,167)
Change in creditors	9	423,767	(18,437)
Cash flow from operating activities		393,990	(50,607)
Cash flow statement
Cash flow from operating activities		(1,080)	(50,607)
Cash flow from investment activities	8
Purchase of fixed assets	7	-	(2,003)
Disposal of fixed assets	7	123	-
Investment income		1,741	283
Net cash used in investment activities		784	1,720
Change in cash in the year		374,775	(52,327)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year		114,006	166,333
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year		488,780	114,006
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Current account		10,780	31,244
Deposit account		478,000	82,762
Total cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year		488,780	114,006

23

Neighbourhood Watch Network Notes to the financial Statements

Notes to the financial statements

for the year ended 31 March 2024

1. Accounting policies

a. Statutory information Neighbourhood Watch Network is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered in England and Wales. The address of the registered office is Room V108, Vox Studios, 1-45 Durham Street, London SE11 5JH.

b. Statement of compliance and basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with:

• Charities SORP (FRS 102) – Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) )

• FRS 102 – The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland

• The Charities Act 2011.

The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

c. Critical accounting judgements and estimates

When preparing the financial statements in line with FRS 102, the trustees are required to make judgements and estimates. The estimates and judgements are based on historical experiences and other factors that are considered relevant including expectations of future events. The estimates and judgements include:

• Accruals: costs not yet invoiced (see Expenditure policy below)

• Allocation of support costs (see Expenditure policy below); and

• Depreciation and impairment (see Fixed Assets policy below).

In the view of the trustees, no assumptions concerning the future have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year.

d. Going concern

When considering going concern, the trustees consider all available information about the future at the date they approve the accounts, which includes information from budgets and forecasts about income, expenditure and cash flows. Attention is also given to reserves.

The charity has not been adversely affected by the cost of living crisis as it does not rely on donations from the general public as a result of fundraising events.

Given the Home Office grant agreed for the year ending 31 March 2025 and the reserves currently held, the trustees believe that the current economic situation, including the cost of living crisis, does not pose a material uncertainty that would cast doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The trustees therefore consider it appropriate for the financial statements to be prepared on a going concern basis.

24

Neighbourhood Watch Network Notes to the financial Statements

1. Accounting policies (continued)

e. Income

Income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income can be measured reliably.

Income from the online shop is recognised when orders are placed and funds are paid into the charity’s Paypal account.

f. Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure is attributed to the following areas:

• raising funds

• charitable activities

Where expenditure cannot be directly attributed to these areas, it is allocated to them on a usage or head count basis. Support costs, such as general management, finance, office rent and governance costs are allocated in this way. Governance costs are costs associated with the general running of the charity and include audit, strategic management and trustees’ meetings and reimbursed expenses.

• Direct costs relating to the operation of the online shop are allocated on the following basis:

• written campaign material: 100% charitable activities

• signs, stickers and branded goods: 25% fundraising; 75% charitable activities

Raising funds relate to the costs in carrying out activities that are intended to generate income, such as staff time managing grant applications and developing commercial sponsorship agreements. It also includes costs relating to operating the online shop, such as the cost of items sold and fees for fulfilling orders.

Charitable activities are costs incurred in delivering activities and services for the charity’s beneficiaries. These include providing information and resources to Neighbourhood Watch members and the general public on the Ourwatch.org.uk website, staff costs for delivering campaigns and project and paying grants. Grants are recognised as expenditure when they are approved and this has been communicated to the recipient.

The charity is unable to recover the majority of VAT charged. This irrecoverable VAT is included in the costs of those items to which it relates.

25

Neighbourhood Watch Network Notes to the financial Statements

1. Accounting policies (continued)

g. Fund accounting

Restricted funds are funds which arose when donors gave them for particular restricted purposes which are narrower than the general purposes of the charity. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in note 10 to the financial statements.

Unrestricted funds are donations and other income received or generated for the general objectives of the charity without further specified purposes and are available as for use at the discretion of the trustees.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the note 10 to the financial statements.

h. Operating leases

Payments made under operating leases are charged to the SOFA when incurred. The charity does not acquire assets under finance leases.

i. Fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets costing more than £1000 are capitalised and are held on the balance sheet at cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment losses.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset evenly over its estimated useful life as follows:

• Office equipment: 25% reducing balance

• Furniture and fittings: 20% reducing balance

Intangible fixed assets are held on the balance sheet at cost less accumulated amortisation and impairment losses.

