Charity no. 1179417
Agenda CIO Report and Unaudited Financial Statements 30 April 2025
| Charity number Registered office and operational address Trustees The Chief executive Officer Bankers Independent examiners |
1179417 Shoreditch Exchange, Senna Building, Gorsuch Place, London, E2 8JF trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows: Kaammini Chanrai (stepped down in March 2025) Victoria Harfield (Treasurer) Henrietta Imoreh (stepped down in December 2024) Laura McIntyre Lynn Percival Shani Newbold Rani Patel Shiryn Sayani Abigail Ayers Tanya Tracey (Co-Chair) Saffron Cordery (Co-Chair) Indy Cross Accountability Europe Limited Omnibus Workspace, 39-41 North Road London N7 9DP CAF Bank Limited 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ |
|---|---|
1
Agenda CIO
Report of the trustees
For the year ended 30 April 2025
Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Constitution and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (effective from 1 January 2019).
Structure, Governance and Management
Agenda is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, charity number 1179417, its members are its charity trustees. Its governing document is a constitution registered 1 August 2018.
Agenda became a registered charity in 2018. It had previously been hosted by The Young Foundation. On 1 October 2018 Agenda span out from the Young Foundation and became independent.
Overall governance of Agenda is the responsibility of the trustees. The day-to-day running of the organisation is delegated to the CEO. For seven weeks in Q1 (May and June) 2023, the CEO was undergoing treatment for breast cancer, so the role was covered by Deputy CEO, Jessica Southgate.
On founding on 1 August 2018, Agenda had three trustees, who had previously sat on Agenda’s steering group. These were:
-
Polly Neate for 4 years;
-
Esther Sample for 3 years; and
-
Liz Hogarth for 2 years.
Apart from the first charity trustees, every appointed trustee must be appointed for a term of four years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. In selecting individuals for appointment as appointed charity trustees, the charity trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the CIO.
This year, the Trustees onboarded and inducted five new Trustees to the Board, in order to fill skills gaps and diversify the Board, to better enable us to achieve our new 5-year strategic plan.
Trustees meet at least quarterly. There are two sub-committees and one ‘Task and Finish’ subgroup:
-
Finance, Risk and Fundraising Committee, chaired by the Treasurer.
-
HR Committee
-
Alliance Development Subgroup
Agenda was founded as an Alliance and now has 130 members who have signed up to support our mission and values.
Objectives and activities
Agenda’s objects are
-
To promote the support and protection of health of women and girls who are suffering, or have suffered from, or are at risk of domestic, sexual or other violence;
-
The prevention or relief of poverty or financial hardship amongst women and girls by providing or assisting in the provision of education, training, healthcare projects and all the necessary support designed to enable individuals to generate a sustainable income and be self-sufficient;
-
The relief of the physical and mental sickness of women and girls in need by reason of addiction to alcohol, drugs or any other substance; and
-
Such other exclusively charitable purposes according to the law of England and Wales as the charity trustees determine from time to time.
2
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
To achieve those objectives Agenda works to ensure that women and girls at risk of abuse, poverty, poor mental health, addiction and homelessness get the support and protection they need. We campaign for systems and services to be transformed. We raise awareness across sectors and promote public and political understanding of the lives of women and girls facing multiple disadvantage. We do this through research and making and supporting the implementation of proposals designed to improve provision.
Public benefit
Agenda works to create a society where women and girls can fulfil their potential and live their lives free from inequality, poverty and violence. The notion of public benefit is enshrined in our objectives and we do not restrict access to this benefit. The board of trustees has had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit as they established Agenda as an independent charity and agreed the charity’s objectives and priorities.
Our purpose
We want public services to respond better to the distinct and multiple unmet needs of women and girls, including appropriately responding to gender, age, race and trauma.
For the whole system to respond better, we stand in solidarity with the voluntary sector and advocate for them to be empowered.
Our mission
We advocate and campaign for systems and services to respond appropriately to women and girls with unmet needs.
Our vision
Ending the cycle of trauma and harm so that all women and girls can thrive
Our values
Our values are our guiding principles for our work to deliver our mission. It is who we are and how we behave.
We promise to be:
INTERSECTIONAL We understand that the most disadvantaged women and girls experience multiple types of intersecting trauma and disadvantage. So, we approach our work in a way that cuts across services, sectors and systems that are there to support the full breadth of issues and disadvantages that women and girls face.
COURAGEOUS We are courageous in speaking out and taking action for and with all women and girls. We stand in solidarity with all women and girls and provide platforms for their views and voices. We campaign confidently, with pride, strength and grit.
CREDIBLE We design campaigns that are grounded in robust evidence, proven good practice and the experiences of women and girls. We are committed to constant learning from the wider sector and our Alliance members – including small, specialist, front-line organisations – and learning from women and girls.
CLEAR We communicate with clarity and try to be as clear as possible, so that everybody can understand, contribute and join our social movement. We speak in plain English and are committed to translating into different languages when required, included BSL. We do not waffle and are impactful when we present.
3
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
COLLABORATIVE We collaborate with others in a meaningful way and stay true to our history of convening the sector. We will continue to listen to different perspectives and draw strength from diversity. We seek to develop shared understanding, to find new ways of talking, thinking and working across divides and boundaries
Our activities and impact
This year, our organisation has made strong progress towards advancing the priorities set out in our current strategy (2023–2027), while continuing to build the foundations that will enable us to drive further change for women and girls with multiple unmet needs in the years ahead. We have introduced a new framework to assess how we track and understand our impact, deepened our journey towards becoming anti-racist and more inclusive in our practice, and taken important steps to broaden our income streams – including the launch of our first-ever public fundraising campaign during Big Give.
