2021-03-31-accounts - Colchester Samaritans

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COLCHESTER SAMARITANS

TRUSTEES

ANNUAL REPORT

Year ending 31 March 2021

Summary of the main activities and achievements of the Charity

Colchester Samaritans (hereinafter referred to as the Charity), was incorporated on 17[th] July 2017 and became fully operational in 1[st] October 2017. During the period 1[st] April 2020 to 31[st] March 2021 the charity was based at Walsingham Road Community Hall, Colchester CO2 7BN and continued to provide a double-manned telephone, email and face-to-face service for the benefit of people in need of emotional support both from the local community and, at times of pressure, from elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

The Charity played a full role in support of Samaritans in the UK and Ireland in line with the objects of the Charity.

Registered name and number

Colchester Samaritans (RC 1173895)

Registered address

Walsingham Road Community Hall Walsingham Road Colchester CO2 7BN

Objects of the Charity

To enable persons in Colchester and the surrounding area as well as elsewhere who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those who may be at risk of suicide, to receive confidential emotional support at any time of the day or night in order to improve their emotional health and to reduce the incidence of suicide.
To promote better understanding in society of suicide, suicidal behaviour, and the value of expressing feelings which may otherwise lead to suicide or impaired emotional health.
To collaborate with and support the Samaritans Central Charity and its affiliated branches in fulfilling these Objects.

Governance

The Branch is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation within the Samaritan Movement.

The activities of the Charity are regulated by:

the Constitution of the Charity dated 21[st] July 2017. A copy is available on application to the Branch Secretary.
the nature of services and policies of The Samaritan Company, as determined from time to time by the Council of Management of The Company.

Organisation and decision making structure of the Charity

The Branch Director is responsible for and has absolute authority over the day-to-day conduct and management of the work of the Branch in offering help to suicidal, despairing and/or distressed callers. The Director is in charge of all members of the Branch.
The Trustees of the Branch (the Trustees) hold specific responsibility for the control and management of the branch, ensuring the branch is carrying out its purposes for the public benefit and fulfilling its legal and regulatory responsibilities, including the upkeep of the Centre, fund raising and expenditure, publicity, and the general management of material resources.

Trustees

Trustees are appointed at an Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting of the Charity, as defined in the Constitution of the Charity. Trustees from 1[st] April 2020 to 31 March 2021 were:

David Atterbury Gaynor Bell Robin Blackmore Rodney Dass Wendy Hutton Philip Moseley Caroline Nicholls Lynn Rozier Liz Raczi (from 27/09/2020)

Officers at 31 March 2020 were:

Branch Director Gaynor Bell Secretary Caroline Nicholls Treasurer David Atterbury

Professional advisers at 31 March 2020 were:

Auditor Mr M L Lewis FCA ATII, 1 Brewery House, Brook Street, Wivenhoe, CO7 9DS Legal Consultant Mr P George, Birkett Long, Essex House, 42 Crouch Street, Colchester CO3 3HH Bankers Barclays Bank, 40-41 High Street, Chelmsford CM1 1BE The Co-operative Bank plc, P.O. Box 250, Skelmersdale, WN8 6WT

Annual accounts

The Accounts for the year ending to 31st March 2021 constitute part of this report and are attached as an Appendix. They have been prepared on a payments and receipts basis to conform to the Charities Act 2011. They have been subject to independent examination only by the Auditor as an audit is not required as provided under Section 144 of this Act. The Statement of Financial Affairs records an excess of income over expenditure of £19,338.

The Trustee's policy is to maintain sufficient reserves to allow the Charity to continue to function for at least a year if there were to be a serious decline in income. The Branch needs approximately £65,000 a year to maintain current levels of activity. In addition, reserves are needed to maintain the premises and to fund periodic improvements. The current assets are sufficient for these purposes at this time.

Use of the Charity’s service

Figures are available for the period 1[st] April 2020 to 31[st] March 2021:

The Charity maintained a 365-day service
The Charity was contacted by callers 16,819 times in total
Of the total 0 people came in person to the centre and 1,076 emails were answered.
Where gender is known 5,963 contacts were from males and 7,297 from females, 11 from other term used , 649 unknown and 54 transgender.
There were 347 requests for contact received (of which contact was made with 273 service users, a success rate of 79%) from our partnership with the EPUT.

Recruitment, selection and profile of volunteers

Figures are available for the period 1[st] April 2020 to 31[st] March 2021:

206 people enquired about volunteering
Of those, 40 interviews conducted
We operated our service with 103 active listening volunteers and 33 support volunteers
The usual average minimum time a listening volunteer gives to callers is 154 hours a year, however during the pandemic this reduced to approximately 130 hours as our shift pattern was altered to ensure Covid safety measures.

