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2021-03-31-accounts

ANNUAL REPORT Charity Registration 1186714 | 31 March 2021

CONTENTS

WELCOME

LOOK INSIDE

THE PRESENT

THE FUTURE

THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

FIND IT

Page 4 Page 5 - 6 Page 7-8 Page 9

FIND IT

Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17

FIND IT

Page 19 Page 20 - 23 Page 24 - 25 Page 26 Page 27 - 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35

FIND IT Page 37 Page 38-39

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Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 - 49 Page 50 - 63

WELCOME Access Social Care Annual Report 2021 Page 3

WELCOME CONTENTS

A NOTE FROM OUR CHAIRPERSON & CEO

2020 was a year like no other. When our journey began in December 2019, we could never have imagined what was right around the corner. But as the pandemic hit, almost overnight, our purpose to provide legal support to people with health and social care needs, became more important - more urgent - than ever before. And we more than rose to the challenge.

We have maintained our outstanding casework success rate. Launched a prize winning legal information chatbot. Led a helpline data project on the vanguard of data collaboration in the charitable sector and influenced public body policy and guidance. Indeed, we are extremely proud of the charity’s spectacular achievements since we began officially operating as Access Social Care on 1st April 2020, during the pandemic’s first wave.

Incubation we received from the Royal Mencap Society and Central England Law Centre, along with the invaluable support of our many funders, pro-bono donors and members provided us with the crucial foundations we needed to begin our critical task. However, the last year would not have been possible without the dedication of our staff and volunteers, whose commitment to justice is nothing short of remarkable. Thanks to them our inaugural year not only met but far exceeded all our expectations. Allowing Access Social Care to help more people receive the care they so desperately required, in the most desperate of times.

Throughout this report we share with you our income growth and quantitative achievements. But our work is not simply about statistics. It’s helping real people, get the real support they need, and to which they have fundamental rights. Our work improves lives. Alongside our financial figures we hope you’ll take a few moments to read the stories of some of those whose lives were affected by the events of the past year, real people now have better outcomes and better support through our work.

As we enter our second year, and we continue to grow in size and strength, we will continue to empower local communities with our knowledge and experience. We will continue to enforce the law with our legal expertise. And we will continue to challenge the decision-makers of the social care sector.

We will create better outcomes for everyone with social care needs.

For now, and for the future.

- Janine Tregelles, Chairperson

- Kari Gerstheimer, CEO

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 4

WELCOME CONTENTS

WHAT IS SOCIAL CARE?

Social care changes lives. Prevents loneliness. Provides intimate support. Protecting the rights of those with additional needs. Whether supplied in a private residence or in a care home, social care can be a lifeline for someone living with disabilities or mental health conditions, and for people who are ageing.

Every day millions of older and disabled people are denied the help they desperately need. Demand for social care has skyrocketed. Social care resources, meanwhile, have continued to plummet. This devastating discrepancy means people with social care needs are falling through the gap. This affects all of us, we will all need social care at some point, either for ourselves or for a loved one.

In this situation, people have a legal right to hold public bodies to account; challenging the decisions of local authorities denying or delaying their care. This requires expensive legal intervention and with most of us unable to afford lawyers we rely heavily on legal aid. However, a 92% drop in legal aid community care cases since 2010, means too often we are left fending for ourselves. We have nowhere to turn. Without access to justice, our rights do not exist. The rule of law is broken.

DID YOU KNOW?

1.5 million older people have unmet social care needs

-

£8 billion is the latest estimate for sector-wide funding gap in 3 years’ time

78% of local authorities in England and Wales are without a single community care legal aid provider -

-

8 out of 10 councils don’t have sufficient funds to make up for increased costs and reduced incomes resulting from the pandemic

92% drop in community care legal aid cases since 2010

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 5

WELCOME ONE - WELCOME TO ACCESS SOCIAL CARE

SCHOOL OF THOUGHT

Access Social Care was founded to help make social care accessible to all who need it. However, we knew from the beginning that education would be the key to unlocking support and success.

Before our work even begins, we start by challenging perceptions of social care and the legal profession.

Our insight tells us:

At Access Social Care we’ve initiated a movement; educating people on how the law helps secure better outcomes for those with social care needs, driving better social care outcomes through early legal help and taking a data and evidence led strengths-based approach to catalyse system change.

Page 6

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

WELCOME

THE ASC APPROACH

Access Social Care provides free legal advice for people with social care needs, helping them achieve a better quality of life. We highlight the gap left by cuts to Legal Aid, providing expert advice to those who can’t afford it. And our network of lawyers and barristers hold a 98% success rate for ensuring fair access to justice when things go wrong. Educating individuals and

Every day we work towards a future where social care is adequately funded. We collaborate with social services whilst ensuring legal obl gations are law effectively, and increasing met and we drive the change required to get support for anyone who needs it. We educate as we go, helping communities increase their knowledge of their confidence in legal professionals the law — and their rights in challenging it.

Our subscription-based model connects our specialist community care law expertise to other organisations through three main work-streams:

WE EMPOWER

----- Start of picture text -----
Educating individuals and
organisations on how to use the
law effectively, and increasing
their confidence in legal
professionals
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WE ENFORCE WE CHALLENGE
Collecting data and
Providing early legal help implementing strategic
required to ensure legal approaches to bring about real
obligations are met change within the social care
sector
7
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Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 7

WELCOME

THE ASC APPROACH IN PRACTICE

EMPOWER + ENFORCE +

CHALLENGE

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Legal Capability Referrals, Advice,
Training Casework
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Thematic Data and Influencing Work &
Strategic Casework
Evidence Capture
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Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 8

WELCOME THREE - THE DIFFERENCE WE MADE

PROVIDING SUPPORT

MEMBERSHIP MODEL

We connect our expertise with beneficiaries of other organisations through our membership model: - Social care providers - Helplines - Place-based hubs

CLOSING CASES

We use the law positively and early on to avoid conflict. We pride ourselves on our 98% success rate in early legal intervention cases.

PEOPLE POWER

Our in-house legal team trains the lawyers working pro-bono to develop a secondary specialisation in community care law. Our pro-bono barristers assist with complex cases.

POSITIVE PARTNERSHIPS

We collaborate with hard-to-reach and underserved communities through our place-based hub initiative. Taking a strengths-based approach to driving system change in localities.

CHATBOT COUNSEL

We offer accurate legal information for free, 24/7, through our award-winning chatbot.

CREATING CHANGE

We channel our expertise into innovating the social care field; bringing about long term change and making a better future for all.

Page 9

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

LOOK INSIDE Access Social Care Annual Report 2021 Page 10

LOOK INSIDE CONTENTS

NEW MEMBERSHIPS

Our current members are social care providers and charities with helplines, who join our network so that their beneficiaries can access our service. In this reporting period our members are:

Mencap | Dimensions | Choice Support | United Response | MacIntyre | Discovery | Barnet Mencap | Wirral Mencap | Croydon Mencap | Milestones | Camphill Village Trust | HfT | Camphill Village Trust | Independent Age | Allsorts Glos | Age UK Gloucestershire | Inclusion Gloucestershire.

Partnerships, networks and constellations are core to our work. Partners on our flagship data sharing partnership are:

Age UK | Carers UK | Independent Age and Mencap.