The Ourwatch.org.uk website for the national Neighbourhood Watch Network is capitalised as an intangible asset and amortised on a straight line basis over its expected useful life of 3 years.

Impairment reviews are conducted when events and changes in circumstances indicate that an impairment may have occurred. If any asset is found to have a carrying value materially higher than its recoverable amount, it is written down accordingly.

j. Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash, short term highly liquid investments and fix term deposits of less than 6 months.

26

Neighbourhood Watch Network Notes to the financial Statements

1. Accounting policies (continued)

k. Stock

Stock consists of online shop branded items, such as road signs, mugs and pens and is valued at cost or written-down value. Stock is reviewed at least annually and its carrying value is reduced to the lower of cost or estimated net realisable value. If any items are given away at events, the cost is expensed at that time.

l. Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amounts due for the provision of services delivered. Prepayments are recognised at the amount prepaid or the amount paid in advance.

m. Creditors

Creditors are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

n. Financial instruments

The charity only 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 their settlement value.

o. Pensions

Pension costs comprise the costs of the charity’s contribution to its employee’s pension schemes. The charity provides a money purchase scheme which is available to all employees.

27

Neighbourhood Watch Network Notes to the financial Statements

2. Income from charitable activities

	31	31	March 2024		31	March 2023
	Unrestricted		Restricted	Total	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
	funds		funds		funds	funds
	£		£	£	£	£	£
Grants
Home Office	280,000		-	280,000	280,000	-	280,000
Partners	-		68,746	68,746		25,000	25,000
Others	-		-		1,306	-	1,306
Total	280,000		68-746	348,746	281,306	25,000	306,306

3. Income from other trading activities

	31	March 2024		31	March 2023
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
	funds	funds		funds	funds
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Sponsorship
ERA	50,000	-	50,000	50,000	-	50,000
AVAST	34,653	-	34,653	38,300	-	38,300
Simplisafe	28,352	-	28,352	-	-	-
Airbnb	20,000	-	20,000	20,000	-	20,000
Co-op	-	-	-	25,000	-	25,000
Other	17,000	13,000	30,000	17,800	-	17,800
Commission	5,505	-	5,505	13,757	-	13,757
Community	3,342	-	3,342	-	-	-
projects - BT
Online shop sales	32,119	-	32,119	25,682	-	25,682
Lottery income	30,250	-	30,250	33,760	-	33,760
Other income	5,694	-	5,694	7,150	-	7,150
Total	226,915	13,000	239,915	231,449	-	231,449

Other trading income includes licence fees and advertising fees.

28

Neighbourhood Watch Network Notes to the financial Statements

4. Expenditure

Year ended 31 March 2024

	Raising	Charitable	Governance	Support	Total
	funds	activities	costs	costs
	£	£	£	£	£
Direct costs
Staff costs	45,364	252,129	32,688	67,156	397,337
Other direct costs	7,293	162,875	6,431	26,042	202,642
Grants paid	-	9,475	-	-	9,475
Total	52,657	424,479	39,119	93,198	609,453
Support costs	14,212	78,986	-	(93,198)	-
Governance costs	5,965	33,154	(39,119)	-	-
Total	72,834	536,619	-	-
Split between
Unrestricted funds	72,834	437,363			510,197
Restricted funds	-	99,256			99,256
Total	72,834	536,619			609,453
Prior year, year ended 31	March 2023
	Raising	Charitable	Governance	Support	Total
	funds	activities	costs	costs
	£	£	£	£	£
Direct costs
Staff costs	52,518	238,879	30,123	62,830	384,350
Other direct costs	5,601	131,630	9,204	30,104	176,539
Grants paid	-	8,256	-	-	8,256
Total	58,119	378,765	39,327	92,934	569,145
Support costs	16,749	76,185	-	(92,934)	-
Governance costs	7,088	32,239	(39,327)	-	-
Total	81,956	487,189	-	-	569,145
Split between
Unrestricted funds	81,956	455,195			537,151
Restricted funds	-	31,994			31,994
Total	81,956	487,189			569,145

Staff costs are allocated to raising funds, charitable expenditure, governance costs and support costs using an activities-based time split. Non-staff costs are allocated directly to the category to which they relate.