Over the course of the year, Agenda Alliance has continued to campaign and advocate for systems and services that meet the needs of women and girls with multiple unmet needs. We have worked alongside officials, policymakers, parliamentarians and our alliance members to ensure that those most at risk of being ignored are represented in key decisions. We have made full use of opportunities to highlight our evidence and share examples of effective practice through our media and campaign activities, while standing in solidarity with wider sector campaigns and amplifying the voices of women with lived experience. At the same time, we have continued to strengthen the evidence base around women and girls experiencing multiple disadvantage – equipping our members, the wider sector, funders, and decision-makers with a compelling case for change, practical insights to improve their work, and clear evidence of the need for gender-responsive, trauma-informed, age-appropriate, and culturally sensitive support.
Our strategic goals
-
Convene an Alliance that is empowered and cohesive and has regular opportunities to influence public policy and practice to respond appropriately to women and girls with unmet needs.
-
Mature and build the charity's foundations, including embedding women and girls' voices and strengthening our internal systems to become resilient and sustainable.
-
Develop a holistic evidence-base on the harm that racism causes to women and girls accessing public services. This will be the flagship project in collaboration with the Alliance members.
-
Reduce the number of girls and young women being excluded from school.
-
Call for criminal justice to respond better to women's unmet needs – our particular target is the Young Women's Strategy.
-
Ensure women and girls' mental health is prioritised in Government Policy
We finished the year working with our board on a mid-point review of our current five-year strategy (2023-2027), and began working to a revised set of goals, which we launched in January 2025, for the following year (2025-2026).
4
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
Below sets out our activities and achievements throughout the year across each of our original six strategic goals.
- Convene an Alliance that is empowered and cohesive and has regular opportunities to influence public policy and practice to respond appropriately to women and girls with unmet needs
Agenda’s Alliance
Through our work to review how Agenda can best convene our Alliance members we heard that now, more than ever, it was vital that organisations come together across sectors to change systems and services and improve women and girls’ lives. We consulted widely with our members (through surveys and focus groups) about what kind of support and engagement they wanted in the future. There was strong appetite for more opportunities to be more involved in Agenda’s work and campaigns, to have more opportunities to learn from each other and for the Alliance to collectively advocate for systemwide approaches that drives meaningful change.
Across the year we built on this learning through deeper conversations with Alliance members to shape our engagement with the Alliance in 2025. We have engaged our members across all our priority areas, including our schools exclusion work, Young Women’s Justice Project, and our regional work in Greater Manchester and the North East.
Our Alliance continued to grow in numbers, standing 126 strong at the end of the year (April 2025), with new members including Safety4Sisters, IRISi, LMK Let Me Know, the Runnymede Trust, Women at the Well, Turtle Dove Cambridge, Watering Your Soul and Own My Life. We have highlighted members work and campaigns throughout the year in our publications, social media and blogs, such as spotlighting Solace’s Women’s Rough Sleeping Census, Open Clasps’ play Mycelial, and through our blog on the 16 days of action against violence against women and girls.
Later in 2025 we will be running our first ever in person Alliance member conference to celebrate our 10-year anniversary - bringing together our members to create stronger working relationships between members to help build a collective voice for change.
“As a non-campaigning organisation ourselves it is extremely important to have a strong national ally who can speak on behalf of the women we serve and highlight, create a platform for their voices to be heard in order to address social injustices.” [Agenda Alliance Member]
Transforming Together
Our Smallwood Trust funded Transforming Together network worked tirelessly throughout the year to drive forward real change for women with multiple unmet needs in the North-East. The network was developed from a community practice formed during the Dismantling Disadvantage research (published July 2023), which found that women in the Northe-East were 1.7 times as likely to die early as a result of suicide, addiction or murder than in the rest of England and Wales.
This cross-sector expert group, aims to improve local approaches, break down siloed working and improve multi-agency practice to better meet the needs of disadvantaged women and girls. The network developed the priorities they would focus on, addressing specific local issues through two subgroups (on Commissioning and Funding, and Data and Evidence) and met regularly to take forward shared goals. Women who are experts by experience have shared their experiences with the network at each meeting to help drive change, which they reflected on the impact of in this blog.
5
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
This work was bolstered by the appointment of Nadine Smith in September 2024 as independent chair. Nadine has over two decades of experience working in social and public impact and is Executive Director for Government, Strategy and External Affairs at Social Finance. Nadine has provided network members with valued national perspective and policy insight through the network meetings, as well as bringing critical insights about how the network can best achieve systemic change.
Network members have raised their collective priorities for change at several opportunities, including meeting the regional Mayor Kim McGuiness, at which the Mayor reaffirmed her commitment to working with the network to advocate for women with multiple unmet needs. The network also wrote to the CEO of the newly established North East Mayoral Combined Authority around the proposed Radical Prevention Fund and secured a meeting with a senior official to discuss this.
The work continues, with future plans including holding a cross-sector Learning Circle to develop shared recommendations to take to commissioners and decision makers about improving access to safe refuge accommodation, and working with the local Police and Crime Commissioner to coproduce their new joint VAWG commissioning standards. Later in the year the network will hold a celebratory event to mark the end of the current funding, and develop proposals for the potential sustainability of the work.
We Need Support – child removal in Greater Manchester
‘ ’ This year we published We Need Support , a briefing commissioned by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which centres the voices of women in the region with lived experience of child removal (July 2024).
Agenda Alliance was commissioned by GMCA to examine issues surrounding women and multiple unmet needs in the region and conduct a deep dive on one area where change could have a significant impact on their lives- through which child removal was identified as a key theme. This follows previous research completed by Agenda Alliance and AVA in 2021 which explored how multiple disadvantage affects the lives of women in the Greater Manchester area and the role of the combined authority in tackling this.
This report was informed by both local evidence and interviews with 10 women who had lived experience of having their children removed from their care. The research revealed the extent to which these women feel unheard and unseen, left out of decision-making, and deeply stigmatised. Following publication, experts by experience shared their stories with media, through BBC 5 Live and in an interview with the Big Issue.