Access Social Care is an active member of the Care and Support Alliance, the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group, Advice UK, and we are represented on the Administrative Justice Council Advice Panel, Social Care Futures and Fair Pay for Care Campaign.

WHAT OUR MEMBERS SAY ABOUT US:

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 11

LOOK INSIDE CONTENTS

WE’RE GROWING UP

In our first year we’ve been busily recruiting and strengthening our team. In 2020 we added further expertise and experience allowing us to provide our members and beneficiaries with a first-class service.

The Access Social Care team increased from just 2 to 22 people:

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 12

LOOK INSIDE CONTENTS

NEW LOOK, NEW FEEL

As a new charity we are rapidly growing and changing as we learn along the way. From ensuring the way we look and sound inspires trust and belief, to better engaging those we are trying to help.

This year we have taken great care to assess and adjust our ways of working, allowing us to adapt to the ever-changing landscape. By looking to improve our proposition we have laid the foundations upon which we continue to build:

REBRAND

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 13

LOOK INSIDE FOUR - THE LAUNCH OF A LEGAL CHATBOT NEW INNOVATIONS

When our legal advisors can’t be there, our legal chatbot is the next best thing:

THE ASC CHATBOT

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 14

LOOK INSIDE FOUR - THE LAUNCH OF A LEGAL CHATBOT

MAKING A SUPERMODEL

In 2020, we identified that smaller community-based organisations struggle to afford our fees. Too many people were unable to access our service and therefore the help they needed. As a result we have committed to setting up a network of place-based hubs where we subsidise membership fees through partnership arrangements with funders. 2020 saw our very first hub open in Gloucestershire, in partnership with the Barnwood Trust,

These place-based hubs provide us with more meaningful connections to the communities we are looking to help; allowing us to respond to the needs of smaller user-led organisations working with under-served groups. These groups might otherwise associate using the law with conflict. But through education and taking a rights based approach - using the law positively and early on - we can help local citizens encourage public bodies to act lawfully. Ultimately improving first instance decision making, securing better social care outcomes and changing perceptions about the legal process.

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 15

LOOK INSIDE FOUR - THE LAUNCH OF A LEGAL CHATBOT NEW SYSTEMS & PROCESSES

Whilst delivering impact, we have been working hard to set up all the systems and processes required for a new charity. From bank accounts to accounting systems and financial models, we have set up a financial operating, management and forecasting system. Striving for excellence with our Governance we have started to build our board, recruiting two new Trustees and conducting a Governance Review.

We have developed our legal team systems – setting up a new CRM to help us capture data and manage cases, and working towards compliance with the Advice Quality Standard to ensure the highest quality advice. Working with academics Professor Lisa Vanhala and Doctor Jacqui Kinghan, we have developed our Theory of Change. We have been establishing a monitoring, evaluation and learning framework to help us understand and learn from our successes and our mistakes, so that we can continually improve our impact.

Page 16

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

LOOK INSIDE CONTENTS

NEW RELATIONSHIPS

We would like to say a huge thank you to our funders and supporters.

Without you, our achievements this year would simply not have been possible. In this repored from the kind support of

Oak Founda<on | Baring Founda<on | Barnwood Trust | Community Jus<ce Fund | Pears The Funding Network | The Allen and Overy Founda<on, and Therium.

We are also extremely grateful for pro-bono and in-kind support from

Unltd | Maxx Design | Field Fisher | Baker Mackenzie| Slaughter and May | Orrrick | Shearmans and S<rling and Goring solicitors; as well as 39 Essex | Monkton Chambers, and Landmark Chambers.

For our work on our Legal Informa<on Chatbot, we won the Nesta Legal Access Challenge in March 2020 and secured prize money to further develop the plaXorm.

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 17

THE PRESENT Access Social Care Annual Report 2021 Page 18

THE PRESENT

WHAT WE SET OUT TO ACHIEVE

EMPOWER ENFORCE CHALLENGE EXTERNAL Creating Culture Data & Strategic Early Legal Help TARGETS Change Approaches Income INTERNAL Organisational Organisational TARGETS Set Up Model Generation

Page 19

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

THE PRESENT

A YEAR IN REVIEW

EXTERNAL TARGETS OUR OBJECTIVES OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED? (Y/N)
EMPOWER Training sessions Y
Rebrand by December 2020 Y
Complete delivery of launch training to existing partners Y
Development of online resources (Video resources developed by December 2022) Y
Newsletters - Deliver monthly newsletter by December 2020 Y
Include Rights Champion input Y
Rights Champions Project and L & D working groups - Recruit rights champions and hold first
meeting Q3; have 10 rights champions by December 2021		 Y
L and D working groups to agree action plan to achieve culture change Y - Consulting Member Advisory panel to agree action
plan.
Data capture - have we delivered cultural change - Baseline survey delivered
to new members (50 responses) and post-training survey (50 responses) by December 2020		 Delayed by Covid – Good level of responses by May 2021

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 20

THE PRESENT

A YEAR IN REVIEW

~~ONE - WELCOME TO ACCESS SOCIAL CARE~~


EXTERNAL TARGETS
OUR OBJECTIVES		 OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED? (Y/N)
ENFORCE Legal Chatbot (All due March 2021)
- Content generation
- Complete social care content for person with a social care need user profile
- Content creation guidelines established for other user personas
- Resources navigation and referral process in place for provider persona
- Input 500 set questions, test with user groups, train team to add more data		 Y
Chatbot Testing
Detailed testing conducted with at least 30 people with social care needs (including at least 5 testers from a
Black, Asian or minority ethnic group) to start before March 2021		 Y
Chatbot public launch Y (one week late – start of April)
Pro-bono work - run 10 cases through a new clinic Y
Grow number. of barristers on panel by 1 by December 2020 Y
Maintain barrister panel pick up rate at 90% N pick up rate dropped during Covid.
Recruitment of charitable provider members - 2 per year and 1 helpline
Annual target – due by December 2020		 Y
Y
Recruitment of commercial providers - 1 per year Y
Grow our Hub model - SW hub set up December 2020 Y
Casework Success rate - maintain casework success rate at 90% Y – success rate maintained at 98%
Maximise use of legal aid - increase options for referrals with 5 new legal aid providers in our networks in year
one (before December 2020)		 Y
Research - Implement data collection to evidence gaps in legal aid Y
Influencing - Analyse and present data to show gaps and provide model solutions Y

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 21

THE PRESENT

A YEAR IN REVIEW

EXTERNAL TARGETS OUR OBJECTIVES OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED? (Y/N)
CHALLENGE Increase sector wide legal literacy - Set up advisory panel with first panel meeting to take place in Q3 Y
Helplines group data collaboration
Helplines group data modelled and analysed
State of the Nation report issued		 Y
Working with members on strategic cases Y
Legal Literacy - develop and maintain sector wide relationships Y
Sector wide collaboration with EHRC/legal aid lawyers
Shared learning on emerging themes and trends – EHRC, legal aid lawyers, pro bono counsel by December
2021		 Y
Data categorisation and review - complete work on CRM by January 2021 Y
Ongoing helplines group data collaboration Y
National thematic work - 5 casework outcomes evidencing successful influencing of public authorities by
December 2022		 Y
Develop our strategic casework practice - run strategic cases; learn from CELC and EHRC Y
Increase digital and traditional media presence Y