Governance costs and support costs are allocated to raising funds and charitable activities on a percentage basis based on expenditure, as an approximation of usage.

29

Neighbourhood Watch Network Notes to the financial Statements

5. Governance costs

The Independent Examiner’s fee is included within governance costs. The amount payable in the year to the Independent examiner was £3,700 + VAT (2022/23: £3,465 + VAT).

Trustees give their time and expertise without charge and do not receive any other benefit from the charity. They are reimbursed for travel and subsistence costs incurred when fulfilling their duties as trustees. During the year three trustees (2022/23: one) were reimbursed a total of £557 (2022/23: £76).

There were no related party donations or other transactions during the year (2022/23: none).

6. Staff costs and remuneration of key management personnel

	31 March 2024	31 March 2023
	£	£
Wages and salaries	342,115	330,675
Social security costs	30,329	30,166
Pension costs	13,756	14,112
Total employment costs	386,200	374,953
Other staff related costs	11,137	9,397
Total staff related costs	397,337	384,350

Other staff related costs include staff travel and other expenses, recruitment and training costs.

The average head count of staff employed throughout the period was 9.0 (2022/23: 9.5).

There was 1 member of staff (2022/23: 1) whose total employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) were between £70,001-£80,000.

Key management personnel

The total cost of employee benefits (salary and employer’s National Insurance and pension contributions) for key management personnel in the year was £96,080 (2022/23: £90,940).

7. Fixed assets

Intangible assets – Ourwatch.org.uk website

Cost	£
At 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024	16,971
Amortisation
At 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024	16,971
Net book value at 31 March 2024	-
Net book value at 31 March 2023	-

30

Neighbourhood Watch Network Notes to the financial Statements

7. Fixed assets (continued)

Tangible assets

	Fixtures	Office	Total
	and fittings	equipment
	£	£	£
Cost
1 April 2023	1,128	6,647	7,775
Additions	-	1,080	1,080
Disposals	-	(1,035)	(1.035)
At 31 March 2024	1,128	6,692	7,820
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023	677	2,772	3,449
Disposals	-	(912)	(912)
Charge for the year	226	1,651	1,877
At 31 March 2024	903	3,511	4,414
Net book value at 31 March 2024	225	3,181	3,406
Net book value at 31 March 2023	451	3,875	4,326

8. Debtors

	31 March 2024	31 March 2023
	£	£
Trade debtors	122,040	45,160
Other debtors	6,639	6,838
Prepayments and accrued income	20,449	22,794
Total	149,128	74,792

9. Creditors

	31 March 2024	31 March 2023
	£	£
Trade creditors	10,576	5,936
Other taxes and social security	89,862	20,697
Other creditors	1,420	3,390
Accruals and deferred income	359,640	7,708
Total	461,498	37,731

31

Neighbourhood Watch Network Notes to the financial Statements

10. Movement in funds

Current year	At 1 April	Income	Expenditure	At 31 March
	2023			2024
	£	£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Project funds	1,667	-	(1,667)	-
Community fund	7,295	4,529	(9,164)	2,660
BT Project	-	3,342	(3,603)	(261)
Total designated funds	8,962	7,871	(14,434)	2,399
General fund	145,663	508,076	(495,763)	157,976
Total unrestricted funds	154,625	515,947	(510,197)	160,375
Restricted funds
NESTA	461	-	(461)	-
Devon and Cornwall	10,323	18,750	(27,377)	1,696
Leicestershire	-	39,991	(18,665)	21,326
Young people	-	31,439	(24,364)	7,075
Young people: CBF	-	10,005	(15,015)	(5,009)
Young people: Lottery	-	-	(375)	(375)
Other restricted funds	-	13,000	13,000	-
Total restricted funds	10,784	113,185	(99,256)	24,713
Total funds	165,409	629,132	(609,453)	185,088
Prior year	At 1 April	Income	Expenditure	At 31 March
	2022			2023
	£	£	£	£
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
Advancement fund	2,783	-	(2,783)	-
Project funds	21,418	-	(19,751)	1,667
Community fund	2,646	12,905	(8,256)	7,295
Total designated funds	26,847	12,905	(30,790)	8,962
General fund	146,737	505,287	(506,361)	145,663
Total unrestricted funds	173,584	518,192	(537,151)	154,625
Restricted funds
NESTA	609	-	(148)	461
Devon and Cornwall	8,519	25,000	(23,196)	10,323
Volunteer Programme	650	-	(650)	-
Co-op funded projects	-	8,000	(8,000)	-
Total restricted funds	9,778	33,000	(31,994)	10,784
Total funds	183,362	551,192	(569,145)	165,409