As a result of this report we are calling for investment in specialist wraparound support for women and girls across the 10 Manchester boroughs. This would be to address the root drivers of child removal; immediate housing for women who have had a child removed; dedicated and funded Support Advocates, and; training for all staff working with women experiencing child removal, to challenge bias and stigmatisation.
As part of our ongoing work to spotlight good practice in this space, we hosted a blog about a specialist project delivered by our member, Birth Companions. The Izzy Project offers specialist, relationship-led support to women living or giving birth in Hackney who are at risk of, or experiencing separation from their baby shortly after birth. The service, which has been piloted since May 2024, offers a powerful example of the 1:1 advocacy support recommended for women navigating child removal in ‘We Need Support’.
General Election 2024
We ran our General Election campaign, #CallingSOS, for a Secretary of State for Women and Girls with a collective letter, co-signed by more than 60 member organisations. This was based on priorities
6
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
developed in consultation with over 30 members working across VAWG, sex work, housing and homelessness, substance use, criminal justice, infrastructure bodies and mental health. Our policy asks focused on prevention, meaningful investment in and partnership with the specialist women and girls’ voluntary sector, engaging experts by experience in shaping policy at all stages and a demand for Government to introduce gender-informed policy design as a matter of course across all government departments.
We wrote to leaders of all parties, supported by over 50 organisations, with our core ask that the next Government introduce the position of a dedicated Secretary of State for Women and Girls. Following the election of the Labour party to government we sent welcome letters to the new Secretaries of State and Ministers across departments including Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Department for Education. Following this we were invited to a ‘Women’s Voices’ roundtable at the Office for Equality and Opportunity where we emphasised the need for a gendered approach to addressing social inequalities across government departments, and the importance of meaningfully involving women and girls most affected by these challenges.
Whilst a dedicated Secretary of State for Women and Girls was not appointed, despite previous commitment to do so, we were encouraged by signs of gendered policy making, such as the Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood's announcement of the creation of a Women's Justice Board and the measures announced to halve violence against women and girls.
We have also responded throughout the year to key developments in national policy, including the Kings Speech in July 2024 to interrogate what the planned legislative programme would mean for women and girls with multiple unmet need, and both the autumn and spring budgets.
- Mature and build the charity's foundations, including embedding women and girls' voices and strengthening our internal systems to become resilient and sustainable
Agenda Alliance’s people
We have further strengthened our Governance this year, with the co-chairs at the helm. We are proud to have a feminist model of power-sharing, with two women as co-chairs. A skills audit will take place in the next financial year to bring on new Trustees.
The staff have remained passionate and skilled, upholding our reputation as the experts in the voluntary sector, bringing the gendered lens, as well as the lens of multiple unmet need. Staff have been given training and support this year, including further anti-oppression work, which have been built into objectives.
Staff wellbeing remains a focus, as we look into getting sufficient wellbeing support for staff. Our culture remains collaborative, open and flexible, which the staff very much appreciate.
7
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
Strategic goals
As mentioned, launched our revised strategic goals in January 2025, which are here:
This clearer set of goals will be our focus for the remainder of the strategic period (until mid-2027).
8
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
Embedding women and girls’ voices
Throughout the year we have continued to centre and embed the voices and experiences of women and girls with lived experience of unmet needs across all areas of our work. Across the year we worked with 17 women and girls with lived experience of the issues we work on. This includes through consultations, interviews and focus groups, Advisory Group meetings and by platforming them at events. Their voices have featured through media coverage of issues in both national print and broadcast media, such as the Independent, the Big Issue and BBC 5 Live.
Our Women’s Advisory Network has met regularly throughout the year, this year to help shape our Rosa funded film, to share their perspectives on Government’s Violence Against Women and Girls priorities, and to be involved in team recruitment. Four experts by experience have been core members of the Transforming Together network, to share their experiences to drive change, we spotlighted one woman’s experience in a blog to mark Stalking Awareness Week and seven women with lived experience also worked with us to co-produce our Voices from the Frontline film.
"The Women's Advisory Network has given me a voice I never had, a voice with the services. It's given me confidence to walk into meetings and be me, not feel scared or intimidated. I can voice my opinion, because I know I'm not alone. This year, I fought to have my son returned to my care and we'll spend Christmas together this year. It's working with Agenda and the network that's helped me do this" [Sarah, Women's Advisory Network member]
To hear from girls and young women with lived experience of multiple unmet needs and harmful systems, in the coming year we are developing a refreshed Girls Advisory Network, to support our new exclusions and criminal justice strands of work. To ensure we do this effectively we are building relationships with front line organisations who work with young women and visiting projects to speak to girls in person, as well as reviewing our policies and processes to ensure these are age responsive and effective.
Rosa funded film
We were delighted to receive funding from Rosa’s Voices from the Frontline to develop a short film defining multiple unmet needs in partnership with women and girls with lived experience.
We launched the film at an online event to celebrate International Women’s Day in March 2025. Charlie and Ola, who feature in the film and were also involved in co-producing it, spoke at the launch, alongside Alex Davies-Jones, the Minister for Victims & Violence Against Women and Girls, who responded to the film’s themes.
The film features two women with lived experience, and shares insight into the challenges two women faced when seeking support, highlighting the cycle of harm when women do not receive the right support at the right time. Ten member organisations and seven women with lived experience of multiple disadvantage were involved in co-producing the film’s messaging and concept. Agenda’s CoChair Tanya Tracey also featured in the film, which will be a key influencing and campaigning tool for Agenda, setting out why it is important to listen to women when making decisions and developing policy and practice.
9
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
Impact measurement
2025 marks a decade since Agenda was born. So that we can better understand and track our impact for the future, this year we worked with a consultancy Justice Futures to develop a new approach to impact measurement and produce a 10-year impact report. The team worked with Agenda staff, board, members, Women’s Advisory Group members and key stakeholders to review our current methods of systems change impact measurement and recommend a renewed approach.
