RE6157ERED CHARifYNuMBER.. 1175186 Report oAthe Tn￿tee5 ond ond UnuuditedFlnoncltsl statements for the yeor end 315t December 2023 Swanseo Asylum Seekers Support (SASSJ Bellt7my Morgon & Westwood Jomesons Hall Foundry Rood Morriston Swanseo SA6 80U Sw*nsea Asylum Seeker5 Support (SASSJ Content of Financlalstatements for the year end 315t December 2023 Page Report of the tn15tees Independent Exominer's Report io Receipts & Payments Account with 8alunce Sheet li Movement of Fund5 12 Statement of FinonciolArtlvlties 13 CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGIAND AND WALES Trustees, Annual Report for the period From 1st January 2023 To 31$t December 2023 Charity name: Swansea Asylum SeekerJ Support (SASS) Charity registration number: 1175186 Objectives and Activities Summary of the purposes of the charity as set OLrt in rts governing document SASS provides a unique local Community of welcome for asylum seekers and refugees (ASR) in Swansea built around four guiding principles: Welcome Welfare Wellbeing Empowerment SASS was founded in 201)) by locals, initiated by the newly-arrived Chilean refugee community and in response lo the UK govemment's 'dispersal' policy initiated in 1999. SASS social dropins began in 2002 and have ¢onlinued ever since. SASS re-constituted as a CIO in 2017. Historically SASS has 81s0 germinated local projectslorganisations including (egl Asylum Justice, Swansea Crty of Sanctuary. ShareTawe. SASS strives to be an indusive and equitable community of sanctuary sèekèrs and local people who work alongside one anolher in friendship, avoiding a 'provider'l'beneficiary' divide. SASS members work together to facilitate an activities programme and mutual help and support. Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit. in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts. Two weekly drop-in sessions of three hours each, SO weeks a year Welcome to Play scheme operates at both dropins, plus special event8 during sthool holidays. plus regular creche at additional adult courses Personal support for ASR individuals and families new lo Swansea, those needing emergency support due lo loss ofASPEN cards, NRPF, transition from asylum seeker to refugee status, housing and transport issues, school pla￿S andlor generally understanding systems in WaleslUK. Infomal English language classes. both face to face and on Zoom Addrtional adult courses, mainly in partnership with Adull Learning Wales Opportunities for SASS members to gain food hygiene. first aid and other qualffications in preparation for futu￿ employment Infomial support for asylum claims using Ihe Right to Remain toolkit Providing opportunities for ASRS to volunteer within SASS in a variety of roles Support for ASRS through provision of dothes, household items. toiletries Publishing and art projects - opportunities to participate and a platFom for expression Statement confimiing whether the trustees have had re ard to the The Trustees have regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. guidance issued by the Charity Commission on ublic benefrt Additional infomiation (optionall You ma choose to include further slatements where relevant about.. SASS is very privileged to have a large group of committed volunteers. Some are new, some have volunteered for many years. Volunteers fulfil many different roles, for example as ESOL {English langua9e) teachers. kitchen helpers, welcome desk team, befnenders, delivery drivers, as5ists.ng with children's activiti8S, donation managem8nt, sel up and clear up before and after dro in sessions, asylum case support, and more. SASS could not function and deliver its objectives without the help and commitment of these volunteers. There are 130 artive volunteers who give time to SASS. Ofthal number, 520A are asylum seekers or refugees. The rest are members of the local Swansea community In addition to attending meetings, almost all of the Trustees