2023-08-31-accounts

Charity Number 1183558

Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group

Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31st August 2023

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Address Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group PO Box 1615, Southampton SO17 3WF Email: [e-mail] Web: www.swvg-refugees.org.uk Patrons Miriam Margolyes, OBE John Pilkington Dr. Shirley Firth Trustees Chair: Mark Courtice Treasurer: David Smith Co-ordinator: Catherine Hartley William Brook-Hart Jeyatharshan Vettivel Stash Kozlowski (resigned 15 December 2022) Rev. Dr. Stephen Sizer (resigned 31 January 2023) David Retter (resigned 15 December 2022) Jackie Batchelor (resigned 7 August 2023) Leila Karimi (resigned 20 October 2022) Paul Munns (appointed 28 August and resigned 2 September 2023) Secretary Jessica Hasan Administrator David Rees Bankers HSBC Bank Plc, 19 High Street, Salisbury SP1 1TE Independent Examiner Peter Casson FCA

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Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group

The Trustees present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2023.

Formation

The charity was formed as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation to take over the activities and assets and liabilities of the unincorporated charity of the same name. It was registered with the Charity Commission on 29 May 2019.

Governance and management

The Trustee Board comprises a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 12 members elected at each Annual General Meeting. Trustees who held office during the year are listed on page 2.

The Board meets every six weeks and is supported by a number of sub-committees which report to the Trustees.

Aims and objectives

The main objects of the Group as set out in its constitution are:

For the relief of need, hardship and distress in the United Kingdom amongst refugees, asylum seekers and other immigrants by providing such charitable assistance as the Trustees think fit, including providing such persons with advice, assistance, representation, counselling, in matters such as money, debts, welfare, benefits, housing, health, asylum, immigration, education, training and employment.

Focus of our work

The Group is a volunteer led charity whose members work with asylum seekers and refugees mainly living in Southampton. Our work includes, providing English and other teaching and providing one-to-one support for individual clients, who are assigned a trained visitor who meets with them regularly to provide friendship and practical help. In addition we support approximately 170 people who are resident in two local hotels. We provide well-being support through social and cultural activities. We also have funded the provision of phones, laptops and data to some of the students and hotel residents.

SWVG is the leading partner in the Avenue Multicultural Centre (AMC) in Southampton URC and runs it in conjunction with CLEAR and Avenue St Andrews URC. AMC is a very popular drop-in centre, which runs every Friday morning for those seeking asylum. We staff a help desk with two experienced visitors and the SWVG administrator. This drop-in is frequented by the residents in Home Office government asylum accommodation and one of the hotels. For the second, bigger, hotel we run a separate help desk at the hotel once a week on Wednesdays together with CLEAR.

We also work in partnership with SCRATCH, where a number of clients volunteer, with New Forest National Park, where we run visits in conjunction with the rangers, and with John Hansard Gallery, MAST Studios, Sea City Museum and Southampton City Libraries for our culture project.

We also have links to Refugee Action and Together with Refugees and are members of NACCOM and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic Migration Group.

Review of the year

The drop-in centre at Avenue St Andrews URC continued in operation and is attended by well over a hundred clients and helpers/teachers every week. During the year the number of refugees and asylum seekers we saw at the help desk was over 250.

We supported 24 clients, and in some cases their families, with regular visits; most of them live in NASS accommodation. Out of these, 12 clients were granted Leave to Remain during the year. In addition there are a number of English students with LTR, as well as hotel residents for whom we cannot give precise figures because we do not see all the residents.

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A decision was taken to close the hostel because it was no longer fulfilling its original objectives and the trustees felt that there were better alternative uses for the resources. On average only three of the hostel’s six rooms were occupied for most of the year

Several of our clients have had to wait years to have their asylum case assessed by the Home Office and further months or years for a decision, but we have also seen some fast decisions. Due to the government’s effort to cut the backlog of outstanding asylum decisions, clients from certain countries received a fast track questionnaire, which in turn made it difficult to find the necessary legal support to complete these documents.

The Home Office has continued to increase the number of people in Southampton who are seeking asylum accommodated in hotels but without providing adequate support facilities.