Through this process we have designed a new ‘theory of engagement’ model, which sets out the change we seek to make towards achieving systemic change across policies, practices, power and perceptions, alongside a new suite of tools combining qualitative and quantitative methods. We have been embedding this new approach into our work, and plan to launch our impact report in the summer - showcasing the difference Agenda has made since our inception, as well as our hopes for the future.
In addition, this year we started work on collating our impact over the past 10 years to publish as an impact report.
Income generation
This year we continued to strengthen our partnerships with long-term funders, who believe in our work. We were thrilled to start a partnership with City Bridge Foundation, who awarded us our very first 10year grant, dedicated to systems change, and we look forward to starting that work at the end of the financial year.
In addition, at the end of the financial year, we have applied for our very first statutory income from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and won the contract to support young women and girls in London.
We continued gathering information and identifying individuals that we can introduce our work to, with the aim that they will invest in our work by giving their time, expertise and major donations in the next financial year. Building philanthropy/major donors as a new income stream takes a lot of time, so we continue to build this work this year, as we tailor our messaging to a new audience that is not familiar with the women’s sector. To test this, in December 2024 we took part in the Big Give match-funding campaign for the first time and were thrilled to reach our target of £10,000. We worked with the Women's Advisory network to co-create messaging and quotes for the campaign, with two women recording audio and video messages to share. This has not only opened up a new income stream, but also a new supporter base for Agenda.
3. Develop a holistic evidence-base on the harm that racism causes to women and girls accessing public services
Challenging the harms of racism in public services has been a golden thread throughout all our projects this year. Our work has consistently shone a light on the way in which multiple systems cause disproportionate harm to Black, Asian and minoritised girls and women, for example through our Rosa funded film, and championed the specialist by and for organisations often best placed to meet their needs, such as through our #Calling SOS campaign.
10
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
This year the Women’s Justice Reimagined partnership (formerly Double Disadvantage) moved forward with refreshed energy with dedicated resource from Hibiscus and further funding from Barrow Cadbury Trust. The project aims to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities and discrimination against Black, Asian, minoritised and migrant women in contact with the criminal justice system. The group shaped a new mission, vision, values and name, and developed a new set of priorities focused on engaging parliamentarians to take action and embedding lived experience voice across partnership activity. In the coming year Agenda will develop our Young Women’s Advisory Group, reaching out to members including specialist by and for organisations to reach Black, Asian and minoritised young women to inform key messages for the project.
Within our own work internally we have continued our anti-racist journey this year through workshops run by Darvaja, funded by AB Charitable Trust. Our CEO, Indy Cross, was profiled In the Charity Times in October 2024 with the article focused on her anti-racist and feminist leadership, and we celebrated our members and allies in a blog during Black History Month.
In light of racist/Islamophobic content shared across the Twitter/X platform during the riots from the far-right in the summer of 2024, we took the decision to cease posting to Agenda’s Twitter/X account and established a Bluesky account, which already had over a thousand followers by the end of the year.
We aim to continue building on anti-racism work and plan to develop a learning and critical reflection journey to enable the organisation to design and embed a truly intersectional feminist approach at every level of Agenda Alliance’s work, both internal and external - from vision and strategy, to policies, practices and outputs.
4. Reduce the number of girls and young women being excluded from school
This year we were delighted to receive funding from the Triangle Trust to support our work on reducing girls exclusions from education. With the aim to develop the evidence we have been building on this subject over several years, as well as to build a network of allies committed to change, we convened 18 members and sector organisations at a roundtable around girls exclusions. Attendees included the University of York, Chance UK, Centre for Young Lives, London’s Violence Reduction Unit, Milk Honey Bees, Let Me Know, and the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR). The event sparked valuable cross-sector dialogue, laid foundations for ongoing collaboration, and helped shape our research themes and influencing strategy. To support this evidence gathering we also interviewed three girls in alternative provision about their experience of exclusion and what better support would look like for them.
Throughout the year we have used our evidence to champion the needs of young women at risk of exclusion, including through submitted evidence to the Children and Wellbeing Bill committee, sharing evidence with London Assembly member Zoe Garbett in advance of a session on children and violence against women and girls and submitting evidence to MOPAC’s Police and Crime Plan consultation. Towards the end of the year we submitted freedom of information requests on young women’s exclusions, and plan to carry out further data analysis in the coming year of government data to shine a light on this area.
5. Call for criminal justice to respond better to women's unmet needs
Young Women’s Justice Project (YWJP)
We were delighted to receive funding from the Barrow Cadbury Trust to continue our Young Wome Justice Project, running since 2021, which aims to secure systemic change for young women at risk bring in contact with the criminal justice system. This has allowed us to build on the evidence a relationships developed so far to continue to press for change for criminalised young women with the n government.
11
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
Following the General Election we were encouraged by the Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood's announcement of the creation of a Women's Justice Board, with one of the core priorities being around reducing levels of self-harm amongst young women in custody. With this new Board, and a partnership Delivery Group appointed alongside it, we have continued to press for a specialist approach to the needs of young women in the justice system and for this to feature within the promised forthcoming women’s justice strategy.
In December 2024 we met with Susannah Hancock, member of the Youth Justice Board, who was appointed to lead on an independent review into the placement of girls in custody. Following the evidence she gathered, and recommendations she made to government, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced it would no longer hold girls in Young Offender Institutions – which we warmly welcomed.
Throughout the year we continued to champion the needs of young women, presenting our 'A Cal Action' briefing to 20+ practitioners at the Youth Custody Services Practitioners Forum, at the Associat of Police and Crime Commissioners’ Women in the CJS working group and at two Professio Development Group events regarding the Young Women’s Justice Project. In addition, our CEO w featured on One Small Thing’s JUSTICE podcast, and we were quoted in The Lead around you women’s imprisonment during Covid.