regulady help at drop-ins. welcoming newcomers, befriending, giving individual support. SASS benefrts from thousands of volunteer hours over th8 year. We estimat8 13.000 hours ISO weeks x 130 x average 2 hours) SASS has a very successful partnership with Discovery ISwan8ea University's Volunteering organisation}. That partnership enabled about 10 students lo volunteer al SASS dropin sessions dunng 2023. Contribution made by volunteers Achievements and Perfomiance Summary oflhe main a¢hievements ofthe charty, identifying the difference the charity's work has made lo the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole. A review and evaluation report was commissioned by SASS Trustees in October 2023 and Completed by an extemal consultant. Based on bolh intern81 and extemal opinions, it stated, Iwo clear characteristics made SASS support stand out.. Working in a needs-led and person-centred way to meet wide variety of needs, Working in a relationshipbased way, not a proc8ss-based way.- Allendance increased considerably during 2023 Average attendan￿ each week at the Friday dropin sessions was 86 in the first quarter of 2023 and 107 in the final quarter. Overall average durin9 the year.. 91 at each session. An average of 14 new arrivals came each quarter. The Saturday dropin sessions had an average of 47 attending each week in the first quarter rising to 70 in the last quarter. Yeady average was 61 per session. At￿ut 10 new arrrvals came each quarter. At least 54 different languages were spoken by drop-in attendees in 2023. About half of attendees are male, ha￿ female. About 200h of ASR attendees a￿ under 18s (mostly 0-14 years) with. in many cases, a single parent. So about half of ASR attendees are families, half are single adults. In July 2023. the Welcome to Play scheme r&started (il had been active before Covid shLrtdown) thanks to a grant from The National Lotte 's Communi FurKI Wales su lemented in 2024 b rant from BBC Children in Need). The average monthly play s¢heme attendance between June and December was 169 or approximately 40 per week. The children in the play scheme are behveen the ages of 3 and 15. They came from approximately 25 different countries. A wide range of activities a￿ provided each week. appropriate to the ages of the children attending. Special activities and outings for children and families take place during the holidays, funded by grants from Swansea Council. These included a family fun day with CirGus Eruption teaching ¢irGus skills, a visit to Swansea Community Fami, a storytelling session by library staff, and a storytelling and drawing session with a book author and illustrator. FAN (Friends and Neighbours) groups, for structured group conversations. continue to meet and thrive during drop-ins. Data analysis over 2023 indicates that 460h of asylum seekers and refugees {ASRs) who attend a dropin Session re￿iVed additional personal support from staff andlor volunteers. This included emergency payments, food vouchers. bus tickets, household items, clothing. signposting, referrals or employment advice. Quote from an asylum seeker. 'Other organisalions are bureaucratic and restrict access to their servi¢es- at SASS you can walk In and ask for what you need.. Addltlonal Infomiation {optionall You ma -￿ choose to include further statements where relevant alx)ut: Welcomè: 912 individuals attended drop-ins during 2023. 287 (310knl attended other SASS leaming activities while 23% took part in tripslfamily fun days. A very high proportion attend consistently over time. 320h of ASRS who attended during the first six months of 2023 were still attending in November 2023. 700A of those who attended from July- November were still attending at the end of 2023. 