During the year we responded at short notice to the opening by the Home Office of a hotel for asylum seekers in a highly unsuitable location near Winchester. The hotel accommodated up to 60 young men and SWVG provided them with English language teaching, sports and other social activities and day-to-day support.

Some individual SWVG members are involved in supporting Ukrainian refugees. While SWVG believes that all refugees should be treated fairly and humanely, our focus continues to be on those of all nationalities who do not get proper government support.

More information on our activities can be found on the website at swvg-refugees.org.uk

English teaching

Around 80 students are currently receiving English lessons both one-to-one and in groups. At least 80 more have attended lessons during the past year including the men from the hotel that opened near Winchester. We have purchased text books and continued with the scheme to lend laptops to people learning English, and to provide 33 clients with mobile data packages, which also benefitted other adult family members and children.

Volunteers and staff

We currently have around 100 active volunteers and continue to receive applications from potential volunteers. Our training activity is now carried out partly online and partly in person.

The Trustees have been grateful to note that the volunteer group now includes people with lived experience of the asylum system.

Our two part time staff continue to provide essential support services.

Campaigning

The campaign group seeks to ensure that the membership of SWVG is informed of national campaigns that call for a humane asylum system and oppose current laws which persecute people who claim asylum, notably the Illegal Migration Act 2023. We encourage members to raise the issues with their MP's and local councils and we speak at local groups and forums. Together with three other campaigning and refugee support agencies we organised a very successful outdoor event, with music, dance and a parade in the centre of Southampton to celebrate Refugee Week. This created links between many local cultural support groups who came to showcase their positive contributions to the City. Over 1,000 people came, including many currently claiming asylum. We attracted sponsorship from the council and local businesses and very positive interviews with local TV and radio. In preparation, we involved over 1,600 local schoolchildren in discussion sessions meeting people who are refugees. Schools, community groups and the general public were also involved in making decorations for the event which allowed issues to be talked about in a non-confrontational setting.

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Finance

Receipts for the year were £109,033, and payments were £107,795 producing a surplus of £1,238.

Receipts-Grants

Grants from charitable trusts amounted to £54,466. We are most grateful for a further grant from the Tolkien Trust of £20,000 which covers a significant part of our support costs.

We are also grateful for an anonymous institutional grant of £10,000 and a £5,000 grant from The French Huguenot Church of London Charitable Trust to be used for social activities. The final tranche of National Lottery funding was received during the year to be used for teaching and social activities as well as funding subsistence costs for those without government support.

We have also received grants of £1,360 and £1,218 from Winchester City Council and from Energise Me respectively for support to those housed in a Winchester hotel. Southampton City Council supported our Refugee Week activities with a grant of £2,500.

We also gratefully acknowledge a grant of £1,600 from the Girdlers Trust and continuing support from The One Per Cent scheme which amounted to £4,496.

Details of grants received are set out on page 8 of this report.

Receipts-Other income

We are grateful for the donations we have received from churches, other organisations and many individuals who have continued to support us in difficult circumstances. In particular we are grateful for a anonymous donation of £10,000. Ahmad Tea Ltd have supported us regularly with donations totalling £3,300 for which we are also most grateful.

Payments included £37,343 for accommodation and subsistence for destitute asylum seekers, £27,500 of which was for the rent of the hostel. Expenditure on other client activities further increased reflecting the differing needs of asylum seekers and the increasing numbers accommodated in Southampton and for the first time Winchester. Expenditure on social activities to improve well-being amounted to £12,301 and £9,341 was spent on English teaching by providing internet access and books as described above.

Emergency Response Fund

This fund was created in 2021 and now stands at £15,000.

Reserves Policy

The Trustees have agreed that the value of unrestricted reserves should be in the region of £60,000 representing approximately 6 months normal expenditure plus a provision for three months for salaries. Unrestricted reserves at 31 August, excluding the Emergency Response Fund, were £65,818

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This report was approved by the Trustees on 30 October 2023 and signed on their behalf by Mark Courtice (Chair).

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Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group

Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group (the Group) for the year ended 31 August 2023.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the Trustees of the Group 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 Group’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

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

1. Accounting records were not kept in respect of the Group as required by section 130 of the Act; or

2. The accounts do not accord with those records.

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.

