## **Refugees at Home** ## **(A company limited by guarantee)** **Report and Financial Statements Year ending 31 December 2020 Charity number: 1177765 Company number: 09911764** Refugees at Home Limited ## **Contents** ||**Page**| |---|---| |Report of the trustees|3| |Directors|3| |Chair’s Report|3| |Financial Review|6| |Structure, Governance and Management|6| |Risk Management|7| |Our Objectives and Activities|7| |Significant Activities|7| |Achievements and performance|8| |Thanks|9| |Directors’ responsibilities|9| |Small company provisions|9| |Independent Examiner’s Report|10| |Statement of Financial Activities|11| |Balance sheet|12| |Notes to the accounts|13| |Detailed statement of financial activities|15| 2 Refugees at Home Limited ## **Report of the trustees for the year ending 31 December 2020** The Trustees are pleased to present their annual directors’ report together with the consolidated financial statements of the charity for the year ending 31 December 2020, which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes. The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and 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 2015). ## **Directors** The following persons served as directors during the year: Yvette Ball (Chair) Rebecca del Tufo (Company Secretary) Jonathan Hughes (Treasurer) Ahmad Al-Rashid Julia Barbosa Oliver Bethell Daniel Gerring Marion Kafetz Sara Nathan Anne Race Ruth Talbot (resigned 11 April 2020) ## **Chair’s Report** Refugees at Home had a mixed year with operations affected by the restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. We are proud that the charity has, nonetheless, maintained its remit to facilitate accommodation for refugees and asylum seekers and continued to support hosts with guests. The number of referrals has reduced but placements have continued, albeit at a lower level than previously. Lockdown has been particularly difficult for our guests, with many of the pandemic stresses amplified because of their immigration status. Access to healthcare has always been a challenge for our guests, however lockdown saw the removal of many face to face therapies that some of our guests rely on. The pandemic has also added to the systemic delays in processing immigration claims meaning that our guests were waiting longer for answers to their claims and move on accommodation. Recruitment of new hosts has been successful even in the present context and guests have been matched with them, keeping Health & Safety at the forefront of operations. The Government provision for the homeless has affected referral numbers but Refugees at Home has ensured readiness for an influx on several occasions when evictions were threatened. 3 Refugees at Home Limited By the end of January 2021, we had hosted for over 179,000 individual person nights since we started in October 2015. We currently have five employees, namely an Executive Director, a Senior Placement Coordinator and one Placement Coordinator, a Host Coordinator and an IT professional, supported by a team of trained volunteers who cover admin and fundraising. We are very effective and keep our overheads at 5.5% of outgoings. The Mission Statement is: _Connecting refugees and asylum seekers in need with welcoming hosts._ paired with our Vision: _A society where every refugee and asylum seeker facing homelessness has a safe place to stay and a chance to rebuild their life._ The Board has been fairly stable this year and meetings have been held virtually, including an annual strategy-setting event to identify the objectives for the year. We were sorry that Ruth Talbot retired from the board in April 2020. Ruth was one of the early Board members and made a huge contribution as a placement volunteer and then writing Host, Home Visitor and Operations handbooks as well as initial policies, eg on GDPR. She was the mental health consultant and a particularly supportive member of the Operations sub-committee. Refugees at Home has maintained a strong presence on social media using Facebook and Twitter extensively and growing our Instagram presence with the ‘Humans of Hosting’ campaign. Several series of ‘Lockdown’ photos, eg doorstep photos of hosts and guests, Lockdown Lights in December and a pets theme, proved popular and well tagged. Traffic increased greatly when Gary Lineker, professional footballer and TV presenter, offered to host, inspiring other people to come forward too. The Executive Director has worked with the IT Analyst to prevent trolls and protect staff from some racist comments. Successes include hosting a refugee with a place to study Law at the University of Buckinghamshire until she moved into student accommodation, an asylum seeker who was finally granted refugee status after four years, and many others all over the UK including in Manchester, Cardiff and Plymouth. London placements remain most in demand but we continue to seek referral partnerships and recruit hosts nation-wide. One guest wrote to his host: ‘I can never forget your kindness, love and company’. Fundraising this year has been successful with large grants from a range of trusts and foundations