32

Neighbourhood Watch Network Notes to the financial Statements

10. Movement in funds (continued)

Designated funds

Advancement fund is money received from the Home Office and designated by the trustees for the ‘Advancement Areas’ programme, which aimed to deliver a framework for Neighbourhood Watch in areas of high crime and social disadvantage, and underrepresented communities.

Project fund is money received from the Home Office and designated by the trustees for the charity to deliver a series of intervention projects to support the trustees’ 10-point strategy. In the year, funds were used for crime prevention campaigns on social media.

Community fund is money set aside for making small grants to local neighbourhood watch community projects across England and Wales. Money used for this fund comes from Patlock commission, where Patlock donates £7 from each lock it sells to Neighbourhood Watch members.

BT Project

This partnership with BT is advising vulnerable people on the switch from analogue to digital telephone networks, reducing the risk of them becoming victims of scams and fraud. BT is running large events in cities and major towns and we have been commissioned to run smaller local events with volunteers. The project will run until July 2025.

Restricted funds

NESTA grant fund is funding received from NESTA (a national grant-making charity, www.nesta.org.uk) for the ‘Communities that Care’ project. This fund continues to be spent.

Devon and Cornwall grant is money received to fund a part time post based and working in the Devon and Cornwall Force areas.

Leicestershire is money received from the PCC to fund a project worker based and working in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Young people is money raised from donations for use in youth projects.

Young people: City Bridge Foundation is a grant received to engage with young people in certain London boroughs. It enables us to employ a part-time project manager over two years.

Young people: National Lottery is a grant received to engage with young people across England and Wales. It enables us to employ a full-time project manager over three years and funds the Neighbourhood Watch Youth Council.

Volunteer Programme is restricted money from the National Lottery Community Fund, which was secured to support the volunteer programme – a project to invest in Neighbourhood Watch volunteers. The vast majority of this fund was spent in prior years.

Other restricted funds includes donations or sponsorship received for specific projects or events.

33

Neighbourhood Watch Network Notes to the financial Statements

11. Analysis of net assets between funds

Current year	General	Designated	Restricted	Total funds
	fund	funds	funds
	£	£	£	£
Fixed assets	3,406	-	-	3,406
Net current assets	154,570	2,399	24,713	181,682
Total funds	157,976	2,399	24,713	185,088
Prior year	General	Designated	Restricted	Total funds
	fund	funds	funds
Fixed assets	4,326	-	-	4,326
Net current assets	141,337	8,962	10,784	161,083
Total funds	145,663	8,962	10,784	165,409

12. Operating leases

The charity had one operating lease at the balance sheet date, for rented office space. The minimum non-cancellable lease payments are:

	31 March 2024	31 March 2023
	£	£
Not later than one year	10,210	9,724
Later than one year and not later than 5 years	-	-

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Neighbourhood Watch Network Notes to the financial Statements

13. Prior year comparatives

Statement of Financial Activities for year ended 31 March	Statement of Financial Activities for year ended 31 March	Statement of Financial Activities for year ended 31 March	2023
	Notes	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
		funds	funds
		£	£	£
Income from:
Donations		5,154	8,000	13,154
Charitable activities	2	281,306	25,000	306,306
Other trading activities	3	231,449	-	231,449
Investments	-	283	-	283
Total income		518,192	33,000	551,192
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities	4	455,195	31,994	487,189
Raising funds	4	81,956	-	81,956
Total expenditure		537,151	31,994	569,145
Net (expenditure)/income		(18,959)	1,006	(17,953)
Transfers between funds		-	-	-
Net movement in funds		(18,959)	1,006	(17,953)
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward		173,584	9,778	183,362
Total funds carried forward	10	154,625	10,784	165,409

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