Peter Casson FCA 4[th] November 2023

13 Skylark Road Trumpington Cambridge CB2 9AQ

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Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group Accounts for the year ended 31[st] August 2023

Receipts and payments

RECEIPTS Donations from organisations Donations from individuals including gift aid Grants from charitable trusts Proceeds of fund-raising events Interest Total receipts PAYMENTS Client-facing activities Campaigning Visitors’ travel and other expenses Professional fees Accommodation and subsistence Travel English teaching Mobile phones Social activities Other Total payments to or for clients Support activities Communications Salaries Fund-raising costs Training Insurance Website Other office and admin costs Total administration expenses Total payments Net excess of receipts over payments for the year Balance brought forward Balance carried forward	2023 2022 Unrestricted Restricted Total Total £ £ £ 8,367 8,367 4,120 36,281 36,281 22,668 37,896 16,570 54,466 53,174 8,365 8,365 13,083 1,554 1,554 596
	92,463 16,570 109,033 93,641
	1,693 2,500 4,193 6,667 3,365 3,365 4,003 1,966 1,966 175 28,128 9,215 37,343 35,673 6,360 6,360 5,523 3,482 5,859 9,341 7,535 3,257 3,257 4,723 7,578 12,301 7,674 2,248 626 2,874 4,814
	53,256 27,744 81,000 72,064
	551 551 1,906 17,212 17,212 16,144 216 216 652 182 182 443 616 616 480 2,762 2,762 302 5,256 5,256 2,236
	26,795 26,795 22,163
	80,051 27,744 107,795 94,227
	12,412 (11,174) 1,238 (586) 68,406 12,284 80,690 81,276
	80,818 1,110 81,928 80,690

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Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group Accounts for the year ended 31[st] August 2022

Statement of assets and liabilities at 31 August 2023

CASH FUNDS Unrestricted Funds General Unrestricted Funds Emergency Response Fund Total Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Legal Justice Fund Winchester Emergency Bike project National Lottery Campaigning Social activities Total Restricted Funds Total Funds Represented by: HSBC current account Nationwide Building Society Redwood Bank Float for expenses Less: Deferred income DEBTORS Tax on Gift Aid donations Other debtors CREDITORS For expenses	01.09.22 Received £ £ 53,406 92,463 15,000	Paid 31.08.23 £ £ 80,051 65,818 15,000
	68,406 92,463	80,051 80,818
	2,726 0 0 2,578 976 0 8,582 6,492 0 2,500 0 5,000	1,966 760 2,578 0 626 350 15,074 0 2,500 0 5,000 0
	12,284 16,570	27,744 1,110
	80,690 109,033	107,795 81,928
		31.08.23 31.08.22 £ £ 13,128 8,890 14,000 22,000 54,000 54,000 800 800 (5,000)
		81,928 80,690
		1,657 1,086 533 416
		2,190 1,502
		432 142

Signed for and on behalf of the Trustees on 30 October 2023 by

Mark Courtice (Chair)

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Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group Accounts for the year ended 31[st] August 2023

NOTES:

GRANTS Grants received from charitable trusts were: The Tolkien Trust Anonymous Garfield Weston Foundation One Percent Scheme Knight Charitable Trust Sheba Charitable Trust St Clare and St Francis Trust The Girdlers Trust The French Huguenot Church of London – social activities The National Lottery – subsistence and teaching Winchester City Council – teaching, social activities and football Energise Me - football Southampton City Council – Refugee Week

2023 2022 Unrestricted Restricted Total Total £ £ £ £ 20,000 20,000 20,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 4,496 4,496 2,107 300 300 400 400 1,500 1,500 500 1,600 1,600 5,000 5,000 5,000 6,492 6,492 12,857 1,360 1,360 1,218 1,218 2,500 2,500 1,910

37,896 16,570 54,466 53,174

TRUSTEE EXPENSES

Expenses reimbursed to trustees during the period amounted to £1,028 (2022 £890).

COMMITMENTS

The Group had outstanding commitments for the support of clients which fall after the year end of £1,285 (2022 £4,943).

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