Charity Number 1183558
Southampton and Winchester w￿￿tOrS Group
Report and Financial Statements
For the year ended 31st August 2025

Address
Sixrthampton and Wmcheskr Visitots Group
PO Box 1615. ￿uthampt0n S017 3WF
Web: www.swy -
Patrons
Mtrtam Margolyes.
OBE John Pilkingt
Dr. Shirley Firtb
Truslees
C￿h81[s. Catherine Hartley (appointed 2 December 2024)
Hazel Illskip (appointed 2 December 2024)
Chair. Mark Courtice (resigned 16 (ktober 2024)
Vice Chair: Chris Stephens (appointed 2 December 2024)
Treasurer. David Robertson
CIH)rdinator. Susan Je&wp (ra8igned 4 Augiist 2025)
Judith EvdDS (Tesigned 6 May 20251
Katie Gearing
Khalid Omer
Andrew Taylor
Jeyatharskn Vettivcl
Seeretary
I£a Hayes
Admillistrator
DavÈd Rrt
Banktrs
HSBC Bank Plc, 19 Minsrer StreeL Salisbury SPI ITE
Independent Euminer
Chay Champne5s FCM•K CGMA

Southampton and Winchester W￿ltorS Group
The T￿￿e5 present their rel￿ and the fin￿Ra1 ststements for the year ended 31 August 2025.
Forniation
The clwity was formed as a CIMritable Incorporated Organisation to take over the activities and a&sets and
liabilities ofthe unlncoT￿rdted ¢barity of the same name. It was registered with the cE￿ity Conm]iSSiOD on
29 May 2019.
Governance and management
The Tntst¢c Board comprises a rnin1m￿n of 3 and a nMxlmu￿ of 12 membets elttted at Anaual
Generdl Meeting. Tn￿lee$ who hcld office duTing the year are listed on page 2.
The Board meets every six weeks and is supported by a number of sulpcommittees that report to the
TTUStees.
Aims and obje¢tives
The main objects of the Group &8 set out in its constitution are".
For the relief of nee& hardship and distress tn the United Kingdom amongst refugees, ￿Ople seeking
&sylum and other immigrdllts by providing such charitable assislance as the Trust￿ think fiL including
pmviding such perso￿ with advice. Lssistance. r¢presentatioa. counselling. in matters sucb as money. debts.
w¢lfar¢. benefits. housin& heal￿ asylunL Immigratio￿ eAlucatioffj tsaining 8nd ellwloymenL
Focu8 of our work
The Group is a volunteer-led charity whose members work with people seeking asylum and refugees mainly
living iti Southatnpton and Winchester. Our WOTk Includes providing English and other teachtng, and one-to-one
support for individual people. who are assigned a trained visitor who meets with them regularly to offer friendship
and practical help. We support approximately 21K) people in government accommodation. who are resident either
in a local hotel or in shared houses. W¢ provide welIbeing su￿￿tt tlwough social and cultural artivities. We have
also fund¢d gym access. phones. and bikes.
SWVG runs the Avenue Multiculwral Centre (AMQ in Southampton United Reforni Church (URC). It hosts
some of the work of partsier cFthritics that also support those seeking asyluu4 Dotably CLEAR and Southampton
Action. AMC is a very popular drop-in centre. which runs every Friday morning.
We also work in partnership with SCRATCH, wbeTe a number of people voluDteer. with New Forest National
Park, where we run visits in ¢onjunctioo with the rangers, and with John Hansard Gallery. MAST Studio4 Sea
City Museum and Southampton City Librdfics for our culbjrc projecL We also have links to Refugee Action and
Tog¢ther with Re￿geeS aNi 3re members of NACCOM and Hampshire and 151¢ of Wight Strat¢gic Migrdtion
Group.
Review of the year
Our core worL namely the provision of support to people seeking asylum and newly given Leave To Remain has
continued. We have suptK)rted many young men placed ID a hotel in southampto￿ as well as p&)ple in other
accommodation locally.
Th¢ drop-in ¢¢ntrc (AMC) ai Avenue St Andrrn URC has CODtinu¢d in operation and welcomes More than 150
people each week. Around 40 people per week acce&s our help desks slaffed by experienced volunteers. receiving
a variety of suppor¢ including finding 501icitors. A new datsbase system allows us to monitOT our activities, and,
in the six months from FebrLWy 2025, 582 differeDt people visited our help desk4 with more than l.IM)O
interactions, some people bcillg sccn Ellorc than ollcc. Wc also organise a food bank as well as activities including
English language le&sons. CLEAR also runs a help desk * AMC atKI SouthaMp￿D Action Tuns a clothes bank.
AMC hosts guest organisatioL8 including the City Library service" Medaille TrusL supporting pwle who have
been traffi¢k¢d. Yellow Door. working with survivors of trdum< violence and abuse" and a Smoking Cessation
team. Volunteers run a musi¢ group and a yoga sth8ion. As well as an exty specific help desk for ￿commOdation