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

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THE PRESENT

A YEAR IN REVIEW

INTERNAL TARGETS OUB OBJECTIVES OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED? (Y/N)
ORGANISATIONAL
SET UP		 D
Governance
- Reporting and monitoring systems in place
- KPI document to aid monitoring; financial management set up by
Dec 20		 ID YOU KNOW?
Y
Board recruitment
- 1 new board member by December 2020		 Y
Policies (including handbook) - complete by March 2021 Y
Governance review On track
Finance
- Monthly reports, management accounts and balance sheet
- Independent audit to start at end of financial year 2021		 Y
Creation of budget cost centres and financial modelling to review
sustainability of each cost centre		 Y
Comms
– launch Website		 Y
Charity Positioning
- Agree audience and what we want them to think/feel/do by mid-
January
- Agree plan and integrated communications/digital strategy
- Implement channel strategy		 Y
Media
- Place 1 article per month		 Y
Legal team systems – develop CRM programme Y
AQS
Submission for desk assessment by April 2021		 N - Delayed desk assessment due to legal team capacity.
ORGANISATIONAL MODEL Financial modelling - understand pricing model Y
INCOME GENERATION Service provision
- New provider members 4 per annum		 Y
New helpline members - 1 per annum Y
Hub set up - 1 per annum Y
Fundraised income Exceeded target which enabled us to respond to increased demand
related to Covid.

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

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THE PRESENT

EDUCATION & EARLY LEGAL ASSISTANCE

----- Start of picture text -----
WE’VE
BEEN
EMPOWERING
& CREATING
CULTURE
CHANGE
----- End of picture text -----

All too often people don’t know their rights or how to enforce them.

However, we know that by using the law positively, early on in the process, we can help avoid conflict and secure better outcomes. This is why we provide legal education to increase confidence in lawyers and the law, so people know exactly how, and when to use them.

In practice this means:

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

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THE PRESENT

EDUCATION & EARLY LEGAL ASSISTANCE

DID YOU KNOW? ONE - WELCOME TO ACCESS SOCIAL CARE

“Up and down the country people’s rights are not being upheld. There is a clear disregard of the Care Act by local authorities.

Furthermore, the lack of understanding from individuals about their rights means that local authorities can get away with it, so they hide behind finances and budgets but neglect people’s right to access services and the right support. Sometimes it’s simply about bad practice, which is not necessarily about the Care Act but might include; linking care plans together and not considering the individual; not acknowledging care providers’ true costs and taking the cheaper option against an individual’s wishes where personal budgets are taken away and people have no choice who they are supported by; or not involving advocacy and families in an annual review. There is a lot to challenge.

Our work with Access Social Care is invaluable and we are seeing change as a result. Local Authorities sitting up and taking notice – understanding when to follow due process. This is not about winning or getting what we want, it is about ensuring individuals rights are upheld. Families are often not aware of their rights, and they feedback to us on how helpful the service is and how supported they feel. But more importantly that their relatives’ rights are upheld. We do not back down!

- Raghbir Ram Choice Support Registered Manager & Access Social Care Rights Champion

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

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THE PRESENT

SOMEWHERE TO TURN

----- Start of picture text -----
WE’VE
BEEN
ENFORCING
----- End of picture text -----

Problems with access to justice mean people feel there is nowhere to go when their right to social care is not upheld. We are growing our service to right these wrongs, ensuring people with social care needs get the accurate advice and support they have a right to receive.

We are providing early legal help to hold public bodies to account

2020.

THIS YEAR WE HAVE SECURED New, appropriate Increases in 1:1 accommodation for SUPPORT FOR support hours and individuals previously MANY PEOPLE, IN direct payments refused or delayed by MANY DIFFERENT the local authority WAYS: Prevented Overturned proposed unlawful funding refusal from cuts to packages local authority to allow and group cuts to Reinstated support in successful transition out a young adult to services by cases where cuts had working with already been made of family home into first service managers supported living and the local accommodation authority

Page 26

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

THE PRESENT

THE PEOPLE WE HELP

Who We Helped: Lauren is a sociable young woman with a learning disability. When we met Lauren she was very unhappy. Sharing her home alongside people with much higher-level needs than herself, Lauren was becoming increasingly anxious, especially following intimidation by a fellow resident.

The Situation: Lauren’s social worker agreed a move was needed and identified a new placement. Lauren and her mum, Cate, instantly fell in love with the new surroundings. The service manager believed Lauren would fit in well with the other residents – and Lauren could have a much longed for pet.

The local authority’s funding panel rejected Lauren’s placement (claiming it offered more support than Lauren needed), but did not propose any alternatives. Lauren was scared and quickly becoming more distressed.

“The new placement is just such an amazing place for Lauren to live. She has settled in so well and has changed beyond recognition. The guys who support her are more like family than support workers. My family cannot thank the Access Social Care team enough for what they have done for us.”

How We Helped: We took on the case and corresponded with the local authority; setting out their legal duties to provide appropriate accommodation for Lauren, to promote her wellbeing and to involve her in care planning. The local authority was dragging its heels and risked losing the placement Lauren wanted – with no other available – but just a few letters from us led to the local authority agreeing to fund Lauren’s new placement, and she moved in the following month.

“I will never forget it.”

- Cate (Lauren’s Mum)

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

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THE PRESENT

THE PEOPLE WE HELP

DID YOU KNOW? ONE - WELCOME TO ACCESS SOCIAL CARE

Who We Helped: Brenda lived alone and her daughter Sian was becoming extremely concerned about her welfare. Brenda was increasingly reclusive, wearing the same clothes day and night and not eating unless food was directly put in front of her. Despite contacting both Adult Social Services and Brenda’s GP for professional guidance, Sian was left alone to support her mother knowing something wasn’t right.

“I have never asked for financial support, just advice from professionals, but I have never felt so out of my depth and on my own.

The Situation: Although Brenda was able to self-fund her treatment, her daughter Sian felt out of her depth in trying to guide and support her, especially when Brenda received a diagnosis for Alzheimers. Countless requests for advice went unheard, meaning both Brenda and Sian were placed in an unsustainable position.

I have been let down numerous times and feel the public bodies who are meant to help are not able, and the main aim is to pass on the burden and avoid costs.

For her mother’s safety, Sian moved Brenda in with her and provided round-the-clock care but sadly, Brenda sustained a broken hip through her confusion at moving home. Following a five-week hospital stay Adult Social Services incorrectly claimed to have assessed the suitability of Sian’s property before granting just three thirty-minute visits a day, around the amount of time it takes for Brenda to make a single trip to the bathroom. The reality was Sian receiving next to no support and with two children and a full-time job to juggle.

Before the legal knowledge and support of Access Social Care I was ignored, as was my Mother. Without their guidance in helping me support my mum, I truly fear she would have been left in an inhumane situation.”

- Sian (Brenda’s Daughter)

How We’re Helping: By providing a template letter to Sian, she was able to contact Adult Social Services and receive an initial visit. When this ultimately proved to be unsatisfactory we continued to provide counsel at each stage to support Sian in enforcing her legal rights.

