Registered charity number: 1180843
Report of the Managing Trustees and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2022
Contents
Trustees’ Report for the year ended 31 March 2022 .......................................................................... 2 Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisors .......................... 2 Structure, Governance and Management .................................................................................. 3 Objectives and Activities ............................................................................................................ 3 Finance Principles and Policies ................................................................................................... 4 Financial Review ........................................................................................................................ 4 Achievements and Performance ................................................................................................ 4 Objectives for the Coming Year .................................................................................................. 5 Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities ............................................................................................. 6 Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2022 .................................................. 7 Balance Sheet at 31 March 2022 ....................................................................................................... 8 Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 ............................................... 9
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Trustees’ Report for the year ended 31 March 2022
The Trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on pages 10-12 and comply with the Charities Act 2011 and the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities 2005 (SORP).
Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisors
Charity name A Bit of a Break CIO Registered charity number 1180843 Trustees Paula Hunt Mike Merriman from 13 July 2021 Helen Pilling Kim Reddyhoff Matthew Sturgeon to 25 January 2021 Chris Wiley from 13 July 2021 Registered office Woodlands House and principal operating address Clifford Road Ilkley LS29 0AL Bankers Lloyds Bank plc 25 Gresham Street London EC2V 7HN.
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Structure, Governance and Management
Structure
A Bit of a Break (ABAOB) is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), established with a foundation constitution whereby the trustees are the only members and first registered with the Charity Commission on 26 November 2018 (registered charity number 1180843).
Trustees
There is no limit to the number of trustees ABOAB may have. Trustees are appointed for a three-year period after they are asked whether they wish to serve for another term. Trustees may serve a maximum of three terms after which a one year must elapse before they can be reappointed.
Induction and training
An ‘induction pack’ has been collated to ensure that new Trustees meet the eligibility criteria, as defined by the Charity Commission, and understand their role and responsibilities to ABOAB as a Trustee. The pack also includes the constitution, current policy documents, most recent Annual Report and Financial Statements, and minutes from the three latest Trustee meeting.
Trustees are encouraged to keep abreast of relevant charity legislation as it pertains to ABOAB and to attend briefing/training sessions where appropriate.
Organisational management
The Board meets at least 6 times a year to exercise strategic direction, fulfil its governance responsibilities and oversee the affairs of the charity. Day to day administration is carried out by a part-time Administrator.
Objectives and Activities
Charitable objects
The objects of A Bit of a Break are: to preserve and protect the health of those suffering with terminal illness and to relieve the stresses experienced by their families and carers by providing or assisting in the provision of holidays.
Public benefit
When reviewing the aims and objectives of the charity, and in planning its activities, the Trustees have complied with their duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission.
Data Protection
The Trustees have taken all necessary steps to ensure compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations 2016. Data processing and data protection remain under review to ensure that this remains the case.
Safeguarding
The Trustees undertake their responsibilities regarding the protection of its trustees, staff, volunteers and beneficiaries very seriously. The policy and procedures have been drawn up to ensure that any allegation, disclosure of abuse, or suspicion are dealt with appropriately within the guidelines of the local Safeguarding Boards.
Risk Management
The Trustees keep the risk management process for ABOAB under review and risks are systematically reviewed to assess whether any further controls are required. The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which ABOAB is exposed, in particular related to its operations and finances, and are satisfied
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that discussions with regard to operations and the bi-monthly review of finances minimise any exposure to risk.
Finance Principles and Policies
The Trustees wish to manage ABOAB to optimise their ability to support their beneficiaries. Accordingly, the following principles underpin the financial processes of the CIO:
Reserves policy
The Trustees’ policy is to maintain a working capital cash reserve of 6 months operating costs. The reserves are needed to meet the normal working capital requirements of the charity and the Board are confident that at this level they would be able to continue the current activities of the charity in the event of a reduction in funding.
Trustees’ expenses
We believe that it is right to ensure that no trustee is disadvantaged from offering to serve ABOAB for financial reasons. We therefore pay expenses to Trustees to attend meetings and attend to the business of the CIO at the standard mileage rate allowed by HMRC or the cheapest practical public transport and any other reasonable expenses incurred in support of the CIO, as appropriate. In the period to March 2022 this totalled £nil (2021: £nil).
Financial Review
The CIO’s principal source of income is donations from the public. In the 12 months reporting period to 31 March 2022 total income was £10,790 (2021: £252) of which £4,409 was donated goods and services being the value of donated stays in holiday properties.
Expenditure during the year totalled £10,977 (2021: £1,542) resulting in a net loss of £187 (2021: £1,290 loss).