matters and school placemenL% a fiuther desk is dedicateAI to manyg gym memberships and the bike stheme
and issuing mobile phones. and another to finding vohmteer op￿rtUnItI￿￿ for people seeking a￿l￿m.
We contillue to beneftt from the strong sense of commuDity generaled at AMC. The management team and the
AMC volunteers include a high Prot￿tIon of pu>ple with lived experierfft¢e of asylum.
The number of people seeking asylum in SouthamptOD and Wincbester who r¢c¢ive regular and individual suptmlrt
from a Visitor w&5 29 &lults at the end of August 2025. They have 32 ¢hilthrn between them. The Visitor
relationship is now reserved mainly for people with cowlex needs. However. a considerable number of people
who received IAve To Remain still need SUp￿}rt to tTansition into independence. Fillding accommodation is the
most pressing problem. We canllot give precise figurE5 for those who Tcceived a positivc decision over the year
because we do not see all the residents in hotels and house4 but up to 30Yo of our support is ta• at post Leave
to Remain.
It is increasingly difficult for people accolllltx)&ted in hotels where shaTing rLK)llLS is the nomi nowadays. leading
inevitably to a rise in tnental health issues and. occasionally. agg￿Sive behaviour, because there are not enough
support facilities. We have been involved in arrdnging and regularly attending a group including Migrant Help. the
local authority. the Police and the Home OtTice to support the managemcnt of the hotel and the residents to
monitor thc problems. Since the sun)mer, aggressive anti-migrdllt protests have becn held outside the hotel each
Friday evenin& with a large demonstration in mid-August on a su￿jay. This is frightening and distrc&sing for the
residents and SWVG offers suptK)rt engaging with the local police and councillors.
Iwhilst we have seen some fast decisions. too many people still have to wait Yea￿ to have their asylum claim5
assessed. A lack of legal supwyrt is a key issue nowadays. particularly at appeal. There are not enough immigtation
solicilors wo￿l￿g for Legal Aid and Ellany people now have to attend their substantive interview or even an appeal
heaTing without prior discussion witb a solicitor.
Englisb teaching
Around 60 students are cutrently receiving English lessons either one-to-one or tn a small group, though more
have been taught across the year due to frequent movement in and out of the hotel. Around 100 more have
attended lessons during the past year. About 38 tcachers are currently teaching at least one student. We have had
donations of text books and exercise book5. and have purC1￿5¢d ffjore when necessary.
We run a conversation group in partnership with Southampton Central Library. which can involve up to 20 people
each week
Volunteers and contracted stsff
We currently have around l(K) active volunteers and continue to receive applicalions from w>tential
volunteers. Our trainiThg activity has now been Tefresbed aud the first ￿ntact new voluDteers have is
one-tfrone with a member of the trdining l&am either Online or in pe￿. This is followed up with a full day,
trainin& The Trustecs have been grateful to notr that the volunteer group now increasingly includes people
with lived experience of the asylum system.
Our two part.time ¢ontrdCteAJ staff continue to provide essential support services.
CampaAglling
The Campaigning Group suptM)rts tmtional caTt¥>aigns that call for a humane &8ylum system and we oppose
policies that persecute people who claim asylum. We ellcourdge rnem1￿ to rnise the issues with their MPS and
local councils, and we at local groups and forutns. We think it inJw)rtant for politicians to talk to people who
have lived expertence of &syh]m. We have been ple&sed to orgallise visits to AMC from local MPS this year. and
have shown Caroline Nokes, MP for Ri)msey and Southampton North. and currentty a deputy speaker, and Liz
Jarvis. MP for Eastleigty arouDd the CentsE. Other MPS have i￿ell visited in their surgeries.
Refugee Week in June is a special tim¢ to celebrate the culthres and capabilities that refugees and other people
who have sought sanctuary bring to our I(￿8} communities. Togethcr with many local opganisations and
community group4 we organiscd a ￿ri¢s of events including dram4 films. music. dance. a stalL artwork and a
parad¢ in the centre of Southampton. This improves the links between llwiy locaI ¢ul¢ural groups who came to
showcase their positive contributio￿8 to the city. We are also MO￿ grdteflll to people with lived experience who
gave radio and TV interyiews.