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

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THE PRESENT

LONG-TERM SYSTEMIC CHANGE

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WE’VE
BEEN
CHALLENGING
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Public bodies do not capture enough data about social care. The lack of evidence and insight makes decision and policy making hard.

At Access Social Care we are leading the way in social care data capture and analysis. We believe a data and evidenced-based approach will enable us to clearly and effectively demonstrate the change that is required with social care. We use our data to influence and inform strategic casework.

Our Approach:

Our Outcomes:

Page 29

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

THE PRESENT

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Case by case we make a difference. Holding those in charge of making unlawful decisions to account. But for real change, to make the ultimate DID YOU KNOW? difference, we must challenge the system.

ONE - WELCOME TO ACCESS SOCIAL CARE

----- Start of picture text -----
WE’VE
BEEN
CHALLENGING
----- End of picture text -----

By working with the media to grow the reputation of our CEO, Kari Gerstheimer, as an authority in social care commentary we extend our reach and influence to help us achieve this.

Working alongside our national member organisations, community groups and funders to gather data and information we will build on our media work over the next year. Continuing our mission to be a consistent voice for good and known as effective change makers in the social care landscape.

“[During the pandemic] The National Health Service was rightly first in line. But its poor cousin, social care, along with the social care workforce, and people with social care needs, have once again been left behind. Despite cross-party agreement that social care funding needs fixing, The Treasury has long been consistent in its reluctance to fund social care properly.”

(The Daily Express: Kari talks about the value of social care in line with the NHS.)

“The Legal Team at my charity, Access Social Care, use Human Rights to right wrongs and ensure fair access to social care. We aim to empower and educate individuals to feel confident to seek legal advice; breaking down the perception of the law as an intimidating, complicated and opposing force. “

(The Justice Gap: Kari explaining how Human Rights being under threat with the Government’s review of the Human Rights Act)

“We are pleased to be stepping in to provide this much needed support for Gloucestershire with the launch of our new social care advice hub. By linking our expertise to local organisations in Gloucestershire, we want to reach as many organisations as possible, particularly those working with underrepresented groups, to ensure local people are provided with the advice and support they deserve.”

(Punchline Gloucester: Kari discussing the launch of our Southwest hub)

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

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THE PRESENT

INCOME GENERATION

In 2020 we benefited from a start-up grant from the Oak Foundation. DID YOU KNOW? However, we know that we need to make sure that we are a sustainable ONE - WELCOME TO ACCESS SOCIAL CARE organisation going forwards. We have worked hard to diversify and identify additional income streams over the past year and prioritised five areas for potential growth: • Memberships - we are steadily growing our membership numbers. • Chatbot - we are working with Unltd and our digital partners Springbok - we are working with Unltd and our digital partners Springbok we are working with Unltd and our digital partners Springbok Ai to explore how we can generate increased income, • Grant Givers – we have nurtured our existing relationships and built new ones through our fundraising programme. • Individual Givers – difficulties meeting people face to face during the pandemic means we have started to engage with individuals via the LinkedIn platform; targeting Golden Circle lawyers and legal professionals with a high-value ask. • Fundraising Board - beginning recruitment in 2021/22 through existing contacts in order to grow a pipeline of prospective Major Donors via, giving club, appeal or discreet events. MAKING MONEY

We have worked hard to diversify and identify additional income streams over the past year and prioritised five areas for potential growth:

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 31

THE PRESENT

OUR 2020 SUCCESSES

Besides the everyday support we provide, these are a few of our favourite highlights from the past twelve months:

FINDING FAME Aligning our core values and visual identity to present a clear vision for our charity. Securing press placements in national publications to raise awareness of the social care cause.

CHALLENGING CULTURE Gathering evidence to provide vital support for the EHRC’s proceedings against the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for human rights’ breaches of people in secure settings.

We are proud of our 98% success rate in our cases. So we know we can - and must - help more people.

- ASC

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 32

THE PRESENT

OUR CHALLENGES AND LEARNINGS

Our successes haven’t been without their challenges. However, quickly adapting and creating solutions means we have been able to minimise impact and disruption.

TRAINING:

Area managers struggled to attend our training due to pandemic pressures

TEAMS:

Covid-19 meant added pressures of homeschooling, isolation and health concerns for our staff

- Offered flexible hours, a wellbeing package and supported staff to sift and prioritise to safeguard our impact

TROUBLES:

Financial pressures led to delays and organisations stopping membership.

TRUST:

Longer than anticipated to develop relationships with frontline care managers that drive needed culture change

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 33

THE PRESENT

PRESSURES OF A PANDEMIC

When we first founded Access Social care, we never could have imagined that the world would be affected by a global pandemic. The virus has thrown up challenges for all of us, but many people with social care needs experienced much more serious difficulties than most. We are proud of our response.

COVID CONCERNS:

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 34

THE PRESENT

COPING WITH COVID

THE ASC RESPONSE

As well as being there for those who needed us, it was important we took the time to be there for each other. To look after staff wellbeing we introduced counselling services, emphasised the importance of flexible working and provided furlough for staff members with particularly challenging home situations.

From meditation and yoga classes to Zumba; reading clubs to Quiz nights, we Zoomed into each other's homes to laugh and build resilience together.

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 35

THE FUTURE Access Social Care Annual Report 2021 Page 36

THE FUTURE

2021 AND BEYOND

OUR PLANS

We will continue to work on our strategic aims to increase the reach and influence of our work. By growing our membership we will find a sustainable way to provide public access to our service; providing more people with the social care they have a right to receive.

OUR IMPACT

In the 2021/22 period, we will complete our monitoring and evaluation framework in partnership with academics Professor Lisa Vanhala and Doctor Jacqui Kinghan. This will allow us to continue tracking our progress, learn from our experiences and further develop our model.

OUR PRIORITIES

OUR PROMISE

In 2021/22 we are committed to focussing on diversity. We want to stand shoulder to shoulder with Black and Asian-led organisations to reach under-served communities within our place-based hubs; tackling health and social care inequalities. Working with formal and informal community leaders we will take the time to build relationships and trust, co-create a framework which ensures parity of esteem, and responds effectively to cultural ethnic and hyper local sensitivities.

We want Access Social Care to be an organisation that celebrates difference, where all employees, clients and partners feel equally valued. We will develop our diversity strategy to ensure authenticity in our approach to diversity, and task and finish groups will help us deliver change where it is needed.

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 37

THE FUTURE

DELIVERING ON PRIORITIES

In 2021/22 we will develop more on-line resources to support our public legal education.

MORE EMPOWERING

With an ambitious growth strategy, Access Social Care will need to quickly increase our capacity to provide high volumes of public legal education to care managers of our member organisations at times to suit their busy schedules.

The pandemic has shown that we can deliver training and engage managers remotely, and that the flexibility that online resources offer suits the increasingly stretched working lives of social care staff. Moreover, the frequent changes to regulations over the past year have highlighted the need to be responsive around training delivery and to offer a wider range of material to staff of our member organisations.

