Yorkshire Cancer Community
Charity number 1185838
Annual Report and Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 March 2026
Yorkshire Cancer Community
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2026
| Contents | Page |
|---|---|
| Trustees' report | 2 to 5 |
| Examiner's report | 6 |
| Receipts and payments account | 7 |
| Statement of assets and liabilities | 8 |
| Notes to the accounts | 9 to 11 |
Prepared by West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
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Yorkshire Cancer Community
Trustees' report for the year ended 31 March 2026
Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisors
The trustees during the financial year and up to and including the date the report was approved were: Name Position Dates
Position Dr Stewart Manning Chair Deborah Adams Treasurer Stephen Halstead Treasurer Helen Moss Secretary David Blunt Karen Louise Escott Richard Myers Beverley Freeman Dr Sue Hartup Michael Barton
Resigned 1 June 2026 Resigned 13 June 2025
Resigned 8 Jan 2026 Deceased 16 May 2026 Resigned 1 June 2026
Appointed 3 Sep 2025 Appointed 13 Jun 2025
Charity number 1185838 Registered and principal address Bankers c/o NOVA Wakefield District Limited Barclays Bank UK plc 11 Upper York Street 1 Churchill Place Wakefield London WF1 3LQ E14 5HP
Registered in England and Wales
Independent examiner
Sarah Coates MAAT
West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
Structure, governance and management
The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) formed on 16 October 2019 and is governed by a Foundation model constitution as amended on 12 April 2023.
Method of recruitment and appointment of trustees
The trustees of the charity are appointed by the trustees at a duly convened meeting.
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Yorkshire Cancer Community
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 March 2026
Objectives and activities
The charity's objects
The relief of people in Yorkshire and the Humber who have been affected by cancer, their carers and families, at any point in their lives in particular but not exclusively by:
providing a network of information, advice and support, for people affected by cancer, their carers and families, and all those who share an interest in improving cancer services.
providing opportunities for people affected by cancer to share and compare experiences of using cancer services, to explore and discuss the range of issues, emotions and feelings relating to a cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment.
promoting awareness of the available local and wider support and advice networks.
promoting opportunities for people affected by cancer to have easily accessible routes to influence providers of cancer services.
The charity's main activities
We are a small independent charity offering an information and support network for cancer patients, families and carers across Yorkshire and the Humber. Our vision is to effect change so that everyone impacted by cancer has the very best experience possible, and is able to make fully informed choices and shape future services.
Public benefit statement
In setting our objectives and planning our activities our Trustees have given serious consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and in particular the relief of those in need.
Achievements and performance
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT YORKSHIRE CANCER COMMUNITY 2025/2026
The past year has been eventful, and we have seen several changes in Yorkshire Cancer Community, in trustees, staff and direction.
We have appointed two new Trustees, Dr Sue Hartup and Michael Barton.
Helen Moss stepped down from the Board, and I would like to thank her for her contributions over recent years.
Jill Long delayed her retirement from last November until this May to guide us through the challenging times when we were unsure of continued funding from the West Yorkshire & Harrogate Cancer Alliance. This has been resolved and I am pleased to welcome our new Manager Sarah Mitchell, who started working with us in mid-March. Jill and Sarah have been working together to ensure a successful handover.
In November Jessica Hart joined us to cover Lauren Cross’s maternity leave (she had a baby girl Fern Rose on Christmas Eve). Jess is mainly working on Patient VIEW and our research projects.
Clare Lockwood continues producing our monthly Newsletter VOICE and supervising our Accounts.
Going forward YCC will need to consider Fundraising. Our new Manager Sarah joins us with a fundraising background in her previous roles.
We have formed a link with Mednet Health in Leeds, and we jointly produced a resource encouraging people to monitor their bowel health – That Gut Instinct.
We are also collaborating on several research projects.
I would like to put on record our thanks to Jason Pawluk and other members of the West Yorkshire & Harrogate Cancer Alliance for their continued support and belief in our work.
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Yorkshire Cancer Community Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 March 2026
Achievements and performance
Finally, I want to end remembering our former Treasurer and Trustee Paul Vose who sadly passed away last summer after many years of ill health. He did not complain and in my many years as a Family Doctor I never met anyone braver. YCC and WY&HCA have decided to jointly award The Paul Vose Memorial Trophy each year “In recognition of Exceptional Volunteering for the benefit of Cancer Patients”. This will be awarded annually, and Jayne Vose has agreed to present this award to the inaugural Winner on 2 June 2026.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our successful year.