'It is particularfy noteworthy that individuals from diverse backgrounds are exchanging cultures, establishing connections and offering friendship While this is not entirely unexpected for SASS, the initiatives like drawing, ESOL classes. FAN and encouraging women wnters to publish their work have further enhan￿d these positive dynamics." Asylum seeker, SASS member, volunteer and TnJstee Welfare". A hot nLrtritious meal is served al every drop-in session for all who attend. Meal ingredients cost SASS about £1 each, but each meal saves an ASR at)oul £2 50 That is significant rf your weekly Home Office allowance is just less than £50. Taking average attendances over the year, about 77CNJ hot meals were serve(1 in 2023. Additional takeaway meal boxes are provided for those 10¥0 of ASR attendees who are destitute and homeless {evicted from the asylum system) or are housed in hotels with no ¢ooking facilities {mostly newly granted refugee8). SASS meals and takeaways are a lifeline for them. We regularly distribute toiletryldeaning items. During Odober and November 2023, 610 items were donated over 5 drop-in sessions to 60 people per droTrin_ The estimated total value of items was over £1,300. an average £4.60 per person. That equates to 90A of the personal weekly ASR allowance. A 10% random sample of 900 rètords of beneficiaries showed that 230h received at least one other forni of su rtto reduce economi Achi8vements against Obje￿iveS set hardship. I￿trI[e onty one name is recorded in the support log, in at least.35% of cases accompanying family members also benefit. Well-being: Of 67 participants attending the summer fun activty I programme, 83°h described a range of positive feelings aboLrt the event. (See also examples in Empowemient below } Empowonnent: 264 ASR attended some ESOL classes. 980A of those surveyed reported improvement in their English language skills. On a scale of 1-10. 47% reported an improvement of3+ scale points. 10 kilchen volunteers gained qualifications in Food Safely which boosts their employability. 5 ASR took the responsibility of contributing to the formal govemance of SASS as Tnjstees. 15 ASR participated in meetings of the Advisory Group convened by the Chair of Trustees, lo discuss challenges and opportunities for SASS and feed intro Trustees, decision-making. In our Hafan Books imprinl we published l)ooks by Aruni Mcshane (Of Monilofs and Men.. Poems and Stories) and Tarh Martha Ako Mfortem (Unbound.. Poems 2022-2023). A joint launch evenl at Volcano Theatre was held in partnership with Swansea City of Sanctuary, with about 90 people attending. Both writers went on to be invited to read and discuss their work at events in Swansea, Cardiff. at the National Library of Wales, and other places. Both are eloquent ambassadors for SASS and for human8 understanding. Artworks by both ¢hild and adult artists in SASS were presented at a 2-week exhibrtion and sale of work we organised al Volcano in September, in partnership with City of Sanctuary. EYST, Unity in Diversity, Stand Up to Racism. Hay Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary, Glynn Vivian Gallery, Swansea Council's Fusion project, and local artists in solidarity with refugees. About 300 people attended. Many wrote in the visrtors, l>)ok to the effect that the show raised awareness of asylum seekers and refugees as talented and imaginative individuals who have much to contribute to local Culture. For ASR artists vtho conlribuled, it was a major boost lo self-esteem and confidence. SASS raised funds suffiaent to meet expenditure in 2023 and provide for part of costs of the year ahead. We will welcome new volunteers willing to contribule to this worf(. Performance of fundraising activities against obj'ectives set Financlal Review Review of the charity's finanrjal po$rtion at the end of the penod InGome £146,957 Expenditure £132,542 Total Reseryes £103,558 Unrestrfcted Reseryes £79 316 Reserves policy adopted 2023: 75%19monthsl of a year of essential basic 5er¥ices, to guard agalnst a drop In planned grant income. Baslc services include two drop-ins per weeK 8 days per week or