Throughout this period, we will:

Apply accessibility standards to make our training available to all learners

Design our online learning provision in an agile way, testing Create at least eight short learning what works and using existing modules within the first year software where possible

Conduct user research with our stakeholders

Work with each of our partners to agree the best way to disseminate our online learning within their organisation

Evaluate our online learning alongside our partners to identify the most effective way to develop our public legal education programmes

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

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THE FUTURE

DELIVERING ON PRIORITIES

MORE ENFORCING

•

•

•

In 2021/22 we will continue to reach more people through the development of our legal chatbot and the growth of our membership. We are carrying out a review of our pro-bono activity to ensure that we are maximising the strength of these partnerships by targeting this support where it is needed the most.

One of our highest priorities is helping local organisations and community leaders to feel more confident using the law. And the easiest way for us to achieve this is by training trusted intermediaries in using our legal information chatbot to give more specialist advice.

Our belief is that as we work with community leaders, we will create a movement, so that the leaders themselves carry our mission forwards. Our aim is to create a legacy of communities empowered to uphold the rule of law to ensure better social care outcomes for their citizens and fairer local systems.

We will build partnerships with community organisations and MPs in their constituency offices to encourage use of the chatbot. New grants secured will allow next level development with new functionality

Increase our memberships – helplines, providers, commercial providers. However, we will slow Continue to intervene with early this growth in 21/22 to allow for a legal help to hold public bodies to period of consolidation in order to account develop the right internal infrastructures to support future expansion

We will set up a new place-based hub in London/SE in 2021 before finalising plans for a national network of place-based hubs. Each hub will be co-designed and co-produced with the communities it serves

Learn from local people, (particularly under-represented groups who regularly experience multiple barriers to accessing social care and information) using the chatbot. iteratively improving the product to respond better to the needs of local populations

Grow and develop our pro-bono clinics and Barristers panel; implementing changes from our strategic review

Reach more people through our chatbot and seek to license the product to other organisations to increase our impact

Collect local data in partnership with our community-based members will help us to take a data and evidence-led approach to driving change

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Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

Page 38

THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

GOING CONCERN AND STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BENEFIT

GOING CONCERN

As a start-up charity, Access Social Care is well placed to manage the business risks we face. This position is supported by strong liquidity; sufficient reserves for business continuity and development plans; a good relationship with our key funders; and proven ability to retain and secure new services. We have set out in this report a review of Access Social Care’s financial performance, the reserves position and principal risks and uncertainties. Notwithstanding the pandemic, the performance to date has been robust in terms of income generation. Whilst the pandemic has been hugely challenging at the operational level, Access Social Care has remained firmly in control of its service quality and financial performance throughout the operating period.

We have accrued over £200k of reserves in our first operating period. As set out in our reserves policy, we are working towards having 6 months operating costs to ensure business continuity and the ability to continue providing casework for our clients in the event of financial disruption. Access Social Care has maintained its cash and reserves at levels which provide a good degree of financial protection against a continuation of the pandemic through FY 2021/22.

As a new charity Access Social Care is still developing financial management processes. We have carried out a range of cashflow projections and financial modelling exercises over the past year, supported in particular by Unltd. We are currently working with an external consultant provided through the Cranfield Trust to further develop our forecasting tools to enable us to undertake regular scenario and strategic financial planning. The 2021/22 budget has been approved by the Access Social Care Board. Following the current financial modelling exercise, as well as an exercise at board level to agree on an organisational approach to financial risk, we anticipate that the Executive will make a range of investment requests to enable and facilitate successful future organisational growth.

Our planning processes, including financial projections, take into consideration the current economic climate and its potential impact on the various sources of income and planned expenditure.

The trustees therefore have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future being at least twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. Accordingly, the financial statements continue to be prepared on the going concern basis.

STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BENEFIT

The trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit, “Charities and Public Benefit”. Access Social Care’s charitable objects are enshrined within its memorandum and articles and as such the trustees ensure that the charity’s activities are carried out for the public benefit through its strategic priorities. This is done primarily through the delivery of services aimed at people with a social care need as well as those who support them. This report allows us to show how our charitable funds are spent and the impact and benefits that has on those using our services, as well as the wider impact on society.

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES

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 period. In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:

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.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

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. If the CIO is wound up, the members of the CIO have no liability to contribute to its assets and no personal responsibility for settling its debts and liabilities. 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 Auditors Godfrey Wilson Ltd were appointed as the charity's independent auditors during the year and have expressed their willingness to act in that capacity.

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

FACTS AND FIGURES

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

CURRENT POSITION

Charitable Activities:

Total Income

Our total income for our first reporting period (Dec 2019 – March 2021) was £1,377,304 against a budget of £984,139.

The largest part of our income comes from our start up grant from the Oak Foundation. This income was £757,091 in the operating period. Income from other grants and donations was £387,564, some of this income must be used on activities which fall outside the operating period. We have grown our membership subscription income to £225,178 in the operating period.

Total Expenditure

Total expenditure in the reporting period was £737,941. Our spend on charitable activities was £649,515. Expenditure on raising funds was £88,426. Access Social Care has £547,594 in cash at 31 March 2021. Restricted funds are £232,774 Unrestricted funds are £406,589 Total liabilities are £170,876 at 31[st] March 2021

Our risk management processes help identify where we might need reserves, and our financial management policies then determine how our resources are managed and how investment decisions are made. Annually, our board of trustees considers what resources will be required to meet Access Social Care’s objectives and obligations and what the risks are that might threaten the desired outcomes.

Reserves Policy for the Charity

Reserves are maintained at a level that enables the charity to manage operational financial risks and short-term income volatility. They allow the charity to sustain service delivery, in particular legal casework support to our clients, over the long term, as well as ensuring that financial commitments can be met as they fall due.

As noted above, of the charity’s £639,363 total funds at the end of March 2021, £232,774 are restricted funds and not available for general purposes.

The remaining £406,589 of total funds are unrestricted of which £24,605 is designated for programme expenditure and £150,906 are capitalised assets. Our free reserves are £231,078. Reserves are those unrestricted funds which are freely available to the trustees to spend on any of the charity’s purposes. However, they exclude amounts which, if spent, would adversely affect the charity’s ability to deliver its aims. Reserves do not therefore include property, funds which are set aside for programmes specifically to further our charitable objectives, or amounts set aside for essential costs.

Reserves 31 March 2021

The trustees have set a target for reserves based upon an analysis of the potential financial impacts of significant risks identified through the charity’s risk management processes, as well as the need to continue to provide legal services to our clients. Access Social Care has reserves of £231,078 compared to target reserves of £339,396. Following financial modelling and risk analysis in 21/22, the charity anticipates that it will invest some reserves in a managed fashion to support the future growth of the charity.

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

MANAGING RISK

Risk Management and Internal Control for the Charity

Access Social Care continually reviews its risk framework, ensuring that it aligns with the organisation’s strategic aims and objectives. The board of trustees reviews strategic risks on a quarterly basis. Independent assurance is provided by an outsourced independent audit function from Godfrey Wilson accountants. Risk management at the operational level is managed by the executive directors and departmental Heads , who review risks regularly both within their directorates and as a group.