In PTepaTation. we visited 13 Iwal ￿h0O1$ involving w)wards of 1,61XI local schoolchildren in discwsion sessions.
meeting people who are refugees. The children decordted tote bags with g¢n¢rosity and inugitwt10￿ &$ gifts for
people s¢¢king asylum. in rcstK)nse to this yearfs theme, Community.
Wellbeing and Artivities
We arrange activities to SUPlM)rt wellb¢tn& including 110 pw)le joining tTiPS to the New Forest and Bournemouth
beach, and tree planling trips for the National TrusL Additionally we offer opportuntties for people to WO￿ on our
allolment and lo cook meals. we source and repair bike4 enable volunteertng opportunities. Mnd organise cultural
activities. Sotn¢ 215 pwple have been on theatre trips (115 indivi1h1a￿ some attending more than once).
Cooking for Friends Saturday evening events and the &8sociated fi￿draisIng dinners started two years ago. The
issue of fo(xl is an imw)rtant One for residents of the hotel as they do N)t have the opportunity to cook. nor to eat
fiyod from home. We developed a scheme that involve5 two of the hotel residents acttng &s chefs OD a Saturday
evening. They each invitr up to six friend5 to cat with thellL This has led to a regular sharing of fo￿1 and good
fun. and the scheme ruDS every Saturday evening (subject to venue availability). All the chefs are required to
undertake basic f(KKI hygiene to Level I, providing a ￿SefUl qualification for their Cvs and later employment.
Several of thc chefs have attained L¢v¢l 2.
The success of this scheme has led to a spin-off seri￿ of fimdTaising dinners which raise about £l,OIKI a time.
These are important not just because of money but also as an advertisement and celebration of community and
shared value& with singing alld dancing well a very varied zn¢D
Reportfing Support
We continue to c(Fordinate and join a gn)up of I(￿al p￿)ple gathering at the police station where people on
itnmigratiou bail have to report to Border Force offjcials on Monday mornings. We publicise the SUPFK)rt available
in Southamptoll, including from SWVGY give out illforuLation car&8 and offer to infotm a solicitor or fricn
should anyone be detaille(L
We aim to build on positive relationships in Southamptho Wmchester and neighlM)Uting town4 to improve the
lives of refugees alld people seeking asylum.