for general funds and specific staff appointments: Host Co-ordinator and IT Analyst. A second Founders’ Circle event was held and, although this had to take place virtually, donors’ generosity was undimmed. Rufus Jones, writer of the sitcom ‘Home’ about an asylum seeker, was the main speaker and inspired a great response from the Circle. Whilst the current ad hoc approach has brought in income greater than our expenditure, R@H recognises that, as we grow, investment in fundraising needs further consideration. The Fundraising Group is now well established with its own terms of reference, trustee lead and personnel. Regular newsletters continue to be circulated to hosts, home visitors, donors, volunteers and supporters and, with the expansion of our social media presence 4 Refugees at Home Limited using Instagram, we successfully maintain interest and support. We sell a small amount of R@H branded merchandise and R@H 'Seasons Greetings’ cards. Our staff numbers have risen to six including a Host Coordinator and an IT Analyst who maintains the website, has helped rationalise the database and provided new analyses to show R@H’s impact. The Senior Manager’s post was reviewed and the Board, recognising that the role had considerably broadened and developed, upgraded the role to ‘Executive Director’. A Pay Progression Policy has been adopted by the Board to incentivise and recognise good performance. We extend our appreciation of volunteer Dan Hamm, whose commitment to keeping the database afloat almost since our inception has been exceptional. The professional team is supported by a group of dedicated, trained volunteers in line with our Volunteer Strategy and training package, including the specific recruitment of a Mental Health Adviser. His role is to support staff and/or hosts dealing with complex cases and he is proving an asset. The team of paid staff still meet weekly with virtual contact and the odd social event, eg an outdoor picnic when lockdown was eased. This has been essential to keep the team motivated and to ensure ongoing support in an emotionally demanding role. Our thanks to Haynes & Boone who have continued to offer meeting space, albeit this has not been able to be taken up this year. R@H’s contract with 3Space for meeting premises remains in place for 4 years from October 2019 for use on 1-2 days a week. It is available for future take-up when it is safe to return, although priority is given to full-time licensees. Special thanks are extended to Travers Smith for their pro bono legal advice on the broad range of issues that arise in running the charity. Operations have been enhanced this year with a focus on raising hosts through a review of current hosts and a detailed project assessing the reasons people come forward, repeat hosting or stop. This has given rich information to underpin further host recruitment and ongoing host support, albeit that the application of the lessons learned has been limited during the pandemic. We planned to create a baseline of measures to reflect the work, growth and impact of R@H and there has been good work towards this with a set of analyses as noted above. This has not been a ‘standard’ year and output has dropped due to the pandemic. The time has been used to review and tidy up the database, develop a set of meaningful measures and review policies. It has been recognised that the current data platform, Zoho, is no longer fit for purpose and a project to replace it is planned for 2021. A Coronavirus Policy was written and updated each time the government rules changed. The Board had in-depth discussions about the feasibility of taking asylum seekers from dire accommodation in military barracks without damaging their future support prospects and a policy agreed. A partnership agreement with ‘Together with Migrant Children’ has enabled some referrals to go ahead productively with their involvement. Other partnerships are planned for 2021. 5 Refugees at Home Limited An updated Data Protection Policy was recently approved by the Board and data security has been tightened this year to ensure compliance with legislation. We moved ‘filing’ to GoogleDrive secure data storage with variegated access according to role. The revamped website is user-friendly, up to date and provides an engaging frontispiece for R@H. Our social media presence through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter is vital to recruit hosts and raise awareness of refugee and asylum seekers in need. This is ever-increasing with over 16,000, 5,200 and nearly 13,000 followers respectively (February 2021 figures). Our performance and achievements are shown in the section below with thanks to Joram Antwi (under the mentorship of board member Oliver Bethell) and Lauren Scott, Executive Director. Monthly updates are given in graphical and numerical form enabling the Board to easily appreciate success or shortfalls in performance. ## **Financial Review** The continuing rapid evolution of the charity is reflected in our financial position. Last year we carried forward £117,483 and this increased again to £205,679. This is testament to our growing