Principal Risks for Access Social Care What the Risks Mean How we Mitigate the Risks
Need to increase income and bank reserves over the
next 2-3 years so that we are a going concern after
the term of our start up grant.		 Likelihood – 4 x Impact - 5 =20 • We are diversifying our fundraising and commercial income streams.
• We are increasing our fundraising capacity, growing our membership and developing a business plan for our chatbot.
Need to deliver on current contracts to a range of
grant makers.		 Likelihood – 2 x Impact - 5 =10 We have developed organisation wide monitoring, evaluation and learning systems to ensure that we are meeting our
KPIs. KPIs are threaded through accountabilities. Progress is communicated regularly at operational, strategic and funder
level.
Need to deliver on contracts to members. Likelihood – 3 x Impact - 5 =10 We are entering a period of consolidation to review our growth; and to develop a People Strategy looking at recruitment,
retention, remuneration, diversity and training.
Maintain and develop social care expertise to deliver
expert legal advice through recruitment and retention
of key staff members.		 Likelihood – 3 x Impact - 5 =15 See above.
Define and agree service model. Likelihood – 2 x Impact - 5 =10 Advisory board meetings with network partners set up to seek on-going advice on fees and model.
Financial modelling work on-going – seeking robust challenge from financial experts.
Hub model pilot live and seeking funding for roll out in other areas.
Develop and enshrine effective governance
arrangements and board oversight.		 Likelihood – 2 x Impact - 4 =8 • Governance review document complete, review ongoing.
• Agreed to move forwards slowly in light of Covid.
Develop and implement organisational systems and
IT including staff handbook and other policies and
procedures.		 Likelihood – 3 x Impact - 3 =9 Good progress with policy development. Handbook, and CRM are live.
Failure to protect clients from harm caused by staff
or corporate negligence.		 Likelihood – 1 x Impact - 5 =5 • Working towards AQS – training and supervision arrangements are in line with the standard.
• Barristers panel and external consultancy (Karen Ashton) to assist with the quality of advice.
• Note also the work on our People Strategy and growth.
Ensure Compliance with regulatory bodies i.e. Charity
commissioner, ICO, Fundraising Regulator.		 Likelihood – 3 x Impact - 4 =12 GDPR advice secured from Baker MacKenzie.
Policy and procedures development on-track.
Independent auditors appointed and working towards first audit in June 2021.
Enshrine effective internal and external
communication strategies and identify and mitigate
reputational risk.		 Likelihood – 3 x Impact - 5 =15 • Contracted with external communications agency BLJ until April 2020 to put in place a comms strategy and to start to
shape our brand. Working with a copy writer to develop tone of voice. Working with a brand elevator consultant to raise
digital profile.
• Major incident policy and process drafted.
• Put in place policy and procedure for comms involving risk.
•
Reputational risk
•
Ethical position statement
•
Public perception
Covid-19 impacts delivery model. Likelihood – 5 x Impact - 4 • Covid Impact paper prepared including mitigation plans for key staff absence.
• Consideration given to slowing down work streams to protect staff wellbeing.
• Consideration given to adapting to Covid Regulations including social distancing.

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

FUTURE PLANNING

To enable us to grow throughout the 2021/2 financial period, we have identified the following revenue streams:

----- Start of picture text -----
MEMBERSHIP CHATBOT
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FUNDRAISING
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Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

FUNDRAISING

Our Fundraising Campaign

Access Social Care has a compelling ‘ask’ which has stood us in good stead in our first year with grant giving bodies. Even as a new charity, we already employ an executive member of staff focussed on fundraising and a philanthropy fundraiser, with a wealth of major donor experience, who was recruited in April 2021.

Our initial goal in 2020/1 was to begin building a stakeholder network that would ensure long-term support and consistent high-value gift giving. A stakeholder network would ideally comprise; senior members of staff and volunteers aiding introductions and building relationships with prospective donors and influential individuals who can grow our network and provide further connections to gift givers. Although our stakeholder pool is currently limited, our aim is to grow relationships with careful stewardship and networking events for groups and individuals whose interests and values closely align with our work.

Interruption to face-to-face meetings in 2020 meant the pandemic severely delayed our progress. However, we are committed to continuing our strategy in this next period, with plans to form a fundraising board lead by one of our connected trustees. Fundraising budgets for 2021/22-2023/24 will continue their focus on grant giving bodies and we will nurture our existing relationships with strategic funders whilst growing a pipeline of new funders to achieve this financial commitment. In addition, we have grown a 500+ network of high-earning legal professionals via LinkedIn – we aim to engage online with this group, using a lead magnet campaign to pull individuals offline and motivate them towards a fundraising ask. This campaign will be evaluated via KPIs and objectives throughout 2021.

ACCESS is committed to ensuring that fundraising activities are carried out in an ethical manner. The Access Social Care policy on donation and fundraising applies to the Board, casual, permanent and both contract staff and volunteers. It lays out clear processes and guidelines, with a firm position on fundraising practice and the standards expected in raising funds from the community.

Our Fundraising Principles

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

CHARITY INFORMATION

Charity Details

Charity Name: Access Your Right to Care, operating as Access Social Care

The Charity is constituted as a CIO and does not currently have any subsidiary undertakings.

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

CHARITY INFORMATION

The Board of Trustees and Delegated Arrangements

Access Social Care follows Charity Commission best practice guidance on recruitment and induction of new trustees. Skills gaps relevant to the strategic objectives of the charity are identified on the board by way of informal audit (last conducted in Spring 2020). These are addressed through the recruitment of new trustees. Potential trustees submit a CV and covering letter, and meet the CEO and one other member of the Executive team. Then the chair of trustees and two other trustees conduct an interview to assess suitability of the candidate.

New trustees are offered an induction programme including a set of key documents, meetings with other trustees, and discussions with staff. Opportunities for training are offered to support trustees in their roles.

In line with our Diversity aims, we are working hard to encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates and guarantee interviews for people from under-represented groups. We have a Governance Toolkit including an induction checklist for new Trustees.

The Articles of Association include terms of office and, with the exception of two of the founding trustees, an initial appointment is made for a 3-year term. Trustees will be eligible for reappointment for one further term of 3 years. The two founding trustees are appointed as follows and will be eligible for a further term of 3 years:

The Board of Trustees is responsible for determining the overall strategic direction of the charity and for developing policies and plans to support the delivery of charitable objectives. The Board monitors progress across all areas of activity including legal requirements and financial performance. The Board has agreed to carry out a full Governance Review to ensure excellence across all governance matters. Work on the Governance Review is on track and on-going. If the CIO is wound up, the Trustees as members of the CIO, have no liability to contribute to its assets and no personal responsibility for settling its debts and liabilities.

A chief executive officer (CEO) is appointed by the trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity. To facilitate effective operations, the authority for operational matters including financial management, employment and performance relating to agreed key objectives is delegated to the CEO and other members of the Executive team. Any decisions outside of the strategic direction agreed by the Board, or more than £100,000 outside of the agreed budget, are referred to trustees for approval.

Pay and remuneration of the charity’s key management personnel is reviewed by the board each year and any changes made are based on performance, an assessment of the market, the financial position of the organisation and relativity across the team.

Volunteers

Access Social Care volunteers support the charity’s work in many ways and the charity benefits greatly from their experience and commitment to the cause. The trustees are grateful for the dedicated efforts of the volunteers who are involved in:

We are also grateful to our team of Rights Ambassadors who help spread the word about the use of the law in their communities.

At least 200 people provided voluntary service to the charity in our first accounting period.