In the coming year we will develop a Young Women's Advisory Network and have begun work to improve engagement with relevant organisations, to build relationships and develop more accessible materials ensuring our approach reflects community-led experience and voices. We will also grow our relationships with Police and Crime Commissioners to advocate for greater gender- and ageresponsive regional approaches to young women's needs.
Women’s Networking Forum
We have continued to work alongside Clinks to bring together specialist voluntary sector organisations working to support women in the justice system, through the quarterly Women’s Networking Forum. Meetings have taken place across the year focused on, our ROSA funded film, Voices From The Frontline , our work focusing on girls' exclusions, and updates on our Young Women's Justice Project.
6) Ensure women and girls’ mental health is prioritised in Government Policy
This year the government announced long awaited plans to provide better care for mental health patients through reform to the Mental Health Act, following years of campaigning from the mental health sector, including Agenda and many of our members. Over the year we have raised the specific issue of women and girls' mental health in various spaces to influence the Mental Health Bill, including through individual discussions with member organisations, as well as in the Mental Health Alliance meetings, chaired by Bipolar UK. The Mental Health Act in its current form is seriously outdated and has significant negative impacts for women and girls, especially those from Black, Asian, minoritised and migratised backgrounds, or with experience of poverty, and gendered abuse. We continued to call for this to be a turning point in the care and supported of women facing mental health challenges, many of whom will have faced significant violence, abuse and trauma. We've also continued conversations with Alliance members to undertand their perspectives, regarding the implementation of the Mental Health Units Act (Seni's Law) and the use of restraint in mental health settings. We convened our Women’s Advisory Network to feed into a briefing their insights on the availability of mental health support, before, during and after contact with the criminal justice system. The engagement in this topic from the Women’s Advisory Network was excellent, garnering a lot of responses.
12
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
Our achievements and impact
Over the year we have achieved considerable success across a range of areas, including:
-
In the last year, we published 13 research reports, policy statements and briefings.
-
We have had 17 opportunities to put our case to key decision makers and influencers.
-
We have generated new relationships with supportive decision makers, such as Florence Eshalo MP, Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee.
-
We have directly influenced two policy statements, bills, policy documents and national guidan published in the last year e.g. after meeting with Susannah Hancock, as part of her review into placement of girls in custody, the MoJ announced it would no longer hold girls in Youth Offend Institutes (YOIs).
-
We have seen two changes to local commissioning approaches and service provision; public and private statements from key local decision makers; published statements and documents.
-
We have generated 12 opportunities for women to have a platform at events, and via media and social media.
-
We have worked with 17 women and girls with lived experience of the issues we work on e.g. consultations, interviews and focus groups, Advisory Group meetings, attending involvement forums and individual meetings.
-
We have had 16 pieces of positive media coverage of issues e.g. national print and broadcast media, including the Evening Standard, The Big Issue, BBC 5 Live and the Independent.
-
There have been 5 cases of partnership work with members in the last year, 27 members in the last year have taken action to support Agenda's policy campaigns. And three members' have had a focus on gender in own work in the last year.
Future plans
-
We will kick off key funded work, including the systems change work in London (funded by City Bridge and MOPAC), using the learning from our work in Greater Manchester and Tyne and Wear.
-
We will recruit and induct new Trustees on our Board, following a skills audit
-
We will strengthen HR policies and procedures
-
We will refine, test and embed our new impact measurement framework
-
We will publish our ten-year impact report, shining a light on the difference we have made over the past decade
-
We will develop a legacy plan for Transforming Together, ensuring that the network can continue and be self-sustaining
-
We will continue to champion the needs of young women in the criminal justice system, as well as continue our focus on girls excluded from school
-
We will continue to assess and platform the needs and experiences of global majority women and girls. We will stand in solidarity with our sisters, particularly as we are experiencing the rise of the far-right and Islamophobia.
-
We will convene all our members in our first ever membership convention, and platform their voice in a future campaign
-
We will diversify our income base by adding Major Donors/Philanthropy as a new income stream
13
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
Financial review
During the 12-month period, the charity generated total incoming resources of £442,447 (2024: £382,430) and expended total resources of £376,798 (2024: £439,593).
As of 30 April 2025, Agenda CIO held £268,909 (2024: £203,260) in total reserves. Of this, £198,595 (2024: £158,099) was held as unrestricted funds, £70,314 (2024: £45,16) was held as restricted.
Reserves policy
The trustees have determined a target level of unrestricted reserves of 3-6 months’ operating expenditure is realistic and appropriate, this equates to between £112,500 and £225,000. The unrestricted funds at the end of the year were £198,595 (equates to 5.3 months based on 2026-27 budgeted expenditure).
Management of risk
The trustees have a risk management strategy that involves quarterly review of risks by the Finance, Risk and Fundraising committee and annually as a board. Systems of monitoring and mitigating identified risks is continually reviewed by the CEO and Board, as well as any implementation of procedures to minimize the impact of risks on the charity.
14
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
Statement of responsibilities of the trustees
The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England and 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 the incoming resources and application of resources, including the net income or expenditure, of the charity for the year. In preparing those 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;
-
make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
-
state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
-
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 which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the constitution. The trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charity's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Members of the charity have no liability to contribute to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.
Independent examiners
Accountability Europe Limited were re-appointed as independent examiners to the charity during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.
Approved by the trustees on 10[th] December 2025 and signed on their behalf by
Saffron Cordery – (Co-Chair)
15
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 30 April 2025
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Home-Start London for the year ended 30 April 2025.
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 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 (ICAEW), which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
-
accounting records were not kept in respect of the CIO as required by section 130 of the Act; or
-
the accounts do not accord with those records; or
-
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; or
-
the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
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.