At the balance sheet date, ABOAB had total funds of £33,799 (2021: £33,986)
Achievements and Performance
When we wrote our report for the year to March 2021, we were hopeful that the Covid-19 pandemic was coming to an end and that we would be able to restart our operations quickly. Sadly, the pandemic has continued to have an impact on the work of A Bit of a Break (ABOAB). Despite this, the Trustees have continued to have regular virtual meetings and have more recently begun to meet in person. We have been delighted to welcome two new Trustees who formally joined us in July 2021. The first new Trustee, Chris Wiley brings a considerable wealth of knowledge of work in the charitable sector. As the CEO of Carers’ Resource, Chris was instrumental in helping us set up ABOAB back in 2015 and advising and encouraging us at that stage. Our second new Trustee is Dr Mike Merriman, Angela’s brother. Mike is the clinical director of Kirkby PCN in Knowsley, Liverpool and is helping us to develop our aim of securing more referrals from the Liverpool area. The original Trustees welcome their help and input and look forward to working with them.
Our Development Administrator, Rachel Boggs has continued to use her considerable skills and experience to help and advise the Trustees, we are very pleased that she has agreed to continue working with us in the newly created role of Operations Co-ordinator. This new role is a more accurate reflection of Rachel’s day to day role and the work that she now carries out.
We held our annual strategy planning meeting in May 2021 when we focussed on how we might emerge from the pandemic. Trustees agreed that we would not consider purchasing a property at this stage but would focus our efforts on securing more time in holiday accommodation through trying to establish links with more holiday property businesses. We also discussed how to reinforce the
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relationships that we have with our referrers and look to establish more links especially in the Liverpool area.
During the year meetings have taken place with a number of our established as well as potential new referrers and as restrictions have gradually been lifted, we are delighted to have received three new referrals (2020: 3 and 2019: 23) in addition to those already on our waiting list. Six breaks were arranged in the year to March 2022, of which four were successfully completed.
Whilst the pandemic has had an impact on us, and we have not been able to arrange as many breaks as we had hoped, we have looked to increase our knowledge and to look to strengthen the structure of ABOAB in the following ways:
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Trustees have attended NCVO training on Trustee Responsibilities.
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Trustees have attended Fundraising training and information sessions.
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New Applicant information leaflets have been drafted and approved.
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We have updated several policies and procedures.
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We have launched our Facebook page.
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Our IT systems have been reviewed and updated.
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We have met with our Worth Valley Supporters Group and hope to replicate this model in more locations.
Objectives for the Coming Year
This year we aim to:
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Continue to arrange breaks away now that Covid restrictions have been lifted.
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Continue to build on the number of breaks we can offer, by increasing the number of propertyweeks we can make available. We aim to do this by seeking out new properties from individual property owners and establishing links with new booking agencies.
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Further develop our referral routes. We look to expand our referrers in Liverpool and to strengthen our Airedale and Craven links.
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To continue to build upon our social media presence.
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Develop a fundraising strategy which will have two strands; applying for grants to enable our continued growth and encouraging our network of supporters to raise funds on our behalf.
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Continue to work with our partners and to nurture these relationships.
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Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with the applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards. 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 of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period.
In preparing these financial statements the trustees are required to:
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act in accordance with the constitution and rules of the CIO, within the framework of trust law;
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether the recommendations of the SORP FRS 102 have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue its activities.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records, sufficient to disclose at any time, with reasonable accuracy, the financial position of the charity at that time, and to enable the trustees to ensure that, where any statements of accounts are prepared by the Trustees under section 132(1) of the Charities Act 2011, those statements of accounts comply with the requirements of regulations under that provision. The Trustees have a general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to the Trustees to safeguard the assets of the charity and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.
By order of the board of Trustees
Signed:
Helen Pilling Trustee
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Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2022
| Note Income and endowments: Donations 2 Gift Aid Fundraising Donated Goods and Services Total Income and endowments: Expenditure: Raising Funds 3 Charitable activities 4 Total Expenditure: Net Income/(Expenditure) Net Movement in Funds Fund Balances brought forward Fund Balances carried forward |
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Funds 2022 2022 2022 £ £ £ 6,330 - 6,330 51 - 51 - - - 4,409 - 4,409 10,790 - 10,790 422 - 422 10,555 - 10,555 10,977 - 10,977 (187) - (187) (187) - (187) 33,986 - 33,986 33,799 - 33,799 |
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Funds 2021 2021 2021 £ £ £ 252 - 252 - - - - - - - - - |
|---|---|---|
| 252 - 252 |
||
| 626 - 626 916 - 916 |
||
| 1,542 - 1,542 |
||
| (1,290) - (1,290) |
||
| (1,290) - (1,290) |
||
| 35,276 - 35,276 |
||
| 33,986 - 33,986 |
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The Accounting Policies and Notes on pages 9-13 form an integral part of these Financial Statements
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Balance Sheet at 31 March 2022
| Note Current Assets Debtors 6 Cash at bank and in hand Lloyds - Current Account Lloyds - Old Account Total Current Assets Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 7 Net Current Assets/(Liabilities) Total Net Assets The Funds of the Charity Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Charity Funds |
33,799 - |
2022 £ - |
34,282 - |
2021 £ - |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33,799 - |
34,282 (296) |
|||
| 33,799 | 34,282 | |||
| 33,799 | 33,986 | |||
| 33,799 | 33,986 | |||
| 33,799 - |
33,986 - |
|||
| 33,799 | 33,986 |
Approved by the Trustees on 8 July 2022 and signed on their behalf by
Trustee
The Accounting Policies and Notes on pages 9-13 form an integral part of these Financial Statements
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Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2022
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 preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1st January 2019) (“Charities SORP (FRS 102)”) and the Charities Act 2011.