Finance
Receipts for the year were £89255 al￿ paym¢nts wfflr £92,693 producing a deficit of £3.438. This was part of
the TTUStees' plan io achieve a deficit io the year in order to bring the level of reserves in line with our reserves
policy. The Tntstee5' plan for 2026 continues this approach expecting to deliver a small deficit in the year.
Reeelpts-Grants
GrdDts from charitable trusts amouni¢d to £49,750. We are most grateful for a further grnnt from the
Tolkien Trnst of £22.0(Kl which Cove￿ a significant part of our support costs.
We are also grdtethl for an anonymous inSti￿tIonal grant of £IO.IKM). the grant from French Huguenot
Church of £5.000 and a grant of £1,500 from St Claire and St Francis Pamchial Parish CouDeil.
Wc have also received a gtaDt of £5.0(M) from the Hilden Trust and £2,IXK> from the Misselbrook Trnst.
We also grntefiJlly acknowledge contilluillg support from the One Per Cent scheme which amounted to
£3.150.
Details of grants received are set out oll page 10 of this rqx)rL
Receipts4)ther income
We acknowledge the financial donation from the Girdlers Tn￿. £2,6(M) towards the Cooking for Friends
initiative. Wc are also grate￿1 for the donations we have received from churches, other otganisations and
any individuals who have continued to 5UPWt us in difficult circumslances.
Payments. We have coutinued to shift our spending towards practical help and s(￿121 activities. The
AMC has continued to increase in size and costs have increased wmmensur3tely (2025 £1757512024
£12,766). The Cooking for Friends initiative, gym memlThhips and the bike project colltinue to grow
(2025 £18.38712024 £16,028). In thc 2024125 annual report and a￿oUnts the proportioll of contracted
staffs costs that ate incutred at AMC have been shown against that cost line (2025 £7.61112024 £6.504).
In 2023124 this w8s included tmder salaries in Sup[￿ activities. the comparative figures have been
adjusted to reflect this chauge. We continue to supply mobile phones to tbose who require thougb
the cost has dropped froEn the previous year (2025 £7,43612024 £9,634). As no￿1 above. incr&￿]nglY
people are being &5k¢d to attend interviews wiihoui legal representation. As a consequence they need
fimds for the translation of key documents. which ordinarily Legal Aid would fund if they had legal
representhtion. Wc b&ve suptK)rted people where this is the case (2025 £860} aud we can see that this
could be an increasing pressure going forward. The tnL8tees bad recognised that there was a requirement
to modernise our record keeping to make it secure. simple and more efficient. t￿l￿g the year we
invested in a new datab&se system (£6285) to do this.
We continue to manage our SUp￿rt activtty costs tightly. although these have been impacted by int]ation in the
year. For 2024125 the support Costs account for 24/0 of our eXt￿ndIture in the year.
Emergency Response Fund
This fund was created in 2021 and now stands at £15.0(K).
AMC Designated Fund
This fi￿d holds thc monies received relating to the nwDing ofAMC.
Reserves
The Truste￿ have agreed that the value of unrestricted reserves should be in the ttgion of £55,000
representing approximately 6 months nonnal expenditure plus a provision for three months for salaries.
Unrestricted reserves at 31 All8￿ excluding the Emergency RespoLse Fund and AMC fund. were £82,799.
Tlth report was apprnved by the Trustees OD 8th December 2025 and slgned on thetr behalf by
Catherine Hartley (Cfrchair).

Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group
Independent Examiner's report to the Tntste
I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of Si)uthampton and Winchester
isitots Group (the Group) for the year ended 31 August 2025.
Responsibilitiu and basis of report
As the Trustees of the Group you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in
accordanc¢ with the requirements of the ch￿ltieS Act 2011 ('th¢ Act,).
I report in respect of my examinalion of the Group's accounts GafTied out under section 145
of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination I have followed all the applicable
Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the AGL
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confinn that no material matters have come to my
attention in comiection with the examination givincr me cause to believe that in any material
respect:
l. Accounting records were not kept in respect of the Group as required by seclion
130 of theAcL or
2. The accounts do Dot accord with those ￿COrdS.
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.
Chay Champness FCW CGMA
3 Old House Close
Epsom
Surrey
KT17 ILE
itsliill