…………………………
Aamer Shehzad FCA
Accountability Europe Ltd
Omnibus Workspace 39-41 North Road London N7 9DP Date:
16
Agenda CIO Statement of financial activities For the year ended 30 April 2025
| Note Income from: 3 4 5 6 Reconciliation of funds: Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds Charitable activities Total expenditure Net income / (expenditure) for the year Transfers between funds Net movement in funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried Donations and grants Other income Investments |
Unrestricted £ 290,832 1,945 744 |
Restricted £ 145,955 2,972 - |
2025 Total £ 436,787 4,917 744 |
Unrestricted £ 255,105 3,805 1,667 |
Restricted £ 121,853 - - |
2024 Total £ 376,958 3,805 1,667 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 293,521 | 148,927 | 442,447 | 260,577 | 121,853 | 382,430 | |
| 87,942 165,082 |
- 123,774 |
87,942 288,856 |
113,846 134,814 |
- 190,933 |
113,846 325,747 |
|
| 253,024 | 123,774 | 376,798 | 248,660 | 190,933 | 439,593 | |
| 40,496 - |
25,153 - |
65,649 - |
11,917 | (69,080) | (57,163) - |
|
| 40,496 158,099 |
25,153 45,161 |
65,649 203,260 |
11,917 146,182 |
(69,080) 114,241 |
(57,163) 260,423 |
|
| 198,595 | 70,314 | 268,909 | 158,099 | 45,161 | 203,260 |
All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in note 13 to the accounts.
17
Agenda CIO Balance sheet As at 30 April 2025
| Note Fixed assets: 9 Current assets: 10 Liabilities: 11 12 13 Total unrestricted funds Total funds Approved by the trustees on 10/12/2025 and signed on their behalf by: Total net assets Funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds: General funds Tangible assets Debtors Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Net current assets |
2025 £ 3,131 301,940 305,071 (38,534) 198,595 |
2025 £ 2,372 2,372 266,537 268,909 70,314 198,595 268,909 |
2024 2024 £ £ 3,072 3,072 1,371 223,824 225,195 (25,007) 200,188 203,260 45,161 158,099 158,099 203,260 |
2024 2024 £ £ 3,072 3,072 1,371 223,824 225,195 (25,007) 200,188 203,260 45,161 158,099 158,099 203,260 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 158,099 | ||||
| 203,260 | ||||
| 45,161 158,099 |
||||
| 203,260 | ||||
…………………………………….
Saffron Cordery (Co-Chair)
18
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 30 April 2025
1 Accounting policies
a) Basis of preparation
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities in preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
Agenda CIO meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).
The charity is exempted from preparing a cash flow statement due to exemption available to charities with income of less than £500,000.
b) Going concern basis of accounting
The accounts have been prepared on the assumption that the charity is able to continue as a going concern based on the level of unrestricted reserves held at the year end. There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date on which these financial statements are approved.
c) Income
Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Income from the government and other grants, whether 'capital' grants or 'revenue' grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.
d) Donated services and facilities
Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item, is probable and the economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised.
On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.
e) Interest receivable
Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity: this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.
19
Agenda CIO Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 30 April 2025
1 Accounting policies (continued)
f) Funds accounting
Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.
g) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT
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.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
h) Allocation of support and governance costs
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity, including the costs of complying with constitutional and statutory requirements and any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities based on the proportion of staff costs.
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Raising funds | 23% | 26% |
| Charitable activities | 77% | 74% |
i) Tangible fixed assets
Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:
| Computer equipment | 3 years straight line basis |
|---|---|
| Office equipment | 3 years straight line basis |
j) Debtors
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
k) Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
20
Agenda CIO
Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 30 April 2025
1 Accounting policies (continued)
l) Creditors
Creditors and provisions 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 and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
m) 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 with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently recognised at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
n) Accounting estimates and key judgements
In the application of the charity's accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.
There are no key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements.
2 Prior year comparatives: statement of financial activities
| Investments Donations Charitable activities Investments Donations Charitable activities Total expenditure Net income / (expenditure) and net movements in funds Income from: Total Income Expenditure on: |
Unrestricted £ 255,105 3,805 1,667 260,577 113,846 134,814 - 248,660 11,917 |
Restricted £ 121,853 - - 121,853 - 190,933 - 190,933 (69,080) |
2024 Total £ 376,958 3,805 1,667 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 382,430 | |||
| 113,846 325,747 - |
|||
| 439,593 | |||
| (57,163) |
21
Agenda CIO Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 30 April 2025
3 Income from donations
| 3 Income from donations |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Grants: Barrow Cadbury Trust AB Charitable Trust Esmee Fairbairn Firebird Foundation City Bridge Trust Elsker Charitable John Ellerman The Jabbs Foundation Triangle Trust 1949 Paul Hamlyn Foundation Transforming Together Other Donation 3 Grants: Lloyds Bank Foundation Barrow Cadbury Trust Daddyless Daughters Feasibility Study Esmee Fairbairn Rosa Fund Paul Hamlyn Foundation Smallwood Trust The Pilgrim Trust John Ellerman Lankelly Chase Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) The Sisters' Trust AB Charitable Trust Other Donation 4 Unrestricted £ 1,945 1,945 Earned income Income from donations Prior period comparative: Income from charitable activities |