Related activities

The Charity has no paid employees, and all its work is undertaken on a voluntary basis. This includes considerable additional time and effort to enable the Objects of the Charity to be met. In the period 1[st] April 2020 to 31[st] March 2021 this included:

Under normal circumstances, publicity, advertising promotional and reaching out activities would have been conducted as usual, but with the Pandemic in place, a lot of reaching out activities eg Talks and School Talks had to be conducted via Zoom/Team Meetings. No festivals or presence in town centres could be conducted safely for Volunteers or Callers, until such times as permission was granted by SCO.
Colchester Samaritans also provide a third-party referral service for Emmaus; both staff and companions can be referred to Samaritans for support. This has also been introduced this year for MS-UK, who are also based in Colchester and provide a telephone support service to their clients. We are currently running a pilot scheme with Colchester Police, referring members of the public to Samaritans, who are in severe distress and in need of support. We will continue to monitor this over the next few months.
Fundraising through, for example, street collections, events and monthly book fairs were greatly limited by Covid-19 but our grant applications were very successful this year.
The continued refurbishment and upgrading of our premises to provide good operating conditions for our volunteers and a welcoming venue for hirers of the hall.

Copies of this report may be obtained by writing to the Secretary at Samaritans, Walsingham Road Community Hall, Colchester CO2 7BN (a small charge will be made to cover postage and printing). Further information about the work of the Charity may be obtained by writing to the Director at the same address.

Received and approved by vote of the Trustees:

Director: Gaynor Bell

Secretary: Caroline Nicholls Date:

Received by the membership at the AGM, 10[th] October 2021

Director: Gaynor Bell

Secretary:

Caroline Nicholls

Date:

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 1

COLCHESTER SAMARITANS

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2021

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Colchester Samaritans

I am reporting on the Accounts of Colchester Samaritans ended 31st March 2021, which are set out on Pages 2 to 7.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and the examiner

Charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act), and
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the General directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a “true and fair” view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention (other than that disclosed below):

which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act;
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the
accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met; or
to which in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Name: M Lewis

Professional Qualification: Chartered Accountant

Address: 1 Brewery House Brook Street Wivenhoe Essex CO7 9DS

Date:

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 2

COLCHESTER SAMARITANS

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31st MARCH 2021

	Note	All Funds 2021 £	All Funds 2021 £	All Funds 2020 £	All Funds 2020 £
Incoming Resources Book Fair Donations and Gifts Fundraising Events Grants Receivable Gift Aid Legacies Hall Hire Regional Conference Interest			333 26,802 7,075 53,519 6,664 300 8	6,482 34,753 13,115 2,500 36 71,654 2,245 1,564 33
Total IncomingResources			94,701	132,382
Resources Expended Depreciation of Fixed Assets Direct Charitable Expenditure Fundraising and Publicity Costs Management and Administration Costs	3 4 5		9,837 41,025 7,427 17,074		11,938 38,926 9,530 8,503
Total ResourcesExpended			75,363		68,897
Net Incoming /(outgoing) resources Balance broughtforward at1 April 2020		19,338 481,777		63,485 418,292
Balance carried forward at 31 March 2021		501,115		481,777

The notes on pages 4 to 7 form part of these accounts

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 3

COLCHESTER SAMARITANS

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31st MARCH 2021

	Note	2021	2021	2020
		£	£	£	£
Tangible Fixed Assets Current Assets Cash at Bank and in hand	6	216,951	284,164	187,776	294,001
Current Assets		216,951		187,776

Net Total Assets			284,164		294,001
Represented by: General Fixed Assets	7 7	216,951 284,164	501,115	187,776 294,001	481,777

The notes on pages 4 to 7 form part of these accounts

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 4

COLCHESTER SAMARITANS

Notes to the Accounts for the period ending 31st March 2021

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

a) Basis of Accounting. These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the applicable accounting standards and the Statement of Recommended Practice on Accounting by Charities (“the Charities SORP”).

b) Voluntary income received by way of donations and gifts is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (the “SOFA”) when received. Gifts in kind are valued and brought in as income and the appropriate expenditure.

c) Gross fund-raising income from events organised by the charity itself is included in the SOFA when received. Where deemed material, fund-raising proceeds not yet received by the charity at the end of year end have also been taken into income at the Trustees’ estimate of ‘likely receivable amount’.

d) Gift Aid and other income received by the charity in respect of which a claim for repayment of tax has or will be made is grossed up for the tax recoverable and this gross amount recognised in the SOFA.

e) Income from legacies is included in the SOFA when received or when the Trustees are satisfied the charity has a legally enforceable right of receipt of a conservatively measurable sum.