Southampton and Winchester W￿ltorS Group
Accounts for the y￿r ended 31 August 2025
Receipts payments
2025
Unrestricted Restricted
2024
Total
Total
RECEIPTS
Donations from organisatioDS
Donations from individuals inc. gift aid
Grants from charitable tntsts
Proceeds of fund-raising events
AMC receipt
Interest
Total receipts
4,168
17,604
44.750
7,908
6,870
240
11.038
17,844
49.750
7,908
19,095
21,459
54.614
9,368
11.238
2,863
118,637
2.715
77.145
2,715
89255
12,110
PAYME
Direct activiti&%
Campaigning
Visitors, trdvel and other expenses
Accommodation and subsistence
Travel
English teaching
Mobile phones
AMC and social activities
Other
Totsl direct activities
1.913
1,913
2,550
1.711
6.090
2,261
7,436
34,385
13,759
70.105
1.152
3.281
4,484
6,262
7,409
9.634
28,794
3.211
64,227
2,550
1,711
2261
7.436
22.275
12.999
55J22
12,110
760
14,783
Support activities
Communicatiolls
Salaries
Fund-rdising costs
Training
Insurance
W¢bsit¢
Other office and admin costs
Total support activities
98
14.797
306
1,739
787
1.108
3,753
22588
98
14,797
306
1,739
787
1,108
3.753
22,588
142
13,820
318
558
848
3,493
2,532
21,711
Total payments
77910
14,783
92,693
85,938
Net excess of receipts
over payments for the year
-765
-2,673
-3,438
32,699
Balance brought forward
Balance carried fonvard
111.702
110,937
2.925
252
114,627
111,189
81,928
114.627

Southampton and Wmchester VLSitors Group
St
Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2025
ststement of a&8ets and Ji2bilities at 31 August 2025
01.0924
Reeeived
Paid
31.0825
CASH FufiDS
Ullrestricted fvnds
General Unrestiicted Funds
Emergency Response Fund
Mark Courti¢¢ Education Fund
AMC Designated Fund
Total Unrestricted Funds
85.464
15.tK)O
75245
77.910
82,799
15,000
1,900
11238
110,937
1.900
11238
111.702
77,145
77,910
Restricted Funds
Legal Justice Fund
Cooking for frien(ts
Campaigning
AMC R¢stricted Fund
Social activities
Total Restricted Funds
760
760
1600
1,913
4.510
5.000
14,783
1165
252
4510
5.(K)O
12,110
2925
252
Total Funds
114,627
89255
92,693
111,189
Represented by:
31.08.25
31.08.24
HSBC current account
Nationwide Building Society
Redwood Bank
Float for expenses
Totsl funds
40.669
15,827
28,1)00
70,000
800
114.627
70,000
520
111.189
Creditors
For ¢xpenses
2.289
1.199
Slgned for and on behalf of the TrllSt￿ on 8th De¢eJ￿her 2025 by Catherine Hartley (Co Chair)

Southampton and Wlnchester Visitors Group
Ar￿￿n￿ for tlje year ended 31 August 2025
Notss .
Grnnts
2025
2024
Total
22.000
10,000
7.500
5,297
5.000
1,500
Tot*1
22.000
iO,(XK)
The Tolkien Trnst
Anonymous
Garfield Weston Foundation
One Per Cent Scheme
Hilden Trust
St Clare and St Francis Tn￿t
Misselbrook Trust
NACOM
The French Huguenot Church
Southampton City Council - Re￿ge¢ W¢ek
22,(MX)
10.(MK)
3,150
3.150
1,5(M)
1,500
i.Icrf)
i.i(Ml
1,317
54.614
44,750
5.000
49,750
TRUSTEE EXPENSES
Expenses reimbursed to tntstees durlng the period amounted to £1,611 (2024 £824).
10