DR STEWART MANNING
CHAIRMAN OF YORKSHIRE CANCER COMMUNITY
Patient VIEW – this panel of patients, carers and advocates continued to run in partnership with the West Yorkshire & Harrogate Cancer Alliance, under the coordination of Lauren Cross. In preparation for Lauren’s maternity leave in December, Jess Hart joined us in October and now works on both Patient VIEW and Cancer SMART as Project Lead. She is already bringing exciting ideas of how the projects may develop in the coming year.
Patient VIEW have worked on a number of tasks, including preparing a Working Together Guide, which highlights shared values, collaborative methods and a commitment to ensuring voices from the community are heard and valued. We worked with 29 University researchers to circulate opportunities for patients and carers to get involved in research studies.
Cancer SMART, a partnership with West Yorkshire & Harrogate Cancer Alliance, recruited 319 Digital Champions and 25 Cancer Champions. Volunteers were invited to five online meetings and four face to face events.
20 different Cancer Champions were involved in delivering 121 events including talks, coffee mornings and information stalls across West Yorkshire.
Volunteers donated a total of 832 hours, not including travel, to attend Cancer SMART events, training or networking. Taking the recognised value for an hour’s volunteering (ONS) as £14.43; this equates to £12,005 of volunteer contributions.
To provide information more widely, we have continued to make improvements to the website in consultation with feedback from Champions and Patient VIEW members.
The website maintains a list of Yorkshire-based patient support groups and cancer charities. We hosted a Support Group Leaders Network, holding quarterly online meetings, bringing group leaders and helpers together to learn from each other about what makes a group effective and enjoyable. The Network were also offered online safeguarding training, in conjunction with Macmillan.
Through this work, we helped 45 people from across Yorkshire find support group activity and other cancer information.
In addition, we have written monthly newsletters to our mailing list telling patient stories and bringing cancer service news.
Huge thanks go to our Finance and Administrative Officer, Clare Lockwood, for her extensive contributions on the website and newsletter in addition to the excellent work on Finance delivered with our Treasurer, Stephen Halstead.
Our Manager, Jill Long, is retiring in May 2026 and we wish her a long and happy retirement whilst extending our sincere thanks to her for her efforts in developing Yorkshire Cancer Community into the thriving, small but mighty charity it is today. Sarah Mitchell, incoming Manager, is working alongside Jill to ensure a smooth transition.
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Yorkshire Cancer Community
Trustees' report (continued) for the year ended 31 March 2026
Financial review
The net receipts for the year were £53,417, including net receipts of £10,767 on unrestricted funds and net receipts of £42,650 on restricted funds after transfers.
Reserves policy
The charity's free reserves, at the year end were £18,444.
The trustees have agreed a reserves policy to hold a minimum of three months of operating costs in unrestricted reserves, with the aim of building reserves to £30,000 by 2030. While this target has not yet been reached, unrestricted reserves have increased significantly during the year, reflecting a continued focus on strengthening the charity’s financial resilience. The trustees will continue to work towards this over the coming years, and have ensured that current unrestricted reserves remain sufficient to cover redundancy and orderly wind-down costs.
Approved by the board of trustees on 02/07/2026
Stephen Halstead (Trustee)
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Yorkshire Cancer Community
Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Yorkshire Cancer Community
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the CIO for the year ended 31 March 2026, which are set out on pages 7 to 11.
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 as carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. 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 charity as required by section 130 of the Charities Act; 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.
Sarah Coates MAAT
06/07/2026
West Yorkshire Community Accountancy Service CIO
Stringer House 34 Lupton Street Leeds LS10 2QW
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Yorkshire Cancer Community Receipts and payments account for the year ended 31 March 2026
| Notes 2026 Unrestricted funds £ Receipts Grants and donations (2) 6,022 Fundraising income 5,918 Sponsorship - Bank interest 670 Gift aid 633 Total receipts 13,243 Payments Salaries NI and pensions - Staff expenses - Trustee expenses - Payroll cost - Insurance - Licences - Website and IT support - Accountancy and independent examination - Subscriptions - Equipment - Stationery and office supplies 3 Sundry expenses 836 Hosting costs - Advertising and promotion - Room hire - Volunteer expenses - Telephone - Recruitment - Training - Fundraising costs 1,637 Legal and professional - Total payments 2,476 Net receipts / (payments) 10,767 Fund balances brought forward 7,677 Fund balances carried forward (3) 18,444 |
2026 Restricted funds £ 157,220 - 1,775 - - 158,995 90,088 1,500 1,321 216 489 458 1,003 - 154 1,431 191 - 201 7,470 1,456 355 216 8,829 227 500 240 116,345 42,650 36,264 78,914 |
2026 Total funds £ 163,242 5,918 1,775 670 633 172,238 90,088 1,500 1,321 216 489 458 1,003 - 154 1,431 194 836 201 7,470 1,456 355 216 8,829 227 2,137 240 118,821 53,417 43,941 97,358 |
2025 Total funds £ 72,276 - - - - 72,276 67,780 1,635 161 360 472 336 1,193 528 - 1,540 559 200 174 11,713 1,662 510 200 126 - - - 89,149 (16,873) 60,814 43,941 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Yorkshire Cancer Community Statement of assets and liabilities
| as at 31 March 2026 2026 Unrestricted £ Cash funds Cash at bank 18,444 Total cash funds 18,444 Debtors and prepayments Debtors Prepayments Assets retained for the charity's own use HP Laptops (3) Epson printer Epson multimedia projector Microphones (2) Apple iPad Office furniture Promotional materials Lenovo V14 laptop (2) OWL camera Liabilities Accruals |
2026 Restricted £ 78,914 78,914 |
2026 Total £ 97,358 97,358 2026 £ 101,392 1,291 102,683 2026 £ 780 780 |
2025 Total £ 43,941 43,941 |
|---|---|---|---|
The financial statements were approved by the board of trustees on 02/07/2026
Stephen Halstead (Trustee)
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Yorkshire Cancer Community
Notes to the accounts
for the year ended 31 March 2026
1 Accounting policies
Basis of accounting
The trustees have taken advantage of section 133 of the Charities Act 2011 and have prepared the accounts on a receipts and payments basis.