support and the work of our fundraising team. We continue to have strong support from individuals via Just Giving, My Donate, Facebook and standing orders paid directly into our bank account. Our target of 9 months operational costs to be held in reserve has been comfortably met – with just over two year’s projected costs currently held in bank accounts. The only creditors we have are for 2020 payroll costs and the refund of a donation that, due to a bank error, was made twice. The debtors relate to Gift Aid which is due from HMRC. We are well placed to continue our work, placing and supporting refugees and asylum seekers, as well as redeveloping our IT systems which are so essential to our operations. ## **Structure, Governance and Management** Refugees at Home is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. It operates according to its Memorandum and Articles of Association, as amended in December 2018. The Board requires a minimum of three Trustees/Directors. As of the end of January 2021, there were ten people on the Board including a Chair, Company Secretary and Treasurer. Each Trustee has a specific role and leads or contributes to a sub-committee. The terms of reference for the sub-committees have been reviewed to ensure consistency. We now employ 5 people including two specialist posts of Host Coordinator and IT Analyst. The latter is a one year appointment. The Executive Director line-manages the team and she herself reports to the Chair. She is supported by the Operations sub-committee of four trustees and provides an operational report at every Board meeting. We recruit trustees using a formal advertising and interview process. A comprehensive induction is given including a meeting with the Chair and Executive Director. The Chair has 6 Refugees at Home Limited an 'open-door' policy and holds an annual one-to-one meeting with each trustee. We have agreed ‘back-up’ roles for key Board members in case of emergency, most notably in case the Treasurer is incapacitated. A comprehensive policy review was undertaken this year and we now have a systematic schedule of regular updates. The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy was rationalised and new policies have been added, eg Whistleblower Policy. ## **Risk management** The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed, and to ensure that appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. These duties are met by a regular review of our risk assessment procedures, by constant monitoring and action taken where appropriate, and by Independent Examination of our annual report and accounts. Disaster recovery plans against each risk are systematically updated. ## **Our Objectives and Activities** The Charity’s objects are the prevention or relief of poverty of refugees, those seeking asylum and their dependants in the United Kingdom in particular, but not exclusively, by: - facilitating the provision of accommodation by members of the public; - the provision of financial assistance; and - the provision of practical assistance. ## **Significant activities** In planning the activities of the charity, the Trustees refer to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission with regard to public benefit. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives of the charity. The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17(5) of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission. Refugees at Home is a UK-based charity aiming to connect those with a spare room in their home with asylum seekers and refugees in need of accommodation. We do this by: - operating through a database and an email inbox; - undertaking placement management using six full-time employees supported by the Board and a team of administrative volunteers; - recruiting and training volunteers to keep costs to a minimum; - using procedures and policies scrutinised by our pro bono lawyers, Travers Smith; - working closely with referrers and actively building links with other organisations supporting asylum seekers and refugees; - assessing all potential hosts; 7 Refugees at Home Limited - checking the suitability of guests and move-on plans; - regularly communicating with all stakeholders; - ongoing fundraising activities. Potential guests are referred from several sources – the large established refugee agencies, homeless charities and immigration solicitors, smaller groups or individuals including a few self-referrals, the latter only of guests with refugee status and good English. We take up references on all self-referred guests. We ask referrers to check the suitability of guests for hosting and take particular care to explain this when we take referrals from referrers who are unfamiliar with our way of working. We specifically ask whether potential guests have mental health or substance misuse issues or any convictions and refuse anyone who we feel is unsuitable to be hosted in someone’s home. We ensure hosts and guests are aware of Coronavirus restrictions and take all possible precautions to prevent infection or spread within hosting arrangements. We expect referrers/caseworkers to have a