This Trustees’ Annual Report was approved by the Trustees on 28th September 2021 and signed on their behalf by

Janine Tregelles - Chair

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Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

Access Your Right To Care

Reference and administrative details

For the period ended 31 March 2021

Charity number 1186714
Registered office Coventry Law Centre Ltd
Oakwood House
Cheylesmore
Coventry
CV1 2HL
Trustees The trustees who served during the period and up to the date of this report were as follows:
Christopher Hale appointed 3 December 2019
Kevin McGuirk appointed 25 May 2021
Rebecca Mills appointed 3 December 2019
Linda Redford appointed 13 January 2021
Janine Tregelles appointed 3 December 2019
Chief executive officer Kari Gerstheimer
Senior management team Joanne Williams Director of Partnerships and Engagement
Lainey Gough Head of Legal
Catriona Filmer Head of Legal
Miriam Valencia Head of Operations
Hannah Hewish Legal Strategy Manager
Bankers The Co-Operative Bank
Business Direct
Skelmerdale
WN8 6GH
Auditors Godfrey Wilson Limited
Chartered accountants and statutory auditors
5th Floor Mariner House
62 Prince Street
Bristol
BS1 4QD

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

Independent Auditors Report

To the members of

Access Your Right to Care

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Access Your Right To Care (the 'charity') for the period ended 31 March 2021 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and the related notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is 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).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for Opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other Information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities Act 2011 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of the trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out in the trustees’ report, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

Independent Auditors Report

To the members of

Access Your Right to Care

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The procedures we carried out and the extent to which they are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, are detailed below:

(1) We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, and assessed the risk of non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Throughout the audit, we remained alert to possible indications of non-compliance.

(2) We reviewed the charity’s policies and procedures in relation to:

(3) We inspected the minutes of trustee meetings.

(4) We enquired about any non-routine communication with regulators and reviewed any reports made to them.

(5) We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and assessed their compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

(6) We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected transactions or balances that may indicate a risk of material fraud or error.

(7) We assessed the risk of fraud through management override of controls and carried out procedures to address this risk. Our procedures included:

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. Irregularities that arise due to fraud can be even harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charityʼs trustees, as a body, in accordance with section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and the regulations made under section 154 of that Act. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charityʼs trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditorʼs report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charityʼs trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Date: 28 September 2021

GODFREY WILSON LIMITED Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

Godfrey Wilson Limited

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

Access Your Right To Care

Statement of financial activities

For the period ended 31 March 2021

16 months
2021
Total
£
Restricted
Note
£		 Unrestricted
£
Income from:
Donations
2.
Charitable activities
3.
Investments		 1,059,150
-
-		 86,430
231,711
13		 1,145,580
231,711
13
Total income 1,059,150 318,154 1,377,304
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities		 88,426
606,941		 -
42,574		 88,426
649,515
Total expenditure
5.		 695,367 42,574 737,941
Net income 363,783 275,580 639,363
Transfers between funds (131,009) 131,009 -
Net movement in funds
6.		 232,774 406,589 639,363
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
- - -
Total funds carried forward 232,774 406,589 639,363

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 15. to the accounts.

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

Access Your Right To Care

Balance sheet

As at 31 March 2021

2021
£
Note £
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
9.
Intangible assets
10.
7,397
143,509
150,906
Current assets
Debtors
11.
Cash at bank and in hand
111,739
547,594
659,333
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within 1 year
12.
170,876
Net current assets 488,457
Net assets
14.		 639,363
Funds
15.
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds:
232,774
Designated funds
General funds		 24,605
381,984
Total charity funds 639,363
Approved by the trustees on 28 September 2021 and signed on their behalf by
Janine Tregelles - Chair

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

Access Your Right To Care

Statement of cash flows

For the period ended 31 March 2021

2021
£
Net movement in funds
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Decrease / (increase) in debtors
Increase / (decrease) in creditors		 639,363
2,835
(13)
(111,739)
170,876
Net cash provided by operating activities 701,322
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Purchase of intangible fixed assets
13
(10,232)
(143,509)
Net cash used in investing activities (153,728)
Increase in cash and cash equivalents in the period 547,594
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period -
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period 547,594

The charity has not provided an analysis of changes in net debt as it does not have any long term financing arrangements.

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

Access Your Right To Care

Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 31 March 2021

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).

Access Your Right To Care 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.

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, which the trustees consider appropriate having regard to the current level of unrestricted reserves and having considered the potential financial implications of the ongoing Covid pandemic. There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

c) Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item 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. Income from subscriptions received in advance is deferred until criteria for income recognition are met.

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. As discussed in the trustees' report, the charity benefitted from significant pro bono support in 2021, however these have not been recognised in the accounts on the basis that the charity would not have been able to afford these services if not provided for free.

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.

f) Funds accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. 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 direct costs, as follows:

Raising funds 12% Charitable activities 88%

2021

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

Access Your Right To Care

Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 31 March 2021

1. Accounting policies (continued)

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

Items of equipment are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £500.

j) Intangible fixed assets

Internally generated intangible assets meeting the relevant recognition criteria are initially measured at cost. Intangible fixed assets relate to the costs incurred in developing the charity's ChatBot asset. No amortisation has been charged as the asset is currently under development.

k) 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.

l) 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.

m) 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.

n) 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.

o) Pension costs

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for its employees. There are no further liabilities other than that already recognised in the SOFA.

p) 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.

The key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements are the depreciation and amortisation policies as set out in notes 1 i) and j) above.

Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

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Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 31 March 2021

2. Income from donations 16 months
2021
Restricted
£		 Unrestricted Total
£ £
Oak Foundation grant
Trusts and foundations
Corporate donations
Individual donations
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme		 757,091
302,059
-
-
-		 -
38,233
45,500
1,772
925		 757,091
340,292
45,500
1,772
925
Total income from donations 1,059,150 86,430 1,145,580
3. Income from charitable activities 16 months
2021
Restricted
£		 Unrestricted Total
£ £
Consultancy income
Subscriptions		 -
-		 6,533
225,178		 6,533
225,178
Total income from charitable activities - 231,711 231,711
4. Government grants

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Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 31 March 2021

Total expenditure 16 months
2021 Total
Raising funds Charitable activities Support and
governance costs
£ £ £ £
Staff costs (note 7) 70,903
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-		 473,392
2,136
6,875
34,238
2,767
1,397
-
-
-		 66,150
13,601
-
-
39,560
4,145
17,569
2,835
2,373		 610,445
15,737
6,875
34,238
42,327
5,542
17,569
2,835
2,373
Other staff costs
Evaluation
Consultancy
IT and telephone costs
Office costs
Finance and governance
Depreciation
Irrecoverable VAT
Sub-total 70,903 520,805 146,233 737,941
Allocation of support and governance costs 17,523 128,710 (146,233) -
Total expenditure 88,426 649,515 - 737,941
Total governance costs were £4,950.