There has been no change to the accounting policies since last year.
No changes have been made to the accounts for previous years.
Taxation
As a charity the organisation benefits from rates relief and is generally exempt from income tax and capital gains tax but not from VAT. Irrecoverable VAT is included in the cost of those items to which it relates.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.
Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor or through the terms of an appeal.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the accounts.
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Yorkshire Cancer Community
Notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 March 2026
| 2 Grants and donations Healthwatch Leeds City Council Locala Prosper Sovereign Health The Albert Hunt Trust West Yorkshire & Harrogate Cancer Alliance Coalfields Regeneration Trust Other donations 3 Restricted funds Balance b/f £ WY&H Cancer Alliance (6) 647 WY&H Cancer Alliance (7) 35,528 Coalfields Regeneration Trust 89 WY&H Cancer Alliance (8) - WY&H Cancer Alliance (9) - Prosper - Leeds City Council - Healthwatch - The Albert Hunt Trust - Sovereign Health - Locala - 36,264 |
2026 Unrestricted funds £ - - - - - - - - 6,022 6,022 Incoming £ - - - 65,000 60,000 3,775 500 12,220 5,000 2,500 10,000 158,995 |
2026 Restricted funds £ 12,220 500 10,000 2,000 2,500 5,000 125,000 - - 157,220 Outgoing £ 647 35,528 89 57,434 19,294 - 500 - 2,645 208 - 116,345 |
2026 2025 Total Total funds funds £ £ 12,220 - 500 - 10,000 - 2,000 - 2,500 - 5,000 - 125,000 71,000 - 1,000 6,022 276 163,242 72,276 Transfers Balance c/f £ £ - - - - - - - 7,566 - 40,706 - 3,775 - - - 12,220 - 2,355 - 2,292 - 10,000 - 78,914 |
|---|---|---|---|
Fund name
WY&H Cancer Alliance (6)
WY&H Cancer Alliance (7) Coalfields Regeneration Trust
WY&H Cancer Alliance (8)
WY&H Cancer Alliance (9)
Prosper Leeds City Council Healthwatch The Albert Hunt Trust
Sovereign Health
Locala
Purpose of restriction
Extension of the Cancer SMART programme for the financial year 202425.
To implement and develop a community panel.
To provide cancer support and information including via a website and IT support, and print and design of leaflets.
To raise awareness of signs and symptoms of cancer, how to reduce your risk and early detection saves lives.
To run a community panel of service users to have input into decisionmaking.
Towards creating our Newsletter VOICE - connecting people. Towards the Rhythm and Ribbons fundraising event.
Towards the Cancer Alliance project delivery costs.
Towards the costs of employing a part time Cancer- SMART Coordinator.
Towards the costs of employing a part time Cancer- SMART Coordinator.
Towards the costs of employing a part time Cancer- SMART Coordinator.
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Yorkshire Cancer Community
Notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 March 2026
4 Related party transactions
Donations from trustees and related parties
The total aggregate value of unconditional donations to the charity from the trustees or related parties was £2,185 (2025: Nil).
Trustee expenses
During the year 3 trustees were paid a total of £1,321 in respect of travel, (previous year: 1 trustees and £161 in respect of travel).
Trustee remuneration and benefits
No trustee received any remuneration or benefit during this or the previous year.
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