essential staff. At the eno of 2023, we had sufficient reserves to cover nine months of basic se￿ice$ for 2024. Statement explaining Ihe policy for holding reserves stating why they are held Amount of reserves held Unrestricted Reserves £79.316 nla Reasons for holding zero reserves Dètails of fund materially in deficit nla Explanation of any Un￿rtaIntieS about the charty continuing as a oin oncern See al)ove Addltlonal inforniation loptional) You ma Ghoose lo include further statements where relevant al)out'. A) Donations The charity's principal sources of funds (including any fundraising) SASS has significant local financial support, for which we are very grateful. Membets of the local community (contributing monthly by standing order, or with one-off donations) raised about £20,000 in 2023. Leigh Day Solicitors made an unsolicited donation, as their staff chose SASS to receive donations of £10,000 a year for 3 years. Libby Nolan. the national presKlent of Unison, made SASS her president's charity for the year 2023-24. Donations from Unison branches totalled £2,700 in 2023 (and a further £4.550 lo date, as at Sept 2024) B) Main grants in 2023.. National Lottery, Community Fund Wales, Communities First.. £24,910 from June 2023 (£100,000 over 3 years) for the Welcome to Play scheme. Lloyds Bank Foundation Unre8trict6d grant. £25,LIXJ in 2023 {repeated 2024). Swansea Council grants tolalling c.£12,534 for= p8ritxI products (£1,694), foodlmeals costs (£1,500), food vouchers for families {£2.000}. food vouchers for school-age children {£5,000), fun activrttes for children and young adults (£2,340) National Lottery.. £6.750 for ESOL coordinator salary Police Commissionerfor South Wales.. £10,600 for administration and wage costs in 2023 (3-year grant, Dec 2022 to MarGh 2025) Wami Spaces grant to St James Church, £5,695 apportioned to SASS Community Foundation Wales, Cost of Living Grant for food costs.. £5,OOOlyear for 3 years, beginning September 2023 Moondance Foundation.. £5,520 for food costs Austin Bailey Foundation.. £2,500 for educationalltraining activrties ear rant, 2022-2024 nla Investmerrt policy and objectives including any soaal investment policy adopted Increased difficulty of securing grant income to meet nsing Gosts in order to maintain current activities, especially larger and longer-temi grants A description of the principal risks facing the charrty Reliance on large amounts of voluntary work by small numbers of trustees and adviso Structure, Governance and Management Descri s trusts.. tion of char[￿t Type of governing document al cha,,lÈr How is the charity ¢onstitLrted7 le g iJrilD.corporated dss.Jcialioi), cio Trustee selection methods including details ol any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled lo appoint one or more trustees Constttution cio Trustees are elected al the Annual General Meeting. Half of the Trustee board {5 out of 10 at the end of 20231 have lived experience of the asylum system. Addltlonal information loptional) You maLchoose lo include further statements where re￿vant abt)ut: Policies and procedures adopted New Trustees are provided with infomiation about their for the induction and training of responsibilrties from a variety of sources. are introduced lo the trustees Chanty Commission website and are mentored by other Trust8es. SASS works with a large number of other charities and groups that support asylum seekers and refugees Most are local, for example Unity in Diversity, Swansea City of Sanctuary, Crty and County of Swansea, EYST. St. James, Church, York Place Baptlst Church, Uniting Church Sketty, Centre for African Entrepreneurship, African Community Centre, Congolese Developmenl Project. Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary is a valuable ally for regular 'rural respite trips, as well as contributions in cash and kind to meet members, emergency l exceptional needs. National organisations such as Asylum Matters, Asylum Justice, DPIA. Welsh Refugee Council. Migrant Help are also valued artners. The charity's organisational structure and any wider ne￿Ork with which the charrty works Relationship with any related arties Reference and Administrative details Chari name Other name the chari uses islered charit number Charity's principal add￿55 Swansea As lum Seekers Su SASS 1175186 clo Peo￿ Plus. 30 Orchard Street, Swansea SA15AT. Names of the charity tru3tees who manage the charlty Trustee nam• Name of pernon lor body) entitlod to appoint tru8tee If•n Offic• {If ary) Datss acted if not for wthol• y￿r Sandra Morton Tom Cheesman (Prof.) Achuil Monytoch Aruni Mcshane Clare Jones Chaimian Treasurer SASS AGM SASS AGM As above Emilie Short Fru-Delvis Ngang Funmi Olaniyan Gillian Spedding Kathryn Jones Philip Nicholas Shah Rahmani Jan-sept 2023 Sept-Dec 2023 Secretary Jan-sept 2023 10 Sept-Dec 2023 Sept-Dec 2023 SASS has an advisory group made up of asylum seekers and refugees that meets regularly and provides information and advice for the Trustees. 12 orate trustees - names of the directors at the date the re Dlrecior n•m• No corp_orate Tru$te•s ortwasa roved Name of trustees holding title to woperty belonging to the charrty Tru•ts• nam• Dat¢• ac¢ed If not for who SASS does not own ro Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others Description of the assets held in this Nla capacity Name and objects of the charrty on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity's obj'ects Details of arrangements for safe uslody and segregation of such assets from the charity's own assets Nla Addltional InfomiatSon Ioptlonal) Name8 and addresses of advisers {Optional Infom)alion) pe of advlser Name Addres8 Finan¢lal Sherry Coales Sam Edwards Monitoring and evaluation Name of chlef executlve or names of senlor staff members (Optional inforniation) No CEO George Wilson. ESOL Cowordinator and development worker 21 hours per week Ruth Abarra, Family and Play co-ordinalor, 22 hours per week Wayne Yare, Volunteer Development worker, 35 hours per week Del Cowley, fee paid bookkeeper Hazel Nixon, admin assistant. 7 hours pef week Exemptions from disclogure Reason for non-disclosure of ke rsonnel detail$ Nla Declarations The trustees doclare that they have approved the trustees, report abov8. Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees Signaturels) Full namels) Position leg Secretary, Chalr, etc) Sandra J Morton TOM CHEESMAN Chaiman TREASURER Date 241h Sept8mber 2024 Independent Examinerfs Report to the trustees of Swansea Asylum Seekers Support (SASS) I report to the charity trustee5 on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2023 which are set out in page5 7 to 14. Respective iesponsibilities of trustees and examiner As a CharIt￿S trustees of Swansea Asylum Seekers Support ISASSI you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 20111'the Act'l I report in respect of my examination of the Swansea Asylum Seekers Support ISASSI'5 accounts carried out under sertion 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all applicable direction$ 8lven by the Charities Commission under section 1451Sllbl of the Act. Independent examlnerfs 51?tement I have completed my examination. I confirm that there are no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examinotion giving me cause to believe that in any material respect,. accountin8 records were not kept in respect of Swansea Asylum Seekers Support ISASSI as required by section 130 of the Act- or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records,. or the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charitie5 IAccount5 and ReF)0rts1 Regulations 21K)8 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and falr vlew, which Is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination I have no concern5 and have come across no other matters In connertion with the examinatlon