5. Total expenditure

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

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Notes to the financial statements
For the period ended 31 March 2021
6.
Net movement in funds
This is stated after charging:
16 months
2021
£
Trustees' remuneration
Nil
Trustees' reimbursed expenses
199
Auditors' remuneration:
▪Statutory audit (including VAT)
5,940
▪Other services (including VAT)
2,280
During the period, one trustee was reimbursed for travel expenses of £199.
7.
Staff costs and numbers
Staff costs were as follows:
16 months
2021
£
Salaries and wages
545,888
Social security costs
38,761
Pension costs
25,508
Freelancers
288
610,445
2021
Number of employees earning in the range of:
No.
£60,000 - £70,000
1
£70,000 - £80,000
1
The key management personnel of the charity comprise the Trustees, Chief Executive Officer, and Senior Management Team. The total employee benefits
of the key management personnel for the period were £353,625.
2021
No.
Average head count
14
8.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.		 Notes to the financial statements
For the period ended 31 March 2021
6.
Net movement in funds
This is stated after charging:
16 months
2021
£
Trustees' remuneration
Nil
Trustees' reimbursed expenses
199
Auditors' remuneration:
▪Statutory audit (including VAT)
5,940
▪Other services (including VAT)
2,280
During the period, one trustee was reimbursed for travel expenses of £199.
7.
Staff costs and numbers
Staff costs were as follows:
16 months
2021
£
Salaries and wages
545,888
Social security costs
38,761
Pension costs
25,508
Freelancers
288
610,445
2021
Number of employees earning in the range of:
No.
£60,000 - £70,000
1
£70,000 - £80,000
1
The key management personnel of the charity comprise the Trustees, Chief Executive Officer, and Senior Management Team. The total employee benefits
of the key management personnel for the period were £353,625.
2021
No.
Average head count
14
8.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.
For the

6.
7.
8.
This is stated after charging: 16 months
2021
£
Trustees' remuneration Nil
199
Trustees' reimbursed expenses
Auditors' remuneration:
▪Statutory audit (including VAT)
▪Other services (including VAT)
5,940
2,280
During the period, one trustee was reimbursed for travel expenses of £199.
Staff costs and numbers
Staff costs were as follows:
16 months
2021
£
Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Pension costs
Freelancers		 545,888
38,761
25,508
288
610,445
2021
Number of employees earning in the range of: No.
£60,000 - £70,000
£70,000 - £80,000		 1
1
The key management personnel of the charity comprise the Trustees, Chief Executive Officer, and Senior Management Team. The total employee benefits
of the key management personnel for the period were £353,625.
2021
No.
Average head count 14
Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

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Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 31 March 2021

For the period ended 31 March 2021
9.
Tangible fixed assets
IT equipment
£
Cost
At 3 December 2019
Additions in period
-
10,232
At 31 March 2021 10,232
Depreciation
At 3 December 2019
Charge for the period
-
2,835
At 31 March 2021 2,835
Net book value
At 31 March 2021
7,397
At 3 December 2019 -
10.
Intangible fixed assets
Assets under
development
£
Cost
At 3 December 2019
Additions in period
-
143,509
At 31 March 2021 143,509
Amortisation
At 3 December 2019
Charge for the period
-
-
At 31 March 2021 -
Net book value
At 31 March 2021
143,509
At 3 December 2019 -
Intangible fixed assets relates to the charity's ChatBot app, which is currently under development.

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THE FINANCIAL REPORT AND LEGAL INFORMATION

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Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 31 March 2021
11.
Debtors
Trade debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income
Other debtors
12.
Creditors: amounts due within 1 year
Trade creditors
Accruals
Other taxation and social security
Deferred income (see note 13.)
13.
Deferred income
At 3 December 2019
Deferred during the period
Released during the period
At 31 March 2021
Deferred income relates to subscription income invoiced in advance.
14.
Analysis of net assets between funds
Restricted
funds
Designated
funds
£
£
Tangible fixed assets
-
-
Intangible fixed assets
-
-
Current assets
282,774
24,605
Current liabilities
(50,000)
-
Net assets at 31 March 2021
232,774
24,605		 For the period ended 31 March 2021
11.
Debtors
Trade debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income
Other debtors
12.
Creditors: amounts due within 1 year
Trade creditors
Accruals
Other taxation and social security
Deferred income (see note 13.)
13.
Deferred income
At 3 December 2019
Deferred during the period
Released during the period
At 31 March 2021
Deferred income relates to subscription income invoiced in advance.
14.
Analysis of net assets between funds
Restricted
funds
Designated
funds
£
£
Tangible fixed assets
-
-
Intangible fixed assets
-
-
Current assets
282,774
24,605
Current liabilities
(50,000)
-
Net assets at 31 March 2021
232,774
24,605		 For the period ended 31 March 2021
11.
Debtors
Trade debtors
Prepayments
Accrued income
Other debtors
12.
Creditors: amounts due within 1 year
Trade creditors
Accruals
Other taxation and social security
Deferred income (see note 13.)
13.
Deferred income
At 3 December 2019
Deferred during the period
Released during the period
At 31 March 2021
Deferred income relates to subscription income invoiced in advance.
14.
Analysis of net assets between funds
Restricted
funds
Designated
funds
£
£
Tangible fixed assets
-
-
Intangible fixed assets
-
-
Current assets
282,774
24,605
Current liabilities
(50,000)
-
Net assets at 31 March 2021
232,774
24,605
2021
£
93,920
3,195
1,600
13,024
111,739
2021
£
9,391
14,881
27,712
118,892
170,876
2021
£
-
118,892
-
118,892
Restricted
funds		 Designated
funds		 General
funds		 Total funds
£ £ £ £
-
-
282,774
(50,000)		 -
-
24,605
-		 7,397
143,509
351,954
(120,876)		 7,397
143,509
659,333
(170,876)
232,774 24,605 381,984 639,363

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Notes to the financial statements

For the period ended 31 March 2021

e period ended 31 March 2021
Movements in funds
At 3
December
2019		 Income Expenditure Transfers
between
funds		 At 31 March
2021
£ £ £ £ £
Restricted funds
Oak Foundation
Hub / Casework
ChatBot
-
-
-		 718,591
120,749
219,810		 (628,212)
(65,879)
(1,276)		 (86,729)
-
(44,280)		 3,650
54,870
174,254
Total restricted funds - 1,059,150 (695,367) (131,009) 232,774
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
General funds
-
-		 35,000
283,154		 (10,395)
(32,179)		 -
131,009		 24,605
381,984
Total unrestricted funds - 318,154 (42,574) 131,009 406,589
Total funds - 1,377,304 (737,941) - 639,363
Purposes of restricted funds
Oak Foundation

15. Movements in funds

This a core grant which has enabled the set up of Access Social Care. The majority of the grant covers the cost of salaries.

Hub / Casework

These funds are to set up the place-based hub in Gloucestershire, fund community care casework, strategic casework and strategic data work.

ChatBot

These funds are to develop a legal information chatbot, which will be free at the point of use and available on the Access Social Care website.

Purposes of designated funds

This is grant income which been internally designated for programme work, mainly on the ChatBot project.

Transfers between funds

Transfers between funds relate to restricted capital expenditure for the ChatBot project.

16. Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions during the period.

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Access Social Care Annual Report 2021

THANK YOU

We wish to thank all of our donors, funders and supporters for helping make our first year as a charity a resounding success. We look forward to working together again in 2021-22.

With best wishes, The Access Social Care team

Access Social Care

Oakwood House, St Patricks Road, CV1 2HL, Coventry, England enquiries@accesscharity.org.uk

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Access Social Care Annual Report 2021