Unrestricted £ - 29,000 50,500 20,000 - 75,000 26,000 40,000 - 44,000 - 6,332 290,832 Unrestricted £ - - - 50,000 - 44,000 - 35,000 31,000 75,000 - - 20,000 105 255,105 Restricted £ 2,972 2,972 |
Restricted £ 73,223 - - - 25,300 - - - 17,228 - 19,846 10,358 145,955 Restricted £ - 34,000 2,000 - 7,000 - 25,356 - - - 9,964 23,687 - 121,853 2025 Total £ 4,917 4,917 |
2025 Total £ 73,223 29,000 50,500 20,000 25,300 75,000 26,000 40,000 17,228 44,000 19,846 16,690 |
| 436,787 | |||
| 2024 Total £ - 34,000 2,000 50,000 7,000 44,000 25,356 35,000 31,000 75,000 9,964 23,687 20,000 105 |
|||
| 376,958 | |||
| 2024 Total £ 3,805 |
|||
| 3,805 |
22
Agenda CIO Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 30 April 2025
5 Total expenditure
| Total exenditure | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| £ 40,667 - - - - - - 14,608 - 55,275 32,667 87,942 £ 46,154 - - - - - - 21,852 - 68,006 44,633 112,639 Total expenditure Legal and professional Depreciation Sub-total Allocation of support and governance costs Other staff and volunteer costs Freelance costs Partners, consultants and research Events Web, phone and I.T. Office costs Raising funds Staff costs (note 6) Depreciation Sub-total Allocation of support and governance costs Total expenditure Legal and professional p Raising funds Staff costs (note 6) Other staff and volunteer costs Total governance costs were £1,080 (2024: £1,080). Prior period comparative Freelance costs Partners, consultants and research Events Web, phone and I.T. Office costs |
£ 169,614 2,858 1,225 16,758 402 - - - - 190,856 98,000 288,856 £ 156,827 1,018 7,500 18,294 4,589 - - - - 188,227 133,898 322,125 Charitable activities Charitable activities |
£ 43,890 11,388 14,559 1,939 20 6,520 27,722 21,555 3,073 130,666 (130,666) - £ 85,483 19,180 10,500 2,893 - 8,025 30,803 24,087 2,389 183,359 (178,531) 4,828.68 Support and governance Support and governanc |
2025 Total £ 254,172 14,246 15,784 18,697 422 6,520 27,722 36,163 3,073 |
| 376,798 - |
|||
| 376,798 | |||
| 2024 Total £ 288,465 20,198 18,000 21,187 4,589 8,025 30,803 45,939 2,389 |
|||
| 439,593 - |
|||
| 439,593 |
23
Agenda CIO Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 30 April 2025
6 Net movement in funds
| Net movement in funds | ||
|---|---|---|
| This is stated after charging: | 2025 | 2024 |
| £ | £ | |
| Depreciation | 3,073 | 2,389 |
| Independent examiner's remuneration: | ||
| Independent examination (excluding VAT) | 1,080 | 1,080 |
7 Staff costs and numbers
Staff costs were as follows:
| Staff costs were as follows: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Salaries and wages Social security costs Pension costs |
2025 £ 224,912 18,038 11,222 254,172 |
2024 £ 254,040 11,141 23,283 |
| 288,465 |
The following number of employees received employee benefits (excluding employer National Insurance and employer pension) over £60,000, during the year in the following band:
| £60,000 - £69,999 | 2025 1 |
2024 1 |
|---|---|---|
The total employee benefits of the key management personnel (Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Chief Executive) were £122,840 (2023: £129,343).
| Average head count | 2025 No. 5 |
2024 No. 6 |
|---|---|---|
8 Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.
24
Agenda CIO Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 30 April 2025
9 Tangible fixed assets
| 10 Trade Debtors Prepayments 11 Tax and social security Debtors Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Trade creditors Accruals Deferred Income At the end of the year At 30 April 2025 Net book value At the end of the year At 30 April 2025 At the start of the year 30 April 2024 At the end of the year At 30 April 2025 Depreciation At the start of the year At 1 May 2024 Charge for the year Cost At the start of the year At 1 May 2024 Additions in year |
Computer equipment £ 9,637 2,373 12,010 6,815 2,954 9,769 2,241 2,822 |
Office equipment £ 358 - 358 108 119 227 131 250 2025 £ 1,075 2,056 3,131 2025 £ 8,477 2,941 2,116 25,000 38,534 |
Total £ 9,995 2,373 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12,368 | |||
| 6,923 3,073 |
|||
| 9,996 | |||
| 2,372 | |||
| 3,072 | |||
| 2024 £ 530 841 |
|||
| 1,371 | |||
| 2024 £ 14,295 8,796 1,915 - |
|||
| 25,007 |
25
Agenda CIO Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 30 April 2025
| 12 13 At the start of the year Income £ £ Restricted funds Tampon Tax (Mind project) 8,187 - MIND Event 523 - Transforming Together 9,110 19,846 - 25,300 The Sisters' Trust - Fundraising 4,695 - The Sisters' Trust - Event 6,400 - Rosa Voices from the Frontline 7,000 - Triangle Trust 1949 - 17,228 7,500 - Barrow Cadbury - 73,223 Big Give - WAN - 10,358 Double Disadvantage - 2,472 - 500 Smallwood Trust 1,746 - Total Restricted Funds 45,161 148,927 Unrestricted Funds General Funds 158,099 293,521 Total Unrestricted Funds 158,099 293,521 Total funds 203,260 442,447 Net assets at 30 April 2024 Movements in funds Current Year City Bridge Trust Lancashire Women: Lottery - Digital Fund Daddyless Daughters Feasibility Study Analysis of net assets between funds - prior year Tangible fixed assets Current assets Current liabilities Current assets Current liabilities Net assets at 30 April 2025 Analysis of net assets between funds - current Year Tangible fixed assets |
Restricted funds £ - 70,314 - 70,314 Restricted funds £ - 45,161 - 45,161 Expenditure £ (8,187) (523) (35,623) (1,875) (4,695) - (7,000) (9,508) (5,057) (40,448) (10,358) - (500) - (123,774) (253,024) (253,024) (376,798) |
General funds £ 2,372 234,757 (38,534) 198,595 General funds £ 3,072 180,034 (25,007) 158,099 Transfers between funds £ 1,746 - - - - - - - - - (1,746) - - - - |
Total funds £ 2,372 305,071 (38,534) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 268,909 | |||
| Total funds £ 3,072 225,195 (25,007) |
|||
| 203,260 | |||
| At the end of the year £ - - (4,921) 23,425 - 6,400 - 7,720 2,443 32,775 - 2,472 - - |
|||
| 70,314 198,595 |
|||
| 198,595 | |||
| 268,909 | |||
26
Agenda CIO Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 30 April 2025
Purposes of restricted funds
Public Health Research Council / NatCen Social Research
Often overlooked- Agenda published new research, undertaken by analysts at the National Centre of Social Research, which focused on connections between poverty and non-suicidal selfharm in young women across England. It is based on new analysis of data from more than 20,000 people.