to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Wayn ellamy Bk ACPA amy Morgan & Westwood Accountants & Tax Consultants Date.. 24th September 2024 5WAN5EA A%YLUMSEEKERSWFWRT Reg￿tered Charity Number 1175186 REI¥IPTSANDPAYMENTS ACCOUNT PC41IHÉYEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2021 Recelp 6r?Dts Allen Lène Foundatitsn Austin 8aileyFoundat Aw3rd5 forAII ESOI C C 5waD3cD IIIouschddl C & C Swansea IPerlod D*nttyl C & cSWa￿c8 IC¢siGrJnii C & CSwan5ealLocalGryin81 C & CSwanst•lDlrert Fth)dsl C & CSwan5e4 lSw8n5ea 5pxe51 C &CSwan5ea1gJmmer of Fun) C& CSwanse4 (Hdiday Fwdl Children & You8 Potsons Communitie5 First FW lcosi0fu￿n8j Comrnunity FW (Food) Foyle Foundaiion Lloyds 8arth FoJndatiOIl MoondAn¢e Found•tion l(123 2027 2023 2022 Staff Staff pa¥. sakr￿s.PeNSW2T FinanckilAdrnhiiStr4 ProFrtWorker5 42.6S6 9.654 9,587 31,974 1,655 2.667 L695 6?30 5(X) 1.475 1,792 2,067 I,S18 1.339 Im8 2,075 Tr•irHr 174 271 5.?57 7,138 fftllklt￿Asl$vb%￿pl￿) BusTi¢kei% 165 ?4,911 Sup Con￿1*1￿1S CounseH& nat￿aN$made Dvop In Fts2dlexpthseS E￿￿1$ Fufniiwe EQ￿{￿￿)1 costs Independent Prep4rati Insura￿e1 IT,Printin& StatwJrffj. POjt4•.T•￿Ph￿rye5 MdwelP•rki Mts Iwarm Spaces) swansea Council FC Ty Cr¢ewayda¢h Voltaho Pr¢iect 10.6 5.695 786 1,349 3,￿5 850 6.702 7.564 1,291 950 1.055 3,670 ?,698 Donations Rceivéd 8ook Sale5 M15tellanoou5 LÈi#h Day Solklttys 24,667 26 &996 io.tyK) 22.013 72 277 Rents $9t•kefnthorFees Top Ups Ttrrfmay Materthb TrJn51erlundsio EYST Tfansport•Mn TransltrfromSUSSG ta￿Ss 1.915 1.690 90 3,459 2.3C 1,570 357 IFAI suwus1or￿ar 13.955 29.753 146,nY 146.77? 94,49Z BAiANCE SIIEEf31 DECEMBER 1023 2013 iozz Fi¥ed A51ttsot cost c￿￿ent A55 ank C35h In hand nebtor5 89.642 59.888 101.057 13.46$ 29,754 Accruals 450 N*tAsMts 103M7 89.642 TrtaIFw￿f￿5 lo3￿07 B9,642 SWANSEA ASYLUM SEEKERS SUPPORT Registered Charity Number 1175186 Movemenl in Funds FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 Balance 0110112023 Balance Expenditure 3111212023 Income SHARE TAWE- ISASS Account) AUSTIN BAILEY AWARDS FOR ALL- LOThERY ESOL C C SWANSEA I Summer of Fun) C C SWANSEA Iperiod Dignitvl C C SWANSEA (Direct Foods) C C SWANSEA (Swansea Spaces) C C SWANSEA (Coast Grant) C C SWANSEA (Local Givin81 C C SWANSEA IHollday Food) C C SWANSEA CYP COMMUNITIES FIRST CFW IC05t of Living) CFW (Food) CRISISFUND MOONDANCE FOUNDATION SOUTH WALES POLICE ST IAMES IWARM SPACES) C C SWANSEA IVPI WESTERN BAY NATIONAL GRID 380 931 9.999 142 420 346 2.075 2,813 2,667 2.3(Kl 3.591 8,139 142 966 346 2,075 7,070 424 893 1,860 1,695 1,149 7.070 76 648 14,299 1,194 1,500 150 1,749 10,61XJ 5,695 800 I,six) 6,570 2,352 10,611 3,806 24,911 1,5(KJ 150 5,220 10,6CQ 5,695 3,471 1.5LX) 6.570 Restrlcted Fund5 14,293 84,lyY) 74,757 24,226 CORE - ISASS Actountl LLOYDS 8ANK FOUNDATION LEIGH DAY SOLICITORS ALLEN LANE FOYLE FOUNDATION VOLCANO PROJECT PEARS FOUNDATION 56.629 650 23,294 25,COJ io,c 21,701 12.317 2,239 58,222 13.333 7,761 3,649 3,189 460 Unrestrirted Funds 75,278 61,943 57,445 79,776 SHARE TAWE - ($8ASSG Account) 71 160 55 GRANDTOTAL 89,642 146,276 132,362 104,057 SWANSEA ASYLUM SEEKERS SUPPORT Registered Charity Number 1175186 Statement of Financlal Activities FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023 Unrestricted Restrirted Endownment Funds Funds Funds Total Funds Prlor Year Receipts Donations Charitable Activities 37,087 144 2,%3 40,049 144 24,865 72 General Grants From Governmentlother Charitles 25,(KK) 81,227 IC6,227 69,576 62,231 84,1 146,420 94,513 Payment5 Raislng Funds Charitable Activities Separate Material Item Other 57.605 74.757 132,362 64,738 Total Payments 57,605 74,757 132,362 64,738 Flow of Funds Net of receiptsllpaymentsl Transfer between Funds Cash Funds last year end Cash Funds this year end 4,625.45 5,401 69290 79.316 9,433 {5,4011 20353 24,385 14,058 29.755 89,643 103,701 59,888 89,643 Signature Print Name Date signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees 2410912024