clear plan and give ongoing support for taking the next step, eg gaining refugee status, applications to NASS (National Asylum Support Service) and move-on. There is no formal upper time-limit for the duration of hosting, although we try and ensure move-on within a year. We do not give advice about immigration issues and all referrals of guests who do not have refugee status must have a case worker before we accept them for hosting. All our hosts have a home assessment by a person with professional experience which means that they are able to assess people in their homes, for example, social workers, health visitors, district nurses, mental health practitioners or doctors, usually General Practitioners. Hosts commit to provide a bed, access to the kitchen and bathroom and a welcoming smile. Many give additional support, eg providing food and help with how to secure a bank account, sign on for work or register with a GP. We have built a community comprising our guests, our hosts, the home visitors who support them, our admin team and our support teams (IT, media, fund-raising, governance etc). ## **Achievements and performance** By 31st December 2020, we had hosted for around 179,000 nights in over 2,300 placements since we launched. In 2020, we had 302 referrals and made 259 placements, regrettably a significant decrease on the 852 referrals and 616 placements of 2019. Adaptations have been made and, as the vaccination programme develops, our aim is to return to these levels over the next 12 months, if possible. Guests were predominantly from Eritrea, Sudan, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and Ethiopia, although we have now hosted guests from 75 different countries. We support and encourage guests to gain refugee status, set up a bank account and register for work and/or accommodation. The majority of move-on outcomes was to accommodation through local Private Rented Schemes. 8 Refugees at Home Limited R*fu8ee5 at Llmited TheTrusteestlkank Travers Smlth for their8enerous support in giving pro bono legal advi￿. rTientorshipfoTthe JT Analyst and printlna Christmas rards. 35pace for office atcommodation albeit vnusable this year. Our hosts. home w51tors, volunteers and staff fortheir enthu5ia5m and commitTTient. Our patrons, donors and grant-givers, who Kenerously sUPPOrt R@H and enable it5 continuan￿. and we have been especially appreciatlve of large dor12tionsthi5year from faith groups, a legacy and extraordinarfly Èenerous tru5t5. Dlrectors. responsibilltles The dlrertors arÈ rE5pon5ible for preparingthe Teport and account5 in accordante Iwth applicable law and reBulation5. Company law requife5 the directors to prepare acCoUr￿ for each financial year. Under that law the tlirectors have elected to prepare the accounts In accordance wlth United Kingdom GenerallY￿cepted Ac£ountln8 Practice (United Kingdom Accountirig Standard5 and applicable lawl. Under cornpany lawthe directors must not approve the accounts unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fairview of the state of thairs of the company and of the profit or loss of the company forthat period. In pTeparinRihese accounts, the directors are required to.. • selert sultable accounting policie5 and then apply them consistentlv: make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent., prepare the accounts on the goin8 concern basls unless it is approprlate to presume that the ¢ompany will continue in bu5ine55. The directors are responsible for keeping adequate a¢¢tsunting record5 that are sufficient to show and explain the CDrnpany's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any tlme the financial position of the cornpany and enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companles Act 2(M)6. They are a150 re5POP5ible for safeguardingthe asset5 of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularitie5. Small ¢gmparry provlslons This report ha5 been prepared in aicordance with the provisions in Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to cornp3nies subjett to the small companies regirne. The Cornpany re815tered with the Charitie5 Commission on 29 March 2018. The Company is limited by guarantee and doe5 not have share capitsl. The liability of each member is limited to £1. Refugees at Home Limited Refu8ee5at Limfved Jonathan Hu8hes Dirertor D*e 7/5/2021 io Refugees at Home Limited Refws•t Tr*JffleL5mit I report on the of thetompanyforthe year ended 31 Deternber 2020.whlch are setout on pa8e5 Ioto IS. ro4>on￿bIl￿￿s of ￿r￿or$ and Emmlner The thaiitvs directors are responsible forthe preparation of the account5. The charitws dlrertors conslder that an audlt15 not reiiuiTed forthls year under sertion 144121 otthe CharftlesAci 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that independent examlnètlorn Is needed. 