f) Revenue grants for immediate financial support and assistance are recognised in the SOFA on receipt and on satisfaction of any preconditions.

g) Premises overheads are aggregated and allocated to the various functional activities of the charity on a percentage basis determined by the Trustees and disclosed in a note.

h) Any costs which cannot be specifically identified to another functional activity of the charity are included in the management and administration function.

i) Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets of material value held by the charity for its own use on a straight line basis so as to write off their costs over the estimated useful lives as follows:

Freehold Property 50 years Computers and other office equipment/furniture 4 years

j) No provision for taxation is included in the accounts as the charity is entitled to the exemption from tax afforded by Section 505 on the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 5

			Page 5
	2021	2020
2. PREMISES OVERHEADS Water, Light and Heat Repairs and Renewals Cleaning and Housekeeping Office Telephone Insurance Rent	3,559 14,207 1,806 869 2,418 80	2,396 14,758 3,701 498 2,074 1,170
Total for Year	22,939	24,597
Allocated to: - Direct Charitable Expenditure Fundraising and Publicity Management and Administration	14,910 5,735 2,294	15,988 6,149 2,460	% 65 25 10
Total Allocation for Year	22,939	24,597	100
3.DIRECT CHARITABLE EXPENDITURE Emergency Telephone Volunteers Training and Support Costs Volunteers Expenses Publicity Postage, Stationery & IT Share of Premises Overheads (see note 2)	1,479 215 18,140 4,645 1,636 14,910	1,232 1,028 9,467 497 10,714 15,988
Total for Year	41,025	38,926
4. FUNDRAISING AND PUBLICITY COSTS Fundraising Expenses Share of Premises Overheads (see note 2)	1,692 5,735	3,381 6,149
Total for Year	7,427	9,530
5. MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION COSTS Council Meetings Bank Charges Contribution to General Office Support Three Rings Legal Costs Van Expenses Branch Visit Sundry Expenses Share of Premises Overheads (see note 2)	1,364 188 11,178 242 213 1,460 135 2,294	43 358 2,301 246 2,590 470 35 2,460
Total for Period	17,074	8,503

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 6

6. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

			Freehold Property Walsingham Road	Freehold Property Walsingham Road	Total	Total
Cost At 31stMarch 2020 Additions in period	£ 25,080		£ 346,101		£ 371,181
At31st March 2021	25,080		346,101		371,181
Depreciation At 31stMarch 20 Charge for year	22,164 2,915			55,016 6,922		77,180 9,837
At 31stMarch 2021	25,079			61,938		87,017

Net Book Value
At 31 March 2021		1	284,163		284,164

At 31 March 2020		2,916	291,085		294,001

7. RECONCILATION OF FUNDS

General	Designated Funds	Total
£ 187,776 29,175	£ 294,001 -9,837	£ 481.777 19.338
216,951	284,164	501,115
216,951	284,164	284.164 216,951
216,951	284,164	501,115

General Fund: Funds are held available for the ordinary purposes of the charity.

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 7

8. STAFF COSTS AND NUMBERS.

No staff was employed by the charity during the period 1[st] April 2020 to 31[st] March

9. TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES

None of the charity’s trustees were directly or indirectly remunerated in any way. It is the policy of the charity to reimburse in full all expenses properly incurred by its volunteers in connection with its charitable activities. During the year, the total amount reimbursed to the trustees, members of the charity’s Management Committee, in respect of travel costs for attending meetings. telephone, postage and other similar expenses is disclosed in page 5, note 5.

10. INDEMNITY INSURANCE.

Samaritans has centrally effected professional indemnity insurance to protect employees, Trustees, Directors and other volunteer members of all Samaritan branches.

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 1

COLCHESTER SAMARITANS

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2021

Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of Colchester Samaritans

I am reporting on the Accounts of Colchester Samaritans ended 31st March 2021, which are set out on Pages 2 to 7.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and the examiner

It is my responsibility to:

examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act), and
to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of independent examiner’s report

Independent examiner’s statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention (other than that disclosed below):

which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act;
to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the
accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met; or
to which in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Name: M Lewis

Professional Qualification: Chartered Accountant

Address: 1 Brewery House Brook Street Wivenhoe Essex CO7 9DS

Date:

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 2

COLCHESTER SAMARITANS

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31st MARCH 2021

	Note	All Funds 2021 £	All Funds 2021 £	All Funds 2020 £	All Funds 2020 £
Incoming Resources Book Fair Donations and Gifts Fundraising Events Grants Receivable Gift Aid Legacies Hall Hire Regional Conference Interest			333 26,802 7,075 53,519 6,664 300 8	6,482 34,753 13,115 2,500 36 71,654 2,245 1,564 33
Total IncomingResources			94,701	132,382
Resources Expended Depreciation of Fixed Assets Direct Charitable Expenditure Fundraising and Publicity Costs Management and Administration Costs	3 4 5		9,837 41,025 7,427 17,074		11,938 38,926 9,530 8,503
Total ResourcesExpended			75,363		68,897
Net Incoming /(outgoing) resources Balance broughtforward at1 April 2020		19,338 481,777		63,485 418,292
Balance carried forward at 31 March 2021		501,115		481,777

The notes on pages 4 to 7 form part of these accounts

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 3

COLCHESTER SAMARITANS

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31st MARCH 2021

	Note	2021	2021	2020
		£	£	£	£
Tangible Fixed Assets Current Assets Cash at Bank and in hand	6	216,951	284,164	187,776	294,001
Current Assets		216,951		187,776

Net Total Assets			284,164		294,001
Represented by: General Fixed Assets	7 7	216,951 284,164	501,115	187,776 294,001	481,777

The notes on pages 4 to 7 form part of these accounts

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 4

COLCHESTER SAMARITANS

Notes to the Accounts for the period ending 31st March 2021

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

e) Income from legacies is included in the SOFA when received or when the Trustees are satisfied the charity has a legally enforceable right of receipt of a conservatively measurable sum.

f) Revenue grants for immediate financial support and assistance are recognised in the SOFA on receipt and on satisfaction of any preconditions.

g) Premises overheads are aggregated and allocated to the various functional activities of the charity on a percentage basis determined by the Trustees and disclosed in a note.

h) Any costs which cannot be specifically identified to another functional activity of the charity are included in the management and administration function.

Freehold Property 50 years Computers and other office equipment/furniture 4 years

j) No provision for taxation is included in the accounts as the charity is entitled to the exemption from tax afforded by Section 505 on the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 5

			Page 5
	2021	2020
2. PREMISES OVERHEADS Water, Light and Heat Repairs and Renewals Cleaning and Housekeeping Office Telephone Insurance Rent	3,559 14,207 1,806 869 2,418 80	2,396 14,758 3,701 498 2,074 1,170
Total for Year	22,939	24,597
Allocated to: - Direct Charitable Expenditure Fundraising and Publicity Management and Administration	14,910 5,735 2,294	15,988 6,149 2,460	% 65 25 10
Total Allocation for Year	22,939	24,597	100
3.DIRECT CHARITABLE EXPENDITURE Emergency Telephone Volunteers Training and Support Costs Volunteers Expenses Publicity Postage, Stationery & IT Share of Premises Overheads (see note 2)	1,479 215 18,140 4,645 1,636 14,910	1,232 1,028 9,467 497 10,714 15,988
Total for Year	41,025	38,926
4. FUNDRAISING AND PUBLICITY COSTS Fundraising Expenses Share of Premises Overheads (see note 2)	1,692 5,735	3,381 6,149
Total for Year	7,427	9,530
5. MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION COSTS Council Meetings Bank Charges Contribution to General Office Support Three Rings Legal Costs Van Expenses Branch Visit Sundry Expenses Share of Premises Overheads (see note 2)	1,364 188 11,178 242 213 1,460 135 2,294	43 358 2,301 246 2,590 470 35 2,460
Total for Period	17,074	8,503

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 6

6. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

			Freehold Property Walsingham Road	Freehold Property Walsingham Road	Total	Total
Cost At 31stMarch 2020 Additions in period	£ 25,080		£ 346,101		£ 371,181
At31st March 2021	25,080		346,101		371,181
Depreciation At 31stMarch 20 Charge for year	22,164 2,915			55,016 6,922		77,180 9,837
At 31stMarch 2021	25,079			61,938		87,017

Net Book Value
At 31 March 2021		1	284,163		284,164

At 31 March 2020		2,916	291,085		294,001

7. RECONCILATION OF FUNDS

General	Designated Funds	Total
£ 187,776 29,175	£ 294,001 -9,837	£ 481.777 19.338
216,951	284,164	501,115
216,951	284,164	284.164 216,951
216,951	284,164	501,115

General Fund: Funds are held available for the ordinary purposes of the charity.

Appendix to the Trustees Annual Report

Page 7

8. STAFF COSTS AND NUMBERS.

No staff was employed by the charity during the period 1[st] April 2020 to 31[st] March

9. TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES

10. INDEMNITY INSURANCE.

Samaritans has centrally effected professional indemnity insurance to protect employees, Trustees, Directors and other volunteer members of all Samaritan branches.