A Bit of a Break (ABOAB) 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 principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
b. Going concern
The Trustees have prepared financial projections taking into consideration the current economic climate and its potential impact on the sources of income and planned expenditure. Whilst donation income post year-end has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 virus, the CIO has sufficient cash reserves to meet its immediate requirements and to enable ABOAB to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The financial statements have therefore been prepared on the basis that ABOAB is a going concern.
c. Income
Income is recognised when the CIO has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions relating 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.
Donations, grants, gifts, and lettings income are recognised when receivable.
Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.
Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably, and the CIO has been notified of the executor's intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the CIO or the CIO is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.
Donated services and facilities are recognised as income when the CIO has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, and the receipt of economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS102), general volunteer time is not recognised (refer to the Trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution). On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised based on the value of the gift to the CIO, which is the amount the CIO would have been prepared 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. This is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the CIO.
d. Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required, and the amount can be measured reliably. All expenditure is accounted for on an accrual basis.
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Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 continued
Principal accounting policies (continued)
Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:
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Costs of raising funds comprise the costs associated with fund raising activity
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Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of activities undertaken to further the purpose of the CIO and their associated support costs
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Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading.
All costs are allocated between the expenditure categories of the SOFA on a basis designed to reflect the use of the resource. Costs relating to a particular activity are allocated directly, others may be apportioned on an appropriate basis as set out in Note 3.
e. Allocation of support costs
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the CIO but do not directly relate to charitable activities. Support costs include back-office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the CIO’s activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities. The basis on which support costs have been allocated are set out in Notes 3 and 4.
f. Investments
Investments are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value at the balance sheet date using the closing market price.
g. Cash and deposits
Cash at bank and in hand includes cash in hand and deposits repayable within 24 hours without penalty at the balance sheet date. Short term deposits includes deposits with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit account.
h. Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the CIO.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds which the Trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside for a particular purpose.
Restricted funds are funds which the donor has specified are to be used solely for a particular area of the ABOAB’s work or for purchases of specific assets for use by the CIO.
i. Taxation
As a CIO, A Bit of aBreak is exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes. ABOAB receives no similar exemption for VAT.
j. Current asset measurement
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. Tax recoverable is included at the amount receivable at the balance sheet date.
Creditors are recognised where there is a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party, and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are recognised at the settlement amount.
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Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 continued
Principal accounting policies (continued)
k. Exceptional items
Exceptional items are material items, deriving from events or transactions within the ordinary activities of the CIO, and which individually or in aggregate are disclosed because of their size or incidence in order that the financial statements give a true and fair view.
l. Financial instruments
The CIO 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 except for bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
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Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 continued
2. Income from donations and legacies
| 2022 £ Donations 6,330 Gift Aid 51 Fundraising events - Donated goods and services 4,409 Legacies - 10,790 3. Expenditure on raising funds 2022 £ Fundraising Expenses 216 Administrative Costs 8 206 422 4. Expenditure on charitable activities 2022 £ Donated goods and services 4,409 Property owner costs 321 Guest expenses - Governance costs 9 220 Support costs 10 5,605 10,555 5. Net income/(expenditure) for the year is stated after charging 2022 £ Independent examiner’s fee - - 6. Debtors 2022 £ Gift Aid Receivable - - 7. Creditors 2022 £ Accounts Payable - Accruals - - |
2021 £ 252 - - - - |
|---|---|
| 252 | |
| 2021 £ 216 410 |
|
| 626 | |
| 2021 £ - - - - 916 |
|
| 916 | |
| 2021 £ - |
|
| - | |
| 2021 £ - |
|
| - | |
| 2021 £ 296 - |
|
| 296 |
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Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 continued
8. Administration costs
| Sundry expenses Insurance IT Software & Consumables Printing Subscriptions Telephone & Internet Governance costs Accountancy Fees Trustee Training Support costs Professional Fees |
2022 £ 9 - 97 35 35 30 206 2022 £ - 220 220 2022 £ 5,605 5,605 |
2021 £ 244 - 30 - 40 96 |
|---|---|---|
| 410 | ||
| 2021 £ - |
||
| - | ||
| 2021 £ 916 |
||
| 916 |
9. Governance costs
10. Support costs
11. Staff costs
There were no employees during 2022.
12. Trustee remuneration
No Trustee received any remuneration during the year. Payments to Trustees in reimbursement of their expenses amounted to £nil.
13. Related party transactions
There were no related party transactions.
14. Taxation
The charity’s activities fall within the exemptions afforded by the provisions of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988. Accordingly, there is no taxation charge in these accounts.
15. Capital commitments
At 31 March 2022 the charity had capital commitments of £nil.
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