15 my reSpon￿bIlItytO.' • eMamlThe the accounts undersert¥Jn 145 ofthe 2011 Art,. followthe procedure5 lald down In the 8enEral Dlrertlons8fven bythecharlty Cumm1551on under5eLt4an 14515llbl of the 2011 Art,. and state whether paFttul•r matters have come to my attentlon. o11nd•￿ndtnt Exwnlnerfs Aeport My examination was carrfed out It) accordance whhthÈ genèral Direttions bythe Charity Cornmlsslon. An examlnatlon Includes a rewewuf the accountlll8 record5 kept by thÈ tharity aThd o comparfson of theacu)unt5 presented withth05e records. Jt also Includes conslderatlon of unusual Ttem5 OTdi5closure5 in the accounis, and 5eekingexplanatton from you astrustees £oncernlng any such rnatters. The procedures undertaken do not promde Jll the evldence that wotjld be required In an a￿￿￿, and consequently no oplnton Is given asto whether the accounts present a'irue 3nd faIr￿tr￿ and the Teport Is lIm￿t0 th05e rn3tters setout Sn the st¥tement below. lThdepend¢rrt Exarnkn•rfs Ststement In connert*on with my examlnation. t)0 matter h35 come to myattÈnllon- l. whith wve5 me reasonabfe causeto believe that In any materfal respecl the regulrements.. . to keep accotsnting records Is) atcordance W￿th seltlon 130 of the 2011 Prt- and b. to prepare accoukrtswhlch accord with the a¢countln8 records and to ¢omplv th ihe accountin8 requirernents of the 2011 Act have not been rrtet. or 2. to whlch. In myoplDlon. attentloTh should be diawn In orderto enable a proper under5tandln8ofthe 8¢countsto be reached. Holmès & Co Ltd. Chartered Accountants Clè¥8*e Date li Refugees at Home Limited Balance sheet a5 at ai Decèmbèr 2020 Note5 2020 2019 Current •S5Èts Debtors Cash at bank and In hand 1.338 6,624 40 247,308 455,273 Creditors: amount$ falling due withln one year 448 25 currentassels Thelunds of the Charlty General Fund 448,930 243,251 Total tharlty funds The directors are satisfied thatthe compèny is entitled to exernption from the requlrement to obtsin an audit under sechun 477 of the Companles Act 2006. The members have not required the company ro obiain an audit in aCCOTdance with sethon 476 of the Att. The director5 acknowledge their responsibilities for cotnplying with the requirernent5 of the Companie5 Att 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparatton of accounts. The accounts have been prepared and delivered In accordance with the special provlsions pplicable to COmP2nie5 subject to the 5m211 companies reglme. The protit and loss account has not been delivered tothe Registrar of Cornpznies. Yvette Ball Direttor Approved by the board Dn 17 May 2021 Date 12 12 Refugees at Home Limited ## **Notes to the Accounts** ## **for the year ended 31 December 2020** ## **1 Accounting policies** ## **Basis of preparation** The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with FRS 102, the financial reporting standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (as applied to small entities by section 1A of the standard). ## **Income** Income represents the monies donated to the Company for charitable purposes and proceeds of the sale of branded merchandise. ## **Creditors** Short term creditors are measured at transaction price (which is usually the invoice price). Loans and other financial liabilities are initially recognised at transaction price net of any transaction costs and subsequently measured at amortised cost determined using the effective interest method. ## **Pensions** Contributions to defined contribution plans are expensed in the period to which they relate. ## **2 Employees** |||**2020**|**2019**| |---|---|---|---| |||**Number**|**Number**| ||Average number of persons employed by the||| ||company|6|5| |**3**|**Debtors**||| |||**2020**|**2019**| |||**£**|**£**| ||Other debtors|1,338|6,624| |**4**|**Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**||| |||**2020**|**2019**| |||**£**|**£**| ||Trade creditors|6,094|2,607| ||Corporation tax|-|-| ||Other taxes and social security|249|1,450| |||6,343|4,057| 13 Refugees at Home Limited - **5 Related party transactions** Some administrative expenses incurred have been donated and given freely by the Directors. ## **6 Controlling party** The Directors are all members of the Company. - **7 Other information** Refugees at Home Limited is a private company limited by guarantee and incorporated in England. Its registered office is: 21 Ballingdon Road, London SW11 6AJ It is registered with the Charities Commission and HMRC as a company with charitable purpose. 14 Refugees at Home Limited ## **Detailed statement of Financial Activities** ## **for the year ended 31 December 2020** |**Income**
Donations - general
Donations - directors
Events
**Direct expenses**
Just Giving charges
Support for Hosts
**Operating costs**
Employee costs:
Wages and salaries
Pensions
Staff training and welfare
Travel and subsistence
General administrative expenses:
Telephone and fax
Postage
Subscriptions
Insurance
Equipment expensed
IT support and consumables
Consultancy fees
Advertising and PR
**Net incoming resources**|**2020**
**£**
403,549
4,093
-
407,642
562
15,302
15,864
160,363
10,345
200
262
171,170
1,602
76
240
700
0
6,554
4,800
1,380
15,352
205,256|**2019**
**£**
269,878
5,774
8,677
284,329|**2019**
**£**
269,878
5,774
8,677
284,329|**2019**
**£**
269,878
5,774
8,677
284,329| |---|---|---|---|---| |||535
18,464
18,999
134,057
7,989
764
203
143,013|535
18,464|| ||||18,999|| |||1,087
254
332
140
2,058
-
1,174
5,045
117,272||1,087
254
332
140
2,058
-
1,174| |||||5,045| 15