Tampon Tax (Mind project)
This is funding for a forthcoming project in partnership building on the Women Side by Side Project.
MIND Event
Agenda and Mind have collaborated on a roundtable on ‘Addressing current and future challenges in women and girls’ mental health post Covid-19'.
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Girls Speak- This is Agenda’s campaign to ensure girls and young women facing inequality, poverty and violence get the support and protection they need. By working directly with girls, we will ensure their needs and experiences are taken into account in policy and practice – creating real, lasting change for girls across the country.
Lloyds Bank Foundation Transform/AVA
Breaking Down the Barriers in Greater Manchester- This project in partnership with AVA took forward the findings of The Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence and Multiple Disadvantage. Through collaborative work in Greater Manchester the project influenced local policy makers to improve responses to survivors with multiple disadvantage.
Lloyds National Criminal Justice Programme
Young Women’s Justice Project- In partnership with The Alliance for Youth Justice the Young Women’s Justice Project is part of our ‘Girls Speak’ campaign and will engage with young women (17-25), frontline practitioners, and other experts, over two years with the aim of:
-
Building a strong and credible evidence base about the needs of girls and young women incontact with the CJS;
-
Influencing government policy and strategies to take account of younger women, with a focus on Black Asian and minority ethnic and care experienced girls and young women;
-
Enabling the development of effective practice through more gender and age-informed policy; and
-
Empowering girls and young women as advocates to safely share their experiences and use their i t k h
The Sisters' Trust - Fundraising
The Sisters’ Trust funded additional fundraising capacity for Agenda.
The Sisters' Trust - Deputy CEO
The Sisters' Trust are supporting additional senior capacity for Agenda, by funding the Deputy CEO
The Sisters' Trust - Event
The Sisters' Trust are funding an event, co-produced with women with lived experience of multiple disadvantage, to set out key policy priorities to support the women and girls most at risk in our society.
Esmee Funder Plus
Agenda received funding from Esmée Fairbairn’s Funder Plus programme for support with the development of a fundraising strategy.
27
Agenda CIO Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 30 April 2025
Purposes of restricted funds (continued)
Lankelly Chase
Stakeholder Perceptions Audit- Agenda undertook a stakeholder perception audit to support the development of our new strategy.
Staff Wellbeing- This grant has enabled us to invest in staff wellbeing, for instance through clinical supervision and social events.
Lancashire Women: Lottery Digital Fund
Agenda is working in partnership with Lancashire Women on Developing Digital Early Intervention Support for Women facing Multiple Disadvantage.
Barrow Cadbury
This grant is to support the staffing costs for Agenda's core work programme.
Double Disadvantage
Agenda worked in partnership with 5 other organisations to develop an action plan to address the recommendations presented in the Double Disadvantage report (2017). The collaboration was led by Hibiscus and funded by Barrow Cadbury Trust.
Smallwood Trust
This project is working in a local area - Tyne and Wear - to research, explore and map how public services have changed during the Covid-19 crisis and how these can be redesigned postpandemic to better meet the needs of women and girls facing multiple disadvantage.
Treebeard Trust
Funding from Treebeard Trust will enable the Deputy CEO (an existing post) to take on the role of reviewing and building our membership, to meet Agenda's strategic goal of convening an Alliance that is empowered and cohesive and has regular opportunities to influence public policy and practice to respond appropriately to women and girls with unmet needs. To enable this Agenda will recruit a new role of Policy & Campaigns Manager (appointed June 2023) to manage the policy team and oversee delivery of Agenda's core projects. The funding will be utilised between November 2022 and May 2024, and will cover associated costs for the work, including part salary contributions for the Deputy CEO and others in the team working on this project
28
Agenda CIO Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 30 April 2025
13 Movements in funds (continued) Prior period comparative
| Prior period comparative Movements in funds (continued) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At the start of the year £ Restricted funds Tampon Tax (Mind project) 8,187 MIND Event 523 Transforming Together - Lloyds National Criminal - Justice 32,406 The Sisters' Trust - Fundraising 4,695 The Sisters' Trust - Deputy CEO 2,461 The Sisters' Trust - Event 6,400 Esmee Funder Plus 2,320 Rosa Voices from the Frontline - Treebeard Trust 30,000 Lancashire Women: Lottery - Dig 7,500 Barrow Cadbury 623 GMCA Learning Partner - Double Disadvantage 354 Daddyless Daughters Feasibility S - Smallwood Trust 18,772 Total Restricted Funds 114,241 Unrestricted general funds 146,182 Total funds 260,423 |
Income £ - - 19,846 - - 23,687 - - 7,000 - - 34,000 9,964 - 2,000 25,356 121,853 260,577 382,430 |
Expenditure £ - - (10,736) (32,406) - (26,148) - (2,320) - (30,000) - (34,623) (9,964) (354) (2,000) (42,382) (190,933) (248,660) (439,593) |
Transfers between funds £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
At the end of the year £ 8,187 523 9,110 - 4,695 - 6,400 - 7,000 - 7,500 - - - - 1,746 |
| 45,161 158,099 |
||||
| 203,260 |
14 Related party transactions
There were no related party transactions during the current or prior period.
29